His Little Ballerina- B. Barnes

Chapter 14: Valeriya

They say... come with your arms raised high. 

~You Don't Know What They Do To Guys Like Us In Prison, My Chemical Romance

We waited, just as the Soldier had said we would have to. Fifteen minutes passed, but we waited an extra five, just to be sure.

"You ready, Villanova?" He asked.

I rolled my eyes and grabbed my bag. "Don't call me that."

"Why?"

"Because that's what they call me."

The Soldier didn't respond. He just began his work at trying to unlock the door. I felt kinda bad for snapping at him, mainly because he's done so much for me. I just wanted to get out of here. Freedom was within my grasp, but I had to keep my enthusiasm in check.

I'd be able to celebrate once I was out.

Exactly three minutes passed before I heard a soft clicking noise from the door. The Soldier turned to face me and nodded his head. His filthy brown hair shook slightly as he moved his head.

I grabbed my bag and slowly pushed open the cell door. It didn't creak or emit any noise, which was a relief. The few things I needed to do occupied all the space in my mind. I repeated each one internally over and over and over again.

Find Natalia

Escape the Red Room

Take the pills

Start your new life.

It seemed simple enough, almost too simple.If The Soldier or I made any mistake... we could wind up dead, or worse.

I shuddered, not wanting to think about what could be worse than death that the Red Room could offer.

Just find Natalia. Just find Natalia.

The maze that was the place I had known as my only home seemed so intimidating now that I was all alone, without Madame B. dragging me around or Nastia walking with me to ballet practice.

I smiled at the memory, and all the nasty comments Nastia would make about both Natalia and Anya, telling me I was the only tolerable one with common sense.

The Soldier suddenly stopped in front of me, and I nearly bumped into him.

"Watch it, or we'll get caught." He snapped, trying his best to sound threatening in a whisper voice.

Laughter began to build up inside me, but I kept reminding myself not to make a sound. The constant fear of the Red Room kept me in line.

The Soldier lead me through the lab hallway I had grown familiar with due to my regular visits with Tamara. He stopped in front of a large, metal door that I had never seen the other side of. He quickly opened it, and slipped into the dark room. I followed, curious as to what was inside, and why we even needed to be in here.

He didn't flick on any lights, but instead groped around in the dark for an object that I had no knowledge of.

"Soldat, what the hell are you doing?!?" I barked, keeping watch by the door he left slightly ajar.

My companion just ignored me, until he finally grabbed something off a counter and brushed past me, leaving to room. "Be sure to shut the door on your way out." He said as he passed me.

I just stood there for a moment, staring at the darkness before turning my back to the cold feeling the dark gave me.

A small shiver crawled down my spine, and I cringed at the feeling. The cold made me feel alone, and desolate... and yet it made me believe I was invincible.

The Soldier stared at me, almost as if he had seen a ghost. "We... we uh... need to go..." he said, tossing me the item he had stolen from the cabinet. I looked down at the small bottle of pills he had taken.

On it was a label, and I couldn't make out the writing. The bottle itself look very old, almost dating back to the late 1940's from the looks of it. The pills inside, however, looked like they had been purchased yesterday. The bottle had recently been filled.

These were the pills I needed. This was what would take all the bad memories away.

I shoved them into the pocket of my gym shorts that the Red Room gave every girl when she first walked in the door. I'd never have to wear these shorts ever again. Relief and victory surged through me as I followed to Soldier through more hallways until we came to a door I had only seen once, and thought I'd never see again.

This door lead to the girl's dorms. This door would lead me to Natalia.

The Soldier noticed my anticipation and excitement. Freedom was within my grasp, why wouldn't I be excited? He gave me a small look of sympathy and disapproval.

I fought back the urge to slap him. If I was was doing something wrong, he shouldn't just give me this "look."

I let myself ignore it as I placed my hand on the cold metal handle. This was far too easy. There should be security cameras, or something else that Madame B. could use to watch what was going on in the halls.

The officials of the Red Room never explicitly say anything about cameras or other shit like that, but every girl I've ever encountered here knows better than that.

I should know better than this. Someone is watching... waiting me either me or the Soldier to do something... or maybe they're making us think we're safe.

Jokes on them, I know I'll never be safe. All I can hope for is freedom, not safety. Whatever form freedom takes, I'm game.

I held my breath as I pressed down on the handle and the door opened. I didn't know what I was expecting to happen, but I let out a sigh of relief when I saw that nothing was staring at me on the other side. I could see the start of the dorms, and I felt slightly happy knowing where I was going now.

The Soldier stared at the halls like it was something completely new to him. A small smirk came across my face.

Now it's your turn.

We didn't say a word. We were walking through a place which many people were sleeping. It didn't matter if they recognized us or not. They would kill us on sight if we made ourselves known.

Don't make a sound.

Don't slip up.

Don't get killed.

Don't loose your chance at freedom.

I walked passed several doors whose numbers I had already memorized.

112. That's what I was looking for. 112. Dorm 112. Nastia and Natalia's dorm.

I saw the numbers and stopped abruptly. I was so close, but the corner of my eye caught something moving. I knew there was something wrong...

A hand clamped over my mouth, and I instantly began to struggle. My mystery attacker wasn't making any noise. That was their mistake. Surprisingly, they didn't try to kill me or surprise my struggles.

"Did you really think I'd kill you, Val?"

I smiled and stopped struggling. I reached my hand up and yanked Natalia's hand off my mouth. "You've tried before." I replied remembering when we first started our training together at the Red Room. We were both lucky to walk out of the room with ten injuries from each other.

I smiled, turning around to see the flaming red hair of Natalia Alianovna Romanova.

She has a small bag in her hands. She knew I was coming. Ha.

Natalia glanced behind me and saw the Soldier standing there. She nodded her head in approval of sorts.

I crossed my arms. "You two know each other?"

Natalia laughed slightly, just enough for only me to hear. "No... I just like messing with you."