Confined
The words in italics have been copied directly from Midnight Sun and belong to Stephenie Meyer.
Thanks to my pre-reader Emily-Masen and my Beta Marie from Sparkly Red Pen for editing this for me.
EPOV
Here she comes! Aha!
There, at last, was her face. Finally, someone had noticed her!
The relief lasted for only a fraction of a second, and then I read more fully the thoughts of the man who was gloating over her face in the shadows.
His mind was a stranger to me, and yet, not totally unfamiliar. I had once hunted exactly such minds.
"NO!" I roared, and a volley of snarls erupted from my throat. My foot shoved the gas pedal to the floor, but where was I going?
I knew the general location of his thoughts, but the knowledge was not specific enough. Something, there had to be something—a street sign, a store front, something in his sight that would give away his location. But Bella was deep in shadow, and his eyes were focused only on her frightened expression—enjoying the fear there.
Her face was blurred in his mind by the memory of other faces. Bella was not his first victim.
The sound of my growls shook the frame of the car, but did not distract me.
There were no windows in the wall behind her. Somewhere industrial, away from the more populated shopping district. My car squealed around a corner, swerving past another vehicle, heading in what I hoped was the right direction. By the time the other driver honked, the sound was far behind me.
Look at her shaking! The man chuckled in anticipation. The fear was the draw for him—the part he enjoyed.
"Stay away from me." Her voice was low and steady, not a scream.
"Well, I'm afraid that what you want is not possible. You see, we need you to come with us and you will co-operate unless you want a bullet through that pretty head of yours" he threatened, and even his cohorts were frightened by the menacing expression on his cruel face and the sadistic tenor of his tone that could be heard clearly despite his rough voice.
I snarled with utmost vehemence, and slammed the accelerator down even harder with my foot, not caring if I drove through a brick wall in my stress and desperation if it led me to her.
There were worse things than exposure.
I heard a snapping sound and groaned with utmost frustration. The accelerator had broken under the force that I had exerted on the flimsy manmade object, but a damaged accelerator would not hinder me in the slightest. Beyond caring about anything at this point, I threw the door of my Volvo open with a force nearly strong enough to send it off its hinges, and ran into the cover of the shadows not even pausing to glare at the offending sun.
How could I find her with the sun out?
Bella's feeble scream made the decision for me.
The sun would not impede me; I would run in it like a mundane human, sparkle or no sparkle. Bella's life meant more to me than my façade being destroyed. Without hesitation, I moved my legs with blinding speed under the threatening sun in the direction of their thoughts, not caring if someone happened to see me. I almost stopped my rampage from the extent of my shock.
I could only hear one voice.
Through his mind, all I could see was the dirty gravel in which he was retching noisily on. He stumbled back ineptly and then raised his head without warning. If I had contained a heart, then it would have ceased beating.
The street was empty and Bella was gone.
"NO!" I thundered, my voice loud enough to penetrate even the thickest piece of glass but somehow drawing no attention. I searched the man's mind for a clue on his location and almost breathed with relief when his eyes passed over a common street sign. The other men couldn't have gotten far at this rate and when I found them, they would be wishing for their demise.
I couldn't promise them an easy death.
It took me no less than ten seconds to reach the drunken man and thankfully the sky had darkened, stars replacing the threatening sun. No longer would I be a glittering monster. As soon as the man was within two feet of me, I grabbed him by his neck and caused him to recoil against the wall as he realised that his life was in jeopardy. His eyes bulged at the furious expression on my intolerant face and it made no difference to the merciful side of me that his pale face was covered with a petrified sheen of sweat.
It was because he deserved it.
"Where did they go?" I growled at him furiously, my hands tightening on his neck when he failed to answer.
"Lonnie...they left…he said that there would be a party…that bastard." He slurred, seeming incapable of finishing a simple sentence.
"I don't think you heard my question. Where did they go?" I demanded, hoisting him further up the wall when he didn't comply.
"No idea…tell me when you find him…I owe him them a good punch" he said almost inaudibly. I released him with disappointment and he plummeted to the ground almost unresponsively. My attempts had proved to be worthless, so what was the point of persisting them? No longer would this man be a tool in a more sadistic man's plan. I knew what had to be done.
He would die at my hand.
Before I could even attempt to perform even the smallest of injuries to this abysmal man, a familiar voice shattered my murderous intentions.
"Edward, let him go. Killing this man won't help you find Bella" Alice chided but her dark eyes were sad and her thoughts no longer let off the blissful tenor that I was accustomed to. She was anxious for her best friend to-be.
"Then what will?" I questioned, sinking to my knees in desperation and having the urge to just scream out about the unfairness of life. "Haven't your visions revealed anything? A location at least?"
"I can't see anything. Bella has blurred right out of my sight" she wailed, Bella's disappearance seeming to be taking more toll on her than anything else, even the fact that her visions were proving to be imperfect.
"What do you mean that you can't see Bella? She could be dead for all we know, or injured and I can't do a damn thing about any of it" I bellowed, the gravel quivering beneath me in my wrath, and my hands clenching together with no hope of loosening.
"I know. We'll find her, Edward. We will" Alice said determinedly, but her mind betrayed her doubt.
"How?" I cried out desperately. "We can't see her future, and I can't track any scents seeing as none exist."
"That's impossible" she disagreed before sniffing the air and frowning.
"You see what I mean."
"I guess you're right. How is that even possible?" she wondered half-heartedly.
"That's not vital at this current second. What I'd like to know is how the hell I'm going to find Bella" I growled.
"Well, since her kidnappers are human we should contact the police. Then everybody will be looking for her" Alice suggested.
I sighed. "Do you really want to be the one who informs Chief Swan of his daughter's disappearance?"
"No, that'll be you. My visions are hardly infallible at this point, but I can tell that everything will turn out better if you tell him. It will benefit you and Bella in the long run. Trust me." She gave me a sad smile.
"Then what?" I asked, my impatience and dread breaking through into my voice despite my effort to banish it.
"Then we scale every corner of Port Angeles."
…
I knocked at the familiar front door of Bella's house and tried to stop the dejected feeling that overtook me when I realised that she may never walk through it again because of those malevolent monsters. I heard Chief Swan rise slowly out of his creaky sofa and didn't even need to put on a façade of despondency so that I would be prepared when he answered the door and he wouldn't be suspicious.
I felt despondent and it was no façade.
It seemed like hours before he answered the door and when he did, I still didn't feel ready to tell him the things that the both of us would rather die than hear. To say that he was surprised to see me was an understatement. After the shock had run its course, his expression grew wary and his thoughts were troubled as he took in my mood and profile.
'Uh oh. The kid looks as though someone has died. Why didn't he go to the station? I'm not in work mode right now and I can't help him in any case.'
"Chief Swan, I need to talk to you. It's about Bella." My voice broke as I spoke her name and anguish seared through me.
'No, not Bella! What did he do? She was supposed to be going with girls tonight. If he hurt her…' I cut his thought off before he could make any more hasty assumptions.
"I think we should sit down" I suggested shakily.
'Kid looks like he's going to fall apart. Whatever happened probably wasn't his fault. He's Carlisle's kid after all.'
"How serious is this? Come on in." He sighed, not waiting for an answer. I followed him through the unfamiliar walls of the Swan hallway and sighed. I had only ever been in Bella's bedroom on my anonymous night trips here, so the bottom of the house was foreign to me. Chief Swan led me to a blue patched couch in which we sat on and waited apprehensively for me to begin.
"I was in Port Angeles with my sister, Alice, out of leisure and Bella…and Bella she…was dragged away by some drunk men" I explained letting all the emotions that I had contained since the moment that Bella was taken from me, show on my face.
"I'm the chief of police. If this is some prank, then I swear…" he threatened, his face turning pale as what I had told him was processed in his brain.
"Do you really believe that I would use the issue of Bella's safety as a prank?" I asked him quietly.
"No, I don't believe that." He sighed. "You seem to care a lot about her, so why didn't you do something? Call for help?"
"I tried to. Believe me I tried." I involuntarily buried my head in my hands at these words and my failure took over every coherent thought. Chief Swan's face softened at my words and he awkwardly patted my shoulder.
"Don't worry, Edward, we'll find her. I'll find those bastards and kill them" he muttered the last part thinking that I couldn't hear him.
"Is there anything that I can do?" I asked for his benefit only. I would do what I could regardless of his answer. Nothing could stop me from finding her.
"Can you give me a description of the men? I'll give them to the other officers and we'll start a search" he said gruffly.
"Would his name be more useful to you? His name is Lonnie Wallace. The other men that he was with didn't reveal their identities."
"I know that name. We've been trying to find that criminal for years now." His eyes narrowed. "He's probably still running with the same crowd. Can you give me a description of the other men?"
I answered him to the best of the ability, trying not to let my abhorrence for the men be portrayed on my face as I described them.
"Well, it's late now. You should go home now and get some sleep. Must have been pretty traumatising what you saw. I'm going to go down to the station and do all I can. I'll call Carlisle if I find anything and he'll direct the news back to you. Thanks for your help, Edward."
"I just hope that you find her." I gave him a half-smile. He nodded and I began to walk away. If he couldn't find her then I would.
I couldn't lose her.
And I wouldn't without a fight. I would find her; there were no thoughts of only maybe finding her. There was no questioning of the fact that is surer than the sun rising at the break of day.
I will find her.
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