Haunted Organic (2014 Watty Award Winner)

The fluorescent lights of the Organic Food Store hummed, casting a sterile glow on rows of untouched produce. Josie Brown, a lanky teenager swallowed by a black hoodie, navigated the aisles with the practiced indifference of someone who’d rather be anywhere else. All he wanted were chicken nuggets, a simple comfort for a perfectly uneventful night. But as he approached the deserted meat section, a faint, unsettling scent of fish, like something ancient and forgotten, wafted through the air.

He spotted Ludivine Dorkely, the store manager, her jet-black bob unnervingly precise, her pale skin almost translucent. She was meticulously adjusting cheeses in a refrigerator, her movements sharp and angular. "Excuse me," Josie muttered, a hint of desperation in his voice. "Uh, chicken nuggets. You have any chicken nuggets?"

Ludivine pivoted with a startling abruptness, her wire-rimmed glasses glinting. Her gaze, cold and direct, seemed to pierce through his hoodie, stripping him bare. "No," she stated, her voice tight like a taut wire. She turned back to her cheeses, dismissing him with an almost imperceptible shiver. Josie felt a prickle of unease. This was not going to be an uneventful night after all.