"No, you don't get it. If you're not sleeping, then this means that the Strigoi part of you has taken over - and that you, your 'soul' has been pushed into this hibernation... You need to 'wake up'- you need to take control - NOW."
I tried my best to wake up, it was as if something was physically stopping me. I bit my lip, terrified of what I could be doing. But then I realised something. Here in this 'dream world' I didn't feel even slightly like a Strigoi, I felt so like my old self that I was tempted not to try and escape. To just stay here. I turned back to Adrian.
"I can't. I don't know how, to go back. I think... I think..." I shook my head, and he glared at me.
"If you don't go back then you're dead. The Guardians won't allow a violent Strigoi to live. You need to go back."
Knowing that he was right I nodded, and concentrated even harder...
My eyes snapped open of their own accord. I winced, suddenly in agony.I looked down at myself, to see that I had been staked. But it hadn't gone through my heart. That reminded me so much of... no. I wouldn't think of that.
The pain was overwhelming, and I was starting to feel dizzy. No-one seemed to realise that I was still alive. As I looked around, I saw no evidence of a fight - no evidence of me hurting anyone else. So maybe the Guardian had surprised me and I hadn't had time to hurt anyone?
I squinted into the distance, my vision growing fuzzy, and I saw a figure hobbling towards me on crutches. When he grew closer, I managed to see that it was Adrian, and smiled for a second, before grimacing as the pain grew stronger. He knelt down on the ground, despite how much pain it must cause his broken leg, and looked at me, his face almost as pale as my own.
"Rose?" he asked, and I opened my eyes wider, Adrian sighing in relief.
"You were right." I said groggily.
"What do you mean?"
"Like you said; they staked me."
He tried to smile, but I knew he was panicked. "I'm going to take the stake out, but hell this is going to hurt, and I don't have enough energy to use magic..."
I nodded quickly, and the pain grew rapidly. I screamed in agony, and then slowly the pain subsided.
When I opened my eyes again however, it wasn't just Adrian sitting there, but also my mother, Janine. I stifled a scream, as she picked up her stake again, grimly.
"Please don't," I said groggily barely able to say anything, and Adrian started to protest too. Shouting, and cursing. But she just threatened to attack him too.
Hearing footsteps, she turned, to see a Strigoi standing behind her, and then she stood up, and stepped away from me, seeming terrified. It took me a minute to realise who it was, standing just a few metres away, with a menacing glare fixed on his face.
Dimitri.