Seraphina: Initiation

by Sheena Hutchinson

  ***

  After breakfast, I told Nate I wanted to go for a run. We walk out to the porch together. It’s a normal, cold December day in the suburbs of New York, but I hardly feel the cold anymore. We stand there silently for a few minutes as I take in the beauty of it all while waiting for Nate’s direction. The frost beginning to shine against the morning sun making the trees around us shimmer.

  “So, where to?” Nate finally turns to me.

  “I don’t exactly know where I am!” I state indicating the vast forest before us with my hands.

  “Okay, Sera, Lesson Number One: You have senses… Use them!” He tells me with all the sarcasm he can manage before noticing one of my eyebrows raise and adding, “Just close your eyes and open your mind the rest will follow.”

  I take a deep breath before following his instructions. I close my eyes and open my mind to the surroundings. He’s right, I think as I growl to myself. I can sense the woods all around me and even though I’ve never been here before, I somehow know exactly where I am. It’s like I’m in tune to all of nature, feeling every tree, sensing every hibernating squirrel, every snoring bear wherever I open my mind to. It’s the strangest feeling I’ve ever felt. It makes me feel like I’m plugged into Mother Nature herself. I can feel life all around me. Without further instruction, I jump off the porch steps in one bound and dash into the forest. I just want to be a part of all this energy.

  “Thanks for the heads up!” I hear Nate yell when he finally catches up to me. I almost forgot he was here with me. “Now push yourself faster!” he guides me.

  I do as I’m told, pushing myself faster and faster, feeling the beating life of the forest around me. Nate has a hard time keeping up with me as we dash in between trees through the dense forest. I’m beginning to get lost in the feeling of the forest again, the crunch of every step, the wind on my face, the smell of pine in my nose. I’m getting sucked into this indescribable feeling of freedom when I hear “STOP!”

  Sliding to a stop that could have landed me on a major baseball league, I’m in a defensive stance preparing for danger. Nate finally catches up to me again and without missing a beat adds, “See that branch above us?” He points above my head and I nod, “Well, I want you to jump up and touch it.”

  Looking up at the branch, it’s at least ten feet high. There’s no way my 5’6” frame can reach it. To amuse him, I try anyway. I crouch down low and throw all my weight up. Hitting the ground in failure, I wasn’t even close. I try again and again until I realize I may be going about this all-wrong. Remembering a kung-fu movie I had seen once, I get the feeling maybe I have to think outside the box. Taking a few steps back I get a running start towards the tree, I jump up and kick off that tree towards the tree parallel to it, kick off that one as well, I’m finally high enough to reach out and grab the branch. Gripping it tight in my hands I pull myself up onto it. I place my hands on my hips and smile down at Nate in a triumphant stance.

  “Great!” Nate yells up at me, “Now jump back down!”

  Jumping down I expect to hurt my shins, but I land on both feet with catlike grace. I smile at myself again for a minute before I turn to gauge Nate’s reaction. Only when I turn around he’s not there, suddenly I feel someone grabbing me from behind. I struggle with him as he closes the arm he has around my throat and begins to lift me off my feet. Instead of giving in, I’m still close enough to the tree that my feet can touch it. I run my feet up the tree before me and back flip over him, breaking free from Nate’s grip.

  “Good! Now let’s go back to the house; I’ll show you more defensive moves.” He states over his shoulder before breaking into a run.

  Laughing to myself, I should have known that was coming. He did specifically ask me why I didn’t fight back when the first Demon had attacked me. Then the same thing happened during the second attack. I should’ve expected he would drill it into me until it becomes second nature. I’m able to catch up to him in seconds, run past him, and beat him to the house. I leap up the five steps and enter the house, locking the door behind me.

  When he finally reaches the house I make him knock on the door for me to open it. I open the door slowly before teasing, “Oh, so glad you could make it, do come in slow poke” as I gesture dramatically in a curtsey for him to enter. We share a little laugh before he heads to the side of the large staircase that leads upstairs. He reaches his hand out to the wall and opens a door out of what seems to be nowhere. Staring at the door, I never would have noticed. It fit perfectly into the wood paneling of the architecture. Following him, the door leads to a flight of stairs going into the basement. Peering out over the railing as I’m descending the steps, the basement is all white cement and it is set up like a training facility. There isn’t much to see because it seems to be just an empty space to train. Reaching the bottom step I notice the floor isn’t cement as I thought, it’s bouncy almost like a turf of some kind. Turning around taking it all in when, I notice that along the wall of the stairs is a vast display of weaponry. Starting from large swords to small daggers and ending in tiny knives and throwing stars. I’ve reached out to touch a dagger that stands out to me with a jewel-encrusted handle when I hear Nate clear his throat behind me. Spinning to face him, I see him standing in the center of the basement on what looks like the middle of a target painted on the floor. Seeing him standing there with his muscles flexing under his black tee shirt as he watches me walking up to him I can’t help the flush of color that floods into my face. He must read my emotions once again because I see him smile and look down before glancing back up to meet my eyes. When I finally reach him, he becomes serious and I try and remember how important it is to focus on training. He gives me a stern look before reaching out with one hand, trying to grasp my throat. Reflexively, I grab his wrist and duck under his extended arm before flipping him over my back. He smacks to the ground with a thud and a cough.

  “Good!” is the only thing he says in reinforcement before climbing to his feet and attacking me again. This time he runs towards me before spinning around into a kick. I jump backwards out of the way just in time to miss his foot, before I reach out, grab his ankle, and twist it. His whole body seems to twirl with his ankle before he somehow gets a hold of himself in the air and lands on his feet again. Without hesitation, he comes for me again. This time, I don’t wait for his attack. I meet him half way and at the last minute, throw my arm out and move to the side, clothes-lining him. He looks up at me from his back, gasping as I offer him a hand up. He slyly smiles before taking it, but instead of pulling himself up, he pulls me down. Only I don’t fall, my body seems to somehow tuck itself under and roll back so that I’m on top of him again with my forearm against his throat.

  “Good, you’re learning your instincts!” He states raspy against my arm before I pull it back, kiss him on the nose, and climb to my feet. I can feel the smile creep into his cheeks at the affection I showed him before climbing to his own feet and shaking his head trying to get stern with me again.

  “Remember Sera, the best offense is a good defense. Wait for me to come to you!” He tells me fully returning to training mode. I nod while motioning with my finger for him to come towards me. A smirk crosses his face as he heads towards me in a blur, I stand defensively but as he reaches me he spins around me and has his arm around my throat. I feel his bicep pressing against my airway as I struggle beneath his grip. I’m trying to push his arm away when he pulls me backward off my feet and I get desperate. I’m scratching at his arm now I can feel the blood fading from my face. When suddenly my arm reflexively extends and my elbow slams backwards against his ribs. I hear a crack and his arm releases me, but I don’t stop. It’s as if I have to prove something and I’m saving myself from all the times that I couldn’t defend myself. I land on my feet and twirl into a roundhouse kick that smacks him across his face. He falls to the ground and I can see him coughing in pain. Coming to my senses, I run up to him and drop to my knees beside him.

  “Oh my God!
I’m sorry I didn’t mean to!” I mumble pulling his head onto my lap.

  “It’s okay Sera! I’ll heal. You did good!” He barely spurts out in between breaths. I sit staring at him for a few minutes making mental comparisons between this and my dream, mentally kicking myself the entire time. After what feels like an eternity, I hear his ribs crack back into place as his body begins healing itself and I can breathe again. The skin on his lip heals over and he finally takes a deep breath in before I help him to his feet.

  Chapter 4: On the Defensive

  “You have no excuse to die from strangulation now!” He jokes wiping the dry blood from his lip and putting his arm around my waist as he walks me back upstairs. “You’re so in tune with the senses already it’s as if…” He lets the sentence drift off as his thought processes continue inside his head. We walk to the kitchen and I walk ahead of him to open the refrigerator door, only when I glance in I find that it’s empty. I look over at Nate leaning against the counter and he laughs before sending me a sexy smirk and telling me, “Look again.” I glance back and sure enough it’s fully stocked with food. Long gone are the days when I question him, I just grab some sliced turkey and close the door. He has a loaf of bread in his hands by the time I turn around and we stand side by side in the kitchen making our sandwiches. When I’m finished, I prop myself up on the counter next to the fridge and fold my legs while I eat my sandwich.

  “So, what’s next on the agenda for the rest of the day?” I inquire into the next level of training. I thought this would be exhausting and annoying like working out, but surprisingly I find it kind of exhilarating learning all that I’m capable of.

  “More hand-to-hand combat,” he peers his blue eyes up at the sound of my question and mutters in between bites.

  “Haven’t I beaten your butt enough?” I scoff sarcastically and immediately see his mouth drop. He throws the remainder of his sandwich down on the counter.

  “I was going easy on you! Not anymore tough stuff!” He defends grabbing my wrist and dragging me off the countertop, I pop the rest of my sandwich in my mouth and let him lead me. Never wavering in his grip I’m brought back down the steps and to my surprise I’m in an already altered training facility. It looks like it’s under construction scaffolding from floor to ceiling, dim lighting, and various clear tarps all about. I’m guessing he’s trying to step up the danger. “Okay, bring it on short stuff!” he taunts me jumping up to a metal beam above me.

  I can’t help but laugh, I’ve never seen this competitive side of Nate before. It’s my turn to smirk as I start into a run, jump, and grab hold of a beam before swinging to the next one and the next like it was a playground’s monkey bars. When I reach the last beam, I swing up onto it before jumping up to the next beam and we begin this little game we’ve started. I can’t seem to see him through all the tarps so I slowly make my way from beam to beam in silence. I’m quietly slipping under tarps and making my way around listening for anything that would alert me to where he is. I’m about halfway to the front when I see it, a glimmer of chestnut hair through a tarp to my right. I make him out below me, inching closer to where he can obviously sense me. I have to do something to catch him off guard! I rack my brain for attack options, but instead decide to follow my instincts like he’s instructed me. I leap down to the scaffold just above him. Gripping my hands around the beam, I swing my legs and kick him off his beam. He locks eyes with me right before impact and he’s able to grab hold of the beam below him on his fall down. Sending me a look that makes my insides flip, he climbs up onto the beam before jumping up to the next one and the next one until he is lost somewhere in the darkness above me. He’s going to try and get me back I can feel it, I can’t help the giggle that escapes my mouth as my nerves get the best of me. I continue to dash across the length of the beam not even attempting to be quiet, I’m just trying to get away from where I last saw him. Pausing when I reach a wall, I turn to listen for his whereabouts. It’s eerily silent and I know he’s up to something. I crouch low and try to make him out through the beams before me. I hear a slight noise above me, but I don’t acknowledge it. I can feel him inching closer on the beam above me as anxiety is rising inside me, but I pretend not to notice. A noise escapes his throat as he jumps down onto me. Only when he gets there I’m on the beam to the right of him and playfully push him. He catches his balance as he grips the post between us and uses it to swing his body around finding himself on my beam now. I take a step back to make room for him, but instead he swings into a kick. I duck and slip off the beam, but instead of dropping to the floor I’m able to grab the beam in my hands, swing back up, and kick him in the chest. He catches his balance faster than me and he just steps onto the beam perpendicular. As soon as I’m on my feet again, he goes in for a punch at my face. I duck just enough to feel the wind from his fist. I grab his wrist and pull him back onto my beam going in for a knee to the chest, but he deflects it and goes in for another jab this time to my chest. I jump back grab his wrist again and flip him around me and throw him against the post behind me with my elbow at his throat. I smirk at him,

  “Who’s kicking whose butt?” I mutter in between breaths close enough to his face to see his grin in the shadow.

  He calls my bluff and pushes me off him with both hands. Instead of falling on my back, I turn into a backflip and another until I reach the opposite post. He begins to run at me and I run to meet him beginning this dance of ours. He throws a punch and I duck before jabbing at his chest, but he grabs my wrist to spin me around him. Somehow during that spin I extend my leg and kick him, he takes the kick and flips backwards before coming at me again. We are spinning and twirling in these offensive-defensive moves jumping from beam to beam until I decide its time to end this. Nate is coming up into an uppercut from where I last knocked him over. I lean back just enough for him to miss, then grab his wrist and throw him down onto the floor below. He falls to the ground and the momentum makes him slide all the way to the edge by the stairs. I jump down and I’m on his chest before he’s able to get up. Our faces inches from touching, I can feel him trying to catch his breath his body rising falling ever so slightly with me on top of him. Our closeness is once again making the butterflies inside me flutter about aimlessly.

  “Well, I think its safe to say you’ve got the hang of this!”

  “Just a hang?” I lean in closer as my lips purse ever so slightly.

  “I think your balance could use some work,” he tells me and I feel my eyebrows twitch.

  “Oh really?” I climb off of him slightly offended. I still offer my hand to help him up, he grips my wrist and jumps to his feet. Never letting go of my arm he continues,

  “Here me out, I think we need to work on your balance and poise. You shouldn’t be falling off beams, you should be swinging into a move. Staring into his eyes I nod in acceptance. He’s right, I should be more graceful. Before I can raise my voice to speak he raises his arm and snaps his finger. I feel a whoosh of air before Nate releases his grip allowing me to spin around and take in the third type of basement I’ve seen. I blink hard to again to make sure I’m not dreaming because it appears as if the ceiling has raised about ten feet… or has the floor dropped? Strapped and patiently waiting before me looks like a harness on two bungee cords that are hooked into the depths of the dark ceiling corners. Nate is already unstrapping Velcro to help me hook myself in.

  “Is this safe?” I poke at the rubber cord to test its strength.

  “Don’t you trust me?”

  “Well, this could be some kind of double test to see how I react when the rope fails!”

  He laughs leaning his head back against the rope before calming down to look at me, “No test, I promise,” at the sound of that I walk closer and allow him to strap me in. One band tightly around my waist then one around each leg. Gripping the cords on either side of me with each hand I pull testing the strength. “Sera, there’s nothing to fear, if you fall I will catch you.”

  A smile cro
sses my lips at his words. There’s nothing to fear. Strange saying since I seem to fear a lot nowadays. Before I can come up with a smart remark he snaps his finger again and the cord retracts, pulling me up to the ceiling. The sound that escapes my mouth is comical, part yelp, part scream, part surprise, but all excitement. The bungee reaches the highest point and I twist so that my feet reach out and kick off the ceiling sending me gliding downward again. The feeling of weightlessness, of freedom is what causes the giggle to escape my mouth. I spin again once reaching the bottom to kick myself upward again. Upside down I eye Nate sitting arms crossed enjoying this lighter side of me. We maintain eye contact for a while before I finally feeling confident and free I release my grip on the cords and outstretch my arms. Twirling into a spin and another as I glide up to the ceiling. Once I reach the top again I allow gravity to pull me back down, falling is my favorite part. Feeling the Earth call me back to her, where I belong.

  Closing my eyes I allow myself to fall, to feel, to sense. Trusting myself, letting go of the fear and like Nate said before my feet even touched the ground the cord recoiled and lifts me back up.

  “Okay, now let’s work on balance,” before I can respond I see a series of balance beams pop up in the middle of the room. Literally in the middle of the room, as if floating on air. I spin on my fall down to plant my feet on the beam. I wobble slightly as my legs absorb the momentum. When I’ve caught myself I walk the straight line foot over foot until I reach the next beam and attempt it faster. With each passing beam I increase my pace. Across, up and down the maze of beams Nate’s conscious has created until I reach the bottom and stop before Nate.

  “Again.” He orders, to be honest. I kinda like bossy, authorative Nate. A smile slowly spreads its way across his face and I blush, I think he may have sensed my thoughts. To diffuse the sexual tension I jump up and twirl into the air until my feet touch down on the first beam again. I pause bracing myself to begin the race down, trying to beat my own time when out of the corner of my eye I catch Nate smirk and lean against the stairs. He’s definitely got something up his sleeve. I take a step forward when I see a large punching back swing down from the ceiling. I duck just in time and spring forward to hear another unlodge. I pause as that one swings in front of me before I dash across and onto the next beam. I’m halfway across when I see spiders drop down from the ceiling, I drop to my stomach and crawl on my elbows as I feel their legs tickling my back. Sliding out to the next beam this one tilted to descend to the next level. Using the sides of my feet I glide down wiping the remaining spider webs from my arms. Reaching the next level, I attempt to run again only to feel my feet slipping underneath me. Glancing down I eye an oily substance coating the entire beam. My feet slip uncontrollably underneath me all the way to the end and catch hold of a bar at the edge just in time to swing myself around to the next beam. Feet still slick, I decide to crawl on my knees until I hear a clink above me. I freeze hearing metal clink itself into place before a whoosh of air breezes millimeters from my face. I watch the pendulum swing back when I realize it’s a huge axe.