The next shift was normal (At least for the Gas Station's standards.) Tom found Marlboro living in the storage closet funny, that's something new... Right? Who really knows?

You're wiping the counter of the gas station. You were still on edge due to the surprise visit from him. And you were trying to get him out of your mind. Which was easier said than done, considering that paranoia is the only emotion you feel now.

Right now, Tom just left the establishment. And Jack was just sitting behind the counter, tearing up? How could that be!? You got up from wiping to look at him. Seeing him tearing up was... weird in a way!? You didn't really know. You just wanted to check on him.

"Hey, Jack?" You asked, very hushed. "You alright?"

He grabbed a roll of paper towels to wipe it out. "Yeah, I'm just taking care of a leak."

You knew he was lying, but you rolled with it. You had to give him the benefit of the doubt. He's the only full-time employee in this place after all!

"Heyo," said Marlboro cheerfully. You widen your eyes in reply. "Whatcha guys doing?"

"Hey, Jerry!" You replied quickly, ignoring your crying coworker. "Nothing much! We just gotta leak! You sound way better today!"

"Yeah," Jack added, "I gotta admit. I'm glad you're feeling better."

"Oh," Marlboro replied. "What, you mean that whole 'crippling depression' thing after my family left me in the woods for a new stage of pleasure-driven universal oneness without me?"

"Yeah. You seemed to bounce back okay." Jack replied.

"Wait, the hell is a 'pleasure-driven universal oneness'?" You asked, what did that even mean? "Why does it sound weird and hippish?"

Marlboro chuckled, you saying that didn't offend him, what a surprise.

"It's complicated kiddo." He said. He then turned his head to Jack. "Well you see, Mathmetists look at it like this: Life isn't a material, it's a wavelength. In the same way like music is just a manipulation of airwaves, living organisms are the manipulation of carbon. Like music, it can be beautiful or chaotic depending entirely on the arrangement and context. We only get to control the context so much. But happiness and suffering coexist in the effects of said control. So I wake up every day and try to shift that balance a little more towards happiness, and it works the best if I start with myself."

"Damn!" You blurted shortly after. Your face emerges into a smile. "That sounds amazing!"

Jack just nodded and added, "Okay, sounds like you've got it all figured out."

"Not in the least," Marlboro replied.

"Me neither," Jack said.

"Seems like there will be questions we'll never be able to answer unless some really smart guy figures it out." You muttered. "Kinda sad really."

"Cool. What's in the box?" Marlboro gestured to the package that somehow appeared out of nowhere on the counter. It was wrapped in gift wrapping and everything.

"Oh. I don't really know. Someone sent it to me. I don't think I'm going to open it." Jack replied.

"Then why are you keeping it? Wouldn't that be unnecessary space?" Marlboro replied.

"How on the same hill did that box appear anyway?" You asked.

Jack took a second to analyze the question like he was a judge of the Supreme Court. He could get rid of it in several ways yet he didn't pull the trigger on it.

"I don't know," Jack admitted.

"You should open it then." Both you and Marlboro said at the same exact time. How weird.

"Yeah, okay then," Jack replied.

Jack opened it up to see a handwritten letter and a brand new laptop computer. You widen your eyes as your jaw drops. Jack booted it up and it worked!

"Holy sweet mother of Joseph!" You blurted out in astonishment. "It actually works! Too bad that the internet doesn't exist here!"

The third item was some sort of contraption. It looked like a brick sized black box. A couple buttons next to it on one side. It was... strange.

What the hell is this thing!? Why does a box need buttons!? Is it an explosive!?

Before you could ask though, Jack beat you to the punch.

"What do you suppose this thing is?" Asked Jack.

Marlboro gasped like a child during their birthday. "That would be a SAT-Fi global satellite Hotspot router, it's probably a deep-sea model. The church used one of these because it's the only way to ever get WI-FI out here!"

"Wait, are you saying getting internet here is a possibility?"

Marlboro took the router box out of Jack's hands and grabbed the laptop. "Give me fifteen and I'll have ya all set up!" He excitedly said as he cradled the devices and jumped over the gnomes that appeared out of nowhere. He went into his room and slammed the storage closet behind him.

Jack stood and stared at the door. You stared at Jack. Both of you were trying to understand that idea: the gas station with WI-Fi. The gas station felt like a safe haven, a place where the outside world didn't invade. It felt like a place where it was outside of reality itself yet a part of it technically. And that was oddly comforting. It was a way of protection per say. You felt safe and less anxious, especially because he didn't show up that much.

But for worse or better. The place is now being set up to be with the rest of the modern world. Maybe nothing would change, but you didn't really think it's a possibility.

"Hey Jack?" You asked.

"Yeah?" Jack replied, he turned to you slightly.

"Don't you think having the internet here would be weirder?"

"Yeah, it's definitely going to be strange at least a little bit."

An hour passed, was it an hour? You didn't really check the time. Jack left the establishment for whatever reason. Marlboro came out of the storage closet and took over the cash register. He's currently ringing up Old Bob Hoover; a regular who came into the gas station to order his regular nightcrawlers and boiled peanuts.

You were distracted by your work as usual. As you wiped down the counter and restocked the soft drinks. You got used to it so much that you didn't even have to focus to do a great job. You finished it rather quickly.

Once you were done, Marlboro tapped your shoulder. You turned to see him carrying another dead Kieffer.

You got startled and jumped back in shock. Jerry killed Kieffer!? What the hell!? How did that happen?

"Hey boyo," Marlboro started off, his tone was very casual, a bit too casual. "Can you take over the cash register for a little bit? I have to take care of this."

"Sure Jerry," you replied, "But how the heck did you kill Kieffer?"

"I kinda impaled him a couple times. This is my second time actually. Kinda weird this was accidentally twice."

"Okay then," you replied.

You nodded soon after and turned to get to the cash register. Smiling as you did, you can finally be a cashier. At least for a little bit.

Nobody really came in. No customers arrived though.

Well, this sucks. This is sad.

You became bored in a rather quick and awkward way. You thought that this was impossible. The Gas Station needed a lot of maintenance and care. Which led to you being extremely busy. You brought a book sometimes just in case this happened. But you didn't bring it this time because you thought you'd be busy.

I was wrong, you thought. So, so wrong.

Just in case you were in this situation. Your brain starts to make you think about random memories in your life. Things from your past coming back to haunt you or to remind you of something. Some were bad, some were good, and some were just flat out bizzare. But you were now thinking about that one memory. The one, important memory that brought you here. The night that happened two years ago which brought you here. And that was the night you ran away.

It was midnight, and you were being scolded by your mom. The events earlier that day were wrong... So, so wrong. He recently killed your real father in cold blood. You tried everything to stop your father from confronting him. Yet he didn't listen to you, he didn't listen to you at all.

Your dad and he started fighting as soon as both went into the garage. You saw it yourself as he impaled your dad through the heart with a rusty machete. His heart was still pumping out blood as he died.

You tried to do what's right. You called the police, but it failed. You tried telling your mom. That also failed. It probably wouldn't work anyway if they knew. He would try to find an excuse to get away from justice and would make another excuse to punish you anyway. He always made excuses and went scot-free.

You could hear your mom's scolding even two years later in your mind. "How dare you lie about this?" She said, or at least that's what you remembered. You couldn't recollect her speech entirely. But you know you got grounded for a month for "lying" to her. Followed by him slapping you and beating the ever-loving crap out of you!

That night was the last straw for you. That was when you decided that you didn't belong and that you needed to leave now. So, you grabbed a backpack, filled it with supplies, and left. You ran as fast as possible. You met Spencer Middleton that same night, surprised at how empathetic he was. And the rest was history for all you cared.

That night has been history. You've been stuck in that memory. Daydreaming in a way...

"Hey kid, you alright?" That was until Carlos tapped your shoulder, taking you back to reality. "You looked like you were in some trance,"

You widen your eyes in shock. Your eyes dashed everywhere a little bit. You then tried to speak but it became mumbling. After a minute. You successfully composed yourself.

What the hell happened? You thought to yourself, Man, I need to get that daydreaming issue solved. Can't do that at work.

"Yeah sorry Carlos," you replied, sounding a bit more calm. "I was thinking about some things. Jack and Jerry are in the freezer by the way. That's why I'm at the cash register."

"What are they doing in the freezer out of all places?"

"Uhh, it's because of Kieffer... they killed another Kieffer I think."

Carlos sighed. "I should've known. I have to see what they're doing. After I come back, you gotta do some inventory because some aisles haven't been restocked."

You simply nodded in reply. Carlos then went over to the freezer. He came out with some cookie dough. Jack and Marlboro came out a few minutes later. And you did inventory yet again.