Moving Objects

Chapter 1

I rolled off the person and scrambled to my feet, clutching my stake in my hand as the Strigoi advanced me again. I dodged his fists and found an opening quickly, sinking my stake between the ribs. I pulled back instantly and collided with Mom who grabbed onto me and started pulling me towards the exit of the cave.

"There's too many of them! Get out!" Mom yelled as she yanked on my arm again while pushing one of the teachers ahead of her. I followed on her heels as we all moved out and I tried to push down the fear from hearing the Strigoi following us. I risked taking a glance behind me only to meet fierce brown eyes that were trained on me. While he may not have said anything, his eyes said enough.

Don't stop. Keep running.

I turned back and pushed harder, forcing my legs to pump harder and to carry me further. I sighed in relief when I crossed out of the cave into the setting sun only to feel dread course through my veins when I turned around to meet Dimitri.

"Dimitri!" I screamed, but it was too late. The blonde Strigoi that baited me at the battle was too close to him. I felt arms wrap around me as I stepped forward, the arms pulling me tightly against a chest and tugging me back. I screamed and thrashed against the iron grip around me, calling out Dimitri's name as the Strigoi sank his fangs into the side of his neck. And just like that, something inside me snapped.

"No!"

The iron grip around me was thrown back at the same time that the Strigoi was jolted away from Dimitri, skidding across the cave floor away from him. The moment I was free, I was charging back into the caves and dropped to my knees beside him.

"Comrade? Can you hear me?" I pleaded as I gripped his shoulders, shaking him to snap him out of the euphoric daze he was in from the bite. His eyes fluttered open and looked at me, but they weren't focused.

"Roza?" he mumbled, his hands ghosting over my arms as he tried to pull himself into a sitting position. I could hear my Mom and a few others running down the tunnel towards us, and I was sidetracked long enough by Dimitri to not see the Strigoi behind me and his hands wrap around my throat.

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Opening my eyes was the wrong thing to do. When I opened them, the fluorescent lights beamed down at me and I flinched back into the pillow. A small whimper escaped my lips at the sharp pain coursing through my head. That small, minuscule noise alerted the person sitting across the room and they moved towards me quickly. I felt someone lean over me and I cracked my eyes open to find my man above me, relief clear on his face.

Dimitri gave me a gentle smile and stroked my cheek softly, the backs of his fingers brushing against my skin. "Hi, Roza," he said quietly as he sat down on the edge of the bed. I turned my head into his touch, giving him a sigh as I held eye contact with him.

"Hey, Comrade."

Dimitri smiled again and slipped his hand into mine. "Roza, you've got to stop scaring me like that," he chastised with a hint of humour. I huffed, knowing that if I rolled my eyes it would send another blast of pain through my brain.

"Why does my head hurt so much?" I croaked, wincing at the roughness of my throat. He ran the back of his hand over my cheek with a sigh.

"Guardian Alto was right behind the Strigoi when it attacked you. Alto staked it and when it let go, you fell sideways and hit your head on a rock. The doctor says you're going to have a concussion."

I took a slow breath and swallowed roughly, my hand fluttering up to my neck and I brushed my fingers over the tender skin. "Is it bad?" I asked quietly, and the pained look on his face answered the question. I looked over and reached for the pitcher of water next to the bed, but Dimitri beat me to it, pouring some into a paper cup and bringing it to my lips.