It has not been the same since Brandon's wife Pamela died after giving birth to their little son Thomas Ian McMasters (b. 1998). Brandon was a single dad raising his son, trying to make ends meet, and finding a new woman who would not only be his new lover, but a mommy for his little boy. Brandon had been working at McDonald's since he was 16, and had dreamed of rising to the ranks of assistant manager. Maybe perhaps today was the day? Summer was already here and this meant that every single girl of Myrtle Beach would be there, especially the ones during the summer break, vacationing, as well. The atmosphere of this McDonald's was pretty cheerful and laid back despite it being one of the most busiest days ever. It was a hot, sunny summer afternoon, a clear bright blue sky overhead, making it very idyllic and pleasant. This felt like the opening to an ABC Family special, and the only thing missing was the logo in the corner and a camera crew inside the restaurant. One thing you should know about this particular Mickey D's that Brandon works in. Despite it being built in 1990, the interior was up to date and modernized. Because this was a local McDonald's, Brandon had discussed with the manager about reviving some of the old classics that used to be sold during the early 80s and 90s. Well, hey, there are some McDonald's across the states and all over the world that still serve classic items as well as food that no one had never been told of. There are a total of 33, 000 restaurants in over 118 countries on six continents. Now that's a lot of burger!
The manager, David Barnes, had known Brandon since he was 25-years-old and has more of a father/son relationship with him than employer/employee. His son also calls Mr. Barnes Uncle Davie, because Brandon considered his boss to be a part of his family. Mr. Barnes was an average height, burly-looking stout black man in his late 60s that bared a strong resemblance to late actor James Baskett. Mr. Barnes was optimistic, cheerful, and grandfatherly to his employees and the customers that came into the Golden Arches. Maybe that's why everyone who were employed always looked forward to coming in to work. During break, while Brandon was having lunch, Mr. Barnes approached him and said in a very soft-spoken, pleasant tone: "Hey, Brandon. Soon as you get done, will you come to my office? I have some exciting news for you, buddy."
"Yes, sir." Brandon replied, eating a sandwich and bag of chips he had gotten from Jimmy John's.
What could this exciting news be? He thought.
A few minutes later, Brandon went to Mr. Barnes' office.
"Have a nice lunch, Brandon?" Mr. Barnes asked, smiling. The boss had a look on his face like he had just won the lottery, smiling ear to ear.
"Sure did, sir. So, what's the good news?"
"Ah, I'm glad you asked that, my boy." Mr. Barnes replied. He reached into a little fridge he kept in his office and offered Brandon an A&W.
"Want one?"
"Thanks." he popped the top of his A&W, taking a drink.
"I went over what you said, and given it much consideration. We're gonna put some of the 80s and 90s items on the menu!"
"Really?!" Brandon asked, he was very ecstatic.
"Yep, and also..."
"Also...?"
"I am making you... Assistant... MANAGER!" Mr. Barnes exclaimed, smiling.
Brandon was like a kid in a candy store when Mr. Barnes announced he was making him his assistant. In the event something ever happened to David, God forbid, Brandon would take his place as manager, but Mr. Barnes is not going anywhere anytime soon. Brandon high-fived his boss and the two shared a buddy hug. Mr. Barnes told everyone towards the end of closing time to take tomorrow off because a new pizza oven was going to be installed. During the night, other than the installation of the pizza oven, there was also going to be a new updated menu with the classic items, as well as those that were discontinued in the mid 90s, the McStuffins included. The McDLT was going to be featured in a clear, plastic container and not Styrofoam that caused environmental anxiety in the mid 1980s. This would be similar to the packaging that Ruby Tuesday and Chik-Fil-A has as of now. Mr. Barnes gave Brandon his check for the week and said to take Friday and the weekend off. Brandon graciously accepted and left for the day.
"You have really made my day, Mr. Barnes. No, screw that, you made my day better!"
"See you next week, son!"
Before leaving, Brandon took a few sandwiches and other Dollar Menu items home for him and his son to have for tonight and over the next few days. On his way home, Brandon stopped at the A&P grocery store him and his parents always went to when he was a child. It was a few blocks away from his home, and this made it really easy to get to. He turned on the seat warmer of his car to keep the food he got from McDonald's warm, and took his son inside to shop. After getting almost a month's supply of groceries for him and his son, Brandon went home. Right next door to Brandon lived a young 20-something woman-- Lindsay Jackson. She was really sweet, always checked on Brandon and his son and was there for him as a friend when his wife passed away. So in a way, Brandon was not alone. In his heart, he knew that "more than just friends" was waiting just around the bend.
"Hey, Brandon! How was your day?" Lindsay asked, sweetly. She offered to help Brandon carry some of his groceries into his place.
"Been pretty busy today. Boss let me off around lunch time today. What about you?" Brandon asked, getting a few bags in one hand and opening the door. His son followed him.
"I'll get the door for you, Pop." Tom said.
"Thanks, buddy." Brandon said, taking a few groceries in with him. Lindsay came inside and helped put his stuff away. His son followed suit.
"Wow, you got a cool boss. My day was so/so. Normally things don't go wrong at Baby Oshkosh, but some mother brought her bratty, snot-nosed child in there and the kid started to make a scene, and that gave me a headache. And normally, I don't have any problems with kids, but this one really took the cake. Your son is a little sweetie. If there were more kids in the world like him, Brandon, it would be a much better place." Lindsay said.
"You're very sweet. Tommy's my little man." Brandon said fondly, smiling.
"I can see why..." Lindsay said softly, sweetly, "just like his daddy."
Lindsay placed a kiss on Brandon's lips, as if to say "I think we should definitely be more than friends."
"So are you free tomorrow?" Brandon asked, putting the last of his groceries up.
"Soon as I get off, you and I can catch a movie." Lindsay replied.
"My mother can take care of Tommy." Brandon said.
"Great. So I'll see you tomorrow?" Lindsay asked.
"I'll pick you up."
"See you at 4:00 tomorrow, Brandon. Bye, Tommy!" Lindsay said cheerfully, smiling.
After Brandon and his son had their McDonald's dollar menu dinner, Brandon flipped through the channels on his TV until he came across an episode of Spongebob Squarepants. This was not only his favorite cartoon, but his son's as well. During their father/son time and laughing their heads off to the Spongebob cartoon, a commercial for the Ronald McDonald House came on. If you are familiar with the Ronald McDonald House, it is a home located through out the United States and the rest of the world where families who have an ill or seriously-injured child can stay at for the time being until the child is fully recovered. This does not deprive the kid of the support of his mom and dad and they have all the comfort they need. The commercial was very simple. It featured very gentle piano music playing, with a montage of different families, various nationalities, giving their testimonials about the Ronald McDonald House and the charity. The soft-spoken female announcer for the commercial made it sound like a safe haven for families and their children to stay at, ensuring safety and well-being... or so it seemed. Tommy looked back to his father and asked...
"What's the Ronald McDonald House, daddy?"
"Well, son," Brandon said, "the Ronald McDonald House is a special place where mommies and daddies bring their children who are sick or have been injured to stay until their child is all better. From what I saw on the Internet, the interior of the Ronald McDonald House looked very cozy."
"Is it fun, daddy?"
"Plenty of stuff for a child like you to play with. But since you're not hurt or sick, you don't have to worry about going there, kiddo. I have heard, however, that Uncle Davie and some of my co-workers are gonna pay a visit. You know, to visit some of the kids and their families, and appear in a commercial."
"Can I come with you?" Tommy asked softly.
"Of course, son. You can see your ol' man in action."
"Cool!" Tommy exclaimed happily.
The following night, Brandon and Lindsay went to the movies to see "Blade: Trinity" while Tommy spent the night with his grandmother. Ronda McMasters was a very sweet woman of 58, she was always there for Brandon and his son. Brandon's father, Gregory, left his mother when Brandon was still a baby. So she had to raise Brandon herself. She was more than a mother to Brandon, she was his best friend and rock. Brandon loved her with all his heart. He knew his mother would do anything in the world for him, no matter how disastrous the consequences were. During his stint at McDonald's, he considered Mr. Barnes more of a father than his birth father, and he wouldn't have it any other way. Next week, Brandon and his crew were heading to the Ronald McDonald House in Myrtle Beach... how bad could it be?
As a bright midday sun washed over the city of Myrtle Beach, Brandon, Mr. Barnes, Tommy and company were going to see the Ronald McDonald House and appear in the commercial with the other families and children of the Ronald McDonald House. So, from what Brandon and his boss heard, they thought everything was gonna be running smooth and they'd earn a check for appearing. Once the van appeared outside, one thing that bothered Mr. Barnes was... there was no camera crew, no families, no children, no equipment visible. Maybe they were late or they arrived too early?
"What the hell is this?" Mr. Barnes asked suspiciously. He noticed the outside of the Ronald McDonald House. It looked rundown, abandoned, derelict, fragments of very old green and orange paint partially visible on the outside of the structure, just like a very old billboard that started to weather away from neglect. The doors at the entrance looked very disheartening and threatening, showing the metal to be oxidized and giving the appearance of a maximum security state prison than a Ronald McDonald House. Something just wasn't right.
"This ain't a Ronald McDonald House." one employee said, confused.
"Maybe they gave us the wrong address?" Brandon added. There was no mailbox outside. No sign baring Ronald McDonald's hand holding hands with a small child. No reassuring sounds of parents talking and little children playing. Nothing. It was very dreary and depressing.
"No, they gave us the correct address." another employee said.
"Let me see that." Brandon said, flabbergasted. He mumbled to himself as he read the address. "Yep, this is it. Tommy, stay close to me, okay?"
Brandon and company stepped out of the van and into what looked like the Ronald McDonald house. Maybe it was nicer inside? Old buildings that were built during the second World War have a reputation of looking shitty on the outside, but where very nice and well-maintained on the inside. So maybe this building was built during World War II and was used as the Ronald McDonald House site. The inside of the building was not very pleasant. Behind the doors were pictures on the wall telling of the Ronald McDonald House, and stands for periodicals like the Myrtle Beach Herald and the Classifieds sat, collecting dust. Some of the articles of the Myrtle Beach Herald were outdated. The floor tilings that were once a beautiful mixture of yellow and white were now dirty, and the smell of drywall and very old piss and b.o. lingered in the air.
Compare that to opening your closet after you had not given it time to air out and you get that very musty smell to it. It was ten times worse than that. As Brandon, Mr. Barnes, Tommy, and the rest of Brandon's fellow McDonald's employees walked past the doors, they noticed a very long corridor stretching to a receptionist area. Seated was a man in a business suit with short red hair and a goat-e. But the weird thing about it was, the man's hair looked just like Ronald McDonald. Coincidence? Hardly. Mr. Barnes approached the man, announcing they were to appear in a commercial.
"Ah, yes. Mr. David Barnes," the man said, "you are indeed scheduled to appear in a commercial for Ronald McDonald House today. Just sign your names right here and have a seat in the waiting area."
"Where is everyone?" Brandon asked. Again, something didn't seem right, and Brandon didn't like the looks of this. He took the rubber band
that was holding his long blond hair back in a ponytail off, and went to sit down.
"Some of the families are in the quiet room while others are with their children in the play room." the man said.
"Have you let them know we're here?"
"Yes, sir. They will be out here shortly. Oh, Mr. McMasters, we only need the employees appearing in the commercial. Not the manager."
"And what the hell is that suppose to mean?!" Mr. Barnes protested.
"I'm sorry, sir. We're only gonna be showing the employees in the commercial. You can wait outside."
"But Brandon was promoted to assistant manager, damn it! What's this got to do with me?"
"It doesn't matter. You are gonna have to wait in your vehicle."
"Son of a bitch." Mr. Barnes muttered. The male receptionist telling Mr. Barnes couldn't appear in the commercial struck Barnes as weird. From the look on the man's face. It didn't have to do with him being African American, but almost as if he knew something about this place.
While the rest of the team were waiting for the camera crew to appear and to shoot the commercial with the families of this place, Brandon decided to go with his son in the one of the play rooms to spend time together. There were several little children with their mommies and daddies in the room, and a young lady with the same red hair the receptionist had, but dressed up like Ronald McDonald and cheerfully attending to the parents and kids. A few minutes later, Brandon says to his son that he has to go to the bathroom and that he will return.
"Ma'am, will you watch my son for me?" Brandon asked the female Ronald McDonald staff member.
"Of course, sir." She said nicely.
Despite the outside of the building looking like complete shit on the outside and stinking to high heaven in the foyer, it had the amenities of a five-star hotel, with surprisingly a very clean men's room that smelled like sweet cinnamon. After doing his business and washing his hands, Brandon returned to the play area hoping to see his son still with the other little children and families. But he was not there... and neither were some of his fellow employees.
"Ma'am" Brandon said to the female Ronald McDonald staff member he spoke to earlier, "have you seen my son?"
"Sir, you just came with your employees and manager." The staff member insisted.
Brandon chuckled in a confused manner, thinking the staff member was joking.
"You clearly saw me with my son, we signed the register at the front desk." Brandon stated, thinking this was a prank he didn't find at all amusing.
"You never had a child with you when you came in, Mr. McMasters."
"Are you high? I said I came in with my son, damn it."
"Sir, calm down."
"Calm down, my ass. Where is my son?" Brandon demanded.
The other families and children in this play area paid no mind to Brandon nor took no notice of him distressing over his son missing, or even cared. They just continued to play with their children, acting like nothing bad is happening.
"Sir, you didn't have a child when you came in. Now settle down." a security guard barked.
Brandon grabbed the uniformed guard who was also looked like Ronald McDonald by the collar and pinned him against the wall, speaking through clinched teeth: "I came in here with my son, goddamn it, how can you say I didn't?! I SIGNED THE FUCKING REGISTER!" He punched the guard in the stomach, knocking him to the ground. He took the guest registry very angrily and said: "YOU SEE MY NAME IN THE REGISTER?! I SIGNED IT! SO DID MY SON!"
"You only signed your name, sir, along with your employees." one of the other staff members insisted.
What the hell was going on here? This was feeling like the Twilight Zone. Brandon flipped through the registry and saw other names of the families and children signed, his employee's and manager's, and his owns... but not his son's. It was almost as if he never existed.
"WHERE THE HELL IS MY SON?!" Brandon screamed.
The receptionist tried to get Brandon to settle down and threatened to have him thrown out of the building if he continued, but Brandon picked up the pin that was next to where the guest book was and stabbed the Ronald McDonald-esque receptionist in his right shoulder blade and sat off to look for his son. Doctors, nurses, security guards, and other staff members that were all wearing Ronald McDonald makeup and sported red hair chased after him, but they didn't take into consideration that Brandon was a fighter. During high school, Brandon got into lots of fights with bullies, and since there wasn't a teacher to do a damn thing about it, he had to fend for himself and kick ass. One of the nurses tried to sedate Brandon, but Brandon slammed her wrist against a wall, knocking the needle out of her hand and to yelp in pain. Some of the security guards try to beat Brandon with a billy club, but Brandon caught the guard's arm with his hand, and with much strength he could gather, whacked the guard in the chin and disarmed him. Brandon beat those that were trying to catch him to a bloody pulp, causing one of the doctors' brains skulls to cave in as a result of the beating from the billy club. Brandon saw the guard he beat up laying on the floor dead... the others around him were unconscious. He took the keys that were on the dead guard's belt and took his pistol that was already loaded. The receptionist tried to make a bee line for Brandon, but was shot dead.
Brandon walked past a row of doors that looked like they should've been in a psychiatric hospital for the criminally insane and saw some of the families that were "going to appear in the commercial" in straight jackets, some of them acting very crazy, some of them sedated, you get the idea. As he walked passed this chamber of insane horrors, he came across a door that said "Authorized Personnel Only." Whatever was behind that door must've been a pretty big secret. He opened the door with the dead guard's keys and came into what looked like a very sterile area, resembling that of a hospital corridor. The floors looked like they were waxed, giving off a divine gleam. A blast of cold air lingered and was a special treat that greeted him. The light fixtures were mainly fluorescent lights secured with a frosted plastic cover put in place over the bulbs. In the hallway of this room was a drink machine, snack machine, and a cylindrical garbage can in the corner. The hum of the snack and drink machine killed the silence, and was welcoming change to all the brutal cacophony that Brandon was subjected to earlier. There was a door marked "Not an Exit." Beyond that was a power generator room, various generators humming and rumbling, complete with a fuse box and fire alarm. Brandon walked in and noticed nothing out of the ordinary, except... In the corner of this room was a message scrawled on the wall in hot pink lipstick: YOU SHOULDVE LEFT WELL ENOUGH ALONE. Below the message was the lipstick case that looked used, and the purse remaining undisturbed. Did this belong to a female McDonald's employee that was kidnapped and brought here against her will? Brandon walked out of the room quickly, trying to brush off the message he saw. But it wasn't a message... it was... a warning.
At the far end of the hallway was a crimson door. This attracted the attention of Brandon and stirred his curiosity. What could possibly be hidden behind this door? The parking garage? A way to get out of here? Tools that belonged to staff members when they were doing renovations? No. As Brandon entered, the light from the hallway partially shone on a white stained floor. He couldn't see anything very well because it was pitch black and the light from the hallway was not enough to illuminate this windowless room. But he did see what looked like various gardening tools on the wall. As he fumbled for a light switch, he felt his foot step on something wet, and nearly slipped, but he managed to catch himself. The minute he turned on the light, the lights overhead began to flicker to life revealing a very ghastly, graphic sight. This looked like a mash-up of a morgue, operating room, and a slaughter house. Various knives and other deadly instruments hung on the wall, stained with fresh to dry blood. As Brandon was surveying the rest of the room, he came across a table that had a lifeless child laying on it. Murdered. Blood drained from his body. His heart sunk and tears formed in his eyes when he realized who it was. It was his little son... Tommy. Brandon wailed at the sight of his child who was viciously and unremorsefully slaughtered. What sick bastard would do this to a child, let alone his own son?! The people at this so-called Ronald McDonald House were herding unsuspecting children to their deaths and making the parents believe their child never existed. These sick fucks, whoever they were, needed to be put out of their misery.
Brandon heard distant footsteps approaching. He knew some of the staff members were after him. But he had to act fast. In an adjacent room, he saw many children that were kidnapped, tied up, and ready to be slaughtered. As the footsteps grew closers, Brandon untied the children, rushed them out of the emergency exit that lead through this disgusting slaughterhouse room and into the parking garage. When all the children ran away to safety, Brandon picked up one of the chainsaws that somehow still had fuel in it, dumped the gasoline on the floor, and took a disposable lighter he had in his pocket in case he or a friend of his wanted a smoke during break and lit a trail... letting the building burn.
He tied the door handles of the emergency exit with a fire hose he pulled from an emergency hose box that fire fighters would use in case of a fire and ran to the ground floor to safety. Police arrived that evening to bring the children back home safely. The fate of Mr. Barnes is unknown, it is presumed he escaped or was killed by the staff members... if he escaped... pray that he is alive...
Ten years later, the same McDonald's that Brandon worked at... that he became a part of, that he grew to love... abandoned. Boarded up.
Inside, Brandon has still not gotten over the death of his son and his very sanity snaps. In a bathroom, he begins dying his hair with a mixture of red and black streaks... his former self now simply non-existent. But he still remembers those he loves... his boss Mr. Barnes, his lover Lindsay... he has no reason to hurt any of them... or children. You know how Ronald McDonald is loved by many kids? So was Brandon, and he still is, even if he has lost his sanity. The Ronald McDonald clown outfit that hung in the mascot's room was now being put to use for him. It was not gonna feature the cute big red shoes with yellow laces, but red and black killer boots similar to what WWE's Gangrel wears. Anyone who tries to sue the Golden Arches for obesity and health problems, or simply cross him, he will be the last thing they ever see. It's not the food that will kill you, it is he that will kill you. The Mickey D's Monster promises: "We love to see you suffer..." Thus sayeth Ronald McStalker...