I See Dead People pt.1

- 8.45 A.M. -

Halfway into Wrath's six-hour trip, she was put on a halt as she was about to cross a train track into the mountainous area. The train consisted of many different cars crossing from one small village to another. It probably contained some livestock and other necessities. Three other vehicles waited with her.

One car in particular looked eerily familiar as she squinted harder to figure out where she might have seen it before. The window rolled down to reveal a friendly face waving at her with his signature Ray Bands on. That brazen smile made her heart drop to her stomach.

"Lust? What the fuck are you doing here? Who's guarding the house?" she snapped.

"Honestly, I didn't think I was gonna catch up to you this early. Besides, you took my bike. There's no way I'm sleeping peacefully knowing my baby is in danger," he smirked.

"C'mon I deserved more credit than you wanna admit. I'm getting the hang of this beast of yours. Back to the topic, why are you following me?"

"Simbi told me," he mentioned nonchalantly.

Her eyes widened in disbelief, "She told you?"

"Apparently something you did triggered the development of my second sight. I don't really understand it myself," he explained.

"How 'bout we drop by that diner we just passed by. I don't think the train's passing any time soon," she turned her bike around.

They both backed out and headed to the Snake Booth diner. It was a humble-looking building with few nine-wheelers and bikes parked in front. They looked out of place and stood out amongst the rest of the diners. Most of them were truckers and bikers, but there was a group of teenagers at one corner that were arguing if hotdog was a sandwich if cereal was soup.

Only one of them were not in uniform, suggesting that the rest had bailed school to hang with him. Two cops were sitting on the counter seats with their walkie-talkies on the table next to a cup of black coffee and stale bagels.

Wrath picked the booth seating overlooking the train track about half a mile away. It was the cleanest empty seat she could find. She proceeded to skim through the menu as she waited for Lust to park his brother's car safely. As he strode in, one of the girls in the brat table had her eyes locked on him. She swooned over him to her friends and let out a girly snicker while she covered her mouth.

"What's up with her?" he asked his companion as he took a seat.

"I think she likes you. How hungry are you?" she continued.

"Depends who's paying," he smiled.

"Let's split a bacon cheeseburger with fries and a vanilla milkshake," she passed the laminated sheet to him.

His eyes scanned the menu, "Vanilla?"

"What's wrong with vanilla? Are you allergic?" she folded her arm.

"Are you offended? You don't seem to the vanilla type of girl."

"Well, what do you suggest then?" she raised her eyebrow.

"You know what? I'll pay for this meal, but I get to pick what you order," he offered his hand.

She shook his hand firmly, "Deal."

Lust raised his slender hand to call for a waitress. A plump lady with fiery ginger hair trotted towards their table with an old notepad and a pen. Her curly hair laid on her shoulders in a pig tail, an emerald brooch the same color of her eyes was pinned on the strap of her off-white apron, her black pair of Mary Janes were stained by layers of debris.

"Morning Uriel, we'll have one Columbus set, a Lincoln set, and one of your famous PB and S'mores sundae. Make it extra special please," he winked his last sentence.

"Fancy meeting you again, Lust. You've grown into quite the young man haven't you. I'll be right back with your orders," she gave Wrath a sweet smile as she wrote their order.

As the lovely waitress retreated to the kitchen, Wrath eyed Lust suspiciously, "You know her?"

"Yeah, I used to come here all the time with my family when I was a kid. Worked a few summers here too. Uriel and her husband Michael opened the diner about 35 years ago as a newly wedded couple. Michael's brother, Raphael, is the co-founder of Alvarez & Co." he explained.

"That's how you got a job in that posh music store?" she listened in amusement. "You really do charm people, huh?"

"Oh, don't give me that. You're just as charming. How else did you get that PA job?"

"You got me there," she smiled.

The diner gave off a pleasant and comforting feel, though they both were about to embark on an important and potentially life-threatening journey. It was as if the two were vacationing together impulsively as they get to know each other better and themselves better. The song on the jukebox had ended when Uriel shouted to Lust to pick the next one.

"My lady?" he stood up and offered his hand to his partner.

"You want me to choose? I've never used one before."

"C'mon, I'll show you."

He yielded an old penny from behind of her ear as she shot him a dirty look. She was not fond of cheap and cliché tricks. Her fingers scrolled down the list of 70s and 80s song to search for a song she would recognize and be enjoyable by everyone. Wrath slotted the coin in and pressed on a song she used to listen to during a Christmas family gathering when she was a wee toddler.

Lust bopped his head to the beat, "Good choice."

She walked pass Lust's invitation to dance and smiled as she sank down into her red faux leather seat. Wrath was the type to always shy away from public attention, especially when it required her to perform. But her counterpart was the total opposite, he moved with grace and elegance as he offered his hand to his blond stalker from the booth across. The girl jumped in excitement to take advantage of the limited time she could be so physically close to a man whose looks was chiseled by the devil himself.

Wrath could not help but to cringe and cover her face with the ketchup-stained menu. One of the guys was visibly annoyed at the crowd's cheering of the couple, perhaps out of jealousy. As the song ended, Lust returned the stranger to her flock and walked back to his booth while flipping his wavy fringe out of his face. The officers seemed to enjoy the whirls and waltz as they lowered their dark pair of Oakley before returning to their car.