Rise of Xavia

by Tara Chau

  “Have you seen Gabe in the last twelve hours?” he questions.

  Not even a Hi, or How are you today Dianna?

  “No, I was looking for Anne and Gabe all morning. Where are they?” I ask, ignoring the throb in my chest.

  “Anne is fine. She’s at the Sanctuary looking.” He replies stiffly.

  “Looking for what?” I ask obliviously.

  “For Gabe. He went MIA yesterday.”

  “What do you mean? Gabe was fine. He came back after you guys killed the vamps. He took me home.” I spit out. My brain relentlessly searching for a reason why they can’t find him.

  “Gabe went back to the place where we fought them,” Ty explains. “He needed to fill out the forms for what happened, and he insisted that we go home. He said it would only take ten minutes. Gabe never came back,” he says, his voice dropping into a low whisper.

  “Gabe’s…missing?” I say, astonished. My mind taking extra time to wrap around this reality.

  “Yes. I was only here to check if he turned up at school. I’m going back to the Sanctuary to scan the cameras,” he says.

  “I-I can help. Let me help Ty. Gabe is my friend too.” I plead helplessly, unable to prevent or stop the step that I take towards him.

  “No, stay here,” Ty says, looking down at me with sad eyes. “The head of Sanctuary has banned you from looking for Gabe. You’re not allowed to go anywhere where there’s danger. You need to train,” he says sternly. “I’m going. We’ll update you on anything to do with Gabe if necessary.” Ty nods to me, his professional expression of cold ice slipping back into place. With that, he walks off, leaving me behind, with shaky knees and breathless.

  * * *

  The next week is a blur. All it consists of is waking up early and training before going to school. Staying up late and training. Training in hidden spots around school during lunch, close-combat training, sword training, balancing/jumping/running training. Between school and training, I was mentally and physically exhausted. Only the thought of Gabe and his warm smile keeps me going. He’s out there, somewhere. Alone and possibly being hunted by demons and vampires. If I can’t search for him with the others, then I will train until I can go out myself. Saturday night comes, and I collapse into bed. It’s eleven thirty-five when my phone beeps with a new message. Anne.

  A: Meet me at the city shopping centre tomorrow at 10:00 am. You and I need to rest. Enough training. One day to ourselves, then we go back to searching for him.

  D: Alright.

  I turn off my phone and roll over, drifting off into an uneasy sleep.

  ***

  I arrived at the shops right on time. Spying Anne sitting on the edge of the fountain that had been built in the centre of it all, I walk over. After giving her a weak smile and a swift hug, we sit back down.

  “Four hours,” Anne requests softly. “Four hours of no training, no searching, no feeling guilty. Four hours of just being normal teen girls. That’s all I’m asking.”

  “Okay,” I say gently.

  It will be good to take my mind off everything and rest for a bit. “Where are you taking me first?” I ask with renewed energy.

  “Do you even know me?” she asks, smiling. “We’re going clothes shopping!”

  The next few hours are a complete mess. Clothes shopping, eating, shoe shopping, eating, gossiping, then eating again. Surprisingly, I enjoy every part of it. I had unknowingly cast all thoughts to do with Gabe and the search aside, leaving me lighter and happier than I have been in days. Four hours pass, which we don’t even notice, and by dinner time, I have both arms full of shopping bags and all my birthday money from last year that I never spent gone. We eat fries and chocolate milkshakes for dinner. Afterwards, Anne insists that we go to her favourite ice cream place, which is two streets blocks from the shopping centre.

  “Why don’t we just get ice cream here?” I ask, giddy from the day’s fun.

  “No,” Anne responded, smiling. “It has to be from Genies Gelatos. That place is amazing. Come on. It’s only a ten-minute walk. I’ll protect you.”

  “Haven’t you seen me training? I’m badass now. I can totally protect myself.” We laugh as we exit the building, lugging all our clothes with us.

  The night air is cool and fresh but not too cold. We laugh and talk as the minutes' tick by, but I’m unable to avoid that still intense pressure on my chest. Rounding a corner, I stop suddenly, Anne stopping a few metres in front of me.

  A dark figure stands over a downed body, pulling a sword out from the persons’ stomach.

  “NO!” I scream.

  I am about to rush at the thing when I remember that I don’t have any weapons. It turns around and hisses at us. Teeth bared. Vampire.

  “Get to the body!” Anne yells as she draws a short knife from the inside of her coat. “I’ll get the vamp.”

  Discarding the bags as if they are now trash, we both spring into action. Anne is already throwing the knife at the vamp, sending it up in black smoke and attacking the second one that appears from the trees. I run to the figure lying on the ground, coming to kneel beside it. No.

  “Gabe!” I gasp.

  Gabe is lying on the ground, still in the same clothes as eleven days ago, bleeding. The stab wound from the sword is welting blood. I lift his mud-stained shirt to find many other cuts and bruises. Ripping off my hoodie, I pressed it firm onto his wound to stop him from bleeding to death. Within seconds my hands and hoody are soaked with his blood, warm and crimson. I abandon the jumper and grab his hand tight, feeling an alarming shock run through me. His hand is hot, calloused and shaking vigorously.

  “Gabe.” I plead. “Gabriel, I’m here now. Listen to me. Wake up!”

  I shake his shoulder violently. He flinches and gasps, his eyes fluttering open, his pupils blown wide. I let out a sigh and reach to cup his cheek, accidentally smearing blood across his pale skin.

  “You’re going to be fine Gabe, just stay awake until we get you safe. Annabelle!” I scream.

  Within moments, Anne is by my side, holding Gabe’s other hand.

  “My God,” she whispers. “Gabe, what have you gotten yourself into?”

  “Anne,” I look at her with horror-filled eyes. “Can you call someone from the Sanctuary? Anyone?”

  “Yes, I’ll go call for backup. Stay with him, Di, keep him awake,” she demands, giving his hand another squeeze.

  “Alright.”

  Anne runs a few metres away and starts to make a call. I turn back to Gabe and see that he is starting to drift off again. All the lost blood isn’t doing him any favours.

  “Gabe, come on, stay awake.” I lightly slap his face on both sides, just enough to get his attention.

  “Di…” he croaks softly.

  “Gabe, Gabe, it’s going to be fine. Anne’s getting help. Just stay awake, okay?” I say worriedly.

  “Are you…o-okay?” he asks.

  I laugh nervously, and a tear runs down my cheek. “Am I okay? Damnit. Gabe, you scared me beyond being okay. Do you know how hard I’ve been training, just to be allowed to help bloody look for you?”

  He laughs softly and winces in pain. I wrap both my arms around his neck and carefully lift his head onto my lap. He cries out, and I cringe, my own hands now shaking. Stroking his hair away from his eyes, I look down at him. The cut from Monday’s vamp is only now starting to scab over.

  “Di get out…of…here. The vampires…they could come…back.” He closes his eyes tight, and I grip him tighter to my body.

  “Gabe. I will not leave you, not like this. You’re going to be okay. And if they do decide to come back, then I guess you’ll be able to see my new fighting skills. After all, I have had a whole week and a half of training.” I say with a weak smile.

  “You need to leave.” he rasps as he opens his eyes to look up at me.

  I look down into his black eyes. They’re full of emotions I can’t even begin to separate. I tak
e in his ghost-white skin and how even the slightest of movements I make cause him to cringe with agony. I work on steadying myself and staying focused.

  I shake my head and glare down at him. “Never.”

  He takes a shaky breath and nods, closing his eyes once more as if it’s all he can do to keep some of the pain at bay, but…

  “Don’t close your eyes. You need to stay awake. Just listen to me.”

  “Dianna!” Anne’s voice calls. “They’re here!”

  A big white van comes screeching around the corner and parks metres away from where Gabe and I are. I look down at him just as three Protectors come spilling out of the van.

  “Promise me you’ll fight,” I whisper urgently into Gabe’s ear. “Promise me you won’t leave me.”

  I know that he heard me because he nods, ever so slightly, just enough for me to notice but still the second guess myself, though it gives me a little confidence.

  The three men come and lift Gabe gently from my lap. He screams and starts to thrash wildly; I jump up and get into the back of the van along with Anne to drive back to the Sanctuary. Both Anne and I spend the whole ride trying to get Gabe to calm down. The more he moves and panics, the more blood spills, coating the stretcher with red liquid. The flow of his blood becomes increasingly slow, making Anne and I pale to a shade close to Gabe’s own alarming features. The spot where the sword had cut into him started to turn a sickly grey and looked infected. I look to the corner of the van as Anne takes the blade used to stab Gabe. Blood and something vile green dripped from it. Poison. We come to a sudden stop, making him flinch and moan, though it seems that his energy and power had been drained with his blood. The men come around to haul Gabe out of the van on the stretcher and rush him into the infirmary.

  The whole ride down the lift is agonising, but I remind myself that my pain is secondary to Gabe’s. When the elevator pinged open, I start to make my way after him, but the third Protector stopped me.

  “I’m sorry, but you can’t go with him. It would only make him panic more. Astrid needs him to be calm, and she also needs to focus.”

  “What? Not if I’m in there along with Anne,” I gesture to her by my side. “Then he will be a whole lot calmer, I can promise you.”

  “I’m sorry, you still can’t go in,” and with that, he walks after Gabe’s manic body, glaring at the blood spots on the ground, a trail of his blood.

  * * *

  Last night’s events come crashing down in my head as I wake from an uneasy sleep. Dreams about vampires have taken over my mind during the minimal hours of sleep I was able to catch. My body is exhausted, every muscle I have feels strained, and I think that I twisted my ankle. A groan escapes my lips as I roll onto my side, cringing from the pain that I cause just by moving inches. The time is seven thirty-three. I had slept in, and yet I still feel like crap.

  “Dad?” I call, hoping he’s still at home, considering that I had slept in.

  A loud bang sounds from down the hall as my dad comes skidding into my room gracefully and sits on the edge of the bed beside me.

  “You called?” he smiles with a goofy grin that should only be seen on six-year-olds.

  I look at him with big, animated eyes and talk. “I don’t think I’m up for school today.”

  He looks at me with observant eyes. “Okay, I’ll call the school, you can have the day off. You do look unnaturally exhausted. I will be at work though, so you’ll be at home by yourself. Speaking of work, I’m late. Will you be okay here on your own?”

  I nod in certainty. “Go to work, dad. I’ll be fine.”

  He smiles at me and kisses me lightly on the forehead before leaving the room with a skip.

  I lie in bed for another ten minutes, making sure that he has left before grabbing the sheets. I pull them off me as I hobble into the bathroom.

  Turning the water on to a scalding temperature, I let it splash down comfortingly onto my hair and down my back. Remembering what happened last night made me shiver, despite the boiling water. Gabe was covered in cuts and bruises so huge that they decorated most of his stomach. They were so deep purple and slightly yellow. The cuts were deep and spilling pus.

  I must get back there. I need to go see if he’s alright. I finish my shower quickly and dress in black jeans and a black tank-top under a black leather jacket, slipping my feet into some black runners. I look at myself in the mirror. Gods.

  These past few weeks have done so much for me. I used to be so light. My only problems were inexplainable dreams. Now those are the least of my problems. I look at myself now, and all I see is a girl, dressed in black, who is about to go through something brutal unprepared. She’s ready to give up everything just to be able to keep her loved ones safe. I walk out the door and start the jog to the Sanctuary.

  The air is frosty, although the sun is warm. I run down the streets, looking around at all the ordinary people and houses that I pass. Deep envy travels up through my body. All these people go around day to day completely happy, not worrying what may be around the corner before they turn. None of these innocent people know what kind of threat they’re under. People smile or nod or wave as I pass, and another wave of envy comes crashing down. I want all this peace; I want to be able to smile and nod at the next person without care. I want to be ordinary. I run faster. Tidy, neat houses become a blur, along with all the people attempting to slow me down. The white picket fences and perfect gardens are only a reminder of what an ordinary life is. Something I couldn’t have. Yes, I love the people that I am with now, but I wish that instead of training or hunting down vampires, we could go to the movies, or all of us go out to get frozen yogurt.

  I approached the Sanctuary and run straight around the corner of Munimenti Lumen and into the foyer of the Sanctuary. I stride straight up to the elevator, ignoring Dante’s attempts to get my attention and press the button.

  “Dianna! You still need permission to access the Sanctuary since you’re not registered as a proper Protector yet. And also because you have decided to continue wearing that bandage, even though it covers your signum.”

  I turn around slowly and stare at him hard.

  “Not today, Dante.”

  “What do you mean not today? There are rules, and just because you think that you’re better than everyone else here, it doesn’t mean that you can disobey them,” he lectures as he walks up to me.

  I march up to him and pull him aggressively by the collar, yanking him close enough to feel his breath. From the corner of my eyes, I can see the guards that stand by the elevators, ready to pounce if necessary but also looking slightly amused.

  “I mean it, Dante, don’t push me. I have had one hell of a week, and you do not want to get me mad this morning.” Well, madder, that is. “Now, you are going to let me pass without an escort, and I am going to let you go back to your job with all your limbs attached. Is that a good bargain?” I ask with a low frosty voice.

  “I-I…” he stammers.

  “No-no, you have no need to speak, simply nod your head and stand aside.” I smile sweetly as he nods reluctantly while I let him go.

  The elevator doors chime open, and I slowly walk in. Just before the doors close, I hear a burst of laughter from the guards.

  “God, Dante, she totally scared the crap out of you.” Comes a laughing voice, low but somehow silky.

  “Teach you to mess with a girl.” Comes another voice.

  And for the first time in the last eight hours, I smile.

  Since the last time I had been into the infirmary, it has changed. There are long white curtains draping from the roof, attached to rings that allow them to slide back and forth. All the curtains are positioned into temporary walls surrounding the five beds on each side of the infirmary, creating a room for the patients and a hall down the centre of the two rows of beds. I slam the door hard behind me and begin to walk down the makeshift hall. Some of the curtains have name tags hanging from them: Clare, Draune
r, Talis, Jones, Landise. Assuming these are last names, I draw back the curtain that reads Jones and slip inside, keeping my face to the curtain, not ready to look at Gabe yet.

  His voice comes from behind me, familiar but weak. “I wondered who was coming in, then you slammed the door, and I suspected that it was either you or Anne. Since Anne happens to be on an assignment right now….”

  “It had to be me,” I finish as I turn around.

  I look at him, head to feet. He is topless, but most of his upper body is wrapped up by a bandage, red blood starting to seep through already. His face looked exhausted, dark bags hanging under his eyes, and his eyelids are half-closed, sometimes fluttering. He wears a small smile, cheeks bright red and eyes misty. Gabe has the expression of someone who is trying to pretend that nothing’s wrong when they already know that everything is wrong. I can’t really look him in the eye without involuntarily conjuring an image of last night’s events. Instead, I look just past his shoulder to the back curtain.

  “I hate you. You know that, right?” I say shakily, walking over and leaning against the flimsy frame of the hospital bed.

  “I-I admit that I don’t know why,” he says, looking slightly confused.

  “Because you couldn’t pick up your bloody phone to answer a single call. You freaking scared the hell out of everyone who cares about you. I am exhausted from training eight hours a day for the past week and a half, all because I wanted to help find you. I couldn’t because Ty said that I wasn’t allowed to go out into the field without completing my training first. I would show you all the bruises and cuts I have gotten, but I’m afraid that they have already healed. The only reason I didn’t train last night is that Anne insisted that we go out. I heal quickly, so I basically go to sleep with a dozen cuts and bruises and then I wake up with none. Anyway, not the point. The point is that I dislike you with a strong negative passion right now,” I express.