Stay With Me

What had she seen? What sort of creature could possibly look like the animal that had appeared before her eyes? Was it a werewolf, because it hadn’t even vaguely resembled the things portrayed in the movies…
What exactly was a werewolf anyway? Was there some kind of definition hidden in the Webster Dictionary that could explain this madness? Did someone have to be allergic to silver, turn by the light of a full moon and have a flea infestation to be considered an honest to God werewolf?
Terry couldn’t help the questions that circled her brain. What she’d seen was an even deeper level of strange, than what she’d recently made herself accept. A boy that turned into a dog…well that was weird, but this…this was so much worse. That thing hadn’t been a dog, but a true monster.
A monster that just saved her life. Figuring out the obligations and entailments of that was making her moral compass do back-flips. Seconds passed like hours as Terry’s brain worked furiously to try to just understand what she was supposed to do. If anything…
Assuming that “thing” was Gabriel, meant that he was currently chasing after a drugged up pervert through the streets. Okay, so Terry realized she was a little thick headed at times. Self deception had always been something she was very good at. But even she could not ignore what Gabriel was going to do. One less pervert stalking the dark alleyways of downtown would probably be good in the greater scheme of things, but it would still be murder. The word had a comfortingly hollow ring to it.
Until Terry thought of the ripping. The shredding, and the blood. The damage his fangs alone could do…
Her breath was coming out in quick, shallow pants. Her fists unclenched and re-clenched nervously at her sides. Terry looked out into the darkness and screamed out, “Gabriel Vern! Get back here right now.”
Her legs were moving and she wasn’t really aware until she almost tripped. Terry quickly righted herself and continued to run blindly forward. She had no idea what she was doing. Her sarcastic inner monologue was blasting at full volume off the walls of her psyche.
Wow, awesome idea…running after a dangerous, freak boy, trying to stop him from eating the local homeless population. Sure she’d almost been raped and her judgment was probably way off. Also she was probably suffering from some kind of post -traumatic stress thing, but whatever. Why not go for a midnight jog? Her mom was so not going to lock her in her bedroom for the rest of eternity. That was just crazy… and Terry Finchly did not do crazy.

***

When it happened, even Gabriel didn’t know where his mind went. His consciousness ran someplace else. Somewhere that it did not have to answer for the sins that his flesh committed. A Neverland. A place he couldn’t escape, unless something pulled him back.
Once again, that something turned out to be screaming. Someone was screaming and it pierced the nothingness that held him captive. The first thing Gabe was truly aware of was the sensation of liquid on his skin. It was wet and sticky. It was something that he did not want to see as his vision blurred back into place…
Mud. What he felt was only mud. When his flesh had reacted and twisted back into it’s original shape, Gabriel had tripped. He was now lying in a dirty patch of street that was still damp from the rain of the previous night. But what about the screaming?
Looking back, he saw Terry. She was running toward him and huffing, “Gabriel! I am not prepared to chase you through this entire city, so hold still.”

***

When Terry found him, Gabriel had obviously turned back to himself. He was naked…again.; his skin only covered by a thick layer of dirt. That wasn’t surprising though, considering the filth that stained her own clothing. Alleyways weren’t exactly known for their cleanliness.
His nakedness wasn’t really shocking either. In comparison to everything else that was going on, Gabriel’s refusal to wear pants was not that huge of an issue. He could become a fucking nudist for all Terry cared! As long as it was human skin his body wore.
It currently was, thank god. There was only so much Terry could handle all at once. This was already pushing it by a lot. Gabriel curled up on himself in the dirt. His fists clenched and his breath coming out in labored puffs. Yeah, definitely pushing it.
Lowering herself to her haunches, Terry put a hesitant hand on Gabriel’s shoulder. A safer portion of his bare anatomy. She felt the muscles clench beneath her fingers as she said quietly, “ Gabriel…?”
Her voiced trailed off as something very rare occurred. She was at a loss for words. Terry Finchly was unable to think of a single thing to say that was even mildly appropriate.
She knew what she was thinking. But again, there was that issues of “appropriate.” Normally she wouldn’t give two shits and simply blurt out her opinion. Not now though, because Gabriel had just saved her life. She owed him to keep her mouth shut and be nice for ten seconds.
After seven or so, Gabriel brought himself into a sitting position and asked, “Would you mind terribly if I borrowed your jacket?

***

Terry’s bright yellow winder-breaker looked decidedly strange tied around his waist, but at least it hid everything. Fortunately for him, Gabriel had extremely narrow hips and Terry had shoulders that would make a linebacker proud. So the fabric overlapped nicely.
After he’d awkwardly managed to finish covering up, came the truly difficult part. Explaining and dealing with the subject at hand. Wiping off the mud and moving on. Gabriel had done it before, but he could tell that Terry was imbalanced. Her over bright eyes were just shy of tears. That combined with the scuffs covering her face made her look almost soft. Almost…
The hard edge of the frown on her lips made him know she was just itching to freak out. She probably should. It would make her feel better. It wasn’t normal to be so calm after that kind of incident. But then who was he to judge what was normal?
Taking a deep, steadying breath Gabriel finally made himself ask, “Are you okay, Terry?”
Knowing his words would be the crack that broke the damn on her emotions, he braced himself for her reaction. The screams, accusations, and fear. After all, he had no idea what he had become. She had seen the monster in him and now was her chance to condemn him for it. Exactly as they had…
Instead, Terry just gripped herself tightly. Her arms wrapped around her waist, like she was trying to hold her insides in. Then she said firmly, “You’re taking me home.”
It wasn’t a question, but a demand. And in her usual imperious style, Terry turned on her heel and expected him to follow. Fool that he was, Gabriel did. There where still things out there so much more dangerous than he was.