The story is about a man who accompanies his wife, Brenda, to an Ikea store to pick up some furniture. However, things take a dark turn when he becomes separated from Brenda in the vast and endless aisles of the store. As the hours pass, he realizes that he is trapped in the store with no way out.
As the days go by, he encounters strange and terrifying creatures that seem to be the store's staff, but with no faces or mouths. He also discovers that he is not alone in the store, as there are other humans who have been trapped there for years.
The protagonist eventually finds a community of survivors in the store's checkout area, where they have built a makeshift town. They share food, stories, and support each other in their desperate attempt to survive.
However, the community is not without its risks, and the protagonist witnesses the brutal killing of one of the community members, Gloria, by the faceless staff. This event sets him on a mission to find a way out of the store, using Gloria's notes and observations about the exit signs and the staff's behavior.
With newfound determination, the protagonist decides to take a risk and try to escape the store, either finding a way out or meeting his demise. The story ends with a sense of uncertainty and danger, leaving the reader wondering what will happen to the protagonist next.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. The narrator visits Ikea with his wife Brenda to pick up a sofa and some other essentials for their new house.
2. The narrator gets lost in Ikea and cannot find Brenda.
3. The narrator spends multiple days lost in Ikea, with no clear sense of time passing.
4. The narrator encounters a faceless, monstrous creature wearing an Ikea employee uniform.
5. The narrator hides in a wardrobe to escape the creature.
6. The narrator meets another human, Gloria, who is also trapped in Ikea.
7. Gloria tells the narrator that she has been trapped in Ikea for about a year.
8. The narrator and Gloria join a community of around 40 people who have built a town in the Checkout department.
9. The community is protected by a gate that keeps the faceless creatures out at night.
10. The narrator and the community listen to podcasts and share food together.
11. Gloria plans to try and escape Ikea by tracking the exit signs, which seem to move around.
12. Gloria sneaks out of the community while everyone is asleep and tries to escape, but is found and killed by the faceless creatures.
13. The narrator finds Gloria's notebook, which contains her plan for escape.
14. The narrator decides to try and escape Ikea using Gloria's plan.