Dead Stop - Dead Stop Part 8
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Dead Stop Part 8

"Which he did on three different occasions during the picnic. By the way...Ew!"

Now Benny really wondered about the world these two lived in. He started to be truly glad he didn't have daughters. His poor old heart couldn't take drama like this...especially not with his wife involved. She had hysterics over the boys as it was. This would push her to the point of homicide.

"Augh!" The Latina threw up her arms in dismay. "You're really going to do this to me, aren't you. I can't believe you!"

"Why not?"

"Seriously? You don't see the problem here?"

"You'll have fun."

"Fun?" Marisa exclaimed. "Fun? Do you hear this Benny? I'm going to have fun! They're going to drag me out on the USS Yeehaw and sink us all in the middle of Lake Cowell! And I'm going to end up in Hell because they only allow rednecks into Heaven after dying in stupid ways like that! But I'll have 'fun!'"

"You'll be fine." Stacey laughed. "Besides, I'm sure if we did sink Harley would rescue you...and do whatever was necessary to revive you too. But be sure and bring a swim suit, just in case."

"In case?"

"Well, it is an old boat."

"I don't believe this!" The tall waitress smacked her palm to her face. "Now I'm letting people walk all over me." With her other hand she stabbed an accusing finger in the direction of the little janitor. "This is all your fault Benny! You've been a bad influence on me! Now look at the mess I'm in. You see what happens?!"

Benny could only shrug in dazed confusion. Since he was the only male here, he figured something would end up being all his fault sooner or later. Forty five years of marriage had taught him that much. He would work it out later.

"You'll be fine," Stacy soothed, "but I'm sure he'll be asking soon and I think you just smudged your eyeliner here." She pointed to the corner of her right eye.

Marisa gasped and hurried over to the paper towel dispenser to peer into the mirrored surface.

"Oh crap!" she blurted out over some microscopic flaw Benny couldn't even make out. "I've got to fix this! I'll be in the little girl's room!"

She hustled down the back hallway, and disappeared through the employee's door leading to the bathrooms in the store side of the truck stop.

"Waitaminute..." the man called after her, then let his arm fall in resignation after realizing she was gone.

"And that," Stacey brushed her hands off against each other with an air of immense satisfaction, "takes care of that."

"But..." Benny gestured after the departed waitress.

"Oh don't worry," The elfish girl reassured him. "I heard you trying to talk her out of going after Tomas before I came in."

"You did?"

"Yep. I'll go get him instead, and you don't have to worry about any scenes." She pushed open the back door and stared out into rear parking lot where the rain was just beginning. "You just stay near the door and open it when I knock. I don't want to get wetter than I have to."

"But..." Benny watched helplessly as the girl snatched a folded piece of cardboard leaning against the wall and held it over her head as a makeshift umbrella. Without further ado she stepped outside.

"But..." the little janitor said to nobody in particular.

The door slammed shut, leaving the man alone.

He stared at the door, and struggled to catch up on this latest whirlwind of events. Nothing was ever boring with these two. Confusing maybe, but never boring. This pair of girls had encounters and escapades that would do any TV sitcom proud. And it was while shaking his head over that analogy that the end result of this little episode of the 'Marisa and Stacey Show' finally dawned on him.

Now he had to run the kitchen and the dining room all by himself.

Stacey Collins Nightfall.

The door fell shut behind her, leaving Stacey alone in the nighttime expanse of the rear parking lot.

She did a quick glance left and right.

The sodium vapor lamps wore yellow halos against the black sky, and highlighted the streaks of early raindrops. The asphalt had already started to acquire a shine from the moisture. It wasn't quite wet yet, but it soon would be...as evidenced by the strengthening patter of drops against the cardboard she held over her head.

The storm would be here any minute.

Still, she took a few seconds to indulge in a gleeful happy dance.

What had started to look like another lousy night of fending off complaining customers and leering truckers had just taken an amazing turn for the awesome. She had just about given up on Deke working up the nerve to ask her out, so when he came over and started his awkward little approach it had come as a pleasant surprise. Despite Harley's smooth move in distracting Larry, it didn't take her long to realize their actions were uncoordinated and this had been practically a spur of the moment decision.

Which meant Harley didn't have a date...

...which meant it was time for some friendly payback regarding a certain glass eye.

Not that she had been terribly upset about the Rueben fiasco. In truth, he had been a fairly nice guy. Besides, her Uncle Tony also had a glass eye and she was already well immune to that particular stunt. But it was still a little unsporting of Marisa not to mention it.

And the other waitress knew damn well she was getting the better end of this deal, even if she would never admit it.

Stacey had seen Marisa surreptitiously checking Harley out, even if social boundaries and the fear of what her family would say prevented her from ever showing even a hint of availability. Now she had the excuse of claiming she was forced into it by her friend, and Stacey chuckled at how despite her protestations she had wasted no time in getting to the bathroom to make sure everything was perfect.

"I done good," the impish brunette gloated.

Besides, it would do the other girl good to spend some time with a guy who wasn't in total awe of her.

Of course, Stacey realized her own problem was just the opposite.

Her job would be to coax Deke out of his current awestruck stage without him losing respect at the same time. She had no illusions that he wasn't going to be a project, in more ways than one, but it wasn't like she was doing anything else this autumn. The boy needed to find motivation, and a little ambition, but Stacey figured she was just the girl to help him discover it. Besides, she knew he was a fundamentally decent guy which gave her a good starting spot to work with. And he was nice.

As far as Stacey was concerned...not being nice was a deal breaker.

And speaking of not nice...

Stacey gave the rear lot another careful scan before heading for the distant building in the back. The young waitress knew Libby was back here somewhere, and the last thing she needed was an encounter with the prostitute while she was alone. The woman had taken a special dislike to her and Marisa as soon as they had hired on, and the feeling had been immediately mutual.

Which suited her just fine.

It had been the sight of Libby crawling into a rather hideous old trucker's cab on their third day here that provided the first common ground she and Marisa had built their unlikely friendship on. Therefore Libby had done at least one good thing, even if she were completely unaware of it.

But be that as it may, right now she just wanted to find Tomas so he could walk her back to the main building. She wouldn't tear him a new asshole like Marisa would, but she wasn't in the mood for any attitude from him either. The rain was picking up, and she had always been a little nervous about being outdoors when lightning was about. Not to mention, she wanted to get back in time to spy on Marisa and Harley in hopes of catching the big moment.

So as Stacey walked she kept a cautious eye on the distant row of trucks off to the right of the garage and locker room. Out there would be where Libby would most likely emerge if she showed herself. She put a little quickness into her step as the patter on the cardboard over her head increased. The raindrops started hitting the asphalt with audible force. It occurred to her she was probably being silly and Libby had probably holed up in a cab, taking her time with a guy so she could stay inside and dry while Stacey was out here in danger of getting soaked.

So get a move on, girl. Or you're going to end up making Libby look like the one with all the sense tonight.

The waitress now hurried towards the bright rectangle at the right corner of the garage building, where the smaller metal door stood open. The two large bay doors were closed, probably in anticipation of the rain, but it was common practice to leave the "walk-in" door open to allow extra air into the building. So on the nights Arnold and Leon had reason to stay here late, the appearance of the bright fluorescent light from within spilling out the door was an expected sight.

The crows were a new touch, though.

Stacey slowed her walk again as she noticed the group of large ebony birds milling about on the asphalt in front of the door. They strutted and crowded each other like an inky pool of darkness in front of the entrance to the shop. As she closed the distance, she could even see a couple on the chair and workbench immediately inside the door. Then a couple more hopped across the threshold before flying up and out of sight into the building.

What the hell?

The waitress paused a second, and fixed a narrow eye on the door.

Were the birds that desperate to get out of the rain? And if so, why not just get under the awnings over the rows of fuel pumps? Or under the parked semis? Choosing a building with three men working in it struck her as a far more unlikely choice.

And where were the guys anyway?

Stacey could picture the young Leon and Tomas getting a kick out of birds hopping into the building, but doubted old Arnold would permit such foolishness. Maybe he was under a car and the other two were encouraging the birds to come in with pieces of bread?

A quick glance to her right showed another dark circle of birds in front of the locker room door as well. And several of them were likewise making cautious hops into the building. More of the ebony birds lined the roofline, ignoring the falling water from the sky. A flash of lightning revealed a third and fourth group also standing down in front of the trucks. Stacey blinked and tried to make sense of the odd sight.

What in the hell was going on here?

An instinctual unease rose within her at the strange behavior of the birds...and her solitude in witnessing this weird phenomenon didn't sit well with her at all. Stacey had firm opinions about the girls who wandered off alone in horror movies, and this situation began to uncomfortably remind her of several of them. It was generally at this point in the film that bodies started turning up, and the big man with the mask and machete came strolling around the corner of the building looking for a little "alone time" with the lead actress.

Not funny, girl. Knock it off.

Stacey snorted in annoyance at her self induced case of the willies. She liked to think of herself as more practical than this. Still, the only reason she didn't turn around right now and head back for the main building was she didn't want deal with the embarrassment of returning without Tomas in tow.

Benny would be both sympathetic and understanding, of course, but when Marisa found out she would give her gleeful hell about it for the next two days. Especially after fixing her up by surprise like she did tonight.

Taking a deep breath and setting her jaw, Stacey marched in the increasing downpour towards the door. Enough was enough, and she needed to get Tomas back to the kitchen so Benny could get back to work and she could get the juicy details on Harley's approach to Marisa when it happened. The birds scattered but didn't fly off as she walked through them and stepped up to the door. She leaned in to the building to call out to the men...

...and slapped her hand to her mouth to keep the call from going out.

Chapter Four: The Storm.

The Storm - Stacey.

The garage was a slaughterhouse.

And the slaughter was still in progress.

Ten feet away, Leon's lifeless eyes stared back at Stacey from where the assistant mechanic's severed head rested next to a toolbox. The concrete floor was literally covered in blood, and crows dotted all the work benches and shelves, picking at pieces of flesh they would fly down and snatch back up to their roosts.

A large knot of figures were clustered into the far corner with their collective backs towards her. They struggled and pulled at something, while bending as if to take a closer look at whatever it was. Their skin was gray, and from this distance looked to be cracked and flaking like old paint. At least what she could see from the rear. They were covered in filth, and their clothes looked torn and ragged...although they were comprised of suits and dresses.

Almost half of these "people" were women.

Stacey froze as motion caught her attention near the front of the garage. She swiveled her eyes in time to see another figure come shambling around the end of the car the men must have been working on.

It was a woman in what had once been some kind of pale dress. Long black hair hung down, obscuring most of her face...a fact for which the young waitress was grateful. She had a severed arm in her grip, and tore at it with crimson dripping teeth that were far too visible for Stacey's imagination not to put the rest of the picture together. Fortunately, the thing's attention remained focused on its grisly meal and it didn't appear to have seen her yet.

But now with her prize in hand, the horror seemed content to wander away from the feeding pack and back into the area closer to the door. A couple of crows flew to the rafters at her approach. All she had to do was look up from her meal and she would be looking straight at the wide-eyed waitress from only fifteen feet away.

Stacey had definitely seen this movie before, and had no illusions about what happened to solitary women in this situation unless they did precisely the right thing.

She was one wrong move away from dying horribly.

No fast moves, girl. You just slowly pull your head back out of this building. Then you take a good look around to make sure there ain't nothing sneaking up on you...then you run like hell. And whatever the hell you do, don't you dare scream.

Unfortunately, things never had a chance to work out that way.

The dead woman tore a chunk off the arm with her teeth and raised her blood drenched skull to full view while she chewed the meat. The waitress stopped breathing as the thing stared in her general direction while it lifted a hand to push more meat into its lipless maw. Its jaw worked in a ghastly rhythm as the blackened muscles still attaching it to the skull flexed in oily contractions.

For one brief second Stacey thought the thing may have failed to see her, then it stopped chewing as its shriveled eyes locked with hers.

The two women...one dead and drenched in blood, and the other wide eyed in shock...stared at each other across the small distance of gore spattered concrete. Stacey swallowed as the grinning horror lowered the severed arm and tilted its head as if puzzled by her sudden appearance. It made no noise as it regarded her, other than a faint gristle-popping creak as its head now leaned the other way like it was trying to figure out what to do about this new development.

The crows rustled in the metal rafters above, eager to see the outcome of this meeting.

Stacey fought the urge to whimper and held her breath...waiting for the one small move that would dictate her next action. She tensed, eyes still locked with the monster in the pale dress.

Time seemed to slow to a stop.

Then the thing lifted the arm back to its face and tore away another chunk of meat.

It didn't walk off, or even turn away. It just appeared content to watch her while it fed on the arm of one of her coworkers. Stacey struggled not to gag, and kept her gaze focused on the feeding corpse.

Now what?

She hadn't had time to adapt to this new reality...as if it were even possible...and didn't know what to do.

The young waitress wanted nothing more than to turn and put as much distance between her and this horror show as possible. She wanted Benny...and Marisa...and yes, Deke too. The realization that all this gore had once been Arnold, Leon, and Tomas was just beginning to sink in and she knew if she didn't do something quick she would break down right here...and that would be fatal.

But she was just as afraid any sudden moves on her part would cause the rotten abomination in front of her to attack. For the moment it remained satisfied with its current meal, but the fact it continued to watch her had unsettling implications. She felt like a fly that had caught the attention of a spider, but hadn't jerked the web hard enough to provoke it.

She didn't dare move, and she damn sure couldn't stay here.

She was trapped.

And of course, that's when all hell broke loose.