GARGOYLES: Re-Awakening

Encounters: 3

Elisa had never been terrified as a cop. That was because always before there had been some chance of escape. She had had a partner with her, or was out on the street with places to go. This time, she was alone, in a dark factory the middle of the night and no one even knew she was there. They would probably never find her, and that was a terrifying thought.

The man that had grabbed her quickly put his hand over her mouth while the other two each took one of her arms. Instinctively, Elisa dropped her chin and tried to bury it in her chest in order to protect her neck. She didn't think that would last for long though. The other two pulled on her arms, attemptemg to force her shoulders back. Elisa was strong, but she couldn't handle on person on each arm. They were prying them back and her neck was almost fully exposed. The blade of the night was up in the air and it flashed in the moonlight. Elisa closed her eyes.

Suddenly, she heard a swoosh, like the whipping of a cape. She felt herself get knocked off balance and crash into the wall behind her. She went down hard and was momentarily stunned, but still heard the grunts of men and the banging of boxes. After a few seconds, her vision cleared back up and she found herself on the ground with styrofoam packing peanuts floating like snow down around her. The men were gone and she was alone.

She reached for her gun but found her holster empty. One of the men had undoubtedly grabbed it when she was first restrained. She rose to her feet and searched frantically with her eyes, but there was nothing to see. After about thirty seconds, she took a tentative half step forward.

"Stop."

Elisa froze. The voice was powerful, booming through the room and surrounding her.

"Police!" Elisa responded. The outburst was partly habitual and partly a desperate attempt at gaining some level of control.

"Yes," came the booming response. "We know."

Elisa was trying to determine a direction but the high ceilings of the factory created an extreme echo. Plus, she was still disoriented from the fall to the floor. If she wanted to know what she was dealing with, she thought, then she would have to ask.

"Who are you?" She asked. "What do you want?"

"We are...visitors," the voice said. "In need of guidance."

One thing was clear: these were no hired goons or street thugs. The voice had a quality to it that was not like either of those possibilities. And the word choice was unusual as well. Elisa's eyes narrowed.

"Visitors," she repeated. "You've got pretty strange taste in sight-seeing."

There was no reply from the darkness. Absent any other viable strategy, Elisa fell back on her hostage negotiation training. She just didn't know who the hostage was, her, the people who'd attacked her, or both.

"What kind of guidance are you looking for?"

"We are from a place far from here. There is much we do not understand."

Elisa was becoming bewildered. Just a few minutes ago, she was fully expecting to have her throat cut. Now she was conversing in the dark with someone who sounded like the beginning of a bedtime story.

"I'm sure I can help you with that," Elisa said, straight out of the hostage negotiation manual. "Why don't you come out so we can talk face to face?"

Again there was silence.

"Are you holding the men that attacked me hostage?" Elisa continued. "Is there something you need me to do to help them?" She strained to hear something. Anything.

"You would help those who attacked you?" The voice asked.

"I'm a New York City police officer. It's my job to help people," Elisa said.

There was a pause. Then the voice. "Yes, so we have seen. It is why I have chosen you."

"Chosen me? You've been watching me?" Elisa asked.

"Yes," the voice answered. "We have met."

Elisa scanned her memory. Who had she met recently that would appear in a dark factory just in time to save her from being killed by hit-men? It didn't make sense for cops, gangs, or even organized crime. Her thoughts raced. Suddenly, one popped into her mind. Her hands and feet went cold. The thought that was dawning on her gave her a sudden chill. She had been ignoring it successfully, concentrating on what she told herself were more pressing concerns, but part of her knew she couldn't avoid it forever.

"Where?" She asked. Her voice wavered, which she did not like.

"At castle Wyvern," said the voce in the darkness.

Elisa's mind was now racing. She considered probing the issue more—asking if the voice was a guard, or one of the attacking teams from that night, but deep down she knew it would only be stalling. She was already flashing back to the fall. The rush of the cold air and the dropping feeling in her chest was vividly real. With the memories so strong, she also knew that the hand which had grabbed her and carried her safely to a rooftop was not cold steel nor human flesh. She was afraid, but she always stepped into her fear. That was her job.

"You're the one who saved me," she said.

"Yes."

Elisa swallowed. "Who are you?"

This time, it was Goliath's turn to consider his next move carefully. He knew she had seen him, but she had also not pursued the matter. He had lived amongst humans long enough to understand denial, and he knew that if this woman had not sought him out by now, then she had been avoiding it. And if she had been avoiding it, he surmised, then she was halfway to believing. He decided to take his chance. Time was a factor.

Goliath stepped out form behind a stack of crates at Elisa's two o'clock. The moonlight illuminated his gray-blue skin. He was massive, and his dark hair flowed freely behind his wings. His muscular physique was imposing and his hands, which ended in sharp talons, looked like they could easily crush Elisa with one squeeze. The sight was overwhelming. She didn't know whether to scream in terror, to demand he get on his knees and put his hands on his head, or to faint.

Goliath took a step forward and reached an arm out. "Please," he said, "I mean you no harm. Like you, I and my kind are protectors. It is our nature."

Elisa snapped. Her psyche just couldn't tolerate any more. In a quick lunge she swung her right arm under Goliath's outstretched left, then pushed hard against it as she pivoted around towards his back. Normally, the move would spin the recipient away while she swung behind, allowing her to crank the arm to the back, creating a sharp pain just long enough to stun the person and give her a chance to get cuffs on them. This time, it didn't happen. Goliath did not budge even an inch. Without a shift in his position Elisa lost her balance, stumbled backward and was headed for a nasty fall. Reflexively, Goliath reached out and grabbed her hand and for a moment, they resembled figure skaters completing an ice-dance. Elisa was leaned out forty-five degrees, dangling from Goliath as he held her in place.

The scene was not lost on either of them. Once again Elisa had fallen and, once again, Goliath had caught her.

He pulled her up and she found herself within an inch of him. It was close enough to see that this was no fake. She was looking at something she did not understand. Goliath was looking at someone he hoped could save him.