Stitches

4: No Signal

—Kendra—

This morning differed from all the others. Kendra had picked up a frantic man being hunted down by an abomination that burrowed its way into its victims to use them as its puppets. She had prayed for something different, a change in her life. It seemed that whatever had listened to her was a passive aggressive jackass.
Maybe it was her fault for not being specific?

"Dear," Miss Della's voice pulled her from her thoughts.

"Oh, yes?" She asked when her boss raised a brow at her. 

"Kendra, do you think you'll be able to handle things today? You might not have seen nearly as much as Travis, but-"

"Considering I'd have to drive back through where it happened, I think staying here is the better idea, at least until the sun is up." The two stood in silence. A stalemate. Yet that did nothing to spare her the soul-piercing glare of her boss, watching for even the slightest waiver in her conviction.

"I want it that way." The most recent song to play over the speakers seemed to reaffirm Kendra's stance.

A hand went to Miss Della's hip as she raised her free arm in a shrug. "If that's what you want." She chuckled when her working smile returned. "Well, if you're feeling alright to work, why don't you grab that empty plate off the guest's table?" Her head tilted in Travis's direction. 

"On it, Miss." Kendra turned back to the booths and noticed Travis had slumped over the table. "Travis?" Worry hit her at the sight. Did he pass out? Was it alright to let him sleep after the crash? She made her way to his table. As she bridged the space between them, she watched as his back rose and fell gently. Despite his arms shielding his face from view, he looked peaceful.
The polar opposite of when they first met.

Her worry eased as she grabbed the plate off the table, a task that she would do dozens if not a hundred times on a normal day. The feeling fled as quickly as it came. She looked at the sleeping man again.

"Ain't nothing but a mistake."

Had it been a mistake to stop for him? Had she just crossed the divider and sped past him, would she be going about her day in blissful ignorance of what was out there? Would Travis have escaped the forest on his own? Or would he have become a part of it?

No... She'd made the right choice.
He would have died out there.

A chime sounded from the front door as a man entered the diner.

"Hello, Dear." Miss Della said, her standard greeting for passer-throughs. Her regulars, the locals, got something as dressed up as she was.

The man took a seat at the bar, and the boss brought him a menu. The man seemed calm like his drive through the area had been uneventful.

"Cause I want it that way."

The song reached its end when a familiar voice came on. "So... Have any of you ever had one of those weird... Like something is off mornings?" Seemed the feeling was mutual. "I swear it's been such a quiet day caller-wise... Gonna hope someone picks up on the hint to call the station. Other than that, we got some ads before the next song plays."

The diner normally had its first few patrons about thirty minutes after opening. Despite being open for an hour, only Travis and the random man were in the dining room. Of the missing regulars was an older woman named Jasmine, or, as Tif referred to her 'Jazzy'. Kendra thought back about what the pothead radio personality said in her haze. That Jazzy didn't call into the station for morning mingling. She would always have some stories of growing up in Oklahoma decades ago.