Chapter 2: The Man In The Rain
Nobody moved.
For three seconds, the entire diner stayed frozen.
The only sound was the rain.
Then Derek laughed.
A short, uncomfortable laugh.
“You’re serious?””
Cole didn’t look away from the window.
“Yes.””
“Because a girl came running in here and scared everybody?””
Cole finally turned.
His eyes were cold.
“No. Because that girl saw something you ignored.””
The diner became quiet again.
Maya stood beside him, watching every word.
She had spent years living in a world where people spoke around her instead of to her.
But Cole didn’t.
He looked at her like she was the only person in the room who had been telling the truth.
Derek shook his head.
“I’m not locking my business down because someone has a bad feeling.””
Cole stepped closer.
Not aggressively.
Just enough.
“You think she ran through a storm for fun?””
Derek looked away.
Nobody answered.
The elderly man near the window slowly stood.
“I saw something too,” he said.
Everyone looked at him.
The man pointed outside.
“About twenty minutes ago. Someone was standing near that truck.””
Derek’s face changed.
“You didn’t say anything.””
The old man shrugged.
“I thought it was a person waiting for someone.””
Cole looked at Maya.
She signed quickly.
*He was watching. Waiting.*
Cole nodded.
“I believe you.””
Those three words hit Maya harder than she expected.
She looked down.
For years, people had mistaken her silence for weakness.
They forgot silence could still contain a warning.
Cole walked behind the counter and locked the front door.
Derek immediately stepped forward.
“You can’t do that.””
Cole looked at him.
“I just did.””
The manager opened his mouth.
Then closed it.
Something about Cole made arguments disappear.
One of the bikers behind him whispered:
“Cole, should we call the police?””
Cole nodded.
“Already doing it.””
He pulled out his phone.
No signal.
He looked at the screen.
Then at the ceiling.
“Storm knocked out the tower.””
Maya quickly signed.
*Back door.*
Cole looked at her.
“What?””
She pointed.
*He was not only outside.*
Her hands moved faster.
*I saw him near the back entrance.*
Cole’s eyes moved toward the kitchen.
The back door.
The one employees used to bring in supplies.
Derek followed his gaze.
“You think someone is back there?””
Nobody answered.
Then came a sound.
A tiny sound.
A scrape.
From the kitchen.
Everyone stopped breathing.
The waitress covered her mouth.
The old man stepped back.
Cole raised one hand.
Everyone became still.
Maya’s heartbeat raced.
She couldn’t hear the noise.
But she saw everyone’s faces.
Fear was universal.
Cole slowly walked toward the kitchen.
One step.
Two steps.
His boots touched the tile floor.
The biker behind him whispered:
“Cole…”
Cole held up a hand.
Stop.
He reached the kitchen entrance.
The lights above flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then the entire diner went dark.
Someone screamed.
A chair crashed.
The emergency lights failed to turn on.
For a moment, the diner became a room full of shadows.
Maya couldn’t hear the panic around her.
She only saw movement.
A figure.
Near the back door.
Cole saw it too.
His hand grabbed the nearest object.
A heavy metal pan from the counter.
The figure moved.
Fast.
Too fast.
Cole stepped forward.
“Show yourself.””
No answer.
Only darkness.
Then a phone screen lit up.
Not Cole’s.
Not anyone inside.
It was outside the back window.
A person stood in the rain.
Holding a phone.
Pointing the camera directly at them.
Maya’s blood went cold.
Because she recognized the face.
She had seen him earlier.
The man from the blue truck.
And he wasn’t hiding anymore.
He was smiling.
Then Maya saw the message appear on the glowing screen.
May you like
Three words.
*I FOUND HER.*
