Chapter 10: Running
"Bella, do you want to come watch. We're going to y baseball." Alice said as we walked down stairs.
"Sure," I followed her out back.
"I can carry you there." Alice offered. I shook my head.
"Alex!" I called through the trees. A few minutes later he was standing before me. "I have my own ride." I said as I jumped onto Alex's back.
"Try to keep up." Edward called as he ran past us out towards what I assumed was the baseball field. I smiled at the challenge. There was no way I would let him win.
"You heard him Alex, let's go!" I said as I hugged his sides with my legs. I leaned forward and he was off. The wind whipped my hair back from my face as Alex galloped through the trees. I could see Edward some way ahead of us. I could even hear his laughter as he thought he was going to win. He must not have realized that in a mother forest the animals and orphans are the fastest things around. Alex kicked it up another gear and just seconds later we had passed all of the Cullens. It was a good thing Alex sort of knew where a giant field was or else we would have been lost. When we arrived he slowed to a walk before I jumped off. "Thanks Alex." I said as I pet his forehead. He leaned into my hand happily even as his breathing was panting.
A few seconds later the Cullens arrived in the field. They were starring at me shocked. "We won Edward." I reminded him.
"How did you get here so fast?" He questioned.
"Edward, you live two miles from a mother tree. Everything in this forest is faster. Besides Alex and I didn't want to be beat." Edward rolled his eyes. "Don't be a sore looser." I teased him.
"Whatever," he muttered.
"Where should Alex and I watch from?"
"From here's fine. Home plate's just ahead of you." Edward informed me as he pointed towards the field. I gaped at him. It was humongous! How hard did they plan on hitting the ball?
Esme walked over to me as the rest of them spilt into teams. "You don't play with the rest of them?" I questioned.
"I like to keep them fair. They get into the most heated arguments. The way they swear…" She trailed of. I shook my head laughing at the thought of Alice and Emmett yelling at each other.
"Play ball!" Esme called to them. I looked out to the filed. I looked to what had to be the pitcher's mound, but it was so far out! She looked completely unthreatening, but then she whipped out the ball. Emmett swung the bat and it smacked against the ball with a resounding crack. The ball went flying off into the trees.
"Home run." I muttered.
"Not yet. Emmett may hit the hardest, but Edward's the fastest… except for you and Alex." She allowed. I smirked as I watched the tree line. Emmett was pounding the bases in a desperate attempt to beat Edward. Edward jumped from the trees with the ball in hand. He threw it to Carlisle who was shadowing Emmett. He hit Emmett with the ball. "Out," Esme called to the group. The game continued much in the same manner until Edward had caught three outs on Emmett's team.
Edward ran over to me. There was an excited light shinning in his eyes. It was great to see him so happy. He was a great friend. Wait, how come that word didn't exactly seem to fit the way I felt about him… I shook the thought away and smiled at Edward. "What do you think?" He inquired.
"It's cool to see you all having so much fun." He smiled as he moved to bat. I watched as he wailed the ball past Emmett who grabbed it from the ground and then began to run straight at Edward as he tried to make it to home plate. I bit my lip anxiously a second before Emmett and Edward collided. It sounded like a train and a tractor trailer had collided. The noise was almost deafening. I gasped shocked. I looked over at Esme. She didn't seem worried so I worked to calm myself. Edward walked back over to the bating line up. Emmett had definitely just gotten him out.
Jasper walked up to the plate with a bat in hand. "Stop," Alice yelled to everyone. She sounded scared. What was happening? Alice ran over to me the same time Edward did. "I thought they were leaving. We didn't have to worry about them." Alice muttered.
"What's going on?" I questioned as I worked to sooth Alex. He was nervous with so many vampires this close. "They won't hurt you." I tried to assure him. He moved to stand behind me.
"There are vampires headed here now… human drinkers. They want you." My eyes widened and the other Cullens growled.
"I can't get you out of here fast enough." Edward said. His voice was strained. It was nice to know I had a friend that actually worried about me.
"How long until they get here" I questioned.
"Five minutes."
"I can get away. You guys can stay here and play the game and get rid of the vampires. Then you can come find me." I offered. They seemed unsure.
"We don't have any other options. Alex will keep me safe. Just promise you guys will be okay." I said.
"We'll be fine. Now go! They're on their way!" Alice said frantically.
"Which way are they coming from?" I questioned as I jumped on Alex's back.
"The south." I turned Alex to the north.
"Let's go Alex." He reared up for a second before lunging forwards. He was off. I leaned forwards and worked to move with him as we bolted through the trees. I urged him ever faster as I thought about what was behind us. The vampires wouldn't be able to find us. The mother tree was working hard to cover our path with a fresh rain as the wind also worked to change the direction our scent trail took. "Take us somewhere safe." I whispered to him. He shifted his path to the left, but otherwise didn't respond in the usual head throw or rear. I kept my head down and I focused on hanging on instead of the path or the elements. The wind was whipping my clothes and hair into and around my face; the rain seemed to tear into my back. I shut my eyes against the unpleasant feelings and worked to move with Alex. I even measured my breathing to match his as my heart raced in synchronization to his.
It got dark but Alex didn't stop running. He must have understood how much danger we were in. If he could stay awake then so could I. I forced my eyes to remain open even though I couldn't see anything. Wolves were howling from our left. I felt Alex tense with fear even as he ran. I was so tired. How was I supposed to keep my eyes open? I wanted to sleep so badly. I could feel Alex tiring as well. "We have to stop sometime." I reasoned. I felt him slow. We came upon a clearing. I jumped from his back and went about gathering firewood. When the wood was ready and I had a descent stock pile I lit the logs. They smoldered before the flame picked up. I held my hands up to the fire even as my stomach growled hungrily. Alex settled down behind me and placed his head on his forelegs. I heard his stomach growl. "I'm hungry too." I said as I rubbed a hand over his side. I threw a few more pieces of wood into the fire before I leaned into Alex. I yawned hugely. I fell asleep hoping I would live to see the morning while from somewhere in the shadows a wolf howled.
The next morning I awoke yawning. I sat up quickly and looked around. There was no one there, thank god. I saw Alex a little ways off grazing. I wish I could find food that easily. I got up and started scavenging. There had to be some food around here somewhere. I smiled in success as I located a berry bush. They were the edible ones too. I quickly worked to harvest a descent amount, but there weren't all that many berries to begin with. I ate the twentyish berries I managed to retrieve from the bush. My stomach growled again. I sighed. I wasn't going to find enough food to stop the hunger, only aggravate it. I looked to my phone. There was still no call. Were they in danger? Were they hurt? What was happening? If anything happened to them because of me… The thought of Edward with an arm being ripped off, tortured. I shook away that thought it was much too painful.
I looked up to see Alex beside me. He nudged me gently. "I'll be fine. I' just worried." I admitted. He offered me his back once more. "I think I need to get something to eat. I have to find a foster home. I saw fear in his eyes. "I'll be fine." We walked together to the backyard of what seemed to be a home holding four children. This was definitely a foster home. I turned to Alex. "Here's my phone. I need you to watch it for me until I leave this place. I'll only stay for a few days." He practically mewled worriedly. I put the phone in a zipped pocket of my sweatshirt, which I proceeded to tie around his neck. "I'll see you in a few days." Alex seemed to nod. He watched as I walked into the yard. Two of the girls in the house turned to me.
"What are you doing here!" One girl said scared.
"I need food and I figured I'd come to a foster home. There has to be more food here then in the wood." I said.
"You must not have been to one of these before." A girl muttered.
"I'm Bella Swan. I've been places you've never dreamed. These homes are where I grew up." I practically spat at her.
"This place is horrible. You don't want to be here."
"I have no choice. I need to eat." I walked around to the front door. I rang the door bell. A drunk man walked to the door. So this was one of these homes…
"What do you want?" He slurred his speech so terribly. How the hell did someone manage to get this drunk at ten in the morning?
"I was wondering if you could possibly take me in for a few days? I need food. I'm willing to work." I said as politely as I could manage to this scum of the earth. I saw him give me an appraising look.
"What can you do?"
"Anything I need to." I said through gritted teeth. He smirked.
"Then you're hired."
"Thank you." I said as I entered the house.
"I want you to go put this on." He said handing me a skirt so short it should have been a belt. I grimaced mentally, but I smiled as I took the skimpy fabric from him. I changed into the skirt before I returned to his side.
"What do you want me to do now?"
"Clean this room from top to bottom." He said eyeing me. I nearly barfed. He just wanted to watch me and see up the damn belt skirt thing. I swallowed my disgust and got to work. I had to eat, and this was my only chance.
When I was done with that chore he had me do a bunch of other stuff that basically just exposed me a lot. When he went to check on the other kids I scarffed down some food from his kitchen. He came back and made me do more revealing things. He made me put on a different shirt with a plunging neck line. I tried not to think about that. I just had to stay long enough to make off with some of their food. I would leave then.
The door slammed open and a woman ran into the house. She must have been the wife. It was easy to see why the husband drank himself to oblivion. The wife had an evil look about her. She proved just how evil she really was not two minutes later. She walked into the room and the second she saw me her face turned red with anger.
"What the fuck are you doing you little whore!" She screamed. Then she attacked me. I held myself still as she clawed, kicked, slapped, and punched me. I worked to drown out the string of profanities she was uttering as I bit my tongue to keep from screaming. I couldn't let them hear my pain. When she was done my head was ringing and blood was pouring from wounds. "Get to the basement with the others!" She screeched. I forced myself up of the floor and ran downstairs. The other girls looked at me horrified.
"I'm fine. I can heal it. You know of the healing ceremony, right?" I asked them. The three girls nodded. "I know how to carry it out. I just need candles…
When I was healed I wiped the blood of and listened to the floor above us. When it quieted I could finally talk to them. "Where are we?"
"We're in Grants, Oregon." I hid my shock from them.
""I'm leaving tonight. I like it more in the woods. You can come with me? You don't have to stay here." I offered. They backed away from me with wide eyes.
"We can't. It's safer to just stay. We can leave in a few months once we turn 18." One girl decided.
"Are you sure?" I questioned. They nodded.
"Don't worry. We won't tell them your plans. We'll cover for you if we have to."
"Thank you." I said smiling. They settled down for the night as I searched for more appropriate clothes. I threw on a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt with a thicker hooded sweat shirt. I found a back pack and threw a set of matches into the pack along with a change of clothes for going into a town. I listened upstairs for another half hour before I ascended the stairs. I was careful to remain quiet as I made my way to where I'd seen the husband stash his beer money. I grabbed it without counting and went to the kitchen. I grabbed fruit for Alex before grabbing bread, some meat, rice, and beans. They would stay the longest in a worst case scenario.
I made my exit from the house. Once I was in the backyard I ran full out until I was deep in the woods. I heard a twig snap behind me and I turned to see Alex there. I walked over to him and rubbed a hand against his head. "Thanks for waiting." I said. He bugled quietly. I smiled. "Let's get to a clearing. I had to heal myself. I'm wiped." I yawned. We made our way back to our previous camp. When the fire was built I settled down for a good night of sleep, but like the night before a wolf howled from somewhere out in the night. I didn't let it bother me. Alex and I had the fire and each other. We were safe.