Chapter 1
"Yes, Daddy. I'll be right home, promise. No, I don't need you to come pick me up. Yes, I'll look out for Gargoyles. 'Kay. Bye, Daddy, love you." Nikki pressed the hook button on her mini blue Nokia cell phone and shoved it back into her skirt pocket. Looking at the clock, she saw how late it was; 10:47. She pulled her jacket over her pink-and-white diner uniform and zipped it up. "I'm going home, Joe."
"See you tomorrow at eleven, and don't be late this time!" he called from the kitchen.
"Alright," Nikki called back. She waved goodbye to a few familiars, pushed open the door of the diner, and stepped into the crisp summer night air of Manhattan. A warm beeze whipped her hair every which way as she walked along the almost deserted streets.
Nicole Ruben was a fifteen-year-old red head with a temper to match her hair and clear gray-blue eyes which made her look like she was always daydreaming... which, most of the time, she was. It wasn't her fault; she had a very creative mind which tended to wander. This quality, combined with her natural beauty, had caught the eye of every guy she had ever met. A mixed blessing, as she would soon find out.
CRASH.
Nikki stopped, and started to back up. The noise had come from the ally ahead, and it was too loud to be a cat. That meant that it was either a street gang or Gargoyles. Heart racing, Nikki whipped around and started to run towards the diner, which was, by now, several blocks away. She had almost reached the corner when she ran into a tall someone and fell to the ground.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going," said Nikki, looking up. The man she had hit was wearing a ripped leather jacket over a white t-shirt, ripped blue jeans, and had a nose ring. He was carrying a baseball bat.
"Whacha runnin from, chick?" he sneered, advancing on Nikki. She scrambled up and turned to run the other way, but found that escape route blocked by three other punks dressed in the same fashion as the guy she had run into. They were all carrying a heavy peice of wood.
"What do you want? I don't have any money," said Nikki, trying to keep her voice steady.
"Who said we wanted money? We're looking for some sugar for our cake," said an idiot with pink hair.
"That's what a grociery store is for, dumbass," retorted Nikki.
"Bittersweet, just what we wanted," said another gang member with a green mohawk.
"Don't mess with me," Nikki warned. "My dad's a Quarryman."
"Yeah, but you're here, not your daddy," laughed the guy Nikki had run into. The gang started to close in on Nikki, who was looking around for the biggest opening. She found it between the idiot with the pink hair and a guy with blue hair. Breathing heavily, praying this would work, she charged at the two. Taken aback, they didn't do anything, and Nikki was able to push past them easily.
"Grab her!" yelled the punk with the nose ring; he was obviously the gang's leader. They ran after Nikki, who was glad she had decided to wear her tennies instead of her platforms. She dodged into an alley, jumped onto the ladder hanging down from the balcony above, and scrambled up it. The gang followed her, but soon fell behind because of the peices of wood they were carrying. By the time Nikki reached the roof, the gang was several floors below her. She stopped to catch her breath, leaning on the cement railing of the roof.
Nikki's head jerked up. She had thought a shadow had passed over her, but that was silly. The sky was clear; no birds or Gargoyles were in sight. Her gaze lowered, and she saw hands holding a baseball bat grasping the top rungs of the ladder. She looked frantically around for a place to hide and spotted the brick structure for the roof door. Just as the gang leader's head appeared over the railing, Nikki dashed behind it. Shaking, she listened as the rest of the gang climbed over the railing.
"Where'd she go?"
"Maybe a Gargoyle carried her off."
"You heard what she said; her dad's a Quarryman. She probably hates Gargoyles."
"Then what happened? She can't just have disappeared."
"Exactly. She's probably hiding somewhere, or went into the building."
"Good thing this place is abandoned."
"Yeah. Ok, you two go through the door, and we'll look around up here."
Nikki's heart quickened as she listened to two gang members jog down the stairs behind her. Now what? The other two were searching everywhere on the roof; it was only a matter of time before they caught her. She looked around for a space between the pipes she could squeeze into and found one. It was just big enough for her to fit in, and dark enough to hide her. As quietly as possible, Nikki slid herself into it.
"Found her yet?"
"No. What about behind the roof door?"
"That's the only place she could be."
Her heart almost stopped as she heard their footsteps come closer. She recoiled as far as she could into the pipes as they came behind the brick structure and leaned against the wall where Nikki had been standing minutes before.
"She's not here."
"She must have gone inside."
"Then let's go down and help them look for her."
Nikki let out an inward sigh of relief as she listened to the footsteps fade away. She crawled out of her hiding space and turned the corner, only to be slammed into the wall roughly by the guy with the nose ring.
"Think you're so smart," he sneered, shaking her. "Well, you're not smart en-- Nikki?"
"Mike?" gasped Nikki. She could hardly believe it; Mike had been her old boyfriend back in the eighth grade, even though he was three years older than she was. He was a drop-out, and Nikki knew it, but she never knew he had been in a gang. "Are you trying to kill me?"
"I didn't know it was you," Mike said, releasing his hold on Nikki's jacket.
"Yeah, right," said Nikki. "Thanks for the scare. Now, I have to get home. Dad'll get worried if I don't get home soon."
"Will you at least meet the guys first?" pleaded Mike. A gleam of something flashed in his eyes, but Nikki didn't notice it. "Call your dad and tell him you have to stay at work or something."
"Alright," said Nikki. She took out her phone, dialed her home number, and waited for her dad to pick up.
"Hello?"
"Daddy? It's me; I have to stay a while longer. I'll be home in a little more than half an hour, 'kay? 'Kay. Love you, bye." Nikki hung up her cell and put it in her pocket. "Ok, I'll meet your little friends. Do you promise they won't hurt me?"
"Promise," said Mike.
"Are you sure?" Nikki asked. In response, Mike pulled Nikki closer to him, bent down, and kissed her. After a moment, he pulled away.
"I'm sure," he said.
"First you slam me into a wall, now you're kissing me," Nikki muttered. "Talk about mood swings."
Mike laughed and held open the door for Nikki. "Ladies first."
"How gentlemanly," commented Nikki, going down the stairs. Mike glanced furtively around to make sure no one was watching, then followed her. What he didn't know was that someone WAS watching.
A Gargoyle by the name of Lexington had been watching them from the wall of the building. He had listened to Mike and Nikki's conversation, and saw Mike cross his fingers behind his back when he promised Nikki he and his gang wouldn't hurt her. When Nikki and Mike entered the building, Lex climbed over the railing and went over to the steel door. It was locked.
"So much for the element of surprise," he sighed, backing up.
Down below in the building, the gang members had formed a small circle around Nikki as Mike "introduced" her.
CRASH.
"What was that?" said the idiot with pink hair.
"It sounded like a Gargoyle," said the guy with the green mohawk.
"Don't be stupid," said Mike. "Nikki's dad's a Quarryman. Gargoyles wouldn't help her."
"Why would I need help?" asked Nikki. "You promised they wouldn't hurt me."
Mike shrugged. "I lied."
"You bi--" Nikki started, but Mike clamped a hand over he mouth.
"Language, little girl," he taunted. Nikki slammed her elbow into his gut, and Mike let go of her, holding his stomach.
"This is why I dumped you," Nikki said, crossing her arms.
"Which is why you're here tonight," Mike said in an unusually high voice. "How do you think that felt, having someone three years younger than me dump me in front of the school? Embarrassing, that's how it felt. You're going to feel the same way tonight, only we're not going to dump you."
Nikki's heart rate sped up a little. "I'll have you arrested, all of you."
"Not if you don't live through the night," sneered the punk with blue hair. He and the guy with the mohawk each grabbed one of Nikki's arms and twisted them behind her back. Nikki struggled, but they held on tighter.
CRASH.
"I don't like the sound of that," said the guy with pink hair.
"Stop whimpering," said Mike. He walked over to Nikki, who's heart was beating so fast she thought it would explode.
"Is is really worth it, Mike?" said Nikki. "Can't you just get over it like a normal person?"
"You should know more than anyone that I'm not your idea of normal," said Mike, running a hand through Nikki's hair. She scowled and kicked Mike in the shin. He, in turn, punched her in the stomach, knocking the breath out of her. Nikki sank to her knees, breathing in short, quick gasps. Mike put a finger under her chin and forced her to look at him. "I'm not gentle, either."
CRASH.
"Hurry up," said the guy with the mohawk. "I don't want a Gargoyle down here."
"That door is solid steel," Mike said. "Even a Gargoyle would have a hard time getting through it."
"I don't need help from a filthy Gargoyle," growled Nikki, standing up. She kicked Mike in the stomach, throwing him back into the guy with pink hair. Then she slammed her foot down onto the guy with the mohawk's foot. He yelped with pain and let go of Nikki, who threw the blue haired punk off her. Nikki ran towards the staircase, but the idiot with the pink hair grabbed her from behind and threw her to the ground. Mike scrambled on top of her, and the idiot with pink hair pinned her wrists above her head.
"Get off," she gasped, struggling to get out from under them.
"Let's see what's under that jacket," Mike said. With Nikki still struggling, Mike unzipped the zipper and pulled her jacket up to her wrists. The idiot with pink hair pulled it off and threw it into a corner in less then five seconds. Nikki didn't have enough time to even move her arms.
"A white button-up shirt and a pink mini-skirt," said Mike. "This makes my job much easier."
CRASH.
The steel door tumbled down the staircase, bent and dented.
"Go take care of our pest problem," breathed Mike. The blue haired gang member and the guy with the mohawk took their baseball bats and ran up the stairs two at a time. Nikki started to struggle harder, kicking her legs even though she knew that wouldn't do any good.
"Mike, get off me! Please, I'm sorry!" cried Nikki.
"Sorry doesn't cut it," he replied meanly. Nikki called Mike something that would make the devil cover his ears. Mike just shrugged and started to unbutton Nikki's shirt.
Suddenly, the punk with blue hair and the guy with the mohawk came tumbling down the stairs, landing in an unconcsious heap at the bottom. Something roared at the top, and Lexington shot down the staircase, eyes glowing. He tackled the idiot with pink hair, and Nikki, regaining the use of her arms, started to slap Mike. He grasped both of her wrists in one hand and continued to unbutton her shirt with the other. When he finished, he threw it off her, grabbed his pocket knife, and flicked it open.
"Say goodbye to your life," he breathed. He raised it over his head and was about to slam it into Nikki's chest when Lexington charged into him, knocking the knife out of his hand. While he struggled with Mike, Nikki pulled her shirt on, rebuttoned it, and took up Mike's bat. She went over the the fighting Gargoyle-Mike ball and waited for Mike to get on top. When he did, Nikki brought the baseball bat down over his head with all her strength. His body went limp, and Lexington threw him off.
Nikki dropped the baseball bat and sank to her knees, holding her head in her hands. Her father had told her Gargoyles were evil, filthy monsters, but this one had just saved her life. Did that mean that they didn't do all the evil things her father had said they did? Nikki's world began to spin, and she fell backwards. The Gargoyle caught her and looked at her with-- was it concern?
"Are you alright?" he asked. Nikki looked up at him.
"I-- I don't know," she said shakily. "I can't believe you just saved my life."
"That's what Gargoyles do," he said. He raised Nikki to a sitting position and retrieved her jacket.
"Thanks," she said, putting it back on. Slowly, she stood up, but her head started to spin again, and she sank back down to her knees.
"Let me help you," said the Gargoyle. Nikki started to protest, but he lifted her up in his arms and glided back up the staircase. As soon as Nikki felt the fresh air on her face, she felt better. The Gargoyle gently set her down on the concrete.
"Are you alright now?" he asked. Nikki gingerly stood up and took a deep breath of the night air.
"Yes," she said, enjoying a soft breeze. She looked down at the Gargoyle, who only came up to her shoulders. "I don't think I caught you're name."
"I'm Lexington," he said, extending his hand. Nikki hesitated, then shook it.
"Nicole," said Nikki, "but call me Nikki. All my friends do."
"I will," said Lexington, "if you call me Lex."
"Deal," laughed Nikki.
"Do you need a lift home?" asked Lex.
"No, but thanks for the offer," said Nikki. "My dad doesn't really like Gargoyles."
"Oh," said Lex. He looked up at the sky, then back at Nikki. "Maybe I'll see you again tomorrow night."
"Maybe," said Nikki. "Thanks... for saving my life."
"Thanks for being a friend," said Lex sincerely. He walked over to the concrete border and took off. Nikki watched him until he was no more than a dot in the sky, then started to climb down the ladder.
When she arrived home, her dad was sitting in his arm chair reading the evening paper. Nikki closed the door quietly behind her; he didn't like to be distirbed when he was reading. She went to her room and collapsed on her bed, thinking. Her dad couldn't find out about this. He had hated Gargoyles ever since her mother had died fighting one.
Nikki's mother had been a wonderful person who only joined the Quarrymen to keep her daughter safe. She had been fighting a large Gargoyle a few months ago, and she hadn't been looking where she had been going. She had cornered the Gargoyle, but a loose stone under her foot gave way, and she had fallen to her death while Nikki and her father had watched. Nikki's eyes widened as she remembered something; the Gargoyle she had been about to destroy had gone after her to try to save her. She had been too blind to realize that before now.
But what would her father say? He was a devout Quarryman, and though he loved Nikki with all his heart and soul, he wouldn't hear a word defending the Gargoyles, even if it was true. Nikki sighed, deciding to not tell him. As for what had happened tonight, well, she had already resigned to not tell him. Although... that didn't mean she wouldn't tell the police. As long as she was a target for Mike and his gang, Nikki wasn't safe. And who knew if Lex would be there to save her again? The sooner they were all put in jail, the better.
Nikki got up and shed her diner outfit for some pajama's. She withdrew her phone from her skirt pocket, thinking how stupid she was to not have called the police.
Oh well, she thought, laying it on her nightstand. At least I don't regret it.
Nikki pulled back the covers of her bed, lay down, and pulled them up to her shoulder. She lay awake for a while just thinking, and soon, she fell asleep.
"Yes, Daddy. I'll be right home, promise. No, I don't need you to come pick me up. Yes, I'll look out for Gargoyles. 'Kay. Bye, Daddy, love you." Nikki pressed the hook button on her mini blue Nokia cell phone and shoved it back into her skirt pocket. Looking at the clock, she saw how late it was; 10:47. She pulled her jacket over her pink-and-white diner uniform and zipped it up. "I'm going home, Joe."
"See you tomorrow at eleven, and don't be late this time!" he called from the kitchen.
"Alright," Nikki called back. She waved goodbye to a few familiars, pushed open the door of the diner, and stepped into the crisp summer night air of Manhattan. A warm beeze whipped her hair every which way as she walked along the almost deserted streets.
Nicole Ruben was a fifteen-year-old red head with a temper to match her hair and clear gray-blue eyes which made her look like she was always daydreaming... which, most of the time, she was. It wasn't her fault; she had a very creative mind which tended to wander. This quality, combined with her natural beauty, had caught the eye of every guy she had ever met. A mixed blessing, as she would soon find out.
CRASH.
Nikki stopped, and started to back up. The noise had come from the ally ahead, and it was too loud to be a cat. That meant that it was either a street gang or Gargoyles. Heart racing, Nikki whipped around and started to run towards the diner, which was, by now, several blocks away. She had almost reached the corner when she ran into a tall someone and fell to the ground.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going," said Nikki, looking up. The man she had hit was wearing a ripped leather jacket over a white t-shirt, ripped blue jeans, and had a nose ring. He was carrying a baseball bat.
"Whacha runnin from, chick?" he sneered, advancing on Nikki. She scrambled up and turned to run the other way, but found that escape route blocked by three other punks dressed in the same fashion as the guy she had run into. They were all carrying a heavy peice of wood.
"What do you want? I don't have any money," said Nikki, trying to keep her voice steady.
"Who said we wanted money? We're looking for some sugar for our cake," said an idiot with pink hair.
"That's what a grociery store is for, dumbass," retorted Nikki.
"Bittersweet, just what we wanted," said another gang member with a green mohawk.
"Don't mess with me," Nikki warned. "My dad's a Quarryman."
"Yeah, but you're here, not your daddy," laughed the guy Nikki had run into. The gang started to close in on Nikki, who was looking around for the biggest opening. She found it between the idiot with the pink hair and a guy with blue hair. Breathing heavily, praying this would work, she charged at the two. Taken aback, they didn't do anything, and Nikki was able to push past them easily.
"Grab her!" yelled the punk with the nose ring; he was obviously the gang's leader. They ran after Nikki, who was glad she had decided to wear her tennies instead of her platforms. She dodged into an alley, jumped onto the ladder hanging down from the balcony above, and scrambled up it. The gang followed her, but soon fell behind because of the peices of wood they were carrying. By the time Nikki reached the roof, the gang was several floors below her. She stopped to catch her breath, leaning on the cement railing of the roof.
Nikki's head jerked up. She had thought a shadow had passed over her, but that was silly. The sky was clear; no birds or Gargoyles were in sight. Her gaze lowered, and she saw hands holding a baseball bat grasping the top rungs of the ladder. She looked frantically around for a place to hide and spotted the brick structure for the roof door. Just as the gang leader's head appeared over the railing, Nikki dashed behind it. Shaking, she listened as the rest of the gang climbed over the railing.
"Where'd she go?"
"Maybe a Gargoyle carried her off."
"You heard what she said; her dad's a Quarryman. She probably hates Gargoyles."
"Then what happened? She can't just have disappeared."
"Exactly. She's probably hiding somewhere, or went into the building."
"Good thing this place is abandoned."
"Yeah. Ok, you two go through the door, and we'll look around up here."
Nikki's heart quickened as she listened to two gang members jog down the stairs behind her. Now what? The other two were searching everywhere on the roof; it was only a matter of time before they caught her. She looked around for a space between the pipes she could squeeze into and found one. It was just big enough for her to fit in, and dark enough to hide her. As quietly as possible, Nikki slid herself into it.
"Found her yet?"
"No. What about behind the roof door?"
"That's the only place she could be."
Her heart almost stopped as she heard their footsteps come closer. She recoiled as far as she could into the pipes as they came behind the brick structure and leaned against the wall where Nikki had been standing minutes before.
"She's not here."
"She must have gone inside."
"Then let's go down and help them look for her."
Nikki let out an inward sigh of relief as she listened to the footsteps fade away. She crawled out of her hiding space and turned the corner, only to be slammed into the wall roughly by the guy with the nose ring.
"Think you're so smart," he sneered, shaking her. "Well, you're not smart en-- Nikki?"
"Mike?" gasped Nikki. She could hardly believe it; Mike had been her old boyfriend back in the eighth grade, even though he was three years older than she was. He was a drop-out, and Nikki knew it, but she never knew he had been in a gang. "Are you trying to kill me?"
"I didn't know it was you," Mike said, releasing his hold on Nikki's jacket.
"Yeah, right," said Nikki. "Thanks for the scare. Now, I have to get home. Dad'll get worried if I don't get home soon."
"Will you at least meet the guys first?" pleaded Mike. A gleam of something flashed in his eyes, but Nikki didn't notice it. "Call your dad and tell him you have to stay at work or something."
"Alright," said Nikki. She took out her phone, dialed her home number, and waited for her dad to pick up.
"Hello?"
"Daddy? It's me; I have to stay a while longer. I'll be home in a little more than half an hour, 'kay? 'Kay. Love you, bye." Nikki hung up her cell and put it in her pocket. "Ok, I'll meet your little friends. Do you promise they won't hurt me?"
"Promise," said Mike.
"Are you sure?" Nikki asked. In response, Mike pulled Nikki closer to him, bent down, and kissed her. After a moment, he pulled away.
"I'm sure," he said.
"First you slam me into a wall, now you're kissing me," Nikki muttered. "Talk about mood swings."
Mike laughed and held open the door for Nikki. "Ladies first."
"How gentlemanly," commented Nikki, going down the stairs. Mike glanced furtively around to make sure no one was watching, then followed her. What he didn't know was that someone WAS watching.
A Gargoyle by the name of Lexington had been watching them from the wall of the building. He had listened to Mike and Nikki's conversation, and saw Mike cross his fingers behind his back when he promised Nikki he and his gang wouldn't hurt her. When Nikki and Mike entered the building, Lex climbed over the railing and went over to the steel door. It was locked.
"So much for the element of surprise," he sighed, backing up.
Down below in the building, the gang members had formed a small circle around Nikki as Mike "introduced" her.
CRASH.
"What was that?" said the idiot with pink hair.
"It sounded like a Gargoyle," said the guy with the green mohawk.
"Don't be stupid," said Mike. "Nikki's dad's a Quarryman. Gargoyles wouldn't help her."
"Why would I need help?" asked Nikki. "You promised they wouldn't hurt me."
Mike shrugged. "I lied."
"You bi--" Nikki started, but Mike clamped a hand over he mouth.
"Language, little girl," he taunted. Nikki slammed her elbow into his gut, and Mike let go of her, holding his stomach.
"This is why I dumped you," Nikki said, crossing her arms.
"Which is why you're here tonight," Mike said in an unusually high voice. "How do you think that felt, having someone three years younger than me dump me in front of the school? Embarrassing, that's how it felt. You're going to feel the same way tonight, only we're not going to dump you."
Nikki's heart rate sped up a little. "I'll have you arrested, all of you."
"Not if you don't live through the night," sneered the punk with blue hair. He and the guy with the mohawk each grabbed one of Nikki's arms and twisted them behind her back. Nikki struggled, but they held on tighter.
CRASH.
"I don't like the sound of that," said the guy with pink hair.
"Stop whimpering," said Mike. He walked over to Nikki, who's heart was beating so fast she thought it would explode.
"Is is really worth it, Mike?" said Nikki. "Can't you just get over it like a normal person?"
"You should know more than anyone that I'm not your idea of normal," said Mike, running a hand through Nikki's hair. She scowled and kicked Mike in the shin. He, in turn, punched her in the stomach, knocking the breath out of her. Nikki sank to her knees, breathing in short, quick gasps. Mike put a finger under her chin and forced her to look at him. "I'm not gentle, either."
CRASH.
"Hurry up," said the guy with the mohawk. "I don't want a Gargoyle down here."
"That door is solid steel," Mike said. "Even a Gargoyle would have a hard time getting through it."
"I don't need help from a filthy Gargoyle," growled Nikki, standing up. She kicked Mike in the stomach, throwing him back into the guy with pink hair. Then she slammed her foot down onto the guy with the mohawk's foot. He yelped with pain and let go of Nikki, who threw the blue haired punk off her. Nikki ran towards the staircase, but the idiot with the pink hair grabbed her from behind and threw her to the ground. Mike scrambled on top of her, and the idiot with pink hair pinned her wrists above her head.
"Get off," she gasped, struggling to get out from under them.
"Let's see what's under that jacket," Mike said. With Nikki still struggling, Mike unzipped the zipper and pulled her jacket up to her wrists. The idiot with pink hair pulled it off and threw it into a corner in less then five seconds. Nikki didn't have enough time to even move her arms.
"A white button-up shirt and a pink mini-skirt," said Mike. "This makes my job much easier."
CRASH.
The steel door tumbled down the staircase, bent and dented.
"Go take care of our pest problem," breathed Mike. The blue haired gang member and the guy with the mohawk took their baseball bats and ran up the stairs two at a time. Nikki started to struggle harder, kicking her legs even though she knew that wouldn't do any good.
"Mike, get off me! Please, I'm sorry!" cried Nikki.
"Sorry doesn't cut it," he replied meanly. Nikki called Mike something that would make the devil cover his ears. Mike just shrugged and started to unbutton Nikki's shirt.
Suddenly, the punk with blue hair and the guy with the mohawk came tumbling down the stairs, landing in an unconcsious heap at the bottom. Something roared at the top, and Lexington shot down the staircase, eyes glowing. He tackled the idiot with pink hair, and Nikki, regaining the use of her arms, started to slap Mike. He grasped both of her wrists in one hand and continued to unbutton her shirt with the other. When he finished, he threw it off her, grabbed his pocket knife, and flicked it open.
"Say goodbye to your life," he breathed. He raised it over his head and was about to slam it into Nikki's chest when Lexington charged into him, knocking the knife out of his hand. While he struggled with Mike, Nikki pulled her shirt on, rebuttoned it, and took up Mike's bat. She went over the the fighting Gargoyle-Mike ball and waited for Mike to get on top. When he did, Nikki brought the baseball bat down over his head with all her strength. His body went limp, and Lexington threw him off.
Nikki dropped the baseball bat and sank to her knees, holding her head in her hands. Her father had told her Gargoyles were evil, filthy monsters, but this one had just saved her life. Did that mean that they didn't do all the evil things her father had said they did? Nikki's world began to spin, and she fell backwards. The Gargoyle caught her and looked at her with-- was it concern?
"Are you alright?" he asked. Nikki looked up at him.
"I-- I don't know," she said shakily. "I can't believe you just saved my life."
"That's what Gargoyles do," he said. He raised Nikki to a sitting position and retrieved her jacket.
"Thanks," she said, putting it back on. Slowly, she stood up, but her head started to spin again, and she sank back down to her knees.
"Let me help you," said the Gargoyle. Nikki started to protest, but he lifted her up in his arms and glided back up the staircase. As soon as Nikki felt the fresh air on her face, she felt better. The Gargoyle gently set her down on the concrete.
"Are you alright now?" he asked. Nikki gingerly stood up and took a deep breath of the night air.
"Yes," she said, enjoying a soft breeze. She looked down at the Gargoyle, who only came up to her shoulders. "I don't think I caught you're name."
"I'm Lexington," he said, extending his hand. Nikki hesitated, then shook it.
"Nicole," said Nikki, "but call me Nikki. All my friends do."
"I will," said Lexington, "if you call me Lex."
"Deal," laughed Nikki.
"Do you need a lift home?" asked Lex.
"No, but thanks for the offer," said Nikki. "My dad doesn't really like Gargoyles."
"Oh," said Lex. He looked up at the sky, then back at Nikki. "Maybe I'll see you again tomorrow night."
"Maybe," said Nikki. "Thanks... for saving my life."
"Thanks for being a friend," said Lex sincerely. He walked over to the concrete border and took off. Nikki watched him until he was no more than a dot in the sky, then started to climb down the ladder.
When she arrived home, her dad was sitting in his arm chair reading the evening paper. Nikki closed the door quietly behind her; he didn't like to be distirbed when he was reading. She went to her room and collapsed on her bed, thinking. Her dad couldn't find out about this. He had hated Gargoyles ever since her mother had died fighting one.
Nikki's mother had been a wonderful person who only joined the Quarrymen to keep her daughter safe. She had been fighting a large Gargoyle a few months ago, and she hadn't been looking where she had been going. She had cornered the Gargoyle, but a loose stone under her foot gave way, and she had fallen to her death while Nikki and her father had watched. Nikki's eyes widened as she remembered something; the Gargoyle she had been about to destroy had gone after her to try to save her. She had been too blind to realize that before now.
But what would her father say? He was a devout Quarryman, and though he loved Nikki with all his heart and soul, he wouldn't hear a word defending the Gargoyles, even if it was true. Nikki sighed, deciding to not tell him. As for what had happened tonight, well, she had already resigned to not tell him. Although... that didn't mean she wouldn't tell the police. As long as she was a target for Mike and his gang, Nikki wasn't safe. And who knew if Lex would be there to save her again? The sooner they were all put in jail, the better.
Nikki got up and shed her diner outfit for some pajama's. She withdrew her phone from her skirt pocket, thinking how stupid she was to not have called the police.
Oh well, she thought, laying it on her nightstand. At least I don't regret it.
Nikki pulled back the covers of her bed, lay down, and pulled them up to her shoulder. She lay awake for a while just thinking, and soon, she fell asleep.