False Identity

I finally finished speaking when I realized that the snow had stopped falling and the sun was beaming down through the trees, melting it away.

"It stopped snowing. It looks like its about mid-day. I should go. My dad's probably worried about me and I still need to find my friend."

I stood up and stretched, careful not to move my arm too much. Doc stood up as well and stepped out into the sun. He took a deep breath and smiled.

"It truly is beautiful and I haven't even been to town yet," he said.

"Follow me and I'll lead you there. It's the least I can do," I insisted.

Doc looked at me, amused.

"I think I'll accept your offer. What about your friend though? If he was out in that weather last night, he could have caught hypothermia."

I was suddenly very worried. Not only that, but I knew that I had taken the picture from Nicholas's coat and kept it. I had to give it back. I pulled the picture from my coat and stared at it. The woman still stared up at me. Doc must have noticed me go silent because he approached me and looked over my shoulder at the picture. I heard him catch his breath.

"...Where the hell did you get that?" He asked harshly.

I was taken aback by his sudden change and whipped around to face him. His aura felt menacing and angry. Suspicion instantly surged through me. The only thing I gathered from our encounter is that he used to be a doctor he was looking for his friend--just like me.

"I-I found it."

"Does it belong to your friend?"

"Maybe."

I narrowed my eyes at him as my suspicion grew. I took a step back defensively. Is he going to attack me? Does he know Nicholas? Are they enemies? As these thoughts swept through my mind, Doc changed again. His slight smile and neutral nature replaced his anger now. Confused, Doc laughed.

"Please forgive me. I wouldn't have thought you knew Gabriel. I needed to make sure you weren't planning on hurting him. I'm sorry."

Slightly less confused, I remained in my defensive stance for a few moments. Not sensing any malicious intent, I relaxed a little. I need to be cautious around this guy. He's strange and I don't understand him. Doc seemed to understand that I was still wary of him. Doc shrugged and walked past me, further into the woods.

"W-Where are you going?" I asked slowly.

"To look for Gabriel. He's the one who told me about this town. I was supposed to meet him at the bus station but he wasn't there."

"We...picked him up. He didn't say anything about meeting someone."

"Huh? He didn't?...Well, that's just like him. Don't think too much about it. He does that a lot. Sometimes he just spaces out and forgets about everything around him. It's his way of staying sane."

"'Staying sane?' What do you mean?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry. There I go running my mouth about other people's business. Forget I said anything."

"Um, okay?"

"Good girl. Now, where do you think Nicholas might have gone? Surely there's a path around here or something he might follow so he wouldn't get lost in the snow, right?"

"Yeah. It's up ahead. Hey, Doc, why do you keep calling him Gabriel?"

"Because it's his name. Why else?"

"He told us it was Nicholas."

Doc stopped ahead of me suddenly. I stopped also so as not to run into him.

"Did he? That's interesting....Call him Nicholas then. If he told you that was his name then there shouldn't be any reason why you shouldn't continue to call him Nicholas."

"But if his name's Gabriel, should I call him that?"

"I'm sure he had his reasons for giving you a false name. But considering you don't seem to know his real name, I'm guessing that name was all he told you. Correct?"

"Yeah."

"It's for the best."

"What?"

"Nothing! Come on, it's still extremely cold out here and I could go for some hot chocolate and a fire about now."

I'm liking this less and less, but Doc isn't going to tell me anything else. What's with giving me a false name anyway? Who is Nicholas--or Gabriel--or whatever his name is? And how does Doc know him? I stubbornly resolved to probe Nicholas until he gave me the truth.

Doc and I walked through the forest looking for Nicholas/Gabriel in silence. Minutes passed and I grew uncomfortable with the silence.

"Ashlyn," I finally said, breaking the awful silence.

"Pardon?"

"I just realized that you didn't ask for my name so it's Ashlyn."

"Ashlyn, eh? It's a beautiful name." Doc sighed. "You're one of those people who don't like silence, am I right?"

I blushed. "...Kind of."

"Alright then, why don't we play I Spy?"

"Why that game? It's white everywhere. It'll be kind of hard to play."

"Think of it as a way to train your mind and senses to keep track of your surroundings. Plus, it may help us find Gabriel."

"Okay."

The game did prove to be difficult but by using descriptions and the colors of our imagination, it turned out to be fun. However, we followed the path throughout the woods and still didn't find Jason. It was a little disheartening. Secretly, I dreaded going back home because I knew my dad would be frantic and possibly have called the police to begin a search for me. He'd probably also have the entire town looking for me, which was something that my peers would find amusing. There weren't many people my age in town but there were still a few...and none of them liked me. Come to think of it, Nicholas's the only person my age who hasn't acted any differently around me. Thank God that he is an outsider. Never thought I'd be saying that about someone I don't even know.

"Ash!" My dad yelled as he sprinted towards me.

I could barely breathe as he gripped me too tight. As I expected, he pounded me with questions about where I was, what happened to my arm, who the man was with me, and why I ran after Nicholas. I answered them as quickly and gently as possible, hoping he wouldn't yell at me for being reckless. He didn't. Instead, he just pulled me closer again and told me he loved me. I didn't know what to say so I just hugged him back.

Doc stood back watching them. He understood now why Gabriel left with them. Their bond was something Gabriel had always yearned for and something he only ever shared with his mother...before she was murdered. Doc expected that Ashlyn's resemblance to Gabriel's mother was what initially captivated him. Ashlyn's rather curious and reckless nature was something Doc assumed Gabriel personally related to, and the reason why he told them his real name. Doc smiled. Things were getting interesting again.