Seraphina's Awakening

Chapter Seventeen: Gabe-teraction

Dirt explodes to her right and sends her flying into the nearest ditch. She's struggling to climb to her knees and catch her breath all while calming the butterflies that are exploding inside of her. They are outnumbered now; her comrades are all but lying dead around her. It was a war they were convinced they would win, but once they got there, it was like the Natives with sticks fending off the English settlers with guns. Out manned and out powered, they fell, one by one. Sera is one of the few that remain. She has more pride than to just give up. She pumps her gun and takes a deep breath before peeking her head up over the mound of soil. She fires off a few rounds to approaching soldiers before she falls back down to reload her magazine.

Reaching into her pocket, she finds she only has a few more shells left. She shakes her head in frustration and peeks again to see soldiers rapidly approaching. Quickly, she fumbles to pull the shells out of her pocket and place them into the shotgun. Her hands are shaking with nervous energy. One of her last shells falls to the dirt in her rush. Suddenly, she feels hands pulling her up by the collar of her uniform. She struggles against it. Her fingers continue trying to cock her gun. The hands find their way to her throat. She flips the gun up, hears it click into place, and attempts to aim over her shoulder. Unexpectedly, she feels something jerk the enemy forward, the hands around her neck loosen, and she whips around to find the soldier's body falling limp onto the ground. She glances up; her eyes meet bright blue ones. His eyes are all she can see as his black mask is hiding his identity. He must be a sniper or assassin because his black uniform isn't one she recognizes. She takes a step back cautiously and finds herself sliding back into the ditch. She turns to dash away toward homebase when she feels hands on her shoulder. Reflexively, she whips around and punches him across the face, breaking free from his hold.

"Sera!" he screams after her. She freezes, taken completely off-guard that he knows her name. She turns to face the strange blue-eyed man. He slowly approaches her, slipping off his mask and shaking his chestnut hair free. Sera recognizes Nate's handsome face immediately. How could she not recognize those impossible eyes?

"Sera, I'm on your side." He lifts his hands indicating he means no harm. She inhales a deep breath as he reaches into his pockets to pull two extra 9mm's and hands them to her. She smiles up at him and throws her arms around his neck.

"You're a life saver Nate! Let's go kick some ass." As a soldier comes charging over the ditch, she whips around and shoots him straight through the chest. They charge up and over the mound to kill some enemies together.

She and Nate are fighting side by side making good progress through the hundreds of soldiers left. Against impossible odds, they are prevailing and making a huge dent in their numbers. She turns around to make sure Nate is still with her. He comes into view ahead of her after the body of a dead soldier drops at his feet. He glances up and winks. Even now, she still can't help the smile that crosses her face as she begins to walk toward him. He's all she can seem to see. The gunshots and explosions are going off all around. She's almost to him when she feels something jab her between the shoulder blades. It pierces straight through her. She glances down to see the tip of the instrument protruding through her chest; stabbed in the back, literally. What a coward!

She looks up to see Nate running toward her. She collapses into his arms when her knees go weak underneath her. She can vaguely hear him screaming, "No!" as he shoots the enemy behind her that is causing her premature death. Nate is telling her something, but she can't seem to focus. The pain is too much. Instead, she just stares back at his blue eyes. If she dies, she wants them to be the last image she will ever have...

Her eyes flutter open as the blankets around her throat are beginning to cut off her supply of oxygen. She rips them off and just lies there staring at the window in contemplation. The sun is just beginning to stream through her blinds. She doesn't seem to need an alarm clock anymore. It could quite possibly be this new energy level; it won't even allow her to sleep. Even at six thirty in the morning, she can jump out of bed and head out for a run, no coffee needed, and that's just what she does.