The warning had lost its luster after two days of nothing out of the ordinary. It was clear that Etienne and he had split, but no one made a move. Which only proved to himself that he held his own. He would miss the extra pair of eyes though.

He thought of apologizing to Etienne, after all, it wasn’t his fault. He was employed by Xero, that had always been the case. Who knew what the bastard had on him, to ensure his loyalty? Gabe personally believed he was not above abducting family members and keeping them in cages to use as leverage.

It was easy to demonize both Etienne and Xero inside the grey malaise of the prison. There was no nurturing sun to the souls in there, no warmth or comfort. There was only a collection of people who had once been human, and then they had been locked away and until they had become their crimes.

And then they lost even that. In this prison, a person became a side effect of an institution that locked undesirables away from the world, by pushing them all together into a cramped, loveless space. The kind of creatures birthed from within these walls weren’t people anymore. They were prophecies of an apocalypse.

He considered this when thinking of Etienne, and whether he should make good on the gumdrop promise. He had seemed penitent after all. But Gabe’s humanity was a distant thing, and he touched the idea with numb fingers.

Then a voice by his shoulder said; “Hello there, little angel Gabriel.”

He didn’t turn to see who it was. He knew. The voice had gone straight into his darkest ugliest memory banks and brought up the echoes of old horrors that had haunted his nightmares for years.

His mind went through lightning quick reactions. He knew he had frozen. He also knew that the person had not moved away at all. His next move had to be the right one.

The slimy slide of a finger went underneath the hem of his muscle top near his shoulder. “Do you still have it? Can I see, little angel?”

Again, old horrors resounded through his mind. He breathed heavily, knowing his fear had flickered across his face. No one was watching them, but Gabe wasn’t stupid enough to think this exchange wasn’t being witnessed. Everything that happened would be repeated in every possible ear.

“Don’t touch me, Antoine.” He said in a flat tone.

“Aw, is my little angel feeling tetchy?” The voice teased.

Gabe stood in a quick movement, grabbing the hand that had been underneath his shirt a moment before and twisting the extended arm around. Levering it high behind his back, he pushed Antoine's head down with a crash onto the lunch table.

Antoine was laughing, a low hissing wheeze that was familiar to Gabe as his own face.

Antoine had changed. He was bigger, no longer the scrawny, stick-like boy Gabe had shared a room within the brothel. Now he had muscle. His hair was short and greasy to the touch, and he had a sprawl of hyacinth flower tattoos peeking out from his shirt and up his neck. His pond water eyes were dancing as he laughed.

“Someone’s learned some new tricks.” He sniggered, uncaring that Gabe was forcing his face into the metal.

The guards would arrive soon, so Gabe had to move. “What are you doing here, Antoine?”

Antoine stopped laughing, and grinned wide, showing the silver that capped his teeth. Tacky, as always.

“I’m here for you, little angel. I’m here to finish what you started.” He replied, not bothering to lower his voice.

The guards shambled up then, and Gabe was quick to let go, raising his hands in surrender and stepping away. Antoine got up, massaging his arm but still grinning like the sadistic lunatic he was, watching Gabe like he always had before.

But Gabe wasn’t prey anymore.

Without another look, he turned his back and walked away.