“Hey, Dad.” I answered the phone in the parking lot of Molly’s Diner as I searched the pack of the car for my uniform. “What’s up?”

“Are you working tonight?” The background noise hinted that he was still at the office. I could hear his partner Jimmy Morrison’s loud voice shouting at some unknown person.

“Yeah, I’m at Molly’s until ten.”

“Do we have leftover lasagna?”

“I’m pretty sure I made enough to feed the whole town. You’re good for a while, Dad.” I laughed at my joke. My father wasn’t a talented cook, and while he did try often to make dinner, I took the chore from his hands. My cooking was always more favorable to his.

“Good. I’ll cook something up for us when this runs out. I was doing a little research today; how does Shepard’s pie sound for Thursday?”

“We’ll see, Dad.”

“Alright, Anne.” He chuckled at my reluctance, “Be careful when you come home. They’re calling for some bad winds later tonight.”

“I’ll be cautious.”

“Bye Annie,”

“Goodbye, Dad.”

I tucked the phone into my back pocket as I hurried out of the car and into the small diner. I had been working here for about a year now and loved every aspect of it. It was a locally own diner that was known for their pancakes and milkshakes. Molly’s was right on the edge of all the businesses and was fairly busy throughout most of the day. Unlike many restaurants around here, this one stayed open until ten each evening regardless of the days of the week. 

I entered the small diner and quickly made my way to the restrooms to change. Emerging just in time for my shift, I checked it with the boss and started my work. 

“Hey, Anne!” Kate called once I finished refilling drinks at table 4. I made my way across the dining room to where the petite waitress stood by the kitchen doors. 

“What’s up?”

“Can you help me with food?” She smiled sweetly.

I rolled my eyes, but nodded.  There were only three waitresses working today, and Kate was the only pleasant one. The other waitress, Maria, wasn’t rude, but she was difficult person to hold a conversation with because of her sarcastic responses. 

We relished in the slowness of the pre-dinner hour. By the time 6 o’clock had rolled around, everyone was working at a much faster rate. I barely had an opportunity to chat with my coworkers as I hurried in and out of the doors. 

I enjoyed working here specifically because of how quickly time seemed to fly by once it got business. Regardless of the fact that it was a Monday, people still enjoyed dining out, and that always provided us with much to do.

The minutes turned into hours, and before I knew it, it was already eight-fifty in the evening. Business had started to slow down considerably as the town returned to their homes. A few of the late diners remained, chatting away with their coworkers or family. 

I stood behind Maria at the register and waited for her to finish.  She turned around as she moved out of the way.

“Hey, Anne?” 

“Yes?” My eyes were preoccupied with the screen before me.

“Would you mind taking my tables for the last hour?” She asked, unusually polite, “My brother’s alone at home and—”

I shrugged, “Don’t worry about it Maria. We only have twenty people left in the building. Go take care of your brother.”

She gave me a grateful grin, “Thank you! I owe you!”

“Go home.” I rolled my eyes.

As I was handing a table their bill, Maria passed by, giving me another grateful look. I waved her off and continued what I was doing. The couple was older, but madly in love. I knew of them, but never had an actual conversation with the elderly couple. They dined at Molly’s fairly often for a retired couple. 

“No rush,” I started as I set down the bill on the edge of the table, “Here’s your check when you’re ready. You take your time. Have a good one!”

“Thank you,” His eyes moved over the small piece of paper as I walked away. They were fairly good tippers as well. 

I flitted between tables and the cash register as the last of our customers began to finish their meals. My eyes strayed toward the clock that hung above the door. With any luck, I’d get off a good forty-five minutes earlier than normal. 

Someone tapped my shoulder gently. I turned around to see the hostess smiling at me with her adolescent face.

“Anne, I just seated someone at table 12.” 

I groaned, “Why?!”

She gave me an apologetic look, “I’m sorry. You were next on the rotation. It’s only one person though, so he should eat quickly.”

I scowled angrily as I finished with the order I was working on. “Whatever. I’ll go to his table once I’ve finished with this bill.”

She sent me one more apologetic look before hurrying back off to her stand. It was always irritating when someone decided to come into the restaurant so late when all other customers were finishing a meal. I knew the cooks in the back wouldn’t be happy with this situation either. 

I set the check down on the table for the small three person family. After biding them a good evening, I quickly gathered the tips from the nearby tables in my section. With the money tucked safely into my pocket, I grabbed a notepad and made my way over to table 12.

The back of the booth loomed ahead as I approached. It was tucked away into the corner of the restaurant where little could disturb him. No one sat in the seat I could see, proving that there was indeed only one person ordering. The booth simply wasn’t big enough to fit two people onto the same side. 

“Hello, welcome to Molly’s Diner. I’m Anne and I’ll be your wait—” My voice faltered as my eyes fell onto the customer. The dark eyes met mine, sending a shiver through my spine. “You’re Derek, right?”

He continued to stare at me with a nonchalance that struck a chord. Logic told me that he had met many people today, and it was possible he simply didn’t remember me. I might not have been the most impressionable person today.

“I’m Anne; I sit in front of you in history class.” I smiled politely, trying to ignore the lack of change in his expression. “Anyway, can I start you off with something to drink?”

“Coke.”

I tucked the notepad into my back pocket with a nod and went to retrieve his drink. As I pressed the cup underneath the Coca-Cola tab on the drink fountain, Kate appeared by my side with a devious smirk across her lips.

“Can I help you?” I asked, not taking my eyes off of the ever-rising soda level.

“Have you seen your most recent customer?”

I laughed, “I believe I have.”

“He’ll do.” She licked her top lip slowly, “Oh, man, he will do.”

“Good luck trying to seduce him, Kate.” I pulled the cup off of the tab, halting the stream of pouring soda. “He’s incredibly anti-social.”

She shrugged, “We’ll see about that. If he returns to this restaurant while we’re both on shift, I get his table this time.”

“You can have it.” I laughed and grabbed a straw before heading over to where Derek sat at his table. I set the drink down on a napkin to prevent the condensed water on the sides from getting onto the table. He closed the menu and set it onto the table next to the drink, waiting patiently for me to take his order.

“Alright, what can I get you?”

“I’ll just take a cheeseburger with a side of fries.” His voice was as smooth as velvet. He passed me the menu. 

“Coming right up.”

~*~

At ten of ten, Derek finally left, and we could shut down the restaurant. I cleaned down his table while Kate grabbed our bags from the back of the restaurant. The cooks said goodbye as they hurried out through the front door. The hostess had already disappeared, leaving just Kate and me to finish closing up shop.

“Are you going out the front?” She asked with her purse over her shoulder. I was preoccupied with counting the money in the register.

I shook my head, “No, I’m going to take the back out. You can lock the front if you want to. I’ll still be a little while.”

She gave me a curt nod as she left the building, leaving me alone. I continued to count the money under the blaring lights. My eyes flittered to the window to watch Kate’s car pull out of the parking lot. My loan truck was the last one in the lot. 

Ten minutes later, I tucked the last of the bills into the register and recorded the total into the computer. I locked the cash register before moving to grab my possessions. As I slipped on the padded coat around my arms, the lights wavered slightly.

I froze in my position, staring up at the ceiling. 

Another flicker.

I shook my head, but ignored it. The winds must have been wild outside. The electricity was usually wavering when the weather was bad. I grabbed my bag up from the ground and tucked the money I had earned in tips into the middle. 

Blackness enclosed me.

“Shit.” I muttered under my breath as the power turned off. The temporary blindness faded slowly as my eyes adjusted to the little light coming in from the moon outside. 

My actions were done at a quicker pace. While it was common for the power to go out in our town, that didn’t prevent a feeling of unease from flowing through my veins each time. My heartbeat quickened as I tried to ignore the shadows that loomed around the restaurant.

I slung the bag over my shoulder and grabbed the keys to lock up the diner. My hands shook as I double checked the front door that it was locked. The metal was cool as my fingers curled around the handle of the door. My arm tensed, ready to pull the door as a tester when my eyes landed on something through the class. 

Two red orbs stared back at me through the darkness of the night. They floated above the ground by a few feet, inline and close to each other. The silhouette of a disfigured man was outlined in the moonlight around the two orbs. My body froze as an eerie feeling shivered down my spine. I could tear my eyes away from the orbs. It felt as if they had captivated me, and weren’t giving me up.

I stood frozen at the doorway.

The hairs on the back of my neck rose as the muscles in my stomach tightened painfully. My breathing became hitched and I found it difficult to think straight. A sense of fear rolled down my body. This figure before me was a predator, and I was the prey.

My mind screamed at me to run, but my legs were frozen to the spot. I could feel my body shaking in terror as the figure took a step closer. 

A hand clamped over my mouth and I felt a body press itself against my back. My eyes widened in fear, but my screams were muffled by the hand forcefully held to my mouth. The other arm wrapped around my torso, restraining my movement.

I couldn’t take my eyes off of the red orbs, but I could feel that I was no longer the receiver of their attention. They seemed to be more concerned with the man holding me captive. 

The redness wavered slightly before disappearing into the darkness. 

It felt as if my body had come out of a slumber. Suddenly, I was in control of all of my limbs. I jerked and twisted around in my capture’s arms, fruitlessly struggling to free myself. A new wave of fear flooded my body as wicked thoughts crossed my mind. 

“Stop!” A deep voice growled in my ear. “Dammit, Anne, knock it off!”

I froze at the sound of my name. His arms were still wrapped tightly around my body. We stood in the silence of the building, neither of us making any movements. After what felt like a few minutes, the man behind me relaxed and pulled his arms off of me.

Slowly, so as not to scare him and get myself trapped once more, I spun around in my spot to face him. 

The moonlight glinted off of Derek’s dark eyes as he stared at me cautiously. His body was rigid, ready to attack should I make any move toward him. He wore the clothes that he had on when he dined here, and in the short time since he had left the building, I wondered if he truly had left the premises. The light bounced off of a shiny object trapped in his pocket, but I dismissed the thought. There were more pressing thoughts filling my mind.

“What are you doing here?” I breathed, releasing the breath I wasn’t aware I had been holding. My fingers trembled slightly in the aftershock of the rush of fear that had flooded my body.

His eyes moved toward the area behind my head quickly before returning to my eyes, “That’s irrelevant.”

My eyes widened in shock and surprise, “Irrelevant? It’s completely relevant! What the hell just happened?”

“A lot. You wouldn’t understand.”

“So explain it to me.” I wrapped my arms around my waist, glancing over my shoulder fearfully. The memory of the red eyes behind me lingered in my mind. The predatory look it gave me sent shivers down my spine.

“I can’t.” His words were harsh, and he took a moment to compose himself once more. My eyes moved over the new boy. His body was still tense from earlier, and it seemed as if he was struggling to keep himself as tranquil as he was. 

He released a gust of air before his eyes found mine, holding my gaze. “You need to get home now.”

“I can’t get home! I have to call the police—”

“Is that your truck?” he nodded toward the only parked car in the lot. How had he gotten here without a vehicle?

I ignored my thought, nodding at his question.

“I suggest you go home. Now.”

His tone told me that it wasn’t an option. I bit my lip nervously and fidgeted with the strap of my bag around my shoulder. “How are you getting home?”

He opened his mouth, but words failed to come out. Derek’s eyebrows furrowed together as he thought for a moment.

“Do you want a ride?”

He eyed me wearily for a moment as he contemplated the idea, “I appreciate the offer, but I shouldn’t burden you.”

“It’s not a burden.” I muttered softly, not surprised by the rejection. “I have to wait for you to leave regardless. If I take you home, I get to leave earlier.”

“Why do you…?” His voice trailed off as the answer occurred to him. He was foreign to this town and not employed here. It would be suspicious if he loitered around the diner after hours. My job was on the line if he attempted anything funny. “Alright, a ride home would be wonderful.”

I forced a smile, thankful that we had to leave through the back. The memory lingered in my mind, and I knew after feeling what I felt that I wouldn’t be able to stomach walking where it had been only moments before. 

Taking off for a few days wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. 

Derek climbed into the passenger seat. As I started up the engine, I noticed how uncomfortable he looked sitting in the seat. His hands were clasped tightly on his lap, and his back was straight, avoiding the back of the chair.

“You can move the seat if you need it.” 

He shook his head, his lips pursed into a thin line. 

I bit my own lip and pulled out of the parking lot. As we drove past the diner, my eyes lingered at the edges of the forest. Two dim red lights blinked between trees, but were gone as quickly as they had come.

Judging from the tense boy next to me, I hadn’t imagined them.