Beneath the Glass Moon

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

The next morning Evan had left before I officially woke for the day. At first I was scared, I walked around the house calling his name like a lost child in a store. The fear coursed through my veins and caused my head to spin. His name soon became little mewls of desperation. My panic attack ended when I reached the kitchen and realized Evan had left me a note.

Evy, the garage I work at called this morning with a problem. I really didn't mean to leave you like this, I actually had the day planned. I hope you slept well and didn't panic; I know how you are. If you feel like staying home today that's okay. Food is in the fridge help yourself to anything you want. If you decide the house is to empty and want to get out, you're more than welcome to come into town, maybe we could have lunch. Stay safe. -E

I released a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. How stupid of me to panic. Evan wasn't the kind of person to just leave without notice. I was well aware of that, yet my mind wouldn't accept that fact. I'd been alone far too long.

After a quick shower I slipped back into my coat from yesterday; it was the only coat I deemed suitable for the harsh cold of the Alaskan air. The weather here is definatly something to adapt to. At the door I paused,I looked at the lock from the inside of the foyer. To lock or not to lock...Lock. Pulling the door shut behind me I raced for the door of my truck, half slidding and skidding to a stop. The interior of the truck wasn't much of a tempature change and I shivered even as I turned the truck over. The sun was barely grazing the horizon at 5 o'cloc, and it's light streamed in ribbons again the snow and trees. Putting the truck in reverse and puling out of the driveway I barrelled to the town. Going ten miles under the non-existant speed limit of course... ice scares me.

It took me two minutes and a quarter mile to find the local diner. The building was small and quaint and stood just off the left edge of the main street. A few cars lined the road in front, which I assumed were customers in the diner. Pulling off the nearly deserted road to the right, I fled the still coldness of my truck's cabin and raced across the road to the diner.

The bell chimed above my head as pushed through the door of the diner. I half expected a hey darlin' or just have a seat honey. Instead, I was greeted with silence, complete utter silence. The few straggling people who litter various booths and bar stools were staring at their plates. No one moved or spoke, much less made any sort of movement. Did I step into the Twilight Zone? I played dumb and walked to the registar that sat on one end of the bar. Out of the corner of my eye I watched the man sitting to the side of me turn halfway to look at me.

"Who exactly are you?" His gruff voice was loud in the ominious atmosphere of the diner.

"Excuse me? Can I help you?" My anger flared and most likely unnessisarily. I turned toward the man, who by now was outrightly staring at me, and his lip was curled up.

"I asked-"

"Gerald, shut it." A woman appeared suddenly behind the registar cutting the strange man named Gerald off. The woman was small well below my five foot four height. She had her blonde hair pulled back from her face and she wore a thermal green shirt under a light fleece coat. At her words, the diner residents went back to eating and actually moving in general. I breathed a sigh of relief and smiled greatfully at the woman. Her frown disappered when she turned to look at me.

"What is it you need?" Her bluntness was startling at first, but a great relief from the man next to me.

"Do you do take out orders?" I'll be blunt too. Her frown flickered momentarily at my words, and she cocked her hips to the side.

"What do you want? We don't get fresh meats often so don't go asking for a buffet." This time I frowned, could she not atleast let me answer before she assumed?

"Anything is fine." She didn't respond or acknowledge my answer but simply slipped fom behind the counter into the kitchen. I grunted in annoyance and turned to asses the rest of the occupaints. Most of people were men, some were in booths alone the only woman I saw sat by herself in the farthest corner from the door. A redhead that stared at her cup of coffee and her hair fell loosely around her bent shoulders.

"Here." I spun suprized at the speed in which the woman had returned. She punched various buttons on the machine and the frown she seemingly always wore stayed put. I slipped my wallet from my back pocket and placed a twenty on the bar next to the registar. My last twenty... I need a job. I grabbed the styrofoam box and fled the sufficating building to my ice box truck.

Only another quarter mile down the road was the only garage I'd seen since coming into the town. I turned the truck into the nearly vacant lot next to the garage and pulled into the closest parking space. I zipped my coat up to my chin and slipped from the cabin, but as I was pulling the door shut it smashed into the side of my head. The pain thudded through my head and I stumbled back from the sudden impact dizzyly.

"Hehe" My pain laced brain sluggishly registered the little girl giggling at my clumsy display. Her dark auburn hair curled at the ends and her glove covered hands covered her laughter.

"That was really funny," she grinned behind her striped hands. " I don't think the door really likes you."

"I have to agree," I grinned at her smiling antics and rubbed the throbbing part of my skull. "Maybe I did something wrong."

"To a door? Maybe you just didn't see it coming." She didn't look much older than six years old. She wore a brown pillow coat with blue jeans a little to large for her. Intellegance and laughter flicked through her green eyes and she lowered her hands. It was then that I noticed the scar, small but I know what they look like even small ones. It ran over her lips but didn't pull the skin in a disfigurement way.

"I think you're right. I'm Evy and I new here, think you could show me to the garage?" The pain on my skulls began to subdue to a dull ache.

"I'm Aurora, I know your new." She walked up to me and grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the side door.

"Oh-oh wait I need to grab the food I left in my truck!" She giggled again and released my hand as I fled to the truck once again, making sure this time I didn't get wacked by the closing door.