Seraphim Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Seraphim

by R.Weinstein

Copyright © R. Weinstein, 2011

All rights reserved.

Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

PUBLISHER'S NOTE

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

For all of my Seraphim,

past, present and future,

who remain a true inspiration.

Always.

Chapter 1

A short young man in a camouflage uniform carried a slip of paper down a dark, dank underground corridor. Giant roots broke through the plaster walls. Hanging lights illuminated the concern growing on the young man's face as he increased his pace toward the antechamber. He passed other men in the same uniform but not one regarded him.

The antechamber was as poorly lit as the corridor and smelled of death and decay. At the far end sat an older man in a high backed chair, his hair graying at his temples. Other uniformed men surrounded him, waiting with slips of paper. A great red-tailed hawk perched upon the top of his chair, giving the young man a piercing look that made him flinch.

The young man gripped his memo with sweaty palms. He strode to the table and stopped with his hand held out. The older man took the paper and read it. The others looked up at the newcomer, but did not speak. After a long moment in which the young man held his breath, the older man put the piece of paper down and regarded him.

“He has come to recruit,” the old man said. “Tell number two it is time to step things up.”

* * * * *

“Nervous about Christie?” Katie asked. The school lobby was quiet. The girls could faintly hear kids talking in the downstairs wing, nicknamed “The Dungeon.” They took the steps by twos up to the third floor and turned into the junior hallway. It was still pretty empty. Only a handful of juniors were sitting on the floor under their lockers or leaning in the doorway at the other end of the hall.

“It's not just that.” Serafina felt apprehensive. She always did on the first day back. She dreaded seeing her arch-nemesis, Christie. Christie is such a spoiled brat who always gets whatever she wants and loves to taunt Serafina. But that's not what was bothering her that morning, it was that dream.

Katie gave her a “spill it” look.

“I had the strangest dream last night. In it, there were a bunch of guys in uniform,” Serafina explained.

“Ugh, I hate school dreams.” Serafina and Katie went to a Catholic high school and wore a uniform every day. Being juniors, they looked forward to the day that they would be seniors with privileges like dressing down on Fridays, ordering in for lunch, or cutting the cafeteria line.

“No, the dream was about military guys.”

“Sounds like a good dream if you ask me,” Katie said. “Those army guys are hot.”

Serafina shook her head. “Not these guys. They were pretty scary looking. Especially their leader. He was really creepy.”

“Good thing it was a dream then,” Katie shrugged.