Time's Journey

His Introduction

"You can't hide in there forever, ya know." Gel muttered from the other side of the closet door. He was sitting at the bottom of the door in his same cross-legged position.

"Who says?" She asked, rhetorically, now looking through her closet for a different weapon.

"Time says." Was his simple response.

As much as she wished that wasn't true, it kind of was. "I don't trust you at all." Was how she decided to make a comeback at him.

"Jeez, you're stubborn. I know I look kind of hostile, but I'm not. This is how society made me look." Gel responded, placing his hands beside him to hoist himself up. With a final grunt, his side of the door went quiet.

Diane waited a few moments before cautiously cracking the door open and looking around with curious eyes. "Whe-"

"Boo." Came a voice from behind her as a pair of strong hands took hold of her shoulders. She shrieked, turning toward him and stumbling backwards. The back of her head slammed against the door handle, causing her to black out. Just my luck... Was her last thought. Before darkness took over.

***

Diane woke with a start, rubbing the back of her head in between grunts of pain.

"You took quite a hit." Came that same familiar voice.

"What...?" Diane mumbled, beginning to take in her surroundings and situation. She was draped over the the same man's shoulder that appeared in her room, which felt like, just moments before. She jerked her eyes toward the back of his head, which was also cover by the metal mask, only his lower neck visible along with a few strands of white hair sticking out of the mask's bottom edge. "What the hell are you doing?!" She screamed, not exactly realizing that they were in public. The thing was, no one was moving. Everyone looked like a statue, either paused in the middle of walking or just sitting. Pigeons sat completely still on the ground or frozen in mid-air. "What's happening..." she questioned, forgetting about the man holding her.

"Time is frozen, love." Was all Gel responded with before adjusting her a bit.

"How...?" She asked quietly, watching as he walked down the street, weaving in between and around either children playing or adults and teens standing near the busy street beside them.

Gel turned into the street and glanced around before pausing in the middle of the street. "Where was that building..." he mumbled.

Diane started to grumble and struggle at this point, so he set her down, keeping a tight grip on her wrist while glancing around. She just looked at a few frozen people and giggled. "Did you do this?" She asked him curiously.

Gel looked at her awe-stricken face and his eyes widened a bit, causing a nervous reaction, making him twiddle his thumbs nears his thighs again. Time began to start up again as people and birds began to move again. "Y-yeah... Does it scare yo-" was what he managed to say before a vehicle slammed right into him, causing his hands to split apart as he flew into the windshield of another vehicle in the opposite direction.

Diane shrieked, staring at him with the look of someone who had just witnessed a death.

Time froze again, showing the frozen frantic faces in the street as their eyes became stuck on him. "Shit..." he grumbled before slowly lifting himself up.

For the first time, she noticed that the straps around his arms seemed to be ribbons pulled inside the mask when he pried his arms apart. "A-are you alright...?" She stuttered, slowly jogging over to him, but stopping mid-way as he slid off the vehicle's hood. "Wait... Why am I asking if you're okay? You kidnapped me!" She yelled.

Gel sighed, dusting the broken glass shards off of his clothes. "I did it for you're own well-being." He muttered.

Diane growled. "For my own well-being?! Kidnapped me for my own well being?!" She screamed, standing in a defensive stance.

"Listen-" Gel was cut off.

"No! You listen, jackass! I was just fine!" She shouted.

"Please, liste-"

"Shut up! I don't want to hear your lies!"

Gel inhaled deeply and released, "LET ME EXPLAIN, YOU LITTLE BITCH!" It was basically a roar of dominance as he balled his fists up and grabbed the back of her shirt, hoisting her into the air. "YOUR FATHER IS AN ALCOHOLIC. AT EXACTLY ELEVEN THIRTY-SEVEN TONIGHT, HE WOULD TAKE THE LIFE OF YOU, HIS DAUGHTER, AND HIMSELF RIGHT AFTER!" He hollered, his eyes leaking with black shadows and smoke, now seeming more hostile than earlier.

Diane cowered, staring wide-eyed at Gel, the man who had just told her the future. "W-what...?" She was in doubt, but was soon convinced after getting a second look at the man's eyes.

"Believe it, love. Like I said. I'm your guardian angel..." he mumbled, the smoke from his eyes fading into the darkened sky. "Please. Just let me protect you. I'll explain everything once we get somewhere..." he said with as much sympathy as possible, his muffled voice now slightly scratchy from yelling at her.

Diane nodded, deciding it would be in her best interest to trust this man. "I'm sorry..." she mumbled with a cracking voice as her light-blonde hair fell in front of her face.

Gel sighed in an exasperated manner and pulled it away from her face. "It's fine. I shouldn't have yelled..." he set her down gently and started walking with a limp, along with holding his left forearm tightly. "Come on, love." He said in a calming way.

Diane nodded quietly and followed, making sure she avoided the frozen people and animals as she and Gel made their way through the city.