TOM

You never know how fast you’re going in life until you stop for a second
and realize you don’t know what the fuck you’re doing. When you stuck
in between the option of moving ahead or going back to start all over
again. Except neither choices would work for us. We just had to keep
wondering away from the danger we brought upon ourselves.

Tina was still quiet and as moody as ever. And I still did nothing to
console her. I had no idea how to even start. Ian drove us to a diner
shortly after we woke up because he was feeling hungry. I have to
admit that I was too. Although I couldn’t look at meat the same way
after the murder. So when the waitress came up to us to ask for our
orders, I asked for a grilled cheese sandwich. Tina asked for the same
while Ian asked chicken strips and fries. While we waited for our food
to arrive, I felt an eerie feeling that someone was watching me.

Like someone in the shadows was lurking close behind me, waiting for
me to make a wrong move so that they could attack. Or maybe that
was just my conscience making me believe someone would care
enough to follow us to a lonely dinner in the middle of the day. Still I
felt a shiver run down my spine when a middle aged man in a black
trench coat entered the diner. By then, it had started to drizzle and the
air was getting colder.

The man had an eye patch covering his left eye and out of all the seats
he chose to sit at, he chose our table. He strolled over to us confidently
as if we’d known him for a long time and sat beside me.
“Hey kids!” He said with a gruff voice that startled us because it was so
deep. “I see two of y’all got married today.”
Tina leaned forward in her seat to stare into the man’s soul and said as
a matter of factly, “Actually we were at a funeral.”
The man’s smile dropped to a stunned expression. “Oh.”
“Yeah, and we’d appreciate it if you could let us grieve in fucking
peace.”
“And why is a little lady like you cursing like a drunken sailor.”
Tina narrowed her eyes at him like he was spoiled food in the fridge.
“Well the last time I checked, this is my body, my mouth and I can say
whatever the fuck I want with it!”
Tina was so loud that even the cooks working behind the counter heard
her and stared at her in shock.
Tina finally stood up and spoke with a demanding voice. “Excuse me. I
would like to report that this fucking asshole has been bothering us
ever since he came here and he needs to fucking leave.”

Absolutely no one moved. Not even the air that was blowing ever so
proudly was now still and calm again.
And with that, Tina stormed out of the diner and the door closed with a
loud bang.
Sometimes Tina could really get on my nerves with her snarky attitude
but maybe this situation wasn’t as bad. Maybe she was just good at
saying what everyone else was thinking. But the problem is that not
everyone’s thoughts are pure and intentional.
Of course Ian and I had to run off to catch up with her and we found
her standing in the parking lot looking confused.
She turned around to face Ian who was walking one step ahead of me.
“Where the fuck is our car, Ian?”
Ian shrugged. “I dunno. It was parked right there!” He motioned to a
now empty parking spot and realized that our car was putting on some
brilliant disappearing act. It was gone. Someone was dumb enough to
steal our shit hole of a car. Jesus fucking Christ. This could not get any
worse.
“Aw, shit.” Was all I had to say.
Tina flung her hands into the air in frustration. “Are you fucking kidding
me right now?”
And almost as if it was planned from the start, a black car drives up in
front of us and the tinted window rolls down to show the same middle
aged man in a trench coat smiling at us ominously, as if he’d known
what we’d done.
“Y’all want a ride home?”
Tina shook her head as she realized Ian and I were thinking of going
with the old man. “No. FUCK NO! YOU GUYS CAN’T BE FUCKING
SERIOUS?! THERE IS NO WAY IN HELL I AM GOING IN A CAR WITH THAT
ASSHOLE!”
That must have been a bit of an exaggeration. Because now we were in
his car, heading to nowhere in particular. And we’d never feared for our
lives more before now. Sure, we’d murdered someone, ran away from
the crime scene and stole a car. This stranger seemed to embody our
worst fear. A kind stranger. A stranger that was willing to help
worthless college students like us. I held Tina’s hand tightly but she
refused to look at me, staring at the grey clouds forming in the sky.
“I’m Mr. Green by the way, but you can call me Ian.”
Ian…the guy who drove us away from the crime scene Ian.
…and just like that, we knew who his first victim was.
“Hey kids…into dust together”