by Owens, Wendy
It was also in that home that Gabe learned about the power of copper. At first he thought Balor was pulling his leg when he told him about it. Why would he have never been told about the properties of copper before? Gabe wondered. If Gabe did not want to be tracked he would have to line his head in copper somehow. The idea had seemed absurd at the time, but it gave his mind something to focus on. First thing he worked on was constructing a helmet made out of copper.
Once he was well enough, Gabe found a local blacksmith and tasked him with assisting him in the construction of this helmet. The problem he encountered and had not anticipated with the helmet idea was that once it was finished and he placed it on his head, he looked quite peculiar. He seemed to attract even more attention with the helmet, rendering it somewhat useless. It also was not terribly comfortable so trying to sleep in it seemed impossible as well.
Gabe returned to the human realm in search of a solution to his problems. He knew it was only a matter of time before he let his guard down at the wrong time and the trackers would find him. Then Gabe came up with the idea of building a home made out of copper. This too, however, fizzled as he soon realized it was not very practical and a home such as that would attract a lot of unwanted attention.
One evening, while Gabe was scavenging along a nearby mountainside, the weather took a turn for the worse. When he came across a number of caves there was no hesitation and he quickly took cover inside. Once there, Gabe attempted a spell to sense who was around him but much to his surprise he couldn’t see anything. This was beyond strange since Gabe had the ability to sense human presence up to a hundred miles away. He literally could not sense a single soul. That had never happened to him.
After some thought and exploration, Gabe came to the conclusion that the caves he had taken refuge in must have a concentrated amount of copper in them. Even after the storm passed, Gabe continued exploring the cavern until at last he discovered proof of his suspicions. Deep in the cave the walls glimmered with specs of copper.
With that his plan was born. The caves he had hidden in did not have easy access to the things he would need to survive. Gabe spent the next several years searching for the perfect location. He travelled to many mountain peaks and several valleys looking for the right place. He needed an area where he could have fresh water, shelter, access to animals for meat, a place to plant food, and all of this had to be surrounded by enough copper in the earth to disrupt telepathic tracers.
The years passed and took their toll on the young man. In the beginning, the search for the perfect place gave him hope and something to focus on. In time however, the constant hiding and fears, and sleepless nights had him wondering what he was doing. What kind of life was he leading and was it worth it in the end?
Then it happened. Gabe finally did find the place he now called home. A small valley surrounded almost entirely by mountains. An old abandoned copper mine nearby. His living in fear had become a way of life though. One he had a hard time letting go of. He couldn’t accept that he didn’t need his helmet any longer. He would take it off in shifts and even then he preferred to work under cloaking spells. It wasn’t until about six months ago all his fears and worries that had consumed him for five years had finally begun to wash away.
It had taken him a year, but Gabe built this small little piece of land into a nice and peaceful existence for himself. He had managed to erect a one room cabin; a challenge for him considering he had never been what one would consider a carpenter type. Unfortunately it was a learning process and his first two attempts ended up in ruins. Finally, Gabe had figured out by flattening the logs on two sides he had tendered from all the surrounding trees, it created a lot more stability. Though the cabin was terribly small and not particularly tall in height, Gabe was very proud of the structure he had created with his own two hands.
Gabe bartered for stuff he needed in nearby towns, but he was always quiet and kept to himself so as not to arouse too much attention. His days were full of work so that he would survive the winter but it kept his thoughts from wandering to Rampart so he didn’t mind.
The valley was littered with dense trees and in his tiny log home, surrounded by copper filled mountain walls; Gabe began to experience a feeling of safety that he had not felt since he turned sixteen. Now twenty-one, Gabe wondered how he had ever been that scared little boy. Death was no longer something that he feared. Death would be an end to his loneliness. It was not that Gabe welcomed death; he simply no longer worried about it. Gabe would never say he was miserable, simply content with his choice of self-exile. Though deep down, he knew he was lying to himself.
At the entrance to the valley where his cabin was, Gabe had made several attempts to cover his trail. An illusion spell to give the appearance that the mountain wall continued all the way around, a warning spell that would alert Gabe of a demonic presence and a cloaking spell that would hopefully cover any area that perhaps the copper was not assisting in.
It was an exhausting existence to always be thinking about who was looking at you or following you. A person can only think so long about who is asking too many questions before it can drive them mad. Most men would have reached that point long ago, but Gabe saw things differently. For four years he ran. He never knew if he would have his throat slit in the middle of the night. Every single evening before he found this place was full of terror of the unknown.
When he did find this valley, he couldn’t even allow himself to admit that it might be possible he could be safe. Now the reality was sinking in, he was about to have spent a year in one place, a place where he could live out his days in peace and with the luxury of a good night’s sleep.
The joy this safety brought him however, was not constant. He knew soon enough his destiny would catch up with him. The prophecy was that Gabe was the protector. He ran from this destiny, he chose not to fulfill it, and as a result, if the prophecy were correct, then the person he was destined to protect, the great prophet, would have to die. The end of days was counting down and Gabe fleeing his duties meant it would be arriving sooner than anyone realized. Often Gabe’s thought were consumed with the idea that he may be ushering in the apocalypse with his choice. Not a thought that puts a person at ease.
The last sliver of sunlight disappeared over the tree line and darkness settled over Gabe’s cozy home. Settling the axe into the cradle of the stump, Gabe wiped the sweat from his brow and was pleased to call it a day. Giving one last look around at the scattering of wood chunks, Gabe smiled. He had never realized how amazing and rewarding hard labor could be. He felt his arms grow in size and strength, his shoulders broaden. He had allowed his facial hair to grow into a full beard and he spent many hours looking into the reflective tin of his dish set. He could not get over the idea that he had become a man.
Gabe was in tremendous physical shape by this point. He had a clean and healthy diet that consisted almost entirely of what he grew and hunted. The demanding physical needs on his muscles to survive in the rugged wilderness had also lent to his fitness level. Gabe ran his fingers across the defined curves of his abdomen. Hunger was in full force.
Stepping to the side of his home, Gabe dipped his cupped hands into a bucket, releasing the trapped water over his head. Shaking the drops from his sweat covered body, Gabe strode inside his home and over to a small tin under his bed. Pulling out a piece of deer jerky and an apple, he pulled one of his handmade stools up to his table. Scarfing down the snack, he took in a huge breath, allowing the smell of the rabbit that had been cooking over the fire in a boiling pot for most of the afternoon to fill his nostrils.
Gabe had learned to appreciate the simple things in life. For starters, food. He had always taken for granted that there would be a refrigerator stocked with all kinds of yummy delectable goodies for him to consume. When he first set out on his own, he had taken to stealing scraps of food from towns or villages; anything he could get his hands on. He remembered one particular evening a pie getting the better of him.
/> Gabe had been traveling for weeks. Eating either only what he could forage or pick from people’s trash when all of the sudden, as if he were a character in a cartoon, the smell of a cherry pie caught hold of his nostrils. It was as if he floated to that window sill completely off the ground, led by his nose. When he got there, Gabe gave a quick glance around and with the coast clear grabbed that pie and ran as fast as his feet would carry him. He ran straight out of town, over a hillside, through an over grown field, and he kept running until he was surrounded by nothing but trees and fireflies.
That’s when he sat down and, using both hands, Gabe dove into the pie. He gorged until there wasn’t a scrap left. He could still remember the stomach ache in the aftermath and moaned as he thought of it. It didn’t take long before Gabe realized to survive he couldn’t depend on what he could swipe from others. He had to learn to hunt and gather, and take care of his own needs. Gabe never expected the great sense of pride this would instill in him, giving him the confidence he needed to keep going at his lowest points.
Gabe walked over and took out his pencil and sketchpad. Taking a squat on the bedding Gabe had pushed into a corner, he flipped open the pages. He had taken refuge in sketching ever since he left the manor. It was an interest he never knew he had. In the beginning, he filled books with drawings of Sophie. Her eyes, lips, the curve of her neck. As time progressed he began to draw his other friends from Rampart and even a few characters he had met at Iron Gate. Gabe had never given much thought to the fact that since he had built this home his sketching subjects had changed.
He now drew trees, animals, bits and pieces he found around his home made into still life. At some point, one he couldn’t be sure of, he had taken to this new life and he no longer seemed to be consumed by the one he had left behind. Contentment is something people search for most of their lives and unknowingly Gabe had found it, here in this place. Though he didn’t take the time to acknowledge it, Gabe had actually not pictured his friends in his mind for months.
Once Gabe was satisfied with his evening’s sketch session of a bowl of berries he had gathered, he filled his belly with the stew. Curling up in his blankets, Gabe watched the popping and crackling embers of the dying fire dance. His tired body quickly fell asleep; happy and willingly giving itself over to rest. That was one of the many things Gabe had learned since he found this place and built what he now called, Haven. An honest day of hard work always resulted in a peaceful sleep. An amazing thing after being so restless for most of his life.
Gabe slept soundly as fireflies played and the crickets sang their song just outside his door. When Gabe began his journey, his nights had been filled with Sophie’s face. So many nights were spent tossing and turning, plagued by haunting visions of her. That stopped soon after he found Haven as well. His thoughts were about the garden or the tree that needed to be cleared away the next day. It was only natural that all of the disturbing dreams would fade into thoughts about his current life. It may have been boring to dream about the harvest, but Gabe wouldn’t have had it any other way.
No matter how much Gabe enjoyed this new peace of mind, he had found this night was different. When Gabe sank into his deep slumber he didn’t find carrots waiting for him on the other side in the dream world. In the blink of an eye it was as though he had been transported back to Rampart. Everything was just as he had remembered it. The dining hall, the training grounds, even the cleric’s gardens that meant so much to him appeared to be untouched.
The only thing that was different was that nobody was there. The dining hall that would have been spilling over with a few dozen students at any time sat empty. The training area that would have been filled with noises of youthful and vigorous sparring rested in silence. The dozen or so clerics that would have been in the garden casting were nowhere to be found.
The emptiness though, somehow brought a peace to Gabe. There was no flood of emotions to confront, simply the shell of his past life looking back at him. As Gabe continued to stroll through the grounds of a place that hadn’t been in his thoughts for so long, memories invaded his dream. A glimpse of the overflowing bleachers for his tests, the smell of Sophie’s hair, Uri’s devilish smile. He hadn’t allowed himself to miss them for so long that he had trouble defending himself from the flood of emotions.
His thoughts were interrupted by a flicker of red and orange. Gabe quickened his pace, darting through the clearing and around the corner to the building where Michael’s office had been. For Gabe it was always Michael’s, he never could wrap his mind around Bishop. When Gabe came to a stop in front of the building that was now fully blazing, he frantically searched through the flames in the windows for any sign of a person. Still, he seemed to be alone.
Gabe stood a moment longer, watching the colors twist as the place he had once called home burned. A second later, Gabe felt someone grab his arm. As he frantically spun around to see who it was, he was consumed with disappointment when he saw he was still alone.
“Gabe!” The horrific cry came from the flames behind him and Gabe twisted to locate the source. He saw no one but he knew the voice.
“Uri? Is that you?”
No response.
“Uri, please!” Gabe spat as he cried. Panic tingling in his fingertips. “Where are you? You have to tell me where you are.” Gabe fell to his knees, hopeless and helpless.
“Gabe!” Uri’s booming voice filled the sky. Gabe looked up to the heavens, watching in horror as the black smoke billowed up. “Gabe!” Uri called again. He could feel his body begin to tremble violently. In an instant he was jolted awake, surrounded by darkness in his familiar bed, in the comfort of Haven.
Gabe rubbed his eyes, rose to his knees, and stumbled to the nearby table, fumbling for a cup. When at last his fingers grasped the object he was searching for, Gabe turned to walk to the nearby water pitcher. He took a couple of steps when he noticed a dark figure seated in the corner.
Gabe froze, unsure if it was perhaps his imagination running wild. He stared hard in the darkness, squinting, confirming in fact there was someone sitting in the corner staring back at him. First he wondered how he was found. He couldn’t imagine someone would have passed through his illusion spell, but even if they had then the alarm would have sounded. There was no warning of the visitor, so the alarm could not have been tripped. Then his thoughts trailed off into ideas on how to escape. Gabe couldn’t think straight, his heart pounding loudly in his chest distracted him; he lost his ability to concentrate.
“Are you alright?” A voice came from the dark corner. Gabe shook his head; he couldn’t possibly be hearing the voice he thought he was. “Clearly you’re not… What’s with the lumber jack look by the way?”
“It is you!” Gabe cried, the fear draining out of him. “Uri, how did you find me?”
Gabe rushed towards the seated figure until at last he could see his old friend’s face. He too had aged, all boyish features long gone. Uri carried three day stubble on his face and the hair on the top of his head was cut close to his scalp. Gabe thought how different he looked without his messy locks.
Uri’s chest had broadened as well and even the way he sat felt different to Gabe. Without another thought the two embraced one another, neither wanting to let go, both carrying the pain of what they had been through since last they met. When at last they pulled apart, Gabe saw the scars. Uri’s eyebrow displayed a long, but healed gash, and his cheek had a rough and jagged pucker that had obviously not healed easily.
They both stared at each other with knowing eyes.
“I can’t believe you are here.” Gabe said, staring at his friend in disbelief.
“You look great, Gabe.” Uri’s voice was soft, nothing like the boisterous friend he remembered. Uri slapped Gabe in the arm repeatedly, the contact reassuring him that he had in fact found him.
“Thanks, you too. How is everyone? Is Michael still with the council? What about Haim? Still an ox? Oh and you can’t leave out Raimie and Dina? Are they st
ill just as in love as ever?” Gabe struggled as he questioned about the friends from Rampart for Sophie’s name to leave his lips. Though he was sure he was long over his feelings for Sophie, he did not want to hear about a relationship blossoming between her and his dear friend that stood before him.
“Gabe, can we sit?” Uri requested, turning back and grabbing the stool he had been seated in.
“Of course, sorry, I don’t really get visitors so I only have the one chair I made.” Gabe said as he turned and nestled down onto his bedding.
“You made this?” Uri questioned in disbelief, inspecting the stool closer.
“I sure did, built this cabin, too.” Gabe boasted.
“I don’t believe it.” Uri shot back, looking around him.
“Well, this wasn’t my first attempt but I have to say I think I might be a natural at this carpenter thing.” Gabe replied as Uri moved the stool closer and carefully took his place on top of it.
“You really do look great man. I am amazed at how well you are doing.” Uri added with a soft smile.
“It’s all because of Haven.”
“Haven? Who is Haven? She hot?” Uri asked.
“Not much has changed, huh?” Gabe replied with a chuckle.
Uri laughed as well, shaking his head.
“It’s not a who, it’s where. I call this place Haven because that is what it has been for me this past year.” Gabe explained, glancing at his home lovingly.
“And the demons never found you?”
“Copper, the mountains are filled with it. It seems to block the trackers. I pretty much stay off the grid myself. Speaking of, how did you find me?” Gabe asked, eager to discover the hole in his security.