5132
I couldn't find a word to say.
After saying goodbye to Keisha, we were on our own. I could just feel the tension between us the more distance we covered.
"How are you?"
The question halted my walk, making me turn around slowly. I thought I'd see him avoiding my eyes like he did before but this time he held my eye contact. Fuck. Maybe I missed having his attention. Good or bad, it didn't matter to me.
"Lana-"
"I'll be fine, Mikhail, I always do. It's like a factory setting. Now let's just find that son of a hellhound." I couldn't help but avoid looking at him. What happened to us? We used to at least talk without this awkwardness between us. Yeah, insults and playful cusses were thrown around a lot but this...I didn't like this wall between us. The last time I saw him, I was leaving for Norcia. The last time I talked to him...one night of drunk call wasn't enough.
He looked at me with concern. "That doesn't sound ok at all."
"No, it's fine. The faster we can find something the better." I was already walking ahead when I was stopped by a hand on my arm.
"Can we actually talk?" He asked quietly as if I would just run. "I begged you not to give up on us but you did. Again and again, you keep running. Are you ever going to stop?"
"I don't know. Didn't find a reason to stop yet."
His stare intensified and I hated it. I hated to see him like this.
"Is this about him? What you said that day?"
"Yes." Fuck lying, I was going to be brutally honest to the point he wanted to leave. "It's about him. It's also about how you want to fix me. How do you think I feel every time you call me Lana? It's like you only want the pre-sanatorium me. The girl who died and has no identity anymore. You look at me and you see a case you can solve. Sorry to disappoint you but I'm not your cold case you dedicated your life to solve."
Without waiting for an answer, I started to walk ahead not even waiting for him to catch up. It will only ever work if he accepted the real me.
Also Zach who's already gone.
"How many people you think are working for Sage?" He asked at last.
He had to stumble twice to reach me. Even then I couldn't answer him with accuracy. "I was taken into a dark room since I was kidnapped. I never saw how many worked for Sage."
A twitch on his jaw was the only emotion to show that he was angry about the fact.
There weren't too many people I'd seen today and it couldn't be just luck. I paused, suddenly noticing the sight. There, just a little ahead was a one-story house and if I was right, all the chattering was coming from there. I didn't want to go farther but what was my other option?
"You stay here, I'll check that place out." He said, trying to rush forward. Shit, this was a suicide mission. You don't want to see the wrong side of Sage. If provoked, he could call his equally disturbing minions which could kill us instantly even before we could blink. So, before Mikhail could get both of us killed, I stopped him with a grimace.
"Let's just go together OK? We don't need the same thing that happened to us before." I reminded him to which we both visibly flinched.
Like hell, I was going to do that same mistake twice.
THREE MONTHS AGO
"You take 5133 and make a move. I will deal with Byron."
He stopped to look at me like I was crazy. "Never. We're going together."
"I stand by him this time. You have no idea what he's going to do." Groaning, 5133 threw her hands off. "Just let us see the print and make a plan."
Make a plan.
Easy enough.
"Fine. These tunnels end right at Baele street. Maybe we could use that to escape. I don't think the front gate will be unsupervised for long so this is the only way. Also, you want us three to go together but crowd attracts people. It's better to split up and meet somewhere in the middle." There was a wary grin on 5133's face and I knew I was right.
Mikhail immediately started shaking his head. "No, no, no. You can't be serious."
"What? She drives a hard bargain." 5133 slapped my shoulder in support.
He narrowed his gaze but none of us backed down.
"Shit. Fine, we'll meet at a safehouse I own but who's going where?"
"5133. You go to the kitchen. The tunnel is easier to access from there. Mikhail and I will go see where Byron is and I'm not asking. Please." She started searching my eyes and I let her see that I was absolutely serious. After only a second, she cursed, pushing past us but not before hugging her brother.
Before I could walk out of the door though, deadly feelings crashed down on me. All the pain, suffering that this place had given me made me turn around to see it for the last time. I was not the same girl that came here.
I died here.
Yeah, they deserved what was coming for them.
Mikhail noticed my silence but said nothing until I looked at him. "You ok?"
"Yeah, let's go."
"It'll be like a game." He reassured with a grin. "Hide and seek, baby. What do you say?"
I was game.
I have been to Byron's room a few times but it didn't make it easier to go find him now. The fuck knew what he was doing. Probably bragging to his master about how he protected us. Bullshit. I reveled in the anger coming from me and Mikhail concentrated on his guilt. Well, I hope it was guilt or he was just as bad as they were.
We were just a few feet away when I heard his voice. "Yes. Get rid of the bodies. The Volkios will be here in a week. I'll make sure of that, just send my regards to Master."
My breath hitched and Mikhail shoved his palm on my mouth to stop the sound from getting through. Our gaze met and we nodded. We had to be careful if we wanted to catch him. Peeking from our hidden place, I noticed he was showing his back.
Good.
"Hide and seek." I mouthed the words.
Mikhail took a stand and started whispering. "Ih sko ajek olpa dios slaok."
Byron screamed. Now it was my turn. I didn't forget the knife Zach left for me. It was going to be poetic justice, really. With it in my hands, I ran toward him and rammed it where it was needed to be. Right in his heart. The glass table broke under our weight, the candles he lit earlier were now on the floor, probably catching fire to the curtains but I didn't care. This was happening. Shit, I was killing a vampire. He had enough time to turn back and watch my face before the edge of the knife pierced through his skin.
"For Zach. For Sandy and every life you've taken from here."
Fuck, he should be dying.
But he let out a chuckle. "Vampires don't die from knife wounds, silly girl."
I knew that. That's why I especially used it. A knife that was made of half wood and half steel. A really really slow death. He understood that soon too when his nose wrinkled, the discomfort showing from miles away. And I should have run with Mikhail then and there. But no. I had to stand and watch him in agony. I had to see his last breath dying. Maybe that's why I didn't expect him to kick my legs to make me fall on my knees.
"You'll kill me?" He pinned me down too fast too soon and shit, maybe for a vampire, even dying, they were faster. "Then I'll take you down with me."
Mikhail screamed for me to run. Byron sank his teeth on my neck, making the world coming to a stop. The pain was sharp and meant to kill. I lunged for him to get off of my body but he was like steel. No matter how many times I thrashed or cried out, he kept his jaw locked. Somewhere I could feel the blood on my skin and the smell of smoke but it's not until he started gagging that I understood just what happened.
He was choking on my blood, trying to spit it out.
Some of the blood got on my hair.
Some on my gown.
And some on the floor.
Right at that moment, I saw Mikhail's thundering gaze on us and him shoving Byron from me. I thought he was going to push the rest of the wooden part but he pulled it off and before I could even argue why the fuck he was doing that, he snapped Byron's neck.
"Come on! Get up, quick!" The smoke was starting to get unbearable. Fuck.
I was somehow able to stand, my hands immediately finding where Byron bit me. I watched Mikhail look at me and then Byron as if he was trying to make sense of something. In the end, he took the knife mixed with Byron's blood and started writing something on the walls.
All of you wanted to see evil, I'll happily show you what it means to be truly evil.
"Lana, listen to me. We weren't supposed to destroy the property. Valentine wouldn't take it lightly if he finds out that it was us. Write, help us, please, and things like that on the wall with your blood. I have a plan."
Byron wasn't dead yet.
Mikhail was offering a crazy plan. My head felt like it could pop off anytime. Despite all of that, I nodded, starting to curve the words in my blood. When that was done, he ordered me to get my diary. Everything felt like a blur as I wrote some entries about how Byron used to torture us. How he was going to kill us all.
How I died.
No one looks for the dead.
A perfect end to this misery.
I didn't even look back when he told me to leave the diary in the staff hallway. Taking a deep breath, I looked at him and he had the same idea. We had to take a right and take the stairs if we wanted to run far away from the fire. I could already hear some screams nearby.
Before we could leave though, the orderlies began to move in our direction. Shit, they were back. They must have heard the screams. His grip tightened around the sleeves of my gown. "Come and don't let go of me."
I nodded, letting him pull me with him. We had to hightail it down the opposite direction. We picked up the speed as we went and by the time we were at the bottom of another set of doors, we halted. He stared down at the basement.
"Wait here. I'm going to check to make sure we won't get caught."
I waited impatiently for him to return but to my horror, I saw something that made me blink harder until I couldn't breathe.
Sandy was floating over the floor, her eyes staring down at me. To my surprise, she pointed at the closed door beside me.
"Come, child. I'll help you." She rasped out. Fuck, I could cry.
I took a breath of relief, only to see the angry orderlies appear around the corner. When I stood there frozen, someone shoved me behind, making me scream. To my relief, it was only Mikhail who yelled out with a shaky voice. "Move!"
As he dragged me away from there, I could only watch Sandy take care of the problem like usual.
PRESENT
"If Sandy's spirit wasn't there, you could have gotten hurt." He frowned at the memory. I never could thank her enough. As if reading my mind without saying anything he started to walk toward the house.
Joining him, I tried to peer through the small window and my jaw dropped. Sage and his minions were getting ready for something big but Mikhail's eyes were glued to Sage.
"Hey, are you OK?" I poked him so his trance could break.
"Is that-" He paused, breathing heavily so I tried to give him the details.
"That's Sage. He's the one who-"
He looked at me in disbelief. "He's a Seeker. Just like me."
***
How many of you are surprised?? Let me know! And lovelies, as always...
Enjoy!