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End times: a Gabriel Knight mystery

Chapter 2

by AGM, published on April 22, 2001

“Come Grace! You can do it!” He yelled holding his hand out to grab hers.

Six months had passed since Gabriel and Graces last case. Six months since she had made the decision to strike out her own path, that very night, after her talk with Emilio.

And now, only three months since she had met and fallen in love with Hong.

She grabbed his hand and hoisted herself up onto the ledge to stand next to him. Her held her close as they both gazed at each other and what they had conquered.

She had completed the fourth test of the Orders. She had scaled to the top of Mount Jo in a matter of three hours before sunset. And now would have to stay up here until three hours before sunrise and make the climb down. And she'd have to spend the whole night with Hong too.

She had briefly encounter Hong when she had first arrived along with many others who were interested in learning from the lessons of Master Jan. Master Jan was the founder of this camp, this school in a way, of Schattenjägers or others who believed in the existence of the supernatural and who wished to be able to combat it.

They had been separated for the first three months as all the men and women were when they first arrived. During the first two months, both groups spent much time in physical exercises to strengthen the body and mental ones for the mind.

The first exercise was one of body strength, where the person had to balance him or herself on their toes on the edge of a high ledge for one hour. Sounds simple, but many failed and either gave up or were forced to continue trying it until they succeeded.

The second tested the mind's ability to channel out the sounds of the irrelevant by having oneself placed within a pit surrounded by vipers that seemed to be inching in closer and closer and gaining ground on you.

Every hiss made you feel more and more fear, but Master Jo said the only thing you had to realize about the vipers were that they were harmless. Needless to say many either could not make the pressure or left the grounds because their fear became too great. The few who did go through with it eventually realized towards the end that the vipers were harmless because every single one of them had been defanged and were no threat to anyone at all.

The third test was where the groups had come back together and fairly easy. A test of mind and body. Climb the mountain in a set amount of time. Without equipment. And that was where all the physical training came in handy.

Without it Grace knew she would never have been able to go this far. But she had made it, and she knew just as easily she would be able to make her way back down. Darkness or not.

“Enchanting.” Hong said suddenly, taking her out of her reflection.

She nodded. “Yes, it is a beautiful sunset.” Grace agreed.

He chuckled. “I mean you Grace.”

She felt herself blushing.

And of course there was Hong. She had met him again when the third test had been announced and the groups had been allowed to rejoin.

He was a handsome Oriental man whom she was sure her parents would find acceptable in looks and manners, but unfortunately probably not line of work.

Hong was an artist. He loved to paint, to draw, to capture, as he put it, the utter essence of humanity in his portraits for the entire world to bear witness too. But he had also been haunted as a child. He had grown up with a superstitious grandfather. One who believed himself to be cursed and that ghosts and demons were always watching the family. One who had gone to the grave believing Hong would die by some creature's hand unless he protected him.

He believed he would have to protect him after his death as well, and gave him a medallion that he always told Hong was enchanted. It looked to be something of an ancient Yin-Yang, but made of pearl on one side and stone on the other. Needless to say it was very impressive indeed, even if slightly small and Hong always wore it in honor of him.

But now it was Grace's turn to catch Hong off guard. She smiled as she thought about what she was going to say. “It's a shame you couldn't carry your easel up here and paint this, it's amazing.”

“Yes,” he replied. “I've painted a few sunsets since I've gotten here, from different angles, at different times during it, but this one is different.”

Now she turned away and smiled. “Yes, it is. And it definitely would have been…since I probably would have posed up here nude in front of it to give you something else to paint.”

“Yes, that would have been…what?” His face was shocked. “What…did you…say?”

“It's just a joke Hong.” She replied with a snicker. “I would never pose that way for you. Up here at least.”

“And where might you?” He asked as he slide his arms around her. “If I may ask Ms. Nakimura.”

“I'm not sure yet. But don't worry the answer will come to me, Mr. Lee.” She then tilted her head up to kiss him. He immediately tilted his down and returned the kiss.

“It's just a joke Hong.” She replied with a snicker. “I would never pose that way for you. Up here at least.”

“And where might you?” He asked as he slide his arms around her. “If I may ask Ms. Nakimura.”

“I'm not sure yet. But don't worry the answer will come to me, Mr. Lee.” She then tilted her head up to kiss him. He immediately tilted his down and returned the kiss.

It was a moment of intense contentment. This was all Grace had ever wanted. Fulfillment, someone to love, and friendship. Something Grace has thought she might have a time ago…with Gabriel.

She quickly cleared her thoughts of him. She hadn't thought about him in months, but now found herself feeling very uncomfortable and unable to get him out of her thoughts now.

She began to wonder what he was doing, if he had had any new cases, how Gerde, Gran, hell even Mosely were doing.

But mostly she wondered if he missed her.

She started to feel a strange chill through her bones and immediately held herself closer to Hong, attempting to put Gabriel further out of her mind and focus on the situation at hand.

 

Last update: October 24, 2007


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