The Diner
I've been working on a short story for quite some time now. And I finally got it done. This is only a rough draft and will need to be editted, but I could use some input or at least an audience.
It is currently 3,111 words. So read when you have time to sit down and read. Thanks in advance and I hope you like it.
The Diner
I. David had a rough day. He got up late, missed a meeting with a client, and to top it all off he left his sun roof open and a bird had shit in his car. All he wanted was a stiff drink and then maybe some coffee at the diner with Jessica. He’d been dating Jessica on an off for several years now. Maybe it wasn’t love but it was pretty close. He couldn’t imagine spending his life with anyone else. Oh sure, he looked around, the prospect of someone better had always been appealing. But he was rapidly approaching thirty, and that likelihood was becoming the object in the rear view mirror. Jessica had always been loyal. And loyalty was something he thought should be rewarded. She wanted kids. He didn’t. But he figured he’d have to make some adjustments in his big “Plan” at some point in time. After all, being 30 and alone was unappealing to say the least.
It had been a habit to go to the bar after rough days at work. But quickly that was becoming after every day of work. David worked late anyway normally so he never had to account for his actions. Few knew actually how much he did drink. Occasionally he’d even sneak some vodka in his Sprite at work. He was always careful not to get noticeably drunk so no one every raised a question. Jessica sometimes sensed the slow responses and occasionally ranting as something peculiar, but he didn’t think she knew. Down the bar was a pretty young girl of about 22 that obviously didn’t realize how attractive she was. David favored her with a smile and she blushed and looked away quickly. But through his peripheral vision he could see her glancing back hoping for another look from him. It wasn’t coming. He’d never cheated on Jessica in his life. He supposed one girl could coax him, but that was his next stop anyway. Not here. Not some young girl with more insecurities than he had the energy to deal with. Plus no one knew him here. They had all seen him, he was here enough. But they didn’t know his name or where he worked or where he went when he left. David always paid cash and he always tipped well enough that the bartenders didn’t feel the need to talk more money out of him.
Tonight he was going to the Diner. Oh, it had some big long name that no one cared about. It recently went under new ownership that wanted to make the place classier. But it was the only place open 24 hours a day and the drunken bar crowd would never be “upscale”. It was the Diner, it had always been the Diner, and it would always be the Diner, no matter how many fancy signs and new tables they brought into the place. The Diner was his favorite place to eat after he had a few drinks. Most of his friends hated the Diner. It was dirty, sleazy, and crowded. It was filled with smoke. It smelled of grease and tobacco. David loved it. Jessica hated it the most. But she was accommodating and allowed him a few visits a month. But he came here more than she knew. And that was OK with him. But tonight he was lonely so he pulled out his cell phone and gave Jessica a call. He told her that he was having a few drinks with some coworkers to celebrate a successful meeting with a new client (lie, but who was it hurting?) and that he wanted to meet her at the Diner soon. She obviously wasn’t happy about going there but she eventually agreed as she always did. David paid his tab, gave the girl at the end of the bar one last favoring look and walked out into the setting sun.
I-a. The Sun said goodbye to the world. He had always liked the waning summer days. No one seemed to mind that he bore down on them all day. And they all seemed to like to look at him as he was leaving. Tonight he’d allow a cool a breeze to dry their sweaty brows. He’d been particularly fond of the swirled clouds he produced all day. He looked up at the Moon as he took his final leap down and away. The Moon would look after things until he got back tomorrow. Sometimes he wished that he could say hello to the stars. But he scared the stars away. So he melted the horizon as he sunk and gave the people one last kiss for the night.
II. Jessica hung up the phone. She didn’t really want to go to the Diner again. But she needed to talk with David. She owed him that much. For the past month she’d been sleeping with his best friend. She didn’t feel it was cheating since she knew David didn’t love her. He loved many things. But she wasn’t one of them. For a year she tried to change him. She was stubborn and there was no way he would not love her. But after a year she realized that maybe he didn’t love her because she didn’t love him. He’d been a challenge. But she was 27 and she didn’t want a challenge anymore. She really didn’t know what she wanted. But Greg had been around more than David. And she got the affection that she though she deserved. For awhile she was afraid that David was going to propose and she was scared she’d say yes. It’s difficult to change. But she had to do it. Greg wasn’t the one for either, but she wanted the chance to look. She owed it to herself. And she owed to David to move on so he didn’t feel trapped by her.
Greg didn’t want her to tell David about them. But how else could she explain it? David would get over it. And they’ll eventually move on. Plus she was never good with guilt and she needed to free herself from it. This would probably end it with Greg too. But that was OK. She needed to find love and it wasn’t knocking on that door either. She remembered as a little girl her father would tell her not to settle for anyone but the one that made her smile. And she owed it to him to look for that someone. As scared as she was she was determined to put an end to the façade. It was just a little conversation, how bad could it be?
Jessica walked outside and felt the cold breeze of evening setting in. It had been such a hot day and now the sun sank quickly. The last remnants of a burning horizon seemed ominous. Suddenly Jessica didn’t want to go. But she had to. She went back inside and grabbed her coat and realized she locked her keys in the car. Damn. She called a tow company and called David to tell her she’d be late.
II-a. The Moon watched the Sun say goodbye and immediately began to summon the stars. Oh how he wished he could provide some more warmth for people. His breezes were cold however. He also had no control over the clouds. That was all predetermined by the Sun. Sometimes he hated the Sun. He had all the power. But he was thankful he was trusted to watch over the night. Tonight would be magical. The Moon could feel it.
III. Gretchen saw with distaste that the creepy man had walked back in. He came in several times a week, obviously drunk, and obviously eyeing her up. He tipped well and hardly talked but sometimes it just wasn’t worth those staring eyes. Unfortunately, this was the start of the night shift and she was the only server on the floor. She grabbed a cup of coffee and an ice water and brought it to Creepy Guy. She didn’t even need to ask him what he wanted. She didn’t need to bring him a menu. He was a fixture just as much as the tacky quasi-art pictures for sale on the wall were. Gretchen just wanted to get through this night. She’d had a bad feeling since she’d left her last class of the day at the university. After confirming that he wanted “the usual” she hurried off only to feel his eyes on her ass.
Back in the kitchen she put the order through the new fancy computer system and heard the ticket printing back on the cook’s line. She started to make some banter with Marty the cook but quickly realized Marty’s shift was over. He was a sweet old man and she really enjoyed working with him. She had no idea what he did away from here. As far as she knew he wasn’t married and he was reluctant to talk at all about his personal life. He always cooked his meals here and took them home in a carry out. On his days off he’d sometimes come up and sit at the counter and drink coffee with her.
Gretchen came back out of the kitchen to find two of her classmates, Kevin and Phil at another table. She stopped to chat a bit with them about class, her job, and life when she felt his eyes on her again. She really needed to get a new job. Marty walked out of the back and waved good bye, take out box in tow.
III-a. The Moon surveyed all around it and laid its vision upon all of its favorite animals. It spoke with the birds of the night and called out to the furry creatures to awaken from their daily slumber. It located all of his favorite night people. Oh how it loved them all. Sometimes it hurt when they hurt. The Moon then would hide its face from it all. Unlike the Sun, the Moon did seem to care. And the stars all loved the Moon too. The Sun was just not as loveable or wise.
IV. David watched Gretchen talk to those two punks that came in. He watched her flirt. She was so beautiful. He had an unhealthy fixation on her, he knew. If any girl could make him stray from Jessica, this was the one. He was pretty sure that attraction was mutual. Gretchen knew what he wanted before he even ordered. Sometimes he’d catch her looking over at him nervously. Some day maybe he’d make her day and talk to her.
But now she was flirting with these punks. Young kids, probably early college age, not even old enough to drink yet. Probably frat boys too by the looks of them. David could tell that Gretchen didn’t enjoy the flirting. She was doing what was necessary to get her tips. Maybe he’d wait until the punks left and follow them outside. Oh, he wouldn’t hurt them, but he could scare them. Gretchen looked uncomfortable and they were obviously the cause. David saw Gretchen wave and looked up to see the old cook heading out the front door. Great, now his food was going to taste like shit. That guy was the reason he liked the food here.
Really though, it wasn’t anything that a shot of Jim Beam in his coffee couldn’t handle. David opened his briefcase after glancing around to make sure he wasn’t being watched. He moved the most important piece of equipment in there to get to the second most important. He produced a nice fifth of Beam and poured a bit into the coffee. Thinking better of it, he poured some more and tucked the bottle back into his briefcase.
IV-a. A chill went through the Moon. Something was wrong somewhere. Frantically it searched the night landscape.
V. Kathie had been a cop for 13 years now. He parents had always wanted her to settle down and marry, perhaps have a few grandchildren for them. But it just wasn’t in her blood. She always wanted to be able to help people. And she loved staying active. Being an officer just seemed to come natural to her and she wouldn’t trade her job for the world. Oh sure, it probably cost her any opportunity to have a “normal” life but she didn’t really care. She worked in a sleepy college town and normally ran the night shifts. It had been a slow night so far, just a few of your normal underage drinking parties she had to bust up. Maybe it would be good to go get some coffee. She passed a gas station and decided she’d rather head for the diner. She ignored a speeder on the way, it was too early to mess with that yet.
VI. Kevin watched the guy across the aisle with discomfort. He really was staring at Gretchen. And now it seemed he was staring at him and Phil too. Gretchen walked away and the guy seemed to look away. Then he reached into his briefcase and pulled out a bottle of liquor of some kind and poured some into his coffee. Great. He was creepy and drunk. He quietly pointed all of this out to Phil who took a look over. Phil’s face turned white when he looked over. He whispered to Kevin what else he saw in the briefcase. Kevin tried to get Gretchen’s attention.
VI-a. The Moon saw it too. This might not be good. But there pulling around the corner was Kathie. The Moon urged Kathie to hurry.
VII. Jessica finally got to the Diner. The moon seemed especially tonight. She noted it quickly and dismissed it. Heading through the door she bumped into the old cook that worked there and apologized. He’d always looked reluctant to leave the Diner and just a bit sad to her. But she quickly dismissed that too and headed for David’s table, the same table he always sat in. She had some business to attend to.
VIII. Zeke knew he was sick but couldn’t help it. He’d tried some pot in high school and eventually started selling it support himself. Pot turned into speed which turned into other uppers. Eventually though it was the rock that got him. Crack had become his biggest seller. It also became his biggest vice. Lately he’d been dipping into his selling stash for personal use and he owed some rather nasty people a rather large sum of money. The only thing his daddy ever gave him growing up was an old six shooter. He wasn’t even sure if it would fire. But hopefully he wouldn’t have to find out. All he had to do was scare some people and take their money. The Diner was a good place to do it. There were plenty of drunk, unsuspecting people and even more places to hide. He waited around the corner and saw a pretty blonde walk in. Then out came an old man. Time to get some money.
IX. Marty came outside into the cool night air and gazed for a second at the moon which seemed much brighter than normal. It reminded him of his wife Margaret. Margaret and Martin, seemed too cliché to be real. He loved her so much. He often wondered what she had been doing these past 22 years since she’d left him. Life had ceased to exist at that point. He was too religious to kill himself or maybe too scared. He welcomed death, but death avoided him. He went to work. He worked. He came home. He ate. He slept. Marty didn’t even own a television. What was the point? Thought of his estranged wife were interrupted to the sounds of a crazy man demanding money and a gun waved in his face. This was Marty’s chance for escape.
IX-a. The Moon watched with growing horror as another problem erupted at the Diner. Kathie couldn’t handle both and she was pulling into the parking lot.
X. David sat with cold detachment as Jessica told him about Greg. He was surprised but not completely. No, not really at all. This was how it was supposed to be. And it seemed to be the reason he’d been carrying the gun in his briefcase for so long. Jessica saw the look in his eyes long before she saw the gun and screamed.
XI. Gretchen saw the police cruiser pull in just as she saw David draw out the pistol. She hurried towards the door and saw Marty held at gunpoint by some lunatic. But Marty was smiling.
XII. Zeke couldn’t believe it. This old man told him to shoot. And did he really just call him a dickless bitch with a gun? As he was processing this he heard a woman yell freeze. And before he could process that the old man charged him. Now he was hoping the gun would fire.
XIII. Kathie had stepped out of the cruiser just in time to hear the scream from inside and see the gun through the window. She drew her weapon and turned to run towards the exit when she saw a holdup in progress outside the restaurant. The lunatic with the gun seemed out of control, and the man he was holding up seemed even more out of control as he charged his assailant. Safety off, her finger twitched above the trigger.
XIV. Kevin saw the guy pull out the gun and point it towards the girl. Before he could do anything though, the guy turned the gun towards himself and put it in his own mouth.
XIV-a. The Moon could take this no longer. It was powerless to stop this. Or was it? The Moon summoned all of its courage and will. It knew what it must do.
XIV-b. The raccoon was digging through the garbage in the dumpster behind the Diner. Some of its best meals came from here. It was always dangerous though because you had to avoid the people. The raccoon heard a single deafening gun shot and hauled ass away from there.
XV. David dropped his gun and looked outside. Kathie looked into the night sky. Zeke dropped his gun and cowered away from the old man who screamed out thinking that the gun shot was for him. Gretchen watched it all as the entire night took on a crimson look. The moon was blood red. And all the light around them was washed in blood.
XV-a. The Sun awoke from its slumber the next morning and began to create a new Moon. It was the 3rd one this century.
It is currently 3,111 words. So read when you have time to sit down and read. Thanks in advance and I hope you like it.
The Diner
I. David had a rough day. He got up late, missed a meeting with a client, and to top it all off he left his sun roof open and a bird had shit in his car. All he wanted was a stiff drink and then maybe some coffee at the diner with Jessica. He’d been dating Jessica on an off for several years now. Maybe it wasn’t love but it was pretty close. He couldn’t imagine spending his life with anyone else. Oh sure, he looked around, the prospect of someone better had always been appealing. But he was rapidly approaching thirty, and that likelihood was becoming the object in the rear view mirror. Jessica had always been loyal. And loyalty was something he thought should be rewarded. She wanted kids. He didn’t. But he figured he’d have to make some adjustments in his big “Plan” at some point in time. After all, being 30 and alone was unappealing to say the least.
It had been a habit to go to the bar after rough days at work. But quickly that was becoming after every day of work. David worked late anyway normally so he never had to account for his actions. Few knew actually how much he did drink. Occasionally he’d even sneak some vodka in his Sprite at work. He was always careful not to get noticeably drunk so no one every raised a question. Jessica sometimes sensed the slow responses and occasionally ranting as something peculiar, but he didn’t think she knew. Down the bar was a pretty young girl of about 22 that obviously didn’t realize how attractive she was. David favored her with a smile and she blushed and looked away quickly. But through his peripheral vision he could see her glancing back hoping for another look from him. It wasn’t coming. He’d never cheated on Jessica in his life. He supposed one girl could coax him, but that was his next stop anyway. Not here. Not some young girl with more insecurities than he had the energy to deal with. Plus no one knew him here. They had all seen him, he was here enough. But they didn’t know his name or where he worked or where he went when he left. David always paid cash and he always tipped well enough that the bartenders didn’t feel the need to talk more money out of him.
Tonight he was going to the Diner. Oh, it had some big long name that no one cared about. It recently went under new ownership that wanted to make the place classier. But it was the only place open 24 hours a day and the drunken bar crowd would never be “upscale”. It was the Diner, it had always been the Diner, and it would always be the Diner, no matter how many fancy signs and new tables they brought into the place. The Diner was his favorite place to eat after he had a few drinks. Most of his friends hated the Diner. It was dirty, sleazy, and crowded. It was filled with smoke. It smelled of grease and tobacco. David loved it. Jessica hated it the most. But she was accommodating and allowed him a few visits a month. But he came here more than she knew. And that was OK with him. But tonight he was lonely so he pulled out his cell phone and gave Jessica a call. He told her that he was having a few drinks with some coworkers to celebrate a successful meeting with a new client (lie, but who was it hurting?) and that he wanted to meet her at the Diner soon. She obviously wasn’t happy about going there but she eventually agreed as she always did. David paid his tab, gave the girl at the end of the bar one last favoring look and walked out into the setting sun.
I-a. The Sun said goodbye to the world. He had always liked the waning summer days. No one seemed to mind that he bore down on them all day. And they all seemed to like to look at him as he was leaving. Tonight he’d allow a cool a breeze to dry their sweaty brows. He’d been particularly fond of the swirled clouds he produced all day. He looked up at the Moon as he took his final leap down and away. The Moon would look after things until he got back tomorrow. Sometimes he wished that he could say hello to the stars. But he scared the stars away. So he melted the horizon as he sunk and gave the people one last kiss for the night.
II. Jessica hung up the phone. She didn’t really want to go to the Diner again. But she needed to talk with David. She owed him that much. For the past month she’d been sleeping with his best friend. She didn’t feel it was cheating since she knew David didn’t love her. He loved many things. But she wasn’t one of them. For a year she tried to change him. She was stubborn and there was no way he would not love her. But after a year she realized that maybe he didn’t love her because she didn’t love him. He’d been a challenge. But she was 27 and she didn’t want a challenge anymore. She really didn’t know what she wanted. But Greg had been around more than David. And she got the affection that she though she deserved. For awhile she was afraid that David was going to propose and she was scared she’d say yes. It’s difficult to change. But she had to do it. Greg wasn’t the one for either, but she wanted the chance to look. She owed it to herself. And she owed to David to move on so he didn’t feel trapped by her.
Greg didn’t want her to tell David about them. But how else could she explain it? David would get over it. And they’ll eventually move on. Plus she was never good with guilt and she needed to free herself from it. This would probably end it with Greg too. But that was OK. She needed to find love and it wasn’t knocking on that door either. She remembered as a little girl her father would tell her not to settle for anyone but the one that made her smile. And she owed it to him to look for that someone. As scared as she was she was determined to put an end to the façade. It was just a little conversation, how bad could it be?
Jessica walked outside and felt the cold breeze of evening setting in. It had been such a hot day and now the sun sank quickly. The last remnants of a burning horizon seemed ominous. Suddenly Jessica didn’t want to go. But she had to. She went back inside and grabbed her coat and realized she locked her keys in the car. Damn. She called a tow company and called David to tell her she’d be late.
II-a. The Moon watched the Sun say goodbye and immediately began to summon the stars. Oh how he wished he could provide some more warmth for people. His breezes were cold however. He also had no control over the clouds. That was all predetermined by the Sun. Sometimes he hated the Sun. He had all the power. But he was thankful he was trusted to watch over the night. Tonight would be magical. The Moon could feel it.
III. Gretchen saw with distaste that the creepy man had walked back in. He came in several times a week, obviously drunk, and obviously eyeing her up. He tipped well and hardly talked but sometimes it just wasn’t worth those staring eyes. Unfortunately, this was the start of the night shift and she was the only server on the floor. She grabbed a cup of coffee and an ice water and brought it to Creepy Guy. She didn’t even need to ask him what he wanted. She didn’t need to bring him a menu. He was a fixture just as much as the tacky quasi-art pictures for sale on the wall were. Gretchen just wanted to get through this night. She’d had a bad feeling since she’d left her last class of the day at the university. After confirming that he wanted “the usual” she hurried off only to feel his eyes on her ass.
Back in the kitchen she put the order through the new fancy computer system and heard the ticket printing back on the cook’s line. She started to make some banter with Marty the cook but quickly realized Marty’s shift was over. He was a sweet old man and she really enjoyed working with him. She had no idea what he did away from here. As far as she knew he wasn’t married and he was reluctant to talk at all about his personal life. He always cooked his meals here and took them home in a carry out. On his days off he’d sometimes come up and sit at the counter and drink coffee with her.
Gretchen came back out of the kitchen to find two of her classmates, Kevin and Phil at another table. She stopped to chat a bit with them about class, her job, and life when she felt his eyes on her again. She really needed to get a new job. Marty walked out of the back and waved good bye, take out box in tow.
III-a. The Moon surveyed all around it and laid its vision upon all of its favorite animals. It spoke with the birds of the night and called out to the furry creatures to awaken from their daily slumber. It located all of his favorite night people. Oh how it loved them all. Sometimes it hurt when they hurt. The Moon then would hide its face from it all. Unlike the Sun, the Moon did seem to care. And the stars all loved the Moon too. The Sun was just not as loveable or wise.
IV. David watched Gretchen talk to those two punks that came in. He watched her flirt. She was so beautiful. He had an unhealthy fixation on her, he knew. If any girl could make him stray from Jessica, this was the one. He was pretty sure that attraction was mutual. Gretchen knew what he wanted before he even ordered. Sometimes he’d catch her looking over at him nervously. Some day maybe he’d make her day and talk to her.
But now she was flirting with these punks. Young kids, probably early college age, not even old enough to drink yet. Probably frat boys too by the looks of them. David could tell that Gretchen didn’t enjoy the flirting. She was doing what was necessary to get her tips. Maybe he’d wait until the punks left and follow them outside. Oh, he wouldn’t hurt them, but he could scare them. Gretchen looked uncomfortable and they were obviously the cause. David saw Gretchen wave and looked up to see the old cook heading out the front door. Great, now his food was going to taste like shit. That guy was the reason he liked the food here.
Really though, it wasn’t anything that a shot of Jim Beam in his coffee couldn’t handle. David opened his briefcase after glancing around to make sure he wasn’t being watched. He moved the most important piece of equipment in there to get to the second most important. He produced a nice fifth of Beam and poured a bit into the coffee. Thinking better of it, he poured some more and tucked the bottle back into his briefcase.
IV-a. A chill went through the Moon. Something was wrong somewhere. Frantically it searched the night landscape.
V. Kathie had been a cop for 13 years now. He parents had always wanted her to settle down and marry, perhaps have a few grandchildren for them. But it just wasn’t in her blood. She always wanted to be able to help people. And she loved staying active. Being an officer just seemed to come natural to her and she wouldn’t trade her job for the world. Oh sure, it probably cost her any opportunity to have a “normal” life but she didn’t really care. She worked in a sleepy college town and normally ran the night shifts. It had been a slow night so far, just a few of your normal underage drinking parties she had to bust up. Maybe it would be good to go get some coffee. She passed a gas station and decided she’d rather head for the diner. She ignored a speeder on the way, it was too early to mess with that yet.
VI. Kevin watched the guy across the aisle with discomfort. He really was staring at Gretchen. And now it seemed he was staring at him and Phil too. Gretchen walked away and the guy seemed to look away. Then he reached into his briefcase and pulled out a bottle of liquor of some kind and poured some into his coffee. Great. He was creepy and drunk. He quietly pointed all of this out to Phil who took a look over. Phil’s face turned white when he looked over. He whispered to Kevin what else he saw in the briefcase. Kevin tried to get Gretchen’s attention.
VI-a. The Moon saw it too. This might not be good. But there pulling around the corner was Kathie. The Moon urged Kathie to hurry.
VII. Jessica finally got to the Diner. The moon seemed especially tonight. She noted it quickly and dismissed it. Heading through the door she bumped into the old cook that worked there and apologized. He’d always looked reluctant to leave the Diner and just a bit sad to her. But she quickly dismissed that too and headed for David’s table, the same table he always sat in. She had some business to attend to.
VIII. Zeke knew he was sick but couldn’t help it. He’d tried some pot in high school and eventually started selling it support himself. Pot turned into speed which turned into other uppers. Eventually though it was the rock that got him. Crack had become his biggest seller. It also became his biggest vice. Lately he’d been dipping into his selling stash for personal use and he owed some rather nasty people a rather large sum of money. The only thing his daddy ever gave him growing up was an old six shooter. He wasn’t even sure if it would fire. But hopefully he wouldn’t have to find out. All he had to do was scare some people and take their money. The Diner was a good place to do it. There were plenty of drunk, unsuspecting people and even more places to hide. He waited around the corner and saw a pretty blonde walk in. Then out came an old man. Time to get some money.
IX. Marty came outside into the cool night air and gazed for a second at the moon which seemed much brighter than normal. It reminded him of his wife Margaret. Margaret and Martin, seemed too cliché to be real. He loved her so much. He often wondered what she had been doing these past 22 years since she’d left him. Life had ceased to exist at that point. He was too religious to kill himself or maybe too scared. He welcomed death, but death avoided him. He went to work. He worked. He came home. He ate. He slept. Marty didn’t even own a television. What was the point? Thought of his estranged wife were interrupted to the sounds of a crazy man demanding money and a gun waved in his face. This was Marty’s chance for escape.
IX-a. The Moon watched with growing horror as another problem erupted at the Diner. Kathie couldn’t handle both and she was pulling into the parking lot.
X. David sat with cold detachment as Jessica told him about Greg. He was surprised but not completely. No, not really at all. This was how it was supposed to be. And it seemed to be the reason he’d been carrying the gun in his briefcase for so long. Jessica saw the look in his eyes long before she saw the gun and screamed.
XI. Gretchen saw the police cruiser pull in just as she saw David draw out the pistol. She hurried towards the door and saw Marty held at gunpoint by some lunatic. But Marty was smiling.
XII. Zeke couldn’t believe it. This old man told him to shoot. And did he really just call him a dickless bitch with a gun? As he was processing this he heard a woman yell freeze. And before he could process that the old man charged him. Now he was hoping the gun would fire.
XIII. Kathie had stepped out of the cruiser just in time to hear the scream from inside and see the gun through the window. She drew her weapon and turned to run towards the exit when she saw a holdup in progress outside the restaurant. The lunatic with the gun seemed out of control, and the man he was holding up seemed even more out of control as he charged his assailant. Safety off, her finger twitched above the trigger.
XIV. Kevin saw the guy pull out the gun and point it towards the girl. Before he could do anything though, the guy turned the gun towards himself and put it in his own mouth.
XIV-a. The Moon could take this no longer. It was powerless to stop this. Or was it? The Moon summoned all of its courage and will. It knew what it must do.
XIV-b. The raccoon was digging through the garbage in the dumpster behind the Diner. Some of its best meals came from here. It was always dangerous though because you had to avoid the people. The raccoon heard a single deafening gun shot and hauled ass away from there.
XV. David dropped his gun and looked outside. Kathie looked into the night sky. Zeke dropped his gun and cowered away from the old man who screamed out thinking that the gun shot was for him. Gretchen watched it all as the entire night took on a crimson look. The moon was blood red. And all the light around them was washed in blood.
XV-a. The Sun awoke from its slumber the next morning and began to create a new Moon. It was the 3rd one this century.