“Now, Haim, I’m not really sure I’m cut out for this type of combat.” Gabe tried to explain as he motioned down at his smaller frame.
“Nonsense!” Haim bellowed. “All Guardians are given exceptional strength.”
“No, really,” Gabe insisted, “I have never been in a physical fight. Trust me. I avoid confrontation whenever possible so it never leads to that.”
“Well than how do you know you’re not any good at it?” Haim asked, walking several feet away from Gabe and then turning to face him. Gabe had no response for him. It was just something he was quite sure of.
“Come at me.” Haim said motioning Gabe forward. Gabe shook his head with great vigor. “Come on, now. Are you a coward?”
Gabe looked at Haim’s massive size compared to his own and pondered the question. “Perhaps,” he replied with a smug laugh.
The crowd that had gathered at the ring began to laugh. Gabe looked around, pleased they had found humor in his statement. Abruptly Gabe’s eyes fell on Sophie’s face. She wore a small smile as she watched him. He squirmed a moment, realizing not fighting wasn’t an option in front of her. He couldn’t let her think he was truly a coward, even if he was.
“Don’t you want to tell me about technique or something first?” Gabe said, trying to think of anything to delay the inevitable.
“Nah,” Haim quickly responded. “Let’s see what you got and we will move on from there.”
Not hearing an answer that pleased him, Gabe hung his head slightly, full of despair. Out of excuses, Gabe raised his head and began to rotate around the ring, sizing up his opponent. He thought about what Uri had taught him. He needed to throw stones at Haim’s defenses to try and figure out his weakness. He just never imagined the fence he would be tossing stones at would be so large.
Gabe closed his eyes, took a deep breath. I am such a fool, he thought as he charged toward Haim. When he opened his eyes, directly in his path was Haim’s arm, outstretched like a giant tree branch. Gabe ran into it and fell to the ground with a massive thud. As he collected himself, Gabe wondered if he looked more a fool now or when everyone thought he was a coward. Now he could clearly see the flaws in his plan of running full speed into this monstrosity of a boy in order to reveal a weakness.
Haim extended a hand to help Gabe to his feet. Gabe looked over to where Sophie had stood but she was gone. He looked around and she was nowhere in sight. Gabe hoped she had not seen the humiliating display.
“I told you I am not cut out for physical fighting,” Gabe reasserted.
“You just need to find your roar,” Haim responded.
“My roar?” Gabe asked scornfully.
“Yeah, all Guardians have it. It’s this energy inside you. It’s kind of like when a lion finds its roar.” Haim explained.
“What is this, some kind of Disney movie?” Gabe joked with Haim.
Appreciating Gabe’s humor, Haim smiled and then answered, “Funny. But I’m being serious.”
“So how do I find this roar?” Gabe questioned with a sigh, beginning to wonder if Haim was completely sane. Without a word, Haim turned and walked to the edge of the combat ring. He placed a wooden beam across two posts and looked back at Gabe.
“What’s that for?” Gabe chuckled cautiously.
“I want you to break it.” Haim said directly.
“What? First we are in a Disney movie and now I’m supposed to be the Karate Kid or something?” Gabe asked, wishing he was joking. Haim stood there staring at Gabe without a word. “Seriously, I’m not going to break that.”
“Hmmm, you’re right,” Haim replied examining the beam.
“Good, I’m glad you’re finally starting to believe me.” Gabe responded, relieved. His relief quickly faded as he watched Haim pick up two more boards and placed them on top of the first one.
Haim knelt to examine the thickness. Pleased with the four to five inch stack of lumber, Haim turned to Gabe and gave the game show hostess wave. “This seems more fitting for a Guardian.”
“What?!” Gabe yelped. “I can’t...”
Haim interrupted Gabe before he could finish. “Faith, Gabe. All you need is a little faith. You are a Guardian. You need to believe in yourself and the power behind you. You have as much strength as any Guardian before you. You had no training, yet you were already sensing evil, you healed Sophie, you commanded your God given blade against Uri with strength and confidence. I believe in you, Gabe. We all do. Now you need to believe in yourself.”
Haim’s words resounded in Gabe’s ears. They all had so much faith in him he found himself asking, ‘What if they all were right? What if I am a Guardian?’
Haim took a step closer and looked into Gabe’s eyes. He lowered his voice and with great emphasis instructed Gabe to take a deep breath.
“Now clear your mind of everything and focus. Look at the beams. Tell yourself they are not indestructible, nothing is. See yourself with the ability to break them. I want you to focus until you feel a burning in your belly and that’s the moment. That’s when you take all of that strength and push it into a strike.”
Gabe approached the beams. Just as Haim instructed, he took a deep breath and focused as hard as he could. He wondered how long he would have to wait before he felt this burning, as Haim called it. Nothing seemed to be happening. He closed his eyes, trying to imagine the gathering crowd away. “Gabe, think about Uri and Michael.” Gabe looked back at Haim, unsure what he meant.
“If they were in danger, wouldn’t you want to help them?” Haim continued. “If you don’t know how to use your powers, how much help do you think you would be?”
Gabe opened his eyes again and looked at the beams. He thought about his new friends, these men he barely knew but had been so welcoming and loving to him. At this very moment they could be in danger and there was nothing he could do; he felt helpless. Gabe wanted to be powerful and dependable. He wanted to help them so badly, the way he had wanted to help his parents all those years ago, but there was still no fire in his belly. More time passed, Gabe wondered if perhaps they were wrong about who he was. Perhaps he had been right all along and he was no Guardian .
“Remember the night you came, the demons on the road?” Haim persisted. “Remember Sophie?” Gabe closed his eyes and it was as if he were transported back to that roadside. Looking out the window, helpless as those winged beasts attacked.
He remembered how he had stayed hidden while Uri pleaded with Sophie to cast the spell to save them. The sound of Sophie casting the spell and then collapsing to the ground resonated in his ears. A flash of her lifeless body in his arms made him twitch. With that, a growl came from inside him. As he opened his eyes to see where the sound was coming from, he realized he was charging the beams, arms raised high.
Gabe felt his belly burning like hot coals. The heat pushed up through his chest, then to his arms and all the way out to his fingertips. Without thinking about it, Gabe’s hands came down on the beams with such force that they splintered and fell to a heap on the ground in front of him. Feeling charged, like energy was pulsing from him, he came down to rest on one knee, breathing heavily. He stayed crouched for a moment longer, not quite sure what had just happened. Gabe gaped with great astonishment at the rubble that lied before him.
Another moment passed, when Gabe stood and the sounds around him filled his ears. The crowd had erupted into a massive cheering section. As Gabe marveled at his accomplishment, the reality of the pain of his actions hit his brain sharply; he began wildly shaking his hands as they were still stinging. He stared down at his swollen paws that had begun to glow red where they had cracked the beams.
Haim rushed over to congratulate Gabe on his accomplishment. “And you didn’t think you had it in you!” Haim bellowed.
Gabe stood there speechless. He looked back at the beams and then again at Haim. The shock turned to pure joy as Gabe let out a triumphant cry. In that moment, Gabe no longer worried about being battered and bruised by this giant that was Haim. He just wanted to learn more. He wanted to see what other surprises his body had in store for him. Gabe continued his training with Haim, fearless, a state quite unfamiliar to him.
As the hours wore on, Gabe found strength he never knew he had. His body jumped higher than it ever had before, bended in ways he never knew it could. At last, Gabe was beginning to see and believe he was capable of so much more than he had ever thought. Gabe only wished Sophie had stayed around long enough to see him find his roar.
Chapter Thirteen
Gabe had gone to the kitchen and grabbed some fruit and a piece of bread for dinner. The day had been one of the best of his life and one he was so very thankful for. He had learned so many things about himself; grateful did not begin to cover how he felt. However, even with this thankful attitude, there was no denying he ached all over including his head. The thought of the loud chattering and clanging of the dining hall after his day working out with Haim, seemed unimaginable.
All Gabe wanted to do was sit and relax in a quiet place, so he made his way across the courtyard and came to rest against a big oak tree near where Sophie and he had danced. Looking around at the familiar scenery, he quickly scarfed down the food he had brought with him and suddenly regretted not grabbing more. Deciding he would just think about something else to take his mind off the nagging hunger pains, Gabe closed his eyes and in an instant he was transported back to that evening with Sophie. Her head was perched on his shoulders and the magical light show was playing out overhead. He remembered the way her body felt against his and for a moment he thought he could smell her again.
“Gabe?” Gabe sat there amazed; he not only could smell her but also hear her voice. He snapped back to reality with a tap on the chest “What are you doing out here?” Sophie asked.
Gabe shifted his sore body and smiled at her, embarrassed she had caught him daydreaming about her. “Long day,” he muttered. “I thought I would come out here to see if I might catch another light show.” Sophie’s face beamed a smile as she remembered their special evening as well.
Sophie took a seat next to him and leaned back to look at the same stars Gabe had been gazing at. “So, I bet a week ago you never imagined this is where you would be tonight.” she said accompanied by a small laugh.
Gabe thought about where he was last week; going through the same motions, hoping to go unnoticed and wondering if he were cursed. “Yeah,” he agreed. It may have seemed to most people that finding out Demons were trying to take over the world was something that would shatter your existence but Gabe realized he was happier than he had ever been. He had met Sophie, made amazing friends, and he seemed to actually be finding an inner courage.
A week ago he worried about letting people get close to him for fear they would be hurt. He thought he would be alone for the rest of his life. Since coming to the manor, he had made friends that felt so familiar it was as if he had known them his entire life. This new life meant Sophie, dancing under the stars, binging on candy with her late at night and all around just feeling good.
“I bet you wish you had taken the blue pill now.” Sophie added with a grin. Gabe was so disappointed Sophie thought that but was also intrigued by her Matrix reference about the blue pill. He found his thoughts wandering to the movie and how if the main character had taken “the blue pill” life would return to normal. Gabe wasn’t sure about this new place and these people but he was sure he didn’t want to go back to what had been his “normal” life.
Gabe wanted to play it cool, but he couldn’t allow her to think that he regretted coming here. “No way,” he said sitting up with a groan. “I have been alone for so long, you know? I was convinced there was something wrong with me and now I come here and find out I’m like this for a reason. It’s pretty amazing to find out there are other people just like me, people like you.” He looked into her eyes for approval.
Sophie looked at him and as her cheeks went hot, she quickly looked away so Gabe would not see her blush. She wanted to hug him and kiss him and tell him how amazing she thought he was but she retained her composure. She knew falling in love with him would just lead to heartbreak. The prophecy had already revealed Gabe’s destiny and she feared she wouldn’t have the strength to allow him to fulfill it.
“So,” Sophie said slowly, trying to casually change the subject. “Michael and you talked?” Gabe looked at Sophie, puzzled by her question. “After we left last night,” she added.
“Oh,” Gabe responded, realizing what she was asking. “He gave me this.” Gabe said lifting the locket from beneath his shirt. “He wants me to wear it, says it will keep me safe or something.”
“What?!” Sophie screeched. “But I thought.” Sophie stopped herself from saying anything else and fell to the side in a huff. She was so frustrated, she was sure Michael was finally going to reveal the prophecy to Gabe but he had just given Gabe a protection locket.
“What is it Sophie?” Gabe asked.
“Nothing, just forget it.” Sophie answered.
“Something is clearly wrong, is it the locket?” Gabe asked, worried it meant something to her he was not aware of.
“No, I just...” Sophie hesitated.
“Tell me,” Gabe urged her.
Sophie thought about it for a moment and decided someone needed to tell Gabe about the prophecy and if Michael wasn’t going to, then she would have to be the one. She told herself it wasn’t right for Gabe to make his decision to stay at Rampart or leave without knowing the truth. “I thought Michael was going to tell you about the prophecy,” she finally answered.
“Oh that,” Gabe said realizing suddenly why Sophie had been upset. “Michael told me about that soon after I got here.” he added.
“He did?” Sophie asked the shock clearly displayed across her face.
“Yeah, me being some big savior of the world,” Gabe said with a laugh. “I told him I think he may have the wrong guy but apparently the oracle has convinced him I’m the one. I guess I’m supposed to be the defender of some great prophet.” As he recited Michael’s words, Gabe added a tone of sarcasm.