From the sky, the creatures changed their course, turning in search for the pleading cry. The smallest of the group, a green creature with large eyes and wing membrane stretched between the arms and side turned to his comrades.
"You guys know where it came from? It sounded like a woman in trouble."
A larger creature, aqua in color with spike-like bumps running on top of his head spoke up. "Look! There on that roof!" The group descended further. The aqua one spoke again "Wait! Why'd she hide? I thought she wanted help?"
Another large creature, red in color with a beak and full mane of white hair pulled his wings in and made a beeline for the rooftop. "I don't know, but we had best check it out!
Nikki allowed her eyes to flit over the top of her bag, watching the figures descend. Soon all three landed on the snow-caked roof. The moonlight wasn't helping her. Despite her best efforts, she couldn't get a good look at any of them. A voice called out to her, it sounded male, like a high tenor. "Hello? We heard you call. Do- do you need help?" Okay seriously, Nikki this is stupid. You called them over, now stand up and talk to them like a big girl. She hoisted herself up, her hand hovering near her hiking boot, where she always kept her switchblade. She stepped to the side of her bag, hunched over with her hand by her calf. She stuttered, and summoned the courage to speak. "Yes, yes I did. I'm sorry. I obviously didn't think this through I kinda freaked at the last second."
A slightly deeper voice piped in. A rounder figure moved at the same time, she guessed that the voice belonged to this one. "Don't be afraid, we can help y-" The wind picked up again, blowing from Nikki to the figures. All three straightened considerably at the breeze. A third voice arose, with urgency in his voice. "You're hurt!" All three rushed forward- and into view. "WHOA!" she stumbled backwards in alarm, and fell on her back. "STOP! Okay I could deal with the last one but what the heck are you guys?" They didn't stop for questions; instead, they panicked. "Are you fainting?" "She's got to be losing blood!" "Should we get her to a hospital?"
This isn't going smoothly. She stood up again, but this time felt talons helping her up.WHAT THE HECK ARE ON THE END OF THEIR HANDS? "Okay, okay! Thanks, but I really don't need help. C- can you just tell me what you guys are?" They all looked at each other. The smallest one, green in color replied, "They call us gargoyles. Did you say 'the last one'?" Now we're getting somewhere."Yes, I did. I wanted to talk to him, but he took off."They must know him. She scanned their faces. "So you 'gargoyles', are flying humanoids or something? Any why do you all look so different? You're green and have flying squirrel wings. This guy is aqua with webbed ears and… red, long face and white hair. How does that even work?"
The beaked gargoyle stepped forward, "Alright, let's slow this down a bit. How about some introductions first? My name is Brooklyn." He turned and indicated the other two. "Um. 'Flying squirrel' is Lexington and this is Broadway. Could you tell us yours? And then will you let us take you to a hospital?" She took a deep breath, "My name is Nikki Harrison. Earlier I was saved from a mugging by another, uh, gargoyle. I wanted to know more about him, he left and I followed him here. And why do you guys keep asking me if I'm hurt? The last one thought that I was bleeding too. I promise, I'm all in one piece!" The one called Lexington tilted his head, perplexed. Broadway stepped forward and sniffed her. Don't freak out, don't freak out. He turned to Brooklyn and Lexington "She doesn't smell as strongly right now. She did a second ago, especially when it got windy."
Nikki's eyes popped wide open with realization, "Wait! Smell my bag." Brooklyn stepped forward and inhaled, then drew back. "Ugh! Man that's it right there! Whoa that's strong!" She strode forward and opened the bag. She pulled out her work clothing. She laughed as she unfolded the clothes. "You guys are so paranoid, see? I'm a butcher! I spilled some blood on myself today. I'm not hurt, just messy!" Lexington took the clothes from her, examining them. "So what about the other gargoyle that you met? Who was it?" Nikki frowned slightly, "I don't know his name-" She heard Brooklyn breathe a small sigh of relief. She turned and looked at him "Is something wrong?" Brooklyn shrugged and looked away. "'He'. That's a good thing. Forget it." Nikki cocked an eyebrow, but continued, "I made a sketch of him. Maybe this would help. " She pulled the notepad from her pocket and handed it to Lexington. His eyes lit up with recognition. "You saw Hudson?"
"I guess so. You fellas gonna tell me what's up with the New York themed names?" Broadway stepped up to her. "We didn't always have names. How did you follow Hudson here?" She shrugged. "I grew up in Jackson, Montana. My family owns a ranch, and we like to hunt. After following tracks for all those years, following a massive flying figure isn't too hard. I wanted to talk to him, learn what he was, thank him for helping me." Lexington chuckled. "Look at that! Last night Hudson was almost dipped in the Cauldron of Life and he hasn't lost his edge. He sure is resilient for his age!" Cauldron? Maybe it's a gargoyle thing? She felt goose bumps start to rise on her arms; shivers ran across her skin. Crud, I've been out too long. She crossed her arms and felt her teeth chatter. Broadway put a hand on her shoulder. "You look cold." Nikki pulled her coat tighter around her body and crouched down to put blood infused raiment back into her duffel bag. "Its nothing. I just want to know more, I'm curious. Tell me more." Brooklyn frowned. "Look, we would hate for you to get sick. Let us take you home, alright?" She paused for a moment, thinking over the offer.
"Yeah. I guess it is getting late. But you really don't need to escort me. Besides, you guys sound pretty secretive and people would notice you on the street." Brooklyn stifled a chuckle. "That wasn't really the plan." He extended a hand to the crouching woman. "Do you trust us enough to help you home?" She looked at the sharp talons on his hand. These things have only helped me so far, it's a half hour walk home at this distance and I still have my gun and my knife if the need arises. Careful to avoid the sharp digits, she took his hand and stood up. "Yeah. What method do you have in mind?" He smiled and picked up her small feminine figure, cradling her between his two brick red arms. Nikki gave a small gasp of surprise. "Okay, I guess this works. Broadway, could you hand me my bag?" Broadway picked up the duffel bag and gave her a big smile "I got it, you just enjoy the ride." Nikki felt her stomach drop. "You can't be s-s-serio- WHOA!" Brooklyn hopped on the edge of the roof and stretched his wings, catching a wind current and taking off into the night sky.
Nikki allowed a strangled yelp to escape her throat. Flying, not good. Not good! She wrapped her arms around the gargoyle's neck, clutching pieces of his white mane for support. Sensing her discomfort, Brooklyn held her closer. "I would appreciate it if you could let go of my hair. It hurts a little. Now where are we heading? " Lexington and Broadway continued on either side of Brooklyn, curious about this young woman. "Well, I'm living with my sister and brother-in-law in this apartment complex. Its not far from Central Park."
Lexington glided a little closer, "I'm impressed that you were able to track Hudson! We normally do a pretty good job of staying inconspicuous." Broadway snickered. "Except when you stole and crashed some poor guy's motorcycle." A sheepish grin spread across the little gargoyle's face. "That was only when we first got here. This new world had so many cool things to check out!"
"But he has a point, now that you know where we live we probably can't get rid of you, huh?" Brooklyn asked. Nikki smiled. "Not a chance. I want to learn more! You guys are the most interesting thing that's happened to me in a long time! Well, that makes me sound pretty boring but honestly I haven't done much for fun in a while." Broadway frowned slightly. "Why not? Manhattan is tons of fun!" She shrugged. "Not sure. I've been working, so I'm actually productive most of the time. I'm just not sure what to do next with my life." The group glided in silence for a moment, listening to the noises of city traffic far below. "You know, I think that I'll let my hair down. This flying business is actually kinda nice. I want to feel the wind in my hair." Nikki let go of Brooklyn for a moment and began to fiddle with the bands and pins in her hair. Broadway corrected her, "We don't actually fly; we glide on the wind and- Whoa…" he stopped short in surprise. Lexington's eyes widened at the familiar sight. Brooklyn turned his head slightly to look, his jaw dropped. Nikki had allowed her strawberry blonde hair consisting of dozens of small, tight curls to drop. Long ringlets bounced around her shoulders at first and then were lifted into the wind.
"Nikki, are you Scottish?" Broadway asked in awe. She tilted her head, perplexed. "Yeah!" Lexington piped in. "Lots of humans back home had hair like that! Especially the women!" "I remember that!" Brooklyn added. Nikki subconsciously touched her hair, blushing a little. "Um, well I had an adopted grandmother. She might have had Scottish blood in her. I also have a little bit of Blackfoot Indian and lots of other European roots. Are you folks from Scotland? This Hudson fella had a pretty thick accent, I thought it was Scottish." Lexington nodded eagerly "Yup. Born and raised there."
"So, how did you guys end up here in New York?" Lexington clammed up. Brooklyn warily responded, "It's a really long story. Okay, Central Park is just ahead. Where to now?" Nikki pointed into the distance. "Go in between these two buildings. My sister's apartment doesn't face the park but it's in this building. We have a decent sized balcony that you can land on." The gargoyles drifted to the apartments, careful to avoid lighted windows. "Go to the balcony with the barbeque. We grill meat outdoors all year long, it's probably covered with snow right now." Soon all four were sitting on the rail of the balcony. Lexington curiously examined the barbeque, Brooklyn looked through the sliding glass doors while Nikki tossed in her duffel bag. Broadway stretched rubbed his stomach. It rumbled audibly. Brooklyn looked over to him, "Hungry again?" Broadway looked at his tummy glumly. "Yeah… But I digest Chinese food quickly, I really do!" Nikki checked inside of the apartment, carefully stepping over to the master bedroom. She gently opened the door. She sighed with relief when she spotted two figures sound asleep in the bed. She closed the door, dashed to the bathroom and quickly changed into her pajamas. She pulled on some slippers and walked back out to the balcony.
"Well then, what should we get for lunch? Its just a little past midnight, we haven't eaten in four hours." Nikki pulled open the sliding glass door, turning to the trio. "Are you guys hungry?" Broadway nodded "Yup. Time for lunch! I was thinking hot dogs." A gagging noise escaped Nikki's throat. The three gargoyles gave her confused looks. "C'mon, you guys need REAL meat. Tell you what. You guys gave me a ride home, how would you like some juicy, Montana beef hamburgers?" Lexington grinned kindly. "Well, we really wouldn't want to be a bother, and you don't have to repay us for the lift home." She raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? We have homemade barbeque sauce."
"Thanks! We'd love some!" Broadway chimed. A big smile crossed Nikki's face and she walked over to the barbeque. "Alright boys, but I can only give you one each. My sister would start to wonder why the freezer is getting empty. And we can't be too loud. She and her husband are asleep." She got the grill fired up and walked back inside. Keeping an extra, massive freezer in the living room was probably against apartment regulations, but Dad kept sending Tessa elk and beef whenever the family had a little extra. And a little extra to the Harrison family, was a week's worth of hamburgers, steak and sausage to any other family. She reached in and found the hamburger patties next to the deer sausage. Each patty was the width of a paper plate. She pulled out four- one for herself. Hopefully it would be enough to satisfy a hungry gargoyle- well, maybe not Broadway.
She carried the patties out to the balcony and checked the grill. It wasn't quite ready, so she placed the patties on the snow. She reached back inside the apartment and pulled out four folding chairs. She offered one to each of the gargoyles. After sitting down and waiting a moment for the barbeque to heat up, Nikki noticed that they weren't really getting the hang out the chairs- they all kept pushing the metal bar the wrong way. Nikki giggled at the sight of the three and demonstrated with her own chair. Lexington opened his with ease and blushed "I guess it's not as difficult as it looks." Broadway chortled. "Normally you would be the first to figure it out."
"Well, looks like the grill is ready." She threw on the patties and closed the barbeque, and reentered the apartment. She emerged a moment later with napkins, four bottles of root beer, condiments and buns. She spread them across the small, snow-covered table on the balcony. "Thanks a bunch for this, Nikki!" Broadway cheered as he layered cheese and ketchup on his bun. "Yeah, this is really generous of you." Brooklyn chimed in after a swig of root beer. Lexington slathered Harrison barbeque sauce onto both sides of his hamburger bun. "So, this is a nice place." Nikki swallowed some root beer. "Thanks, Lexington. My brother-in-law, Scott, is an accountant some fancy company or whatever. My sister Tessa is a seamstress. She works out of this apartment, mending and altering clothes. Sometimes she sews fancy Christmas or Easter dresses for underprivileged girls." Nikki smiled to herself. "She's a saint. Sweetest woman I know, my sis." Broadway ate a slice of cheese. "How many siblings do you have?"
"Well, I have Tessa, my older sister. I have three- well, yeah. Three older brothers." The painful thought of Brian entered her mind. Only two of her three older brothers were still alive. She swallowed and continued. "And a younger brother. He's a sophomore in high school right now. Speaking of which, how old are you guys?"
"We're thirty-six. Maybe thirty-seven." Brooklyn responded. Nikki threw back her head and laughed. The trio exchanged awkward glances. After catching her breath, Nikki saw their expressions. "Wait… seriously? You guys can't be that old. Can you? And how can you not know how old you are?" Lexington shrugged "Well, humans and gargoyles age differently. So we're probably around your human age. And well… let's just say that time got a little fuzzy between here and Scotland. How old are you?" Nikki opened the grill, revealing beautifully cooked beef patties. "Twenty-three. My birthday is in April, and I haven't grown since high school." She joked, regarding her short stature. The four became silent as they ate their hamburgers, washed down with root beer. Nikki sighed halfway through her burger. "Man alive. Hamburgers and root beer, they are my ambrosia and nectar." Lexington swallowed a massive bite.
"I'm not sure what that means, but these are amazing!"
"I second that." Brooklyn raised his hand. Broadway burped satisfactorily and cheered
"Me three!"
Leaving behind an empty paper plate and root beer bottle, Brooklyn stood and stretched his wings and arms, satisfied by the warm meal. He looked up at the stars, and the moon just in sight over the park. "We have about six hours, guys." He turned and chuckled at the sight of Nikki yawning. "And it looks like our hostess is getting tired." Nikki gave a mocking laugh and peeked inside the glass doors. The analog clock in the living room read 1:06. "Man alive, I'm never going to get up tomorrow. Its so late!" She turned back to Brooklyn, "Wait, what did you mean by 'six hours'?" The trust between these gargoyles and human was starting to grow. "Well, we're something along the lines of nocturnal. We're watching for the sunrise." Brooklyn replied. Lexington wiped his hands on his napkin. "Besides, we should really check in back at the clock tower, Goliath might need us on patrol."Goliath? How many of these guys are there? The three gargoyles stood up and began to stretch their wings.
"Wait! I'll see you guys again, right? This was fun! More fun than I have had with any humans for a long time!" Broadway turned and gave Nikki a wink. "If you feed us again." Brooklyn gave Broadway a playful punch and turned to Nikki. "No food needed. We enjoyed this too! It was cool." He smiled at Nikki. "Just climb back up on the same roof whenever you want to hang. We'll check after sunset." Without another word, the trio of gargoyles took off into the night, gliding over Central Park.
Nikki watched until all three had disappeared into the night. She then cleaned up the bottles, condiment jars and napkins. Giving a mighty yawn, she dumped the trash into the garbage can and proceeded to the bathroom. She combed her hair and washed the light layer of foundation from her face. Nikki didn't wear lots of makeup for work, there was nobody there to impress. She brushed her teeth and walked over to the couch, her bed sheets and pillows waiting in a basket in the corner of the living room. She readied her pullout bed, removed her slippers and curled up in between the warm sheets. She laid there for several minutes, thinking about her experiences over the past few hours. So much had happened in so little time. She smiled to herself,Nikki Ann Harrison, look at you! You actually managed to make some friends in New York City. She stretched and turned over. She took a moment to look at the TV screen two meters from her feet. The screen blank, reflecting city lights through the windows. As Nikki closed her eyes, waiting to be enveloped in sleep, she listened to the sound of city traffic and thought about the soap operas she had been watching on TV. She smiled to herself. Perhaps with the company of these new friends, she would not find herself sulking around the apartment much anymore.
