Red Flowers

Chapter 1

Standing behind the counter of the diner, Aster was in the process of drying off a cup before she filled it with coffee and brought it to the customer waiting in a booth by the window. It was 9:06 on a Tuesday night, so the diner only contained two quiet customers. When she finished preparing the cup of coffee, she brought it over to the customer in the booth by the window. As Aster sat it down on the table, something on the news caught her attention. She looked towards the diner's tv that hung in the corner of the room.

"New York Crime has seen an increase in gang-related activity," said the news anchor in a black suit and tie on the screen, "There have been several reports of various kinds of assaults, all taking place after dark. These are assumed to be related to the aforementioned gang activity." It had been two years since what is now referred to as the "UFO invasion" had been put to a stop. No one really knew what was behind it or how it was stopped, but it really had people freaked out for a while. But as time passed by, there seemed to be no further infiltrations, so people started to go about their lives as they had before the attack. Things have been pretty tame recently, but as of this latest news report, it seemed that New York was starting to experience a different kind of trouble.

    "You gonna make it home alright, Miss Aster? It's already past dark out," said the customer in the booth. His name was Joe. An older gentleman and a regular who had always treated Aster politely and left a good tip. He had already grabbed his cup of coffee and was getting ready to take a sip when she turned to face him.

    "I'm sure I'll be fine. I only live a few blocks away from here. Thank you for asking, Joe," Aster replied, giving him a genuine smile. Joe nodded in understanding and took a sip of his coffee. She went back behind the counter and leaned in through the opening in the wall where completed orders are placed to be served to look at Henry, the diner's cook, in the kitchen. He had his back to her and was cooking at the grill.

    "Hey, Henry? Is Mr. Martin's bacon almost ready?" she called back to him, standing on her toes to lean over the divider. Henry yelled over his shoulder in response.

    "Yeah, I'll have 'em out in just a minute!"

    "Okay!" she turned back to the diner's counter and started to clean it with a dish towel that she kept nearby. Martin was the other regular who was seated at the counter. He and Joe both worked the late shifts for maintenance at nearby factories. Joe was getting ready to go to work and Martin was going to head home after another half hour or so. Martin, who was in his mid-thirties, came to get some dinner here so he didn't disturb his wife and kids who were starting to go to bed. He waited patiently for his meal to come out and stared idly at the tv with the tired but content eyes of a man who was still adjusting to having a new family and working full-time. Joe was probably in his fifties and didn't really have any family to speak of, from what Aster understood. He wore stubble on his face like a man who didn't have anyone to fuss at him about keeping himself groomed. 

    Aster had always had a tendency to try to read people and situations. Her mother always told her that when she was first brought home from the hospital, Aster had looked at her and her father with the widest eyes that they had ever seen on a baby. She said it was like Aster was trying to observe and take in as much as she possibly could. Dad would sometimes jokingly refer to her as Owl-Eyes when introducing Aster to one of his friends or to someone new in general. Rest assured, Aster's eyes are completely normal-sized, the name was just based on how she would always make keen observations of the things around her when she was young.

    Aster's attention was drawn to a spot a little further down the counter that needed to be scrubbed. She wet her towel a bit in the sink nearby and then started wiping at the spot. While her focus was concentrated on what seemed to be a dried blotch of ketchup that one of the customers had left behind, the bell on the door announced another customer. Before Aster had the chance to look up and greet them, she heard the unsettling, metallic click of a gun being cocked nearby. Aster felt her stomach drop and her blood run cold as she stopped scrubbing and cautiously lifted her head up towards the sound. There were five guys dressed in black standing in the center of the diner. Each of them had a gun at the ready. Martin and Joe were gazing at them with the same speechlessness that Aster held. The three of us waited for them to speak, not wanting to make any sudden moves. The only sounds were those of the tv and Henry still cooking in the back, currently oblivious to the situation at hand.