shit.  he spots the truck stop diner just up the road ahead.
darren, your fuckin' directions suck, man. he checks his cell phone again. no chance of a signal way out here. so he shuffles around to the side of the diner in search of a pay phone. the good news is that he finds one. the bad news is that it's been broken for ten years. leaning next to the broken phone, however, is charlie wearing a shabby, faded waitress uniform stretched tight around her very pregnant belly. adding to her perfect mother-to-be look is that cigarette dangling from her lips. the plastic name tag pinned to her chest says "charlie".
hey.  she eyes him, mildly intrigued, takes a drag.
you know that shit right there ain't good for the baby. she lets out a long slow exhale.
now hold on, girl, let me bum one before you do.
tell ya what. you let me have one of yours, and i'll give you two from the new pack you're gonna sell me. she considers him for a moment, then pulls out a cigarette. lights it off the end of hers then hands it to him. kyle takes a drag, pulls out his crumpled map.
am i in the right place?
sonuvabitch. there another phone around here? you know, one that works?
i can handle that. you got pancakes here?
three seventy-five, huh?
if i can smoke `em, i'll take `em.
hey man? bob turns to kyle. doesn't like what he sees.
can i use your phone? my cell doesn't get a signal out here and the pay phone outside is busted. bob is about to respond when:
yo, am i the invisible motherfuckin' man here? do you have a phone or not? kyle peels a five dollar bill off a serious wad of cash. that gets bob's attention. bob snaps the money out of his hand.
let me talk to him.
cuz a father should be able to talk to his son, that's why. now put `im on the phone. is that my little man? yeah, well i'm working hard, so that i can be with you. you bein' good? (strange static can be
what the hell.  he keeps trying. nothing.
i don't think so. kyle has reappeared in the diner.
phone's dead. just tried to make a call.
press your hands over the hole! sandra looks fearfully up at kyle, at the gun still in his hand.
don't look at me like that, lady! i'm tryin' to fuckin' help you! now put your goddamn hands over the hole before your husband bleeds to death! obeying, she cups her hands over the hole in his neck, desperately trying to stop the flow of blood leaking out between her fingers. percy scrambles over with a first-aid kit and together he and kyle get to work on howard's neck.
how far to the hospital?
they're fuckin' clouds! what the fuck do they look like?
well, i don't care how long she's been dead, the bitch ain't stayin' in here with us.
how the fuck am i supposed to know, man? you askin' me to explain the behavior of a motherfuckin' pestilence. a clank and jeep notices the old lady's car keys have dropped to the ground.
no twilight zone shit if that's what you mean. jeep slips the key into the driver's side door. unlocks it.
agh! what the fuck is that? bob covers his nose.
nothin' here.
bitch's got motherfuckin' dead cats in her hoopty! what the fuck is wrong with white people?!
yeah, it was a real motherfuckin' necessity we figured that out, man.
i'm from nevada, man. they consider the police car a moment more. see the shattered passenger window, the blood stains.
know what?
easy! easy! michael's expression is totally calm. merciless.
what the--? michael turns, sees the lights.
now that we're locked in here, what the fuck are we supposed to do? a flicker of light. and then flashlight beams cut through the darkness. coming to rest on michael's pale face. michael looks up at the ceiling.
where the hell did they go? bob turns to michael sharply.
ice cream. two headlights appear in the darkness. and sure enough, an ice cream truck rolls slowly toward the diner. the eerie calliope music emanates from a speaker on its roof. it's too dark to see who's behind the wheel.
you've got to be fuckin' kidding me.
oh, shit. oh, shit. oh, shit. that's when the ice cream man's jaw unhinges, stretching
is that it? not even close. a rumbling of engines. headlights. a freeway full of vehicles of every variety punch through the wall of dust, racing toward the diner. they are the
they're running! we got `em! kyle turns happily to michael. gone. kyle looks around the roof with alarm.
we got `em runnin'! then kyle notices the broken window, takes in the room, his excitement falling.
where's howard? no one responds. sandra and audrey are huddled together. crying. bob and percy follow kyle in, still shaking from the adrenaline.
i'll go. bob grabs kyle's arm.
possessed by what? demons?
so what, we're supposed to just hold those things off until mary over there squeezes one out?
oh we're fucked. we are so fucked!
okay, what's your plan?
you were in the army?
what was it like? being in a war?
what?
no. i uh -- keep it for protection.
from people. percy looks at him skeptically.
yeah, people who might try to give me a hard time, you know?
yeah, well, no, not regular, regular people.
i'm talkin' people whose job it is to give other people a hard time. kinda person who doesn't get enough fiber in their diet, you know what i'm sayin?
exactly. strictly business.
who the fuck are you to be sweatin' me, man? i got my reasons for doin' what i do. percy just stares at him, penetrating. finally:
then you just flip this -- audrey flips the safety.
i bet they did. after a moment, audrey switches the safety back on. hands the gun over to kyle. audrey stares into the red nothingness surrounding them. her expression growing distant. she seems to have aged years overnight.
yeah?
the only time my old man ever paid attention to me was when i was doing somethin' bad. so you know what i did?
i got really good at being bad. she smiles at this confession. can obviously relate. he wipes a tear from her cheek. she leans in. kisses him. passionately. desperately. his hands trace over her body. she claws at him. her passion growing out of control. she's practically devouring him. kyle can barely keep up. it's like something else beyond sensual need has taken over. she moves down his chest. further. kyle leans his head back. further. just then the spot lights that illuminate the roof sign come to life. the young couple stops to look up at the brilliant red word "paradise" illuminated above them. down below, the gas pumps light up. the station's fluorescents flicker on.
i don't know. headlights appear on the highway.
you better get downstairs.
just in case. the headlights become a family minivan careening wildly off the highway to stop at the pumps.
get ready. they aim their weapons at the vehicle. a well dressed man in his mid-thirties jumps out of the car. he looks around nervously, scared. then, seeing that the coast is clear, he offers a calming wave to his wife and young boy who wait anxiously for him inside the car.
wait a minute.
it's a trap. they saw them coming and turned on the lights. it's a fucking trap! kyle and audrey wave their arms frantically at the family.
i got you! kyle moves on to the mother. but something odd is happening. the creatures have stopped coming at him. in fact, they're just standing there watching him. waiting. kyle freezes. close on him as he senses something terribly wrong.