Rose stood on the side of the highway with her hand held out and her thumb up. A car finally pulled over. The man inside rolled down the window as she walked towards the car. Rose gripped the stake in her pocket tightly just in case she needed it. She relaxed when she saw that it was an old couple in the car.

"Where you headed little darling?" the Old Man said with a southern accent.

"Missoula" replied Rose.

"We're headed that way too. Well, hop in. I'm George and this is my wife Martha."

"Hi, I'm Rose."

"Where ye' coming from Rose?" Martha asked.

"I'm just traveling"

Rose was worried that they would continually pester her with questions. Right now she just wanted to be left alone and the couple seemed to understand that.

As they drove Rose saw the little glances and smiles that passed between them. They seemed to understand each other without the need for words. Rose then realized that they were completely in love. She felt a pang as she wished for Dimitri. Tears started to roll down her cheek. She furiously wiped them away and tried to distract herself with other thoughts.

Rose decided to check on her best friend. She had been blocking Lissa out up until this point. When Rose opened up her mind a wave of emotions flooded her and she was pulled into Lissa's mind.

Lissa was in the library with Christian and Eddie. Lissa was crying and Eddie looked bewildered.

"What do you mean she dropped out?" Christian asked.

"She went to find Dimitri" Lissa choked out through sobs "She went to kill him."

"Why?" asked Eddie.

"He's strigoi."

"So! There are tons of other strigoi and guardians out there. Why does Rose have to kill him?" asked Christian.

"She loved him." Lissa whispered.

Both boys were clearly stunned. Eddie stumbled and half fell into a nearby chair.

"a-and she knew he wouldn't want to live like that." She continued.

Rose pulled herself away, feeling worse than ever. How could Lissa tell them? Rose had trusted her with that knowledge hoping Lissa would understand and never share it with anyone. Hurt and dismayed, Rose felt more alone than ever. She glanced outside and realized they were just entering Missoula. The elderly couple dropped her off at the bank and wished her good luck on the rest of her journey.

Rose pushed the bank door open and went inside. The building was well light even in with the sun setting. On wall was almost entirely glass and there was only one woman at the desk. Rose approached her and told the woman what she was there for.

"What's your name?" the woman asked.

"Rose Hathaway"

"Okay, here's your card, everything else is already taken care of."

Rose then asked the woman for directions to the Library. It was really close so Rose walked over. She walked in and went straight to one of the computers. She searched for a while and finally found it. The only place she could think of to look for Dimitri.

Rose then called for a cab to the airport and she got a flight to Mirniy, Russia.