A/N: I tried to make this action packed. I hope you like it. Please read and review if it pleases you.

disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or its characters.

CHAPTER THREE

I was pushing my truck to its limits as I was speeding down the empty road

I was pushing my truck to its limits as I was speeding down the empty road ahead of me. It began to rain and I turned on my windshield wipers. I was completely focused on the task in hand – saving Edward. Was he hurt? Was he being tortured? That Jane may have the face of a sweet angel but her intentions were of the purest evil. She had no problems subjecting Edward to her special brand of torture back in Italy and I was sure she would not hesitate at this moment in time.

There was a strange pain in my hands and I looked down to see the skin on my knuckles was pulled taught as my hands gripped the steering wheel. It was just a fleeting moment that I took my eyes off the road, but it was enough time for me to not notice that something large was darting across in front of the truck. I slammed the brakes and skidded in the puddle of rain that had collected in a slight dip in the road. The car was skidding – the back end of the truck was weaving dangerously. The tires weren't gripping the road like they should. Uh oh. This wasn't good.

What did Charlie teach me about occasions like this? Something about steering into a skid? I would have remembered more clearly if my heart hadn't been thundering so loudly in my chest. The iron force with which I had used to grip the steering wheel in sheer anxiety was now becoming my saving grace as I fought for control over the truck.

A road junction was coming up ahead and I needed to slow down but I was still speeding down the road. I pulled up the hand brake in a panic and the truck spun violently in a circle throwing me towards the passenger seat. My hands stayed on the steering wheel and I closed my eyes, terrified. The truck must have spun round at least half a dozen times or at least it felt like that. My head was spinning and my stomach was ready throw up any undigested pieces of wedding cake I'd eaten earlier.

When the truck had finally come to a standstill, I tentatively opened the door and a blast of cold air and freezing raindrops blew in. My hands were shaking and I was still gulping down the cold air as my heart beat like a drum. Good one, Bella. You're not even 5 minutes out the front door and you've nearly killed yourself. I shouldn't have sped so fast when it was raining. I thought I was being focused when really I was just a flustered mess. I had to do better than this. Edward's life depended on it.

I looked out into the road and noticed my truck was in the wrong lane and I was facing any oncoming traffic. Thankfully, there were no cars but instead a creature was sauntering casually towards me. A rather large creature with glowing eyes which may have passed in front of my truck moments earlier. I silently cursed the werewolf – though I didn't know who it was - under my breath.

As he came nearer I noticed he was carrying a crowbar in between his teeth. I could tell from the fur, it was Sam. He dropped the crowbar at my feet and then turned around and disappeared into the nearest bushes by the side of the road. I picked up the crowbar in bewilderment. Sam came back into view with sweatpants on and bare feet. The rain covered every inch of him but he didn't shiver.

"Bella, you're not British are you? It's just that we drive on the right side of the road here,"

"Do you know how to cross the road? Or can't wolves read 'don't walk' signs? Oh, and sarcasm is not advised when I have a crowbar in my hands"

Sam smiled sheepishly.

"I was following you and needed to get to you fast…I didn't mean for you to nearly crash, sorry."

"You had to rush to give me a crowbar? This is getting weirder every minute,"

"We all know the Volturi are here. Esme phoned Billy and filled him in on the situation after Alice had her vision. We're all on guard watching but we can't make a move yet. We don't want to provoke an attack; Esme said Alice didn't want that so now we're guarding you instead"

"You're watching me?" I shuddered at the thought of an audience watching my every clumsy move.

"Well yeah, Bells. We pretty sure the Volturi don't know about us so we're lying low but trying to keep an eye out for Edward…and you," he said.

"But what's the crowbar for?" I said, swinging it gently through the air, feeling its weight.

"This isn't the time for talking, Bella…"

"This isn't the…?!" I could have thrown the crowbar right into Sam's face. My patience for cryptic clues was running out and I needed to get out of here. I ran my hands through my soaked hair and leaned against the back of the truck, thinking about my next move. I had to go to the factory.

"Well in that case I'm going, see you later, Sam," I said as I hurried into truck.

I caught Sam looking at me quizzically. Of course, there might not be a 'later' when I changed. This could be the last time I ever see him. I stopped in my tracks.

"…yeah, see you…" he replied softly.

I smiled back at him apologetically and then turned back to the truck. I started up the engine and slowly turned the truck into the right lane. The wheels had traction underneath the slippery road and I was confident that it was safe to drive again. I checked the rear view mirror but Sam had already disappeared into the night.

The industrial part of town was deserted and eerily quiet at this time of night. I passed a row of factories, all high walls with jagged teeth edged along the top. I spotted 'Mercury Boulevard'. I'm nearly there. Edward will be waiting. The rain was a gentle pitter patter on the windshield.

I drove past a dark, ominous building. One row of windows along the side of the factory was smashed in. There was a sense of foreboding about this building, as if it already knew what horrors were contained within. My heart hammered out an unsteady beat as I parked the truck. I put my pocket flashlight in my coat pocket and grabbed the crowbar. The gates were too high to climb and I wasn't going to risk it when it was wet and slippery.

I rattled the chains and padlock that held the gates together. Nice one, Sam I thought as I brought down the crowbar with as much force as I could muster on the padlock. It was looked rusty and ancient but it stubbornly refused to budge. I bashed at the lock in frustration, each hit becoming more ferocious than the last.

I stopped, suddenly aware I was making a bit of a racket. I threaded the end of the crowbar in between the U-shaped loop of the padlock and twisted it, trying to prize it open. Finally, the lock came loose and chains obediently loosened their grip around the gates, clunking to the ground. I was breathing raggedly as I pushed the gate open.

I ran as silently as I could to what I presumed was the front door. I fumbled in the darkness for my flashlight as I walked into a series of small corridors. I could see a dim light ahead which lit up a narrow staircase. This was all too convenient. The door wasn't locked and now my path has already been lit for me? Think, Bella, think. I could be walking into a huge trap here. Edward might not even be here anymore. My pulled my coat tightly around myself to contain my shudders. I am the avenging angel with wings of steel I reminded myself– Jane will not get the best of me.

I ran up the stairs which led to a mezzanine floor. I walked to the edge of the floor which looked down onto the vast open factory space below. A dim yellow bulb lit up the area. I shrank back into the shadows. I felt like I was going to be a spectator to something horrible which was yet to unfold.

I walked to the edge again and noticed there was a large beam obscuring my view of something rumpled on the floor. I leaned my head to the side, trying to catch a look. It wasn't something. It was someone. The person had been draped in a thick brown blanket but I could see two hands poking out from underneath. A glint of silver shone from the hands. Could I see shackles on that pair of hands?

"Bell –la, I can see you" a sing-song voice rang out in the emptiness. It was high and reedy and spent shivers down my spine. I looked down below but I couldn't see where the voice was coming from.

"The shackles were for dramatic effect. I know they're useless on vampires…unlike my gift," the voice informed me, quietly.

My blood ran cold. I whipped around to see Jane three feet away me, smiling broadly.

"J-J-J Jane" I stammered, dumbly. My brain was still shocked to see her so close.

"Time for the unveiling," she said with an eager look in her eyes.

I reached out in front of me and caught only air as she darted downstairs in a flash.

She looked up at me from the factory floor and then approached the figure underneath the blanket. With a flourish she whipped the blanket off. She looked down at him, like an artist amazed with her work.

The bronze hair and pale skin sparkled in the dim light.

Edward. My Edward.