Kyle Rolinatis is a midwestern horror/comedy author. She is the two-time recipient of the prestigious “Pleasure to Have in Class” award at Prairie Lincoln Elementary School. Kyle spent most of her life with her nose in a Stephen King book, brooding, or writing poetry and short stories. These days you can find Kyle working on her debut horror/comedy novel “Ope!” between crippling bouts of procrastination and her day job in healthcare administration. In her free time Kyle spends time with her family and too many animals in Columbus, Ohio and loves to vacation in coastal Maine. Her debut novel is set to be released in 2024 and if you follow her on Facebook or Instagram she promises to get a website started as soon as a child or teenager shows her how.
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REB’S BLUE PLATE
By
Kyle Rolinatis
Tessa swiped at the countertop but the dingey white rag she was using was only moving the opalescent grease in a circle on the grimy surface. She tossed the rag under the counter and one by one began to pull out salt and pepper shakers to fill them. The lights above her buzzed so loudly it almost hurt her ears. At this hour, there was nobody in the 24-hour diner, which meant the jukebox was off. The only people in the diner were her and Denver, the cook, who was out back having a smoke break, pretty much all night. In fact, the two times this week they had a rush of drunken customers after closing time at the bar a few miles away, she had to go out back by the dumpster to find him. The drunks always wanted those burgers with fried eggs on them that their diner was well known for, and Denver did them just right.
Tessa had been working at the diner, Reb’s Blue Plate, a little over a month. Her shift started at 11 pm and ended at 7 am, just before the busy breakfast rush. She sure as hell wasn’t making any tips and was seriously considering quitting if things didn’t start happening around there. After the salt and pepper shakers were filled and the ketchup bottles were sufficiently watered down, she sat on the customer side of the counter and started thumbing through her dog-eared copy of Stephen King’s Night Shift. Just then she heard the backdoor open. “Hey Denver, if you get a notion to, I could eat some of them onion rings tonight with that tangy sauce” No answer “Denver, you in here?” Tessa stood up and walked around the counter and back to the kitchen door. She saw the grill was unmanned and the coolers were closed but the back door of the diner was wide open.
“Denver?” Tessa started whispering. Not sure why she was. She moved to the back door and looked out and could see nothing but the full moon illuminating the dumpster area. She squinted so she could see better still not releasing her grip on the door frame. “Denver?” She shouted so loud she startled herself. She heard a rustling near the dumpster and saw a bag lying next to it shift very slightly. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop out there and she was laser focused on that bag wondering if she imagined it moving. Just then a gigantic brown raccoon jumped from behind the bag and scurried off into the wooded area behind the diner.
“Denver! Come on, are you out here?” She was going to have to go back in the diner and go to the front to see if his old blue El Camino was still parked in the lot. “That asshole left” she thought. She saw more rustling and heard a sound. Kind of like a moan coming from the direction of the dumpster. She fumbled in her apron for her cell phone, but she left it, right on the counter with her book. She looked around trying to decide. Go see what the sound is by the dumpster or lock this diner down and call the police to check everything out.
“Help me” she heard a gurgling plea coming from that direction. “Denver?” She asked into the darkness as she stepped out and slowly crept toward the dumpster. She didn’t have her phone flashlight with her, but she could see well enough tonight. She heard the moaning get louder as she turned the corner to look behind the dumpster. There was Denver lying on his stomach facing away from her with what looked like a pool of blood all around him, soaking through his normally white t-shirt. “Oh my god! What happened!” Tessa leaned down and touched his back and he moved his head around to her direction. She was shocked to see that Denver’s face was gone. There was muscle and scattered flesh and his brown eyes in their sockets, but no… face” Tessa instinctively jumped back and banged into the dumpster with a loud thud. “What the fuck?” She said, “What happened to you Denver?” He raised his hand slightly off the pavement and pointed. He was pointing in the direction of the diner.
Just then Tessa heard a car pulling through the gravel to the front lot. She jumped up and ran toward the diner’s back door and stopped in her tracks. There, in front of her, in the doorway of the diner was a creature. It was huge and covered with coarse grey hair. She stood frozen and looked up at the face of the animal. It was dog like with a muzzle that was long and crowded with fangs. The creature looked right at Tessa with its bright yellow eyes narrowing. Its chest was heaving in and out and although it was standing on two legs. It slowly started to lower itself to the ground as if it was going to charge right at her. A low growl began to gather in the creature’s throat.
“Help me!” Tessa screamed into the night at the car that pulled in. By now, they were inside the diner. She heard the jukebox kick on loudly in the dining room. The song “Hound Dog” by Elvis Presley began playing. “Help!” Just then a man and a woman appeared in the doorway behind the creature who was still posturing for an attack. “Aww Jack, take a look at our boy” The woman cooed as her bones and muscles began to audibly crack under her clothing. The man’s eyes slowly turned a dark yellow and he licked at his mouth as teeth began pushing through his gums and around his human teeth. Tessa screamed as loud as she could. “Now come on son we don’t got all night” the man said. Tessa turned to run just as the creature launched.