7. BLOOD
Sasha told the girls that she needed to be on her own for a little while. They wanted to know more but she just asked them to trust her, and they did. She knew she needed to get back to Vasilii but she was not unaware of Felix's suspicion. Instead of heading straight east, she tried to confuse the trail she left behind by going north. When she made it to the Arctic Ocean, she dived into the frigid waters. She moved far away from the shore and went deep down under the surface. Holding her breath for so long felt unnatural but it was bearable.
She had heard rumors of Demetri's tracking abilities but surely with no scent to follow and no other traces left behind she would be safe. She swam east until she reached the Bering Sea. She came back onto the shore and began her search for Vasilii. He was not on the beach where she had left him and he was not by the boulder where they had spent time together before. She picked up his scent and followed his trail back to Provideniya.
When she reached the edge of the town, something was not right. It was too quiet. And the smell, the air was much too sweet. Sasha's mouth watered as the aroma of fresh human blood filled her nostrils. Fear settled into Sasha's heart. She knew why it was too quiet. Everyone was dead.
Bodies littered the ground inside and outside of the homes and small businesses. Demetri and Felix must have doubled back and killed everyone. But why? Wouldn't this be considered breaking the one rule? And what about Vasilii? Had they killed him too?
"Vasilii!" Sasha screamed. "Vasilii, come to mommy." Sasha's body shook in sobs as she searched for her son. "Vasilii? Baby, where are you?" Then she thought she heard a child's laugh. She ran towards the sound and a flood of relief washed over her. There was Vasilii, playing with a dog on a leash. But the dog was dead too.
"Vasilii, what are you doing?" Sasha asked him, puzzled by the scene in front of her.
"Mommy!" Vasilii dropped the rope and ran to his mother. He wrapped his arms around her legs and she picked him up in her arms. She studied him closely and ran her fingers through his hair, looking for any injuries.
"Vasilii, are you okay?"
"Of course I'm okay, Momma." He giggled at her. "Are you okay?"
Sasha smiled but still didn't understand what was going on. "Vasilii, tell me what happened. Why is everyone dead? Did those men come here?"
Vasilii giggled then scolded her "Momma you were gone for a very long time. I got so hungry. I tried to wait on the beach, I promise I did, but I was too hungry."
Horror streaked across Sasha's face. "Vasilii, what have you done?" She whispered. Had the innocent little boy she loved so much really caused this much destruction? Was he really like the rest of the immortal children that the Volturi had come to warn them about? Not all of the bodies were drained of blood, some he had just killed for no reason at all. The gruesome scene made Sasha cringe.
Vasilii saw the expression on his mothers face and it hurt his feelings. "Are you mad at me mommy?" He looked at her with big, bright crimson eyes.
She pressed his head to her chest and embraced him tightly. "No baby, I'm not mad." She rocked him in her arms and kissed the top of his head as she tried to figure out what to do. The smell of blood in the air was still so powerful and distracting so she took him to the only place where fresh blood wasn't around, the cemetery.
Vasilii was bored while Sasha still tried to make a decision on what to do. She knew that she couldn't get the girls involved; otherwise they might be held responsible for Vasilii's existence and be punished by the Volturi. She did not dare to travel west in fear of drawing closer to the Volturi. She could go south into Asia but with their pale skin they would be even more conspicuous.
There had been rumors of another land but nothing was confirmed. The Vikings had sailed on their ships and claimed to come across a new shore with brown indigenous savages. Funny that the Vikings should call someone else savage. Perhaps Sasha could find this new land. Perhaps her and Vasilii could escape the Volturi's grasp and find refuge there. The only problem was that this land was believed to be west of Europe. That would mean that Sasha would have to pass right through Volturi territory. Sasha looked out towards the ocean to the east of her. If only there was something out that way.
Maybe there is, Sasha thought to herself. Perhaps there was more undiscovered land if she crossed the ocean. At the time, most believed that if you kept sailing into the sea, you would end up falling right off the earth. What choice did she have? It seemed like there were no other alternatives.
"Vasilii, would you like to go for a swim?" she asked her son.
His attention perked and with enthusiasm he said "Oh yes mommy! Let's go swimming!"
Sasha knew she needed to find a way to cover up what Vasilii had done but there was not much time. So instead of burning all the bodies, she made a sign and posted it at the entrance of the town. The sign explained that a deathly plague had come through and killed almost everyone. It warned people not to enter because the infection could still spread from the corpses. This would clear them of suspicion and keep anyone from investigating further until the corpses were too decomposed to recognize. It was enough to fool humans, but not vampires.
Sasha packed a sack with a few items she thought they might need. Flint and steel would be able to survive the wet swim and serve as a means of fire. They didn't need the fire for warmth but it would be necessary if they ran into any vampires they would have to kill since the only way to destroy one is to tear them into pieces and burn them up.
Sasha also brought along a closed container of ink. She wanted to bring paper as well but didn't think it would survive the swim. When she was ready she and Vasilii headed straight for the ocean. It had gotten colder and snow was falling. The fat flakes melted as soon as they touched the water.
The two of them gracefully stroked through the sea. Vasilii was enchanted by a walrus that he saw but when he went to inspect it more closely, it swam away from him. Vasilii was thrilled by the idea of a chase and was about to take off after it when Sasha stopped him.
"I'm sorry, Vasilii, we don't have time to play today. I don't know how long we will be swimming for but we must find land soon so that we may find humans to feed ourselves."
The thought of feeding made Vasilii hungry so he swam harder in the direction that Sasha was aiming for. Sasha had expected to be swimming for at least several days so when she saw the horizon in front of her after only swimming about 50 miles, she was astonished. She wondered if she had gotten turned around but knew that wasn't possible because the sun was setting in the west which was behind her. Could it really be this easy?
When they made it to the shore of this foreign land their excellent vision picked up specks of gold that mixed in with the beach's sand. How peculiar that no man had come to harvest it yet. It was a flat land with a few small mountains further in. One of the mountains had an anvil shaped rock crowning its summit.
"Can we eat now mommy?" Vasilii asked.
Sasha sniffed the air, searching for the scent she knew all too well, but there was nothing. No traces of any human. "I'm sorry baby but not right now. We need to keep moving." They walked inland and kept their senses on alert, searching for their prey.
