Of Angels & Men

1. The Girl in the Woods

Floating.

Weightless.

Drifting.

Falling.

Serafina came to consciousness slowly, aware only that this was the first time she'd ever felt anchored to anything. She was not free as she had been before, and was almost overwhelmed by the many sensations fighting for her attention. There was a faint swirling motion happening inside of her - dizziness she thought it was called - that was quite uncomfortable, and another feeling she did not know how to describe that made her tremble. She was distracted from the all over trembling by something lower down than where the dizziness was taking place. It was more uncomfortable. It... burned. No, it ached. That was it. Her chest was aching. There was a solution to this aching, she knew, but it was a moment before she figured out what that was.

A sudden rush replaced the ache in her chest as Serafina first drew breath. She didn't think she'd ever breathed before. It was a wholly new sensation and utterly beautiful. It brought to life so many more feelings and sensations like smell. The air was heavy and thick and warm and... damp. No, not damp, more than that. There was a soft pittering that filled her ears, and a constant tapping all over that had been there since she woke. It was - she was - wet. She thought maybe this wetness was why she was trembling so violently, but that didn't seem quite right.

Trembling.

Shivering.

Cold.

She was cold, and cold didn't feel good. Slowly, she opened her eyes, but shut them quickly when the falling wetness hit them. That didn't feel good either. Why was she here? Where was here? What was weighing her down, making her so heavy? Why had she been thrown into this place full of things that were not good?

"Oh my God!" It was a sound, but a sound that made sense, that conveyed something. A word. That was it. Something had used a word.

"What is it Vic- holy shit!" More words, but a different sound; a different voice. Something that was not the wetness touched her. It was the opposite of the wetness. Not cold, but warm, and good. But it was brief. "Thank God, she's alive! Vicky, call Old Man Ryan. His cabin is the closest shelter."

Serafina heard strange sounds that were not words, but her mind was swept away from them as The Warmth wrapped around her and she was floating again. Floating with The Warmth was good, it made her want to stay there forever. To illustrate this to The Warmth, she curled closer to it, touching as much of it as she could.

"It's going to be alright." These words were quiet, but she could feel them now, emanating from The Warmth, as well as hear them. "Can you hear me? Can you answer me?"

Answer? Serafina mulled over what the word might mean, what the voice of The Warmth was requesting of her. Answer.

"He didn't pick up. We're just going to have surprise him and hope for the best." Floating turned to drifting as the voice that belonged to Not-The-Warmth filled her ears. She could not feel it like she felt it when the warmth used words.

"Try again. Maybe he couldn't get to the phone to answer in time." There was that word again: answer. The Warmth seemed to think the word was good, why else would it use it repeatedly? Serafina decided she liked the word too, even if she didn't understand its meaning. It had a good sort of sound. "I'd rather not get shot."

The not-word sounds were made again, but they were still lost to Serafina as a bigger, all encompassing sound was made. She could feel it, like she had felt the words of The Warmth, but she didn't like it as much. It was too big; too much. She grasped for a word to describe it, and found it as the sound surrounded her again. It was loud. She pressed herself closer to The Warmth, taking comfort in the feeling of touch. "We're almost there."