His Little Ballerina- B. Barnes

Chapter 19: Valeriya

I'm talking to myself at night because I can't forget

~Seven Nation Army, The White Stripes

What happened next was mostly a blur.

Alarms, guns, blood, and screams were all that I could make out at the time, but it's all coming slowly back... so I might as well get this out before I take another pill...

It was dark until we reached one of the exit doors.

This whole thing had been way too easy, both Natalia and I knew it.

The Soldier was studying everything, trying to make sure nothing was wrong.

He could do all the examining he wanted, I had this gut feeling that there was something going on.

Just as we began to reach for the door handle, there was a loud click in my ear.

That's the sound of... oh shit...

I didn't hesitate to grab both Natalia and The Soldier, bringing them to the ground as an extremely loud gunshot rang through my ears. There was a figure in the distance, firing round after round at us.

Without saying a word, we all ran for it, splitting up because there was no logical way she could chase after all three of us at once.

Separating was the last thing I wanted to do, but it was necessary if we wanted to escape with at least someone alive.

Unfortunately, it wouldn't be me, since the figure was now chasing after me. I could hear their footsteps close behind me, loading another round into their gun.

I had taken a left, where I knew there was another door at the end of the hallway, praying that whoever this was would try and take another longer route to cut me off.

Then, another shot rang out, and I heard the bullet whiz past me, barely missing my ear.

I didn't stop running until I reached the door. It was then that I slammed my fists against it and was greeted by the bitter cold wind of winter.

I was so close... and yet I still had to lose this psycho on my tail.

"VAL! THIS WAY!" It was Natalia, calling out to me from behind a storage crate near the docks which were just five feet away.

As to how she could have possibly gotten out of the building before me, I had no idea, but I wasn't going to start to worry about that now. I had more important things to keep on my mind.

The pristine white snow didn't slow me down as I began to charge towards the storage crate Natalia had been hiding behind. The wind whipped my face, pushing against me and making it difficult to see through the amount of snow it was blasting.

Alas, I slammed against the crate and collapsed on the ground, only to be immediately picked up by Natalia. "He's still in there..." she began, "I'm going in after him. You keep running until you reach the train station. Take the train to Lithuania. The Soldier and I will meet you there."

"I'm not leaving-" before I could finish, my red haired friend gave me one last hug, and disappeared.

I wanted so badly to go with her. I wanted it to just be us again, before Hell found us... before we were Madame B's favorites... before the Soldier.

Going back was suicide. I already had someone on my tail, and the worst thing I could do was turn around. I would no doubt be dead by the time I reached the door.

My best bet, was the do as Natalia said. Go to Lithuania. Get out of Russia. Meet them there.

When a round of gunfire rang through my ear, I took my chance and bolted, trying to get as close to populated areas as possible. This psycho wouldn't be able to shoot me while in a crowd, since that would expose the Red Room. Whenever some had to go on a mission, there were direct orders not to be seen by the public.

Wait... how do I know that...?

..........

A train ticket. A locket. A bottle of pills.

That's all I had to my name besides the clothes on my back, which just so happened to be a coat I snagged off an old lady that covered up my training clothes. The cold was worse than Hell itself.

As the line inched closer and closer to the large black steam engine, I grew more and more worried. What if somebody recognized me? What if... what if they know where I'm from...

"Ticket, please," growled a large, burly man, grasping my arm in the process. One of my feet was on a small, elevated platform composed of cheap metal while the other was still planted firmly on the ground. It dawned on me that I had zoned out and completely forgot you actually have to give the conductor the fucking ticket.

Sheepishly, I dug through my pockets and fished out the flimsy piece of paper that would take me to a whole other country, one I only know because of my history classes in the Red Room.

The instructors look down upon Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia for some reason, though my mind refuses to allow me to remember it. If Madame B ever knew where I was going... she'd call me a traitor.

Once the man took away my ticket to a new life, I didn't hesitate to take a seat in one of the back cars, which was empty save for an old lady, and a small family of three. I sat alone, looking out at the smoggy world I had always known the darker side of.

From here on out I was no longer Valeriya Villanova... no... I had to be someone new... someone else.

Anya

It took me a mere minute to come up with the perfect identity. The name of the girl who was like a sister to me and a combination of last names I've come across.

Anya Vimanastin

It was perfect. All I had to was etch the letters into the back of the seat, down the pill... and wake up to my new life...

Here goes nothing...