Dimitri Belikov
I stood just outside the gym doors, my sister at my side, trying to process the carnage that lay at our feet. We weren't even supposed to be out here. Instead, we should have been locked away safely in the gym with the other novice and Moroi students. Ivan had wanted to skip our last class to slip away and go swimming in the pond just behind the Guardian Dormitory and being a sucker for my little sister's puppy eyes, I had let her tag along. I never imagined it would have turned into the fiasco it had.
We were splashing around, laughing at Ivan's crazy antics, when an alarm had sounded. We had Strigoi drills off and on, but this wasn't the usual alarm that was broadcasted. Dragging Vika and Ivan from the water, I gathered our clothes and began pushing them towards the gym.
"Something's wrong, this isn't the usual drill." I told them. Halfway to our destination, a Guardian yelled for us to get inside. There were Strigoi inside the wards. As we reached the doors, I turned and noticed that the Guardian had been running behind us, but had been stopped just a few feet behind us by four Strigoi. With a stake in each hand, he was giving the fight all he had, but it wasn't going to be enough. I saw him drive a stake into the smallest Strigoi and kick her back to free it from her chest. One down three to go.
"Get inside, novice!" He yelled out. His words woke me from my daze and realizing how stupid I had been I threw the door open and shoved Ivan and Vika inside. Just as I turned to enter behind them, the Guardian hit the wall beside me, and slumped to the ground. His breathing was labored and his face was surprisingly calm. "Take my stake boy; the other Guardians are too occupied with the others. Don't let them get through those doors. Don't let…" His words died as his head fell forward. I looked back to see the remaining three Strigoi sizing me up.
I ducked down, pulling the stake from under the dead Guardians hands and took a defensive stance in front of the doors. "They come first." I whispered the mantra to myself, letting it reverberate through my head. Taking my first real look at the Strigoi, I noticed that besides their chalky pale coloring and red ringed irises, they looked normal. "Don't hesitate. Don't lose sight of your surroundings." My mentor, Galena's, words ran through my mind.
With a grin, one of the Strigoi bolted towards me, reaching out to grab my neck. I quickly blocked his arm, knocking out towards his side. Quickly, swinging my hand upwards towards his chest for a kill shot, but the Strigoi was faster and with a punch to my face, caused me to stumble back against the door. I kicked out, using my foot to push him away from me and pounced forward. I blocked and attacked, waiting for an opening to stake him, for what felt like hours. Thankfully the other two Strigoi had stood back watching and smiling in amusement. They must not have seen me as too much of a threat. I was only a student after all. I saw a flash of dark hair and purple fabric fly by me as I blocked another punch. Whatever it was, it distracted the Strigoi long enough for me to drive the silver stake into his heart.
Kicking him away, I turned towards the last two Strigoi, seeing as my sister's slim frame slide across the ground. She came to a stand behind the Strigoi, the Guardian's second stake now in her hand. Of all the stupid, irresponsible stunts she had to pull. Seeing one of the Strigoi turn to her, I swiftly filed my anger, and rushed forward, kicking the Strigoi closest to her away, while scraping my stake across the arm of the second. The wounded Strigoi snarled and lunged at me. I began another deadly dance of blocks, kicks, and punches until I was able to back the Strigoi against the wall. Faking a left punch, I brought the stake forward and made my second kill.
Rounding back towards Vika, I saw that she was locked in battle with the third Strigoi. I ran forward and grabbing his arm, threw him away. Vika gave me a pissed look and with a roar jumped onto the back of the Strigoi and wrapping her legs around its waist, threw her weight back, causing him to flail and begin to stumble. I quickly staked him and grabbing Vika's arm hauled her towards the gym door.
Looking around before I pulled the door open to shove her back inside, I was frozen as I saw the amount of bodies that littered the lawn of the school. We both stood unmoving, our backs to the gym doors. Our eyes traveling from the Strigoi at our feet, to the mass of dead Strigoi and Guardians that dotted the grass and sidewalks further out.
There were a few skirmishes still going, as Guardians rushed about picking off the last few remaining Strigoi, but for the most part, the fight was over.
"I don't know what you were thinking, Vika!" I gritted through my teeth. "Why would you leave the safety of the gym? You could have gotten us both killed."
"And just what were you doing Dimka? Looked to me like you were on your own suicide mission, if it wasn't for me, you would have succeeded." She yelled back as she poked me in the chest, trying to drive her words home. Before I could reply, a Guardian appeared beside us.
"You did good, novices, but please get into the gym now. We will finish up out here and join everyone soon."
"Yes, sir," I nodded and grabbing Vika's arm, hauled her inside the gym with me. Dragging her into a corner, I bent over until I was face level with her. "That was reckless, Vika. I didn't stay out there because I wanted to. I was out there because I was the last thing standing between those Strigoi and this gym. That Guardian's dying words were to beg me to stop them."
"If you were the only thing between them and in here, then be thankful I did what I did. We are both alive so you should be thankful Dimitri. Don't scold me; you know in your heart I am right." Her voice lowered and tears threatened her eyes. My resolve broke and I pulled her into a hug telling her that we were okay and I wasn't really all that angry while swearing in my head about the women in my family.
We found Ivan and taking a seat next to him on the gym floor waited for the Guardians to finish outside and join us, letting us know it was safe once again. We didn't wait long. The Guardians entered one by one and gathered, talking in hushed tones in one corner of the gym. An older male Guardian entered and as he joined the others, they all turned their attention to him. He shook his head, glanced back at all of the students gathered, then exchanged a few more words with the Guardians.
With nothing else to do, I began counting their numbers. I ticked of the number 63 when I reached the last one. It was still a high number, but a school our size usually had a hundred or more. I hoped that most of the missing Guardians were still outside keeping watch. The whole gym had grown silent as students and teachers waited for one of the Guardians to speak. They had begun glancing towards us more often.
Finally one stepped away from the group, everyone's gaze had fell to him. His eyes traveled over the gym and his Guardian mask broke into a somber expression. Whatever it was wasn't going to be good. Guardians rarely showed emotion on their faces. I felt my body stiffen of its own accord.
"Thank you everyone for assembling here so quickly. As you have probably figured out by now, this was not a drill. Our wards were broken and a large group of Strigoi was able to breech the safety they would normally give us. We have dealt with them, and we can assure you that you remain safe. No one will be allowed to leave the gym today though, just for additional safety measures while we complete an investigation on the matter. We have dealt with the Strigoi and several Guardians will remain on watch for the rest of the day. When the sun rises, we will escort you in small groups to your rooms. You will be able to gather a few items of comfort and then will be promptly returned to the gym. I know that this has caused many of you to miss meal time. The kitchen is preparing simple sandwiches along with bottled water and they will be brought in. I know it is not much, but it is the best we can provide at this time. We also have people working on contacting your families. They are being asked to come here to St Basil's. You should start to see them arriving by this evening. If anyone is in need of medicine or has an underlying medical condition that would require special needs, please see Guardian Munoz. She will be stationed at the table on the North side of the gym. Again, I promise that the threat has been dealt with and you are safe. We are only placing you under lockdown to maintain that safety while we do further investigating." The Guardian's shoulders shook as he released a breath. A second Guardian jogged over and whispered in his ear. "Oh, one last thing, could Novices Belikov and Belikova please join Guardian Inez when he returns. That will be all for now." He quickly turned and along with several other Guardians marched out of the gym.
After he left, several teachers made their way over to the remaining Guardians while all of us students began talking amongst ourselves. "Dimka, where did the two of you go?" Ivan asked. I glanced towards the gym door as images of the Strigoi I had killed flickered through my mind. I shrugged my shoulders and falling backwards onto my elbows. Vika pushed against my thigh with her foot, giving me a small, sad smile.
"I thought I saw a freshman novice in the bushes and Dimka was watching my back while I looked." She told him. "I hope they get here with lunch soon. I'm tired, but I want to eat something first." I kind of had to agree with her, except I didn't think my stomach could handle any food. I just wanted to sleep.
The sandwiches and water did eventually come, and I sat picking at mine. It felt like dirt in my mouth and sat on my stomach as if it were rocks. I gave up after a handful of bites and went to toss the rest in the bin at the back of the gym. Looking back at Ivan and Vika, I saw they were talking as they ate. Instead of returning to my place beside them, I slipped beneath the bleachers to find the solace that I was craving. I stayed hidden in their shadows until a couple of Moroi decided that it would make a good spot to make out for a while. Sighing at the invasion of my solitude, I left to rejoin my sister and best friend.
My mother and sister Sonja were part of the first wave of parents and family members to arrive at the school. Our home was a good distance from the school in Baia, but it didn't surprise me. I am sure my grandmother had them catching a bus first thing this morning. My grandmother could be a bit scary. She was always talking in riddles about her dreams or feelings of things to come. Although unsettling, anyone who knew her always heeded to her strange demands. Over the years, everyone back home had come to trust Yeva and her warnings.
As soon as my mother laid eyes on us, she came rushing over pulling Vika and I both into strong hugs. Sonja fell into my arms, tears beginning to flood her cheeks. I hugged her tightly until Vika finally wormed her way in. She guided Sonja to sit down beside her, and they wrapped their arms around one another, crying as Vika replayed our day to her.
"Olena," I heard a feminine voice question from behind me. Looking down at my mother, I could see a female Guardian as she wrapped her arms around my mother's shoulder. "Oh, how I have missed your black bread. Seeing you, reminds me I need to visit home more often. Can you come with me for a few moments? I want to introduce you to someone." My mother agreed and with one last hug to me, she followed the young Guardian to the other side of the gym. A few moments later, Guardian Inez returned, gathering Vika and me and leading us over to the other Guardians and our mother.
"What the two of you did today should not have happened, but your actions are very commendable. Novice Belikov, you showed true Guardian spirit when you stepped in to help protect the people of this school when Guardian Khovansky fell. I know that you both must be emotional right now, but if you could please try to answer a few questions, I will make them short." Vika and I both agreed and Guardian Inez kept his word.
"Can you tell me how it was that you came to be outside the gym?" He asked.
"Ivan and Vika made it into the gym, sir, but I saw Guardian Khovansky fall before I could enter."
"How were you able to acquire a stake?"
"Guardian Khovansky asked me to take it. He asked me to not allow them to make it through the door."
"By them, you mean the Strigoi?" He asked. I nodded my head yes.
"How many Strigoi were there?"
"Four, but Guardian Khovansky killed one, and Dimka killed two without help and I helped him with the last one." Viktoria cut in.
"Is that true?" Guardian Inez asked looking directly at me. I nodded again, avoiding meeting his eyes. "So you staked two and your sister staked one?"
"No, Dimka staked all three." Vika clarified in my silence.
"I see. That will be all for now." Guardian Inez retreated and joined another Guardian who was marking something down on a clip board as various Guardians spoke with him. My mother gave me a small smile and suggested that I rejoined my friends. Following Vika, I made my way back to Ivan and Sonja.
A while later, the Guardian that had delivered the speech earlier returned. As before, he went around talking with other Guardians in a hushed tone and then stepped forward along with the Headmaster. Clapping his hands together twice, his voice rose above the chatter in the room, demanding quiet. When he had gathered everyone's attention, the Headmaster began to speak.
"Parents thank you for joining us. We are going to have to ask you to remain inside the gym with your children until the sun has risen. At that time the students will be escorted in small groups to their rooms to gather their belongings. You may join them, if you wish. We ask that you make plans to take your children home before the week is out. The damage to the school and the loss of Guardians has prevented us from being able to carry out the rest of the term for this school year. You will receive a letter in the mail within ten days of where your child will be relocated. The number of students here exceeds what a single school can take on in addition to their existing student body. Therefore, the students will be split between several schools. St. Basil's will assist in any travel costs, of course. I am deeply sorry that it has come to this. If you have any questions, several school officials will be available to answer them after the evening meal. The meal, like lunch, will be served here in the gym. Thank you all once again for answering our call so quickly."
"They're sending us to another school?" Vika's voice carried across our space in the gym. "They will send us to the same one, right Dimka?"
"I don't know Vika. I'm just as shocked as you are right now."
"I wonder where they will send you." Sonja's voice was filled with excitement.
"Even further away from Baia," My mother sadly claimed.
We watched all morning as groups of five students were led out of the gym. Most did not return, being instead led to their parents vehicles to be shuttled home. When our turn came, my mother went with Viktoria and Sonja followed along with me. We packed my meager belongings and were led back to the gym to await my mother and sister's return. After an hour, a Guardian appeared and led us to an awaiting van. We were driven to the bus station and dropped off to make the rest of our way home on our own.
A week after we arrived home in Baia, my mother received the letter we had been waiting on. Vika and I both were to be sent to St. Vladimir's Academy in Montana, United States. The news was bittersweet. Vika and I would get to complete our training, but we were going to be sent further away from home than we were hoping. The letter included bus passes and airplane fare. We would have to leave in three days' time.
Our family spent the first night in subdued peacefulness, but by the second evening Vika's mood gave way to anticipation. All three of my sisters were storming about the house, talking about how exciting it was that we got to go to the States, and packing Vika's things. The last night home, we tried to maintain the happiness from the day before as we spent the day around the dining table chatting and listening to my mother's demands along with my grandmother's riddled warnings of things both good and bad to come.
My last thought as I boarded the bus the next morning was that I would miss home more than ever.