Growing Wings

Twilight Fanfiction

Michiyo Ichimaru

Beta: I Love Edward Cullen 162

Chapter Nineteen

Labyrinth

When we got the news, it looked like I was the only one who was surprised. It came in the form of a hastily scrawled letter, addressed from Sam himself. The wolves were already on the move. It seemed like they were on their way to find us. "In their minds, what we did is high treason… it's only natural that they would come searching after us like this. Hunter's instincts, you know." Emmett said, crossing his muscular arms over his chest. To be honest, I couldn't imagine anyone wanting to come chasing after a strong man like him for any reason.

"And what are we going to do now? I mean… we can't just wait here if they're so intent on hunting us down and striking us." Instinctively I looked at Jasper. After all, he was the strategist in the family as well as the most level-headed and rational. Jasper looked ill at ease for once, but he seemed decided. The rest of the family seemed to be shifting uncomfortably too. I couldn't tell if it was because of Jasper or their own feelings.

Jasper explained the tension. "Ever since this had been decided, we've been… taking measures… to ensure that we'd be safe when this time came. Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie and Emmett completed the preparations while we were in New York." He said, shifting his eyes. "You were still human then, luckily, so… you never would have known. We all tried hard not to bring it up, ever since we learned of your powers. However, now that this is where we stand, it's time to explain it to you." He pulled out a complex blueprint.

"Our greatest weakness to the werewolves is their ability to scatter and make pre-emptive plans in their heads amongst each other. We considered this a great weakness, so we sought to find a way to stop them from being able to effectively use that. The only way is to bring them into an enclosed field that is not only sealed, but large, winding and confusing… a maze of sorts. Our job is to bring them into this place with us and separate them. Because they don't know the layout, their planning will be cut to almost nothing and they will be lost and separated. For us, this is an ideal situation."

I listened carefully, absorbing the plan. From the very beginning it had been very obvious that this would happen. I had only pretended to ignore it for my own sake, wishing that it wouldn't ever come to this. But they had been far ahead of me. They had all been thinking and planning while I had let my guard down completely in New York. Even if I had been human back then, it still made me feel stupid for being helpless once again. Not even my powers had found a trace of the fact they were hiding something important from me…

"Alright, so that's what we do when we get them inside and lock them in, but how do we lead them inside and trap them?" Alice asked, tapping her nail against the table. "Their only thought is to come here to us, where they know we are staying. How do we get them to follow us into our trap? I mean… they aren't completely stupid. They might catch on and realize that something is weird about what we're doing. Then what?" Carlisle and Esme took the floor, standing tall and proud in front of us.

Pointing to the blueprint, they indicated something that looked familiar… "It's underground?!" Alice gasped, blinking a few times to register the shocking news. It seemed like she knew as little as I did about everything after the decision to build this maze.

Carlisle grinned. "More importantly, it's under our house. Therefore, it is nearby and it will be easy for us to ensnare them. Besides… for us, it was easier to work closer to home when we were in construction. Getting them here once they track us won't be a problem. I think it's safe to say we can start planning around that and making a strategy. It probably won't take them long to come to us." Everyone but me seemed to be just as anxious to start planning. I was still a little shocked… and concerned that I might have to come face to face with Jacob, but now in battle.

Instantly Jasper took control again, leading the conversation and planning everything out using his strategically expertise. Alice and Carlisle were going at the entrance… the bait to lead them inside. Most of the responsibility was on Alice, her being the fastest, graceful and agile of us. As soon as they were in, it was Esme's job to lock the front entrance when Carlisle and Alice both got in. Emmett, Rosalie and Jasper were waiting at the first cross section, ready to split up the group and start individual fight to confuse the opponents. Edward and I were the furthest in, ready to fight and separate the remaining groups in the pack.

Strategically it sounded like a solid plan. However, it made me feel very uneasy. It almost felt too sneaky for my liking. The werewolves would definitely fall to a trap like this, and something about that bugged me. They had been planning all this time, strategically going for the win. But the werewolves planned to just duke it out. Honor was on the werewolves' side. Our plan just wasn't fair to them.

"Come on." Edward said, tugging the sleeve of my shirt lightly. "Let's go see it then." Smiling the best I could, I nodded and followed them as Jasper led the way to the entrance. The entrance was a short drop down on an angle. Beneath the rug, the door was a metal-barred gate that swung open to the left. Esme showed us how to unlock it. After all, controlling the door was her first job in Jasper's plan. The lock had been designed in a unique way. Unless you knew the lock personally, there was no way you'd be able to open it.

Again, I got that uneasy feeling that told me I didn't like this… it was too unfair. Esme opened the gate and Jasper beckoned us to go down into the labyrinth with him. Edward motioned for me to go in front of him. He was being overly protective of me again, but this time, I really didn't want to go before him. I didn't want to go at all. Dropping down into the entrance, I felt my legs expertly hit the floor and balance myself immediately, even though the strange angle should have made it more difficult. Looking around, I gasped softly. I know they could hear me, but I couldn't hold it back.

It was a dark abyss. The only light came from candles on the walls every ten or so feet. Because we were underground, I could feel the chill wash over me. A few places there were holes where moisture dripped down through the clay-colored stone and brick they used to build up the walls, floor and ceiling. But it wasn't just the actual look of the place. I felt all the uncertainty I had hit me in an emotional form. This place echoed eerie feelings from my own heart. Locked up in this place… I knew I wouldn't be able to escape the things I didn't want to see or hear anymore, like I always used to.

This labyrinth would force me to come to terms with all the ugliness I had refused to acknowledge before…

Edward nudged me, and I realized that the group was moving again, deeper inside. I saw the first intersection. Although the divider between the two paths was thin, it was solid enough to stop the werewolves or us from breaking it. Curiously, I wondered how they made it. But I didn't have enough sense to pay attention to the things Carlisle and the others were saying.

Lucky for me, they were too busy explaining to notice how much I had zoned out. Already, thoughts I had tried to block out were making their way in. It was the hardest thing for me to do, imagining my best friend being trapped and cornered down here in this frightening place. No… that wasn't the thing that bothered me the most. Terrible words were ringing in my ears, all pertaining to this… all pertaining to Jacob… In my mind, there wasn't a single doubt left, although there was plenty of despair.

My best friend… would DIE here.

There was no way that the Cullens would lose. And since neither side seemed willing to make an agreement, there was no other choice, no other way. Even worse, it was going to happen TONIGHT. The last words I shared with him weren't that of a friend… his last memory of us together… I didn't want it to be something like that. Yet, that was it… there was no more "us", as friends or anything. Like he had tried to convince me once, now we were just natural enemies, sworn to fight each other until the end, and tonight was the end for us. Nothing more to say, no more cards to play; it was over.

Nervously, I reached for the wooden wolf charm that he gave me. I had always fidgeted with it before I had been changed. And I just wanted to feel some sort of connection to the old days, now.

But that was just the problem… things changed, and so had I. Applying the same pressure as I had before as a human, I accidentally snapped off the poor wolf's neck. Staring at the head-less wolf on my bracelet, I knew this was proof enough. We had become too different since I had been changed. I was too different to keep chasing after dreams of the normal life I wished I could have had, yet refused.

Stepping back, I realized that the only thing to do was accept my change. I had been the one to choose this path. With open arms, I accepted all the possibilities that lie in store for me. Now I had to deal with letting go properly.

No one mourns the wicked…

I wondered if they would mourn the loss of a good person, even if we had to be enemies. Jacob could be my enemy. He could be a lot of things: reckless, stupid, silly, thick-headed… those were only a few of the things he could be. But he could never be someone I thought of as wicked. It just wasn't true of him, and even if I accepted him as my enemy, I would still mourn him for the sake of a good person's life lost. Not my love… no longer my best friend… but a good person, none the less… someone who helped me in a time of need.

That was the only thing I could do, wrapped in the darkness of the labyrinth around me.

A/N: Sorry, writer's block strikes again. . I don't really enjoy talking about Jacob all that much, but it's important to story development. Especially in the next chapter, which will be much longer! Hooray! I already started it. The fight begins! It's going to be exciting so review and I'll try to make the next chapter done this weekend. Well, until next time -

Michiyo Ichimaru