Dark Creations: The Hunted (Part 4) (9 page)

“No, Gabriel, please.  I can’t just stay here and wait.  I’m coming with you,” she whispered resolutely.

She wasn’t sure whether the resolve in her eyes or the sternness of her hushed tone had conveyed that trying to stop her would be pointless.  Whichever it was, it worked.  He had received the message she aimed to send, that she was not staying behind and sitting idly by.  She would go with him and help if need be.  They were a team.  He did not protest, but held her hand firmly in his and positioned himself in front of her.

Slowly, he opened the door so that they could pass through, and stepped into the living room.  She heard another thump and spotted a dark figure in the far corner of the room.  In the weak light of predawn, she could not make out whether or not the shape was human, just that it was there. Gabriel gestured for her to go back into the bedroom, but she shook her head determinedly.  He looked at her, frustrated, and signaled that she at least remain where she was.  She nodded in compliance and watched as he stalked toward the dark figure.

She could not hear Gabriel’s footsteps over the sound of her heart roaring in her ears and her sharp inhalations as she struggled to
not
hyperventilate.  In her mind, she knew the time would come, that their period of respite would end and Terzini would dispatch another of his malevolent creatures to collect them.  She began to tremble violently, certain that the day of reckoning was upon them, as she watched the man she loved move stealthily toward an intruder.  The steps required to close the distance between him and the dark figure were few, but his movement seemed to continue for an interminable period of time.  Her blood felt as though it had been replaced with icy liquid far too meager in substance to maintain proper bodily functions.  Her hands were cold and the tips of her fingers were white.  She wanted to follow behind him, help him in some way.  But she was frozen.  Her legs felt rooted to the floor beneath, petrified.  She willed them to move as he finally stood behind the inky form, to arm herself with something,
anything
, she could find and help, but her body refused to comply.  Instead she remained, seemingly entrenched in the carpet by leaden legs and thought her heart would pound past her ribcage and beat out of her chest.  Tears streamed soundlessly from her eyes, but she dared not cry, and the room began to spin in irregular circles. She looked for something to grab hold of, to stop herself from falling to the ground and alerting the intruder to their proximity, but found nothing.  The nearest object she could lean against was the shaky coffee table a few feet away.   She took tentative steps toward it, toward the middle of the room, all the while the room spun erratically.  She leaned her legs against the coffee table, stabilized, and it tipped to one side causing a distinct tapping sound.  The sound sliced through the silence, but neither the figure nor Gabriel turned toward it.

And then it happened.

She saw Gabriel grab hold of the dark figure from behind as if it were in slow motion.  He wrapped his powerful arms around the shape in an attempt to immobilize its arms and a scuffle ensued.  The shape seemed familiar with freeing himself from holds like the one Gabriel had on it and escaped.  Punches were exchanged, fired in quick succession; it was difficult for Melissa to discern who was hitting, and who was being hit.  There were too many to count.  She could not even be sure that the person Gabriel fought was a person at all. 

Suddenly, the room stopped its lopsided whirling.  Her body was no longer rigid and defiant.  She moved closer to Gabriel and the mysterious figure and realized that it looked very human, and very small.  She frantically felt along the wall for a light switch, felt it beneath her finger tips and lifted it.  The room was flooded in light and Melissa heard herself scream.

“Stop! Gabriel, stop!”   

Both men stopped as realization settled upon them.

“What the hell, Gabriel!” Yoshi huffed.

“I thought you were an intruder!” Gabriel protested.

“I
live
here!  How am I an intruder if I
live
here?”

“We were asleep and we heard a noise.  You said you were going to be out all night, so I assumed it wasn’t you.”

“Who else would it be?” Yoshi asked.

“Do you really
want
me to answer that?  Do I need to answer that?”

Yoshi seemed to understand exactly what Gabriel was implying, that they lived in peace for as long as Terzini allowed them to, but their days were numbered.

“Gotcha,” he said sheepishly. 

Yoshi looked at Gabriel, shirtless and in pajama bottoms, then Melissa, in just a top, Gabriel’s top.  He smiled impishly.

“Well, well, well,” he said. “Did we have a sleepover?”  His eyes darted from her to Gabriel mischievously.

“Yoshi!” Melissa protested and felt her cheeks burn.

“I’m not judging.  I’m happy for you two.  Gabriel, you dog,” he teased.

“That’s enough Yoshi,” Gabriel said coolly.  “But seriously, why are you here so early?”

“Well, apart from never thinking
this
would happen,” he said pointing to both of them.  “I came across something interesting in a couple of local West Coast newspapers and thought I’d better head home and tell you about it as soon as possible.”

Melissa saw the color drain from Gabriel’s face.  Yoshi’s “interesting” find meant that he might have found Terzini.

“You were right to come,” Gabriel said solemnly.  “What did you find?”

“There are some printouts over there,” he thumbed toward the front door.  “I dropped my laptop when I came in, along with the folder I was holding.  That was probably the noise you heard.  I was picking them up when you jumped me.”

“Sorry about that.  I thought you might be,” Gabriel began.

“What, a seven-foot lion man?” Yoshi interrupted. 

“Yeah that; or something like that,” Gabriel replied.

“I should probably go,” Melissa head herself say, suddenly aware that she was wearing only Gabriel’s shirt and her underwear. 

“No,” Gabriel said softly.  “Please stay.  I need you here.”

“Yeah, you’re part of this.  We should probably call Alexandra too, make this an official meeting.”

“Your info is that solid?” Gabriel asked.

“I think so,” Yoshi replied.

“Alright, we’ll be out in a second,” Gabriel said and ushered her back to his bedroom.

“Are you okay?” he asked her and wrapped his arms around her.

His skin felt warm against hers.  Her pulse quickened as her hands traced his muscled, bare back.  She allowed her head to rest against his chest and wanted nothing more than to return to bed and stay there, to block out the rest of the world.  But she knew they could not, that something wicked lurked on the horizon, and would be coming for them soon. 

She lifted her chin and looked at him.

“I have to get dressed,” she said and began looking for the dress she wore the night before.  She found it on the nightstand and pulled it up over her hips then chest before removing Gabriel’s shirt and returning it to him.  He seemed disappointed by her modesty, despite the graveness of the news they’d just received.  He pursed his lips slightly and furrowed his brow in confusion.  She found herself unable to suppress a smile.

“Are you
flirting
with me at a time like this?” she asked with mock annoyance.

“Melissa, I have no idea how to flirt.  I just like seeing you,” he paused and she saw color rise in his cheeks.  Then, in a voice that was little more than a hoarse whisper, he added, “the way you were last night.” 

Melissa was speechless, happy, but speechless.  She stood on her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck, felt her body meld with his.  She held him tightly and did not let go.  He did not move to release her either.  She allowed herself the single indulgence of his nearness because she felt certain that the information they were about to receive would threaten their happiness, their lives, and that a moment like the one she was enjoying would be scarce in the upcoming days, weeks, or even months.  So she clung to him, and he to her, allowed her body to rest against his, until a soft knocking at the door parted them.

“Come on in,” Gabriel said reluctantly.

“Sorry.  I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” he asked jokingly, but his tone was far too grave to be funny.

“Seriously, Yoshi?” Melissa said, exasperated.

“Sorry, I couldn’t resist,” he answered.  “Just wanted to let you guys know that Alex is on her way.”

“Would you mind putting on a pot of coffee?” Gabriel asked.

“We have a coffeepot?” Yoshi kidded again.  “No problem, my friend.”

He shut the door again, but the moment had passed.  Their future was to be discussed, determined in the coming hours.  She watched Gabriel dress, then, hand in hand, they went to the kitchen and waited for Alexandra. 

When Alexandra finally arrived, Melissa was surprised by her appearance.  Her friend looked drawn and pale. 

“Hey,” Alexandra said as she stepped inside.  Yoshi’s face lit up at the sight of her. She looked to Gabriel, and then Melissa and surprisingly, did not comment.  “You found something Yoshi?”

“I think so,” he replied and began handing out papers.  “These are articles about women who have gone missing in the California area.”

“What about this suggests the Terzini guy,” Alexandra asked, brightening with hope.

“I was getting to that part,” Yoshi said regretfully.  “All the women that are missing have one thing in common.  They’re all pregnant.”

Melissa watched as Gabriel took his head in his hands, as if he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Terzini was involved.

“And they’re in their second trimester, right?” Gabriel asked not bothering to look at the article in his hand. 

“Yes,” Yoshi answered.

“That sounds about right.  He’s testing his in utero alteration technique, but would never be able to find a woman willing to risk her unborn child’s life for the sake of experimentation,
willingly
, that is.”

“
What
?” Melissa gasped.  “You think he’s kidnapping pregnant women and experimenting on their unborn babies?”

Gabriel did not answer right away.  He looked at her thoughtfully, as if he were carefully choosing the how to reply.  But there was no subtle way to confirm that his maker had been systematically snatching expectant women and doing God-only-knows-what to them and their babies.  He did not need to say a word, in fact.  She did not need to hear an answer.  She saw it on his face.

“Oh my God,” she murmured.

“What are
we
supposed to do about it?  What he’s doing is not only clear across the country, but it’s also way out of our league.  We should tip off the FBI or something, anonymously of course.”

“I don’t think we have the luxury of anonymity at this point.  Especially after everything that happened; dead bodies always seem to turn up when we’re around according to the fed that interrogated me,” Yoshi replied.  “I pretended like I didn’t understand a word that he said, naturally.”

Yoshi smiled feebly, tried to lighten the mood.  But no one seemed to feel remotely lifted by his otherwise infectious smile.

“I get the feeling we’re continually monitored,” Gabriel agreed.  “It’s not a coincidence that there’s a black Suburban with darkly tinted windows just about everywhere I go.”

“I’ve seen one at the lake.  I just assumed it belonged to someone who frequented the beach,” Melissa added. 

“I haven’t noticed any black Suburban,” Alexandra said.

“Doesn’t mean it wasn’t there,” Yoshi said.

“True, I don’t really notice things like that,” Alexandra admitted.

“Regardless, going to the feds is not really an option.  We knew that.  But Alex, Yoshi, you don’t have to be involved in any of this if you don’t want to be.”

“The way I see it, we already are,” Yoshi said.  “Besides, you know I’ve got your back, brother; always.”

Yoshi and Gabriel shared a brief, wordless nod.  She guessed some communication had transpired, some form of male shorthand that substantiated their united involvement.

“You know I’m part of this too, or I wouldn’t be here so damn early,” Alexandra added.  “By the way, nice morning after look,” she said to Melissa.  Then to Yoshi, she shrugged and said, “Who knew she was such a tramp?”

And with that, the Alexandra that she’d always known and loved had returned.  “Alex!” he admonished.

“So I guess we’re headed out West,” Yoshi said.

“California, here we come,” Alexandra said sarcastically.

“Alright, it’s settled then.  We’ll make arrangements and take a trip to California.”

“What will we do once we’re there?” Melissa asked.

“We’ll end this once and for all,” Gabriel answered.

Melissa knew exactly what Gabriel had meant when he said
end
.  He’d meant that they would kill Dr. Franklin Terzini.  The initial implication of his statement had not generated an immediate reaction.  She had responded impassively, calmly.  After several seconds however, the gravity of the situation suddenly hit her.  And she no longer felt calm. They would travel across the country and kill Terzini, and whatever creations he’d conjured.