Children of Van Helsing

Chapter Fifty - Not Safe Yet

Regina

I was lying on the cold, hard floor and let my tears go without shame. I had given up; I had stopped caring. Angela was gone and it was my fault. Nicholas and Mickael had won. I couldn't even think about what was going to happen, and how little I could do about it. 

My fault. My fault. 

I curled up into a ball – slowly, because every single cell in my body seemed to hurt – and tried to think of good things. Happy things. But that, of course, brought back memories of my sisters, our silly moments, the time we had gone swimming together, or the times we had gone to the zoo, and that resulted into more tears. 

You ruined everything, you stupid idiot. 

Something was happening in the corridor. At first my brain refused to register it, but then I slowly started to realise something was wrong. I tried to lift my head, but couldn't, so I gave up. 

The next moment someone slammed against the door and fell onto the floor. Voices cried out. Startled, I tried to sit back up again, when I heard the rattling of keys and the door opened. 

"Regina! Reggie! Darling, are you alright?" 

That was impossible. No way. I had to be dreaming – she couldn't be here. 

I forced myself to open my eyes. 

"Susanna?" I panted. 

A warm hand stroked my back and she helped me sit up straight. I met her worried, green eyes, exact copies of my own. Her arms, her clothes, everything was covered in crimson, hot blood, but she had only a few stains on her face. The dimmed light from the hallway shone into my dark room and made Susanna's hair look like a halo. As if she were an angel. 

And she was. No matted what I did, how much I screwed up, I bad I'd hurt her, she was always there for me. My personal guardian angel. 

I cleared my throat and tried to speak audibly. 

"Susanna, I'm so sorry..." 

"Hush." She said, and embraced me carefully, her warm arms (somebody warm! No more cold, dead skin) burning hot against my frozen body. "It's alright, my sweet, it's okay, really – I'm just glad you're alive. God, it's okay, it's okay..." 

She was crying. She didn't cry quickly, but now she was crying. Her tears fell onto my face. I tasted them on my lips, salty and sweet. The blood on her body stained my clothes, or what was left of them, but I didn't care. 

She was here. Susanna, my big, strong sister, she was here. 

"We have to go. People are coming." Another voice said. 

Lauren. She was here, too? I turned my head and saw her standing in the doorway, also covered in blood, and to my surprise she walked towards me – I thought she was going to scold me or hit me, perhaps – but she just put her hand on my shoulder and smiled at me, hesitatingly. 

"Good to see you, Regina."

I nodded at her and attempted to smile. 

"She's right, Susanna, we have to get out of here." Jamie was here, too? "It's not over yet." 

Alarmed, I turned towards him. 

My sister sighed. "Darling, the fight can start any minute. The uprising. You have to... I'm sorry, but you have to help." 

The uprising. Oh god. I wanted nothing more than to go home, have a nice shower, and get into bed and sleep for four days, and then have breakfast with my sisters and hug them, and watch movies together and just read a book by the fireplace, with my family by my side. At home.