SparkaTale: Read it, Write it

Prologue - Color Blind

“Blue, are you even paying attention?” Albert asked impatiently, gesturing at the computer monitor in front of her.

Blue focused her light brown eyes on the screen. Then she shook her head impatiently. “I can’t do this stuff, Al. Can’t I get back out into the field?”

Albert looked at her over his thick glasses. He was a middle-aged man, on the squat and round side. He wore short sleeved T-Shirts all year long as he had a tendency to sweat in any weather. Through the shirt the brace keeping his back supported was visible.

His short black hair was messy, and plastered to his head damply. He wore an ever present five o’clock shadow that went down to his neck.

“You know company policy.” he warned her sternly. “Six weeks for chest injuries.”

“But I’m fine...” Blue protested.

“Oh yeah? Do this.” He lifted both arms straight out in front of him, then rotated his upper torso from side to side.

She gave him a sour look. “Why are you trying to teach me the computer stuff anyway?”

Blue was young, just barely out of her teens. She’d joined the company right out of High School, giving up the chance at college to pursue gainful employment. She had long brown hair that she kept in a tight braid. Her skin had a healthy glow from time well spent in the sun.

She’d never been one for a desk job, preferring instead to be out in the thick of things, actually doing some good in this city. Every day she spent inside was another night that her work went undone.

“We don’t have a retirement plan here, no life insurance.” Albert reminded her harshly. “You get benefits for as long as you work. Once you can no longer work in the field, then you have to be useful in some other way, or you’re out.”

Blue’s eyes went to Albert’s back brace. She put a hand to her ribcage, feeling the thick bandage under her shirt. “Show me how the code for the server again...” she said softly, putting her hands back to the keyboard.

They sat at a cubicle surrounded by many more, though it was night and they were the only ones there. All of the lights were still on, as if everyone was just out on lunch.

The double doors at the end of the room burst open and Blue and Albert both jumped, Albert leaning out of the cubicle to look down the aisle.

Silver strode into the room, a sour expression on his face. His long, dirty, brown coat and unkempt hair and beard were out of place in the clean office. Red followed behind him, looking bored.

Silver was by far the oldest in the group. His long hair gray and straggly, his beard matching. His brown eyes were hard from a lifetime of grueling work, driven by almost mad desire. There wasn’t a time when he didn’t carry the scent of whiskey on him, though lately it had grown stronger.

Blue stood up right away. Silver had been her partner in the field until about five weeks ago, when she had been injured. “Silver, how did it go?” she asked him anxiously. He walked right past her and Albert, continuing towards the Manager’s office at the end of the aisle. “Silver?” Blue called after him. She cupped her hands around her mouth. “Arthur!”

He paused and turned his head slightly, looking over at her. Then he turned back and kept walking.

Red lingered back, standing by the their cubicle. He was young, only a few years older than Blue. He had pale skin and narrow black eyes. His short hair was dyed bright red and gelled into spikes that swept back over his head. He wore black leather pants and a leather racing jacket, in black and red. Everything fit him just a little too tightly. “How’s it going, Blue?” he asked casually.

“What’s wrong with SIlver?” she asked, turning to him. “How did it go out there?”

“What’s RIGHT with SIlver?” he asked dismissively. “He’s never been right in the head.” Blue glared at him and he moved on. “The job was a total snooze fest, none of the leads panned out. Just a lot of sitting in the dark with a guy who smells like a liquor store.”

Blue’s hands clenched in frustration. “There was nothing?”

Red used one hand to slice horizontally through the air in front of him. “Nada. David Lucien is dead. He’s deader than dead.”

“What about the other Angels? The new ones he was associating with?”

He shrugged. “Silver says he killed one, but he’s still have Green run the prints. I don’t know what’s going through his head.”

“And the other? The one that used to be Katrina Riley?”

“She’s vanished completely, like a puff of smoke.”

“God dammit!” Blue swore loudly, banging her fist on her desk, making the keyboard jump.

“Watch it!” Albert cried.

The office door at the end of the aisle opened, but instead of Silver, Green exited. She walked swiftly up the aisle, her arms full of papers and folders.

“Green.” Red’s eyes lit up and he smiled warmly. “I was just thinking about you, and how much I miss our jobs together.”

Green was a petite woman, with long black hair that was so fine it drifted through the air in her wake. Her eyes were obsidian orbs, always flickering around, observing every movement.

She paused when she reached Red. His smile grew wider in anticipation. She pulled a few papers out of her stack and shoved them roughly into his chest. Without a word, she continued on down the aisle to the opposite door.

“Are those the prints?” Blue asked, leaning closer to Red, but not moving her feet.

“Hold on, lemme read.” His dark eyes scanned the page on top. “Okay, The Angel of Shrieks is heading back to California for a series of concerts on the west coast. She also, apparently, has a movie deal coming up.”

Blue rolled her eyes. “Ugh, can’t we just get rid of her finally?”

Red gave her an incredulous look over the papers. “You do realize how public she is, right? We can’t just kick down her hotel room door, guns blazing. She’s got security crawling around her all the time. Normals, too.”

“I just can’t stand it, though.” Blue gripped her hands in frustration. “How DARE she flaunt herself the way she does! She’s practically rubbing it in our faces!”

“Her music’s pretty good.” Red admitted. Albert wisely pushed his chair out of the line of fire.

“Duh! She’s cheating!” Blue spat. “She’s using her voice to mind control every idiot in the country into buying her singles.”

Red realized he wasn’t going to be able to pull himself out of hot water if he continued, so he moved on, turning to the next page. “Huh. That’s weird.”

“What?” Blue snapped.

“Take a look what just pulled into the harbor this morning.” He handed her the page, which had a photo paper-clipped in the corner.

“A ship?” She lifted up the photo, reading the words underneath. “There’s an Angel that sails? On WATER?”

“Just look at that thing.” Red pointed at the ship. “How old is that thing? It looks like a pirate ship, black flag and everything. How does he keep it in such good condition?”

“Sometimes, they just don’t bother hiding, do they?”

“They can’t help it.” Albert spoke up, not looking up from his computer screen.

Red and Blue both turned to him. “Pardon?” Red asked.

“They get set in their ways, just like normals do, except their habits go further back.”

“You’re talking about Geis?” Blue asked. “I always thought that was stupid, a rule that each Angel has to follow.”

“The older ones have it, they don’t have any choice.” Albert adjusted his glasses. “We have them too, habits that we fall into, rules we put on ourselves without realizing it. Smoking, leaning back in your chair, biting your nails.”

“Yeah, but we can break our habits.”

“A thirty year habit is easier to break than a three hundred year one.”

Red was on his last page now. “Ugh, no fingerprint matches on the Angel Silver took out. Why even print out a page?”

“Green didn’t want an excuse to talk to you.” Blue told him.

“She doesn’t want a reason to talk, to anyone, ever.”

“Are we sure she CAN talk?”

Albert spoke up again. “Green can talk just fine, she just prefers not to. It’s a habit. Have you tried the National database? Or just the local one?”

“Uh, local, the tri-state area. I guess Green doesn’t have access to the National one.” Red passed him the last page.

Albert looked at the number at the top of the page and typed it in. A box came up and he put in his name and password. A few seconds later he was printing out another page, which he handed to Red. “Looks like we found a match. From Alaska, of all places.”

Red looked over the page, his face going white. “What? What’s wrong?” Blue asked, her voice urgent.

The office door opened again, Silver stepping out, pulling the door closed behind him. Red looked over at him. “Silver, that Angel you took out, how did you do it?”

“Sunlight. He caught me by surprise, so I didn't have much ammo on me at the time.”

“You saw him burn, you definitely saw it?”

Silver looked at Red warily, not used to the strain in the young man’s voice. “I stayed for the beginning, to make sure he was secure...”

Red’s hands trembled slightly. “No, sunlight wouldn’t work on him. He’s too old.”

“I thought he was new!” Silver snapped. “Didn’t Lucien turn him along with Riley?”

Red shook his head. “Not according to his prints. There’ve been incidents all over Alaska, going back a hundred years at least.”

Albert looked down at the printer under his desk. He hadn't noticed it was still chugging away, churning out page after page. He pulled out the small stack while the printer kept going. “He’s got an Archive entry that goes waaay back, when the database was just a handful of leather journals.”

Silver’s mind went back, to when he was investigating Riley’s apartment. He’d met someone unexpected, when his own daughter had pointed a shotgun at him. She’d been at Viv’s place, too, but he hadn't been sober enough to put two and two together.

Now he thought back, to the Angel that had been with her, like the one he’d killed, only younger. “How can you say that!?” she’d shrieked “He tried to kill you, remember? For three weeks he might as well have succeeded!”

He remembered looking up at her from the floor, his gun next to him. The young Angel had his arms wrapped around her when she dropped the shotgun, his cheek resting on her shoulder. His entire form was possessive, his glowing red eyes boring right into SIlver. “Leave now, and don’t bother us ever again, or I will end you.”

That had been the Angel he had killed.

Silver stood, staring at Red, trying to find his voice. “What’s his name?” he asked roughly as his throat squeezed.

Red was pale as a ghost now. “The Angel of Death.”

2: 1 - Fun & Prophet

1 - Fun & Prophet

“We’ve been looking all over the city, Callie, and we still haven’t found any place we both agree on.” Angie lamented. “This place you’re showing us better be something special...”

The elevator was small, with Angie, Callie, and Gabriel enough to crowd it completely. Angie glanced over at Gabriel, who was leaning on the back wall, looking bored out of his skull. Angie was just tired, trekking all over Manhattan was tougher for humans than vampires, especially on a busted leg.

Callie was vibrating with giddy energy. “Trust me, you’re going to love it.” She pressed one finger to the side of her head and grinned. “I know it.”

“Am I going to love it?” Gabriel asked, his voice flat.

She looked at him and her grin widened, which didn’t answer his question. He narrowed his eyes, then looked up at the ceiling.

The elevator creaked to a halt on the top floor. The door started to slide open, but stuck halfway. Callie forced it the rest of the way open, her smile unwavering. The door groaned in protest of such harsh treatment. Angie gave her a skeptical look as she passed.

The hallway was narrow and dim, papered in a sickly green color. There was an oily stain creeping down the wall from the ceiling. “I’ll be honest,” Angie said. “Not feeling a whole lot of love here.”

Callie continued down the hallway, humming happily. All the way to the end, right in front of a wooden door whose varnish had long faded. She gestured to the doorknob.

Angie put her hand on the knob. “There’s no lock,” she pointed out, her voice alarmed.

“You don’t need a lock, stop being silly. Quick, go on in.”

Angie turned the knob and pushed the door open. Strong sunlight dazzled her eyes after the dim trip through the building. She gasped as she stepped inside, her eyes widening. “Oh my god, it’s beautiful.”

Callie followed after her, but Gabriel lingered in the dark hallway, his expression disapproving.

The door opened into a spacious kitchen. The appliances were gleaming stainless steel and the counters were black granite. The floors were hardwood, dark and waxed to a high sheen.

There was no wall separating the kitchen and living room. Just a third counter top dividing the two spaces. A couch, sofa chair, and a TV sat on a large white rug in the center of the living room.

The kitchen and living room were completely unremarkable compared to the living room window. It replaced the wall on the left side of the apartment, sloping upwards at an angle to where it reached the ceiling. It was made of of smaller, lead lined, panes of glass. The morning sunlight poured into the room, fully encompassing the white carpet in dazzling brightness.

Angie turned back to Callie, who stood in the kitchen. She was squinting in the strong light “I like it, a whole lot, but how can we live here with a huge window like this?”

Callie smiled. “It’s UV protected. The last tenant was a vampire, and he had all the glass treated. I can’t stand directly under the window, but I can at least be in the same room without developing the worst sunburn ever. Gabriel’s old enough. It shouldn't hurt him, though he won’t exactly be comfortable.”

Angie turned towards him. Gabriel stood by the door, his black pants and his dark hair blending into the darkness of hallway. His eyes flashed red as he walked into the apartment.

He walked past Callie without looking at her and stepped towards where Angie stood in the sunlight. His shoes stopped right at the edge of where the light touched on the floor.

“How is it?” Angie asked him, the sunlight highlighting her chestnut hair a golden-honey color.

His eyes narrowed as he squinted. He lifted up one hand and held it out in front of him, towards her and into the sunlight. His skin did not burn. “It’s warm.” he answered tightly.

Angie smiled, and his eyes were suddenly more dazzled than the sunlight could account for. She turned back to Callie, and he settled his expression back to one of disapproval. “I want it.” she said.

Callie smiled broadly. “I knew you would say that.”

“You haven’t seen the rest of it, yet.” Gabriel reminded sternly. “You don’t even know if there are two bedrooms or not.” He walked towards the other end of the living room, opposite the kitchen. He opened one of two doors set evenly spaced apart in the wall.

When he had disappeared into the room, Angie walked back over to Callie. She moved quickly, which made her limp more pronounced. She leaned on the counter with both arms. “I love it. What’s the rent?”

“You should manage.” Callie replied. “The best part is, my apartment is downstairs.”

Angie pointed towards the floor. “Downstairs? Like, right under us?”

Callie’s smile turned devious. “That’s not a concern, right?”

Angie placed both hands on the counter. “Of course not, that’s wonderful!”

“There’s only one bathroom.” Gabriel announced, stepping out of the other door. “It’s shared and the size of a postage stamp.”

“Welcome to New York City.” Callie said wryly. “Real estate is kind of sparse here on the island.”

“I’m sure we’ll be able to deal.” Angie said, looking back over at Gabriel. “It’s been weeks, I want to get out of that hotel and have a place of my own again.”

Gabriel ran a hand through his hair, a sure sign of agitation. “Fine, we’ll stay here.” Callie’s smile turned into a grin. “For now.”

Callie reached over the counter and threw her arms around Angie. “This is going to be so awesome!”

“The furniture is ours, too?” Angie wheezed. “Didn’t the previous tenant take it with him?”

“Trust me, he doesn’t have any use for it anymore.”

“He’s dead, isn’t he?” Gabriel asked.

“Yep, hunters got him just a few weeks ago. While he was out, they didn’t know where he lived. He left everything to the landlord when he signed his lease, so voila.” Callie released Angie.

“I’m suddenly less enthusiastic about using a dead person’s belongings.” Angie announced. Gabriel walked into the kitchen, looking everything over.

Callie waved one hand dismissively. “Everything in the kitchen’s barely been touched. It’s fine.” She pushed herself away from the counter. “Well, I’m gonna leave you two to get settled. Don’t bother playing Rocks, Paper, Scissors for the bigger room, Angie will win. Bye-ee”

Gabriel and Angie immediately looked at each other. They both raised their fists at the same time and shook them three times. Gabriel threw scissors, Angie threw rock. Angie laughed. Gabriel threw an annoyed look towards the door. “How does she do that?”

Angie shrugged. “When in doubt: vampire. I am no longer surprised by what you people can do.”

Gabriel was opening the cabinets under counter, looking inside. “Oh, I’m sure you haven’t seen anything yet.” He turned towards the fridge, which was taller than he was. “This will need to be plugged in, so we can both store food in it.”

Angie gave it a wary look. “What’s inside it right now?”

Gabriel opened it, revealing a clean, dark recess. “Nothing.” The shelves weren’t even set up. they lay on one side at the bottom of the fridge. He closed the door and pulled it away from the wall. He lifted it up off the floor a few inches, so it would not scrape against the wood. He plugged the cord into the wall socket and moved it back into place.

“Well, you performing feats of strength hasn’t gotten stale,” Angie remarked. “Just how old are you anyway?”

Gabriel opened the fridge door again. The light was on now and it hummed softly. He started putting up the shelves. “Why do you want to know?”

“Well, Callie can’t go near the window, even with it UV protected. You can though, and you’re fine. Before as well, when that old hunter got you. I’m wondering what kind of age difference allows you be out in the sun for three days and survive.”

“I lost fifty percent of my body mass and all of my memories. I’m still missing most of them, and they’re not coming back.”

“You still lived.”

He finished setting up the shelves and stood up, losing the door. “I’m less than one million years old.” he said, turning towards her. His dark eyes glittered.

She was still leaning both arms on the counter. Her face flushed as she recalled Desyre’s concert. Gabriel’s eyes had been just as dark as he’d leaned towards her, one finger hooked through the ring on her collar...

She smacked both hands on the counter sharply, yanking herself away from the memory. “You know what, I wonder if this place has beds. I think me and my leg better go find out and lay down for a bit. It’s been a long morning.” She walked slowly towards the bedroom doors, careful not limp. She paused. “Which one’s the bigger room?”

“The one on the left, by about three inches.”

“Well, I’m not one to squabble over a few inches.” Angie said, reaching for the door.

“Then why are you picking the left room?”

Angie glanced back at him. “Because I threw rock.” Then she was gone.

Gabriel stood in the kitchen a moment, unsure what to do next. “I guess I’ll go check out of the hotel and retrieve our clothes. By myself.” His voice rose a bit.

“‘Kay...” Angie’s muffled voice drifted back to him.

3: 2 - High Tide

2 - High Tide

Donovan Blackswell was a rarity, even among vampires. Saltwater was deadly to vampires, but he sailed every sea there was. He could imagine no other life without a boat, the sea, and of course pulling into new and exotic ports.

When was the last time he had weighed anchor at New York Harbor? A hundred years or more? Certainly it hadn’t been as bright the last time.

He surveyed the other boats around. His wooden ship stuck out dramatically among the sleek metal and plastic speed boats and yachts. It was tiny compared to the huge metal barges and cruise ships.

Bah to all of them. There was no finer vessel than his own Mary, she could outrace and outhaul the lot of them.

He filled his lungs with the salty air, taking in the new smells from the city. “Nymph!” he bellowed. “Where are you? I need my papers!”

“I’m right here, Captain.” Of course Nymph was then at his side. Nymph always was, and when Nymph wasn’t, they weren’t far away.

Nymph was neither human nor vampire, nor man or woman. Nymph was Nymph. Donovan had found the poor creature when it was just a bairn, alone and abandoned in Wales. Like every lost soul Donovan encountered, Nymph was immediately enfolded into the crew.

As Nymph grew, they became quite a capable crew member, with a mind like a steel trap and the brightest blue eyes that could see for miles. Within half a century, Nymph was First Mate.

“We are a ship of lost souls, are we not?” Donovan asked.

“Yes, Captain. The most loyal band of lost causes to sail the hidden seas,” Nymph agreed.

“Who am I today?”

Nymph opened the ledger in its hands. “Donald Blake, a wealthy eccentric that has a love for pirate ships.”

“Close enough,” Donovan assented. He took the papers and permits from Nymph. “Tell me, what does the air smell like to you?”

Nymph took a slow breath and scented the air. “Adventure, Sir. We will have many ordeals, but the rewards will be great.”

“What does the water tell you?”

Nymph leaned over the side, studying the seafoam as it splashed against the side. “You will meet an old friend here. A former crew member. Someone important to you.”

Donovan nodded, closing his eyes as he digested the information. “And behind us? How long until we leave port and set sail again?”

Nymph looked out onto the black water. “There is naught but darkness that follows. I cannot discern when the Mary will sail, if she ever will.”

Donovan opened his eyes. “She’ll sail. Nothing can ever stop Mary from going where she pleases.”

“We should be prepared to leave at a moment’s notice, in case a dark tide does turn on us.” Nymph stated reasonably, going back to the ledger. “I will have the crew go ashore and acquire the necessary supplies at once.”

As Nymph melted away Donovan stared at the city, his lips pulling back over his fangs. “Now, just which ‘old friend’ is hiding here?”

********

Angie sneezed loudly, scrambling hastily for the box of tissues.

“How on Earth did you get sick?” Gabriel asked from the kitchen.

She held a few tissues to her nose. “We’be been all over the ciddy, checking a bazillion abardmends,” she mumbled. “I was bound to cadch someding.” She blew her nose hard. “Oh God, my sinuses hurt....” she moaned.

“At least it has taken your mind off of complaining about your leg.” Gabriel said wryly.

“Not true. It hurts worse, too. It’s all swollen and sad looking.” Angie stretched out her injured leg, wincing.

“Are you sure it’s just a muscle tear?”

“I didn’t break it falling down the stairs, if that’s what you’re asking. I should be fine, right after this cold passes.”

Suddenly Gabriel was standing over her, holding out a glass of orange juice. “While you’re ill, I’ve discovered entirely new depths of irritation. Get better soon, so that I can salvage some semblance of peace.”

Angie took the juice, but sulkily. “It’s not fun for me, either,” she huffed.

He walked around to the front of the couch and knelt down on the floor by her injured leg. WIthout any warning he placed one hand under her knee and pushed the leg of her culottes up, exposing the bruised skin above her knee.

Angie choked on her juice and tried to pull away. “What are you doing?” she asked while coughing.

“Let me see, I’m not going to hurt you.” His fingertips touched the bruised skin and Angie winced. She picked up a throw pillow with her free hand and whacked him over the head with it.

He looked up at her through his mussed hair, his eyes red.

Angie stared him down, her cheeks flushed and tears at the corners of her eyes. “Don’t touch me without my permission,” she said shakily.

He released her leg, but didn’t get up. He placed his hands on his legs. After a long moment he said “May I touch your leg?”

“Why?”

“The healing muscle has become stiff. It may not heal properly if you don’t take care of it. If you let me massage it, it might loosen up and heal better.”

Angie stared at him. His eyes were still bright red. She waited for them to turn back to their usual dark brown, but they didn’t. He was angry with her but his expression was blank, only his eyes showed it.

She continued drinking her orange juice, using it as an excuse to look away. “Do whatever you want.” she said quietly between sips.

She didn’t care if he was mad at her. She’d let him get over himself and leave her alone. She didn’t need someone hovering over her, telling her what to do. That’s why she’d moved out of her mother’s house when she got the chance anyway, right?

Still, Gabriel wasn’t overbearing. When they had first met, he hadn’t cared at all about what she did. Over time as they got to know each other, he was still content to watch how her actions played out. It wasn’t until she had been injured in the final fight with Vampire Katrina, that he’d started focusing on what she did and how she did them.

Why was that? Well, he blamed himself for Angie getting hurt while finishing a battle that he’d been too weak to overcome. He’d been defeated by Katrina, leaving Angie to face her alone. Since then his keen eyes were on her almost always. They counted her steps before she started limping, watched how heavily she leaned on her cane.

Gabriel rubbed the stubborn muscle till the tension eased. The bruise under his fingers was new. Angie had been overexerting herself the past few days and had not mentioned any added discomfort. She complained the same as she always did, so he had ignored it.

“You’ll heal faster while you sleep.”

“I’m not going to be able to sleep with my sinuses this clogged,” Angie insisted. Even as she said it, her eyelids were starting to droop.

“I know, that’s why I drugged your juice.” He looked up at her, and her head was leaning forward. He took the glass from her loosening grip and placed it on the coffee table. Then he pushed her elbow gently till she leaned back, her head resting on the couch.

“After this, you’re never going to trust anything I give you again.” His voice was a little sad. “But you won’t rest otherwise, so just forgive me, even if you don’t forget.”

He continued to rub her leg. “Why are you so flabby?” he asked in confusion. How could she run around the way she did while her flesh was so soft and squishy?

She was warm as well, warm like the water from the shower. The water filtered by the city was cleaner than even the rain, and it did not burn his skin the way seawater did. It was addictingly warm, seeping into his whole body.

It was like humans eating spicy peppers. There was a chance it would hurt or harm, but they did it anyway.

He glanced at Angie’s face, checking that she was still asleep. He pressed the side of his face against her leg, absorbing her warmth into his cheek. Yes, it was just like the shower.

Only this was far more dangerous.

********

Hours later, Angie stirred and opened her eyes. Her head was pounding and her nose was stuffed. She grabbed a handful of tissues from the box quickly.

After she had cleared her nose she looked down at Gabriel. He was sitting on the floor, his head on the couch seat, his cheek resting against her leg. His eyes were closed and his mouth hung open slightly.

She hadn’t expected him to look so normal while sleeping. He looked almost human. Well, more like a corpse.

His pale skin was white in the moonlight coming from the large window. The veins in his neck were blue. He was as still as death.

Angie looked over at the empty glass on the coffee table and frowned. “That’s the second time you’ve drugged me. I’m not going to let you do it a third time. I’m not going to even take a piece of gum from you from now on.”

She sighed as she looked down at him. “I kinda miss the old Gabriel. I guess losing most of your memories changes a vampire.” She reached a hand out and touched the top of his head with the tips of her fingers.

She waited a moment, in case he awoke and tried to bite her, or snarl with his fangs showing, or worse if he glared at her with those red eyes.

His dark hair was soft, sleek like a cat’s fur, but finer and longer. She let the rest of the weight in her hand go and rubbed the top of his head a little. For some reason, her heart was pounding.

“What am I going to do about you?” she asked the silent room.

4: 3 - Running Into an Old Friend

3 - Running Into an Old Friend

Gabriel’s cell phone vibrated in his pocket. His hand went to it immediately. He opened his eyes and checked the screen. It was another text from Desyre.

He deleted it without bothering to read it. Ever since she had flown back to the west coast she hadn’t left him alone.

Angie sat at the kitchen counter, a laptop open in front of her. She had brought a stool into the kitchen, which meant the screen was facing away from him. She was facing him though, and he could see her expression was tight with concentration.

“Is anything wrong?” he asked.

Her shake of the head was minimal, her eyes focused on the screen, her fingers poised over the touch pad. “No.”

“Where did you find the laptop?”

“Dresser drawer in my bedroom. It’s mine now cause I called it.”

“I see...” Gabriel got up off the floor. The early morning sun was just barely peeking up over the skyline. Through the glass sunlight couldn’t burn him, but that didn’t mean he had to like it. He turned back to Angie. “What are you doing? Going through the browser history?”

She frowned. “I’m looking for a job, if you must know.”

That shocked him for a moment. “Why?” Thanks to his late son, their finances were well in order. Between the two of them, they wouldn’t have to seek gainful employment in Angie’s lifetime.

She shot him a brief glance. “I need to get out of the house for a bit.”

He looked at the pile of used tissues next to the laptop pointedly. “Shouldn’t you wait till you’re no longer ill before looking for employment?”

“I can still look,” she said stubbornly. She became frustrated then and closed the laptop. “There’s no more Nora, no more Katrina. Our lives aren’t in constant danger anymore. We should both be deciding what we want to do with them.”

“This time of leisure will not last long.” His expression was shadowed.

“Have you been talking to Callie?” Angie asked suspiciously.

“Why on Earth would I be talking to her?”

“She said almost the same thing. She called right after I woke up and said it was fine to keep the laptop, but it wouldn’t do me much good because I’d be too busy to go to work.” She opened the laptop roughly, continuing her browsing. “I definitely need to get out of here,” she muttered.

Gabriel turned his attention back to the window. Being out in the sun drained him, but it was a bearable sacrifice for some peace. “Do you want to go for a walk?”

Angie sneezed loudly, groping for a tissue. “What? Right now?” she asked as she blew her nose. She sniffed. “Where?”

“Let’s explore the neighborhood. We don’t even know where to purchase food in the vicinity.”

She was silent for a moment, thinking about the empty fridge. “Let me get my coat.”

********

“I for one am glad that Butcher’s shop is so much closer to our new residence.” Gabriel announced, a full shopping bag dangling from each hand.

“That’s all well and good for you, but I’m not going to be walking twenty blocks uptown on a regular basis,” Angie frowned at him. “and gas is not cheap.” She looked tired, but didn’t seem to be in pain. Her nose was bright red from rubbing it and her expression was sour.

“How does your leg feel?” he asked her.

She looked surprised for a brief moment. “Not as terrible as I thought it would, actually.” She looked up at the sky. A thick bank of clouds had moved in and covered the sun. “Maybe the cold is helping?” She looked over at him and the corners of his mouth were turned up ever so slightly. “What? What’s funny?”

“I’m just glad that you’re healing. I never realized just how slow the process was for you.”

Angie’s heart went into overdrive and her cheeks reddened to match her nose. “Well, just go flaunt your quick healing and vampire...ness.” She turned and walked down the street. “I’m hungry. We’ve got your food, now it’s my turn.”

“Lead the way.” he said, as she started down the street.

Angie’s phone chimed in her pocket. She fished it out and tapped at the screen, then her eyebrows knitted together. Gabriel was walking beside her now and noticed her expression. “Something wrong?”

“No, I don’t think so. Just Callie being strange. She says there’s a pirate ship down at the harbor. She wants to know if we wanna check it out.”

Gabriel stopped walking abruptly. Angie stopped a step later and looked back at him. The sidewalk was crowded and people had to turn to walk around him. “What kind of ship is it? What is its name?”

“She just said pirate ship.” Angie tapped at her phone. “I’ll ask her.”

“Come on, let’s go.” He started walking again, quickly now. His long legs eating up the pavement.

Angie soon fell behind, trying to text and walk at the same time. “Hold on, I can’t walk that fast. Come on, it’s probably not a real pirate ship!”

Her phone chimed again. ‘Look out.’ read the reply from Callie.

Gabriel had stopped again, half a block ahead of her, waiting for her as she started to run up to him. Then a large brown blur slammed into his side, carrying him through a plate glass window.

The area quickly became deserted. Angie fought through a rush of people going in the opposite direction. When she made it to the window, she hung back, peering inside.

Gabriel lay on his back in the lobby of the office building. A tall man stood just on the other side of the broken window. He wore a long suede coat that billowed out like a cloak. Heavy black boots clad his legs up to his knees. A wide brimmed hat sat low over his eyes. He wore gloves and the ends of a long scarf dangled down to his waist. Like Gabriel, he was overdressed for the slightly chilly, early-fall weather.

The lobby was completely deserted except for the two of them.

Gabriel got to his feet, facing the other man, but not taking a defensive stance. He just stood there, looking at him.

His bags were completely ruined. White bottles were scattered all over the highly polished granite floor.

“Donovan, didn’t you used to have blond hair?” he asked.

Donovan Blackswell took two long steps up to Gabriel, raising his fist in the same movement. He caught Gabriel on the side of his face, sending him back to the floor. “That’s what you ask me?” he demanded, his voice deep and furious. “It’s been four bloody centuries you black-hearted bastard!”

“Three and a half,” Gabriel answered calmly from the floor.

“I thought you were dead!”

Gabriel didn’t look up at him. “I got married.”

Donovan reached down and dragged him back to his feet. “You could have come back to port before I left Paris.” His voice was a furious growl.

“I got caught up in a situation,” Gabriel hedged.

Donovan grabbed his shoulder roughly and pulled him into a crushing hug. “I missed you,” he said sadly.

Gabriel didn’t embrace him in return. Instead he looked over at Angie, whose eyebrows threatened to disappear in her hairline. He pushed away from Donovan, though not unkindly. “This isn’t the place for this. We shouldn’t linger here.”

Donovan looked around the lobby. “I suppose, before someone decides to be brave enough to investigate.”

Gabriel started picking up the scattered bottles. Donovan turned back towards the window and spotted Angie, who was giving him a disapproving look. He started towards her, raising his hand menacingly.

Gabriel was next to her suddenly, placing bottles into her arms. His demeanor was casual, but tension made his movements stiff. Angie said nothing, and shoved a few of the half-pint bottles into her coat pockets. The rest she carried in her arms. Gabriel went back for the remainder of the bottles quickly, his footsteps silent on the broken glass.

Angie watched Donovan warily. He’d lowered his hand and was looking at her in astonishment. She stood there, half a dozen bottles clutched to her chest. Her cheeks were as red as her nose from the slight chill in the air coupled with the recent excitement.

Donovan’s expression became confused. “Who are you?”

“Angie. Angie Statton"

Gabriel returned with the rest of the bottles in his own arms. White bottle tops peeked out from his coat pockets. “Let’s go,” he said to Angie, ignoring Donovan completely. They both turned and started walking down the street. Angie looked back at Donovan briefly.

“Wait,” Donovan called after them, running to catch up. He matched his speed to theirs and walked beside Angie. “You have to talk to me, you owe me a better explanation.”

They reached the end of the block and crossed to the next one. The crush of people returned and Donovan squeezed closer to Angie, who shifted closer to Gabriel.

“I’m sorry I hit you,” he said after Gabriel didn’t answer him.

Gabriel continued to ignore him, looking straight ahead. Angie looked at Donovan, but didn’t say anything.

“I’m sorry I hit you twice,” Donovan tried again, a pleading note creeping into his deep voice. “It was stupid, and immature, and came about as a result of pent up feelings and jealousy.”

Angie felt Gabriel’s shoulder twitched slightly at the word ‘jealousy’, but he still didn’t turn. “Why were you jealous?” she asked.

“It’s only natural that I would be jealous of Gabriel when he’s out shopping with a pretty girl.”

“So he used the name Gabriel way back when he used to sail with you?” Desyre, an old flame of Gabriel’s, had told Angie that Gabriel had sailed with pirates before. She hadn’t believed it until now. This vampire had mentioned ‘port’ and his long coat and wide brimmed hat just screamed ‘pirate’. Plus, Gabriel had been agitated when he heard about the pirate ship. It didn’t take a genius to put two and two together. Or in this case, two and two and two and two.

Donovan was disarmed by this calm human lass who was talking to him so casually about vampire subjects. “His name isn’t Gabriel any longer?” he asked.

“No, it still is. I just thought you guys had a bunch of names, since you live so long.”

Donovan shook his head. “We’re a sentimental lot, it’s one of our great flaws. Not for people, mind, but for names and places. We have long memories and longer lives. Change happens constantly, which can be disconcerting to a being so rooted in the past.”

“Vampires are much more civilised than I would have assumed two years ago,” she said. “I’ve known more to hold conversation with me than to attack me.”

“If you consort with Gabriel, that’s hardly surprising. He attracts the strangest of our kind.”

“Oh? Like you?”

Donovan grinned broadly. “Especially me!” He thumped his chest once with his fist.

Angie couldn’t help but laugh. Gabriel frowned, still staring straight ahead.. “So, that’s your pirate ship in the harbor, I assume?” Angie asked.

“You assume correctly. You are as clever as you are beautiful.”

“I bet you say that to all the human girls.” Angie laughed again.

“Of course not, I say it to most of the men as well.” Donovan winked at her. “So, where are you two heading now?”

“Home.” Gabriel said firmly before Angie could speak. She looked at him but he still wasn’t looking at Donovan. “By ourselves.” He took Angie’s hand in his. She looked down at their hands in alarm and confusion. What the heck was going on here? This was certainly a side of Gabriel that she’d never seen before.

“I’m truly regretting my violent actions earlier.” Donovan insisted. “Attacking you was the worst way for us to meet after so long. Please accept my sincerest apologies.”

“You also broke a window.” Angie pointed out.

“I will send the building a generous check that will cover the damages.”

Finally Gabriel turned his gaze to Donovan, his eyes cold. “I don’t care what you do, Donovan, just leave us alone.” His voice sent an icy chill down Angie’s spine and stopped Donovan in his tracks.

He stared after the pair as they walked away, Gabriel holding Angie’s hand a bit too tightly.

“But... I’ve missed you so much.” Donovan’s voice was low and pleading.

Angie stopped walking. Gabriel continued until their arms were outstretched between them before he stopped as well. Stubbornly, he didn’t look back at Donovan, or at Angie. All three were silent as New Yorkers pushed past them or ignored them entirely.

It was Angie that broke the silence. “Speaking of ice cream, I want ice cream.”

“No one is talking about ice cream.” Gabriel said.

“Well, we’re on the subject now.” Angie replied. “And I’m hungry. I was promised food. It’s not fair that we got yours first.”

“I’ll buy you ice cream.” Donovan offered. “Whatever kind your heart, and stomach, desires.”

Angie looked back at him shrewdly. “ANY kind?”

********

An hour and a half later, the three of them were seated at a small round table at Serendipity 3. It was crowded and Angie was anxiously looking for the waiter who would bring her sundae.

Her stomach growled loudly, causing both vampires to stop ignoring each other and look at her. She patted her belly. “Patience.” she soothed. “Soon.”

Gabriel reached into his pocket and retrieved a white bottle. He opened it and took a drink.

“Could I bother you for one of those?” Donovan asked.

Gabriel grimaced, but reached into his pocket. He slid another bottle across the table towards the other vampire, but still didn’t look at him.

“I see you’re still quite huffy when angered.” Donovan remarked as he cracked the seal on his bottle.

Angie snickered. “Now that’s an understatement.”

The smell from the bottle reached Donovan’s nose and he grimaced. “Ugh, this one’s gone off.”

“No it hasn’t.” Gabriel said, finally looking at him. “It’s been treated and pasteurized to keep longer. Also, it’s pig.”

“I shall pass.” Donovan capped the bottle and slid it back over to him. “Why would you ever drink something so foul?”

Gabriel narrowed his eyes. “Because I agreed to.” He turned away from Donovan.

Donovan’s eyes turned to Angie. “What?” she asked self-consciously.

“This would be your doing, then?” He gestured at the bottle.

“Technically,” she answered. “I am the one that makes him stick to that diet, though it wasn’t originally my idea.”

“What was your idea? Originally.”

“Shooting him in the chest.” Angie sipped her glass of water.

Donovan picked up a menu and pretended he was very interested by its contents. “Since when did frozen sweets become so expensive?”

“You punched Gabriel through a window. Just be glad I didn’t order the Golden Opulence Sundae.”

“It says here that it must be ordered 48 hours in advance.”

“See how lucky you are?”

Her Strawberry Fields sundae arrived and was placed before her. Her eyes widened and she gasped in delight, lifting up her spoon. Donovan watched her movements. “Well, that’s just not fair.”

Her spoon stopped in midair. Angie broke her gaze away from her sundae and looked at him. “What’s not fair?”

Gabriel glared at the other vampire. “Donovan.” A warning edge crept into his voice.

This time it was Donovan ignoring Gabriel. “Just stop and think about it a moment,” he said silkily, his eyes capturing Angie’s. “You are about to consume what is most likely, judging by it’s price, New York City’s finest strawberry and cheesecake sundae.” As he spoke a dollop of whipped cream slid slowly down a scoop of ice cream. “And yet, dear Gabriel is forced to drink swine. You can’t tell me that you fail to see the inequality in your relationship.”

“Donovan, just drop it,” Gabriel said, and was ignored by both of them.

Angie’s face went red. “You make it sound like I’m forcing him.” Her voice went high at the end.

“What’s his other option? A silver bullet to the heart?” Donovan asked sternly.

Angie put the spoon down with a thunk. She pushed the sundae a few inches away. Gabriel focused on her. “I’m fine, please eat your ice cream.”

She shook her head, her jaw twitching. “I don’t want it.” She flagged down a waiter. “Can I get a light salad, to go?” The waiter nodded and hurried off.

Gabriel glared at Donovan. “Why must you always, without fail, cause trouble?”

“I had no intentions of starting anything. You weren’t speaking to me, so I decided to converse with your young friend.”

Gabriel leaned forward menacingly. “Listen to me, Donovan Blackswell. You are not wanted or needed, and you haven’t been for centuries. Go back to the harbor, get back on your boat, and leave this city far behind.”

Donovan put a twenty down on the table and stood up. “You can’t boot me out of the city, Gabriel.” His voice was calm. “I’ll decide when I leave port. Our contract has not expired, no matter how much time has passed. You’d do best to watch yourself, before I get it into my mind to take back what you owe me.” He turned to Angie and gave her a short bow. “A pleasure,” he said shortly, then walked out.

Once he was gone, Gabriel laid his head down on his arm and looked at Angie. “Please eat your sundae.”

Angie’s brow furrowed. “No, he’s right, it isn’t fair that I eat whatever I want, while you have to suffer.”

“I wouldn’t call my time with you suffering.” He paused a moment. “Any longer.”

“Still, there is just one thing.” She picked the twenty up off of the table and held it up. “This isn’t going to cover my salad.”

Gabriel felt the corners of his mouth turn up into something almost resembling a smile.

5: 4 - Shades of Grey

4 - Shades of Grey

“You should have eaten the cake,” Callie said as soon as they stepped into the apartment. She was sitting at the kitchen counter, a white bottle in her hands.

“It wasn’t cake.” Angie’s voice was tired and her nose was stuffy again. When was this cold going to go away?

Callie smacked one hand on the counter. “Damn. It was a brownie, wasn’t it?”

“Nope.” Angie shook her head. Gabriel rolled his eyes and started stocking the fridge.

Callie was stumped now. “Can I have a hint?” she asked, pleading a little.

“We were at Serendipity 3.”

She thought for a moment. “...hamburger?” she guessed.

“Ice cream.”

Callie’s eyes widened. “Ice cream! I should have guessed that! You LOVE ice cream!”

“You should have guessed that, even without psychic powers.” Angie grabbed a tissue from the box by the couch and held it to her nose. “Some future-seer you are.”

“I don’t see into the future like watching it on TV or something.” She raised her arms in the air dramatically. “I peer through a murky haze of twists and turns, branches leading off in every direction. The future’s is not simply written in stone! It’s constantly in flux and I must use all my powers of concentration to find meaning in its spidery web.”

“Gypsy,” Gabriel called from the kitchen.

Callie ignored him. “And that is the reason why I’ll never win the lottery.”

“What are you doing in our apartment?” Gabriel asked, shutting the refrigerator door. “Is this why you don't want us to have locks?”

Callie pressed a hand to her chest. “I am insulted you think think I cannot pick a perfectly good lock.”

Gabriel walked over to the door, opened it, and gestured to the hallway. “Leave.”

“Why? So you can have Angie all to yourself?” The blond vampire pouted.

“Or maybe just some peace and quiet?”

“Geez, what vampire pirate got your panties in a bunch?”

Over in the living room, Angie started giggling, then had to lie down quickly.

Gabriel stepped through the door he had opened. “I'm going to go buy Evangeline some soup and cold medicine, and possibly an IV. When I come back I don't want to see you here.” He shut the door with a snap.

Callie tossed out her empty bottle and pressed her hands together gleefully. “Well now that the riff-raff is gone...” She swung her legs around to the living room side of the counter and slid off. She walked to the back of the sofa and peered over at Angie. “How are you holding up?”

Angie looked up at her wearily. She had a hand on her head and her cheeks were flushed. “I thought I was fine. I had so much energy before, but now I'm wiped out.”

“Yeah, well, Donovan Blackswell will do that to you.”

Angie smiled. “Hey, you got his name right on the first try...”

She held her hands up to the side of her head. “Yeah, cause it's like a blaring neon sign in my head.” She grimaced. “You be careful around him, or he'll drain you dry.”

“I won't let him get to my neck,” Angie assured her. She reached up and patted her arm.

“It's not your neck you should be worried about, hun. Why do you think you feel like crap right now?”

“Because I'm still sick and I over did it by going out today?”

“That's part of it, but the rest is purely on Donovan. He's not like your average vampire, and he's much more powerful than he lets on. We all have our gifts, like my future sight for instance.”

“Gabriel can kill plants and move things with his mind. Also his saliva can paralyze people.”

Callie's eyes widened. “Really?” Angie nodded. “Jesus...” She shook herself. “Well, Donovan doesn't absorb life from plants like Gabriel does, but he can absorb it from people. Like Desyre, he can feed off of emotions. They're a peculiar bunch, the vampires that are like him. They crave attention and gather people around them.” She frowned. “The complete opposite of the rest of us.”

Angie looked at her for a long moment. “Thank you for being such a good friend to me.”

Callie laughed. “That was rather unexpected. Are you dying?”

“No, it's true. You always have my back, Callie.” Angie gave her a serious look. “You tell me things about vampires and look out for me. You're my best friend and I love you for it. I know vampires are solitary. Gabriel is so antisocial and I know it takes so much effort for him just to be around me, but you don't even look like you're having a hard time.”

“You're hard on yourself for someone who saved my life.”

“I've legitimately saved Gabriel's life at least twice so far. I know that really doesn't have anything to do with being best buds with a vampire.”

She laughed again. “Well, no, I guess not. Let's just say you saved me at the right time. I lost my sister that day, so there was a vacancy.”

“You still miss her a lot.”

“Every single day, and I know that I can't bring her back.” She lowered her eyes. “I'm not so great on my own. I can take care of myself, sure, but I need someone to be there for me the way that she was. She looked out for me and provided for me, so that I could fully immerse myself into my ability. Nothing makes sense when I have my eyes open.”

“I think we all feel like that sometimes.”

Callie's smile was wry. “Yes, but not all the time.”

“I know that there's someone out there for you. There's someone for everyone. Maybe even two or three someones.”

“If that's true then there's someone for you, too.”

“No, not me. I'm the exception that proves the rule. I don't need anyone, Callie. I have my best friend and my roommate. Between the two of you, there's enough excitement to last a lifetime.”

“So you're really going to give up on love after one try?” Callie looked skeptical.

Angie sat up quickly. “What do you know about that?” she asked warily.

“That you have an ex with a crooked nose running around somewhere in the city.” Angie's eyes widened. “Angie, need I remind you that I'm clairvoyant?”

“Yeah, you're supposed to see the future. Not the past!”

“A timeline is a timeline. I can read it backwards or forwards.” She held her palms outward in a comforting motion. “It's okay, I'm not going to tell anyone. It's your secret. Have you at least told Gabriel what happened?”

“Why would I do that?” Angie's voice rose in pitch. Her heartbeat turned erratic. She closed her eyes and tried to calm herself. “I told him about my ex a little while ago, but not much. Not about how we broke up.” She clutched at her elbows and breathed shakily.

Callie wrapped her arms around Angie and rested her cheek against the side of her head. “It was a terrible thing to go through. Trust me, I know that. And I'm not talking about the cheating. What that man did...” her voice lowered slightly, a dark tone that lowered the temperature in the room. “But, that does not mean the whole world is dark. There are going to be so many people in your life, I can see it. Good people that will mean many things to you, except one. You give so much, but you keep one piece locked away.”

“No one would want that piece, if they knew where it'd been.”

That was the darkest secret, Callie knew. The trauma had all but passed, wounds had healed, but the feeling of being broken had not. Deep inside, Angie felt tainted by her past, by someone she had trusted.

“One day I hope you can see that you are whole, and you are good. One day you'll see that nothing was taken from you. You were not made less.”

Angie was silent. There was nothing to say. Callie was a vampire. The rules were different for her, surely. She was strong enough to never let something like that happen to her. Being human was different. Things hurt so easily, and there were no special abilities to help muddle through.

***

When Gabriel returned, Callie was still in the apartment. She sat alone in the living room, leafing through a magazine. Gabriel shut the door sharply, preparing a verbal assault.

She shushed him by raising her hand. “Angie's asleep. Don't wake her.”

“Leave.” Gabriel kept his voice low. He placed his bags on the counter and started unloading them.

“What are you doing here, Gabriel?” she asked without looking up from her reading.

“Leave.” He stacked up cans of soup in a cabinet and put half a gallon of milk in the fridge. “Now.”

“You had a chance to go off and do your own thing after the house burned down. Katrina's finally dead, Nora's cold in the ground too. Don't you think it's time you started over? Isn't running away your thing?”

“What are you talking about?” he asked suspiciously.

Callie closed her magazine with a snap. “Why are you staying with Angie? I can see all of the whats and whos and whens and hows, but I can never see the whys.”

“You're one to talk. Why are you hanging around her so much?” Gabriel finished putting the groceries away and turned towards her. “Don't you have better things to do?”

Callie shrugged. “No. Angie saved my life.”

Gabriel placed both hands on the counter and leaned on it. “She saved my life, too. Multiple times.”

“I also find her physically and mentally attractive.”

Gabriel looked down at the counter top. He was silent for several moments. “I owe her. She fought for me when I was dead. She finished a fight that I had started the better half of a century ago. She got hurt, lost her home, and almost lost her life. I owe it to her to look after her.”

“She doesn't need you, or anyone else, to look after her.”

His hands balled into fists. “You think I don't know that? I know that more than anyone. That girl... that woman... is single minded in her strength. Even when she's frightened out of her mind she never backs down. She charges straight ahead and she doesn't look at what's around her.” He lifted his head and looked at Callie. “She leaves me in the dust, and it infuriates me.” His fangs were bared.

“She's only human, Gabriel.”

He let out a bitter laugh. “Like that stops her. Her leg is still healing, weeks later. Even when it's done it'll never be as strong as it was before. It'll bother her when the weather turns bad, and she'll never be able to run as fast. Even then, she'll keep getting herself into trouble.” He brought his hands to his chest and clutched the front of his shirt. “I'd like to think that I can be there to help her. That one day she'll face something she can't overcome and I'll be beside her to return the favor. I know now that won't ever happen. So instead I'm just going to watch her. I want to see what she does next, because as much as I hate to admit it, I'm sure it'll blow me away.”

Callie twisted her mouth. “Maybe you will be able to help her one day. She's strong on the outside, but you don't know everything about her. She's got a dark creamy center.”

“Then I'll look forward to that too. It can't be as dark as mine.”

“No. There's nothing else quite THAT dark.”

Gabriel's eyes flashed red and he looked to the side. “You'd be surprised.”

Chapter 5 – Waking Up

Angie woke from her nap feeling a thousand times better. Her knee didn't even hurt. She tested it out by standing on one foot. Okay it twinged a little. It would be best not to run any marathons for the time being.

Her new bedroom was cozy, but a bit bare. She'd taken all of the former tenant's things out and packed them up for a local veteran's charity. She went to retrieve a fresh shirt from the dresser and found only two in the drawer, looking sad and lonely. The laundry hamper next to it was only a quarter of the way full.

As time went by, she was hating her old house burning down more and more. She had had some very nice things in that house.

She checked the alarm clock by the bed. 6:30. Why was it so dark out, then? She peered out the window. Was that... dawn? Just how long had she been asleep? No wonder she felt so rested.

Her stomach growled at her. She was also starving. Breakfast sounded like an awesome idea.

She combed her hands through her hair quickly and went to go brush her teeth real quick. The apartment was quiet. Was Gabriel out, or just asleep?

The living room and kitchen were dark. She turned on a lamp, but left the overhead lights off. The sun was rising and the view from the living room was going to be spectacular. She had just enough time to go see what Gabriel had bought from the store.

Not much in the fridge except for blood bottles. The freezer had a pleasant surprise though. A quart of 'Blue Bunny' ice cream. 'Double Strawberry' flavored. She got ready to tear the top off, but stopped. The conversation with Donovan from before (yesterday?) came back to her.

“Ugh.” She shoved the carton into the very back of the freezer. Looking through the cabinets was fruitless. There were chips and cookies and candy bars, all of which she loved, but nothing remotely healthy. What did Gabriel think of her eating habits, if this was all he had bought for her?

On the counter she spotted two cans of soup and a package of 'DayQuil'. Her heart lifted a little. That was more like it.

Soon she was curled up on the couch with a hot bowl of soup, watching the skyline slowly turn orange. Gold reflected off the glass buildings.

Yeah, this place was pretty all right. She'd have to thank Callie again.

XXXXXXXXX

There was a knock at the door about an hour later. Angie was immediately curious. Who could it be? No one she knew would knock on a door that didn't have a lock. She got up from the couch and decided to answer it, rather than just shouting a 'Come in' across the room. Gabriel was probably sleeping in his room anyway, though she had never bothered to check if he was even home or not.

The person on the other side of the door was someone Angie didn't know. She couldn't tell if they were a male or female under the baggy dark clothes and copious amounts of black eyeliner. Going by the jaw line she guessed they were a girl. While they were shorter in stature, they appeared to be around the same age.

“Can I help you?”

“Yeah, is Callie around?” The girl lifted up a pale hand and tried to push her long black bangs out of her eyes, but they just fell back again. Her nails were short and painted slick onyx. There were visible scars on the back of her hand as well.

“I haven't seen her today. She's probably asleep by now.”

“Nah, I would have seen her. I'm her roommate.” Her voice was edged, but she also sounded a little congested, like she'd been crying. Her eyes were bloodshot, with dark circles underneath. “She's not answering her cell either. She told me to come up here if I needed something.”

Angie felt awkward standing there with her, but couldn't find it in herself to just dismiss the girl. “Do you want to come in for a bit? I'll give her a call. She's probably not far away.”

The girl hurried into the apartment, head down as she passed. She made a beeline for the living room couch and sat down. She folded her hands between her knees and stared at Angie.

“Are you hungry?” Angie shut the apartment door and headed into the kitchen. The girl nodded emphatically, fidgeting. Angie held up the bag of potato chips. “Salt and vinegar?”

The girl held up both hands, a sudden and fierce need in her eyes. Angie opened the bag and handed it to her. She dug in immediately, stuffing a handful of chips into her mouth.

“Callie remembers to buy food, doesn't she?” Angie asked, sitting in the armchair.

“Sometimes,” the girl said between chomps. “She's been on this juice cleanse for months, though. Fridge is just full of bottles. I'm not supposed to touch them.”

Angie watched the girl eat while she chose her next words carefully. “Callie is... an interesting roommate?”

The girls eyes locked with Angie's over the top of the chip bag. “You could say that.” She lowered the bag. “She's strange, but not bad. She saved my life.”

Angie's eyes moved to the scars on the girl's hand. They went down her wrist and disappeared into her sleeves. “Did she now?”

She put the bag down on the table. “Yeah, Mom kicked me out last winter and I went to a friend's place for a few days. I got high on...” she paused and looked to the side. “a few things. I left the house and got into some trouble.” She clasped one hand with the other and dug her thumb into her palm. “I don't remember much, but I fell on some broken glass. Or I broke some glass when I fell on it. Either way I thought it was great. I remember thinking that. I remember looking at the glass, and I was bleeding and I picked up a big piece of glass and I just cut into my arms, trying to bleed as much as I could. Callie said I was unconscious when she found me.”

Angie stared at the girl, her mouth open a little. She pulled herself together. “Are you okay just telling me all this?”

The girl shrugged and looked down at the floor. “It doesn't matter. Anyway, she took me to the hospital and told them she was my mom. They patched me up and Callie brought me back here.”

“You haven't been back home since?”

The girl shook her head. “No, I don't want to. It's better if they think I'm dead.” She didn't seem concerned or regretful, from what Angie could tell. She picked up the bag of chips again and peered inside. She straightened the plastic and lifted the bag to her mouth, pouring out a pile of crumbs and broken chips.

She decided it was time to change the subject. “My name is Angie. Well it's really Evangeline, but Angie is for daytime wear.”

“I'm Sybil.” The girl crumpled up the bag and rubbed her mouth with her sleeve. “Can I have some water?”

“Sure.” Angie got up and went back into the kitchen. “Sybil is an interesting name for a girl your age...”

Sybil rolled her eyes. “I know, my mom was nuts when she named me. You can't even shorten it into anything casual like 'Angie'.”

Angie handed her a glass of water and sat back down. “There's got to be a nickname for Sybil. Like Sibs or Billy.” Sybil's eyebrows furrowed while she drank her water in two gulps. “Yeah, those are terrible.”

“It doesn't matter anyway. It's just a name.” She put the glass on the table. “Thank you.” She said it like an after thought.

“Let me call Callie for you.” Angie picked up her cell phone. “You can stay here with me till she comes back.

“Thank you.” This time, it sounded sincere.

XXXxxxXXX

Callie's phone buzzed in the pocket of her red leather coat. She pulled it out and placed it against her ear. “Hey Angie, what's up?”

“Hey Callie, Sybil's here with me. She's been looking for you.”

Sybil, that's right. She'd almost forgotten... “I'm afraid I'm not going to be back for a while. Can you keep an eye on her for me?”

She stood in a small stone room. The door was closed tightly, preventing the morning sun any entrance. Large rectangles lined the walls, words etched into each one. She was facing two pairs against the back wall.

“She's not going to cause any trouble, is she?” Angie asked jokingly.

“As long as you keep her away from sharp objects. I have to go now. See you tonight.” She placed the phone back into her pocket.

She ran her fingers along the names etched in the stone of the top two pairs of rectangles. Calypso Summers. Callisto Summers. She fingers stopped at her sister's name. “Lissie, I know you always looked out for me. I also know that if I could talk to you now you'd tell me to be strong. The thing is that I've tried my best to do that. I really have. I've done my best to be like you, to take care of others the way you took care of me. I have tried... and I know it's not me. I'm just emulating you.”

She leaned her forehead against the stone slab. “I know that I should be okay on my own, that I can take care of myself, but I also know that something is missing. I wasn't born a whole person, Lissie. I was born as a half, and trying to live with just half is pointless.”

“I know Gabriel was the one that killed you, but I don't blame him for your death. I don't even blame Nora. She just gave us an option when we had none.” She pulled away from the stone. “There's only one person I blame.” She looked down at the bottom two rectangles. Charles Summers. Robin Summers.

“It was his fault. I know that now. He's the reason for everything.” She looked back up at her sister's grave. “I know that you're gone and you're never coming back. The only comfort I get from that is knowing that wherever you are, he's someplace far worse.”

“The reason I'm here isn't to bring up the past, though. It's about the future. There is someone for me, someone who can be my new other half. They just don't exist yet, not completely.”

She placed both hands on the gravestone. “I'm brought myself here, so I can decide if I'm willing to bring that person into the world. I've given myself only two choices. I can take someone's life to suit my own, or I can crawl into that empty box next to you. I've given myself till nightfall to decide that.”

She turned around and leaned her back against the cool stone. She slid down to the floor and stared at the ceiling.

6: 5 - Waking Up

5 - Waking Up