Part Sixteen:
 

Rating: PG
 

Gabriel stared at the girl who's life he'd just saved. She stood before him, still holding the knife that continued to drip with the blood of the dead man before her.

She was beautiful. That was all you could say about her. She looked like some sort of wild Amazon princess. Her long brown hair was tousled, giving her a fresh look, almost like she'd just gotten out of bed. Gabriel found that he liked the thought of her in bed. Her eyes held a fiery glow, and she was breathing hard from the fight. Now, as she
looked at her attacker, lying dead at her feet, she swallowed hard, her long, smooth throat rippling slightly. Then she bent down and carefully wiped the knife blade on the back of his shirt. She reached into his pockets, pulling out something, which she clenched in her fist. She slipped the knife into her boot and stood up. She turned to face Gabriel.

"Thanks," she said. She pulled something small and light out of her hand and tossed it at him. It rustled gently as it hit the ground in front of him. Gabriel glanced down. It was a bunch of crumpled dollar bills, wadded into a ball. Gabriel quickly knelt down to pick it up. He unfolded two twenty-dollar bills and shoved them into his jeans pocket immediately. He was hungry and he had no money. This would help immensely.

"Thanks, but I'm not going to tell anyone," he assured her, gesturing to the dead man. "So, don't worry about that."

The girl glanced down at the growing puddle of blood and looked away quickly. Gabriel guessed she had never killed anyone before. It's always hard the first time, he thought. Like he had so much experience.

"Hey," the girl addressed him. "You're running from somewhere, aren't you. You need a place to stay?"

"What makes you think I don't live in a two-story house with a white picket fence, two point five children, and a dog named Spike?" Gabriel asked.

The girl's lips twisted into a wry, cynical smile. "One runaway can always recognize another," she told him. "I'm Jenny."

"Chris," Gabriel said. He knew this girl's name wasn't Jenny; she was too smart to give her real name, just like he was.

"So, you need a place to stay for a few nights?" the girl asked again. "I kind of owe you."

Gabriel really didn't want to have anything to do with another girl, not after what had just happened, but he did need a place to sleep, at least for tonight. He glanced at her once more and made his decision.

"Yeah," he said.

The girl nodded. "Follow me," she said. "And don't worry. I won't turn you in to the authorities, and I won't ask about what you did that made you run away."

"How come you think I did something?" Gabriel asked. "I just didn't like my parents. I couldn't take them anymore, so I left."

The girl smiled at him, her warm brown eyes matching the warmth in her smile. "I know you're lying," she said. "But it's okay. There must have been a reason. Not like me. I really didn't have a choice when I left. It's not like there're people looking for me anyway, but in the event that someone does find me, I'm screwed. So I keep running, and I'm
always on the move. But you…you're running from something. I can tell."

Gabriel didn't answer. He picked up his bookbag from where he'd dropped it, and they continued walking. He tried not to stare at "Jenny" where her shirt had been ripped, but it was kind of distracting. "Where do you really live?" he asked, diverting his eyes and staring at the immense black sky.

"I don't live anywhere," she whispered.

Gabriel glanced at her. "You've never lived anywhere?" he teased. "Come on. Where's your home?"

"I told you, I don't have one." She seemed to be getting annoyed.

"You don't have a house somewhere?" he pressed. "There's nowhere on this earth that you could go to if you decided not to run away anymore?"

"No, there isn't!" "Jenny" turned to face him. "Yes, I had a home. I used to live in a very nice house with a backyard, a white picket fence, and two point five children. I even had a dog! But-"

"Then why did you leave?" Gabriel asked quietly. If his life had been so perfect he would never have wanted to leave it. "Why would you want to run away from that?"

"I didn't!" The girl's rich voice was filled with anguish and her eyes with deep despair. "I didn't run away from that. But because of a decision I made, I left, and now I can never go back. It's too late now. So I have to keep moving, and I can't ever return. There's not even anyone there to take me. Not to mention I'd have a hell of time explaining where I've been all this time."

Gabriel was confused. He couldn't imagine what circumstances would have put this girl in such a situation. "Was it something you did?" he asked.

She stared at the pavement, her hair falling in waves around her, veiling her tormented features. "No," she answered. "It was something that happened to me."

"What happened?"

The girl threw her head back to stare at him with hard eyes. When she spoke, her voice was fierce. "Do you really want to know?"

"Yes!" Gabriel was curious. "What happened to you?"

She paused, allowing a silence to settle uncomfortably around them. Finally she answered, her voice savage. "I died."

Gabriel's eyes widened in shock, and he stared at the pretty brown-haired girl before him. Either this was girl crazy, or he was. But he was psychic; had he started seeing ghosts?

"I'm not a ghost, if that's what you're thinking." She spat the words at him. "I don't literally mean that I'm dead. I'm standing here now, aren't I? And what reason in the world would I have for haunting you?"

"My good looks and charismatic personality?" Gabriel smiled at her, a smile that disturbed or frightened most girls. This one laughed.

"Why do I always end up with the conceited ones?" she asked, rolling her eyes heavenward.

"I guess you're just lucky that way," Gabriel told her. She gave him a dark glare, but with little effect due to the smile she was suppressing.

"That was a rhetorical question," she informed him. She started walking again.

After a while, Gabriel spoke. "Have you ever killed anyone before?"

She tensed, but kept moving. "No."

"You're taking it pretty well," Gabriel observed.

"It's about survival," she told him. "I do what I have to do to live."

Gabriel stopped mid-stride. "That's not living!" he said. "What kind of life is that, if all you're doing is staying alive? You're not really living if all you're trying to do is survive. You don't get anything out of life that way."

 "Can we not talk about this anymore?" she asked, avoiding his gaze.

He sighed. "Fine."

They walked in silence for a while, eyes examining every shadow they passed, ears picking up on the slightest rustle.

"I do other things," "Jenny" said finally. Gabriel glanced at her from the corner of his eye.

"What?" He had no idea what she was talking about.

"I don't only fight people," she continued. "I go to clubs, I party, I hang out. I do normal teenager stuff."

"Do you date?"

"Who dates anymore?" She turned to him and asked, "When was the last time you asked a girl if she wanted to go out on a date?"

Gabriel thought about it. He couldn't ever remember using the word "date." "Never, I guess."

"Exactly! You know why? It's because people our age don't date anymore. It's a kind of middle-aged thing to do. We 'go out' or 'hang out,' but we don't 'date.' It's just not done."

"Fine, then I'll rephrase the question. Do you go out with guys?"

"Hells yeah."

Gabriel snickered and looked around him. They were in a lower class neighborhood. One-story houses with aluminum awnings lined the streets. Pathetic looking lawns were littered with children's outdoor toys. Grass grew up through the cracks in the pavement, and the road was dotted with potholes. The street was deserted.

He followed the girl across the front yard of one house and around the side of it to the backyard. At the back of the house was a set of cement staircase leading down to what he assumed was a basement door. The girl descended the steps silently, beckoning for Gabriel to follow her. Gabriel wondered if she was actually allowed to stay here or if this place was deserted and they were breaking in.

"Hey, Jenny," he whispered.

"Shut up. You know my name's not Jenny, just like I know yours' isn't Chris. Let's just get this out in the open. My name's Arianna."

"Gabriel."

"Nice to meet you," she said sarcastically. "Now what do you want?"

"I've got a question, okay? What are you getting your attitude for?"

Arianna sighed. "Just ask."

"Do you know the people here, or are we gonna pick the-"

"We're not breaking in, if that's what you're asking. I actually have a key." Arianna fished in her pocket and pulled out a small metal key. She used it to unlock the heavy door. "The guy who lives here is the friend of a friend."

"He won't mind you having a guest?"

Arianna shrugged. "Nuthin' he can do about it." She opened the door and flicked on a light inside. "Welcome to my humble abode."

And it was in this way that Gabriel Wolfe stepped into the life of Arianna Blaze.