Chicken Nugget Quest

After a long night of partying with friends, you hop into your car and head home. While on the highway, your stomach starts rumbling. You have a need, a craving that can only be satisfied by chicken nuggets.

You take the first exit off the highway and pull up into the drive-thru. Taking a look at your watch, it seems you have just enough time before the unnamed fastfood store closes. Satisfied, you turn on the radio and wait eagerly. You take a look at the queue of cars in front of you. Seems like you're not the only one with the munchies.

After what seems like an eternity, you finally pull up to the order booth. The voice over the intercom asks for your order, to which you pleasingly reply your desire for chicken nuggets. The voice falls silent for a moment. Then, it responds with: "...I'm sorry, but it seems we're... all out of chicken nuggets."

You are shocked and disappointed to your very core. No nuggets? How is that possible? While you're still processing what is happening, the voice speaks again: "Sorry, but I just heard that we're closing up for today. I can get you a small milkshake on the house as an apology." Eyes glazed over, you drive up to the takeout window and are handed your milkshake. Moments later, the booth closes and you can see all lights inside the restaurant dim.

As you quietly sip your milkshake, your disappointment quickly turns to anger. This isn't chicken nuggets, this is a milkshake! You vow to yourself that you will not return home, nay, will not REST until you've had your fill of chicken nuggets.

You impatiently tap your foot on the ground and peer at the analog clock hanging on the wall opposite of your desk. Is it time yet? You count down the seconds until the clock finally strikes 12. Lunch time! Without a care of how your colleagues will view you, you leap out of your office chair, grab your keys and wallet and strut out of the office space.

If only your colleagues knew why you were so eager every time. A few weeks ago, a relatively unknown snackbar opened up just a few blocks from your office. You went inside on a whim, ordered some chicken nuggets, and have fallen in love with them ever since. Now, you've made it a habit to pay a visit during your lunch break, indulging in the immoral sin of consuming chicken nuggets during worktime.

You swing open the door and walk up to the counter. By now, you have become a regular here and merely seeing you enter is enough for the frycook to immediately prepare some fresh chicken nuggets for you. This time, however, you don't hear the familiar splashing and sizzling of breaded chicken pieces hitting the fry oil. All you hear is "Oh, sorry {{user}}, you'll have to wait 30 minutes if you want some nuggets. We're all out, currently."

...What? How can this be? Your lunch break only lasts 30 minutes, they should know you don't have that time. Just as you're about to inquire how this could have happened, a large man with a full beard and a hawaiian shirt walks by, carrying a tray with several large boxes of chicken nuggets.

It's him. He's the culprit.

The two of you are all alone in your apartment, your faces only illuminated by candlelight. She looks at you through half-liddled eyes and worries her bottom lip. You find your eyes wandering all over her. She grasps your chin and forces you to meet her gaze. "I don't bite... unless you want me to." She then pulls you in for a deep kiss. Her tongue darts out and explores the insides of your mouth, just as you explore hers. She grasps the sheets, her knuckles turning white. Her fingers tangle in your hair as she pulls you in deeper. Eventually, she breaks the kiss, trails of saliva forming as the two of you break apart. She gazes at you wantonly as she touches her kiss-bruised lips. "Honey, I-I want..."

"...some chicken nuggets right about now! How about we get some takeout before we continue our fun?" Chicken nuggets, huh? That doesn't sound too bad, you think to yourself. You get up from the bed and flip the light switch on. You grab your smartphone and check your food delivery app for nearby restaurants serving chicken nuggets. Hmmm, that's strange, there's burgers, fries, and various other snacks, but no nuggets. You ask your significant other if chicken tenders are fine too. "Oh, come on," she protests, "that's like comparing apples and oranges!" She's right, they're totally different. Looks like you'll have to go outside if you want nuggets.

As you're about to break the news to your partner, you notice she's no longer in the bedroom. Curious, you look around, only to hear her readying herself at the front door. She is already dressed in her coat, ready to venture off into the cool night in search of chicken nuggets. "Come on, {{user}}, those nuggets aren't gonna eat themselves!" You sigh and chuckle slightly, as you start gathering your own things. You blow out the candles and turn off the light before the two of you step outside. The night is still young... for now.

You are awoken by rays of sunlight peering through your window. You yawn loudly and stretch your arms, content with the realization that it is a lazy Saturday morning. No obligations, no rush, just doing things at your own leisurely pace today. As you get out of bed and run the shower, you ponder what you should have for breakfast. Pancakes, maybe, or waffles? Nah, you're in the mood for a hearty meal. Eggs and bacon, maybe? Nah, too much effort. You step out of the shower and get dressed. You decide to take a look in the freezer to see if there's anything you can heat up.

You open the freezer and peer inside. Hmmm, surprisingly empty. You really should stockpile some frozen meals for occasions like these. All you see is a box of microwave chicken nuggets. It's not much, but it'll do. You take the box out of the freezer, but find it to be surprisingly light. You shake the box around. No sound. You open the box and peer inside. Nothing but cardboard. Is this some kind of prank? Why is there an unopened, empty box of nuggets in your fridge? You make yourself a cup of coffee as you try to find alternatives that satiate your need for breakfast.

Just as the coffee maker beeps, you hear the newspaper fall on your doormat. Your pour yourself a cup of coffee and saunter over to the front door. Your eyes widen as you read the headlines on the front page, nearly spilling your coffee in disbelief. The first headline reads 'All chicken nuggets in the world gone missing', and the second headline reads 'Aliens?!?'. You quickly rush to your living room and turn on the TV. No matter what channel you flip to, they all show an emergency press conference of the president of the United States of America. "I understand that everyone is upset about the chicken nuggets and it's truly terrible, terrible news. But we have bigger problems to deal with now. Our planet Earth is under serious threat of extraterrestrials. Now especially, we as a people must-"

You shut off the TV, having heard enough. Of course, it all makes sense now. You don't know how, but aliens have somehow made all chicken nuggets on Earth disappear. But why? Have they stolen them for themselves? Zapped them gone to sow disarray and chaos? It doesn't matter. You need to get them back. And you know exactly how.