The Prophecy (The Guardians)

Chapter TWO



“Remember, if there is any sign of trouble to head straight for Dina and the others.” Uri reminded giving Gabe a hug.

“Yeah, yeah,” Gabe chimed, smiling at his friend. “I think I know by now how to take care of myself. Don’t stay away long.” Gabe’s request was also meant to inform his friend that he did not expect to become the permanent care taker of this girl he had been saddled with.

“Don’t let him scare you, Rachel, he’s a sweetheart under all the prickly layers.” Uri advised looking at the girl.

“I think we’ll be just fine.” Rachel replied, a slight blush on her cheeks.

Uri smiled, cocked his head in the goofy way he was known for, and with a half wave he disappeared into a cloud of smoke.

“I don’t think I will ever get used to that.” Rachel said in reference to Uri’s transportation spell.

“I thought the same thing, but you do.” Gabe replied flatly, turning and walking back to the cabin.

“So what can I help with?” Rachel called out after him.

“Oh, ummm…. Well—” Gabe stammered, unsure how to respond. He really just wanted her to stay out of his way. “I don’t know exactly. I suppose just make yourself at home. I have work to do.”

“What are you doing?” Rachel asked eagerly.

“Excuse me?” Gabe couldn’t help sounding agitated.

“Sorry, I don’t mean to be rude, but ever since I met Uri, I get a little freaked out being alone. Seems like when I am alone, things try to kill me.”

“Funny, things always tried to kill me when I was with Uri.” Gabe added.

“Are you doing anything I can help with?” Rachel asked with a half-smile and raised eye brow.

“Oh, well I’m working in the garden this morning. I suppose you can come help. Just weeding and watering, nothing glamorous.” Gabe replied, continuing to walk towards the day’s work that awaited him. He viewed Rachel as a delicate flower, certain that an hour under the hot sun would result in her wilting, running off to seek refuge in the shade of the cabin.

He was wrong. Much to his surprise, Rachel jumped in head first. They barely spoke besides the general niceties they would exchange about the serene location or beautiful weather. As long as she remained silent for the most part, Gabe was actually grateful for the helping hand.

Rachel made several trips to the stream to collect water, one of Gabe’s least favorite chores. During her return trip with the buckets she noticed an odd shaped half tree. Eager for a break, she set the water down and went to investigate. Much to her delight, Rachel discovered a treat she had not expected. Carved into the front of the withered and dead tree stump was a woman’s face. The detail was enchanting and Rachel lost track of time as she studied the piece. The eyes were large and open, looking up to the sky, the lips full, and the face round. Locks of hair were carved with such intricacy they looked as though they might be real.

It wasn’t long before Gabe noticed Rachel had gone missing. Remembering his promise to Uri to look after the girl, he set off searching for her. “Rachel.” He called out coming over the hill side, annoyed she had interrupted his busy day of chores.

Hearing her host beckoning her, Rachel stood. Waving her arms wildly, she cried out, “Over here, look what I found.”

Gabe already knew what she had discovered though. He had carved the sculpture of Sophie soon after arriving to the valley. He knew if Rachel searched hard enough, she would find similar carvings of Uri, Dina, Raimie, Haim, and even Michael.

Loneliness had consumed Gabe a long time ago, the carvings were an effort to remember a life lost. Some days were so hard for him that he would even talk to the carvings. He didn’t want to explain all of this, or his possible insanity to Rachel, so he simply turned and walked back to the garden without a word.

Several minutes later, Rachel came running over the hillside after him, “Gabe, did you hear me? Gabe?” He still said nothing, just continued walking until he reached his tools, and began digging up a particularly large and nasty deep rooted weed.

Rachel reached Gabe’s side, and slightly out of breath blurted, “Couldn’t you hear me?”

Gabe just shook his head hoping she would give up.

“Just over the hill there is this fantastic carving of a young girl in a tree. You have to see it.” Rachel explained.

“I know.” Gabe replied flatly, continuing with his work.

“You’ve seen it? It’s amazing, isn’t it? Do you know where it came from?” Rachel asked, wondering why this man was being so mysterious. Gabe still said nothing and continued working diligently.

Rachel reached out and grabbing Gabe’s hands, stopped his work. Her touch made his heart flutter. He assumed it was simply the lack of human contact in recent years. “Gabe, is everything ok?”

“Fine, just a lot to do. I need to get back to work.” Gabe replied. “Now please, let me be!”

As if a light went off in her head Rachel asked, “You did the carving, didn’t you?”

Gabe still could not form a verbal response and simply nodded his head yes.

“Who was she?” Rachel asked calmly.

Gabe hesitated; he did not want to share his story with this girl. He did not know her, and he certainly did not want to get to know her. He just wanted to do his work until Uri returned, and then she would be out of his life forever.

“I’m sorry, is this upsetting to you?” Rachel inquired seeing Gabe’s discomfort.

“No, of course not, why would it upset me?” Gabe snapped instinctively. Gabe couldn’t admit, even to himself, that any part of his history at Rampart still bothered him.

“I don’t know, but you seemed to get pretty tense when I asked about the carving. It’s no big deal. You don’t have to talk about it. I just thought it was pretty amazing, that’s all.” Rachel replied, walking past him and picking up the bucket she had set down earlier. Pouring the water into the larger container, she turned to walk back to the stream.

“It’s none of your business. Perhaps as a guest you should learn to respect people’s privacy.” Gabe took a deep breath, studying the clumps of dirt around his feet. He wanted to tell Rachel that she wasn’t welcome, that her presence was just an annoyance. Though, no matter how much he wanted to tell her that, he did not.

Rachel yelled over her shoulder as she continued to walk away, “Fine, you don’t have to worry about me getting in your way. So sorry!”

Rachel’s tone made it evident to Gabe that his response had outraged her. Looking back to the earth and continuing his work, he was determined not to chase after her. She was a guest in his home. He was not about to feel bad about correcting her for snooping. It was bad enough her mere presence was putting him in danger, now she was going to pry into his personal life. The thoughts racing through Gabe’s mind only served to aggravate him more.