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 went 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 finished washing his black-and-chrome Triumph bike, which looked like it had gone through hell and back and sounded like distant thunder. He wasn’t in a hurry. His brothers from the Guardian Chapter were inside having fun and grabbing drinks. He had 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 every thread.
He didn’t spot the female right away.
Nobody did, not until she ran out of the woods behind the station like something wild was chasing her. Not much. Not too thick. They could be seven or eight years old. One of the straps on her pajamas was hanging off her shoulder, and they were ripped. Because she was barefoot, she walked down the sidewalk with bloody footsteps. Her face—oh my God, her face—was full of terror and panic, and her eyes were darting around like an animal that had been caught.
The first people to see her were two women beside the pump. They were sitting in minivans behind them with their hair wrapped up in neat ponytails. One of them stepped forward and reached out their hand.
“Are you okay, honey?”
But the female didn’t even slow down.
She walked by everyone, including the women, the men by the vending machines, and the station clerk who came out to check what was going on. She ran straight for Ray, the one person everyone else naturally steered away from.
He was large, had a beard, and tattoos on his shoulders and knuckles. He wore rings on his fingers and dark sunglasses over his eyes. His arms were as thick as tree trunks. When people saw him, they mostly got out of the way. A few people went 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 about to close his saddlebag. She sprang on him and grabbed his leg, holding on to it like it was a lifeline. She held on to the leather of his vest with her small hands and put her face in his pants.
Ray stopped. One hand in the air, not knowing what was going on.
Then she said something, although not loudly or in a hurry. Please, just begging.
“Please don’t let him find me.”
That’s when everyone else started to move.
A woman gasped and put her hand over her mouth. Someone pulled out their phone. “Did she just run to him?” another woman questioned in a quiet voice. in a voice that sounded like they couldn’t believe it. Some people started firing, but they weren’t helping or asking questions. They were just watching like they were at a show.
Ray slowly got down on one knee. He took off his sunglasses so she could see how calm and focused his dark eyes were. He didn’t touch her right away. I just bent down in front of her and whispered sweetly, “You’re safe now, kiddo.” No one here will hurt you.
She looked up at him with red, puffy eyes and tears running down her face. She had bruises all over her arms, some of which were ancient and some of which were new. One of them looked like a handprint.
Ray’s face didn’t change, but something inside of him sprung to life. He reached out cautiously, and his big hands appeared almost odd as he glanced 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 a long time.
The manager of the station hurried out, his face red, and yelled across the lot.
“Hey! “Don’t touch her!” “Get away from the girl!”
Ray didn’t even look up. He spoke in a calm and steady voice. “She came to me.”
“I don’t care what she did,” the man remarked as he took out his phone. “You can’t touch a child!” I’m going to call the cops!
People were talking behind his back. I thought about it. Judged. Why would a kid run toward a biker instead than away from one?
“She could be scared and confused…”
“Who knows what kind of people these bikers are…”
“Just look at him…”
But all of a sudden, the girl looked up. Her voice shook, but it was clear what she meant.
“I ran to him because of the wings.”
Everything came to a halt. The whispers stopped.
One woman asked softly, “What wings, dear?”
She pointed to the skull with the fiery wings on Ray’s back.
The girl said, “My mom told me.” “She told me that if I ever got away from him, I should look for angels with skulls and wings.” She said that the angels would help me.
Ray blinked. He opened his mouth a little, but nothing came out.
The girl pulled his vest closer and muttered something to him in his ear.
After she stated what she said, he couldn’t move any of his muscles. His jaw got tighter. He gently turned his hands into fists, which were still lightly clutching her arms. He stood up, like a mountain, with the little girl clutching on to him and wrapping her arms around his neck.
A few more riders had left the firm because they could tell something was wrong. They could tell Ray was tough just by looking at him. He held the girl like she was made of glass, but he could set the world on fire if she asked.
“What’s going on, Ray?” one of them asked.
Ray talked while keeping his eyes on the horizon.
“She said his name.”
That was all they needed to know.
Ray stared at the manager of the station.
“Call the police.” Let them know you found the kid. Let them know she’s fine.
The management was unsure because he still didn’t know who the threat was.
Ray’s voice got deeper, more certain, and clearer. “And tell them that the Guardian Chapter has her now.”
He moved over to his bike, and the little girl clung on to him like a lifeline. Another rider walked up to her and gently put a blanket around her shoulders. Someone else knelt down to clean up the cuts on her feet.
The crowd, which had been so eager to jump to conclusions, was now quiet. Some people looked really embarrassed. A few folks looked horrified.
Ray stared at the girl again. Her eyes weren’t afraid for the first time.
He said in a calm voice, “You did well, kiddo.” “You found the angels.”