“Maybe we should focus on bringing him back first then. I know we wanted to focus on Pest, he controls the plague, but we’re still going to have a bunch of people who are supposed to be dead, walking around infected.” I looked out the window and waved at the gate guards.
The car fell silent until Ruthie found her words. “When I get back with the archangel, that’s what we’ll do. We’ll go get Death first. Sammy’s right, even if Pest was the first to be taken, Death is needed to start putting the world back into balance.”
Pete sped the car up. “I really need my dad out, but it makes sense. The next city, we’ll stop for the night.”
I glanced at the GPS screen. “Looks like we’re about five hours out.”
“Here’s hoping the hotels haven’t shut down there.” Kaleb tapped his knuckles on the glass. “I heard they were shutting down to encourage people to not travel right now.”
“Most of them have done away with breakfast as well because of the price of food.” Aeron snorted. “Because they can’t afford to feed their guests unless they raise their prices enough to cover the inflating cost of food.”
Basic supply and demand theory. A lot of places were having to increase their prices to cover the price of the food. I dug out my phone. “I’ll call ahead and see if we can book a room.”
“Good call.” Ruthie said.
“Well, we have the technology.” I searched for hotels in nearby cities. I spent the next hour finding us a room at a price we could afford. Between all of us, there was enough money to cover two rooms for the night. We should have planned ahead, but apparently we all thought it’d be easy to find a hotel.
We pulled up to the hotel and we all grabbed our medical masks and put them on. I cringed at the feeling of moisture being cycled back in with each breath. The doors opened with a swish leading us into a lobby. No human traffic walked through giving the room an eerie atmosphere. A lone receptionist stood behind the big dark wood desk.
“Welcome, you must be the group that called earlier.” She spoke through her own medical mask. Her slender hands were covered in medical gloves and she folded them on the top of the desk. “You’re currently our only guests as most people are afraid to travel right now.”
I thought it was a strange way of greeting us. “Yeah, that would be us. We needed two rooms.”
“I’ve got your keys ready, I just need payment.”
I handed her my card. “I’ve got it, everyone else can just pay me back.”
She slid my card and hesitated in handing it back to me.
“Something wrong?” I pushed down anything that could have been panic. I’d disappeared for a few months; it could just be something simple.
“No, sorry, our system is just slow.” She handed it back to me and then slid over key cards. “Check out time is at noon tomorrow, enjoy your stay.”
I picked up my key and looked at the room number. “Bottom floor.”
“Weird, we’re up on the third floor.” Pete frowned. “I mean, it’s no big deal, but if we’re the only guests, why aren’t we on the same floor?”
I shrugged and grabbed my bag. “I don’t know, but let’s get some sleep while we can. We’re driving another nine hours tomorrow.”
“I’ll go back and ask. I don’t like it.” Aeron shoved his hands in his pockets and turned back to talk to the lady.
“You guys get that taken care of. Sammy and I are going to get settled and see if we can’t get dinner worked out.”
I wrinkled my nose at the thought of having to get in the car again after such a short time out. “Can we see if something either delivers or something is within walking distance?”
“What about pizza? That sounds amazing.” Pete licked his lips. “I’m sure there’s a pizza place somewhere around here.”
“As long as it’s not owned by a fallen angel that employs demons, I’m okay with it.”
“I don’t think he’s out this far.” Ruthie shook her head. “Besides, I think a lot of our kind have gone into hiding. The guardian angels are working double time.”
I raised a brow. “Do I make you work double time?”
“You give me heart attacks, I’m pretty sure that counts as double time.”
“We were told the rooms are randomly assigned and can’t be reassigned.” Aeron rolled his eyes. “Stupidest thing I’ve heard in awhile.”
“Then we sleep with one eye open, they have some reason for keeping us apart.” Kaleb led the boys to the elevator and I looked at Ruthie.
“About that working overtime.”
She started down the hall, following the plaques with the room numbers on them. “It’s worth it for you.”
Our feet made no noise against the thick red and gold swirled carpets as we walked down the hall. The whoosh of the air conditioner killed any other background noise there might have been in the hotel. The faint smell of chlorine hinted that we were close to the pool, even though the receptionist never mentioned one.
“What did you do for the months I was gone?” I swiped my key and the hotel door beeped. The light on the reader flashed from red to green.
I pulled the silver handle down and we walked into the room. The carpet went from the red and gold to a dark red. The queen beds sat evenly away from the walls and the comforters matched the carpet. Some mass-produced print of a flower hung crookedly over the beds.
I set my suitcase by the small wooden desk that had been pushed against the wall. I frowned at the room and crossed my arms. Something was going on here. “Why are they spreading us out?”
“That’s a lot of work to get us apart.” Ruthie walked further into the room. “It might just be a precaution in case people are infected and this might be the only place that hasn’t closed its doors. Maybe they still plan on getting a lot of business for the actual spring break.”
“We went north, no one goes north for break. Everyone goes south to Mexico.” I laughed. “I’ve seen the YouTube videos that come from those trips.”
She shrugged. “It was a thought. For now though, let’s go grab some food. Then we’ll make sure that your stitches are behaving and get some sleep. We’ll leave at first light.”
“A three-day trip shouldn’t have this much anxiety. Part of me is excited about seeing the City on Fire though. It’s supposed to be an interesting spot.”
“It’s a gateway into hell, what gateway isn’t interesting?”
“The one where my mom lived wasn’t that interesting.” I wrinkled my nose. “Devil’s Playground. It wasn’t bad, but I could have lived without all the electricity.”
Ruthie headed back towards the door. “But you’re okay with a city that’s constantly burning underground?”
“At least it was man made.” I shrugged. “A man made burning city. Because someone was stupid enough not to make sure a fire was completely extinguished? Come on, that’s cool!”
We walked out of the room and that hushed whisper of the air conditioner wrapped around us again. We walked back into the lobby and joined the guys, without a word we walked out into the streets. I adjusted my medical mask as we shuffled over the sidewalk.
“There’s a pizza parlor a few blocks down. Doesn’t seem to be run by anything paranormal.” Pete looked over his shoulder as he led us down the road.
“At least we can take our medical masks off when we eat.” Kaleb took a couple of quick steps to catch up to Pete. I took my time following them with Ruthie by my side.
The downtown buildings towered over us, casting shadows from the streetlights and the lights still on in the offices. Anyone we passed would move away from us, some taking the extra measure of crossing the street from us.
“This isn’t that small of a town, they shouldn’t know we’re strangers and to avoid us.” Ruthie put a hand on my back and urged me to move faster.
“I told you there was something strange about this place and I don’t think it’s just the hotel.”
“It’s because they are fallen souls, or
unclaimed.” Aeron motioned to them, but kept his voice hushed. “However you want to put it. Look closely, little Death, and you’ll know that their souls are tethered to their bodies. They know what you are because they are caught between two worlds.”
I paused and turned towards a couple that hurried past us. Their eyes gleamed over their medical masks, but there was a reflection that didn’t come from the light in our world. I saw a reflection of the white glow that was their souls.
Screeching filled my ears and I held my hand out to summon my scythe, but I knew we weren’t under attack. I clenched my fist and took a deep breath. The sound was a soul trying to pull away from a body.
I wondered what they saw when they looked at us that made them so frightened. “What does Death look like to humans?”
“The reaper, skeleton under a dark hood. That’s what you look like too.” Pete said. “I look like a death ridden corpse, black skin that falls off and sunken-in eyes. War looks like he’s gone through battle, wound-covered and blood-splattered. Kaleb looks like he’s starved to death. Ruthie though… Ruthie looks amazing. White draped robes, flowing curly black hair down to her waist and of course her white wings.”
I looked around at all of them. “Why don’t I see that?”
“Because you aren’t human. You never were. You get to see the subtler signs. Ruthie’s wings, the red in Lucile’s eyes, the skulls in your dads. We’re not even sure why you can’t see much else yet, but I think it’s a developed skill.”
“The divine being in you sees the divine being in others. It’s how we know what we all are. Those humans are in between worlds because their soul needs to be claimed, they see us for what we are, not what we want.” Aeron motioned to the couple as they disappeared around the corner.
We continued to shuffle along the sidewalk as thunder crashed overhead. The flashing neon lights of the pizza parlor bounced off the brick of the building. Squeaking sounded as Kaleb pulled open the black door and let us all in. The smell of dough and sauce filled my nostrils when we walked in and the door shut behind us with a little snap.
Ruthie’s and Kaleb’s shoulders touched mine in the small lobby. I moved backwards and found myself against the door, but if I had moved forward I would have been at Pete’s and Aeron’s back. I pressed my hand against the cold metal of the door and it helped ground me from the fear of being closed in.
I took a deep breath and tried to focus when the waiter came up. His eyes didn’t hold the same reflection that the people outside did. Which I suppose was good because it meant he wasn’t supposed to be dead, like half the other people we had encountered.
I couldn’t tell if he was smiling behind his medical mask or not. “Just the five of you tonight?”
Aeron nodded. “If you have a table away from other people that would be great.”
“We’re slow tonight, that won’t be a problem.” He turned and grabbed a couple of menus and led us towards the dining room. “You’ll have to excuse us, we’re short staffed tonight. Many of my employees are out sick.”
The plague, I was sure. He led us to a large booth that could easily sit four on each side. I took an edge seat and looked at the menu. Forty dollars for a pizza. I put the menu down and took a deep breath. Prices would go down as soon as the famine was over.
“Two pizzas?” Aeron asked. “It’s almost eighty, but we’ve got it covered between the five of us. Not to mention we’ll have left overs for breakfast.”
There was no sense in wasting food when a pizza cost forty dollars. “Sounds like a plan to me. I want pepperoni.”
“We’ll make it simple and just do two of those.”
Everyone nodded in agreement and piled the menus in the middle of the table. It took the waiter a few minutes to get back to us with glasses of water.
“The water has been cleared by the CDC to be plague free. I hope that you enjoy it. I’m sorry but because of the rise in prices, we have no soda to offer, but do have tea if you’re interested.”
We all shook our heads. “We would like two pepperoni pizzas though.” I said and handed him the menus.
He didn’t bother writing the order down, but did take the menus before turning away from the table.
“We made good time today, hopefully we’ll make good time tomorrow and we don’t get any grief crossing the borders.” Pete tapped on the table. “How are you feeling, Sammy?”
“I’m sore, but I feel like the wounds are healing up. My mind is clearing up a bit too.” I shrugged. “I don’t know what else to say. It’s not like I can explain what’s going on in my head to anyone.”
Pete nodded. “That’s good that it’s clearing up. If you’re up to it, maybe we can spar tomorrow night, just to make sure you’re still up to snuff?”
I smiled at that idea. “That sounds great.” That’d give me a chance to channel my anger into something useful. I took my medical mask off and took a sip of my water. “I think it’s ridiculous we have to wear masks everywhere.”
“We stick out more if we don’t and a lot of cities have made it mandatory, with fees if we don’t. I don’t want to see the size of those fees.” Aeron took his off and laid it on the table.
I rolled my eyes. “They haven’t figured out it’s not helping yet? From what I’ve seen since we’ve gotten here, most of this city should be dead already. The only reason they aren’t is because I screwed up and Death is gone.”
“Death is gone?” A waitress had stepped up to the table. Her blonde ringlet hair hung right at her chin level and her carefully made-up eyes started to tear up. “What on Earth happened to him?”
I rubbed my eyes. “Who are you?”
“I’m Mandy and I’m—”
“An angel.” Everyone at the table said.
“How did you know my father?”
“You’re little Death, demons have been looking for you.” She pulled her mask down and gave a small smile. “I’m the angel your father loved. He disappeared a few centuries ago because he didn’t want to commit to a relationship that could result in a child. Looks like he changed his mind.”
I wasn’t going to explain to her how I’d come out of a one-night stand. “The demons got what they wanted from me. They should be leaving me alone now.”
“They were looking for all the Children of the Apocalypse. Said they screwed something up.” She shrugged. “You said that Death is gone. Which means the apocalypse is truly happening now.”
“No.” Pete looked at her. “It doesn’t truly happen until we can no longer carry on with our normal life. That means no modern conveniences and the world shutting down because of what is happening, that kind of thing. This…we’re just on the path to the apocalypse.”
I leaned back in my chair. “He’s not dead, just sealed away. Like the others.”
“You kids are in trouble then.” She shook her head. “I just wanted to let you know I’m taking over your pizza order. You were freaking the waiter out, he said something about you looking creepy.”
“Thanks.” I was starting to wonder why there were angels in pizza places across the states. We needed to find a different food to eat if it was going to be a common occurrence, especially ones that knew my dad. I put my forehead against the table and closed my eyes at the feeling of the cold wood against my head.
Ruthie put a hand on my back and rubbed gently. “You going to be okay?”
“Once the guilt passes, I think so.” I muttered.
I lifted my head back up when the waitress returned with the pizzas. She set them down on the table and looked at me. “You, Lust was very interested in finding you. Said you had some unfinished business.”
“Yeah, we spent some time in hell together. Lucile wouldn’t let him have his way.” I didn’t meet her gaze; I focused on pulling the pizza onto my plate.
“Honey, have you ever fought Lust?”
I shook my head. “No. I’ve fought a few of the other Sins though.” And that was another time we had managed to screw up. “I
don’t see how this is any of your concern.”
“Sammy, be nice.” Ruthie looked over my head. “She just got back from hell, she’s a bit testy.”
Out of the corner of my eye I saw the waitress turn and march off. “I’m sorry. I just don’t see why it matters to her. You don’t see her out there fighting off demons and trying to find the seals.”
“Because it’s not her job, but the outcome of the fight is her problem. If Lucile gets what she wants and destroys the world, then we’ll have to retreat into heaven and you’ll all be on your own. No guardian angels to whisper into ears, no archangels to undo the seals. No one would be willing to brave coming down here.”
“And there’s no one else that would be able to undo the seals?”
“Another horseman, but we’re out of options for that.” Aeron took a bite of his pizza.
I peeled the pepperoni from the greasy cheese and pulled upwards. The cheese dripped off the round piece of processed meat. “So unless we stop this before it escalates too much, we’re screwed.”
“Pretty much.” Aeron took a big sip of his water. “I can’t imagine it’ll be too much longer before cities start shutting down.”
I stuck the pepperoni in my mouth and wiped my fingers on a napkin. “So maybe we should double our time. There are five of us. We can drive straight through, take turns sleeping. Cut some time off the trip.”
“I don’t think that’s wise.” Ruthie put her pizza down. “The lower demons tend to attack more at night and with the world in chaos, I’m betting they are expecting us to be rash about some of these choices.”
I picked off another pepperoni. “So we play it safe and hope we’re not too late.”
“It’s going to take me time to talk to the higher-ups anyways.” Ruthie stated. “This isn’t going to work if one of you is killed because we are too tired to function.”
She had a point. I let the grease drip off the pepperoni before eating it.
“This pizza sucks.” Pete held his up and the cheese slid off.
“Especially for the money.” Kaleb sighed. “I’m betting college students are the first to die of starvation.”
Children of the Apocalypse Complete Trilogy Page 21