all god's orphans

After several hours in silence, they pulled into a roadside rest stop perched atop a small hill that afforded them a grand view of the plains. They had seen the peaks of the Rockies beginning to grow on the horizon and every time they crested a hill, they expected to see the foothills spread out before them, but it never happened. Millie realized that they were seeing over the curve of the earth and it made her feel very small to realize the enormity of the size of it all.

Brian left the group and found a spot to himself on a picnic bench. He didn’t want his cigarette smoke to interfere with them. None of them smoked, that was something good he figured. All over the world, nicotine consumption had probably ended. Silver linings, he told himself. Millie approached on feet as light as kitten paws, startling Brian as she spoke.

“Thanks for coming back for me.” Her box said. She put her hand on the speaker and hoped the others couldn’t hear.

“You’d do the same for me.” Brian said through tar and smoke.

“I would.” Millie confirmed, totally intending to say more, but her throat seized up on her. “I…” She started to type but lost her way. “I just wanted to say that I think you’re…” She couldn’t’ think of a word and Brian was now staring quizzically into her eyes, paralyzing her ability to form sentences. Instead, she stepped boldly forward and put her mouth to his. She could taste the warm tinge of the tobacco on his lips, but she didn’t care. The contact thrilled her like nothing else ever had in her life.

For a moment, Brian didn’t move. He hadn’t expected this, not from Millie or anyone else. He struggled to think if he had just been missing all of her signals. It seemed cruel to push her away and he didn’t want to hurt her, but he also didn’t want to kiss her. He put his hands on her shoulders and gently removed her from his face. Her eyes were still closed in rapturous delight, her lips parted ever so slightly. Finally she opened her eyes and beamed until she saw the look on his face.

“Millie…” He began, but stopped himself. “I’m..flattered. But…” Millie’s cold mask crumpled into a frown and she turned to walk away as fast as she could, but Brian caught her arm. He would be truthful, he decided. She deserved that much. “I’m gay.” He said, stopping her in her tracks. “You’re really pretty, Smart. Funny, but, sadly, not my type.” He tried to convey only compassion and she seemed to get it. “Sorry.” He shrugged. Millie chuckled and then put her hands to the keyboard.

“Nooooooooooooooooooooo.” Was what she meant to type, but her machine made it sound like, “No. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh.” Brian laughed.

“I don’t think it’s doing what you want it to.” Millie chuckled and shrugged.

“Yeah, well.” She typed. “Neither are you.” That brought them both near to hysterics.

“You are one of a kind, Millie.” Brian told her.

“Great.” Millie rolled her eyes while still smiling.

“C’mon.” Brian finally said. “We should get going.”

Night had fallen by the time they got anywhere near Colorado Springs. The signs declaring the miles to go had finally fallen to double digits and they could see lights up ahead in the distance. It was a magical sight after so many dark nights to see a town still lit up. It brought them hope.

They last few miles were passed in silence, as though they had all decided that this was a magical moment and speaking would only break the spell. They were so close now after having endured so much. Each of them was lost in their thoughts imagining what they might find there. Only Wallace seemed skeptical.

Just outside the city limits, the ground began sloping down to the city, revealing the entirety of it all in one glance. It was almost surreal, like a moon base on some distant world. Behind the twinkling of the town’s lights, they could just make out the outline of the mountain against the dark sky. In the distance, flashing red lights were hung haphazardly across both sides of the interstate. As they drew nearer, it became clear that it was another unmanned security post.

“Another one of these things.” Brian sighed. Wallace squinted into the darkness but said nothing. They approached slowly and stopped a few yards away from the barricade. Barbed wire and sawhorses formed a makeshift wall upon which the words “NO ENTRY PERMITTED. VIOLATORS WILL BE SHOT.” None of them took it seriously. Past the blockade they could see another assemblage of tents and trucks with security floodlights surrounding it. Brian and Grey began removing the sawhorses but there were barrels of sand as well, which they couldn’t move and which prevented their car from fitting. They didn’t care. Brian and Grey went through immediately but as Sarah made to follow them, Wallace grabbed her arm.

“You guys go check it out.” He told Wes and Grey. “We’ll stay here until it’s safe.” They nodded and walked on.

“I want to go with them.” Sarah said to Wallace, but something in his eyes told her she should listen to him.

“Just wait.” He told her. “You’re not missing anything.” He let her go and she turned her attention back to Grey and Brian as they made their way down the road. The post was about a mile or two past the barricade, and for a long time, nothing happened. They had begun to suspect something was wrong when suddenly, a loudspeaker addressed them and, paradoxically, made them relax.

“HALT!” Said the voice through a bullhorn. “THIS AREA IS OFF LIMITS.” Grey and Brian merely chuckled as they continued on their way.

“I gotta admit,” Said Brian. “These things are pretty smart.” Grey nodded, but truthfully, he still found them scary. Loud voices coming out of the dark to threaten you were not something he could admire.

“I SAID HALT!” The voice clarified, but they paid it no mind. After a few more yards, the voice continued. “IF YOU DON’T STOP, WE WILL SHOOT!”

“It’s so lifelike.” Brian observed as he kept walking. Grey had detected something in the voice that gave him pause. Brian, on the other hand, was in a hurry to get a better look at this setup. He had regretted not doing so before. There were so many questions about how it worked that he wanted to answer.

BLAM! A shot rang out of the darkness and Grey saw Brian fall to the ground, holding his leg.

“Motherfucker!” He screamed, blood falling onto the pavement from between his fingers. “That fucking thing shot me!”

“I WARNED YOU.” Said the voice.

“I need help!” Grey called back. Brian was too heavy for him to carry on his own. Despite the danger, his friends dashed across the open ground to help raise Brian to his feet.

“What the Hell?” Brian snapped in Wallace’s direction. “I thought they were programmed not to shoot people.” Before Wallace could answer, floodlights jumped to life all around them, isolating them in a pool of cold, white light that hurt their eyes. They couldn’t see beyond their illuminated ring, but they could hear people moving.

“Keep your hands where we can see them!” Said a voice from the blackness.

“Why are you shooting at us?” Brian yelled.

“Shut your mouth!” Came the reply. They could hear the rustle of static as someone talked over the walkie talkie, but the specific words were impossible to discern. It sounded like they were discussing what to do.

“Tell them who you are.” Millie typed into her machine, hoping that Wallace could ease everything just by flashing his rank. He simply responded by glaring at her and shaking his head almost imperceptibly. The chatter over the walkie stopped and then started again in a somewhat more excited state. After a few minutes, a uniformed figured stepped out of the night and addressed them.

“I’m going to need you all to come with me.” He said.

“Are you going to fix my leg?” Brian asked, the pain throbbing in his thigh.

“We’ll get it looked at.” Said the man, but he didn’t seem to mean it.

He placed them in a large passenger van after hastily dressing Brian’s wound. He tried to act like he was doing them a favor, but Brian suspected he just didn’t want blood getting all over the inside of the van. They drove down into the town proper and after several minutes arrived at the US Air Force Academy.

The base still had power and there were lights everywhere. They could see hangars and runways, but no aircraft. Wallace was the only one not peering through the windows. He seemed distracted. By the time they reached their destination, Brian thought he might pass out from the pain, but the excitement at finally having reached safety kept him going. It would all be worth it and soon, some of the best doctors in the world would give him powerful drugs and patch him up. It would be sooooooo good.

The van brought them to an admin building and they were brought inside to a holding pen. There were chairs and a desk, but no windows and only one door.

“Wait here.” Said the soldier who had ushered them in. “The general wants to see you.” At his words, a ripple of fear went through them, but they told themselves that it wasn’t the general. How could it be? This was an actual military base. Not a carpet warehouse. No, they decided. They were safe. After several minutes, the door finally opened and in stepped general Joe.

“Millie!” He exclaimed, pressing her into an uncomfortable hug. “I thought you were dead, or worse.” He beamed at her and she was too shocked to manage a decent fake smile.