The Orphans (Orphans Trilogy Book 1) (12 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

JP continued to
flip his phone in his hand and chew on his lip while the others waited with bated breath for him to make up his mind.

Malika was over waiting. She knew that the orphans were anything but safe and needed to keep moving. “Whatever your decision is,” Malika said, “you must decide right now.”

JP said nothing. Whether he was serious or just seeing how far he could push Malika, none of the other orphans could tell.

Malika didn’t care. Her main focus was protecting Charlie and those who welcomed her protection. “I will take that as a no,” she said, and then turned to the others. “It is—”

“Fine!” JP blurted, cutting her off. “I’ll stay, but only for everyone else, not you. And for the record, I’m still not happy about this.”

“I did not ask you to be,” Malika said.

“Clearly,” JP said. He laid his phone on the pavement, rested his heel on the device, and pushed down with a crunch.

As soon as JP lifted his foot off of the cracked device, Malika gave it an extra stomp for good measure.

“Thanks,” JP said sarcastically. He picked up the inoperable phone. “I’m gonna keep it just in case this is covered under the warranty. Although I’d probably have better odds playing the water-damage card.”

“New status,” Eddie announced. “Off the grid for barely a minute. Hashtag sucks already.”

“Wow, I feel bad for everyone on social media that missed out on that gem,” Naomi said sarcastically.

Eddie turned to Antony. “How do you feel?”

“Like,” Antony said. He gave two thumbs up for effect.

“Newer status,” Malika said. “It is time to find our van.”

The orphans and Malika split up and hastily scoured the aisles of the scrapyard. Most of the cars were in varying stages of disrepair, but there were a few serviceable vehicles scattered about. It wasn’t long before Charlie found a decently maintained Volkswagen van, which closely resembled the Scooby Doo Mystery Machine, and called to the others to join him.

When Naomi opened the van’s sliding side door, she was immediately hit by the dense smell that had been trapped in there for who knows how long. “Oh my God,” she said as she fanned her face. “It smells like it was the tour bus for some hippie jam band.”

“Probably was,” Eddie said. He held up a tie-dyed shirt and drumstick he’d retrieved from the van. “It’s also pretty obvious why they call these places junkyards.”

“As long as it starts,” Malika said, “it will be sufficient.”

JP climbed into the front seat. He searched the steering column for the keys. “I don’t know that we’re gonna find out,” he said. “Unless someone here knows how to hotwire a car?”

“I don’t,” Eddie said. “But I’m sure one of us has to.” He turned to Antony.

“Why the hell did you look at me after you said that?” Antony said. “It better not be ‘cause I’m black.”

“No, man,” Eddie replied, shaken. “It was because you’re standing next to me. I was actually trying to look at Charlie.”

“Good.”

They both looked to Charlie.

“Well?” Eddie said. “You know how to boost cars?”

“Sorry,” Charlie said. “I don’t know cars, just computers.”

Everyone turned to Naomi, the only one yet to respond.

“I don’t know cars or computers,” Naomi said.

“Can’t you do something?” Charlie asked Malika.

“There are only a few things I am able to do on Earth,” Malika said. “Unfortunately, starting cars is not one of them.”

“I guess we need to find another ride,” JP said as he climbed out of the van. “If there even is one. I know I didn’t see anything.”

“All right! Fine,” Antony said as he threw his hands up in defeat. “I might know how to hotwire the car.”

“Seriously?” Eddie said. “Why’d you get so mad at me?”

“Because you just assumed I knew how to do it. And I’m not some stereotype. Besides, I’ve never actually done it myself. I’ve just seen my cousin do it a bunch of times. It’s how he starts his car.”

“Are you sure it’s actually ‘his’ car?”

“If you ever meet him, you can ask him. He’s about your weight, but all muscle.”

“You know what? I’m gonna pass and just assume it is.”

Antony hopped in the driver’s seat and got to work removing the steering column and detangling wires. The others swiftly cleared all of the garbage out of the vehicle, keeping their noses plugged the whole time. The cleaners finished first and then waited for Antony.

“One more second,” Antony said as he put the final touches on his hotwiring job. “That’s all she wrote. Time for the moment of truth.”

The others crossed their fingers and held their breath as Antony tapped the wires together. Sparks flew, and the engine sputtered for a couple seconds before turning over. They all congratulated Antony with high-fives and slaps on the back.

“All right, where to?” Antony said.

“I will drive,” Malika said.

“I don’t know what the driving age is for angels,” Eddie said, “but it’s sixteen for humans. And you don’t exactly look sixteen. We’ll get pulled over in seconds.”

“I had no intention of driving like this.” Malika brought her hands together at her chest as if she were praying. In a sudden burst of white light, Malika transformed, gaining twenty years in age and beauty. While her wings stayed hidden, Malika’s halo returned, along with a bright golden aura that pulsed around the outside of her body.

JP and Charlie’s jaws dropped, but neither fell as far as Eddie’s, which practically hit the soiled floor of the old van.

“What’s, uh … how did you … wow,” Eddie babbled.

“I think what he’s trying to say is that that’s gotta be the true angelic self you mentioned, right?” Antony said.

“It is,” Malika said as her aura and halo faded away.

“I take back what I said about not wanting to see you in any form,” JP said.

The guys weren’t the only ones affected by Malika’s beauty; so was Naomi, whose eyes focused on Malika’s figure and all of its curves. Naomi instantly became self-conscious, pulling her flannel shirt tight to cover her own body. She elbowed JP and Eddie to rouse them from their stupor. “You guys are like a pack of dogs.”

“Woof,” Eddie said, still staring at Malika. “I can’t wait to go to sleep. I’m gonna have some good dreams tonight.”

“That is a fantastic idea,” Malika said. “All of you could use some rest. It has been a very hectic day.”

“No! No! No! I said tonight, not now.”

“Now is always the best time for anything. Resting will help your body and mind.”

“But I’m not even close to tired.”

“Me either,” JP agreed.

“Do not worry,” Malika said, “I can take care of that.” She brought her hands together at her chest and mumbled a couple words to herself.

Eddie reached out to stop her, “Wait—”

But before he could finish, his arm fell to his side, and he slunk in his seat. The same happened to the rest of the orphans, whose bodies went slack like participants in a hypnotist’s show.

Malika smiled to herself. It had been a long time since she had cast a sleep prayer, one of the few powers that she was able to exercise on Earth. She made sure everyone was buckled into their seats, and then threw the car in gear and hit the gas.

The van’s tires spat rocks as the vehicle picked up steam on the gravel road before barreling through the locked front gates and disappearing off into the distance.

◆
◆
◆

No more than five minutes later, Terry’s Bentley passed through the wrecked junkyard entrance, followed by the blacked-out
suv
that had been stationed near Charlie’s.

The cars parked, and Terry and his men got out. Cain, Max, and the three other Beasts immediately set off combing the lot, while Terry stayed next to the car, his eyes doing all of the work.

Terry noted the twisted metal that was the front gates as well as the tire marks on the road, and put two and two together. “We missed them,” he called to his men. Terry scanned the rest of the junkyard. He spotted the busted cell phones about thirty feet away, walked over, and picked them up. He checked each phone. None of them worked.

“Is it possible they’re getting help?” Terry asked Cain as he and the other Beasts rejoined him.

“It’s possible, but not likely,” Cain said.

“There’s at least one phone missing. We’ll have to keep our trace open in case it draws a signal.” Terry chucked the broken phone that was in his hand. It bounced across the dirt until it hit against the concrete wall of a small office building and shattered to pieces. He started for the car, but stopped when a thought flashed through his head.

Terry turned back to the office building. His gaze traveled up the side until it reached the corner roof. Underneath was a tiny security camera, which was pointed in the direction of the busted gate. “Looks like they’re right about God,” Terry quipped. “When he shuts one door, he really does open another. Now, speaking of opening doors.” He gestured to the door to the main office.

Cain and Max wasted no time executing Terry’s orders. They kicked down the door, splintering it at the hinges, and then entered the building.

Terry strolled in just behind his men. He went straight for the closet in the corner that was marked “Security.” Cain lifted his leg, preparing to kick it in, but Terry stopped him. “Let’s try the handle first.” Terry jiggled the door handle. “What do you know?” With a twist, he opened the door.

Inside the closet-sized room was an equally small setup: a couple recording devices and a thirteen-inch black-and-white
tv
resting on a flimsy metal cart.

Terry rewound the security footage until he reached the part where the van rammed through the front gate. He rewound a couple seconds more and paused the video. Through the shotgun window, Malika was clearly visible. “Did anyone see this girl enter the house?” Terry said as he pointed to her on the
tv
screen.

Two of the three new additions shook their heads.

The last Beast spoke up, “There was a girl that had similar features, but she was much younger. At least twenty years.”

Terry looked to Cain, a gesture for his opinion.

“I was wrong,” Cain said. “They might be getting help.”

“It appears so,” Terry said. He pressed play on the recorder and let the video play until the back of the van was in full view. He grabbed a Post-it note from a nearby desk, took down the license plate, and handed the Post-it note to Cain.

“Do you want me to work with our people in the police department and put out an
apb
?” Cain asked.

“No,” Terry said. “I don’t think that’s best. I would rather this be handled discreetly, through back channels. Sift through all of the government surveillance feeds that we have access to, and find where they are going yourself.”

“Of course. We’ll get on it right away.”

Terry stared at the van on the tiny
tv
screen. “One more thing first. Destroy any evidence that we were ever here.”

Cain nodded. Then, with one sweeping hammer-fist, he turned the
tv
and recording devices into a smoking heap of electronic rubble.

“Good,” Terry said with a smirk. “Now find them.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Malika sat in
the driver’s seat of the parked van, watching through the windshield as the sun started to rise from behind the pine-covered mountains just ahead. The sun’s rays crept across her body and landed on her face. She squinted her eyes and smiled.

After soaking up the sun for a couple more seconds, Malika bowed her head and said a couple words to herself. Tiny sparks of gold began to explode from her skin like air bubbles bursting from a freshly poured glass of champagne as she transformed back to her younger self. Once the process was complete, she snapped her fingers. “We’re here,” she said to the sleeping orphans in the back of the van.

Charlie and the others slowly came to.

Eddie looked to the driver’s seat where the now-young Malika was smiling at them. “I had the weirdest dream last night,” he said as he let out a full body yawn. “I dreamt that you were way older and smoking hot.”

“That wasn’t a dream,” Antony said. “That really happened.”

Eddie shot up in his seat, suddenly alert. “Seriously? Why did you change back?”

“Probably because of the way you all acted,” Naomi said. “And the way you’re acting now.”

“Naomi is correct,” Malika said. “You are too easily distracted. In time, you might be able to see me in my true form, but that time is not now.”

“That’s not true,” Eddie said. “I can totally handle it. I think we should vote on it, right?” He looked to the others for support.

“Of course,” JP agreed as he nodded a little too excitedly. “That would obviously be the democratic thing to do. Last time I checked, this is America.”

“What do you think, Charlie?”

Before Charlie could pick a side, Naomi emphatically cleared her throat to get his attention. Charlie swallowed hard as he took in her steely eyes, which he found to be both intimidating and, at the same time, unbelievably captivating.

Naomi shook her head as if to say, “Don’t even think about saying yes.”

Eddie took exception to Naomi’s attempt to influence the vote. “Don’t look at her,” he said to Charlie. “Look at us. Bros before—”

Naomi turned her glare toward Eddie. “Before what?”

“Beautiful, intelligent women, of course.”

“Uh … ” Charlie stuttered, still undecided if he should listen to his head or his heart.

“Enough,” Malika said. “There will be no vote. Everybody out.” She hopped out of the van.

“Nice one,” JP said sarcastically to Charlie as they and the rest of the orphans rolled out of the van’s sliding door.

Charlie didn’t respond. He was too embarrassed. He just glanced at Naomi, who was taking in their new surroundings.

“So where are we?” Naomi said.

“About fifteen miles north of Lake Tahoe,” Malika said.

“It looks like
The Little House on the Prairie
,” Eddie said.

“You know what a prairie is, right?” Naomi asked.

Save for the small clearing about the size of a soccer field where they were standing, there was nothing around them that even remotely resembled a prairie. It was a mountainous sea of evergreens that extended in every direction as far as the eye could see.

“Yeah. I was mostly talking about the little house part,” Eddie said, pointing to the rickety one-story building with a gable roof and tiny steeple that faced the clearing.

“That looks more like an old church,” Antony said.

“It is, or was, St. Michael’s Church,” Malika said. “It was built shortly after the gold rush, but it has been abandoned for close to fifty years.”

“Please tell me we don’t have to go to mass,” Eddie joked.

“You do not. The church will serve as your new home.”

“Good. ‘Cause I already did my time in Catholic school.”

Malika started for the church. Charlie and the other orphans followed her inside the neglected house of worship.

The interior of the church had held up only slightly better than the exterior. There were ten rows of pews that looked like they could be knocked over by a stiff breeze. They faced a tiny altar and stained-glass window that was missing half of its panels.

“Are you sure this place wasn’t abandoned more than fifty years ago?” Naomi said. She ran her finger across the top of a pew and picked up a Swiffer sheet’s worth of dust. “This looks more like a hundred years’ worth of dust.”

“I am sure of it,” Malika said.

“At least it has a bathroom,” Charlie said as he opened a door in the back. He immediately began to gag from the dank stench that he had accidentally unleashed. He slammed the door shut and let out a couple more coughs. “Never mind. That’s just a hole. We definitely want to keep that closed.”

“Great,” JP said. “It looks like we get to go to the bathroom in the woods.”

“I’ve always liked peeing outside,” Eddie said.

“I guess we’ll get to find out if Henry David Thoreau was right,” Antony said.

“Why? What did the guy that shot Lincoln say?”

Antony shook his head in disbelief. “He didn’t shoot Lincoln. That was John Wilkes Booth.”

“Oh, yeah, you’re right,” Eddie said. “He shot Kennedy.”

“That was Lee Harvey Oswald,” Charlie said.

“Thank you,” Antony said.

“Then who did that Henry guy shoot?” Eddie asked.

“He didn’t shoot anyone. He was an author, philosopher, and abolitionist. And he wrote the book
Walden
.”

“Are you positive he didn’t shoot a guy named Walden, too? ‘Cause only shooters and serial killers get three names.”

“Yes, I’m positive. Anyway, my point was that Henry David Thoreau said that most of the luxuries, and many of the so-called comforts of life, are not only not indispensable, but positive hindrances to the elevation of mankind. So we’ll get to see if that’s true or not.”

The other orphans didn’t respond. They just looked at Antony curiously.

“What?” Antony said.

“Are you sure you’re from South Central?” Naomi said. “‘Cause you could’ve fooled me.”

“Me, too,” Charlie agreed.

Antony chuckled at their questioning his street cred. “Yeah, I’m from South Central. I just used to read a lot. Like I said before, I’m not some stereotype.”

“I don’t think any of us are,” JP said. “And while that was a fantastic quote and all, I can’t imagine that toilets actually prevent the elevation of mankind. And even if they did, I’d rather hold humanity back than crap in the woods.”

“I realize this place is not perfect,” Malika said, “but it will be perfect for us. No one will think to look for you here, and the holy ground will provide protection from the Beasts.”

“Does that mean we’re finally safe?” Naomi asked.

“It does.”

“So you can tell us what the hell is going on.”

Malika nodded. “You all might as well have a seat.”

The orphans wiped the dust off of the pews up front before grabbing seats. Charlie went to sit by Naomi, but JP beat him to it. Charlie settled for a seat across the aisle next to Antony and Eddie.

“Are any of you familiar with The Great War?” Malika asked as she took to the altar.

“Are you talking about World War I or II?” Charlie said.

“Neither.”

“I doubt you’re talking about
World War Z
,” Eddie said, “because it was really good, but I wouldn’t say it was great.”

Naomi rolled her eyes at Eddie. “Can you not turn it off?”

“Not that I know of.”

“You’re talking about the war in Heaven, right?”

“Yes, I am,” Malika said. “The final battle of which is actually depicted on the mural behind me.” She pointed to the stained-glass window. Even with much of the glass missing, it was still possible to make out the image of Saint Michael defeating the Devil. “The Great War was the first war, and it forever changed both Heaven and Earth.” The heaviness in Malika’s voice and the weight of her words silenced the orphans, who remained rapt as she revealed the history of The Great War.

Malika explained that the seeds of the war were planted when Lucifer, one of God’s highest-ranking—and also most prideful—angels, first took exception to God’s unwavering love for mankind. What started out as petty jealousy grew like a weed in fertile soil to become complete resentment for all human life.

Lucifer detested the fact that the angels were tasked with protecting what he saw as such inferior beings. Eventually, he became so disillusioned with God and the kingdom of Heaven that he set forth to stage a rebellion. He was able to recruit many angels who sided with him.

One Sabbath morning, Lucifer and his army launched their attack. The war pitted friend against friend, brother against brother. The battles waged for years.

In the end, Lucifer and his army were defeated and banished from Heaven. Lucifer was so furious after his defeat that he slaughtered all of those who had willingly followed him.

“I’m confused,” Naomi said after Malika finished explaining Lucifer’s massacre. “Angels can die?”

“In heaven? No,” Malika said. “On Earth? Yes, they can. However, not in the same way that you have been taught to think of death. All things born of God are divine. And that which is divine never truly dies. It merely changes form, or starts anew.”

“Can you repeat that in English, please?” Eddie said.

“They are reborn as new souls. And eventually humans, to work their way back to the highest levels.”

“Close enough,” Eddie said with a shrug. “Continue.”

“After killing his army, Lucifer set out to build a new army of followers. No longer bound by the laws of Heaven, he exploited his angelic powers to gain his legion, offering his assistance for their sworn obedience. His first recruit was actually someone that all of you are familiar with, especially you, Charlie.”

“Cain,” Charlie said softly.

“Yes. While Charlie’s house was most likely the first time the rest of you have seen him, you most likely heard about Cain from the Old Testament.”

“No way,” Naomi said. “The son of Adam? The one who killed his younger brother Abel?”

The other orphans shot Naomi the same confused looks that they had shot Antony.

Naomi shrugged them off. “Antony isn’t the only one who used to read. I did a couple years of Hebrew school.”

Malika continued, “Lucifer found Cain wandering in the desert. He had the mark of God on his face. It would look like an N to all of you, but it is really an aleph. The first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. God gave it to Cain to force him to live with what he’d done, and to let everyone know he was the first—firstborn, and first to kill. But the scar isn’t his only mark. Lucifer gave him a branding of his own. The mark of the beast: three sixes over his heart. It was the number of angels who had failed him. He gives that mark to all who have joined him. To remind them of what happens if they fail.”

“Sounds like a pretty crazy guy,” Eddie said. “I mean, obviously, he’s crazy.”

“After his army had grown sufficiently,” Malika said, “Lucifer retreated to the underworld. He left his army of Beasts to grow on their own, to recruit new members and do his bidding.”

“That still doesn’t explain why they came after our parents,” Charlie said. Even with everything that he had learned in the past week, the answer to his next question still evaded him. “What did they have to do with any of that?”

“The answer is twofold,” Malika said. “There are angels, like myself, who were part of the genesis of Heaven. But since the original creation of angels, all new angels were elevated through their works, through their lives on Earth, with only the strongest of souls ascending to the rank of guardian.”

“So our parents were on their way to becoming angels?” Naomi said, in awe of this revelation.

“That is most likely the reason they were targeted,” Malika said. “Not only do the Beasts gain strength from the power of the souls they collect, but in doing so, they prevent the potential creation of an angel. In addition, the lost memories that vanish with every stolen soul also weaken the collective spirit of mankind. This compounding effect decreases the likelihood of any future angels even more, which serves to expedite their ultimate objective.”

“And their ultimate objective is?” Eddie asked.

While Eddie needed hand-holding, Charlie had already filled in the pieces to the puzzle. “To launch another attack on Heaven.”

Malika nodded.

The orphans shook their heads in disbelief.

“Awesome,” JP said. “A second Great War. Do you at least have any idea when it’s coming?”

“Unfortunately, we do not,” Malika said. “All that is known is that the collective spirit has never been so weak, and Heaven has never been so vulnerable.”

“So in theory, it could come any minute,” Antony said.

“Yes, it could,” Malika said. “The likelihood only increases with each second that passes.”

“Well, that’s really reassuring,” Eddie said sarcastically, and then buried his head in his hands.

“I would encourage all of you to focus on that which is reassuring instead of that which is not.”

“What, exactly, should we be reassured by?” Charlie said.

“By the fact that there is something you can do about it,” Malika said. “When you succeed in destroying the Beasts and freeing your parents’ souls, you will not only save all of the other souls that are trapped inside and create new angels, you will also weaken Lucifer’s army and delay their attack. The more Beasts you destroy, the longer the delay.”

“What if we don’t delay their attack in time?” Charlie said. “What if they strike before we can save our parents? Then what happens to them?”

“You will still have the ability to save them. However, the task will become exponentially more challenging.”

“Hold on a second,” Naomi said. “You keep saying ‘you.’ What about ‘we’? When are the rest of our guardian angels, and all the other angels, for that matter, coming to help us?”

“Yeah,” Eddie said, ditching his doldrums and getting pumped up. “They need to swoop down here and kick some serious Devil ass!”

The other orphans excitedly agreed with Eddie. All of their spirits were lifted by the thought of assistance from the army of angels. It made everything that Malika had told them much more palatable.

“When are they planning on joining us?” Charlie asked.