Only the Good Die Young
Part 3: Tales of Days Gone By
Daniel stared awestruck at Gabe as the full affect of his words sunk in. `I'm not exactly...human,' was all Daniel could think of as he replayed the events of the previous day in his head. The strange boy walking into the bar, having lunch with him. The strange man that had tried to kill the boy, and the speed at which the boy had reacted. Later, being in the boy's hotel room where he learned that the boy's name was Gabe. The incredible experience he'd had with Gabe. The second stranger barging into Gabe's room. His bulletproof vest. The gunfight that had followed. The way Gabe had shot the bullet out of mid air, and the blue glow his eyes had when he did it. Gabe and Daniel running down the streets of town, trying to get away from the sheriff. The third stranger they'd seen leaving Fran's. The explosion and the cries of pain. Him taking one of Gabe's guns. Gabe's gunfight in the streets with Daemon. The second exploding building. His killing Daemon. The ride out of town. But, most of all, Daniel remembered the sight of his home, Malbran, completely in flames and a caravan of survivors heading in the opposite direction.
All of a sudden, Daniel broke out into a series of sobs. Gabe moved towards him, trying to comfort him, but Daniel jerked away from him, glaring.
"Get away from me!" he cried as he ran from the tent, leaving Gabe behind as he sprinted across the dunes. Gabe was after him in an instant, hoping to catch him before he got hurt. The desert was a dangerous place, especially during the day. He sprinted after Daniel, careful not to use his powers for he didn't want to frighten him any more.
He had almost caught up to Daniel when he saw the red-head tumble down a nearby dune, crying out as he fell. At the top Gabe saw it was a long fall, over thirty feet, and began to slide down after him, careful not to lose his balance as he basically skied down the sand dune. Daniel had finally stopped tumbling and Gabe was almost to him when he saw the true extent of the danger Daniel had gotten himself into. His tumble down the dune landed him right on top of a very dangerous desert snake's bed, and the snake wasn't too happy with being disturbed from his usual period of rest. Gabe's black revolver was in his hand and firing even as the tan desert snake sunk its fangs into Daniel's exposed arm.
The report of the gun was echoed by two cries, one of pain and one of fear.
Gabe was riding full speed across the desert sands, his white horse running as she had never ran before. Daniel had his arms wrapped tightly around Gabe, but from his incoherent mumblings and the heat radiating from his forehead as he pressed it against Gabe's cheek, Gabe could tell that Daniel was fading fast.
After he had been bitten, Gabe had dashed up the hill, carrying Daniel and using the full extent of his powers to aid him. When he reached the top, he quickly untied the two horses, setting the brown male loose to find food and water before hauling himself and Daniel onto his white stead, beginning his desperate charge through the desert. He knew that Juniper, the town he had been heading to with Daniel, was perhaps four hours away at full speed on horseback. That wasn't fast enough. Gabe poured as much of his energy as he could into both his horse and Daniel, hoping to both spur his horse to a faster pace and to keep Daniel on this plane of existence just a little bit longer.
Now, as Gabe raced against time towards the one chance of saving his friend, he broke into tears. Why is it that everybody I get close to, everybody around me, gets HURT,' his mind screamed as he poured more and more of his energy, his spirit, into Daniel. Daniel was the first person I'd been close to since...since...David.' As that last thought entered his head, the tears began to flow heavier. Time was running out, Gabe knew that, and he ushered even more of his strength into his horse and Daniel
A strange creature, hardened by years of loneliness and desperation and knowing nothing but sorrow and misfortune, raced across the dunes on a white stallion, pouring his soul into a human child.
A boy, abandoned and scared, terrified that he might loose his only friend, cried.
Two hours after setting out from their campsite, Gabe spotted the city of Juniper. It looked similar to Malbran, as did most cities in that time, but Juniper was bigger and where Malbran was a town of wooden buildings and storefronts, Juniper was a city of stone markets and homes. But, more importantly, Juniper had a hospital.
Gabe spurred his white stead into one final burst of speed, dashing through the archway of the grand stone wall that surrounded the city before the guards on duty could even stir from their posts.
Most people on the streets began running for cover, afraid that they were being raided, but a few stayed out of curiosity. Gabe stopped the horse in front of one such man and cried, out of breath, "Where's ...the... hospi...tal?"
The man, aware that the boy was in serious need of help judging by the young lad draped around him, pointed off to the right and said, "Go that way, then take a left when you see the bank. Just keep going and you'll see it."
Gabe shook his head and was off, his horse now sprinting down the streets of Juniper at a pace so fast that most weren't even sure that it was a horse and rider that had passed them, but a phantom spirit. Taking a left at the bank, and nearly losing control of his white stallion as he did, Gabe found himself on a wide street leading straight to a large three story stone building. There was a universally understood red cross emblazoned on the front of the building between the first and second story windows.
He was nearing the hospital when he felt the energy he'd been feeding his horse suddenly give out. He leapt off of the beast, Daniel in his arms, just as she collapsed dead in the street, not twenty feet from the hospital doors. Quickly blessing the creature that had done the impossible act of bringing him here before Daniel died, Gabe was off and dashing towards, then into, the hospital. The denizens inside looked at him is shock. Many had just seen him run a horse to death and they were wondering what was going on.
"Quick," Gabe said, grabbing the arm of one of the nurses that had been walking through the waiting room, "he needs a doctor. He's been bitten by a poisonous snake and if we don't hurry, he'll die." He hefted Daniel into his arms as she called to one of the other nurses that was further down the hall. She ran to get a doctor while the first nurse told him to follow her. Soon the two of them were running a hallway leading deep into the hospital to a room that was being prepped for Daniel. The doctor, a female with short black hair, met them at an intersection and soon the three of them burst into the emergency room. By this time Daniel's breathing had slowed to a near nothing and the area around the bite on his arm was a sickening bluish color, while red tendrils ran up and down his arm, some even running onto his chest.
"What kind of snake was it?" the black-haired doctor asked as she stripped Daniel's shirt off, quickly taking a sample of blood before ordering the nurse off to check it.
"It was a tan colored desert snake. I would have brought the body, but I pretty much destroyed it," Gabe said. The nurse looked up at him strangely, but darted off to the side of the room where a cabinet was nestled up against the corner. She opened up one of the lower shelves and pulled at a book. Gabe had just enough time to see the words `of various poisonous' before she had the book thrown open and was rapidly flipping through the pages. Minutes passed before she found what she was looking for and quickly ran out of the room, heading off down a hallway in search of an antivenin.
Minutes passed and Gabe could feel Daniel slipping farther and farther away with each passing moment. He grabbed Daniel's hand and held it against his chest. "Come on Daniel, you can hang on, I know you can. You're strong, just hang on, please," Gabe thought, trying to pass his thoughts into Daniel, but all he felt was chaos inside the mind of the feverish red-head. Slowly, Gabe put himself into a very dangerous trance he'd learned long ago, letting himself become one with Daniel, letting there two spirits mix as he tried desperately to hold in this world the one person he was beginning to love.
The doctor came back and administered the antivenin to Daniel, but even she knew it was too late. The boy was fading fast and there was nothing she could do. She looked down on the sandy blonde-haired boy lying on the floor next to him, seemingly asleep with his head on the bed, his hand tightly clutching his friend's. She didn't have the heart to wake him, to tell him that his friend wasn't going to make it.
What she didn't notice when she left the room, advising the nurse to report to her if anything changed, was the slowing of Gabe's breathing to the point of near nothingness.
Fate would determine what would happen next, as the life of Gabe now hung on the chance of Daniel recovering. If he didn't, then they'd both die.
"DANIEL? DANIEL, WHERE ARE YOU?" Gabe cried out as he ran across a white void. He was completely nude, but for right now that didn't matter. He could see nothing in any direction except for the empty white nothingness he had found himself in, yet he somehow knew that Daniel was here. Somewhere.
He continued to run for some time before he noticed that the whiteness that surrounded him was beginning to change. It was beginning to get sick. The white gave way to gray which gave way to blue, and there, a ways off on the horizon, the blue gave way to a sickly purple.
"DANIEL!!" Gabe yelled as he sprinted towards the focal point of the sickness that had infected this strange world. As he neared the origin, he saw Daniel, curled up into a tight ball, wracked with sobs. The pain he was in was so evident that the closer Gabe got to him, the more he could feel it. It was Daniel from which all of the sickness was flowing.
Daniel lifted his head at the sound of his name, and when he saw Gabe running towards him, he tried to stand. Gabe saw Daniel's legs begin to give way and quickly grabbed him, holding the weakened nude boy close to him, tying to soothe the awful pain that plagued his body and mind.
Daniel was still crying when Gabe gently kissed him then whispered, "Shhhh, Daniel, it's going to be alright. I'm here. I can help." He held Daniel close to him and ran his hand through the boy's hair.
"I hurt so bad, Gabe, what happened?" he uttered as he felt another wave of pain hit his body.
"You were bit by a very poisonous snake, and right now you're fighting for your life, so don't give up, okay?" Gabe said, leaving out the part about his life being at stake, too. "But don't worry, `cause I'm gonna' help you fight."
Daniel was about to respond when the darkness that had been flooding out of him began to take shape. Suddenly a large serpent-like figure was towering over them. From its gaping maw came long tendrils of the sickness. Before either boy could react, Daniel found himself being battered by the tendrils, pain once again hammering his sore and battered body.
"Daniel, hang on," Gabe cried as he grabbed Daniel, trying to pull him free of the serpent-thing's tendrils. He felt Daniel sliding away and his cries of pain became more pitiful. "NO, YOU'RE NOT TAKING HIM. I LOVE HIM," and with that statement, the serpent reared back as if slapped, dropping Daniel in the process.
Gabe scooped up the boy, glaring defiantly at the creature. It appeared to be healing itself, gathering darkness from the strange world. Not to mention it was getting larger.
"Daniel, I have an idea," Gabe, realizing what had hurt the creature. He laid Daniel down and kissed him deeply. Daniel was in too much pain to respond, but he returned the kiss just the same. He moved quickly down to Daniel's crotch, licking around his cock and over his hairless balls, rapidly bringing Daniel to a full erection. The serpent, obviously not liking what was going on, was weaving its head back and forth in agitation, but it didn't attack.
Gabe, now hard himself, gave Daniel a quick kiss before straddling him, positioning his rose right over Daniel's enormous member. As Gabe felt the hot tip touch his hole, pressing against it, he thought, "Here goes nothing," and lowered himself onto the engorged rod. He felt himself being stretched as the head of Daniel's dick entered him, and slowly he lowered himself all the way on to the throbbing rod. When he felt himself sitting on Daniel, the large dick completely inside him, he let out a sigh. It was pretty painful due to the size. Daniel moaned once, but other then that, his face showed nothing but pain. After Gabe's ass had a few minutes to adjust, he began to slide up and down on Daniel's cock, felling himself stretch a little more each time. Gabe was slowly working up a rhythm when he noticed that the serpent seemed to be getting weaker. As soon as he thought this, Daniel moaned and bucked up into Gabe, pressing deep against his prostate. The sensation was incredible and Gabe began to pump himself up and down on Daniel's cock with enough force that he was nearly bouncing the boy off the ground. The two boys soon began to call each other's names out in pleasure, and the serpent grew weaker. Suddenly Gabe felt Daniel's hand wrap around his dick and he began stroking it. The sudden new feeling caused Gabe to clench his ass as he came, spurting four thick ropes of cum across Daniel's chest, which in turn sent Daniel over the, shooting a load of equal size deep into Gabe's ass.
"Daniel, I love you!" Gabe screamed.
"Gabe, I love you!" Daniel screamed.
The two continued to cry the other's name as they rode out their climax as one. A mental bond opened between them, allowing them to feel what the other was feeling on top of what they were feeling. Each of the two boys began to shudder in both the aftermath of both his pleasure and the other's. Suddenly, the two of them reached a second orgasm, Daniel thrusting deep into Gabe as he filled him with more of his seed while Gabe bucked wildly against Daniel's stomach, shooting an arch of cum far enough that it landed on Daniel's cheek.
The pleasure of the experience was two much for them, and Gabe felt himself slipping into unconsciousness. Gabe cracked his eyes right before darkness enveloped him and saw the serpent writhe in agony before disappearing. Then, as his eyes closed and he drifted away, he kept with him in his dreams a strange image that he was only half sure that he'd seen: Right before he'd closed his eyes, Gabe's gaze had fallen on Daniel, and he could have sworn the beautiful red-head had dyed his hair green.
Gabe awoke panting and disoriented. It was several seconds before he realized that he was still in the hospital room with Daniel, his hand still tightly clutching his lover's.
Lover,' Gabe thought, is that what he is? When I first met him, I thought it would be just a little quick fun, but now, just a two days later, I'm calling him my lover.'
Gabe let his gaze fall back to the bed where Daniel lay and what he saw made his heart leap with joy. There, visible beneath the thin sheets of the hospital bed, was Daniel's chest, moving up and down in the rhythmic pattern of sleep. The trance had worked, Gabe had saved him.
"Daniel, wake up. Wake up!" Gabe shouted, urgently tugging at his arm. He just wanted to see those gorgeous green eyes again. He was rewarded by a few mumbles as Daniel raised a hand to his eyes, wiping the sleep from them. He sat up and turned to Gabe, his green eyes beaming when he saw him.
Gabe quickly wrapped his arms and Daniel and before he could saw anything the two were locked in a deep, passionate kiss. Gabe sucked slightly on Daniel's tongue, making him shiver. The pair continued this for several minutes before a nurse walked in, and seeing them groping at each other, quickly excused herself. The two broke off the kiss and looked at each other, blushing several bright shades of red.
Gabe, remembering something that had taken place when he'd brought Daniel in, grabbed him off the bed and was quickly handing him his other pair of clothes he had in his cloak. "Put these on quick, we've got to get out of here."
"Why, what's wrong? The nurse didn't look like she was going to tell anybody," Daniel said as he hurriedly dressed and followed Gabe out the door.
"It's not that, it's just...do you remembered what happened in that dream, when I came to save you?" Gabe asked, now nearly to the end of the hallway.
"Yeah, we made love, right? That's what beat back the demon, the poison, right?" he responded, smiling as he remembered the dream that had been more then just a dream.
"You didn't feel...different?" the cloaked boy asked tentatively, being careful not to upset him.
Daniel seemed to be thinking this over, then said, "Well, I did fell a little different at the end, why?"
Gabe paused just inside of the hospital doors, considering what Daniel had said, and what he had seen. "Look, it may be nothing, but for now, we need to get out of here, okay?" Gabe replied, and, when Daniel agreed, the two darted off down the street.
The original nurse that had helped the doctor with Daniel was talking to the doctor, and it was evident that she was really worried, or really troubled might be a better way to put it.
"He and the blonde boy just left the hospital, and he was walking!" she cried as she recounted the tale.
"But how? That's impossible. that poison should have killed him. I mean, it was a miracle he survived as long as he did, but there's way he could have made it through the night." the doctor responded, disbelief creeping into her voice.
"But he did, and I saw him. But that's not where it ends. I just got the blood work back, and, well, take a look at this," the nurse said, handing the doctor a report.
She read over it for several minutes, then reread the whole thing to make sure she wasn't seeing things.
"This IS impossible you know. This report says that only half of his DNA is human, and the rest...the results say that it's something we've never seen before."
Gabe and Daniel were wondering down the streets of Juniper in search of a decent hotel. They'd already passed a few shabby ones, but Gabe insisted on finding one of better quality'. They kept walking for some time before Gabe spotted one he liked. It was a large two story building with a balcony on the second floor. It appeared to be freshly painted in a pale blue, and the sign, Zig's Villa' looked brand new. Gabe walked up towards the finely crafted door, but was stopped when Daniel grabbed his shoulder.
"What are you doing? We can't afford a place like this, you're crazy! I don't even have enough money to by dinner," Daniel said, and, truth be known, he didn't have any money at all.
"Don't worry about it, I'll take care of it," said Gabe as he continued into the building.
As they entered the lobby, Daniel remarked on how cool it was, and the sight of carpeted floors made him want to take his shoes off and run his toes through the soft threads. He continued to gaze around in awe at the various luxuries that were present in the room until he heard Gabe begin talking to the young woman who had come up to the reception desk.
"I'd like a room here, over night please," he said, putting the cold effect in his voice. The brown-haired woman seemed to shiver a bit and Gabe smiled.
"And just how do you expect to pay for this overnight room, hmm? Every room here except for the suite costs thirty dollars a night, and that suite I mentioned is fifty. You don't exactly look like someone with that kind of money," she said, rather bluntly, as she eyed Gabe and his companion.
"I tell you what," Gabe started as he grabbed a note from a pouch on the inside of his cloak, "you give us that suite, and , if anyone comes asking about us, you say we were never here, then you can keep the change," he finished, tossing the hundred note up onto the desk. The receptionist gaped at Gabe and the large bill he'd laid on the desk, but quickly regained her composure and grabbed the note off the table, stuffing it into her pocket as she snatched the keys for one of the rooms off of the rack behind her.
"The suite's upstairs, first room on the right. And if you need anything, anything at all, just pull the bell above the bed and I'll be right up," she stammered as she handed the keys to Gabe. Gabe thanked her and motioned for Daniel to follow him up the stairs that were off to the right of the desk. It took the red-head a few seconds to get moving because he was still in shock at having seen Gabe just pass off a hundred dollars as if it was nothing. He made a mental note to add that to his mile long list of questions and then followed Gabe up the stairs.
The two reached the second floor and Gabe slid the keys into the first door on the right, opened it and stepped into the room with Daniel right behind him. The taller boy gasped at the sight of the room. Plush blue carpet covered the floor and the walls were adorned with a matching blue shade of paint. The was a reading table off in a corner by the far wall, and two great glass doors led out onto the balcony, but for now blue shades were drawn across them. The air seemed fragrant and fresh and the cause of this was soon discovered. Daniel gazed at the enormous bed that was pushed up against the wall beside the balcony exit. The bed, with a set of freshly washed sheets and blankets matching the room's blue hue, was a king size for sure. The sheets were surely silk and satin, and a bronze post at each corner of the bed went up to form the support columns for an awning over the bed. From the awning draped sheets of blue veil, and the whole thing had a look of sexiness and desire.
"Wow, that's...," Daniel broke off, trying to find the words to describe it.
"Beautiful?" Gabe suggested as he came around behind Daniel and wrapped him and a tight embrace.
"Yeah," Daniel started, turning his head so he could give Gabe a quick kiss before continuing, "beautiful. I wonder...what it would be like to...make love on that bed," he said, color rising to his cheeks even as the words left his mouth.
Gabe saw this and grinned, then, leaning in close to Daniel's ear, he whispered, "Well, maybe that's something we can find out later on."
Daniel's heart leapt and he turned to Gabe and kissed him full on, pressing his body against his. Daniel was the aggressor for once, thrusting his tongue deep into Gabe's mouth as he pulled the blonde boy's cloak off. The two pressed closer together, each exploring the other one's body with their hands as the continued the passionate kiss. Gabe felt Daniel reach down and squeeze the growing bulge in his pants. Gabe gently pulled Daniel's hand away and broke the kiss, stepping back.
"Is something wrong, did I do something wrong?" Daniel asked, looking hurt at the sudden end to his fun.
"No," Gabe said as he walked over to the bed and sat down. He patted the spot next to him and said, "It's just that we need to talk."
Daniel walked over and sat down next to him. The shorter boy pulled the red-head close to him and said, "You asked me earlier how I did all that I did, and you didn't like the answer." Daniel started to interrupt, to apologize for the stupid way he had acted, but Gabe quieted him by bringing a finger to his lips. "I'm going to tell you what I am, and how I came to be, and then you can decide if you want to stay with me."
Gabe kissed Daniel gently, closed him eyes and took a deep breath, then began his tale.
"It all started about ninety years ago. Back then the Earth wasn't the barren waste land it is today. There were beautiful cities and huge, splendid forests. There were people everywhere, and life was pretty much peaceful. Then, everything changed. An organization working for a certain nation's government, you don't need to know which one, began genetic experiments on humans. The nation succeeded in altering the human DNA, in creating an advance race of soldiers that wouldn't age and who possessed phenomenal powers. The army of super-soldiers went on a campaign of carnage and destruction. Every nation that rose to stop them fell in defeat. While the soldiers were not immortal, the problem, as you remember with Daemon, was killing them before they could kill you. They destroyed everything they came across, military bases, cities, villages, everything. War erupted across the globe as the world's last remaining free nation challenged the super-soldiers. The war was bloody and the costs were high. The beautiful cities were destroyed in the massive conflict, and it looked as though the free nation was going to loose. That's when they made a breakthrough. That's when Project Gemini came into play. A few of the super-soldiers had been captured, and the free nation learned their secrets. And, they learned how to make them better. When two individuals were created together, they could bond mentally and increase their power ten-fold. The early tests from Gemini was plagued with failures until they learned a valuable clue. The bonding must be physical, and it only worked with two males. This has something to do with the DNA alterations, but that's not important. They project worked and they created the first of the Gemini: Alex and Trent. They became nicknamed White and Black, respectively, because when they bonded, their hair and eyes changed color to match their names. They appeared to be about twelve and sixteen, as Trent had aged more in the development process. The two decimated the battle field, wiping out large numbers of the altered soldiers. Then, however, something happened that once again altered the course of the battle. You see, even though Alex and Trent were incredibly powerful and cunning, they were little more then newborns, and someone took advantage of Trent's aggressive nature. Trent turned on the nation, taking Alex with him, albeit unwillingly, and spearheaded the renewed war effort. That's when the nation faced its bleakest hour. Its only weapon of defense was now turning on it and the balance of power shifted. That's when the last two sets of Gemini were produced as well. The first pair were the twins, Albido and Rubido. They too underwent a color shift in their hair and eyes and became dubbed Yellow and Red. The second pair was David, who became Green, and myself, Gabriel. They called me Blue. The four of us were the only forces that stood between Trent and the free nation. We fought hard, killing many of the super-soldiers, and soon we began to make some progress. We were pushing them out, we were winning. If there was one thing Trent could not stand, it was defeat. In a final act of desperation, he unleashed a weapon of such destructive power that nearly all the people on the planet were killed. The weapon, a chemical agent, left almost all of the planet barren and uninhabitable as well. The few survivors of the horrid plague began to loose their memory, another affect of the weapon, and soon forgot all about the war and what had been before. They struggled to survive and now, some ninety years later, they're just now beginning to regroup and rebuild. Almost all technology has been lost, and almost all of the cities of old have been destroyed thanks to Trent. He hasn't been idle these past ninety years, either. He has one goal, one desire, and that's to wipe out all of humanity. I don't know why and can't pretend to understand him, but I know that I must stop him. I can't let the people I was created to save be destroyed."
Gabe let his story trail off as he turned to look at Daniel, waiting to hear his response.
"But, what happened to Albido and Rubido? What happened to Alex? And what happened to David, your partner?" he asked, suddenly very worried that what he felt for Gabe wasn't returned the way he thought it was.
Gabe looked up at the ceiling and seemed to be rolling some thought over in his head. "That's a story for another day, Daniel," he said as he felt the red-head gazing at him.
"Alright, I guess I can understand that. Listen, I want you to know that I believe you. I don't understand a lot of what you said, but I want to. I want to learn more about you, and if you'll let me, I'd like to go with you on your quest," Daniel said as he wrapped his arm around Gabe and pulled him close.
"Daniel, I love you," Gabe said softly as he laid his head down on the boy's shoulder, closing his eyes.
"And I love you too, Gabe," Daniel said as he grabbed for the bell rope hanging from the top of the bed, "and after we eat, we can find out just how much we do love each other. Besides that, we still need to find out what this bed feels like, right?" An impish look crossed his face as he reached up to grab the chain, and Gabe just smiled as he rested his head on the cute boy's soft shoulder.
-WOOOHOOOO!!!! I am SO glad to have finally finished this part. I am terribly sorry about the wait, but school gets in the way and this particular part was very difficult to write. This is in fact the fourth version of this story I written, and the first one I'm actually happy with. Well, questions, comments? E-mail them to me at Kyp127@wmconnect.com
P.S. All of your compliments and comments have kept me motivated, and I'm sorry I kept you waiting so long for this one, but I hope it's worth it. This is by far the most complicated story I've written, but as long as someone is reading it, I'm happy.