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I got a flier for a sale for a grocery store, something isn’t right about it.
A new flier came in the mail, I opened it up and started to read. I couldn't believe my eyes. “Hey, hun, come look at this,” I said, pointing towards a section of the grocery store flier. “Look how cheap these things are on this sale, $0.49 for two cans of spaghetti sauce! There must have been a printing error!” I exclaimed. Printed in large, bold letters at the top of the page, read “McCeaser Family Grocery.” “Never heard of that place,” I thought to myself. “Look here, two packs of spaghetti noodles for $0.50!” my wife, Clare, stated. I peered up from the flier and gazed at Clare’s face, grinning ear to ear. “Spaghetti for dinner tonight?” I said. “Yes, please,” she responded with a grin. I peered toward my watch. It read 9:35 am. I finished my coffee and put on my jacket when Clare called out “Safe Driving, Lee!”. “Don’t worry, I'm not in a rush, they are open all day!” I exclaimed back. I opened the door and headed out
I got into my car and turned the key. I glanced at the flier again to find the store's address. “1180 HWY 32”. I typed it into Google Maps. The location looked like an old, abandoned Wal-Mart about an hour and 45 minutes away. I live in a small town called Mackinaw City, Michigan, and the store is in Alpena, Michigan. I put my car in reverse and started my journey onto Highway 32. Everything was fine until about an hour in. Stretched as far as I could see was the biggest line of traffic I have ever seen. The word about the flier must have gotten out fast! I let out a moan of frustration and started to scroll through social media, moving every 2 minutes or so. Finally, around 11:15 am, The traffic began to clear. As I approached Alpena, I noticed that almost every car that was a part of the traffic jam was turning right onto Highway 23. “Weird, I thought they were heading to the store as well,” I thought. I continued on my journey. I watched the trees slowly fade into buildings as I approached Alpena.
I stared at the billboard outside of the store as I approached it. I flicked on my blinker and turned into the parking lot. The lot was surprisingly empty, only housing around 5-6 cars. I backed into the closest spot to the door and shut the car off. I stepped out and took a deep breath of the fresh air, stretching my legs. I peered towards the store windows and paused. 4 cashiers were staring at me, smiling through the window. I anxiously smiled and gave them a slight wave. No reaction. My smile faded. I popped open the trunk, grabbed a few reusable bags, and headed inside.
As the sliding doors opened a little chime played over the store's PA system followed by a woman’s voice. “Welcome to McCeaser Family Grocery! We hope you enjoy your shopping experience!”. I grabbed a cart out of the receptacle and started to browse the aisles. I realized that there were no price tags on anything so I went up to the front to grab a flyer. I didn't see any in the baskets so I asked an employee. It was a young woman, mid-20s. She was looking completely straight, with a huge painful-looking smile. “Uh, hey there can I have a flyer please”. She ignored me. “Uhm… Excuse me? Can I have a flyer?”. She turned to look at me, her eyes terrified me. They looked empty, soul-less even. I began to stutter my words out of fear “Uh, do you- uh”. Without saying a word or breaking eye contact she picked up a flyer from underneath her counter and handed it to me. “Uh, th-thanks”. I took a deep breath and walked away, peering behind me to see her still staring.
I started to calm down as I shopped. I was texting my wife about the weird employees but they weren't going through. I decided to give her a call to ask her about what spaghetti sauce to buy. I typed in her number and put the phone up to my ear. It rang 2-3 times when Clare answered. “Hey babe, how's it going!” She said. “Uhh, not too bad I guess, anyway, what kind of sauce do you want me to buy? They have Garlic, Regular, Spicy-” As I peered at the different sauces I caught an employee out of the corner of my eye. It was an older man. He didn't match the rest of the employees I have seen. This man was frowning, he looked really unhappy. He was at the other end of the aisle, about 20 feet away, Staring at me. I froze. I started to get creeped out when I heard Clare in my ear. “Hello? Lee? Are you there?”. I snapped out of my trance and looked back at the shelf. “Uh, yeah, hello? Sorry some guy is staring- never mind, he’s gone” I said, anxiously. “What do you mean, are you ok Lee?” she said in a worried tone. “Yeah, I'm good, anyway what kind of sauce do you want?” I said. “Uhhh, let's try the garlic one! That's the flavor my mom always uses!” she said. “Her spaghetti is the best! I'm gonna grab a bunch so we have them,” I said, excitedly. “Good idea! I’ll see you later hun, be safe!” she said. “Love you, bye” I ended the call. I peered back up to where the man was and looked back down at my cart.
I took another deep breath and started to push the cart when the PA chimed again. “Customers, please keep all devices off at all times to avoid interference with our PA system, thank you!”. This was starting to get weird. I need to grab a few more things and get the hell out of here. I continued through the aisles when I received a text from Clare. “What store did you say you were at again?” it read. I replied, “McCeaser Family Grocery, why?” there was a short pause before she typed again, “It says online that it closed down 2 years ago.” I froze. My heart started beating out of my chest. I looked up to see a man enter my aisle, pushing a cart full of items, smiling. To get checked out I had to pass him. I started to approach, my heart beating faster every step I took. “These prices are amazing!” The man said. He had a slight British accent and sounded like a droid. “Uhh, uhm, yea” My heart was in my throat. The man stared at me for a moment and spoke again “Do you own a mobile device, if so you should shut it off to ensure you are following the McCeaser Family Grocery terms.” I didn't know what to say. I was frozen. His smile slowly started to fade into a frown. I began to continue toward the store counter when he said something from behind me “Rule Breaker… you are a rule breaker Lee.” I whipped my head around as fast as I could. The man was gone, his cart, frozen where he was standing. Another chime played throughout the store, this time a note deeper. “Attention customers, the store will be closing on May 20th, 2022, You have about Negative 2 years until we close. Everything must go! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, you, you, LEE IS A RULE BREAKER, LEE IS A RULE BREAKER”. I gasped and looked around frantically.
At that moment every employee started to walk towards me, never breaking their gaze. On their faces, a frown, tears streaming from their eyes. All of them were repeating the same thing “The store is closing, The store is closing” I pushed the cart into the closest one which made him topple like a mannequin. I sprinted out of the store and jumped in my car. I was shaking badly and freaking out so I dropped the keys on the floor of my car. I bent over to pick them up. As I got back up and turned the key half of the employees were now surrounding my car. At my driver's side window was the lady who gave me the flyer. She started to lean back from the waist and began slamming her head into the window, cracking it. I put the car into gear and slammed on the gas pedal, sending a few of them flying. I looked in my rearview mirror as I drove away. All the employees were staring at me, smiling once again. Slowly, they began to turn around and walk back into the store, never breaking their gaze with me.
I went 30 over the whole way home. The highway was empty, my heart didn't stop racing until I was home. When I pulled into the driveway I didn't even want to get out thinking that one could be still attached to my car. My wife came out to greet me and help bring in the groceries I didn't have. I jumped out of the car and latched onto her, sobbing. “What's wrong? Lee? What happened?” she said, worried. We went inside and I told her everything. Surprisingly, she believed me. This happened about 2 weeks ago and I'm still struggling to sleep at night. I have done everything in my power to find information about this grocery store but nothing is coming up. I can't even find the flyer I originally had. Clare said she left it on the kitchen counter and didn't touch it. I'm not sure what happened to me or who those people- Things are but I took one thing away from this whole experience. If it’s too good to be true, it probably is.
#entertainment
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A new flier came in the mail, I opened it up and started to read. I couldn't believe my eyes. “Hey, hun, come look at this,” I said, pointing towards a section of the grocery store flier. “Look how cheap these things are on this sale, $0.49 for two cans of spaghetti sauce! There must have been a printing error!” I exclaimed. Printed in large, bold letters at the top of the page, read “McCeaser Family Grocery.” “Never heard of that place,” I thought to myself. “Look here, two packs of spaghetti noodles for $0.50!” my wife, Clare, stated. I peered up from the flier and gazed at Clare’s face, grinning ear to ear. “Spaghetti for dinner tonight?” I said. “Yes, please,” she responded with a grin. I peered toward my watch. It read 9:35 am. I finished my coffee and put on my jacket when Clare called out “Safe Driving, Lee!”. “Don’t worry, I'm not in a rush, they are open all day!” I exclaimed back. I opened the door and headed out
I got into my car and turned the key. I glanced at the flier again to find the store's address. “1180 HWY 32”. I typed it into Google Maps. The location looked like an old, abandoned Wal-Mart about an hour and 45 minutes away. I live in a small town called Mackinaw City, Michigan, and the store is in Alpena, Michigan. I put my car in reverse and started my journey onto Highway 32. Everything was fine until about an hour in. Stretched as far as I could see was the biggest line of traffic I have ever seen. The word about the flier must have gotten out fast! I let out a moan of frustration and started to scroll through social media, moving every 2 minutes or so. Finally, around 11:15 am, The traffic began to clear. As I approached Alpena, I noticed that almost every car that was a part of the traffic jam was turning right onto Highway 23. “Weird, I thought they were heading to the store as well,” I thought. I continued on my journey. I watched the trees slowly fade into buildings as I approached Alpena.
I stared at the billboard outside of the store as I approached it. I flicked on my blinker and turned into the parking lot. The lot was surprisingly empty, only housing around 5-6 cars. I backed into the closest spot to the door and shut the car off. I stepped out and took a deep breath of the fresh air, stretching my legs. I peered towards the store windows and paused. 4 cashiers were staring at me, smiling through the window. I anxiously smiled and gave them a slight wave. No reaction. My smile faded. I popped open the trunk, grabbed a few reusable bags, and headed inside.
As the sliding doors opened a little chime played over the store's PA system followed by a woman’s voice. “Welcome to McCeaser Family Grocery! We hope you enjoy your shopping experience!”. I grabbed a cart out of the receptacle and started to browse the aisles. I realized that there were no price tags on anything so I went up to the front to grab a flyer. I didn't see any in the baskets so I asked an employee. It was a young woman, mid-20s. She was looking completely straight, with a huge painful-looking smile. “Uh, hey there can I have a flyer please”. She ignored me. “Uhm… Excuse me? Can I have a flyer?”. She turned to look at me, her eyes terrified me. They looked empty, soul-less even. I began to stutter my words out of fear “Uh, do you- uh”. Without saying a word or breaking eye contact she picked up a flyer from underneath her counter and handed it to me. “Uh, th-thanks”. I took a deep breath and walked away, peering behind me to see her still staring.
I started to calm down as I shopped. I was texting my wife about the weird employees but they weren't going through. I decided to give her a call to ask her about what spaghetti sauce to buy. I typed in her number and put the phone up to my ear. It rang 2-3 times when Clare answered. “Hey babe, how's it going!” She said. “Uhh, not too bad I guess, anyway, what kind of sauce do you want me to buy? They have Garlic, Regular, Spicy-” As I peered at the different sauces I caught an employee out of the corner of my eye. It was an older man. He didn't match the rest of the employees I have seen. This man was frowning, he looked really unhappy. He was at the other end of the aisle, about 20 feet away, Staring at me. I froze. I started to get creeped out when I heard Clare in my ear. “Hello? Lee? Are you there?”. I snapped out of my trance and looked back at the shelf. “Uh, yeah, hello? Sorry some guy is staring- never mind, he’s gone” I said, anxiously. “What do you mean, are you ok Lee?” she said in a worried tone. “Yeah, I'm good, anyway what kind of sauce do you want?” I said. “Uhhh, let's try the garlic one! That's the flavor my mom always uses!” she said. “Her spaghetti is the best! I'm gonna grab a bunch so we have them,” I said, excitedly. “Good idea! I’ll see you later hun, be safe!” she said. “Love you, bye” I ended the call. I peered back up to where the man was and looked back down at my cart.
I took another deep breath and started to push the cart when the PA chimed again. “Customers, please keep all devices off at all times to avoid interference with our PA system, thank you!”. This was starting to get weird. I need to grab a few more things and get the hell out of here. I continued through the aisles when I received a text from Clare. “What store did you say you were at again?” it read. I replied, “McCeaser Family Grocery, why?” there was a short pause before she typed again, “It says online that it closed down 2 years ago.” I froze. My heart started beating out of my chest. I looked up to see a man enter my aisle, pushing a cart full of items, smiling. To get checked out I had to pass him. I started to approach, my heart beating faster every step I took. “These prices are amazing!” The man said. He had a slight British accent and sounded like a droid. “Uhh, uhm, yea” My heart was in my throat. The man stared at me for a moment and spoke again “Do you own a mobile device, if so you should shut it off to ensure you are following the McCeaser Family Grocery terms.” I didn't know what to say. I was frozen. His smile slowly started to fade into a frown. I began to continue toward the store counter when he said something from behind me “Rule Breaker… you are a rule breaker Lee.” I whipped my head around as fast as I could. The man was gone, his cart, frozen where he was standing. Another chime played throughout the store, this time a note deeper. “Attention customers, the store will be closing on May 20th, 2022, You have about Negative 2 years until we close. Everything must go! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, you, you, LEE IS A RULE BREAKER, LEE IS A RULE BREAKER”. I gasped and looked around frantically.
At that moment every employee started to walk towards me, never breaking their gaze. On their faces, a frown, tears streaming from their eyes. All of them were repeating the same thing “The store is closing, The store is closing” I pushed the cart into the closest one which made him topple like a mannequin. I sprinted out of the store and jumped in my car. I was shaking badly and freaking out so I dropped the keys on the floor of my car. I bent over to pick them up. As I got back up and turned the key half of the employees were now surrounding my car. At my driver's side window was the lady who gave me the flyer. She started to lean back from the waist and began slamming her head into the window, cracking it. I put the car into gear and slammed on the gas pedal, sending a few of them flying. I looked in my rearview mirror as I drove away. All the employees were staring at me, smiling once again. Slowly, they began to turn around and walk back into the store, never breaking their gaze with me.
I went 30 over the whole way home. The highway was empty, my heart didn't stop racing until I was home. When I pulled into the driveway I didn't even want to get out thinking that one could be still attached to my car. My wife came out to greet me and help bring in the groceries I didn't have. I jumped out of the car and latched onto her, sobbing. “What's wrong? Lee? What happened?” she said, worried. We went inside and I told her everything. Surprisingly, she believed me. This happened about 2 weeks ago and I'm still struggling to sleep at night. I have done everything in my power to find information about this grocery store but nothing is coming up. I can't even find the flyer I originally had. Clare said she left it on the kitchen counter and didn't touch it. I'm not sure what happened to me or who those people- Things are but I took one thing away from this whole experience. If it’s too good to be true, it probably is.
#entertainment
source
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