A/N: Thanks so much to all of my reviewers, favourites, and review alerts! I can not thank you all enough. I just hope that you all enjoy this chapter... I've never been more nervous to put anything up.
It took me a while to recognize the fact that the lights speeding towards me was indeed a car. Whoever was driving it obviously didn't care for speed restrictions or any other rules of the law. I blinked back; noting the familiar sensation of a headache invading all too soon. The lights all intertwined; forming a lattice in my brain, right up until the second where I heard:
"Oy! Girl!"
I whipped my head around; as much as it hurt to be picked up. It felt like a heavy stone, and certainly wasn't anything that I felt like mine. My headache, fortunately, subsided as I moved; and eventually I sat, cross legged, on the street.
My visitor was still intent on getting my attention.
Now that I could see upright, I squinted at the car that had so viciously awoken me. It didn't seem quite so threatening anymore- yet still struck me with a potent force. The man sat stiff behind the wheel; only his lips moving to try to attract me.
He was Caucasian with rather feminine features. Big lips nestled themselves under his sharp nose; his eyelashes were the longest I'd ever seen on any male. I blinked a few times. Certainly a man like this would not live in Forks. I think I would have noticed the car, in the least.
"Excuse me, miss."
I turned around, facing yet another porcelain faced man with an oversized coat.
"Are you lost?"
I cringed. This man bent his hat, revealing gray tufts of hair unevenly splattered across his scalp. When he spoke, he had only three yellowed teeth that jutted up at random areas- not somebody you would trust, even if you were lost.
"Um, that's okay, I'm on my way-" But exactly where to, I had no idea.
The man smiled. "You can come to my house, if you want, miss. I've got plenty of entertainment."
The way his eyebrow wobbled and his lip twitched made me want to gag right on the street. What was he going to do? Take me against my will? What would- what would Edward do about that?
Luckily for me, the persistent Car Man decided to beckon to me again; now chanting choruses of "come over here" not only with his mouth, but with the monotonous sound of his car honking. The yellow toothed man seemed disgruntled at his perseverance, but I decided to take it to my advantage.
"Lie," a familiar velvety voice reminded me. The voice that always comforted me when I was in peril.
"Well, that's my boyfriend." I glanced up at the car wheeling towards me; the glossy black one. "I'm coming!" I screeched, hoping to silence the man. When forced between the decision of Mr. Creepy and Mr. Annoying, I'd take Annoying any day.
I walked over to the car, surprisingly with much ease, even though I had just fallen on the floor. I could feel blood on my left cheek; it wasn't oozing, but it was still there all the same. I looked so vulnerable. Was I really going to walk right into this random man's car?
"Go, Bella, go! Move quickly!"
How long had it been since I'd last heard that voice in my head?
And what else could I do but as it instructed?
I pushed my legs faster, which now ached, moving away from the man on the street. My escape car was parked only a few feet in front of me; glistening even against the purple clouds that shrouded any light. The old man stood, tongue pointing out of his mouth as I ran, as if watching me. Had I been doing anything else but running to the possibly dangerous car, I might have cringed yet again.
When I had gotten into the car, the feminine looking man smiled down at me, his long eyelashes flickering as the moments passed.
"Thanks for that," I mumbled at him quietly.
He raised his hat at me, which until now, I hadn't even noticed that he was wearing.
"That was a pretty nasty fall you took down there," he said, passing me a handkerchief. "Do you need me to take you to the clinic?"
I rubbed the handkerchief up to my face; trying to scrape away any caked blood that had been stubborn enough to stay lingering. When I looked down at it, the white embroidery had turned a bloody red; and I instantly regretted soiling it. It took me a while until I had finally processed the fact that he had asked a question to me.
The clinic... he must mean the hospital... which must mean that Carlisle was there! No one could do anything to me if I was with Carlisle; he simply wouldn't allow them, even in this strange, unfamiliar part of town.
He drove roughly quiet; only stopping to ask me short questions, but never answering any of my own. I'd posed a lot at him too; why he was there, why he had decided to randomly take me in his car, where he was going originally... and all had been in vain.
"Tell me your name," I said as he stopped the car by a bush that I didn't recognize. "I told you mine."
He let out a rather girly sigh, and started at me fiercely. This time, I did cringe. I didn't like being looked at like I was something to eat- not by humans, anyways.
"Wyatt," he replied bitterly, turning back to the road. "Oh, look. We're here."
I turned my head, excited to see the familiar Forks Hospital looming into distance. Instead, I saw a much bigger building. It looked like it belonged in a black and white photo; not in present day. I pressed my nose up as far as it would go.
"How far out did you take me?" I asked, nervous now. The velvety voice was not giving me any suggestions.
He shrugged.
"Only a few miles."
It certainly didn't look like a few miles to me.
He helped me out of the car when I finally looked at him, to see all of his physical attributes in perfect standing order. He came up to only about three or four inches taller than me although he was very, very skinny. I took a while breathing all of this in. It wasn't usual that I saw a man so skinny as Wyatt; especially not one with green eyes. His hair remained hidden under the hat.
He held the door open for me, which had an eerie appeal to it as it squeaked. I looked closely at the words scribbled on the door, wondering why they wouldn't just print it from a computer. A few of the letters were smudged where the ink had gone bad- but I finally was able to make out the indented words.
"New Cook County Hospital, Chicago, Illinois."
I read the words out loud.
Chicago?
I may not have been the best in geography, but I was sure that Chicago was not anywhere near Forks. But the car ride hadn't even been that long... Still, what better could I do then ask him?
"You took me to Chicago?" I mouthed, my voice only a few notches above a small squeak. He glared at me.
"I found you in Chicago," he replied in a whiskery tone.
All of a sudden I felt the headache rushing back to me; although this time it wasn't simply from the fall. I felt like waves had crashed around me; I could almost see the sea foam bubbling up around my skin as it lapped at my toes. The waves shook me back and forth until realization hit. I was in Chicago, Illinois.
Did that really surprise me, after being hunted by vampires all over the world? After knowing I was a danger magnet?
The answer was yes, it did.
I didn't say much else while Wyatt led me into a reception room. A very old looking reception room. My mouth turned dry when I saw what people wore; instead of the familiar "Abercrombie" flashing at me, I saw plain, old fashioned styles.
Was Chicago really that different from Forks?
He took me to the front desk, which was just a balding man behind a wooden box. It didn't look very professional, and the thought that he was taking me to a fake hospital seemed very probable in my bewildered mind. But the balding man just handed me a piece of paper and- a quill?
"Write your name, time, and date," he said in aloofly. I took the slip of paper right from under his fingertips.
I grabbed the wallet from my pocket and groaned.
"Shoot," I whispered. "I forgot my insurance card."
Wyatt was puzzled at that; he didn't understand what insurance was, nor exactly why I needed a card. I didn't feel like explaining to him. Instead I scribbled down, "Isabella Swan, 12:45pm."
"Do you know the date?" I asked him. I had never been one to check it- although I assumed it was sometime in July.
"December 13," he replied almost immediately. That was strange. I hadn't even noticed that it was snowing. I scribbled the date out on the piece of paper.
He looked at me with a bewildered expression.
"Oh six?" He mumbled, pointing out my messy numbers.
I just finished pressing the tip to the paper.
"Yeah, that's right, isn't it?" I said, getting up to return the paper to the desk. I wouldn't have been so clueless as to not pay any attention to the year.
He frowned.
"Bella, it's 1917."
My first instinct was to regard him as crazy. To laugh at him like he were ridiculous. December! As if!
My mind chorteled. There was no way it could be December. My wedding was in the summer. My nineteenth birthday, the dreaded birthday I wouldn't let happen, was in September... and it was definitely not 1917.
He took a calendar out of his pocket and pointed at the date.
December 13, 1917.
My jaw stiffened. Was that even possible?
A/N: Hope you liked it! Please review! With more reviews, I get the next chapter up, and the next chapter has much more into the plot of the story.
