Last Night at the Last Chance Diner
Copyright© 2014 by Number 7
Chapter 21
Bethlehem
The First Day
The bells were a surprising addition to the frenzy. First there came the loudest horn ever blown, followed by screams and an earthquake. Diners dove for cover, screaming into the cacophony, their voices lost in the rising tide of hysteria.
Tony thought he heard his mother's voice, for just a second and then nothing. His heart leaped but then he remembered she was dead and clamped an iron control on his emotions, lest they run away with him. In this crisis, it would be disaster to lose focus, thinking about a long dead relative and Heaven. As the seconds passed, he calmed down, employing a lifetime of military training to concentrate on the immediate, not allowing any other thoughts to distract him.
As the world around him shook, he never considered prayer. His heart so closed to the One who created him, he was steadfast, ignoring the eternal invitation. For just a second he almost listened, but he managed to block out the words as fast as he discovered them, amid the destruction of the Last Chance.
He took a silent inventory of the diner. Eddie the Rat and Tiny were right where they had been when the whole thing kicked off. This caused Tony to doubt his sanity for a moment. A couple that had been sitting near the back wall were definitely gone though. He remembered the older guy walking past and asking the young woman if it would be OK to join her and her baby.
The three amigos—the Iranian, or whatever he was, and the other two that always came in with him—were ... together. The terrified looks on their faces pretty much matched the way he was feeling.
He heard the door open and turned to see the Accountant hurrying out, still fumbling with the buttons on his coat. It looked like someone was after him, the way he raced out of there. Maybe he was ... being chased.
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