Guardian - 18. Chapter 18

He wasn't sure how many days had passed where his eyes were glued on the floor and his body was ridged and rugged from the takeover. All he knew was that when they finally reached the house where Scott resided, Gabriel was roughly thrown into a very small room. The poor teen was overcome by complete darkness and terror. Even with Jake there, Gabriel felt completely empty. The younger teen had tried everything in his power to keep Gabriel comfortable but with Scott’s constant attention and his painful grips and smacks to the Jarkla, Gabriel had become too frightened to even speak while they traveled. Now, in the dark room where a single bed rested in the corner, the pain in his shoulder was taking over his very person. Giving an involuntary shiver, Gabriel mustered up his strength to feel his way to the bed. Once there, the teen curled on the mattress and finally, let it all go. The choking tears streamed down his face and soaked the mattress below him, his body tightly curled in a ball. He didn't hold anything back as he screamed and gripped the fabric beneath him.

He had no idea how long he had cried, but when he had quieted down, his eyes stayed opened and stared blankly into the darkness of the room. The tears were less but they still streamed down his face. The lids of his eyes slowly closed and with a very heavy sigh, he let his body rest. His mind was so jumbled when he let his spirit leave his body and enter the meadow.

I wasn't sure what to think, what to do in this situation. I was just starting to get comfortable on where I was, how things were going with Orion. And then suddenly it was snatched from me. I should have stayed in my room. I shouldn't have listened to the twins. Should have, could have, would have. All these thoughts just flooded my head of what I should have done. But the reality was, I didn't do it and I went against Orion's word. Now, here I was, in the arms of the one person they had warned me of. The one fucking werewolf that forced Amaya's hand. But at least Neil was safe. Thinking hard about it now, at least he just got me. Now, I didn't care what happened to me. I was beginning to feel selfish because it was only me I was thinking of. Jake gave his loyalty up to follow me into this darkened world. I had him, yet I didn't. It was all so lost and confusing now. All I could do was rest my head in my hands.

“Gabey, what's going on?” Her voice rang in my ears as I looked at Amaya. How was I going to tell her? How would I even broach the subject? To tell her that Scott was now my captor? Would she get hysterical? I swallowed and stood, putting my best foot forward.

“Amaya...can you...promise not to freak out? Cause to be honest, I'm kinda freaking out right now.” Amaya stared at me, and her eyes went from their cheerful glee to a rather hard look. My whole body tensed from the stare she gave me. Again I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Scott captured me.”

“What?!” Her scream actually sounded like a banshee and I couldn't help but cover my ears. What the hell was happening? I watched in fear as she grew before my eyes. Her form was massive and, in shock to say the least, I fell over. Staring at her as she morphed herself into a bird and took off. What the hell just happened? That action she took alone scared me. Scared me because I have no idea what Scott would do to me. When I scrambled to stand and call for her, I felt as if I was being choked and, suddenly I was pulled from the meadow and back into the living world.

Gabriel gasped for air as his eyes flashed open, staring into Scott’s amber eyes. Scott's large grin made the teen shiver again as he pulled the teen up and off the bed.

“Did I say you could sleep puppy?” he sneered at Gabriel. Gabriel couldn't even swallow because of how hard Scott's hand was wrapped around his neck. But he was able to mutter a very soft reply.

“S-sorry.” Scott brought the teen's face extremely close to his own.

“You better be. Now, we're going to be covering a few ground rules and then, I'll make sure you are as good as mine. Got it?” Stiffly Gabriel gave a single nod. But deep down, just like he would with Orion, he would test this wolf. If he wanted Gabriel to die, he would have killed him by now. Wouldn't he? Hoping that he would be let go, he was disappointed when Scott dragged him out of the enclosed room. “First thing first puppy, you will never speak unless I tell you to. Never leave my side, and of course, never go against me. You won’t like what I’ll do to you if you go against these simple rules.” Gabriel took the last bit of courage he had and did what he never thought he would do. With his hands holding onto Scott's wrist, he brought his leg up and aimed a kick at the man. It all came spiraling down when he felt the wind completely knocked out of him and his back against the cold floor. He couldn’t breathe, the hand on his throat squeezed tighter. He looked up at the narrowed eyes that burned bright amber. “Tsk tsk tsk. What a bad puppy. Puppy should learn some manners,” Scott snarled again, Gabriel felt his body being lifted but instead of being shoved into the room he’d been in before, he was actually thrown into the cement wall.

The teen gave a yelp when he felt his bad shoulder slam into the wall. He looked back and stared at the lethal man in the doorway. He could see the burning eyes and the disturbing grin that was plastered on Scott’s face. Fear flooded Gabriel as he heard the werewolf chuckle. “I was hoping I wouldn't break you. But if you want to be difficult, then fine. Let's see how long you last then, before you crawl to my feet.” Another adrenaline rush and Gabriel dared a snarl of his own.

“I'll never crawl at your feet! You're a murderer!” Faster than he could react, Scott was on him, his rough hands holding his jaw and squeezing it painfully. His legs moved between Gabriel's and panic rang in his chest. The werewolf pinned Gabriel's arms to his chest and held him there firmly.

“I love your spunk. I can smell my brother all over you, and see how he corrupted you. How interesting that you continue your little burst of courage when you know I could take you. Right now. Bending your scrawny ass over and fuck you until you beg for mercy. But I won’t do that. No. I have better plans for you.” Fear was replaced with terror, and Scott was loving the smell of it on the Jarkla. For good measure, he leaned in and licked the teen's face. Gabriel's body for the third time shivered, goose bumps all over his neck and arms. He heard Scott chuckling and knew he was right. Gabriel was weak, especially to werewolves. He barely knew much about himself, let alone the secrets behind being a Jarkla. Not only that, he had a feeling that right now, even in the meadow, that he was utterly alone. He was afraid to say anything else and several moments passed until Scott let him go and walked away. “Enjoy the darkness puppy.” With that, Scott closed the door and left the teen alone in the darkness. Swallowing and rubbing his throat where the tyrant held him, he couldn't see anything again. He gave a whimper when he tried moving his hurt arm, feeling a pinched feeling at his shoulder. He had already come to the conclusion that it was dislocated, but now, he had to think on how he was going to pop it back in place. There was no way he was strong enough to do it himself, so he knew he was stuck with it. Letting his back slide down the wall, he curled up and rested his arms around his knees with his chin down. Here he was again, trapped, lonely and in the darkness. He needed to see Amaya, he needed to try. Closing his eyes he tried again.

I was hoping to some unknown force that she would be there when my eyes opened. Hoping she was there with that smile I kinda missed. But when my eyes opened, I saw nothing but a dull blackness similar to what I came from in that enclosed room. The meadow was completely barren; the once bright green grass was dull and grey. What had happened? I walked a few feet to glance at the pond and gasped when I saw that the once clear pool of water was now black with sludge. What was going on!? I looked up at the sky and screamed for her.

“Amaya! Where are you?” Call me desperate, I was in a way. The once lush area that I enjoyed being in was turning more and more into the place Scott had shoved me into. I felt my heart pounding in my ears and I was worried about what was happening. Without any answers, I began to panic, until I heard another voice.

“She's not here.” I turned so sharply I swore I'd be waking up with a twinge in my neck. Before me was a man, his attire something like I would see in old paintings of the 17^th century His blouse was a dull green color and his pants were a darker shade, almost black. He wore them loosely and his feet were bare. I took in his features, seeing curly blond hair and bright lavender eyes. Lavender eyes?

“Who are you?” I questioned, tensing. He raised his hands slowly and gave me a calming smile.

“Calm yourself young one. I am Eli; I was a Jarkla just like you are now.” I raised my brow purely out of confusion.

“But, I thought I could...only meet the past life?” Eli shook his head and came closer to me.

“Not necessarily. You see, the past Jarkla is in charge of leading the present one into the right path, give it pointers, that kind of thing. However, Amaya has...well. After you broke the news to her, she didn't take it well. The reason behind the meadow looking like this is because she is not here. When a past Jarkla leaves the meadow, it becomes dull and dead.” Great, I was more confused than before. I mean sure, I understood that Amaya was upset, but since he was a past Jarkla, why wasn’t the meadow lighting up some? I guess he saw my confusion when he continued. “Because I am an older version of the bloodline, it does not react to me.” Makes sense. Kind of. I turned away from him to look back at the pool of black water.

“So, she's just gone?” I asked. I heard him walking up behind me.

“To say the least, yes. While she's gone, I will be around for you.” I turned to look at him.

“Why you exactly?” Eli sighed at my question and turned to look at me.

“Because I'm male. And so are you. The others thought it better if I came.”

“The others?” He gave me a nod and turned to walk away. I couldn't help but follow him as he led me away from the meadow into what seemed to be a rainforest.

“You and Amaya are not the only ones here in the Abyss. All past lives of the Jarkla reign here, at least, the ones that survived.” Great, like his comment didn't make any more questions pop in my head.

“Survived? But, aren't you all dead?” I heard him give a scoffing laugh.

“Survived meaning we followed the rules of our purpose. The Jarklas who ran from their purpose and died because they hadn't bonded with a guardian, never show up here. Mother doesn't smile on them when they go against her.”

“Mother?” Eli turned to me when he moved some overhead brush away from a cave entrance.

“The moon. We consider her our mother. Come in and I'll explain more.”

“Oh good. Cause I have to be honest I'm completely lost right now.” He laughed at me, and I was getting aggravated. “Okay look here.” I stopped and shoved my finger against his chest. “I've been taken hostage by a fucking murderer, I've made Amaya...well, disappear and you keep laughing at me! Let alone the whole confusion part because now there are more of you. I mean, I can only take in so much at one time!” He stared at me with a blank expression.

“I understand. Trust me, if you continue your little battle with that monster like you just did moments ago, you will have plenty of time to sit with me and learn. Besides, you might want to stay here longer.” I was slightly worried when he spoke about that.

“Wait. What do you mean exactly?” I asked, bringing my hand back to my side.

“What I mean is that he's going to do everything in his power to break you. And I'm telling you that every free moment you have, come here. I will help you stay sane but the moment you stop coming here, that’s the moment you put yourself in danger of going under his rule.” It was my turn to laugh, and I did loudly.

“Well then count on me being here. There's no way I'll listen to that sicko.” Something about Eli's eyes told me he didn't believe my words, but he said nothing and continued down the length of cave, taking me to a much larger room containing many different types of animals. What caught my attention was every single one of them had lavender eyes. Were these the past Jarklas?

“Everyone, this is the present Jarkla, Gabriel.” I turned to Eli, and then noticed one thing. He and I were the only males. Every other animal that had transformed as soon as he introduced me had morphed into a female. I quickly addressed it.

“So, you were the only male before me?” Eli turned and gave me a nod.

“Yes. My guardian was female though, and quite strong. I was the Jarkla in the 17^th century. I died when I was about 45 I believe. Around there.”

“You do not look 45.” I couldn't help but say it. It was true! The guy looked 30 tops, but not 45. He laughed at me as the others came closer and began to touch me in gentle greetings. How far back did the Jarkla go exactly? The question rang in my head. I felt Eli's hand on my shoulder as he led me to sit with them around a fire.

“I thank you for the flattery. We Jarklas begin to slowly age after our maturity.” That made sense, only because I recalled what Orion had told me about his age. So we began to age like Werewolves basically is what I got from it. “So, I am sure you have many questions.” He wasn't lying about that. I did have a lot of questions but some had already been answered. I turned my attention to the fire and stared at it. Where did I want to begin? I had plenty of time, and I wasn't leaving anytime soon. I wanted to learn everything about what I was.

He wasn't sure how many days had passed where his eyes were glued on the floor and his body was ridged and rugged from the takeover. All he knew was that when they finally reached the house where Scott resided, Gabriel was roughly thrown into a very small room. The poor teen was overcome by complete darkness and terror. Even with Jake there, Gabriel felt completely empty. The younger teen had tried everything in his power to keep Gabriel comfortable but with Scott’s constant attention and his painful grips and smacks to the Jarkla, Gabriel had become too frightened to even speak while they traveled. Now, in the dark room where a single bed rested in the corner, the pain in his shoulder was taking over his very person. Giving an involuntary shiver, Gabriel mustered up his strength to feel his way to the bed. Once there, the teen curled on the mattress and finally, let it all go. The choking tears streamed down his face and soaked the mattress below him, his body tightly curled in a ball. He didn't hold anything back as he screamed and gripped the fabric beneath him.

He had no idea how long he had cried, but when he had quieted down, his eyes stayed opened and stared blankly into the darkness of the room. The tears were less but they still streamed down his face. The lids of his eyes slowly closed and with a very heavy sigh, he let his body rest. His mind was so jumbled when he let his spirit leave his body and enter the meadow.

I wasn't sure what to think, what to do in this situation. I was just starting to get comfortable on where I was, how things were going with Orion. And then suddenly it was snatched from me. I should have stayed in my room. I shouldn't have listened to the twins. Should have, could have, would have. All these thoughts just flooded my head of what I should have done. But the reality was, I didn't do it and I went against Orion's word. Now, here I was, in the arms of the one person they had warned me of. The one fucking werewolf that forced Amaya's hand. But at least Neil was safe. Thinking hard about it now, at least he just got me. Now, I didn't care what happened to me. I was beginning to feel selfish because it was only me I was thinking of. Jake gave his loyalty up to follow me into this darkened world. I had him, yet I didn't. It was all so lost and confusing now. All I could do was rest my head in my hands.

“Gabey, what's going on?” Her voice rang in my ears as I looked at Amaya. How was I going to tell her? How would I even broach the subject? To tell her that Scott was now my captor? Would she get hysterical? I swallowed and stood, putting my best foot forward.

“Amaya...can you...promise not to freak out? Cause to be honest, I'm kinda freaking out right now.” Amaya stared at me, and her eyes went from their cheerful glee to a rather hard look. My whole body tensed from the stare she gave me. Again I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Scott captured me.”

“What?!” Her scream actually sounded like a banshee and I couldn't help but cover my ears. What the hell was happening? I watched in fear as she grew before my eyes. Her form was massive and, in shock to say the least, I fell over. Staring at her as she morphed herself into a bird and took off. What the hell just happened? That action she took alone scared me. Scared me because I have no idea what Scott would do to me. When I scrambled to stand and call for her, I felt as if I was being choked and, suddenly I was pulled from the meadow and back into the living world.

Gabriel gasped for air as his eyes flashed open, staring into Scott’s amber eyes. Scott's large grin made the teen shiver again as he pulled the teen up and off the bed.

“Did I say you could sleep puppy?” he sneered at Gabriel. Gabriel couldn't even swallow because of how hard Scott's hand was wrapped around his neck. But he was able to mutter a very soft reply.

“S-sorry.” Scott brought the teen's face extremely close to his own.

“You better be. Now, we're going to be covering a few ground rules and then, I'll make sure you are as good as mine. Got it?” Stiffly Gabriel gave a single nod. But deep down, just like he would with Orion, he would test this wolf. If he wanted Gabriel to die, he would have killed him by now. Wouldn't he? Hoping that he would be let go, he was disappointed when Scott dragged him out of the enclosed room. “First thing first puppy, you will never speak unless I tell you to. Never leave my side, and of course, never go against me. You won’t like what I’ll do to you if you go against these simple rules.” Gabriel took the last bit of courage he had and did what he never thought he would do. With his hands holding onto Scott's wrist, he brought his leg up and aimed a kick at the man. It all came spiraling down when he felt the wind completely knocked out of him and his back against the cold floor. He couldn’t breathe, the hand on his throat squeezed tighter. He looked up at the narrowed eyes that burned bright amber. “Tsk tsk tsk. What a bad puppy. Puppy should learn some manners,” Scott snarled again, Gabriel felt his body being lifted but instead of being shoved into the room he’d been in before, he was actually thrown into the cement wall.

The teen gave a yelp when he felt his bad shoulder slam into the wall. He looked back and stared at the lethal man in the doorway. He could see the burning eyes and the disturbing grin that was plastered on Scott’s face. Fear flooded Gabriel as he heard the werewolf chuckle. “I was hoping I wouldn't break you. But if you want to be difficult, then fine. Let's see how long you last then, before you crawl to my feet.” Another adrenaline rush and Gabriel dared a snarl of his own.

“I'll never crawl at your feet! You're a murderer!” Faster than he could react, Scott was on him, his rough hands holding his jaw and squeezing it painfully. His legs moved between Gabriel's and panic rang in his chest. The werewolf pinned Gabriel's arms to his chest and held him there firmly.

“I love your spunk. I can smell my brother all over you, and see how he corrupted you. How interesting that you continue your little burst of courage when you know I could take you. Right now. Bending your scrawny ass over and fuck you until you beg for mercy. But I won’t do that. No. I have better plans for you.” Fear was replaced with terror, and Scott was loving the smell of it on the Jarkla. For good measure, he leaned in and licked the teen's face. Gabriel's body for the third time shivered, goose bumps all over his neck and arms. He heard Scott chuckling and knew he was right. Gabriel was weak, especially to werewolves. He barely knew much about himself, let alone the secrets behind being a Jarkla. Not only that, he had a feeling that right now, even in the meadow, that he was utterly alone. He was afraid to say anything else and several moments passed until Scott let him go and walked away. “Enjoy the darkness puppy.” With that, Scott closed the door and left the teen alone in the darkness. Swallowing and rubbing his throat where the tyrant held him, he couldn't see anything again. He gave a whimper when he tried moving his hurt arm, feeling a pinched feeling at his shoulder. He had already come to the conclusion that it was dislocated, but now, he had to think on how he was going to pop it back in place. There was no way he was strong enough to do it himself, so he knew he was stuck with it. Letting his back slide down the wall, he curled up and rested his arms around his knees with his chin down. Here he was again, trapped, lonely and in the darkness. He needed to see Amaya, he needed to try. Closing his eyes he tried again.

I was hoping to some unknown force that she would be there when my eyes opened. Hoping she was there with that smile I kinda missed. But when my eyes opened, I saw nothing but a dull blackness similar to what I came from in that enclosed room. The meadow was completely barren; the once bright green grass was dull and grey. What had happened? I walked a few feet to glance at the pond and gasped when I saw that the once clear pool of water was now black with sludge. What was going on!? I looked up at the sky and screamed for her.

“Amaya! Where are you?” Call me desperate, I was in a way. The once lush area that I enjoyed being in was turning more and more into the place Scott had shoved me into. I felt my heart pounding in my ears and I was worried about what was happening. Without any answers, I began to panic, until I heard another voice.

“She's not here.” I turned so sharply I swore I'd be waking up with a twinge in my neck. Before me was a man, his attire something like I would see in old paintings of the 17^th century His blouse was a dull green color and his pants were a darker shade, almost black. He wore them loosely and his feet were bare. I took in his features, seeing curly blond hair and bright lavender eyes. Lavender eyes?

“Who are you?” I questioned, tensing. He raised his hands slowly and gave me a calming smile.

“Calm yourself young one. I am Eli; I was a Jarkla just like you are now.” I raised my brow purely out of confusion.

“But, I thought I could...only meet the past life?” Eli shook his head and came closer to me.

“Not necessarily. You see, the past Jarkla is in charge of leading the present one into the right path, give it pointers, that kind of thing. However, Amaya has...well. After you broke the news to her, she didn't take it well. The reason behind the meadow looking like this is because she is not here. When a past Jarkla leaves the meadow, it becomes dull and dead.” Great, I was more confused than before. I mean sure, I understood that Amaya was upset, but since he was a past Jarkla, why wasn’t the meadow lighting up some? I guess he saw my confusion when he continued. “Because I am an older version of the bloodline, it does not react to me.” Makes sense. Kind of. I turned away from him to look back at the pool of black water.

“So, she's just gone?” I asked. I heard him walking up behind me.

“To say the least, yes. While she's gone, I will be around for you.” I turned to look at him.

“Why you exactly?” Eli sighed at my question and turned to look at me.

“Because I'm male. And so are you. The others thought it better if I came.”

“The others?” He gave me a nod and turned to walk away. I couldn't help but follow him as he led me away from the meadow into what seemed to be a rainforest.

“You and Amaya are not the only ones here in the Abyss. All past lives of the Jarkla reign here, at least, the ones that survived.” Great, like his comment didn't make any more questions pop in my head.

“Survived? But, aren't you all dead?” I heard him give a scoffing laugh.

“Survived meaning we followed the rules of our purpose. The Jarklas who ran from their purpose and died because they hadn't bonded with a guardian, never show up here. Mother doesn't smile on them when they go against her.”

“Mother?” Eli turned to me when he moved some overhead brush away from a cave entrance.

“The moon. We consider her our mother. Come in and I'll explain more.”

“Oh good. Cause I have to be honest I'm completely lost right now.” He laughed at me, and I was getting aggravated. “Okay look here.” I stopped and shoved my finger against his chest. “I've been taken hostage by a fucking murderer, I've made Amaya...well, disappear and you keep laughing at me! Let alone the whole confusion part because now there are more of you. I mean, I can only take in so much at one time!” He stared at me with a blank expression.

“I understand. Trust me, if you continue your little battle with that monster like you just did moments ago, you will have plenty of time to sit with me and learn. Besides, you might want to stay here longer.” I was slightly worried when he spoke about that.

“Wait. What do you mean exactly?” I asked, bringing my hand back to my side.

“What I mean is that he's going to do everything in his power to break you. And I'm telling you that every free moment you have, come here. I will help you stay sane but the moment you stop coming here, that’s the moment you put yourself in danger of going under his rule.” It was my turn to laugh, and I did loudly.

“Well then count on me being here. There's no way I'll listen to that sicko.” Something about Eli's eyes told me he didn't believe my words, but he said nothing and continued down the length of cave, taking me to a much larger room containing many different types of animals. What caught my attention was every single one of them had lavender eyes. Were these the past Jarklas?

“Everyone, this is the present Jarkla, Gabriel.” I turned to Eli, and then noticed one thing. He and I were the only males. Every other animal that had transformed as soon as he introduced me had morphed into a female. I quickly addressed it.

“So, you were the only male before me?” Eli turned and gave me a nod.

“Yes. My guardian was female though, and quite strong. I was the Jarkla in the 17^th century. I died when I was about 45 I believe. Around there.”

“You do not look 45.” I couldn't help but say it. It was true! The guy looked 30 tops, but not 45. He laughed at me as the others came closer and began to touch me in gentle greetings. How far back did the Jarkla go exactly? The question rang in my head. I felt Eli's hand on my shoulder as he led me to sit with them around a fire.

“I thank you for the flattery. We Jarklas begin to slowly age after our maturity.” That made sense, only because I recalled what Orion had told me about his age. So we began to age like Werewolves basically is what I got from it. “So, I am sure you have many questions.” He wasn't lying about that. I did have a lot of questions but some had already been answered. I turned my attention to the fire and stared at it. Where did I want to begin? I had plenty of time, and I wasn't leaving anytime soon. I wanted to learn everything about what I was.