Blue Fire. A Gabriel Brown Alaskan Bush People story.

Chapter 1

Brady's hands were around your throat before you could reach for the Taser in your pocket. Your hands automatically grabbed for his fingers, trying to tear them away as you gasped for breath. White hot pain screamed from your throat to your brain as you felt the crushing vise, squeezing the breath from you. A gargled choking sound came from your throat as your eyes fluttered shut.
**********************************

"Hi. Are you awake?"

The unfamiliar voice was close. Too close. Your heart slammed in your chest and your eyes flew open, rolling wildly. Brady wasn't done with you and you tried to force a scream from your throat but the pain in your throat was like a stabbing knife and you gasped with the sudden agony.

"Shhh. Be still. It's ok. You're ok."

The voice was so close to you and through the haze of pain, you realized it didn't sound like Brady's voice. But he could be so deceptive that you couldn't be sure. Struggling to open your eyes, it felt as if they were being held down by lead weights.

"Whooo?" The word whispered out of you.

"Don't try to talk. Please." The voice was too kind to belong to Brady. "And open your eyes slowly. OK?" He said gently.

You felt a warm wet cloth being rubbed softly over your eyes, but still the sudden touch made your hands fly up and bat away the cloth. When your fingers connected with the hand holding the cloth, you were stunned at how large the hand was.

"Who?" You whispered again and this time your eyes fluttered open and you blinked rapidly to draw the stickiness out of your eyes.

"I'm Gabriel Brown." He said in a deep voice.

Your head was pounding and when you turned your head to look at Gabriel the movement sent a shockwave of pain through your bruised throat.

"Uhhhhhh." You couldn't even cry out, it hurt so much.
"Please. Stop." Gabriel sounded on the verge of tears himself.

Moving only your eyes to look at him, your first thought was that you were looking at a boy no more than fifteen or sixteen years old. There was an innocence about his face that instantly calmed you. Looking more closely, you realized he was older. There were faint lines around his eyes and his mouth that belonged to a man in his mid to late twenties.

Unwilling to risk the pain by trying to speak again, you lifted a hand and pointed tentatively to Gabriel and then to yourself. The IV line attached to your hand stopped the movement inches above the light blue blanket covering you and your hand fell back limply. A moment of confusion crossed his face and then suddenly cleared as understanding dawned on his features. He smiled and his blue eyes brightened.

"No. You don't know me and I don't know you." He grinned happily and moved his chair closer to the bed. "I'm glad you're awake."

Gabriel reached out a hand to touch your shoulder but stopped himself before his fingers touched you. An embarrassed look on his face told you it wasn't the first time he had stroked your shoulder while you were lying in that bed. It was a hospital bed. You recognized the faint beeping sounds from the bedside monitors and the bland colored walls and industrial lighting overhead.

"The police said I wasn't supposed to talk to you about the guy who hurt you." Gabriel looked around the room as if someone might be pressed invisibly against the wall, listening. "But I saw everything and I'll make sure he goes to jail for what he did to you."

The thought of Brady and his angry hands tight on your neck made you feel like you might throw up. Swallowing hard, the pain in your throat was duller now, but the ache still brought tears to your eyes. Closing your eyes, you fought to block out the memory of his face and the hot red anger in his eyes. Your breathing became labored with the effort and you were dimly aware of the increased beeping of the monitor. Curling your hands into fists, you willed yourself to be calm and to switch your anxiety to anger. Being angry at what Brady put you through would serve you better than fear.

"Hey! Hey!" Gabriel did touch your shoulder this time and his large hand patted your shoulder gently at first, then with more pressure as he watched you struggle with your eyes squeezed tightly shut. "I'll get the nurse." He started to hurry toward the wide door to the hallway.

"Wait!" You whispered as loudly as you dared and were relieved the pain in your throat wasn't nearly as bad that time.

Gabriel dashed back to the bed and for the first time you noticed how large of a man he was. His broad shoulders and thick muscles strained against his tight white t-shirt. You could see the bottom edge of a tattoo on his right arm. Glancing down, his black jeans were also tight and a thin layer of light gray mud was splashed along the front.

"Don't talk, OK?" He said, leaning over you.

His bright blue eyes were an amazing contrast to his dark curly hair. A long ponytail, tied off with multiple bands, snuck lazily over his shoulder and rested near his neck. Your eye was drawn to the two earrings he wore; one high and one low on his ear. It was hard to keep your gaze off of his smile, though. It was tentative now and when you risked a smile of your own, his grin popped from ear to ear.

"Hi!" He said with a joy that made your heart leap wildly in your chest.

But you beat down those feelings. Too much had happened with Brady and you weren't about to let yourself get suckered in again by another good looking brawny guy. Even if he did save your life. Toning down your smile to a friend-zone level, you nodded your head and mouthed the word, 'thanks'.

Gabriel's tensed shoulders relaxed noticeably and he sat back down in the hard hospital chair and pulled it up as close to the bed as he could get.

"I have to tell them you're awake now." He said. "I promised."

You knew you would have to deal with Brady sometime. In the back of your mind you felt a deep gratitude that Gabriel came along when he did. You didn't mind dying. Everyone dies. But the thought of dying at the hands of a man you thought you had escaped both frightened and angered you. All of your running and hiding over the last few months had been for nothing. When Brady was ready to find you, he did.

A sudden cold thought leaped to the forefront. Gabriel had said he would make sure Brady went to jail for what he did. Your eyes snapped wide open as you realized that meant Brady was still free. And as long as he was free, you weren't safe.

And neither was Gabriel.