Storm Orphans

by Matt Handle

  “Don’t guess you’ve got a couple of quarters on you?” he asked.

  Angel smirked. “Not a lot of need for them lately, sorry.”

  Sawyer shrugged and then strode over to the windows to look out at the pool when the sound of a small bump came from across the large room near the washers and dryers. He immediately drew his gun and moved toward the wall, indicating to Angel that she should do the same.

  As they inched their way along the wall toward the laundry machines, Angel thought her heart was going to leap out of her chest. Sawyer looked steady and sure of himself as he approached the area, but she could barely hold her gun straight. Every step she took, she was sure something horrible was going to leap out and tear her to pieces.

  She was wound up so tightly that when the source of the noise finally presented itself, she actually let out a tiny squeak, her throat constricting as she tried to let out the breath she realized she’d been holding for the past several seconds. It wasn’t a monster at all. As she and Sawyer stared at the half dozen machines, a pale little face with wide, scared blue eyes stared back at them through the circular window in the front of one of the washers. It was a pretty, blonde-haired little girl and she looked absolutely petrified.

  Angel holstered her weapon immediately and then reached over to push Sawyer’s toward the floor as well. As he stayed put, Angel took two tentative steps forward, her hands held palms down in what she hoped was a calming gesture.

  “Hey,” she called out softly. “Don’t be scared. We’re not going to hurt you.”

  The girl continued to stare, and as Angel got closer, she saw that the girl’s lower lip was trembling and that she was clutching a stuffed toy bunny to her chest. She wasn’t sure whether the girl could get out on her own or not, but she decided there was no way she was going to wait to find out. When she reached the machine, Angel slowly grasped the handle and opened the front, swinging the door wide before she took a step backward to give the girl some space.

  “My name is Angel and the big guy standing back there is Sawyer,” Angel stated in her gentlest voice. “What’s your name?”

  The girl didn’t make a peep. Her eyes darted over to Sawyer when Angel mentioned his name and then moved immediately back to Angel, staring at her intently. She was crammed into the machine in a cross-legged position and she held onto the toy bunny as if her life depended on it.

  “Are you hungry or thirsty?” Angel asked as she took a seat on the floor in a similar Indian style in the hopes it might make the girl more comfortable. “We’ve got water and some food upstairs. I could bring you some.”

  The girl still didn’t answer, but her stomach grumbled loudly at the mention of food and she glanced downward for a moment, as if silently admonishing her digestive system for giving her away.

  Angel offered her an understanding smile and then spoke over her shoulder to Sawyer.

  “Could you go up to our room and grab our new friend a bottle of water and something to eat?” she asked. “She must be hungry after playing down here in the laundry room all this time.”

  Sawyer slipped his gun back into his waistband and after a minute’s hesitation, he left without a word. When he was gone, a slight smile crossed the girl’s face.

  “We weren’t playing in here,” she said quietly. “We were hiding.”

  “You were?” asked Angel in mock surprise. “You and your bunny?”

  The girl’s smile disappeared as quickly as it came. “We were hiding from the monsters,” she said. “Sometimes I hear them moving in the halls.”

  “Do you live in this motel?” Angel asked.

  The girl nodded yes.

  “All by yourself?”

  The girl nodded again.

  “Where’s your mommy and daddy, sweetie?” Angel asked.

  The girl’s lower lip quivered as if she were going to cry, but she managed to reply. “They’re in Heaven now. The monsters killed them.”

  “I’m so sorry,” Angel said, her own voice cracking with emotion. She wanted to say something more, but nothing seemed sufficient. How could anything she said even begin to make up for a little girl seeing her parents killed by walking nightmares like the one her own boyfriend had become before she’d brained him?

  “When was the last time you heard one of the monsters?” Angel queried instead.

  “Earlier today,” the girl replied quietly. “On my way down here.”

  “You came down here to get something to eat?” prompted Angel as she pointed to the vending machines. The girl nodded in agreement.”And hid because you thought the monster might find you and hurt you?”

  The girl sniffled and a single tear ran down one smooth pink cheek as she nodded yet again.

  “I won’t let anything hurt you,” Angel promised. “And that big guy you met a couple minutes ago? He’s even tougher than those monsters. Believe me, I’ve seen it.”

  The girl wiped away the tear and smiled again. “My name is Jenny,” she whispered. Then she glanced down at her toy and added “And this is Luna.”

  Angel got to her feet and offered a hand toward the little girl. “I’m glad to meet you both. Can I help you climb out of there?”

  Sawyer returned just after Jenny had extricated herself from the machine. He saw that she wore a pink t-shirt decorated with a heart-shaped peace symbol and dirty blue jeans. She was skinny, no more than 80 pounds soaking wet. The little girl stood close to Angel and looked up expectantly at Sawyer when he walked in. He had a water bottle and a small package of cheese crackers which he held out for her to take.

  “This is Jenny and her furry little friend, Luna,” Angel told him. “She’s been living here in the motel.”

  Sawyer tried to give her his kindest smile, knowing he had a face built more for striking fear than affection. “You look taller now that you’re not inside that washer,” he said. “You must have been wrapped up like a pretzel in there.”

  Jenny gave him a shy smile and then snatched the water and crackers. She took three big gulps and then put the bottle on the floor at her feet so she could open up the package of crackers without dropping Luna. She devoured two of the salty snacks in seconds.

  “Jenny says one of those nasties was wandering the motel earlier,” Angel told Sawyer. “You think it was the one we found upstairs?”

  Sawyer shook his head. “It wasn’t that fresh,” he responded. “Pretty sure it had been dead for at least a couple days. There’s still some of the lower floor to check out before we call it a night. Sounds like I’d better get to it.”

  He crouched down on his haunches and looked at Jenny as she polished off the last of the six cheese crackers. “How’d you like to go upstairs with Angel while I finish poking around down here?” he asked. “We’ve got more to eat up there.”

  Jenny nudged Luna up under her armpit, looked at Angel and then picked up her water bottle before taking Angel’s hand. The gesture surprised the older girl and she felt tears well up in her eyes at the simple trust Jenny had just placed in her. She looked at Sawyer and smiled.

  “I guess we’ll see you upstairs,” she said. “Be careful!”

  Sawyer walked them to the stairwell and watched them until they climbed out of sight. He wouldn’t have picked Angel for the motherly type, but there was something natural about the way she walked hand-in-hand with the little girl. It surprised him even more when a second later, he realized that he’d already grown to care about all three of his new companions, even the little girl he’d only just met. He thought about it for a minute as he stood at the bottom of the stairs and decided when there were so few of your own kind; it was probably easier to get attached. If endangered species didn’t stick together, what hope did they have to survive?

  Shaking off these thoughts, Sawyer stalked off down the hall to check out the last few areas of the motel that remained unexplored. If the girl was right about the noises she’d heard, it was no time to go all soft and gooey. He found the small kitchen behind the lobby’s breakfa
st room empty, and a storage closet further down the hall was closed and locked. All that remained was the gym and a small gift shop. If he didn’t find anything there, he’d have to assume they’d gotten lucky and that the Afflicted had wandered off for more promising hunting grounds.

  The glass door to the gym was closed but unlocked. As he entered, he flipped the wall switch, but none of the fluorescent bulbs wanted to cooperate. He pulled his gun from his waistband as he scanned the dimly lit room. Before he could even turn off the safety, a blood-splattered Afflicted leapt at him from its hiding spot atop the butterfly machine that stood in the corner. It uttered a shriek as it flew across the space separating it from Sawyer and then landed on him, knocking his gun out of hand and forcing him to stagger backward, banging into the bench press that sat behind him. Sawyer fell over the bench awkwardly, the monster bearing all its weight on him. They slammed into the floor as the creature tried to sink its teeth into Sawyer’s throat.

  Twisting to escape the monster’s bite, Sawyer managed to get an arm between himself and the Afflicted and he used the leverage to shove the thing sideways, knocking it off balance. It was male and nothing but wiry muscles, hunger, and hate, but Sawyer easily outweighed it by fifty pounds. As it rolled to the side, Sawyer staggered to his feet and looked desperately for his gun. He saw it lying on the floor several feet away, but before he could move toward it, the creature was upon him again, grabbing for Sawyer’s face and hissing at him with its stinking breath. They grappled for a moment, each trying to gain an advantage, but then Sawyer’s strength began to wear the monster down and it changed tactics, releasing Sawyer’s arms and kicking at his groin instead.

  Sawyer dodged the kick and then darted for the weight rack on the nearest wall. Before the creature could jump him again, Sawyer plucked a 20 pound dumbbell from the rack and swung it in a wide loop as hard as he could. It connected with the side of the Afflicted’s head with a satisfying crunch, dropping the monster in a heap at Sawyer’s feet. It lay still but Sawyer grabbed the dumbbell with both hands and slammed it down on the back of the prone creature’s skull once more for good measure.

  He stood over the bloody mess a minute longer just to be sure it was dead, then dropped the dumbbell and retrieved his gun before exiting the gym. He stopped in the kitchen to find a cloth napkin which he used to wipe the gore off his face and hands and then made his way back upstairs to the room where Lynch, Angel, and Jenny were waiting.

  When he entered, all three looked up expectantly from what they were doing.

  “We were beginning to worry about you,” Lynch croaked from where he still lay propped up in one of the beds.

  “Did you have any trouble?” Angel asked.

  Sawyer shut the door behind him and allowed himself a sigh of relief. “Let’s just say I got a workout,” he quipped and then he headed to the bathroom to splash some water on his face.

  Sawyer didn’t tell the others about his encounter in the gym. Jenny still looked like a frightened mouse and he didn’t want to make it any worse. The group talked a little before falling asleep, but mostly they each kept to their own thoughts, taking advantage of the relative safety of their room and their numbers. When Jenny finally fell asleep, she did it curled up beside Angel, her head on the older girl’s shoulder. Lynch held onto his spot on the opposite bed and Sawyer took the couch.

  They slept in shifts. Lynch took first watch since he’d had the most time to rest. Angel watched over them in the middle of the night and Sawyer peeked through the curtains to the sounds of Lynch snoring as the sun came up. None of them saw or heard a soul. As far as they could tell, they had the run-down motel and the surrounding little burg completely to themselves.

  Shortly after sunrise, the foursome wandered downstairs to the kitchen where Angel and Jenny poked around for provisions while Sawyer and Lynch went outside for some air. The priest didn’t seem to be in the mood for conversation, muttering something incoherent both times Sawyer had tried to talk to him, so Sawyer stood with his back to the old man and gazed out at the highway and the cloudless blue sky instead.

  Angel appeared a few minutes later with a steaming mug of coffee in her hand. Jenny tagged along behind her, Luna dangling from one hand while she sucked the thumb on the other.

  “Most of the food in the kitchen is spoiled, but I managed to find some coffee. Anyone else want a cup?” Angel asked.

  Sawyer turned and smiled at the offer, but said “Can’t drink the stuff. Gives me a headache.”

  Cradling her mug in both hands, Angel walked up to stand at Sawyer’s side and looked out at the horizon with him.

  “What do you think caused all this?” she asked.

  Lynch turned toward her, a wild look in his eyes, just as Sawyer replied, “I don’t know. Terrorists? An industrial accident…”

  “So says the Book of Genesis…,” Lynch intoned, his voice raspy but clear. “Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth!”

  Sawyer looked closely at the old man, trying to gauge if he was alright. He’d seemed a little off ever since he’d fallen down and bloodied his nose.

  Sawyer said, “I don’t know whether it was the Lord or the Devil himself that set this shit on us, Father. But we’re gonna get some answers before it’s through. We just need to keep moving.”

  Jenny stood hugging Luna close to her chest as she gazed at Angel for comfort and strength. “I just want to go home,” she murmured.

  Sawyer gave her a sad smile and then turned to look back out at the road.

  “Home is gone, sweetheart,” he told her. “And we need more supplies.”

  He glanced over at Angel and then nodded toward the gas station next door to the McDonalds that still sported the SUV sticking out through its front window.

  “We’re gonna hit that convenience store down the road before we get back on the highway. See if we can find a better breakfast than the garbage in those vending machines” he said. “Let’s pack up and get moving.”

  The gas station looked like it was in better shape than the burger joint, but a 5-series Bimmer sat out front with its driver’s side door wide open and a half dozen bullet holes along the side of the vehicle. Sawyer motioned for Lynch, Angel, and Jenny to stand back as he approached the car with his gun drawn. He poked his head inside and found some dried blood splattered on the leather upholstery and dashboard, but nothing more. Satisfied that it didn’t pose a threat, Sawyer moved to the front door of the building as his companions followed.

  Gun drawn and pointed into the dimly lit interior of the station, Sawyer said over his shoulder “Stay behind me,” and then led them inside.

  Someone had made a wreck of the refrigeration units along the wall, the doors left open and the perishables now lying in broken and crumpled piles, but the rest of the store was more or less in one piece. Several of the shelves were still stocked with packaged food and small household items. A rack of cheap sunglasses stood near the cashier counter, and row upon row of petty vices like packs of cigarettes, porn mags, and boxes of condoms lined the wall behind the Lotto ticket machine.

  “The place looks empty,” Angel whispered.

  She’d barely gotten the words out of her mouth when a thud sounded from behind the door marked ‘Employees Only’ at the back of the store. All four of them jumped at the noise, but Sawyer immediately held up a hand to indicate that they needed to remain quiet and still as he stealthily approached the door and placed his ear against it.

  Seconds later, he threw open the door to expose three glassy-eyed Afflicted kneeling on the stockroom floor, blood smeared on their blank faces. They were gnawing on the maggoty remains of what might have been a young Middle Eastern male before they turned him into hamburger.

  “Not empty,” Sawyer growled before unloading his pistol in the monsters’ faces, reducing them to a bloody pulp. It happened so quickly tha
t Sawyer didn’t bother to check if his friends were ready for the carnage. Before he could turn around after it was over, he heard Jenny utter a strange choking noise and then the crash of the sunglasses display.

  He swiveled around to find Jenny twitching on the floor beside the overturned display rack with a stricken look on her face. The girl flopped up and down like a fish desperate for water as she clutched Luna and began to foam at the mouth.

  Lynch looked like he was about to panic and Angel moved toward Jenny to try to help.

  “Don’t go near her!” Lynch cried out. “She’s turning into one of them!”

  The old priest tried to draw his gun, but before he could, Angel was kneeling down protectively over the girl and shouting at him to stop.

  “No she’s not!” Angel screamed. “She’s having a seizure!”

  Angel gently rolled Jenny onto her side and kept one hand on the girl’s hip as she continued to thrash on the ground.

  “How do you know that?” Sawyer asked, his own gun now trained on the girl.

  “One of the girls at the club was an epileptic,” Angel said, never taking her eyes off Jenny. “The strobe lights got to her a couple times, but she said she couldn’t afford to quit. Just stand back and give her a minute.”

  Sawyer and Lynch did as they were told, Sawyer still ready to pull the trigger if necessary and Lynch looking like he might jump out of his own skin any second. The seizure lasted over a minute, but just as Angel said, it stopped. Jenny gasped for breath and then sat up, looking at the three of them dumbly, her hair matted to her forehead with sweat.

  “Are you okay?” Angel asked as she brushed the girl’s hair back and offered her a smile.

  “I think so,” Jenny said in a trembling voice. “Did I just have a fit?”

  Angel nodded sympathetically. “You’ve had them before?”

  Jenny returned the nod and then looked at the two men standing over her.