Angels of Darkness

perspective.
    This pointless worry really had to stop. Emily wasn’t made of glass. Eventually Karina would have to let her go on a trip or to a sleepover without her mommy. The thought made Karina squirm. After Jonathan died, she’d taken Emily to a grief counselor, who offered to work with her as well. Karina had turned it down. She’d already been through it, when her parents passed away, and it hadn’t made things any easier.
    Her cell beeped. Karina pushed the button on her hands-free set. “Yes?”
    â€œHow are you holding up?” Jill’s voice chirped.
    â€œFantastic.” Would be even better if she didn’t have to talk on the phone while driving. “You?”
    â€œI need to go potty!” Jacob announced from the back.
    â€œRobert called Savannah a B word. Other than that we’re good,” Jill reported.
    â€œI really need to go. Or I’ll poop in my pants. And then there’ll be a big stain . . .”
    â€œListen, Jacob needs to go potty.” She caught sight of a dark blue sign rising above the trees. “I’m going to pull over at the motel ahead of you.”
    â€œWhat motel?”
    â€œThe one on the right. With the big blue sign, says Motel Sunrise?”
    â€œWhere?” Jill’s voice came through tinted with static. “I don’t see it.”
    â€œI don’t see a motel,” Megan reported.
    â€œLook at the blue sign.” Emily pointed at the window.
    â€œWell, I don’t see it,” Jacob declared.
    â€œThat’s because you’re a doofus,” Emily said.
    â€œYou suck!”
    â€œQuiet!” Karina barked.
    The exit rolled up on her right. Karina angled the car into it. “I’m taking this exit,” she said to the cell phone. “I’ll catch up with you in a minute.”
    â€œWhat exit? Karina, where are you? You were right there and now you’re gone. I don’t see you in my rearview mirror . . .”
    â€œThat’s because I took the exit.”
    â€œWhat exit?”
    Oh, for the love of God. “I’ll talk to you later.”
    The paved road brought them to a two-story building covered with dark gray stucco. Only one car, an old Jeep, sat in the parking lot.
    Karina pulled up before the entrance and hesitated. The building, a crude box with small narrow windows, looked like some sort of institutional structure, an office, or even a prison. It certainly didn’t look inviting.
    â€œNow I see it,” Megan said.
    Karina shook her head. You’d think if you owned a motel, you’d want to make it seem hospitable. Plant some flowers, maybe choose a nice color for the walls, something other than battleship gray. It only made good business sense. As it was, the place radiated a grim, almost menacing air. She had a strong urge to just keep on driving.
    â€œI have to go!” Jacob announced and farted.
    Karina jumped out of the van and slid the door open. “Out.”
    Fifteen seconds later, she herded them inside a small lobby. The lone woman standing behind the counter turned her head at their approach. She was skeletally thin, with long red hair dripping down past her shoulders. Karina glanced at her face and almost marched back out. The woman had eyes like a rattlesnake, no compassion, no kindness, no anger. Nothing at all.
    â€œI’m sorry,” Karina said. “Could we please use your facilities? The little boy needs to go to the bathroom.”
    The woman nodded to the archway on Karina’s right. Charming. That’s okay. They just needed to get in and get out. “Thank you! Come on, kids.”
    The archway opened into a long hallway. On the left, several doors punctuated the wall, one marked “Bathroom” and another, at the very end, marked “Stairs.” On the right an older man stood in the middle of the hallway. Heavily muscled, with a face like a bulldog, he’d planted himself as if he were about to be overrun by rioters. His eyes watched her with open malice. The kids sensed it, too, and clustered around her. Karina didn’t blame them.
    â€œHi!”
    The man said nothing.
    Okay. She marched to the bathroom and swung the door open. A single-person bathroom, relatively clean. No scary strangers hiding anywhere. “In you go.” She ushered Jacob inside and stood guard by the door.
    Minutes ticked off, long and viscous. The man hadn’t moved. The children kept quiet