Tell Me I'm Not Dreaming [A Vampire Academy fanfiction]

Chapter V

My first thought when I followed Ashley out there was: "How did the Strigoi get on campus in the first place?" St. Vladimir's was heavily guarded by Dhampirs, wards, and other defense mechanisms to keep the students in and the Strigoi out.

"How did they get in?" I heard Ashley murmur. Screams were already dotting the campus from every single direction. Teachers were out, and Moroi were inside, trying to stay out of the action.

"I think it was an inside job...look," I said, pointing to none other then Wesley's little sister coming to join the Strigoi. I had never met a Moroi who wanted to be a Strigoi before. But I guess I could see the appeal....you were immortal, strong, powerful, and could do whatever you please. Moroi were mortal vampires, who wielded elemental magic. It was all different.

"Geez! The Lazar family has problems," Ashley said and charged at Strigoi behind me. I was kicking left and right, and had staked 2 Strigoi about 5 minutes later. "Is Wesley okay, though?" Ashley asked, concerned.

"I'll go check on him," I told her redundantly. I ran then. A Strigoi was chasing me, so I delivered and roundhouse kick, and threw my stake right at her heart. I heard her snarl at me before it happened. Pfft. Strigoi. They were a nuisance.

I felt nothing for Wesley Lazar, who was a seriously jerky Moroi. But Ashley really cared about him, but the battlefield needed Ashley more than me. She had always been the brawn while I had been the brains. It was just the way we were.

Wesley's little sister, Haley, was pretty much an outcast at the academy. Even her own brother didn't talk to her because of her "depressing personality". I thought that was stupid. I guess Haley felt helpless and just wanted to be accepted, so she had joined the Strigoi. Hopefully, someone would explain all of this to me later.

While I was walking towards the boy dorms I felt a tap on my shoulder. Oh shit. I turned around and immediately punched whoever it was in the face. Ouch. It hurt. Of course it was a Strigoi.

"Going somewhere?" it hissed at me. Face pale, eyes red, and the most ugly personality ever. This time it was a guy. Light brown hair, emerald green eyes, and he was very tall. Must've been a Moroi before all this stuff happened to him.

I'd be doing him a favor by staking him. "Nowhere you need to know of," I retorted and punched him square in the jaw. Then I started dodging his attempts to land a blow on me. I was always good at dodging....never good at direct punches and kicks.

I guess I got a bit distracted, because he kicked me in the stomach. And it hurt. "Geesh! Give up already!" I cried, and pushed the Strigoi down as hard as I could, staking it in the heart. I guess I got kind of cocky when I was staking Strigoi. It was natural.

"Emma! Help!" I heard someone call. I turned toward the voice and saw that it was Wesley. He was trying to set the Strigoi on fire, but it was already pinning him down trying to bite him. I charged towards him, trying to pry the Strigoi off.

"Emma...just stake him in the back! Distract him! Get him offa me!" Wesley yelled. I did what I was told, and then, Wesley just....how do I put this? Combusted. Wesley, being a fire user, set himself on fire to burn the Strigoi, of course, the Strigoi immediately sprang away. "Emma, stake him! STAKE! HIM!" Wesley yelled, louder than ever in my ear.

I could hear him loud and clear, but I just couldn't do it. The fire. The fire. The fire. It scared me to death. I hated fire. "Stake him, Emma....stake him!" Wesley yelled at me yet again. I snapped out of my trance and pounced on the Strigoi, stabbing it and ending it's life.

"Emma, what happened out there?" he asked, looking at me like I was insane and absolutely stupid. And honestly, I had been. Ignoring a Strigoi like that in a much more intense battle meant certain death. Strigoi striked hard and fast....if it hadn't been for Wesley and his fire technique, I would've been dead by now.

"I just got a bit distracted. That's all," I huffed out. "I'm fine, I'm fine.....but Wesley, you shouldn't be out here," I breathed, panting after hastily cramming my stake into yet another Strigoi. "You should be inside with the other Moroi," I said.

"I want to fight," he replied. There had been a lot of talk of teaching Moroi how to stake Strigoi. With their elemental magic, it was already an added plus. But to be honest, I didn't really agree with it. Moroi could do it if they wanted to, but, in some cases, I thought it was very dangerous and a lot of work. I didn't really have a huge opinion on it.

"Okay....but, I got your back if you need anything," I said. They come first. It was what every teacher I had had drilled into my head. Moroi were important, all of them were. Non-royal or royal, they were more important than dhampirs, and it was our job to protect them. But I was doing this for Ashley. No person had ever been more important to me than her.

My mom was a Dhampir, and my dad was a Moroi. I had no idea who my dad was, and my mom and me had the worst relationship ever. I had only ever met her once, and we had never really hit it off. She wasn't the best guardian in the world, but she was still my mom. But no matter how much I tried to mend my relationship with her, it had never really worked.

"Moroi are not weak, Emma," Wesley practically spat at me. I could tell that he was angry, but now was no time to be angry. I was already pushing Strigoi off of me left and right. Avoiding them was easy....but staking them was another thing entirely.

"I wasn't implying that," I spat back. "I'm helping you because I need to, not because I want to," I muttered. 3 Strigoi walked towards me and cornered me. This was gonna be a real treat.

I pushed the one in front of me away and started running, running, running. I ran as fast as I could. The woman grabbed my hair and pulled me back. I punched her in the face, and leaped up and kicked her two cronies. Then, I struggled a bit, but was able to stake all 3 of them.

I saw Ashley fending off a snarling old-looking Strigoi against the school wall, and decided to help her. I scarred the Strigoi with my stake, and Ashley did the staking. "Is Wesley okay?" Ashley asked.

"He's doing just grand," I replied tartly. Wesley Lazar got on my nerves.

"Good," she said. "There are so many of them," Ashley mumbled, surveying the campus grounds. There had to have been hundreds and thousands of Strigoi invading the school grounds. There were still about 20 of them left.

"Ashley, we did all we could do...let's just hope for the best," I said. "I passed by Cass five minutes ago, so I'm pretty sure she's okay," I added, reassuring Ashley.

"Wait...look....they're running away," I said, staring at the scene unfolding before me. About 15 or so Strigoi were fleeing the grounds. Were they scared? Was something or someone calling to them?

"Yeah...WITH HOSTAGES!" Ashley screamed, running towards a familiar face. Wesley, Cass, and Hayley were all unconscious and being hauled away by Strigoi. Our other classmates, Moroi and Dhampir alike were being dragged along by the Strigoi.

Ashley and me ran after them, but a bunch of other, adult Dhampirs were already beating us to it. "Don't worry about it girls," said a comforting voice. I turned around. My kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Applebaum smiled at me. "We'll get them back in no time. I have no idea what they're up to, but their hostages are only unconscious, not bitten," she said.

"They have Adrian Ivashkov," Ashley whispered. Ivashkov. The only chance I had to save Dante. Gone. God, those Strigoi would be hearing from me soon. Cass was in danger, and so were so many people I grew up with.

And then, our school was on fire.