Gabriel (21 page)

It had been thirty minutes
without any more Kematians entering the warehouse. Ten Kematians lay motionless
on the concrete floor. Gabriel kept watch for more demons. The four human women
remained unconscious.

“
Do you think we can come down now?” Robert asked.

“
Yes,” Gabriel said.

“
Oh good, we’re back to that again.” Robert got to his feet.

“
Go check on the humans.”

Robert nodded as he headed
down the stairs.

Gabriel watched as Robert
approached the women. He moved with caution. He knelt and felt their necks.
Turning the woman closest to him, Robert began to examine her. Her skin was
ivory, and thick blonde braids covered each shoulder. She had a cut on her
forehead that oozed a trail of blood down her face. There weren’t any other
injuries he could see, so he moved onto the next woman.

With each woman he turned, a
thin line of blood dripped down their faces, but other than that he couldn’t
find any injuries. They looked to be in their late teens to early twenties,
dressed in jeans and t-shirts. Two wore sandals while the other two donned
flip-flops.

Gabriel watched as Robert
stood. He could hear the man’s joints popping with each movement.

“
They are all alive,” Robert said.

“
Good. We will call the authorities after we remove the demons.”

Robert went over to Gabriel
and took a titanium rope from him.
 
“If
you flip them over I can tie them up.”

“
I will finish this up. Go check on Tre.”

Robert gave him the restraint
and headed up the stairs.

He reached Tre and gave him a
good shake. Tre swatted him away while rolling over.

“
Hey, Sleeping Beauty, time to wake up.” Robert gave him another
shake.

Tre rolled over. His eyes
snapped open, and he took a few deep breaths. He ran his hand across his
abdomen and brought it up with ease. No fresh blood.

“
I’m alive?” Tre asked.

“
Yeah, Gabriel did his angel magic on you. You lost a lot of blood
and passed out.”

“
Did we win?”

Robert laughed. “Yeah, sort
of.”

He helped Tre to his feet.

“
How are you feeling?” Robert asked.

“
A little dizzy, but otherwise I’m okay.”

“
Lean on me as we go downstairs.”

Tre towered over Robert, but
leaned on him as they descended the stairwell.

Gabriel looked up. “Glad to
see you are awake.”

“
I’m glad I’m still alive, thank you,” Tre said.

“
No thanks are needed.”

“
Nonetheless, thanks. What can I do to help?” Tre asked.

Robert chuckled. “Maybe you
could start by walking on your own?”

Tre glanced down at Robert
with a grin. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“
Go get the van and back it up to the door.” Gabriel moved over to
the next Kematian. “Take Tre with you so he can sit down.”

“
Okay.”

Tre and Robert strode across
the street. Tre leaned on Robert as he got into the van.

“
I feel like a child,” Tre said.

“
Just be happy you can feel,” Robert said as he sat down in the
driver’s seat. He backed the van up across the street and over the curb. He got
out with bolt cutters and snipped the chain, pushed the gate open, returned to
the van, and backed it up to the door.

“
Stay in here.”

Tre nodded.

Robert opened the doors and
pulled out a collapsible poly-nylon stretcher. He carried it inside and tossed
it on the ground.

“
What is this?” Gabriel asked.

“
After lugging the last Kematian I thought this might make it
easier to carry them. Although when I packed this, I envisioned you on one end
and Tre on the other,” Robert said.

Robert placed the stretcher
next to the demon, and Gabriel rolled him onto it. They carried it out to the
van and repeated the process until all the Kematians were loaded.

“
Have you thought about where we’re going to put them all?” Robert
asked.

“
No.”

“
Well I’m glad that’s sorted out, considering we’re taking a bunch
of monsters back to my house with nowhere to keep them all,” Robert said..

“
We can keep them in the cell until they die or return to a human
form,” Gabriel said.

“
Looks like you just lost your room,” Robert said to Tre.

“
I was just getting used to the bars, too.” Tre kept a close on eye
them then asked, “Can you tell if any of them are human?”

“
No.”

“
Do you think any of them are human?” Tre asked.

“
I do not know,” Gabriel said.

Robert’s phone started
ringing. He looked at the number. “It’s Maree.”

He handed the phone to
Gabriel. “Hello.”

“
Calla is awake,” Maree said.

“
How is she?”

“
Pretty mad. Hang on. I’m going to let you hear for yourself,”
Maree said.

Gabriel could hear Calla
yelling in the background, and each word was crystal clear.

“
They put me in a nice bed, knocked me out, strapped me down, and
then left me here. I’m going to kick your ass, Gabriel!” Calla screamed.

 
“
Did you
check her blood?” Gabriel asked.

“
Yes, it’s free from the mutant gene.”

“
Go ahead and release her. When you’re done have her give me a
call.”

“
Okay. Are you sure having her call you back is a good idea?” Maree
asked.

“
No, but have her call anyway.”

Gabriel hung up the phone.
“Calla is okay.”

“
She didn’t sound okay. She sounded mad as hell.” Robert tried to
hide a chuckle.

“
Yes.”

“
And you’re going to have her call you when she’s this mad?”

“
Yes.”

“
Have you lost your mind?”

“
Maybe.”

“
You may know a lot about the universe, but you have a lot to learn
about women.”

 
“
Do tell,”
Gabriel said.

“
First when they have flames shooting from their head, you leave
them be until they cool down. When they do the only right response is ‘yes,
dear’ and ‘you’re right, dear’. When they finally forgive you, and I mean years
later, then and only then can you bring up the reasons for those wrong choices
you made once upon a time.”

“
I do not wish Calla to be angry with me. I need to tell her the
reason why I did it,” Gabriel said.

“
It’s your funeral, buddy,” Robert said.

Tre watched the exchange and
then said, “I find it strange the way you talk into that box anyway. You can’t
see the person, but you can hear them. It’s very odd.”

“
And smoke signals weren’t
odd
?”
Robert asked.

“
True.”

“
You were married, Tre. What do you think?” Robert asked.

“
I am married, and I’m the man of the house. We don’t have these
debates,” Tre said.

“
When we find your wife, we will revisit this and see if you stick
with your answer,” Robert said, his lips curving upwards.

Tre twisted in his seat. “I
don’t think there is any reason to revisit this subject.” He turned toward
Gabriel. “I believe the phrase ‘yes, dear’ will suit you well.”

Robert and Tre started
laughing.

“
Thanks,” Gabriel said.

They drove a few miles when
the phone rang.

Gabriel looked down at the
phone and answered it.

“
You asshole! You tied me up! How dare you leave me to wake up
alone and strapped down,” Calla yelled.

“
I didn’t want you to…”

“
Didn’t want me to trust you? Well, I would say that your mission
is accomplished.”

Gabriel glanced up at both
guys. “Yes, dear.”

“
What did you say?”

“
Yes, dear, I’m sorry.”

Calla was silent a moment. “I
was scared, Gabriel.”

“
I know, and I am very sorry.”

“
Are you on your way back?”

“
Yes.”

“
Are you hurt?”

“
No.”

“
Good, I’m glad. But listen carefully, Gabriel. If you ever tie me
up again you’ll regret it in the most intimate of ways. Do you understand?”

“
Yes, dear.”

“
Good. I’ll see you when you get back. And tell Robert I know he
was involved, and I’m less than happy with him.”

“
Yes, dear.”

“
I love you, and I’ll see you when you get back.”

“
I love you, too.” Gabriel hung up the phone.

“
You were right. Those words carry magic like I have never seen,”
Gabriel said.

“
Listen to an old man. I’ve been around the block a few times,”
Robert said.

“
Yes, dear.”

All three were laughing when
the van started to shake.

“
What the hell is that?” Robert asked.

Gabriel climbed into the
back. Some of the Kematians were waking. They fought against the straps that
bound their hands behind their back. The van rocked back and forth.

“
Pull over,” Gabriel said.

“
We’re in a residential area, Gabriel. Give me a few minutes to get
some place less populated,” Robert said.

“
What can I do to help?” Tre asked.

“
Hand me one of the dart guns.”

“
Will it be safe for them to get another injection?”

“
It will be safer than my sword.”

Tre paused before releasing
the gun.

Gabriel fired off a shot into
each one of the demons that moved. The one on top head-butted Gabriel, sending
him flying backwards.

“
Pull it over now!” Tre screamed.

Gabriel moved into the back
and landed on the pile of bucking demons. Gabriel scrambled to get onto the
pile while trying to avoid the claws that slashed at him. There was little room
to maneuver. He needed to get on top to try to regain control.

A foot kicked the side of the
metal leaving a huge dent. Another foot kicked out the rear window. The van
rocked. Robert was having trouble keeping it between the lines.

“
Pull over,” Gabriel said.

Robert brought the van to a
stop. “What in the hell is going on back there?”

“
They woke up, and they’re not happy,” Tre said.

“
You didn’t wake up, so why are they?” Robert asked.

“
I don’t remember being like this. How would I know?”

“
The formula has been changed. This may be a result of the
alteration,” Gabriel said.

“
That’s great, but in five minutes the van will be destroyed,”
Robert said.

“
Will be?” Tre asked.

Robert looked at the dented
walls, broken window, and buckled floor. “Sam’s going to kill me.”

“
Can we focus on the problem?” Gabriel avoided the claw that headed
for his chest.

“
Sorry,” Robert said. “What can I do to help?”
The rear door was kicked open. Gabriel landed on the gravel outside. Six sets
of claws slashed at him as he tried to get back inside.

“
I believe these are the real Kematians,” Gabriel said while
pulling out his sword.

“
You can’t kill them until we know for sure. That could be one of
my people, one of my kids,” Tre said.