Free Gabriel by Tina Pollick Page B

regenerate. Anything else I should
know?”
    Gabriel was surprised. Not
one word about his failure.
    He rubbed the sweat from his
palms onto his calves as he stood. “There are hundreds of them, and they will
not stop until every soul on this plane belongs to Satan.”
    “ Are you saying there’s no hope for humanity? That we’re all going
to be destroyed—it’s just a matter of when?” Calla wrapped her arms across her
stomach.
    “ No, Calla, there is always hope. My brothers and I are still here,
and we will fight to the end.” Gabriel reached down and brushed a stray hair
from her face.
    Calla’s eyes met his. “Have
you figured out a way to kill them? I mean all those years guarding the gate,
you guys must have talked about a way to defeat them, right?”
    “ Yes.” Gabriel moved back.
    “ But you came up with nothing, right? Can’t you ask the Almighty to
assist you?”
    Gabriel smiled, but it didn’t
reach his eyes. “It does not work like that, Calla. He has faith we can defeat
them, or He would not have sent us here. It is up to us to find the solution
and then destroy them once and for all.”
    “ I would think God might give you guys a hand or something. It
seems kind of mean to watch you guys struggling all this time and not give you
any help.”
    “ It does not work that way.”
    Calla moved so her feet
dangled off the side of the bed and started drumming her fingers on her knees.
Gabriel gave her a sideways glance.
    “ What? It helps to move when I’m trying to figure something out.
Since I can’t get up and pace, like you, I will have to settle with a little
finger movement.” Calla paused and then asked, “I was wondering if you guys
ever looked at them on a genetic level. I mean have you ever sampled their
blood to see what makes them regenerate?”
    “ No.”
    “ Do you think I have enough of them in me to check my blood?”
    “ I do not know.”
    “ Well then, let’s go find out.”
     
     

 
    Chapter Seven
     
    They drove up the hospital
drive and parked in the employee lot. Calla pulled out her key card so they
could access the staff entrance. Being around so many people worried her. The
sounds rushed through her mind, and she staggered backwards from the onslaught.
Gabriel steadied her, and she rested against a wall in the stairway.
    “ I can do this. I just need to learn to block out the noise.”
    Calla closed her eyes, took a
few deep breaths, and slowed her breathing. Gabriel remained at her side, with
an arm around her waist for support.
    “ If I can find one thing to focus on … there’s so much. I need one
thing, something strong that will help me block out everything else.”
    Gabriel moved to stand in
front of her. His smell—earthy, clean with the scent of rain—assaulted her
senses. She inhaled and committed the scent that could only be Gabriel to her
memory. She erected a shield around her mind, determined to block out anything
she deemed unwelcome. The noise crashed against the invisible wall, over and
over, but Calla stood determined. The assault lessened as the protection began
to feel natural. A few more deep breaths and the previous onslaught of clatter
was now a quiet hum.
    Calla raised her head and
said, “Thank you.”
    Gabriel appeared confused.
“Why are you thanking me?”
    “ For being you. Come on, let’s go.”
    They climbed three flights of
stairs. The lab was in an old wing of the hospital. This was an inconvenience
when she worked and had to deliver STAT labs there, but now it was a blessing.
This part of the hospital no longer housed patients. The lab resided on the
entire top floor, with offices, conference suites, and classrooms on the lower
two levels.
    They reached the employee
entrance and headed to an office in the corner. The door was open, but no one
was there. Calla and Gabriel sat in the two empty chairs that appeared to have
been stolen from a doctor’s office. Pretty but uncomfortable.
    “ Robert should be back soon. He