Nadya’s Nights: Road to Vengeance
Night Two: Race for the Cure
Chapter Twenty-Four: Mind Over Mind
by Indy McDaniel
Copyright © 2009 Indy McDaniel
The ride back to Cyrus’s mansion seemed strange and disjointed to Nadya. She lay across the backseat of Cyrus’s car, wrapped in a blanket. She drifted in and out of consciousness, her concept of time totally off kilter. Her eyes would slip closed for a time, then part back open briefly. She wasn’t sure how far she’d been taken away from the mansion so it was even harder to tell if the trip back was, in fact, taking forever, or if it just seemed that way to her.
When she dropped into her semi-conscious state, the physical pain faded and she felt as if she’d be able to get some rest, but the moment she started to fall into a deeper sleep, the face of her tormentor appeared, sneering at her and she’d quickly force herself back awake. The pain in her body flared back up, but that was almost more tolerable than having the bastard vampire’s face in front of her. She kept catching Ulbrecht turning in his seat to look back at her.
It must be really bad, Nadya thought, locking eyes with him briefly and seeing the worried look on his face.
Then again, when doesn’t he look worried?
Exhaustion and pain ate away at her and before long she found her eyelids getting heavy again. She let them close and lay on the seat, feeling the car moving underneath her.
Suddenly, she was struck with a bad case of vertigo and it felt as if the car was spinning out of control. She forced her eyes back open and the spinning slowed a bit, but the damage had already been done. Nadya shifted forward and retched, vomit spewing from her mouth and spilling onto the seat in front of her before running down the front of it. There wasn’t much in her stomach to vomit up, so after the initial spew all she could manage were dry heaves that made her gut tighten up and ache.
When she finally got herself back under control, Nadya slid back away from the mess as much as she could. She opened her mouth to tell Cyrus she’d pay the cleaning bill, but she couldn’t find her voice. Instead of words, she could only manage a weak croak. Angered at her own weakness, she clamped her mouth shut again.
Nadya fought even harder to keep her eyes open, not wanting to risk another dizzy spell. She didn’t realize she was dozing again until she felt something moist touch her face. Her eyes snapped open and she saw Ulbrecht was wiping her mouth with a wet napkin. When he finished cleaning her up, he moved the napkin away from her face but kept looking back at her, concerned.
She attempted a confident smirk to let him know everything was fine, even if she had no idea whether or not it really was. She only got the corner of her mouth to quirk upwards before darkness consumed her again. Her body forced her into a state of unconsciousness, too weak to maintain anything else.
With her mind so disoriented and jumbled, she didn’t realize she was asleep. Things went black for a little bit, and then her vision returned and she was still in the backseat. The only difference was, all her pain was gone.
Looking to the front seat, Nadya couldn’t see Ulbrecht. Pushing herself up to get a better look, she realized both he and Cyrus were gone. The car continued to drive along by itself.
It’s a dream, she thought.
Or another nightmare.
Just as she thought that, the door beside her flew open. Nadya felt a hard shove against her and before she could try to brace herself, she was flying out the open door and into the darkness beyond.
For a moment, she saw the road passing by her in a blur and growing closer.
It’s just a dream, she told herself.
It isn’t real.
Her shoulder slammed into the ground, the blanket providing little protection as her arm snapped. She screamed as very real pain flooded through her. Her body spun and skidded along the ground, the blanket flying away into the night and letting the rough asphalt shred her flesh. Sharp snapping pain filled her with each fresh bone break. She slammed face first into the ground, her nose flattening before her mouth exploded in a mess of blood and broken teeth.
Nadya’s body flipped with her head against the road and there was a loud snap as her neck broke. Her limp form tumbled a few more feet then lay still. The Russian girl’s eyes stared blankly and her body was a jumbled mess of twisted limbs.
There was no way she could be alive, and yet she was.
It’s a fucking dream, she told herself for the third time.
Every inch of her was on fire with pain that no normal dream could inflict.
Doesn’t matter, she said to herself. None of this is real. Your spine isn’t twisted into a pretzel. Your face isn’t crushed in. You’re not fucking road kill, so get your ass up.
In a series of jerky movements, Nadya’s body straightened itself out and began to repair the damage done. In roughly thirty seconds, she got to her feet, unscathed. Hearing the sound of an engine roaring, she turned to see headlights in the darkness.
Despite the fact she’d just been flung out of it, Cyrus’s car was now behind her and looking to run her over. Nadya narrowed her eyes and turned to face the car head on.
“Not… fucking… real…” she spoke out loud.
The car’s path didn’t change and it seemed to speed towards her even faster. Nadya tensed her body, clenching her fists and planting her feet firmly on the road. She clenched her jaw and waited for something very anticlimactic, like the car passing right through her.
Instead, the vehicle struck her dead on.
But instead of flattening her, the car split in half, Nadya’s body crashing through the middle. As it was destroyed, the car exploded, engulfing her in flames. A few moments later, she emerged from the burning wreckage, unharmed.
“This is getting boring,” she said to the darkness, knowing full well who was behind her unnatural dream. “I’m going to wake up now. Try again when you’re not such a pussy.”
Nadya opened her eyes.
The weakness and pain flooded back into her, but she didn’t mind it so much. She’d managed to fight off Remy’s mind games, at least once. And if she could do it once, she could do it again. She could feel the car slowing down and then come to a stop. Ulbrecht turned and looked back at her, giving her a smile.
“We’re back. Now it’s time to get you patched up.”
