RE-AWAKENING Gabriel choked, surrounded by black fumes and red flames.

  His world burned with a fury that was simply unreal.

  He was drowning in flames, trapped beneath collapsing beams as smoke stirred in his lungs. Shadows writhed in the inferno, twisting and bending as if trying to reach for him.

  And above, amidst the heat and ruin, stood the vague silhouette of a man with glistening glasses.

  He stood and watched Gabriel for a while before stretching his hands towards him.

  Gabriel, confused and debilitated, reached for it with hope-filled eyes.

  Then he woke.

  The hot and suffocating flames were replaced with clean conditioned air.

  The ceiling was metal. Cold, sterile, and unfamiliar. His body felt heavier than he remembered, his limbs aching as though they had been weighed down by lead. A quiet beeping sound filled the room, followed by the hum of machines.

  He turned his head slightly, his nature urging him for a scan of his surroundings.

  A young man sat beside him, seemingly unfazed by his awakening. He had blonde hair–neatly combed back, and green eyes hidden behind thick glasses. The man's face was calm as he checked the monitors and typed something into a nearby computer. Electrodes and wires connected Gabriel's body to various devices, and as he tried to move, the clinking of steel against steel told him he was restrained.

  His pulse quickened as he tensed up, ready for a fight, but before he could make a move, the doctor—Gabriel could only assume he was a doctor—spoke.

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  "Relax," the man said, his voice smooth and controlled.

  And Gabriel did just that.

  He had no reason to, not really.

  His instincts screamed at him to resist, to fight back, but instead, his body complied without complaint.

  He forced himself to believe it was exhaustion, a subconscious understanding that struggling would accomplish nothing right now. But there was something else, something beneath his skin, that told him to listen and actually relax, even if only for now.

  The doctor adjusted his glasses. "You've been dead for quite a while, sleeping disorders are only natural."

  Gabriel's breath caught in his throat. He didn't speak, only stared at the man confused.

  After a while, the man spoke again; "I know you must be... confused."

  "That's one way to put it," Gabriel grumbled.

  The doctor seemed absorbed in his work. Jotting down on his notepad as he poked at the machines Gabriel was strapped to.

  He seemed entirely consumed for a while before finally speaking again;

  "Well you're not in some afterlife, nor is this a dream," the doctor continued, still focused on his work. "As hard as it is to believe... you've quite literally been brought back to life."

  Wait what?!

  Gabriel's brows scaled his forehead. His next words could barely make it out of his lips through all his trembling;

  "How's that e-even possible?!"

  The doctor continued on the machines for a while before he spoke again. "Professor Allen Vossler."

  The professor?

  Gabriel didn't know why, but the name rang in his mind like a wailing siren. His fingers twitched against the restraints as images–red and searing, flashed in his head.

  "Where is he?" Gabriel asked. His voice was rough, his throat dry, as though he hadn't spoken in years.

  "Missing." The doctor didn't look up. "He disappeared long before your revival, leaving only theories and unfinished work. I did my best to follow in his stead. Your resurrection though a significant breakthrough was highly unexpected...

  Improbable even."

  "I did my best to finish his work. Your resurrection... was a statistical impossibility. But here we are."

  Gabriel’s fingers twitched. "You aren’t making sense. None of this—how? Why?"

  The doctor finally looked at him. A long, cool stare.

  "Retribution."

  The door hissed open a young woman dressed in black walked in and whispered something into the doctor's ears.

  The doctor waited till it was just two of them left in the room before speaking again.

  "You should be dead," he said calmly. "I've tried my best to delay for as long as possible."

  Gabriel frowned watching him closely as he asked "What do you mean?"

  "In a few hours, a tribunal will be held. A hearing. On what should be done with you."

  Gabriel’s brow furrowed. "What do you mean? Done with me?

  The doctor locked eyes with him and said; "I was getting to that part.”