Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns all the basics.
Rated M for several reasons.
Part One
Chapter 1 Arrival
APOV
So here we are, twelve volunteers, six boys, six girls, and one incredibly surly minibus driver. Nametag; Sam Uley.
The cute blonde guy is here, sitting on the back row talking to a pale guy with bronze hair and a muscular giant with dancing blue eyes and a winning smile. They're talking football, universal guy language. The girl next to me is as big as I am small but seems friendly enough, we've exchanged names and origins. She's Siobhan, from Dublin Ireland. And I'm Alice, from Biloxi Mississippi. Behind us is the very beautiful patrician blonde Rosalie from New York and sandy haired Alistair from Vancouver. Across the aisle is the very quiet and shy Bella from Florida, no tan, how has she managed that? And next to her is the equally quiet and equally dark haired Riley from Seattle.
I don't know any of the others by name yet, but I will, there's plenty of time.
BPOV
Even at two in the afternoon its dark here, rain beating down on the minibus roof and clouds of moisture clawing at us from the glowering trees that crowd the thin strip of asphalt on both sides. Foreboding. A fitting start to a study in horror. My spirits, never usually much higher than my calves, are clinging to the sodden carpet of the bus. How is it possible that twelve people brought so much water inside with them?
At least one of us is chirpy, Alice from Biloxi, but after forcing introductions from everyone around her even she lapsed into pensive silence.
I've tried to read on my kindle but I can't, and I never can't read. The boy beside me, Riley, has fallen asleep, his head occasionally banging against the misted window when we hit a bump in the road. I envy him, I don't often sleep well in a comfortable bed, never mind being able to get some quality shut eye on a bus full of strangers.
Oh well. Brave face. My own rationale for doing this is that if I actually want to be a writer someday then I actually need to have some credible life experiences. This weirdness has got to qualify . . . .
RPOV
Fuck my life, only the presence of Dimples to look at, is going to make this bearable. Shorty Biloxi has potential but I'm not holding out much hope for anyone else I've spoken to so far, I can't see any of them having enough personality to freak out let alone make this fun. Especially Paleface Bella, she exudes so much fake 'I've got it all under control' that her head will probably explode the first time the lights go out. Which would only be briefly entertaining at best.
I liked Heidi, she sure knew how to sell something. I needed some details before I'd be convinced to take part and she gave me a suitably creepy description of the underground facility we'd be staying in and some delicious hints at the horrors that would be in store for us down there.
I hope one of them gets Alistair, there is no excuse for body odour in this day and age. None.
BPOV
My spirits made it back up to my calves when we turned right off the highway but now they are deeply regretting their optimism. The trees have closed in on us as we bump down this track, their branches scraping our roof and stabbing at our sides. I remember Phil taking me, and his car, through an automatic car wash when I was little but this has none of the wonder of that experience and judging by the way the hulking driver is hunching over his wheel, I'm not the only one expecting a fir tree finger of doom to burst through the windshield and spear me at any moment.
I have always regretted being on the skinny side but right now I'd give my left frontal lobe for some of Siobhan's extra padding, she's smiling and giggling with Alice while we bounce and skid to our doom. The tedious football conversation from the back row of seats has ceased and even Riley has woken up and is looking suitably alarmed.
Where is this 'facility' Heidi said we'd be staying at? I wasn't expecting The Hilton but somehow I'd imagined more accessibility.
Finally the tires squeal as they suddenly get friction on asphalt and the horrendous bumping stops to a collective sigh of relief.
"Are we nearly there Sam?" Alice bravely asks. To which she gets an animalistic grunt.
APOV
Okay then. Not a people person.
Siobhan pats my thigh in sympathy as I collapse back in my seat beside her so I offer her a strained smile in return. I'm not very good at restraining my excitement or hiding my disappointment when the people around me don't share it. Damn it! I know this whole experience is about secrecy and suspense but surely it wouldn't hurt for Sam to be a little more communicative?
How much longer until we get to the Facility?
Heidi said the first night would be 'relaxed and above ground' to give us an essential chance to 'get to know each other better' and I can't wait. Not to mention that I need to shower and change out of these wet clothes. We all do, its warm in here and we're getting more than a little funky.
I can't help but strain forward to look out the windshield but its full rainy dark now and all I can see in the weak headlamps is a narrow strip of paved road and the omnipresent trees.
The atmosphere has been building nicely but I want something to happen . . . . I know something is going to happen . . . .
"Shit!" Sam screams as a shadowy form leaps across the road in front of us.
Then everyone screams as he slams on the brakes and we feel the loss of traction. In the silence after the collective scream we glide across the roadway in slow motion and plow into one of the sentinel trees.
"Shit." Sam growls. "Everyone okay?"
Some of us respond in the affirmative and some just nod while he heaves himself out of his seat and wrenches the door open to inspect the damage.
"Shit." We hear from outside.
"A man of very few words." Someone on the back row observes wryly.
"We'll have to walk the last mile." Sam informs us when he pokes his head back in through the door to turn off the engine and grab a flashlight. "Get your stuff."
RPOV
I can carry my own stuff but of course I didn't object when Dimples offered to do it for me. And I notice Paleface Bella didn't when the lanky guy with oddly messy hair offered to carry hers either. Though she did flush up like a tomato and stutter something completely asinine about being able to do it herself.
The driver's sense of distance is highly suspect since I'm pretty sure we've covered more than a mile when the road opens up to a low portico with a yellowy outside light that nevertheless clearly showcases the absolute downpour we've just trekked through.
Still it was a productive walk.
Dimples actual name is Emmett, Em to his friends, he's at UCLA on a football scholarship and his friends dared him to sign up for this. The cute blonde with the deep tawny eyes and Texas twang is Jasper and lanky but strangely sexy is Edward from Chicago.
Em and I had a good laugh as Edward from Chicago tried to engage Bella from Florida in conversation and occasionally reached out to save her from her treacherously klutzy body. Seriously? How is she not in a wheelchair? We also laughed at Shorty Biloxi who danced down the road ahead of us like a water sprite towing Siobhan and her wheeled suitcase behind like a tug boat with two tankers.
Heidi is waiting for us under the overhang and I think our collective spirits swell when we see someone we recognise.
"Oh you poor things! Come on. Come inside quickly! Goodness you're all so wet!"
A blast of heat and light hits us as we rush inside and crash to a stop together. The foyer, for want of a better word, is marble and hung with complex chandeliers. Wow . . . .
BPOV
Everyone is speaking at once but eventually some sort of order descends and Heidi shows us to our rooms.
"Dinner is at seven, an hour." She reminds each of us when she leaves us at our room. "There's plenty of hot water so warm yourselves up in the shower. Make your way back to Reception when you're ready, one of the staff will find you."
"Thank you." I murmur to Edward when he hands me my case. I can't look at him. He's gorgeous and his newly revealed green eyes are more than I can cope with right now.
Shoving my case into the room ahead of me I close the door and fall back against it.
The whole room is walnut art deco panelling with a star pattern picked out in a lighter wood, there's no window but the bedside lamps with their cream silk shades cast a warm homely glow. The white comforter on the bed looks like it would take me at least an hour to sink into and I would, I so would, if I wasn't starving hungry and in desperate need of a hot shower and dry clothes. A slow smile steals across my face when I spot the similarly decorated and lit bathroom to the left with the huge claw foot tub and stack of mesmerizingly fluffy towels.
I'd better set the alarm on my cell if I need to be out of that beauty in an hour . . . .
APOV
Twenty heads. There are twenty shower heads in this stall! I have died and gone to heaven. The warmth steals into my chilled bones and the needle like spray massages my cramped muscles. Heaven.
As I scrub myself dry I inspect the little black dress and heels I picked out weeks ago for tonight's dinner. Still perfect, I'm even more sure of it now. A little kohl for my eyes and some lips gloss and I'll be good to go since my hair so short there isn't much I need to do to style it. Mostly I let it curl softly around my face but sometimes, like tonight, I spike it up for dramatic effect. A black pearl choker with matching wrist band and stud earrings will complete the look. Pixie, and I wear it well.
My heels click eerily on the tiled floor as I make my way back to reception down the ocean liner like corridors a frisson of anticipation dancing up and down my spine, the low rumble of voices in the reception area quickening my pace. Heidi turns when she hears me approach, leaving her conversation with Sam, who is quite the glowering giant.
"Alice!" She gushes, moving in for a double cheek kiss. "You look wonderful, good shower?"
"You have no idea." I sigh happily as she releases me.
"You've met Sam Uley haven't you?"
Sam and I nod at each other.
"Sam is Head of Security here at the facility and this wonderful gentleman in the wheelchair is Billy Black, our host."
"Hi." I offer him a cheery wave which he returns with a wide smile.
"Welcome to Forks Mary Alice." He says in a deep rich voice. "How are you enjoying the weather?"
"Am I allowed to say I'm not?" I snicker, ignoring the fact that he seems to know my real name.
"You are." He chuckles which makes Sam scowl. "I don't like it much either but after nearly sixty years you get used to it. When the sun comes out I'm like a vampire, can't wait to retreat into the dark."
"Ah." He segues as a tall willowy woman with long black hair strides out of one of the other corridors. "And this lovely lady is Leah Clearwater, my niece, she keeps us all in line and fixes anything that breaks. I am sure you'll meet Mrs Cope, our housekeeper, at dinner."
"Jasper!" Heidi lights up as the cute blonde guy saunters up in his scuffed cowboy boots, who knew I'd find those attractive?
Jasper gets the double kiss and a bicep squeeze before she ushers him over and introduces him to me.
"Jasper this is the lovely Alice."
"Ma'am." He drawls, taking my hand to plant a light kiss on the back of it. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
Such a gentleman, be still my beating heart . . . .
RPOV
"Hi." Paleface Bella manages as she stumbles out of her room and nearly collides with me. "Sorry."
"Are you always this clumsy?" I ask as we set off down the corridor together.
To my surprise she laughs. "Yes, I'm afraid so."
"Have you tried ballet lessons or Pilates?" I enquire and she laughs again.
"Tried yes. Succeeded no. They asked me to leave ballet when I was ten after I took down the bar and half a dozen little dancing angels."
"And the Pilates?"
Her smile slips and her face darkens.
"It's best never to mention it." She mutters.
"Okay then. But in case I need to know later do you travel with your own medical kit?"
"I do." She snorts, amused. "And if I'm not unconscious I can even tell you how to use it."
"Good to know." I decide, linking my arm with hers. "Let's go find this promised dinner, I could eat scabby horse . . . ."
BPOV
It took an awkward forever before everyone had arrived and been introduced but Heidi finally ushered us off down another corridor and into the mother of all art deco formal dining rooms. Like the rest of this place it was all so perfectly proportioned you barely noticed the lack of windows. Not that there is much to look at here anyway I suppose.
By the sideboard, crystal wine goblets in hand are two ridiculously attractive people, the Doctors Cullen I presume.
"Good Evening!" The movie star man greets us. "Welcome to our little experiment. I am Dr Carlisle Cullen and this is my wife, Dr Esme Cullen."
"Carlisle." Esme chides him softly. "Dinner first, Experiment later."
"Yes, of course dear. Let's get everyone a drink because I think Mrs Cope is ready to serve the entrée."
Apparently he is a very difficult man to divert because the rotund and homely Mrs Cope has barely set down the last plate of smoked salmon when he starts back on the reason we're all here. The Experiment. And fortunately he is also a totally absorbing speaker because Edward is sitting next to me and I'm so aware of his presence I can barely co-ordinate getting the food to my mouth . . . .
Carlisle Cullen is something of a medical prodigy, the youngest ever Surgeon in Chief at John Hopkins, a renowned and innovative researcher. His wife, Esme is also well known in her own field of psychology. Together they have published several papers on the links between mind and body and now, with funding from the TV mogul Aro Volturi they are finally getting a chance to put their theories into practice. Of course the affects of fear and stress on the mind and body have been studied already but never in such a concentrated environment or over such a long period. And Aro's interest? As well as being part of The Experiment we are also the pilot episode for what would be a highly ambitious reality TV show. Its all very hush-hush at the moment, we haven't been allowed to tell anybody more than the haziest details, but if it's a success then we're all obliged, in return for our generous payment, to take part in the media circus. Great.
Carlisle and Esme, as they have asked us to call them, won't be coming down into the facility with us, they will be monitoring the physical and psychological responses from up here using the latest technology provided by Aro's team. The whole facility is apparently wired for sound and vision not to mention wireless connection to the devices we were all implanted with when we agreed to take part.
Why did I agree to this insanity again?
Oh yes, Renee Dwyer (nee Swan), my demented mother.
And the money. Paying your own way through college is a tiring business, an experience we mostly seem to have in common . . . .