So here's chapter 5! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own VA or any of the characters!

Chapter 5

I started to walk slowly. Then my pace grew faster. Every second, every moment, my life felt like it was at stake if I didn't move faster. Dimitri distinctly told me not to run this time, but this was scary. I kept looking back every moment, making sure no one followed.

"Boo!" I turned and screamed. Towering over me was another Strigoi. Darkness turned into sparks around my body and before I knew it, something similar to a thunder shock came at the Strigoi, fending him off for a bit. My moves were a bit slow for some reason. I simply dodged his attacks and whenever he got too close, I let off another thunder shock. When he was behind me, I started to run. I couldn't wait anymore. There were more of them and I knew it.

"Not so fast!" Another one jumped in front of me, then behind me. There were two others. Just how many were there? I tried to escape, but the two Strigoi kept blocking me off. "You know, it wasn't nice of you to hurt our friend like that," I ignored the comment and looked for a way out. I concentrated my powers again to create another shock. Both of them jumped aside but were on my tail no longer than a split second. I kept running until finally I tripped. I screamed as I hit the concrete and the two Strigoi were simply having fun chasing me. "Time for you to die, little girl!" One teased.

"Dimitri!" I screamed as if hoping he could hear me.

"Get down!" I heard his voice and suddenly I heard two gunshots fired. I turned to see Dimitri holding the gun tightly around his hands. I turned to see the Strigoi as Dimitri kept firing until they collapsed. But what I saw then seriously scared me. Blood. It was everywhere. And not just that, one of the Strigoi was a kid. Well, not really a kid, but my age. I stayed where I was but when I looked at him, he was still moving, still alive. He gave me an angry growl.

"Come on. Let's go," Dimitri took my hand. But suddenly I did something irrational. I broke free from Dimitri and went to the guy. He was coughing up blood as I watch. He didn't look like Mason, but it gave me enough incentive to help him. When I touched him though, he scratched me. I flinched but looked at him. "Get away from him! He's dangerous!" Dimitri yelled.

"No, he's not! He's a kid Dimitri!" I yelled back. The Strigoi boy looked away.

"Just leave me here to die," He spoke quietly.

"Shut up," I warned him. "I'm not going to let you die. Your partner can die for all I care, but not you," I touched his wound and he hissed. Dimitri at this time, just watched. "Don't move," I warned him. Then, channeling the power that I had, I touched his wound and started healing it. "Heal," A glow showed over the wound and the wound started to seal.

"Rose…" Dimitri was worried. "You…" Tears formed but I wiped them away before they fell. When the glow started to flicker, I stopped to take a breath. Most of the bullets came out too. The guy still looked at me oddly.

"Why are you trying so hard to save me?" He finally had the strength to ask. I didn't answer him. "Answer me, girl!" He finally got the strength to get up.

"You will not talk to her like that after what she just did for you!" Dimitri roared. "If it wasn't for her action, you'd be dead," I stopped him.

"You want to know why? I'm not sure, but from the looks of it, you know about the Spokane incident," I started.

"Yes…my boss told us about it," He answered awkwardly.

"Well, you guys killed my friend. He was your age. I just don't see a reason for you to die this early. I'll kill you when you're 25 or so. But not when you're 18," I started to get up.

"Don't pity me, girl," He threatened me.

"Hey, I said not to talk to her like that. One more time and you'll wish you stayed dead," Dimitri defended me by blocking the guy's reach to me.

"I'm not pitying you," I replied back slowly. "You don't know how it feels like to die. I just don't need another person to go through it," I explained to him simply.

"You've died before?" He asked in a nicer manner now. I didn't answer him.

"That's none of your concern," Dimitri answered for me.

"I wasn't asking you," The guy answered in an arrogant manner. Dimitri suddenly punched the guy, sending him flying quite a ways.

"That's enough!" I yelled, stopping the guy from slamming into a tree. "Look, I gave you your life back. I think that's enough," I started to walk off with Dimitri in tow.

"Wait! What's your name, girl?" He demanded.

"That's enough!" Dimitri finally roared at him again.

"Rose," Dimitri turned to me suddenly.

"Rose, you shouldn't be-" He started.

"I'm taking a leap of faith. My name is Rose. Rose Hathaway. Now is there anything else?" I asked warily.

"No…thank you," He spoke awkwardly, then even bowed.

"Okay…bye," I left quickly with Dimitri.

"What the hell just happened?" I shuddered.

"I don't know. But you really should know that severe consequences can come from what just happened," Dimitri warned me.

"Yeah…I know. Let's pray nothing happens," Dimitri led me back to the car and I got in. On the ride back to the school, I just stayed quiet thinking about what happened. Why did I even tell his name? And leap of faith? The kid was a Strigoi. But that was probably what it was. He was simply a kid. Maybe one year older than I was at most. Did I seriously hope he was going to come back or something? For all I knew, he could be reporting to his boss for all I know.

"Rose? Rose? We're here. Hey, did you hear me? Rose!" Suddenly I saw Dimitri's face in front of me.

"Woah! Yeah…I'm fine," I answered out of nowhere.

"I wasn't asking if you were fine, but now that we're on the subject, what's up?" He asked, concerned.

"Nothing. I just feel really bad right now. Like physically," Something churned in my stomach and I knew I was nauseous. I bent over to catch my breath as Dimitri rubbed my back. Suddenly, I saw a vision as it shot me into somewhere else, kind of like when I entered Lissa's mind. I followed in my head where the vision took me. I saw a dark mansion, decently close to the school. As the vision kept moving, I stood up. "Dimitri…"

"What? What is it?" He was worried. I saw the same Strigoi kid being beat up by his boss. It just was just like seeing Mason being beat up.

"I have to go…I have to get to him!" I started to rush as fast as I could.

"ROSE!" Dimitri followed me. "What's going on?" He asked while running with me.

"That kid, Dimitri. He's going to be killed in minutes! I saw it!" I pushed my legs farther. Why was I so determined to save him? What made him special? I kept going at it. I had to reach him. I had to save him. Finally, when I ran up to the mansion, Dimitri yanked me back.

"What are you doing? You're walking into what's probably a trap!" He whispered loudly.

"Get off of me! I have to save him! I have to!" I screamed. A burst of dark energy released me from Dimitri's grasp. Strigoi surrounded me, but I had an idea.

"Bahlskra!" All of them were trapped and within one clench from my hand, all of their bones snapped and their necks, killing them instantly. Dimitri ran in with me, watching my back as I rushed recklessly into what probably was a death trap. When I finally saw the boy crumpled on the ground, panting and hurt, I saw his boss.

"So I was right. She now has a connection to you. Well, I guess hitting you around did some good after your miserable failure," He spat at the kid. "But now, I don't need you," He grabbed the kid's head.

"Signum!" I yanked the boy's body away from him and sent him to my side.

"You dare interfere, little girl?" He snarled.

"Bahlskra!" I commanded. My dark aura surrounded him in a tight grasp, but he simply laughed. "What's so funny?" I demanded.

"What's so funny? The fact you think you can beat me with such a weak spell!" He taunted. "Reject! Spell Error!" He quickly broke himself out from my spell. What the hell was he? Who the hell was he?

"You still have a lot to learn, brat! Skalz!" I saw what seemed to be his shadow move and grab me. "Pain!" The shadow seemed to bind my neck quickly.

"Rose!" Dimitri ran towards him with a stake.

"Protect!" He commanded. A shield came up and Dimitri got pushed back.

"Let go of her, you bastard!" Dimitri yelled.

"Release!" Another voice was heard and the shadow dispersed immediately. I dropped to the floor, gasping for air as Dimitri helped me. "I warned you not to touch her," The voice seemed angry. Finally, a man walked out.

"Zmey, what a nice surprise," The Strigoi smirked.

"Zmey?" Dimitri seemed shocked.

"Belikova, Dimitri, if I'm not mistaken, is that right?" Dimitri seemed wary. While moving slowly back to me, Zmey, or whoever he was walked up to the Strigoi.

"What did I tell you about touching her?" He threw the Strigoi into a wall pretty hard. As Dimitri helped me up, we both went to check on the wounded boy.

"Dimitri, get both her and the boy out of here," Zmey shouted. I was confused, but Dimitri picked both me and the boy up, carrying us out of the mansion.

"Wait! What are they doing? Dimitri!" I yelled.

"Rose, put it this way. If Zmey is involved in this, then you're not exactly safe anymore. He's not a person you want to know," I stopped asking at that point. Dimitri's face was serious meaning something was terribly wrong. What was it? I didn't know. But I figured this wasn't the time to ask. When we got back, Dimitri quickly sent the kid to the infirmary and then reported to Headmistress Kirova about the situation. Dimitri left me in his room, giving me some ointment that helped the bruises that formed on my neck. Whatever power that Strigoi man had, it did a toll on me since my neck looked like there was a giant claw mark there. When I was done treating the wound, I sat there and waited quietly. What was going on? Just as I started thinking, Dimitri came in.

"What happened?" I asked him. He had a distraught face.

"Rose…I'm sorry, but we'll have to delay the vacation," I gave him a weird look.

"But…" He gave me a sad look.

"Rose…now's not the time. Get packing. We're going to Siberia," He spoke seriously.

"What? Why? What's going on?" I demanded now. I wasn't just going to leave everyone here. "What about Lissa and the others? I can't just leave them, Dimitri! They're my friends," I yelled.

"I know that!" He yelled back. I could see the stress from him clear as day. "But right now, they're in a better position than you are. I have to get you out of here and I mean it. Pack your stuff. I'll see you in a couple of hours. Call me if anything comes up," He literally kicked me out the room, hurrying me out. I did as told and went to pack stuff up. I started to text Lissa too about the situation.

Rose, don't worry about me. I'll be fine. Christian's here too. Let me know when you're in Siberia.

When I was still packing, Dimitri apparently used his master key to get in.

"What? Couldn't even knock?" I spoke rudely. Dimitri looked away.

"I apologize for barging in," He told me.

"Why are you being so polite?" I asked him warily.

"Sorry. I'm just stressed is all. Are you done packing?" I stopped packing.

"Dimitri, what's going on? I want to know," I looked at him, pissed off.

"Rose…I'll explain when we get to Siberia. But I can't tell you. If I do, you'll be insistent on staying and I can't have you do that," I finally packed everything up.

"I told Lissa," I spoke quietly.

"You-" I cut him off.

"Enough! I'm already packing apparently so there's no reason to keep barking. I don't know why I'm leaving, I don't know what I'm doing, and you're so on edge that you can't read my feelings anymore!" I shouted. It seemed to shock him. "You used to know what I was thinking twenty-four hours a day. This isn't like you," I touched his face.

"I know," That was all it took for his guardian mask to come down. "Rose…you're really in a complicated situation and Zmey, that man you met there, apparently stopped by here, giving specific instructions to follow. He went to Headmistress Kirova and requested that you study abroad there," He told me.

"Study abroad? So that's it? The reason you're so edgy is because this is the end?" I asked in a dangerous voice.

"No, sweetheart. No. I'm coming with you. There are other reasons that I can't tell you. But just know that I will always be with you, alright? No matter what," He hugged me. I just nodded a bit and started packing again. When I was done, Dimitri quickly got the private jet. As Dimitri and I headed to the car that was set up for us, Lissa and the others were waiting there.

"Lissa…" She quickly hugged me.

"Rose, I'll miss you," I hugged her back. "Don't forget to call," I nodded. Everyone else finally joined in a group hug. I started to cry. When I stopped, I wiped my tears. "Here," Lissa gave me a stack of small pieces of paper.

"What is it?" I asked. "They're spells infused into paper. These are the ones with Christian's fire power. See? They're red. The blue ones are Mia's and the pink ones are mine. If these are thrown onto anything, they react," She explained.

"Rose!" Dimitri called. Lissa gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and left with everyone. The last few tears fell as I finally turned, leaving the school with Dimitri. When I got into the car, there was a driver. I just turned away, crying silently. "When we get to the airport, I'll give you your passport and we will just bring the carry-on items. Do you want any dinner or…" He finally trailed off and stopped.

"Rose…" I sniffed finally and he instantly knew. "Rose, I know you don't want to leave and I know it's painful to leave, but this is for the best," He spoke quietly. I turned to him, pissed off.

"Whose best? The school's best? Or mine? Because I can't seem to tell!" I yelled. The driver heard us, but still kept driving. But the thing was, he didn't answer.

"Rose, I know you're confused and scared and disappointed as well as angry, but there's a lot I can't tell you until I find out all the details," He tried to explain. He tried to reach my hand and I hit his hand back without saying anything. "Just don't hate me…that's all I ask," He told me. I looked at him, but then he never looked back. Somehow, the darkness that was bubbling eventually calmed for some reason, and all that was left was sadness and loneliness.

"Guardian Belikov, we're here," Dimitri just got out and got our stuff. I stayed in the car unmoving.

"Rose, please don't make this harder than it should be," I reluctantly got out and the car drove off, leaving us at the drop off zone still. "Come on, let's go. We'll be late," I took my stuff as we headed inside. We got checked in and headed for the jet that was already there. When we got onto the jet, there were two dhampir ladies who were our flight attendants. I sat on the opposite side of the plane, away from Dimitri. He had a sad expression on his face, but I was willing to bet that I was the one that felt a lot worse. During the plane ride, Dimitri didn't make the effort to come to me. He could tell I was really unhappy and I could tell he hated me being in this state. Even when the flight attendants asked us what we wanted to eat, I didn't order. I didn't want to eat. Dimitri ended up ordering for me and brought the food to me.

"Eat something?" He asked. I turned away.

"Not hungry," I mumbled. He didn't answer and just left me alone. The flight was just plain out boring. I didn't have the energy to do anything but sit there, still trying to find the missing puzzle pieces to this whole situation. When the plane's lights dimmed for us to go to sleep, I got my bed ready and just laid down to rest. I waited hour by hour until I heard Dimitri's breathing. Tears trickled down as I started to cry now. I was sniffing and just letting everything out. I figured it was okay since Dimitri was asleep anyways. He wouldn't be able to hear me. Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder and I quickly turned and saw Dimitri sitting next to me. I turned away from him and he just stroked my shoulder.

"I know what I have to say doesn't matter to you at this point. If there's anyone for you to be angry with, it's me," He spoke quietly. "For now, all I can tell you is that we're going to my hometown. The one I told you about, Baia," I didn't answer.

"Do you trust me?" I finally managed to ask.

"What?" He seemed confused.

"Do you trust me?" I asked.

"Of course I do. Is that what this is all about? Trust? You think I don't trust you?" He asked.

"I don't know," I answered quietly.

"You don't know what? You don't know if I trust you? You don't know what's going on?" He asked one by one.

"I don't know!" I finally turned and yelled at him. "I don't know anymore!" He quickly hugged me.

"Relax…it's going to be okay. Just take a deep breath first," I did as told and calmed down quickly.

"I don't know if you trust me…" I told him.

"Rose, of course I trust you. I have all my faith in you. It's just that things are complicated right now and I rather tell you facts than assumptions. Look, go to sleep. We can talk when we arrive there at midnight," He didn't continue explaining and went back to his seat. When I looked at him, he simply read his western novels again. But after an hour of watching him continuously, I found a problem. He hadn't continued reading at all. He was flipping the pages back and forth. Even he was distraught. Tired as hell, eventually I just turned my back to him and slept.

Well now, mystery to solve! Wonder what Abe has to with all of this? Find out as you keep reading! Please review! Thanks!