Alethea has always been awkward - eccentric, even. On a typical day she spends her time cloistered inside a tiny apartment hiding from the world she doesn't really understand. When her therapist encourages her to push herself outside her comfort zon...
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"Alt! Sei in arresto!"
I couldn't speak Italian, but it would have been hard to misinterpret the policeman's words when he was pointing a gun in my face. Officers had swarmed the street and surrounded us. Roran raised his hands to show surrender and I quickly followed suit.
"Noi siamo innocenti," Roran tried to explain to the large group of police officers. "Siamo stati attaccati dall'uomo all'interno dell'hotel."
"What are you saying to them?" I hissed at him under my breath, while trying not to draw any more attention to myself.
He didn't take his eyes off of the police, but he replied quietly, "I just explained to them that we were innocent and that we were attacked inside the hotel."
"Then why aren't they lowering their weapons?"
"Potrai restare in custodia della polizia fino a quando questo problema è stato risolto," the commanding officer instructed, while motioning for us to follow him.
Roran nodded at him and squeezed my hand.
"We're going to do as they say for now," he said as we were shoved into a nearby patrol car. "Hopefully Moroi will see the police outside and leave."
"And if he doesn't? What if he attacks them? Shouldn't we warn them?"
"Do you think they would believe us?"
I fidgeted and clenched my fingers underneath the seat as we watched the officers approach the entrance of the hotel. "No. But it feels wrong letting them go in there without any warning."
Roran pulled one of my hands from its death grip on the seat and held it between his own. He opened his mouth to tell me something, but it was cut off by screams and shots firing inside the hotel.
"Oh God, we have to do something!" I cried, yanking on the door handle and realizing for the first time that we were locked inside the police car.
"Move back, I'm going to kick out the window," Roran replied.
It took five tries, but eventually the glass shattered and Roran was able to climb out the window and open the door from the outside. I clambered out and was able to stumble a few steps toward the hotel before Roran stopped me. I glared at him but he ignored it.
"We need to get out of here and make our way to the Vatican. There's nothing we can do for them now," he explained.
"You don't know that," I argued. "We could at least try to help!"
Roran ran a hand over his scalp and shook his head. "There are demons in there, Thea. Demons. What exactly do you think you could do to help?"
"I don't know, okay?" I admitted, biting my nails. "But it feels wrong just leaving."
As if to punctuate my sentence, one of the policeman's bodies came rocketing out the door toward us and landed less than ten feet from me. His body was mangled and broken in ways that didn't seem physically possible and I had to fight down the bile rising in my throat.
Turning begging eyes on Roran, I pleaded with him to do something. Anything. But I knew as soon as he turned his eyes away from the dead man and looked at me that he had made up his mind.
"We're leaving, Thea," he stated, his left eyelid twitching. "Get in the car. Now."
I gave him another glare, followed by a wet sniffle, but I did as he said. After all, he was right. I couldn't fight demons and trying to help those people would have gotten me killed, but seeing them slaughtered right in front of me and running made me feel like a coward.
The harsh wind whistling into the broken back window and the police siren were the only sounds that could be heard in the car for miles. Roran had turned off the police radio almost immediately after getting into the car. I may not have understood what the voices had been shouting, but from the panicked tone of their voices I had known it wasn't anything good. I stared out the window and tried to think about anything but their screams.
After staring out the window for several minutes I had begun to notice a pattern. I frowned when I realized what I was seeing in the alleyways.
"Roran, how long does it take to get to the Vatican from here?"
"It's not much farther. Why?"
"Because I think we are being watched."
"What? No one's following us; I've made sure of it."
"You're right, they're not. They are waiting in the alleys, just like Moroi said they would be."
"Vampires."
"Looks like it."
"We only have a few more kilometers to go and we will be on holy ground. They can't follow us there. Don't worry."
To be honest, I wasn't worried at all. I may have been in shock, but for some reason I wasn't panicking.
Without warning the car was slammed violently to the left, causing us to come dangerously close to hitting another car. Roran was able to avoid it right before we collided, but there was no doubt the vampires were no longer lying in wait for us. Apparently Moroi had finally shown up to give them orders.
"Listen to me," Roran began. "If something happens to me don't stay behind and try to help me. I want you to sprint for the Vatican as hard as you can."
I stared at him, dumbfounded. "What? No way! I can't leave you behind."
"You can and you will, Alethea," he snapped. "I won't have you die for me. The Vatican is-"
SLAM!
An impact to the back right tire sent us hurtling toward a building at break-neck speed. There was no time to brace for the impact. As we neared the brick wall my hand searched blindly for Roran's and I gripped it with all my might.
...
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I know it's a cliffhanger, but I have to keep you guys in suspense, right? Leave me a comment if you can think of ways I can improve and don't forget to vote please!
