EXISTENCE

CHAPTER 17: Training

Nadia followed closely behind Gabriel. She had no idea where he was taking her.

The two were walking silently through a path in the woods. As she followed him, she couldn't help but pay close attention to Gabriel's back. He was broad, and the boy carried himself with the confidence of a real leader. She'd never really noticed it before.

Wait, what am I doing?  She blushed furiously. I can't go thinking like that.

Gabriel turned his head back. "Something wrong, Nadia?"

She raised her hands and waved them dismissively. "No, no, nothing's wrong, everything's fine! I'm just excited to be learning from you is all." She looked around. "Where are you taking me, though? I've never been this way before." She went wide-eyed. "Y-you're not planning on doing anything...untoward, are you?"

Gabriel reached back and smacked her head. "Calm down, you idiot." He looked back ahead. "This is a special place we go to when we train. I thought I'd bring you here too." He smiled. "This place holds a lot of memories for us, let me tell you."

"Please don't start getting old on us now, grandpa," mocked Nadia. "I'm starting to see why your hair's so gray."

"It's silver, not gray, dumbass. There's a difference." He tugged at his bandanna. "I have to ask, though. Why didn't you tell us all those years ago when you got them?"

Nadia raised an eyebrow. "You mean Adam never told you what happened?"

Gabriel turned his head back. "Why would Adam have to tell me...?"

Sunlight started pouring out through the forest, cutting Gabriel off short. He turned back around.

"...Hold that thought. Looks like we're here."

Gabriel hung back as he let Nadia walk into the clearing. She was awestruck. 

"This...this is where the three of you have been coming to train?"

Gabriel smiled. "You can thank your uncle for this. We don't even use it just for training. If we ever need to clear our heads and just relax, we usually come out here."

"I see," Nadia smiled to herself. "You know, I wonder if he knew."

"That you had powers? I'd say he would have been the first to know." Gabriel tightened his bandanna. "Now enough talk. You said you wanted to train, right?" He generated his pistols. "Let's get started."

Nadia stepped back. "B-but I don't know how to make weapons like that!"

Gabriel let go of his guns, which immediately disintegrated into energy. "So you don't have a clue what you're doing, do you?"

"That's what I've been trying to tell you, idiot." She blushed. "So, um, how do I...go about that...with the thing..." she asked meekly.

Gabriel sighed. 

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Rym looked around the school hallways, struggling to find the room she was looking for.

In her hand was a paper, a flyer she had found earlier that day, asking for recruits to join the school's yearbook club.

If I join up, Rym thought, I might just be able to get closer to Adam!

The flyer read that the club would be meeting after school at Room 204.

The sophomore wing, huh? She thought about who must be in charge. More than likely they were upperclassmen.