WARNING: The following story contains violence, coarse language and mature subjects. Readers discretion is advised.
Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue. I don't own Twilight, so please don't sue!
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I woke with a start; my eyes open wide and staring up at the hotel room ceiling. My chest heaved as I fought to catch my breath. It was like my lungs weren't working and I coughed for a moment before finally gaining control of my body. I let out the breath that had been stuck in my chest and fell back against the pillows in relief.
Wiping my hand across my face, I sighed and squeezed my eyes shut. The dreams I had had throughout the night were more like nightmares. Although the scenario's changed, it always ended with the same morbid conclusion. Such as the very last dream that I had had. It had been so terrifying that it woke me from a deep sleep.
I was standing in the middle of the desert, no civilization in sight. Only the sun, the endless sky, the red dunes and the soaring vultures kept me company. I felt oddly vulnerable in this barren place, like the ugly birds would fly down and pick the skin from my bones in one swoop. Even though the sun was shining brightly above, I was not sweating or hot at all.
There was a gust of cool breeze that brought some sort of calm over me. I felt comfortable in my jeans and t-shirt. I wasn't even wearing any shoes! I was suddenly completely at ease, even though I was alone and had no idea where I was. How could I feel so relaxed at a time like this?
Suddenly, I heard a soft giggle from behind me. I spun around and gaped at what I saw. Bella was smiling up at me from her place in the sand. She sat cross-legged, with her hands gripping her ankles and rocking back and forth like a child. Her long brown hair was completely perfect, as were the blue pajamas she was wearing. There was not a speck on red sand on her even though she was sitting in mountains of it.
"Bella!" I gasped. "You're alive!" Hadn't she died in that car bomb that had gone off only minutes before I showed up in this desolate place?
She laughed, the sound like bells, before smiling widely at me. As she giggled her hand came up and she crooked a finger at me, beckoning me closer. Of course I couldn't resist and I was hesitantly stepping towards her within seconds. She snickered behind her hand and batted her long eyelashes at me, ending it all with a flirtatious wink. I was hooked already. She was wheeling me in like a fish caught on the end of a line. I just didn't have the power to resist her.
I was halfway to standing in front of her when her sultry looks vanished and her face became blank. I stared with confusion at her wide brown eyes as she looked back at me with that vacant expression. It was almost like she wasn't even looking at me. It was like she was looking through me. I felt afraid and suddenly worried about her mental stability. I pushed myself forward to reach her faster…and that's when she started to scream.
The silence of the desert was filled with her high pitched, blood curdling scream that rang in my ears. The force of her voice had surprised me so much that I fell backwards into the sand. Coughing and spluttering the red dust, I sat up and shook my head to focus again. Her screaming was still going on and it took me a moment to find myself and look up. The sight before me was horrifying.
The ground where she had been sitting had turned into a huge black hole in the sand and was now proceeding to destroy everything in its path. I suddenly realized Bella's screams had turned into pleas for help. I could just see her fingers grabbing frantically at the sand for something to hold on to and the top of her head as she fought to stay above ground.
Jumping to my feet, I raced towards her as fast as my legs could carry me, my heart beating loudly in my ears. But the sand was slowly me down and I was finally breaking out into a sweat as I struggled to reach her. I was only a few feet from her so I was able to get on to my hands and knees to crawl quickly to where she was holding on. "Edward!" she screamed and my heart thumped faster in fright. She continued to repeat my name over and over again until I could reach out and grab her wrist. Her fingers automatically wrapped around my own wrist and I felt her weight pulling at my arm. I bit my lip at the pain that suddenly showed up in my shoulder as she held on for dear life.
I went to move my other arm to grab her but it was stuck. I looked back in a frantic confusion as I tugged at my left arm with my whole body but it was like my hand was glued to the sand. It wouldn't move and I soon realized my knees were stuck as well. Gasping in frustration and fright I yanked with everything I had in me but they still wouldn't move. I was well and truly stuck.
"Edward!" Bella's cries focused me back on my task at hand. She was now holding on to my one hand with only one of hers. I struggled to pull her up but she wouldn't move upwards at all. What the fuck was going on? The sweat poured down from my forehead and I was drenched all of the sudden.
She stared into my eyes with her doe-like gaze and I could see the fright there. "Don't let me go," she whispered in a strangled voice. "Please."
"I won't!" I yelled, gritting my teeth at the searing pain in my arm. I felt her fingers slipping from my wrist and I fought to hold on to her. But she just kept falling. My skin was too slippery with my sweat and she was falling slowly, inch by brutal inch.
"You're slipping," I cried, gripping her hand now. "Hold on, Bella!"
She broke our eye contact to look at the black hole beneath her before looking back at me. I gasped at the dead look in her eyes. It was almost like she was accepting this fate of falling into the nothingness.
"It's all right," she whispered, staring into my eyes. "I trust you, Edward."
Those words hit me hard and I struggled to hold on to her fingers, which were quickly falling out of my grasp. "Bella!" I hissed. "Don't…don't let go! I've got you!"
But I knew that I didn't. I was barely holding her knuckles now and she was being sucked into this black hole. It was inescapable. I knew that, but I kept trying to hold on her. I couldn't give up. I would never give up on her.
"It's all right, Edward," she repeated quietly.
"NO! Bella, don't give up!" I yelled.
But then she slipped out of my grasp and she was falling away from me. I saw the dead look in her brown eyes once more before the blackness engulfed her.
"BELLA!" I screamed in complete horror…and then I woke up.
How could one night bring me so much terror? I had never felt that afraid before, not even when we were outnumbered on our South American mission a few years ago. Surrounded in the Colombian jungle was not really a walk in the park as Emmett now described it as. We'd all been injured in some way but luckily we escaped with our lives after a few clever tricks thought up by Jasper. I still had a burn mark on my calf that told terrifying stories, which included a barely escapable fire that proved luck was truly on our side.
I sighed, stretching my arms over my head before wincing at the pain in my bicep. I'd pulled at the stitches and it hurt like a bitch. I put my arms down and gently ran my fingers along the bandage that covered my stitched wound. Moony had done a great job sewing me up. The guy was literally like my grandmother with a needle.
But he had this little smirk on his face the whole time, from the time I woke up with my head against the car window to when he left me to get some sleep. Come to think of it, there seemed to be a joke I was being left out of for the whole night. I hated this vulnerability and I found myself snapping at Moony easily. But that may have also had to do with the fact that I was dead on my feet and it took time to stitch a wound like mine.
It seemed in the haze of it all they had left me to get some sleep on my own. Sitting up I now wondered where they all were. Judging by the sunlight coming through the window I was sure Emmett was probably down at the buffet by now, Newton tagging along. Moony would be looking after Bella for me and Jazz would be researching about our future locations. Or he might have been trying to call Alice.
I felt the sudden need to hear my sister's voice. She always knew how to cheer me up and missed her high soprano. I really needed someone to tell me everything would be all right and that I would be going home soon. I knew that I was supposed be strong but sometimes even a SEAL needed some comfort. I couldn't help but feel a little jealous that Jasper would be getting that pep talk and I wouldn't.
My head snapped up when the connecting door opened. Bella's head peeked inside and her eyes widened when she saw I was awake. She squeaked in surprise before darting back into the other room, apologizing over and over again.
I let out a breath of relief as soon as I saw her face. She was all right. There was no need to worry about her. Every one of those horrible scenes had just been a dream. Just thinking about them made me shudder.
"Bella!" I called, hoping she would hear me.
Slowly, the door opened again to reveal Bella's red face. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I thought you were still asleep."
I couldn't help but chuckle at her hesitant steps towards the bed. It was odd to see her acting like this. It wasn't like I was naked or something. I was fully clothed and yet she tip-toed around me like I was deer that would be frightened off at anytime. "It's all right," I said. "You didn't wake me."
She nodded, her eyes averted to the floor and her face still a bright red.
There was an awkward silence that came over us as she stared at her feet and I thought up what to say. I wanted to say something, maybe even tell her about my dreams. Would she listen? Could she help me figure out what they meant? Was it even worth telling her about? Maybe she could be the person I could talk to. It felt good telling her about my family the day before. It felt good to get it all out.
But would it be fair to dump all my problems on her? No, I thought immediately. She had enough of her own problems already, not to mention mine might send her into insanity.
"So, what's going on with my team?" I finally asked, leaning back against the headboard and watching her squirm under my stare.
"Well," she began before clearing her throat. "Well, I've been getting a bit more information from your team for my article. Lieutenant Whitlock called his wife, err…your sister, and they talked for a while. He also went to your Commander and reported what happened…speaking of that, are you all right?"
I blinked, surprised at the concern in her voice. It was always surprising to me whenever she seemed to care. I couldn't help my reaction.
"I'm fine," I said, waving my hand before changing the subject. "What did the Commander say?"
She pressed her lips together. "Well, they told me that he gave them a new task to complete. They're actually getting ready to leave soon and - wait. What do you think you're doing?"
As soon as she said that they were leaving I was pushing myself up and ripping the blankets from my body. There was no way I was letting my team go out there without me. My arm was just scratched and I could handle the pain. They needed me so I could suffer for just a little while.
Bella stumbled forward with her arms reaching out to me until she was blocking my way. I had my feet on the floor as she put her hands on my shoulders to keep me sitting on the bed. Even though my heart thumped at her touch I was still annoyed that she was in my way. "You can't go with them!" she cried. "You're hurt!"
"I told you, I'm fine," I said as I reached around her to grab my belt. "Could you hand me my boots?"
"No," she said stubbornly. "I'm not letting you leave."
I pulled myself to my feet, wobbling slightly but thankfully keeping my balance. We were standing so close that our chests touched and I could feel her breath on my chin. I fought with myself not to lean down and capture her lips with mine. The taste of her mouth was still on mine and I would never be able to forget it. My want for her would never cease but at the moment I had to think about my team.
"I have to go," I answered. "They need me."
"They need you to get better," she insisted.
We stood there for a moment, just staring and each other. Her brown eyes didn't leave mine and again I felt like she was looking right through me. "Please, Bella," I murmured. "I can't leave them alone."
There was another moment of silence before she sighed. She shook her head before glaring up at me. "If you go, I go too," Bella said.
I pressed my lips together but there was no way I would able to say no to her now. I hated to have her out in the middle of the danger but the look on her face just broke me. "All right," I said. "You can come but don't do anything crazy."
She rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she said sarcastically with a large smile. I let out a breath of relief when she stepped away from me. There was no way I would have been able to stop myself from touching her any longer. "We'd better hurry though," she went on. "They were packing up the Jeep when I came in here."
I nodded before fastening my belt and making sure everything was in it. Looking up I noticed Bella had come back over to me with my boots in her hands. She was fingering the duc-tape on the side of one of them with a frown on her face.
"What's this?" she asked me.
I took the boots from her, not keeping eye contact when I answered. "My blood type."
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It had taken some time and some persuasion but before long we were all on our way back to Tenga, the village where we had met the soccer-playing children. We were told to return because the terrorists had come back to the little village. The problem was, I had no idea how bad it truly was.
The streets were empty. The stores were closed with not a soul in sight. I felt uneasy right away. There should be people milling about with their afternoon social hour but instead it was deserted. I made sure everyone was behind me, including Bella, as we hesitantly walked down the street. I didn't dare lead them out into the open so we kept close to the run down buildings. At least we had cover if needed.
None of us spoke. This eerie silence was almost smothering me. My thumping heart was one of the only sounds I heard along with our breathing, our quiet footsteps and the small amount of wind blowing down the street. It was almost impossible to stand this silence. Something was definitely up.
I stopped us at the corner of one of the abandoned buildings. The hairs on the back of my neck were prickling and I had a terrible feeling that something horrible was around the corner. Something wicked this way comes, I thought with a grimace before raising my rifle and holding my arm out to make sure Bella was still behind me. Thankfully I could still feel her safe and sound.
Slowly I bent down to the ground and scooped up one of the larger rocks before getting back up again. Rolling it around in my hand for a moment I waited for the right time.
Just then the wind blew from behind me. I took the chance, tossing the rock around the corner and into the open. As soon as it appeared the gun shots sounded. We all cringed back and waited until the bullet's finally ceased. There was a silence with just the dust floating in the wind until laughter was heard. We got them. They believed it was just the wind blowing the rock. But what they didn't know was that they just gave away their positions.
Motioning for everyone to go back, we all retreated to an abandoned building far enough from the shooters so that they couldn't hear us. This would be a safe house for Bella.
As soon as we got into the building I took her forearm and gently tugged her over to the corner. "Okay," I murmured. "This is where you're going to be, all right?"
She opened her mouth to protest but I cut her off. "You saw those gun shots, didn't you?" I asked, staring seriously into her eyes. "I'm not letting you go out there. It's too dangerous. Just…please stay here."
She frowned at me as I pleaded with my eyes. Finally she let out a sigh and shook her head, her eyes on her feet. "You just better stop using that face on me," she muttered before turning to look at me again. Was I supposed to hear that? "Fine. I'll do it."
"Good," I said with a grin. I reached into my pocket and pulled out one of the fancy cell phones given to us. "This," I said, holding it out to her. "Is what you will be using. All our cell numbers are on there and if you ever get into trouble, you call us. Always keep it on." I knew I should have given it to her sooner but I'd hoped Newton would have been able to look after her. Since that wouldn't work, I had to depend on the phone.
"Ooo," she laughed, turning the cell over in her hands. "It's even got one of those tracking devices, am I right?"
"How'd you know?" I chuckled.
She shrugged with a smug grin on her face. "I'm a very observant person."
"Sure," I laughed.
We chuckled together for a moment before I sighed and realized that duty did call. "Okay," I said. "Stay here and don't leave. I think Newton's learned his lesson after last time not to be a complete dumb ass."
"Hey," she said, slapping me playfully on my arm. "Don't be so tough, lieutenant. I'm sure you had a few slip ups."
I shrugged. "Sure, but those were back in training."
She rolled her eyes. "I'll be fine." There was pause before she spoke again. "Just…be careful all right?" I frowned at the concern in her tone. If I was oblivious I wouldn't have noticed the worry in her voice. "I mean…" she stuttered. "I don't want to lose the man I have yet to interview, okay?"
I grinned and nodded. "Gotcha."
So I left before I lost control and kissed her like one of those romantic good-bye moments in the movies. Besides, I had a job to do.
After briefing Mike and threatening him again, Mamun, Jasper, Emmett and I went back to our corner to find I good place to attack. We needed something that came at them from all sides. So after a few moments of planning we were all in our places. I could see Jasper and Emmett across from us and I felt Moony loading his gun behind me. Taking a deep breath, I nodded to Jazz and Em before jumping out from our hiding spot.
The bullets started right away. I ducked and ran towards the cover of a car that had been rolled over and set on fire at some point. Moony showed up beside me as we caught our breaths and moved to take a few shots. There were three men hiding inside one of the buildings and I was sure there was more inside. Making sure none of my appendages could be shot at, I took aim and fired at one. I skimmed his thigh and he howled before limping out of sight. Jazz and Em took one of the others, leaving just one man who refused to leave the safety of the building.
Growling in annoyance I moved to shoot again only to rub my wounded arm against the jagged edge of the burnt car. I hissed at the pain but tried to ignore it. I had to focus on this mission. The wound would come later.
Suddenly there was a honking of a horn and a white van came flying down the street, stopping in front of the building. The smell coming off the van was terrible. Somebody was burning oil. I could see the men jumping in before it took off with our bullets littering the steel sides.
"Mother fucker!" Emmett yelled. "The cowards ditched!"
I myself felt annoyed but at least this ended the mission. Maybe they wouldn't come back to the village and the people could return again. Maybe we gave them safety.
Sighing, I got to my feet as Jazz and Em joined Moony and I. "Well at least that's over and none of us were hurt," Mamun said. "Although I want to look at that wound, Edward."
I rolled my eyes but nodded in compliance. "Fine. But can we just go back now?"
We all took off at a jog towards the safe house. Reaching the building with a grin on my face, I went inside only to stop dead in my tracks. Newton was lying on the ground groaning as he tried to sit up. His face was bloody and his nose definitely looked broken. Someone had beat on him badly. But that wasn't what I noticed first. What I noticed was the absence of Bella.
"Bella!" I yelled running back outside. There was nothing but smashed barrels, tire tracks and the putrid smell of burning oil.
With my heart racing, I ran back inside and over to Newton, kneeling down beside him. He moaned and stared up at me with the one eye that wasn't swollen shut. "Mike, what happened?" I questioned.
All he did was moan and let his head fall again. My anger was taking over as I grabbed his collar and pulled him to sit up. He cried out in pain as I shook him. "Where's Bella?" I asked a little louder.
Another groan was his answer as he coughed up a bit of blood. Gritting my teeth and fisting his collar in my hands I yanked him up right and slammed him against the wall. He shouted out profanities and I could hear the guys calling for me to stop but I couldn't stop. I had to know. "Where the fuck is she?" I yelled.
"Gone," he coughed out.
"Gone?" I asked, pressing him even harder against the wall. "Gone where? What do you mean?"
He took a deep breath and said the three words I would never forget in my life. "They…took her."
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Author's Note:
1. I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I know haven't posted in a while but please don't be angry with me! I had final projects to do in school including a class play (where I had a three paragrah monologue to memorize and preform in front of over a hundred people) and a English presentation. I've been hella busy, okay? And of course I missed my boys and I had to finish this chapter since I was always feeling guilty about leaving you guys hanging. Please keep in mind, I went so fast trying to get this up that it hasn't been beta-ed. Sorry for the mistakes. AND like OMG! BELLA HAS BEEN KIDNAPPED! LE GASP! I told you I would bring Rageward into it.
2. I added a few more songs to the list on my profile including a P!nk song, a cute little love song by Hellogoodbye and one for my Mom. ;) Enjoy.
3. I've applied for college! Yay! I'm now applied to a journalism course and I hope I get in. Wish me luck guys! If I do get in and graduate that means I will not only be able to write articles, I'll also have a better understanding of writing all around and it'll hopefully help me become a better writer. I've already started on a series and I think you guys would like.
4. ZOMG! Have you all seen the Remember Me trailer? Excuse me while I have a fan girl moment. (squeals) New Moon was pretty good but Remember Me is going to be awesome!!!
NOW PRESS THE REVIEW BUTTON DOWN THERE, PRONTO!
