Disclaimer: Not mine…just playing with SM's characters
A/N: Thank you all for reading & reviewing! Show down time!
As always, thank you to eternally_addicted for keeping all my crazy ideas straight. And hey, SM said in the guide Alice really was James' singer! :-) Important A/N at the end.
You will suck the life out of me…
Our time is running out
Our time is running out
You can't push it underground
You can't stop it screaming out
How did it come to this?
-Muse, "Time Is Running Out"
Chapter 12: Time Is Running Out
EPOV
"STOP! Please stop!"
I could barely hear the sounds of Cigna's cries over my own screams. Victoria had a knife in her hand and was ever so slowly dragging it along my thigh. I was clad in nothing but my boxer briefs now, and doing my best not to throw up from the pain or the sight of my Cigna in Caccio's filthy hands. Victoria laughed loudly after licking the wound closed.
"James…I'm sure there's a way you can shut her up."
"Don't you fucking touch her!" I yelled, my strength coming back to me when Cigna was threatened.
I heard Cigna's cry, and in a blink Caccio was in my face, one arm wrapped around Cigna's waist and the other around her breasts. Cigna whimpered as Caccio's hand moved to palm her breast. I growled and fought against my restraints, though it was a useless attempt.
"I could fuck her right here in front of you, and you wouldn't be able to do a damn thing about it," Caccio hissed. "Would you like that, Murato? Do you want to watch?"
I growled and fought against my restraints as Caccio squeezed one of Cigna's breasts.
"GET YOUR HANDS OFF HER!" I roared.
Cigna screamed as Caccio pushed her forward and her body bent over mine, his hands beginning to tug at her clothing.
"Maybe I can make up for lost time," Caccio grinned, "I can finish what Santiago never got to, hmmmm?"
Cigna was crying and her eyes found mine, tears falling down her cheeks. Caccio knew just how to break us…he knew physical pain wouldn't be enough. He was attacking our hearts and minds, inflicting the most pain possible…and it was working
"Enough, James!" She hissed. "Not yet…we don't want to break the two of them too soon. There's still much fun to be had."
Caccio looked to contemplate this for a moment, and I screamed for Cigna as he ripped her body away from mine and tossed her back against a wall behind him.
"You're right, my dear," Caccio said, sidling up to Victoria and taking the knife from her. "I do believe it's my turn with dear Murato anyway."
I had no idea where the third one, Laurent, was, but Cigna and I had been alone with Caccio and Victoria in the large room for what seemed like hours now. Sadly, I knew it probably had been closer to one hour. How much longer did they plan to torture us this way? I saw Cigna push herself up slowly into a sitting position and Victoria moved to stand behind her. Cigna tried to give me a smile, but I could see her entire body shaking from here. I gazed into her brown eyes, trying to will myself to remember them in my next lifetime. Our connection was severed when the knife cut sharply into one of my wrists.
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed.
Caccio laughed in glee before he bent his head down and licked the blood off the knife.
"I have missed your screams, Murato. Though, I must say, I can't imagine anything better than watching you when it's Cigna's turn on this table."
"No!" I growled.
"Oh, I always loved that about you, Murato. So foolish, so confident…it makes it so much more fun when I prove you wrong!" Caccio's red eyes glowed in the dimming light.
It was hard to know exactly what time it was from in here, but the light coming through the tinted windows wasn't as bright as it had been earlier, so my guess was that it was some time around twilight.
"I had quite the fun with you last time I found you," Caccio continued. "You were a lawyer in New York City. If I'm not mistaken you and Cigna had been so close that time too, without even knowing it. You were still a raging alcoholic in that lifetime too. I cornered you in an alley, and you of course tried to pick a fight. Victoria and I beat you to a pulp before we feasted on your blood. N.Y.P.D. still has it classified as one of their most gruesome crime scenes of all time."
"James!" Victoria shouted. "Lick his wound shut! You're wasting too much blood!"
Caccio bent his head and licked the wound closed before he circled around my body again. My body was beginning to feel weak from the blood loss, and I cringed as I watched Caccio lick the blood from around his lips. Before I had to time to bring up Victoria and her using him, Caccio plunged the knife deep into my thigh. I barely made out Cigna's plea to stop over my own excruciating scream.
"Fuck, James…you're making me so hot for you right now," Victoria purred.
Unsurprisingly, torture got the crazy bitch off. I gritted my teeth as Caccio went at vampire speed and pinned her against the wall, crushing the plaster and glass around them. Cigna whimpered and crawled away.
"Wait…wait…" Victoria panted, "Let us insure our pets won't get away before we…take care of business."
"Murato's not going anywhere," Caccio growled, his hips moving insistently against Victoria's.
"Ah…but your little Cigna might."
Caccio growled loudly before he pushed himself away. "Make her weak then! I want you now woman!"
Victoria held up her finger as she stalked towards Cigna, who was trying to scurry backwards. I cried for her to run, but Victoria caught her easily, pulling her wrist to her mouth.
"No!" I screamed, the same time Cigna did. I remembered the burning in my veins after Victoria had bitten me. Even the knife still lodged in my thigh couldn't compare to that. I watched in horror as Victoria dropped Cigna's body to the floor.
"Cigna!" I cried as she screamed and her body writhed on the floor.
"Fuck, babe…let's go…" James said impatiently. I was disgusted as he licked his lips and watched as Cigna arched in pain on the floor. The prominent bulge in his low slung jeans made my stomach churn further.
"That should have been long enough," Victoria said before she grabbed a hold of Cigna again.
My love screamed, but her body slowly ceased its movements as Victoria sucked the venom back out. I knew from experience that Cigna was going to be extremely weak now, even weaker than I myself had been due to her tiny frame. I was somewhat relieved to see that Victoria had placed Cigna's now unconscious body softly on the ground. She moved at vampire speed and removed the knife from my leg and licked the wound closed. My head felt dizzy from all of their vampire movements and my loss of blood. Victoria caressed my cheek and it made my skin crawl.
"Enjoy some rest time…and don't try anything stupid. Laurent is…around."
Caccio and Victoria disappeared in a flash, though her words made me doubt Laurent was really around. My eyes felt heavy and I tried to will my body to stay awake and figure a way out of this while they were gone, but I couldn't fight it. My world slowly became black with Cigna's name on my lips.
I slowly came to, the sound of soft grunts meeting my ears. My eyes shot open, fearing the worst for my Cigna. When I looked around, the studio was an eerie blue color, and Caccio and Victoria were nowhere to be seen.
"Cigna?" I said, suddenly panicking. Her body was no longer lying where I had last seen it.
"Shhhhhhh…" came a soft hiss to my right, "I don't know where they are, but none of them are here."
To my great relief, I saw the top of Cigna's head as she crouched underneath the table I lay on.
"What are you doing, my love?"
Her hand darted up and she showed me a large piece of broken mirror.
"I'm trying to cut these leather straps loose so we can get out of here! I've been thinking about this decision non-stop. The room, where we might be…everything I can to give Alice something. We can't be too far from Forks. James and Laurent ran here with me. I can only pray that Victoria's shield has a distance limitation or something, and that maybe Alice is still looking for us."
"Do you think so, Cigna?" I asked, testing the restraints. The restraints were leather and locked on with a key.
"I don't know," She grunted, "but I just want to get you out of these first and then see if we can get out of here. We're definitely in a ballet studio, and like I said we're not far I think. Maybe we can make it to Port Angeles or Forks? I don't think we're in La Push, but I think we're still in Seattle."
I nodded absently mindedly, my eyes fixed on the scar from where Victoria's teeth sank into her flesh.
"How are you feeling? Victoria," I swallowed heavily, "She must've taken quite a bit of blood."
"I still feel a little weak," Cigna sighed, "But it's now or never. We have to try while they're gone."
My leg wound had healed and I definitely felt stronger. I gave a sharp tug to the restraint Cigna was working on, and she gasped loudly when it broke free. She quickly stood up and moved to the other side. I sat up and moved, surprised my legs had been freed.
"Those didn't have locks on them," Cigna smiled.
"Hand me the glass," I said.
Cigna thankfully didn't argue and handed the piece over before I began to saw away at the piece of leather. From the corner of my eye, I saw Cigna's head darting around the room, no doubt watching for any sign of the three vampires. The soft snap of leather breaking sounded ten times louder in the quiet of the studio. Cigna rushed into my arms and I held her tightly before pressing my lips to hers.
"Come on," She said, tugging my hand, "Let's go!"
Ignoring the fact that I was clad only in my underwear, I laced my fingers with hers and pulled her behind me as we started to make our way towards the doors.
The sound of clapping from behind us froze us both in our spots, and I whirled around, shoving Cigna behind me. Walking out of the shadows was Laurent, clapping his hands lazily with a smile on his face.
"James and Victoria will be disappointed they missed such an impressive escape attempt."
"Murato…" Cigna whimpered behind me. I could feel her body shaking and pulled her closer to me.
"Cigna…"I whispered, pushing her backwards as I started to move slowly.
Cigna screamed as Laurent suddenly appeared in front of us, and my breath was cut off as his hand wrapped around my neck. I pushed Cigna back with my hands and I heard her fall to the floor. Laurent lifted me up in the air and I kicked at him, my bare feet doing nothing against his stone skin. I saw Cigna crawling away, her eyes never leaving mine.
Laurent chuckled darkly, his red eyes boring into mine.
"Perhaps just a taste…incapacitate you until Victoria returns and she can suck the venom out. They'll be along shortly."
His grip around my neck tightened and he turned me in a way that I could no longer see Cigna. He grinned, looking completely like the carnivore that he is. I screamed out as his teeth came closer to the junction of my neck and shoulder. Suddenly, I realized I wasn't the only one screaming, and my body went flying backwards and I hit the wall hard before I crumpled to the ground. Another scream left my mouth as something pierced my thigh in almost the exact same spot that Caccio had stabbed me in earlier. My eyes were watering and when I was able to pry my eyes open, I saw that it was Laurent screaming as Cigna tried to crawl away and towards me. Her leg was bleeding heavily and she had a gash on her forehead.
Laurent was who really caught my attention though. He was struggling out of his jacket and shirt, tearing the material to pieces, and roaring each time his hands got singed by flames. Cigna had used the lighter that she had found. I tried to move and crawl towards her, but I screamed in pain when I moved my leg.
Finally free of his burning clothes, Laurent lunged at Cigna.
"You little bitch!" He growled. The lighter fell out of Cigna's hand and bounced towards me.
"Cigna, NO!" I tried to scream, but blood in my throat made the words sound like a gurgle of nothing.
Laurent had picked her up, bit her shoulder hard, and threw her body across the room and into a wall of mirrors. Cigna screamed, and I cried out for her again as she landed in a bloodied heap. I tried again to move towards the lighter, but the wound in my leg burned when I tried to move it.
"Laurent!" I heard Victoria shriek, "What have you done! You fool!"
Through the pain, I saw Caccio strike Laurent so hard that his body crashed through a wooded panel on the opposite side of the room. Victoria was screaming at both Caccio and Laurent, ignoring Cigna and myself. I could feel the blood draining from my body, and I was growing weaker by the second. I knew this was it…Victoria and Caccio would never let me become a vampire like them, and they would just kill me. I coughed trying to clear the blood from my airway. The tears began to prickle in my eyes. This was it…we were going to be parted once again.
Not many people think about how they're going to die. At least no one I knew before I came here to Forks, save for a few clients I had worked with in the past. No one likes to think that this moment may be your last. No one likes to think that this soft embrace with your lover might be your last, that this may be the last time you ever see them. Very few learn to live in the moments. I hadn't learned that lesson…though you'd think it would've been ingrained in my memory. Why couldn't I see it in her eyes? Eyes that I was supposed to know. If only I had believed her. If only I could have remembered her sooner.
My body felt broken and my muscles burned when I tried to move, yet I forced my head to turn to where she lay. Her bones were shattered like the glass around her. I tried to call out for her, but felt thick liquid spill from my mouth instead. Trying to cough and clear my throat only made the burning I felt in my body even worse. I couldn't even cry out in pain, liquid now choking my throat closed.
I saw my love's eyes meet mine and I knew…I knew this was it. I had failed her again. The same brown eyes I had failed for centuries knew too. This was the end for us. She seemed so far away and her voice seemed faint as I heard her cry out my name across the room. I lay paralyzed as the death descended upon her, while the demon with the fire hair turned and started to advance toward me, teeth bared and claws outstretched. Her menacing smile that spread across her face seemed to increase the heat of the flames that licked at my body. I knew that death had come for me.
Laurent stood in a corner of the room, chastised for his weakness. Caccio crept towards Cigna as Victoria slinked towards me, her eyes black now and like those of a shark on the hunt. It had been all up to me, to Edward…all he had to do was remember…all I had to do was remember, but I had failed her again. My eyes found Cigna's one last time, and I saw her mouth the three words that meant more than anything coming from her lips. I only had one last thought before the flames consumed by body and the world went dark.
Isabel…Marie…Belle…Bella…I'm sorry…I love you…
APOV
"Esme! ESME!" I cried, crawling towards the only mother I had ever known. I slumped over awkwardly next to her and rolled onto my side, trying my best to face her.
Esme's skin on her face was cracked like mine, but slowly healing back together. She gave me a weak smile and pushed me gently onto my back instead of resting on one of my healing shoulders.
"I'll be fine, Alice. Can you see anything? Anything at all?"
I tried and was surprised to see James and Laurent running through the trees. Bella hung limply from James' back, and her tears were apparent. Suddenly the vision went black, and I was in the dark again. I knocked the back of my head against the floor.
"I don't know what happened…I saw them in the woods, but suddenly the vision went blank and I lost them again."
"Victoria must be shielding them," Esme sighed, sitting up slowly. She lifted her pant leg and was assessing the healing on her leg. I closed my eyes and tried to see when Jasper, Carlisle, and Emmett would get here. I sighed heavily.
"The boys will be here in a little under two minutes…try and stay calm. Jasper is going to be extremely upset."
Esme nodded. Hopefully, if she and I stayed calm, we could balance out the anger that was about to come tearing into the room. I looked for Bella and Edward again, but there was nothing coming to me. The rain was starting to come down outside, and I knew Esme was not going to be pleased with Carlisle and her sons fretting over the both of us while dragging their dripping wet bodies throughout the house. We had bigger things to worry about. Any hope of tracking James and Laurent, even Bella, was being washing away with every raindrop that fell from the sky.
"Here they come," I whispered, assessing the damage on my left arm.
There was a quick breeze and suddenly Jasper was crouching next to me, his eyes full of heartache, but a snarl on his lips. Carlisle and Emmett soon followed. Both looked much like Jasper.
"Darlin'…oh, Darlin', are you…" Jasper couldn't even finish the words as he helped me sit up and pulled me into his arms. He held me like I was made of glass instead of stone as he looked over each crack that was slowly healing back up.
"I'll be fine," I murmured, pressing my face against his neck and taking a deep breath to calm myself. I could feel the anger and hate rolling off of him.
"I'll kill him," Jasper growled, "if not for Edward and Bella, for you, and because he tried to take what was mine."
"Shhhhh…" I hummed, "We need a plan and focus on finding Edward and Bella."
"You all right, shorty?" Emmett asked, crouching down next to us. He had calmed down considerably since he arrived in the house and it was helping Jasper to calm down as well.
"I'll be a hundred percent in about five minutes. Esme should be right as rain any second," I said, giving Em a confident smile.
"Already am, my dear," Esme responded, pulling herself up to her feet. Carlisle was immediately behind her helping her and wrapped his arm around her waist when she was steadied. Not wanting anyone to worry about me any longer, I asked about what they found.
Carlisle sighed. "Victoria was definitely there. Her scent was faint, but it was all around the driver's side door. We must've just missed her."
"What was strange was that the scent traveled through Port Angeles," Jasper added, still holding me in his arms.
"Through the town?" Esme asked, surprise evident in her voice. "She wouldn't possibly act on anything while hiding in the town."
"We lost her scent near the ocean," Emmett stated. "I doubt she swam somewhere with Edward, but it's a possibility."
We all sat and pondered these things for a bit. No one had seen Edward being abducted. His car was in a secluded part of the parking lot, that much I had seen, and there was nothing left behind to indicate who the silver Volvo belonged to. Jasper said Victoria was smart and had taken the registration card from inside the car with her. There was no trace of Edward around the car that a human could find, and even his scent was almost too faint for our superior sense of smell.
"There was something…odd that happened before you came back," I said, my brow furrowing as I thought about it.
"What was it, Darlin'?" Jasper asked urgently.
I was momentarily distracted by my left arm being completely healed, and I moved it briefly before answering my love.
"After they took off with Bella, I could see James and Laurent running with her in the woods. They weren't being blocked by Victoria's shield…" I trailed off, my mind going back to the fight.
"And now that I think about it…I think I was seeing James' decisions while we were fighting. He's a superior fighter compared to me, but I still think I saw his moves coming…"
"So what are you saying?" Emmett asked, his brow furrowed in confusion.
"Victoria's shield wasn't working," Carlisle said. "There must be some kind of weakness in her power then."
"Or she was momentarily distracted and let her guard down," Jasper stated.
"I'll have to research it," Carlisle said, leaning in and giving Esme a kiss on her forehead. "Will you be all right without me, my dear?"
Esme nodded and leaned up, kissing Carlisle's jaw. "You do what you need. I think Alice and I are in need of a hunt."
"I'm coming with you two," Jasper said immediately. I knew he was nervous about leaving the two of us alone again. I just smiled and squeezed his hand, relishing in having the use of my arms once again.
"Em, you stay with Carlisle and help him research," I said. "I think it would be for the best if none of us are caught alone. We don't know what the nomads are planning."
"Sounds like a plan," Emmett said, springing up to his feet.
Esme, Jasper, and I took off through the woods after Esme asked Carlisle and Emmett to first board up the back of the house the best they could. She didn't ask, but I had seen that they would clean up all of the debris before we arrived back as well. Esme and I were both weak and we glutted ourselves on a heard off dear that we found deep in the woods. Jasper picked off two just to keep his strength up. We didn't know when we might be expecting a fight, and all of us wanted to be at full strength. Carlisle and Emmett had decided they would go hunting on our return.
For the first time in weeks, I tried to look for Rosalie's future. Emmett didn't talk about it, but Jasper told me that from the few times we saw each other for extended periods of time, he could feel Emmett's loneliness. I sighed to myself as I pulled a carcass of a deer into the brush. Rosalie's eyes were black as night as she sat near the window in the living room of the Denali's home. She was refusing Tanya's invitation to go hunting. I hoped that my sister would come to her senses and return. Emmett had always had more faith in my visions than Rosalie did, and he loved our little family. It had surprised me that he remained loyal to us instead of Rosalie, but he was adamant that she would come to her senses. No one knew her better than Emmett did, so I prayed in time that he would be right. If she still didn't return by the end of whatever outcome came of Bella and Edward, I would make Emmett go to here. I didn't like seeing my big bear of a brother suffering.
"You're feeling so lonely," Jasper stated, coming to stand next to me. I gave him a faint smile, bringing myself back to the present.
"I was looking for Rosalie," I said quietly. "She's being as stubborn as ever up in Denali."
"Em told me she hasn't once tried to contact him. He calls her once a week. Tanya usually ends up talking to him."
I sighed and shook my head sadly. "She'll come to her senses…I know it."
"I hope so, Darlin'. I hope so."
Esme soon joined us, dusting some dirt off of her pants. I had to chuckle a little bit. She and I were both so thirsty that our usual precision was a little off and we were both messier than usual. She rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at me, and threw some mud, which I dodged easily, as I giggled. There was at least some happiness and silliness left in the world…however fleeting.
"Let's head back," Jasper suggested.
Carlisle and Emmett were just starting their research in Carlisle's office. Esme was incredibly grateful that they had cleaned things up, and as Jasper and I took Carlisle and Emmett's places doing the research, Esme began to make her plans on restoring the house.
"There's not a lot of information on shielding powers," Jasper commented as we poured over Carlisle's journals that he had kept over the years. There were several other documents he had collected over the centuries that spoke in detail of our kind.
"Well, she must be a very powerful shield," I said, putting aside another journal and deciding to give looking for Bella and Edward another try. "She's older than Carlisle, which means she's had a very long time to build that power up."
"True…but every power has its limitation," Jasper said.
I nodded as I closed my eyes and searched for Edward first. There was still nothing, and now when I searched for Bella, the vision I had of she and I together was sketchy and no longer solid. Something in her future was changing.
"Something must be happening," I said, my eyes still closed and trying to focus on that vision of Bella and me together.
"What? What do you see, Darlin'?" Jasper asked, taking one of my hands.
"The vision…the one of Bella and I…it's fading."
I opened my eyes and immediately looked at Jasper. "We have to find them, find something…the future is changing and I can't even see it."
"We'll find something," Jasper said, sending me a wave of confidence. I gave him a quick kiss and picked up another journal.
We continued well into the early hours of the morning, pouring over notes and books. Carlisle and Esme had taken a little "break" with each other a few hours ago, and we "kids" tried not to overhear. Emmett was surprisingly very serious as he read over the books and notes in the library, and made no teasing remarks when Carlisle and Esme both returned, sporting different outfits from those they left in. As the others continued to read on, I sat in one of Carlisle's comfy armchairs, focusing on the visions of Bella and me. They were fading and I didn't know what that meant.
I gasped suddenly, sitting bolt upright in the chair. Jasper and Carlisle's voices were near, but I could barely hear them.
Edward is tied to a table and Bella shows him the piece of broken mirror she is trying to use to cut the leather straps that hold him.
"I'm trying to cut these leather straps loose so we can get out of here!" Bella cries. "I've been thinking about this decision non-stop. The room, where we might be…everything I can to give Alice something. We can't be too far from Forks. James and Laurent ran here with me. I can only pray that Victoria's shield has a distance limitation or something, and that maybe Alice is still looking for us."
"Do you think so, Cigna?" Edward asks testing the restraints. The restraints were leather and locked on with a key.
"I don't know," She grunts, "but I just want to get you out of these first and then see if we can get out of here. We're definitely in a ballet studio, and like I said we're not far I think. Maybe we can make it to Port Angeles or Forks? I don't think we're in La Push, but I think we're still in Seattle."
"I see them!" I cried. "They're in a ballet studio! Bella thinks they're near!"
"Emmett!" Jasper ordered.
"On it!" Emmett shouted as he zipped over to the computer and started searching on the Internet.
"Alice, are Edward and Bella okay?" Esme asked worriedly.
I closed my eyes and repeated the vision, trying to look for something again. I didn't get anything new.
"They're been worked over pretty good, but they're…okay," I said slowly. "I'm not getting anything new. I don't know when Bella's made this decision."
"I got it!" Emmett shouts. "There's an abandoned ballet studio outside of Port Angeles. It's on the coast and has been closed for the past ten years."
"That has to be it," Carlisle said, standing.
"Are you sure?" Esme asked, worry for Bella and Edward evident on her face.
"Alice, do you see anything else? Anything else in that vision that can help us?"
I close my eyes and play the vision back in my head, taking advantage of our vampire photographic memories. I feel my brows furrow as I look at painted words, fading on a wall next to the mirrors.
"Ms. Patti's School of Da
The Best Dance Class in Port Ang"
The words were faded, but they were enough.
"Emmett, the name! What was the name of the dance school?" I shouted, jumping to my feet.
"Ms. Patti's School of Dance."
"That's it! I saw the name on the wall! That's where they are!"
I ran for the door, only to be caught by Jasper.
"Let me go! We have to go!" I nearly growled.
"Darlin', we need a plan," Jasper said quietly, sending out a wave of calm.
"But we have to go! We don't know what is going to happen or when this will happen!"
"But you still see it happening?" Carlisle asked, now standing in front of me.
I nodded as Emmett came to stand by us, along with Esme.
"We need a plan of attack," Jasper insisted again.
"Laurent is mine," Esme growled, surprising us all.
"Whoa there, Momma Bear…" Emmett slowly, "Not that I don't think you can do it, but he did a number on you last time."
"She's not taking him down alone," Carlisle growled, showing a rare aggressive side.
"All right," Jasper nodded. "Esme and Carlisle take Laurent. Emmett, I want you and Alice to go after Victoria. James is mine."
I was about to protest, but I knew Jasper would have a perfectly good point when he would then counter my protest by pointing out he was the best fighter out of all of us. Carlisle and Emmett knew better than to argue with him too. Emmett pulled out his phone.
"I have the coordinates."
"Give them to me," Jasper asked, holding his hand out for Emmett's phone.
There was a nervous tension in the air now. We weren't sure what we were going to find at the ballet studio.
"Let's go."
Without another thought we were taking off through the woods, following Jasper's lead. The men of course flew ahead of us. I tried to look for the future I saw of us in the ballet studio all those weeks ago, but now I saw nothing. The darkness pushed my legs faster as Esme and I kept up with the men.
"Five more miles," Jasper called out. "Esme with Carlisle, Alice with Emmett! Remember get them away from Edward and Bella!"
The building was in view when he all heard both the human and inhuman screams. Jasper pulled us all up to a stop. The building was in view, but the light rain was keeping the nomads' scents from wafting through the air.
"We go in from the roof," Jasper said. "Get the drop on them. Come on."
If the situation wasn't so dire, I would've admired the way my husband's form jumped and coiled as he sprung from spot to spot scaling the wall and over the roof.
"Come on, shorty…you can drool later," Emmett whispered. I growled softly at him as we began to climb as well. There was a faint smell of something burning in the air.
"One of them was burned," Carlisle whispered, confirming my thoughts.
"Here," Jasper whispered. There were three skylights along the roof. We could all clearly hear James and Victoria quarreling with each other. When I had peeked through the skylight, I saw that they were both stalking towards Edward and Bella separately, and I felt panic well up in my chest. There was so much blood, and I couldn't see if Jasper, or any of us for that matter, would lose our control. Neither human was moving and I couldn't wait any longer.
"Alice!" Jasper hissed as I lifted the glass of the skylight. Victoria and James were both too frenzied to notice anything else…they were in their feeding zone, and nothing would deter them from the blood of Edward and Bella.
Jasper and Carlisle had quickly followed suit, and with each of the men crouched in the openings ready to spring, I looked at Jasper one last time. His eyes were black, and I prayed he would make it through this.
"GO!"
Even at vampire speed, everything happened so fast. As soon as Emmett was gone, I quickly followed, and silently prayed for the rest of my family. Emmett landed on top of Victoria as I landed in front of Edward. Victoria screamed in rage and began to slash at Emmett. My brother got a lock around her torso and lifted her body, slamming her hard into the ground. In the background I could hear the growls and snarls of James and Jasper, and even Esme and Carlisle. Victoria landed a kick to Emmett's gut that sent him flying and I knew I had to focus on my own fight.
I sprang at her, my hands tangling in her hair and tugging as hard as could…a good, old fashioned cat fight.
"Bitch!" Victoria snarled as she tried to grab a hold of my tiny body.
Emmett had recovered and in no time was at my side, incapacitating the left side of Victoria's body in a vicious hold. My teeth sank into her right shoulder socket and the sound of rock shattering sounded through the air as I ripped her right arm from her body. Victoria let out a howl of pain and anger and I hopped off her back.
"I got this, shorty," Emmett grunted, "You go check on Edward."
Emmett was dragging Victoria's screaming and thrashing body towards Esme, and soon Esme was engaged in the fight to control Victoria. I didn't know where Laurent had gone. Not taking the time to wonder, I saw Carlisle already crouched over Bella's broken form, but I screamed when I saw Jasper.
"EMMETT!"
Following my horrified gaze, Emmett left Esme to fight a one armed Victoria as he quickly went to my love's aid. James had Jasper in a headlock, and the sight had paralyzed me in horror. I wouldn't survive if Jasper didn't.
"Alice!" Carlisle yelled from across the room, jutting his head towards Edward's crippled form.
I snapped out of my horrified shock. Emmett would never let anything happen to Jasper. I repeated that in my head as I crouched over Edward's body. He was so pale, so much of his blood pooling around him that he looked like one of us, and blood was covering the entire length of him. I immediately held my breath. He was bleeding profusely from his thigh and from what I remembered about anatomy, I feared it was his femoral artery. I began to tie a tourniquet around his leg using my belt. The smell though…it wasn't there when I saw this in my visions. Edward's blood smelled unlike any other human's I had ever come across. He had always smelled appealing, but here with the red liquid flowing freely…it was the most intoxicating scent.
"Start the fire!" Jasper yelled toward Emmett.
I saw Jasper was still fighting with James, but he now had both of his arms pinned behind his back. Emmett was ripping floorboards from the ground and searching for the lighter. Again, I was frozen. The venom was pooling in my mouth…Edward's blood running freely smelled so sweet.
"Alice!" Jasper shouted, noticing the hungry look in my eye. I could tell he was trying to influence my control. If I could maybe just lick Edward's wounds closed…I could stop the bleeding. My control was slipping…thinner now than a piece of string. Despair filled me. I justified my need to taste his blood by using my venom to seal his wounds closed.
"Jasper, I can't!" I called, my hands fumbling with tying a belt around a human's leg, "I have to stop it! There's so much blood!"
"Alice!" Jasper roared again, struggling to hold on to James as Emmett searched for the lighter, "Don't do it!"
My eyes snapped to Edward's face when I heard a soft groan. Green eyes met mine, and suddenly they were panicked.
"Alice…Alice…" Edward was breathing hard. "Cigna…she said…you save…save her…"
Blood spilled from his mouth and it hit me so suddenly. I had never seen a vision of Edward as one of us because I hadn't yet decided to make him like us. Victoria or Laurent's venom was in Bella's system, and I could see her writhing on the ground from the burning. Carlisle looked torn…but I knew the reason I had seen Bella as one of us, was because Carlisle had already decided that he would help her, even before he knew he would be faced with the choice. It was in his nature to help, and already knowing of my visions, would solidify his decision to make my visions possible.
"Do it, Carlisle," I said.
His golden eyes snapped towards mine.
"Do it…I'm certain," I nodded.
Raising Edward's wrist to my mouth, I saw Carlisle's eyes go wide in horror as Edward began to gasp, "no" and "Cigna".
"Alice!" Carlisle shouted from across the room. None of us possessed the control Carlisle did.
I still couldn't get any visions of the future…which meant Victoria's shied must be over us all…and she was still alive. My thoughts couldn't focus on that though as my ears flooded with the sound of Edward's faint pulse.
"Alice…" He croaked, his pleading green eyes meeting mine. I had no idea if this was going to work, but this had to be the reason why I couldn't see him before. I hadn't decided to do this yet, and once Victoria was dead, I would see visions of Edward and Bella.
"It'll be over soon," I whispered before sinking my teeth into Edward's wrist.
As the warm blood flooded my mouth, it was almost like a wrecking ball went straight through me. I had never tasted anything so divine and it filled my mouth. I swallowed greedily as my venom mixed with his blood. I could vaguely hear both Jasper and Carlisle's alarmed screams, and Edward's as the venom began to do its job. The blood lust was almost too much…until I heard Bella's faint, agonized voice.
"Murato!"
I ripped myself away…the red haze of lust slipping away. I stumbled back as Edward's body found unknown strength as he writhed and screamed in agony. I shook my head and felt the lust slowing leaving me. I couldn't see the outcome yet…but I felt I had made the right decision. Feeling more like myself, I knew I had to stop Edward's bleeding and seal his wounds so the venom could do its job. He continued to scream in agony as I moved closer.
"Edward! Edward, shhh! Hold on!" I cried, feeling myself battle the urge to taste the blood again, and to save him. My hands fumbled with the belt I had tied in a tourniquet early. The less blood flowing to the wound that was trying to heal, the better.
My body was suddenly hit and I went flying, but I was able to turn myself in the air and land on my feet. I crouched and hissed, eying the vampire that stood across from me.
"Alice!" Jasper roared from somewhere across the room, but my eyes were only focused on hers.
I growled, Edward's form was writhing on the floor in pain, as the venom coursed through his body. Jasper and Emmett were across the room, and they were fighting with two forms now, Esme flitting between them all. Laurent had come back. Carlisle was crouched on the ground working feverishly on Bella. I wasn't sure what he was doing, but he looked like he had sucked the venom out of Bella. Her body was no longer writhing like Edward's.
"Pixie bitch," Victoria snarled, bringing me back to the fight in front of me, "the human is mine! His father's sweet blood courses through his veins!"
"You can't have him. This all ends now," I growled.
She lunged at me quicker than I would've thought she was capable of. Her one arm was still missing, but from her time on this earth, she had become most powerful. My hands moved to block her, but she got behind me and I suddenly found myself pinned to the floor. I flailed and kicked as best I could.
"You will not steal him from me," Victoria hissed in my ear. Her one arm began to pull on my hair, my neck straining. "I will always win when it comes to Murato. You will never save him, but I guess that's something you'll never have to worry your pretty little head about ever again."
"ALICE!" Jasper roared from across the room. I saw Esme's horrified eyes and Emmett roared in anger as he tried to get past Laurent.
I whimpered as I could feel the skin at the base of my neck begin to break. I clenched my eyes shut as I whispered my love for Jasper. I didn't want my last sight on this earth to be that of my love's heartbroken eyes. I flinched when I heard the shattering of stone and Jasper's agonized cry.
Goodbye, my love.
To my immense shock, my head fell forward and hit the ground beneath me, and Victoria's body weight was gone from my back.
"Should've been worried about your own head."
I rolled over in shock at the sound of her voice. My eyes widened as I took in her stunning form.
"Rosalie?" I gasped.
She tugged me up and onto my feet quickly.
"How? But I…I didn't see…" I spluttered. She rolled her eyes at me.
"You were a little preoccupied. Now go help our men while I check on Edward's transformation."
I nodded, leaving Rosalie to do her work, and still in shock that she was here and had found us. Out of all of us, Rosalie had the next best control, so hopefully she would insure that I changed Edward in the correct way. I took in the scene before me, and relished in the sight of the large fire Emmett had been able to start. Laurent's screams sounded almost like music to my ears as Esme ripped his arm off and tossed in the fire. Emmett held him firmly from behind, and soon Esme had a grasp of his hair and tore his head clean off. I almost wanted to clap in glee for my mother. I never thought her capable of such violence. I dragged what remained of Victoria and threw it in quickly, knowing I had to help the others finish off Laurent and James.
James' roared loudly as I tossed Victoria's body onto the fire.
"Bitch! You bitch!"
I waved my hand. "So uncreative with the insults."
My words only made him scream louder.
"Alice!" Jasper snapped as he struggled behind James to push him closer to the fire. I grinned and ran, landing with my feet on James' thighs.
My hands dug into the hair on the back of his head as he snarled and tried to snap at my forearms. I held him firm, and a smile spread across my face as I hissed the last words he would ever hear for the rest of time.
"Smile you son of a bitch."
I wrenched his head clear from his body, the shattering sound of his stone body, completely satisfying. I tossed his head into the fire to join Laurent and Victoria. Jasper made quick work of the rest of him, and soon Jasper, Emmett, Esme, and were standing around the fire to make sure that none of them would be able to come back. A piercing scream reminded all of us that the nomads were not our only concern in the room. As I turned around, I realized that the side Edward and Rosalie were on was silent, while Bella screamed in agony for Murato.
"Rosie?" Emmett asked, stunned by the sight of his wife. He was at her side in an instant.
"How…when…"
If she could have blushed, I'm sure she would've been.
"I…I was just so scared of what would happen if Edward and Bella were added to our family," Rosalie said quietly. "I didn't know how they would fit in, if they would adhere to our diet. Alice couldn't see everything and it frightened me so I left. When I got to Denali, I was so embarrassed by the way I acted, I couldn't take facing you…but then…but then you kept calling every week."
Now I was certain that if she could've cried, Rosalie would've had tears falling down her cheeks.
"Tanya told me how much you missed me, Em. I'm so sorry I left. I'm so sorry I left you and didn't trust your judgment about all of this."
Rosalie hung her head. Emmett didn't even hesitate to pull her into his arms.
"I forgive you, baby. You're back here now, and that's all that matters."
"You saved my life," I piped up, "and you saved Edward's."
"I was coming back," Rosalie said quietly. "But then I caught all of your scents coming this way and thought it was strange."
She smirked. "Apparently I got here just in time."
Carlisle broke up the relatively happy reunion.
"We have to get moving. The fire will spread and we need to move Bella before the transformation begins to get worse. We'll have to lock her in the basement. No one will hear her from there."
"I'll sweep the room for anything that could connect this with us or Edward and Bella," Jasper said, moving quickly. Carlisle was stabilizing Bella as best he could with Esme's help. I moved slowly to where Edward lay, motionless and noiseless. Fear began to creep up my spine.
"Rosalie…" I whispered.
Her black eyes met mine, the joy from being reunited with Emmett giving way to something else. If my heart beat, it would've clenched in pain at that moment.
"Rose…why isn't he…he isn't screaming…" I managed to get out.
"Alice…I think…" Rose paused, "Can you see him?"
I closed my eyes and felt Jasper's presence next to me. A sob lodged in my throat and I sank to my knees.
"I failed them!" I cried.
"Alice, what is it?" Jasper asked urgently. "What are you talking about?"
"I see no future for Edward!" I wailed. "He's gone!"
"Wait!" Carlisle cried, racing to Edward's side and crouching down. "It's faint…but his heart is still beating."
"But I can't see him!"
"It's out of all our hands now," Carlisle said solemnly. "We just have to hope that it was enough."
Well? Yes? No? I hope that was as epic for you as I felt it was for me. Things are still looking bleak I know…but next chapter is the one I've been waiting for since I started this bad boy. :-D
BIG NEWS! This lovely little story, along with two of my others (SIAU and WIT) have been nominated for various Sunflower Awards! I can't even name them all, but "Remember Me" is nominated for quite a few! Please go vote at:
http:/thesunflowerawards(dot)blogspot(dot)com/
Be sure to also vote for eternally_addicted as best beta for all the work she's done in helping me, and teamswitzerlandmom, because trust me, if you're an author, you want her reading your stories because she is the best reviewer. Vote for them for Best Beta and Best Reviewer!
So…please let me know what you guys thought, good or bad, pretty please? The nomads are gone…but how will the future go now? Hope to update soon! :-)