Chapter Twenty Five

Peter

Well, this was a real fucking mess, first of all, we had no idea where the fuck we were headed and then we got held up by a major accident on the Interstate and it had taken all our combined strength to keep the Major from exiting the car and running down the highway. In itself that was bad enough but add on the fact it was broad fucking daylight and we were surrounded by hundreds of human witnesses and or would have become a fucking nightmare for all concerned.

He seemed to calm though as the hours ticked by which was even more worrying, did it mean the girl was OK? Surely it couldn't mean she was dead if so he would have gone completely loco, wouldn't he? This silent passivity gave me the craps and it seemed I wasn't alone. Alice tapped me on the arm and spoke quietly,

"Why do you think he's calmed down Peter? Is it good news? Maybe Bella isn't in danger any longer, maybe he can't feel her any more because of her shield, or whatever it is, is back up. That's it isn't it?"

She sounded as worried as me as if hoping I would say "Yeah that'll be it" reassuringly and then magically he'd sit up and start talking as if there was nothing wrong and he hadn't been acting like a madman for the last few hours! Well, she'd be waiting a long fucking time because I didn't like this new quiet Major any more than she did, nor did I trust that it would last.

When we finally got moving again about three and a half hours later the sun was still shining and I put my foot to the floor hoping to get some more directions soon. I glanced back at Alice who sat with The Major waiting for someone to tell me something but she just shrugged.

Turning back I sighed,

"Well, if anyone gets an idea where we're going then be sure to shout out before my fucking feet get wet."

I decided while he was quiet I would gas up the car again and hunt, my thirst was going to become a problem pretty soon otherwise, especially if we were going among humans which was pretty damn likely under the circumstances.

Jasper

The urgency to move was fading, Bella was peaceful for now and we were closer but sitting here unable to do anything but wait was driving me crazy so I closed my eyes and tried to visualize her face. At first, there was only darkness and I began to lose hope but then I heard something very faint in the far distance. I waited and the sound became gradually louder enabling me to recognize it as a human heartbeat, slow and regular which was joined by another less recognizable noise. This was a low hiss, rhythmic and accompanied by a mechanical clicking noise. I was certain these noises were connected to Bella, she wasn't in any immediate danger, her heartbeat told me that, yet despite the reassurance I was became more concerned for her.

It was the strange hissing and clicking that upset me but as I felt my agitation increase I suddenly felt her presence like a touch of a warm soft hand on my cheek and my agitation faded away. Nothing else mattered but her presence, as long as I could feel her with me I knew she was alive and I could cope with anything else. I just wanted to remain like this fearing if I opened my eyes she might vanish from my side frightened by the light.

Alice

Jazz hadn't spoken or opened his eyes for over an hour, not even while we stopped for gas and to allow Peter to hunt. At first his expression had been scared, desperate even, but now he looked strangely peaceful. Could it be that he had made a connection, however tenuous, with Bella? I just hoped when Peter got back Jazz would be able to give us some directions because like Peter I worried that this might end up a wild goose chase. We had driven almost 2,000 miles and what I wanted to know was why Bella had felt compelled to accomplish such a journey, especially considering the condition she had been in when they found her at the house. Something had driven her to run and keep running and had brought her to people willing to help her hide. This was more than simple fear of her father, this escape had been fuelled by absolute terror and I felt guilty I hadn't seen it more clearly or early enough to help her myself. I shouldn't have allowed the others to brush aside my worries, if anything bad had happened to Bella then I was at least partly to blame.

Peter hadn't been gone long but his crimson eyes were mute testament to the fact he had found prey and I felt slightly sick thinking what that meant, that he had killed a human being, but I couldn't condemn him for it, we all survived the best way we could and he had proved to be a good and loyal friend to Jazz.

"Has sleeping beauty said anything?"

He peered into the back checking on his friend as I shook my head,

"Not a word I'm afraid so I guess we just keep on driving."

I thought he was going to start bitching as usual but he surprised me as he merely nodded and got back into the driver's seat. As he pulled back out into traffic he murmured,

"I don't want to worry anyone but by tomorrow we're gonna run out of continent, just so you know."

I was getting worried myself that we had traveled so far without Jazz saying anything but I couldn't, wouldn't, believe that Bella had left the continental US which meant we must be getting very close. My own thirst had been growing but I hated the thought of slowing us down so I kept quiet hoping our journey would end soon somewhere I was able to hunt.

I was to be in luck as it turned out, a couple of hours later Jazz stirred opening his eyes and looking somewhat confused for a moment.

"I think we're close now. Which cities are nearby?"

Peter pulled over and consulted the map,

"Too fucking many by the look of it, we're not that far from Minneapolis, there's Rochester, Winona, Mason City, Eau Claire, Madison, Milwaukee, Waterloo, the list is endless. Can you be more specific Major? How close is close? Five miles? Fifty miles, One hundred and fifty? You see where I'm coming from? A ballpark estimate would be nice."

I frowned a warning at Peter and took Jazz's hands in mine staring at him closely,

"If we keep moving do you think you could concentrate, maybe pinpoint where she is a little more accurately?"

"I'm not sure, I can feel her presence but it's constant, well maybe a little stronger. All I know is we're close."

"A lot of fucking good that is, Major!"

I jumped in quickly,

"I'll call Darius, maybe he can work some magic now he has a smaller area to search in. We think she may be injured or sick so he can try the hospitals in say a hundred miles radius of our present position."

Peter waited for a response from Jazz but he just leaned back and closed his eyes again so as I made my call he sat drumming his fingers on the steering wheel, frustrated at having no way of helping right now.

Darius wasn't happy which was not altogether unexpected,

"Is that the best you can do? Do you realize there are a hundred or more hospitals in Minnesota alone and that's just for starters Alice."

I thought a little flattery might help,

"That's why I'm contacting you, so you can dazzle me with your magic. Oh, and we need to know as quickly as possible."

He laughed as he rang off but I knew he would do his best for us, he was a good friend with many talents and he hated to fail.

Peter and I took bets on how long it would take Darius to track Bella down if she was a patient in one of the hospitals and he won when Darius called back just under an hour later.

"Right, you owe me big time for this one, it's been a fucking nightmare, excuse the language but I guess you've heard worse from your chauffeur. This is a shot in the dark really but it's the best I can do for now. There's a girl in the Life Support unit in Madison and there appears to be some confusion about her real identity, the name is Marnie Scott and she's down as twenty-one years of age. I know that's older than our girl but…..."

"That's too old Darius, so what makes you think she might be Bella Swan?"

"Mainly because she has a history that fades out a couple of years ago if you start digging deep and someone has been tampering with official computer data to give her a new background. Now that's suspicious enough although she could be in witness protection. However...Miss Marnie is also a puzzle for the police, they're trying to locate a next of kin and if she was a W.P client they would have been told to back off by now. See where I'm coming from?"

Peter, having heard Darius, was already speeding towards Madison but then two things happened simultaneously, Jazz jerked upright his eyes flying open once more and Darius spoke again,

"If this is the girl you're looking for it's not good news I'm afraid. They're considering moving her to a long-term facility, she had a really bad accident and the prognosis isn't good. From what I can find in the files and other shit I got my hands on the doctors in charge are even considering switching off her life support system."

How Peter managed the rest of the journey without getting a ticket I have no idea but the scenery from the window was just a blur. Jazz was shaking with urgency if they turned off Bella's life support that would be the end for both of them.

"Hang on Jazz, we'll soon be there and if it is Bella then we'll do all we can. I'll contact Carlisle, see if he can get any information, maybe even delay any decisions until we arrive."

He nodded but the bleak look in his eyes told of his feelings and his anger at the possible hopelessness of this journey.

When I explained the situation to Carlisle he promised to do all he could and said he would fly to meet us if this mystery woman was indeed Bella but as he pointed out the ages were different and there could be a number of reasons why a woman might want to hide her true identity.

"I'll see how much her doctor is willing to disclose. I guess it depends on the circumstances but tell Jasper not to lose hope."

We waited nervously but luckily it didn't take long for him to get back to us,

"I got through to her doctor after a bit of a struggle and he was willing to speak to me once he understood that his patient might well be mine too. There's little medical insurance and I think that might be partly what is driving the decision to move her from such expensive facilities but also if she has little hope of recovery then blocking a bed in that unit seems a little unfair on other patients who would benefit from it. I'm afraid it sounds bad Alice, about as bad as it can get, but I'm on my way to the airport now, I'll meet you there and the doctor has agreed to delay any decision until I get there."