I'm sorry I left you on a bit of a cliffhanger but see, I wasn't gone too long!
Thank you for all your comments on the last chapter. I truly do appreciate them so much!
DPOV
I paced back and forth in the small space in the back of the van. I barely made it two steps before I had to turn around again. Like some kind of caged tiger, I skulked back and forth, desperate to be anywhere but here.
"Hathaway's on the move," Hans' voice came crackling through the radio. "Drivers you know the procedure. Keep your distance."
An excited murmur broke through the van as I battled a wave of nausea.
I increased my pace until I was reaching the end of the van and turning around again basically every other second.
"Belikov, you're making me dizzy," Lehner joked. I ignored him, continuing my pacing as I tried desperately to think of anything other than the fact that Roza would be in the hands of Strigoi any time now.
"Sit down, man," he said, his tone turning more serious. "We've still got another twenty minutes or so."
I nodded, sinking to the floor of the van where the other Moroi and guardians were crouched, lining the walls.
"Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3," Roza's voice came through the earpiece and I let out a sigh of relief. For the moment, she was okay.
I listened intently as she took a deep breath, driving in silence for a few minutes. Suddenly there was the sound of the radio being turned up and I smiled to myself when that god-awful Nicki Firaj who Roza loved so much came blasting through the earpiece.
"Hope you're enjoying this, comrade," I heard her say and I smiled, closing my eyes as the sound of her laughter filled the earpiece. Just as quickly, her laughter died out. There was a long moment of silence before she began whispering to herself.
"You're okay," she muttered. "You're okay, you're okay." My stomach clenched at her tone. She sounded so anxious, but she had to stay focused, just like I taught her. Once the panic set in it was an incredibly hard thing to shake. I listened intently as she took a shaking breath.
"Stop freaking out," she demanded and my heartbeat quickened. I ripped out my earpiece and grabbed my phone.
"What are you doing?" Lehner hissed, staring at me incredulously. I ignored him as I quickly dialled Rose.
"Dimitri?" she answered quickly, her voice shaky.
"Are you okay?" I demanded.
"Um..." she paused in uncertainty. I felt someone grabbing my arm and looked to the side in annoyance. Lehner was giving me a warning look, waving the radio around. I covered the mouthpiece, shooting Lehner a warning glare as Hans' voice boomed through.
"Belikov!"
I ignored them as Roza added a tentative, "Yes?"
"Nothing's the matter?" I demanded, returning my focus back to Roza. "You need to have a clear head." I closed my eyes, ignoring the furious stares I was on the receiving end of. "I need you to be focused."
"I don't know," she whispered, and my heart ached for her. "I've never felt this... this powerless before."
Stevens tried to grab at the phone in my hand and I shook him off in irritation. When he tried again I ignored him, getting up to move across the back of the van and into the front section, closing the door behind me.
"It's okay," I reassured her. "That's completely natural. Everything's going to be fine, Roza. I'm so close by," I closed my eyes tightly, making this promise to myself as much as I was to my Roza. "I won't let anything happen."
What I wouldn't give to be in that car with her, to hold her hand and make sure she was safe.
"I know," she said eventually. There was a long moment of silence, where I listened only to the deep sound of her breathing. "I'm scared, Dimitri," she finally admitted, her voice cracking.
"I know," I replied, closing my eyes and imagining I was there with her. "Perhaps some soothing country music would make you feel better?" I said after another long pause, trying to take her mind off of what was to come. "Rather than that terrible Nicki Firaj."
She burst out into laughter and I joined her, relishing in the sound.
I was interrupted by the sound of gentle knocking at the door.
"Dimitri," Lehner called softly. "Man, you've gotta get off the phone."
I sighed. "I've got to go," I said reluctantly. "I shouldn't even be talking to you. Hans will have my neck."
"Okay," she replied, sounding stronger than she had a minute ago. That alone was worth any punishment Hans could give out. "Thank you, Dimitri."
"I love you," I replied, hanging up the phone and holding it tightly in my hand.
I emerged from the front and returned to my spot on the floor, ignoring the stares of my fellow guardians, which ranged from annoyed, to incredulous, to full of pity. I put my earpiece back in, resting my head against the wall of the van as I closed my eyes and listened intently for what was next to come.
My eyes flew open at the sound of screeching breaks. There was a large bang followed by a heart-wrenching scream from Roza and another deafening crash.
"What the hell was that?" I shouted, looking around me in panic. The guardians had all sat to attention, listening intently for what would follow.
My heart stopped as the sound of grinding metal broke through the deafening silence. Someone was there.
"Can you get her out?" someone called and my adrenaline kicked into overdrive, my limbs itching to move, to do something.
"Got her," a voice called, much closer to the microphone this time. "Gabriel will be pleased," he called, panting heavily.
"Humans," Lehner mouthed, shaking his head in disgust.
I nodded, my teeth clenching. Their laboured breath and movement during the day were evidence enough. Like Galina, Gabriel had humans helping him.
"She's alive?" the other voice called.
"Yeah," the closer voice replied. "She's bleeding but alive. Let's get her to the van."
"If he doesn't awaken us for this..."
"He'll awaken us when he chooses to," the closer voice snapped. "Stop pushing him or you'll get us both killed."
There was the sound a lot of heavy breathing and shuffling before I heard a van door sliding open.
"Watch the light!" Another voice snarled, muttering under his breath, "Fucking idiots."
"Bleeding but alive," the first voice announced happily preceded by a loud thump.
"Good," the Strigoi snarled. "Now get rid of the car."
"Aren't we going to go back with you? To see Gabriel?"
The Strigoi growled. "Make me ask again and it'll be the last thing you do," he warned.
There was the sound of a door sliding open and shut before the tracker began to move on the tablet.
"They're on the move," Hans' voice announced through the radio. "All units standby. Don't get too close."
What followed was what felt like hours of fabric rustling and shuffling. No one spoke again, but the sound of Rose's steady breathing in and out soothed me.
She's alive. She's alive. She's alive.
There was a long stretch of silence before small sounds of movement again came rustling through the earpiece. Roza groaned and I stiffened, listening intently.
"Hello, Rose," a voice suddenly said. My heartbeat quickened, every muscle in my body was locked with tension. "I'm Gabriel."
Another shrill scream came through the earpiece and I ripped it out, squeezing my eyes shut tightly.
"Jesus fucking Christ," Lehner muttered, his head falling into his hands.
I slapped my hand against the wall of the van before sinking slowly to the floor. I didn't need the earpiece in to hear her screams running through my head. It was all I could fucking hear.
There was a scream so loud I could hear it through the earpiece in my hand and I flinched, fighting back the bile that rose to the back of my throat.
"Sick bastard," Stevens whispered, his head shaking in revulsion.
"What's happening?" I demanded. I couldn't stand to listen anymore, but at the same time, I was desperate for information.
I couldn't stand anything about this situation.
"He's um..." Stevens paused, recoiling as he listened to something through his earpiece. "Christ," he muttered, his eyes falling shut.
I couldn't take it anymore. I lifted the earpiece to my ear, desperate for information yet absolutely terrified of what I would hear.
"– pretty little neck. I'd love another taste," he whispered callously. I squeezed my hand shut so tightly I felt my fingernails break through the skin.
"Don't touch me!" Rose shrieked, her words were slightly slurred. She'd already passed out once, how much more could her body take?
I shook my head in frustration, ripping out my earpiece again and reaching for the radio. "We have to get her out," I demanded through the mouthpiece. "Now!"
Hans' voice came crackling through in reply almost immediately. "Stand down, Belikov. We don't even know if the army's there yet. And Hathaway hasn't used her safe word. She knows what to do if things take a turn for the worst."
"They have taken a turn for the worst," I spat, shaking my head in frustration. "She's already passed out. God knows what kind of injuries she's sustained – if she can even remember her safe word. We need to –"
"Belikov!" Lehner called, his face frozen in horror. Every guardian in the room had paled and I dropped the radio, moving the earpiece to my ear as the world slowed around me.
"– fucking wire?"
Rose's loud sobs ripped through the earpiece, piercing straight into my soul.
"Please," she begged. "It's not what you think. Please!" Another deafening scream filled my ears as my heart stopped dead in my chest.
"Oh Rose..." he said, his voice eerily calm as another one of her screams ripped through my body. "Now you've made me angry."
The connection cut off, the deafening static filling my ears as I stared around me in horror.
I knowww the cliff-hanger. Don't worry - I have written a fair bit of the next chapter already so that I wouldn't keep you waiting too long.
Don't forget to review :)
