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

Chapter VI

It was just like my dream. Just like my dream. Just. Like. My. Dream. The screams were everywhere, and the smoke was rising. And it continued to rise and rise into the sky. The flames were roaring. They were so loud, it hurt my ears.

Dante. He was inside. No, no, no...he wasn't. Dante was in a coma, and he wasn't inside the school. If he was, if he was....that was when I had a panic attack.

I started screaming too, even though I was safe. I was outside, and I was being lead away from the fire. But suddenly, I just couldn't move. I didn't know why, but I was just simply frozen to the spot. "Emma, what's wrong?" Ashley asked. "We have to go save Cass and Wesley!" she yelled. "Let's go, away from the fire...away," she said, and started tugging on me. That was when I could see the tears in her eyes.

She was trying so hard to be strong, to hold up like some big guardian statue. She was trying to be like Rose Hathaway. Rose Hathaway was Ashley's enemy, rival, and in a way, even her idol. My best friend was crying, and I was having a panic attack. My heart was beating so quickly, and the tears came fast and hot, stinging my eyes.

I stopped hyperventilating immediately. I hung on to Ashley's arm and we walked away from St. Vladimir's burning building with the remnants of our school. A few fire users stayed behind, trying to diffuse the fire, and water users stayed behind to douse the flames. But it didn't work.

St. Vladimir's was gone. And it was going to be for a while, even if the Moroi could savage some pieces. "Emma?" Ashley asked, her voice quiet and soft, near a whisper as we all tried to remain calm and orderly in a line leading away from St. Vladimir's.

"Yeah?" I replied, looking at Ashley. I could tell she was worried, and honestly, so was I. No matter how much a Moroi tried, they could not get out the clutches of a Strigoi once captured. It was pretty much certain death by then. It was even certain death toward Dhampirs, and we were the ones with combat skills.

"Let's just hope, that wherever they are, they're gonna be okay....they're gonna be....alive," Ashley mumbled hushly under her breath. She was scared...we all were. There had never been a Strigoi attack like this on the school. It was so vicious, so terrifying, and no one had really been prepared for it.

Especially not me. Especially not with that fire. That fire was pretty much a living nightmare. If me and Ashley had been in the building, it would've been like losing Dante all over again.

Several people were staying behind to pull people out of that burning building. Others were trying to put the flame out to save the school. But I could tell that it was hopeless. Fire consumed everything. Fire took everything away from you.

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"Hey Ashley, going home?" I asked her. She looked at me with sad, vulnerable eyes. She nodded, a cold look crossing her face.

"It's not fair that they're calling our parents up and sending us home," she said. I could tell that she was angry, upset that she couldn't protect the school, and worried about Wesley and Cass.

"I thought you didn't like school," I said teasingly, trying to lighten the mood. My heart was beating a mile a minute though, and that wasn't good. I was worried about Cass....I had known her for a long time, and she was a strong trooper. Hopefully she would we okay by the time the teachers came to the rescue. If the teachers ever made it....

"It doesn't matter!" Ashley exclaimed angrily. Her face started to redden...she was getting awfully angry. "I wanted to help! But I can't because I'm not a senior like Rose Hathaway was!" she said angrily. Then, she closed her eyes and took a few deep, deep breaths. "Well, I'll call you Emma, hopefully we'll see each other sometime," she said coolly, and then started to walk away.

"Wait!" I cried, running to catch up to her. "What was it that you were going to tell me today?" I asked. I could still see anger in Ashley's eyes as she stopped and turned to look at me.

"I'll tell you later," she said, and waved good-bye to me, and walked away to her mom's car. Ashley's mom was also a dhampir, but she wasn't a guardian like mine was. Ashley's mom had had a fling with a royal Moroi. I didn't know with who, and neither did Ashley, but that's how she was born. Ashley's mom and the royal Moroi guy separated, of course, but then Ashley's mom remarried some other non-royal Moroi. Now, it was happily ever after for her family.

The school had set camp not far away from St. Vlad's after the fire. We had pitched some tents in the woods (Target is awesome) and set camp there for a week now. But the school board had decided that the school year couldn't go on with no school and half of the teachers gone.

So, our parents were called, and we were being shipped home. But me, I didn't really have a home. I knew who my mom was, but she was far too busy to take care of me. And, to be honest, I was old enough to take care of myself now. I used to live in foster care when I was about 5. But I was okay now.

My ride? A cab to the airport. After that, I was flying back to Manhattan in my cozy, extremely small apartment. It was sparsely decorated due to my tad lack of money. It had a nice enough bed, and a couch and a small TV. I also owned a laptop, and a cell phone. I thought I lived pretty well, although it got lonely sometimes.

If my plan worked out well enough, I wouldn't be going home. I would be hunting Strigoi and getting Wesley back for Ashley, Cass back for the both of us, and Adrian Ivashkov back for Dante.

My cab arrived, and I gave a prompt good-bye, and then got into the cab. The driver sped off and I remained quiet, looking out the window. There was no doubt that I worried sick about everybody. Not just my friends, not just a spirit user who I desperately needed, but everybody. Strigoi were dangerous and malicious...even I was scared of them. (Don't tell anyone I said that.)

As soon as we got farther and farther away, I told the cab to stop at a local McDonalds I saw on the way. I paid and the cab drove off as soon as I got out and got my luggage. "A bite to eat might do me some good," I said to myself.

I walked into the fast food restaurant and got in line. Once it was my turn, I ordered one big mac meal and settled myself into a comfy booth. I was starving, since it was past noon. I didn't real care if the burger was nearly close to a thousand calories and the fries added to the calories and so did the Pepsi....I just wanted to eat.

I closed my eyes and bit into the Big Mac. Yum. I felt good in my mouth as I swallowed and took a sip of my Pepsi. I sat there in McDonald's for a while, chewing thoughtfully and thinking about my "epic rescue plan".

I had never been good at plans. Let's just wing it....Emma DiCamillo style.