Disclaimer: I do not own most of these characters. They are the wondrous creation of Steph Meyer!
A/N: Hey, thanks for the reviews. I so enjoy reading what everyone thinks. This is another chapter that I kind of just threw together. I keep trying to get this darn scene over with and more stuff just keeps happening. It's like my muse is thwarting all my efforts to get Edward and Bella back together. Miss Whoniverse, are you whispering in my muse's ear? LOL! I know you don't want Ed and Bella together :P
Chapter Nine The Rescue
Kinly
My eyes were finally open, but I could see nothing. I was immediately five years old again. My father had locked me in the cedar chest because I'd thrown up when I found my dog's butchered body.
"Suck it up, boy, and quit that fucking crying. Men don't cry. Men don't vomit like some weak ass woman." He'd grabbed me by my throat, my feet dangling off the floor and shook me violently. "Are you a fucking girl? Should I call you Kelly?" He tossed me onto the grass and I slipped in my own vomit, my hand flailing out and touching the warm blood of my best friend...my only friend. "Get up you worthless brat. Dig the hole for your fucking dog."
I still remember how terrified I'd been when he closed the lid on that chest plunging me in darkness for the next two days. Two days in my own filth, still covered with my dog's blood while he shouted insults whenever he remembered my existence.
Something hard and cold now had me pinned to the stone floor while the alarms of the facility assaulted my ears wrenching me out of my first violent memory of my father. "Mother fucking son of a bitch!" I hissed. The last thing I remembered was that brunette vamp and how good her small body had felt underneath mine.
I shoved at the debris crushing me and pushed it to the side where it crashed to the floor like a rock and pushed myself to my knees. As I tried to stand, pain rippled through my body and I realized that my clothes were plastered to my body with blood. My blood - and suddenly every injury made itself known.
I shoved that pain aside like I'd done many fucking times before; this was no different, and felt around until I found the supply room. I grabbed a flashlight and went back to observe the damage.
The bodies of my men littered the corridor and one headless body of a female vampire. That had been what was on me. I flipped her over surprised by how much she felt like stone and glanced around for her head. "At least we got one of you fuckers," I snarled and let the body thud back to the floor.
My beam of light flashed over the witch's now empty cell and raw fury filled me. Whatever it took I would get her back. She was mine in every way to do whatever I wanted whenever I wanted. And what I most wanted from her was her blood spilling out of her dark body, to watch the light fade from her eyes as I stole her worthless life away.
I slammed the cell door closed, a string of curses echoing off the walls. How could this fucking happen? The vampires were no doubt rescuing their brethren, but with my injuries I didn't stand a chance. Instead of going to the detention area, I made for the lab.
A shot went off by my ear when I opened the laboratory door. "Kinly," Dr. Anderson yelped in surprise while his two enhanced soldiers stood on either side of him, their weapons pointed directly at my chest.
"Think those fucking weapons are going to do you any fucking good against the renegade vampires?" I mocked, as I sealed the door closed.
Dr. Anderson was collecting the samples we'd gathered over the last year. I leaned against the counter. "Got a smoke?"
The guard closest to me tossed me his cigarettes. Not as good as a cigar, but it would do. "You can't carry all those damn samples, doc. We can always collect more from the humans; just get the fucking shape shifters' and whatever vampire DNA you collected, and lets get the fuck outta here."
"Are you insane man?" Dr. Anderson shrieked. "I have worked night and day. I'm not about to see it-"
"The vampires are going to raze this place to the ground. In a few hours you won't even be able to tell that this compound ever fucking existed. We need to get our damn asses out of here before that happens."
"Who knew you were such a pussy, Kinly," the soldier asked, his tone full of derision. He glided forward and with a flick of his wrist had my cigarette. "Those little vampires don't frighten me. Why should they? They don't have anything that I don't already have," he mocked as a trail of smoke drifted from his lips.
I wanted to tear that asshole to pieces, but I wasn't an idiot. The soldier before me had most certainly been enhanced with vampire DNA and I was no match for a skilled vampire fighter.
"Are you two all that's left of the project," I finally asked once I swallowed my anger and embarrassment from his earlier comment.
Dr. Anderson shook his head as he sealed the cooler and strapped it on Sgt. Wilkes. "Matthews was supposed to be guarding the detention facility." He grabbed some paperwork and hastily shoved it into a black backpack. "His witchcraft should allow him to escape. He knows where to meet us. Let's go." He motioned to the wall at the back of the room which slid open to reveal a narrow tunnel. We all passed through and he sealed it shut blanketing us in darkness before each of us turned on our flashlight.
Bella
I'd sent a very naked Justin in search of some clothes for him and Yasmin while I watched over Felix. Yasmin was in the room where I'd found Justin giving me time to tame the ravenous vamp, though she didn't go willingly. Justin had to physically place her in that room.
"I cannot do this," he mumbled against my thigh where his head was resting. Even now I was employing all of Jasper's power against him; otherwise he'd be tearing that door down and draining our lovely voodoo priestess dry.
"Sure you can, Felix. I'm sure there are still many little humans fluttering around here. Eat one of them," I snickered. I'd already lost count of how many I'd killed today, but I knew we weren't anywhere close to being done. Everyone and everything had to be destroyed.
He twisted his face up towards mine, his lips drawn down in a deep frown. "Right now I do not desire to eat her."
I smiled broadly. "I'm not surprised. But if I quit using my calming powers you most likely would. She's been through hell already. Let's try to get her out of here safely, okay?"
He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. I knew he was committing her scent to memory. Hell, her scent even appealed to me and had been tormenting me for the last few minutes even through the steel door. "I've never smelled anything like her," he whispered. "Is this what it was like for you with Tyler?"
My smile faded at the memory. "Yes, but I had some help. Virat was having a little fun with me. I don't know if he was truly my Singer, but the effect was the same. I couldn't control myself. For me, it was all about the blood. Sex never entered my mind. Right now I'm sure you're warring with yourself about which would prove to be a better use for Yasmin – her blood or her body. Personally, I'm hoping your lust for her body wins out."
"What was it like for you and Edward? When you first met, I mean?"
I chuckled remembering a time that seemed like centuries ago when all that mattered to me was finding out what Edward Cullen was. "Well, apparently he wanted to slaughter all my classmates and me, but managed to resist with much effort. In fact, he even traveled all the way to Alaska to get away from me."
"So it wasn't love at first sight?" He asked, looking oddly relieved.
"No, I guess not. But there was a link between us from the moment we met that only grew stronger and stronger each time we saw each other." I laughed remembering how irritated I'd been because of his long absence from school, not to mention, all that time he spent ignoring my existence. "Once he decided he could master his vampiric urges…well, we were both hopelessly in love."
"I do not wish to be in love, hopelessly or otherwise," he muttered. "Look what has become of you and Edward. Your relationship has been riddled with problems."
I leaned my head against the wall, my eyes closed, and murmured, "I know. But we've had a lot of help. First Marcus, then the might of the Volturi, and the one who caused the most trouble – Virat. I think Edward and I would've been fine if it wasn't for all of that."
"I am most sorry for my part in Marcus's scheme."
I ran my hands through his dark hair. "Shh, none of that matters now. You were just following orders."
"Do you think you and Edward will work things out?"
"Yeah, I do. Once I get this settled, I'm taking a vacation. I'm leaving Volterra and all the assignments behind, and I'm going to spend as much time as it takes convincing Edward of my undying love."
Justin, clad all in black like the soldiers, rounded the corner with Alice and Ben. "Look who I found along the way," Justin commented lightly. "I already explained what was going on with Felix," he chuckled as he pushed past us and opened the door, handing Yasmin some clothes.
"Where are Santiago and Mia?" I asked when Alice slid down the wall beside me, her little arm wrapped around my waist, her head resting against my shoulder.
"Mia's dead."
"Maybe not," Ben interrupted. He sat across from us and Felix crawled off of me and sat beside him, his eyes never moving away from the door.
"Without a head…"Alice began sadly.
"He'll find it," Ben supplied softly.
"Are you guys hurt?" I asked, trying to forget the fact that we'd probably lost one of our own, maybe two. Santiago probably wouldn't want to continue on without his wife. Hundreds of years they'd been separated by the Volturi and now this. It wasn't fair. They'd only had a couple of weeks together. It was all my fault. If I could have contained my anger when I saw Yasmin and just waited until we were with Jasper maybe this could have been avoided. I'd been rash and now Mia had paid for it with her life and Santiago with his heart.
"Nothing too serious," Ben replied while Alice nodded against my shoulder.
"Well then, let's go get your Jasper," I said, as I brushed a kiss against her spiky hair. "Justin, will you stay here with Yasmin? I can't very well let her come with us. Felix will just attack her again." He gave me a sulky nod, but didn't complain, though I could see that he wanted to.
Felix and Ben had already started down the hallway while I was talking to Justin when I caught another scent, a human scent. "Get in there with her," I whispered so softly as Alice moved up beside me looking completely worn out. "Getting any visions?" I asked because I wasn't.
She sighed. "He's not a soldier. He's military, but not a fighter."
He rounded the corner as Justin opened the door and Yasmin peeked out. The human came to an abrupt stop, the food that was piled in his hands fell to the floor, as his frightened eyes took me and Alice in.
The hallway erupted in snarls as Alice and I prepared to take him out.
"No!" Yasmin screamed and flung herself between us. "Please, he helped me," she begged.
"Nevertheless, he's one of them," I commented. "My orders are clear. All those associated with this experiment are to be destroyed." Earlier, Justin had retrieved a phone from one of the guards so I could call Aro while I was busy soothing Felix. To say that Aro was pissed about the way events had unfolded at the facility was putting it mildly. He'd given me direct orders to destroy every person associated with this place and for the safety of our kind, I had every intention of fulfilling those orders.
She stumbled forward and groped at my hands. "He dressed my wounds. And that food," she motioned back at the mess on the floor. "That was for me. Please. He can help us. He's no friend of the men you seek to kill, Bella."
Dammit. Aro was going to throw a fit, but how could I kill the one man that seemed decent? I cast a sideways glance at Alice and shrugged. Why not? I seemed to be breaking all the rules these days anyway, why not this one as well? "Fine." I closed the distance between us causing him to take a step back. "Your name?" I asked.
"Kay…Kayden," he stammered.
"And what's your purpose here, Kayden?"
"I'm just a tech person…computers," he muttered.
"Computers, huh? You might just come in handy after all. Come along. You may as well lead us to the detention center." I pushed him in front of me and Yasmin latched onto him with her frail arms.
"Uh, Yasmin." She stopped and turned back to me with her chocolate eyes. "You stay here. Felix won't be able to restrain himself while in your presence. It's not safe for you right now." Justin broke her grip on Kayden and dragged her back to the room.
We were almost to the detention area; I could smell Jasper's, and many others', scents. Felix and Ben were standing outside a door debating the best way inside.
"I'm sure whatever you two came up with would be a smashing success, but why not just let our computer wiz unlock the door." Kayden swiped his card, scanned his palm, and the door hissed open.
"You keep being so useful and you might just make it through this," I commented as I strode into the room. Cells lined both sides of the room and there was another door at the far end. Most of them were empty, but there were three on the left that had occupants. "Release them," I ordered.
"But…"
"Not buts, Kayden, just do it. I don't have time to argue."
"They are shape shifters. They'll kill me."
I sighed in frustration and approached the cell. "If we let you out are you going to be good little animals and help us, or should I just kill you now?"
"Hey lady, anything you want. Get us the hell out of here," the scrawny one said.
"See there? They're not going to eat you up. Now release them. And what are they?" I asked, motioning to the two males and one female across the room.
"Human," he replied as he entered a code into the computer. "The blond guy is telekinetic, the other guy's a clairvoyant, and the woman's a psychic." All the doors opened and we went in and broke their restraints.
"And our vampires? Where are they being held?" Not that David was really my vampire, but he was my responsibility, even if it was just to make certain that he was dead.
"Through that door." Alice crossed the room in a blur and wrenched the door open to get to Jasper.
I breathed a sigh of relief when I found him whole and unmarked. No signs of torture. Kayden unlocked the cells. Maybe I was just tired, but somehow I'd forgotten that I would be dealing with a rabid newborn. Melody bolted out of her cell and attacked Kayden. Thank goodness for the shape shifters, otherwise Kayden would have been dead.
A shiver went down my spine and too late I realized that we'd missed something. "Get out!" I warned, but the spell was cast. Fire licked up the walls as Ben threw himself at me and out of the corner of my eye I saw another Super Soldier. Another one with goddamn magical powers.
I ordered them to leave while I extinguished the flames near the door and fought off Ben who apparently was under the soldier's control now. When I searched the room again, there was no trace of the soldier.
Everything seemed to slow down as flames licked up my arm and Ben flipped me onto my back. I saw the shape shifters wrestle Melody out the door and Jasper and Alice fighting Felix. I had no clue which of the three was under the soldier's control. It didn't really matter; it was bad all the way around. We were either locked here in an un-winable battle or we had to kill our friends.
I tried Jasper's power but it had no effect against Ben. His teeth tore through my throat and for the first time in a long time I feared for my life. Not since the Volturi had trained me to fight had I been in a situation that I couldn't control…that I wouldn't end victorious in, but here, lying on the floor with Ben's mouth locked against my throat, I was suddenly little more than the helpless human I'd once been.
I was going to die without ever righting the wrongs between me and Edward. I was going to fail Aro and Alyria. The shape shifters wouldn't let Melody live if none of the vampires were there to make them. They would kill her and David and flee and they would be right to do so.
None of us would live to destroy the facility…The Cullens would lose both Alice and Jasper. Despair overwhelmed me, yet still my hands fought and tore at Ben. I had to save Alice. Every time I used Ben's powers against him, he countered them with his own. Flames would burn him and he would use water or air to extinguish them. I pushed his aura into him, hoping to hurt him enough to make him cease his attack as I was loath to kill him. It wasn't his fault, after all. But my little slashes had little effect on him and I found my powers draining, while his seemed very much in tact. The soldier had to still be in the room, just cloaking himself, in order to tweak his spell to such a degree. If I could just kill him, we'd make it out of here in one piece.
Alice's screams tore through me. I wanted to be by her side more than anything. I screamed for Justin in my mind. It was a cowardly thing to do – putting him at risk in order to save Alice, but I couldn't stop myself. With my last mental cry, my powers receded. I had nothing but my newborn strength to draw on.
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Thanks
Sabrina
