Chapter 1

As the taxi pulled away from the curb and aggressively claimed its place in the flow of traffic, Seraph settled into the backseat with a sigh. She took a moment to simply enjoy not being in an airport. One hand rested on an oversized duffle bag on the seat next to her. Unconsciously, she wrapped her fingers around its strap. Turning her attention to the city speeding past the window, Seraph got caught up in the familiar sights of the streets she grew up on. A small smile graced her lips. She recalled running down the sidewalk with her brother as her parents followed behind, yelling for them to slow down.

Then the cab turned a corner, and Seraph's memories clashed with reality. Instead of the arcade where she had wasted the hours and quarters of her childhood, there was now a gas station.

Everything changes. Her childhood home had changed, her family had changed. She looked down at herself, dressed in fatigue pants and an old uniform shirt, her short brown hair had grown out past her ears, and she was sitting next to all her worldly possessions. Even she had changed.

After six long years in the Marines, she could hardly be the same stupid eighteen year old she had been going in. But now she was out, now her changes were hers to control, the decisions hers to make. Hers. Not the Marines', and certainly not her father's.

Pulling herself firmly away from that line of thinking, Seraph took a deep breath to center herself. A song she hadn't heard in years started playing. She smiled again. The radio was always a good way to distract herself.

As the music ended and the DJs started yammering, the cab left the city proper and moved into residential housing. Almost there. She turned her attention back to the radio.

"... and that's traffic! Back to you, Dave!"

"Thank you, Mike! Coming up at the top of the hour, Mayor Ervans commends North Enterprises for funding the new low income housing project. A local dog show had trouble when half of the contestants escaped! Asking the question, who let the dogs out? (laughs) Police Chief Simmons calls a press conference to discuss the increased troll attacks in the rural areas. Then, rising energy costs and what you can do to save! We talked to experts..."

The taxi stopped outside a neatly kept bungalow. Seraph quickly paid the driver and jumped out. The cab sped away as she glanced curiously at the car parked in the driveway. She wondered about it as she walked up the ramp that had been built over the front steps. Perhaps she should have called first, but it was too late now. She rang the doorbell.

It did not take long before she heard footsteps on the other side of the door. She frowned, was this the wrong house? The door opened revealing a fidgety looking young man with glasses. He was wearing faded jeans and a t-shirt with some cartoon character on it. He shifted from foot to foot and ran his hand through unkempt hair before speaking.

"Can I help you?" His wary voice seemed to indicate that he did not find it likely.

"Hello, my name is Seraphim. I'm looking for Gabriel Hunter. I was told he lives here?"

"Oh," the young man pulled out of his slouch. "Yeah. He's here. Uh, want to come in?" He shuffled out of the way, holding the door open for her.

Seraph pulled her duffle bag higher up on her shoulder and stepped inside. The entry way opened up into a clean but worn living room. An old sofa sat next to a mismatched chair in front of a beat-up, particleboard coffee table. The centerpiece of the room was a very nice, very expensive looking entertainment center, which spoke loudly of the homeowners' priorities. Beyond the living room, separated by a half wall, was the kitchen. On the far side of the living room was a hallway that led further into the house.

"I'll, uh, get him," he stammered. He shuffled across the room, leaving her standing just inside the doorway. He barely made it to the hallway before shouting for Gabe. Seraph shook her head and closed the door behind her. She dropped her bag near the sofa and stood waiting. She did not wait long. Her brother appeared in doorway and stopped, staring at her in shock.

"Seraph? Holy crap," he said, moving further into the room. "Why didn't you tell me you had leave coming up?"

She met him half way and kneeled down in front of his wheelchair to give him a hug. "I wanted to surprise you."

"Well, I'm surprised!" He laughed. "How long are you in town for?"

"As long as I like. I mustered out." She waited a moment for that to sink in. "So... can I crash here tonight?"

"Really?" Gabe looked stunned. "Of course! You have to sleep on the couch though, that cool?"

"Yeah."

"Well come on and have a seat, and we can talk." Seraph stood and followed him into the kitchen. "Want something to drink?"

"Sure, um, I can get it..." she started.

Gabe turned and pointed an angry finger at her. "No. Sit your butt down. I can serve drinks in my own home."

Chastised, she sat. He wheeled over to the fridge. "I got coke or water." Opening the refrigerator, he pulled out a soda for himself. "Or beer. Which ya want?"

"You have beer in the house?"

Gabe shrugged and looked away. "It's my roommate's. I don't mind."

"Oh. Um, coke's good," Seraph said. "So that was your roommate?" She nodded towards the hall.

"Yeah, Brad. He'll come back out of hiding later. Probably."

"Not a social butterfly?"

"Only if you're on the other end of a computer," Gabe said, returning to the table with their drinks. "He's not a bad guy, just a bit of a nerd."

"You're one to talk. You still work for Double Vision Games?" Seraph teased.

"Nope!" Gabe sat up straighter and took a sip of his coke. "I have a respectable job now. I work for Systel Devices."

"Oh?"

"I do mostly the same things, only for higher pay and better health."

"Well, that's good," Seraph said.

Putting his drink down, Gabe gave her a pointed look. "So, stop stalling. Why did you decide to get out? I thought you were career."

Seraph stared at her drink wondering what to say. Honesty, she had thought she was in for life too. "Well, when it came time to re-enlist, I didn't," she said. "I was sitting there looking at the papers trying to want to fill them out. I couldn't make myself." Seraph paused to take a drink, and shrugged. "I guess I don't regret the time I spent in service, but it wasn't what I wanted to do with my life." That was true enough, though she wished it hadn't taken her six years to figure it out.

"Does Dad know?" he asked.

She winced. "Yeah. He knows."

Gabe paused for a moment, thinking. "So, what do you want to do?"

"That's the question isn't it?" Seraph mused. "I don't know. I just know I don't want to keep doing what I've been doing."

Gabe laughed. "You sound like me before I went to college. Maybe you should go back and talk to our high school counselor."

"Bah," she snorted. "Why go to a counselor for bad advice when I have you?"

"Fair enough, but have you thought about tooling around in a community college? Take some classes that look interesting, see what sticks."

"Eh," Seraph sat back in her chair, an annoyed look on her face. "I know that I will probably have to get a degree at some point, I just... I don't want to spend another four to six years getting ready for life, you know?"

"I can see that, but since you don't know what you want to do, what can it hurt? Hell, the government's paying for it, might as well give it a shot."

"I guess." That didn't mean Seraph had to be happy about it. She slouched in her chair and frowned at her drink, as if it were hiding the answers from her. Did other people have this much trouble? Didn't kids grow up wanting to be something? Despite what he said, Gabe seemed to fall into computers quickly enough after the military was no longer an option. Seraph tried to remember having dreams of her future from her childhood, and came up with nothing.

"Well, you know," Gabe said, his voice breaking into her brooding, "you don't have to figure this out right now. Who knows when school even starts? Why don't you go on a vacation for now, see if you don't get an epiphany about what you want to do in the meantime. Like an Australian walkabout thing. Go away and find yourself."

"Should I learn to meditate, see a shrink to talk about my mother, and sit around a campfire singing kumbaya too?"

"Punk. Get out and try to have fun for once. Who knows, you might get a flash of inspiration. Although with you, it would have to be driven in with a lightening bolt to your head."

"Hey, that would solve the problem. I could make the talk show circuit if I survive getting hit by lightening."

"If you're going on the talk show circuit, it's probably best that you don't go to college after all."

Seraph stuck her tongue out at her brother.

Gabe just laughed. "So?"

"It's a good idea." She agreed. "I've missed camping, maybe I'll take a couple days to chill in the woods, even if all I find are trees and bugs."

"Of course it's a good idea. It was mine."

~ ~ ~

The sun rose over Baxter State Park to a chorus of bird song. The brilliant reds and oranges of the sunrise were reflected in the fall leaves of the sweeping woodland. The waking forest moved and breathed, coming to life under the light of the new sun. Within all of this, in a small clearing just off the trail, was an even smaller campsite with just one lone tenant.

Seraph sat wrapped in her sleeping bag enjoying the peaceful clamor of nature. A mug of coffee warmed her hands, its fragrance working to wake her up even before her first sip. It was nice to have nothing that needed doing. Even crashing at her brother's, she needed to be suitably awake and dressed before Gabe and Brad woke up and wanted to use the common areas.

Not that Seraph had any intention of bumming around her campsite in her PJs, but it was nice to know that she could if she wanted to. It was nice to get up early, just to watch the sun rise. Taking a sip of coffee, she held it in her mouth for a moment, savoring the flavor before swallowing. Its warmth slid down her throat and into her stomach where it radiated out to the rest of her body. She half closed her eyes and hummed. Even instant coffee tasted better in the mountains.

The sun was fully up by the time the coffee was gone and Seraph broke camp. She had put out the camp fire before bed, but she kicked more dirt onto it anyway. Her backpack lay a little bit outside of the campsite under the tree she had hung it from last night. While Seraph enjoyed getting close to nature, inviting a bear or a gremlin into her camp was a little too close. Everything was packed quickly and neatly, and Seraph double checked the clearing to make sure it was clean.

Once satisfied, Seraph shouldered her pack and headed down the trail. She loved this area. It held some of the last good memories she had before her family fell apart. The park itself had remained the same since her last visit, and was true to her memory. She was happy to learn that she remembered this park as it was and not through the rose tinted glasses of nostalgia. But the past was not why she was here- she should be thinking of her future.

The quiet did give her time to think. Unfortunately, it did not give her answers. Her savings would keep her afloat for some time, longer if she continued to leech off Gabe. Not that that was an option. But even her larger than average account would buckle under the strain of unemployment. She didn't want to get some low level grunt job just to pay the bills. Which would mean getting a degree. Seraph sighed. At this rate she should just make a list of all the options and cross off what she didn't want and see what was left. So far all she knew was what she didn't want.

Maybe she could work here. She tilted her head back to take a deep breath. That was a nice idea.

Seraph sat down on a large rock by the side of the trail. She wasn't at all sure what was involved in becoming, or even being, a park ranger. But it would be good to look into. And if it turned out not to be what she hoped, she could always try something else.

A weight was lifted from her shoulders, now she had a plan. It wasn't much of one, but at least the feeling of being lost was finally gone. Seraph grabbed a snack bar from her pack before setting off once more.

A game trail grabbed her eye. It crossed the well marked path right in front of her and wandered off into the trees. Seraph stopped and looked. It was a bad idea to leave the trail. Any number of things could happen, not the least of which being that she could get lost. And there was a lot of park to get good and lost in. If she got hurt it would be tremendously difficult for help to find her. Which is why it would be stupid to go off on some random game trail for no reason.

Which is why Seraph was a little surprised to find herself walking down it.

She grinned wryly to herself, wondering if this new found bit of rebellion was going to make itself a permanent part of her personality. The trail was likely to simply end after awhile, so as wilderness exploration went, this was more foolish than adventurous. Not that it bothered her much, Seraph felt strangely excited to get off the beaten path and explore.

The game trail did not end quickly. It went on long enough for Seraph to wonder if it would be this easy to follow back. But still she followed. A loud bird call made Seraph jump. Right above her head a large raven sat glaring down at her. It cried out again, just as loudly as before, sounding almost mad at her. Suddenly the bird launched itself from the branch in a flurry of angry flapping. Seraph ducked as it flew right where her head used to be. Its large wings beat the air carrying it past her and back into the sky. She turned to watch it go. It threw one last caw over its shoulder before it was gone.

"O-okay..." Seraph said.

All said, the behavior of the raven wasn't all that out of the ordinary, birds were known to attack people who ventured too close to their nests. And certainly, nothing was too terribly frightening in the afternoon hours of a sunny day, but something about the whole thing set Seraph's nerves on edge. Resettling her backpack, she quickly turned and continued walking.

She was so distracted she didn't see the clearing until she was in it.

The clearing was roughly circular and about fifty yards across. The ground was covered with a deep carpet of fall leaves, but was otherwise clear.

Except for the tree.

The tree stood dead center in the middle of the clearing. It was a massive oak, rising up far enough that Seraph couldn't see the top through the tangled branches. The trunk was so large that she didn't think she could put her arms around it if there were ten of her. The branches were thick with leaves, despite all the ones that had fallen onto the ground. Sunlight barely passed through them, leaving the ground dark in midday twilight.

Seraph felt a sense of calm overtake her. She walked slowly towards the tree. Absently, she unclipped her backpack and let it fall from her shoulders. She was drawn forward, and moving as a sleep walker, she went.

Standing before the tree, Seraph placed both hands on its trunk, feeling the rough bark under her fingers. She leaned forward and rested her forehead against the great oak. She left out a shuddering breath, unable to understand what she was feeling.

Then the whispering started.

It rose up around her like a tide. She jerked back and fell away from the tree. The whispering became louder without becoming clearer, echoing in her ears.

"Who's there?" She shouted.

There was no one. She was as alone now as she was when she first entered the clearing. She crawled and kicked her way back from the tree, looking around her wildly.

"Who's there!?" She cried.

A voice answered her, not from someone else, but from inside her own head.

Seraph clapped her hands over her ears, but it did nothing to silence the voice that now spoke so clearly to her.

Bring it... You must... Now... Find... You must...

[Chapter 2 →]
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