Meat

Jason DeMatteo

  “If you squint while taking a bite, I assure you it will taste like real meat.”

No one accepted Turner’s claim about her chicken-tasting tofu, but she got a few polite nods. The pool and barbecue kept the party engaged while country pop played in the background. A volleyball game distracted the guests, missing the unopened box of Lester’s Burgers and Meats beside the grill. A delivery driver in a truck without a shipper logo delivered it and asked Turner to sign for it when she first arrived. 

“Enjoy,” his voice trailed while she walked away with the unusually warm box and quickly dropped it off on top of a cooler.

The burgers were the next batch for cooking. While Turner watched for any curious people to try her masterpiece, the host of the party, Bob, walked over to greet her. 

“Sorry, I didn’t see you arrive earlier. You’re the first from work. Thanks for coming.”

Turner nodded and looked over at her unoccupied creation. It was amongst friends next to the bowl of baked beans, coleslaw, German potato salad, and cold pasta noodles. 

“Burgers anyone? I’ve never tried these before. Anyone hear of Lester’s?” Bob examined the packaging. 

“The label says we pack them fresh. Out of the box and into the bun,” Bob read. 

A roar of approval from the pool gave Bob the nod to rip open the box and slap the clumps of beef onto the grill. Turner walked inside the house to avoid the cooking smell while monitoring her dish from afar. She sat alone, browsing her phone, hoping for a text from Tyler, the only other vegetarian from work. His ritual of showering and pre-game snacking for the long drive made her want to not look at the time crawling. She burned more time with an internet search for Lester’s Burgers and Meats. Oddly, the company did not exist. 

“Medium rare, anyone?”

A few hands grabbed patties tucked away in rolls, and they were a hit. Bob put another round on the grill. Three people finished in under a minute and waited as vultures for Bob to finish cooking the second round.

“I want mine rare!”

“Me too! "Out of the way," said another patron, pushing others aside.

Multiple hands tore at the incomplete patties, followed by swinging fists.

“Hey, we have enough! Don’t do that, you’ll burn your hands. Wait until I’m done,” Bob shouted while unsuccessfully pushing the crowd away. 

Multiple hands grabbed the remaining uncooked meat from the box as they all ate without waiting for them to cook. A visiting neighbor to the party chewing raw beef gnawed on Bob’s neck. His scream made the crowd turn on each other, looking for fresh meat. 

After hearing a thump on the sliding glass door, Turner looked up from her phone. A woman wearing a Class of 2001 t-shirt with a red palm, was trying to get her attention. While Turner attempted to open the door, she observed party-goers with bleeding eyes and gums, holding burgers, pushing ahead. The table with the non-meats met with a final destination as they toppled over onto the patio. Other party guests slid from walking over them, slapping and punching each other.

“Open the door! Help me!”

Turner kept the sliding door closed and fumbled for the locking mechanism.  Both fell down in a frenzy of gnashing after it bit the red palm woman on the neck from behind. Two more joined in with kicks and screams. 

She ran to the bathroom and locked the door. The door handle jiggled furiously until shouts and screams took over. Sounds of the sliding door crashing gave way to the bloodthirsty guests scavenging for meat to consume. Turner grabbed the copper toilet paper pedestal and held it in front of her, waiting for the bathroom door to break open. 

Her phone vibrated. Tyler’s face appeared on the screen as the caller. She dropped the pedestal and swiped to answer the call.

“Call the police! Everyone is going nuts! They're eating each other!”

Tyler laughed, “What kind of party am I missing?”

“It’s not a joke! Help! When you get here, stay outside.”

Outside the bathroom door was the sound of growling and scratches. Turner dropped the call. She covered her mouth and turned off the light. The sounds grew faint as the moans and cries subsided. The final party guest met a gruesome end, using a steak knife to reach the most delicate parts of their own body until their demise. Turner opened the bathroom door, but a corpse blocked it. She shoved it open to see the carnage of bodies in different states of decomposition and disarray. The smell of burning meat from the outside barbeque pushed her to the front door. 

“Turner? Where are you?”

She looked over in the direction where Tyler called her name. Additional bodies blocked her path to the front door as she tiptoed around puddles of blood and gore. 

“They all went berserk. Could tainted meat cause people to do this?”

Tyler shrugged. They crossed the street upon hearing emergency vehicles and police sirens. A neighbor approached with a red mouth dripping with blood and drool. She limped and dragged her right foot up to the street post. 

“Are they ready yet? I like mine rare. Out of the box and into the bun,” she grunted.

The neighborhood entrance and exit loomed under the shadow of unmarked vans and military transports. A lone soldier erected a sign that bore the words “Quarantine Zone,” while two others hauled a makeshift wooden barricade. As Lester’s Burgers and Meats package blew down the street, three individuals jumped on it to claim the scraps.