Dusk to Dawn (A Short Story-Stories from Colony Drive, #2)

By Tiffany Apan

Somewhere between Interstate 80 and 309 in Northeastern Pennsylvania, Trina, Lisa, and Kevin respond to a Help Wanted sign on the door of the Dusk to Dawn Diner. The diner lives up to its name, only open from dusk to dawn.
One night, Kevin's attention is drawn to the padlocked room said to be used for storage after hearing strange noises behind the door. What begins as an ordinary night of work unravels into a night of terror. A night in which some may not make it out alive.

Dusk to Dawn is the second book in Stories from Colony Drive, a series of connected short stories that take place primarily in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

The end of the book also includes a sample from the beginning of the novel, Descent, the first book in Tiffany Apan's The Birthrite Series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tiffany Apan
• Release date: Apr 16, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311200075

Tiffany Apan

As a time-traveling, classically trained soprano with a vocal range that spans four octaves and an award-winning songstress and writer, Tiffany started honing her creativity in the thick forests of Northeastern Pennsylvania. Her grandparents were among her first musical influences as she developed a keen interest in history and mythology at a very young age (opting to write poems of Viking sea adventures in her fifth grade writing class!). Such interests carried over into works she continues to create today.Her music and stories have garnered critical and audience acclaim as her debut album, Poet, has been hailed as 'music of a very high standard' with 'phenomenal classically trained vocals.' Ethereal Gothic and Celtic undertones among the Symphonic Folk Rock have also been noted.In addition to her own projects, Tiffany serves as a vocalist and percussionist in the Traditional Folk Music group, Wayward Companions and often sits in as a guest vocalist with the Pittsburgh Historical Music Society Orchestra and other musical acts, ranging from Metal to Classical genres.Not limiting herself to music and writing, Tiffany has worked in theatre (favorite roles include Hodel in Fiddler on the Roof, Maria in The Sound of Music, and Sally in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown) and a variety of film projects.With a passion for the past, she is also making a mark in the Living History world, serving as an executive site director at a historical landmark museum and appearing with her French Unit at French and Indian War reenactment events. Such endeavors now add to the inspiration behind the works she continues to create.When she's not writing music and stories about the distant past and other worlds, some of her outside interests include fitness, holistic health, antiquing, and making her home look like a vintage/antiquity paradise.Through music and writing, she enjoys merging the past with the present and is looking forward to releasing new music that will combine history, fantasy, and gothic elements, while serving as a backdrop for her book series, The Birthrite.You can also get five days of free music and stories by going on a five day journey through time:https://tiffanyapancelticgothicrock.mailchimpsites.com/

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Dusk to Dawn (A Short Story)

(Stories from Colony Drive, #2)

By Tiffany Apan

Copyright 2014 Tiffany Apan, Poets Labyrinth

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The diner sat on the edge of the woods along a highway, somewhere between Interstate 80 and 309. Every so often, the occasional local wandered in (typically after a heavy night of partying) but the main cliental consisted of travelers passing through. No one really knew how long it had been in existence, as it seemed to appear out of nowhere. But such details are typically of little importance to the weary all night traveler seeking temporary refuge from the open road.

The diner lived up to its name, open from dusk to dawn; a rather unusual business model, but Dusk to Dawn Diner managed to maintain enough cliental to not only remain in business, but even place a Help Wanted sign in one of the front windows. A sign three individuals responded to. Three individuals with no prior knowledge of the others’ existence until the night they started training together.

Trina, Lisa, and Kevin began their shifts, working the same three nights a week shortly after the spring equinox. All three were interviewed and hired by the owner, Hazel. The woman appeared around fifty years of age, and the new employees were far from blown away by her social skills (or lack of). But as long as Hazel did not prove difficult to work for, the three decided they could handle her aloofness. After all, each intended to only stay until the end of the summer.

Each new hire had a specific purpose for answering the Help Wanted ad. Kevin worked construction near Wilkes-Barre, and while it made him a pretty descent living, he had a goal of making the final payments on his motorcycle as quickly as possible in order to afford a down payment on a house. Lisa was a single mother in need of extra income. Her plan was to move herself and her young daughter out from her mother’s house and into an apartment complex in Mountaintop by the start of autumn. Then there was Trina, a History major at King’s College who intended to work a couple nights during the week while putting extra money away for after she graduated.

The three were introduced to one another on the night of their first shift. Kevin was trained in the kitchen by a middle aged man who called himself Derek, while a red haired girl by the name of Anna worked with Trina behind the bar and at the cash register. Lisa was trained as a server by a heavy-set woman named Amy.

They worked with their trainers for much of that first week, with Hazel and the assistant manager, Cheryl, popping in every so often. But once training was finished, Derek, Anna, and Amy were never seen by the other three again, save for their names being listed on the schedule. There was also no scheduling flexibility, and while Kevin, Lisa, and Trina didn’t mind always working the same hours with one another, they did find the lack of swing shifts--especially for a dining establishment--to be a little odd, even if it was never openly questioned. If it weren’t for seeing the other employee names on the schedule, one may have been left