Death's Little Angels

by Sylver Belle Garcia

Tarynn turned rapidly and put her head down between her legs. “Please, don’t shoot me! Please don’t! I am a messenger from The Savior!”

  Tarynn assumed fetal position near the pile and covered her head. She trembled so bad that her body convulsed like it was having seizures. Mater went to Tarynn but Drew gently stopped her.

  “Tarynn…It is me, Drew, from school,” he looked at Mater then back to Tarynn, “Mater and I came back for you.”

  Tarynn slowly raised her head and nervously looked around. She opened her mouth to say something, but a low cry escaped instead. Mater went to Tarynn to pull her away from the decaying pile. She quickly wiped away Tarynn’s tears and pushed her long red strands from her face. Once Tarynn ceased her crying spell, she realized that Drew was there and immediately rushed up to him with a big embrace.

  Tarynn pulled Drew by the hand towards a small concession stand that was hidden partially by two big trees. Jessie grabbed Grace’s hand and secured the back of the group by slowly walking backwards with the shotgun ready to fire at any moment. Once they were safely concealed behind the concession stand Tarynn spoke hurriedly.

  “My dad and mom…. They found me! Can you believe it? Found me! My dad had come in with a group of kids that he saved from First Savior’s Daycare, our church child care service,” Tarynn spoke so fast that her words flowed like water. “Everything changed so fast. They came in and just started shooting us…” Tarynn said trying to catch her breath. Mater helped Tarynn wipe away sediments of bodily fluid and other human remains from her face and clothing.

  “They? Who are they honey?” Jessie asked.

  Tarynn looked at Jessie with curiosity. She then flashed a look at Drew for reassurance.

  “It’s okay. She is my mother,” Drew faintly said.

  “The soldiers. One minute they were nice to us, ushering everyone to buses and giving us bottled water… Then the next thing I knew they were shooting us. They killed my dad because they thought he brought infected children to the center. How could they shoot a messenger from God? My dad was a preacher and they gunned him down like he was the soulless devil. My mother told me to hide under there,” Tarynn pointed to the disintegrating pile of bodies, “she led me to the makeshift dump and help me hide. Before she could join me…I heard her scream then gunshots and silence.” Tarynn’s eyes flickered towards the center and then back to Drew. “I survived because my mom hid me. The same group of people that we stood with in the line to board the bus, including the kids, were shot dead. I survived it all by hiding under their bodies.”

  “Oh!” Jessie gasped bringing her hand to her mouth.

  “Where is Sue Ellen?” Drew frantically asked.

  “Nobody survived Drew,” Tarynn sniffled, “I overhead the soldiers talking when I was hiding, to kill all of the evacuees because we were possibly infected and not to take any chances.”

  “I knew this would happen. I knew it!” Jessie hissed. “You can never trust anyone during a time of panic. That is what momma always said.” Jessie looked at Drew referring to Mee-maw.

  “Where is Sue Ellen?” Drew aggressively asked Tarynn. Tarynn looked down at the ground and then back up at Drew with tear filled eyes.

  “She is over there near the edge of the woods,” Tarynn pointed towards the other side of the Fairgrounds Center, “I suggest you hurry for they burn her with the others.”

  “Oh God!” Drew shrieked as he dropped his backpack and dashed towards where Sue Ellen might be. Jessie reached for Drew and missed.

  “Drew wait!” Jessie shouted. She glanced at the ground and pointed at Mater. “Honey, get his things. You girls get in the truck; the keys are in the ignition. I will go after Drew.”

  “Please, don’t leave me Jessie!” Grace cried, “Maryann is gone… Mee-maw, now Drew. Not you too!”

  Jessie kissed Grace on the cheek. “These girls will look after you until Drew and I get back, okay? Be a big girl for mommy.”

  “It’s okay, Grace. You can help me make a holder for my hatchets with the belts I have in my duffle bag. After we finish, I can play with you and your dolls,” Mater said with ease. Grace stomped her feet and followed Mater and Tarynn back to Big Thunder.

  Jessie sprinted off towards the direction Drew ran in. The Fairgrounds Center was strangely quiet. Bodies were strewn in several small heaps across the center’s property. Two soldiers, along with a police officer, were standing near one of the heaps with their back to the woods conversing. Jessie tiptoed near the heap where Drew had finally settled. He was on his knees with his head bent. Drew’s shoulders rose up and down like he was hysterically laughing. Jessie touched Drew’s back and he turned around with a nose and eyes as red as a tomato.

  As Jessie walked around to Drew’s side she saw the girl that had taken her son’s heart. Drew slowly caressed Sue Ellen’s face with one hand as she weakly blinked up at him. Sue Ellen was near her little brother with their hands stilled intertwined. Sue Ellen’s father was a foot away with his face buried in the ground. There were twelve other bodies that were scattered nearby. Drew’s hand was placed over Sue Ellen’s stomach as he tried to stop the bleeding.

  “It doesn’t hurt anymore…” Sue Ellen feebly said as she closed her eyes.

  “I can help you Sue Ellen. Jessie has a truck. We can get you to the hospital, please!”

  Jessie turned her head as Sue Ellen began to drown in her own blood.

  “Leave me… or they will… get you too….” Sue Ellen said in between coughs. The vital fluid of life began to bubble around the corners of her mouth.

  “I will make them pay, Sue Ellen. I promise. All of them!” Drew darkly said between gritted teeth.

  Two quick gunshots erupted prompting Jessie to sneak to the clearing of the wood. She observed in the same spot where the two soldiers and police officer were, that only two were left standing. An officer and a tall lean, lanky solider, with spiky hair continued to talk over the fallen soldier’s body. Money was exchanged from the police officer to the soldier. When the officer turned to leave, the soldier fired a round into his body. The officer fell like a sack of potatoes. Jessie quickly ran back to Drew and Sue Ellen.

  “I just saw a murder happen!” Jessie said out of desperation. “Let’s go right now!”

  Drew shook his head and squeezed Sue Ellen’s hand tighter. He could not let another person that he cared about go.

  Sue Ellen closed her eyes once more in an attempt to savor the last of her energy. A small squeaky voice startled Drew and Jessie from behind.

  “I am hungry and scared,” the little voice whimpered.

  Drew whipped around to see Grace standing there scratching at her bandage. Her eyes were swollen from exhaustion.

  “Grace, I told you to stay in the truck. You can get hurt out here,” Jessie scolded as she pulled Grace closer to her.

  “What is wrong with that lady?” Grace pointed at Sue Ellen who was as still as a board.

  “She is sleepy,” Jessie quietly said as she turned back towards Drew and Sue Ellen. “We need to really go now before someone finds us.”

  “I can’t,” Drew said, “just leave me.”

  “I can’t just leave you Drew…. You are my son. I am responsible for you. There is nothing more that can be done for that girl. It’s not like I can take her to the hospital. It’s probably a death trap too,” Jessie pleaded.

  “I am your son, now?” Drew angrily asked as he glared up at his mother. He quickly turned away and kept watch over Sue Ellen.

  “We are not going to do this, Drew Anthony Jacks! Not here. Not now. But I do love all of my kids and will give my life for you!” Jessie proudly said.

  A rustle through the leaves startled Drew and Jessie as they quickly turned around to find a soldier standing behind them with a 9 Millimeter directly pointed at Grace’s head. Drew recognized the soldier as Sergeant Brinkley, the lean spiky haired guy, who was very nice to him earlier when processing in the first time. The appearance of Sergeant Brinkley had changed drast
ically. His once wholesome demeanor had converted into something more diabolic.

  “Drop that gun, sweet cakes! Or that tree over there will be wearing that little girl like a party dress!” Sergeant Brinkley evilly said as he made a clicking sound with the gun. He winked his eye at Jessie as he waited for her to drop the rifle.

  “Slowly!” Sergeant Brinkley demanded. Jessie did as instructed. She held up her hands instinctively.

  “Sergeant Brinkley!” Drew said as he calmly backed away from Sue Ellen. He slowly held up both hands in the air, one hand still dripped with Sue Ellen’s life force.

  “She is infected!” Sergeant Brinkley barked. “If she is infected then that means all of you are!”

  “She is not infected, Sergeant Brinkley,” Drew sweetly said with a shaky smile, “look, she is just like you and I. This is my little sister that I brought back with me.”

  The Sergeant slid near Grace like a cat and forcefully ripped the bandage off of her tiny arm. Sergeant Brinkley pointed the gun again with anger at Grace. Grace began to cry out of fear as she pulled both of her dolls out of her denim overalls and held them close to her chest.

  “You little liar! She was bitten!”

  “Sir, she is not infected! Please don’t shoot my little sister. Please!”

  “That is what they all say before they die. I have orders… Kill or be killed!”

  Sergeant Brinkley, with a sly grin, raised his 9 Millimeter at Grace with a steady hand and pulled the trigger. An earsplitting pop sounded off like a brutal firecracker.

  “NO!” Jessie shrieked as she jumped in front of Grace knocking her down to the ground. Jessie rolled over on top of Grace and shielded her daughter’s body.

  Sergeant Brinkley narrowed his eyes and raised his hand again. This time he aimed the weapon at Drew. Drew fell back and scooted backwards on the ground towards Sue Ellen. He held his hands up in a defensive mode as to protect himself from what was to come.

  The loud pop sounded again but this time the bullet hit a tree. Sergeant Brinkley stood still momentarily with unseeing eyes that stared straight ahead. It looked like Sergeant Brinkley had tried to catch his breath because his mouth was frozen into a solid O. After seconds, the sergeant fell forward into the earth like a tree that had been cut down with an axe. Behind the fallen soldier stood Mater in an offensive combat stance. She held the first hatchet in her left hand while the second hatchet was buried deeply into the back of Sergeant Brinkley’s neck.

  Mater walked over slowly and without a care, yanked the hatchet out of the soldier’s uninhabited body. She swiftly placed the hatchets in a makeshift holster that she made out of belts. Mater, followed by Tarynn, went quickly over to Drew.

  “How bad is she?” Mater gently asked as she knelt down besides Sue Ellen.

  “Very bad…” Drew replied as he wiped away a tear that fell from Sue Ellen’s eye. “Thank you for saving my life.”

  “Anything for you…. My good friend,” Mater replied. She wanted to say more but held back.

  “You stay with her… I need to check on Grace and Jessie.”

  Drew got up quickly to rush by his mother and Grace’s side. He felt a pang of dread as he walked near the two and did not see any movement.

  “Oh no… Please no!” Drew yelled out loud as reached down to turn over his mother. Grace squiggled free and slowly stood to her feet. Drew wiped away a golf ball size amount of blood from Grace’s face. He looked Grace over to see where she was injured.

  “It’s not her blood,” Jessie delicately said as she lay on the ground motionless, “It’s mine.”

  Jessie removed her hand away from her heart. The red halter-top continued to fill with deep crimson liquid. The bullet had entered deep into the one organ that could never be repaired. Trickles of blood dripped from Jessie’s nose. Drew stood there in shock until his mother motioned for him to come near. He fell to his knees and crawled like a baby to his mother. Drew felt at any moment he would lose his mind but he held it together for Grace. Jessie fumbled as she reached into her halter-top and pulled out her life savings. Her blood had touched the edges of some of the money.

  “Take this…. And hide it,” she gasped and swallowed hard, “this will get you and Grace to Washington D. C. I know you will make it. I know you will…. Please do what I never did…. Take care of your sister.”

  “Jess— Mom, please don’t go. You are all I have left!” Drew began to sob. Mater and Tarynn looked on and wept not only for Drew but their own familial situations and recent losses.

  Jessie began to cough up blood. “Drew Jacks…. My son. I am proud of you. I have always been proud. I am sorry I was so selfish…. I love you, Maryann, and Grace. Please…forgive me. Do. You. Forgive. Me?”

  Drew nodded and buried his head into his mother’s toned abdomen, “yes mom, I forgive you. I forgive you.”

  Jessie reached out to Grace and grasped her tiny, delicate hand. She smiled as she envisioned Grace dancing in a field of lilies along with her sister Maryann. She then took one last look at Drew and imagined him playing in the Major Leagues doing what he did best, hitting home runs. She took her last deep breath and slowly closed her eyes. Drew wept bitterly until his head felt like he would split open. Grace bent down and hugged her brother as they cried together. After what seemed hours, a soft touch on the back of Drew’s neck brought him back to his senses. Mater stood over him.

  “Sue Ellen… She is calling for you,” Mater said with a somber voice.

  Drew hopped to his feet and brought Grace along with him. Tarynn took Grace and held her tightly while Drew walked over to Sue Ellen.

  Drew bent down and brushed a tuft of hair out of Sue Ellen’s face. “I wish you would have given me a chance. I have always loved you. I will always love you, Sue Ellen,” Drew said with a hoarse voice. The crying had begun to take a toll on his body. “If you could just… Please…Let me carry you.”

  “I wish you could see what you look like now…. A hot mess,” Sue Ellen weakly said in her usually sarcastic tone. Sue Ellen took a deep breath followed by several rapid pants. She winced at the pain and grabbed the area of the stomach that was inflicted with the bullet. Drew tried his best to make Sue Ellen comfortable by supporting her head on his knee.

  Sue Ellen gazed up at Drew and smiled. A calming peace settled across her face. “I see her. My mother. She has on her favorite yellow dress, the one with the lace. She promises the place that is waiting for me is beautiful beyond human imagination, ”Sue Ellen inhaled deeply and stared up into the sky, “It would have never worked, Drew. My heart belonged to someone else…” Sue Ellen looked past Drew and on to Mater. Her eyes stayed transfixed in one position as the last of tears fell from her eyes and silently hit the ground.

  Mater fell to her knees as she watched her best friend’s spirit depart with her eyes opened. The group stood there for what seemed like eternity basking in their own personal sorrows. Drew trembled as he gently closed Sue Ellen’s eyes. He decided, at that moment, to leave the feelings he carried for Sue Ellen there with her. Forever sealed away.

  The sound of a dump truck blaring down the road brought the group back to reality. It slowed down as it disappeared behind the Fairgrounds Center. A couple of more dump trucks sailed down Airport Road followed by two brown Humvees. Drew watched until all the vehicles disappeared from sight. He tried to pull himself together before walking towards Grace.

  “I am going to take care of you, Grace,” Drew promised as he hugged his little sister. He pulled back and gazed into her deep blue eyes. “Do you trust me?”

  “Yes, Drew. We trust you,” Grace said as she held up the male doll.

  “Where is your other doll?”

  “She died. Like everybody else….” Grace sadly replied.

  Mater whistled at Drew and threw him the baseball bat and backpack in which he caught with one hand.

  “Thought you might be needing that,” Mater pointed towards the bat.

  Drew dropped the backpack to the g
round and carefully studied the bat. He rolled the soft wood through his fingers and then back and forth between his hands. After turning the bat over countless times, he finally came up with an idea. Drew took the two knives that were in his pocket out and flipped them open. The blades were as sharp as a razor.

  “Can you err…. Take care of this handle on my pockets knives for me?” Drew asked of Mater.

  “My pleasure,” Mater quietly said as she walked over and took the handle clean off the first pocket knife with one swift move of her hatchet. She repeated the same quick and accurate move for the second knife.

  Drew took Mater’s hatchet and beat each blade into the opposite ends of the bat’s barrel, near the end cap. Once he was finally done with his experimental project, Drew held the bat up high. It looked like a barbaric cave man’s spiked club. Drew stepped back and took one forceful swing.

  “I guess you will put your swinging skills to use after all,” Mater said as she looked down at the ground.

  “I will if you will put your chopping skills to use,” Drew softly said with a pursed smile. He nodded towards Mater’s hatchets. “Thanks for saving my life.”

  “Anytime…” Mater blushed as she stared at Drew. Even during a time like this Mater Butler could not get enough of Drew Jacks.

  “Where do we go from here? I have asked the Lord Almighty several times,” Tarynn asked.

  A rustle from the south part of the woods startled everyone. Drew brought his fingers to his pouty lips as to signal the word quiet. He lowered his hands to alert everyone to lie down onto the ground quietly. Drew kept his finger to his lips as he closed his eyes and prayed silently for the group of Eaters to move on.

  An Eater, around the age of fourteen, staggered through the thicket of the pine trees. It was followed by a group of smaller Eaters, ranging from the ages of seven to thirteen. Some of the Eaters were horribly disfigured. The fourteen-year-old, a blond haired male Eater, opened his mouth like he was catching a fly. He raised his nose, towards the direction where Drew was hiding, and sniffed the air like his favorite dessert was gracing the wind. They shuffled aimlessly towards Drew and the others until the voices behind the Fairgrounds Center ceased their movements. The oldest of the Eaters whipped his neck towards the direction of the voices.