New Training

I pulled my hood up over my hair and half of my face, hoping that my baggy sweatshirt would be enough to disguise myself. People had been following me around from the second I stepped out of my room, asking questions. And I was sick of it.

"Please," I whispered to myself. "Please don't let anyone recognize me until I'm safely in class."

I had taken the long way to school, bypassing the extensive underground hallways for fresh air and trees. The sun was beginning to set at six, and I was on my way to my first training session with Zachariah.

The brisk, autumn air whipped around my face as I settled into a steady pace. There was no one out on the streets. It was almost as if I had the world to myself. No guys. No partners. No vampires.

I sighed and filled my lungs with air. As I continued to walk, I let my mind slip into blankness as I maintained my ritual scanning defense. My hood made it hard to see behind me, so after a few minutes, and no sign of familiar faces, I let it fall backwards.

The lowering sun sent promising rays of red and orange shooting high into the sky above me. When my eyes were not scouting the surrounding trees or streets, they were most certainly fixated on the beauty taking place above my head.

We were never forbidden to leave our safe houses. It just wasn't normally done because it wasn't, well, safe. Our complex world of underground tunnels was our safety net to not encounter any vampires when members of our coven were alone. I was taking a risk in taking this route, but in truth, I would rather face a vampire than the onslaught of classmates asking for the latest news on my partnership.

As I saw the tree marking our school's entrance in front of me, I felt the lingering of regret that my walk was over so soon. There truly was nothing better than a lonely walk to clear your mind.

I reached the tree and let my hand rest on the knot designated for those who wished to pass into our school. All of our doors operated in the same way. You simply had to be human to gain access. I was never sure how the knot, or the technology underneath it, determined that we were human. It was just the way things were, and I chose not to question it.

When the door did not open for me immediately as it usually did, I began to worry. I quickly scanned the woods around me, hoping that no one would see me standing there and think anything of my strange behavior. Finally, after a slight whirring sound, the door glided open and I slipped inside. Even with the approaching darkness outside, it had been much brighter out there than it was in here. I paused for a minute to let my eyes adjust.

Once I could make out the walls of the hallway, I began my trek into the dark abyss, anticipating the wall that I had walked into a couple times before. I had developed a method to avoid further pain and embarrassment. It was simple. I would count the seconds it took to walk from the door in the tree to my disastrous wall. If I walked at the same pace every time, the wall was roughly twenty-two seconds from the door.

I was on second fifteen. At eighteen, I stretched my hand out in front of me. At twenty, it made contact with solid concrete. I guess I was traveling a little fast today.

The wall was created in order to discourage any stray humans that wandered into our halls. Even if they accidently placed their hand on the knot, and stumbled inside, they would not find a way through our wall.

I cleared my throat and spoke.

"Ally Fronter," I said, enunciating clearly. "Reporting for training."

I waited silently for ten seconds, and then a familiar voice came over the intercom.

"Hey Ally," Daniel said. "I have wall duty today."

"I can hear that," I said, internally groaning. "Are you going to let me in?"

There was a hesitation.

"Only if you promise to have dinner with me tonight," He said finally. I immediately felt the urge to kick the wall.

"You know I can't turn around and go to the other entrance Daniel," I said grudgingly. "I'm already late as it is."

I could hear the smile in his tone as he replied.

"Well then I guess you'll just have to say yes."

I rolled my eyes. I couldn't wait until I got wall duty, and he was forced to wait outside the school as I determined his future.

"Ok, fine," I said. "But it's all on your tab."

Daniel laughed.

"Fine," He said. "See you at 1 o'clock. I'll pick you up."

I rubbed my forehead as the bricks in front of me slid backwards and to the side. Soon enough, there was sufficient space to walk through. The sight on the other side of the wall greatly contrasted the hall I was about to leave.

There was plenty of light, and the walls filled with pictures of historic vampire slayers. The ground was decorated with tiles and there were green, blooming plants in ever y corner of the room. Couches and arm chairs were situated in a homey fashion and at the head of this little, comfy foyer, there was an elevator to take slayers down to the school. I was greatly tempted to sit down and grab a magazine or Danish from the goody-laden coffee table amid the couches. But I already knew that Zachariah would probably be angry with my being late.

I quickly checked my watch. 6:44. Shoot, my training session was supposed to start at 6:35. I immediately pushed the down arrow on the panel besides the elevator and tapped my foot nervously as the elevator made its slow ascension to my floor.

I looked at my watch again. 6:46. I felt my pores begin to wetten with sweat. This was not going to give Zachariah a good impression of my work habits. When the elevator doors popped open, I immediately jumped inside and frantically pressed the close button, trying to hasten the elevator that seemed to get more sluggish by the second. I closed my eyes and waited for the ride to be over, grateful that the training gym was immediately to the right of the elevators.

When the doors opened again, I ran out, ignoring the displeased cries as I shoved my way toward the gym. I slid to a stop in front of the door and took a minute to compose myself, wiping away any sweat from my face and tucking loose strands of hair back into my ponytail. Then I pushed open the door.

He wasn't even there.

I looked for him for about, fifteen minutes, and then sat down on a workbench, paralyzed by anxiety. I hung my head between my knees and took deep, calming breaths. I knew I had to gain control of myself before anyone started milling over and noticing me.

Just as people began exchanging curious looks in my direction, I got up and walked to the gym office, where at least one or more council members always were. I paused before the thick wood door and knocked.

"Come in," A voice called out.

I opened the door and my eyes widened. I stood still, surprised to find Zachariah in the council member's office.

"Ah, Ally. You showed up," the council member said. His gaze was not unkind, but it was not kind either.

I immediately closed my mouth and cleared my throat.

"I'm really sorry," I said, ripping my eyes away from the irate Zachariah, perched on the counter to my left. "I underestimated the amount of time it took to walk from home to the gym."

The council member nodded curtly, and then gestured towards Zachariah.

"You partner has been waiting quite a while," the council member said. "Why don't you two go on and begin training?"

I nodded and then turned to Zachariah, who slid silently off the counter and brushed past me. I gave the council member a little wave and then turned to follow Zachariah out. He remained completely silent as he moved quickly to a corner of the gym. I felt the flutters of apprehension gathering in my stomach again. Was he just going to give me the silent treatment all day?

"Zachariah?" I said as we neared the door to the rooms for private training.

He was quiet until he reached the door and opened it.

"It's Zach," He said. His voice betrayed no emotion. It was almost mechanic.

He held the door and waited for me to go inside. I walked in front of him and stopped so that he would look straight at me.

"Look, I'm sorry Zach," I said. "I really didn't mean to be late. It won't ever happen again."

His deep blue eyes bored into mine. We both remained silent. He nodded.

"We have a lot of training to do, so I would appreciate it if you would be on time from this day on," He said, now sounding more like a human.

I nodded back, "I will, I promise."

He tilted his head towards the room.

"Shall we?"

I let a small smile form on my lips and then walked inside the room. I heard the door shut behind me as I scanned the room. One wall was lined with dummies, another with weapons, and the last with diagrams. I heard the clinking of metal behind me so I turned around and found Zach pushing aside knives in a large box. He withdrew two staffs and threw me one. I caught it.

"What's this for?" I asked, examining it. It appeared to just be a solid wood staff. I didn't know why he was showing it to me.

"Fighting," Zach said. When I looked up, he was holding the staff with two hands and posed to begin an attack. I gave him an incredulous look.

"You're teaching me how to fight with a wooden staff?" I asked. "Shouldn't we be working with silver knives, or stakes maybe?"

Then he finally smiled.

"The staff will help tone your fighting skills and minimize injuries," Zach said. "Besides, you won't be able to use a stake on me."

Then my eyebrows went up.

"Minimize injuries?" I said. "I didn't realize I would be getting injured in training."

He smiled again. I was on a roll.

"If you don't get used to being injured now, how will you deal with it in the real world?" Zach said, taking up his fighting stance again.

I blinked a few times, and then imitated his pose.

"I've never fought with a staff before," I said.

"I know," Zach said, "You aren't holding it right."

I quickly looked at his hands and then adjusted my own to match his.

"How's that?" I asked.

"Fine," Zach said, and then started forward. "Let's begin."

He stabbed his staff forward and I darted backwards, startled by his speed. He drew up straight.

"How are you going to fight a vampire?" He asked. "By running away?"

"No," I said. "I'm just not used to fighting with a staff."

His eyebrows rose.

"Vampires are not always predictable," He said. "Many have developed completely different fighting styles. As a slayer, you must learn to adapt quickly to another's fighting style, or you'll be killed."

It was pretty apparent to me now. Training was not going to be as easy as it had been in years past.

I resumed the fighting position and had barely a second before Zach was coming at me again. This time I stood my ground and whipped up the staff to parry his blow. I successfully blocked his first strike but then he whipped the other side of the staff around and hit my hip. I stumbled sideways but Zach kept going. I kept trying to block him, quickly feeling the sweat begin to gather on my face. As he bore down on me, Zach wore an intense expression of concentration.

He was completely on the offense. I had no time to retaliate as he twirled his staff, looking for openings in my defense. I felt his staff hit my body many times, at times hard and at times not. Finally, I let my guard down too much, and his staff swung to a stop an inch from my face. The room was filled with the sound of my labored breaths as Zach and I stared at each other. I could just imagine what I looked like right now. Sweat pouring down my face, hair all tangled and messed up; it was not a pretty picture.

I let my head drop.

"You win," I said.

Zach pulled out of his stance and propped the staff up against the wall.

"It's to be expected," He said quietly, not winded at all. "I have many more years of experience than you."

Had I not been breathing so hard, I would have laughed.

"You only have two or three years on me," I said. "That's not that much."

"You can kill a lot of vampires in two or three years," Zach said. "I was a fully-trained slayer when I turned seventeen. The past four years have given me more experience than I could ask for."

I quickly filed this piece of information away. So he was twenty-one.

"Well, I'm turning eighteen in December, as you know," I said. "I know I won't be a fully-trained vampire by then but one can always hope."

"Forget hope," Zach said bluntly.

"What?" I asked dumbly. How could someone say something so negative?

He met my curious gaze, "You must not rely on hope. If you want something to happen, make it happen. Don't wait and hope for it to go through. If you want to be a fully-trained slayer, you must work hard for it. Do not hope for what you can do."

I have to admit, my mouth dropped a little. Who would have thought that mysterious Zachariah would be so…I don't know, philosophical?

"It's time to go running," Zach said. He opened another side door that led to a tunnel.

I grimaced, "We have to run underground?"

Zach nodded, "There are vamps out now. We can't risk being caught when your training is incomplete."

I took a deep breath and stepped out into the dark hallway. Zach followed me and then began jogging. I quickly matched his pace and then concentrated on my breathing. I listened for Zach's breathing so that I could know what I should keep my pace at, but I did not hear anything. Of course. A good vampire slayer is silent and undetectable. I might as well have been running alone for all the noise Zach was making. I let my thoughts turn inwards as I settled into my own breathing pattern.