New Kingdom: Return from Exile

Ending a human life had no meaning to him. Not since they had ended the life of his people. The whore dropped to the ground where she would remain until the city removed her corpse to the mass grave they maintained for the undesirables. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he left the alley.

The young woman he had passed earlier looked at him with a gaze that silently begged for mercy. Her will to live was nearly defeated. Only a glimmer of self preservation remained in the depths of her large blue eyes. He cast a quick glance at her and then reminded himself of what the last pair of blue eyes had cost him. Everything. He moved quickly across the street and continued walking down the sidewalk.

The young woman bit her bottom lip to keep her cries silent. So many were dying from disease and murder but she continued to exist day to day. And now, her first day on the streets and she had been assaulted for standing on another's territory and spurned by a man who had just been in the alley with that beast of a woman. She gasped at the shock of the pain his critical gaze inflicted on her. Closing her eyes, she held her tears as she quickly calmed her emotions.

When she opened her eyes she was shocked by the darkness greeting her. At first she thought she was blind but quickly discovered that something had eclipsed the small street lamp. She lifted her gaze and stared into the darkest eyes she had ever seen. Fear gripped her but was quickly replaced by an astounding realization. Whether he dealt her kindness or death, this man would be her savior.

He quietly reached for her hand and placed something large in her palm. She glanced at the thick stack of currency paper and silently pleaded for him to explain.

"Leave," he said. "Save yourself."

Feeling like a fool, she could only respond with a look around the neighborhood and a simple shrug of her shoulders. She dropped her head as she offered the money back to the man. Maybe he could save her in death because certainly she would die of humiliation before the night ended. Hearing his impatient hiss, she looked up and wondered if she had said the words out loud.

"Come," he ordered placing his hand on her elbow.

She followed numbly as he led her to the street and with a flick of his wrist motioned a car to stop in front of them. When she looked to the man for an explanation, she barely felt his fingers graze her temple before she fell into an unconscious heap in his arms.

Gabriel placed the small woman in the backseat of his car giving specific instructions to the driver which included returning to his earlier place of seclusion. As the car pulled away, he searched for his grandson who had quickly moved through the night.

***

Andrew walked fighting with himself as flashes of his former life, failures, and recent activities occupied his thoughts. He moved across the city at a steady pace until he heard the silent cry for help. Stepping into the shadows, he watched the two men negotiate until they had reached an acceptable deal.

Over the years, he had witnessed this scene so many times he had wondered if he would ever grow callused to the horror that would unfold. It would not happen tonight. He cringed when the man who appeared to be the vendor barked an order to someone hiding in the unlit doorway. Too many times, a small boy or girl had been the object of some pervert's desire. Tonight, Andrew was spared the sight of a child stepping out from his temporary cover but he was not relieved by the truth before him.

A woman, who appeared to be in her early thirties, moved slowly toward the men until one of the men pulled her roughly forward. Andrew cringed at the sight of her abused face and swollen body. Apparently neither she nor her unborn child would relinquish their hold on this miserable life. His people, once strong and proud, had been slaughtered like stupid animals. Yet this woman fought to live and give life to the thing inside her who would probably despise her for the sacrifice.

Suddenly he realized that his hand was once again gripping the knotted muscles at the back of his neck. With a grunt, he jerked his hand away and cursed himself for being a sentimental fool. Too many years of being spoiled as the only son and brother had not prepared him for making wise decisions. But it was this time of the year, every year, that he missed that one person who had been more than life to him.

Every year, on the day following his birthday, he would be treated to a spectacular day with the epitome of a super hero. While he couldn't remember how he knew, he remembered knowing that his family was a special breed and he requested special instructions on achieving his own level of greatness when he eventually joined them. He had been tutored in learning the art of war, drinking, and mind games.

It had been his grandfather's prerogative to indulge him for those few years. If only his grandfather could have foreseen and intervened on the betrayal that had eventually destroyed all of them.

Now he stood alone. A pathetic memory of what he once was and a clear understanding of what he never will be, missing his grandfather because today was the day after his birthday. He watched the scene across the street and hoped that his grandfather approved of his actions.

The tension in his neck tightened as he took a step forward. Lifting his arm to massage the pressure, he yelped when a large hand grasped the back of his neck.

"Let's relieve the lady of her undesirable husband, direct her to a better way of life and then return home."

Andrew heard the familiar voice and turned to find the face that he had loved as a child but his mind refused to accept the scene as anything more than a cruel hallucination.

"And for the record," Gabriel said guiding him across the street, "your training hasn't even begun."