AN: This chapter's four times longer than the first one but I can't promise the next will follow the same pattern. We needed to get this show on the road and what's better than a long chapter filled with action? I know I don't mind :D

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Enjoy!

Oh, and a song for this chapter which I think fits this chapter to the T! Leon Somov & Jazzu - Lower than the ground (search for it on YouTube ;) )

"I was amazed as people must be who are seized and kidnapped, and who realize that in the strange world of their captors they have a value absolutely unconnected with anything they know about themselves."

― Alice Munro

BPOV

You know that feeling when the rug is being pulled from underneath your feet? When, for only a split of a second, you find yourself unable of forming coherent thoughts and just run on autopilot, trying to find your balance and not fall flat on your behind? That feeling of… helplessness as you try to grab whatever is in your vicinity just so you can avoid the fall?

That was the exact feeling that filled my veins during an ordinary Friday morning.

It was the last day of school and I was in the middle of my last exam. It was the toughest exam and I had not been looking forward to it, even though I studied for days on end. Still, I wasn't one of those people that complained they knew nothing and acted surprised when they got the maximum score.

It was during that exam that I felt the hairs on my body start to stand up, like an electric current was going through me, and a deep pit settled on the bottom of my stomach. I looked up to my arms and studied my skin as goose bumps appeared. It was the first time I felt something like that and it put me on edge. I looked around but didn't find anything out of the ordinary. Everyone focused on the papers in front of them and no one was looking at me. Weird!

I tried to brush it off but the cold didn't really go away, no matter how much I tried to put it off my mind. Even as I turned in my paper and left the class, the weird feeling stuck to me like the damp air sticks to one's skin. Happy faces and positive energy surrounded me but the feeling stayed in my bones, making me jumpy and a little paranoid.

I had just stepped out of the room and was busy trying to navigate through the ocean of students that filled the hallways when the feeling returned tenfold. You could almost smell the freedom in the air as people were yelling, laughing and patting their backs on a job well done but none of it had any effect on me. My eyes kept darting right and left, looking for the source of my uneasiness but it was in vain. Nothing seemed out of place.

I was trying to get Alice on the phone so we could meet somewhere off campus and celebrate with a nice meal and get my mind off the feeling that was pestering me. Unfortunately for me, she was on the phone, which, knowing Alice, meant that her conversation would go on for at least half an hour. I almost pitied the person on the other end of the line if I didn't pity myself more when I got caught up in a phone conversation with her when she was excited about something. And Alice always has a reason to be excited.

It took me a few minutes longer than it would usually take to get out of the building but I didn't mind. Being surrounded by people suddenly wasn't so bad when I considered the alternative: sit alone on a bench and try to get rid of the chill that took over my body. No, thank you.

My phone started ringing as soon as I stepped into a more quiet area and I eagerly fished out of my pocket thinking that Alice was done talking someone's ear off and saw my call. I quickly glanced at the screen only to see an unknown number flashing. That's weird. I answered with a small voice and was greeted by a calm, male voice on the other end.

"Is this Isabella Marie Swan?"

"Yes, this is she." I replied despite the creeping chill that was climbing through my spine, reaching the back of my neck and making the hairs stand up once again. What the…?

"Miss Swan, my name is Aro Volturi, DA of King County. I… this is… hard to say, especially over the phone. Miss Swan, your parents have been involved in a fatal car accident. They are dead."

Three words. That's all it took to bring my world crashing down around me. Three simple words: they are dead.

I don't remember sitting down. I don't remember saying anything. I don't remember filling my lungs with oxygen. My mind filled with denial and I tried to ask the man if this was his idea of a joke. My mouth, however, was not cooperating. My body was in full lockdown and my mind was spinning in circles. I vaguely remember Aro Volturi telling me that a driver would pick me up in 5 minutes and take me to the airport where I would take a private jet straight to Port Angeles. I remember asking him why but he never answered back, opting instead to tell me to stay put and wait for the driver.

I didn't have it in me to ask anything else. I should have.

The rest was a haze. I wanted to call Alice to cancel and tell her what had happened but my limbs were no longer reacting, the only moving muscles being those in my arm, as I gripped my phone and whatever was left of my sanity. I just sat there, on a stone bench, looking at people around me, trying to understand what was going on.

In the blink of an eye, I went from an only child with a mother and a father to an orphan. They were gone, just like that.

In the aftermath of the news, the chill that had taken over my body for the past 30 minutes went away, leaving only emptiness in its wake and desperation in my bones. I couldn't wrap my head around the news. My father was a cop, for God's sake. People like him didn't just die like that! It was like an oncologist dying of cancer. That doesn't just happen. Then again, it just did. God did have a twisted sense of humor, that's for sure!

From there on to the point when I stepped out of the jet and came face to face with Aro Volturi, I went on autopilot. My designated driver pulled up in front of me, asked me if my name was Isabella Swan, opened my door and motioned for me to get in. Not another word was spoken. Then again, what could he possibly say? As he maneuvered his way through the Chicago traffic, I found myself losing my grip on my emotions. I was all over the place. I bit my bottom lip until I drew blood, the taste making me gag. I had to keep it together. Breaking down in front of a total stranger who probably knew nothing of my current condition was the last thing I needed. I had to look strong even if I was far from it.

The flight crew gave me a few lingering glances but I just sat down on the seat next to the window, buckled my seatbelt and stared at the clouds that surrounded the plane once we took off. All the way to Port Angeles, I had my seatbelt on, needing the false feeling of security that it gave me. My parents probably died with theirs on. If the plane crashed, the seatbelt wouldn't do anything to keep me alive but, at the time being, it was the only thing that kept me grounded and prevented me from screaming my lungs out. Stupid, I know.

The moment I saw Aro's face as he waited for me to descend from the jet, reality sunk in. This was the man who called me two hours ago to let me know that my parents died. I could finally associate a face with the calm voice that gave me the horrible news. He had blonde hair and clear blue eyes. I had read somewhere that he was in his late thirties, one of the youngest DAs that Seattle had. I looked at him closely and compared him to the image I had in my head. He was dressed in a nice charcoal suit that looked tailored to his physique, following every dip and every line, and looked ready to take on whatever was thrown at him. Unlike me.

That was when I started crying. It got to the point where my lungs were burning, begging for air but it felt like I was underwater, drowning in my own tears. Heavy sobs left my body and I collapsed on the wet asphalt, on my knees, hugging my middle section in a pathetic attempt to hold myself together. The asphalt was digging into my skin and would probably draw blood if I didn't wear jeans but I didn't care. I needed an external source of pain that would distract me from the gaping hole that my chest had didn't help.

I was a mess.

Little did I know, the worst had yet to come.

I don't know how long I stayed there, crying my heart out, but it felt like an eternity. The weight of recent events was pushing on my chest, preventing me from taking deep breaths. I couldn't get up, couldn't make my muscles move, couldn't get out of this situation that I found myself neck-deep in. I just couldn't wrap my head around the recent events. I found myself wishing for all this to be just a nightmare that I could wake up from and realize that it was all inside my mind. Where was that damn alarm clock when I needed it? Why wasn't I waking up? This couldn't be true. It couldn't.

"Miss Swan, can you get up? Do you need help?" Aro's voice broke me out of my thoughts. He asked with a calm voice but made no move towards me.

Ha! Help. What I needed was to wake up from this nightmare. I needed a slap back into reality, where my dreams where still a touch away, where my parents were alive, where I could still count on them to be at my graduation, their faces lit up with happiness and pride, where I could repay them for everything they'd taught me. That was one debt I could never pay back, no matter how much I wanted to.

I slowly shook my head and gathered myself up from the ground. Aro motioned me towards a black BMW with tinted windows and walked in front of me. Once at the car, he opened the door and guided me in. Not surprisingly, the driver was waiting with the car in idle for us to get in before peeling out of the parking lot and rushing down the highway towards Forks.

"I am sorry for your loss, Miss Swan."

Not trusting my voice, I only nodded and looked out the window.

The ride was silent. I kept looking out the window in hopes of escaping the hopelessness that was settling in my whole body. I even started counting the trees as they whipped by but gave up since the speed of the car made everything blurry. Soon enough, it looked like there was a curtain of green and brown on both sides of the road. It made me feel trapped. I looked away and glanced back at Aro Volturi.

Aro was silently typing on his phone what seemed to be an e-mail since his fingers didn't leave the keyboard ever since the car hit the highway. Suddenly, all thoughts of death left my brain like a fog that lifted from a field once the sun was high enough to clear the haze.

Multiple questions popped into my mind, starting with the real reason why Aro Volturi called me to inform me of my parents' death and ending with his very presence in the car. Why was the DA of King County in the same car as me? It didn't make any sense. I was not an important person. The only Police-tied people I knew were Charlie and the guys at the station. Then, all of a sudden, I get to meet one of the top people in command of the State. I had a bad feeling about this creeping up my spine and it was making my palms sweat. What was really going on? I stole a few glances his way but he was so involved in whatever conversation he was a part of that he didn't feel the burn of my gaze as I studied his profile.

The more I thought about it, the stronger my unease became. How did Aro Volturi know where I was? Was I being watched? How did he get someone to me as fast as he did? Why was I brought to Forks on a private jet? Why was I in the car with him?

My head was spinning from all the questions that kept circling my brain and drove me dizzy. I could feel the space closing in on me, chocking me. I could feel beads of sweat forming above my brows and my hands were clammy. I started rubbing them on my pants in hopes of drying my palms but all I could feel was the scratchy fabric making my skin crawl and my stomach turn. I had too much saliva in my mouth no matter how much I tried to swallow it.

"Stop the car." I managed to say before I clamped a hand over my mouth.

It took me one second to get out of the car and two seconds to empty the contents of my stomach. The following dry heaves brought tears to my eyes and my mouth was bitter. Someone from my left, probably the driver, pushed a bottle of water in my line of vision and I took it, rinsing my mouth and spitting the horrible taste in the nearby grass.

"Why?" I blurted out before my mind could catch up with my mouth. My eyes widened slightly as I realized my mistake. I should have kept my mouth shut. There is a fine line between curiosity and stupidity and I was supposed to tread lightly if I was going to get any answers to all the questions that were circling in my mind.

I found myself staring into his clear blue eyes. He was the epitome of calm. Collected, cold, assessing the situation and coming with solutions for every possible outcome. He had it all planned out: how to talk to me, how to act around me, how to manage my reactions. I hated that kind of people, probably because I had dealt with them my entire life: teachers, students, friends and strangers. They all thought they had me all figured out. But was I really the person they all thought I was? Was I really the perfect girl that people worshipped? Was I really the person that I flaunted in their faces every single day?

I had an entire inner life that no one but me had access to. There were times when I even denied myself access. There were a few monsters that were better left locked up than running around and creating havoc. If there was something that I had learned during my 20 years, it was that self control was golden and I found myself curious of the magnitude of self-control that the person in front of me possessed. Had Aro Volturi been close to my father? If so, why hadn't I met him before? Why was he here?

I straightened myself back up, gathered my hair with my left hand and threw the bottle to the driver who caught it expertly. A little too expertly. I narrowed my eyes and actually looked at him: dressed in a nice, navy fitted suit, tall but with enough muscle to pass for lean, not lanky, brown hair that had a lot of product in it, probably to keep it tamed, a chiseled jaw covered in a day's worth of scruff and Ray Bans that covered his eyes, the man standing in front of me looked more like a runway model than a simple driver. I didn't understand was why he wore sunglasses. Did he really feel the need to wear them? I doubted it. It's not like there's much sun in Forks, buddy. But the one detail that set me on edge was his posture: legs slightly parted with his hands behind his back. A waiting posture. Waiting for what, exactly? His posture didn't belong to a simple driver. It screamed power, respect and – dare I say? – cockiness.

His gaze unnerved me, burning behind the lens. I could feel my skin tingle. I looked away and tried to focus my attention on something else.

I glanced back at Aro who was still assessing me with that cold, blank stare. When he made no move to answer me, I realized that something was definitely not right. Call it sixth sense, intuition, survival instinct, whatever you wish. There was this little ringing sound in the back of my mind, begging for my attention, that I couldn't shut up. I was missing something important here but what was it? Whatever ground breaking revelation was looking me in the eye, I was unable to grasp it. It was a breath away. So close yet so far away…

His voice broke me out of my thoughts.

"Why what, Miss Swan?"

"Why are you here, Mr. Volturi?" I replied without missing a beat.

"It's what friends are for."

I had no answer to that so I only nodded. What else was there to say, anyway? 'Sorry, sir, but I have no idea who you are' surely wouldn't pass as an appropriate response.

And, just like that, in less than a fraction of a second, I realized just why the alarm bells were ringing in the back of my mind: Aro hadn't shown me his badge. Surely a DA had a badge, right? Right!

As soon as my mind registered that thought, I could feel myself grow even paler. The man standing in front of me was not Aro Volturi.

One could argue that I never met the man, never even saw as much as a picture of him. What I did know was that he was a good man, powerful, who ran twice for DA and won each time. He donated to charity, took hard cases and never settled with someone who deserved to be behind bars for a very long time. The man standing in front of me just didn't fit the bill.

Not trusting my voice, I walked back to the car and took a seat like the good girl that I was. The last thing I needed was for them to realize that I put two and two together and was planning my escape. Luckily for me, convincing the men in the car that I was an emotional mess didn't take too much effort. All I had to do was let the tears fall freely and they each focused on their own tasks.

All kinds of scenarios were going round and round through my head but none of them seemed plausible. Why would two strange men fly me in a private jet all the way from Chicago? Did they want to kidnap me? If so, it meant that my parents were alive, that I could see them again. Somehow, my gut told me that at least the first part of the story was true. I remembered the chill that went up my spine during them exam and the feeling that something bad had happened. My mother and father were, indeed, dead. My gut told me that and I was a firm believer in one's own instincts. No time to linger on that particular information, Isabella. Okay. Moving on. My father was a cop. Maybe he had pissed someone off. But why wait until he was dead to get to me? Unless… unless they were the ones responsible for the 'accident' and I was next on the list. I was suddenly drenched in a cold sweat. Don't go there, little lamb. Not with the lions guarding you. My mind whispered back at me.

However, the need to know won over the need to not know and stay blissfully ignorant and I found myself asking Aro the question that was circling my brain for at least 5 minutes.

"How did they die?"

I watched as the man's head whipped in my direction and a quick glance in the driver's direction confirmed that I also had his full attention. This fact confirmed my suspicions that he wasn't just a driver. Maybe he was the one doing all the dirty work so that the blonde guy didn't ruin his suit. Although his suit seemed just as expensive. Then again, what would I know about expensive suits? That would be Alice's area of expertise.

That line of thought came to a screeching halt once her name crossed my mind. Poor Alice! I didn't get to tell her anything. Then again, what could I tell her when I didn't know anything myself? I was running on guesses here, while my limited knowledge made me doubt whatever my mind came up with. And, let's be honest, doubt was good, at least for the time being. It kept me on alert and it also filled my veins with adrenaline, the only fuel that could keep me going in this situation. Without it, I would just break down and mourn my dead parents.

"A hit and run, or at least that's what the preliminary reports say."

How convenient.

I nodded and dropped my head to rest in my palms. The change of position allowed me to escape the driver's gaze and also helped me focus. If my parents had been killed by these people, it would only be normal that I follow the same path. Then again, why go through all the hassle of getting me here, in this small town, only to kill me later? It was a little too dramatic, at least for my taste. Did they want to play the suicide card? 'The golden girl commits suicide after the funeral of her parents.' A nice headline, indeed. Even I, a future Law student, could see the appeal.

As the clock kept on ticking, my thoughts became even darker. My mood soon followed the same path. So, instead of thinking about past events, I decided that plotting an escape was better than to sit and think about all kinds of crazy things that would just make me even more emotionally unstable than I already was. Easier said than done, though. It took everything in me not to start picturing my parent's bloody bodies at the side of the road and focus on the task at hand: to not end up in the same position.

Funny how fear can be a really good incentive when the situation calls for it. Then again, imminent death was proving to be an incentive just as strong as fear. I started thinking, planning and going through all kinds of excuses that would allow me to get out of the car and out of their grasp. I needed somewhere crowded so that they couldn't afford a scene. Unfortunately for me, Forks was a small town with very little places that met my current requirements, which narrowed down my list dangerously. That didn't stop me, though.

As soon as we stepped foot in Forks, my plan was ready to be executed.

"Mr. Volturi, would you mind stopping at the supermarket or a pharmacy for a few minutes?" I asked in the sweetest and most innocent voice I could summon.

He looked me over in surprise.

"Is it something urgent? I'm afraid we're on a tight schedule, Miss Swan." He said in a clipped voice but didn't look at me while speaking.

Of course we are. We don't want to be late to the slaughter house now, do we?!

"It's… private. Like… girl stuff. It won't take long, though, I promise." I pleaded with him.

Whatever-his-name-was bought it off and nodded. Gotcha!

"Sure. We could stop by a pharmacy. Is that okay?"

Actually, it's not. I was hoping for the usual crowd at the supermarket so I could get lost and figure out how I'm gonna get out of this situation in one piece.

"Yes. Just take the next right turn and we should come across one." I directed the driver to Ms. Cope's pharmacy. That woman was like my mother and wouldn't think twice about helping me escape if the situation would get out of hands. I crossed my fingers, hoping that I could just slip underneath their radar and not involve anyone else. Two deaths in this town would already be the biggest thing that had happened in years. No need to add to the number.

Making sure to not look too eager, I waited until the car stopped and before rummaging through my bag for my wallet under the watchful eye of my companion. "Shouldn't take too long. Unless there's someone who needs a prescription filled." I said with a small smile. "Thank you, Mr. Volturi. For everything. I don't know what I would have done without you." I finished my little act with a small squeeze of his arm which sealed the deal. He smiled and waved me off like it was nothing.

I analyzed his face for a few moments, looking for signs that he was honest. I found none. The smile didn't reach his eyes. They were cold. I suppressed a shudder and carefully climbed out of the car.

I made my way in to the pharmacy and pulled my phone out of my back pocket as soon as I was out of the car's line of vision. I put it on one of the shelves and went further down the back. Ms. Cope was busy with an elderly woman who was in the process of explaining her knee problem. I took advantage of the distraction and slipped quietly through the back door.

As soon as I closed the door, I dashed to the first red car that was in my line of vision and prayed that it was hers. Apparently, I still had an ounce of luck because the car opened and I found the keys above the dashboard. Thank God for small favors and non-existent crime in Forks!

I drove to the only supermarket in town and got in as fast as I could. It was packed with people pushing their carts and filling them to the brim. You would have thought that the apocalypse was upon us and they were afraid to die hungry. Yeah, right! I internally rolled my eyes and went to the clothing aisle where I got a baseball cap, an ugly green button down shirt and a pair of low hanging jeans. I quickly paid for my things with cash, thanked the cashier – and also thanked God that she didn't recognize me – and went to the bathroom to change. As soon as I stepped in the bathroom stall, I locked it and started changing. My plain gray T shirt was replaced with the green shirt, my black jeans – with the deep blue ones what hung low on my hips and I stuffed my hair underneath the baseball cap. As I exited the stall and glanced in the mirror, I could hardly recognize myself. I looked like a boy which, considering my current situation, was the best disguise I could have hoped for. So far, my plan had worked. My happy moment was short-lived, however.

My plan had revolved on getting away from my kidnapers but was sketchy at best from that point on. I started thinking about all my options, which weren't many, to be honest. I didn't have my phone but that was probably for the best since I would've bet my left arm that it was tracked and that's why I ditched it. I also paid in cash so my credit card wouldn't pop-up anywhere. The downside was that I only had about $50 in cash and God knew how much time I would have to hide.

The only viable option that I could think of was to get in contact with Aro Volturi.

The problem was that I didn't know the man or why my kidnappers thought I would trust him. He could have been after me for the same motives the other guys were and I would have been none the wiser. Yet, if I was going to take a leap of faith with anyone, my best bet would be Aro Volturi. Surely the media would have picked up if something about him was wrong, right? My inner voice, however, disagreed with me. For all I knew, the two men who collected me could have been priests in their day-to-day lives and I don't think anyone would look past the carefully constructed masks that they had on.

It was that particular thought that kept me occupied while I drove around looking for a telephone booth in a more crowded area. The plan was to get in contact with Alice, lie about everything that had been going on and ask her to look up some contact information on Aro Volturi. Then, I would contact Aro Volturi and pray to all the saints and gods out there that he could get me out of this mess.

Thankfully, Alice answered as soon as the phone started ringing and started screaming at me as soon as I opened my mouth and said 'Hi'.

"Isabella Marie Swan!" Oh, oh! "Where are you? I've been calling everywhere! Your parents have their phones off and you aren't picking up yours! You were supposed to call me as soon as you finished your exam – and that was 3 hours ago, by the way – to grab lunch and you left me stranded! And why are you calling me from an unknown number? What's going on?"

It took Alice exactly one minute to finish her tirade and she didn't stop once to catch her breath. Normally, I would have teased her about her way of jumping the guns and freaking out about anything but, this time, I kept my mouth shut. I needed to calm her down and not raise suspicions which, in Alice's case, it really was easier said than done.

"Well, hello to you too, Alice! Look, I've lost my phone and I need a phone number really fast. I need the number to Aro Volturi's office, the DA of Seattle. Could you help me with that?" I asked in my most chipper voice even though I wanted to crawl in a hole and cry myself to sleep.

"Wait, what?! You go missing for 3 hours and then you call me to ask for a phone number?" her irritated voice snapped back at me. I felt guilty. I never kept secrets from Alice and now I was breaking my own rules and going against every belief engraved in my brain. I hated liars and here I was, becoming one of them.

"I just had a lot on my mind, Alice. That's all. I called you to cancel but you were on the phone. Plus, I didn't go 'missing'. You're declared missing after 24 hours, remember?" I said with a smile in my voice, trying to lighten up the mood. On the inside, however, I was going numb.

"Why do you need this phone number? You wanna talk about that internship with him? I told you, Bella, you can take a few days off after all that studying. No one's gonna beat you to the punch."

"I know… I just need to make an appointment… for my peace of mind. Please?"

Apparently, my poor constructed lie worked. Alice promised to get the information and call me back as soon as possible. While I waited, my nerves were all over the place. I kept looking around for anything suspicious but calmed down a little once everything seemed normal enough. True to her word, Alice called in less than five minutes and gave me Aro's office number. After promising to call her if anything came up and repeating the number five times to make sure I got it correctly, I ended the call and punched Aro's number in a heartbeat.

It only took two rings before a woman answered in a very pleasant voice.

"Could I talk to Mr. Volturi, please? It's urgent."

"Sure, Miss…"

"Swan. Isabella Swan."

"I'll put you through in a moment, Miss Swan."

To say I was on edge and every single noise made me jump would be an understatement. I was nervous to the point of almost biting my nails off, a habit that I hated, and my stomach was turning to the point of inflicting physical pain. The fact that I hadn't eaten anything since breakfast, and that whatever was left of that came out almost an hour ago, only made things worse.

"Hello?" the man on the other end said and it was all it took to start spilling my heart out through a lungful of air and a river of tears. I told him about everything that had happened in the last 3 hours: the phone call, the news, the man who impersonated him, the private jet and the cold attitude and finished with my escape. By the time I was done, I was holding on to the receiver so hard that my knuckles were white. My breathing became labored as the weight of my situation came crashing down on me.

I needed help and I needed it fast, before the adrenaline wore out and I would no longer be able to get away from the black hole that opened in my chest a few hours prior.

AN: Well, that answered a few questions... right? See you again tomorrow!

PS: I'd love to know what you think of this so far.