It was one of those hot afternoons when the air shimmered off the road and smelled like gas, fried food, and dust from cars that passed by. The gas station was at a quiet intersection, not too far from town to be busy, but close enough for soccer moms and weekend drivers to stop by on their way home from games.
Ray had just done polishing his black-and-chrome Triumph bike, which looked like it had been to hell and back and sounded like thunder in the distance. He didn’t have to hurry. His brothers from the Guardian Chapter were inside enjoying drinks and having a good time. He wore a leather vest with the club’s logo on it: a skull with wings and the words “No Child Forgotten” underneath. He wore it like armor. He had to labor hard for each thread.
He didn’t see the female at first.
Not until she came sprinting out of the woods behind the station like something wild was pursuing her did anyone. A little. Not too thick. They might be seven or eight years old. One strap of her pajamas was hanging off her shoulder, and they were ripped. Her feet were bare, so she walked down the sidewalk with bloody tracks. Her face—oh my God, her face—was full of terror and panic, and her eyes were moving around like an animal that had been caught.
The first people to see her were two women who were close to the pump. They were sat in minivans behind them with their hair neatly tied up in ponytails. One of them stepped forward and reached out their hand.
“Are you all right, sweetie?”
But the girl didn’t even stop.
She walked by everyone, even the women, the men by the vending machines, and the station clerk who came out to see what was going on. She ran straight at Ray, who everyone else seemed to avoid.
He had a beard, tattoos on his shoulders and knuckles, and was very big. He wore rings on his fingers, black sunglasses over his eyes, and arms that were as thick as tree trunks. When they saw him, most people got out of the way. A few folks walked across the street.
But what about this girl? She ran to him like he was the only safe place in the world.
She got to him just as he was closing his saddlebag. She launched herself at him and held onto his leg like it was a life line. She held onto the leather of his vest with her tiny hands and buried her face in his slacks.
Ray stopped moving. One hand in the air, not sure what was going on.
Then she talked, although not loudly or in a hurry. Just begging.
“Please don’t let him find me.”
At that point, everyone else started to move.
A woman gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. Someone pulled out their phone. “Did she just run to him?” a different woman asked in a quiet voice. in a voice that showed they didn’t believe it. Some people started firing, but they weren’t helping or asking questions. They were merely watching, like if it were a show.
Ray slowly knelt down on one knee. He took off his sunglasses so she could see how calm and black his eyes were. He didn’t touch her right away. I bent down in front of her and whispered softly, “You’re safe now, kid.” No one here will harm you.
She looked up at him with red, bulging eyes, and there were tear marks on her cheeks. There were bruises on her arms, both old and new. It looked like a handprint on one of them.
Ray’s face stayed the same, but something inside him woke up. He cautiously reached out, and his big hands seemed almost odd as he peered at the cut on her elbow. She stayed still. She leaned into his touch like it was the first wonderful thing that had happened to her in days.
The station manager raced out, his face red, and yelled across the parking lot.
Hey! Hey, don’t touch her! “Leave the girl alone!”
Ray didn’t even look up. His voice was calm and steady. “She came to me.”
The man took out his phone and stated, “I don’t care what she did.” “You have no right to touch a kid!” I’m calling the cops!
People were talking behind his back. Gave it some thought. Judged. Why would a child run toward a motorbike instead than away from one?
“She might be scared and not know what to do…”
“Who knows what kind of people these bikers are…”
“Look at him…”
But then the girl looked up all of a sudden. Her voice shook, but what she said was clear.
“I ran to him because of the wings.”
Everything came to a stop. The whispers stopped.
“Sweetheart, what wings?” one woman asked sweetly.
She pointed to the skull with the flaming wings on Ray’s back.
The girl said, “My mom told me.” “She told me to look for the angels with skulls and wings if I ever got away from him.” She said that the angels would help me.
Ray blinked. He opened his mouth a little, but nothing came out.
The girl reached up, pulled his vest closer, and whispered something in his ear.
After she stated what she said, he couldn’t move any of his muscles. His jaw got tighter. His hands, which were still gently holding her arms, slowly turned into fists. The little girl held on to him and wrapped her arms around his neck as he stood up, like a mountain.
A few more riders have left the business because they could tell something was awry. Ray’s face told them he was tough. He held the girl like she was made of glass, yet if she asked, he could set the world on fire.
“What’s going on, Ray?” one of them asked.
Ray kept looking toward the horizon as he talked.
“She said his name.”
That was all they needed to know.
Ray gazed at the manager of the station.
“Call the cops.” Tell them you found the kid. Tell them she’s OK.
The management wasn’t sure what to do because he still didn’t know who the threat was.
Ray’s voice got deeper, stronger, and clearer. “And tell them that the Guardian Chapter has her now.”
As he proceeded near his bike, the little girl grabbed on to him like a rope. One of the other riders walked up to her and gently put a blanket across her shoulders. Another person got down on their knees to clean up the cuts on her feet.
The crowd, which had been so quick to jump to conclusions, was now quiet. Some people looked embarrassed. Some folks looked astonished.
Ray looked at the girl again. For the first time, her eyes weren’t afraid.
He said in a quiet voice, “You did a good job, kid.” “You found the angels.”
