A guilty man is given sentences he is expected to accept with open arms. He deserved it, as everyone spat at him. The actions that were made were to the worst extent of what a human could do. Taking another's life... it was despicable. How could anyone live knowing someone had to cease living at their own hand. What could be the reasons behind such actions? Was it out of self defense? Maddened thoughts? Revenge? So many reasons could be pinned onto the act. However, no matter what, it would still be justified as a terrible outcome.

Gabriel Reyes sat in the back of the cramped police vehicle, absentmindedly staring at the world passing him by. Cold metal locked his hands together, matching with the dull grey bars that separated him from the officer driving the police car. Faintly, he could hear the speaker buzz in and out of the radio at the front of the car, speaking in some police code he couldn't understand. It's not like he wanted to. He felt no energy to invest his attention to the world going on around him except for the crashing world in his mind.

"So, I take it you're a guilty one, huh?" The officer up front inquired suddenly, looking at the rear view mirror to lock eyes with the gloomy criminal.

Silence is what Gabriel answered with, merely granting the man a stare. It wasn't of malice or despise, it was simply blank.

The man at the wheel let out a soft laugh, "Y'know, by this point, I would've had other convicts scream and cry at me, pouring out their hearts as if my word had anything against the judge." The car skirted a bit as he turned a corner, making his way down the highway. Buildings disappeared as tall trees towered down at all sides now. "'I didn't do it!' They would bawl at me. 'I'm innocent! Don't take me there! I'm telling the truth- I'm innocent!' They yelled all sorts of bullshit."

"And were they innocent?" The Latino in the back questioned, his voice soft. The driver scoffed.

"Hell no. They were all cowards. They wouldn't man up to their actions and thought they could just be let free like some kindergartner in time out. You can tell a lot about a man on how he acts when being driven to prison."

The driver glanced back at Gabriel.

"By the looks of it, you plead guilty."

Gabriel averted his gaze to the side windows, a wave of unease prodding his stomach. For a moment, the past silence that had captured the car had returned.

The man wasn't wrong. Guilt plagued Gabriel from the moment the crime was committed. Even in the mere moment it happened, he wished he could take it back. It was in the haze of a storm of emotions— he couldn't see clear to the logic. Before he knew it, it had been done.

Sighing, Gabriel pushed the memory of the murder he committed away, knowing that pondering more upon it would just pain him further. Even though he knew he deserved the feel all the pain and guilt from that...

"I met a guy like you once." The driver continued, obviously well acquainted to work well under an awkward silence. "Yeah, he killed a man out of anger. However, he thought after killing that man he wasn't wrong whatsoever. He thought he deserved a fucking Nobel prize and be thanked."

Gabriel sighed, slowly tuning out the man before him. He didn't need this meaningless talk. None of this was going to matter soon. Soon, he would be getting ear fills of such constantly behind the bars he will live behind for years to come. Stories of his fellow inmates on what they've done and how they acted on it. Hearing random dickheads try and out-macho themselves with their lists of insensitive and cruel acts. Pathetic.

Turning his gaze away from the side windows, Gabriel focused up onto the road ahead. Would this be his life now? Walking through life in a daze with constant regret and yearning for the past when all was well? Will this officer's meaningless stories be the only conversation he ever gets from anyone? He hung his head, eyes blankly staring at his tattered shoes. Small specks of a dark red still painted the tips of his shoes to his despise.

Lifting his head back up, Gabriel now stared forward at the road ahead again. The officer had turned on his radio so now the air around them was filled in static and muffled reports. It wasn't like he could understand any of them anyways. They were just white noise to fill the painful silence that would set if it was gone.

Squinting, Gabriel caught sight of something in the road the officer had yet to see due to him continuing to yap away about what other pointless story filtered in his mind. Something or... someone was in the middle of the road. They were hunched as if the sun beating on their back was too heavy for them. They dragged their feet as they walked across the road, not even paying to mind that a car was coming directly at them.

"Hey," Gabriel exclaimed, "Look out-!"

It was too late. The officer slammed forward into the steering wheel as the car collided with the human. Losing control of everything, the car spun out of control and began to topple down the hill and into the countless trees from the woods that decorated the side of the road. Gabriel grunted and winced as he felt himself hit the sides of the car as the vehicle continued to fall dangerously through the trees. With a sudden thud, he felt his head hit the side window and everything suddenly went black...

...

"Get away! Get the fuck away from me!"

A muffled voice is what stirred Gabriel back to consciousness. Furrowing his brows, he felt a huge twinge on the side of his head. Faintly, he thought he could feel something warm trickle down his face, tickling his cheek. The voice yelled once again, followed by shuffling feet. What the hell was going on? What... happened?

With difficulty, Gabriel pushed himself up into a sitting position. His vision blurred, causing everything around him to dance before him. The car was upside down and he was... leaning against the roof. The windows of the car were shattered and the interior was in shambles. Drowsily, his eyes shifted downwards onto something that glinted in the corner of his eyes. It was the keys to his handcuffs. Oh, thank God.

Reaching down, he grabbed the precious metal and released himself of the uncomfortable chains that bound his hands too close together.

With his intense tunnel vision, Gabriel turned his attention to the driver's seat. The talkative officer was no where to be seen... The driver side's door looked like it had been snapped off the car itself. The side door laid broken beside the driver's side door. Shattered glass from the windows littered the floor as if little knives were excitedly waiting to claw at someone's exposed flesh. This was one crash...? Truthfully, Gabriel was surprised to see that he was even alive.

Bang.

A sudden crack of a shotgun snapped through the air, startling Gabriel. He instinctively jumped away from where the sound came from, suddenly feeling a shooting pain in his leg, causing a breathy wince to escape his mouth.

"What..." He glanced down, grimacing at the sight. There was a deep gash just above his knee surrounded by a patch of dark red that soaked his jeans. Fuck. His leg was injured from the crash.

Cautiously, Gabriel peeked out of part of a window that wasn't shattered and blown with dirt to see what was going exactly outside. Was this an ambush? Why was there a shot? Who was screaming? Squinting his eyes, he caught sight of... the officer! However, he was with another person, or what looked like a person.

"Get off! Get off!" The officer screamed as the 'other person' started tackling him to the floor. Gabriel watched curiously, eyes slowly widening at what just unfolded.

The stranger pushed the officer down and immediately leaned down and tore a huge chunk of flesh from the man's neck. Blood sprayed the stranger in the face as they continued to horridly feast on the poor officer. The officer screamed and cried, thrashing around the forest floor like a fish out of water before he went limp. Gabriel's mouth opened slightly in shock as he forced himself to move away from the window.

Fuck, fuck fuck. He had to get out. He had to get away from here.

What the fuck was that?! Did that man really attack and eat that annoying police officer?! What the hell is going on?

With urgency and difficulty, Gabriel crawled out of the car through the broken door. Once out, he forced himself up on his feet, immediately grimacing at the strong pain in his leg. Fuck.

Looking around, Gabriel quickly, as much as he could, started limping away from the scene. He couldn't be here. Hell, who knows what other sentence would be plastered onto his name if the authority found him here. They would probably blame him for the crash. Even so, that wouldn't really matter in his case considering the blood thirsty maniac back there would be questioned first.

As he hobbled, Gabriel felt his breathing grow a bit ragged due to shock and increase of adrenaline. Nothing was making sense. This didn't make sense. Hell, he was supposed to be in a jail cell by now by his lonesome, not running from his life with a battered leg.

There was a growl that came from the trees, soon followed by a ragged snarl. The single growl was accompanied by several more seemingly to come on all sides. Gabriel's eyes widen in terror as he tried to run faster, doing his best to ignore the excruciating pain in his leg. Suddenly, he caught a pair of clouded eyes behind him. The person bearing those eyes was slouched over as they slowly made their way towards the convict. Getting a better look, Gabriel noticed a bloody gash on the person's cheek, seeing strips of flesh hang down his neck. Their skin was pale and practically rotten, yet they functioned and moved as if nothing was wrong. All the while, they snarled at Gabriel, reaching their filthy hands toward him.

What the actual fuck was going on?

Gabriel felt his heart race when he felt his own speed start to decrease, the gap between him and the monster slowly grow shorter. Vivid images of the officer back there being torn to shreds. Seeing his blood splash upon the monster's face as it tore into him like some steak. Watching the man's body thrash and squirm till he twitched as the life drained from his body. Dear God, the thought of that happening to him... it made him sick.

Suddenly there were four gunshots ways away that was soon accompanied by bloodcurdling screams. The monsters that were tailing Gabriel halted, soon turning towards the sound and making their way towards that direction. Gabriel stopped, keeping still as to not draw attention back to him. Holding his breath, he watched them slowly file through the trees away from sight.

Once gone, Gabriel leaned back against one of the trees, catching his breath. Suddenly, Gabriel felt the hairs on his neck stand on end when he heard the shuffle of feet behind him. Snapping his attention to where the sound came from, he saw a small figure in the distance. Oh shit... is it another maniac? No, no this was different. It was... a child!

"Hey! Hey, can you help me?! Please!" Gabriel whispered loudly, beginning to make his way towards where the child was standing. The child turned around and ran off, not even giving back any answer of assurance or agreement. Gabriel sighed, pushing himself off the tree and beginning to stagger towards where the child went.

Maybe they went to get help. Or maybe they saw him as a stranger and immediately called for danger. He wouldn't blame them. Whatever the case was, maybe wherever they went there would be someone who would be able to help.

Moving past where the trees the child ran off to, Gabriel found himself at the backyard of what appeared to be an orphanage. This was that children's orphanage set up on the outskirts of town. He knew of this place quite clearly from the constant incoming of students in his classes who were from here or knew someone who was. It was the only orphanage in a fifteen mile radius so there was a good handful of children who lived there.

The orphanage was quite charming. The yard was filled with children's toys and had a treehouse for the kids to climb up in. Limping, Gabriel made his way towards the back entrance of the orphanage. Good. Somewhere to hang low or at least rest and maybe get his leg checked up on. Orphanages should have a nurse, right? At the very least, they should have a first aid kit. It would be quite stupid for it not to considering how many silly injuries children get. Besides, his court case was just this morning so, hopefully, no one would know who he was.

Gabriel reached for the handle, turning it to open it. Locked. Dammit.

"You should be careful."

Startled, Gabriel turns around quickly, eyes darting everywhere for the source of the voice. It was muffled and almost as if it were coming from a speaker, which only perplexed him even further. There was a sudden sound of static, leading Gabriel to find a small handheld walkie-talkie a few feet away from the back door of the orphanage. Going over, Gabriel picked up the radio.

"Who is this?" He inquired, furrowing his brows as he continued to search for the person on the other line. There was a brief moment of silence before his question was answered.

"My name's Jesse." Gabriel's eyes widened when he realized the bearer of the voice on the other line was a child. A little boy.

Softening his tone and demeanor, Gabriel shifted where he stood. His voice went gentle as he tried to figure out where the little boy might be hiding. "It's nice to meet you, Jesse. I'm Gabriel."

There was a slight rustle of leaves in a tree in the back yard, A little gasp soon followed after which Gabriel then pinpointed that to be where Jesse was hiding. Though, he didn't directly address him just yet.

"Are you safe?" Gabriel further asked, truly concerned on whether the boy was safe or not. The leaves shielding him did not assure him. "How old are you?"

The radio buzzed before Jesse responded in a hushed whisper. "Yes, I'm safe. I'm in the tree... The treehouse isn't safe though. The floor is kind of broken. That's why I'm up here." A small hand peaked beyond the leaves, waving in a friendly manner. Gabriel waved back with a small smile as Jesse continued, "I'm 8 years old and in second grade."

Gabriel could sense a hint of fear in Jesse's voice as he spoke, but there was an obvious force of trying to sound calm that threw him off. Was the boy really okay? Maybe he knew what was going on? Did a violent monster try attacking him as well? Why was he alone? So many questioned buzzed and prodded at his mind, causing the man to grow silent for a bit.

"Is it..." Jesse's small voice broke through Gabriel's thoughts suddenly, "safe to come down?"

Gabriel looked around the back yard, seeing no sign of danger anywhere. He raised the radio to his lips before reporting up to Jesse, "Yes, it's safe. You can come down."

Almost instantly, the branches began to rustle together, sending a handful of leaves to float down to the ground. Two little boots came into view, finding a hold of a stump of a branch to stand on. Slowly, a young boy hopped down from the trees, crouching once he reached the floor.

Jesse lifted his head up when he regained footing and balance, eyes locking with Gabriel's. Soft chestnut hair flipped along the sides of his head- one side being folded behind the ear. Gentle blue eyes gleamed behind a veil of childish curiosity and a hint of feeling lost. The boy wore tattered jean shorts and a graphic tee depicting some nameless super hero giving a thumbs up. Gabriel noticed that the young boy wore a silly cowboy hat atop of his head, some writing scribbled on the side.

"Hey." Gabriel greeted simply, giving the boy a small smile.

Jesse stared back, awkwardly rubbing the side of his arm. "Hello." Jesse trailed his eyes up and down Gabriel as if getting a good look at the new adult that just crossed paths with him. Obviously, he had no knowledge of awareness on the whole 'Stranger Danger' protocol. He caught sight of the gash on Gabriel's leg, eyes widening in shock. "You're... hurt!"

Gabriel glanced down, almost forgetting the stabbing pain in his leg. He let out a light laugh, shifting his weight on his uninjured leg. "Yeah, but don't worry about it, alright?" With difficulty he tried to suppress, Gabriel knelt down before Jesse with a look of concern. "Why are you here out by yourself? Where are your caretakers?"

A look of discomfort and confusion painted over the boy's face as he began to recall all he knew. "There was this man who came into the backyard and tried to hurt us. Mr. Tekhartha told us to go inside but... my friend, Hanzo, and I were hiding up here in the trees!" He bit his lip as if an unpleasing memory began to roll out. "There was a woman with the man and she started attacking Mr. Tekhartha inside. She... She was biting him. She was hurting him real bad... Hanzo and I stayed in the trees but Hanzo decided to go down and try to help... He told me to wait here for him till he came back but... he hasn't come back yet. I-I don't remember exactly what happened but I heard a lot of people yelling and car horns." Jesse tightened his grip on his walkie talkie in his hand, sadness turning the corners of his lips down. "I've been up in the tree ever since. It's been a day, I think. I don't remember."

Gabriel stared at the boy, a wave of disbelief flooding through him. This kid... has been in this tree, alone, for a day? And the horrors he described were similar to what happened with the man back in the woods with the police officer. A woman was biting a caretaker. This still didn't make sense. Something wrong was going on around here, or maybe it was everywhere. People going around eating people like animals? This was... inhuman.

Thinking things over to find what was best, Gabriel tilted his head ever so slightly to catch Jesse's averted gaze. "You're going to be okay now, alright? I'll take care of you-"

"I need to find my friend." Jesse interjected eyes glistening ever so slightly with tears. "My friend, Hanzo. He never came back. I need to stay here till he comes back or-or go look for him."

The boy gripped his arm a little more tightly now, his hand holding the radio trembling in the slightest. Truthfully, Gabriel never met an orphan, nonetheless someone who had no family. Though, it didn't take much of anyone to find the implications that this Hanzo boy meant a great deal to Jesse. He probably was the closest friend or person in his life.

"I'll help you find your friend, okay?" Gabriel pressed, knowing there was no way he was going to just let an 8 year old boy go off on his own knowing what horrors lurked around every corner. That was basically an indirect murder and there was no way he was going to do anything related to murder in the very least ever again if he could help it.

Jesse looked at Gabriel, torn between going with the man or go off on his own. He wondered if he took too much time staying silent and thinking since Gabriel decided to stand up once again, holding out a hand.

"Come on," He said nicely, "We'll stay together and I'll help you find your friend. It's not safe out there for you to be alone."

What the hell was he doing? Gabriel never once took care of a child before, nonetheless one in the midst of what seemed like the apocalypse. He was just on his way to prison to serve a life sentence for murder. How was it that in one day, he went from being a convict to a caretaker. He didn't know where this kid's friend was. He didn't know what exactly was going on. He didn't know a single damn thing. Yet, he knew he had to watch over this boy. He couldn't just leave him here in this desolate orphanage.

Jesse stared at Gabriel's hand hesitantly, silently debating whether he should or not. After a moment, he reached up and took the older man's hand with a small smile.

"Okay."

Gabriel smiled at Jesse, feeling a sense of responsibility drape over his shoulders. He was responsible for this boy, now, and he knew he would do whatever it takes to keep him safe.