Crave For You

Sofia

It's not the man trapping me that goes down. It's the one holding my hands prisoners.

The belt around my throat slackens, oxygen rushing into my lungs, leaving my back arching and mouth gaping. The blacks clouding my vision fade even if my head feels lighter. The weight over my thighs lifts and I get a chance to drag myself back.

I blink a few times, taking in the scene before me.

Gabriel is in his form—an anger I have never seen before flaring in his dark brown pupils. Anyone who saw him now would think he was here for blood, a creature coming straight from the Plutonian shore, a monster of Hades bringing death to the one who has in his clutches. Darkness descends on him, his features tense, his jaw quivering as he twists the man's arm behind him, a snap cutting through the air and the man screams bloody murder.

The other man, the one who had been watching it all, is trapped under Fabio's arm, his face pink as he struggles for air. Anton is crouching beside me in front of the other man whose forehead has a bullet hole, the grimy blood and flesh splashed on the floor seeping through my clothes.

"Sofia, are you okay?" Anton asks me.

I'm shaken, feeling like my life has been sucked from me and returned all in a moment's passing. It takes me a while to form words as my brain adjusts to the situation, seeing three men in the room—three men I can trust. Their presence both startles and comforts me. I slam at my chest, the blood from the dead man smearing across my pajamas as I rub over my skin to make my heart silence itself. It's beating so loud that everyone can hear it from a distance; I'm sure of that.

"I'm...okay," I answer with a sigh, a sob leaving me in the end as the weight of the situation sinks in.

Anton puts a hand under my elbow. "Come, get up."

He helps me up while my eyes stay trained on Gabriel. The man in his clutches has his eyes widened as if he is locking gaze with Death himself.

"What did he do, Sofia?" Gabriel asks, his voice soft but carrying a threat in it. The man he is holding feels the same. He looks like he just swallowed his tongue.

"He–He hit me..." I begin, my voice croaking with the fear that pours into me. Gabriel's knuckles are white as he uses all his strength to drag the man closer, giving him the stare he would remember if he lived through the night. "He dragged me...by my hair. Then he climbed over me...opened his belt and...he choked me."

Gabriel snaps.

Faster than light, he nearly lifts the large man, smashing him against the floor. The man cries out as Gabriel drops to his knees, his fist high in the air. I watch, stunned by the action, as Gabriel hits the man, his punches coming one after another, not even allowing a second for the man to breathe.

I can't see his expression with his back to me but I can see the tension in his broad shoulders, the speed of his hits, the blood on his knuckles as the fist comes up after each strike. The man's feet kick in the air, futile attempts failing miserably to move Gabriel off him. His cries turn to whimpers as Gabriel doesn't stop, nor does anyone try to stop him. He is hell unleashed; not even God can stop him.

The cloud surrounding me lifts, safety and security, replacing the texture of the leather belt around my throat, the weight of the man over my thighs, the blood and flesh, and everything else. I'm an enthralled audience, rooted in the show that is being performed, where death and life are fighting to win over a thin boundary.

The boundary gets crossed, death winning as the man's legs stop kicking, his hands cease their grip on Gabriel's suit, his face erased of its identity as only blood remains to be seen. Gabriel still keeps hitting like he can't see that the man is dead or he doesn't care at all.