| Gabriel Michael Matthews |
 |
| Portrayed By: | Mark 'The Undertaker' Calaway |
| Status: | Alive |
| Age: | Mid-twenties |
| Occupation: | College Professor |
Background
Gabriel Matthews was born on December 15, 1981 in a mid sized town in Missouri. Growing up an hour east of Kansas City, Missouri made for a surprisingly dull childhood. An only child of two college professors, teachers at Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg, Missouri, he grew up in the academic scene. Good grades all through school, mostly because his parents, Michael and Emily Matthews, made it clear how unfavorable it would be to do poorly. They were good parents and he was provided for.
High school was more interesting at least. He met a girl, a local girl with a knack for ancient folk lore and myth. While her name was Lauren Guss, but she preferred Loris. It was she that got him involved in more than just books and studies. Well maybe more. More books and studies. Occult, folk lores, and mythologies became their common ground and they did the whole high school relationship thing: Long relationship, occasional short break ups, proms, homecomings. Their senior year was when the occult truly became a little too real for both of them.
Out on the town one night, well at the college in the student Union playing games, bowling, and all that, they discovered something very strange. Initially they thought it was just a guy with some weird skin disease in the area between the Union and the Communications building. When he got closer it was clear he was hurt, and not at all human. Long, flabby bags of skin were hanging from his face and his throat was bleeding profusely from something that appeared to be a knife slash. The man fell to the ground and suddenly there was all sorts of people all around them, explaining that he was a circus freak and had tried to rape a girl. The men were in heavy, black armor, something akin to S.W.A.T. but seemed more military in behavior. At any rate they took the man away and there was the usual B.S. line about talking being a breech of national security by a guy that couldn't be much older than they were. Then, everyone was gone and only Gabriel and Loris remained. Needless to say with all the blood on the ground they didn't stay long.
The next few months passed and they were deep into the Occult, just managing to keep their grades up and graduating high in their class. College would follow and so would the first of many anxieties. The summer between high school and college was divided between a little normal life and a lot of Occult research. They got to be a little too knowledgeable. The local creepy crawliest started to notice them. A few night time encounters with various demonic beings created two things: Hospital bills and experience getting beat down and handing out beat downs. The two of them enrolled in self defense classes and he got really serious about body building for protection as well as stength. Weapons were next. He preferred a sword, knife or shotgun as a general rule. Loris was a two fisted pistoleer and they both had a first year of college to practice a lot when they were not in class. Demons are bad, many times over they got hurt, but always managed to survive.
It was the summer between freshman and sophomore year that his parents were killed by a drunk driver. Their was nothing to do but carry on. Their home was left to their only child and Loris moved in. They stayed in Warrensburg for that summer and all the next college term, living together. The demons they encountered were many and hunting and studying Occult ruled out a regular job. Even with a house paid for, it is hard to live that way. They took odd jobs where they could, Loris taking a job as a research assistant at the college and Gabriel providing muscle at the two nearby 'Gentleman's Clubs'. Still. Things progress.
Nothing says true love like two lovers playing vigilante every night they can and killing demons. Then one night, at the edge of the end of their sophomore year, they discovered a new sort of demon. Loris had been working late in the library and when Gabriel arrived to take her home he found her on the sidewalk, face down. Basic life support and CPR isn't going to get you far when your victim is bloodless and without life. Blood on the ground and puncture wounds in her neck. Sorrow gave way to rage. Rage gave way to sorrow. Sorrow lead to him finally getting it under control and calling the police. Hours of questions later he was let go to plan and execute her funeral. It was a small service, very few people as they had few friends. Once she was buried, he set out to try to get back to life as normal as possible. Instead, four nights later he encountered what he figured was there all along. A vampire. Demon soul in human body. He was strong too. Stronger than Gabriel. Fast too. They fought, mostly he used Gabriel as a punching bag. Crashing into an alley way they came upon another…this one female and familiar. Standing by a dumpster was a woman, vampire, Loris. That froze him and the other vampire knocked him down.
Just when it seemed things were going to end…they began. Suddenly there were three people at the head of the alley, two men and a woman. The male vampire looked at them and his eyes went wide. Cursing them and telling them this was not 'Wolf Pack' business. Apparently they didn't care what was business as they started towards the vampire. Vaguely Gabriel could remember the sound of steel clearing and the flash of three swords. The two vampires turned and ran from certain death. The 'Wolf Pack' helped him up: Diego, Lorenzo, and Wendy made up the pack. Apparently they were close. They took him to their motorcycles and made a call. He wasn't long for the concious world, the brain can only take so much.
When he awoke the next day he was in a room, fairly non descript. Apparently it was an aparment building. The complex was about siz miles south of Warrensburg, out in the country. When he started moving, Wendy appeared in the door way, asking him how he felt and telling him there would be a good many days getting healed up. In and out of conciouness for a day or two then finally he was stable enough to rise.
He was invited to stay with the pack, but declined and asked them to take him home. They did as he asked and the next day they were at his door with two others wanting to speak to him. What passed over the next two hours changed his life. Apparently all five of them were of an ancient Native American descent as was Gabriel (Cherokee). They spoke at length about what else they were. They were warriors of ancient Indian totems. The 'Wolf Pack' were warriors of the wolf totem, one was a raven warrior, and the other was a Puma. They had been watching over Gabriel and Loris and were unable to save her that night. They were also able to discern that the totem's spirit resided within Gabriel. It was a strange week that followed, but by the end he learned a great many things. Vampires, demons, wendigo, werewolves, witches, and most importantly Totem Warriors.
It was his first Wendigo attack that made him realize just what he had. The creature wanted his life to prevent his potential. His favorite sword diconnected the wendigo's head from his body and Gabriel went to the Totems to accept his destiny. Two nights later in a barren spot, some 70 miles away from Warrensburg to the east and south, they gathered in a small expanse of low land hills. Not big enough to be mountains, too big to just be a few rises. That night Gabriel met totems of every shape and size: Owls, puma, snake, raven, hawk, and any number of other animals. Finally, during a long ritual a large man appeared, towering over everyone except Gabriel. The power of the bear resided within, that was obvious. By the end of that night there were two totem Bears.
College passed by uneventful from there. Eventually he graduated with a bachelors in Science Education, specializing in Physics and Chemistry. Needless to say those two became useful weapons in his arsenal as he started practical application in life.
It was two years that passed by before he saw Loris again. He had stopped working normal jobs and started a new career. Demon hunting and slaying didn't pay. However, there was a black market and said black market bought things. Demon body part things. They paid pretty well too. Money is good, but a day job for cover was a must. He took a job teaching entry level Physics and the university by day and doing the more despicable by night.
One fateful night he encountered the one person he hoped he'd never see again. Loris was at the college in the staff break room. As beautiful as ever, but far more dangerous. Still, he had loved her all this time…how could he? The answer wa fairly obvious as she lunged for him, trying to rip out his throat. Imagine her surprise when he caught her in mid air and threw her across the room and through a wall. The doubts were gone. His love was dead, the thing before him was just a demon in her form. He snapped a table leg off and walked out the door. She was starting to stir when then makeshift stake ended her. He kept it…actually he ground it down, the table leg, and made a stake from it. A commerative of his love and what it was worth in the scheme of things.
Battling with wendigos, vampires, and other things began to wear on him. There was nothing really there to keep him since the Bear is the loner anyway. He finished contract and packed up to go. Travelling it west he set out across Kansas and pointed it towards Nevada. Along the way he encountered the monster that killed Loris and made her a vampire. Death doesn't come fast when you can stand toe to toe this time and beat the daylights out of the beast, tearing its arms out of its socket and stomping it mercilessly before staking it at last. After staking Loris he has discovered that he really just enjoys hurting things that try to hurt him. Her final death was his new birth to a vicious bastard where super natural evil is concerned. Offered a place at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas he set out to start over again. Time will tell.
