Don't Go Into The Woods

Chapter 39

He had slept poorly throughout the entire night. Every time he closed his eyes, all he could see was her broken hearted face. How could he have done that to her? Eventually when morning came, Dimitri had come to the conclusion that he had made a terrible decision. He could protect her. She could learn their ways. She could be protected. Dimitri would ensure her safety at all times. He could also persuade the order to accept her just like they had given his mother a chance. All of this was possible if only he just did not give up.

He showered before dressing and leaving his bedroom in the early hours. He had to make things right with Savannah before school begun. He was confident that she would forgive him once she has heard him out. He never meant anything he said. He truly did love her. He never meant to dump her the way he did. He never meant to dump her at all. He was going to make things right no matter what. He used the secret passageway and headed upstairs to her bedroom. When he had reached her bedroom, he knocked rather loudly on the door. He waited for someone to answer. His patience had run out due to his desperation to fix the pain he inflicted on Savannah last night. He was about to knock again on the door, even louder this time. Just before he did so, the door opened. Much to his surprise it was Carmen who was opening the door and not Savannah. Dimitri guessed Savannah must obviously still be in bed. Than Dimitri noticed the tired expression etched over Carmen's face. Like she had been up all night crying into her pillow. A bad feeling started to form in the pit of his stomach.

"Dimitri." Carmen said softly.

"Where is she?" Dimitri asked.

Carmen immediately started to cry. She took a few steps backwards. Dimitri took the opportunity presented to him and stormed into the bedroom, forcing Carmen to stumble further backwards into the room. She used the night gown she was wearing as an handkerchief to wipe the tears away which flowed from her eyes and down her cheeks. Dimitri scanned the room for Savannah. Her bed was made. By the look of things, it had not even been slept in during the night. Dimitri turned to Carmen for answers once she had closed the door to prevent anyone from another room being awoken by them.

"Where is Savannah? Tell me!" Dimitri ordered.

"She ran away last night. She didn't tell me where she was going." Carmen quickly replied.

"What?! How could you allow her to leave?!" Dimitri was angry. What type of friend was Carmen? How could she just allow Savannah to leave like this? And at night?!

"How was I suppose to stop her? Tie her down to her bed?" Carmen sobbed. "She said she didn't belong here and had to leave. You broke her heart Dimitri!"

Dimitri already knew that. He didn't need to be reminded of what he had done. He was here to fix things. To make things right. And now he had to find her first. As much as what he wanted to solely blame Carmen for not stopping Savannah from leaving, he knew he was to blame for this. Savannah running away like this was simply all his own fault. He could not argue with Carmen now. Finding Savannah was more important to him and Carmen had to help him.

"Did she give you a hint on what she was going to do?" Dimitri asked. Carmen shook her head. Dimitri guessed that she didn't ask Savannah either where she was going. Again, Dimitri had to fight the urge to scowl Carmen out for just allowing Savannah to leave like this. Instead, he took a deep breath and asked another question which he hoped Carmen would be able to answer. "Do you have any clue on where you think Savannah could have gone to last night?" Dimitri stared at Carmen intensely as she thought carefully about his question. Suddenly her eyes widened and she let out a gasp of horror. She knew something. Or at least a possibility as to where Savannah might have gone to last night. "What is it Carmen?!" Dimitri asked impatiently. Carmen looked up at him, but hesitated before answering him. Dimitri didn't have time for this. Every second that he was not out there searching for Savannah was a second wasted. He wanted to reach out and shake some sense into Carmen, but he held himself back from potentially physically harming Carmen if he did so.

Almost as Carmen could see what he wanted to do to her, she begun to speak. "The woods. She could have gone into the woods." Carmen said through horror filled breathes.

In an Instant, Dimitri felt his entire life come crashing down around him. Savannah in the woods! Those woods! Somehow he didn't erupt into a total chaos driven panic. Somehow he managed to keep his cool and ask Carmen yet another question.
"Why on earth would she go into the woods? We are forbidden from going in there!" Though Dimitri knew fair and well that Savannah had a taste for not following the rules.

Carmen did not answer Dimitri verbally. Instead she pointed to a book that was just barely sticking out from under Savannah's pillows. Dimitri quickly stepped up to the side of the bed, reached down and pulled out the book. Upon reading the title of the book, he was hit again with that world crashing feeling. His worst fears were coming true!

"We found that book. Savannah read it. She knows all about the woods and the wolves." Carmen shakily blurted out in a panic. "She mentioned that she was going to go into the woods to find out exactly what was going on and to find out how to protect ourselves from the wolves. I was against the idea, but we knew Roman and Ms. Hatch were werewolves who had no regard for human life. Savannah wanted to make sure we were protected from them." Dimitri remained still his silence made Carmen panic. "Please tell me you believe me! I swear to you, I am not lying! There are werewolves in the woods! The woods is another world entirely and now I believe Savannah has gone in there alone to try and protect everyone from them!"

Savannah knew about the woods. All this time she had kept quiet. Did she know about him? Did she know what he and his family were? Dimitri started to panic. "Where did she get this book from?" Dimitri asked.

"From the secret room in the principal's office." Carmen replied shakily.

Dimitri knew what Ms. Hatch was of course. Unlike Savannah and Carmen, he believed Ms. Hatch to be on he and his family side. Were they mistaken? Anything was possible, but Dimitri could not worry about that now. Savannah was out there somewhere in the woods and with the rebels who were out to kill anyone that trespass on their territory. Her life was seriously in danger. Than there was also Carmen who was standing before him. She knew far too much and a human with so much knowledge about the woods usually ended up dead and not capable of telling another soul. Dimitri could not allow anything like that to happen. He had to ensure Carmen was safe as well.

"Hide this book. Make sure no one reads it or sees you with it. Go to classes. Surround yourself with people and do not let anyone know that Savannah has left the school premises." Dimitri said, placing the book in Carmen's hands.

"And you? What about Savannah?" Carmen asked.

"I'm going to find her before it is too late." Dimitri replied.

He gave Carmen once last glance before rushing out of the bedroom. He heard her lock the door once he was gone. He hoped that Carmen had listened carefully to his instructions. She would be safe as long as she was in a crowd. As for Savannah. Dimitri just hoped she at least made it through the night. Who knows where she could be right now and whether she was even alive or not. He wanted to hold onto the hope that perhaps Savannah had not gone into the woods last night, but after contacting his papa and hearing that he could no longer pick Savannah's life force up, he started to fear for the worst. Was Savannah alive? Was she hurt? Did the rebels have her? Dimitri had so many questions he wished he could have answered. The only thing he knew for certain now was that he was going to find Savannah no matter what it took.