Disclaimer: The characters within are used without permission for the sheer non profit enjoyment of fans of the Gabriel Knight genre. Part 9
"What a proud face you have..." Baron von Avery's voice was condescending, the dark eyes squinting in the wind. He wore a dark goatee and long hair drawn back by a black ribbon. His lips were curled in a mirthless smile the wrinkles about his eyes betraying his age. "And pretty too."
"What do you want?" She asked in a low tone her eyes meeting his with unwavering determination and pride.
The baron chuckled. "In good time my dear, in good time." He began to pace, drawing out his broad sword deliberately slow. The wind had begun to slide through the nearby trees angrily as clouds rolled in to obscure the sky. He scanned her with his peripheral vision and stopped. "What amazes me is how much the human body is capable of. When a lover offers his gentle caress his woman shudders with pleasure. When a man strikes his foe in the head the body crumples.
"But most amazing is how many things it does before any of these occur..." Suddenly, he sliced the sword through the air straight at Alia's neck, stopping an inch from decapitating her. He rolled the hilt in his hand and patted her cheek with the cold steel. A clap of thunder resounded in the distance. "You see?" He asked chuckling again. "When death is thrust upon your body, your eyes widened, your mouth dropped. You clenched your fists digging your fingernails into your hands praying at the last second for a miracle. A miracle that I provided." He stopped and approached her slowly, looking deep into her eyes. "In that sense you owe me."
Her eyes narrowed and she glared at him, her breath coming quickly. "Why did you bring me here?"
"Unfortunately, it's not a social call." He frowned, his eyes drawn in feigned depression. "I represent a group of concerned men about the practices of 'creatures' in this region. Practices of burning innocents. 'Investigations' into spiritual criminals. You are one of the reasons that our people are being persecuted. They are after your kind and yet our kind suffer."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Her voice was calm and she relaxed her muscles until she appeared casual in her stance.
"Enough talk. Since the hunters are too foolish to collect their prey, I'm afraid that the task falls to us." He paced away from her and looked up as the rain began to plummet down upon them-- the storm at hand.
Alia slammed her heel down upon one of her captor's foot, forcing him to immediately let go of her right arm. Before he could react, the second man was flipped onto his back, a severe boot hit to the head immediately following.
The man who was crouched from his foot began to rise and she yanked his sword from its scabbard and chopped his torso. She brought the blade around to cleave his head before he hit the ground, spinning to stare at the Baron, blade extended toward him.
"Well," The Baron nodded with reluctant approval. "I must say that I'm... surprised? I suppose impressed would be a strong word." Several of his men were standing behind him with their weapons drawn-- she counted at least six. "Drop the sword. You're outmatched seven to one."
"No." She stated calmly. "What's your body doing right now, Baron? What myriad of functions is it performing in preparation for your death?"
Before he could respond, one of his men cried out in surprise, falling forward to the ground clutching the end of a crossbow bolt sticking only inches out of his head. "Good evening, Baron!" A voice echoed from nowhere, the storm obscuring its location. "Don't bother to run!"
"Show yourself!" Avery's voice strained with his anger, his face flushed red. Alia smiled to herself, taking a few steps back from the crowd.
"Alia, come on." The voice cried. "Back into the woods."
"You won't escape." The Baron's voice was dangerous... quiet. His eyes were narrow slits in his anger tightened face. "We'll find you. We'll find you both."
Whining.... Deadened noise off in some unreal distance. The back of his mind. Blaring, as if through haze and smoke-- dazed whizzing. Black to white to black to white... A myriad of color. Shining. Squinting away the assault on tender senses. Ears clear as though emerging from water. A cough. The pain explodes across the skull a throbbing in time with the beating of his tired heart. Consciousness....
Gabriel sat up slowly peering at his surroundings dully. The blaring turned out to be the constant drumming of rain on the roof of the ambulance he was stationed in thrown together with the conversations of several paramedics and police.
He saw Mosely standing next to a detective offering a statement he assumed. The driver of the vehicle was nowhere to be seen... perhaps her injuries were too severe for her to remain on site. Confusion began to settle on him like a chill, his mind racing to collect the events just before and after the crash. He remembered crying out to stop the car... but why? What the hell was he thinking? She slid into a fish tail... the car hopped the curb. He felt the impact and all the air rushed from his lungs. His sight began to dim and he heard her scream. He tried to move but his arms wouldn't respond. The first thought and probably the final thought in his mind was that he had been paralyzed.
Then he woke up in the ambulance.
Mosely walked over and sat beside him. He clapped his hand on his back in an uncharacteristically affectionate manner and leaned close to him. "The girl wasn't found at the scene, Gabe." Mosely's voice was quiet and he had a hard time picking any of it up. "I didn't know what to say really. Everything sounds suspicious. I basically gave them the truth. That this lady approached us in the bar, waved a gun at some guys trying to start trouble then insisted that we go with her. "
Gabriel nodded and looked around. "What do they think happened here?"
"They aren't sure. The car's registered to a lady that they're checking on right now. I'm sure they think the car's stolen since the driver's nowhere to be found. It is pretty slippery out here but I'll bet that they aren't ruling out alcohol." Mosely looked out into the woods. "Though there's a better than average chance that she got hurled from the vehicle out there and maybe wandered off in a daze. They have people combing the forest looking."
"How was the car?" Gabriel stretched his legs and rubbed his temples. He was tired and more than ready for a little rest.
"Trashed." Mosely frowned and rubbed his chin. "Could've been worse I suppose."
Gabriel tapped the talisman and tried to remember.... 'What did you see, Gabe?'
As if in answer to his thoughts, Mosely nodded toward him. "So what the hell had you so riled you tried to get us killed?"
Gabriel looked up at Mosely and shook his head with a shrug. "I'm really not sure, man. I've been trying desperately to remember these last few minutes.... Nothing."
"Well, we're lucky to be alive, bud." Mosely scratched his balding head. "Must've been something big. I've not heard you that hysterical in a long time...." Mosely thought. "Yeah, since that time back in school when Lisa--"
"Yeah, yeah shut up." Gabriel shook his head. "That's the last thing I need to be reminded of right now."
Mosely chuckled and leaned against the ambulance watching as a few men emerged from the forest. The night was still retched, the rain was dumping down on them though with less fury than earlier. He looked at Gabriel and took a deep breath. He had seen some fantastic things in his old friend's presence. Things he would've discounted in a second without bearing witness to. Yet he found himself inexorably drawn to it... to him. It was as though he had never known himself fully and was suddenly made painfully aware of the lack in his soul. Filling it was becoming a priority.
The paramedics returned to offer a final glance over Gabriel and Mosely before nodding to their superior who exchanged a few words in German with them. He turned to Gabriel. "They have cleared you both to go home."
"Good." Gabriel pushed himself up and looked around. "Can we hitch a ride with one of your men back to Rittersburgh?"
"Yeah," Said the constable, running his hand over his slick uniform. "Jorge will take you." He motioned to a maroon car parked just at the edge of the scene and began escorting them away from the ambulance. "And don't worry, we'll contact you when she's in custody so that you can come down for a positive ID."
"Great." Gabriel nodded leaning back in his seat and thanking God that the day was almost over.