The Vampire Academy

Scene 4 (cont.)

Rose:
I couldn't make any words out through the phone. They were all yelling different things. Then finally I heard Dimitri's voice over the others, stopping them from talking over each other.

"Where's the man now?" He asked.

"I lit him on fire" Christian said simply.

"Ok, where did she get shot"

"Uhhh right side by her hip right where her pants end" he said. Mia was still pressing her hands onto my hip trying to prevent most of the bleeding.

"Did the bullet go through" Dimitri asked. "You're going to have to lift her and see. Do it gently"

Christian looked at Mia and then at me. I braved myself and nodded. Together Mia and Christian rotated my body so they could see the exit wound. The pain was excruciating but I held in my scream. Christian then picked up the phone again.

"It went through" he said.

"Good, now do any of you have a belt?" He asked. Christian didn't and neither did Eddie.

"Mason does, did. " I said through gritted teeth. Mia got up slowly and delicately took the belt off of Mason's body.

"Okay now what" Christian asked.

"Wrap the belt around her stomach right under the ribs. Pull it as tight as you can" in the background I could hear other people talking in the background. Someone said "we have the location" but I didn't know what that meant. I didn't even notice that Christian already wrapped the belt around until he pulled it right. The pain was extreme and I grunted as he fastened the belt.

"Ok now what" Christian asked anxiously

"Nothing more you can do except keep pressure on the wound. Make sure she stays awake. And don't hang up the phone we are tracking the signal and are on our way as we speak" anyone else would think that Dimitri was unfazed by this, acting as a normal guardian would. But underneath it all I could hear that he was extremely concerned. It broke my heart to hear him so sad. I willed myself to stay awake despite the throbbing pain throughout my whole body.

Minutes passed by extremely slow. Christian tried talking to me to keep me from falling asleep but i wasn't really focused. Most of my attention was feeling Lissa. She was allowed to go in the plane that was flying here right now. I couldn't get an exact location but it felt like she was around an hour away. I willed myself to stay awake for her but slowly my eye lids became heavier and heavier.

"Rose, stay awake" Christian said shaking me a little. I tried shaking my head slightly to shake the grogginess away.

"I'm trying" I said, my voice just above a whisper. Unexpectedly tears formed in my eyes. I tried to keep my emotions under control but it was to much to focus on at once. A tear slid out and down the side of my face and Christian wiped it away and then held my hand. "I don't want to die" I said. I knew that everyone on the phone could hear me since I felt Lissa's emotions drop. She was extremely worried and scared for me.

"Hey, I'm not going to let that happen" he assured and squeezed my hand. I took in a shaky breath and nodded. I wasn't going to let my emotions take over. I had to be strong in order to last long enough. I was extremely thankful for Christian at the moment. He and I had had our differences but today we have gone through something horrible together and whether we like it or not it brought us closer.

I heard something moving on my right and looked over to see Eddie waking up. When he opened his eyes he was beyond confused. He pressed his hand against his temple and scanned the room "what happened?" He asked. Clearly the drugs from the Strigoi has started to wear off. Then he saw the two Strigoi bodies on the ground, and then Masons body, and then me on the floor. His eyes widened in shock, fear, pain, and confusion. "Oh my god" he whispered staring at Mason. "Mason" he said, I could hear him but I read his lips. Once he stopped staring at him he put his attention on me. "Rose" he said. He tried standing and couldn't get off the wall so he chose to crawl over to my side. He looked where Mia's hands pressed against my stomach and then back at me. Tears were in my eyes once again and Eddie took my other hand and squeezed it. We sat in silence for a couple seconds before someone talked over the phone.

"The plane just landed. It says your about a half hour from here. How is everyone doing" Dimitri asked.

"We'll be okay. I hope. Just get here as soon as you can" Christian responded.