Out Before Nightfall.
Aaron’s eyes flared as she walked into the diner, his heart began to race. She was stunning. He had never before felt his breath leave his body at the sight of another person, until now. His shy cowardice took over and he quickly shifted his eyes down to the plate of breakfast in front of him, his cheeks flushing a fiery red, terrified she’d caught him looking at her.
She crossed the diner with purpose, finding an empty stool next to Aaron. She sat down with a heavy thud for her thin frame and yanked a menu from the stash just inside the bar. She twitched her fingers, drumming them anxiously on the counter top, perusing the menu from front to back. As the waitress approached she barker her order of black coffee and pancakes. She chucked the menu back to where she’s grabbed it and with a deep breath closed her eyes, her fingers still madly drumming the counter top.
Aaron sat unnoticed, all too aware of her frenetic energy. She was radiating heat, the faint smell of sweat and cigarettes permeating from her body. Aaron was frozen, his eyes fixated on the plate in front of him, unable to continue eating. He was not the kind of guy to be noticed by girls, especially one of her stature. Aaron was average height, slightly overweight yet handsome in his own right. Grey had started peeking in around the edges of his slightly receding hairline, creating a salt and pepper look against his nearly black hair. He had a smile that could light up a room and his deep brown eyes were soft and kind. His insecurities left him awkward around women, especially beautiful women. He was often invisible around them. As he was now.
The woman sitting next to him, with the energy of a wolf on the hunt was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She was tall and thin with legs that seemed to go on for days. Her hair was sleek and black, nearly to her waist. Her body was toned and strong, her bare arms showing her muscle definition as she drummed against the counter top. Her skin was glowing, tan and smooth. He peeked over at her, catching a glimpse at her sharp, almond shaped eyes, darting around the room anxiously. They were the clearest blue he had ever seen, like the water in the Maldives. Her thin, pink lips parted as she turned her gaze away from him and his heart raced a million miles a minute.
The waitress brought the woman her pancakes and coffee and turned to Aaron, asking if everything was alright with his food. Panicked and mute, he glanced up and smiled. The waitress, taking her queue well, smiled and turned, leaving Aaron alone in his panic attack.
The woman ate as if she hadn’t eaten in days, ravenous - nearly savage. Aaron watched in wonder, his head still down at his own plate. He forced himself to continue eating. If she did take notice of him, the last thing he wanted was for her to think he was some sort of mute statue. His eggs were now cold.
Suddenly, without warning the woman leaned in towards Aaron, her gaze straight ahead. He froze once again, the fork midair to his mouth, scrambled eggs shaking to hold their composure on his fork. “You might want to get out of the city tonight,” the woman said, her fingers rifling through her wallet for some cash. Taken aback Aaron replied quietly, “Why?” She turned to look him straight in the eye and said, “I’m planning to burn it to the ground.”
With that, she was up and out the door, her cash strewn about the counter to pay for her food. Aaron’s eyes widened, trailing her out the window as she turned the corner and disappeared into the morning sun.
As the enormity of what this stranger had just said to him sunk in, Aaron dashed out of the diner after her. Once outside, the warm summer air became thick and heavy, causing beads of sweat to drip down his forehead. He caught a glimpse of her a few feet ahead. She was hard to miss. He broke out in a jog, his breath labored and shallow. He wanted to call out to her but she hadn’t given him a name. She just left him with a weirdly cryptic message that left him unable to not speak to her.
The woman stopped at a red light, anxiously tapping her foot and repeatedly pushing the button for the light to change. Her anxiety rose around her like a cloud. Aaron finally caught up to her. He keeled over, slightly out of breath with a small ache in his side. He winced momentarily as she turned around. He looked up at her, the sun in his eyes. “I’m sorry, but what did you say to me before you left the diner? You’re going to burn the city down, tonight?” The woman narrowed her gaze. “Just get out before nightfall. You’ll be fine.” She swiftly turned on her heel and headed across the street.
Aaron grimaced at the shooting pain in his side as he stood and continued on after the woman. He caught up and matched her stride, falling in line to her right. She turned and looked at him, her brow furrowed. “Why are you following me,” she questioned, a tight tone in her voice. Mustering up as much confidence as he could manage, Aaron replied, “The better question here is who are you? And why are you going to burn down the city?”
The woman stopped short, tripping Aaron up a little as he turned to face her, his hands shaking slightly, his side still aching. Had he been too confident? Had he upset her? Aaron was a little nervous as she stared at him, as if she was searching his soul, her eyes darting rapidly back and forth. Aaron shifted awkwardly, unsure of what he was supposed to do next.
After a few deafening moments of silence, the woman replied “It doesn’t matter who I am. It doesn’t matter why I need to do what I plan on doing. All that matters is that you get out of town before nightfall. It’s that simple. Pack up your things and leave. Go far away and don’t look back.”
Hesitantly, Aaron asked, “One more thing. Why tell me? You don’t know me. I don’t matter to you. Why me?” The woman’s gaze softened slightly as she tilted her head thoughtfully. “You remind me of someone I used to know, a very long time ago. Someone that I cared about deeply. For that, you should stay safe. You’re one of the good ones.” She smiled, her bright white teeth shining in the sun. Aaron blushed and shifted his gaze to his feet. The woman touched his shoulder gently, squeezing it ever so slightly as she brushed past him and continued on her way. He turned and watched her for a moment, his mind reeling.
He headed home, still unsure of what had just happened. Once inside his small, one bedroom apartment he found himself pacing in the living room. He wrestled with the idea of packing and a bag and leaving, like the mysterious woman had said followed by the thought that he was having a psychotic break and he’d made made up the entire conversation. Finally he fell asleep on the couch, still debating on what choice he should make.
Hours later Aaron opened his eyes, groggy and dazed. He glanced at the time on his cable box. across the room. 7:35 PM. He jumped off the couch in a start. He didn’t have long if he really was going to head out of town before nightfall. The summer sun was already getting low, a deep, warm hue hung heavy in the sky. Doesn’t hurt to at least maybe take a quick drive, he thought to himself as he walked into his bedroom and pulled out his suitcase.
Aaron packed up the few clothes he owned, his toothbrush and toothpaste, deodorant and his electric shaver. He drug his suitcase out to the living room, heaving it onto the couch with a dull thud. He rummaged through the hall closet, searching for a small box. He found it in the far back corner on the floor. He pulled the box out and sat down, legs crossed, pulling the top off the box gently. It had been years since Aaron had looked through the memories in the box. Inside sat a black and white picture of him as a baby with his mother. She was gazing down at him softly, his then full, curly hair a mop atop his head. He was smiling and reaching for her. His father had taken the photo. Also inside was his father’s wedding band. It had a dull, well-worn shine to it. His parents had passed in a car accident when Aaron was just eight years old. These were the only parts of them he had left.
Aaron smiled at the memories. He moved the photo and the ring gently aside and pulled out a worn piece of paper, a letter with barely legible writing, the pencil having worn away from years of hands folding and unfolding, reading and reminiscing. He opened the letter softly, doing his best to not tear the creases. The letter was from his last girlfriend, Abigail. She wrote him a Dear John letter after nearly eight years together. She had packed up and moved out one day while he was at work. She didn’t say where she was going or even a real reason for her leaving. She just, left. And this was the only part of her that he had left. He sighed a heavy breath and packed the letter back in the box. 8:35 PM. He needed to go. Now.
Hurriedly Aaron made his way to his car, gently tossing his suitcase in the backseat, taking care of the box he’d placed inside. “I hope this isn’t some sick joke,” he muttered to himself under his breath as he started the car. Deep purple lines had started shooting across the sky as the sun made its descent for the night. Aaron backed out of the parking stall and headed towards the highway. As he drew closer, he had to decide where to go, East towards Indianapolis or West, towards Jefferson City. As the green signs grew ever more imminent, he quickly decided to head to Indianapolis. He knew no one and had no reason to go East other than the idea of something that unknown seemed mildly appealing. Maybe that’s how Abigail felt when she took off, he though to himself. He shook his head to let go of her memory.
Three hours later Aaron pulled into a motel in Indianapolis. He saw the pink sign flashing from the highway. The sign screamed VACANCY in flashing lights next to a giant illuminated flamingo. I guess that’ll do, he thought as he took the exit and pulled in. The clerk at the front desk was a grimy teenage kid with acne and a bad lisp. Having to pull his attention away from whatever HBO movie he was watching, he glared at Aaron through narrowed eyes as he handed him the key to his room, 207. “Thanks”, Aaron replied as the kid turned his back to him and went back to his show.
Friendly, Aaron thought to himself sarcastically. The room was small and dark with a small crack in the corner of the mirror. As he flipped on the light in the bathroom one of the bulbs sparked and went dark. He began to second guess his choice to actually leave town at the plea of a stunning woman he knew he would never see again. Aaron yanked his suitcase on to the bed closest to the window and pulled out his pajamas and his toothbrush. He was exhausted from the drive. He quickly showered and crawled into the stiff hotel bed. He flipped on the television and fell asleep to some old black and white movie.
The next morning, Aaron was stunned to wake up to a news broadcast showing the city of Chatham on fire, scorched Earth surrounding the helicopter view. No news crew was able to get on the ground as the city smoldered a bright orange. He sat in bed, jaw gaping open in utter shock and awe that she had done it. He didn’t know how but the mystery woman from the day before had actually managed to burn the entire city to the ground. And she had spared him from this tragedy. He curled up in bed, utterly grateful for their awkward meeting.
