A/N: Apparently I'm really lousy at writing long chapters. I wanted it to be much longer than the previous, but once again this felt like the right time to stop. Hopefully I'll get better over time :D I hope you'll find some time to read this (A good thing about it being short is that it won't take much of your time :D) and hopefully review as well.

Twilight (c) Stephenie Meyer

Solar Eclipse - Chapter 2

EPOV

Even though my heart hadn't beaten for almost 90 years I'd swear I could feel it pounding. I had been so focused on the intruding vampires before me, that I hadn't given the danger behind me a single thought. How could I have been so stupid? I should have taken it to account that Bella always did what she wanted… Now she was nowhere to be found. I ran past fleeing humans, too panic-stricken to get out of here. I had to find her!

I stopped short, trying to focus. I inhaled and for a moment it stroke me that something was off. However, I let the thought slip. I had more important things to worry about. Where was she? Where could she have gone to? I took another deep breath, but there was no trace of her smell in the air.

I flinched as a figure shot past me at an inhuman pace, but I made no attempt to recognize the vampire concerned. Instead I searched the minds of both humans and vampires in the hope of finding a trace of her whereabouts.

Nothing. Nothing?

I closed my eyes and tried to focus but I still heard nothing. How was that even possible? I opened my eyes once again and locked gazes with the first I saw. Tanya? I didn't take any notion; all I did was focus on her mind. I waited for the colours, the sounds, the images, yet nothing came. She looked at me, yet I wasn't able to see the image of myself through her eyes. I felt the panic sneaking up on me. I couldn't hear her thoughts! I couldn't hear any thoughts.

Where could she be?

I was just about to run for the forest, as I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Where are you going?" The voice said, only to continue one fragment of a second later "Where's Bella?"

I pushed the hand away as I turned, facing Jasper.

"I don't know" it took me a while to realise that the hollow voice uttering the words, was my own. I ground my teeth, trying to calm down.

I hadn't felt this panic-stricken in a long time. I felt as if I was a newborn vampire again. Everything felt so overwhelming – the colours, the sounds. I felt the panic, the confusion. Where was she?

"I don't know" I repeated. I felt the stiff expression on my face, not caring to change it. Where was she?

My head felt empty. I could think of nothing but her, the constant repetition of her name inside my head.

Bella.

Bella.

Bella.

I don't know how much time past before a high-pitched voice suddenly called out my name…

"EDWARD!" a voice screamed from behind us. I turned my full attention towards the pixie-sized girl who stood still, with horror painted in every feature. I watched as she threw a glance at the great mirror-like window in the house.

At first I didn't understand her panic, but as my eyes focused I recognized the silhouettes of three people inside the house. However, that wasn't what suddenly made me run. It was the lack of sound! Even though I saw three people, only two hearts were beating…

BPOV

"Me?" for a moment all I could comprehend was confusion.

"Yes" he sent me a sleek smile, before he continued: "We have come as promised!" he looked at me as if waiting for a specific response. Apparently I was a disappointment, because after a while a frown showed on his forehead.

I started backing away from him again; all I could think about was getting out of here. I tugged Angela and my mother along with me, but it became more and more difficult, and I realised Renée resisted my grip, if only a little. Her eyes slowly regained their focus, and I felt the shiver down her spine as if it was my own. She looked at him, and I knew what she saw. His pale skin. His crimson eyes. His aura of a predator, the way his teeth shone as they showed in an arrogant little smile. She knew. I could see how she took it all in, the comprehension in her eyes, followed only a moment later by the denial.

I took a stronger hold of her arm and dragged her along with me. No way in hell was I letting her get the overhand. We had to get out of here. My eyes searched for a way out, and I felt my hope slip away as I realised the only possible exit was the door towards the terrace. The door we had entered only minutes ago. The door he blocked.

I briefly thought about screaming for Edward, but I let it go. The noises from the outside were so ear-splitting, he probably wouldn't be able to hear me anyways, and my screaming would only make the vampire before us react. I needed time. Time for Edward to find us. Time for him to come and save us. I had to buy some time!

"I don't know what you're talking about", I said in a voice I hope sounded normal. I looked him in the eyes as I continued: "Who are you?"

"How awfully impolite of me to not begin with an introduction! My name is Lucan." His cool fingers touched mine as he bent his head and briefly brushed his lips against my knuckles. I heard myself gasp and fought the need to break my hand loose from his grip. As if he could hear my thoughts he took a stronger hold of my hand and pulled me slightly towards him. He looked up at me, through his dark lashes, a smirk lingering at the corner of his lips. I could feel the frozen expression on my face, and I realized I was gaping at him. I snapped my mouth shut and scowled at him. It only made his smile wider.

"My given name was Lucan McFallon, but I guess my present name might mean more to you. It's Volturi… as it has been for the last 80 years". He looked at me expectantly, and from his wide grin he wasn't disappointed from what he saw. I don't know exactly what my facial expression looked like at that specific moment, but my head felt hollow. It took me a moment to comprehend what he had just said, but when the truth hit me, it hit me hard. My eyes widened, and I felt adrenaline pounding through my body, giving me the strength to push Angela and Renée further behind me. The Volturi? Of course! I had waited for this moment for months - feared this moment - hoping it would never come. But here it was, and I cursed myself for not realising it earlier. Of course, they were behind this.

My mind wandered off to a small, underground hideout in the village Volterra, Italy. I remembered how Alice and I had rushed all the way across the Atlantic, in a desperate attempt to save Edward from killing himself. He'd thought I had died, and since he had no wish to live in a world in which I wasn't, he had planned to provoke the Volturi into killing him. Fortunately we had managed to get there in time to stop him, but not unnoticed. We were, the tree of us, led underground, and this was how I came to meet the royal family of the vampire world for the very first time. I had been fine with it, if that had been the only time we would ever meet, but obviously my bad luck was against me.

The Volturi consisted of three leaders - Aro, Caius and Marcus – and then an (to me) unknown number of followers.

I didn't remember everything from the visit, mostly it was just the impressions I remembered. For instance the curiosity and the (almost) suppressed joy which had eluded from Aro, or Marcus' indifference. I remembered the angry look on Caius' face, his arrogance and above all his impatience. He had wanted me dead! If it hadn't been for Aro, I would have died that day. Humans aren't supposed to know about vampires, so me knowing was unacceptable… well, almost unacceptable. If Edward promised to change me, we would be able to leave. So I might not have died that day, but my life as I knew it changed from that moment. I had received a death sentence so my death was no longer just considered, but planned.

I had wanted it, though. I still did. Being with Edward forever was my only wish, and being changed into a vampire didn't scare me as much as it probably should have. I had thought that with the threat of the Volturi in mind Edward would change me in an instant, but he still had second thoughts. Thinking he could trick them into leaving me human. I had known better, and I had begged for him to listen. I had told Edward that they would come for me, to check if my heart was still beating. I had told him that this day would eventually arrive, but he had insisted that many years would pass before the Volturi would even consider making a move – that their sense of time was different from ours.

I had known he was mistaken, but for once I'd wish I wasn't right.

I once again returned to the present and found him – Lucan – smirking at me. Even though I had only meet the Volturi once before (With the exception of a few who had been sent to destroy the newborns who had raged in Seattle some months ago) I was almost positive I had never seen him before.

"I don't remember you" I said out loud.

A frown appeared on his forehead, and he suddenly seemed irritated.

"What? You don't believe me?" he laughed a scornful laughter, before he took a stronger hold of my arm and pulled me towards him with a sudden tug. "Well, that doesn't really matter. I was ordered to go fetch you, and here I am. You can believe that or not, I don't really care."

He started pulling towards the front door, away from the noises from the outside. Once again I felt an urge to try to break loose of his grip, but I resisted it. By letting him drag me along, I led him away from Renée and Angela. That was, what was most important right now.

We had only taken a few steps when I felt a tug at my arm. I turned my head just in time to se my mother throw herself at him. She crashed into him, and apparently surprised him enough to let go of my arm. I was so stunned for a moment all I could do was stare at her, eyes wide. She pushed me towards Angela and even though I knew running wouldn't do us any good I couldn't help following her example. We each grabbed one of Angela's arms and ran towards the main entrance. I ran, with all I had in me. We passed the grand piano and spurt across the room. We reached the enormous staircase in the hallway and I couldn't help feeling a twinge of hope as I saw the door. I reached out for the handle, but as I lay my hand around it I saw something white shoot forward pressing the door shut. A hand?

Suddenly I couldn't breath and I reached up and found a cold hand wrapped around my neck. Lucan, or what ever he was called, had entered the periphery of my sight. He stood with his back against the door, one hand around my neck, the other around my mother's. I fought his grip, tried to ease it, but it only seemed to make it worse.

"You seriously thought you could escape?" He was furious. He started moving towards us, pushing us backwards. My feet stumbled upon something on the floor, but I didn't fall. He almost carried us into the living room once again and I started felling dizzy. My head spun and I felt the panic sweep around me as I couldn't breathe.

Before I knew what happened he let go of us, and I felt my legs give in from underneath me. I feel to the floor, and saw that Renée did the same. I reached out for her, but he pushed me away.

"Let the others GO! They have nothing to do with this!" I shouted, by voice hoarse from the strangling. I started hitting him desperately, to no use. His fingers took a hold of my hair and he pulled my head back so I could see his face. He pulled so hard I thought he might pull all my hair out and his expression indicated that he might. I felt my body shiver, and a pathetic whimper left my lips. He looked disgusted. "Let them go.. Please…"

He let go of me once again, but this time with a push so hard it almost knocked me out against the floorboards. He snorted loudly before mumbling something which I couldn't hear.

His head suddenly snapped up and he focussed on the big window towards the terrace, his gaze suddenly slightly anxious.

I felt a hand push against my side, and once again my mother flung herself at the vampire. She hit him, tried to scratch him, bite him.

"BELLA! You take Angela and run. I'll give you some time …" she yelled, while hitting the stone before her. She did more damage to herself than him, so I tried forcing her back.

Sometime during this he lost his patience.

"OH, SHUT UP, WILL YOU?!" his white hand shoot out and grabbed Renée by the collar and threw her backwards. I uselessly threw myself forward trying to get to her, but a hard push in the stomach caused me to fall back onto the floor.

I screamed. I'm sure I did, but I couldn't hear it. Everything was suddenly quite and happened ever so slowly. My nails scraped against the floorboards, as I once again tried to get to my feet, leaving splinters under my nails. But I couldn't seem to care.

I had to get to her…

I had to get to her before … before …

I couldn't move. Something held me back and no matter how much I hit and kicked nothing happened. All I could do was watch as my mother hit the huge window towards the terrace.

There ought to have been a crashing sound, but still the sound was missing. For a moment my whole body felt numb and all I could do was stare. But then my body started moving again, and a piercing sound ripped through the quite. An ear-splitting scream, I first didn't recognize as my own.

I think another blow hit me, because a throbbing pain suddenly started on the back of my head.

The last thing I remembered was the sight of all the red pieces of glass in the air. The way they fell to the floor with little ringing sounds as if the entire room was filled with thousands of bells. That and a screaming voice I felt I ought to know, but just couldn't find the strength to recall.

A/N: Thanks for reading :D Please tell me what you think in a little review. I'd really appreciate it! Thank you ;)