Out of the frying pan

Chapter 6:

The following week, I.H.O.S was busier than ever. Marik was making deliveries more often now so he left Malik in charge with Jim. Not that Malik and Jim were getting along any better. They fought all the time and since Malik was in charge he always sent Jim to mop the bathroom floors... even if they were already clean.

Curt had been pushing his McDonalds harder than ever just so he could regain his customers. Marik found him sneaking around the restaurant trying to find out exactly how Marik and Malik started getting so many customers. Of course, he sent Curt away when he found him lurking around Jim's house... the dumpster.

It was Sunday evening, and I.H.O.S had been open for about nine hours. Marik had gone out to another delivery and he left Malik and Jim alone.

"This isn't fair." Malik was standing at the register, "Nobody ever comes in on Sunday. We've barely had a customer all day. We might as well go home."

"You're forgetting," Jim said, "This is my home."

"The garbage is your home." He whispered, bitterly.

"Well, yeah. But it's the garbage that belongs to this restaurant. So there."

"...We're supposed to be closed on Sundays anyway. What's Marik thinking, having us stay here all day?"

"You know, Curt has been working hard this past week to take our business away... I think Marik is trying to compete with him."

"That probably explains all the specials he's been pushing on people this week. I think there both nuts... but, if it's what Marik thinks is good... He's always doing this, you know. Making me go through stupid stuff so he can rule the world."

"..."

"It's mostly trivial stuff... but lately, I don't know... It's really strange. He really has an unnatural obsession with-" he noticed Jim starring at him, "I can't believe this. I'm spilling my guts out to a hobo!"

"..."

He looked at his watch, "...Um, I have to go, Jim. Could you watch the place for the rest of the night? Thanks." He headed for the door.

"Wait!"

"What is it?"

"I don't wanna stay here alone... Can I come too?"

"No, I have to go by myself."

"Why?! I hate being alone! Don't make me stay!" Jim whined.

"Being a hobo, I'd think you'd be used to it."

"Well, I'm not! Take me with you! Please?!"

"I can't. Stop asking."

"Please!" he threw himself on Malik, "Please, please, please!"

Malik kicked him off, "Alright, alright. But if Marik asks... you're following me against my will."

He nodded and turned off the lights. Once they were on the sidewalk, heading for McDonalds, Jim tugged on Malik's sleeve, "Why are we going there? For food?"

"No!" he paused, "Marik was telling me how he thought that McDonalds was using magic spells similar to ours."

"Why does he think that?"

"He says that they'd need something like that to get all those customers, and keep them for so many years."

"Oh."

"Actually, the real reason we're going is so we can take it and use it for I.H.O.S. He says that it should be more powerful than the one he learned on the website."

They were quiet till Malik saw the flashing neon light on the McDonalds sign. Jim started to go up to the front door but Malik pulled him into the shadows and up to the back door. Once they were around back Malik whispered, "Marik? Marik?"

"Yeah, I'm here." He came out from behind the corner, "Hey, what's Jim doing here? Malik, I told you to leave him at the restaurant."

"I know, but he followed me."

"Ugh..." Marik sighed heavily, "Does he know what's going on?"

"Yes."

"...Alright, Jim, you'll have to stay out here and be our lookout. You can handle that, right?"

He nodded eagerly.

"Wait right here." He said, sternly.

"Gotcha."

Marik turned around and opened the unlocked backdoor to the freezer. He and Malik climbed inside and left Jim whistling the hobo theme song to himself outside.

Once inside the freezer, Malik shivered to himself, "Brr! Ra, why is it so cold in here?"

Marik rolled his eyes, "I dunno, maybe because it's a freezer."

"Well, it sure is empty in here." He looked around and saw nothing but a few crates of beef patties.

"It's more than likely that if they do have a potion or something it'd be in here."

"Who keeps potions or magic spells in their freezer, anyway?"

"Witches."

"What?! You think McDonalds is made of a bunch of witches?!"

"Maybe not everyone... but Curt certainly is. That's why we gotta take whatever they're using from them. With all the power and customers that it's creating... they could totally rule the food world! You want that?"

"No. But they already rule the fast food world."

"Not for long, Malik. Not for long." He motioned for his hikari to follow him further into the freezer only to find large sides of beef suspended from the ceiling. At first it wasn't so shocking, after all this was McDonalds. But after a while the meat started getting bigger and there was so much to the point of disgust.

"Ugh, how much meat do they use for their burgers?" Malik asked, getting a little freaked out.

Marik grinned, "You wouldn't happen to be getting scared, would you?"

"No. I'm just saying... this is really too much beef. It's not right."

"Oh, so now you're an animal rights activist? Give me a break."

"I'm just saying-"

"Moo."

"Ah!" Malik jumped up and scrambled to his yami's side, "What the hell was that?!"

"What are you doing?!"

"Didn't you hear that?"

"Yeah, I heard voices. We must be getting close to the front door. I think it was the sound of Curt-"

"No! It was a... moo."

"A moo? You mean the sound cows make?"

He nodded.

Marik looked at him for a second before starting to walk again, "Malik, we don't have time for this."

"But Marik!"

"Shh!" Marik stopped at a door and brought Malik's ear to it, "Listen."

Malik heard what sound like people laughing and then he heard more frantic moos. "Moo! Moo! Moo!"

"Marik, there's a cow in there!" Malik whispered.

"What was your first clue?"

"I told you I heard mooing."

Once the laughter subsided Marik opened the door a crack and peeked inside. Seeing there was no one in there, he and Malik slipped through the door and into the room. The whole room smelled like death and was splattered with blood.

"Eww! Oh, gross! They killed a cow in here!" Malik shrieked.

Marik covered his nose, "...Okay, let's just get what we came here for and leave."

"How do we know they even have what we're looking for? They could just be really good cooks. Or maybe they have a catchy jingle that we haven't heard..." Malik continued to come up with reasons why McDonalds doesn't have a magic spell.

Marik, however, wasn't listening. He had crossed the floor to the other side of the bloody room to the refrigerator. He stuck his head inside and slid some stuff around, rather loudly.

"Marik! What are you doing?! Someone will know if you don't put everything back like it was!"

"Aha!"

"Huh? What is it?" He walked over and looked into the fridge. Marik was starring at a box with the words Extra Strength on it.

"See, Malik? This is what they're using in their food, I just know it."

"Marik, I don't think that-"

"Enough talking. We have to get out of here before someone finds us." With that, Marik dumped the large box into his hikari's arms.

"Hey!" he pouted, "Why do I have to carry this?"

"Because I'm tired. Now, let's go." He started back for the freezer door and tried to open it, "...It's locked."

"You locked us in a cow-killing room?!"

"We could always use that other door." He pointed to the door next to the refrigerator.

"...But that door leads to the front room, doesn't it? Won't people see us?"

"Not if we're disguised." He smiled and lifted a black sheet from the corner, "We'll just drape this over the both of us and bam. We're-"

"Caught. That'll never work."

"Sure it will! You just need to have a little faith, Malik. Come on, let's hurry this up and get back to Jim."

"Fine." Malik groaned while being covered with the sheet. They tiptoed through the door and out into the front room.

Only a few customers remained as some of the employees hurried to clean up so they could go home. Unfortunately, Curt who was giving orders to a teen that worked there blocked the door outside.

"Alright," Curt said to the boy, "Just take out the garbage, and you can go home."

"Yes, sir." He went outside with a big trash bag in hand.

Marik lifted the top of the blanket to see if Curt had left the doorway. He was no longer in sight, so Marik and Malik started to zoom from table to table until they were out the front door and in the shadows of the back-walls.

"Wow, Marik." Malik said shaking the sheet off his shoulders, "That went smoother than expected, huh?"

"Yup. We must be getting better at this." He looked around, "Jim? Jim, where are you?"

"Hmm." Malik shrugged, "He must have gone back to I.H.O.S."

"...But we told him to wait right here-" Marik's sentence was stopped by a loud crash. He and his hikari turned to see Curt and another employee of McDonalds dragging another man in the front doors of the building.

Once they were inside, Marik turned to Malik, "I don't believe it."

"What?"

"Didn't you see it? That no-good, cow-killing freak stole our hobo!"

"...You sure that was Jim?"

"Well, duh! I just can't believe Curt stole him!"

"Come on, Marik." Malik tried to pull his yami towards their restaurant, "You'll see, Jim's going to be back at I.H.O.S, snuggling in the trash like he always is."