Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or it's characters in any way, they belong to the wonderful Stephenie Meyer.
Chapter One
Edward's enraged roar echoed through the forest. He paced in front of the grand piano, glaring at his family, who were assembled in front of him.
"How could you let this happen?" He demanded, slamming a fist down on the coffee table. Alice sat primly on the couch across from him, eyebrows drawn together in worry. Jasper growled and shifted towards Edward warningly, who suddenly quieted.
"You're right. I'm sorry Alice, I shouldn't be angry with you. I know how Bella can be when she's determined about something." He raised a hand to grip the bridge of his nose, thinking.
"When was the last time anyone saw her?" Esme ventured, looking around at her 'children'.
" Not since last night." Alice said quietly.
"I never should've gone hunting this weekend." Edward growled.
"Come now, you never knew anything like this would happen. She probably just got lost somewhere and is perfectly fine, just wandering around in the woods somewhere." Emmett spoke up good naturedly. It took all of Edward's self control not to jump him then and there.
"You call that fine?!" He seethed. Taking a breath, he turned to Alice. "Have you seen anything?" He asked, referring to her visions.
"No, nothing." She answered mournfully. "Either she's with the dogs, or…" She faltered. "I just can't get anything." Jasper patted her hand comfortingly.
"It's okay, we know it's not an exact science." He said soothingly. But Edward had already moved on.
"She's not with the wolves, I've already called Jacob. And he wouldn't lie to me, I know that much at least. He's getting worried as well, but I'd like to keep him out of this as much as possible." Edward began to pace again, frantic. He had already called all of Bella's close friends, none of them had seen her since the day before. Alice seemed to be the last one to have seen her, they had gone on a quick shopping trip the night before. Bella had set off towards home in her truck, but never made it there. Charlie's call this morning had been the most fear Edward had felt for a decade.
His thoughts were interrupted as Alice stiffened. Her eyes went wide and blank, Jasper reached over to steady her. In an instant, it was over, and she settled back into herself.
"Edward, don't!" Alice shrieked, throwing up defenses of endless memorized lyrics to keep him out of her mind. But it was too late, Edward had already seen the vision in Alice's head. Bella, knees bloody, hands torn from struggle. Bella with two strange men, one was a vampire. Bella being kicked, slapped, and taunted. Edward shook with rage and horror, dropping to his knees.
"Edward, I didn't want you to see that." Alice's face crumpled.
"Where is she?" He asked hoarsely. Alice looked pained.
"I can't tell, but I have to be honest… this is happening in the very near future, I doubt we can stop it." Edward roared again, and the coffee table splintered into pieces as he threw it into the wall.
"Edward, there's a huge number of places she could've disappeared on the way back to her house. And you're not a professional tracker. The best thing to do would be to wait and see if we're contacted." Carlisle said rationally. Edward's chest heaved as he breathed deeply.
The little used house phone rang suddenly, and everyone froze. No one moved for a long second, and then Edward darted across the room to the device.
"Hello?" He answered shortly, holding it to his ear. But all the members of the family could hear the speaker's voice.
"Edward Cullen, I presume?" The voice on the phone was masculine and dripping with venom. When Edward neglected to respond, the voice continued.
"I daresay you've noticed the human girl's absence by now." He mocked with a little chuckle.
"Tell me where she is." Edward spat out slowly and deliberately.
"With pleasure." The voice responded, taking Edward by surprise, he had expected resistance. "I'm happy to say you won't find her as complete as you left her." It continued cryptically.
"If you hurt her…" Edward threatened angrily.
"Oh, she's alive, never fear." The voice interrupted his tirade smugly. It then proceeded to give a series of complicated directions to the location Bella was being held.
"And of course, we shall be conveniently absent on your arrival." The voice informed him before ending the call in a click. Edward tensed and crushed the phone to dust in his grip.
"They're going to leave her alone. Emmett, get the jeep ready. Carlisle, she'll probably need you, bring your medical kit please. Alice, come also. The rest of you, wait here." Edward barked off orders. His family, shocked at this behavior, decided to obey. However, Rosalie sauntered off to her room.
Within minutes, Emmett's jeep was revved and waiting in the driveway. Edward had decided on this car because it was raining, and the location was slightly off the beaten track. Alice nimbly leapt into the back, with Edward driving and Carlisle in the passenger seat. Leaving Emmett watching them roar off, they sped towards the main road.
"Have you seen anything else, Alice?" Carlisle asked in the silence that followed. She shook her head tightly. He turned his eyes back to the road ahead as Edward drove, watching the rain hit the windshield at high speeds.
If they had lacked superhuman reactions, they would've all been thrown against the window as Edward made a sudden swerve to fly down a dirt road that was nearly hidden among the trees. But as they were all vampires, they braced themselves in time.
The road grew bumpy now, pitted and filled with puddles from the rain. They bounced along in silence, not needing the human restraints but thankful for the shocks in the seat that made the ride a little more pleasant. The mood grew tenser as they grew closer to their destination, wary of what they would find inside. They didn't need Jasper to tell them Edward's anger was fading to worry and fear.
Presently, a house appeared in the distance, just visible through the trees. It was dimly lit and very secluded. Spotting it, Edward pushed the accelerator harder, straining to get a bit more speed from the vehicle. Quickly, he pulled up in front of it, squealing and skidding to a stop on the mud. All three vampires flew from the jeep.
"The basement." Alice gasped. Without stopping, Edward ran at the front door, kicking it in. He found a small staircase leading downwards and nearly flew down it. When he reached the bottom, he stopped short, staring in horror.
Bella sat slumped on the hard floor, knees sprawled wide, hands dangling upwards, still chained. She was unconscious, her pale skin mottled with handprint bruises on her arms and cheeks from being gripped and slapped. And the blood, it was everywhere. It was crusted onto her scraped knees, dripping sluggishly from her scraped wrists. And worst of all, steadily flowing from the place between her legs.
"Alice, wait upstairs." He ordered in a voice rasping with pain. The petite vampire wrinkled her nose at the smell of the blood but shook her head mulishly. Edward gave up and walked forward, taking Bella in his arms. He angrily broke open the metal cuffs, causing her to slump lower into his arms, where he gently pulled her closer.
If he had been able, he would be crying freely from the immense pain he felt of not being able to protect her. Even now, he was hardly able to contain his rage, noticing her clothes had been haphazardly put back on. Carlisle moved forward then, kneeling and opening his kit.
"I'll bandage some of the worst here, but I think it would be better if we waited to care for her completely at the house, it's dirty and cold here, not to mention the abductors might return." He advised in a soft voice. He bandaged her knees with clean gauze, doing the same to her wrists. Bella stirred slightly at this and opened her eyes into puffy slits, catching a glimpse of Edward's face.
"It… hurts…" she said before going under once more. Edward closed his eyes in anguish. Carlisle finished with the gauze and motioned for Edward to lift her. With the utmost care, Edward stood,
cradling her in his arms. They proceeded back to the jeep, where Edward held Bella in the backseat, murmuring comforting words into her unhearing ears. Alice drove, taking care to drive slowly and carefully as not to jostle Bella.
The entire ride home was completely silent. No one spoke until Bella had been moved into the house and onto a couch, where they began to re-attend to her injuries. Rosalie was nowhere to be seen, Jasper was wisely away from the house and all the blood. Emmett had followed Rosalie, but Esme was there to gasp and fuss over Bella, fetching warm water before leaving the room.
Professionally, Carlisle cut off Bella's bloody shirt, applying balm to the bruises on her arms and shoulders. Edward nearly couldn't watch, he was so possessed with rage. But he kept vigil by her side, holding her hand protectively as Carlisle cleaned her wrists and re-bandaged them with fresh gauze.
Alice helped him remove her skirt, which was soaked with blood. Alice mournfully realized that this skirt was one she had convinced Bella to buy and wear, quite against her better nature. She was suddenly ashamed. The pixie-like vampire delicately cleaned the scrapes on Bella's knees, and bandaged those as well.
Carlisle sucked in an unnecessary breath as he realized the nature of the majority of Bella's blood. He looked up at Edward with sad eyes.
"She's been raped… rather violently." He told him, clenching his hands together. He had come to care for Bella during her relationship with Edward. If not for Bella being there, Edward would have flown into a rage like never before and smashed everything in the room. Instead, fighting for control, his face twisted with pain and he bent to place a kiss on her brow.
At the touch of his lips, she stirred again, blinking against the room's bright light. Not realizing where she was, she tried to scream in her disoriented state. But all that came out was a hoarse moan. Edward's jaw clenched as he imagined her screaming so long for help that her voice wore out.
"Love, it's okay. You're safe now." He shushed her, leaning in to brush her hair back with his hand. She relaxed slightly, then stiffened.
"Reuben. The vampire's name… was Reuben." She whispered frantically. It was imperative that he know this, in case she succumbed to the darkness again. His jaw tightened again, but she didn't see.
He merely nodded again and made soothing noises as Carlisle attempted to part her legs to assess the damage. When he touched her leg, she panicked and flailed out with her arm, making that horrible rasping scream. Edward shoved his emotions back and took her head in his hands, wishing Jasper was strong enough to be around her blood to help.
"Bella, Bella. It's okay. Carlisle just needs to help you, you've been hurt. He won't harm you, you know that. You'll be okay, I promise." He told her soothingly, hoping his features appeared calmer than he felt. Slowly, she relaxed and whimpered while Carlisle examined her, which killed Edward inside. Finally, he finished bandaging her and helped her get into a clean robe. Supported by Edward and Alice, she was taken upstairs and into a bed, where she quickly fell asleep from a combination of pure exhaustion and the morphine Carlisle gave her.
"It was a human, not a vampire that raped her." Carlisle informed him when the two came back downstairs.
"We need to call Charlie." Edward said simply. "Would you? I think it's best if he hear it from you, rather than me." Carlisle nodded, and pulled out his cell phone.
"Hello? Chief Swan, this is Carlisle Cullen. Yes, we've found her." He paused, and the others could hear angry questions. "I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but she's been raped." There was a pause from Charlie's end, and then frantic yelling. "Chief Swan, she's safe now, but sleeping. I've taken care of her injuries, and we know as much as we're telling you right now, she's not in a good enough state for questioning. I think it would be best if you let her stay here for tonight and we can move her back tomorrow, she's very drained right now." Charlie's protests decreased, and he agreed with Carlisle's words.
"Yes, of course we'll get the police involved, I want to catch this guy just as much as you do." Carlisle assured Charlie. "Yes, Chief Swan. You too." He hung up the phone.
"Do you really think the police will be able to catch the guy?" Alice questioned in the silence that followed.
"Not a chance." Carlisle answered soberly. "This human, wasn't alone. Bella mentioned a vampire, and the caller was a vampire, I'm almost positive. The vampires are too careful to let the human get caught. I suspect the police will find nothing useful at the scene." Alice's face fell, even though that was the answer she had expected.
Edward shoved back from the table, his chair clattering to the floor. Without a word, he stalked upstairs to keep vigil by Bella's bedside.