This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/nosleep by /u/Admirable_Beat_5808 on 2025-01-13 14:01:43+00:00.

The fluorescent buzz was the first thing Evan noticed. A sharp, grating hum that seemed to drill into his skull. He squinted at the harsh lights of the diner’s neon sign, blinking sluggishly in the haze of the desert night.

He didn’t remember pulling off the highway.

Inside, the place was unnervingly pristine. The linoleum floor gleamed under the fluorescent lights, and the air smelled faintly of burnt coffee and lemon cleaner. A few patrons sat scattered in booths, silent and motionless.

The waitress appeared almost immediately. She was tall and thin, with a crisp uniform and a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“Welcome, hon,” she said, sliding a menu onto the counter. “Coffee?”

“Uh… sure. Thanks,” Evan muttered, sitting down.

The coffee arrived too quickly, steaming and black. Evan stared at the rippling surface, his reflection distorted and fragmented. He felt a gnawing unease but couldn’t put his finger on why.

“You look like you’ve been driving a while,” the waitress said, leaning on the counter.

“Yeah,” Evan replied, though he couldn’t remember how long he’d been driving or where he was headed.

“Well, you’re here now.” Her smile stretched wider, her teeth too white against her red lipstick.

Evan picked up the coffee but didn’t drink it. His eyes drifted to the other patrons. They sat unnervingly still, faces slack, their food untouched. One man’s hand trembled slightly, but his gaze remained fixed on the window.

The waitress noticed him staring. “Don’t mind them,” she said. “They’re just passing through, like you.”

“Passing through where?”

Her smile faltered for a fraction of a second. “Drink your coffee, hon. It’ll make more sense.”

Evan pushed the cup away and stood abruptly. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he shouldn’t be here, that something was horribly wrong.

He stepped outside, the night air chilling his skin. His car sat alone in the parking lot, its headlights faint in the darkness. The highway stretched endlessly in both directions.

As he drove, the unease didn’t fade. He glanced at the clock on his dashboard, but it was frozen at 12:00. His phone, too, refused to turn on. The silence of the road pressed against him like a weight.

Then, after what felt like hours, a flicker of light appeared in the distance.

“No,” he whispered, his knuckles white on the steering wheel.

The diner’s neon sign came into view, buzzing faintly. He slammed on the brakes and stared, his chest tightening. The parking lot was identical, even down to the faintly glowing cigarette butt on the ground.

Against his better judgment, he went back inside.

The waitress was waiting at the counter. “Back so soon?”

Evan stumbled in, heart pounding. “What is this? What’s happening to me?”

She didn’t answer, just poured another cup of coffee and slid it toward him.

“You’ll feel better if you drink it,” she said, her voice oddly soothing.

Evan backed away, shaking his head. He turned to the other patrons, hoping for answers, but they wouldn’t meet his eyes. One of them—a woman in a faded sundress—slowly turned toward him. Her lips moved, forming words, but no sound came out.

Evan bolted for the door, bursting into the night. He drove again, faster this time, pushing the car to its limit. The landscape blurred, the road stretching endlessly.

When the diner appeared a third time, he didn’t stop.

He veered off the road, tearing through the desert brush, but no matter where he went, the diner’s neon glow loomed on the horizon. His hands shook as the car sputtered to a halt.

He screamed, slamming his fists against the steering wheel.

As he sat there, the waitress’s voice echoed in his mind: “You’ll feel better if you drink it.”

Exhausted and defeated, he stumbled back into the diner.

This time, the patrons were gone. The clock on the wall was spinning wildly, its hands a blur. The waitress stood at the counter, her smile eerily calm.

“What do you want from me?” Evan demanded.

“It’s not about what I want, hon,” she said. “It’s about what you need to remember.”

Evan’s breath hitched. “Remember… what?”

The fluorescent lights flickered, and suddenly he wasn’t in the diner anymore.

He was back on the highway, headlights rushing toward him. The sound of screeching tires and twisting metal filled the air. He felt the impact, the sharp pain, and then… nothing.

The memory hit him like a punch to the gut. He staggered back, clutching the counter for support. “I died,” he whispered.

The waitress nodded, her smile fading into something almost sympathetic. “You did.”

“Then why am I here?”

Her eyes softened, and for the first time, she looked tired. “Because you can’t let go. Until you do, this is where you’ll stay.”

Evan slumped into the nearest stool, his head in his hands. The truth was crushing, suffocating. He looked up, and the clock on the wall had stopped. Midnight.

Outside, the neon sign flickered again, the letters rearranging themselves into two mocking words:

“WELCOME BACK.”