Isaiah
Appearances
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
And I don't really like personify it that much, but it's funny that it means so much to me. It's impossible not to. Anyway, yeah, this story. So you talking about being a psychic and whatnot? Her voice.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
I'll reread that line since you were seeing visions from the heavens. Yeah, I fucked it up. Normally I would be like, it's okay, but I think you should feel sorry for this one in particular. Her voice had reduced me to a teenage version. What? Jesus Christ. Oh, I don't know. Oh, my gosh. My eyesight was way off. I read Teenager again and Visions.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Shut up. Shut up. Her voice had reduced me to a teenager again. Visions of her watering her flowers and walking her dog occupied my mind for the rest of the evening. There. Is that better? That's good. Okay. I'm going to get... Who's the other guys I can sell you for? Flash gets. I'll do it with me, I'm sure.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Polina was in her front yard in the morning, meticulously tending to a healthy bed of flowers. She smiled from a crouched-over position, her golden hair adding to the splashes of flourishing color. Tulips, sunflowers, and geraniums were spread thick across the lawn like a rainbow nestled in a sky of green.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
We exchanged waves, her mouth open and ready for conversation, just as the back gate swung open.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
all at once they were upon her in an orchestrated attack concentrated streams of water blasted out of the barrel of their oh oh it's kids it's kids with water guns okay i was i saw that coming up like did she get swatted like i kind of like that though he's like he's like fucking turning this into a like boondock saint scene with water guns
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
All at once, they were upon her in an orchestrated attack. Concentrated streams of water blasted out the barrel of their guns. She let out a wail, covering her face from the attack. Her white tank top was now see-through, drenched by the precision of trained killers. The shooters, her two sons and husband, Keith, giggling at the scene of the crime as her pleas for mercy went unanswered.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
I kept walking. Hey Mark. I waved to the group. A couple of the waiting staff were huddled together in front of the stairs that led into the restaurant. It was their ceremonious drag of nicotine before the chaos. Friday nights were always a gong show, and this one was sure to be no exception. One of the busboys, Dwayne, was wearing a vexed look on his face, more so than usual.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Aproil. It's AP Royal. It's like his initials. AP Royal. Aproil. Or you just say Aproil. Aproil. Sure. Aproil. Aproil. So Aproil has his own website. He seems to be a very prolific author on boards like No Sleep and stuff like that. There's a bunch of stories. And...
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
After his puff, he warned. Silva's looking for you, man.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
From the outside, you could never tell Azalea's was a restaurant. It looked more like a cellar with cracked cement stairs that led down into a basement. That was Silva's vision all along, to be a hidden gem in the rough. Walk in thinking the place was a dump, walk out pleasantly surprised.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
It was the psychology of the food industry, and this element of surprise seemed to be essential for fine dining. Azalea's was the height of exclusivity. Not just anyone could stumble in. In order to keep up this allure, speaking about the restaurant in any capacity was strictly prohibited. Staff were never allowed to dine in. We were servants, not clientele. Not that any of us could afford it.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
The menu items never seemed to reference a price, which always signaled trouble. But from the bills I'd hand out at the end of every meal, the numbers were always staggering. It was clear Azalea's was catering to a very specific crowd with refined taste and deep pockets.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Where it's just like, for one, I really like Royal's writing style. Like, the way he described Paulina getting attacked by her kids, like you said, it's kind of described almost like a boondock saint hit. But he describes, like, the sexual undertones of her, like her sultry voice, her shirts now see-through. But the, like, objective thing we see is that she's got a husband and two sons, right?
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
So is that, like, something about his neighbor, like, wanting him? Or does he want her in a physical way and she's not perceiving that? Or it's just, like, her author's intent of it?
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
You had to say deep. You had to add adjectives to it. You had to make it more explicit. I'm sorry. My gosh. Good Lord, man. Okay, so anyway. Good Lord, man. That's just... Just dropping a brick on the gas pedal. We were at the red light.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Don't say that. What are you talking about? Like a fork with some spaghetti. I'm going to kill you. Mercy. Okay. Anyway, I'm going to... Okay. what I was saying, I like Royals writing. So I'll have so much is conveyed in just the way he describes the scene. Right.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
That being said, with this description of the restaurant, we have like the initial, like the front facing premise of like, it's just a really expensive restaurant that in order to keep, you know, it kind of exclusive, you can't talk about it. But then you think about, it's like, what kind of restaurant can you not talk about in the menu items are priced, you know? Um,
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
So yeah, it's like there's a double meaning, like what could be happening here. That I agree with you is just set up very well. A referral and a reservation got you through the door. You needed both, no exceptions. This drew a certain type of crowd. Snooty, high maintenance, but I didn't mind it, to be honest. That combination could be tiresome, but it usually meant great tips.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
I approached the splintered door and knocked three times. One of the greeters let me in. The interior was nothing like the exterior. The foyer had a gothic medieval vibe with high ceilings and narrow hallways. Chandeliers sparkled overhead in the dim light. Halls were plastered with stone and exposed brick, a handful of doors on either side.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
The doors concealed the intimate dining experience that Azalea's offered, private rooms for every party to make you feel at home. Silva's office was the last door on the left.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
I went to this one restaurant in LA that someone...
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
uh and like the youtube talent side invited me to that was kind of similar where you had to walk down a hallway and it's like you had to have a membership or know someone to get in that it was this was it was like a very stereotypical l like la white walls like big windows yeah so it didn't look the same but i'm imagining the same kind of like entry setup like you have to take an elevator to get to the restaurant kind of deal it was like a so it was like an olive garden
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Dude, Hunter, you're not going to believe this, but the breadsticks were literally endless. You could get as many as you wanted. There was no end of them. Exactly. Bill came, no charge. Yeah, no charge.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Whoa, where are you taking me? I'll sign whatever paper you pass me right now. I feel like I'm in Sicily right now. Me standing outside of an Olive Garden just like a country bumpkin from Tennessee. Like, you good sir know how to make a deal.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Yeah, they seem like a cool company. They seem like very in the know about like, you know, cross promotion between like YouTubers and like authors making stories and stuff. So they're chill. So it's cool that AP Royal has got with Felix books and it looks like he has a book called The Kaleidoscope coming out with them late this year, early next year.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Yeah, so gothic, medieval vibe, whatever, walking through. I knocked with caution. No response. Two more times. Nothing. Confused, I headed back the way I came. Hey, Julia, have you seen Silver around? Dwayne said he was looking for me. The greeter glanced up from her tablet.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Her eyes dived back into the seating chart on her screen. Workers were starting to enter now, squeezing past us down the hall. If you see him, can you please let him know I was sent to his office? She nodded. I followed the flow of people towards the change rooms. My shift was about to start, and I needed to set the tables before dinner service.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
The night became a blur of well-dressed people and trips to the kitchen. I was scuttling past streams of people into narrow pockets of space while balancing wobbly plates. Just another day at the circus. There were glimpses of Silva here and there, darting around the halls with his scruffy beard and velvet blazer. He was bouncing from employee to customer to office like a bad game of Pong.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
I didn't bother seeking him out. I knew that he would come and find me when there was time for a breath of air. In the middle of me reaming out a... Whoa. In the middle of me reaming out a bus boy.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Paulina Strode passed. Yeah, there you go. That's what it says. Yes. Paulina Strode passed. Her maxi dress sparkled with little rhinestones flowing with the natural curves of her body. Oh. leaving nothing to the imagination. It appeared to be a family affair tonight. The boys looked dapper in their matching bow ties, and Keith was all smiles in his tailored suit.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
This was a special occasion, indeed. Mark? My heart sank as she disappeared into one of the rooms. One of the rooms I wasn't working. Are you deaf? Martin scolded. You can fuck off with your critiques. I don't answer to you. I glared back at the lethargic slug. The man looked like he hadn't caught a wink of sleep in years.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
His bags were deep black, like a coat of mascara had been slathered under his eyes. I rattled the massive cart he was leaning against, the weight shifting in a dangerous, teetering fashion. Some china clattered together in ominous clangs. Fuck off!
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
His face soured as he pushed the cart away. The metal contraption was over six feet tall and wide, an ugly metal cabinet on wheels. He muttered something under his breath as he passed. What did you say? He was near the kitchen before he hollered back. It ain't as easy as it looks, chump. I took a deep breath before entering the adjacent room. Welcome to Azalea's cookhouse.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
but you can subscribe to his newsletter and get updates on that. You can also get like short stories delivered straight to your inbox as a bunch of stories across no sleep. The story itself seems pretty highly rated. So I'm excited. And also the title is just enticing in itself.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
So he was in the hallway and then he saw her and lost his mind. And then like he started following her mentally. And then the guy he was yelling at the busboy says, Mark. And then he goes back into the fight. Gotcha. On my way back from the kitchen, I was balancing two plates of Hakarl. Is that how you pronounce it? Hakarl? You're asking the wrong guy.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Hakarl. An Icelandic delicacy, a fermented shark. When Silva tapped me on my shoulder.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
My bud boiled at the thought of Lana swooping in to claim my tips. She wasn't even scheduled to work this evening. I sighed and dropped off the food before making my way to his office. This time, the three knocks were answered. The door swung open. Thanks, Mark. Have a seat.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
We were surrounded by a forest of cherry wood, bookshelves and cabinets filled to space, carved in looping, intricate patterns. Everything was so polished and quaint. There were floating shelves that carried up the walls, each holding rows and rows of books. Behind a grandfather clock in the corner were pots of leafy plants. I wondered how any of them survived in this dungeon.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
He continued, the sounds of muffled conversation trickling in through the halls. I'll level with you here.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
A promotion? Couldn't get Martin and his multiple smoke breaks out of my mind. Look, Silva, I like what I do.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
A smirk grew on his face once he detected the astonishment on my face. He pointed his finger at me. This doesn't leave the room. The news went down the hatch like sour milk. I understood why the chefs would make more money. The menu was always revolving to keep the clientele happy. They likely had years of experience overseas, attended culinary school. But the busboys?
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
These guys were glorified dishwashers. I knew the way Silva ran the restaurant was different, but this corporate structure was completely backwards. Servers were the face of the business, the point of contact between the restaurant and the customer. Surely that had to be worth more.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Not really. A glint of something conspicuous in his eyes. The door was now ajar, the bustle of the business now flooding into the room. You'll do great. Now go and find Dwayne. He'll be showing you the ropes. Dwayne was outside with one of the chefs, another cigarette to his lips. The light emanating from the lamppost highlighted his bronze complexion. "'Hey, Dwayne.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Silver said you're gonna train me tonight? Guess I'm gonna be one of you guys now.' He raised an eyebrow and dropped the cigarette to the pavement. With a blank expression, he said, "'Well, hot damn. Let's go.' He stomped the butt out and we drifted inside. I followed him deep into the kitchen, past the cooking staff carefully preparing the meals. The atmosphere wasn't much better back there.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Plates were sliding around amidst fits of yelling and chopping. I passed one of the chefs giving a lecture to one of her apprentices."
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
He stopped at one of the metal monstrosities in the corner of the dishroom. Get pushing! The cart was frustrating to maneuver given the state of its back wheels. One wheel refused to roll in line with the others, opting to wiggle uselessly instead. It was a cumbersome task given the sheer size of the cart. It was heavy with its many drawers, and it was a challenge to see over it.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
There would have certainly been a collision without Dwayne guiding me in the front. We finally stopped in front of one of the rooms, my arms and legs feeling like jelly. He held the door open as I inched the cart in, slowly, then the door was firmly closed shut. The scene at the dinner table nearly knocked me off my feet. We were inside the private room that Paulina's family had dined in.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
There was Keith, his cheek resting in a thin layer of cream sauce. His mouth was full of foam. The tablecloth soaked in a puddle of vomit. His eyes were staring back at us in a dead stare. Their two sons were on their floor, their bodies lying limp. There was no ounce of recoil from Dwayne. He just gripped Keith's head and pulled it out of the sauce. Let's go, Mark. We don't got all day.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
The walls felt like they were closing in on me. Everything was spinning.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
What the fuck is this, man? He was dragging Keith by his shoulders, his limp legs bobbling against the ground as he was carried towards the cart. Most of his body was able to fit into one of the compartments. The rest of the parts that overhang were forced in with a metal pole. The squishing and cracking made my stomach churn.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
He laughed, glint of madness in his eyes. He had one of the boys by the back of his blazer and was dragging him along. I'm out. I want nothing to do with this. I said, turning towards the door. Dwayne dropped the body and beat me there. His arm held the door shut.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
You can meet me at the front for the next one. I took off in a steady march past the greeters and guests waiting to be seated past the menacing stare of Silva. I was focused on one thing, escaping. The air outside was crisp. It helped steady the spinning. I slowed down to catch my breath, but the rapid gasp for air wouldn't stop. I'll get a new job, I thought. Start fresh. Flee the city.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Does your brain just take all the stories we read and it like lays the titles out randomly and you just like grab one at moments and stuff?
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
At the end of the parking lot, something shimmered that caught my eye. It was the flowing dress of Paulina. She was just entering her minivan. This is a very tumultuous moment, Hunter. She was just entering her minivan. Oh, yeah. I stared at the vehicle as it backed out of the stall and slowly cruised in my direction. Instead of taking the left turn to exit the lot, the van stopped.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
The window buzzed as it rolled down. "'Mark?' My words were stuck in my throat. All I could offer was a slight nod. "'Everything okay? I'm just heading home. Do you need a ride?' Her voice was nonchalant, with no regard for what she'd done. Because she hadn't done anything except enjoy a pleasant meal, the Azalea family took care of the rest. "'Mark! Mark!'
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
A voice yelled from the bottom of the stairs. I've got to go. No worries. She smiled, her glint glistening white perfection. Before she rolled up her window, she called back. Hey, let's go out by to eat sometime. The offer hung in the crisp air. She drove off in the empty minivan. Just a silver emerged from the bottom of the stairwell. Sam was clutching something in his pocket.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Yeah, I think it sounds like it's only members and members' friends who come there, right? So I think it's like if you want someone taken care of, you know, come to the restaurant, we'll lace the food, right? We'll kill them, take care of the body, do the rest. So it's like a hitman service almost is what I get from it. And that's interesting how it's like we have Mark who's like,
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
not evil by any means but in the beginning he's kind of portrayed as a jerk right like he's yelling at the bus boy he's thinking about a married woman like physically like looking through his shirt and stuff like that like he's a bit of a jerk and now he's like in this super evil position and he's like oh i should get away i should flee the city but then seeing paulina who's now single mind you kind of like is enough to make him be like
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Well, maybe I'll, you know, like she asked for dinner. Maybe I'll stick around a little bit.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
almost like poetry like he's just like her hair was this and you know it's like the way that we even that were bought into her is nothing but a rainbow across a green sky like yeah very flowery language with how he describes everything about her and now it's like oh she just murdered her husband and two kids uh but now she wants to go out for dinner so yeah
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
I'm sure. Look, I wouldn't put it past this place morally to like serve people of like clientele asked for it for sure. Um, But also, like, it's just funny that she just had her whole family murdered, and she's like, what if we got a bite to eat?
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
The husband and kids. So it was, okay. He's dragging... Yeah, because it says that after he got done shoving the husband, he grabbed the kids whose lifeless bodies were lying on the ground. Okay, so yeah, so awesome.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
No, no, no. It's instantaneous. It's actually wild. And then the bear's like, 20 feet down the trail, and then it's like, did you hear that? Because it shut up on nothing.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
A family annihilator? That's great. Love those. All right. Part two, the family. The family. Something deep inside of me told me to run. It cried for me to take flight, to duck behind the nearest car, to weave in and out of the stalls to safety. My brain convinced me otherwise, however. I stared at my red Prius parked at the back of the lot. It was in Silva's direct line of fire.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
It would be an easy point-blank shot. Freedom was only steps away, but it might as well have been a thousand miles. Silva's hand crept out of his pocket and landed on my shoulder. The movement was smooth, but not smooth enough. Polished chrome flashed for a moment, then disappeared amongst the folds of his dress shirt, back into the confines of his pocket. Does he know I saw it? Does he care?
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
So how's the shift going? He asked, squeezing my deltoid tightly. My words were caught in my throat as we made our way down the concrete steps. I don't think I can do this, Silva. He paused, one of his eyebrows raised.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
We stop before the entrance. The sound of classical music leaking out of the building. I finally let go of my shoulder. Dwayne is waiting for you at table one. I plead with him further.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
If there was one thing I knew about Silva, it was that he wasn't much of a chit-chatter. He stuck his palm out. Phone. There was a sinking feeling in my chest as I looked back at Silva. Surely he wasn't serious.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
I don't think he'll be like, you know what? You're right. Due to the Constitution. Actually, you know what?
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
You know what? I like you. A man can do attitude.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
That's right. That's that red pill right there, Mark. I like this guy. The soft melodies continued, masking the cold-blooded murder taking place inside. His face turned blood red, the wrath of Silva nearly upon me. It was a face I'd seldom seen, a crack in his cold, calm demeanor. Phone! Now! I laid my phone in his palm, diffusing the situation.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Placed it into his other trouser pocket, next door neighbors to the pistol. Thank you. Now let's go. He knocked three times as a scowl morphed into a cheery grin. Just like that, we were back inside the restaurant. In a matter of seconds, one of the kitchen staff had whisked Silva in her direction. Much of the dinner crowd had dispersed. Moderate number of people were now up and down the halls.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
I caught Dwayne's gaze leaning against the front desk, chatting with one of the other busboys. You good? Slightest smile stretched across his face, only for a moment until he caught Silva's gaze out the corner of his eye. His face instantly went blank as he motioned for me to come with him down the hall. I didn't respond. I only followed. Table one looks like it's ready.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
That caught the Diania house incorrectly because it originally caught the Glenmont Metro.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
We've got a quick turnaround, so let's hurry. Maya shot back at Dwayne. He casually held the door open. After you. You could see the woman from the doorway. Her head was face down. Layers of shiny, ebony locks were spread across the table. I detected a hint of fruit mixed with a strong hairspray aroma.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Dwayne hovered around the table, grabbing the wine glass across from the lady and swishing around the remnants of the cup.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
I shook my head no. Those were two of the head chefs at Azalea's. I never really mingled much with the kitchen staff.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
He made his way around the table, collecting some of the cutlery.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
So I grabbed one of her shoulders and helped hoist the body up. Her face was a disturbing shade of plum, her eyes staring back in a cloudy, empty stare. She was pretty, what was left of her. She was maybe in her early 40s, way too young to suffer this sort of fate. How can you do this, man? Her petite frame easily slid into the confines of the metal walls. I don't know.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Yeah, okay, hold on. If you had to start moving bodies, you would be like, this is wrong. No, no, no.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
You know what I think Mark's doing here, the reason that his wording's the way it is? I don't think, because he's still going along with it, I don't know how much Mark really cares. Because, like I said, in the first part, he's kind of established to be a bit of a jerk, yelling at guys, thinking about sleeping with a married woman. So here, it's almost like he's trying to...
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
can talk himself out of it. Cause he's going along with it. He's like, no, this is criminal. My, my phone's my proper. You should take it. It almost feels like he's trying to talk himself out of it.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
But what I mean by talk himself out of it is I don't know how much he himself... like cares and is willing to do a job like this. It means a lot of money.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
sure sure you know what you would 100 if this was me in this scenario I would 100% be marked oh my god this is criminal give me back my phone that's my personal property and you would be the guy that's like it's good money shut up put the body in the bag three times god damn three times money all right we're stuffing lobsters here
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Hunter would hear triple pay. Yeah. He would come out of that first room like, oh, that trash in there was a real load. Wink, wink. Yeah. Here we've got a family of shrimp in room number five.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Yeah, I hear you need to toss out a couple of crabs down in room four.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Silva has to come meet you in the hallway. It's like, you got to quit.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
you're making everyone uncomfortable. I know we're all like moving bodies and we're all in the know about this, but you're way too into this. And I'm over here like, this is illegal, guys, please. Guys, this is illegal. This is a crime. And then Hunter over my shoulder like, looks like the stakes start to settle, if you know what I mean. Got a full load in this one.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
With that bleak sentiment, we pushed the cart through the hall in silence. On our way to the kitchen, we passed by the next group of patrons. A couple of young professionals with vibrant smiles and flamboyant suits. My mind played Russian roulette with their bodies. Which one's body would we fetch next? It was clear that Dwayne had been lost.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
The money, the trauma, maybe a combination of the two, had severely warped his mind into having a morbid indifference for life. I knew my words would go nowhere with him. I had this business model all wrong. Everything I thought Azalea stood for, quality dining, intimate gatherings, unbeatable service, it was all a lie.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
With the dinner crowd dissipating, the halls were a lot quieter and easier to maneuver through. I knew this was my chance. I knew I had one shot. Dwayne was leading the way, pulling the metal cart from the front. I was at the caboose, pushing the heavy contraption ahead as best I could. The towering cart would provide the shelter that I needed.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Out of my front pocket, I pulled out a pen and notepad, the trusty tool of the trade. Keeping one hand on the cart and pushing it along, I used the other to frantically scribble together a note. Craning my neck from one side of the cart to the other, I caught a glimpse of Silva. He was on the right side of the hall, chatting with one of the guests.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
The cart squeaked as we approached the front of the house. If I had timed it right, his view would be blocked, but only for a moment. As we approached the front desk, I took a deep breath and crumbled up the note. I whispered. She was alone at the front desk, her face planted in the tablet. I could feel the opportunity slipping away.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Just as we passed Silva on my right, I had no choice but to gamble. I took aim and lobbed the note into the air. The ball of paper seemed to hang there as I watched it in horror. It overshot the table and bobbled off Julie's shoulder just as we passed the front desk and Silva came into view. The impact broke her gaze from the screen. The paper bounced to the floor where it landed.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
I wasn't quite sure. I glimpsed her annoyed stare in my direction before steadying my attention to the front of the cart. As we exited the front of the house and entered the hallway to the kitchen, I could feel Silva's gaze burning a hole in the back of my skull. The kitchen had also simmered down compared to earlier in the evening.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Many of the cooks had gone home, only a handful of chefs remained, fussing around with the various display of dessert arrangements. There were plates of chocolate lava cakes topped with caramel drizzle, crème brûlée and little cups with apricot shavings, and some sort of tower of fudge layered with sheets of sugar. The garnish was a colorful display of a key fruit and lychee.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
I admired the creativity from afar as we wheeled the cart into the dish room. Duane discarded the dirty dishes, and then we pushed the cart around the corner. I saw each chef bring their masterpiece over to Elsa. She inspected everything in the back, added the finishing touches, and the plates were carried out by the servers.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Duane led us down a dark hallway that bore no resemblance to the restaurant. It had a smell of musk. It was left dusty with no attempt made to clean or decorate the area. There were holes in the drywall, cracks in the concrete, and questionable stains on the ceiling. We took the cart as far as we could until we hit a dead end. The only thing at the end of the hall was a service elevator.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Dwayne swiped his access card and hit the button. We waited a couple of moments until we heard a high-pitched ding. I half expected a wave of blood to come out like the shining. Instead, Martin's ghoulish face popped out. Why is this asshole back here? Silver's orders. He's a busboy now. Martin's lips formed a wry smile. Who is he now? I looked away and helped push the cart into the elevator.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
I stepped inside and waited for Martin to hit the button down. Nuh-uh. Dwayne said, wiping me out. Only Martin is allowed down. I stepped out. Martin muttered something under his breath just as the door closed. Chump. Just let me say. this entire setting is so well established. Like, like Martin's the guy who takes the bodies down and then who knows what he does with them.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
You gotta watch out. So you're already mad at him? No, I'm not mad.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
And then like the staff doesn't know, but Silva knows and the bus boys know. And it's like these private server rooms. That's how they are able to kill people. Then dispose of the bodies quietly. Like so many layers of this just play off each other very well. Yeah. I love it. The rest of the night carried on like a bad nightmare.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
I towed the line, collecting the bodies and transporting them to the back of the kitchen. The smell of excrement and death continued to make me gag. Dwayne seemed immune to the scent. He was finding humor in my reaction after every pickup. No matter how hard I tried, it was impossible to get their faces out of my head.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
The bulge of their eyes, the bluish purple tint on their skin, the bloated look in their cheeks. Their loved ones would never find them. The gravity of it all was sinking in. When midnight finally hit, I was itching to leave the restaurant. Silva was waiting for me at the exit. How'd it go? He asked, pulling me into his office. I took a seat. Nothing's changed, Silva.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
It's going to be hard to find a replacement. He strolled over to one of his plants and was inspecting one of the leaves. I eventually worked up the nerve to cut off the awkward silence. Can I go home now? My shift's over. He broke out of his trance and walked over to his desk. In the top drawer, he pulled out my phone and slid it across the table.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
It's a polite suggestion. So now you're claiming that you're so... quick-witted that you're near um psychic with your your knowing well i didn't want to have to go out and expose my psychic ability can also be wrong at points well see it's never wrong so so in other words you're just you're just guessing redeemed redeemed
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
The words were cold, his piercing stare warning it in itself. Of course. I got up from my seat and made my way to the door. When do you work next, Mark? Monday. Glanced up from his paperwork. Have a good weekend. I held my breath as I walked out of the restaurant, traveling as fast as my feet would take me. Only once I left the parking lot did my nerves return to normal. I was free.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
There was only one thing on my mind. I needed to put as many miles as I could between myself and Azalea's. I could find another job, that'd be easy, but the victim's families deserved closure and Silva needed to be exposed as the monster he truly was. One problem was my phone. I tried to swipe and click the power button with no success.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
As desperately as I wanted to call the cops, the call would have to wait until I got home. The streets were quiet as I pulled into the cul-de-sac. The lights were off in every household on the block, the whole neighborhood asleep. Paulina's minivan was parked in her driveway, the side of the vehicle sending shivers up my spine.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Pulling up to my driveway, the headlights revealed something stuck to my garage door. I parked the car and walked over to inspect the object. It was a sealed envelope labeled Mark in bold black marker. My throat tightened as I tore it open. Inside the envelope were photographs printed in a glossy finish. Each frame was crystal clear with no hazy pixel in sight.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
There was one of me jamming a body to the meal car, the bald forehead of the victim poking out of the cabinet. There was another candid shot of me pushing the cart through the hall. There were more than just photos of me at the restaurant.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
There were shots of me walking around the neighborhood, pictures of my ex-wife and her daughter at the mall, photos of my mother and father watching television in their home, their bodies comfortably lounging on the sofa. My heart was beating at a dangerous pace as I flipped through the stack of photos. Something else was crammed to the bottom corner of the envelope.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
When I pulled it out, I gasped. It was the paper note I had written to Julie. In my missing handwriting, it read, There are bodies in the dish carts. Call 911. In utter shock, I dropped the contents of the envelope. The photos scattered across the concrete, floating away in the wind. I dropped to my knees, quickly stuffing the contents back inside.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Some of the photos were traveling towards my neighbor's lawn in a carefree gust of wind. I scurried across the drive pad to collect them, glancing up at the sleepy suburban neighborhood, the place I had called home for decades. It suddenly didn't feel so homely. One of the photos that was carried across the lawn had flipped over.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
There was writing in permanent marker on the back that read, Welcome to the family. See you on Monday.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
End of part two. Oh, buddy. This is flowing really well.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Yeah, but it's supposed to look, it's like a kind of speakeasy, like, you know, fancy underground stuff. But yeah, if he does any merch that's like Azalea's cookout, like make it look like a steakhouse, you know, like Azalea's or whatever. I would 100% rep that anywhere you want it. It's so fun. The premise is awesome. Why hasn't this been done before?
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
The closest thing I can think is the menu, but that was a one-off everyone's dying tonight kind of story. This is like the whole business is killing and disposing of bodies for rich clientele.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
No, no, that British pull was... The more I think about that, the more the British thing doesn't make sense because the whole point was like, oh, this one person's British, but because you made everyone British, it ruined that part of the story.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Within the story, I am willing to say like, um, What if all of the people that were seen, like, interact with it and stuff like that, like... what if there's enough people willing to cover up? What if the family is so powerful that they're able to make up cover stories for these dead people? You could also like put the body somewhere else away from the restaurant, stuff like that.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Yes. Yeah. Yeah. To some degree. So I think that, um, the, uh, Okay, so for one, I'll say maybe I was a bit too harsh on our main character because it seems like as soon as he got away, he was like, how do I call the police? How do I let these people's families know? Seems a bit more virtuous than I said.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
What I'm saying is now if he goes back to the restaurant and stuff, it's different because they've threatened his ex and his kid. They've threatened his family and stuff like that. So now it's a different ballgame than just virtue.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Yeah, yeah. I think he's going to justify it a bit. We'll see. So with that, part three, the neighbor. The comfort of my home did little to calm my nerves. The doors were locked, but the damage had been done. Silva was watching. He'd been watching for God knows how long, tracking myself and my closest loved ones in order to ensure everything was kept in the family.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
The photos were a clever insurance policy, a weapon to wield if things went south. Now I was stuck under his thumb with my real family within his crosshairs. What a difference a day can make. Not even 24 hours ago, I was just a lowly server. Now I was sitting in the dark, trawling through the shady corners of the internet, hunched over my laptop in my pajamas.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
I scrolled through my internet tabs, each one more incriminating than the next. Where do I buy a burner phone? How do you know you're being stalked? How much jail time for the possession of a dead body? Maybe the police would believe my story. Maybe if I showed them where the bodies were, maybe if I could get my hands on the security footage, this could all end.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
I could go back to living a normal life. But maybe they wouldn't. And who was I kidding? Life was never going back to normal. For the brief moments that I managed to doze off, all I saw were the cloudy eyes of the victims. They will never let me sleep. Every shadowy corner was a threat, concealing one of Silva's henchmen. Every creak from the floorboards made me jolt.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Nothing felt safe as night faded away. A hint of amber broke through a gray arc of cloud before the harsh reality set in. I wasn't going to figure this out alone. I needed to talk to someone. Someone I trusted to keep quiet. Someone who had information that I didn't. Someone hiding a secret as dark as my own. someone I think I loved, screwed up as that was. It was an impossible thing to explain.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
The cold hard facts were there. I stared into her husband's lifeless eyes. I carried out her children's limp bodies, and yet here I was, still in love. The Paulina I knew was warm, inviting, full of heart. I had known that woman for years. Despite my apprehension about that evening, I still held out hope that there was something I didn't understand.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
When the sun rose and the songbirds chirped their familiar chorus, I got up from my heaps of blankets and ran a hot shower. After breakfast, I made my way over to Polina's house. The usual characters were moseying around outside. Moe from across the street was firing up his lawnmower, the purr from the engine overtaking the songbird's tunes.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Debbie was putzing around her front yard with her little cockapoo on leash. I only made it a few steps past my driveway before I noticed that she'd had company. parked beside the red minivan was an empty squad car. Shit. I switched gears, darting towards Debbie, the self-proclaimed eclectic neighbor on our block. We stood on the sidewalk outside of her aquamarine-painted home.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
The rainbow pinwheel lawn ornament stabbed into her lawn at seemingly random locations. I dove into some polite conversation, all the while keeping my attention on Paulina's home. Ten minutes of chitchat went by with no movement from her residence. I casually asked, Any idea what's going on at Paulina's place? No idea. A hint of a smirk emerging on her face.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
She couldn't resist the delectable piece of gossip. You know, I think there's some trouble in paradise. What do you mean by that? Debbie was basically our neighborhood watch. At her age, there wasn't much else for her to do.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
She tugged on Romeo's leash, his nose deep in a pile of his own droppings.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
This was all news to me. I paused to take it in, patting Romeo on the head. That is awful. Really awful.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
So hold on. So you don't, you can't see specifically how it applies. You can just see details. Well, not all the time.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
my, my grandmother was the exact same way. She just, you know, old lady talk about stuff and she'd be like, Oh, did you hear about Eunice at church? I think she's hitting the bottle again. It's like, well, grandma, why'd you say that? It's like, she came to church last week without makeup. And I thought that was strange. Just like, all right.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
That's a bit, that's a bit high level to jump to maybe, maybe dial it back a little bit, but That Debbie's so funny. Debbie, come on now. She doubled down.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
My stomach churned knowing we were speaking about someone who was murdered. While Debbie continued her rambling about other neighbors' deplorable acts, at the corner of my eye, I saw two cops walk out of Paulina's house.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Nice chatting with you. I wave goodbye as the vehicle rolled out of the cul-de-sac. I waited outside of Moody's back room. Underneath the humming neon sign, wondering if I was making a big mistake. A murderer and her accomplice enter a bar. It all feels like one bad joke. Something tells me I won't be around to hear the punchline. Moody's back room is not like Azalea's.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
It's a roof and four walls with a couple of kegs. It's got a flashy neon sign that you could spot from outer space. There are signs promoting their daily food and drink specials on every street corner in the neighborhood. This is a place begging for service. Anybody's service. How I got here is still a whirlwind. On Saturday, I retreated back to my house and opted to stay in.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
I figured Paulina had too much heat on her to risk any interaction. I was out of luck and out of time. But as fate would have it, Polina spotted me on Sunday on my way back from a morning jog. I was hoping the endorphins would help clear my head, but all it did was leave me exhausted. I couldn't resist her wave, and in a moment I found myself standing on her porch.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
She had a strawberry lemonade in hand and a smile across her face. Her hair sparkled in the sunlight. She looked radiant, given the circumstances. We chatted for a bit as I tussled with my attraction to her and the reality of our situations. She extended another offer to grab a drink, and in a helpless, sudden reflex, I said yes. The brain was no match for the heart. And dick.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Yeah, I think that's what's implied by the heart, Hunter. Thank you. Sorry. We're going to get you in church. We're going to fix you. Once she arrived, she gave me a hug and we grabbed a seat in plain view of the VLTs. We watched people. What is a VLT? It's like a slot machine, right? Oh, okay. See, if I go to church, I wouldn't know that. Unlike you, deplorables.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
you step into the bear traps you can tell what you're thinking you can tell what you're gonna do yeah with this power isaiah you don't understand the complexities of how this kind of okay so here here's my point if you can if you can just pull random stuff and you don't necessarily know how to play it's like you pulled british last time because you're super bear trap for this for today's story are you getting anything
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
So it is, it is a, I was curious. Yeah. We people watch chatting about the weather in the news. We discussed her vacation plans to Mexico and her current projects at work. Our first round is casual like this, like an awkward first date. Polina's hair is in a messy bun, but her appearance is far from disheveled. She's wearing a boatneck sweater, silver hoop earrings, a pair of Levi's jeans.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
This is what I imagined a night out with her to be like. This is the Polina that I know. Two rounds in, the conversation starts to get more personal. Polina asks about my history, so I told her about my divorce and how my dating life has been. I have her full attention. I can see the interest in her eyes. I really don't know what else to ask her at this point, so I just keep going on about myself.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Three drinks in and the alcohol has washed away all of the nervous energy. Floating through conversation with lighthearted, friendly banter, she's playfully patting my arm when I decide it's finally time to chip away at her fortress of secrets. With liquid courage, it's running foolishly through my system. So I start to ask the bold questions. Questions I've been dying to ask all night.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
How are you doing, Paulina? She looks puzzled. She sips her Mai Tai through a straw. What's wrong with you? You're doing good. How about you? I lean in, my voice falling to a gentle whisper. No, I mean, how are you really doing? She puts her drink down and cocks her head to the side. How's everything with the family? She pauses, stirring her drink. Oh, they're doing well.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
That does remind me, though. I should check in with Keith. She pulls out her cell phone as I place my hand on her arm. Paulina, I know. Her eyebrows are raised. I lean in closer across the table. Yesterday at the restaurant, the cop car this morning. I can see the color slowly draining from her face. Her eyes are moist now. They glisten under the pendant light above us.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
For a moment, there's a pause. The truth hangs in the air. I don't know what you're talking about. She says, sinking in her seat. A shift of energy in the room is now palpable. I'm sorry, it's too soon. I just need to know. She glances at the exit and grabs her purse. Wait, Paulina, hear me out for a second, please. She stands up. I follow suit, reaching for her shoulder. Paulina!
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
The bell above the exit door jingles as the swing is shut behind her. You dumb son of a bitch. Yeah... She murdered her husband and children, Hunter. It's Paulina, though, dude. Dude, this isn't just like a cute mom next door. This is like she killed her kids. Oh, Paulina, please. Please love me, Paulina. You're next.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Watching and waiting. Did me and you sing that at karaoke? I think so.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
We did. I know there was that one. There was definitely Out of Touch. I know. Yeah. You know what? With the mention of Hall and Oates, I'm back in. I'm in. Yeah, exactly. See, Pauline is back in. I was like, she murdered her family. But then you brought up Maneater.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
That's what I love. Sarah Smile. That's a good one too. That was a good one. You are such a good singer. It's frustrating. After painting the tab, I drove home knowing that I shouldn't. I'm tiptoeing the line of sobriety with an empty stomach. The hard liquor and dark thoughts swirl around inside of me in an anxious concoction. I scream as I pound the wheel. Screw up, you idiot!
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
It's a short route home through residential streets. The cookie cutter homes are blurs of color as I drive past. Besides the parked cars, the roads are empty. The sidewalk's bare. In my rear view, I notice a black SUV behind me. It turns left when I turn left down Teddon Road. I think I'm overreacting, so I test my theory and make another left into a nearby cul-de-sac.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
The vehicle follows me in a loop past the row of two-story homes. My chest begins to tighten. My only thought is that I can't go home. So I keep driving down Citadel Road, Citadel Crest, Citadel Circle, leaving the community. I head down McKenzie Boulevard with the SUV on my tail. Eventually, I will have to stop. I just don't know where to go.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
My heart is beating so strongly that I feel it in my skull. I figured the safest place is somewhere public, so I decided to pull into the Southside Strip Mall Walmart parking lot isn't exactly packed. There's some scattered RVs and late-night shoppers, but it's the best option available. Park near a row of cars and wait. The SUV pulls up beside me.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
The tint on the passenger side window is too opaque to see through. I only hear the opening and slamming of the driver's side door. Get out of the car! The glow from the lamppost reveals a curly-haired woman. Both arms are covered in an elaborate sleeve of tattoos. Two colorful gardens of fully bloomed flowers in an elaborate watermark style.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
I roll down the window a fraction of an inch and yell back.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Ew! Why are you such a... Quit! Oh, my gosh. You had that one banked. You just had that on deck. I'm sorry, dude.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
These are inferences. These are all things you're pulling from the title. No, no.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
No, it's because you're sexualizing it. It's fine. Two perfectly fine... Two women want to be together. That's between them. Whatever. I don't need to come in and make it into... I don't need to fetishize it. I'm sorry. That was wrong of me. I was probably wrong. Was it wrong? You had the Colonel joke on cue. That was in your tape deck, like skip next song, ready to play. I'm sorry.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Oh no. That's definitely what it is. They were definitely having an affair. We don't know. We don't know that for a fact. No, no, no. That, that is, that is absolute. What are you doing with Paul? That, or she's like an investigator that was trying to take down the restaurant or something like that. That, that is a hundred percent what it was. It is your, it is your, um, characterization of it.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
No, yes, that's the woman, but the only... No, okay, Hunter. The woman across the street said, I've seen this girl with tattoos. It's like horror or whatever she said. Oh, Paulina's been cheating. It was actually... Yes, Paulina's been cheating.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Okay, yes, I was saying that is what was happening. No, no. It's not a bear trap. How do I honestly do it? It's so odd. It's scary. This is not a bear trap. Dude, I'm fucking scared of myself. If it has already happened, you were calling out something that just happened in the story.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Yeah, you were right about. No, no. You said the thing. And I said, yes, that's the thing that happened. And then you got confused. And I said, no, the thing you originally thought would happen. That's not a prediction.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Okay. Anyway, yes, you are right that it was an affair happening. It was the sexualization of the affair that I was jumping you for. Mm-hmm. Okay, whatever. I rolled down the window a little more, and now I noticed the distinct characteristics of her face. Dark brown hair, eyes blue eyes. Her prominent nose, tall stature. She was sitting at the table next. Mm. Mm. Mm.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Look, just, uh, the only reason I'm attracted, look, tattoos, tall, dark hair, light eyes. The only reason, the only reason I'm attracted is because this is what my wife looks like.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
She was sitting at the table next to ours, and up close, she looked incredibly familiar. The resemblance is uncanny. Calm down for a second, I said, stepping out of my vehicle. No reason to get all worked up. We're just friends. Bullshit! You know something. I can feel it. By now, a small crowd of shoppers are enjoying the show.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Their hands are gripping plastic bags full of groceries, their carts abandoned in the middle of the road. With a sudden interruption, the dark-haired woman that could only be Keith's sister shouts back to the crowd. I'm calling the cops. Okay. Nevermind. I was wrong. I was wrong. We were both wrong with the sun eruption.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
I had not listed bear trap, bear trap into part three. So, so you're still saying that it was an affair, but I'm thinking so.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
It's Keith's sister's looking because she's trying to figure out what happened to her brother.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
You just like it because you think they're both hot. You just like it because you think they're both hot.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
It's not a bear trap if the story said a thing happened and you say that same thing happened.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Okay. Part four, The Last Supper. The crowd feasted their eyes on the drama ensuing. The woman who I believed to be Keith's sister had a fiery look in her eyes. I felt horrible for her family, but she was looking for answers to questions that I just couldn't provide. Silva had me backed into a corner with jail time or collateral damage as the only ways out.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Her hands were shaking as she placed her phone to her ear. Stop for a goddamn second. There was a gasp from someone in the crowd. The woman resembling Keith nearly dropped her phone.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
The woman glared back, eventually taking the phone from her ear. She placed it in her palm, squeezing it violently as she screeched. Took a step back, as did some of the closer shoppers. She did something to him. She declared tears welling in her eyes. I know it. She pointed her finger at me, her body trembling.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Okay, so how is that bear trap looking now? It is, in fact, just his sister.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
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CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
There was silence for a moment as the woman paced around the lot. She eventually began to sob as she found a seat on the curb, her face shielded by her tears. The crowd slowly dispersed. Once she calmed down, we were able to make a proper introduction. Her name was Viola. She confirmed that she was Keith's baby sister.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Keith was her only sibling, and she became concerned that he didn't respond to her text messages Friday evening. When he no-showed for their brunch plans Saturday morning, that's when she really began to worry. Paulina had recently decided the family was going to move out of the country with little warning or consultation provided to Keith. This was how Paulina was.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
The qualities that made her fun were also what made her dangerous. Keith had become fed up with her unpredictable nature. The extended family was worried that with the move, they would never see their children again. All I could offer were some hollow words of encouragement. Remain calm and hope for the best. I could tell they did little to soothe her soul.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
We eventually said goodbye, the lies tossed around in the pit of my stomach knowing that the man was never coming home. With one bomb carefully disused, I went home to think about the major issue at hand. My plan to build a closer relationship with Paulina had gone up in flames. There was no new information garnered. The opportunity had been wasted.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
I suffered one more sleepless night, and before I knew it, the weekend was over. In the morning, I peeked out my window. Paulina's driveway was empty. On my way to work, I saw Viola walking down the street with a small group of people. They were maybe three blocks from my house, and her hand was a stack of papers.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
At one of the nearby light posts, I pulled over to look at what they were taping to the metal structures. Help bring Keith Bargalo home. Keith Bargalo, a loving husband, devoted father, and upstanding member of our community, has been missing since Friday, April 30th.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
There is a cash reward for anyone who can provide information on his whereabouts or the whereabouts of his wife, Paulina, and their two children, Riley and Colton. Help us bring them home. Please call the number below. The photo on the flyer was a family portrait taken at a nearby park. The image haunted me all the way to the restaurant.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
There was the usual rush of workers when I arrived at Azalea's. They were scuttling through the halls, heading to the nearby change rooms, and preparing the tables for the upcoming dinner service. As I left the front of the house towards the change room, I caught a glimpse of Silva. He was walking at a brisk pace down the hall with a couple of other associates.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
It was only a quick flash of his black and silver crew cut. It was only the back of his head, but that's all it took for me to suddenly feel cold. Dwayne was dwaddling around by his locker with a couple of the other cooks when I entered.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Because trust me, I need it when putting up with Hunter's text messages. And as opposed to something like caffeine that inevitably leads to a crash, AG1 is natural, lasting energy that lasts the whole day. And instead of being a bunch of different pills and multivitamins I have to take every morning, it's instead just one drink made easy.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Playfully swatted one of the cooks in the belly before leaving. Let's go get that money. This would be you. If you had to dispose of bodies for the mob, you'd be like, making that bread, working at a bakery. Yeah, making that bread.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Like, like it's a football game every day. All right, we're going to get out there and make some good plays and get some good. Let's get, let's get that money. Make some people happy. Made that bread.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
to hunter whistling carrying bodies to the elevator hey hunter shoving a family of four to a metal coffin oh yeah after a while i just start i just start killing myself i'm beating people to death with a hammer watch out boy she'll chew you up oh areola comes
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Not even a hint of like thought about what you're doing. You're like, I'd shove my mother in here if you tell me to at this pay. I stared blankly at the lockers as flashbacks of Friday entered my brain. The contorted body stuffed in the dish cart, the squishing of bloated flesh, the cracking of bones. There was no way in hell I was ever going back to buzzing.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Silva and I would need to have another word. After I changed into my uniform, I went to help set the tables and fold some last-minute cutlery. I hoped to cross paths with Silva. He was usually running up and down the halls leading up to the service, but today I wasn't so lucky. His office door was locked and my knocking went unanswered. Lana gave me a wave down the halls.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
I had already seen Greg at the lockers and passed by Steph and Kelly wrapping cutlery. By my count, we were fully staffed for servers and that number excluded me. 20 minutes to go before service, I began to panic. I asked Mia, the hostess, if she had seen Silva. She shrugged. Sorry, haven't seen him. Does he have any appointments? I asked, scratching my head.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
And by easy, I really mean easy, as all you need is 8-12 ounces of water and a spoonful of AG1 and you're good to go. Plus, AG1 has key nutrients to help stabilize your mood, things like B vitamins or phytonutrient blend, the kind of thing I need when putting up with this podcast.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
She scrolled through the tablet and shook her head. As I approached the hostess podium, I noticed something resting on the shelves behind it. It was a cell phone with a glittery phone case and a distinct Hello Kitty tassel attached to it. Julie working tonight?
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
She's dead. Yeah, she's 100% dead. Oh, her phone's there? That's so weird. Wow, good catch. It's been there the whole day. What the fuck are you talking about? She must have missed that. Thanks, Mark. What would we do without you? Once I left, I began to snoop around the podium. On the bottom shelf, there was a black purse. It had a matching tassel.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Stupid cat seemed to be waving at me from the ground. I froze. Her wallet, her keys, everything was in the bag. I remembered the note, and suddenly my limbs felt weak. I jumped at the only logical conclusion. Julie never left. So, congratulations, Mark. You killed Julie. Bear trap. Wait, what do you mean bear trap?
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Okay, whatever. I'm not, you know what? The fader freak out. You want me to have an emotional reaction to your insanity?
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Okay, but until then, no. Because it said, oh, her phone's there. Thanks, Mark. Like, that's such a clear, like, she's dead, right? You don't get it when two sentences later it confirms for us that she's dead. Okay, whatever. I wandered down the halls, rummaging through the storage rooms in the kitchen and the dish room. I opened any door I walked past, searching for signs of Julie.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
My heart beat aggressively in my chest with every failed attempt. There's no doubt that Dwayne was looking for me too. My watch told me that the dinner crowd would be arriving any minute. I felt a cold hand grab my shoulder from behind. I flinched. Jeez, Mark, relax. Lena laughed. They're gathering everyone together in room one. I followed her down the empty hallway.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
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CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Monday nights were always our slowest, but the complete absence of foot traffic was very concerning.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
When we arrived, a bald, burly man held the door open. He was a familiar face, someone I seldom saw this deep inside the restaurant. He wasn't an employee, as far as I knew, just some sort of supplier of ingredients and various cooking supplies to the restaurant. You could feel the heat coming from the crowd before you even entered the room. There were too many people for the cramped space.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
The air was musky as employees seated across the long table looked aimlessly across the room. Those that weren't early enough to nab seats were standing in a line along the walls. On top of the table were beautiful arrays of mouth-watering appetizers. Bacon-wrapped prunes, bellini with caviar, beef tartare, and cheese fondue.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
The strange man with squinty eyes was pouring shots of alcohol out of many liquor bottles while the bald man from the doorway followed him towards the table holding a bottle of wine. He passed around the glasses to everyone. Wine or liquor? The squinty man asked. Through pursed lips, I replied.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
It sounds like you're doing an Asian voice because it said squinty eyes. No! That's what I'm trying to do. That's what I'm trying to do. What are we doing, man? There you go. Okay, that's better. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Throwing that on there. You have to be like, come on, we are celebrating. That's German. Okay, that's better than the direction you were heading. Sorry, dude. Straight up.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Straight off a cliff. I have... Sorry, dude. Sorry if it wasn't good enough for you. Damn. I hesitated for a moment, then pointed towards the bottle of red that the bald man was holding, poured a generous amount, and handed me a glass. Is this everyone? Yes, the room. A couple people nodded their heads in assurance.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
But not only that, you'll also receive a free welcome kit with things like a shaker bottle, a few days of AG1 in their convenient travel packs, and a dropper of vitamin D3 and K2 to get even more of the nutrients you need. Again, that's scan the QR code or head to drinkag1.com slash creepcast to get in on this incredible offer today. Thank you to AG1 for sponsoring the show. It means the most.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Lana and myself share puzzle looks. I've never seen this man before.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
While Sergio spoke, I began to scan the room. There's still no sign of Julie, or better yet, no sign of Silva. I cling to my glass against Lana's and a few other employees in my vicinity, holding the brim of the glass to my lips. Some of the waitstaff and hostesses downed their drinks and were nibbling at the finger food.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Some of the line cooks and junior chefs were pouring themselves another round with delighted smiles across their faces. This was the first team-building event in all my years at the restaurant, so many of the workers seemed to be making the most out of the occasion. But those that knew better held their ground. Dwayne held his full glass to his hip with a stern expression.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Elsa was sitting at the table, her chef hat flopping out of her pocket, her glass untouched. I'd seen too much death to enjoy the offerings. Not an ounce of alcohol was going to hit my throat. You should try the tartar, Plano whispered. It's delectable. I smiled, wine glass still to my mouth, as I eyed the exit. I slowly shuffled towards the door as the speech continued.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
The doors slowly creaked open, sound lost amongst the celebration.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Excitement slowly shifted into nervous apprehension. Do not worry. Sergio assured the crowd. You will all be welcomed back with open arms.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
The dim light sparkled off the chandeliers in an iry dance as I strolled through the halls. I walked past the foyer, into the kitchen, and then down the grungy, abandoned hallway. With everyone preoccupied with the party, it gave me an opportunity to go digging for some answers. As I made it closer to the elevator, I detected movement. My walk turned into a run as I saw a marred and slinky figure.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
The door to the elevator was slowly closing. I pounded my feet into the concrete and sprinted as fast as I could. With an outstretched hand, I managed to activate the sensor just as the door was closing. What the fuck are you doing? He barked. I grabbed him by his scrawny neck and pinned him to the back of the elevator. Take me down, now! He flailed and sent a powerful kick to my stomach.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
I noticed his hands were coated in a thick layer of blood. Wheezing and clutching my midriff, I yelled, "'Take me to the bodies, you scum!' We grappled with each other in the hallway. He managed to clip me on the side of the head with a shot that made me wobble. With gritted teeth, we both struggled for control. I wrestled with him, holding his body close to mine as I tried to gather my composure.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
The dim light from the elevator was sparking like little flashes of lightning. The room was spinning, but somehow, with a sudden burst of energy, I managed to connect with a short jab. It stunned Martin long enough for me to push him into the wall. He went blind, his head hitting the corner of the wall's exposed brick. There was a deep thud, and then his body collapsed to the floor.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
A small trail of blood trickled out the sides of his head, forming a tiny puddle on the floor. I scrambled to his body, rummaging for his access key. There were sounds coming out of me that I'd never heard before. Uncontrollable sobs, moans of sorrow. I found the card in his back pocket and booked it for the elevator.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
We are now back to the episode. how can i help you is that how you think that the um i i don't this is our narrator talking so whatever voice you come up with is going to be the narrator for the rest of the story well is it a girl or a guy uh i i don't know it's it's a waiter normally they don't specify in these stories but waiters a man and a waitress is a woman right
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
As the door began to close, I noticed the flashing red light coming from the ceiling. The camera was pointed in my direction. The odor was crippling. It crept up the shaft and seeped through the cracks of the elevator doors. The elevator carriage rumbled as I slowly descended into the unknown. The doors eventually slid open to reveal what looked like an ongoing construction project.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
The framing and some of the drywall had been completed, but the floor was packed dirt. Darkness seemed to cover large sections of the room. There were lights strung up on the ceiling, but there was little done to mask the smell. If there wasn't a pile of gas masks laid out by the entrance, I surely would have vomited. I followed the hanging, glowing orbs down the old tunnel.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
It only took a couple of paces before I saw the industrial-sized fridge. It was a massive stainless steel house with a large sliding door. I shivered as I entered the unit. Inside were shelves and shelves of plastic bags. Hearts, livers, lungs, intestines, vials of blood. Names of either the victims or the new recipients were written in permanent marker.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Everything was sealed, labeled, and organized. Tiptoe deeper into the cold room, only making it a few more steps before I finally screamed. Silva was rigid and face up, lying on top of a pile of bodies. Thousand dollar suits and flowing gowns were all lined with speckles of frost. Silva's eyebrows were covered in an icy white, his expression frozen in a look of terror.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
The bullet wound was right through the center of his skull. That moment I understood that this was so much more than a murder-for-hire operation. It was so much more than a restaurant. Everything seemed to turn a profit. I ran out of the cool room and started pacing outside of the unit.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
I wanted so badly to go back up the elevator to make my way to safety, but I knew I was on the cusp of the secrets. There was still so much I didn't know potentially down the hall, so I foolishly pressed forward.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
As I went further into the... For what I got to say, that is so cool that Silva was just a piece in the operation. You know, like he's made to be the big guy, but it's like, no, he messed up by letting you get too far. So he had to be taken care of. As I went further into the basement, the smell intensified. The piles of bodies were in plain sight. If you could even call them bodies anymore.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
I removed my mask just in time to unleash a violent wave of chicken casserole. Their stomachs were fleshy, gaping holes hacked away with little left of their insides except for the rib cages and bone that held the remaining bits of skin together. Their faces had no eyes, just black holes carved out of the now rotting flesh.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
The maggots were little white dots in a sea of decomposed skin, festering all through the crevices of what was left. The dirt floor had clearly been disturbed in numerous places. Something drew me towards one of the hands dangling from the middle of the pile. It was dainty, the fingernails painted in a pastel pumpkin. The flamboyant color palette looked familiar, like something Julie would wear.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
As I pulled, heaps of limbs and serrated bones toppled from the top of the tower of bodies. Roves of beetles and blowflies buzzed from all the commotion. I recoiled, losing my footing on some loose sediment. In the corner of my eye, I spotted the meat grinder at the end of the room. The piece of machinery was hiding in the shadows, kept from plain sight.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
As I got closer, I could see that the thing looked polished to perfection. Sinister thoughts flooded my brain regarding its purpose. Some off-menu items for an extra cost. A special order of beef tartare. I dry heaved, nearly losing my lunch once again. I couldn't experience the gruesome scene any longer. These were all of Azalea's deepest, darkest secrets.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Secrets that some of the family members took to the grave. I needed to get out of here before I suffered the same fate. There was a thundering sound of footsteps and scraping coming from the roof. I made a mad dash for the elevator. I strode past Martin's body down the hall and made it through the empty kitchen. I managed to round the corner of the foyer before I heard shouting. Hey, stop!
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
The bald man was wheeling one of the dish carts out of room one. Dwayne was wheeling another behind him. I took the flight up the stairs, hearing the pounding of ominous footsteps behind me. I managed to exit the parking lot before they were able to get close. Okay, so... They killed all the servers, right? Because they had to move locations or whatever.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
So it's like, hey, we're shutting down in case any of you know anything, except for people like Dwayne who are already like in too deep. We're going to kill everyone. And then we put the bodies and we're going to dispose of them. So it seems like they were killing people as a hitman service. But then, as he said, everything turns a profit.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
So they were also in the organ trade and they were also in the business of if someone wanted to eat human flesh, they had like that option with the meat grinder. But most of the body pieces they couldn't use were just left to rot in the basement.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Yeah. Yeah, they've made the money here. Like I said, everything at a cost. Everything turns a profit. I told you at the start of this that I was a nobody. I was just a lowly server. I was no mastermind. I was no criminal, despite what the security tapes may show. There was no plan. There was nothing. Just a series of events that unfolded after that evening.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
There was no gun, although I did think about this often during my fits of insomnia. I would have been too much of a coward to even pull the trigger. But if anyone deserved a bullet in their brain, it was Silva. It would have been satisfying to do the honor, but the end result was the same. There was no fake passport. I just didn't know where to get one. There was no burner phone.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
I just never had the gumption to follow through. In the end, there was just me and the open road. My first stop was a small town bank in the early morning. I withdrew all the cash that I could and loaded it into a suitcase. Kept driving, only stopping to load up on fuel or to reload on convenience stores, food, and energy drinks. I kept going for a few days until I reached the Mexican border.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
I prayed they would let me through, and for some reason, my prayers were answered. The Azalea family always proved to be a tight-lipped bunch. There's a beach along the coast just outside of a small town. I remember the recommendation from a dear friend. It's off the beaten path and far away from tourists. I think the name was El Decembo or maybe Decemboque. My Spanish was never the greatest.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
It just seemed like a good place to stop. The water was crystal clear and the beach was quiet. I sat in the sand just in time to watch the sunset. There were a few other Mexican teenagers splashing around in the water and a handful of fishermen dragging around empty nets across the beach. There was one other person, the only other gringo that I've seen.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Her hair is an unusual midnight black for her face complexion, and her smile seems to glimmer in a familiar way. She's all alone and out of place. Most of all, she looks happy. Gazing at her sprawled out on the beach towel for some reason, I felt the need to make a call. I dialed the number, the same one from the poster. Hello? Viola? Uh, yes, who is this? It was her. You were right all along.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
And I tell her everything I know about everything. The sun dips below the horizon. The sky suddenly a murky marmalade. It's harder and harder to see with every passing second. My mind wanders into the dark recesses of my brain towards the memories I've tried to forget. I think about my time at Azalea's and how great the job was before it wasn't. I think about my co-workers. I think about Julie.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Yeah, yeah. Azalea's Cookhouse is a family restaurant, but please don't bring your family. Part one, Hunter, bring us in. Azalea's Cookhouse, how can I help you? I despise the inflection in my voice. The fakeness irked me to my core, but it was all part of the job, so I took my customer service seriously. Thank you so much for watching.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
I think about how close I came to death. I think about the others who weren't so lucky. I think about the life I took and the one that got away. The beach is empty now. The fishing boats are all secured and hitched to the dock for the evening. My vision's hazy in the shadows of the night, but I still hear the playful frolicking in the water and the soothing splash of the waves against the rocks.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
At this moment, I am sure it's the most beautiful place in the world. It's a matter of time before they find me. Whether they track my cell signal from the nearby towers or they find the footage from the restaurant. Tomorrow, I'll be in another town and another after that for as long and as far as my money will take me.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
For now, I sit, take in the crashing of the waves, avoiding the dead, restless eyes that will come from me in my sleep.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Uh, great story. Really enjoyed it. Great. No sleep. Fine. Very great. No sleep. Fine.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
I think the kaleidoscope, the kaleidoscope, that would be one.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
I think the only, we should also, it's a, It's also an anthology horror series, so if we can get in contact with him when it comes out, we should definitely do one of the stories from it, I think. Yeah, we should just make sure. That'd be cool. And you can sign up for his newsletter to get updated and new short stories from him as they come out because this story banged. I liked it a lot.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Yeah, but it's also at the same time, it's like you either end with our main character dying or you end with... Because he saw everything. Like he goes to the basement and he sees what they're doing with the bodies. He sees that Silva's been killed. This is a part of a much bigger operation that he can't hope to deal with. So he just escapes. And then I did...
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
At the end of part three, whenever Keith's sister comes up, or whatever his name was, when his sister comes up, Viola, and is like, I know something happened to my brother, and she's emotional and everything. I was like, I don't really know if that was a good touch. But then at the end, after he's done everything, that's like his last piece of redemption.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Even if I can never go home, even though my life as I know it is over, I'm going to call her and say she was right to hopefully get the word out. That's like a lifeline.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Yeah. I had this thought near the end where I'm like, I hope this doesn't become like when he goes to the basement, I hope it's not like, like Silva's the devil. Yeah. There's like a demonic sacrifice. Yeah. It's like, and there's these creatures are praying. I was afraid to go that route, but no, it's just like a body, like body part trading circuit and broadened bodies.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
So I like how, like you said, how it stayed grounded. I really like all the story beats I took. I thought it was interesting how like Paulina is kind of like, Oh, she's cute. And then she's a part of this whole world. And he tries to like justify it to himself, but it doesn't work out. And he has to escape. Like I I'm really happy with the decisions it took. I thought it was great played out.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
I really loved the writing style. The writing style was awesome.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
I think it's just because it is an interesting story. Like, the concept is so unique and cool that it's like, oh, well, you could do this, this, this with it. And I think that's just a symptom of... Like having such a creative concept for a short story, the naturally you're going to be like, oh, well think of all these other things you could do with this concept. Yeah.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Because it's a unique concept. So I think it's more so a statement of he had a really good idea that I want to see more stuff done with it. I want to see more direction. I think there's going to be a lot of people.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Or you could do an entire anthology series out of different stories from Azaleas, right? Yeah.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
The tricks of the trade were simple, but you'd be surprised how many college kids wandered into the industry with zero regard for service. It was an epidemic, as far as I was concerned. Pretty faces were always welcome, but seldom did they stay. It wasn't like this was my dream job, either. I used to have real ambitions, too. Played in a rock band. I had a marriage.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Do that. And most importantly, Hunter was wrong about his prediction.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Sure. Yeah. Have you quit recording? Okay, Hunter was wrong and I was right. And he's also, he does this a lot. He'll say things are going to happen and they don't happen. And he has them cut from the recording in the end. But he's lying. If Hunter ever tells you anything is right, he has gone back and posted, edited it. And he lied. He lies all the time. He's full of lies. But yeah, great story.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Those things, well, I wish they were as simple. When everything went up in flames, when it all started to slip away, the restaurant industry was always there. And to them, I was valuable. Plays like Azalea's was a great gig. They demanded a pristine level of service or your ass was on the curb. But for what you got paid compared to other places, I felt the trade-off was worth it.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
I recognized the silky voice right away. It was a twist of warm friendship mixed with passionate lover. Oh, fuck. Let me reread it. No, no, no, no, no. Let me reread it. No, no, no, no. I think that needs to be the voice.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Yes, there you go. Okay. It was elegant and upbeat. It was Paulina. I didn't take my neighbor for the type to dine at this kind of establishment. And while it was only her voice, she could have been a hundred miles away. It was enough to send me down into an anxious tailspin. Isn't he married? No, no. He had a marriage. He had a marriage. Okay. And a rock band.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Hold on. CC's pizza. You don't bring your family. No, not the whole point of that was no, no, no, no, no. Well, like a little, there's a CC's in your house and I loved it. It was a family. It's a family restaurant. Please don't bring there's a little arcade corner in the back.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Like it's, he lost out on that stuff, but this restaurant is the one thing that's been dependable for him. Yeah. Yeah.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Sorry, ma'am. That's not a problem. And for how many? Four. In less than a minute, it was confirmed. Oh, my God. She was scheduled for tomorrow at 7 p.m. This is the stuff that I was saying. Okay, go ahead. Sorry. For one, the audacity to do it in the first place, to just read the story ahead and say it's a premonition. But then the further audacity to call it out. What is the next line, though?
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Her voice had reduced me to a teenager again. Visions of her watering her flowers and walking her dog occupied my mind for the rest of the evening.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Who's another YouTube and really any of the only guys would probably do it. Yeah. Who's another animator that I could like sell you for?
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
You, you, you say that, but every time someone like talks about me anywhere online, they're always like, where's Hunter? Why isn't this post about Hunter? I'd rather be talking about Hunter or whatever. I saw one that was brutal the other day. Look, look, I saw one that was brutal the other day. There was a guy that someone had posted. I subreddit Instagram somewhere.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
It was like, these two are some of the best personalities on YouTube. And then someone commented as like, well, one of them's a YouTube personality. The other one's a guy who got lucky with an iceberg trend. And I was like, ow, that was rough.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Mm-hmm. Right. So I just like to... There's one guy. So there's one dude. He has like... I'm not going to say his name because I don't need people to know, but he has like eight followers on Twitter. Complete nobody, right? Yeah. Every time I post a video announcement, after a couple hours, he will quote tweet... the tweet I made announcing it and say either good video or bad video.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
And he never gives any further explanation. That's haunting. He never says why or anything like that. That's legitimately haunting. But my algorithm, I think because I've looked at his page, it always shows me what his reaction is. Every time I post a video, he'll just be like, bad video. And I'll be like, ugh! Why? Dammit! Explain. Like, yeah.
CreepCast
Azalea's Cookhouse Is A Family Restaurant
Bad für dich. And I'm over here like, damn you, Wilhelm. Like, shaking my fist at nothing. Augustus! It's like the kid from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory just eating chocolate. It's literally just Augustus Gloop just covered in chocolate watching the videos. What is he planning? I know he's scheming something over there. Yeah, it's just random. What sticks you? What does it?