He wasted no time in pushing aside the little curtain and stepping out into the small hall leading to the locker room. The fat man wiped the water out of his face as he hustled down the hall, then came to a horrified stop as he stepped into the locker room proper.

Red Tex hadn't left the building after all...at least not in body.

The filthy crowd surrounding him parted to turn their attention to Gary, revealing the wreckage that had just moments before been the man sharing a shower with him. Red stared at the ceiling, mouth open in a scream he must have never gotten the chance to utter. His throat had been ripped out, windpipe and esophagus protruding like twisted tubing in a car wreck. Blood covered his naked body and somehow the flesh on the front of his entire torso had been torn downward in one large dripping sheet...revealing now chewed muscle and the pale rib cage beneath.

His killers appeared just as horrid.

Their ruined faces drenched in blood, they grinned back at Gary like a bunch of crimson skulls under matted, dirt-caked wigs. Strips of dripping skin, probably what remained of their faces, hung below their chins like stringy beards. He stepped back with a thin wail of fear as their small eyes fixed on him with laser-like intensity. Their fingers spread like claws, and the horrors lurched for him in one unnerving motion as if operating by a single mind.

They outnumbered him more than ten to one.

Even worse, they were between him and the exit.

Buddha Boy shrieked and turned to flee. Even as he did, he realized there was nowhere to run. But understanding that meant nothing compared to the tearing pain of his skin parting as skeletal fingers sliced down his back and laid him open from shoulder to hip. Blood ran down his pale legs in rivulets as the fat man tried to get away. He floundered back into the steamy shower with the silent scrabbling horde on his heels.

They caught him in the corner...

...and his shrieks hit higher notes than ever before.

Nightfall - Grandpa Tom.

Not bad kid. Thomas "Grandpa Tom" Burns chuckled to himself as he watched the young local boy walk back towards his booth with a bemused expression on his face. But I hope you're ready for a wild ride because that girl is definitely in the driver's seat.

The white-haired trucker had been sitting closest to the waitress when Deke had approached. He had just come in for a cup of coffee after filling his truck at the diesel pump outside. Then he would be hitting the road again and making his way to Houston. The old hauler had hoped to finish his coffee and get out of here before the rain started, but saw from the drops starting to hit the big windows it wasn't likely to happen.

So Grandpa Tom had sat and sipped his cup in a posture of minding his own business, while the two youngsters arranged their tryst at the lake. It had taken a supreme act of self control not to spit his coffee out in laughter at Deke's floundering approach. But he could tell by the fond look the girl gave the boy's retreating figure that as long as he hadn't done something stupid, his success had already been pretty much in the bag.

"And what are you looking so smug about, Grandpa Tom?"

He looked up from his cup to see the young waitress regarding him with mock haughtiness. It was a look she only partially succeeded at, as the twinkle in her eyes betrayed her good mood.

"Oh nothing," his own eyes crinkled in amusement, "but you're going to need to show that boy encouragement till he gets his confidence up. He knows he's way out of his league with you."

"Ugh." She managed to both grimace and look secretly flattered while she poured him more coffee, "You men and your 'leagues.' Deke is nice...and sometimes a girl just likes nice."

"Ah," he nodded, "Nice is good."

"Yes it is," she now grinned broadly, "and you were eavesdropping, you old snooper. You should be ashamed of yourself."

He spread his hands in a gesture of profound innocence.

"I couldn't help it! I was sitting right here!"

"Uh huh."

Stacey laughed and started refilling a glass sugar canister while the old trucker furthered his case for the defense. She worked with a look of skeptical amusement while he made claims that a man his age was well past such foolishness.

"Besides," he concluded, "if I wanted to eavesdrop, then it wouldn't be on you and your new boyfriend."

"Oh reeeallllly," she responded with a saucy smirk, "and just who would you want to spy on me with, Grandpa? Is he cute?"

He shook his head and rolled his eyes.

"Ohhhhh...maybe it's a she then. Is she cute?"

This girl was impossible.

"Actually," Grandpa Tom laughed and stirred his coffee, "if I were to be a fly on the wall, then I would want it to be when you tell Marisa about her new date. Now that is sure to get interesting."

"Ohhh...that."

"Yesssss...that." He pointed his spoon at the girl, "Your job comes with health insurance, right?"

"Oh pshaw!" The girl waved dismissively. "Marisa is a sweetheart. She's just ser..."

The girl stopped in midsentence and suddenly leaned forward as if to get a better view down the counter.

Tom turned to see what she was looking at, and saw the flashing lights of a police cruiser out on the highway as it sped by. A second later two more raced past, soon to be followed by yet another pair. They all flew past in silence, although their roof flashers cast brilliant blue and red beams that pierced the falling night drizzle.

"Whoa," the waitress murmured softly, "Was that the Sheriff's Department? They were all heading into town."

"The first three were," Grandpa Tom replied, "but those last two were state troopers. It looked like they were acting as backup or something."

"They were certainly in a hurry," Stacey continued to watch the front window.

"Anything going on in Masonfield tonight?"

"Just the football game," the girl shrugged. "But it's us against the Bulldogs, and it's supposed to be a big game. Maybe they had a big fight break out?"

"That's probably it," the old trucker nodded. "You small town Texans do take your high school football seriously."

"Try growing up around here, you would understand why."

"That bad, huh."

"I didn't say it was bad," the girl laughed, "It's just kind of...limited."

"Ah, well I guess I can see..."

A muffled outburst came from the direction of the kitchen, causing the pair to stop and look towards the swinging door. A male voice said something indecipherable, followed by another sharp retort from a female speaker. It sounded like Marisa was definitely unhappy about something.

"I believe that's your friend, the 'sweetheart', isn't it?" Grandpa Tom raised his eyebrows at Stacey.

The girl cocked her head, and listened to the kitchen for a moment longer before answering.

"Yep," she chirped brightly and snatched up a towel hanging next to the coffee machine. "She is a sweetie. Now I have to go stop her from murdering Tomas!"

Nightfall - Benny.

"No Benny! I don't do the kitchen, you know that!"

"Chica, please!" The little janitor tried to soothe the angry waitress. "I'll just be gone a minute. Tomas has been gone for half an hour now, and I need to get him back here so I can catch up on my work."

Truthfully, he felt a little irritated himself at how the young cook took his good nature for granted. But there were worse things than standing in a kitchen when he needed to be somewhere else. For instance, the situation developing right now...

"Oh no!" Marisa's dark eyes flashed. "I'll go get Tomas. And when I get hold of that little pendejo we'll have a chat about wandering off and leaving his job for other people. It's time this crap came to a stop."

"I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Oh I think it's a great idea," she snarled. "Me and that clown definitely need to talk."

Benny had a pretty good idea how such a "talk" would go down.

Knowing Marisa, it would be heard all the way into Masonfield, and anybody who spoke Spanish would get a real education in profanity. She usually refrained from bad language, as he knew she considered its casual use a sign of ignorance and low class. But when her temper was up...like it threatened to be now...she commanded a vocabulary of obscenities that was breathtaking in its scope.

"No, you won't," he stated with gentle finality. "I will deal with Tomas."

"Hmph!" she snorted and frowned at him with folded arms. "I know you. You will give him a gentle lecture and ask him to be more 'considerate' in the future."

"You catch more bees with honey than vinegar, chica."

"Tomas isn't a bee!" She rolled her eyes. "For one thing, he's too lazy to be a bee. Honey is wasted on him...unless you're drowning him in it. Now that would be a good use of honey."

She made motions with her hands of clenching a neck and holding a head underwater.

"You are such a sweet flower," Benny laughed.

"Benny, I mean it! This is getting old. Big Earl is paying him by the hour, not by the joint. He's going to get you in trouble, and you're not the one doing anything wrong."

"Okay, okay," he assured her. "I'll talk to him...I promise."

He was a little annoyed about having to deal with her as well as the recalcitrant cook. But at the same time he felt relieved to see her acerbic wit replacing the fury that had threatened to manifest a minute earlier. She had now settled for folding her arms and giving him a black look, before conceding the issue with a resigned grimace.

Tomas, I just saved your butt from a world class scorching. You better appreciate this. But if you do this again, I swear I'll let her rip your ass to ribbons.

On a more honest level he knew this would most likely happen again, and he would once again intervene to keep the peace then as well. But it still made him feel good to indulge in the thought.

"And you are too nice for your own good," the waitress sighed, and shook her head despairingly. "There is just no hope for you."

Benny braced himself for another lecture on the evils of being too nice. He had heard those before too. Fortunately, right then Stacey bounced into the kitchen... much to the man's relief.

"Hi guys!" she chirped with a high wattage smile. "Guess what!" She did a skip and pirouette while waving a towel over her head before coming to a stop and beaming at the pair of them like a kid on Christmas morning.

"What's up?" Benny laughed at her exuberance, while welcoming the distraction she provided.

"I got asked out on a date!"

"Again?" Marisa intoned with exaggerated weariness. "So that makes four for you this week? Hah! I'm still up on you by one, and remember midnight starts the new week."

Sometimes Benny really wondered about the world these two lived in.

"For your information," Stacey stuck her tongue out at her partner, "I accepted this one."

"Ohhhhhh!" now Marisa's face lit with interest. "In that case, spill it, girl! I want details!"

"It was Deke!" Stacey squeaked with glee.

"Deke?" the taller waitress looked puzzled.

"Deke," the shorter girl beamed. "He and Harley are taking Harley's old boat out to Lake Cowell to test it out, and Deke invited me to come hang out."

Marisa stared at her for a second longer before turning back to Benny with an exasperated groan.

"You see, Benny?" She waved in the other girl's direction, "She's as bad as you are! There are two available rednecks out there. One is tall, hot, with muscles and a great butt...and she's excited because the other one asked her out!"

"Ha...ha..." Stacey grinned in return. "So I see you've noticed Harley, even if you wouldn't admit it."

"So?" Marisa shrugged dismissively. "Just because he's a yahoo doesn't mean I can't see he's a fine specimen of one. Of course I guess you thought he's a little too old for you, huh."

"I just really like Deke," Stacey shrugged with a pleased smile. "He's nice...if a bit timid. But I can work on that."

"Nice and timid," the raven haired waitress groaned. "See, this is what I'm talking about. Girl, you need to reexamine your criteria."

"On the other hand," Stacey continued, now checking her lipstick in the reflective surface of the wall mounted paper towel dispenser, "I doubt Harley has a timid bone in his body. So now that Deke is filling him in on what's up, I imagine he'll be asking you out in the next fifteen minutes or so."

"I figured he wasn't...wait...WHAT!?"

"Well," Stacey murmured as she examined the corner of her mouth critically in the reflection. "You didn't expect me to go out there on the lake alone with both of them, did you?"

Marisa stared at the other girl, eyes and mouth wide with shock. For a moment, it appeared she had lost the capacity of speech. She stood there in obvious dumbfounded silence as the smaller waitress smacked her lips at the dispenser, then finally managed to rally back to the world of the speaking.

"Oh...oh...oh no, you didn't!"

"You owe meeeee." The pert brunette glanced slyly back at her friend. She had the smug look of somebody who was playing a trump card. "And you knooow it!"

"Oh don't you dare! Not this! Do I look like the type of girl who dates guys named Harley to you?"

"Youuuu oowwwweee meeeee!" Stacey sing-songed in a triumphal tone. "Or need I remind you of your cousin Rueben?"

"That's not fair!" A note of desperation entered the dark beauty's voice. "At least I mentioned Rueben to you before setting you up with him!"

"Yeah, suuuurrre you did...but I notice you forgot to mention the glass eye while you were at it."

"You would have never noticed," Marisa responded with an air of injured innocence, "if he hadn't taken it out and shown it to you."