Wow! 1694 reviews! I'm so happy you continued to read and review. Although, I guess this is the chapter that shows who is still reading after that chapter, right? Here it is, the chapter that you've all been waiting for! Chapter 24! Enjoy!
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Edward
"Kill him."
Such harsh words from my angel's lips.
I stared at Bella with wide eyes, my mind swept blank after her words. Had she honestly said what I had heard? Had she asked us to kill him? To be honest, she didn't have to ask me twice – but it didn't seem like something she would ask of us. Considering the circumstances, of course... the horrible things that Mike had done... taking sweet Allie from this world, away from Bella forever. He crushed my dear Bella's heart. He had single-handedly crushed my family.
Rosalie's mind was in a murderous state. She wanted nothing more than to see the life leave Mike's eyes. Her plans were sinister at best... she wanted to torture him slowly, in worse ways than she had ever done to any of the men who had hurt her in the life before this one. The things she did to them would be mere child's play compared to the tortures she had planned for Mike. I couldn't blame her. She had loved Allie...
My heart ached at the word and I physically flinched in pain. It couldn't be possible. That sweet child had been laughing in my arms mere hours ago... was it possible that life could be so cruel? That life could make a creature as cruel as the vile Mike Newton?
Emmett's mind was crushed, void of any thought other than shock. He stared at the ground with wide eyes, his hands twisted in his hair. I had never seen my brother look so miserable in all the years that I had known him.
How is this possible? Emmett's mind ached in pain, That little girl... how could he do that? How could he kill her? She was so innocent... she never hurt anyone. Why? Why did this have to happen?
Alice's thoughts were parallel to Emmett's, although her mind held more self-loathing. She blamed herself for not catching Allie's death sooner... soon enough to prevent it. I was no fool and I could not put the blame on her. Alice would not have been able to see Mike's split decision any sooner than she did. She could have done nothing to prevent this. None of us could have.
"Are you sure, Bella?" My words were still drenched in pain. I could not shake the emotion from me. I could not blame Jasper for fleeing the area before the torrents of pain descended upon him. My pain alone would have been enough to crush him. It was killing me.
"He took her," Bella's voice had never had such dark tones to it. It chilled me to my core, "He took her away from me."
Her eyes flitted over to Alice then. There were tears running down her cheeks, from her wide beautiful eyes. "You said it wouldn't matter now, right? He wouldn't be missed. No one would care, right?"
"No one would care." Alice whispered, confirming the words. Bella's gaze turned back to me.
"Then kill him," she spoke the words again, too harsh for her lips. "I know you want to do it, Edward. I can see it in your eyes. I'm giving you permission. Go kill him."
Her lips were trembling, the tears slipping faster down her cheeks now. I rushed forward, pulling her closer into my embrace. She shivered against me, still chilled from the terror of the night. I sent kisses through her hair, my hands tracing soothing patterns over the length of her back. "Bella, if you think it's even a possibility that you'll regret that decision in the morning-"
"I won't regret it," she cut me off. She pulled back to stare into my eyes. Her deep brown orbs held nothing but honesty. "I won't regret it. He'll just hurt someone again, like he hurt me. If he ever gets out of there, he'll do it again. The system was messed up enough to put us in this situation, so who's to say he won't be free in a few years?"
"I agree," Rosalie spoke up. She didn't have to. I knew where her thoughts were leading and anything Bella said in agreements to those was perfect for Rosalie. "He hurt Bella. He killed A-allie... he could do it again."
"I hated him every day for four years," Bella's voice lowered to a whisper. Her gaze dropped to the ground. "I would have left... I would have been happy to see him die... if it weren't for Allie. She's gone. He took her from me," her words broke off in sobs. She was shaking as she tried to continue, "He shouldn't live. Not when she couldn't."
I grasped her hands in mine, pulling her hands gently to my lips. I brushed kisses along each knuckle before lowering her hands to press my lips softly to her own. She leaned into the kiss, her tears on my cheeks.
I pulled back, running a cool finger from below her ear and along her jawline, to her chin. I gazed at her lovingly, "As you wish."
I turned to the others then, my thoughts now murderous. "Who's coming?"
"I am," Rosalie spoke immediately.
"Of course," I grinned, "I knew you would already. I was talking to the others."
"I will," Emmett spoke, his defeated voice stronger now. He stood up, flexing the thick steel bands of muscle on his arms, "Although, I may have to stand back for most of it, if you're planning on making this last... I'll pop the insect's head off if I get a hold of him."
"I'll come," Alice spoke, her usually bright voice still grim, dancing to my side, "After all the scenarios you've all come up with in your head, I'll know the best ones to pick."
"I'll come," I looked up, my eyes wide with shock.
"Jasper?"
"Yea," he grinned sheepishly, "I'm sorry I wasn't here... earlier. It's hard." I nodded in understanding. I knew it was hard for him, even now. "But I would like to push Mike's terror to the limit."
"I'll stay with Bella," Esme spoke, moving to envelope Bella in a warm hug. I wondered, fleetingly, if Bella would want to come... but I would never let her. It was nothing that she needed to see, no matter how much she wanted Mike dead.
"When can we go?" Rosalie asked. Alice shut her eyes for a moment.
"Now, actually," her voice was surprised. "Now would be perfect. It's just one cop in there watching him, and it's not Charlie. We could call in a fake crime a little ways from here to give us time alone with him..."
"Or knock out the guard," Emmett laughed.
"No," Alice shook her head, "It would be much easier to get him out of there. Call in something drastic... a shooting down a dark alley or something."
"Let's go, then," I spoke, turning to Bella for a brief moment. I couldn't speak, my mind in a rage now. I was ready to bring Mike's life to an end, as I should have done so many times before. I smiled at her reassuringly and, for the briefest moment, a small smile touched my love's lips. And then it was gone. Stolen by the man who had stolen Allie from all of us.
We ran in silence, although everyone plotted their own murderous thoughts inside their heads, save for Alice who was currently observing the scenarios with her gift.
We could break his fingers, one by one, Rosalie began, innocent enough, Let him feel a little pain to begin... nothing that would break the skin and provoke us. Wait... provoke us...
Her mind took a twisted path that I had not expected. We could bite him. I almost tripped as I ran, my eyes turning to her, wide with shock. She was staring ahead.He could feel what it's like to go through that pain. I went through so much when... when those men... She shook her head, clearing the thought. And yet, that pain was nothing compared to the pain of changing. It's the ultimate pain we could give him.
I like it. Alice agreed to Rosalie's plan, silently in her mind. That's caused him far more pain than anything we had planned before then. We could bite him and let him endure the agony before we finally killed him...
"Are you serious?" I shouted, coming to a halt. We where at our destination now, but I could not take anymore of their thoughts. "Do you really intend to change him?"
Rosalie stared at me, her face void of emotion, "Yes."
"That's insane." I shook my head, "What if something goes wrong?"
"Nothing will go wrong," Alice replied simply, tapping the side of her head for emphasis.
"Edward," Rosalie spoke softly, "Can you remember a greater pain than that?"
"Yes, I can," I snapped, "When I left Bella. And then everything that has happened to her, to Allie, to us in the past few days!"
"Physically."
"I..." I sighed, my gaze turning to the police station, "No."
"If we're going to hurt him, we might as well do it thoroughly." Rosalie said, flipping her phone open. She dialed a number and pressed it to her ear, "Hello! Hello!" Her voice was panicked, "Please, please! You have to send help! Oh, god! He's been shot! We're at... oh, I can't read the sign! We passed... we passed..."
She rambled, her voice desperate as she yelled out locations spaced far from the station. She snapped her phone shut a moment later, shooting Emmett a grin. We all ran off to the side, hiding beside the building as the officer ran out to get in his cruiser. The lights and siren blared to life and he disappeared down the street.
"Let's go," Emmett's voice was anxious.
We walked up the steps, apparently all agreed in our plan to make Mike experience the pain of the change, at least to some extent. It was cruel, I had to admit. I could not have thought of a more torturous pain myself... at least when it came to Mike. He had no heart to hurt.
"Back so soon?" Mike's voice crumbled from his cage. "Guess the bitch wasn't in trouble after all."
"So, you treat all women like that, then?" Rosalie spoke. Mike jumped up from his bed, his eyes wide.
"What the hell are you doing here?" his voice was pure rage. He hadn't seen us yet and apparently Rosalie posed no threat. How wrong he was.
"I'm here to put you through hell, Mike," Rosalie's voice was calm as she walked over to the cell. Her hand slid along the length of the desk along the way, scooping up the keys to Mike's cell. She fiddled with the correct key, smiling at Mike. "It's going to be fun. You're going to love it."
She giggled. A dark, evil giggle. Mike was unimpressed. "Open the cage then, doll," he cooed, a smirk on his lips. My hand flew to Emmett's lips in an attempt to stifle his growl. Rosalie didn't want Mike to see us yet. "We'll see who will put who through hell."
Rosalie lifted the keys to the door, pushing them into the slot. Mike stood at the door, his hands wrapped around the metal bars as he waited for her to unlock his cell. Rosalie took her sweet time, toying with the key before finally turning it enough to open the lock. There was load, harsh click and then the door flew open violently.
Mike had, of course, intended to slam the metal bars in Rosalie full force, but she was too quick for him. She easily dodge the door as it flew at her. Mike sprung for her then. In one swift, agile movement, she slammed Mike in the chest and sent him flying back into his cell. He hit the wall, all of the breath flying out of his chest.
"How?" he gasped, sliding to the floor.
"It's actually very simple, Mike," she whispered, stepping slowly into the cell. "I'm a vampire. As are..." I motioned to the others and we stepped forward, into the cell. "Alice, Emmett, Jasper... and Edward."
"A vampire?" Mike scoffed. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard."
"Is it?" Emmett spoke. Mike's eyes flew to him. "Is it really?" Emmett was at Mike's side now, having moved in the mere moment that Mike blinked. Mike's eyes widened and he scrambled to the side, screaming in terror.
Now, Edward? Jasper asked. I nodded.
He sent a wave of terror through Mike and it was obvious when it hit. Mike's eyes looked as though they would pop out of his skull, his body convulsing in fits of horror. His breathing was erratic and I wondered how it was possible that he didn't pass out. "How?" he gasped again, "How did you...?"
"She told you," I spoke, my voice soft and deadly, "Or weren't you listening? Would it help," I moved swiftly to him, kneeling down to his eye level. Again, he screamed at the movement. "If we did something to help you remember?"
I reached forward taking his only good hand in mine, the other still shattered at the wrist and broken in the hand from our previous encounter. He tried to rip it away, but I held him tight in my steel grasp. "How about this," I murmured, my fingers tightening around just one of his. I held the rest of his hand by the wrist, "Every time we tell you something, we'll break a bone in your body. Every time we have to repeat something, we'll break two."
"So, how many does that make so far, Edward?" Emmett asked, staring down at Mike.
"Alice?" I spoke, my eyes never leaving Mike's.
"Three!" she chirped.
"Three it is," I grinned darkly at Mike, twisting his finger slowly until I heard a sickening crack.
"Oh, god!" Mike screamed, his head falling back in agony as he writhed on the ground. My fingers moved to the next digit on his hand, "No, no! Please, no! I believe you! I swear!"
Another crack. Another scream.
"Please stop!" he thrashed on the floor, still squealing in agony. I bent the third finger back, listening to it shatter. I released him then and he cradled his broken hand to his chest, sobbing uncontrollably. "Please, stop. Please, please."
"Why?" I growled, "Did you stop when Bella asked you to?" His pitiful eyes turned to mine, filled with pain and fear, "Did you stop when Allie was screaming for her life?"
"I'm sorry!" he wailed, "I was wrong. I'm sorry!"
"Not nearly as sorry as you're going to be." Rosalie snapped, lowering herself to her knees as well. She grabbed his other arm and turned to me, "Any bone?"
"I don't see why not." I grinned.
"Mike, you should have never hurt Bella." Rosalie began, gripping his wrist and elbow. She used little of her strength, but of course it took very little to break Mike's forearm. If his screams had been painful and loud before, they were nothing compared to the torrent of pain that escaped him now.
Jasper screamed from behind me, falling back against the metal bars of the cell. His eyes were wide with the pain he was feeling. "Jasper!" Alice ran to him, trying desperately to calm him down as he shook with the waves of pain emanating from Mike. "Come on, let's go."
She threw me an apologetic look and carried Jasper out of the room. Although I felt upset at my brother's pain, I felt a sick joy for the fact that we had caused Mike so much pain already.
"You should have never hurt Allie." Rosalie continued, unfazed by Jasper. She cracked his other forearm in half and Mike howled, pleading desperately in slurred words for her to stop.
"I was wrong! I'm SORRY!" Mike shrieked and gasped, trying desperately to move away from the pain that was wreaking havoc in his body. "Please, please, please! PLEASE!"
"I didn't get my chance yet, Mike," Emmett spoke through Mike's screams. Rosalie moved away from Mike reluctantly, giving Emmett room. Emmett observed Mike's body, examining for the best place to leave his mark.
"Please, don't do this!" Mike begged, the fear in his eyes more present than before. "Please, please!"
"Awe, guys! You took all the hands. Now I have to break his feet," Emmett grabbed Mike's left foot in his hands. His eyes narrowed.
"You never should have hurt us." Emmett spoke, his voice dark. His smiled cruelly at Mike, contracting his hand over Mike's foot. There were several loud snaps as Mike's foot was crushed in Emmett's. He ripped and pulled, desperately trying to release himself from Emmett's steel grasp. It was no good.
"Please, I'll do anything!" Mike gasped. "Just tell me and I'll do it! Anything you want!"
"I want Allie back." I whispered.
He stared at me, his eyes wide and searching. There was no way that he could give me that.
"You're a demon, Mike," Rosalie whispered, edging closer to his side, "You're a heartless man. Now we're going to show you what it's like to lose your heart. We're going to make yours stop."
"Please! Don't kill me!" his begging was pitiful. "Please!"
"Oh, we're not going to kill you, yet," Rosalie whispered, "When we do, it will be because you begged for it."
Her lips descended upon Mike's arm, leaving her mark. She pulled away quickly, anxious to see the pain on his face. Mike stared at her with wide, confused eyes, wondering what she had just done. Then it hit him.
Fire! His mind screamed. Fire! They put fire in me! Get it out! Get it out!
Of course, Mike could say none of these words as the pain consumed him whole. His body fell back, arching in the waves of his pain. He thrashed around on the floor, his face twisted in agony and his eyes wide in horror. The screams that ripped from him echoed off the cell walls and he clawed miserably at the floor, searching for something, anything to make it stop.
What is this? His mind screeched.What did they do? Break my arm! Oh, break my leg! Anything but this! Anything! ANYTHING!
His hands flew to his head, tugging and pulling at his hair as he thrashed around on the floor. The pain in the movements of his broken hand caused his screams to grow and multiply. I had never seen such pain and I wondered if it was worse than any of ours. It looked worse than ours. I hoped desperately that it was.
"KILL ME!" Mike shrieked, finally finding a space between his screams to speak. Emmett moved forward, but my hand shot out to hold him back. He would have to wait longer than that, beg more than that.
Mike whimpered in agony, tears rolling down his cheeks as he twisted around. He continued to take gasps between his wails, trying desperately to find the energy to scream for his death once again. His hands scraped back along the floor, searching for nothing. Finally, after a few hefty gulps, he screamed out the words, "KILL ME!"
"Third times the charm, Mike," I whispered, my voice velvet and deadly.
He stared at me with agonized eyes, his mouths moving to speak the words that refused to come out over his screams. Tears streamed from his eyes, blurring his vision of us. Of the last thing he would see. He gasped and whimpered, rolling around as he tried to speak the words that would end all of this pain. I was more desperate for this than he was.
"KILL ME!" He screamed on last time. The words disappeared into sobbing gasps.
More screams.
"Gladly," I spoke, my voice dark. I launched forward, ramming my fist, with all the strength I could summon, into his chest. I felt all of his ribs crack beneath my hand and his heart sputter to a quick stop. Mike's struggles ceased instantly, his arms dropping lifelessly to the ground. His screams disappeared.
"You deserved worse," I muttered over Mike's dead body, standing along with Emmett and Rosalie.
"You did the right thing, Edward." Emmett spoke, patting me on the back.
"For her," I turned, walking out of the cell, "Everything was for her."
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Ow... Ow, ow, ow... Mike is FINALLY dead. So, what did you think? How was it? Is it what you would have done? Was it torturous enough? Let me know what you thought of it! Leave a cookie, please!