Page 10 of Slipping into the Dark Side

“There was no sense of worrying you.”

A herd of soldiers enveloped them like a cocoon as they returned to the house. His brothers were scattered, going in their own directions. Another gun fired, and the man in front of Tatianna fell.

As silly as it was, she tried to scream, but it came out as a pathetic moan that embarrassed her, but thankfully, no one was paying much attention.

Sergey took up her other arm, wrapping it around his shoulder. “Where to?”

“The safe room.”

She was surprised Sergey had stayed close by. She thought he would have had his own escort. But he seemed just as confused.

“What do we do?” Sergey asked.

“I’ve hired men. Father’s hold on the people is at an end. We must fight if we don’t want to be taken out.”

“You are always ready for anything. I cannot fathom your intellect. I’d much rather draw than read those war books you constantly study.”

“I’ve been telling you to prepare for years.”

“Well, I figured you could simply handle it, and I’ll reap the benefits.”

Fedor sighed and set Tatianna in a chair before he turned and gave his brother an exasperated look. “If Father names you heir, all is lost.”

“If Father names me heir, I’m redoing this entire living room. It is absolutely dreadful.”

Fedor chuckled, despising and adoring at the same time.

Gunfire blasted the window on the left, making Tatianna fall to the floor to cover, but she didn’t hide. She wanted to see these men. They were stupid little crickets for attacking. When another soldier collapsed nearby, it wasn’t a scream that came through her throat but a scoff.

I refuse to go to another funeral.

“Get to the safe room, Tati.” Fedor kissed her cheek and checked his gun before he went to the shattered window to search for the resistance.

Running away with the women disgusted her. But she had never been allowed to shoot or hold a gun and wouldn’t be much help anyway.

When the shooting stalled, Tatianna ran across the wooden floor into the kitchen. The maids scurried around, trying to find good places to hide. She waved her hand. “To the safe room, let’s go.” Tatianna pushed them all out, pulling resistant old ladies as they cowered. Gunfire resumed, and a bowl of flour burst. One woman wouldn’t move despite how hard Tatianna grabbed her arms.

“The baby. The baby,” she whimpered and hid her face in her arms.

Tatianna gripped her arms. “Where?”

“Third room down the hall. Please, miss. Please.”

Tatianna ordered another servant to take the woman before Tatianna grabbed a vegetable knife and journeyed down the hall. It was quiet back here, blocking out the sounds from the yard. The brick walls kept her safe, but there was no telling if someone had come through the back. It increased her breath. She didn’t know what kind of resistance this was, but it didn’t matter. She was not a part of it and, therefore, an enemy.

With every step, her breath got heavy. Blood dripped down her leg. She had lost her shoe, and she left a bloody footprint behind. On the third door, Tatianna pushed it open and found the crib. The baby lay asleep inside. She smiled upon stepping up to the little boy. Abram was the last known son of Demire Utkins. Another victim of rape, born from a barmaid. She leaned over it, touching its tiny cheek, wondering what it would be like to have a child. There was a part of her that wanted one now, to hold and cherish, but then the other part of her hated the very idea of it. Perhaps because having a child would limit her, and she wanted to be limitless.

A breeze behind sent a chill up her spine. Arms encircled her shoulders, a hand on her mouth to quiet her screams. Tatianna dug her nails into her capture’s skin while the other slammed the knife into his thigh. He groaned into her hair before he flung her away, and she rolled across the ground till she hit a wall. The stranger was dressed in black with a ski mask. She panted, eyeing him, knowing she’d never make it to the door. But she tried anyway.

She ran, and he punched her hard, knocking her to the ground. There was no fighting consciousness, and Tatianna went limp.

Chapter six

Escape

There were six men in the room, all wearing black ski masks. Tatianna had woken with a terrible pain in her head, so much so tears dripped down her swollen cheek. She didn’t want to know what she looked like. Chances were makeup wasn’t going to cover the bruise.

She watched them, her captors, with her hands tied in front of her. They were all Russian but with a slang tone in their connotation. One of them had a limp, and another was missing an arm, but they were young from the sound of their voice and their bickering. They talked as if she wasn’t even in the room, swapping war stories from Afghanistan. Three of them had lost their brothers and their fathers. They said it like a badge of honor. Though hundreds of thousands of Russians were deadbecause of it, Tatianna was never interested in it. Her family was excused from the draft, much like every family in the Morozov circle. Only the lower class was sacrificed, which meant these men were hired.

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