with a sigh. He knew he would not get off that easy. The bar was now empty and the only shield he had was the stall door that he began reading as though it would give him a way out.
“I really need someone to talk to tonight would you please have a drink with me? Ashley said spewing adulterous webs.
“Did you see that girl leave with Mr. Sparow tonight?” Gabriel said.
“Yeah they left about a hour ago.....So how about that drink?” Ashley said. It was as though she held some important information for ransom. Gabriel thought about it and cursed himself for breaking one if his rules of survival. Never stay at Marlov's after two a.m. or the eater of men would have you in her grasp.
He reluctantly left the stall knowing that he was heading into the mouth of the beast. She was waiting on one of the stools like a lion in heat ready to pounce on any poor soul in her web. Her white blouse was spewing out more cleavage than before. She had on a long skirt and heels, trying to look old fashion to fool the unsuspecting man. Her legs were crossed and her lead foot pointed right for Gabriel's crotch as he walked to the bar.
She took a few moments to prepare her sexual noose while he was in the bathroom trying to escape. Red lipstick on so thick that she had to have used a putty knife to apply it. As he got closer the smell of over perfumed whore stung his nostrils. The perfume had to have been a old line of perfume, “Slut” by Chanel. She reminded him of a cat he had as a kid. When it was in heat it would rub up against your leg and purr to the point that you felt violated.
She had a glass of red whine in her hand and a fake smile to appear elegant. A full bottle of jack set in front of a empty stool with a glass. Not a shot glass but one you would drink a beer from. Her intent was crystal clear, but Gabriel had to act oblivious to it. Why did the gun not go off he cursed in his head as he sat down beside her.
“So the young girl in the bar tonight, who was she?” he said.
“Why are you so interested in some random boring girl at the bar tonight?” Gabriel paused searching for that con-artist that protected his real intent. That familiar friend of lie's and delusion.
“I was very attracted to her innocence’s in a place like this” Gabriel said. Ashley smiled and leaned into him pushing the overbearing cleavage into his gaze.
“Innocence is only complication, none of us are truly innocent just victims.” Gabriel knew she was right but kept a blank expression on his face.
“Do you know if she was from around here?”
“Yes she was from here in Axal, only eighteen too but I am not about to turn away a paying customer on such a slow night.” Ashley said. With hands trembling, Gabriel tried to hide his rage as he poured some jack into his glass and took a swig. After all how could he be upset when its like having something stolen in a house of thieves.
“So did she leave with that creep of a teacher?” Gabriel said. Ashley's smile was now real and brimming from eye to eye.
“Yeah he kept the drinks flowing, and one thing any good math teacher knows is they add up!” Ashley paused to see if Gabriel would laugh at her joke, but he did not approve.
“Once she was incapable of refusing his advances he did what any gentleman would do and walked her out the back door of the bar.” She said laughing.
“I am sure if you catch up with them she might stay conscious for long enough to give you a turn at her innocence!”
Gabriel knew her fate as well as Ashley but he imagined the young flower had thorns and was stabbing Mr. Sparow in the chest with a blunt knife. Ashley put her hand on Gabriel's thigh and he tried to act surprised rather than annoyed.
“So not to change the subject but how long has it been since your wife has passed, a few years now isn’t it?” Ashley said with a smile. The act was up and Gabriel could no longer bottle his anger as he pushed her hand away.
“I am not here to talk about my wife!” Gabriel said in a angry tone. Ashley giggled as she leaned back on her stool and tilted her head at the ceiling.
“How long has it been since you've had a women in your bed? You know, I normally like it rough but if you are looking for innocence's I can try that too.” Ashley said with a grin. If she could not get him between her legs she would at least toy with his emotions. Gabriel was falling right into it and knew it was happening ever since he left the stall.
He figured at least he got the information he was looking for. Now one more free drink and he could rudely excuse himself from the ravishing of lost souls. He poured the jack into the cup for the last time this evening. Ashley kicked off her heel and began rubbing her foot up his leg. The issue of the last shot was now a pressing matter as her foot climbed higher up his leg. She pulled open her blouse as he urgently chugged the whiskey.
He placed the glass on the table, realizing this “free” shot might have cost him his last hope of sanity. His eyes turned to her partially exposed chest and he could not resist looking. Her breasts were perfectly proportioned, almost surgically. He looked at her gaze now trying to seem innocent after such a whorish display. He leaned into her just enough to keep separation and whispered in her ear.
“Have a good night, Ashley.” He tipped his hat to her as he turned away and walked out. Most men would not be able to resist, but Gabriel has only been with his wife. He was not about to throw away the last thing he held sacred in his life for the towns trash. Maybe there was something that separated him from the rest of Marlov's, some twisted morals.
On his drive home he saw one of the local police parked in a empty lot. It was a old overweight man passed out while on duty. Gabriel just laughed as he thought, if only he knew a drunk, psycho with a shotgun at his side was driving by right now. Truth was he did know, he knew there was an extreme problem with meth, missing persons, sexual predators, and all sorts of nasty things happening while he peacefully slumbered.
The old cop also knew that the politics of his job prevented him from actually making a meaningful difference in the population of swine. Gabriel figured he would be doing the same thing in his shoes, it would either be that or get discharged for beating the shit out of a mathematical sexual predator of his youth.
That was a cop that most people assumed didn’t care. But Gabriel figured he was most likely riddled with scar tissue from the ulcers because of the stress he endured over the years. The man cared so much that it lead to him doing what any sane person would do. Coming to the understanding that you cannot control the madness our world holds. Even resistance is futile to your own selfish needs of preservation. So that cop was actually a napping genius disguised as a foolish authority. Gabriel had an answer for everything even if it made no sense to anyone else.
The lights of the horrors of Axal disappeared in his mirrors. As the truck drove through the darkness he had a new purpose in life, seek death. An easy task for most of mankind but a difficult challenge for Gabriel. He turned from the blacktop of the highway on a road leading to his house through dense pine tree's.
The house was an old colonial style home with a wrap around porch. It was in very rough shape and hard to believe anyone lived there. He bought it after the death of his wife so he would not have to return to their apartment in town. The thought of walking in and seeing it the way it was left, horrified him. The newly finished baby's room or his wife's clothes made him wince in pain.
He pulled up in front of the door and shut his truck off. He left the lights on and gazed at the beauty of his home that most people would only see in their worst nightmares. He scanned the old dirty windows like he expected someone to be there waiting for him. Picturing something out of a horror movie he hoped some deranged lunatic back from the dead was inside.
Maybe the spawns of hell would erupt from inside the creepy old house and he would be the start of a zombie apocalypse. Sighing he knew he would not be that lucky tonight. He shut off the lights on his truck and headed inside. Once through the door the wooden floor creaked under his feet. The walls were lined with old cloth wallpaper partially torn. No pictures or furnishing lined
the rooms.
To anyone else this was a abandoned haunted house but to Gabriel it was home. He didn't bother to flip on the lights, most of which had burnt out bulbs. He made his way up the worn out wooden steps.
“HONEY IM HOME!” He shouted follow by drunken laughter. Once upstairs he went into all four of the upstairs bedrooms. Each one completely empty except the smell of ancient dust and chloroform. The smell used to bother him but now it was one of those luxuries of living the high life. The last room he stepped into was completely black. Bath towels covered the windows and Gabriel stretched his feet out into the darkness searching for the mattress on the floor. He collapsed on it and the old springs struggled to handle his weight. Laying in bed he looked at the moonlit hallway hoping at the very least that his exhausted mind would trick him into seeing an apparition. Of course he had no such luck as sleep struggled to drag him away.
The morning sun shined through the towels on the window giving the room a red glow as though the rays passed through stained glass. Sunlight was a curse to any social recluse and Gabriel hated it. He rolled out of bed and put on his sunglasses before leaving his stuffy crypt. Making his way to the lower floor which consisted of a empty dining room, living room, kitchen, and the bathroom. Any room that Gabriel often
Apollyon's Saint The Beginning Page 3
