all god's orphans

As Kite and Grey walked out of the tunnel, the light of the sun drove spikes into their eyes. All around them, people were beginning to wake and rise up from among the dead. They seemed confused. Scared. Their eyes fixed on the strange funerary procession of Grey and Kite pulling a cart carrying the bodies of their fallen comrades. Behind them, the general walked at the head of a long line that reached back down the throat of the mountain. No one spoke and the bright day bent above them, devoid of clouds.

They loaded the bodies into a nearby van and drove back down the mountain towards the general’s base. When they arrived, they found it almost entirely empty. It seems that the general had thrown everything he had at the mountain assault, and now there was no one left behind. It took them a few hours, but they finally found the room where Brian, Carla, and Sarah had been locked away. They embraced as only those who have known the same trauma can.

“Where’s Millie?” Sarah asked, and it broke Kite’s heart to tell her. Sarah absorbed it like a veteran of shitty news. “We should bury her.” She said.

They drove to a small area they had passed where the ground rose up on the east, affording a gorgeous view of the valley in which the town lay. As they dug the graves, each one was lost in their own thoughts. No one spoke. Brian thought back to Daniel. He hoped he could rest easy knowing that his mother was now safe.

Sarah wondered if Millie and her sister would have gotten along. She liked the idea of the two of them looking over her. She watched Kite dig for a moment and recognized something of her mother in the way that she set herself to the task. Kite did not complain, nor did she shy away from hard work. This was something that Sarah had always respected about her mom. She was tough, but kind. Much like Kite.

Grey was haunted by the images he had seen of himself on the screens. There was no way he could explain to himself how he had ever thought like that man. He wanted to tell himself that it was a trick, or that there was some unseen context that could exonerate him, but there was none. He could hear the vitriol in his own voice and it shamed him. But, he told himself, that man was gone. He would never be that way again.

The sun had nearly set behind the mountain when they finally patted down the earth on top of their friends. They stood in silence for a few minutes, taking in the beauty of the landscape.

“Does anyone want to say a few words?” Brian asked, but no one made a sound. “I’ll start.” He said. “Millie was one of the funniest people I’ve ever met. And definitely the smartest. I wish I could be half as brave as she was.”

“She was badass.” Said Sarah, a slight smile creasing her lips for the first time in weeks.

“She was.” Agreed Grey. “I will miss her terribly. I doubt we’ll ever meet another one like Millie. And Wallace sought to serve humanity. They both thought of others before themselves. May we all hope to be as selfless as these two.” Kite placed a small bouquet of wildflowers in the fresh dirt.

“Goodbye, Millie.” She said. Sarah took hold of her hand and squeezed.

“I’m going to keep this.” Brian said, clutching Millie’s machine. “I can’t believe she’s gone. And the last thing she ever said to made no sense whatsoever. I’ve been trying to figure it out.

“What did she say?” Kite’s large eyes offered up compassion on dark serving trays.

“‘House lava babies.’” Brian repeated, feeling no nearer to understanding.

“Are you sure she didn’t say, ‘Hasta la vista, baby’?” Sarah asked.

“Why would she say that?”

“It’s from her favorite movie.”

“Her favorite movie is Terminator 2?” Brian could hardly believe it. His fingers flicked across the keyboard of Millie’s machine.

“House lava babies.” It said, and the sound of it made Millie’s absence hurt just a little bit less. Brian grinned.

“I typed ‘Hasta la vista baby’ and it autocorrected to that.” Tears built up in his eyes. “The last thing she ever said to me was a quote from one of my favorite movies.” He smiled through the tears. “She was so cool. I’m really going to miss her.” After a moment he added, “She was a real whiskey sour.”

In the distance, they became aware of a column of people slowly making their way along the road to where they stood.

“Now what?” Brian growled.

“It looks like all of the people from the mountain.” Kite’s heart stopped for a moment thinking they were under attack again, but these people seemed more lost than threatening.

“They must have followed us here.” Said Grey.

“What do you think they want?” Brian wanted to know, but Grey merely shrugged.

“The same thing any of us wants.” He mused. “Safety. Security. Life.” With that, he started down the hill.

“Where are you going?” Brian called after him. Without stopping, Grey yelled back over his shoulder.

“To help them.” He said and kept walking. The rest of them looked at each other for a moment and then, one by one, they headed down the hill to help.

THE END