Little Green Men?

After what seemed an eternity, but in reality had only been less than fifteen minutes, my father, with Felix's help, managed to calm most everyone down and secure the church.
It was a false sense of security, but it was better than nothing at all.
  Daddy and Felix had managed to round up about a dozen mostly mentally competent men and gave them authority and made sure they were well armed, supplying them with weapons and ammo if they didn't already have their own.
  Most had brought their own. Go figure.
  This was South Texas after all. Everyone owned at least one gun, whether it was registered, illegal or not. Even my Grandma had been packing before she died.
Don't mess with Texas, right? Right.
  We were screwed.
  Daddy, Felix and the others were huddled around a small lantern sitting on the podium.  Besides a few small flashlights, it was the only source of light. I stood huddled in the warm shelter of Felix's arms while my brother had opted to cling to Daddy, who was casting a sideways glance at us.
  I knew that look, it was the one that said, "We are so talking about this later, Missy."
That was fine. Eventually he had to know. I was just hoping there would be an eventually to look forward to.
  "Do you think they'll actually, you know?," Billy Bedford asked, his normally deep and booming voice barely above a tight whisper.
  "Honestly? I have no idea," my father said, shifting my sleeping brother to the opposite hip.
  "There's only a few hours left until sunrise," Billy Bob said, Billy Bedford's only son.
  Billy Bob and I had history.
  I couldn't help the small smile that tilted the corners of my mouth as Felix tightened his arms around me as Billy Bob spoke.
  Felix and Billy Bob had never gotten along. Maybe now I understood why. Felix had been jealous. But it didn't matter. I was over Billy Bob. Rumor had it though that he wasn't over me. Bully for him.
  "Boy," Billy growled at his son, but it came out sounding like "Bo-ahh".
  "Don't you tell me you believe all that horseshit about vampires 'n demons. I raised you better 'n that."
 Billy Bob's face flushed as he mumbled a "Yes sir".
 I felt Felix's silent snicker vibrate through his chest. I playfully elbowed him. He growled quietly in my ear, squeezing gently.
 "I dunno what in the hell it is, but they killed Benson's family. They sure as hell ain't gonna get mine," Jesse Jones said with false bravado.
  Jesse was known to be a bigger talker but never a man to live up to his mighty declarations. Coward.
 "Nothing is going to happen to anybody's family," Daddy said.
  "We'll be fine. We're safe here."
  Old Robert Moseley nodded an agreement as he patted his high caliber hunting rifle, jokingly nicknamed Stumpy. Old Rob didn't talk much, so his nod of agreement spoke volumes.
 I had always liked the ornery old coot. He was older than dirt, with his unkempt mane of frizzled white hair that hung around his head in little tufts, and his long grizzled silver streaked beard that fell all the way to his potbelly. But it was his eyes that always caught me. Even in the near darkness, they sparkled with some eerie supernatural light, like brilliant sapphire. The laughter and intelligence ran deep within them, dark secrets hiding just below the surface. For as long as I can remember I had wanted to dissect those dark secrets hiding in those twinkling eyes.  
  Old Rob caught me watching him and winked, his wrinkled mouth twisting into a faint smile that looked almost sinister in the half light thrown off by the lantern.
  I smiled back, winking in return.
  "So-so what's the plan?," Jack Jones, Jesse's younger brother who was Felix's age, asked nervously to no one in particular.
  My father spoke up, "We hold down here until help arrives."
  "That's it?," Billy scoffed.
  "You got a better plan?," Daddy shot back.
  "Who says help is even' comin'?," Jesse asked, obviously on Billy's side in all this.
  "Why wouldn't help come?," Jack asked, his eyes nervously flickering as he began to wring his hands.
  Jack was a nervous creature by nature. He was a sweetheart, but I was pretty sure poor Jack wasn't playing with a full deck of fifty-two, if you know what I mean. I wasn't so sure I would ever trust Jack to have my back when the going got tough. He was to flighty.
  "Help will come," I spoke up, but only Jack was listening. He seemed relieved by my words.
  "Matt, let's not fool ourselves here, help isn't gonna come, because there is no help," Billy said.
  "If what you said said about the transmission is true, then it sounds like we're on our own. We need a better plan."
 Daddy shook his head. "Help will come."
 He sounded so damn sure. So much confidence in the country he doubtfully served.
  I wish I had half as much faith as he did.
  "Well, at any rate, we have enough supplies and ammo to last us a few weeks, if we're careful," Felix said, hoping to break the tension.
Father Miguel broke into the tight knit circle, his usually cheerful face solemn and drawn.
  "What's up Padre?," Felix asked the aging clergymen.
 Father let out a tired sigh. "Poor Doug, he's... lost it. With Lisa and the girls... gone, his mind has shattered. I tried, but I couldn't get anything out of him except 'vampire'."
  "The man is nuts," Billy snarled. "No such thing."
  "What if there really is?," I interjected before anyone else could speak. "What if there really are such things as vampires. Do you know what killed Doug's family? I don't and I don't think anybody else does either, but it sounds right. I'm willing to believe it right now. I'd believe it if you told me it was little green men from Mars!"
  "Skyler!," my father hissed in outrage.
 Billy glared at me. "Girl, you've always had a wild imagination and your father, as great of a man as he is, has always indulged you. And it's because of your damn mother, runnin' off on him the way she did. But I tell you, if you were mine, I'd paddle your a*s so hard, you'd never be able to sit down again. You don't know what in the hell is going on, so leave it to the rational thinking adults."
  "You mean men, leave it to the men. None of you know what's going on any more than I do, we're all running around in the dark with our thumbs up our asses! And just because I have ovaries instead of balls does not make me any less competent!," I shot off.
 "Skyler!," Felix snapped, "Enough!"
  "No, maybe the child is right," Father Miguel said quietly. "Maybe it really is vampires. Maybe it's Judgment Day and it is finally time for us all to face our sins."
  "Bullshit," Jesse sneered. "No way."
  "I dunno Jess, maybe- oww!," Jack whined as his brother cuffed him in the back of his head.
  "Shut the f**k up," Old Rob growled, his voice like rough gravel from months of silence. "The girl knows," was all he said.
  "The girl know what?," Billy demanded, "How not to keep her big trap shut?"
  "Watch it Bedford," Daddy warned, "that girl is my daughter." 
  "Then control her," Billy retorted heatedly.
  "One more word Billy," Felix growled, "and I'll drive you one myself."
  Billy opened his mouth to say something more, but the look in Felix's eyes made him close it and keep quiet.
 Zack began to stir in my father's arms. All the arguing was going to wake him up.
  "Here," I said to my father, holding out my arms. "I'll take him."
  "Good idea," he said as he handed my brother off to me for the second time tonight.
  My brother wound his arms around my neck as he snuggled against me.
  I turned and walked past Felix, who reached out, his fingers brushing against the skin on my arms, leaving a trail of goose-flesh behind.
  We made brief eye contact before I hurried away. I was suddenly desperate to get away from everybody.  I just wanted to be alone right now, and Zach was the perfect excuse.
I slipped unnoticed into the office that held the radio in it. I set my sleeping brother down a little hardwood bench against the far wall.
  He sighed, mumbled something I couldn't understand, stuck his thumb in his mouth and rolled over  on his side to face the wall.
With an exhausted sigh, I plopped down onto the cold tile floor beside the bench. I stretched my tired limbs and rubbed at my sleepy eyes.