Chapter 3



Gabriel slowly woke up when he felt something soft on his face. He had been dreaming about Renee and didn't want to open his eyes so the image wouldn't leave. He finally opened them and turned his head to the side. An orange and white ball of fur was curled up beside his head. He could hear its purring.
He moved slightly and the cat's eyes shot open. It stood up and stretched, yawning. Then, it ran across the floor and disappeared through the hole in the wall.
It took a few minutes for the idea to come to him and when it did, he cursed himself for not thinking of it sooner. Rolling over onto his stomach, he got to his hands and knees and started to crawl over to the spot where the cat had disappeared. Every movement jarred his bruised body, but he gritted his teeth and kept crawling.

When he reached the wall, he collapsed to the floor, gasping in pain. Once the pain had subsided enough for him to see straight, he got to his knees. Grabbing the end of one of the rotting boards, he pulled at it with all his strength. It cracked and finally broke. The force of it sent him sprawling. The wind was knocked out of him, and it took a couple of minutes to get it back. Then, he went back to work trying to make the hole larger.
He had to stop every few minutes when the pain in his stomach got to be too much. After a while, he couldn't handle it anymore and sank back against the wall. His breath came in great gulps and his vision kept on fading around the edges. Stabs of pain went through him with every breath he took. He desperately wanted to give up, but then he would think of Renee and he couldn't.
Gabriel crawled back over to the hole and pulled at another board. He pulled as hard as he could, but his strength had left him. He leaned back against the wall as the tears poured from his eyes. He had to get out of there and back to Renee. She would be so worried by now. He hoped she wouldn't be mad at him.

He sat there for quite some time, then he went back to work. After struggling with it for another half an hour, he had finally made the hole large enough for him to climb through.
His head was spinning from the effort it took to get this far. Every breath felt like a knife stabbing him in the stomach. He sank to a sitting position on the floor and put his head in his hands. Once everything was still again, he crawled back over to the hole.
He looked out to make sure no one was there. Then he went out feet first. As soon as his head cleared the opening, he stood up and instantly regretted it. His head swam as he fell back against the outside wall of the barn.
He forced his mind to focus, then stepped away from the barn. He took several steps forward, then had to stop. Then he started forward again. That was the way it went for the next several minutes. He'd start walking, then have to stop. Start walking, stop.
He had just reached the driveway when he heard a shout from behind him. Realizing it would be pointless to even try to run, he stopped. He wouldn't have made it far anyway. It was a struggle for him to even walk.

When they reached him, one of the men pushed him to the ground and laughed as he started coughing. He got to his knees and tried to get up only to find himself laying on the ground again with a new pain in his ribs. He rolled over on his back groaning. This only encouraged them.
Kicks came from both sides and he couldn't get away. One caught him in the back and he screamed in pain. The men just laughed. Through the fog of pain, he heard someone else walk up. "Don't kill him," a female voice said. "We want him alive."
"Of course, boss," one of the men replied.
The two men grabbed his arms and dragged him back into the barn. They let him fall to the floor and one of them kicked him again. He grunted in pain and the men laughed again. They left and soon the darkness folded over him.
*******
Renee was sitting on her bed when she heard a knock on her door. Not wanting to answer it, she hugged her knees closer to her chest and lowered her head onto the top of them. But whoever was there didn't want to leave.

She reluctantly stood up and walked over to the door, hoping she didn't look too bad. She had been crying almost nonstop since she had returned home several hours ago.
Renee opened the door and Sara was standing there. "Come in," she said, trying to smile.
Once they were seated, Renee asked hopefully, "Have you found anything yet?"
"I'm so sorry, Renee. We keep coming up dry."
Tears started to form in the corners of her eyes, but she fought to hold them back. "How can I help?"
"Stay here. Do not try to find him," she said, emphasizing the word 'not'. "We will find him. I promise I won't stop until I do."
Renee nodded. "I know. I just wish there was something I could do."
Sara put her hand on the other girl's shoulder. "I know, Renee. I know. I'll let you know as soon as we find out anything."
"Thanks, Sara."
Once she had left, Renee leaned back against the door and slid to the floor. She let the rears slide down her face, not trying to hold them back any longer.
*******

When Gabriel woke up, his brain was foggy from the pain. He forced his mind to focus and finally managed to remember the events of the past few days. Renee's gonna be so worried, he thought.
He struggled to his knees, then folded over in pain. Everything seemed to float in and out of focus. He placed the top of his head against the floor. A fire was spreading through his stomach. It felt like someone had taken a hammer to his ribs.
He tried to lift his head, but found he did not even have the strength to do that. He was still in that position when one of the thugs came in. He heard him laugh and tried to block the sound out, but was unsuccessful.
From his position, he could see the man's feet in front of him. Then, he felt him pull his head up. He let out a gasp and closed his eyes against the searing pain. The man pulled him to his feet. Gabriel stood there, seeming to sway drunkenly. He opened his eyes and smiled at the man.

The only thing this accomplished was to infuriate the man. They had tried to beat him down, but he kept getting up. He let go of Gabriel's hair and let him fall to the floor.
The thug walked out and a minute later was back with the other man. "What does the boss want us to do with him?" The first man asked.
"She said that she doesn't care as long as he's alive enough to lure the journalist lady here."
"That's good, Peter. Very good."
"Yes, it is, Larry."
They walked over to Gabriel and the one called Larry picked him up by his torn shirt front. He kept him on his feet while Peter slowly made his way over to them. When he reached them, he had a wicked grin on his face.
"You won't look too pretty when we're done with you, but you'll still be alive. Although you may wish you weren't."
"You'll wish you weren't alive when this is over. Although you may not be," Gabriel threw the threat back at him.

In anger, he threw his fist into Gabriel's stomach. He started coughing, but choked back any other sign of his pain. When the coughing stopped, Peter hit him in the nose and followed it with a right to his jaw. He hit him in the nose again and blood started to pour from it.
He continued to throw punches to Gabriel's face until he started to slide down. "Hold him up," he told Larry.
Peter's fists moved down to his stomach. He threw several punches to his mid section, sending Gabriel into another coughing fit. He hit him several more times and they could hear the sound of his ribs cracking.
"Let him go."
Larry let go of him and he collapsed to the floor. He kicked him in the stomach again, but Gabriel was beyond pain. As they were leaving, one of them kicked his head. He fell over the edge into the black of unconciousness.
*******

"I need your help."
"Now, Sara, I'm flattered. But I can't help."
"You can't even get me the name of the stable she wrote about?" She was getting desperate and irons could hear it in her voice.
"Sorry, Sara, but I don't involve myself with the affairs of the newspaper. You'll have to go to the newspaper office yourself to find out."
"I all ready did. They told me I couldn't."
"And you want me to break the rules for your friends. Sara, you know me better than that."
"You're a bastard." With that, she turned and stormed out of his office.