all god's orphans

“Kite!” Grey’s voice soared across the empty landscape as echoes dashed away in all directions, scurrying into the darkness. Brian stood beside him, shouting as loud as he could into the night. Behind them, Millie leaned against the wall of the weigh station, seething both because this had happened again and because she couldn’t help them. Brian’s throat was scratchy from yelling but Grey would not stop. Brian felt sorry for him but there was nothing to do. All around them, nothingness stretched out everywhere. Whoever or whatever took her was long gone. Brian listened to Grey’s voice disappearing in waves into the emptiness. He went back and leaned against the wall beside Millie.

“Fuck.” Typed Millie. Brian chuckled and nodded.

“Yeah.” He agreed. “Fuck.” Grey turned around and glared at the two of them.

“We have to do something!” He shouted. Brian had already considered this. He approached Grey and kept his voice low.

“Grey there’s nothing we can do.”

“We’ll go look for her!” He screeched. Millie had to laugh at the reversal of passions here. He sounded just like she did when Sarah vanished.

“Where?” Brian asked. “You have a fifty-fifty chance of going in the wrong direction out of this place. You have no idea who took her.”

“The fucking general!” Shouted Grey. Brian shook his head.

“You don’t know that. We haven’t seen any sign of them in days. There’s no reason to believe they’d be out here and no reason to kidnap Kite.”

“Maybe they did it to get their briefcase back.” Grey’s voice dropped just a little so that he was no longer shouting.

“We should be so lucky. That means they’ll keep her safe until they get what they want. I, for one, would gladly trade it for her.” Grey calmed down considerably. If there was any hope that she was okay, his brain was going to wrap its neurons around that and hold on for dear life.

“What can we do in the meantime?” Grey asked.

“Nothing.” Shrugged Brian. “Wait here for a while and hope.” The air was getting chilly. “We should get inside.” Brian finally said. Grey didn’t move.

“I’m staying out here.” He informed them. Millie and Brian exchanged a look and left him alone to seek warmth in the little building.

Carla was still sitting beside the unconscious pilot watching him breathe.

“Do you really think it was the general?” Asked Millie. Brian shook his head. “Who was it then?”

“I don’t know.” He admitted. “But nothing I can come up with brings me any comfort at all. None of this makes sense. Why would anyone follow us? Why would someone kidnap anyone when there are tons of mindless people just wondering around? I don’t get it.” They stood in silence contemplating possible horrifying fates that they didn’t want to say out loud.

“Will Grey be all right out there on his own?” Millie asked.

“He’s a big boy.” Said Brian, looking for a comfortable spot to lie down. “He can make his own decisions.” Millie wondered how Brian could sleep at a time like this and then she realized he barely knew Kite. To him, she was little more than a stranger. Everything he seemed to care about was in this room and she envied him that. Eventually Millie found her own spot to sleep in and she drifted off listening to Grey outside shouting his heart into the void.

“Get up!” Grey was in Brian’s face. “Get up, now!” Brian could hear the urgency in his voice and squinted against the morning light storming through the windows. Dark and dreamless sleep had devoured him. One second he was closing his eyes and the next, Grey was shaking him awake. He snapped into full consciousness and leapt to his feet, instinctively grabbing the shotgun from under the counter. Grey shook Millie awake and they both followed him outside, afraid of what had gotten him so animated.

“There.” He said, pointing into the distance. About two miles away, a vehicle was approaching on the highway. It wasn’t an SUV like the Army conscripts favored, and it wasn’t a proper military vehicle. It was just a regular sedan, tooling along the highway like it was headed for a family vacation. When it reached the slip road that led to the weigh station, it slowed down and drove into the back of the parking lot before stopping some distance away. Brian took up a position behind the van and wished he had thought to grab his rifle. This shotgun was not going to do anything at this range. The driver’s side door opened and a man got out.

“Stay where you are!” Ordered Brian and the man raised his hands. As he did so, two more figures emerged from the backseat. Brian tried to blink the bleariness from his eyes, but Millie and Grey burst from behind the van and sprinted towards the car. “What are you doing?” Called Brian after them, but they paid him no mind. Grey wrapped his arms around Kite as Sarah and Millie collided in hug that threatened to crack both their ribs. Brian had no idea who these people were, apart from Kite.

“What the Hell is going on here?” He muttered under his breath and lowered his shotgun.