Dominion- Chapter 4, Scene 2

[WARNING: Strong language and violence] 

Dr. Night had offered to drive Laura out to Hollywood to pick up their car. It was after six o'clock and the parking lot was near empty. He let her out and she told him goodbye.

“Are you sure you’ll be all right, Laura?”

“I’ll be fine, thanks. I appreciate your coming to see me.”

“Any time. Call me, day or night.”

“I feel bad keeping you busy all day, though.”

“No, don’t worry about it. I’m glad to help however I can.”

“All the same, I’d like to do something for you. Can I take you out to dinner, maybe? There’s a place down the road that Mark liked to go…”

“Well, all right, if that’ll make you feel better. Lead the way.”

Laura got in her blue Suzuki and drove out of the parking lot, Dr. Night following close behind. They drove down the small road to the city’s lone traffic light. They pulled into the parking lot on the left, which contained a couple of stores and a gas station. She pulled up to the KVLH diner and walked inside. The diner had an order counter and kitchen on the left and eight tables in the main room. Laura sat at one in the corner and Dr. Night came in and sat next to her.

The waitress, an older black woman, approached their table. “Welcome, y’all. Can I get you something to drink?”

“I’ll have a Diet Coke,” said Laura.

“Can I get a Yuengling?”

“We don’t have a liquor license, hun.”

“Oh- sorry, um, sweet tea, then?” She nodded and walked off. Laura and Dr. Night opened the menus and looked through them. Laura started to wonder if this was a mistake- she found herself remembering what Mark liked to order. She’d never been in the restaurant, but she knew the food. From her seat, she could see a security monitor cycling through various shots of the building. The screen now showed a young black man walking through the parking lot, but not in a straight line. He would walk a few steps in one direction, stop and look up, then walk a few more steps. Maybe he was high. Laura was thinking about chicken wings-

“Can you excuse me for a moment?” She looked up and noticed Dr. Night looked sweaty again, and his hand was twitching.

“Are you all right?”

“No, I’m fine; I just need to take care of something.” He got up and walked quickly out of the building. Laura shrugged and turned her attention back to the menu.

“You ready to order, sweetheart?” Laura looked up at the waitress/cook and noticed two empty glasses had been set down next to her. She saw there was a soda fountain in the back of the restaurant.

“No, my friend- I guess he needs a little more time.”

“All right, take your time. Call me when you’re ready.”

The waitress left and Laura heard the door open. She turned to look, but it wasn’t Dr. Night. The man who’d been wandering the parking lot was standing in the doorway, his head tilted up. Laura thought he was sniffing the air. He smiled and sat down at a table across from Laura, but back enough so she could see him looking ahead. Laura resumed looking at the menu, but when she glanced up, she saw the stranger looking her way. His head turned quickly, but he kept smiling.

Laura got up and walked to the back. She filled up her glass with ice and Diet Coke, and then set it down. She should wash her hands. She didn’t want to leave her drink out, though, especially with that guy watching her. She turned around to look-

“Shh.” He pressed her against the wall, pushing his left arm against her, pinning her arms to her chest. His right hand covered her mouth.  "Don’t fight it- that’ll just make things harder.” Laura tried to run forward, but he had his leg behind hers so she couldn’t move it. She pushed her arms outward against his, but his grip was like iron. “Ooh, you’re hard. A lot tougher than your husband- and you smell better, too.” Laura felt herself burning with anger, and she bit at the man’s hand. “Ow, you cracka bitch, watch it! I wanted to make this easy.” He leaned his mouth towards her neck-

“What the hell is this?” The waitress ran over to her, and the man backhanded her so hard she flew across the room. Laura took the split second and rammed the palm of her hand into his nose. He fell back and lost his grip, and she ran forward and kneed him in the groin. As he staggered she punched at his gut, but he knocked her arm away with his, spinning her around.

“All right, fuck being quick. Your cunt ass is gonna fuckin’ hurt for that. Let’s go.” He grabbed her from behind in a headlock and pulled roughly on her long hair, dragging her through the kitchen towards the back door. Then suddenly she was loose, and had to cartwheel her arms to catch her balance. She spun around and saw two other people who appeared to be fighting him, but they were moving too fast for her to see.

“Laura?” Dr. Night ran back in the building as she walked out of the kitchen. “Laura, are you all right? What happened?”

“I’m fine, but call 911. She looks bad.” She got down on the floor and looked at the woman to find injuries. As she looked up at Dr. Night, she noticed an open beer can in his hand.