Control

Bella:

I glanced down quickly at the simple mother-of-pearl and silver watch Edward had given me for my first vampire birthday. It was 3:15 am, so we had 20 hours and 45 minutes left, to decide what to do- until they would kill Nessie unless we handed over the wolves.

"Bella, we are perfectly willing to go and see what they want, maybe they just want to talk," Same told me reassuringly. I internally scoffed. Looking at the other wolves, they were all nodding in agreement.

It felt like my world was falling apart at the seams, being ripped by these creatures, and there was nothing whatsoever that I could do about it. Edward was the only one that managed to keep it together for now. I clung onto his hand, and he rubbed soothing circles on the back of my hand with his thumb. He was tense with stress and anxiety- I could tell.

"Do you see anything, Alice?" I quietly asked my pixie-like step-sister. She closed her eyes, and put her palms against the sides of her face. As she worked harder she regained the same expression as earlier when she was looking for Nahuel. The struggle was obvious on her face. I knew she loved Nessie like a daughter, and was trying so hard to help.

Suddenly, both Edward and Alice gasped at the same time, and Alice's eyes flew open, disbelief etched across her features. In another quick moment they were having a conversation so fast even I had to focus to hear it.

"Around twenty... maybe more..." Alice stated.

"It can't be them, there is no way! They have never come across into these lands!" Edward almost shouted back. The scepticism was obvious in his tone, but worry was also there too.

"What else could they be?" Alice replied softly. "They were standing in the light of the full moon on St. Ben' Beach, and they were unlike any type of wolf I have ever seen. Plus-" Carlisle cut her off.

"Please tell us. What are they?" Carlisle asked hastily. Alice and Edward replied at the same time, in the same monotone voice I used all those years ago, telling Jake the Volturi were after us.

"The Children of the Moon."

Nobody spoke.

Nessie:

With shaky fingers I pulled a hair-tie from the pocket of my jeans. I scrunched my bronze curls into a loose ponytail, it was tender at the roots from where Jack had pulled it when they kidnapped me, and full of leaves and dirt. My mouth felt dry, and my throat burned faintly. I knew I would have to bring up the fact I was getting thirsty soon, but how would they react? I had no idea.

Ben was sitting a few meters away from me, and I could hear something approaching... lots of heartbeats, but it didn't smell human. It was wolfy again, but completely different to Jake's scent, sharper and not as warm.

Jack, Matt and Charlie broke through the trees into the clearing, followed by a large group of dishevelled looking humans. I realized they were the source of the wolfy smell. I counted to find 21 humans, and they all had the exact same trace-like expression. Their ages ranged from teenager, to adult, but there was something else that made them look all alike, it was their eyes. They were all slanted and canine looking, just like the super vampires'.

"Sit." Matt barked the order, and they all obediently sat on the forest floor, 10 meters away from me. The super vampires laughed, and Matt, Charlie and Jack came to sit with Ben.

The humans sitting down didn't talk, they were completely silent, and it was very unnerving. If I hadn't been able to see their chests' rise and fall to show they were breathing, or hear their hearts, I would assume they were dead.

"Who are they?" I asked, my curiosity taking over my terror for my captors.

"Reinforcements," Jack grinned, whilst baring his fangs menacingly, "Just in case your little friends aren't as compliant as we told them to be."

"But they're just human!" I blurted out, "there is no way they could defeat wolves or vampires!" I was so scared, maybe there was a reason they had all these... humans here. Slowly, Matt stood up and walked over to where I sat. He crouched down so he was eye level with me. Then he slapped me round the face.

"You haven't seen this world the way we see it, and what goes on out there. There are things much more terrifying than us and these guys here. You will never understand just exactly how much trouble you are in right now. I wouldn't be making anymore comments from now on if I were you, okay?" Matt grabbed my face so I was forced to look at him as he snarled each word at me. He pulled his hand away and stormed off to sit with the others again. He snickered when he looked over again. Jack and Charlie were smirking, but Ben was acting as if nothing had happened.

I turned away from their mocking expressions. My eyes welled up, and eventually the tears spilled down my cheeks. My sobs came out sounding pained and strangled; I felt the tender mark where Matt has slapped me. I closed my eyes tightly, away from the pale pink light that was shimmering faintly through the dark canopy, signalling dawn. I prayed sleep would take me soon.

In my dream I was walking alone in the forest, and bright light was filtering through the trees above me. A rustle on the edge of the small clearing I was in caught my attention, and I turned to see what it was.

A reddish-brown wolf was walking towards me, its deep black eyes gazing into mine, but it wasn't just any wolf, it was my wolf. Jacob. My heart leaped as he phased to human form in front of me, but somehow remained in his clothes – his usual sweats.

His dark shaggy hair fell like curtains round his muscular face, and he leant forward, till our noses were almost touching. Our lips were about to meet, when I looked into his eyes again, and jumped back in shock.

They were steely blue.

I took a few more steps backward, to see it was not Jake standing before me, but Ben, with Matt, Charlie and Jack right behind him, all flashing their fangs threateningly. Dark red blood dripped from their fangs and claws, down onto the dirt, and suddenly blood covered the forest floor. Blood seeped from the decaying bodies from the remaining 13 wolves, with Jacob right at my feet. This was no dream.

This was a nightmare.

Bright light against my eyelids brought me back into consciousness. It must be late morning, I decided after a quick glance at the position of the sun through the trees. Gladly, I felt myself again, I couldn't feel the poison in my veins anymore. I ran my hands quickly through my greasy hair, pulling out leaves and dirt, trying to make it look a little more normal.

Looking around me, I saw I was alone. No supervampires, no 'reinforcements', no-one. Tentatively I stood up, stretching the muscles in my legs, which had been cramped up for too long. It felt like bliss.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of brown fur and my heart went into overdrive. I spun round only to see a young bear cautiously walking through the clearing, just in the shadow of the trees. It didn't seem to have noticed me. My breath came out in a huff of relief; my nightmare was still fresh on my mind.

Without thinking about it, I sprang for the young bear. It wheeled round in surprise. But crazy with thirst, I greedily gulped down the blood. I pushed the empty body from me, I felt much stronger now. But still nowhere near strong enough.

But was I fast enough? Could I run, now I was alone?

"Going somewhere?" A voice asked dryly from behind me. I was crouching in the edge of the undergrowth, deliberating on where to run. I turned to see Ben staring at me in amusement, his arms folded across his chest, and the claw like talons splayed menacingly. I could almost picture the red dripping from them.

"I was just…uh… thirsty…" I mumbled. I straightened up from my crouch and shuffled over to sit by the same tree as before. Ben chuckled dryly, and followed my movements with his steely eyes. I avoided his gaze as much as possible, it was… unsettling.

"Not long now." Ben muttered darkly. His voice was ominous; it made me scared of what he was talking about. I had to ask though.

"Until what?"

"Your death," he told me casually, as if he was telling me the time or her favourite colour. I gawped at him in shock. "That is, unless your friends pay up. If they give us no trouble you will be back home with your family." Home. Family. These words sounded so good to me, like the life preservation that stopped me slipping into the blackness of fear. They were the only thing that kept me hanging on to my life. That and Jacob.

"Where… where are the others?" I mumbled.

"They should be on their way soon, they had to hunt."

"Hunt?" I asked fearfully, my voice almost a squeak.

"They aren't mere humans, they are different. And besides, I wouldn't let Matt catch you asking all these questions, if I were you." Ben made it clear we were finished talking on the topic, and I strained my ears to hear some kind of approach through the murky forest.

Then it came. Running. Lots of footsteps getting closer and closer. Ben seemed perfectly relaxed, and by the sheer number of things I could hear running, I assumed it was just the 'reinforcements', Matt, Jack and Charlie. I slumped back against the damp tree trunk.

They all broke through the trees in a huge clump. All the other people were still in that strange silence. Some of their mouths were bloody, and I shuddered at what they could have just eaten. What innocent humans had been taken?

"Mary, Lauren, Chris, Josh," Ben snapped, calling over four of the 'humans' to use the term loosely. One was a beautiful brunette with curly hair, holding the hand of a lighter-brown haired boy. There was also a dark blonde with mad curls tied into a ponytail, and a short redhead boy behind them. Their strides were athletic, fluid. They were obviously ready for a battle. "Mary, is everyone ready for the possible fight tonight?" The brunette was the one that spoke.

"Yes, Ben. We are ready," she told him. Her voice sounded slightly foreign, but was clear and singing. She shot an anxious glance at the boy she was holding hands with. "How many are we against?"

"We are two short of even." Ben replied calmly, "but we have strength on our side so it should be no problem. Worried about Chris?" Ben laughed as he spoke, as if the idea of his pawns for battle having feelings for each other was amusing.

"I am merely worried for my brothers and sisters, it would be a loss to lose any of our number tonight," but as she spoke she glanced at Chris again. The love was clear in her eyes.

"If you say so," Ben chuckled again, and then he was serious. "Go talk with the others," he waved a hand submissively, and the four people moved to the rest of the group. I stared at them with wide eyes.

The supervampires talked in low, hushed voices, and I could occasionally pick out my own name. I tried as best as I could to listen to what they were saying, but to no avail. Only more mumbles, and something about the moon.

I was tracing patterns in the dirt beneath me, arranging the broken ferns into lines, organizing the small stones into colour groups… anything to clear my mind. I didn't want to think about anything now. I was only six years old for crying out loud! This was too much for me. When everything returned to normal I could be with Jacob, just the two of us together. Maybe I could even go to school, make some friends, and have a life! Wait! I had to stop myself. I had to live through tonight first.

A new sound made my head snap up in surprise, as did the scent that went along with it. It was light; fast feet, running through the bush. Ben and Matt got up and snarled together, Jack and Charlie looked uneasy. Now I recognized the scent, I felt like screaming with joy.

Grace.

"Wait. I come here in peace." The voice was so close and unexpected it made me jump. Before I knew it, Matt had his hands around my neck, his claws dangerously close to my jugular. I screamed in panic, but dirty hands clamped down over my mouth before the sound could really escape.

"Where are you?" Ben snarled. He was bent down, almost crouching, spinning in a slow circle as he sniffed the air. Grace must be using her power of invisibility, she must be here to rescue me!

"I would rather not reveal myself until you listen." The voice echoed from the darkness. Jack sprang at where the voice seemed to come from, but he found nothing. The group of people were standing uneasily together, their eyes wary. "Listen to me!" The voice demanded more sternly this time, although it seemed to come from the opposite side of the clearing.

"We will listen," Ben finally said cautiously. And there she was. Her gold hair was in its same short bob, her petite frame as beautiful as ever. It seemed like a lifetime since I'd seen her. She looked over to me and I expected her eyes to be warm and comforting.

I was wrong.

Her glare was cold, her hazel eyes bitter. She turned to Ben.

"I have come to fight with you. I see no way to succeed with the Cullens or my sisters. I have chosen my path and that will be with you." I tried to scream at her through the hand clamped over my lips, but my muffled cry didn't seem to affect her, her gaze as hateful as ever. Ben walked over so they were face to face, and held out his hand, she shook it with a dry smile. "You wouldn't believe how hard it has been to find you, I have been searching for hours." Ben chuckled.

"I guess only one short of even now," Ben laughed, and the others joined in. Matt released me and kicked me to the ground. I curled up in a ball, and for the millionth time in these past few days, I sobbed. I had been betrayed... I felt sick to my stomach.

Bella:

Losing Edward.

Losing Nessie.

Losing Jacob.

Three things I could never let happen. One of which had to happen. If we handed over the wolves there was no way they would come back alive. If we let nothing happen, Nessie would surely be killed... I shuddered at the thought. If we went into battle with these creatures, and their army or Children of the Moon, there was a possibility Edward and many more of my loved ones would be destroyed.

I was losing my grip on reality, on everything. My father was gone, my friends were gone, now I had to pick between my daughter, my best friend, and my husband too? If I could cry, I would curl up into a ball and sob for hours. But I didn't have hours. Dawn was already rising. Like sand in an hourglass, time was running out.

Losing Edward.

Losing Nessie.

Losing Jacob.

Edward and I stayed together, our fingers entwined, we couldn't bear to let go. Everyone was still in a few miles radius, still searching for and hint of a trail, listening for even the tiniest sound. Any indication at all.

Suddenly Edward's head snapped up, and without a word he picked me up in his arms and we ran through the forest. I didn't know where, but I was with Edward. We came to a large oak, where Emma, Helen, Sarah, Hannah and Becky were standing. Their expressions pained.

"Grace is gone," Emma choked out.

"Gone?" I repeated, dazed. Edward let me down but wrapped and arm around my waist. "What do you mean by 'gone' exactly?"

"She has left us. Fighting against... not with. She has turned traitor."