“Oh look baby, the price of gas is a whole dollar cheaper at that gas station! Pull in and top off.”

“Awe bay, it’s packed over there. It’s gonna take twenty minutes to just to get to the pump.”

“So what? The money we save right now pays for your lunch tomorrow. Don’t be so lazy!”

Ron reluctantly follows his wife’s request and pulls into the local Shell station to take advantage of the amazing deal on gasoline. The longer he waits the more and more aggravated he gets. The person directly in front of him is taking an abnormally long amount of time to fill up his small Prius. He also seems to be stroking the grip of the pump a little too awkwardly for Ron’s comfort. It was cold outside and the weird man had gloves on so he figured he was just trying to warm up his hand.

“Ron, when you finish pumping can you run inside and get me and Sophie some Icee’s?”

Ron’s truck was nearly on empty and taking forever to fill. The breeze shooting under the canopy was much colder than he anticipated. He notices his fingers and hand started to tingle and numb from the frigidity. Once he is done, he goes inside to get the drinks. As he was pouring he started feeling a violent tingling sensation crawl up his arm at an alarming pace. When he pulls up his sleeve he notices several red vein-like streaks bulging up passed his wrists toward his shoulders. As the streaks hit his neck and carotid artery he begins to feel like his blood is boiling within him. Wave after wave of crimson blood begins to spray out of his mouth and nose, hitting the entire line of customers at the counter. As he slowly stumbles out of the store he can hear screams and sounds of vomiting behind him.

Ron finally makes it to his car and his wife opens the door in a panic to see what was wrong with her husband. As he falls within her grip and into the car, she notices his skin slides off his muscles as though it were poached in boiling water. He sprays the last of his bloody bile over her and their terrified daughter in the back seat. As he sags away through her arms, she sees dozens of patrons suffering similar fates all over the gas station lot. The domino effect was unmistakable. So were the red veins protruding from Sophie’s neck and the boiling sensation in her own chest.