Bogleech.com's 2016 Horror Write-off:

Late Night at the Coffee Shop

Submitted by Emergence

Alright, so it's around 11:30 pm, and I'm working the late shift at the coffee shop. I don't even know why I even bothered sticking around. The last customers had left hours ago. I just wanted to go home and get some sleep. 


Whatever, I don't even care about that anymore. What's important is what I saw next. I'm in the back getting a sip of water when I hear the front door open. I figure I'll just serve this one last person and then start to lock up, so I walk back behind the counter. I look over to see who came in and I feel my heart stop for a second.


Whatever the hell walked into the shop wasn't human. It looked kind of human if you go by general shape, but not much else. It was around 8 feet tall, hairless, and really skinny. Actually, it was more like it was stretched out and just had barely any flesh in places. Its abdomen looked like it was just skin stretched over its spine, and its arms and legs were really long and looked like the hands and feet had been dipped in tar. It didn't have ears or a jaw or really any face at all. It just had this hole in the front of its head, and I swear I could see stars shining out of it. Also, it had these, wings, I guess. They were really just these four fleshy red branch things that came out of its spine.


So I'm standing there, trying to process what I'm looking at, and the thing starts walking towards the counter. I'm too fucking scared to move, and the thing comes right up to me and looks down at me with that hole in its head. I'm about ready to run, and then the thing started talking. It's voice sounded like one of those NASA recordings of the sun, but it was speaking perfect English. And here's what it said; "Excuse me sir, can I get a decaf espresso to go?".


I stare at the thing with my jaw down to my knees for like five seconds, and then I figure my best chance of not being... whatever this thing could do to me would be to do what it said. "S-sure, do you want cream in that?", "I prefer it black. How much do I owe you?", "...$3.50". So I go and make the drink, it pulls out $3.50 from fuck knows where, and I hand it the drink. I think it noticed my hand was shaking, 'cause it asks me "Are you alright?". "I'm fine, don't worry about it.", I say, and it nods.


Then it says, "Oh, I almost forgot, here's a tip.", and it hands me this black orb thing it pops into existence out of nowhere. "Thanks-thanks a lot.", I say, and then the thing nods again, turns around and walks out the door pouring the espresso into its face hole, and then when it gets outside it starts rippling its wing-branch things and floats away.


So yeah, weirdest night of my damn life. I haven't told anyone else from the shop about it, like they'de even believe me. I still haven't figured out this orb thing yet.