Please don't kill me...I know it's been weeks since I updated, but I'm back, and now is what counts, right?
If anyone cares about the reason why I've been gone so long, I've been SUPER sick. Like, not able to move, sick. I started feeling better about a week ago, but I had finals to study for. Also had a terrible case of writer's block, then my computer got a virus, and to top all that off, I am extremely disappointed with this chapter... Sowwy :(
You all sure know how to cheer a girl up, though. I came on FFN and not only did I get my requested 10 reviews, but I got 8 bonus reviews! The last chapter was the record for the most reviews I've ever gotten for a chapter! Thanks, guys :)
Pinky, I'll have that new drum set for you soon! I guess we'll skip the drum roll for our new honorable reviewer! Who happens to be...*awkward silence due to absence of drums*
.19! Congrats! :D Thanks for the love!
We have a POV from a special person... you're welcome, Claire fans ;)
Don't get confused, people. I put one section in 3rd person just so we could get into Ana's mind without actually getting into her mind because... well, she's a dog. Its not very long, because there's only so much a dog could be thinking...
Alrighty, guys, I'm done talking. Enjoy, as always:)
Claire's POV
My eyes fluttered open as a bright light flashed through my eyes. I couldn't remember a thing about how I had gotten here, or where I was. But the large, empty room set off a red flag that told me I needed to get the hell out.
Everything was so clear. Sharp. Defined. I could see every little speck of dust floating around me, even in pitch darkness. The latent, painless throbbing on my head reminded me of the incident right before... Jenna bit me. She bit me! So... was I a vampire?
I could still feel a lingering tingle left over from the burning sensation I had felt not too long ago. That feeling was undescribable... and I thought getting shots was bad. Did that mean I had been transforming, or was that just the pain of the bite?
I tried to take a look at my arm to see if it was pale, but something bound my arms together behind my back. My fingers searched and felt iron, and something that felt like a thick chain. I started to scream for help, but then realized I was gagged as well.
"-Well I'll check on her, see if she's ready to give me some answers," a high-pitched voice said from outside the door. A slit of light washed into the room and a red-head appeared in the open doorway, smiling gently at me.
"Hello, honey," she said, her voice light and warm. She was definitely a vampire. I didn't say a word- just stared at her with curiosity. Who was she, and what was I here for? She dragged an old wooden chair in front of me and turned it around so it was backwards. She straddled it and rested her head on the edge of the chair's spine. She yanked at a string hanging above her and light flooded the room. The light cast down over her head like she was an angel- but it was apparent she was anything but an angel.
"How're you feeling?" she asked, looking genuinely concerned. I still remained silent.
"I know what you're thinking," she chuckled. "Why do I care? Well, I'll be your hostess for the remainer of your stay and I want to make sure you're as comfortable as possible." She paused for a while, then asked, "Are you going to say anything?" I rolled my eyes- did she not see that I was gagged?
"Of course," she said with a giggle. "I've just got a lot on my plate right now. My thinking's a little clouded..." She gingerly untied the gag and dropped a thick rope at my feet.
"Sorry I had to do that. I knew you'd probably be scared and we didn't want to create a scene. This little place of ours is a secret, you know." She put a finger to her lips and winked at me. I was not amused.
"So, anyway, think of me as you cool sorority house mother. I'm your friend." She waited for me to say something, and I didn't.
"So how do you enjoy life as a vampire? It's quite different, isn't it? No worries, you'll get used to it." I kept my mouth closed.
"Are you gonna keep playing these games with me, Blondie?" she asked, in a voice less sweet and sugary. A corner of my mouth lifted into a half-smile- I knew she wasn't as irritatingly sweet as she seemed. She wanted something from me and I knew it. If she was gonna play games by trying to play the good guy, then I was gonna keep my mouth shut.
"Alright, let's cut the crap," she said with a sigh, leaning forward. "You have some knowledge that I need, and I want you to tell me everything you know."
"Depends," I said, as if I were contemplating. I knew I wouldn't tell her squat, but it was fun to play the interrogation game.
"What do you know about Renesmee?" As soon as the words came out of her mouth, there was a sharp pain in my chest. What was she asking about her for? Whatever reasons she had, this crazy red-head chick didn't seem like the right person to be spilling the beans to. I may have hated Renesmee, but I never wanted to see her get hurt, especially because of me.
"I have no idea who that is," I lied, looking directly into her eyes. You could always get away with a lie that way. She stared at me for a while, her eyes concentrated little slits, and I stared right back fearlessly.
"Are you kidding? You can't use the lying stare on me- I invented that before you were even born."
"What in the world are you talking about?" I asked in mock confusion. She shook her head at me.
"You're a smart girl, Claire. I know you are. I've been watching you, and I see a lot of myself in you, I must admit. I know a lot about you. But you don't know anything about me. So I will warn you, sweet cheeks- I have a very low tolerance for bullshit, and a very short temper. Give me the answers I need, and we won't have any problems. We clear?"
"Crystal," I said, shooting her a huge fake smile. I didn't let her know that I was kinda wierded out that she knew my name and said she'd been, "watching me."
"Good. Now, I will ask again. What do you know about Renesmee?"
"Who?" I asked like an idiot, cocking my head to the side like a puppy. I really wasn't afraid of her, no matter how much she tried to scare me. She chuckled a little, putting her head down. I expected her to raise it and have steam shooting from her nostrils and flames in her eyes, but she looked calm.
"You're funny, kid. But funny's not gonna keep you alive." I shrugged indifferently, causing her to sigh. "Okay, here's the deal. You tell me what I want to know, and I keep you alive. If you don't, I'll have to kill you. It's really a win-win situation for me, sweetie."
"How so?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You tell me what I need, and I have extra knowledge on what's going on so I'm better prepared. You don't tell, and you'll make a wonderful hostage. So either way benefits me. The only question is, what benefits you? You can not tell me and stay here and starve while you wait for me to kill you, or tell me and join us. C'mon, kiddo. You'd be perfect. You could even be my partner in crime. You sure are smart enough. You'd be the perfect sidekick. I have bigger plans after winning this war, if you know what I mean. And I've always wanted a daughter."
My heart fluttered when I heard that. Could this woman possibly be like a mother? A mother who'd actually love me? I could see it now- both of us together, arm in arm, taking over the vampire world. She could teach me everything I needed to know, and we'd be in charge.
But I shook that thought away immediately. I had no idea who this person was and what she was planning to do, and she was threatening me.
"C'mon, Claire," she urged. "I know that you know something. And I know you feel the burning in your throat." As soon as she said that, I swallowed and the burning feeling came back again. My throat felt like it was being engulfed in flames.
"I can help you out. All you have to do is tell me what you know. Two choices, hon. Choose." I glared at her for a while, then a light bulb went off in my head.
"Okay. I'll tell you everything you need to know-"
"I knew you'd come to your senses," she said, smiling.
"Wait. I'm not done. I'll tell you everything I know if you tell me what's going on and why you want to know." She raised a dark eyebrow.
"And you'll tell me everything?"
"Pinky promise," I said solemnly, and tried to raise a hand, but I was still bound together.
"I'll take your word for it," she said, watching my arm tug at the chain. "I like you, kid. You're smart. Keep this up and we can be really good friends."
"Mhm," I said, nodding.
"You first." I stared at her for a bit, wondering if this was a good idea. She folded her arms across her chest and leaned back a bit.
"I'm waiting." I tried to think of a way to stall for time so I could make something up. I thought of nothing. "Well?" she asked impatiently. I sighed; there was nothing I could do now. I told her everything I knew about Nessie- her power, her limits as a half-breed, her strengths, and much more, most of which I tried to fabricate. Maybe this could work in my favor- if she told me what was going on, maybe I could find some way to help.
"Great, great," she said, grinning and looking off into space. "Thanks, kid." She stood and brushed off stray dust that floated onto her jeans, and headed toward the door.
"Wait, where are you going?" I asked in confusion. "You're supposed to tell me what's going on!"
She waved a dismissive hand. "Awh, nothing special. A little spying, a little fighting, a little killing... the usual." She winked. "You wouldn't mind if you never saw your little buddy Nessie again, would you?" I gaped in surprise. What? "Of course not," she answered for me. "I know all about what she did to you."
"Wait, what do you mean never see her again? Are you gonna hurt her?" I shook and shimmied around on the floor, trying to get at her.
She walked toward me again. "Calm down, Doodle," she said, giving me a smug smile. "You should be proud of yourself. Consider me your friend. Well, at least as long as I'll keep you alive."
"But I thought-"
"You're smart, sweetie. But not as smart as I am. I've gotten all the use I could get out of you. I really don't have a reason to keep you around, now do I?"
"Who are you? Why are you doing this?"
"It's always the same questions," she muttered to herslef, twirling a fiery red piece of hair around her finger and looking at nothing in particular. "Enjoy your last moments... they're always the ones that count, right? You can sit up here and... ponder life, or whatever."
"Don't hurt her!" I screamed. "Don't you dare hurt her! I'll kill you if you put your hands on her!"
"Relax, Blondie. You'll both die together! How does that sound?" she cooed in a voice that would be used while talking to a baby, putting her hands on her knees. She ruffled my hair and walked away, chuckling the whole time.
"Oh, and before I forget," she said, putting a finger against her chin. She reached in her pocket and tossed a familiar object at me. It slid across the floor and landed at my feet with a thud. "Might as well know the truth. You'll be dead soon anyway."
I thought I would burst into tears at the sight in front of me, if it were possible. The cell phone glowed before my eyes, displaying a picture of me and Nessie, when we were still the best of friends. I remembered that day... the same day as Jenna's party. The same day she lost her phone.
"You...told Quil about Kyle?" She nodded as if it were obvious. Nessie was telling the truth all along... I felt horrible immediately. All the things I had said to her... the whole time she had never done a thing. This psycho in front of me had. But why?
"You are a smart one, aren't you?" She stood and looked down at me with a trace of admiration. "Riley'll be here in a day or two to dispose of you." Riley? Riley who was dating Jenna? Who dated Nessie? She must have noticed my eyes bugging out of my head, because nodded and said,"Yes, that's exactly who I mean. That Riley." She walked toward the door and I called out, "Wait!" before she shut it as a light bulb went off in my head. She looked at me with a raised eyebrow.
"I... I guess I can help you out a bit more, if you're gonna kill me. Might as well..." I closed my eyes, then gestured for her to come closer to me as if it were a serious secret. She inched toward me and reached down. I cupped my hands at her ear and whispered what I hoped would be a substantial lie to fix whatever was going on.
"Really," she said, and a sly look covered her face.
"Can I still live?" I asked with false hope, knowing the answer before she replied. She chuckled softly again, then muttered, "Sorry, kid. We've got enough vampires here already. Nice to meet you, though. You're a lovely girl." I raised my arm to flip her off (force of habit), but my hand was still bound.
"Victoria, by the way," she said with a fake smile. She extended her arm for a handshake, then retracted it quickly. "Oh, yes, I almost forgot. You're a little tied up now, aren't you?" She gave a smirk, threw her head back in a maniacal laugh, and left the room, slamming the door behind her.
I mocked her irritating laugh as I tried to scoot closer to the phone. My fingers searched the floor behind me until I got a firm grasp on it.
I had a very important phone call to make.
3rd person POV
Ana layed sprawled across the seat next to the window sill in the living room, watching intently. She had insisted on going with Nessie to ensure her safety, but she had been instructed to stay home and wait for her. So that's what she planned on doing. Emily sat with her for a while, giving her a few leftovers and stroking her back, but she had laundry to do and "it wasn't going to fold itself."
But even if Ana were human and had normal things to do like laundry, it probably wouldn't distract her from making sure her Nessie came back safe and sound. She was beginning to get a little tired, but fought to keep her eyes open as she watched for Nessie's return. She wasn't gonna let anything distract her until she got back. A missing Nessie always equaled an alert Ana.
And then she sensed it. The tingling sensation in her tail. She wasn't sure what it was, but she knew that on the rare occasions she had that feeling, something terrible was about to happen. And the feeling was really strong.
She let out a bark to try to let someone know that something didn't feel right. Her intuition was on fire right now. But she remained ignored. She barked a second time, then a third.
"Shut up!" Sam called, instantly cutting off her barks. He had come back a few minutes ago to give Emily an update and pick up a snack for himself, but he'd mostly just been irritating Ana.
"Don't yell at her, Sam," Emily pleaded. "She's really worried about Nessie." Ana ignored their banter, the feeling becoming stronger and stronger. She knew something had to be wrong, and she needed to find out.
She hopped from the chair quickly and scratched at the door, usually a quick and easy way to get humans to open it. But Emily giggled and scooped her up under her chest and put her back in the chair. She jumped right back down, a little irritated with Emily. She needed to get outside and find Nessie and save her from whatever danger she was in. But Emily put her right back in the chair again and said," You're a little antsy, aren't you? Nessie's out finding Claire right now- she's fine."
Ana let out a whine, hoping that would let Emily know, but she just went back to the kitchen. She was gonna have to sneak out somehow. She raised herself up on her hind legs in a standing position and rested her paws on the sill. She heaved herself up and clawed at the lock on the window, but it wouldn't budge. She growled in frustration and jumped down, trying to think of what to do. She needed to get out of here, and fast...
She paced in front of the chair, furiously thinking of what to do. She could pretend she had to use the bathroom and run, but Emily would just send Sam after her. She had to do it without anyone seeing her.
She searched for something that could keep Emily occupied for enough time to plan her escape. Her eyes locked on the shiny bowl of chocolates on the coffee table in the living room and immediately formulated a plan. She tiptoed toward the coffee table and put her paws on the clear glass, tightening her stomach muscles and forcing the rest of her body up with all her might.
When she finally was up on the table, she sniffed around in the bowl and winced. She knew she wasn't allowed to eat chocolate, due to the fact that it could kill her, and she was fine with it, because she never found it very appealing. She checked to see if Emily was looking before she put her nose to the edge of the bowl and shoved it, causing it to shatter into pieces on the floor. She felt bad for having to break the bowl, but saving Nessie was more important to her.
She jumped down immediately and put her tongue to one of the many candies that sprinkled the floor, trying to give off the appearance that she would eat it. She knew that Emily would have to move her somewhere else to keep her from eating the small chocolates, and she could have more escape options.
"Oh no!" she heard Emily say, and light footsteps approached. "No!" she said, pushing Ana's face from the candy. Ana shrugged and went on to the next one, so Emily moved her to the couch.
"What was that?" Sam asked angrily.
"Nothing, Sam," Emily assured him. "Ana had a little mishap."
Ana jumped down and pretended like she would eat another chocolate. Emily sighed.
"Sam, will you take Ana into the bedroom? If she stays here, she'll eat something."
"Just keep her on the couch! I don't want her in our room messing up more stuff."
"If she stays in here she could eat more chocolate and get sick. Its all over the floor, Sam. I have to clean this up first." He rolled his eyes and grabbed her by the scruff of her neck, taking her to their bedroom and setting her on the bed.
"Dumb dog," he muttered, closing the door. As soon as he was gone, Ana yelped in joy and hopped off the bed. She smiled at the wide open window in the room. She hopped up to the sill and sniffed the open air, catching a whiff of the smell she long to be with.
She inhaled Nessie's scent and knew she would find her. Nessie was her mother, her owner. Her best friend. And no one lets their best friend get hurt.
Ness' POV
I tried to scream out, fighting and thrashing, but whoever was holding me was unnaturally strong. I couldn't escape. I ignored the husky voice that instructed me to calm down in a hushed tone. It took a while for me to realize who it was.
"Jake?" I cried when he released my mouth, a little louder than necessary.
"Shhhh!" he whispered, waving his hand and gesturing me to come with him. He grabbed my hand and pulled me deeper into the forest, effectively making me happier and happier. He was finally back.
As soon as we stopped, I attacked him with all the force in my body, engulfing him in the biggest hug I could possibly give.
"Whoa, Ness. Calm down. Are- are you crying?" I lifted shaking fingers to my cheek and felt wet tears, and nodded.
"I guess I am. You just don't realize how happy I am, Jake!"
"Me too, Ness. You don't realize how hard it was being away from you for so long."
"Where did you go?"
He winced. "Your mom chased me all the way to Australia. No lie."
"What?" I gaped in surprise.
"She stopped after a few hours, probably 'cause she got thirsty. But I look back once and I could swear her eyes were pure red."
"You're kidding!"
"Nope. She's crazy," he muttered, shaking his head as if that would make the memories vanish.
"No she's not, Jake."
"I know," he said, smiling. "I've known her forever, since we were kids, and I have never seen that side of her. If I didn't run all the time, she probably would've murdered me. She's really protective of you, isn't she?" I nodded and grabbed his hand, and we started to stroll.
"I understand why, though," he said. I looked at him in wonder. "You're all she has, Ness."
"But she doesn't have to treat me like that, Jake. I'm sixteen years old!" He stared at me until I sighed. "Okay, fine. I know I'm not really sixteen. But still..." He squeezed me closer to him again.
"So how did you know we were here?"
"Seth. Read his mind yesterday and ran all the way back. New record- only took me six hours." I gave him a high five and laughed.
"Congrats!" I knew how he was always trying to beat his personal running records.
"So should I take you back home?"
"No!" I said quickly. "I'm kinda on the run from my mom right now..."
He smirked and squeezed my hand. "What a coincidence- so am I." He gave me a sly wink and heaved me onto his back, running deeper into the forest.
"So? Where to, runaway?"
"Where ever you go."
"Well, we can go wherever you want. France, Canada... Australia," he said, laughing.
"How about we stay within the country this time."
"No problem... oh, crap."
"What?"
"I can't phase, or the guys'll read my mind."
"Not a problem. I have no problem with a little bit of thieving." He slowed to a stop and looked at me in disbelief.
"What?"
"Let's steal a car, Jake! C'mon, it'll be fun!"
"Little Miss Perfect wants to break the law."
"What's that supposed to mean? What, you don't think I can be a badass?" He burst out into a fit of uncontrollable laughter.
"Oh, you find that funny?"
He shook his head and chuckled. "Of course! You want to steal a car."
"Why not? I'm already breaking a rule, so what's another?"
He looked at me with wide eyes. "You're absolutely serious?"
"Absolutely," he said, bobbing my head up and down.
"Well, if you're okay with it... let's do it."
...
"Interesting choice in vehicle," I said, tapping the dashboard of the fairly-beaten up car. It reminded me of the truck my mom and I shared at home, but it was a rusty dark blue color. We found it abandoned on a random street, and I didn't have the heart to steal a car that someone would need to use, so we took this one.
"We had no choice. You wouldn't take any other car. It doesn't count as stealing if no one uses it, y'know."
"It does too! I find this very badass."
"If you say so, Ness. It's actually cute when you try to act bad."
"I'm not sure whether to be offended or flattered, but I'll take it. So where are we off to?"
"Wherever the road takes us."
"Oh, that's so romantic," I said in my best Southern belle accent.
"I know," he said, playing along and laughing.
"Jake, I don't know what I'd do without you," I said, returning to my normal voice. "You're all I had. Well, you and Ana- oh, shit!" I screamed, and he screeched to a stop.
"What? What happened?"
"Ana! Jake, I left Ana at Emily's house!"
"Don't worry about it, Ness," he said, catching his breath. "Emily is probably taking good care of Ana."
"I know, but what if we don't come back for a while?"
"Then she'll take care of her until we do. It's nothing to worry about."
"I hope you're right..."
"Don't worry about it, Ness," he said, pulling off onto the road again. "So what was going on back there?"
"Well, we were looking for Claire, and one of my 'aunts' came to drag me back to my mom. Seth thought she was attacking me and they started fighting."
"Wait... what do you mean 'one of your aunts'?"
"Well, she's related to my dad, I guess, and she told me he was back and tried to get me to go back home. But I knew she was lying."
"Your dad? As in Edward?"
"Uh, I don't know. My other aunt, Alice, came to our house yesterday and told us there was some kind of 'danger'."
"Alice? The leeches are back?" he asked, appearing more irate by the second.
"Ummm, if you mean the Cullens, then yeah."
"Dammit. I need to take you back right now."
"What? Why?"
"Because they will hunt me down if they find out I have you with me. Not that I couldn't handle them, but it'll just make more trouble."
"Jake, are you serious? It's not that big of a deal."
"You have no idea, Ness," he said, turning the car around in a quick U-turn.
"No!" I said, grabbing the wheel and turning it back. "I'm not going back there, and I'm sick of everyone trying to force me to go back!" He grabbed hold of the wheel again, but to my surprise, didn't turn back around.
"What's the problem? Why won't you go back?" I had actually been so caught up in finding Claire and seeing Jake, that I forgot why I ran away in the first place. But I remembered now, and I couldn't be more pissed.
"You!" I screamed, punching his arm with as much force as possible. "You never told me... the whole time, you never told me!"
"Told you what?"
"You had sex, Jacob! With my mom! You told me you were..."
"I am, Ness! What are you talking about?"
"I heard all about it from Alice. You lied to me."
"Ness, I never did anything like that. I could barely get your mom to kiss me." My jaw dropped open and I slapped him across the face, not feeling the least bit sorry. But I was sorry that it hurt the palm of my hand so much. It had turned a bright shade of red.
"You're a pig, and a liar, and an asshole, and I hope I never have to look at you or hear another lie come out of your mouth again! You knew how important that was to me!" He rubbed his cheek, looking very confused. It was a shame that I couldn't even hurt him, not even a little.
"Ness, you need to calm down." I reached for the door handle, but he locked the door. His side of the car could lock every door in the car, so I needed to get to it to unlock it. "You can't get out of a moving car, Ness."
"Then stop the car!"
"No! Ness, we need to talk about this!"
"I don't want to talk to you, idiot! Don't get it? Everyone who I thought loved me turned out to be liars. I can't believe you. You and my mother are perfect for each other. You both have absolutely no morals."
"Ness, I really don't understand." I was really emotional by this point, and tears were falling from my face. Why was everyone so willing to lie to my face? Instead of trying to argue again, I climbed over his lap to unlock the door so I could jump out, but he had still been driving. The car began to swerve left and right as he tried to control the wheel, but that didn't stop me from pressing the unlock button. I crawled to my side of the car and grasped the handle, trying to stay steady as the car continued to swerve.
"Ness, stop! You're gonna kill yourself!" I highly doubted that- there were no cars on the road, and a few scratches wouldn't kill me. In movies when people rolled their way out of moving cars, they usually got up just fine. So I wasn't worried at all.
I threw the door open and dove out, but I could still catch Jake screaming, "Ness, we're right next to a cliff!" A little too late to be mentioning that, don't you think? I felt pebbles and broken pieces of glass pierce my skin as I rolled, and felt myself rolling downward. I halted to a sudden stop as my back hit a boulder, and it took me a moment to recompose myself before I rose to my knees and brushed off dirt and debris form my body.
I looked out in front of me to see that I was on a stone precipice, about a foot from falling over the edge about half a mile into icy waters. I felt my stomach begin to heave; anyone who knew me knew that my biggest fear was heights. And I had never been higher. The smell of my own blood wafted in the air, and I looked down to see a large open cut on my right leg that was pouring blood, along with various small scartches all over my body. As I began to try to hold the wound together, a cool gust of wind hit me like an anvil, and forced me closer to the water, as if it knew I couldn't swim and wanted to see me struggling under the icy waters.
"Ness!" I heard Jacob call from above me, and looked up. I had rolled downhill about twenty feet, and had badly scratched myself up in the process. "Ness!"
"Leave me alone!" I called back, though I really wanted someone to help me. But as much as I wanted to be up there with him, my pride was too important, for some reason. I'm sure I can get myself down, I thought, trying to stay optimistic. I put my hands on the boulder in front of me and stood slowly, trying to avoid looking looking at the waters in front of as soon as I prepared to climb myself back up, I heard and felt something shifting underneath me. I looked down to see two large rocks tumbling down, falling closer to their doom. They finally made a big splash in the water, effectively squashing the thought of risking falling into the water myself. Another rock fell into the water, and once again, the precicpice shifted under my feet.
So here I was, standing on a rock precipice that was crumbling with each breath I took, and I would no doubt fall to my death if I didn't move soon.
This was just the cherry on top of the sundae, wasn't it?
I'm so sorry if this seemed rushed, you guys. I just wanted to post something soon, because it's been such a loooong time since I updated. I P-R-O-M-I-S-E the next update will be faster! I love all my readers, whether they be new or reading since I started, and I really hope I didn't disappoint, thought I have a feeling I did. Either way, review PLEASE! Gimme some love, guys, I've had a rough month. :)
(btw, sethforever, I'll be sure to get that into the next chapter, since Seth wasn't in this one! I won't forget, I love to make my readers happy! :D)