Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns the characters but I own the plot.

WARNING: As with the first chapter, there are graphic details within this story, so if you're under the age of 18 or have a weak stomach I strongly suggest you don't read it!

Survival Instincts

Chapter 2

Beep . . .

Fuck off.

Beep beep . . .

Fuck off!

Beep beep beep . . .

Seriously! Fuck the hell off!

"I think he's waking up." I heard a voice whisper next to me as something squeezed my fingers gently. Where the hell was I and why wasn't I dead? From the memories that assaulted me from the previous night, I should have been gone right about now.

Last night.

The tyre blow out.

The house.

The creepy fucker.

Eric.

Mike.

Jess.

James and Tyler.

They were all gone.

Alice.

Lauren!

"Edward, honey!" It was my mom's voice, couple with that of a stranger next to me. There were hands on my shoulders, trying to keep me down for some reason. "Edward, sweetheart, you need to calm down. Baby, please, calm down."

"Blood pressure one sixty over eighty!" A woman's voice called out next to me and I wondered what she was on about. "I need a dosage of Meprobamate!"

There was a slight pressure on my hand, a chill running through it momentarily before I was being pulled back down into inky blackness, hearing my mother crying and calling my name. What on earth was going on?

. . . . . . . . .

I opened my eyes, blinking furiously as the light from the room nearly blinded me. I was aware of something wrapped around my hand and looked down to find my mom asleep in the chair next to my bed. Her hand was wrapped around my own, her head resting on the side of the bed as she slept. Her expression wasn't peaceful. There were worry lines across her forehead and her mouth was set into a frown.

I wondered what was going on inside her head.

"Edward?" I turned to see my dad sitting there on the other chair that was in my room. "Oh, thank god." He made his way over to me, gently wrapping his arms around me and pressing his nose into my hair. I hadn't ever seen him like this before. He looked panicked and scared. Normally, he was calm and collected, not letting anything rattle him while the rest of us flipped out.

Now he looked terrified.

And being honest, it scared me to see my dad like that.

I didn't like it.

"Don't you ever do that to us again, young man." He whispered harshly into my hair. "I can't even bear to think about . . ."

"Wh- where's Lauren?" Where was she? Was she alright? Did she get out as well? Was she hurt somewhere or was she safe at home with her little sister? "And Alice?"

"They're both fine." He said softly, running his fingers through my hair. "They're both in the waiting room worrying about you. They weren't hurt. They were checked over and they're both absolutely fine. They're safe." I nodded, letting that sink in. "Edward?" I looked at him, not really wanting to see the look of fear and worry that lay within his eyes at the moment. "Where are the others?" He searched my eyes with his own, his hands cupping my face as he asked the question. Without saying as much, he wasn't letting me move. "Where are James and the others?"

"They . . . they're dead." I whispered, closing my eyes and he let out a breath, pulling me close to him.

"I'm sorry." He whispered, perching on the side of the bed, rocking backwards and forwards softly. It was comforting to think that he still knew what would have calmed me as a child. It wasn't working so much now, though. "Edward? You need to calm down, son. If you don't they're going to sedate you again."

I nodded, taking a deep breath, closing my eyes. I had to stay calm. I didn't want to be put out again. I wanted to know if the police had been to the house, if they'd found the others, if they'd caught the fucker that killed them?

"They're not going to do anything to Alice, are they?" I asked, looking up at my dad. She had been in the house with that guy. She could be seen as an accomplice. They couldn't do that to her, could they?

"No." He sighed, shaking his head. "Actually, Alice has a happy ending as well."

"What do you mean?" How could she have a happy ending? She had just run away from the only place, most likely, that she had ever known and now she had no one. She was all alone and I didn't understand.

"It seems that Alice is actually by birth called Mary Alice Brandon and she was kidnapped from Biloxi, Mississippi a little under six years ago." He explained and I wondered how long I had been out. I opened my mouth to question him but he already had an answer for me. "You've been out for five days. Your body went into shock with the sudden blood loss and slipping into sleep was the only way for it to cope and heal. If you had been conscious before now you would have been in a lot of pain." I nodded, not really understanding. "Alice's real family don't live in Biloxi anymore, though."

"How's she gonna find them?" What would happen to her if she couldn't find them?

"She already has." He sighed, smiling down at me. I couldn't help but wonder what on earth had gotten into my dad today. He was all hot and cold. One minute he was smiling and the next her was on the verge of tears telling me that he couldn't lose me. What the hell? "You know the Brandon's who live just down the street, right?"

It took a moment for realisation to dawn on me and I looked at him, wide-eyed as it registered what his words meant. "Are you serious?"

"Absolutely." He whispered, resting his cheek on my forehead again. "By the way, you're grounded . . . for the rest of your life."

I smiled into his chest, closing my eyes. "Deal." I wasn't sure how much I'd want to go out after what had happened to me.

I let out a breath, feeling safe with my dad here with me as I slipped into sleep yet again.

. . . . . . . . .

For the third time I woke up in that hospital room, wishing the view would change a little. But there was something different this time. I had a body either side of me.

I looked to the side to see both my parents asleep either side of me. Somehow – I wasn't exactly sure how – they had both managed to fit on the bed with me. I couldn't see that going over well with the hospital staff, no matter if they were my parents. With them either side of me it felt like I was in a bubble, untouchable and safe from everything and everyone in the world.

An odd feeling but not completely unwanted.

I looked over towards the door to see a nurse walk through. She was pretty, quite tall with long strawberry blonde hair that was pulled back into a braid. She smiled at me warmly, seeing that I was awake.

"Good morning." She said softly, walking over to the bed and checking the chart that hung on the end. Probably to see when everything had been done last. Probably when I was asleep. Now there's a surprise. "How are you feeling this morning?"

"Good." I nodded and she gave me another smile moving to the side of my bed. "I'm a little hungry, actually." I admitted and she grinned at me.

"That's good to hear." She looked down at the bed, the look on her face telling me that she was wondering how to go about taking my blood pressure with my father in the way. "Now, this could be problematic." She sighed, chuckling a little at the situation.

"Don't worry. I got it." I turned to face my dad before taking a breath and blowing in his ear. His head snapped up as he mumbled something incoherent and glancing around drowsily.

He turned to face me as I let out a laugh at his reaction and he scowled at me sleepily. "Just because you're in here doesn't mean you can do that." He mumbled, wiggling a finger in the ear I had blown into.

"Um, Dad?" I nodded towards the nurse, who wiggled her fingers at him, giggling softly. "She needs to take my blood pressure."

He seemed to recognise that he was in the way and climbed off the bed quickly, surely still practically asleep as he stumbled a little before turning around to face me. "How are you feeling this morning, son?"

"I'm okay." I replied as the nurse slipped the cuff around my arm.

"He's hungry." She told him and my dad beamed at me. What? It's not like it's something I can decide. My stomach wants food so that's what I'm gonna give it.

"That's very good to hear." He rested his hands on the end of my bed as I rested my head back on my pillows. "What time is it?" He asked the nurse, who glanced at her watch quickly before noting down the numbers displayed on the screen in front of her on my chart.

"It's nine thirty." She replied with a smile. "I'll just see if I can get him some food sent up." She nodded at me again before she left the room and I guess everything was okay.

"Do you feel up to having some visitors?" My dad asked as my mom stirred next to me. She opened her eyes slowly, blinking at me a look of pure relief spreading across her features.

"Oh, honey, you're awake." She sighed, pressing a kiss to my cheek before she climbed off the bed, straightening her clothes out. "How is he, Carlisle?"

"BP's one ten over seventy, heart rate is good. Everything looks good." He smiled up at me as he flipped the pages of my chart back down. I wasn't so sure he was supposed to be looking at that but oh well. "He's fine, Esme."

"How long to I have to stay in here?" I asked, not wanting to linger in the hospital for longer than I had to.

"As long as the doctors feel the need to keep you." My dad answered and I sighed, closing my eyes. "Now, you didn't answer my question." What question? "Do you think you can handle some visitors? Because there are a couple of girls that are going crazy in the waiting room wanting to see you."

I smiled at the thought of Alice and Lauren being here. I nodded, silently letting him know that I wanted to see them as well.

He nodded, whispering an almost silent 'okay' before he made his way out of the room. My mom sat there, watching me with a reverent smile on her face.

"Oh, baby." She whispered, brushing her fingers through my hands.

"Mom?" She looked at me expectantly and I took a deep breath, trying to summon up the courage to ask my next question. "Have they . . . have the police . . ."

She shushed me gently, her expression and eyes telling me she knew what I wanted to know. "Yes, sweetheart. They've found the house. Because it was Charlie that picked you up he radioed through to the station to get all the officers out there immediately. They found the car and the house. They found . . . they found them all." The last words were a whisper and I nodded, a tear falling down my cheek.

"Were any of them . . .?"

"They're all gone, sweetie." She sighed and I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. "It's alright, you're safe. You're okay."

"But they're not." I whispered, clenching my eyes closed even tighter. "So it's not okay."

"I know, sweetheart. I know." Her voice was soft and tender, just like a mothers' voice should be. "Your father and I have been talking and we've decided that when you get out of here, maybe you should speak to someone about what happened."

"What? Like therapy?"

"Yeah." She sounded unsure, not really knowing what my answer would be. Some part of me was glad that my parents had been discussing it. I didn't know how I'd broach the subject with them. I had known as soon as I had seen Mike on those stairs, that should I make it out of that house alive, I would need therapy. I wasn't going to be able to get over something like that on my own.

"Okay."

"Okay?" She asked, sitting up a little. I had the feeling that she hadn't expected me to agree with her. I nodded and she gave me a small smile. "Alright."

We both turned to the door when it opened and Alice and Lauren stepped through. They both looked infinitely better than when I had last seen them but then again, that had been when it had been pouring with rain and we had been trying to get through a forest covered in mud, so I think pretty much anything was an improvement on that.

"I'll leave you guys alone." My mom whispered, pressing her lips into my hair for a moment.

"Hey, Eddie." Lauren whispered as she sat down where my mom had just been. She looked completely different. Traumatised. Which was hardly surprising. It wasn't as though she would come away from that night without any scars whatsoever.

She was wearing a dark grey pair of sweats and a light grey t-shirt. She wore a dark grey cardigan over the top of the t-shirt, a pair of flats on her feet. She wasn't wearing any make-up and her hair was up in a limp ponytail, her eyes tired with large purple circles forming underneath them. I didn't think she'd gotten a lot of sleep over the last couple of days.

Seeing Alice sitting there, I was able to get a better look at her. I had been right when I saw that she was pale, her skin having a sort of porcelain quality to it. Her eyes were a clear blue, sitting there, watching me as I adjusted to their presence in the room. Her hair was black, reaching down past her waist. My guess is that she hadn't had it cut since she had been taken.

Before I knew what was happening, Lauren had let out a sob and launched herself at me in a huge hug. It was nice to know that she was happy I was alright but that motherfucking hurt!

"Ow, Lauren. Ow!" She pulled back, her eyes landing on where she knew the stab wound in my side to be.

"Oh my God." Her hands flew to her mouth as tears started to well in her eyes. "I hurt you, didn't I?"

"Lauren, it's okay." I held my hand out to her, wanting her to see that I was okay. "I'm alright. See?"

"Have the police come in yet?" Alice asked in a small voice. I turned to look at her as she watched me. I could see that there was something going on behind those blue eyes of hers but I wasn't quite sure what it was. It was an eerie feeling.

"No." I sighed, resting my head back on my pillows. "Have they spoken to you?" They both nodded solemnly. Lauren stood up and moved to the window, looking out at the view. "My mom said they found them." She nodded again.

"It was Chief Swan that found us." She said softly, shaking her head. "It was pure luck. You know how everyone has been going on about his daughter moving to town?" I nodded slowly as she turned to look at me. "Well, apparently she was on a red-eye flight from Phoenix. He was bringing her back to Forks when he found us. She was really worried about you."

"Really?" She nodded and I wondered why the hell someone I didn't know would be worried about me. Or did I know her.

Chief Swan's daughter?

Isabella Swan.

Bella.

There was a flash of mahogany hair and chocolate eyes flittering through my mind, coupled with a girls' laughter. Did I know her? I had some recollection of knowing someone by that name but until I managed to get a look at her, I wouldn't know for sure.

I shook my head, clearing it of Isabella Swan. I couldn't think about her now.

"Edward?" My attention was averted back to Lauren who was looking at me with an intense expression on her face. I don't think I'd seen one like it before. "When they were going through the house, they found the trapdoor that James and Tyler went through. Alice went back to the house to show them where it was and . . . they found Tyler but . . . they didn't . . ."

"They didn't what?" I was confused as to what she was trying to tell me. It might have been the pain meds that were running through my system at the moment but she was sounding very cryptic to my ears. Either that or she couldn't actually get the words out. "Lauren?" I coaxed in a soft voice, hoping to draw it out of her. "They didn't what?"

"Find James." She whispered and I sucked in a breath. "They didn't find him, Edward. They've searched the whole house and they didn't find him."

"There's a trap behind that door." Alice said softly and my eyes flicked to her. "So that if pushed the wrong way, anyone that goes through it . . . is killed." She took a shuddering breath, shaking her head. When she looked back at me, there were tears in her bright blue eyes and I wanted to just reach out and hold her. I wanted to do that with the both of them. So I did. I held out my arms, beckoning the both of them to me and they did. Alice was a little more hesitant than Lauren, not having known me for that long but I managed to convince her climb up on the bed next to me. "They found Tyler and I'm never going to get that image out of my head but . . . James was nowhere to be seen. He wasn't anywhere in the house."

"But Chief Swan told us that they found blood on the frame of the window we climbed out of." Lauren whispered softly, resting her head on my shoulder. "They just don't know whose it was."

"So there's a chance he's alive, then?" They both nodded and I felt something in me lift. There was a chance James was alive. But if he was, then he was wandering around out there, probably hurt and lost and I didn't want to know what he was feeling at that point. "Are they looking for him?"

"Chief Swan says they're combing every inch of that area. They've found the knife and the shovel that I threw, so I guess he's telling the truth." Lauren looked up at me, her eyes wide with fear. "Edward . . . there's something else."

"What?" I didn't like what her eyes and the tremor in her voice were telling me.

"They haven't found . . . him yet either."

They haven't found him!

So he's wandering around out there as well. He wouldn't have gone back to the house. Not with the police combing every inch of it to find some trace of him. Where the hell would he have gone? Would he come here? Were we safe in here like we thought we were?

"Edward, calm down." Alice placed a hand on my shoulder, curling up into my side, being mindful of the wound that lay there. She rested her head just above my heart and sighed gently. "You've got to calm down."

"I'm trying but . . . it's hard when you know that the person who murdered four, maybe five of your friends and tried to kill you is still out there. Who knows where he is?" I closed my eyes, trying to will my panic away but it wasn't really working.

"They've got security up here," Lauren said softly, sitting up, trying to calm me down. "They're ID-ing everyone that comes through here, making sure that they're on the list and visiting an actual patient. No one's getting through unchecked. Not even the doctors and nurses. There's police everywhere. We're safe."

"I hope so." I sighed, feeling my panic ebb with her words. I hoped we were safe. Who knew what that nutjob would do if he found us. Probably finish off the job.

"Hi," We turned to see my dad in the doorway, looking slightly grim as two men followed him in. I recognised one of them as Charlie Swan but the other I didn't know at all. "Edward, we need to know if you feel up to making your statement."

"We understand if it's too much at the moment, kiddo." Charlie stepped forward, a small smile on his face, barely visible underneath the 'tache he sported but it was there. "But it's kind of important."

"I'll try." I whispered, looking at my dad who gave me an encouraging smile. The girls climbed off the bed, whispering their 'good luck's to me and I took a deep breath. "Can my dad stay here?"

"Of course." Charlie said nodding. The other guy looked at him, slightly pissed and Charlie stared right back. My dad sat down at the end of my bed while Charlie sat on the chair closest to me and the other guy moved the one from by the window to sit next to the bed. "First of all, how're you doing, kiddo?"

"I'm feeling better, thanks." I gave him a small smile, which he returned. "I owe you a huge thank you, Chief. If you hadn't come along I don't know what . . ."

"It's alright." He said softly which sounded odd in his low, gruff voice and from someone with Charlie's overall demeanour. He wasn't really the softly, softly kind of guy. "I'm just glad I was in the right place at the right time."

"Anyway, thank you."

"You're welcome, Edward. Just get back on your feet as quickly as possible."

"That might take a little time." My dad sighed, resting his hand on my uninjured leg. "The muscle in Edward's leg was severely damaged by the knife and the fact that he didn't let go of it after he stabbed him made it even worse. It's going to take a while in physio before Edward will be walking properly again. Sorry, son." I had known that having physio for my leg to rebuild the muscle could have been a possibility. I was just hoping that it wasn't true.

"If we're done with all the niceties, I think it's time we get down to business." Both my dad and Charlie glared at the man sat on the other side of my bed and I found it quite comical to be honest. "Right, Edward, my name is Caius Volturi and if it's alright with you, I'd like to tape your statement for future use. Is that alright?" I nodded and he pulled a tape recorder out of his bag and pressed record, setting it on the bed. "Now, we're going to start at the beginning and work our way through the night. If at any time you feel that you can't carry on, we can stop and resume at a later date, is that alright?" I nodded again and he stated for the recorder that I'd agreed. "What time did you leave the party in Port Angeles?"

"Um," I thought for a moment, trying to remember what time it was. "It was about half one, in the morning. We didn't want to stay any later than that because we had to be back for school the next day."

"Can you tell us what happened on the drive home?" He asked, looking up from where he was also taking notes on a pad. Wouldn't you have thought that he could replay the tape back and get what he needed from that? Apparently not.

"Um, well, Eric and Tyler had passed out in the back, either that or they'd fallen asleep at some point. I'm not sure which. Lauren was constantly asking how long it was until we got back which was annoying everyone in the car. It was just after she'd asked again that the tyre blew." I closed my eyes, my mind flicking on to later in the night. "James and I got out to change the tyre but when I looked in the trunk, there wasn't one there. James's mom had used it and not replaced the spare."

"What happened next?" He asked, his voice calm and collected. There was a high chance he'd already heard this story from Lauren. He just needed me to verify what happened.

"We got back in the car to try and figure out what to do."

"What did you decide to do?"

"We decided to wait." I sighed, picking at the loose threads on the blanket covering me. For some reason fiddling with something always helped me to focus. "We, um, didn't really see what else we could do. We were going to wait until either another car came along or until morning so we could see where we were going so we walk to get some cell reception to call a tow." He nodded, writing something down again. "But um, I got out and-"

"Why did you get out of the car?" He asked quickly, interrupting me. I glared at him and my dad chuckled lightly. He knew how much I hated being interrupted. He didn't say anything, holding up his hand. Charlie was sat there with a smirk, probably mentally applauding me for my guts. I had the feeling that he didn't like this guy very much.

"I had to use the bathroom." I answered shortly and he nodded, writing it down. Why the fuck was that important? Yes, witness needed to piss . . . excellent evidence there. "Anyway, I went into the woods by the car and that's when I saw a light. I figured that as long as we were stuck there and I could see the car, what harm could a little investigating do, right?" He nodded once, his expression never changing. "So I walked to the edge of the woods and that's when I saw the house."

"What did you do after you found it?"

"I went back to the car and told them what I'd found." Both Charlie and my dad were grinning at my obvious teenager 'duh' tone of voice. My dad was used to it from me and my brother and Charlie probably knew he had to expect it at some point from his daughter. This guy however didn't seem to have a clue.

"Did they agree that going to the house was the best plan of action?" He asked, looking up at me and I purposefully gave him another typical teenage move of the 'are you fucking stupid?' look. It's one my brother and I had down to a T.

"Of course they did. If they didn't we wouldn't have gone to the house, would we?" I responded and both the fathers in the room were silently chuckling. I'm sure my dad was thinking that the Cullen genes were coming out to play again. All of us had the ability to be extremely sarcastic when we wanted to be. Charlie just looked like he was having the time of his life watching this guy being put in his place by a teenager.

"I don't know." He shook his head slowly, leaning back in the chair looking incredibly smug about something. Yeah, I really didn't like this guy. "Peer pressure is a powerful thing."

"There was no peer pressure." I stated clearly. "Everyone agreed on going to that house, now do you want me to finish the story or do you want to tell it?" The look on his face was priceless as he sat there. His jaw dropped and his face started to turn red. I had clearly embarrassed him and I didn't care. Clearly he didn't like being put in his place by a teenage boy. I had the incredible urge to stick my tongue out at him but I managed to refrain.

"Please, carry on." He gestured with his hand for me to continue once he had regained his composure. I still thought it was funny even if he didn't.

"We all decided to go to the house. None of us wanted to stay in the car." I took a breath, closing my eyes for a moment. "I don't know how long it took us to get there, half an hour maybe but when we finally got there, none of us really wanted to go up to the house."

"Why not?" He crossed an ankle over his leg, resting his hand on it. Well, if you're comfortable fucker. "You'd said that you'd all come to the conclusion that the house was the best bet you had. Why not want to knock on the door?"

"Because . . . when we got there . . . the house itself seemed . . . I don't know how to explain it." I searched my mind, trying to come up with the right word. "It seemed creepy and evil in some way. I don't know how to put it. But none of us really wanted to go in there." I let out a breath. "But we did and when we knocked on the door, Alice was the one that opened the door. She looked at us like she wanted to tell us to get the hell away from there and slam the door in our faces but . . ."

"But?"

"He showed up behind her before she could get anything out." I said softly and he nodded, understanding who I meant by 'he'. "She called him 'Master Marcus' I think. Something like that anyway."

"So she didn't want to let you into the house?" I shook my head. "What happened next?"

"Well, we asked him if we could use his phone, saying that we'd wait for a tow back in the car and he sounded almost . . . offended at the idea. He turned around and said what kind of person would he be if he let us back out in that weather. It had started raining by then." He nodded, again with the writing. "He told us that we could wait in the sitting room and that Alice would bring us some tea. He disappeared after that."

"What do you mean 'he disappeared?"

"Exactly that." I shrugged and he raised an eyebrow. "He walked out of the door we'd come through and didn't come back."

"Did she bring you the tea?" I nodded.

"She also told us to get out as fast as possible." I sighed, looking at my dad who nodded for me to continue, as did the Chief. They were both giving me silent encouragement to get through this. I wondered if I could. It was hard enough already and I hadn't even got to the hard stuff yet. "She told us to forget about the phone and that the weather outside was preferable to what would happen if we stayed."

"Did you listen to her?"

"After a few minutes, yeah we did." I nodded and he nodded along slowly. "We decided that being in that place wasn't worth the phone so we got up to leave, deciding to wait it out until morning to walk and try and find a signal. But we couldn't get out."

"How come?"

"The door was locked." I closed my eyes, remembering the panicked look on my friend's faces as we realised the front door wasn't budging. I knew that my own face was mirroring theirs, fear starting to kick in.

"Edward." My dad's voice pulled me out of that memory and I opened my eyes to look at him. "You've got to keep calm." He glanced at the monitor showing my heart rate and I nodded. It was beating a little too fast for my liking. And apparently, my dad's as well.

"The door was one of those really heavy duty ones. And it was locked. It was a standard handle so it shouldn't have been hard to open and we couldn't see any deadbolts or anything like that around. But it wasn't budging."

"What did you do?"

"Tyler had the idea that we should split up to try and find a way out but that idea made Jessica and Lauren panic, so we didn't. We wanted to stick together, realising that if someone did find a way out, there'd be no way to tell the others because none of us had reception." He nodded, his pen flying across the paper. Did he have to do that now? "We decided to try and find a backdoor which we found in what seemed to be a kitchen. I'm only guessing because there wasn't anything in there that really stood out as being used. I mean, there were no pans or cooking things in there, but there was an oven and a sink and stuff, so . . . Anyway, that door was the same as the front. It wouldn't budge. It was Tyler that tried to open that one. But when he turned round he saw that . . ."

"What did he see?"

"That Mike was gone." I whispered, feeling the panic I'd felt that night starting to resurface. "I checked the hallway we'd come down and he wasn't there. He was just . . . gone."

"And then?"

"The lights went out." I whispered, shaking my head lightly, trying to get rid of the images flying round in my mind. "The girls screamed and there was a noise like when someone's had the wind knocked out of them or something. I thought someone had just walked into something. I called out to everyone, making sure they were all there but . . . Eric didn't reply."

"Why was that?"

"Because he was dead." I said softly, picturing Eric's lifeless body in my head. I could see him, clearly as I had from the light of my phone. The blood on the side of his face, the knife sticking out from his chest. I couldn't get rid of the image. "The sound I'd heard. It was Eric being stabbed."

He took a breath, writing something more down on his pad and I felt my dad putting pressure on my foot, clearly trying to remind me that he was there with me. I felt Charlie's hand on my arm, again probably trying to keep me in the present. "What did you do when you found Eric?" He sounded like it was starting to strain him a little now. Good.

"We ran." I stated simply. "We ran back down the hallway into the entrance hall. We had our phones out, so we had a little light to see by but it wasn't much. We went into the sitting room, where the fire was still going so we could at least see. I had the idea that we could break the windows and get out that way. James grabbed a chair and threw it at the window. We all expected it to smash straight through but it didn't. It just bounced off. It was like he'd had the whole thing planned before we'd even arrived. That he'd had the whole place completely sealed shut so that no one could get out."

"I think it might have been more than keeping the seven of you in." He replied grimly but I couldn't find it in me to care. "What did you do after the chair didn't smash the window?"

"Something moved behind me." I bit down on my lip, closing my eyes as I saw Mike's body in my head. "So me being stupid ass that I am, went to see what it was. I knew it was dangerous yet I went anyway. There was . . . there was something on the stairs."

"What was it?" He didn't sound so enthusiastic about getting my statement now. He sounded disturbed and slightly scared if I had to admit. He'd obviously known that I'd been the one to find Mike on the stairs. All the others had known was that it had been horrible enough to make me throw up. They didn't see him at all. No, that was only in my mind.

"It was Mike." I whispered, feeling a tear make its way down my cheek. "He was dead. He'd been sat there, on the stairs. His hands were bound and he was covered in blood. It looked like there was . . . wire . . . or something around his throat and his eyes . . . his eyes were open . . . blank and lifeless and I . . ."

I couldn't get the picture out of my head. It stayed there, along with the imagery of what he must have done to Mike. I could hear the beeping of the heart monitor becoming faster and my dad moved off of the bed.

"I think that's enough for now." I heard him say forcefully. I didn't hear any objections so I knew that both Charlie and that Caius guy agreed. "Edward? Edward? Edward, I need you to look at me. Look at me, Edward." I knew my eyes were open because somewhere behind the image of Mike there was a bright light. I registered that he must have been looking for some kind of pupil response from me. "Shit!" I heard him whack something before telling Charlie and the other guy that they needed to leave.

There were voices all around me, all above them; my dad was calling my name. All of the disorder and confusion melted away as I was tugged back into the blackness I had become familiar with.

. . . . . . .

I groaned as I opened my eyes, feeling groggy and weak as I moved my head.

"Edward!" Before I could register what had happened my dad was in front of me, his hands running through my hair. "Don't you ever do that to me again, young man." He sounded so scared and I wondered what had happened. I looked up at him, confused and he sighed, resting his cheek on the top of my head. "You went into shock. Reliving what happened that night . . . I knew it was a bad idea. We're not going to go through that again. You're not giving the rest of your statement until you're released from hospital. Understand?" I nodded. I had no problem with that.

"What time is it?" I asked, my throat feeling scratchy and sore. My dad picked up a cup of what I assumed was water and held the straw to my lips, allowing me to drink until I was sated.

"It's a little after eight in the evening." He sighed, running his hands through his hair. "I'm going to go and get a nurse, let them know you're awake. Also, I think Charlie wants to come and see you, make sure you're alright. Do you think you're up for that?" I nodded and he gave me a small smile. "Okay."

"Where's mom?" I asked, wondering where she'd gone.

"I sent her down to the cafeteria. She's not eating properly and I wanted to make sure she had something to eat while she was here. She didn't want to leave after what happened, but I managed to convince her that she was no use to you if she made herself sick." I nodded, knowing my mother well enough to know what she was like. He ran a hand through my hair gently, letting out a sigh before he slid off my bed. "I'll be back in a few minutes. I'm sure Charlie will be in here before me."

"Okay." I nodded, closing my eyes as the door closed behind him.

I lay there in silence for a few moments before the door opened and closed quietly. I guessed that it was Charlie, having been told by my father that I was awake and wanting to see if I was alright.

I opened my eyes, feeling the fear and panic welling within me and sucking in a breath to call for help. I didn't get the chance before Marcus's hand violently covered my mouth and nose, making it impossible for me to breath.

I tried to pull his hand away from my face, struggling against his grip, but he was unrelenting in his hold on my face. Even from behind his hand, I tried to shout, my cries muffled and strained to my own ears. There was no chance someone was going to hear me.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw his hand move into the pocket of the jacket he was wearing and he pulled out a knife. There was a maniacal look in his eye and I felt the tears of fear welling in my eyes as my lungs started to burn through lack of oxygen.

He was going to kill me right here and now.

I silently willed someone to come through the door and stop him, knowing that there wasn't much of a chance before he killed me. He wasn't playing games this time. He was going to kill me right here, right now and there was nothing I could do about it.

I continued to struggle against him, my lungs burning and the pain in my side telling me that I'd most likely pulled some stitches in my side. What did it matter? I was going to die, anyway.

Before he could really make a move, the door opened and someone shouted at him, clearly having seen the way he was holding me down and the knife in his hand. It all happened so quickly, I wasn't even really sure of what went on. A gunshot sounded throughout the room and Marcus slumped across me, the hand on my face falling limply away only to be replaced with a searing pain in my hip.

"Edward!" It was Charlie. He ran to my bed and pushed Marcus off of me, not giving him a second thought as he rolled onto the floor.

"Oh my God!" There were people everywhere. Charlie moved back so that the nurses could get to me. "Shit!" Someone whacked the button next to my bed and I felt myself being lowered to a flat position. I couldn't really focus on anything other than the pain in my hip. What had happened?

"We got a knife wound, left hip." He had stabbed me, again. "We got a severed vein. OR now!"

I didn't hear anything other than muffled shouts and beeping machines before someone placed a mask over my face and my world went black for the umpteenth time.

I needed to break this cycle.

. . . . . . . .

I blinked slowly as I felt myself being pulled back into the conscious world. "This is getting a little repetitive, don't you think?" I muttered, knowing that there was going to be someone in the room with me.

Sure enough my parents were at my side in seconds, making sure I was okay and generally worry as parents do.

"What happened?" I asked, once they had stopped their fawning for the moment. It was understandable considering what had just happened. "I thought there was supposed to be high security up here. How did he up here?"

"We don't know, sweetheart." My mom ran her fingers through my hair again. "We don't know how he got up here. Everyone has been asked for ID when coming up here and no one has gotten through unchecked. We don't know how he managed to get through."

"We have officers stationed at your door and they are under strict orders not to leave until they have been relieved because unfortunately, the press has gotten wind of what happened." My dad sighed, looking completely defeated. The press? That was something I didn't want to have to deal with. "On a better note, they found James." I felt my jaw drop at my father's words. "He's alive and relatively unharmed. He had a small cut on his arm," I remembered seeing that, "a broken wrist and a small wound to his leg. He was a bit cold and wet when they found him but other than that he's completely fine."

"Thank God." I whispered, my head falling back onto the pillows.

"He wants to see you, actually." My dad looked at me, a contemplative look on his face. "Would you be up for that?"

"Are you kidding?" I asked, my jaw dropping. "Of course!"

"Alright," my dad stood up while my mom remained glued to her seat. She obviously wasn't going to leave me alone again.

My dad returned a few minutes later, James in tow and I couldn't help the grin that spread across my face. It was unreal to see my best friend alive and in front of me. Clearly he was thinking the same thing as he took the chair my mother had been sitting. He like me was wearing a very fetching hospital gown but he had sweats on underneath it. Unfortunately, I had knew I had to have a catheter in, considering I had only just woken up from another round of surgery, so I wasn't afforded that luxury.

"You have no idea how good it is to see you, man." I breathed and he laughed, shaking his head.

"I think I do." He sighed, looking at me clearly. "I'm so glad you're alive, Ed."

"You too." I closed my eyes, inhaling slightly. My side was hurting so I couldn't breathe that deeply. I wondered when I could have some more pain meds. I hoped it was soon because my leg was fucking killing me. "I thought you were dead."

"Same here." He said quietly, looking away from me. "I don't know how I managed to get out of that little hole thing. Tyler . . . he died . . . instantly and I know I'm going to need a fuckload of therapy to get past that . . ."

"We all are." I agreed and he nodded, sighing. "Have you seen Lauren?" He nodded.

"She was with that little black haired girl from the house. I can't remember her name."

"Alice." He nodded, recognition flashing in his eyes. "She was the one that got us out. She told us that she wanted to try and find us sooner but we were moving around so much, she couldn't find us. She led us out through a small window in the basement."

"That's the same one I went through." He said quietly, shaking his head. "I don't know how I found it. I was just trying to find a way out from those damn tunnels and hallways and then I'm in this big room. There was an open window and I didn't think. I just climbed. It didn't even cross my mind that he could be out there."

"He was." He looked at me sharply, wanting me to explain. "He was attacking me. Ran a knife into my side and through my leg. That's why I was in here in the first place."

"Lauren told me what happened in the other room." I glanced around, noticing I was in a different room. Obviously it would be. That room would have to be cornered off as a crime scene now. "I can't believe that fucker."

"Well, he's dead now." I sighed heavily and he nodded, not looking as relieved as he probably should have been. "Charlie made sure of that."

"Good ol' Chief Swan." He chuckled, shaking his head. "Who would've thought?"

"It was him that picked us up by the car. He'd been getting his daughter from the airport and they drove down the same way as us. He brought me here. If he hadn't come along, I don't know what would have happened." I looked out of the window. "I owe the Chief a lot. That's twice he's saved my ass now."

"We all owe him." James reached over and rested his hand on my shoulder.

I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face as we sat there. We were both alive and we were going to be okay. In that moment, there was nothing else. I had believed my best friend was dead and thankfully, I had been wrong. He was sat in front of me, a little worse for wear, but on the whole he was alright.

Things might be okay, right?

. . . . . . . . .

This was originally going to be one chapter but it got pretty monstrous and there was just too much going on to put into one chapter. You'll see what I mean when I post the concluding chapter tomorrow.

See you tomorrow.