The sidewalk flew beneath Gabriel as he ran. It didn't matter that people were staring, or that he heard gasps of shock when blood dripped behind him in a trail. All he wanted was to get away, to escape before he got killed.
His legs felt like jelly as he made it into the denser part of town, his breaths ragged and more of a wheeze as he stumbled into a stop. He didn't even have the strength to stand anymore and collapsed onto the sidewalk, lying there and letting the stinging in his back distract him from the ache and fear that still lingered in his chest.
Most of the people passing by gave him strange looks, but they did nothing to help. It was to be expected though. Nobody ever helped and he was prepared to lie there until he died.
"Hey, are you okay?" He heard someone say, but didn't even let it resonate in his mind. He simply just closed his eyes, more tears leaking from the corner of his eyes. There was soft pressure on his shoulder, and he felt his shirt move away from his back, pulling some of the larger pieces of glass with it and making him suck in a sharp breath of pain.
"Oh, sweetie." He heard the woman's voice whisper, and he just barely let his eyes open, the blurred vision of passing feet and tires like a distant world. A warm arm gripped his bicep and pulled, making let out a whine as his back shifted, but still pulled him up into a partial sitting position.
The face of a middle-aged woman came into view, and she carried a kind smile as she helped Gabriel to his feet, holding him careful yet sturdy. Gabriel felt his legs shake, and he took in a breath, his tears drying for just a moment.
"Let's get you to the clinic sweetie and get you cleaned up." She said softly, her voice strong but kind. Gabriel couldn't fight her, and just nodded. He was too tired to argue or fight anymore.
The woman supported him the entire way to the clinic, three streets from where they were now. Gabriel's limbs dragged and he felt fuzzy headed as the woman pulled him through the automatically opening doors, where the scent of disinfectant filled the air.
"Rachel!" The woman called out, getting the attention of a small brunette nurse, around thirty. She patted the person she was talking to before walking over, worry in her eyes.
"Ellen? What's wrong?" She asked, looking over at Gabriel, who just stared back tiredly. Ellen shifted, so Rachel could see his blood-stained back, shaking her head.
"It's a mess. Could you get me a bed ready?" She asked, getting a nod in response before Rachel was hurrying down one of the hallways. Ellen took the time to sit Gabriel gently on the edge of one of the waiting room seats.
"Honey, can you tell me what happened?" She asked, crouching in front of him and looking at him with kind eyes. Gabriel would have shook his head, but he feared any sudden movement and he might pass out. After a few moments, she sighed and stood, keeping a gentle grip on his shoulder so he couldn't fall back and hit his wounds.
Rachel came back moments later and she and Ellen both gently pulled Gabriel to his feet, leading him to the room that contained a bed. They set him down, and he slowly moved to lay on his stomach, resting his head on his arms and feeling a tiredness that washed over him and made him want to just go to sleep.
Pain erupted along his back as Ellen gently pulled one of the blades of glass from his back, letting out a soft hiss and gauze being pressed against the gash. As each piece was removed, another bandage was placed on the cuts until Rachel came back with tweezers, and the began working on the smaller pieces of glass embedded in his skin.
"How did you hurt yourself?" He heard Ellen ask but only sighed in response, closing his eyes and letting his head rest on his arms. He heard the soft voice of Rachel try to probe him for a response, but both of them eventually gave when he didn't budge.
At last, he felt one last bandage be placed on his back before Ellen offered to get him a shirt that he could wear. He slowly dragged his tired limbs up, nodding his head and resting his elbows on his knees, watching them both walk out of the room with careful eyes.
The moment the door closed, he stood, ignoring the sting in his back as he crept towards the door, opening it just the smallest bit and peeking out. Despite the slight dizziness in his vision, he made sure that their backs were turned before slipping out of the room and hurrying down the hallway as quiet as he could.
He made it outside with only a few strange looks from the people sitting in the waiting room before heading straight across the street and to the local park that held an orchard of trees and wildlife with small tan trails leading through with benches dotting the path here and there.
He found one of these benches, the wood worn and weathered from the constant storms, and he looked up at the sky to see that it was already cloudy. He frowned and let out a soft sigh, before sitting on the cool bench and curling up with his back facing the trail.
The rain began to pour, but it was okay. He was used to sleeping outside.