Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 93412 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 374(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93412 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 374(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
Adam would always protect him.
“You're safe now. And so are children,” Adam whispered, pressing his mouth to Gabriel’s forehead.
Gabriel was quick to rush into Adam’s arms, making him wish for the day when this tragic story was truly over. When they could once more go to the cinema or eat peanut butter sandwiches without worrying about the cult.
“What do we even do now?” Gabriel whispered against Adam’s chest, forcing him out of the fantasies of a happy future while the fresh corpse cooled.
What indeed.
21
GABRIEL
Cloud grunted in displeasure as Gabriel pushed him into the plastic carrier. “I know. I’m sorry,” he whispered while Adam filled a small bag with clothes and essentials. They decided to leave the room in a mess, to create suspicion that Gabriel might have also become a victim of the mysterious killer who’d gotten rid of Father John and others, but the cat was the one thing he wasn’t willing to sacrifice.
“Are you absolutely sure? It’s gonna be pretty obvious it was you if you take him,” Adam said, looking at his watch.
Gabriel stalled and took a deep breath. “I can’t leave him. I know why small animals make you uncomfortable, but he’s the only family I have.”
Adam’s lips paled when he squeezed them tighter, but he ended up nodding. “Okay, what if you carry him in something less obvious so they don’t just go on a manhunt after you. Let’s leave the window open, or something. Boom, the cat might have just fled on his own.”
Gabriel’s mind was buzzing with frantic thoughts. “He’s known to run off at times, so we can try that.”
This time, Cloud wasn’t happy to leave the carrier, but Gabriel still packed him into a large cardboard box he kept some of his old DVDs in and made two holes in the side for air.
“Sister Beatrice is gonna tell them about us anyway. We can’t exactly take her with us… can we?” He glanced at Adam for guidance.
Emotion passed across Adam’s face like a tornado. “Judging by her size, she should give birth soon. Maybe we could hide with her until then?”
No matter how much Gabriel hated her, he still felt a hint of sympathy for her vulnerable position, and she didn’t deserve any of it. She’d killed four children and tortured five, for fuck’s sake. Pregnant or not, she didn’t deserve to live on. Especially that her only reason to have the baby was to torment it the same way Adam had been.
Gabriel donned his hoodie and nodded with renewed determination. “Okay. We’ll take her. How do you… feel about it all now that you’ve realized God hasn’t really guided your hand?” He stroked Adam’s arm, but then had to pick up the box with Cloud, ready to go.
Adam opened the window and tossed a few items from the shelves to create the sense that a fight had taken place. He then picked up the few things Gabriel had chosen to take and peeked out into the corridor. It was now 4 a.m., and they needed to be quick if they wanted to reach the state lines before someone started questioning Father John and Sister Beatrice’s disappearance.
“I… I’m still very confused. For weeks, I convinced myself I was an angel, so that was fucking crazy, but while I remembered some things, my head is still mostly made of holes, and the best shot at finding out who I really am is this,” he said, showing Gabriel a North Carolina driver license. The name on the document was Adam Ballard, but the picture it featured was undoubtedly his. They might have a long road ahead, but at least there was an address on the document, and once they got there… maybe someone could solve the mystery of Adam’s identity.
Adam put it back into his pocket and led the way to the staircase. They could have taken the hidden passages, but at this hour there were very few people they might stumble upon anyway. Especially with Father John and Sister Beatrice gone.
They had to speak in whispers, but Gabriel was too nervous to wait with this conversation. “You said before that you know someone who can make a fake ID for me. How does this work? Do you know their address? Remember their face?”
Adam fell back and waited until Gabriel reached him before continuing to the stairs. “It’s glimpses. Sometimes, I think I know what they mean, but that’s not always the case. It’s as if there’s a door in my brain, and I can only see what’s behind it through the cracks.”
“Is that what you thought were your visions?”
Adam’s eyes offered a peek into a world of chaos. “I suppose. I’m trying not to overthink it, because when I do it starts feeling like too much to handle. Out of all things, I just assumed the identity those bastards had tried to push on me. What the hell’s wrong with me?”