"So, about earlier. What you said. Giving up control. If I told you to do something, would you do it?" Kay asked.
Gabriel, who found his curiosity endearing and could tell Kay had bigger things in mind, answered, "Well, that largely depends on what it is, but if it's doable physically, doesn't severely endanger my health, and is not against any of my personal or moral principles, I'd theoretically have no reason to decline. Still, it's down to individual situations and requests."
Kay rolled his eyes when he said, "Can you ever just answer a question without making it a whole essay?"
Gabriel laughed, "Of course not. I'm a lawyer."
"Stop being a lawyer, then, and answer as the guy I fuck: Will you do what I tell you to do?"
Gabriel watched him, but Kay didn't look back. He still stared into the dark infinity of space above them. Only when he answered, Kay met his gaze.
"Yes," Gabriel said, "I'll do what you ask."
Kay looked surprised, then briefly disgusted which was quickly overshadowed by excitement as an idea materialized in his mind. There was only silence for a moment, and Kay seemed lost in thought. Even when he felt he had everything planned out, he waited a minute longer, because the amount of fun in his idea hinged on Gabriel being caught off-guard. So he observed him looking for patterns in the star-dusted sky.
After Kay felt enough time had passed, he slightly nudged Gabriel, sat upright, and leaned over, his face now looming over Gabriel's. They were so close that Gabriel expected a kiss, but Kay only stared, and, in a low tone, he whispered, "Run."
"What?" Gabriel asked with wide eyes.
"You want to give up control, so I'm taking it, and I'm telling you to run. Don't make me say it again."
That was a threat, Gabriel realized, and judging by the insanity mirrored in Kay's wild eyes, it was a serious one. Therefore, he scrambled, slid off the hood of his car and took off into the forest as soon as his feet hit the ground. He felt Kay's gaze on his back while he approached the forest, and when he broke the treeline, he heard him howl, "I'm giving you a head start. You have two minutes to hide, and then you best start praying I won't find you!"
His voice grew more quiet with the distance Gabriel put between them. He didn't know his way around the area, all he knew was that he'd soon be hunted, and as much as he refused to be afraid, his heart was still beating fast, pumping blood to his legs that carried him through the woods. It was rhythmic in his ears, and loud. Louder almost than his own footsteps. He registered the ground was softer here, more spongy from the moss and fallen leaves in different stages of decay. And it was darker under the dense coverage of the treetops. Gabriel didn't dare look back over his shoulder, afraid he might run into one of the many tree trunks that materialized out of the uniform gray-blue darkness around him so suddenly. The farther he got, the more their number increased, and they were but a blur as he flew past them. His breathing grew heavier, and briefly he wondered how long it had been since the last time he'd run like this. Didn't matter, because he knew for certain Kay was faster. He didn't feel any fear, not as long as he kept reminding himself he wasn't in any real danger. Right? It was just Kay after all, nothing to be afraid of. Just Kay. It's just Kay.
Holy shit! Gabriel thought, It's Kay!
Of all people, he realized, this confirmed deadly mercenary that probably knew as many ways to murder people as Gabriel knew laws, he was the last person he'd want to be hunted by. In a dark forest at night, no less, miles from any semblance of civilization, far from anyone who could hear him scream.
Nonsense, Gabriel reprimanded himself, Kay doesn't want to hurt me... Not really, anyway. Then... What does he want?
Gabriel couldn't answer the question, and it made him run faster. His adrenaline spiked when he heard a rustle in the flora around him, one that sounded different to his rapid footfalls, he was sure. It made him realize he'd only run straight ahead so far, so he turned sharply to the right and leaped over a fallen tree. Were the two minutes even over yet? He didn't know. It could've been moments, or it could've been hours since he started running.
Stop! Gabriel's mind suddenly screamed in a moment of clarity and he halted so abruptly that he almost stumbled on the uneven ground. His surroundings sharpened, and so did his thoughts.
If he was sure Kay was faster than him, then why was he wasting his energy running a race he couldn't possibly win? And he was making too much noise. All Kay had to do was follow his footsteps and catch up, something he'd surely done many times before and would execute with trained precision.
Then what did he have that Kay didn't? Outthink, outsmart, Gabriel instructed himself. Outlast. Only then he'd get out of this chase. And what was the goal?
Gabriel looked around and saw nothing but darkness. Of course. The car. That was his only chance. He would loop around, try to make as little noise as possible, and hope that he wouldn't run into Kay by pure chance. And he'd also hope that he'd find his car in the first place. He trusted his instincts and turned to start back into what he felt was the way he'd come.
The following sequence of events happened in under ten seconds, but to Gabriel they went down with astounding clarity, as if life was running in slow motion.
He took the first step into his chosen direction, and in that moment he heard a thud and a rustle in some ground-dwelling foliage directly to his left. It was so close, too close, and sounded suspiciously like a clumsy step or stumble. Before he even registered it, his reflexes made him start in the opposite direction, away from the perceived danger. It was a fatal move.
A whole eight and a half steps later, his escape came to a sudden end, stopped by a hand coming out of nowhere and closing around his throat. Unable to react, Gabriel glanced down and registered Kay who stood before him, his expression tight with the focus of a hunter. He balanced out his momentum and easily used it against him, moving with it, turning, diverting it so Gabriel felt himself stumble and finally fall, back first, into the forest floor. The pain was bright when his spine crashed into the unforgiving soil.
Kay's hand was still firm around his neck, and the not so great weight on his chest told him that the mercenary had dropped himself on it to pin him down. His knees were digging into both of Gabriel's arms, and it stung. Kay's other hand found Gabriel's hair and, tugging on it, he pressed his head into the ground.
"Got you," Kay hissed, so close that Gabriel felt his breath on his cheek, and time sped up again. Gabriel breathed once.
"Were you even trying?" He asked with a taunting smile. Gabriel breathed twice.
Adrenaline is a funny thing. Gabriel learned just how much it turned him into a different creature, caged the humanity, and allowed the instincts to take over. Prime directive: survive.
While death wasn't actually near, and part of Gabriel knew that, whatever caveman portion of his brain was controlling his body now would not go down without a fight. And so, without much input on Gabriel's part, he mustered up his strength, exhaled his third breath, freed his left arm, and hoped for the best as he sent his fist into Kay's stomach. It was harder than expected, but seemingly, he was caught off-guard, because the air was forced out of his lungs, leaving him gasping and sputtering an offended, "What the fuck?!"
But, most importantly, the tension in his oh so efficient muscles waned for a moment. That moment was all Gabriel needed. He went for Kay's hand that was restricting his airflow next, closing his fist around his wrist and ripping it away. Kay groaned when his joint was bent at an uncomfortable angle and made the mistake of loosening the grip of his other hand. It allowed Gabriel to free himself enough to push hard against Kay's chest and rear up at the same time, sending the cussing mercenary toppling off of him.
Gabriel got to his feet, and a refreshing rush of euphoria blazed through him. He almost laughed out loud when he began darting away again, completely baffled that it had worked out. In his mind, there was no way for him to outmatch Kay in a test of physical power.
Kay, meanwhile, was so hot with rage that he half expected his skin to split open and show the boiling contents beneath, like lava bursting through volcanic rock with unstoppable force, and then he'd set his surroundings and Gabriel and the whole forest on fire with his fury.
None of that happened. Instead, Kay was sat on the ground with an aching wrist like an idiot, briefly immobilized by his surprise and anger over Gabriel's successful getaway maneuver. Fine, maybe he had underestimated him. Time to take the training wheels off.
Gabriel had not gotten far when Kay's hunter-mind kicked in again. Methodically, he got up but stayed low as he leaned into a sprint worthy of an Olympic medal. He caught up in no time, saw Gabriel run in front of him, heard his hasty breathing, and when the right moment was there, Kay pushed away from the ground, kicked up dirt, and vaulted himself against his target. Like a rugby player, he crashed into Gabriel's back and tackled him to the ground.
With no way to balance out the extra weight, Gabriel let out a startled gasp, fell once more, and literally ate dirt when he smashed into the ground face first. His field of vision went bright white, then pitch black when he felt a sharp pain against the left side of his forehead. He'd hit his head on something, a rock or branch, not enough to be life-threatening, but enough to hurt immensely and daze him momentarily. His body went soft like a ragdoll, and for three seconds he saw nothing and only heard an unnerving, high-pitched screech stemming from his own auditory cortex.
When he came to again, Kay's arm was around his throat in an iron choke hold that left him gasping for air.
"Bastard," Kay growled into his ear, low and sharp, "Got any more funny ideas you want to try?"
The pressure on Gabriel's throat increased as an unmistakable warning.
