Page 191 of His Hell Girl

It's a storm of bullets as I run toward him.

Toward the only thing that matters.

I feel every hit, every bullet that hits my body. And as I fall to my knees in front of him, I can only cover his body with mine. Shield him like he's done to me so many times before.

There's a cacophony of sounds as Marcello orders them to cease fire, my name on his lips ringing into the arena as he yells at me. A voice so near, yet so far away.

Blood is everywhere.

My body. His body.

I lift a trembling hand to his face, urging him to look at me, seeking for some confirmation that there's still life in his eyes.

"I'm here," I whisper, knowing he can't hear me. Knowing deep down that he's gone.

"Where you go, I go." I gently caress his cheek, his hollow gaze staring down at me.

He's gone.

And so am I.

43

VLAD

PAST

"You're not listening," Vanya's voice grates on my nerves as she keeps on tugging on my arm.

"What do you want, Vanya?" I roll my eyes at her.

Since when has she become so needy? Doesn't she understand that I have other things to do?

I train daily, from dawn until noon, and then I study and help Miles with his experiments. There's very little time that I have off, and when I do it's for Vanya to blow my ears with her incessant chattering.

She doesn't seem to understand that what I'm doing is going to revolutionize scienceandwarfare. She doesn't seem to understandanything.

No matter how much I try to explain to her that Miles' discoveries will change the world, she doesn't get it.

All she knows is to nag at me every day.

She's always hungry or scared, or in pain.

Weak.

The thoughts come unbidden, and while I know she is my sister, I can't help but feel ashamed of her. I've been trying to make excuses about her to Miles for a long time now, telling him it's just a matter of time before she comes around and realizes the importance of what we're doing. That she's finally going to put in some effort into completing the trials and experiments.

But the more time passes, the more I see her for what she really is.

Weak.

Weak-bodied and weak-minded, she can only drag me down.

"We have a test today," I remind her instead of admitting I have no idea what she'd been talking about. "You should get yourself together. We can't afford another failure," I tell her gravely.

After all, her failure also reflects badly on me.

"Vlad…" I turn to look at her, purple circles under her eyes, gashes all over her skin. "Can't I skip it?" she asks in a small voice.

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