Man-Eat-Man World: a Texas Chainsaw Massacre Fanfic

Missing

          There was an unusually small amount of customers for a Saturday. There were not many in general but today there were only about five groups that came in to eat for the whole day. Newt Diner had a small dirt and gravel parking lot with only one or two cars for the managers. The other employees usually got rides to and from work. The building itself was small in size and had a wooden exterior with large windows to easily see inside. An old, white screen door creaked open and triggered a bell every time a customer came inside.
          Sunshine's pale, tired hand gripped the wet rag as she sloshed the counter cleaner on the bar of the restaurant and winced under the buzzing LED light above. She looked up while still cleaning and watched the crimson sky turn blue and purple with few stars appearing like the headlights of an oncoming car. The blue and red "open" sign blinked for a few seconds more before being switched off by a burly man in a chef hat.
          Sunshine snapped out of her trance and almost finished wiping off the chipped counter when a monotone beep was heard from the old TV sitting above her head near the large menu. The box TV was brown and had wooden sides with two long, metal antennas stemming from the top. Bright yellow words flashed on the screen as Sunshine moved closer to get a better look and her co-workers gathered behind her also looking at the screen. "MISSING PERSONS" blinked against the black background and Sunshine felt the hand of her friend snake around her arm for comfort. She glanced over at the redhead, sporting the animal ear headband she thought was so cute, and then back again at the TV when a monotone voice described two teenage boys that had gone missing on the long stretch of highway she walked on daily. Sunshine swallowed and heard the other employees shuffle away except for the burly chef and her friend who still clutched her arm. Sunshine still gazed at the TV after the message had finished and slowly looked down to the ground, knowing well that she would have to walk again. Her friend, who she called Diesel for her love of cars, searched Sunshine's face and shook her head before letting go of her arm.
          "Y' alright, girlie? Did the alert spook ya?" the chef said.
          "No, not really," Sunshine said shaking her head and turning back around to the counter. That was somewhat a lie. She wasn't scared but it was still unnerving nevertheless.
          The chef sighed and took his eyes off Sunshine to briefly look at her friend when he froze. Diesel saw his frozen expression and shifted her weight.
          "What I tell ya 'bout them animal ears?" he said sternly.
          Diesel swiped the fake ears off of her head and averted her eyes as the chef huffed and squeezed through the leaving employees to the back.
          "I think they're cute," Sunshine giggled taking the animal ears from her friend.
          Diesel ignored the comment, "Are you going to be okay? You know I wish I could take you home bu-"
          "Shh.. just.. don't worry about it. I'll be fine," Sunshine looked down and smiled at the floor. She was the only one who never had a ride. Her friend tried to force a smile and slowly shuffled to the back door, looking back at her one last time before anxiously leaving. Sunshine watched the door Diesel had left from for a while, becoming more paranoid and unsettled. Her gaze slowly averted back onto the counter and she sighed deeply before being startled by the familiar ring of the front door's bell.
          "Hello, sir! I'm terribly sorry but the diner is going to be clo- Mr. Sawyer?"
          Her friend's slumped shoulders perked up a bit with his eyes showing pleasant surprise, "Goodness, girlie! Didn't expec' ya to be workin' this late!"
          Sunshine chuckled and shrugged.
          "Well, I didn't expect you to appear this late. What brings you here?" she asked.
          He stuffed his hands in his pockets, "Jus' wanted ta see if ya'll were willin' to make change fer a twenty. I need some coins fer my register at the station."
          Sunshine smiled and walked him over to the register and gave him what he needed. Since he was facing her she couldn't see the sweat trickle down the back of his tan neck which he was thankful for for many reasons. His old eyes squinted at her trembling hands as she dropped a quarter whispering "shoot" under her breath. They trailed back up to her face and saw that she had chewed her lip so hard it spotted with red. Drayton watched her carefully and hoped she wasn't frightened by something that had happened earlier that he knew about.

FLASHBACK

         Earlier that day Drayton gripped his steering wheel so hard he could hear it crackle under his vice grip. He jerked the wheel to the right and huffed as he pulled into his dirt driveway. White knuckles contrasted the red he saw in his head. What didn't help was a greasy looking man staring smugly at him on the porch with a shit-eating grin.
          "See? I didn't go nowhere today! I-I babysat Bubba jus' like you said!" the man said sticking out his tongue as Drayton scrambled out of his truck.
          "Bullshit!" Drayton growled, slamming his door closed, "an' ya know how I know!?" he stomped up the old wooden steps.
          He grabbed his little brother's arm and jerked it in front of his face so his bandaged hand was at his eye-level. This caused his grin to slowly fade and he started to shift and stammer out silence trying to come up with an excuse.
          "I know you ain't got 'nough sense ta do this yerself! We ain't even got bandages here!" Drayton screamed.
          "Y-you don't know that!" he retorted snatching his hand back.
          "Yes, I do! How come my regular at the station said she done bandaged up a hitchhiker with a bloody hand and went on ta describe my coon-shit brother!?"
          Drayton didn't even bother to let him reply before shoving him off the porch and pointing to the flatbed of the truck. The hitchhiker landed on his back to the ground below, creating a cloud of dust around him from the dry, loose dirt.
          "Them boys are passed out in the flatbed, 'managed tah knock'em out when they was singled out. Go git yer brother tah help ya. Them are meaty boys. They'll make fer a good chilli," he turned to storm into the house leaving the hitchhiker muttering under his breath, kicking his brother's truck.