Wings of the Night
Chapter One: The Newcomers
It was a quiet night in Manhattan. For once, crime seemed to be nonexistent. Even the Quarrymen seemed quiet. This was a welcome reprieve for the Manhattan Clan.
"What a magnificent night! Who could have thought that this city could actually be so peaceful?" Angela asked, as she, Lexington and Broadway patrolled the bay area.
"Yeah. Especially with all the threats of terrorism floating around. Maybe that's why the Quarrymen aren't as active as they used to be." Lexington said, quietly. It was true. Ever since the attacks on the World Trade Center, the attacks made by the Quarrymen on them had almost diminished to nothing. As they all mused on this, a strange humming noise filled the air, and, as the three startled gargoyles watched, a spaceship appeared over the bay.
"Jalapena!" Broadway yelped, as the craft touched down, then vanished from sight.
"What was that all about?" Lexington asked, stunned by the sudden turn of events.
"Dunno. Let's go and investigate." Broadway suggested. With a nodded agreement from Angela and Lexington, the three of them did just that. When they got there, another strange occurrence caught their attention; a door-like shaft of light illumined the area for a moment, then left, leaving what appeared to be a blue-skinned gargess standing in front of them.
"Whew! Whatta trip! You'd think that we'd have finally gotten that transmat beam to work right by now! Sheesh! Now, where'd I end up, anyway?" the gargess asked.
"You're in Manhattan, on a planet called Earth. Who are you and where did you come from?" Angela asked.
"My name's Gemini and I'm from a place known as the Eye of Orion; favorite vacation spot of the Time Lords. My survey team and I have traveled a long way to get here." The gargess replied, as she caped her wings and extended a hand in greeting.
"It's good to meet you, Gemini, but where is the rest of your 'survey team' and why did you all come here?" Broadway asked, as he shook her hand, then moved aside so Lexington and Angela could do the same.
"The rest of my team is still in the ship. They chose me to scout out the lay of the land and see if there were any gargoyles in the vicinity. We came here mainly because of the overcrowding problem back in the Eye. The Elders chose my team to head up a new colony here on Earth. Pretty big undertaking, considering there's only five females, counting myself, in the darned group." Gemini said, sarcastically.
"Quite. Why don't you return to the castle with us? Maybe you could join our clan." Lexington said, sounding hopeful.
"Sure thing, but first, I have to alert my team and tell them that I have already met some gargoyles here." Gemini said, as she unhooked what appeared to be a walkie-talkie from her belt and spoke into it. Within moments, the door of light had reappeared and eight gargoyles of varying colors and heights and one gar-dog emerged.
"That was quick, Gemini." One said, as he eyed Angela, Broadway, and Lexington warily, making sure they were trustworthy.
"I know, Sojourn. I just did it to annoy you." Gemini shot back, with annoyance in her voice.
"Don't start, you two. Are you the leader of this clan Gemini had mentioned?" a white gargoyle with shoulder length black hair, asked, his voice rich and cultured.
"Nope. But we can show you where he is." Broadway said, eager to get to know the new gargoyles.
"Much obliged. By the way, I am Tobias, the leader of this small team." The white gargoyle said, politely.
"My name's Broadway, and this is my rookery brother Lexington, and my mate, Angela. The rest of our clan is at the Eyrie Building." Broadway said, as he pointed out the tallest building in the skyline.
"Then what're we waiting for? Let's go!" a gold-skinned gargess shouted, as she ran and took a flying leap into the air.
"I hate it when she does that………..Moonshade! Wait for us!" Tobias ordered, but pretty much went unheeded.
"She's gonna get an earful……..C'mon. Let's go before she gets too far ahead." Gemini said, as she took to the air. The other gargoyles followed suit. Within the hour, they had arrived at the Eyrie Building.
Brooklyn perked up when he heard voices other than those of Lexington, Broadway, and Angela. He was amazed when they and about ten new gargoyles entered the room.
"Wow…………………! Whatta place!" a gold-skinned gargess said, impressed.
"At least it's not falling apart like the places in the Eye of Orion." A blue-skinned gargess added, equally as impressed. It was then that Goliath, who had also heard the unfamiliar voices entered the room, and was surprised to see the newcomers.
"I take it that you are the Clan Leader?" a white gargoyle asked, his deep blue eyes calm and collected.
"Yes. I am known as Goliath." Goliath replied.
"I am Tobias, leader of this small survey team from the Eye of Orion." The white gargoyle said, calmly.
"The Eye of Orion? Where is that?" Brooklyn asked, as he approached the newcomers.
"Was it a safe place?" Hudson asked, as he stood from his recliner and looked at the younger gargoyles.
"Very. It was too safe, actually." The blue gargess admitted.
"Too safe? How could that be?" Elisa, who had just arrived, asked.
"We didn't have anything to protect. We also didn't have any enemies to protect anything from. What made matters worse was the fact that we were overcrowded. So much so that there was a great risk of inbreeding. That was why we were sent out. Other groups have also been dispatched from the Eye to colonize other planets." A rose colored gargess explained, gently.
"And that is why most of us are here." A gray gargoyle with long black hair said, somberly.
"Then why are you here, lad? You make it sound as though you came for a different purpose." Hudson said, having caught the sadness in the gray gargoyle's voice.
"I came to try and find a way to kill myself." The gray gargoyle said, softly. All in the room gasped, except for the Orion Gargoyles.
"But why? Why do you want to kill yourself?" Angela asked, horrified.
"I am immortal, young one. I have lived for two thousand years. I was forced to watch my mate and children die of old age, while I remained young and strong. It's a curse no one deserves." The gray gargoyle said, then turned and left.
"Hey! Wait!" Angela shouted, but was prevented from going after the gray gargoyle by Tobias.
"It won't do any good. His mind is made up. The only thing we can do now is hope that he finds something to live for." Tobias said, somberly.
"Aye. So, tell us, what are your names? We know Tobias' name now." Hudson said.
"Well, the rose-colored gargess is my mate, Nightrose. Gemini is the one with the blond hair and blue skin. Moonshade is the gold-colored gargess that is now flirting shamelessly with the reddish-brown fellow." Tobias said, motioning to a now furiously blushing Brooklyn and Moonshade.
"Next to them is Mariah, the smallest female in the group. The olive colored fellow standing next to Gemini is her mate, Lucian. The troublemaker of our group, the tan-colored fellow behind Lucian is Grenoch, and his rookery brother is Skytalon. Last, but certainly not least, is our gar-dog, Greta." Tobias said, motioning to each as he said his or her name.
"What about the gargoyle that had just left?" Elisa asked.
"That was Sojourn. He's the oldest member of our group, as you can already tell." Tobias said.
"I see. Now, it is almost sunrise. We'll talk more of this later." Goliath said, as they all made their way to the parapets. Elisa watched as all of the gargoyles took their places, with Goliath on the highest point of the castle, overlooking the other gargoyles' roosts.
"You know, I have the feeling that things are going to work out just fine." Gemini said, before she struck a pose.
"I agree." Tobias said, as he too took up a fierce pose, just before the sun peeked over the horizon and turned them all into stone.