Vasilisa –
For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
In that moment, with Rose's gun still pointed at Victor, and smoke pouring out of its barrel, I learn that Newton's Third Law of Motion also applies to firearms when the kickback from the gun causes me to stagger backward a few paces.
When I was nine, Victor made me memorize all of Newton's Laws. For months, the first question he would ask me when he came home from work was how Newton's Laws had applied to something I had done at school earlier that day. I would always make up long-winded tales about giant items falling out of the sky, or how Adrian had pushed me on the tire swing and I'd gone all the way to the moon. Victor had never chastised me for being silly though, he would smile, his green eyes twinkling and ask – "And then what happened?"
What happens next is a blur. Victor is still standing behind Rose with a look of betrayal and horror etched permanently onto his face. The knife that had been pressed against the hollow of Rose's throat only moments earlier now lies in the grass beside them. I stare back at Victor with a mixture of relief and confusion; I had pulled the trigger, the gun had gone off, but there is no blood – no one is hurt. Rose doesn't waste any time with being surprised by the turn of events though, and instead of looking dumbstruck like the rest of us, she whirls around with both shackled fists and rakes them across Victor's face.
He crumples to the ground without a sound and Rose collapses to her knees beside him. Victor doesn't move, but I watch as Rose wavers back and forth, unsteady even on her knees. Dimitri barely has enough time to rush forward to catch Rose as she collapses. He swings her up into his arms and cradles her protectively against his chest. I watch as he whispers something into her ear and then buries his face in the crook of her neck.
Victor is completely still, but before I can take a step toward him, a hand on my shoulder sends a wave of shock through my body, and I spin around with the gun still clutched between my trembling hands.
"Watch it!" cries Adrian, both arms held up as if he were surrendering to me. "You're going to put somebody's eye out with that thing!"
Still shaking, I lower the gun in front of me. My chest is rising and falling rapidly and I can feel my eyes darting around, waiting for something else to go wrong.
Adrian, sensing my unease, places both hands on my shoulders and fixes me with a steady gaze. "It's over," he says calmly. "We did it."
"We're not out of the woods yet," I say, shrugging away from him. I turn my head to glance over my shoulder and see that Victor hasn't moved, but Rose and Dimitri are gone. "We need to get as far away from the compound as possible, as quickly as possible."
Adrian's eyes flick to Victor then back to me and he nods. Together we walk back to the other side of the jeep. The vehicle Rose and Victor had been traveling in has been reduced to a steaming pile of twisted metal. I don't know much about automobiles, but I know enough to be able to tell that it won't be running any time soon. The frame of the other jeep is bent and the windshield had shattered upon impact, but as I round the corner of the wreckage, I see that it is still running.
Dimitri is sitting in the backseat of the jeep and when I approach the window I see that Rose is stretched out across the bench, lying on her side with her head in Dimitri's lap. I tuck the gun back into my pocket and tap on the window to get Dimitri's attention. He rolls the window down slowly, careful not to disturb Rose.
"How is she?" I whisper.
He looks down at her and runs his hand through her hair, pushing a lock of it out of her face. "Alive," he says bleakly.
I lean in through the window to get a better look at her. The lids of her eyes are purple and sealed shut and her skin is ashen except for where it is covered with splotchy bruises. The gray tunic she had been wearing is torn in some places and is more red than gray. Dimitri pushes her tangled hair all the way to one side, revealing her injured shoulder and I feel the blood drain from my face. It's covered with bandages, but they're dirty and soaked through completely with blood. Whatever progress Rose had made has been set back exponentially.
"We need to get somewhere safe," I say quickly, pulling away from the jeep.
I turn on my heel and run immediately into Adrian, but don't bother apologizing. "Do you think you can drive?" I ask quickly.
Adrian blinks back his surprise and then stammers out a response. "Drive? Are you kidding? I don't know how to drive. Why can't Dimitri do it?" He cranes his neck over my shoulder to get a better look at Dimitri and Rose. "Oh, I see, he's busy playing nurse."
"Adrian," I snap. "Focus, we won't make it the Havens with only one driver, we're all going to need to learn at some point."
"Right," agrees Adrian, "But learning to drive in the middle of a daring getaway doesn't really seem like a very good idea to me. You're welcome to give it a try though."
I pinch the bridge of my nose in exasperation. "You're right," I admit, though it pains me to do so.
"Thank you. Also, I hate to be the bearer of bad news here, but do any of us, besides Rose of course, actually know how to get to Tallahassee?"
Adrian, Dimitri, and I all have some basic knowledge of how the former United States of America had been organized before the Pulse thanks to Victor, but our plan to get to the Havens mostly hinges on Rose's navigation skills, and what she had learned about geography at the Academy. I chew on my lip as I contemplate our options, but before I can tell Adrian that the only thing that matters right now is getting away from the compound, a voice calls out from somewhere behind me.
"I can get you there," it rasps.
Adrian and I whirl around, my hand hovering over the gun in my pocket. Mikhail, captain of the Provincial Guard, is getting slowly to his feet, dusting off his jumpsuit. Dimitri and Adrian had dispatched Mikhail and the other guards without too much difficulty, mostly because they were distracted by the fact that they had just been in a car accident. The other guards are still lying on the ground by Mikhail, and one of them stirs at the sound of his voice.
"You can do what?" asks Adrian in disbelief.
Mikhail takes a step toward us, and without hesitation, I pull out the gun and aim it at him.
He doesn't know what a bad shot I am, I think to myself.
Mikhail freezes. "Don't shoot. Just let me explain."
"You have ten seconds," I tell him icily.
"You said you were going to the Havens, right?" asks Mikhail. "I want to come with you. I know how to drive and I can get you to the Southeastern Province."
Adrian leans in close to me and whispers in my ear. "Bad idea. He'll take us straight to the Risk Prevention Department, and we won't even be able to tell until we get there."
"Why should we trust you?" I ask bitterly. "You took Rose."
"Vasilisa," says Mikhail. "I didn't understand what was going on. Victor came to me and told me that she was trying to kidnap you, that she was planning to take you out of the compound. The RPD has had a price on her head for a week now, and Victor told me that arresting her would be killing two birds with one stone – I would be saving you, and I would get in good with the RPD. He told me – "
"I don't care what he told you," I say, shaking my head. "Victor is a liar."
"I didn't know," he says pleadingly "You have to believe me."
"Even if I did believe you, that doesn't explain why all of the sudden you want to drive us across the country."
"Perhaps he feels bad?" offers Adrian, and I immediately shoot him a quelling look.
"If…when, the Risk Prevention Department learns that I let Rose and the rest of you escape, I'm as good as dead," Mikhail says in dismay. "Let me come with you to the Havens."
"We're not even sure the Havens actually exist," I remind him.
"I like my chances," says Mikhail quickly.
Realizing that we have already wasted too much time talking, I gesture toward the driver's seat of the jeep with the barrel of my gun. "Get in."
It takes Mikhail a moment to register what I've said, but he nods and then starts walking toward the jeep.
"Lissa," hisses Adrian. "Are you sure about this?"
I wait until Mikhail has shut the car door before holstering the gun. "No," I tell him, "But I don't really see another way."
Adrian glances at the other guards and then back at me. "What do you want to do about Victor?"
My chest constricts at the mention of Victor, and I hear the sound of a gunshot echoing through my mind. "Leave him, but check the other jeep for supplies."
Adrian studies me for a moment, but decides not to say anything. I turn and climb into the jeep through the passenger's side door and scoot all the way to the middle of the bench beside Mikhail who glances at me nervously.
Adrian climbs in next to me a few moments later. "Found a few spare gas cans," he says, pulling the door shut behind him. "Of course, they were all empty," he mutters to no one in particular.
"Lissa," says Dimitri, clearing his throat.
I turn around to face him, and I see that his eyes are narrowed at Mikhail. "Do you have a better idea?" I ask, already knowing what he had been about to say.
"I guess not," he admits.
From the front seat, I can see Rose's injuries more clearly and I feel bile beginning to rise in the back of my throat. I turn back around, swallowing hard. "Drive fast."
…
"Do you even know where you're going?" Adrian asks Mikhail a few hours later.
Mikhail frowns but doesn't take his eyes off of the road. "There's an abandoned compound a few hundred miles from ours. We should be safe there for the night."
"Abandoned compound?" asks Adrian incredulously. "Is that the code name for your meeting place with the Risk Prevention Department?"
"Adrian," I groan.
"What?" he asks defensively. "Have you ever heard of an abandoned compound? Seems awfully convenient to me."
Adrian is right for the second time today. "Executor Ozera doesn't seem like the type of ruler to let an entire compound go to waste," I say to Mikhail. "Why was it abandoned?"
Mikhail hesitates before answering. "I guess abandoned isn't the most accurate way to describe what happened.
"How would you describe it then?" I ask my heart beginning to race.
"The teachers there strayed from the NAAMA approved curriculum," says Mikhail, grimacing. "The students were learning about electrical currents when they were reported to the RPD by a Provincial Guard. The Investigator assigned to the case made a call…in the report he stated that most of the civilians in the compound knew too much…"
"And we all know what happens to people who know too much," says Adrian bitterly.
"What did happen?" I whisper.
Mikhail shifts uneasily in his seat. "They were killed, all of them."
…
The sun is sinking low in the horizon when the jeep rolls up to the crumbling stone walls of the compound Mikhail had told us about. It looks similar to the one we had just fled, but as the jeep passes beneath what was once the gate, the compound begins to feel less like a small town, and more like a graveyard.
"How long has it been since anyone lived here?" asks Dimitri, speaking for the first time since we had started our journey.
"Nine, maybe ten years," says Mikhail, parking the jeep in front of a dilapidated looking concrete building. "This used to the Embassy building."
"How do you know so much?" asks Adrian.
There is a faraway look on Mikhail's face as he answers. "Some of the other guards took me here when I joined the Provincial Guard; they wanted me to see what would happen if we didn't keep the civilians in line."
"That's quite the bonding experience," says Adrian when no one else knows how to respond.
"We don't have time for stories," interjects Dimitri. "We need to get Rose inside."
"Right," I say, twisting around in my seat to look at him. "Adrian and I will grab the supplies and start setting up a room in the Embassy."
"What should I do?" asks Mikhail.
"Help me get her out of the car," says Dimitri, nodding toward Rose.
Adrian and I scramble out of the jeep and begin grabbing the knapsacks from the trunk while Mikhail and Dimitri try to maneuver Rose out of the backseat without hurting her. Adrian and I carry what we can toward the Embassy. The wooden doors creak open to reveal a dark lobby area. The windows are boarded up, but little shafts of light pass through the cracks, illuminating the dusty concrete floor. Using the lantern to guide us, Adrian and I make our way down the first corridor we come across. Most of the rooms are completely empty, but on our fourth try, we find one with a bed pushed up against the far wall and a small table. I set the lantern down on the table and drag it over to the bed.
Adrian drops his bags on the floor. "I'll go tell the others."
I wave him away and begin pulling out the supplies I'll need to take care of Rose. A feeling of déjà vu washes over me as I pour a saline solution into a metal bowl, and alcohol into another. Something tells me that this will not be the last time I need to stitch up one of my friends.
A very angry looking Rose stumbles into the room a few minutes later, with Dimitri, Mikhail, and Adrian following close behind her.
"Rose!" I cry out, rushing forward to take her arm. "What are you doing?"
"Turns out," says Adrian, craning his neck to try and see past the 6'4" Russian in front of him. "That she doesn't really like being carried."
"I'm fine," she mutters to me even as she sags against me.
"No, you're not," says Dimitri, moving forward to take her other arm, "But you are very stubborn."
Her head rolls around and she lifts her eyes toward Dimitri, smiling sheepishly. "Thank you for noticing."
The corners of Dimitri's mouth twitch upward for a moment. "You're welcome."
I clear my throat and then together, Dimitri and I lead Rose to the bed. We ease her down onto it so that she is lying on her stomach. Dimitri leans against the wall and then sinks onto the floor beside her so that they are eyelevel with each other. He mutters something to her in Russian and she giggles. It's clear that the blood loss is beginning to affect her, because I hadn't known that Rose Hathaway could giggle until now.
"Do you need anything else?" asks Mikhail.
"Maybe try and round up a few more beds?" I suggest.
"What about me?" asks Adrian.
"You can be my assistant."
"What exactly does that entail?" he asks, raising one eyebrow.
"Start by removing those," I say, pointing to the soiled bandages wrapped around Rose's shoulder.
Adrian's face lights up, but his excitement dissipates when he gets closer and notices all the blood and grime. I pour a bottle of water over a rag and then move toward Rose and begin cleaning the skin as Adrian peels the layers of bandages away. Rose begins to squirm the closer I get to her freshly opened wound. Her flesh is mangled and torn, and it looks larger than it had the first time I had dressed it. Adrian and I exchange concerned looks, and I hand him the now bloodied rag.
I fill the turkey baster with the saline solution. "Rose, this is probably going to hurt."
"Whatever," she mutters. "I've had worse."
Looking down at the array of angry white scars that cover her back, I realize that she is probably telling the truth. I begin irritating the wound and Rose cries out almost immediately.
"Motherfu –" instead of finishing her sentence, she clamps her mouth shut and buries her face in the mattress.
"Sorry, sorry, sorry, I'm almost done," I tell her, refilling the baster and repeating the process. "Someone tell her a story," I say, my eyes darting between Dimitri and Adrian. "Distract her!"
"I was the only boy in my family," starts Dimitri, "In a house full of girls. When I was very young I would always try to play with my sister and her friends."
I fill the baster with the alcohol and flush it out again. Rose tenses, and Dimitri grabs her hand and squeezes it between his.
"They would try and send me away, they didn't want me around, but I begged them to let me play with them."
I move on to the more arduous task of stitching the skin together, but Rose seems to be concentrating on Dimitri for the moment.
"Finally, Karolina agreed to let me play with them, but under one condition."
"This should be good," Rose says under her breath.
"I had to agree to be married off to their dolls. They dressed me up over and over again for different weddings. I must have been married at least ten different times."
Rose lets out a breathy laugh and listens as Dimitri continues to tell her story after story about his childhood in Russia, allowing me to sew her up without too much interference. When I finish, I wrap her shoulder up with fresh bandages and tell her to get some rest. Dimitri remains by her side, ever-vigilante, and Adrian and I decide to let them be alone.
I close the door softly behind me. "You should probably get some rest too," I tell Adrian.
He leans against the wall of the corridor with his arms folded in front of him. "That was weird," he says, ignoring my suggestion.
I can barely make out his features in the dim light of the Embassy. "What was weird?"
"That," he says, nodding toward the door we had just come out of. "Dimitri and Rose."
I had noticed something different about the way Rose and Dimitri interacted with each other from the moment they had returned from the holding facility, but had decided not to ask questions. At first, Dimitri hadn't trusted Rose, and she had kept her distance. Now they regard each other with a fierce protectiveness, they take care of each other, and during hard times – times like right now, that is a rare thing to come by.
"They've been through a lot," I tell Adrian in a small voice.
"So have you," Adrian says, sounding genuinely concerned.
"Get some rest," I tell him again. "I have a feeling we're going to need it."
Ahh! So I was worried that my last A/N came across as ungrateful, I LOVE that you guys are invested to the point where you ask for updates, it's seriously one of the coolest and most humbling things ever. I just wanted to explain why sometimes I update daily and other times weekly. Also, there are two chapters left after this one, but it's just part one of a trilogy, the next story will be called Haven.