Free Candy: Part 3
READ PART 1 AND 2 HERE
Emma and Cassie ran quickly up the path, Emma pulling Cassie along. Their footfalls slamming the ground with each stride, they charged towards the main road.
The two reached the crest where the dirt service road met with the main road. Without looking, the two charged across the road to the other side. Darkness had finally touched down, the woods now a maw of shadows and stars. The only light source that shone at all was the large neon sign that flashed the word "Diner" in three second intervals. The Forest Haven beckoned to them.
With heavy breaths they sprinted towards the building. Their legs now burning from their desperate flight, they stumbled up to the diner and swung the door open. It slammed and creaked as they did, sending a jolt through the few customers and staff that were present.
"Help...us...someone is...chasing us..." Emma said between exhausted huffs. She moved further until her legs nearly gave way. She gripped the counter and her pleading eyes locked with the cashier's. The cashier recoiled a bit, then scanned the two of them. She was a burly lady in her fifties, and clearly had experience with lots of unruly customers. Sill, she relented just a bit and leaned towards Emma
"Who's chasing you, hon?" She said with a slight rasp in her voice. Emma's mouth moved, but she could not find the words to describe what was happening. Cassie had walked into the diner behind her, past the stools and the elongated bar top. She stopped suddenly, frozen by a rumble that permeated through the giant glass window that made up the front of the diner.
Emma felt the rumble, and heard a distinctive mechanical growl from outside. Emma looked over at Cassie, and watched as her hands begin to tremble. Tears in her eyes, Cassie looked over at Emma as light cascaded through the large glass window. The patrons near the glass reacted too late. The growl became a roar, and the glass window exploded into the diner
Emma felt herself lifted off the ground as the cashier pulled her over the counter and to the floor behind. The screams swirled together with the glass, crashing in a vile harmony. A body flew over the counter as Emma hit the floor. She watched the body smash into drying dishes and cups, the limbs flailing and swinging, then the body crumpled to the floor next to her. Through the fragmented clarity of her teary eyes, Emma saw a crimson visage of Tony's face. Torn to shreds from the glass and the impact, she could still recognize him, but just barely.
The glass settled. The screams had faded. All that echoed in the diner was the rumble of the running engine. Emma crawled to get around the counter, but the cashier tried to hold her back. Emma struggled and got free, moving around the counter to see the carnage.
The white van was wedged against the counter, which had buckled and broken inward. Pinned in between the wreckage of the counter and the dented front grill of the van was Cassie, her back arched painfully and blood pouring out of her mouth. Cassie’s lifeless eyes looked towards her as her heart began to break.
Emma's eyes then shot to the driver's seat. An empty void within the chaos. Emma's body shivered as she watched the wheel, just peeking out above the dashboard, turn on its own accord.
Emma screamed. As she did, the van reversed suddenly, dropping Cassie's body to the ground. A chill snaked around Emma’s body as an invisible evil seemed to stare at her. The van stopped and its wheels shifted on the dirt below. The van's tires then squealed and it swung a hard right, exiting the parking lot and driving into the bleak night.
The cashier put her arms around Emma’s trembling body and embraced her, but Emma simply fell limp, and fainted from shock.
"What the fuck was that?" A shout rattled out of the kitchen. The cashier held Emma close and tight as she called back, "call the police!” Her voice quivered as she gazed down at Emma, rocking her gently as she avoided seeing the massacre that lay around them.
STAY TUNED FOR PART FOUR TOMORROW
Don’t want to miss anything on the site? Sign up for our newsletter HERE
Want more original short stories? Just search below:
