Gabriel's Revenge (The Adventures of Gabriel Celtic Book 2) by J.T. Lewis Read Free Book Online Page A

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    “People are always looking at me like I’m crazy. You’d probably just wanna leave me at home most of the time…I mean, you know, if you’d known me in the past and didn’t want to be embarrassed in public or something.”
    She quickly picked up her magazine and started paging through way too quickly to be reading anything, seeming almost embarrassed. I had not noticed anything embarrassing up to that point, but thinking back to her last sentence, I was confounded by the wording. The more I thought of it, the more I realized that there seemed to be an underlying personalizing to it, maybe too personal.
    I quickly shook it off; ‘ I guess I see a mystery in everything these days,’ I thought as I dug out my journal from beside me on the seat.
    Just as I opened it up however I felt a sudden weightless sensation before my head hit the ceiling! I hung there for what seemed like ten seconds before dropping and plopping down in my seat. I quickly grabbed for my belt with shaking hands, quickly clicking the buckle before looking up again.
    I now noticed that the seatbelt light is lit; I guess I missed it when it came on at some point in the past. A cold sweat covered my face; flying was not my favorite form of travel anyway. Looking over at Abby, I saw her looking back at me with concern in her face yet again.
    “You ok, Gabe?”
    “Yeah, I’ll be fine….as soon as we get on the ground.”
    “Sorry about that folks,” we heard the pilot’s exaggerated southern accent start on the overhead speaker, “we hit some turbulence from Hurricane Bonnie, dropped us over ah hundred feet. We are increasing our altitude to get above this system. Good thing we had the seat belt light on!”
    A bong sounded to let us know he was done with his announcement. I was still trying to recover from my experiences, my heart rate ticking in my now aching head like a fast watch. Looking out the window and trying to get some control over my being, I felt a hand lay gently over mine. I grabbed onto it like one would a life preserver in a stormy sea, instantly comforted by the touch.
    I continued to stare out the window as my heart slowed, maybe too embarrassed to look at my new friend, maybe a little guilty to find that I needed help from someone. As my body began to relax, my eyes are heavy once again, and soon I was sleeping, my hand still gripping hers.
     
    ***
     
    I woke up to the bustle of activity, feeling us descending into DC. Realizing that I still had Abby’s hand in mine, I quickly release it, making a show of finding my journal on the floor.
    I picked it up and held it on my lap, staring at the family cross etched into the front of the old leather.
    “That’s an interesting cross on there; what does it stand for?” Abby asked, staring at the book.
    “Part of my family’s crest; my grandfather designed it long ago.” I said a little too reverently.
    “Do you mind if I see?” she asked, seemingly unsure as to what my reaction will be.
    I hesitated a moment, but then relented and handed it to her. She took it respectfully, showing the admiration of someone that appreciated an old book. Holding it in her left hand, she traced the outline of the cross with her right hand, her fingers tenderly taking in all of the tool marks, as well as some battle scars obtained after the original etching.
    “That’s neat!” she said with enthusiasm as she handed it back to me. “Family means a lot.”
    I nodded my head in agreement, but my concentration was on the approaching landing. Although outwardly I appeared under control, my hidden right hand was in a death grip on the arm rest, my knuckles growing whiter as we got closer to the runway.
    Finally I heard the sound of the tires touching land, and I slowly relaxed my grip. My new friend and I were silent as we rolled to the gate. I was relieved that we were on the ground, but I was still slightly worried about the next two flights before reaching home.
    As the plane came to a