A/N: WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SCENES OF GRAPHIC VIOLENCE
Hi guys, the violence is really quite graphic in this chapter, there is also deaths as well, but it won't be like this for the whole story haha. It's quite a horrible beginning for a story, but I hope you enjoy! I typed this one out in a whole day, very proud of myself :) Drop me a review and enjoy Chapter 1 The Beginning.
Rebecca.
BPOV
The wipers were going at manic speed in my Audi, trying to clear the torrential rain from my windscreen as I made my way home from school. The Beatles were singing softly from the radio as I released some pressure on the gas pedal; the rain was so heavy, I had to squint to see through the windscreen and even then I could hardly see a foot in-front of the car.
Today was not a good day to be driving, if I had knew that the weather was going to be this bad I would have hitched a ride with Emmett this morning, but no-one would have known that it was going to turn into a rain-storm, it was utterly unpredictable weather for Phoenix. The skies were usually bright blue with heat radiating of the dry and dusty ground and the sun so large it was as if you could touch it. This morning's weather had been a replica of that, but when I came out of Phoenix International High School around mid-day; juniors and seniors got half-days on Fridays, the rain had been bucketing down from the sky and the wind was whooshing around the school, making my hair fly all around my face as I sprinted to my cherry red Audi convertible, if this weather continued it's roof would be ruined.
I had only ever seen weather like this in Forks. It was where my dad, Charlie had grew up with my Gran and Grandpa Swan. They died before Emmett and I were born, and Charlie being the only child, inherited the house. We lived there for a while, but the never-ending rain had drove Mom mad and she insisted that we move to the hotter climate of Phoenix, when Emmett was five and I was four. We'd lived in Phoenix ever since, though we never sold the old house, Dad thought that we could use it as a holiday home during the summer, but that grew old fast, no-one wanted to visit the dreary isolated Forks when you had a bustling city at your feet. So Dad decided to get used to the city of Phoenix and enrolled as a police-officer, he was amazing at his job and soon became detective. He had a pay-roll that could keep Emmett and I satisfied with fast cars and all the latest high-tech and give Mom the money to open a small nursery business. We were happy.
As I pulled into the driveway, I tucked my blackberry and keys from the ignition into my purse, before opening the door and running wildly to the front porch clicking the car key to lock the Audi. Even though I had only ran for a few seconds I was drenched through from the torrential rain, I muttered angrily to myself about expensive clothes getting wet and shrinking as I took my house keys from the bag and put it into the lock, I turned it but it never moved. I frowned, the front door was never open, with Dad being a police-officer he had drilled it into all of us to keep the doors locked at all times, I shrugged it off, thinking that maybe Mom had went out to the garage and forgot to lock it again. She was always in on Friday's; it was her day off from working at Little Ones nursery.
I opened the door and squelched my way across the laminate flooring to the banister "Mom?" I yelled, "The front door's open." There was no answer. I climbed up the stairs and called out again, there was still no answer. I had a nagging feeling that someone was watching me; I shook it off quickly, thinking it was my imagination getting the better of me. I decided to change into sweats and phone her, I was getting really uncomfortable in these wet clothes. I walked into my room; it was a mess as usual. No matter how many times I tidied it, it would always return to this messy state. My mum nagged me all the time to tidy it, saying it was the messiest room in the house, but I fobbed her off by telling her I would tidy it soon, Emmett's room was tidier than mine. The lime green coloured walls were covered with posters of the Kings of Leon, and more of my favourite bands. The cream carpet was littered with dirty clothes, magazines and school books and my bed was how I had left it this morning, the sheets crumpled and the duck egg blue duvet pulled back to the bottom of the bed. I undressed quickly, and changed my underwear before choosing my red super dry sweats to put on, and scraping my damp hair back into a ponytail. I went into my en-suite and washed off my running make-up, before shutting my room door and heading downstairs.
I descended the stairs and grabbed the house phone, sitting on the fifth step of the stairs I dialled my mom's mobile and let it ring. After the fourth ring, I heard the unmistakable sound of "Amazing" by Bruno Mars fill the hallway. I wave of horror ran through me, Mom always had her phone with her. Always. It was coming from the kitchen, so I ran towards it, skidding slightly because of the fluffy socks I had shoved on my feet when I had changed. The door was closed, I gripped its handle and slowly pushed it open.
The maple wood kitchen with its cream counter tops, looked as it usually did, but there was a chopping board out with chopped carrots piled beside it and a carrot half chopped in the middle of it. A large kitchen knife lay close by. The oven had a pot on one of its hobs, and the gas was turned off. The sink was full of dirty dishes and the water was soapy. Mom's phone was lying on the breakfast bar in the middle of the kitchen emitting the music. It looked as though Mom had simply walked out of the kitchen. This freaked me out. It looked too normal. My heart was hammering in my chest, and the feeling of being watched was back. I whirled around, but saw no-body behind me. I walked over to Mom's phone and switched it off, before dialling my dads work number on the house phone I still had clutched to my ear.
The dialling tone started as I waited panicking, drumming my fingers on the breakfast bar. "Detective Swan speaking, how can I help?" said my Dad gruffly, from the other side of the phone. I let out a breath that I didn't know I was holding when I heard his voice and starting blabbering to him "Dad, I got home and the door was unlocked, and Mom wasn't home so I tried phoning her and her phone was in the kitchen, so I came through and it looks so normal, but something's not right Dad, I can feel it!"
I started sobbing down the phone and looked at my feet. I stopped crying abruptly. On the floor beside me, were large muddy foot-prints. Foot-prints, that didn't belong to my Mom or anyone else that lived here. They were large and looked as though they were someone's bare feet. They were medium size, too small for my brother or fathers feet and too wide for mine and my Moms. They led from the patio doors to the living room door. I didn't know how I hadn't noticed them. I exhaled shakily. I heard a soft thud from upstairs and flinched violently. There was someone here, I could feel it.
"Daddy, there's someone else in the house. Come home please! There's someone here!" I whimpered, trying to keep as quiet as possible, while thoughts of my Mom tied up somewhere in the house and large men with knives filled my mind.
"Bella! Bella, listen to me, I need you to go into the cupboard in the kitchen, where Emmett keeps his football equipment, there's a baseball bat in there. I want you to take the bat and come back into the kitchen and shut all the doors that lead there and wait for me. Your mother's smart, she'll be fine. I need you to do that and stay on the phone to me, okay? I'm on my way home just now." He said urgently and I could here him rustling around.
"Okay Daddy," I said and crept towards the cupboard, "I'm going to the cupboard." I turned the handle silently and stepped in. It was filled with Emmett's football and baseball stuff, I quietly extracted the baseball bat, my heart racing at a hundred miles minute and my veins pumping adrenaline. I stepped back out of the cupboard and shut the door tight, the phone balancing between my ear and my shoulder and the baseball bat hanging by my side. My hands were shaking as I made my way to the door I had entered from the hall and shut it quickly. I regretted it when it thumped loudly against the frame. I whimpered softly to myself and froze on the spot listening for any noises. I heard nothing. It was eerily silent.
"Bella, do you have the bat? Are you okay?" My dad said, I could here the car engine in the background. It soothed me slightly that he was on the way, even if it was a fifteen minute drive from the station to out house.
"Yeah, I've got it, I'm shutting the doors." I whispered, while walking towards the living room door. My hand shook as I tried to shut it. It was one of those stiff and bulky doors that were hard to move, I struggled with it but it wouldn't shut.
That's when I heard the footsteps coming towards me, slowly. I filled with terror. I knew it wasn't my Mom, if it was she would have shouted out to me or walked faster. No. This was someone I didn't know. It was the person whose muddy footprints were spattered across the kitchen. I felt sick with horror as I stood, frozen with terror listening to the footsteps.
"Bella? Are you okay honey, speak to me!" My Dad's voice brought me back to what was happening.
"Dad, they're coming. What do I do, Daddy?" I whimpered, gripping onto the baseball bat tightly and bringing it up to my shoulder, waiting for this person to reach me and surely try to hurt me.
"Run, Bella! Get out of the house now!" He ordered down the phone.
I took a few steps back from the living room door and turned to sprint towards the patio door, I started to run but as I reached my destination, I slipped on my socks and fell into the table and chairs in-front of my escape route. I felt blood trickling through my hair, where I had hit my head. I scrambled up and turned around to see a man leering at me from the doorway with a horrible smile playing on his lips.
He was average height, with average looks. He had filthy blond hair that was tied back in a ponytail, and his clothes were dirty and torn. He looked as if he was homeless, or didn't own a shower or a washing machine.
"Bella," he murmured walking towards me slowly, that horrible smile plastered on his face. "I've been waiting for you." His voice was rough and throaty, as if he needed a drink of water. It sent chills up my back.
I walked backwards not wanting him near me, until my head hit the glass of the patio door. I turned slightly and fumbled with the deadbolt on the door, there was only the deadbolt and an alarm, you didn't need a key to get in. He was getting closer and I was scrambling with the alarm, I had typed in the code and was about the run out of the house when he spoke again.
"Oh, I wouldn't do that Bella. You wouldn't want me to hurt your mother again would you?" That stopped me in my tracks. I had forgotten all about my mother in the heat of the moment. I was furious with myself, how could I have forgotten her? Then I realised the word again.
He had already hurt her. The phone fell out of my hand and I gripped my hands tightly around the bat. Gone was the fear, I was filled with rage. I ran towards this horrible man and started hitting him repeatedly over the head with the bat. He started screaming as I kept hitting him, tears pouring out of my eyes as I thought of what he could have done to my mother.
Suddenly I was on my back on the ground and the baseball bat was lying four feet away from me, I turned onto my stomach and tried to reach for it but as I did it was lifted away from me.
"I don't think so." said this horrible man that had hurt my mother, I was proud to see that he had a nose-bleed and a nasty head injury. I turned back onto my back and saw his bare-foot aiming for my stomach. When it connected I felt a terrible pain in my gut, and I couldn't breathe. I gasped as I tried to get the breath back into my unresponsive lungs. He kicked me again and I screamed in agony as I heard the crack of one of my ribs. He started to punch my face hard, as I screamed in pain wishing it would stop and my father would come and rescue me. I was slipping into a faze, it was so much more comforting than being in the harsh reality where this man was punching my body, repeatedly bruising it.
I felt him reach for the waistband of my sweats and get on top of me when I realised that I had to fight back, or he would rape me. I leant up and started scratching at his face leaving angry red marks all over and shoving him with all the strength I could muster off of the top of me. He fell over screaming at me and I crawled quickly away, wincing in agony at my cracked ribs. I saw the baseball bat in front of me and reached for it, when I was pulled back violently my fingernails digging uselessly into the tiles.
"No-one ever gets away from James baby." He whispered in my ear. He stood up to his full height and stamped his foot on my leg. I screamed out, the most horrible pain was going through my body as James stamped his foot again and again on my now broken leg. Tears streamed down my face as I watched him. He stopped and I sighed in relief. I was stupid to think that he would just go. He grabbed my hair and started pulling me backwards out of the kitchen and into the hall, we reached the stairs and he started pulling me up the stairs, my head bumping against each stair repeatedly. I was soothed that I would see my mother again, but I didn't know what he had done to her. My stomach clenched at the thought. We reached the top of the stairs and I saw the trail of blood behind me, I could feel the warm liquid coating my hair as he dragged me into my parent's bedroom.
My mom was lying on-top of the king sized bed with her hands chained to the bed post and her mouth gagged with a dirty rag. I surveyed her face and was filled with relief when I saw that she only had a black eye, nothing worse. When she saw me being dragged into the room, her eyes popped wide, and she began to flail around on the bed screaming behind the gag. I tried to soothe her, but I couldn't make my lips move to speak. James lifted me roughly onto the bed as I cried out, and produced handcuffs from his pocket. He put one on the bedpost and the other on my left arm and locked them. I reached my right hand out to my mother, who was hand-cuffed at the other side of the bed with tears running down her face steadily. She grabbed my hand cradling it in hers, and started to rub soothing circles on it. I would have taken the gag out of her mouth, but right now I was too sore to move, it felt as though I had been run over twice by a lorry. I shut my eyes; it was small comfort for my mother to be doing this while I was in the worse condition ever. My right leg was broken, my face busted up and at least one rib cracked. What a great day.
James was sitting on an armchair to the right of the bed, holding a gun in his hands while tapping his bare-foot on the ground. He had a small smile on his face as though he was pleased at what he had done to me and my mother. I was glad that Emmett wasn't here. Even though he was strong and muscled, James had a gun, and one wrong move and he would be dead. My mother and I were more careful than that, I had inherited my cautiousness from her. We sat in silence for a few minutes before he spoke.
"You can blame your father, and your husband for this you know," He said gesturing to us with the gun. "I want payback for what he did to Victoria." He growled in a voice so deadly I cowered against the headboard and squeezed my mother's hand. "I had only nipped out to get the spaghetti for dinner, and when I got back, the house was on fire, I tried to get in, to save her, and I could see her at the window, screaming at me to help her. But when I got there, police were arriving, and you're father, he stopped me from saving Victoria! He let her die in that fire, when I could have saved her!" he screamed at us, tears filling those vicious grey eyes. "And now its pay-back, I'm going to kill all of you, him last, to show him what grief there is when you lose a loved one. And then I can be with Victoria." He said smiling at us as though he had just announced Christmas was coming early.
"So now we wait for Daddy." He said smiling widely at us both.
Just then I heard my father burst through the front door, screaming our names, I prayed to God that he wouldn't find us, but God wasn't listening to me today. I heard his heavy footsteps run upstairs, and he ran into the room we were being held captive in, sopping wet and dripping all over the chocolate brown carpet. "Bella, Renee!" He breathed, then he saw my face and body and his face went red with fury. He whirled round and saw James and lunged at him. They scrapped with each other before a gun-shot echoed through the room.
I screamed out, when I heard it, not knowing who was hurt and who had fired the shot. My father screamed out in agony and horror flooded me as I realised he had been hit. James and my Dad separated and my father was clutching his knee. Blood was spilling out of it and staining the chocolate brown carpet. My head whirled as I saw my father-my hero screaming in pain as James starting laying punches into him before hitting him over the head with the gun, knocking him unconscious.
I started sobbing my heart out, seeing my father lying so defenceless and vulnerable. James started pulling him out into the hall. I heard my fathers head hitting the carpeted stairs as James pulled him downstairs. He wouldn't kill him yet. I looked out the window and saw that the torrential rain was still continuing. I couldn't even try to escape my broken leg made it impossible. I heard James thudding his way up the stairs, before entering the room and striding over to me, and unlocking the handcuffs. He slung me over his shoulder and I yelped at the pain. He hit me hard in the side of the stomach.
"Don't make another sound, or I'll make you watch your mother being slowly tortured and then killed, do you understand?" he said lowly into my ear. I nodded my head, but he hit me again harder.
"Do you understand?" He yelled making me wince.
"Yes." I whispered hoarsely, the small movement of my lips, hurting me a little bit more.
"Good." He said and proceeded to taking me downstairs and outside to my Dads Range Rover. I was soaked by the time he took me round to the passenger's side before setting me roughly on the seat. I noticed my father slumped against the left side of the car, still unconscious.
"Don't worry," James said "We're only going for a ride." He said smiling evilly at me.
I shrunk into my seat and shut my eyes, this couldn't be happening, only two hours ago I had been in the school canteen discussing nail colours and boys with Bree, like an ordinary girl, and now I was battered and bruised and being held captive because of a mistake my father had made at work.
I saw my mother through the pouring rain, being carried by James to the back seat of the car. He set her in the seat and tied her hands and feet roughly with pieces of rope. She whimpered through her gag, which was still on, and James punched her hard in the gut, before retreating to the driver's seat.
He started the engine and locked the doors before setting off towards one of the few forests in Phoenix. He drove down the freeway, no-one knowing that there were three people kidnapped in the dark green Range Rover that was going too fast. Fifteen minutes passed, we reached an abandoned highway and he did a one eighty suddenly in the middle of the road. He turned to look at me.
"I was going to drown you all, but I decided I would be generous and just kill us all in a car crash. It will be more painful, but less drawn out," He said flashing a smile at me. "Oh look, Detective Swan's waking up too, isn't this nice? All of us just waiting to die, in the same car, I think we need some music." He said. This man definitely had problems.
He switched the radio on, "Amazing" was on, James began humming along to it and said to my mom,
"This is your ring tone, isn't it Renee?" Grinning widely and shutting his eyes.
That's when I saw the car approaching, it was a black Mercedes, and it was driving too fast, it was definitely not going to stop in-time to not hit us. I shut my eyes waiting for the impact of the car hitting us, and all of us surely dieing, when I heard the click of a lock and felt a shove on my left shoulder. My door opened and I fell out of the car, just as it hit the Mercedes. My Mom had unlocked my door and my Dad had pushed me out, saving me in their last moments. I crawled away from the scene just as my Dad's car exploded, filling the air with smoke and the explosive noises. I began screaming. I screamed and screamed, my father was dead because of me, I had phoned him bringing him to his death, and then he had saved me before he died. My parents were dead. They were gone, and they were never coming back.
Grief built in my chest overpowering me as I collapsed at the side of the road.
:O What did you think of that load of violence and angst? You all probably hate me now for killing of Renee and Charlie, but vent your frustration in a review. Next chapter in a couple of weeks. Hope you enjoyed!
Rebecca.