G.U.A.R.D. Book #1: Clandestine

-14-

   Knife stepped back to allow me to get out. When I did, my legs felt a bit unsteady, and dizziness swarmed my head like a plague. Considering the beating I had endured earlier, I really couldn't blame them. But after a few moments, my head cleared up, and I gazed around. I could only stare in shock.

By the looks of it, the car rested on the gravel platform of a gas station. Six petrol slots were shown next to each other, but we were parked in a, well, parking space. A building in front of us said in bold, red letters, "Sally's Diner."

But that wasn't why I was in shock. The sky was the reason behind that. I almost thought we were inside a building by the sight of it, but I soon realized we weren't. From top to bottom, the atmosphere was completely covered by clouds. It wasn't sure how that could work, but when I remembered the flying car and realized if that was possible, anything could happen.

Jay exited his door, and I asked, "Where are we?"

"Point 50," Knife answered, arms crossed and looking to Sally's Diner.

"Points 50?"

"Jay, guard." She ignored me, throwing the guy the keys to the car. "Don't do anything to the car. Fill it up while we're here."

Jay nodded, and Knife began walking away. He looked to me and jerked his head in his leader's direction. Taking the hint, I hurried to keep up with Knife, feeling a stab of pain in my head where the bandage still was, but I ignored it with gritting teeth. Thunder rolled in the distance, making me jump. I turned my eyes to the sky, but the clouds were still all I could see. Knife opened the door to the dinner and looked to me.

"Energy field," she said with a hint of amusement in her eyes, which took me by surprise. "It protects this place from unwelcome eyes. And outside storms."

I followed her inside the building and gazed around in wonder. Small, black-and-white checkered tiles covered the floors, snaking the walls halfway up. The top part of the walls were completely white, including the ceiling. Red booths sat underneath the windows, and lone tables skirted the area, all with two chairs around them. Red-cushioned stools scooted up to a counter on the opposite wall, while a woman worked behind the structure. With dirty blonde hair in a sloppy bun, the woman had a small face and a bright skip in her step: I half expected her to be dressed in black, tight clothes, on account of Jay and Knife, but she actually wore a... poodle skirt? It was black with a white poodle in the bottom center. A white, button-up shirt went over, tied up at the end with the same dog symbol on the shoulders. Besides that, the waitress also had a black cloth wound around her neck, tied on the right side—as well as a small apron over the top half of her skirt.

A few others occupied the diner: three men, two together at a booth, and another at a different one, sleeping. Knife walked straight up to the counter, where the woman was facing the other way. Upon hearing us, the waitress turned with a bright smile, her lips very red, and holding a pot full of coffee. Seriously, I was beginning to wonder if we had gone back in time to the fifties.

When she saw us, the waitress's smile fell, and she walked over, whispering, "What do you want, Knife?"

"Privacy," Knife answered, leaning on the counter with two hands, glaring. It wasn't hard to see these two had been having an ongoing grudge for a long time.

The waitress seemed to debate on whether to abide Knife's request. She finally sighed and nodded. "Come in through the counter."

Knife walked to the right and opened the small door imbedded in the counter. Without knowing what else to do, I followed. The waitress pressed her palm against the wall, and a light beamed up and down it. I realized there must've been a secret scanner there. Sure enough, a second later, a door opened in the wall, and the waitress jerked her head to it with narrowed eyes. "Don't take long."