Peppermint Crushers

Chris runs through the darkness. Beyond the brick partition, the back of the shop has so little light that it appears to be more like the backstage of a play. More wooden shelves and displays are arranged haphazardly, some having fallen over and splintered into broken pieces all over the floor. Chris trips over some of the debris as he sprints past, tumbling hard to the ground.

Groaning and cursing, Chris climbs back to his feet. With a rustle of flapping wings, the plant creature lands on one of the upright shelves behind him. He stares at the monster, unsure of what to make of it. The creature watches him, concealed in the oppressive shadows. It's beady, crimson eye shines like a garnet in the low light. Chris backs away slowly, waiting for the creature to attack, but it just watches him patiently. As his eyes finally adjust to the lack of light, someone or something crosses in front of the light emanating from the confection shop. Startled, he turns and sprints further into the dark, trying to watch for anything that could trip him up again.

Chris sees a door at the back of the space. He runs to it, hoping and praying that it isn't locked or held shut by some supernatural power. In his hurry, he trips up again, slamming into the wall next to the door. He shakes his head, grabs the metal handle on the third try and with a violent twist and yank, throws the door open. Light blasts into the room, blinding Chris and undoubtedly revealing his location. He scrambles into the brightness, squinting behind him as he closes the door. Danielle stalks silently toward him, no more than twenty feet away, head tilted to shield her eyes with the brim of her hat.

Chris slams the door shut behind him, the sound echoing into the massive space that he has just now entered. Before him stands a massive warehouse, filled with row upon row of tall metal shelves, stocked with an unbelievable amount of candy and pastries. A constant rumbling noise can be heard, but the source of the noise is unknown. 

Chris breaks into a run over the flat and well-lit concrete floor, gunning for the first aisle he sees. His strong and steady pace are indicative of a practiced runner. The door opens behind him just as he finishes running down the first aisle. He turns and runs down a wider main thoroughfare perpendicular to the aisles, trying to keep himself hidden from Danielle's view.

Chris makes a series of left and right turns, working his way deep into the center of the seemingly endless warehouse. Just as he is starting to feel more confident about the situation, two things happen: First, he hears the sound of the plant creature overhead, tracking him from the air. As Chris turns to try and see where it's coming from, the rumbling noise intensifies. Second, a massive object rolls into the main aisle, completely blocking off the path. Unable to stop in time, Chris crashes into it. He rebounds off the flat, muscle-bound surface and falls back on his butt. 

A massive peppermint stands imperiously before Chris, as if a runaway monster truck wheel had just come to a halt right in front of him. The side of it has the same red and white spiral pattern as any other peppermint candy, but the surface is covered in veins and muscly bulges underneath a layer of thick skin, giving it an unsettlingly organic look. 

Chris recovers from the fall quickly and starts reversing back across the floor as fast as he can. The monster peppermint soundlessly turns toward him before rolling forward, generating the rumbling noise that echoes throughout the warehouse. Chris throws himself down an adjacent aisle just in time, the peppermint rolling past at speed. It can be heard rumbling down the main aisle before stopping and turning again. 

Chris climbs back to his feet, listening to the retreating noise. The peppermint rolls down an adjacent aisle, five or six from the one that he is standing in. It stops again. He imagines the massive wheel slowly pivoting, before the rumbling noise returns as it cruises down the main row ahead of him. He stares at the end of his aisle, where it intersects with the main avenue, knowing that the monster will be appearing there any second.

As the peppermint thunders closer and Chris finally sees its circular shape. He is expecting it to continue on its way, but it slows to a graceful stop. His unease starts to increase as the monster slowly pivots yet again, going from a massive circle to a relatively narrow band, like the phases of the moon. He now hopes that it's going to go in the other direction, down the next aisle up, but it starts rolling back towards him instead. Alarmed but feeling more confident about the monster's apparent movements, he calmly backs up into the main aisle behind him, where he had initially jumped out of the giant candy's way. 

Watching the behemoth rapidly approach, Chris clenches his sweaty palms and prepares to simply step out of the way. At the last second, however, the peppermint turns sharply toward him. He barely reacts in time, leaping out of the way, narrowly avoiding the toppling shelf that the monster knocked into during its abrupt turn. 

Chris lands hard on his side as the massive shelf smacks into the ground right next to him. The crunch of wood and glass is followed by an explosion of candy and cookies that scatter in every direction. A case of muffins spills next to Chris, sending the pastries rolling towards his prone form. However, when they connect with his body, it is not with the insignificant force of a tiny cake, but the powerful thump of a large can of soup. Chris yells out in alarm and pain. For the peppermint's part, ramming into the shelf causes it to ricochet at an angle, flying across the main aisle before slamming into another rack which also topples over from the insane force.

Groaning, Chris pushes himself up on his hands and knees, surrounded by a pool of 6-pound muffins. The closest one sits just between his outstretched arms. A little plastic sign is sticking out of the red frosting, simply stating "BOOM!" and the wrapper is patterned with cartoonish explosions. Sticking out of the side of the muffin is a metallic and very realistic looking grenade pin and striker release.

"You've got to be kidding me..." 

The peppermint rumbles into position behind him, preparing its next attack.