The Prophecy (The Guardians) (7 page)

Faint voices.
 
Blurred images of familiar, but unrecognizable faces.
 
An overwhelming light that fades to darkness.
 
Gabe was convinced this must be heaven, or perhaps the path to get there.
 
Maybe the journey in the afterlife was like a quest you had to go on and he was about to embark on his.

Gradually, however, things became clearer.
 
He became more aware of his surroundings during his brief stints with consciousness.
 
He could tell he was in a bed, his torso tightly wrapped in something.
 
His face ached and throbbed, though he didn’t know why.
 
Opening his eyes hadn’t seemed like an option until this moment.
 
At this moment he was lucid enough to know his eyes were something he could control.
 
Focusing his energy, fiercely concentrating on the small task, Gabe pushed his eyelids upwards; the light streaming in caused him to pull back a little.
 
The light made him realize his head was pounding, a pain he hadn’t noticed before.
 
He felt like he had literally been hit by a truck.

Gabe struggled to grab hold of his memories.
 
They seemed to be lost in his mind, a sea of confusion.
 
A few pieces came back to him and he began to patch it together like a quilt.
 
He had gone to Baynar, he saw Clarite, and he had crawled back to the valley so he would not be detected.

Detected by whom?
 
Gabe wondered.
 
Then he remembered the Wintoks he had fought, the injuries.
 
Worse than that though, an immense sadness rushed over him as he remembered his friends in Baynar and their deaths.
 
Gabe ran his hand along his arm and side feeling the numerous bandages.
 
The areas still throbbed with pain and he wished he had some of Sophie’s healing teas.

Draped across his ankles he saw the chestnut hair of Rachel.
 
Her face hidden by her locks, he could tell from the heavy breathing that she was fast asleep.
 
It dawned on him then that she had done this, found him, cleaned up his wounds, taken care of him.
 
He was in complete shock that after he had treated her so gruffly she could show such compassion.

Gabe shifted his legs slightly and Rachel began to stir.
 
Looking up, expecting to see her patient still asleep, she gasped when she saw Gabe staring back at her.

“Hey Doc.” Gabe groaned, realizing just how dry his mouth was.

“Gabe?
 
Oh my God, you’re alive!”
 
Rachel shrieked.

“I didn’t know that was in question,” Gabe replied jokingly.

Leaping forward, Rachel wrapped her arms tightly around Gabe’s neck.
 
In that moment, Gabe realized just how tender his wounds still were.

“Ugh!
 
Ouch, okay tiger; slow down, a little too soon.” Gabe cried.

“I’m so sorry,” Rachel replied, coiling back into herself.
 
“I didn’t think— I just can’t believe you’re alive.
 
You have been out for three days.
 
Honestly, with how much blood you lost I’m surprised you woke up at all.”

“Gee, thanks sunshine.” Gabe said, smiling with gritted teeth as he shifted his weight.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean…” Rachel stopped herself.
 
She did mean it.
 
He should not be alive.

“I know, it’s fine.” Gabe replied.

“Actually, it’s not.” Rachel added.

“I’m sorry?” Gabe asked puzzled.

“You should not be alive.
 
Do you have any idea how much blood you lost?
 
You were blue for Christ’s sake!” Rachel squealed.

“Yeah, I probably should be dead, Rachel.
 
But you have to remember, I’m not all human.
 
No matter how small a portion it might be, I have the blood of the once immortals running in my veins.
 
One of the perks I suppose.
 
I heal more quickly than others.
 
Comes in handy when you get your ass kicked by a couple Wintoks.” Gabe reassured her.

“A couple of what?” Rachel asked, completely puzzled by the word.

“It doesn’t matter,” Gabe added dismissively.
 
“What matters is you were right.”

“I was?” Rachel asked, still confused.
 
“About what?”

“My friends, they’re dead.
 
I do get the people who care about me killed.” Gabe continued solemnly.

“Oh, Gabe, I shouldn’t have said those things.” Rachel protested.

“Why not?
 
It was the truth.
 
Maybe it’s about time I start facing some.” Gabe reaffirmed.

“No, I was just angry.” Rachel added.
 
“I didn’t mean any of it.”

“They are dead, Rachel.
 
The people who helped me when I first left Rampart, they were killed just because they helped me.
 
Raimie died believing me to be something I’m not.
 
I let everyone around me down.” Gabe confessed.

“I’m sorry.” Rachel whispered, unsure what else she could possibly say.

“Don’t be.
 
I was broken.
 
Hell, I’ve been broken my entire life.
 
I don’t really know what I’m looking for, or for that matter what I’m missing.
 
I know what I have here is not what I want, not anymore.
 
I know, I probably sound crazy.
 
I guess what I’m trying to say is — well, thanks.” Gabe said looking down.

“Oh, it was nothing, just a few stitches.
 
You may not thank me after you see the scars, a seamstress I am not.” Rachel added with a chuckle.

“No, no— you don’t understand,” Gabe began.
 
“I mean, of course thank you for patching me up.
 
You did so much more than that though.
 
Jesus, thinking about it pisses me off even more.”

“I’m sorry, I’m confused.
 
What exactly are we talking about?” Rachel asked.

“Your honesty.
 
It made me realize what a fool I have been.
 
How much of my life I have already wasted.
 
My hiding doesn’t change anything.
 
If I am here, all alone, but alive, what kind of life is that?
 
I might as well be dead.
 
My hiding doesn’t seem to help the people in my life; they are still being hunted and murdered.” Gabe explained.

“I get what you’re saying, but I don’t think it is something you need to thank me for.” Rachel rebutted.

“Even if you can’t see what you have done for me, I can.
 
It’s rare to have someone be so brutally honest with you.
 
I guess it felt like a wakeup call for me.
 
I mean it when I say thanks.” Gabe insisted.

“Umm— okay.
 
You’re welcome, I guess.”
 
Rachel replied, uncomfortable by the conversation.
 
“So what happened to you?
 
What did you call them, Wintoks?”

Gabe took a drink from the glass of water Rachel handed him.
 
He retold his story, blow by blow, Rachel hanging on every word.
 
A new beginning for their friendship, bathed in the bloody tale of his recent battle.
 
He didn’t know a lot of girls who would be so engaged in war stories, but he was thrilled she was.

Gabe watched in silence as Rachel prepared their evening meals.
 
He marveled at the way she had filled the role of caretaker so easily, clearly she instinctively was a nurturer.
 
Though Gabe healed more quickly than most, and his recovery was progressing nicely, he still needed a lot of mundane tasks completed for him.
 
He had been embarrassed when his arm was too weak to lift and feed himself that first night.
 
Now that he was able to handle the responsibility himself, he missed the closeness of those moments when she would lean in with the fork or blot his mouth with the napkin.

Rachel had cared for Gabe during the three days he was unconscious and he imagined things were even harder for her during the three days he had been awake.
 
Six days of doing all of the cooking, cleaning, and chores, not to mention waiting on him hand and foot, yet in all that time not a complaint ever escaped her lips.

While Rachel could be quite tender, she took her nursing duties seriously.
 
She demanded Gabe go on several daily walks with her in order to strengthen his muscles.
 
The first day he only managed to stand and walk around the cabin briefly.
 
After the bitter disappointment, Gabe decided on day two he would skip the exercising.
 
Rachel wouldn’t hear of it, instead they went outside and walked to the garden and back.
 
Today she explained that she thought they should be able to make it to the creek and back on their walk.
 
The excitement in her voice had him actually looking forward to it.

One of the other things that surprised him was that he had not noticed how beautiful she was before.
 
Her bottom was full and round while her hips seemed to sway like they were dancing to an unsung hymn.
 
Her back arched gracefully, the line of which flowed all the way up her neck.
 
Turning to face him, the mixing bowl pressed against her body below her full bosom, she smiled.

“What?
 
Do I have something on my face?” Rachel asked, rubbing away an imaginary smudge with her forearm.

“No, you look great.” Gabe reassured her.

“Yeah right.” Rachel replied, pulling a stray strand of hair from her face and tucking it away into the tie at the base of her neck.
 
“I must look a dreadful sight.”

“Honestly, you want to know what I was thinking?” Gabe asked, deciding to step out of his comfort zone.

“Of course.
 
I mean, only if you want to tell me, though.”
 
Rachel replied, bashfully looking back to her bowl.

“I was just wondering what on earth I was thinking.” Gabe said.

“When?
 
Oh wait, I know.
 
You don’t know what you were thinking when you agreed to watch over me.” Rachel added, a mischievous grin plastered across her face.

“Close.” Gabe added.

“Hey!” Rachel squealed, stomping a foot playfully

Gabe laughed before continuing, “No, what I was going to say was I can’t believe what I was thinking when I was so mean to you.
 
You have been nothing but nice and helpful since you got here and I treated you like… Well, I don’t know.
 
But I know I didn’t treat you the way I should have.”

“Don’t be silly, Gabe, you have been just fine.” Rachel said with a smile, hoping he didn’t realize she was lying.

“Come on, Rachel, I know I was a complete jerk to you.” Gabe insisted.

“Well, I don’t know if I would say complete…” Rachel grinned.

“I thought I was keeping myself safe, but all I was doing was making everyone hate me.”

“I wouldn’t say I hated you.” Rachel said before pausing thoughtfully.
 
“Perhaps just disliked you significantly.”

“Gee, thanks!”

The two laughed for a moment before they both fell silent.
 
Rachel turned towards the prep table, pouring the mixture from the bowl into a pan.
 
She placed it onto the stove and then set the soiled dish aside to be cleaned.

“Rachel, I mean it.
 
If I slip back into my old ways, please give me a nudge and help me remember I want to be better.
 
Alright?” Gabe asked, looking for much needed support.
 
His words were sincere.
 
After finding Clarite and realizing what he did to everyone around him, Gabe had enough.
 
The life he had been trying so desperately to cling to was meaningless if he had no friends to share it with.

Rachel nodded in response.
 
“It’s raining.” Rachel said opening the front door, the cool evening air striking her in the face, her hair flowing behind her.
 
Gabe stared, mesmerized by the joy that beamed from her eyes.

“I always loved the smell of rain.
 
Even as a kid, I was never sad when it would rain.
 
My friends always complained because it meant they couldn’t play outside.
 
You would find me curled up on the box seat, the window cracked, a blanket across my lap, and a book in my hands.
 
My aunt always said I had an old soul, just like her.”

“You were close to your aunt?” Gabe asked.

“Oh very.
 
She took my brother and I in after my mom died.” Rachel explained.