The Terror #wattys2017 #TNTHorrorContest

Tina

Tina is out from behind the counter immediately, at my side asking me what's wrong and mopping up spilled coffee.

"Are you alright," she asks, concerned

"Did you see that?" I asked shakily

"See what, all I saw was you falling backward and spilling coffee all over the fucking place."

I was stunned, still in a sort of daze realizing what must be happening.

"Do you know Worm, Tina?"

"Sure, we all know Worm, he comes in almost every day."

"So you didn't see him, sitting across from me just now?"

"I really wasn't paying that much attention, you guys are in and out of here all the time, but he usually say's hi when he comes in, so no I didn't see him; Are you trip'n Merrill?"

I was still breathing faster than usual, picked myself up off the floor and took a stack of napkins that were offered from Tina. My heart was beating like a trip hammer, I could feel the sweat on my brow.

"I think Worm is dead."

Tina looked at me like I had an arrow in my head, I seem to get that look a lot lately. She sat down on the nearest bench across from me and took my hand.

"What are you talking about Merrill, why do you think he's dead?"

I paused...I knew the next thing I said could change what people thought of me around here. Tina is known as a person who gets all the scuttlebutt in town and I didn't need her spreading the news about my special ability to see the dead.

"It's just a premonition, I have premonitions from time to time. There was a spider on the table that scared the shit out of me, I hate fucking spiders. The first thing that I thought when I fell back was Worm is dead. I'm probably wrong, please don't spread this around, please."

"You thought" She paused, "Worm is dead?" she asked questioningly.

"Well, yeah, that's what I thought; weird huh?

She began wiping the coffee off my shirt, then my face.

"You know, I really like you, Merrill, if it wasn't for Gene I would have liked to know you a little better maybe, but this is bat shit crazy dude...premonitions...really?"

I smiled, thinking that she might like to know me better but it made me think of Gene's engineer boot kicking my teeth out. Anyhow, I was in love with my girlfriend and shouldn't really entertain such notions. I just looked into those ocean blue eyes and lied my ass off.

"I was just kidding, just clowning around, you know, just messing with you. Except for the hot coffee on the face part, I didn't really plan that ha ha."

I saw the gears in her head churning, weighing the possibility against what I said.

"Not funny Merrill, I like Worm a lot and I don't wanna think he might be dead. And what about the bit about the spider?"

"That's real, hate the damn things, eight legs and all, creepy little bastards."

She got up then to tend to a customer looking over her shoulder as she walked away.

"It better not be true Mr. Graves, it just better not."

"Ha ha," I laughed with a laugh that didn't even sound genuine to me. She put another cup of mud on the counter and nodded to me that it was mine.

"Thanks Tina, you're all heart."

"Yeah right," She said.