Hellooo my lovely readers! I am so sorry it has been so long, but lemme tell you, it's been a HELLA week. First, I worked 20 hours of overtime(which my company is like lol thanks! buuut we aren't compensating you for that) and second, I got food poisoning on Friday! YEA! So I have been down for the count since 8am Friday, and am just starting to feel better. Hopefully going to get some more planning done and then another chapter out tomorrow, but we'll see. So anyways, hope you like it, we are moving the story along, the big confrontation will be in a few chapters! Please review, and I will try to get something out for y'all soon! xoxoxoxo
Michael and Alex leapt from the hummer with their weapons drawn, locking the doors behind them, leaving Gabriella to pound and shout weakly on the windows for them to let her out.
Alex and Michael each engaged with two of the 8balls, fighting for their lives, fighting harder and as a team as the last 8ball stepped in, drawing two swords. The men fought as a smooth team, moving with ease as they brought down each 8ball. Alex killed the last of his two 8balls; turning to help Michael and saw that he was still up against two. He drew his gun and fired, dropping the 8ball so Michael could finish the double sword wielding 8ball off.
The men stood, sweating, scratched and slightly bloodied, waiting to see if any more 8balls would appear. After a few minutes they went back to the hummer, wiping the blood off of their faces, using the antibiotic wipes to clean off their scratches, and then climbed back into the hummer.
The men sat, breathing unevenly, their heartbeats settling. Alex looked back to Gabriella, "You hear any more of them?"
She shook her head, "No. Do either of you need me to patch you up?" Both men shook their heads no, and with that, Michael started the hummer, taking off quickly.
Gabriella sat back, shaken and weak. Now they knew for sure that the 8balls from Pittsburgh were pursuing them. As they drove north for the rest of the night, Gabriella rested, eating more nuts and dried fruit and taking antibiotics. As she drifted off to sleep, she could feel that her fever was gone, and her heart rate was normalizing. For the next day, as the men drove, she slept, aided by antibiotics and food.
Michael and Alex took turns driving, keeping a close eye on Gabriella. "You think she's getting better?" Alex asked softly, looking over his shoulder quickly, then back to the road. Michael nodded sharply, he had been using his angelic powers to speed her recovery as best he could, giving her strength, but it took a great deal of strength from him to do so.
"I've been giving her strength, while she sleeps, to hasten her healings."
Alex looked at him sharply, "Won't that weaken you?"
Michael nodded, "Yes, but fortunately I can replenish my energy faster than she can hers." Alex nodded and focused back on the road, a worried look on his face.
After another full day of driving they were in upper New York, and were in desperate need of a break. Michael had flown ahead and found a small house in a clearing, absent any neighbors, but within a few short miles of the nearest small town so they could refuel the hummer.
They unpacked quickly and both men agreed that Gabriella would stay behind while they split up to find gas and food. Michael would get the gas, and Alex would hunt, as the woods would still be full of game at this time of the year.
Though Gabriella wanted to go with the men, she knew she was still regaining her strength, and would more likely be a liability than a help. Instead, while they were gone, she pulled out her sword and began to move through the practice movements that Michael had taught her, going slowly, not trying to tire herself.
After only 30 minutes she felt her muscles beginning to tremble and knew she needed to stop. She wiped her face off, breathing unevenly from the workout, but still smiled, knowing that the fact that she had been able to go for that long was a good sign.
She went into the kitchen and began washing off some of the sweet potatoes they had brought with them, rubbing the dirt off before dumping them into the pot and filling it with water. After she had the pot on the stove, she moved around the house restlessly, repacking their bags, cleaning their guns, and reading a book.
Gabriella sighed and set the book aside, standing up from the loveseat, moving to look out the window. Shouldn't they have been back by now? She was worried. Maybe she shouldn't have been, they managed quite well, but she liked it better when they were all together, working as a team.
Hearing a hissing noise, Gabriella turned and saw the potatoes boiling over. "Shit shit shit!" she exclaimed, running into the kitchen. She quickly poured out the potatoes and left a touch of water in, mashing them dry was no easy task.
She added some powdered milk and spices, and a short time later, had a steaming pot of mashed sweet potatoes. She quickly heated up a few cans of green beans, and about the time she was wondering if she was going to have to go search for her missing idiots, they came home.
Alex came in the front door, followed closely by Michael. Alex held up a dead bird, already plucked and cooked, it appeared. Gabriella grinned, "Good timing!" She grabbed the three plates of prepared food and set them down at the table, leaving the bird for Alex to prepare.
Michael came and sat beside Gabriella, touching a hand to her cheek softly. "You look more awake than I've seen you in days. You look good."
She smiled softly at him, "I am. The antibiotics are doing their job. Plus sleeping for almost two days straight works wonders on a body."
Michael leaned in, kissing her very softly before pulling away to look into her eyes, "You didn't overtax yourself tonight while I was gone did you?"
Gabriella shook her head gently, "No, I am being a good patient. I did a little sword work, repacked our bags, and cleaned the weapons. Nothing too strenuous."
Michael raised a brow, "And prepared dinner."
Gabriella gave him a winning smile, "Yes, well, we have to eat. And I was bored."
He sighed and gave her a firm look, "You try my patience my love."
She smiled wryly back at that, "Now you know how I felt all those long weeks you were being an ass to me!"
At this, Michael laughed, a little shamefaced, but nodded, "Very true. And once again, I am sorry."
Gabriella smiled and ran her hand through his hair, down to his neck, pulling him in for a light kiss, "All forgiven flyboy."
At that moment Alex came in, clearing his throat loudly, bearing the cooked bird on a platter. With a grin at them both he set it down and settled himself down across from them, "Time to eat. Hope you like pheasant."
Gabriella grinned, "Sounds great."
They all dug in with relish, after having eaten road rations for days. There was little talk, but it was a comfortable silence they shared. As Michael and Alex cleared the table, Gabriella leaned on her hand, her eyes drifting closed. She had eaten more tonight than she had in days, and it hadn't escaped her that both men had not so subtly tried to get her to eat multiple helpings more than once.
Though, I am nice and full now, so I guess I can't get too upset with them. She thought wearily. She was so tired; maybe she would just rest her head for a minute. A few minutes later when Alex came out of the kitchen, he found her, sound asleep, head on the table.
Alex grinned and walked over, lifting her from the dining room chair and carried her to the small bed just down the hallway, tucking her in with a tender, brotherly smile. Her hand grasped his in her sleep and he smiled, sitting by her side as she settled more comfortable into a deep sleep.
Her fingers loosened in his grasp as she slept, and as Alex went to stand, the tattoos on his left forearm changed, revealing a message. The battle for humanity begins. As it faded he sighed, just what he wanted to see, he thought.
He found Michael outside her room, sitting on the floor; hands covering his face, his shoulders slumped in exhaustion. Alex laid a hand softly on his shoulder, and when his friend looked up at him, he saw sadness and exhaustion written on it. He held a hand out and helped him stand, "I'll take first watch man, and you get some rest."
Michael nodded blankly and walked into Gabriella's room, pulling his jacket off stiffly before laying down beside her. He pulled her gently into him, wrapping an arm around her waist, smiling softly when she made a small noise of contentment in her sleep and snuggled against him.
He soon fell asleep, nearly as exhausted as she was. Five hours later Alex came into the bedroom and roused Michael, shaking his arm softly. Michael nodded at the sight of Alex pointing to his watch silently; it was his turn on watch.
Alex went back out to the couch and lay down; his hands were shaking with exhaustion, after driving all day, hunting and being on watch he had nothing left. He quickly fell asleep, his body no longer able to tell whether the couch was comfortable or not, it simply needed recovery.
Michael made patrols around the house, and walked through the small wooded area nearby. He cocked his head, hearing a noise, and lifted himself into flight, going above the tree line. He looked around and saw nothing; it was probably an animal he reassured himself.
A moment later a large winged figure burst from the trees and hovered in front of him. "Brother, it is good to see you alive and well." Uriel's voice called to him, light and sweet.
He flew closer to her, "And you my sister. Thank you for the safe passage you provided out of Pittsburgh. We would have had a harder time without your help."
Uriel inclined her golden head, the moonlight glinting off her hair, "You are most welcome brother. Has Gabriel been harassing you?"
Michael shook his head, "No, not really, though the 8balls are under his command, so I suppose in a way, yes."
She smiled at him, "I only wished to see how you were, I need to return to Helena."
He nodded, he knew of his sister's scheming, but held nothing against her. If she wanted to rule Helena with Arika, she could do so, if she wanted to return to Heaven when they saved it, she could. "Father's blessing on you sister" he murmured softly.
She smiled, "Blessings on you, my brother" she said softly before turning and flying away.
He watched her fly away until he could no longer see her and then turned; flying up to a ridge where he could see the small clearing where the house lay and watched as the night darkened further, storm clouds rolled in, and a cold sleety rain began to fall.
He braced himself under a tree and kept watch for hours as the sleet turned to snow, eventually feeling the cold settling into his limbs, making him shudder and shake. After the longest 5 hours of his life(or so it felt) were up, he flew unsteadily down to the house and shook the snow off of his wings before stepping into the house.
It was nearly as cold as outside, but they couldn't risk a fire. He didn't see Alex on the couch and walked back to Gabriella's room, where he found him, curled up in his jacket and under a blanket, with Gabriella's head on his chest.
Michael stared at them, glad to know that Gabriella was safe, and that she and Alex loved each other, seeing as they each had so little in the way of family.
He backed out of the room and went out to the living room, grabbed one of his sweaters from his pack and put it on before pulling his jacket back on. He grabbed the blanket from the back of the couch and lay down, his whole body aching and cold. He wrapped the blanket more tightly around him and slowly eased into sleep as his tired, cold and achy limbs relaxed and warmed.
The next morning, they all roused quickly, the cold prompting them to move with haste. They ate a cold breakfast of leftovers and quickly got back into the hummer and onto the road, knowing they had little time left, and a long ways still to go.