Last time in TNOTPC: Our heroes were going back to the hospital, after rescuing Bella from Jacob's hands, not before loosing Chief Swan. On the way back, a caterpillar almost got Bella but with the intervention on water and electricity, along with a bomb, they manage to kill the bug.
Bella stood up and took a few steps closer to the remains of the caterpillar. "Incredible." She walked closer, picking up a stick of the ground. "The insides are burnt... Stop Edward, don't come closer." He was just right behind her. "Well, it's really dead, but the cocoon..." Bella got the end of her stick over the cocoon, which broke in pieces. "Guys, I think we may have found the way to kill the caterpillars."
xxx
A few minutes earlier...
When Edward and Mark left to rescue Bella, Alec, who was supposed to accompany them, was assigned with another mission. Given his ability to climb trees, his outstanding sight augmented by the power of his camera lens... he was commanded to climb over the sycamore between the station and the hospital and report the condition of the rest of the town. His cover along with Alice's was blown, and everybody was now aware of their real names and professions.
So armed with a radio, he was explaining to Felix, the strange movements of the caterpillars.
"Yeah, it's like someone is calling out for them. They are crawling their way to the edge of town."
"All of them?" Felix wanted some assurance before taking a decision.
"Like 95%. I can only see two left behind, but they seemed confused. Maybe those are sick?"
Boom!
"What's happening Alec? Where did this explosion come?"
Alec turned around and almost jumped out of the three.
"Damn! It seems like the guys down there blew out one caterpillar!"
"And how are they?"
"Bella, Edward, Mark, and Jacob, they are fine. Oh, the chief or he's gravely injured or..."
"No. I just found out he didn't make it. That rogue deputy killed him. And now I wonder who will take responsibility of the man. We can precisely get him in jail."
"But he can be our guinea pig. Hey, Felix. The last caterpillar finally got the hint and it's crawling to the others."
"So the city is clear of bugs?"
"Hmm... yeah. They're going right to where I was staying. Let me climb a bit higher to see where they are stopping. Give me a minute."
Alec struggled for a moment, but he raised to the top of the tree.
"Holy cow! Felix, all the bugs are reuniting in the same place. It's the field in front of the Volturi's home."
"Are you sure?"
"Damn sure. The last one that I mentioned, it's almost running into that direction. Felix, all the bugs are congregated in one place. I think this may be our chance."
xxx
If Alec wasn't so excited to get down of the tree to join the rest of his friends, and he had stayed watching a bit more, he would have noticed the panicked man riding the four-wheeler like a bat out of hell.
Aro went to the King's garage and found the vehicle he was looking for and he was lucky enough to find a can of fuel. The problem was that it took him more than he expected and suddenly he found himself surrounded by those gigantic creatures.
He created a diversion, throwing the noisiest chainsaw he found that scared the caterpillars, allowing to drive up to the road to his house.
Once Aro got to the road, he was so scared that he decided to drive through the edge of town, trying to find a way to his old apartment.
xxx
"No! Bob is out of limits!"
"But Carlisle, you have to understand. The only chance we have is to experiment on Bob's hairy cocoon."
When Bella and Edward arrived, she asked for a visit to her furry friend, only to find Marcus arguing with Carlisle.
"Oh, no, no." Bella ran to the lab. "Stop it! What do you think you'll achieve hurting Bob?" she slammed open the door of the lab.
Carlisle was standing in front of the cage, while Marcus was trying to maneuver around him.
"We found a way to stop them. So you better leave Bob to rest right now." She demanded.
Marcus raised his hands to pacify her, but Bella was almost growling. Edward came to stop behind her, his hands on her shoulders to stop her from whatever she was trying to do to Marcus.
"Bella, sweetie, we have to get everybody together. We have to plan how to proceed."
Bella nodded but never tear up her eyes from Marcus or Carlisle.
xxx
"So according to Alec, all the caterpillars are resting in your fields," Felix recounted, looking at Riley. "Bella was thinking that giving the feast they had with the people in town, they now will want to rest through digestion. She thinks that given their last home was blown, they chose what they believe is a safer place."
He got the attention of all the uninjured who were reunited at the lobby of the hospital.
"We know the cocoon is impenetrable, but we found a way to turn them upside down so then we can have our chance to attack." His words elicited a round of applause and cheers.
"And it could work best if they are all together." Angela pointed out. "So I guess you're planning to strike now."
Felix nodded. "Bella and Carlisle's opinion is that the caterpillars will need a few hours of sleep not only for rest but to completely digest everything they ate."
"We think at least four or five hours," Carlisle added.
"So, with twilight coming, we want to make the most of the minutes of light we have left. Bella thinks if we attack in the dark we have a better chance to surprise them."
One of the women at the back lifted her hand.
"Yeah, do you have a question?"
The woman nodded. She seemed pretty scared. "How do you plan to attack? We can't get close to them, it may be a suicide mission."
Her question caused murmurs and laments.
"Well, when the guys went to rescue Bella and the Chief, they fought one caterpillar on their way back. And they found a weakness: The bugs can't stand electricity."
Mark stood up. "We managed to electrocute one of them. It was crawling to attack Bella, but accidentally Edward dropped a can of water under the bug's legs. He shot a taser gun and it made the bug to roll on its back. You know that while the cocoon protects them from everything, the parts that aren't covered are fragile. I took the chance and threw a bomb and blew the thing apart. We checked, and whether it was the electricity or the bomb, the cocoon was stiff and it broke easily."
The volume of the murmuring raised. This little fact opened the possibility of killing the caterpillars, but how? And who would dare to get close enough?
Demetri walked to Felix, signing to him that he had Lieutenant Jones on Skype, ready to listen to their planning and maybe to offer his help.
"Well, while the guys came back and with the information we gathered, I think we came up with a plan." He called to Marcus and Demetri, who came back bringing a makeshift map of the area.
"So this is the field and these black squares are Emily's home and Esme Volturi's home. The bugs are resting scattered around this area." He pointed to a green area. "With a bit of work, I think we can flood the field, then fry those bugs before we blow them away before the sun rises!"
xxx
Aro drove carefully, shocked to find the roads lifeless. Where did they go? The humans and the bugs.
He didn't have a problem to get to the back of the police station and climbed easily to the old apartment.
"What the hell happened here?" He wondered as soon as he opened the back door.
It seemed like someone tried to seek refuge inside as the covered windows showed, but something managed to get inside. There was blood everywhere and the furniture was turned.
Something told him that maybe the survivors were scavenging inside the houses. He did it with his actual vehicle after all. Aro had a hunch, something told him that it wasn't food what they were looking for.
He ran like a madman to his office and opened his safe. It was empty too!
Something snapped in Aro's mind in that moment. The realization that he lost everything and wasn't sure of how or who was to blame, it took away the last bit of rational thought of him. And only one idea remained... revenge.
xxx
A short one this time, but prepare because this ride is going to get wild ;)