Well, this certainly took me long enough...those Bonbons don't eat themselves you know...(In all actuality I was dog sitting for a friend whom didn't have WiFi for the past 7 days so I didn't get a chance to work well on this)...But here it is!

And a big thanks to everyone who enjoys this, too much good reviews isn't a bad thing, confidence is the key to success!

Could It Be Worse?

An old woman with a walker came hobbling out of the vehicle that almost matched her age. Bent and slow, she made her way towards the diner. I couldn't take my eyes off of her, even if I couldn't quite see her face. Something about her gave me chills that wouldn't be shaken off.

Unplugging my ears, I was relieved when Bob muted the TV. The elderly woman entered and began making her way over to a table on my side of the restaurant. Her head shot up quickly as soon as she turned in my direction, locking her gentle eyes with my suspicious ones for only a moment before turning towards her seat. She never stopped smiling as she gently lowered herself into the chair.

I tried to look away from her but it usually only lasted a moment or two. She ordered a rare steak and glass of water, never loosing that sweet giggle she had.

"Hello." She called over to Audrey's parents "I'm Gladys, Gladys Foster."

"Oh hello Gladys." The woman answered her. Then introduced herself as Sandra, as well as her husband Howard.

They engaged in some normal small talk but my gut feeling just wasn't trusting her. After learning why the young family was stranded in the diner, Gladys broke their conversation by doing a half turn in her seat to face my direction. I looked down before she could notice that I was watching her.

"Hello dear, are you with this young couple?" She smiled at me.

I gave a fake smile back "Nope, just traveling." I kept it short

"What's your name dear?" She wouldn't leave me alone

"Alex."

"Short for Alexandria I presume?"

"Yup, that's me." I looked away from her to imply that I was done with this conversation

"I knew an Alexandria once." She wasn't getting my hint. "She was too soft, and let her emotions get the better of her. It eventually caused her death, and she left two broken hearts behind. The poor boys never did quite forget her."

I looked up at her, questioning her stare. She smiled at me again, but this one was different, it was letting another emotion get through. Mockery was it?

"How sad." I stated and she looked away again. I looked once again to my notes spread out in front of me.

"Say, uh, Gladys you know the lines seem to be down around here, you know the phone and the TV, and I was just wondering if you might've heard something on your way up, you know, about what's going on?" Sandra asked the woman after a short pause.

"Oh you don't have to worry about that sweetheart, It'll all be over soon." Gladys was almost too giddy.

My head shot up instantly to see the confused looks on Sandra and Howard's faces. Something was wrong, and I didn't like this woman at all. The son Jeep then came into the diner and pulled Bob into the back just as Gladys received her steak.

Although I couldn't hear the conversation between Charlie and Gladys, I could read the expression on Charlie's face as clear as day. It changed from boredom to suprise, in the instant that the old woman finished her sentence.

Charlie demanded the old woman to repeat what she said, she was turning angry now. I wasn't the only one beginning to think this woman was more than what we could see.

"I said your fucking baby's gonna burn." Gladys spoke up so the whole diner could hear her.

"Go to hell lady!" Slamming her receipt down onto the table, Charlie tore away from her table and disappeared into the back where Bob and Jeep were.

A chill ran down my spine as Gladys repeated her comment while chewing happily onto her steak. Stay away from her, my inner voice was telling me, it was myself saying this, not some entity this time. I grabbed the butter knife that was offered with my pancakes and held it tightly in my fist. It was something at least.

"Gladys..." Sandra began in a huff, but was cut off when the old...thing shot up her head and stared her down.

"Shut up you stupid fucking cunt, all you do is complain, complain, complain!" her voice pulsed throughout the room, creating an eerie echo that defied all laws of science. Normal voices don't reverberate like this, who was this woman?

Howard shot up from his seat to defend his wife from any more nasty comments. He headed straight towards Gladys, demanding an apology.

"Don't go near her!" I warned nervously, but Howard ignored me completely. "DON'T!"

But it was too late. With amazing speed, the once gentle woman leapt out of her seat to sink her teeth into the unsuspecting man's throat, ripping out a large chunk of tissues as she pulled away.

He instantly fell to the ground like a sack and the possessed woman flipped over the table screaming: "You're all gonna fuckin' die!"

Like a marksman, Percy flung a very heavy cast iron pan that collided into her right cheek. She went down, but came back up quickly, more pissed off than anything.

In a flash she leapt onto the walls above Audrey, climbing to the roof like a cockroach. She easily dodged Bob's buckshot like a rabbit running from the hunt. There was so much screaming, I couldn't concentrate.

She was on the floor again in a second, and cracked Bob over the cheek with a wave of her left arm. The man went flying considering the little effort she put into it, he slid across the floor towards me and what little courage I had left. I found some strength and leapt out of my booth to see if he was alright. He was out cold, but seemed to be okay. The gun fell in a different direction, leaving only a terrifying pause as Jeep slowly went for the weapon.

While giving Bob small slaps on his cheeks to get a response, I saw Gladys calmly walking towards me. I focused onto her once she got too close and she stopped instantly, giving me a half smile through all the blood on her face.

"Once Michael knows you're here, he will protect you, not some human slut. You will be responsible for the fall of mankind Alexandria, aren't you proud?" She mocked me causing my blood to freeze.

Jeep stepped into view in front of me, he was wielding the shotgun as steady as he could. There was a tense pause.

"Shoot her Jeep!" Percy yelled, wielding a deep fryer basket.

"And you will never save her either." Gladys smiled at him

"Shoot the Bitch!"

Gladys made a horrific sound as she began to slide forward towards Jeep. She made it about halfway before 3 bullets pierced through her back, killing her instantly and sending her face-first onto the floor. The younger man was wielding a handgun shakily that was still smoking from his shots. No one moved for a second. My head was processing what the demon woman had said. Michael...I know that name...

Gagging and gasping sounds snapped me back into the diner and I went into medical mode. Howard was bleeding out, and I needed to offer my services to help. Sandra was a wreck, her hand was covered with his blood.

I slid over to the couple and tore off my long sleeved over-shirt to place it on the bleeding wound. "Here! Pressure on it, as much as you can!" And Sandra shakingly obliged as we switched hands. The blood was slowing, but not stopping.

"He needs a hospital now!" I was remarkably calm as everyone else was still panicking.

"We'll use my car." The man spoke up after a pause, still shaken from the ordeal.

"Good, take him and go - quickly!" and I moved so they could carry him out.

Percy, Audrey and her family piled into the Chevrolet, tearing off down the sandy roads. Leaving me in the dust, my eyes were glued onto a massive cloud about 2 miles away. The cloud was making contact with the earth and appeared to be moving. As much as I don't know deserts, it didn't scream 'sandstorm' to me. What the hell is going on?

I saw the Suburban make contact with the cloud, praying my little desert knowledge was wrong. Only a moment passed before I saw the vehicle tearing back out of the massive object, returning towards the diner just as quickly as it left. The SUV skidded into the parking lot and the small band piled back out. Everyone was paler, nothing was said to me as I stood and watched. Nothing needed to be, something was keeping us here, it wasn't hard to figure out. I went to hold the door open for them and Bob came out of the diner confused.

"What happened?" He demanded, but no one spoke. Only when he grabbed Percy's arm did someone answer him.

"I gotta get my bible." Percy stated

I followed the group in as the two talked to see if I could help Howard at all. They laid him down on the floor and I kneeled down next to him to see what I could do. I was silently given the medical position, no one dared to question me because they needed someone confident right now. Just breathe...focus...

"What kind of medical supplies do you have?" I asked and Charlie disappeared into the back, returning quickly with a first aid kit. I lifted up a corner of the pressure poultice on Howard's neck only to be met with blood. It wasn't clotting well yet, I needed to give it a few more minutes.

They could tell I had the situation covered as much as I could and began to figure out what to do with the carcass of whatever the hell attacked us. They wrapped her up in plastic before Bob and Jeep each grabbed an end to began to carry the body outside, fearing the corpse would come back to life.

We heard a car tear into the lot, Charlie got up and ran to the windows. "Oh thank god" I heard her whisper as she ran outside.

Percy looked out the window then, and I looked over to him in question.

"A police cruiser, finally some help." He answered my stare and I nodded in relief.

I began then to re-focus onto Howard. The bleeding slowed, and I got to peek under the cloth. Luckily the carotid artery was still intact, but the jugular vein had a nasty slice in it, causing all the bleeding.

"It's not as bad as it can be." I assured Audrey and her mom. "He just can't loose much more blood, or else he may go into shock."

The mother and daughter glanced at eachother and seemed to relax somewhat. At least I was giving them some assurance.

"Oh shit!" Percy quickly ran out the door without another word. Audrey got up from the floor next to me to see what was going on.

I was working on him for a few minutes cleaning up the area to save from systemic infections.

"Mom, the guy's not a cop." and she ran out the door. Sandra quickly got to her feet to follow her daughter questionably.

Howard and I were left alone, and he looked up at me and gave a weak smile. "So, tell me truthfully, how bad?" He was a little pale.

"I don't lie - how are you feeling?" I asked making him focus on something else.

"Like some old person took a bite out of me." He joked

I heard the door open again behind me, but I wasn't interested in it right now.

"Just relax, I'll see if I can find any antibiotics or anything for you."

A loud thump of something being tossed onto the ground scared me into turning around.

The man I saw was well over 6 feet tall, my eyes took a longer time than usual as they made a trail up to his face. He said nothing, and was dressed in a suit that wasn't exactly made for him. His expression was a mix. Shock, confusion, hurt, but a hit of something soft mixed into it. His eyes, a shade of blue that I used to know. We locked stares and that's when I jumped back, tripping over Howard in absolute panic.

Something flooded though my mind, something I didn't quite know was trying to be remembered. He didn't turn away, his eyes becoming softer as they tried to understand. I knew him...why? My head pounded as it tried to search for any memory I had of this stranger.

"You..." I started, but the diner quickly filled with people again, causing our stares to break. I could focus once more.

I got off of Howard and promptly apologized. I looked back up to the man, he was avoiding my stare now. Sandra and Audrey came back inside first. Audrey was looking back and forth between me and the mysterious man, trying to figure out why we were both awkwardly frozen.

Percy and Charlie came in next, followed by the rest. I noticed that everyone now sported a rather large assortment of handguns and rifles, that answered my question of what was in this man's baggage.

I began to place a semi sterile bandage onto Howard's neck, trying to brush off him as he had done to me. I just finished taping it together when I finally heard someone speak.

"What should we do now Michael?" It was Jeep's voice I think

I shot up onto my feet so quickly everyone turned to look at me. We locked eyes again, this time his stare was neutral.

Those eyes, his features, a muted memory began to form in my mind of his face. Was this my mind making a false memory to fit the name?

Michael...

Yay! Again I'm sorry for taking a bit - this took 4 editing processes before making the final cut. I'm enjoying myself - I have the movie (Thanks Netflix) playing in the background as a constant source for the correct facts so I hope everything is looking good :)

Next Chapter: The first big battle!