Chapter Seventeen: Close

Sure enough, Garfield was able to find the cave he found as a teenager. To his surprise, he was able to drag himself and the woman draped on his back up the hill to the cave. She was still weak and Garfield was slightly limping. Once he reached the cave, he laid Raven's nearly limp body gently on the ground and found wood for a fire.

The darkness engulfed the forest as Raven sat in an area of the cave in the fetal position. Garfield was attempting to light a fire for warmth. They were near the mountains and the temperature was dropping. All they had were the clothes on their back. The forest was quiet, but the sound of their breaths echoed in the wind. Finally, Garfield lit a spark and started the fire. He shouted in pure joy and threw more firewood in the small flame. After time, the fire grew. Garfield was clearly satisfied and he looked over to Raven. It was clear that she was still cold. He could see her faint shivers and saw her hand twitch.

"Hey Rae, I got the fire going. Why don't you sit by it to keep warm?" he asked.

"I'll be fine." she shivered and glared at the man. "And don't call me Rae."

"I know you're cold over there. I can see you shiver. Come sit next me. Although I have the beast entity in me, I don't bite." he patted the spot next to him.

Reluctantly, she sat next to him by the fire. She slowly opened her hands and faced it near the fire. She continued shaking from the cold.

Surprisingly, he was not cold at all. The temperature was dropping, but he didn't feel cold. Maybe it was due to the beast. As Raven sat near the fire, he stripped his ebony trench coat and draped it over the woman. She turned her attention to him.

"I'm fine. You will need this more than me." She said holding the coat.

"No, I'm fine. You're the one I'm worrying about. I insist. Now take it." He demanded.

Raven gave him a soft smiled and returned her attention to the fire. Now, things seemed to settle down. However, they would have to wait until the morning for someone to get them. Moments passed in silence as they continued to gaze at the fire

"I can't believe Trigon would send demons after me. Usually, I have to be the one doing the perusing. I guess he wants me that badly." She mumbled to herself, but Garfield could hear what she said.

"Why is Trigon after you anyway?" but fearing her anger, he tried to withdraw what he said. "Wait, you don't need to answer that."

"I'm his only daughter. His only offspring." she said.

"No offense, but you're a half-demon. What does he want with you?"

"Trigon is so high and mighty in the demon world and his pride and reputation keep him alive. He is known throughout many dimensions the incarnation of evil, the source of all darkness. However, as he ages more and more, he realized one day that he needed a way to keep his legacy behind. He did have children. Many, full-blooded offspring. Out of his own entertainment, he raped a woman nearly twenty-four ago. He never thought he would be disgraced with a half-demon child. As time passed, all of his full-blooded demon offspring all died. Only one offspring remains."

"So, you're the last of his children and I guess he can't have anymore?" Garfield asked.

"Yes, and he cannot." she spoke softly "So there is only one way he can carry on his legacy."

"Through you?" he asked.

"Yes, but he does not want to be known as the father of a half-demon."

"So how does that work?"

She was silent for moments. "A demon grandchild." Garfield looked at her with disbelief. "A week before my mother's death, he found me in Azarath and brought me to the demon world. He gave me a choice, either follow his orders, or be imprisoned. Choice one would involve me being forced into a marriage with a demon male. His plan was thought out nine months later where I gave him a demon grandchild. So I decided choice two. He held me captive and locked me in a prison for days on end."

"That bastard." Garfield swore.

"That's an understatement." she said softly, "A week later, he took me out of my imprisonment and stuck me in a large arena. It looked like a coliseum. Trigon sat in a chair and the guards forced me down to sit next to him. He wore a menacing smile and I can still remember to this day. The silence was broken by a scream. I looked to find to find the scream, and my mother collapsed down several yards away from me. She looked terrible, like she had been tortured for days. She was pale, malnourished, and her hair was a mess. I called out for her name, but Trigon silenced me." Raven began to shiver and Garfield sat closer to her. "He walked closer to her and her screams faded and she looked into his crimson eyes. He picked her up by her throat and she screamed for my name. I could do nothing, as my pleads echoed throughout the walls. Trigon only smiled demonically and . . ." Raven began to shake and tears began to appear in her eyes.

Garfield only did what his instincts told him to do and he wrapped his arms around her. She flinched, but sunk in his arms. She laid her head on his chest and sobbed. Raven's tears fell down onto his shirt. She mumbled few words, but her words were muffled in his chest. Garfield continued to rub her back in comfort and cradled her in his arms. She clung to his shirt and continued to cry. Moments passed and her tears stopped. Garfield continued to hold her, until she adjusted herself around. She laid her back against his chest and clung to his arms.

"I'm sorry about that. That's why it's so hard to share that with anyone. That is why I did not share that months ago." She said softly.

"You don't need to be sorry." he reassured her. "You needed to cry it all out."

"I guess." she said with no emotion. "I know this may seem awkward, but you are quite warm. Can we stay like this for a while please? I'm still slightly cold."

Garfield's face lit up. "Sure." Without his knowledge, Raven smiled and closed her eyes. They lay there for some time and Garfield began to process what she had said. Man, I can't believe she went through that. No wonder she is the way she is. Her mother was murdered right in front of her. Damn.Lost in his thoughts, he was brought back to the sound of light breathing. He adjusted himself to view her face. She had fallen asleep. There was a calm expression on her face; a peaceful expression, in fact. He smiled to himself and kept her in his arms. Soon, he drifted into sleep.

The following morning, the sun was shining waking up Garfield. He looked around to the cave, trees and foliage around the forest. He realized that he was alone. Garfield frantically looked around for Raven, but she was nowhere.

"That damn woman." he mumbled.

"You called?" a feminine voice emerged. Garfield found the source and Raven appeared.

"Rae!" he said in relief with a smile on his face.

"Dammit. I told you to never call me that!." She said walking into the cave with her cell phone in her right hand. "Still no service."

Garfield stood up. "That sucks. What do you want to do now?"

"Well first off, I need to heal you." she proceeded closer to him. She knelled down and examined his leg that was injured. To her surprise, it appeared that it was fully healed. The wound was no longer bloody and was completely recovered.

"Is there a problem?" he asked seeing confusion written on her face.

"No, and that's the problem." She got up on her feet. "You're completely healed and I have not done anything to it."

"Strange." Garfield examined the supposing injured leg. He confirmed that his leg was completely healed.

"However, it's not strange due to your abilities." she stated and turned her back. "Now, since your healed, I guess we should go back into town or at least until I find signal."

"Okay, are you sure that you will be fine walking?" he asked.

"Yes after a good nights rest, I've regained my strength. Guess we have that in common." she walked away from him.

"Wait after me!" he yelled and quickly followed behind her.

Once they embarked, Garfield and Raven were able to find the road to the city. They walked in silence as they continued down the road. The man couldn't help but steal several glances at the woman.

"I'm sorry about last night." she apologized.

"I told you already. You don't need to apologize." he replied.

"Yeah, but I am your commander and there I was crying my eyes out over something small as that. Way to reduce my authority."

"Nah, I still think of you as my bad ass commander."

"Glad we can keep it that way."

"Everyone needs to cry after losing a loved one. I still cry after my parents died when I was young."

"Since I spilled the beans about my mother and you talk about your parents, what happen to them?"

Garfield hadn't spoken in years about his parent's death. He never even told Victor or Marshall. It always brought up unpleasant memories, but he felt comfortable confiding with the woman.

"Most of my childhood with my parents was spent in Africa since they were biologists." he started to explain. "When I was a child, we ventured off in the boating trip. However, there was an accident and they tragically drown. Only I was left alive."

"I'm sorry to hear about that." she felt a knot in her stomach.

"It's fine. My parents Rita and Steve adopted me earlier that year. Steve's a hard-ass, much like you, but Rita was the sweetest woman I ever met; again much like you." His eyes widened after the last statement. Garfield did not attempt to make eye contact with the woman.

"Oh hahaha. Very funny Logan." she said sarcastically. "Never had I thought I would hear the word 'sweet' in a sentence with my name in it. You sure know how to kiss ass Logan."

Before he could reply, a faint sound was heard from Raven's phone. She stopped walking and held up her cellular device. They were in service area, and they were getting a phone call from Cleaver.

"Hello?" she answered the phone.

"Hello Miss Raven. Are you and Logan okay?" Cleaver asked.

"Yeah, we are fine." she replied. "We just got stranded near the forest. The demon hit my car and fled."

"Well, we have the demon captive and we have your location. I will be at your location momentarily."

"Good, but before you hang up, how is everyone?"

"A few scraps, bruises, minor injuries, but everyone is fine. They are at headquarters questioning the demons that were left alive."

"Wonderful, I'll heal them once we get back to headquarters."

"Oh no you're not!"Cleaver demanded. "You used up a lot of your strength yesterday which I suppose you were left with little last night. Once we get back to H.Q., you will get your rest and then question the demon."

"Okay." she said and hung up the phone. She peered around the road and saw an approaching SUV. "Cleaver will be here momentarily. We will go back to H.Q. and you can get your rest."

"Sounds good to me. My feet hurt." he said.

The Hummer parked next to Raven and looked to see cleaver in the driver's seat. She opened the passenger door and Garfield went to the same side. Before she entered the car, Raven turned towards Garfield.

"Thank you for last night." she whispered and entered the car. He couldn't help but cast a sheepish smile.