The Last Stop

Dust devils encircle a dingy blue Pontiac Sun fire as the summer sun's rays reflect off the few exposed areas of clean finish. The looming shadow of The Last Stop diner begins to overtake the Pontiac. The antiquated eatery bakes in the scorching New Mexico heat, while inside hungry patrons fair no better.

The buzzing of a single osculating fan blows hot, dry air in customer's faces; perspiration dripping from every inch of exposed skin, relief from the heat only coming from tepid ice tea and warm root beer.

Swaying back and forth on his stool, sits a man fidgeting with his paper napkin. Sitting at the centre of the counter, the man periodically peers up from his napkin, glancing at the various customers, peering over at the entrance and back to his napkin. The man wipes the excessive perspiration from his brow and runs his trembling hand along the scruff that adorns his scarred chin.

"You ready, darlin'?" asks the waitress with a large, comforting smile.

"Uh, y-yea, Um... I-I'll have the s-strawberry sundae," says the man, briefly making eye contact before returning his gaze to his crumpled napkin.

"Ran out about two hours ago. Ice cream's a hot commodity in heat like this, darlin'. Anything else?" asks the waitress as she fans her freckled skin with a menu. The man shrugs his shoulders and continues to fiddle with his napkin.

"You ok, darlin'? You seem a little nervous," asks the waitress, flashing her comforting smile the man's way. The man rises from his stood, reaching into his pants to retrieve a large pistol.

"Everybody, get the fuck down. Now!" yells the man, waving his pistol wildly in every direction. The customers begin to scream with fear. An elderly couple freezes in place, the businessman within the far corner drops to the floor, and the newly-wed couple close to the window embraces as the man jerks violently within the diner.

"You. G-get your hand up w-where I can see them," says the man; his hands trembling. pointing at the register, the man the aims his pistol at the cowering waitress.

"Start emptying t-the register," demands the man. The waitress, wide-eyed and frozen in place, struggles to respond.

"Do it! Now!" yells the man as his pistol gets closer to her face. Tears begin to stream down the waitress' face as she empties the contents of the register into a plastic bag. The man twists around to survey the diner. Spotting the businessman with a cell phone in his hand, The man rushes over; his pistol now directly in the businessman's face.

"Put that fucking thing down!" screams the man. The businessman drops his phone and begins to cower in his chair. The man turns his attention to the newly-wed couple as the young bride begins to wince in pain. the man moves toward the woman with a furrowed brow. The young bride drops to the floor, revealing her enlarged stomach. She clenches her stomach as her husband rushes over to his bride.

"Hey, hey, hey! Get back to your-" the husband throws his arms in the air.

"Please, My wife's pregnant," says the husband, cradling his wife's head as she moves to her back, panting and moaning.

"Oh, God. I think she's going into labour!" Yells the waitress.

"E-everybody, shut up," says the man, moving around frantically.

"You have to do something," says the waitress. The man continues to tremble.

"W-what?" asks the man.

"To help her. You have to help her," screams the waitress. The diner's begin to panic as the young bride's contractions being to worsen.

"Shut up! Everybody, s-shut up!" shouts the man as he makes his way over to the pregnant bride. As the man's heart pounds within his chest, he glaces down at the bride, moaning in pain. The man kneels to the floor.

"What d-do I have to d-do. I'm not a fucking doctor. You do something," says the man, pointing at the husband. The husband begins to move toward his bride's legs, but his wife firmly grasps his arms.

"No, John! Stay... Ah! Stay h... Ah," says the bride as her contractions worsen.

"You have to help her," screams the waitress. The man wipes the sweat from his brow and moves toward the bride's legs.

"W-what do I do?" asks the man as he trembles in place.

"Talk to her. Make sure the baby doesn't fall to the floor," says the businessman.

"... You're going to b-be ok. Y-you're doing good," says the man softly. The bride begins to wince and gyrate; he screams echo through the diner as the man positions his hand beneath the bride's legs. The young bride continues to moan as the contraction worsen.

"T-that's It. Y-you're ok," asserts the man; his hands trembling. The bride gives a final push as the newborn's head emerges. The rest of the body begins to show with the final push until the newborn is within the man's shaky arms. The bride begins to sob with joy, as does her husband. A collective sigh of relief washes over the diner as they temporarily forget the situation they are in.

The man hands the newborn baby over to its parents. He rises to his feet and begins to weep uncontrollably. Suddenly, the police burst into the diner. With their weapons drawn, The man puts up no resistance, placing his hands behind his back as the police place him within handcuffs. The man is placed in the back of the squad car. As the squad car begins to pull away, the man glances at the diner. Paramedics being to arrive at the scene, escorting the newly-weds out of the diner.

The bride glances at the man in the back of the squad car. She smiles and mouths 'thank you' at the man before the police car pulls away. The man begins to well up before he smiles back and nods. As the squad car speeds away, dust devils swirl around the Pontiac before fading away.

End