Guardian - 1. Some Birthday

When Gabriel woke up, he noticed he was face down in the dirt right outside in the middle of nowhere and somewhere near a road by the sound of a car zooming past. His head ached and he sat up some, rubbing it tenderly, feeling something on his fingers as he brought them back to see, the red crusted blood smeared on his finger tips. What the hell was he hit with? He sat up, feeling the rush and just letting out a groan when he bent back over. His head pounded and throbbed. Using his eyes to look around, he had no idea where he was. Outside of town for sure but still clueless on exactly where. It was close to sunset looking at the sky colors changing overhead. It dawned on him that he had nothing on him; with a pounding head he ignored it and searched his pockets. He silently cursed himself with his many pockets on his jeans and jacket he wore. But luck had him when he pulled out his crumbled twenty dollar bills. He unfolded them and counted. It was still half of his paycheck, about forty to sixty dollars worth. Well at least he wasn’t completely broke.

But now there was a different worry. He was hit in the head unconscious and dropped off in the middle of god knows where and his friend wolf was nowhere to be found. He felt somehow defeated and worthless even. When he felt that it was safe to get up without so much as a small black out, he went to his knees slowly and then stood up. He felt his head again, the dark brown hair matted in the back where he was hit, the blood clotting there. Whatever hit him made a gash in his head and he glanced around the area he laid in. No pooling blood, though there was some where his head had lain. He heard a soft sound of a distance car and turned to see a minivan just driving right by him. He would have to hitchhike. To where? He was clueless. Now 16, Gabriel could be considered a run away, but he didn’t run from anything. He was abandoned. Another defeated sigh escaped his lips. Which way could he go? He was horrible with directions and this wasn’t helping. Plus, how long had he been there? Was he even in view? Obviously not if he wasn’t picked up yet. He looked to the side, seeing the large trees there. He noticed a deer just staring at him but it didn’t dare come closer to the dangerous area of the highway. Looking forward, he figured he’d just go where the minivan had disappeared off to.

He walked for about an hour when he heard thunder clapping overheard and suddenly a downpour of rain dropped. It had been like someone held a full balloon and then popped it. A scowl crossed his face as he grumbled to himself and glared up at the sky.

“You just hate me don’t you!” he screamed at the unknown force above him. Gabriel folded his jacket closer quite angrily and just walked; the clothes on his back soaking all the way through. He was slightly grateful that the rain washed away the grime and blood in his hair, stopping periodically to run his hands through. But the storm wasn’t getting any better and Gabriel could feel the effects of the storm quickly. The wind began to blow and thirty minutes into the rainstorm, Gabriel’s teeth were chattering and no cars had driven by.

Thinking that he was going to just catch a horrible cold and be stuck outside he seemed to be just down and out for the count, stopping and rubbing his wet jacket against his arms. But the shine of headlights made him perk up as he looked back to see a large 18-wheeler actually slowing down. Something inside screamed at him to wave, get the trucker’s attention. But the recluse inside him shunned the thought and he looked back forward. Hoping the truck would just continue, it didn’t. He watched as the truck pulled even with him and slowed even more, coming to a complete stop on the shoulder of the highway. The trucker came out and yelled at him.

“Hey come on kid! I’ll give you a ride!” Hope flooded the teen’s chest as he ran through the rain and climbed into the passenger side, his body completely soaked. He saw the trucker sitting in the front seat reach back and grab a towel. “Here you go son, dry off. How long have you been walking?” Gabriel could hear the concern in the voice and through his chattering teeth he tried to answer.

“I don’t know, a while.” The trucker turned on the heater and Gabriel tried to dry off. The man started back up on the road, his eyes glancing over at the teen , watching him dry off and strip his jacket and even the top shirt down to his undershirt to get the wet clothes that could possibly get him in a worst situation if they stayed on.

Gabriel felt the heat hit his cold jeans and wished he could just strip down. His eyes looked to the trucker whose eyes went back to the stormy road. Taking his bills out he placed them on the dash to dry off. He put the jacket and shirt down at his feet and took off his shoes. He didn’t want foot rot, that was the last thing on his mind. He tried to stop his teeth from chattering. But he was pulled from his focus when he heard the trucker speak.

“So how’d you end up on the side of the highway?” Gabriel thought about the question, or more so how to answer it. Would it be safe to say he didn’t know? Or just make up a lie? Knowing lies never lead to anything good, he stuck with the other answer.

“I’m not sure…I don’t remember much.”

“Well when we get to a town we’ll stop by a thrift store and get you some dry clothes.” At first, Gabriel wasn’t sure what to think. The man was obviously willing to help him out despite the fact he had no idea where he came from or how he got there. Perhaps it was a test that God was pulling, not that Gabriel ever believed in the holy man. He stopped thinking about that when his parents pretty much started ignoring him. Knowing that soon his silence would become an awkward moment, he replied to the man.

“Thanks.”

“No problem son…what’s your name?” Another hesitant answer. Biting his lip softly he wondered if again he should lie or stay true. Seeing no harm in it, he answered.

“Gabriel.”

“I’m Ted.” Ted gave a smile, a very tender one. Gabriel stared at him like he hadn’t seen one in a long while. He slowly returned it with his own and looked back at the pouring rain on the windshield and felt himself growing tired. Maybe it was the long trek he’d had, or the heat that blew on his still shaking body. No words passed between them after that and Gabriel’s eyes drooped and soon he was asleep, his head resting on the window.

Ted glanced over at the teen and frowned. Where had he come from? And how did he even get there? His eyes back on the road he wondered if it was maybe a joke but the way the kid didn’t even know, there might had been some foul play. He was still a day or two early on the delivery but he knew right off the bat he had to turn the kid in. His eyes glanced back over at the sleeping form and something outside the window caught his eye. He swore to himself, thinking he was crazy, but he was sure he saw a bird flying right next to the truck.

Raoul was slightly desperate. He had watched the cop take his human away and his whole being went into a panic. True, he only spent certain hours with the human but the sudden feeling inside him made his heart skip. He darted back into the woods and went the back way to Gabriel’s home. Knowing how some humans worked, he figured that the cop would take him there. He was right when he peeked from behind a tree and watched the officer pull his vehicle into the driveway. He came walking out, peeking around the corner when the officer knocked on the door and was let in with the rather depressed looking teen before him. Raoul was slightly burning with rage. He hated when his human was upset. Once they were inside, he went and sat on the walkway, staring at the door. Listening carefully he heard the muffled voices inside and it stopped when the door opened. The officer made his way down and took a glance at Raoul. Raoul made sure to flash his collar as he walked past, got into the vehicle and drove away. His attention went back to the small house where his human was and he waited. For sure he would see him walk out any moment now, but after several hours there was nothing. He was becoming slightly anxious but still no movement or even noise sounded from the small house. His ears drooped some and he stood, pacing a little before sitting down again. When he saw the door open his ears perked but then he instantly saw the limp body of his human in the arms of the older man as the woman rushed to open the car door and they placed him inside. He could instantly smell the blood and without thinking, ran forward and snarled, attacking the male when he turned out of the passenger seat. He took him by surprise as he cried out, his jaw locking down on the arm. The woman he saw from the corner of his eye rushed back inside. He wasn’t sure what was happening but he knew that they had hurt his human. He felt the man beating on his head but he only growled more and began to shake his body, feeling the blood of the human rush in his mouth. Everything went still however when a shot rang out and a sudden pain in his chest made him let go and stumble back, only to fall and whimper.

“Come on! We have to get rid of him now. Screw the dog, it’s dead.” The woman hissed at her husband as they entered the car, started it and left. Raoul, in pain, watched the car leave.

He laid there for hours; his eyes closed and body focusing. He wasn’t dead, far from it. The bullets were not silver, and thus non-fatal. But it did hurt the wolf until the last of the pellets from the shotgun rolled off his fur and the wound healed up. The soft pain still there, he jumped up, the fuel from his adrenaline making him immune to it. Now he had no time to waste. He had wasted enough healing. He bolted off, following the trail of the blood he had taken. He hoped and prayed he would find his human again.

Raoul ran for a while, only to come to a complete halt when the same car with the couple came driving back in the opposite direction. He skid to a stop and turned, following it back. He chased them, feeling his breath drying up his throat and the hot burning feeling in his chest. He cursed inwardly, seeing the couple drive into the hospital parking lot. Moving and navigating through parked cars, he saw them park and rush inside the emergency way. He noticed only those two getting out and not his boy. Waiting for them to leave, he ran to the car and jumped to peek in the window. Nothing. He whined and pawed at the door, seeing the soft pool of blood on the back seat. Where was his boy?! He needed to get the scent, and noticed the window on the front passenger side was wide open. He jumped inside the car and sniffed the blood in the back seat, even giving it a lick to grab the taste. He knew it was a bad idea, but he needed the scent to stay with him, so he rubbed his neck and head all in the blood and then jumped back out and ran off. With the blood on him, he could be able to find him with ease. He turned and ran all the way back where he first saw the car coming back. His eyes went to the highway that was very busy during the afternoon hours. He took a breath and went for it, by any cost he would find him.