by Dave Ferraro
Chapter Five: Blood Warrior
Later, I was sitting in my bedroom staring at the wall, when someone knocked on my door. Opening it up, I expected to see Nelly standing there.
Except it wasn’t Nelly.
It was my Mother.
“Mom, I didn’t mean to-“
“I know, come with me,” she said.
I grabbed my shoes and followed her. Some part of me had been expecting this. I had known she wasn’t going to let something like this slide, but from her reaction earlier, I guess I was just hoping she would.
She led me out to the backyard of the house, and I knew what was coming. Time for her to teach me a lesson. I pushed my chin out and wiped my face clear of any expression, refusing to showcase any fear. The effort had me clenching my teeth.
But instead of stopping in our usual spot where we did our training, she just kept going. Oh god, I thought, maybe she’s taking me somewhere to kill me.
I laughed out loud at this morbid thought, and my Mother turned her head, giving me a slightly confused look. I shook my head and mumbled an apology as I continued following her to the unknown destination.
We walked for a little over an hour through the woods that encased the back of our house. With every step my unease grew. I felt like I was on some impromptu death march. To make things even weirder, my Mother kept pointing out certain markers, telling me to commit them to memory. I did. I was never sure why my Mother did the things she did, and by this point in my life, I had learned to just roll with whatever she threw at me.
At last, we emerged at a small clearing. It was beautiful. The ground was packed with wild honeysuckle and dandelions. And straight ahead of us was a small hill that was surrounded on all sides by tall trees. It also had what seemed to be an opening at the foot of it, like it housed a small cave.
“Wow.” I didn’t know what else to say. I almost smiled. Maybe I’d been wrong. Maybe she just wanted to spend some time with me. As happy as that would have made me, the thought alone made me suspicious.
But, when my Mother turned to face me, she had the same expression on her face that Nelly had earlier when we’d first entered the house. It was a mixture of pride and fear. A second later, it was gone, replaced by her usual serious expression. I decided I must have been mistaken. I doubted this woman even knew what fear was.
“Do you remember how to get here?” she asked.
I nodded.
“Good, it’s very important that you do. This is where I want you to come if anything ever happens to me.”
“Why would anything ever happen-“
“Why is not important,” she replied. “What is important is that if anything ever happens, you run, you run and you bring Nelly with you to this spot.”
I gave her what must have been a wary look, because she was in front of me, faster than anyone should have been able to move, and she was gripping my shoulders. It was an unpleasant, tension-filled touch; much like the rub of denim on badly sunburned skin.
“Alexa, I need you to tell me you understand. I need you to promise me that you’ll do as I say.”
I looked her straight in the eyes, refusing to let her scare me. I wouldn’t be scared of her anymore. She had to know that. “I understand.”
What I thought looked like more pride flashed behind her eyes, and this time, I was certain I saw fear. “Good,” she said. “Let’s head back. It’s time to practice.”