Sparrow & Tulip

Theo looked from one of them to the other. "Who stole me?"

Kawehi made sure he was looking at her before she answered. "It was a woman who worked at the same place as your parents. We think she is the one who took you to West Virginia, but no one really knows the whole story yet. She may have lied to your foster parents as well."

"They were pretty big on the Good Book, it's hard to imagine them wrapped up with kidnapping. You said you weren't feds. You're some other kind of police?"

"No," Rachel said. "It's complicated but we're closer to military than police officers."

Theo looked around and back at her. "Are y'all really though? It seems like you're keeping a low profile here."

"We are," Kawehi said. "Since we're not the police, taking you like we did wasn't completely legal. But your aunt didn't think doing it legally would be the best way. We were all afraid they'd make you disappear before the real police could get there."

"Yeah, the Good Brother don't have love for the law, even if they ain't after him."

"The Good Brother?" Rachel asked.

Theo looked uncomfortable. "Yeah, he's in charge of the church and town. You're lucky he wasn't around when you grabbed me. He ain't too understanding about much."

"That doesn't sound much like a preacher," Kawehi said.

"Our church ain't much into the New Testament," Theo said. "The Brother is more like one of them old time prophets, more than one of the Apostles anyway. He says the New Testament is for the lazy and weak, that the Lord Jesus Christ came bearing a sword."

"Pretty intense," Rachel said. "What do you think?"

Theo's stomach was full of butterflies again, bad ones this time. The conversation was starting to make him nervous. He wasn't supposed to mention the Good Brother to outsiders.

"I'd prefer not to talk on that if you don't mind."

"That's no problem at all," Kawehi said. "If you're getting sleepy, you can take a nap. Your seat is comfortable?"

Theo was suddenly aware of how tired he felt. He looked at the woman in front of him, wondering how she'd done that. She smiled back, understanding.

"You were in an accident followed by a lot of stress. It's enough to make anyone tired. I'm not tricking you, promise."

Theo watched her face and knew again that he could trust her. She wouldn't let anything bad happen to him, not the way she looked at him with those dark, dark eyes. It had been a long and very strange day, of course he was tired. Beside him, Rachel was explaining how he could put his seat back, but Theo's eyes drifted shut as she was talking.

~~~~

The Pebbleman muttered something and his acolyte Jacob glanced at him from the driver's seat. It looked like the man was asleep, but Jacob wasn't sure. He wasn't sure about anything anymore. He didn't like that feeling, not one little bit.

He'd had it right before they left; Pebbleman had put on his old hat but it took it right back off. Then he'd pointed to a spot on a map and told Jacob to take him there, as fast as possible. Then he'd made the whole thing even more uncanny by tossing the hat on the ground and stomping on it several times.

So here they were; in the dark, tearing down winding backroads, headed west, more or less. Behind him, mostly keeping up, was a beat-up old church van and a pickup, both full of Brothers. It didn't make a whole lot of sense to Jacob, but he'd always followed those who were better at the hard thinking.

Except now he had to do his own hard thinking. He didn't like that feeling either, how was he supposed to know what to do next? Had he really witnessed a miracle? He'd broken a few heads himself, so Jacob was sure that he'd seen Brother...Pebbleman's exposed brains. It had to be a miracle, a man couldn't recover from something that bad, not that fast. But if it was a miracle, if Pebbleman had been healed by the hand of the Almighty, why wasn't he just as good as before?

Because, for better or worse, the person riding beside him wasn't the same as the one Jacob had seen preaching every Sunday. He was still mean as a snake with a toothache for sure. When they'd gone out to quiet folks down, Sheldon McIntyre had decided to fire his revolver one more time. Without a word, Pebbleman had taken a shotgun from someone and removed Sheldon's idiot head with it. Then he acted like it hadn't happened at all, encouraging his flock to gather around him while smoke still oozed from the double-barrel.

He'd preached to them about vengeance, right there in the street, called for volunteers to bring the Crabtree kid back home. All the while, Sheldon's new widow made weird noises as someone muffled her screams and sobs. People had all stared at his exposed head but none of them said word. Jacob figured that none of them had ever seen the Pebbleman without the usual broad brimmed hat before. Which brought up another worrying thing.

Pebble had him and a couple of others strip the clothes off the two that had attacked. They'd bundled it all together and wrapped every bit of tinfoil they could find around the bundle. They'd done it enough times before, but those bodies weren't right, didn't look natural at all. They'd dragged them outside and burned them, as Pebbleman had ordered, although a shallow grave back in the woods was usually enough for nosy strangers or the occasional unrepentant sinner. When they'd been doused with gas and lit, even the smell of it was all wrong.

Jacob had smelled more than few roasting bodies when the Army had sent him off to fight ragheads. The smell of those two though... Jacob had to clench his teeth tight, fighting back the urge to empty his stomach. What were those things? Were they really relatives of Pebbleman? They seemed more like demons than men.

Then Jacob made a connection, like a camera going off behind his eyes. Demons and angels were all related, the Almighty had made them together. Suddenly, it began to make sense, a pair of demons had come and attacked the Good Brother! They wouldn't attack one of their own. Nossir, they'd attack an enemy! They'd all look alike to humans, but didn't the Good Book say that men didn't have the proper eyes to really see? Or something like that. He glanced at his passenger in growing awe. No wonder he'd always seemed different. He was an angel!

Jacob chuckled and sent a prayer of thanksgiving. Angels weren't the perfect sanctimonious winged annoyances he'd always imagined, thank the Almighty Lord. They were warriors, like him. Jacob knew then that he'd follow Pebbleman wherever this was headed. He'd been tired of being a townie thug for a while now. Woe to any man who turned his face from their holy and ordained path. He pushed the gas pedal down a little more. They couldn't possibly wreck, not with the Hand of the Almighty guiding their way!

May 13, 2041

US Route 60

Rural West Virginia

It was dark outside when Theo opened his eyes. He started to panic, not knowing where he was at first. As he struggled to get up, someone put their hand on his leg. A small light went on and he saw the blue-eyed woman, Rachel, was in the passenger seat now. She'd turned around, it was her hand on his shin. After a second Theo remembered and let his breath out. Beside him, the blonde man who'd been driving before was sitting beside Theo now. When he noticed Theo, the man stuck out a hand.

"Hey cousin," he said as they shook hands. "I'm Jim Sheppard, everyone calls me Shep."

"Theo. You were driving the truck that hit us?"

He sort of expected the man to apologize like Rachel had but Shep grinned at him instead.

"That was pretty cool, huh?"

Theo couldn't help but grin back at him. "Definitely surprised everyone. You're kin of mine too?"

"Probably not by blood, but I grew up farming and can always spot another brother of the soil."

"No kidding? Where at?"

"Little ways south of Atlanta. Mostly corn and beans, a few chickens and hogs. Daddy tried peanuts and cotton too. Didn't care much for cotton."

Theo laughed. "Yeah, never heard a single good thing about cotton. I liked taking care of pigs though..."

Sitting behind them in the dark, Kawehi frowned as she watched the two of them talk. She'd assumed this kid was just shy of outsiders, but Marisol's demolitions sergeant had him smiling and chatting away with hardly any effort at all. It might have been that he related to men better than women, but it would be an extreme reaction with a lot of other signs she hadn't seen. It felt more like Theo hadn't wanted to reveal very much. She wondered how he'd answer if she suddenly sat up and asked about this "Good Brother" or that little town.

Most likely, he'd just shut back down. It would be a cruel experiment. At best. In fact, she felt bad even considering it. Theo was her responsibility and she cared about him. That realization snapped her eyes open and Kawehi sat up.

That wasn't a normal feeling. Yes, he was some of the last family a VIP had, and yes, she was technically in charge of this op making Theo her responsibility. The feeling went beyond that though. She was tempted to wake Nate up to talk about this weirdness but let him sleep. He usually erred toward overreaction and something was telling her that she needed to be careful here. Hopefully that was based on logic, not whatever this weird attraction was.

~~~~

The roads were paved now but they were just as twisted and treacherous in the dark. Jacob peered out of the windshield, trying to see what was beyond his headlights as he skidded and fishtailed the old Cadillac through the hills.

"Brother Rock, I note that some of our followers lack our true faith and fellowship."

Jacob kept his eyes on the road. "Uhm, how do you mean?"

"You and I share a bond, yes? The others, I don't feel the same bond of fellowship."

He slammed on the brakes for hairpin curve that had suddenly appeared. "Sir, this moment here ain't really a time for that kinda talk. They jes' gotta get used to you is all."

Pebbleman nodded and they stared out the windows in silence.

"Because I shot that shit heel?" he suddenly demanded.

Brother Jacob really wanted to punch something, but he managed to keep his voice calm. "Could be part of it, sure. But let's worry on this a bit later, yeah?"

The gaunt man looked over, a manic rictus twisting his thin lips into a parody of a grin. "Later, yes! Once we drive that unholy vermin back to hell!"

Jacob just nodded, concentrating on the road.

"Yes," the Pebbleman said, looking back out the window. "Once we find our little lost lamb."

Jacob nodded again, not really paying attention.

"Once that shit covered lamb is in my abattoir!" Pebbleman shrieked.

Startled, Jacob slammed on the brakes and the old sedan shuddered, slid, and groaned to a halt sideways in the road.

"Ah! We've arrived?" Pebbleman asked, looking from window to window.

Jacob resisted another powerful urge to find out what would happen if he punched this angel into next week.

"No," he said through gritted teeth. "You scared the shit out of me with that screaming."

When Jacob had gotten the car moving again, he became aware that Pebbleman had his arms clutched around his thin chest and he was rocking back and forth while he laughed. It was disturbing, a hissing snicker.

"Somethin' funny?" Jacob asked, in a low, dangerous voice.

"You're scared of a sound!" Pebbleman gasped.

Jacob shook his head and pushed the accelerator harder.

"That shit covered monkey...no, lamb. The shit smeared lamb has a secret somewhere, my fine Rock. We're going to find it, I'll tear out his stinking guts to find out what it is."

"What kind of secret do you mean?"

"That little...fuckling! If you knew the trouble to get one of those... But not to rudely break it open with a rock! To appreciate the subtle twisting coils of its truth, to taste its wet electricity. Then I will finally know. Oh, they will weep, sending those rectum biters to Question me..." Pebbleman's voice faded into a hissing whisper.

Jacob was happy not to hear what he was saying. The accelerator pedal went a little further down. Angel or not, the sooner this chase was finished, the better.

May 14, 2041

International Fuel Travel Center and Discount Suites

Southeast of Huntington, West Virginia

Shep had fallen asleep a few hours ago, but Theo was still wide awake. It seemed like him and the woman who had taken over the driving were the only ones awake in the RV. He amused himself by watching the little TV sets in the dashboard. Some were of a road, taken from different angles. As another car passed them, Theo realized that the cameras must be on the outside of the RV. Others had incomprehensible words and numbers on them. He was slowly falling asleep, lulled by the sound of the engine, when one of the little screens flashed twice. He could hear a voice that sounded like it was on the radio. The woman said something back, clearly responding, although she hadn't picked up anything to talk into. Then she made the lights inside of the RV come on. It was dim at first but quickly brightened into a strange blue-white light.

Beside him, Theo noticed that Shep had already woken up and was looking out the windows. Rachel was doing the same thing.

"Fuel stop," the driver announced. "Number two is about bingo."

Around him, Theo heard people sitting up. Disturbingly, there were a couple of metallic noises that probably were guns of some sort. He wasn't sure if they were because of him or something outside, but it made him jumpy. Further up the road, he could see an island of light in the surrounding darkness. As they slowed down, he could see it was a gas station. Bigger than the filling station at home, but familiar at least.

The RV pulled under a huge canopy and stopped beside a gas pump. Looking out the window, Theo recognized one of the cars that was already getting gas. The man he thought was a field hand was working the pump. It was strange, he didn't even look over at the RV, but it was obvious to Theo that they were looking away on purpose.

Shep got out of his chair and stretched. "Man, I gotta hit the can. How about you?"

Theo nodded, unbuckled and got up. Shep unlocked the side door and Theo followed him into the cool night air. Another one of their cars pulled in but used a gas pump that was on the other side of the canopy. Again, the passengers acted like they didn't know anyone in the camper. Nate hopped down from the camper and the three of them walked over the brightly lit building.

None of them noticed the rusted-out Cadillac half- hidden behind a dumpster.

Theo followed Shep to the bathroom, keeping his eyes on the floor. The bright lights and sheer amount of stuff on the shelves made the filling station feel strange, almost dreamlike. At least the toilets in the bathroom were familiar.

When they emerged, Nate was standing outside of the bathroom door waiting. Shep told Theo to pick something to eat and drink while they waited for Nate. Theo looked at the same shelf Shep went to, but the brightly colored bags were strange, and he had trouble working out what they contained. He followed Shep to a line of glass doors where an equally baffling number of drinks were for sale.

"Not hungry?" Shep asked as he pulled out a couple of bottles.

"What's a Cheeto? I've heard of Coke, but I don't know this other stuff."

Shep looked at him, surprised. "They didn't let you out much, huh?"

Theo shrugged, unsure of how to answer that. After a few questions about what he liked, Shep bought him a bottle of water and packet of dried meat, along with a bag of something called M&Ms. Nate poured himself a coffee and got some of the same dried meat as Theo.

As they walked out, the red-haired woman from one of the cars was walking over to the door. She acted like she didn't know them but Shep whistled at her and then turned to watch her walk past. She scowled at Shep and gave him the finger as she pulled the door open.

Theo glanced at Shep, and then Nate, who was grinning. Neither one offered an explanation.

"It's good for her," Shep said as they walked to the camper.

"Keep telling yourself that when she's kicking your ass," Nate answered. "You're going to get..."

He stopped as a truck came screeching into the lot. Behind it was a beat-up van, engine roaring.

"Hey, that's the church..." Theo said.

He was cut off as guns began to fire around them. There was even a clatter of buckshot against the wall behind them. Nate grabbed Theo's arm and ran to the RV and pushed him inside. Nate took a bag from under the seat and pulled one of the strange looking guns out of it.

"Stay here and stay down," he said before ducking back outside.

Theo could hear the popcorn sounds of rifles and pistols with the occasional boom of a shotgun. He raised his head high enough to peek out of the windshield. A block of ice clamped around his chest when he saw Shep lying motionless on the ground.

Theo quickly checked the view from the other windows. The first thing he saw was that the van was stopped in the middle of the parking lot. Two of the tires were flat and there was steam coming out of the front. He didn't see anyone moving inside. The other truck had disappeared around the back of the filling station, but someone was still shooting from the darkness beyond the bright station lights. Tires screeching, the truck reappeared from behind the filling station. Two men were standing in the back and both fired shotguns toward the car that had pulled in after them. The harsh rattle he'd heard before was repeated and the bright floodlight above them went out. The rest of the people, hiding behind the other cars, got the idea. One after the other, all of the bright lights overhead were extinguished.

Theo looked back out the windshield, no one had gone to help Shep. Without stopping to think about it, Theo jumped out of the RV door and ran toward the wounded man.

Crouched in front of the RV, Rachel saw him sprint past and for a second she thought he was escaping. Instead, he dove onto the ground next to Shep.

"Cover fire!" Rachel yelled, and leaned out to fire shots toward the muzzle flashes in the neighboring field.

Betsy and Jonesy were crouched behind another of the cars and saw Theo run toward Shep. Swearing, they both rolled to the ground from behind the tires and started firing as well.

Ignoring everything else, Theo grabbed Shep's collar and began dragging him back to the RV. It was painfully slow, like a dream of getting chased, until Rachel ran out and helped him. Together, they were able to drag Shep to the side of the camper. Nate was kneeling there, firing into the darkness.

"Don't ever pull that shit again, kid," he snapped, voice angry.

Theo's fists bunched and he considered going over and knocking the older man down.

"Hey, Theo, I need a hand," Rachel said, opening the side door. She pulled a board from behind the couch/dining room and laid it on the step like a ramp.

"What do we do?"

"We're going to slide him up this ramp. Very carefully," Rachel warned.

He nodded and they managed to get Shep into the camper.

"He's right," Rachel said, checking Shep. "That was really dangerous, you could have gotten yourself killed."

Theo nodded, clenching his jaw. Neither of them saw blood but Shep's breathing was slow and it looked like he was struggling to inhale. Rachel pulled his shirt open and something bright fell out onto the ground.

"His vest caught it," Rachel said. "I want you to sit here beside him and yell if his breathing changes."

"What's wrong with him? I thought he got shot."

"He did, there's the bullet, right by your foot. He had a special kind of vest on, it stops bullets."

Theo looked at Shep's slowly rising chest and frowned and then nodded to himself. It made sense if the vest didn't stop the force. How hard of a punch would that feel like?