Belladventure Chapter 24
AN – Hey guys, I'm back! And I've only got one and a half more days of school left, woo! Three cheers for the end of school!
"So...do you come here often?" Emmet asked the leader as he strode on knowingly ahead. Various tuts came from the rest of his family. To their surprise, the cannibal answered.
"Yes, it is in fact one of my favourite spots in the jungle" his voice was gruff, but had a fluidity to it. The voice was slightly disconcerting, it sounded very...odd.
"That's-that's nice" Emmett's voice wavered, not sure what to make of the statement.
"It is very nice" the leader reasonably agreed. Not sure what else to say in the awkward conversation, they walked in silence for the remainder of the journey.
"Well, one thing's for sure, we'll never win the race now" Esme sighed as she looked towards her husband. Both of them were bound with rope, but as soon as she was wrapped in it, she could detect weaknesses in the string. They could easily escape, but if they were already coming for her, she didn't want them to be split up again, and have the hassle of trying to find each other. They might as well let the chips fall where they may, even if the chips were in a slightly odd situation.
"I think that was a given" Carlisle said, looking around at their surroundings. It was a campsite, with teepees and everything. A crackling fire sat in the middle of the area, and he internally smirked. Good luck trying to fry them. If they cannibals goal was to eat them, then they would have another thing coming. The only ones really at risk were Renesmee – and Edward and Bella would die before any harm came to their daughter, along with Jacob – and Jake could take care of himself. If he needed help, then we (well most of the family at least) would be there for him. They had come on this holiday together, they weren't going to leave one person behind, that was for sure.
"True" Esme agreed, watching as two people squabbled over some matter, in another local language. One of them tried to storm off and the other tripped him over, making him come periously close to the fire. Whilst the situation for the victim wasn't at all funny, the look on his face as he fell just inches away from the fire was priceless. Fear and anguish, all in the space of a few seconds. Esme started laughing, and Carlisle, also seeing the trip laughed along. Suddenly a thought occurred to Esme.
"Carlsile?" She asked, her voice high.
"Yes, dear?" Carlisle didn't know what her question would be, and waited while she quickly thought it over.
"What happened to the camera?" The question caught him off guard, and he stared out at the tent for a few seconds.
"I know Alice has one" he said, thinking about the others.
"But didn't we have another?" Esme thought, and she was sure they had taken one with them, and given the other to the children's group.
"Yes, we did. It's in the pack!" Carlisle realised, and he looked around. Where had they last put their packs? Not seeing their hiker's packs anywhere – bought from Newton's of course – they sighed. The cannibals must have taken it. But what would they do with it?
"They better not destroy or delete anything on it. I have some very good films on there" Carlisle smirked, thinking about all of the films of their family, secretly recorded on that camera. The grand reveal was going to be hysterical, if their family was concerned. He couldn't bear the thought of his secrecy going unrewarded.
"Yes, it would be a great waste of $1000" she nodded, thinking of the camera's high price tag. She wasn't really concerned about the money, but she was trying to keep her mind of what the children were doing. Were they okay?
"I guess we'll just have to wait and see..." Carlisle said, leaning back on a rock.
"I suppose we will" Esme smiled weakly, closing her eyes.
"So..." Emmett started, and the rest of them groaned.
"Emmett, stop trying to make small talk with him!" Alice scolded, and Emmett opened his arms in wide eyed innocence.
"It's not my fault if I want to fill the silence! Besides, I've always wanted a penpal" he grinned, and the rest of them sighed.
"We can find you a new penpal Emmett" Rosalie patted his shoulder patronisingly.
"Hey, don't baby me" he glared, annoyed, at Alice and Rosalie. When Rosalie met his stare with an even more hostile one, he stopped. He had learned a long time ago to never piss off Rosalie. Being hung from that tree upside-down for a whole day had been a bit uncomfortable... But on the plus side, he had felt like Batman for a couple of hours, he kept trying to pull supplies from his belt. Then when he got down he decorated Edward's Volvo as the Batmobile and drove around Forks. When he got back Edward was angry...
"Emmett. Emmett" Rosalie was clicking her fingers in front his face, as he started at Edward in awe. Edward starting to get uncomfortable at Emmett's vacant stare moved behind Jasper.
"Oh, what?" Emmett asked, finally coming back from his reverie.
"You completely spaced out in the middle of a sentence, Emmett. We were worried" Alice explained.
"Well, as worried as we ever are with Emmett" Jasper clarified, watching the leader's head reflex, listening in on the conversation. They were walking in a group now, rather than in one uniform line. It made the situation slightly more comfortable.
"So, as I was saying" Emmett spared a glare for Alice, avoiding Rosalie's piercing eyes completely.
"Yes, what were you saying Emmett" Bella said, speaking up for the first time, but rolling her eyes indicating sarcasm.
"I wanted to know what your favourite colour was, Mr. Leader Cannibal for Africa, sir" he saluted mid stride, and Jasper muttered 'oh dear' bleakly under his breath.
"Cannibal Leader for Africa? Hmm, I like this name" the leader agreed, and Emmett beamed, proud with himself for creating the name.
"Yeah, I'm nothing if not polite" he grinned. The leader, responding well to Emmett's cheery attitude, smiled.
"My favourite colour is...red" he said, after a few seconds thought.
"Oh really? And why is that?" Emmett asked. Alice chirping in added;
"Is it because red is the colour of passion and love" she said dreamily, looking towards Jasper. He gave her a toothy grin.
"No" he disagreed, his step getting slower. They were close.
"Why then?" Jacob asked, his head tilting closer to hear the answer.
"Because red is the colour of blood and danger." The calm way he said the words sent chills down their spines. They were all wearing a wide eyed look that said 'crazy!' in a high pitched voice.
"That's-that's nice" Emmett replied, filling the ominous silence, and using the same phrase as before.
"It is" he said agreeably, parting the trees.
"Welcome" the said to the group, letting them into the little village.
"Welcome to Crazy Ville, full of Africa's craziest. Make sure to buy souvenirs, preferably before you're eaten!" Rosalie said in a sarcastic voice, though quiet enough so the humans wouldn't hear and they laughed.
"Now featuring Carlisle and Esme, the only vampires in the village" Edward added, laughing.
"Don't forget about us, six vampires, a hybrid and a werewolf" Jasper smiled.
"We could make a sitcom!" Emmett marvelled, and the rest laughed again.
"We'll get around to that later. Now, we have to 'beat the crap out of some cannibals!" Jacob smirked, and Emmett nodded.
"Hell yeah!" He agreed, and put his fist in. The rest of the group grinned and put their fists in too.
"Three, two, one, CULLENS!"
AN – Don't worry, the race hasn't been completely abandoned. They'll finish it soon, just not yet. Sorry it's late, I came back from France (thank you for your reviews of well wishing!) and have been celebrating the summer; a lot. But I'll have loads of free time, which means more chapters, and quicker too. Yay!