Okay, super short, but I don't have much time. I'll post another chapter tonight, and It'll be longer.~Mermaid12108
Rose
Running had never been so important in my life. But it meant everything right now. So, even when my throat and chest burned from running so long without stopping, I didn't. The only way I was going to get out of here alive was if I never gave up, until I was safe at St. Vlladmirs, then i'd sleep for a year. Funny. I never thought I'd think of St. Vladdy's as 'safe.' My legs trembled and collapsed under me, throwing me into the snow. Traitors. I slid up, snow sweeping across my skin like and icy blanket. Red dotted the white fluff, reminding me of the threat and the fact that hurting muscles wasn't the only problem I had to worry about. I'd almost been drained dry, and now that the endorphins were out of my system, it was taking it's toll on me. My phone buzzed in my pocket again, and I slid over to e tree, scaling it until I was hidden in the branches. Lissa it said, showing a picture of me and my Moroi best friend dressed in fairy costumes. The same one hung in each of our dorms. I opened the back of the phone, and slid out the sim card. I crushed the plastic between my fingers, bending it side to side until it snapped in half. I couldn't allow them to find me. They came first. If anyone was going to die, it was going to die, it would be me and only me. I wouldn't let my friends suffer Mason's fate. The Strigoi seemed to be off my trail — for now. I checked into a motel and took the rusty key from the middle-aged man behind the counter. The room was dingy and dirty, and it smelled like someone had smoked something illegal in it. A storm raged outside, and I sat on the bed, trying to block it out. It was 4:00 in the morning according to an alarm clock on the nightstand, so that meant one, maybe two hours until sunrise. I could sleep then. Now, no matter how tired I was, I had to stay awake and ride them out. I picked up the corded phone on the nightstand that looked like it'd once been white but was now a pasty yellow color. I dialed a number I knew by heart—Liss's. She answered, sounding all sniffly. "H-hello?" She sounded upset. No. This was not good. I stayed quiet, unable to speak without betraying how scared I was. There was a tiny gasp, and then she said, in barely a whisper, "Rose?"
"Yeah, Liss. It's me." I managed to choke out, my voice shaking. Damn it—I was Rose Hathaway. I don't cry, and nothing scares me. "I'm fine. Don't worry about me, I'll be okay. Promise. You take care of yourself, do you hear?" A few stubborn tears slid down my face, and I smiled and sniffled, looking up at the spotted ceiling. "Take care of Dimitri too, would you? Please?"
"Rose, don't talk like that—you're not going to die."
"Bye, Liss. I love you." I Put the phone back into it's cradle and sat back seeking out the remote. I turned it on, and kept my eyes trained on some infomercial I wasn't really watching. I was just mentally checking off another painful goodbye.
