Chapter three is here! I'm so, so, so sorry everyone! I've been so busy with school and everything, I haven't been able to update this in such a long time. I've had the story done for like ever, but I haven't gotten a chance to type it up (I usally write them in a notebook or something and then type them up, making corrections along the way). Anyway, I've been typing like crazy, and I finally finished typing this chapter. I also have chapter 4 ready to go, so I'll post that next. Hopefully the 5th chapter will be posted within the next few days.
Chapter 3- Nightmares
I'm walking through the house; it's dark, which suggests its nighttime. Suddenly, I hear a murderous scream that sounds like it's coming from the living room. I recognize it immediately; it's Alex. I race to the living room, but as soon as I turn the corner, I freeze. Rooted to the spot and unable to move, I stare in horror at what lays before me. Jeremy is lying in a pool of blood that's slowly spreading our beneath him. a few feet away, John is in a similar state. I hear a small moan of pain and I glance off to the left. Alex is lying there, a knife sticking out of his chest.
"Yassen, help me," he begs. I try to move, to run to him, but my legs won't obey me.
"Yassen…I love you," Alex says, his voice barely a whisper.
"No!" I scream desperately. A figure suddenly appears from the shadows. A hand reaches out and takes hold of the knife. The person twists it inside Alex's chest, then pulls it out.
"You see this Yassen? These are the people that tried to protect you from me. and this," he gives Alex's lifeless form a small kick before continuing, "Is what happens to those people,"
I look at the man in the shadows; it's Nikolei, of course. He steps forward though and as he does, I realize I'm wrong. It's Anton.
"No! Traitor!" I shriek, feeling rage take over my body. "I'll kill you, you bloody-"
I wake up in a cold sweat; I'm panting like I've just run ten miles, and I'm shaking so violently, I can't eve turn on the lamp next to my bed.
"Yassen? Are you all right?" Anton comes in, looking worried. He's spending the night at our house because he lives over three hours away. he's going to find a hotel tomorrow but for now he's here. I stare at him, still slightly shaken.
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine," I say, trying to control my voice.
"You look like you've seen a ghost," he says, still looking worried. I glance at the clock and notice that it's 2 in the morning.
"Why are you up so late?' I ask, changing the subject.
"I couldn't sleep, so I was going to get a drink of water," he holds up a glass that's half full. "I was just headed back to bed when I heard you. you were screaming in your sleep. Were you…were you having a nightmare about Nikolei?" He asks suddenly, looking surprised at his own realization.
"I…yes," I say, but I don't elaborate.
"Are you scared he's going to kill you?" he asks.
"No, I'm not," I say. I turn over, feeling calmer. He's silent for a minute, and I'm just starting to thing he'll leave when he speaks again.
"What was the dream about then? What happened?" he asks.
"It was about you killing everyone I love and care for! Are you happy now? Goodnight," I snap, getting annoyed and trying to cover up my embarrassment. I glance over my shoulder at him just in time to see his saddened and slightly dismayed expression. Then he turns and leaves, closing the door quietly behind him.
I lay there for a long time, trying to convince myself that it really was just a dream and everything is fine. Finally, though, at 4 in the morning, I decide to just prove it to myself. I get up and walk silently down the hall. I go to Alex's room first, since it's the closest to mine. I open the door as quietly as possible, but Alex still wakes up. he could be put in a vacuum where sound doesn't travel, and he would still be able to somehow sense that I was there.
"Yassen? It's 4:00. What's up?" he says sleepily, blinking at me in confusion.
"I just…I wanted to make sure you were all right. Do you need anything? Water? Extra blanket?" I ask, embarrassed.
"No," he says, still confused.
"All right. Sorry I woke you," I say, closing the door. Despite my slight embarrassment, I decide to just check on Jeremy and John, just to make sure everything is fine.
I walk to Jeremy's and open the door silently. He's fast asleep, and he doesn't wake when I check on him. Satisfied, I close the door and walk to John's room. I hesitate for a second, and then reach out and open the door.
"Yassen? Is that you?" John's voice comes form the darkness. Apparently, he wasn't able to sleep either because he sounds wide awake.
"Yeah, it's me. Couldn't sleep either, huh?" I say, hoping to avoid having to make up an excuse for why I'm here.
"No. Why are you here?" he says. I should have known he would ask anyway.
"I was just…checking on you. I was heading to the kitchen and I decided to make sure everything was all right," I lie.
"Yassen, my room isn't on the way to the kitchen," he reminds me. "You wanna tell me why you're here at 4 in the morning?"
"I…" I start to come up with another lie, but I realize it's no use. "I had a nightmare and I was just making sure everyone was…safe," I don't want to use the word "alive" because I'm afraid he'll ask for details. He does anyway.
"What happened? In the dream?" he asks.
"I…I don't want to talk about it," I mutter finally.
"Yassen," he says.
"What? John!" I retort, groaning in exasperation.
"You're going to have to tell me eventually, Cossack!" he says, and we both fall silent. We stare at each other for a few moments; the use of my code name brings back memories of our missions together.
I walk forward and I sit down on his bed. "I had a nightmare. It started with Alex screaming, and then I walked down the hallways to find you and Jeremy dead in pools of blood. Alex was laying on the ground with a knife sticking out of his chest. he was begging me to help him, but I couldn't move. Then a hand came out of the darkness and took the knife out of his chest. I thought it was Nikolei at first, but then he stepped out of the shadows and it was Anton," I finish with tears in my eyes. John is silent for a while, deep in thought.
"It was just a dream, Yassen," he says quietly.
"What if it turns out to be reality?" I ask.
"You still don't trust him, do you?" he asks.
"Of course not!" I say. I take a deep breath. "After I woke up, Anton came in. he heard me screaming in my sleep and he wanted to know if I was all right. I told him I was fine, but he wouldn't leave me alone. He wanted to know what I dreamed about, so I told him I dreamed of him killing everyone I love and care for," I tell him.
"How did he react?" he asks.
"He just looked sad and disappointed, and then he left," I say, slightly ashamed.
"Yassen, at least try and trust him. do you really think he would still be here if he were going to betray us? You told him if he double-crosses us, you'll kill him. if I were planning on double-crossing someone like you and they said that they would kill me if I did that, I would run for the hills," John says.
"What if that doesn't matter to him? what if he's willing to die to protect his father?" I protest.
"What if he's willing to die to protect you; someone he barely even knows, because he thinks that your like is worth saving?" John shoots back. I open my mouth to say something back, but I can't think of anything to say to that.
"Yassen, at least give the kid a chance," he says.
"Yeah," I sigh. "But-" I start to say, but then I fall silent. I hear something outside the door. A floorboard creaking. I hold up my hand for silence, and I wait.
"Alex? is that you?" I call.
The door opens and Anton comes in.
:Sorry I was eavesdropping. I….i heard you leaving your room and I just wondered if…I followed you and then…" he trails off.
"How much of our conversation did you hear?" I ask.
"All of it," he says. "You still don't trust me, but I understand that," he adds.
"I'm sorry I haven't trusted you, Anton. I should have realized you wouldn't still be here if you had been planning something," I apologize.
"It's not a problem. I would have done the same thing in your position," he reassures me.
"I just…" I begin, but then I stop.
"It was a nightmare, but it was one where everyone you love and care for was killed. By me, who you just met and you were uncertain about. I understand why you were…the way you were," he says.
"Well, now that we're all friends, can we go to bed before we wake up the boys?" John asks. I glance at the time; it's nearly 5 in the morning by now.
"Sure"
"Yes" Anton and I say at the same time. We head off to bed, but I know it's hopeless for me to try to go to sleep. I try anyway, however, but just as I suspected, I can't fall asleep. Finally, when I've been laying in bed for around 2 hours, I decide to get up. I get dressed, and I come out to find everyone around the dinning room table, eating breakfast.
"You look like hell," Alex exclaims upon my entrance.
"I don't feel much better," I sigh, sitting down.
"What happened last night?" Alex asks. How do I respond? I glance at John, but he just shrugs his shoulders as if to tell me it's my decision.
"I just had a bad dream. I just wanted to make sure everything was all right," I tell him. he doesn't look very convinced, but he lets it go for now. I glance at Anton, wondering what to do. what do I say to him, after what happened last night?
"I think we should start planning how to stop Nikolei?" Anton says, looking at John and me.
"How? We've tried to talk to him, but he wont listen. We've told him we'll go to MI6, but he doesn't care. We've told him that if it comes to it, we'll have to kill him, but he seems to be willing to die. What's the point of him hunting Yassen if he knows that he'll die?" Alex exclaims.
"Alex, his anger toward Yassen for what he did overpowers his fear of death. I don't want to kill him; he's my father after all. if that's what it comes to however…that's what we'll have to do," Anton replies.
"That might be what has to happen, but for now, let's try and come up with another option," I say.
"Well, we've asked nicely. We've threatened him. We've asked MI6 to help us, but they don't seem to be doing anything," Alex says, ticking each one off on his fingers.
"We could run, I suppose," Anton suggests. John and I look at each other; we're used to being on the run. we're used to having to leave at a moments notice. Alex and Jeremy though? They've never had to do that, not even Alex has had to do that yet.
"Running would take a lot of planning. It's not just leaving, like going on holiday. We would have to start over; we would have to create new lives for ourselves. I'm not sure the boys are ready to do that. Alex, maybe, but Jeremy? I doubt it." I tell him.
"I know, it was just a suggestion. I knew it probably wouldn't work," he sighs.
"So what do we do? Go to MI6 again?" Alex says.
"That seems to be the only other option," I reply. Alex and I look at each other; neither of us like it, but it seems like it's the only choice we have.
"We've gone to them once already! That almost got you killed!" John exclaims, staring at me.
"What other choice do we have, John?" I ask. He nods, understanding.
"What can they possibly do that we haven't already?" Anton asks.
"They could throw him in jail," Alex suggests.
"For what?" Jeremy speaks for the first time.
"I don't know, MI6 could make up a reason. They're good at that," Alex says.
"No, Alex," John says, giving him a stern look.
"Now hold on. That might just work. If he's in jail, I'm safe," I say, glancing at John.
"But for how long? And they would have to dummy something up to put him there," Anton says.
"Maybe, maybe not," I say slowly. "He did try to kill me. we could get him for attempted murder. It's true, and it would put him in jail for a while. Maybe by then things will have changed," I say.
"And if they haven't? Or if it doesn't work for some reason? What then?" John asks.
"Then…I…I don't know," I say finally.
"Exactly!" he exclaims, looking triumphant.
"John, we have to at least try," I say.
He sighs. "Fine, we'll ask MI6 if they can arrest him. I seriously doubt this is going to work, though, Yassen." He doesn't sound very happy about this. I don't think we have any other choice though.
"I have an idea," Anton says suddenly.
"Which is…what?" I reply.
"I could go find out what my father is doing myself," he says.
"How?" John asks skeptically.
"Think about it, my dad would never expect me of all people to help you guys. That would be the brilliance of it. I could even pretend to be helping him by being a double agent for him, but really helping you." he explains.
"That sounds like it might work," I reply. "Are you sure your up to it?"
"Yes," he replies.
"When will you leave?" I ask.
"How about…now? If I'm not back a week from today, run," he says. Then he gets up and starts to leave.
"Anton," I call. He turns toward me. "Good luck," I say. He nods, and then he leaves.