Hey! Back again! This chapter is dedicated to Becky-Twilight Luver 4 Eva for prompting me to get off my butt (figuratively) and get this written. And, drum roll please… this is the LAST CHAPTER!!! (there is an epilogue though) So I hope you like it…
Bella's PoV
I woke up to the soft touch of early sunlight falling on my face and the feeling of Edward's fingers tracing gently up and down my spine. For a long moment I just lay there, still, not wanting to break the bliss.
"I know you're awake," Edward murmured, his voice like a caress. I just smiled.
"So what if I am?" I retorted, matching his voice for softness. Edward chuckled, the sound seductive.
"Well, now you've woken up I thought maybe we could pick up where we left off last night…" he hooked his fingers beneath my jaw and pulled my face up to meet his lips. I gasped involuntarily before pressing my lips back against his to return the kiss with just as much passion, my hands tangling in his hair. Memories of last night were playing themselves against my close eyelids. The burning look in his eyes, the feel of his hands pressing me ever tighter against him, the sound of our breaths coming harder and faster, the two sounds merging into one.
I pulled my head away, in dire need of air, and met Edward's gaze again. I couldn't keep the smile off my face. Everything I was feeling right now was completely irrepressible. Beyond ecstasy.
"I love you." He told me.
"I know," I whispered back, "Now more than ever, I know that. I love you so much."
And just then it didn't matter to me that we were probably about to die. Because to feel this way… well, it was worth it, worth dying for. One couldn't expect to receive something like this and not have to pay a price for it. And I didn't mind giving up everything, just to have had last night.
***
When we returned to the others, I was surprised really by how little time had passed. The light falling on our little clearing was still that of the very first rays of the day. It was beautiful, that light. Perfect and golden. Kind of like the shades you would expect to see in heaven. But maybe my mood was making me see things that way.
Rose and Emmett were sat with their arms around each other on the riverbank. Jasper was holding Alice in his arms again, she seemed to be peacefully asleep, which made me feel relieved even though I hadn't realised I had been worrying still. Everyone appeared to be in their own little worlds.
Rosalie raised her head to look up at us. She smiled but didn't say anything before turning back to Emmett. I was pleased that for once he didn't seem to feel the need to ruin the moment by saying something completely inappropriate.
I felt Edward step away from me. I followed him over to Jasper. Close up I could see the strain on my friend's face. He looked worn down.
"How is she?" Edward asked quietly.
"She's okay right now." Jasper answered, his voice hoarse with exhaustion. "But she's in a lot of pain when she's awake. And she can't move that leg at all. She's not recovering."
Edward bowed his head. "There's nothing we can do." He said bleakly. I could feel tears pricking at the backs of my eyes now. How did euphoria turn to grief so fast?
Then divine intervention occurred.
I turned my face up towards the sky and tried to fight back the tears. They came anyway and started to stream down the sides of my face. I shut my eyes in slow agony. Took a long deep breath to try and strengthen myself. Then I reopened my eyes and turned my face back towards the scene that was hurting me so much. But my eyes stopped before they reached Alice again. They stopped on the two figures just visible between the foliage.
I screamed.
I really should have been leaping into the air with elation but it took me so off-guard to see two other human beings out in this remote spot that I couldn't contain my startled cry.
Edward leaped to his feet with a curse. I heard Emmett shout something too but I was oblivious to the meaning.
"Angela…?" I whispered barely able to believe it. She grinned at me. The tall man stood beside abruptly strode out of the trees at this point to crouch by Alice's side.
"Hey! Get away from her!" Edward yelled aggressively, taking a step towards the man, who, now that I could see him better, I realised couldn't be much older than we were.
"No," Angela said quickly, stepping forwards, "Nahuel's here to help, he's not going to hurt her." Nahuel crouched down beside Alice and reached out for her bitten ankle, ignoring Edward's wary gaze.
"She was bitten by a snake two nights ago." Jasper whispered. Nahuel was nodding.
"It looks like she was bitten by a viper. Probably a Gaboon Viper." He was murmuring to himself.
"Who is this guy?" Rose asked me in a carrying whisper, I turned to see her staring at him with wide eyes.
"He found me in the jungle," Angela said quickly, "when I thought I was completely lost. And then he found your tracks and brought me to you." She smiled as she finished.
"He followed our tracks?" Rosalie stated dumbfounded.
"It's easier to do than you think." Nahuel said quietly from his position on the ground.
"What's a Gaboon Viper?" Edward demanded at the same moment that Jasper asked, "Can you save her?"
"A Gaboon Viper is the largest form of viper," he answered without looking up, "it comes out to feed at evening and is almost impossible to see against the ground. It has the biggest fangs you will probably ever see. And yes, I think I can save her." As he said this last he looked up to meet Jasper's worried gaze, his own deadly serious.
"How?" Jasper breathed.
"I will need your help. I can give her something that slows the venom's progress through her blood. But it will not cure her; we need to get her out of here as soon as possible. Without an antidote I can't save her, only buy you more time." He spoke very quickly now.
"What do you need?" Edward demanded.
"I need certain plants to make the mixture that she needs to drink to combat the venom. But you wouldn't be able to recognise them. I need you all to stay right here and prepare yourselves to start trekking again as soon as I return. You're very deep in the jungle, we have an impossible distance to make in very little time if your friend is going to survive." He held Edward's gaze for a long moment before leaping to his feet and racing off into the trees in the direction he had come.
A stunned silence pervaded the clearing after his departure. Finally I found my voice again.
"Angela, what happened? Where's Demetri?"
Angela turned her head away from me. But not before I caught the gleam of tears in her eyes.
"Oh Ange, I'm so sorry." I breathed, stepping over to pull her into a hug.
"It was so horrible." She whispered into my shoulder as I held her. I patted her back for a long moment before she pulled away.
"I thought I was going to be stuck in this jungle to die all alone," she went on, her voice not quite steady. "But then Nahuel arrived and he told me he was going to rescue us all. I thought he was an angel at first." She gave a shaky chuckle.
"Who exactly is he?" Emmett asked now. "How come he's out here all alone and how does he know how to track and cure snake bites and all that stuff? He seems too good to be true."
"I know," Angela agreed, but with a soft smile lighting up her face. "But he told me that his people have lived alongside the jungle for hundreds of years. He's grown up knowing all this stuff. He said most of his people don't come in here much anymore, and none as far as this, they all just live in their village and have ordinary jobs now. But he likes coming here to be by himself. He knows it so well that he's not at all scared of getting lost; he knows he could survive in here fine until ever he wants to find his way out."
"Wow, you really couldn't have met anyone better Angela." Rosalie said.
"I know," Angela said again, "He's wonderful." Rose and I exchanged significant glances. It sounded like Angela was smitten.
***
Nahuel came back quicker than I expected. He had his arms full of various things which he immediately set about preparing. When he was done he had created a kind of thick liquid. Alice was still unconscious and not showing any signs of stirring. Nahuel indicated that he needed Alice to swallow the mixture. Edward didn't look very happy about this but he let Jasper and Nahuel manoeuvre it down her throat. Jasper just seemed desperate to grasp on to any form of hope for his love.
As soon as she had swallowed it Nahuel was urging us up onto our feet. We were all ready, and so we set off immediately, following Nahuel back into the deep jungle.
He didn't seem to be following any kind of path or looking for any sort of landmarks to place himself with, he just kept moving doggedly onwards never wavering from his path. He moved very quickly and it was a struggle for us to keep up with him. He wove and ducked through the trees as if he could find his way through them unscathed even if he was blindfolded.
The quick pace was tough on me. I fell a lot.
I was surprised by Jasper's fortitude. I'd always known what a strong character he was but he'd already surpassed everything I'd thought a human being capable of going through. Now, despite carrying Alice's weight in his arms still, he walked almost as quickly as our guide. He was the only one of our group who showed no signs of struggling to keep up.
Several hours had passed and I guessed that we were a little past midday judging by the heat when the first thing happened. Alice woke up.
She was groggy and disoriented at first, just mumbling and turning her head with fluttering eyelids. It was enough to bring Jasper to a standstill though.
"Alice?" he gasped sounding almost as if he didn't dare to believe it.
"Jazz?" she murmured back, struggling to open her eyes. "Where are we? Are we going home?"
"Yeah, angel, we are. We're gonna get you to safety. Don't worry about anything; we're going to be alright."
Alice managed to smile up at him.
"We can't stop," Nahuel said quietly. So we started off again.
With every passing minute Alice seemed to improve. She became more alert and aware of where she was. She started questioning us on what had happened while she was out. The only thing that didn't improve was her strength; she remained just as weak in Jasper's arms as she had been this morning. That didn't stop her talking however. She chattered almost as much as old times while she was carried through the jungle at breakneck speed. The only problem was the no one had enough breath to answer her.
***
The hours passed on and daylight began to fade when Nahuel finally stopped.
"Why are we stopping?" Edward immediately demanded, his breathing still quite hard. "Can't we carry on through the night? You said we don't have enough time."
"Yes we can keep going in the dark. Or at least I can. But you all have been walking for days without any food or proper rest. We need to stop now for a little while unless you want to collapse halfway through the night." Nahuel said firmly.
I wanted to argue but I knew he was right. I had never felt so exhausted in my entire life. I was so hungry I didn't even feel it any more, just a sick empty feeling instead. Every muscle in my body was aching unbearably, as was my head. I thumped down to the ground heavily and instantly regretted it. I didn't feel like I'd be able to get back up on my feet now.
The others were flopping down around me too. Rosalie looked green again. Edward seemed on the verge of arguing with Nahuel before he sighed heavily and slowly lowered himself to the ground beside me, conceding defeat.
"How much further?" Jasper asked tersely, pulling Nahuel aside. In this last hour Alice had gone quiet again. Her face was white.
"If we can keep up this pace then…" Nahuel hesitated, weighing it up in his head, "maybe tomorrow afternoon. If you can keep up this pace." He seemed doubtful and I knew why. I felt like I was on my last legs. How on earth could I manage the whole night and the rest of tomorrow like this?
"We will." Jasper said firmly. Nahuel shrugged.
"What happens if we don't?" I murmured weakly. Nahuel turned to look at me. He sighed.
"I'm not sure. It depends on Alice. If we don't make it tomorrow but make it the day after then she might be able to last that long but I'm not making any guarantees. Maybe she will maybe she won't. We just have to try and do it as fast as we can to minimise the risk that…" he trailed off.
I closed my eyes heavily. Everything rested on such a small chance that we could do the impossible. Well, we'd have to do it that's all. I'd already come to realise that people could cope with much more than I previously thought humanly possible on this trip. We'd just have to prove ourselves again…
We eyes fluttered open heavily. I'd dosed off. Wow, I must have been tired. I glanced around; all the others were asleep too. Except our inexhaustible guide. He was sat upright and alert, his head cocked as if listening to something no on else could hear.
"Nahuel…" I started but he held up a hand signalling silence. He continued to listen.
"Do you hear that?" he whispered back to me. I shook my head listening with all my might. But I still heard nothing but jungle sounds. "It sounds like an engine," he breathed. I sucked in a breath sharply. My first thought was one of panic as I pictured James before I remembered that he was dead.
"A car?" I hissed. Nahuel leapt to his feet and bounded off through the trees towards the sound. I scrambled up hot on his heels.
This time I didn't find it hard to keep up with him despite the fact that he was running flat out. Adrenaline spurred me on. Somehow I managed not to trip either.
We flew through the trees, a wild hope gripping my limbs. And then we stumbled out onto what was a very overgrown almost completely submerged track between the trees. Nahuel stood in its centre staring down the road. And then I heard it too. It definitely sounded like an engine and it was heading towards the direction we'd been going in, coming out of the jungle's heart.
It rumbled into sight through the greenery. A jeep! My knees went weak with relief, my head swam. And I passed out.
***
I awoke quite soon after. I looked up into a pair of kind, warm brown eyes. I blinked.
"How are you feeling, my dear?" a voice that matched the eyes for kindness spoke. I struggled to sit up and a pair of hands gripped my upper arms to help me. I was lying in the back of the jeep and a woman sat beside me. She had long caramel coloured hair woven into a plait down her back and such a gentle expression that it almost moved me to tears.
"I'm Esme. My husband, Carlisle, has gone with your friend to find the rest to your group and bring them back here. We're going to drive you straight out of here."
This was too much for me; the tears came for real now.
"Oh, my poor thing." Esme said in her beautifully caring voice. She pulled me into her arms. "It's all okay now. You don't have to worry anymore. You must have been through so much. But it's over now. You're safe now."
She let me cry into her arms until I pulled myself together. I leant back wiping my eyes and smiling ruefully at how emotional I was behaving.
Esme hesitated and then asked what she must have been dying to ask the whole time. "How did you all end up out here?" she said concern colouring her tone.
I smiled sadly and began to tell her the whole long, sad story.
I'd only reached the part where we had to run from the camps on Edward's warning when the others showed up. They were in the middle of telling the tale too. Edward instantly jogged over to the jeep and pulled me into a tight hug.
"Can you believe this?" he whispered into my ear. "It's like a miracle. First Nahuel and now this! And this man Carlisle is a doctor as well, he says he has an antidote for Alice!"
I looked up into Edward's bright green eyes and saw tears shining in them, mirroring my own. There weren't enough words in any language to truly describe what all this meant to us right then. I think Emmett summed it up best however.
"Wow," he said, "the nightmare's really over."
Aww a happy ending after all! Doesn't that make you feel all warm inside, my lovely readers? It does to me anyhow and I knew this was coming!
There is an epilogue which will be up tomorrow, I promise! Brace yourselves for lots of fluff ;-)
I always find endings very, very, VERY hard to do so it would mean the world to me if you could just leave a little comment on how you felt when reading this chapter. Not very subtle hinting I know.
Love you all!
xxx