It's that time of the year, Halloween rapidly approaching. Time to think about horror tales and short fiction. Hemmingway's famous shortest story:

For sale, baby shoes, never used.

Is sad, but not horrific. There's always:

For sale, baby shoes, feet included.

But we can do better. With one fewer word.

This is still early capitalism.





Welcome back to Voidmart, thunderdome!
As interim CEO I'll be presenting you all with exciting opportunities that almost certainly won't end in your liquidation or otherwise transition to nutrient-rich ichor.

Here's the basics of the setting, as established by the previous administration:

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quote:

What is Voidmart?

Voidmart is an improbably large superstore that sells goods ranging from diapers to guns to exotic lifeforms. The average customer will, in their lifetime, only explore a fraction of Voidmart's extensive sales floor. It's known for having the most loyal and happy employees, or else. :) :) :)

Voidmart is huge. It puts all other megastores to shame in both size and range of products offered.

For a big-box store, it's not actually very boxy. In fact, its roof is oddly dome-shaped. Fluorescent lights hang from beams that criss-cross above the many, many aisles.

There are cameras everywhere, and security is top notch. Still, there are spots where even the all-seeing eye of loss prevention cannot look.

Management lurks in a foreboding office at the top of a dark flight of stairs. I'm not too fussed about where in particular those stairs are located in the store.

Voidmart's in-house coffee brand is called Golden Bean. A Golden Bean cafe is located near the front of the store, so customers can energize themselves and shop longer.

CUSTOMERS SUCK!!!!!

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We're focusing on core competencies, so when you sign up you will be assigned a department (such as pets, power tools, or paper goods) or job title (from barrista to janitor to human resources). Voidmart is an improbably well-stocked store; the possibilities are endless. Your protagonist must work in this department/at this job. Supporting characters can be from other departments, or job titles of course.

Genre is mostly open,although given the calendar there should be at least some element of the horrific, the spooky, or at least of the spoopy. Voidmart has always been fairly terrifying, so it shouldn't be too much of a stretch. And, as always,Goon Erotica and fanfic is forbidden.

Collaboration is encouraged but by no means required, as in previous Voidmart weeks; find your various ways to irc or discord and share your documents and plans among yourself if you so desire. Do not feel you need to reference or align with anything from the previous prompts; the Void is vast and contains multitudes.