Tiffany waves her hand. “No, no, Tony! They’re fine. I just don’t feel well is all. I need to leave.” She grabs her coat and purse from under the counter. “I only have one table. Let Ness take it over. She can do it. She can have the tip. I don’t mind.”

“You sure?” he calls out after her.

But she is already gone.

If I leave from the back door, she thinks, I might have a chance.

Ness is in the kitchen, clicking away on her phone. She pops her gum—Tiffany doesn’t flinch this time—then notices her coworker. “Hey! What’s the matter? Where ya goin’?”

“I think I’m gonna vomit—” is the only answer Tiffany can muster before her throat seizes up.

“Well, if ya gonna vomit then—”

Tiffany pushes open the back door and steps out into the damp night. She looks to either side but sees no one. The streets are nearly empty at this time.

With her arms wrapped around herself for warmth—or for some semblance of a shield—she walks out onto the road. If she stays under the streetlights, they’ll keep her safe. They’ll keep it at bay. She knows the thought is silly. Still, she thinks it, if anything, for the strength in comfort.

If I turn down the next road, it might not see me. It might have walked into the diner. It might already be looking for me there. I might have escaped.

Even so, she can’t help but search. It would be better, she thinks, for her to know where it is than to deal with the uncertainty. With the anxiety building in her chest, ready to pop at any movement as if it is here and all around, just a slight, chilling touch away. It would be better to know it is near than to not know and to find out too late. She searches as she walks and scares herself when a group of late-night partiers turns down the street. Their jovial screams cause her body to stutter.

“Shit!” An embarrassed moan escapes her as she shakes her head and looks down at the ground.

You’re going to give yourself a heart attack. You’re going to scare yourself to death.

She laughs. To death. Ha! At first, it’s a low chuckle meant only for herself. For herself to feel the hearty bounce in her belly. But it latches onto her throat and soon that itch she’d been feeling before finally explodes into the air, the force of it so strong it throws her head back not into screams but into laughter. Unstoppable, untamable laughter.

Why are you so afraid? It won’t ever leave you alone! Might as well face it! You’re stuck with it forever as long as you live! And maybe even longer than that! Maybe even in death! But keep your chin up! You already know that dying is pain!

There’s a cold breath on the back of her neck. A breath that comes from the lungs of the Devil himself. Her skin prickles and she stumbles forward. She turns around, but there is nothing there. Only empty space.