Gabriel (22 page)

“
If they get loose they will kill someone else’s family member. Is
that what you want?” Robert asked.

“
Of course not, but they don’t know what they’re doing.”

“
I am sorry, Tre, but I cannot allow them to get free,” Gabriel
said as he raised his sword.

The Kematians went still. Tre
remained on top not moving, and Gabriel lowered the sword.

“
Has it been five minutes?” Robert asked.

“
No.”

Their skin began to bubble,
and their stomachs began to distend. A loud crackling sound came from all six of
them. The bodies began to shake, while the limbs began to sag. Green froth
spilled out of the six mouths.

“
I think I better move,” Tre said as he began to slide off the
pile.

His pant leg got stuck on a
claw, and as he tugged, the arm broke loose spilling an acid-based red slime.
As it hit the metal it began to smoke. Tre jumped back into the front seat.

“
We have to get them out of here, now!” Robert yelled.

Gabriel grabbed a leg only to
have it detach, and the slime poured out. “We need to move the ones who aren’t
decomposing.”

Robert and Tre opened their
doors and raced to the back.

“
We have to pull them at the same time,” Gabriel said.

“
Grab that rope. We’ll tie their feet together,” Robert said.

With a swift motion the feet
were tied, and the three men began to pull. The four Kematians slid out as the
six bodies imploded. The red slime bubbled on the metal as holes began to form
where the puddles that used to be demons now sat.

The underside of the van was
gone. The acid flowed to the rear tires, and within a few minutes the van sat
on the ground.

“
What the hell are we going to do now?” Robert asked.

“
That is a great question,” Gabriel said.

They dragged the Kematians to
the side of the road.

“
Can you borrow another van?” Tre asked.

“
I think we need more than a van to clean up this mess,” Robert
said.

Chapter Fifteen

Robert paced as someone on
the other end of the phone yelled loud enough for Gabriel and Tre to hear.
Gabriel assumed it was Sam, since it was his van sitting on two wheels. The van
had been gutted from the front seats to the back. Yes, Sam was mad.

“
I’m sorry. Yeah. Okay. Thanks,” Robert said as he hung up.

“
Sam is not happy?” Gabriel asked.

“
No, he’s not, but he’s going to help us anyway,” Robert said.

“
How long before he gets here?”

“
About twenty minutes. He has to get the extra stuff I asked him to
bring.”

“
What extra stuff?”

“
Something to neutralize the acid and a trailer to haul the van
back to his house.”

“
Makes sense, if I knew what all that meant.”

Robert shook his head. “You’ll
get firsthand experience in a little bit.”

Gabriel knelt beside the four
Kematians sprawled on the ground, hands tied behind their backs. Tre stopped
next to Gabriel.

“
Do you think these four are humans?”

“
I do not know,” Gabriel said.

“
Why did the drug work differently on these four?”

“
I do not know. I am curious, too.”

“
I think the medication destroyed the Kematians and that’s why they
woke up. The pain of their bodies being eaten from the inside-out was more
powerful than the sedative of the drug.”

“
I suspect that is the case,” Gabriel said.

“
Do you know what areas the humans came from?”

“
I did not realize some Kematians could be humans, until you. The
territory affected was to the east and the west of your country.”

“
These could be my people, my family.”

“
They could also be those you considered your enemy. Time has not
passed for you. Will you be able to overcome the differences that divided your
lands?”

“
That is a good question. I hadn’t given it any thought.”

A few cars passed, and with
the help of Gabriel’s suggestion, no one stopped. In fact no one seemed to
notice anything. The weeds were tall enough to hide the Kematians, but not the
red acid coating the gravel on the shoulder of the road. Robert’s phone rang
again, only this time it was Maree.

Robert moved over to stand by
Gabriel and Tre. He answered the phone.

“
Hey,” Robert said.

“
I was worried. I thought you would’ve been back by now,” Maree
said.

“
Yeah, we had a little problem. I’ll tell you about it when we get
back.”

“
Is everyone okay?”

“
Yeah. We should be back in the next hour or so.”

Sam pulled up in a quad cab
four-by-four truck, hauling a trailer.

“
Gotta go. Love you.” Robert hung up.

Sam stepped out of the truck.
He was in his sixties, tall with a rounded abdomen. His baseball cap covered
his hair or lack thereof. He walked over to the van, shaking his head.

“
What the hell did you get yourself into?” Sam asked.

Robert strode over with
Gabriel and Tre following.

“
Don’t step in the red stuff. It’ll eat through the soles of your
shoes,” Robert said.

“
It ate the bed of my van. I’m not gonna step in that shit,” Sam
said.

“
I am sorry about your van. Thank you for coming to help,” Gabriel
said.

Sam nodded, acknowledging
Gabriel.

“
Who’s this?” Sam asked, looking at Tre then back to Robert.

“
A friend.”

“
You ask me to help you find someone who can identify that shit,
you ask for special toys, you ruin my vehicle, and now you’re being all
secretive. I don’t think so. You better start talking, or you’re gonna find
yourself walking.”

“
Because you are my friend, I can’t drag you into this any more
than I already have.”

Robert walked behind Sam and
cracked him on the head. Sam fell into Robert’s arms.

“
Sorry, old friend,” Robert said and then looked at Gabriel. “You
can heal him right?”

“
Yes.”

“
Don’t just stand there, Tre. Come over and give me a hand.” Robert
struggled to keep his unconscious friend from hitting the ground.

Tre stood in front of Sam and
lifted him over his shoulder. He placed him in the rear seat and closed the
door.

Tre walked over to Robert.
“Remind me never to get on your bad side,” he said with a grin.

“
Not funny, Tre.”

“
All right, let’s get this done, so we can get home and put the
demons in the cage before they wake.” Gabriel handed Tre a container. They
sprinkled a powdery substance on the ground that turned into hard foam on
contact.

The hot acid sulfuric smell
permeated the air, and Tre covered his nose and mouth with one hand. “Next time
I hear the words ‘extra stuff’ I’m going to excuse myself.”

 
Robert
backed the trailer up to the van, hooked it to the winch, and watched it pull
the truck onto the flatbed trailer. Gabriel and Tre lifted each Kematian and
placed them in the bed of the truck.

“
Sit back here with them,” Gabriel said to Tre.

“
Okay.”

Robert started the truck as Gabriel
climbed into the passenger seat. “We need to drop Sam off before we go back to
my place.”

“
Yes.”

“
You’ll heal him once we’re there?”

“
Yes,” Gabriel said as he heard Robert sigh. “That was a very kind
thing you did for him, even if he does not understand it right now.”

“
Thanks. I sure feel shitty for doing it though.”

They arrived at Sam’s place
and dropped the van into the garage. Tre and Gabriel carried Sam into the
house. Gabriel healed him, and they joined Robert outside.

“
How are we going to fit these four into your car?” Tre asked.

“
We’ll stack as many as we can in the back seat and stick whatever
doesn’t fit into the trunk,” Robert said.

“
You want to put people in the trunk of your car?” Gabriel asked.

“
Right now they are demons. And in my opinion demons can ride in
the trunk,” Robert said.

“
What if they turn into children?” Tre asked.

“
What if they don’t turn into anything but a pile of sludge?”
Robert asked.

“
Enough,” Gabriel said. “We need to get them in the cell before
they wake up. We will put as many as we can in the back seat. Whatever does not
fit will be placed in the trunk.”

“
These are people!” Tre screamed. “I’m not putting my people in the
trunk.”

“
What about your enemies? Can your enemies ride in the trunk?”
Gabriel asked.

Gabriel watched Tre, who
remained quiet for a few moments.

“
Fine, let’s put them in the car so we can leave.”

They placed three in the
backseat and one in the trunk. The ride back to the house was quiet. When they
pulled into the driveway, Robert popped the trunk. The three of them started
carrying the Kematians down to the basement and in the cell.

“
What
do we do now?” Tre asked.

“
We wait,” Robert said.

Tre sat down outside the
cell, while Robert and Gabriel went upstairs to see Calla and Maree.

“
You’re back!” Maree said as she wrapped her arms around Robert.

Calla approached Gabriel.
“Are you okay?”

“
Yes. Are you still angry with me?”

“
No. I’m just glad you’re back,” Calla said.

“
How are you feeling?” Gabriel asked.

“
I’m okay.”

“
We made lunch, although it’s almost dinner time now,” Maree said.

“
Good, I’m starving,” Robert said.

“
I am going to get Tre. I will be right back.” Gabriel kissed Calla
before he left.

“
Okay.”

Robert, Maree, and Calla sat
at the table. Gabriel glanced at the two empty plates before heading down to
see Tre. Humans ate a lot, and since Tre was now a human Gabriel was sure he
had to be hungry.

Gabriel stopped at the bottom
of the stairs. Tre sat on the wooden stool, his face in his hands. Gabriel
walked up to him and squeezed his shoulder. Tre looked up.

“
Hey,” Tre said.

“
Lunch is ready,” Gabriel said.

“
Thanks, I’ll be up there in a little bit.”

“
Do you mind if I stay with you?”

“
No.”

Tre turned toward Gabriel.
“Can I ask you something?”

“
Yes, but I may not be able to answer.”

“
Okay. How long did it take me to change?”

“
Six hours and forty-nine minutes had passed when I found you. By
then you had already changed.”

“
How long has it been for them?” Tre said as he pointed to the
Kematians.

“
Five hours and fifteen minutes. There is still enough time for you
to eat.”

Tre looked back at the cell
again. “You’re right. I’ll eat and then come back down to wait.”

“
Tre, if any of these Kematians turn out to be humans they may
still be strangers to you.”

“
I know, but I can hope, can’t I?”

“
Of course.”

They headed up the stairs and
sat down.

“
Tre, this is Calla. Calla, this is Tre,” Robert said.