Chapter 9 - Different nightmares

Present day - January

Dimitri POV

The baker had given us his number and told us to call or come by the bakery if we needed anything. He had refused to tell us the name of his brother-in-law, but I was sure Arthur would find out soon enough with a little investigation. We were already back in the woods when Spiridon broke the silence.

"I know it's not Viktoria."

I stalled, knowing exactly what he was referring to. "What do you mean?"

"Cut the bullshit, Belikov. Who is it? The damsel in distress with brown eyes and brown hair?"

I shouldn't have lost my control like that. Now he knew more than he should, he knew I was searching for someone.

"You know, I've always wondered why you joined the Division. I guess I got my answer today. So who is it?"

"Nobody. Just drop it." I said calmly. I wasn't going to lose my control again so soon. He knew me well enough to understand I wouldn't reveal anything so we continued to walk in silence.

/ Bored. That was the one word to describe my existence for the last three years. After graduation I thought I'd fight injustice and rescue Rose. After all those years I still believed I could find her, hopefully alive. How naive I had been. Frustrated was also pretty accurate for how I felt.

I had a good job, providing me with a stable income to support my family. Ivan had made sure I became his guardian after we graduated, but it was driving me insane. I didn't show it to anyone, but everyday a little part of me died. I didn't bide my time at the Academy just to end up here. I wanted to help her, I wanted to find her. If I didn't find her alive, at least I wanted to know what happened to her.

I was increasingly angry with the injustice of our society, angry that nobody was looking for them. Every time the Guardian Headquarters requested resources for a mission, I volunteered. The missions were dangerous, mostly clearing out larger Strigoi nests, but gave me a chance to fight the boredom and the feeling of uselessness.

Luckily, I wasn't the only one who was growing increasingly angry with the missing children. It started with whispers, whispers that eventually grew stronger. Dhampirs started questioning why it was allowed to go on. Finally, dhampirs started to fight for their children. Finally, dhampirs were standing up to the Morois.

I had heard the rumors that Queen Tatiana had finally caved under the pressure and formed a group of elite guardians working on finding and retrieving the taken ones. I wasn't entirely convinced that the rumors were true, I had even tried to submit my application but there wasn't anything to submit the application for. It was like it didn't exist.

I had just finished my shift, determined to take out some of my frustration at the gym. I missed Spiridon. Pounding his face would be the perfect remedy for my sour mood. I felt my phone buzz in my pocket and I answered it curtly.

"Guardian Belikov, I heard that you are at Court right now, is that correct?" the voice said.

"Who am I speaking to?" I asked in my guardian voice, void of emotions.

"I'm Commander Arthur Schoenberg. Your reputation precedes you, Belikov, and I'd like to discuss an assignment. Can you meet me at the west entrance of the Church in 15 minutes?" /

"You asked me why I joined the Division. I thought it was obvious?" I said as we were eating our lunch. "I wanted to help those that needed it the most. After going on so many extra missions that Croft set up I guess I'd earned enough respect to catch Arthur's attention."

"It's more than that and we both know it." Spiridon grumbled. "I heard the desperation in your voice when you asked about the girl."

I ignored him and tried to turn the attention to him instead. "So what's your reason for being here then? You're hardly the unselfish type."

"When I heard that you had joined the Division I just couldn't let you take all the glory, could I?" he joked.

"Don't lie, you just missed me too much." I joked back. He just winked and returned to his food, and I became lost in my thoughts.

Most of our teammates had someone they were looking for. Arthur's niece went missing long over a decade ago, and he was as determined to find her as I was determined to find Rose. That was probably why he sent members of the Division to investigate even the most minuscule leads, not wanting to miss anything that could help him find his niece. When he had been given the task to assemble the Division, he believed that those who were in a similar situation as him had the strongest motivation to do the job well. He also recruited guardians like Spiridon and I, known to be the best of the best. Spiridon joined the Division a few months after I did, after I had recommended him to Arthur. I would never admit that to him though.

Until today I had been able to keep up the charade that I was part of the exceptions, but now at least Spiridon knew that I was in the same situation as most of the others - searching for someone. That didn't mean I would tell him who it was. I suppose the guilt and the failure were so deeply rooted that I didn't have the courage to reveal it to anyone. I trusted Spiridon, almost more than anyone, but my family's and Galina's words were still affecting me, keeping me silent in my search. I suspected Arthur knew on some level, but he never said anything to me.

We had enough information to truly believe there was an Institution somewhere in the area. The problem was however to find it without revealing our position. During my four years with the Division we had only found two Institutions.

In the beginning we didn't even know what we were looking for. It was pure luck that our team managed to track down one of the girls that led us to the first Institution.

The whole operation had resulted in a complete failure. Our surveillance team had been spotted and in less than an hour they had cleared the building, along with all the children. When we got there the building was already empty and it was too late.

Before the rescue mission, I had tried to keep my hopes down, but I had still been devastated when we found the place empty. I hadn't even realized how much I had hoped we would find Rose there, or at least find out what had happened to her.

In an attempt to hide the internal chaos from the others I'd opened one of the doors on the upper floor. At first I hadn't realized what room I had stepped into, solely focusing on breathing in and out, not breaking down. It was in that dark room that I understood how much I feared that Rose was already dead, forever to remain a mystery. Someone who never got to grow up or live her life. Finally admitting that to myself had been devastating. Hell - it still was.

At a first glance, the Institution had looked like an orphanage. There had been some sleeping dorms, a few classrooms, the guardian quarters and some additional bedrooms, as well as some common areas. Nothing out of the ordinary really.

That was at least what I'd thought until I stepped into the dark room to collect myself. The room looked like an infirmary, but for the size of the rest of the place it was unproportionally large. The equipment in that room was advanced and probably very expensive. Looking at the rest of the place, it wasn't exactly run-down, but it wasn't anything fancy either.

But it wasn't the size or the equipment that stood out so much. It was the small enclosed rooms in the infirmary that alarmed me. Upon closer inspection, they looked more like prison cells. They were so small they could barely fit a bed in them. I had noticed scrapes on the inside of the door, and it had looked like some had clawed it. I remembered the feeling of nausea that had hit me. The doors were only lockable from the outside, and I knew the ones kept in those rooms weren't there by choice.

Those small rooms still haunted my dreams. I often had nightmares about a seven-year-old Rose in one of them, and I would desperately try to open the locked door, only to struggle against my sluggish body. I would never have enough force to break the door, and I would never find the key. Behind the door I would always hear Rose pleading to me, begging me to help her. I would hear her nails scratching the door, trying to open it. Her screams would only be slightly muffled from the door between us, until there would be nothing but silence. Suddenly, the door would open slightly by itself. I would open the door with my shaking hand and step into the room, only to find her dead body on the bed. That's when I would wake up from my nightmare, covered in sweat. Luckily, I had so far been able to hide my nightmares from Spiridon.

We had searched through the entire building, finding very little evidence of the activities that went on there. We never found out what the infirmary was used for and what happened in those small rooms.

The most important piece of evidence was a journal hidden under the floorboards of the girl's dormitory. That journal gave us valuable insight of what we had found, and we learnt that the place was called The Blackbird Institution. But the writer of that journal had said very little about the infirmary.

Based on the systematic disappearance of the dhampir children over a long period of time, indicating it was organized crime, we deduced that there were likely to be other Institutions. From that day forward we focused our efforts in finding them.

The other Institution we found was in Romania, and the rescued children referred to it as the Ardeal Institution. The rescue operation was a success and we managed to retrieve five girls and three boys of different ages.

Not all of it was a success though. I quickly suppressed the agonizing memories, not wanting to dwell on that.

Based on the information we got from the baker, Spiridon and I both agreed that there wasn't any point in waiting in the village for them to re-appear as their visits were too infrequent. In order for us to find the Institution, we had to stay covert. Our plan was to wait for a more detailed map of the area and try to identify buildings that were big enough to accomodate an Institution. We couldn't know for sure how big the area was that we had to cover. Drones would attract too much attention, and most of our search would have to be done hiking instead of driving around. We would also have to change the guardian standard vehicle to something less conspicuous.

After lunch we reported back to our team, strategizing with them. Arthur denied our request for back-up, but we both knew it wasn't really his decision. Although the Queen had assembled the Division, it was becoming painfully clear that we were mostly for show. Perhaps I was paranoid, but after Romania I felt more and more suspicious towards Court. I expected that there would be a big reception when we arrived with the children. But it was more like we were an annoyance to deal with. I don't know why but it felt like they weren't pleased that we had succeeded. The children were sent off to rehabilitation centers before eventually being returned to their families.

Even if there was no back-up to join us, we arranged to meet-up with a teammate to get a car that would blend in better than our SUV, and to get some additional equipment. As instructed we drove to the halfway-point between our temporary headquarters and the village, which meant that the drive took several hours. When we arrived Yuri was already there. He had a bag in his hand that I assumed contained the map and the rest of the information and equipment we needed.

Spiridon looked pissed off when he saw the car. To be completely honest I felt the same, only I didn't show it. "A fucking Fiat Punto? Are you trying to be funny? I'm not swapping the SUV for that fucking clown-car!" he barked at Yuri.

Yuri seemed to have expected Spiridon's reaction so he looked at me, the usual voice of reason. But he seemed surprised as I agreed with Spiridon, "Honestly Yuri, we are trying to blend in. Do you really think two guys of our size would really opt for that car? It's only going to attract more attention." And there is no chance in hell I'd fit behind that wheel, I added to myself.

"It was all they had though!" Yuri tried to defend.

"We're keeping the SUV then. You can drive that shit car back to where you found it," Spiridon spat out as he walked back to the car we had driven here with, muttering to himself the entire way. I smiled apologetically to Yuri, because even if I agreed with Spiridon he still acted like a child. To steer the conversation back to what mattered, I asked, "Do you have everything else we asked for?"

"Yeah, it's all in the bag. I even brought that special kind of chips the idiot likes, but now I'm not so sure he deserves them."

"It'll sure make our drive back more pleasant so please leave them, for my sanity at least." I wasn't entirely joking but Yuri laughed and I knew that he wouldn't hold a grudge, unlike the childlike man in the car behind me.

"Wow a joke from you! I think you've spent too much time with the idiot. Call me if you have any questions about the technical equipment, and don't let him use the tablet for games or porn."

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Instead, I answered him in my usual curt manner. "Will do, thank you." I could only agree with him that I had spent way too much time with Spiridon already, and there was no end in sight. We nodded our goodbyes and I joined Spiridon back in the SUV that was big enough for us.

Rose POV

My days continued to be non-inspiring. The only highlight was the upcoming food delivery. Every third week or so, a few guardians and one of the two teachers would do a day trip to one of the cities nearby to buy food and other necessities. Since I was young those days had always been special. It usually meant that the food in the next few days would be better and those who had behaved could sometimes follow along as a treat. In all honesty I had only gotten to go a few times but I loved it. The first time was still a fond memory. It had been the first time I'd left the wards since I'd been taken here.

/ Class had just ended and me, Eddie and Mason were on our way out to play but Moore was standing in the hallway signaling for me to come with him. It was rarely a good thing but I really couldn't figure out what I'd done this time. He walked towards the Headmaster's office. Oh boy, this couldn't be good. Moore knocked and I heard the Headmaster asking us to come inside. Moore opened the door and stood to the side, gesturing for me to go in first, I still couldn't think of anything I'd done that would require whatever punishment was coming my way.

"No need to look so nervous dear," Headmaster said as he was sitting behind his desk, "you've done nothing wrong."

"This time," Moore added. He was standing behind me so I couldn't see his face as the Headmaster shot him a glare, at least that shut him up. I was still expecting a punishment of some sort as the Headmaster continued. "As I was saying, you've done nothing wrong. Rather the opposite." His blue eyes were gentle as he looked at me. He must have sensed my doubt.

"I know that we've had our fair share of, let's say, situations. But this time I have some good news. You see, whenever someone is exceptionally well behaved they get to go on a field trip." He smiled broadly. "This time I think you've earned it. Don't think I haven't noticed that you've been on your best behavior lately." /

Moore had stayed behind that day, which made the whole reward considerably better. We had driven a few hours until we got to a place they called a supermarket. It had been amazing and overwhelming at the same time. Since that first time I was less and less overwhelmed, only feeling more and more excitement to get out. Those few times that I had been allowed to go I often found myself in awe of everything in the store, all the colors, all the people and all the possibilities. The last time I'd left the Institution was just a couple of weeks ago but it wasn't a fond memory, though not the worst that I had from outside the wards.

After the age of nine I had really worked on getting my adventurous side under control. The only adventures I now experienced were through my imagination, something that came in handy since I spent a large portion of the day alone, cleaning or cooking. During those hours I would imagine that instead of being here at the Lakeside Institution I had a home, a family and that I cooked and cleaned for them. That I had someone to care for me. A part of my education was in regards to taking care of a family and a household so even though I've never known my own parents I knew what one could expect.

I still remember the day that I realized the dangers that came with adventures. It had been an exceptionally hot summer and I'd been at the institution for two years.

/ The warmth was tearing at my and everyone else's mood. I'd had an exceptionally bad day and the hot weather didn't help. I kept thinking about the cool lake Alberta used to take us to back home. We would swim and play in it for hours, enjoying the warm weather.

Ever since I heard the Headmaster introducing the place as the Lakeside Institution, I'd been curious about the lake. I mean, the name implied that there was a lake close by. E

ven though we were allowed to play in the yard and in the forest close by, I hadn't seen a trace of the lake and I started to get increasingly curious. I would go further and further away from the house, sometimes getting caught and punished.

But the thought of punishment didn't stop me today. It was too warm, the shade from the trees not enough to cool me down so I really needed to find the lake. Just to be able to put my feet in would be heaven.

I was now deep in the forest, the search becoming more desperate per the minute. I had never been this far out, and I started to get scared. I didn't want to get lost, but a part of me didn't want to go back either. Just the thought of turning back now and maybe missing the lake was enough to keep me going despite the sweat dripping from my body. Where was the lake?

I kept going, forcing my legs to move forward but since the heat was getting to me I needed to look where I placed my every step in order not to trip. The sweat on my forehead slowly made its way down to sting my eyes. I should have brought some water but hadn't wanted to raise suspicion. The idea of turning around sounded more and more convincing. But the truth was, I didn't know which way I'd come from. Everything looked the same now, the trees and bushes not revealing anything to me.

I was already fighting my tears when I saw something on the ground. A loud shriek escaped me and I covered my mouth with my hands. Terror seeped through me as I understood what I was looking at and I couldn't make my eyes look away.

A boy was lying on the ground, it looked like someone my age. His skin was pale, almost a bluish shade. One of his arms was at a weird angle, his forearm unnaturally bent. It looked like his arm was broken and his shoulder was out of its socket. I resisted the urge to throw up as my gaze made its way to his head. His neck was torn up and bloodied, the blood was almost black as it was now dried up. I think I saw his tendons from the ungodly wound. His eyes were open and he was completely still. And then I realized who it was. It was the boy that had disappeared from the Institution a few days ago, they had told us he'd ran away. He hadn't come that far.

I turned around and was about to start running away from the body which hopefully would be in the direction of the Institution. I'd only taken a few steps when I saw Guardian Alto patrolling the woods. He came jogging my way when he saw me.

"What in heaven's name are you doing out here, Rose?"

I couldn't even manage to answer him so I just pointed in the direction of the boy. Alto scanned the forest in the direction I'd pointed and the second his gaze landed on the boy's body he pulled me behind his back. He had a protective stance and kept searching for threats. It was still sunny so I knew that there couldn't be Strigois. But what else was there out in the woods? My fear made me grip the back of his shirt and hold onto him, tears rolling down my cheeks.

I could sense him relaxing just before he turned around and crouched down to my eye-level. But I couldn't meet his eyes, I knew I'd messed up and the sight of that boy made me want to go back to safety of the Institution.

"What were you doing out here, Rose? You know you can't be here." he asked as he placed his hands on my shoulders.

I was too upset to fear punishment at this point, so I told him the truth. "I was looking for the lake, sir."

He looked puzzled. "What lake?"

Now I didn't understand. "You know, the lake. We're at the Lakeside Institution, right?" He still looked perplexed. "It's just so warm and I wanted to swim in the lake."

He rose to a full stand making me bend my neck upwards instead. "There's no lake here, Rose. You can't wander off like this, the woods aren't safe," he said and looked grim.

"What happened to that boy, sir?" I asked, my thoughts about the lake interrupted as the image of the dead boy washed over me.

He mulled over my question for a bit before answering. "A Strigoi killed him. Like I said, the woods aren't safe."

"But it's sunny, sir?" I had heard of Strigoi and knew what they were. I just didn't think they would be so close to us, and it made them feel so much more real. He looked so serious. He wasn't the one who would smile and joke around like some of the other guardians, but he was never this serious.

"But there is always night in between the days and he has been dead for a while."

A shiver ran through me. "Are there many Strigois?" I asked him.

"Yes. But we are protected by wards, that's why you can't wander off like this. You know they can't stay in the sun, but once the sun goes down the wards are the only thing that protects us. Keep that in mind the next time you think about going off into the woods."

A sob escaped as I thought about that nice boy. "What if the wards won't work?" I asked. "Will the Strigoi do the same to us?"

Guardian Alto placed his hand on my shoulder and started guiding me back. "We need to get back before Chief Moore realizes you're missing. I need to report this as soon as possible." /

To this day, I still had dreams about that boy. I would often dream that an unnaturally fast and strong monster would tear his arm and break it, before lowering its mouth to his neck. In my dreams, it would always look me in the eye while it sucked the life out of that boy. In my dreams, the monster would throw the drained, small body of the boy to the side, and with a bloodied grin stride towards me.

Rest assured, I never even entertained the thought about going into the forest alone at night.