Rekindles Ashes

Chapter 14: Mindless

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, sadly, otherwise I would have a nice log cabin in the woods where I would be a complete recluse and write until my heart was content. Instead, I have a full time job! So, that being said, the characters all belong to Stephenie Meyer, but the story came from my twisted little mind. Rated M.

Blow the smoke right off the tube
Kiss my gentle burning bruise
I'm lost in time
And to all the people left behind
You are walking dumb and blind, blind

Zombie by The Pretty Reckless

The flight seemed to take forever. Knowing what she was heading toward only made Bella jittery and restless, even with Jasper's gentle waves of calm washing over her. It had been bad enough saying such a hurried farewell to the girls, but the storm that was knocking the plane across the sky like a rag doll only served to create more anxiety in the pit of Bella's stomach.

"Is this flight ever going to end?" she muttered, her hand grabbing Jasper's and squeezing, her eyes closing as yet another drop in altitude pushed her stomach into her throat.

"It will," he promised her, offering a light squeeze in return. "Is it the turbulence you're worried about?"

Bella nodded her head, tendrils fell from the lose tail she'd pushed her hair up into. She'd flown a couple times in her life and was well versed in small planes, but the turbulence had always set her on edge and formed visions of the plane going down with no hope for them. She tried to quash her doomsday visions but it was difficult when the plane sank, climbed and shook hard enough to make her teeth rattle.

"Alice," Jasper said in his calm, logical voice. "How does this flight end?"

Alice turned in her seat and Bella could see the humor in her eyes. She guessed having the foresight would make it so much easier to be comfortable when you could see how it turned out.

"We're going to land perfectly, and the edge of this storm is coming so we shouldn't have anymore trouble."

Bella nodded and closer her eyes as the plane dropped yet again. She could hear Jasper chuckling beside her. She could even feel the calm waves of encouragement wash over her. Sadly, none of it was helping in the slightest.

"Three," Alice said as Bella's eyes flickered open to stare at her.

"Three what? Minutes, Seconds?"

"Two."

Seconds, Bella thought to herself, relieved. If the plane would just stop bouncing around like a moonwalk she could be a little more relaxed about the whole thing.

"One."

The plane evened out and Bella let off a bark of laughter as she threw her arms around Jasper. He embraced her lightly before his hand found the nape of her neck and tipped her head back so he could see her eyes.

"Feeling better then?"

"I'll feel better when my feet are on land," she grumbled.

"Five minutes," Alice called out happily making Bella turn her head. Her lips brushed across Jasper's arm and his shudder was noticeable. For a moment she wasn't sure whether it was out of disgust or not, but she remembered the conversation they'd had about the warmth of her skin and she relaxed.

"Sorry," she mumbled again as she turned her eyes back to him. He shook his head as though it were nothing and smiled as he dropped his hand from its place on her neck.

As Alice continued her countdown, Bella could feel the plane losing altitude and wondered how Emmett was able to navigate without things like air traffic controllers or lights. He just seemed to know where he was going.

As the wheels of the plane touched down, Bella was almost giddy. She was ready to climb over Jasper and tumble out the door. Not caring what was on the other side of the as long as it was a non-moving surface and open spaces.

"Bella, do you have everything you need?" Carlisle asked, turning in his seat.

Thankfully, for her at least, she was equipped with a small kitchen blowtorch that she'd seen used only once to finish a crème Brule. Eight cans of cheap hairspray that would probably burn out faster than the one she and the girls had used, and the Zippo that she still had.

"Locked and loaded boss," she said, making the others laugh quietly under their breaths. When her hand wrapped around the handle of the axe she felt more relaxed than she had. She had something to dismember after her flame on routine, which was a bonus.

"Okay, the mall they're holed up in is only about three miles from here. Jasper, you're going to have to carry Bella if we're gonna get there in time," Alice said matter-of-factly.

"Carry me?"

"Yeah and you're gonna wanna close your eyes for that. If you don't you're going to make quite a first impression."

Bella groaned. She'd just stepped off one carnival ride to get on another. She looked to Jasper and narrowed her eyes at him playfully.

"If you drop me. You're in trouble, mister."

"Duly noted," he answered with a smirk as he stood up. "Just be careful with the axe you're going to be carrying."

Emmett held out his hand and Bella laughed. Placing the sharp axe in his opened palms, she watched as his fingers closed around it. They shouldn't be in such high spirits considering what they were about to do, but for this last five minutes it was nice to gather her wits about her. It was nice to pretend the world hadn't lost its mind and killed off so many of it's populous.

Unfortunately, that thought itself sobered her, and she found herself preparing for a fight she was going to have to work to win. These vampires were unscrupulous and lethal. All they wanted was to drain the blood of their victims and move on. In their eyes, she was part of that. The Cullens were the inconvenience, and for now, that worked for her, because she had the element of surprise.

"We have to go now. The rogue vampires are almost at the city limit. We only have a five minute head start on them," Alice said dazedly, looking up to Garrett beside her.

In a breath of movement, they were outside of the plane in a darkness Bella couldn't ever remember seeing before. It ate up everything, leaving no shadows or silhouettes. There was no power, no moon, and it seeped into everything making Bella feel as though she'd lost one of her senses.

"Bella?"

"I'm good," she replied, holding out her hand for Jasper to take. She let him guide her toward him and the smell that was so uniquely him filled her senses. He scooped her into his arms and held her close to his chest until it encompassed her. Whether she wanted to admit it to herself or not, it calmed her to the point her rationality came back.

"Comfortable?" he asked quietly.

"Yes, thanks," she said into the darkness. She still couldn't se a thing, even though she was probably less than three feet from his face.

"Just hold on and close your eyes. We'll be there in a minute."

Bella ran her hands up his arms and tangled them around his neck. Her thumb brushed the downy hair at the back of his neck. It was softer than she'd assumed, but shut herself up for thinking such a thing with what they were about to do. Jasper's arms pulled her closer to him, and before she could even breathe the wind was blowing in her face as though she were a dog with its head out the window of a moving car.

There was no way of knowing how fast they were going. She wasn't sure she wanted to know. It was still just darkness surrounding them as he moved, and her eyes were so tightly closed they were actually beginning to ache. The whooshing sound was as loud as a tornado in her ears and she couldn't help but bury her face in his chest as she waited for it all to be over.

"We're here," Jasper whispered, releasing her legs as Bella tried to remember how to function other than gripping him with the stiffness of rigor mortis. She should have asked how fast they ran before she'd actually agreed to that little stunt. It was going to take her at least ten minutes to dislodge her heart from her toes. Unfortunately, they didn't have ten minutes, and before she'd even caught her breath, they were being towed toward a shadow that almost seemed darker than the never-ending darkness that surrounded her.

"Jasper, I need you and Bella to find a map and find the most pivotal point for holding off an attack. Edward and Emmett, I need you to look for weapons for the humans. Alice and Garrett, round up stragglers as quickly as you can, and Esme and I will find the leaders."

Everyone seemed to hum their agreement, which Bella believed was for her benefit. Then there was a sound of air pressure, like air being released from a tire. Bella couldn't see a thing so she had to rely on her instincts, and the hand that found hers in the dark.

"Just the automatic doors," Jasper said under his breath, and Bella nodded in understanding. She was guided inside by Jasper's hand in hers. She breathed a sigh when she could finally see a gentle glow ahead of them. It was literally a light at the end of a tunnel, the sensory deprivation had been a form of torture all its own if she was being honest.

It had to be the survivors.

Before she could even make a move toward the light, Jasper's arm was around her waist sweeping her in a different direction. When they came to a stop, they were once again surrounded by inky darkness, and Bella could hear her own breaths coming in small pants. She wanted to speak, but they all moved with such stealth she didn't want to risk making a noise.

"Okay, there's a hexagonal furniture store slap bang where the four wings meet, we can get everyone in there and by the looks of this, there's only three sets of doors."

"What the hell are you looking at?" Bella hissed feeling a little like she was losing her mind, all she could see was darkness, black, encompassing darkness with no end in sight.

"We have good eyes," Jasper said easily. "Come on there's a hardware store and a candle store next to one another. I have an idea."

Bella let herself get towed further into the darkness. It was like being stuck in a black hole. She had no idea where they were headed, but after a couple of stumbles, Jasper swung her up into his arms and took off.

"Stay here," he said, dropping her to her feet as the feel of him wandered further away.

"Where the hell would I go?" she asked, liking this even less and fighting the urge to pull out her lighter. She could see nothing, hear nothing, and sense nothing around her. It was akin to being in a black hole.

She stood alone her hands pushing out ahead of her to see whether she could feel anything at all. She spun in a slow circle, before realizing she had no idea where she'd started.

"What are you doing?" Jasper's voice made her jump and almost stumble into nothingness. She could hear the humor in his voice and flicked off the darkness surrounding her with one meaningful finger, serving only to make his laugher louder.

"I have my hands full, can you grab my shirt?"

"Ha! If I could see your fucking shirt, I would grab it."

Jasper shuffled something before taking one of her outstretched hands and placing it on his back. As they walked slowly through the mall, their footsteps echoing, Bella felt terrible about slowing him down. She knew she was just being a pain in the ass. More of a hindrance than help.

It wasn't until the glowing came back into view that she felt somewhat sane again. She could see figures standing around the outside of the reach of light. They were silhouetted against the darkness.

"Please tell me that's the family," she whispered almost inaudibly.

"It is. They're waiting for us so you can talk to them."

"I just hope they listen," Bella sighed finally releasing Jasper's shirt the closer they got to the light. The nearer they got to the Cullen's, the more anxiety seemed to flood Bella's blood. She had no idea how these people were going to react, and they were running out of time.

"You know what you're gonna say?" Jasper asked as they stopped next to their family members.

"No," Bella answered quietly. "But anything has to be better than Rose's 'Surprise we're vampires' line."

She heard the snickers from the family and the indignant snort of Emmett's at his wife's blatant honesty.

Bella shook her head and pushed back her fear as Jasper gave her a nod. She honestly had no idea how to address all of this, but she did know that time was running out, and she had very little time to get what she needed to say out there. She had to make sure everyone was in the furniture store before the others hit.

"Excuse me?" she said, stepped further into the light with her backpack over her shoulder and a nod of encouragement from Jasper. The whole group of humans seemed to rush to their feet at the sound of her voice. Their weapons were in their hands, pointing directly at her in defense. For a moment she froze where she was. Staring down the barrel of a shotgun wasn't exactly encouraging.

"Who the hell are you?" A gruff voice asked. He was holding what looked like a six-shooter aimed at her, his hands wavering.

"My name is Bella. I'm here to help you. You have trouble coming your way, and if you don't move now. We're not going to be able to protect you."

"We?"

"My family and I," Bella said, pausing when she realized what she'd said. "I'm human, but my family are vampires. There are more vampires on the way and they're going to kill you if you don't let us help you."

The group exploded into laughter, most of them seemed to be in their late twenties and early thirties as they huddled around a large area filled with candles.

"Next you're going to tell me that a leprechaun is going to steal all my money."

"Or a witch is going to suffocate us all in our own clothes."

"Or the faerie princess is going to gnaw off my balls."

Bella was close enough to hear the growling coming from behind her, and she knew this would have to be a show and tell.

"Fine, maybe this will make you understand . . ."

A breeze moved past her and into the light, as it stopped beside her, she saw there was a noticeable bend in the shotgun barrels. Beside her, Edward stood with his teeth fully exposed, and Bella finally saw why they smiled the way they did. The teeth fully exposed make them look like predators. Sinister and lethal.

The women screamed and the men made a small wall in front of them as though protecting them. Bella almost had to fight to stop her eyes from rolling.

"Listen to me. There are two types of vampires out there. One like my family–" She'd said it again. "And another predatory kind that will kill ruthlessly. Believe me, I lost my best friend to them. Now you have a choice, you let us protect you and listen to what we're telling you, or you ask us to leave."

The guy with the bent shotgun dropped it to his side and watched her with eyes full of fear. She could see which preference he'd choose, but his eyes darted to the men around him who seemed unsure.

"And if we ask you to leave?"

"Death is imminent," Alice answered for Bella, stepping forward to Edward's other side. "We can save your lives. You just have to trust us, and you have to get rid of the damn guns. They're useless."

"And you?" One of the women asked, leaning around a man who Bella presumed was her husband. "Why do you trust them? You're like us, I can see the differences."

"Because they saved my life the same way they're about to save yours. I owe them my life and I trust them with it. The question is will you?"

"Six minutes," Alice said in an outward sigh.

"What happens in six minutes?" asked shotgun, waving the useless weapon along the three of them that were stood in the light.

"The other vampires arrive," Jasper replied stepping forward with Esme, Carlisle, Garrett and Emmett. "We can show you how to protect yourselves, but we don't have enough time."

Bella watched with wide eyes as three of the men looked to one another. There was one shrug, and the rest nodded.

"You can leave."

. . .

Idiots! Jasper thought, disgusted with the small contingent of humans stood like herded sheep in front of him. They were going to be lambs to slaughter with their useless weapons and bad attitudes. Bella had done beautifully with her speech, she'd been nervous with the gun pointed at her, but she'd managed to give a good argument.

He understood their fear and disbelief, he understood that they'd grown up thinking that vampires were a fallacy, but they were being faced with seven of them and they still weren't willing to accept the truth.

"Four minutes," Alice said, her body twisting into the lithe line of a panther. Her eyes were lingering on every door leading to where they were. They even turned skyward to the glass dome that was above them. "They're spreading out, can you hear that?"

Jasper could hear them. There were gentle scratches on the outside of the building and soft footfalls that were disturbing the pebbled asphalt roof of the mall. The humans were too exposed in the middle of the mall like this, and he wouldn't let Bella die for these fools.

If they wouldn't listen to reason, then he was going to get them somewhere safe and protect Bella. She'd done everything she could and if they wouldn't listen there wasn't much more they could do about that. The thought of Bella having to listen to the humans being slaughtered made his frozen heart clench in his chest. He would have saved her that if he could have, but they were trapped and surrounded on all four sides.

"We have to get to the furniture store," he finally said to no one in particular. "If they won't help themselves, we have to get somewhere safe until the storm blows over. We're cornered."

Edward, hold your breath and grab Bella. Get her to the store now!

Edward nodded, his arms going around Bella and pulling her up. Jasper could feel the shock rolling from her, but she didn't fight, she knew her life depended on it. He led the way with the armful of candles and the actual welder's blowtorch he'd found and led the way around the group in a wide arch toward the furniture store that was less than fifty feet behind them.

"Hey, where are you going?" one of the women called, her hands on her hips.

"Saving ourselves," Esme said gently, following the others. "If you chose not to live that's up to you, but we have a family to look after."

"We told you to leave," someone screeched as Edward dumped Bella on her feet and moved around the darkened store blocking the doors with couches and beds. Emmett started helping the moment he was inside, while Bella stood at the door her pity rolling in waves.

"Too late," Jasper said, turning to face them. "They're here, and you have no choice unless you get your asses in here now. They will hunt you for sport, they'll kill you slowly. It's what they do."

One of the younger women broke off from the group and sprinted toward the store and Jasper. Her fear rolling from her as she slid past him and into the darkness of the only safety they could provide. It seemed out of the group, she was the only one with any sense whatsoever.

"Alice how long?"

"A minute," she called from inside. Her eyes rising to meet his before they settled on the woman that was grabbing the other end of the couch she was hauling out of the way.

"Thirty seconds and we're locking you out," Jasper called gravely, wishing he could offer more. He wanted to spare Bella this. The humans, though important, were not as important as Bella and what she was feeling in that moment. Fear, anxiety, regret and confusion swirled around her in a maelstrom. It coagulated the air around her with a tangy emotion that seemed to lick into Jasper's body.

Dammit. He didn't want her to have to go through this again.

There was a crash above them. Shards of glass fell from the ceiling and littered the ground between the furniture store and the group. Reality was like a lightening rod, slamming down in the middle of the group as they shielded themselves from the falling fragments. Without looking up or wasting another second on deliberation, the group moved as one unit, sliding across the glass and into the store like a herd of cattle. Their emotions were like a tidal wave that knocked Jasper back and out of their way.

The moment they were inside, the door was shut and furniture began piling in front of it. Locking them all inside together as the vampires inside tracked the movements of those outside.

Jasper swung around and made his way to Bella who was already digging through her bag to find what she needed. Her emotions were still rolling like a storm, but she was more focused, her single mindedness and resolution eclipsing anything else boiling under the surface. Jasper gave her a short whistle in the darkness and she looked up, her eyes blank as she tried to see where the sound came from. With the doors closed it was just them and darkness, and he knew she couldn't fight like that.

"Bella. Lighter."

With a frown of concentration she dug in her pockets, found it and held it above her head with two fingers. Jasper used it quickly placing scented votive Yankee candles throughout the store on any hard surface he could find. After seeing the set up of the humans at least he knew where most of the larger candles had gone. It was beginning to smell like an ocean bake-off, but it was all he had, and he needed Bella to have the advantage of light.

Oddly, the light seemed to ease the rest of the humans as well, and the stink of fear seemed to reduce into a simmering cesspool of trepidation. As distracting as that was, it was better than the outright fear that had made dread creep into his subconscious.

Without stopping, and shaking off the emotions of the others, Jasper began the process of lighting the bigger blowtorch, which had blessedly come with the tanks he needed.

"What, is that?" Bella asked, her eyes lighting up as the jet of blue flared after Jasper used the static lighter to ignite it.

"This is a welders torch," he grinned at her over the glow of the flame.

"Yes, it is," she said back, her eyes flickering to the doors that were being shaken loudly from the outside. "Now all I need is my axe."

"Emmett," Jasper called, looking across the store at his brother. "Axe."

With a flick of his wrist, he threw it across the store causing a couple of gasps to come out of the humans that were huddled together close to a clump of furniture that had been pushed out of the way. Jasper almost laughed at them. They were all older, and yet they were watching this young girl readying to fight off a horde of bloodthirsty vampires. Bella looked like a warrior in the buttery light of the candles, her determination worn like a badge of honor as she settled her tools into place for easy access.

It said a lot about whom the humans were. The men were so volatile when she'd appeared, yet they too were mixed in with their woman as they watched the family move into place to protect them. It truly would have been a slaughterhouse if they'd stayed out there in protest. Sadly it wasn't sense that had driven them into the furniture store, it was fear and the instinct to seek shelter from the coming storm.

Jasper caught the axe easily and set it at Bella's feet with a wink. He stayed close by. He wanted to make sure he had her back if she needed him. The family seemed to slow their movements as the furniture began rattling with the door. The vampires were seconds from entering.

Crouched low, Jasper's lips peeled back from his gums as he trained all of his consciousness on what was coming. His muscles twitched in a predatory way as an ottomon came tumbling from top of a pile. Every part of his body was primed ready for use, his limbs humming as he released the part of himself that relished in a good fight. As more shaking slipped the furniture free, he caught the red eyes of the bastard that had wasted no time infiltrating the place. With a growl, Jasper sprung on a roar.

Authors Note: Bit of a transitory chapter, still, Bella has what she needs, and we've established that the humans are hard headed fidiots that obviously don't know what's best for them lol! In all honesty though, I don't think I would have reacted until Edward's little demonstration of barrel bending lol!

Thank you so much for reading and adding to alerts and favorites, and of course for the reviews. You guys are seriously amazing and I have no words that express my thanks in the way I would like to. Pathetic for a writer, bahahaha. I guess I am better with fiction than I am reality ;) Seriously though you guys are amazing and I love you all!

Hev99 and Sabi'sSookie. Y'all are the best friends a girl could ask for and I wouldn't know what I would do without y'all in my life! I love you both so much! You are so supportive and wonderful and talented and Yeah... I could go on lol! Love you guys!

MWAH!