Strangers
The darkness was particularly inky that night as Beth Maza egged her car on down the highway. It had been a particularly difficult journey for her, but she insisted that she could make the three-day drive from Arizona State University without any trouble. She was into her third night of driving and needed to find a place to get some well-needed and deserved rest. "Not bad for a first attempt, only a day late" sighed the college senior. She was in Ohio and knew of the Birchwood Motel, in the town of Kilanburg, an inexpensive, but well-maintained rest house that her family used to stay in on their way to Detroit. The exit was a mere two miles away, and she was already envisioning the warm shower that she would take to wash the ache away from her sore muscles and stiff joints...
"Great, I had to ride the air current home," grumbled Abram, chiding himself for his own act of stupidity, "couldn’t just walk home in the high winds like a normal human being!" It was the first strong wind that Southern New York had seen in many months, and the half-breed wasn’t going to pass up an opportunity to glide. His wings, though smaller than his pure-blooded cousins, could stand up to even the strongest of hurricanes. The thrill of catching such a powerful updraft was far too much for Abram to resist.
Before he knew it, he had been swept across the state of Pennsylvania and into Ohio. And now, in the middle of nowhere, he was trudging along the shoulder of the parkway, too tired to even spread his wings. Luckily, he managed to keep a hold of his leather jacket, and was able to slip it on and pass for a normal human being. The only thing for the young male to do was to walk along the side of the barren highway, and hope that someone, a state trooper, good Samaritan.. anyone.. would pick him up and at least give him a ride to a pay phone.
The first five vehicles simply passed him by, one of them even being a state trooper with his lights flashing. It was near midnight, and the highway had been empty for nearly an hour. Numbness was beginning to creep into Abram’s extremities, having been out in the chill of the December air for nearly six hours. Even with the inherent cold resistance of his parentage, he was beginning to shiver vigorously. Finally, Abram heard a vehicle coming up from behind him. He wheeled around...
Beth was beginning to nod off when she caught the sight of the figure waving furiously at the side of the road. Having come from a family of police officers, she had always been taught to be very guarded around strangers, especially those out late at night. However, the look on this one’s face was simply not one of malevolence. In fact, he looked very harmless, even with the wicked-looking leather jacket that he wore in a futile effort to stay warm. Despite the fact of her own exhaustion, she pulled the car over and cracked the passenger side window to communicate with the stranger. She thought of a good line to say, one that would be kindly, but would prove to him that she would bolt at the first sign of trouble. All she could come up with was "What are you doing in the middle of nowhere?"
The half-breed was at a loss to answer that one. He certainly couldn’t tell the truth, about his gliding across Pennsylvania and all. She would think that he was some sort of escapee from the friendly neighborhood mental institution, and speed off, leaving him to succumb to the frozen wastes. He used the age old excuse, the only excuse that his half-frozen brain could conceive: "My car broke down" he said in a tired voice. "Been walking to the closest exit for three hours now."
Beth’s eyes narrowed in suspicion, for she knew that she didn’t see any disabled vehicles for miles down her way, but her uneasiness was relieved when the stranger told her that his car was in the westbound lanes, opposite of where she was travelling. "Please, can I at least ask you to take me to the nearest phone booth" pleaded the stranger. "You can’t simply leave me here to freeze!"
Beth wasn’t sure whether it was her conscience of sense of curiousity, but she couldn’t let the unfortunate man face a fate of becoming an ice cube. She unlocked the power door and told him to get in. "Beth Maza" she said, extending her hand with a half-smile on her face.
"Name’s Abe" said the stranger as he took the hand and shook it vigorously. For a man that had been out in the could for such a long time, he still had a very strong hand shake. The student locked the doors and pulled back onto the highway toward the Kilanburg Exit.
It was a mere ten minutes before the pair were in a suite at the Birchwood Motel. There was but one set of rooms left, and Beth insisted that Abe get warm and stay the night. With a flushed look of embarrassment on his face, Abram started, "I’m really sorry for putting you out of your way, I could probably find another..."
"Nonsense," cut off Beth, "there is no other motel for another five miles, and you’d never make it in that cold." Her expression softened a little. "Besides, there are two bedrooms, and we can split the cost of the suite, save a little money for both of us."
The half-breed grinned a bit, taking care to keep his small fangs covered. The last thing he wanted the young woman to think was that he was a vampire or some other horror of the night. "Alright, Alright, you twisted my arm! But, I buy breakfast tomorrow, deal?"
Beth returned the smile. "Deal!" It was nearly one in the morning. "I really got to take a shower, but do you want to go first?" asked Beth, seeing how dusty the half-breed was. "You seem to need it more than me!"
Abram blushed in embarrassment again, thinking that the student’s light-hearted joking was a crack at his personal hygiene. "It’s your room," he replied. "Why don’t you go first? Besides, I’d better make sure I’m okay." Beth was about to insist that he go first, but the noble creature would have none of it. "I was always brought up to let the ladies go first" explained Abe. "I know it’s not PC, but its a thing that I do."
Beth shook her head in understanding, and began to head for the bathroom. "Don’t worry," Abram reassured her, "I’m no Peeping Tom, or a Peeping Abe for that matter. Just knock on my door when you’re done."
Maza gave the half-breed the "thumbs up" sign and disappeared into the bathroom. Only when he heard the sound of the rushing water did Abram head to his room.
"Okay, let’s see what’s frostbitten and broken" Abe said to himself. He looked at his hands, and was relieved to see that there were no discolorations. "So far, so good." He then removed his shoes and socks to inspect his talons. He had been walking like a human for much longer than he wanted that night and his feet hurt, but once again caution was the first thing on his mind. He bent them both ways to insure that they weren’t fractured or frozen. They were a little swollen, but otherwise fine. So far, his luck had held out, as he could still hear the water running. "Time for the moment of truth." Abram trembled as he took off his jacket and unfolded his slate colored wings. He experimentally flexed them a few times. Luckily they, too, remained undamaged during his nearly all-night ordeal. Abram breathed a long sigh of relief and set to the task of warming up.
He was heating his right wing over the antique radiator when he heard a soft knock on the door. "Oh shit," he exclaimed under his breath as he heard Beth’s voice.
"Hey, I’m out! The bathroom's ready! May I come in?"
"No!" Abram half shouted as he began to furiously beat his wings in an effort to get them folded up again, slip his jacket over them, and put his shoes on at the same time.
"Is something wrong in there?" called Maza, who had a rather puzzled look on her face hearing all the thrashing noises coming from behind Abram’s door. "Let me in!"
Abram began to panic, but managed to get his wings folded and jacket on, and was working on his other shoe when the doorknob began to turn. In a final effort, the half-breed hopped about and the shoe finally slipped on, but he tripped and went head over heels over the bed. "AAHHH!"
Beth opened the door to the rather comical sight of Abram sprawled out on the floor with a sheepish grin on his face. "What was that all about ?!?" she blurted.
"I was...... uh indecent!" cried Abram, hoping that explanation would be enough to sate Beth’s curiosity. He tried to continue as if nothing unusual had happened. "Well, time to take a shower" Abe said nonchalantly, but Maza blocked his way to the bathroom.
"Don’t tell me you wear a jacket and shoes into the shower" said Beth in a voice that Abram could tell that she knew that something was up.
"Don’t be ridiculous" replied Abram. "I’ll take this stuff off when I get to the bathroom." He was wondering what Beth was looking at behind him, then he noticed out of the corner of his eye that his shirt still lay on the bed.
"What is with you?" said Maza in a half-puzzled, half-angry voice, "You’re hiding something!" Although she didn’t aspire to follow in her family’s footsteps, and become a police officer, she knew more than enough self-defense to disarm people, including relieving them of jackets that could be hiding concealed weapons. She positioned herself defensively in front of Abram’s only route of escape. "Take off the jacket" she warned. "Or I will knock you out and find what you’re hiding myself!"
Abram, although a even match for most gargoyles, couldn’t even think of harming the one who showed him such hospitality. He hung his head low and tried once again to talk his way out of trouble. "I have a deformity" he said half-heartedly. "I’d rather not show it to anyone."
Beth didn’t buy it, for she lunged at Abram and began to twist the jacket off him. "What are you hiding?!?" shouted Maza, now furious. "A knife? A gun? Some tattoo that links you to a gang?"
Abe, try as he might, couldn’t keep hold of his jacket. Beth had been trained well, and he was much too tired. The jacket slipped off and the half-breed spread his wings instinctively. The sheer shock of the sight caused Beth to drop the coat and let her jaw hang open.
"D: None of the Above?" asked Abram, in hopes that he could put her somewhat at ease, or at the very least, not scream for help.
What he didn't expect was the sound of the word "Cooooool!" that issued from her trembling lips.
The two said nothing for several minutes, with Abe trying to control the trembling of all of his limbs and Beth staring at the twelve-foot wingspan of the male in front of her. She decided to break the silence.
"You’re a gargoyle, aren’t you?"
Abe sighed, his cover irrevocably blown. "Actually, my mother was of that species. My human dad lives in Long Island." He expected a slew of questions about how his mother’s kind were supposed to be myth and if they really turn to stone during the day. However, the human threw him another curve.
"If you have wings, why do you need a car?"
Abram couldn’t keep the young woman in the dark any longer, so he kicked off his shoes and began to explain what had happened that night. He started from the beginning, climbing the Poultney Building to catch a strong updraft, and how the winds uncontrollably carried him across a state and how he landed in Ohio. It was very embarrassing, considering that gargoyles usually have no problems controlling themselves, even in strong currents of air. He finished up the story by telling her that his car story was a lie, and regretted deceiving her. He finished up his confession and awaited for her to pass judgement on him. "I guess it’s off to the research facilities for me, huh?" he sighed, looking down at his talons in shame.
Once again, Abram had pegged the human being all wrong. "I wouldn’t do a thing like that" stated Beth. "I was always different. I wore braces, I was a different skin color. Heck, I wasn’t even into the same music as my peers. You don’t see me locked up in a laboratory, do you?" She continued, "Besides, I’ve seen a couple of gargoyles up close with my sister Elisa. I don’t think that they are any menace to society. Quite frankly, I wouldn’t mind seeing more of your kind living among us."
Abe smiled at the first true statement of racial and species tolerance that he heard in many months. "I guess my secret is secure with you" said a relieved Abram as he smiled and extended his hand in friendship.
Beth took the half-breed’s hand and gave it hearty shake before giving him a kind brief hug. "No problem, Abe" she said before turning away. "I guess we should get to bed" the student said softly as she began to walk out of Abe’s room.
"Beth, uh, could I trouble you for a ride back to New York?" asked the creature.
She turned to him and smiled. "Sure! I’d be happy to take you back. I could use someone to talk to anyway. It makes trips go faster." The two strangers bade each other goodnight and went to sleep in their separate bedrooms, both dreaming of the friendship they had just begun.
Daylight greeted Beth’s eyes a little too soon for her taste, but from the sounds coming from the bathroom it seemed that her half-gargoyle "acquaintance" was already up and about. She schlepped herself out of bed, got dressed, and made her way to the bathroom; but was greeted in the common room by Abram, whom was already dressed and had taken the liberty of ordering an assortment of breakfast muffins and juices.
"Good morning" he beamed as his eyes met Beth’s. "Figured I would get us both something to eat."
She couldn’t help but smile. "Considerate, Abe, very considerate" she happily commented as she bit into a fresh-made blueberry pastry. "I guess we can pack up the rest and eat it on the road. Got your things ready?"
The half-breed laughed at that comment. "I’m wearing all my things, but let me check to see if I left my wings back in my bedroom."
The student chuckled as the creature began making a mock-search of his sleeping quarters, and shrugged his shoulders, saying that they would pop up sometime. Beth Maza was ready to continue her journey home with a second passenger on board.
Driving on route 81 was particularly easy, as a bulk of the holiday travelers were already at their destinations. It was early in the afternoon when Abram asked her to stop the car.
"What’s wrong?" she asked as she shuddered her vehicle to a halt on the shoulder.
Without saying a word, the half-breed opened his door and got into the back. He took one of the blankets and covered himself with it. "I need to rest some more" Abram stated calmly. "If the blanket falls off, please cover me again." Beth’s questions about what Abram was talking about were answered when his body shifted from the fleshiness of a living being to the stone of a lifeless statue.
She continued on her drive in silence.
Oasis’ "Wonderwall" was playing on the radio when Beth heard a sharp cracking sound coming from the back seat. The sound of breaking pottery could be heard from underneath the blanket as Abram shed his stone skin and returned to his fleshy self.
"What a rush!" he shouted, stretching his arms. "Best nap I ever had!"
Maza frowned. "You’re lucky" she pouted. "At least you didn’t have to drive in all that road construction!"
Seeing that she could use a nap herself, Abram offered his assistance. "If you want, I could drive, I don’t use these wings for *all* my travels."
Beth gladly accepted his offer and before long her head was propped up on a pillow in the back seat, and the son of a gargoyle was motoring down the interstate at 70 miles per hour.
By the time night had fallen and Beth awoke, they were just on the outskirts of New York City. "If you want, I can get out and catch an updraft from here" said Abram. "I know this part of the city."
Beth thought it over, but told him to pull over and get into the passenger seat. "If you don’t mind, I’d like you to meet my sister" asked Beth. "She would love to meet another of your kind."
Flattered at the second offer of hospitality, he gladly accepted. "Great!" beamed the Arizona State student. "We’ll be at my place in thirty minutes!"
Elisa and her family, including Talon (Derrick), Maggie Reed, and Goliath, were gathered at the family household on Staten Island, all concerned about what had happened to the missing sibling Beth.
"She said she’d be home last night" breathed a concerned Elisa. "She’s never been this late!"
Derrick agreed with what his sister had said, he knew something had gone wrong, not terribly wrong, but wrong nonetheless. "Do not worry Elisa" assured the only purebred gargoyle in the house. "I’ve met your sister but once, and I already know that she is strong enough to pull through whatever adversity that fate throws at her."
Right after those words were spoken, the doorbell rang. Peter opened the door and saw his youngest daughter standing in the doorway, smiling.
"Where have you been?" questioned the retired cop.
"Yeah, we’ve been worried sick about you!" cried Elisa.
Beth smiled wryly. "Oh, I just ran into a little more traffic than I expected" she explained. "But someone helped me on the last leg."
Abram was trembling again, but came in anyway when Beth tugged at his jacket. The half-breed slowly stepped into the warm glow of the Maza household.
Beth introduced the family to her new-found friend. "Mom, Dad, sis, bro, Goliath, this is Abe Wintersmith. He helped me out on the road."
Goliath couldn’t help but notice that the newcomer had fangs, stood slightly on his toes, and had a generalized gargoyle look to him...
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