30 Days of Night

Disclaimer:

I own absolutely nothing. Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer and 30 Days of Night belongs to Steve Niles.

Chapter Twenty-Six: The Fear of Not Knowing:

Renee POV

It was four o'clock in the morning and though I had tried to fall asleep curled uncomfortably in my pink, plastic hospital chair, something was making me restless, a nagging feeling that tugged at the back of my mind, alerting me that something was wrong. My thoughts were centered on Bella, my daughter, my beautiful daughter, who all of the sudden didn't seem quite like my daughter anymore. I knew that she was still growing up, every day growing more into the woman she would become, but I hadn't expected her to look so different in such a short period of time. It hadn't been long at all since she broke her leg in Phoenix; yet, looking at her now was like looking at an entirely different person. Even her voice sounded strange to my ears.

But it wasn't just her appearance that kept me awake. It was something else, something in the way she moved, in the way she held herself, in how still she could be, in those sunglasses she insisted on wearing inside, in the way she tensed when I hugged her, like her body was straining against something, and in how cold she was when I touched her skin. Something was wrong with her, but I didn't know what. However, the worst part of it was that I found myself oddly afraid of her. I didn't know why, I couldn't quite place it, but something about her made me nervous, edgy, like I was lost on an African plain being stalked by a lion. I glanced over at Phil, who had successfully managed to fall asleep. I had voiced my concerns to him, but he wasn't taking them seriously. He thought I was stressed out over Charlie, which, though true, wasn't why I was so fixated on the changes in Bella.

The more I thought about the whole situation, the weirder everything seemed to become. I didn't know why all of those boys from the reservation insisted on hanging around. I knew why Billy came, he and Charlie had always been best friends, but Sam and the others really had no business being there every day. They didn't even know Charlie that well, but they were hovering around the hospital constantly and, when I went to Charlie's house to take a shower the day before, I swear I saw Paul sneaking around the trees in the backyard. The whole town was concerned about Charlie, worried about their own safety, after all, there hadn't been an attack in a home like this in years in Forks, but I couldn't understand why the whole reservation seemed so anxious about him.

My cell phone was in my hand, its weight reminding me that one phone call would be all it would take to hear my daughter's voice again, the voice that sounded so strange to me now. I almost hit the button for the number that her little friend Alice had programmed into the phone, but I thought better of it. Bella would be asleep and she would think I was ridiculous for all of my suspicions. I laughed softly, shaking my head and running my hands through my hair. I was being ridiculous. Bella was my daughter, not some monster, not some criminal. I had no reason to be suspicious of her, I had no reason to think anything was wrong. Maybe Phil was right, maybe the whole situation with Charlie really was grating at my nerves, wearing me down. I was about to slip the phone back into my pocket, when it suddenly started vibrating.

I glanced down at the screen, surprised the see that it was the Cullen residence. Accepting the call, I placed the phone next to my ear. "Hello?" I asked, expecting to hear Bella's voice.

"Renee? This is Alice," the person on the other end announced. The sound of her voice reminded me of wind chimes, but there was a certain urgency in it, a certain anxiety that I couldn't place.

"Alice? Hello, what can I do for you, honey?" I asked.

"I'm sorry, I realize it's late," she apologized, her words rushing together. "Are you at the hospital?"

"Yes," I replied.

"Good," she sighed in what seemed like relief. "Are any of the Quileute boys there? I need to speak with one of them. It doesn't matter which."

I frowned, wondering why Alice would be calling me asking about the boys from the reservation. "I think Sam was out in the waiting room," I said, getting to my feet. My legs protested, having been folded over in the same position too long. "I'll go get him for you."

"Thank you," Alice replied, then fell silent, waiting.

The hospital was quiet, the beeping of machines and the gentle scuffing of the nurses's shoes all I could hear. Out in the waiting room, I found Sam trying not to fall asleep while watching infomercials on the grainy television in the corner. My suspicions flared up again. Why did none of the boys ever go to sleep? Why did they sit there awake at all hours of the night like they were holding some kind of vigil? "Sam?" I asked, my voice echoing in the stillness. It made me jump, but he looked over at me calmly, his eyes holding a serenity that unnerved me.

"Yes?" He asked.

"Alice Cullen is on the phone for you," I said, extending it toward him.

He looked at me confused for several long moments before he shifted his gaze down to the phone still in my palm. Finally, he stood and moved over to me, crossing the room in three strides, and gently lifting the device from my hand. "Hello?" He asked, placing the phone to his ear. I watched him curiously. His voice hadn't been unfriendly, but it hadn't been warm either and I wondered what it was that he didn't like about Alice Cullen. I couldn't hear what Alice was saying, but the emotions that stormed across Sam's face, darkening his eyes, shocked me.

………………………….

Sam POV

"Hello?" I asked, placing the phone to my ear. I was surprised that the vampire was asking for me, but I thought that maybe Carlisle had finally come and she wanted to request a meeting. However, what she said next was the last thing I had been expecting.

"There isn't much time," she said lowly and quickly. "Victoria is going to attack us tonight on three different fronts. I have no idea where she's getting the man power from, but she must have a fucking army," she said and I sucked in a surprised breath. Alice Cullen didn't strike me as the kind to swear. "Jasper and Bella are out in the woods about fifty miles north of our house. Victoria is going to attack them there," she explained. "Carlisle is traveling in a car with Esme, Rosalie, and Emmett. They'll be ambushed on the highway about ten miles from town. Normally, they could take care of themselves, but Rosalie is injured and she can't fight. Emmett will be too preoccupied trying to protect her to do any good. I can't see what happens to them. I just know that Edward and I have to stay here because more are coming for us and, if we leave the house, Stella, Eben, and Beau will die."

"How do you know all of this?" I asked, stunned.

"I see the future," Alice explained. "And if we don't do something right now, Victoria is going to win."

"Shit," I mumbled, rubbing my forehead, fully aware that Renee was watching every move I made. I knew that the pack wouldn't like protecting the Cullens, but I also knew that if Victoria had enough vampires to support three separate attacks we would need the Cullens in order to protect not only our own people, but all of Forks. "I'll split the pack," I whispered into the phone, hoping Renee couldn't hear me. "Stay with Stella, Eben, and Beau. We'll protect everyone else."

"Hurry," Alice said urgently. "This is happening in less than ten minutes."

"We're on it," I said, quickly ending the call. I handed the phone back to a very confused looking Renee.

"What's going on?" She asked as I started toward the door.

My heart was pounding, every muscle in my body firing, ready to transform, ready to run, ready to fight. "Nothing," I lied, gritting my teeth. "Everything's fine." I was out of the hospital before she could say anything else, sprinting toward the woods, ripping off my shirt and pants. As soon as I transformed, I told Quil to stay at the hospital in case any of the vampires went after Charlie. Then I split up the pack, ignoring their protests. Seth, Jared, and I ran straight for the highway, while Jake, Leah, Embry, and Paul plunged into the woods.

…………………………

Alice POV

"Edward," I said, placing my hands squarely on his shoulders, which was rather difficult given our height difference. "You have to listen to me now."

"What is it?" He snapped anxiously. He had heard my conversation with Sam, he knew that Bella was in danger, but as much as he wanted to run to help her, I knew that the three humans sleeping upstairs would be dead by morning if he left.

"Stella, Eben, and Beau mean a great deal to Bella," I said firmly, but quickly. "She loves them very much. If anything happens to them, she'll be devastated."

"I have to go help her," he said frantically, trying to pull away from me.

"No!" I shouted, tightening my grip on him. "You have to stay here, Edward, or they'll die. I won't be able to protect them on my own."

"But Bella," he said, his eyes wild as he stared out of the back door, willing himself to see her somewhere in the trees. I knew that in his mind he was already running toward her.

There were things that Edward didn't need to know, things I was blocking him from reading in my mind. I'd had a vision of Jasper and Bella being attacked by Victoria, of Carlisle and the others being attacked, and of us being attacked, but I had only seen the outcome of one of those fights – our own. I knew that Edward and I would hold off the vampires until dawn, when they would retreat, frustrated, to regroup several hundred miles outside of town. However, when I thought about Jasper and Bella, all I could see was blackness and, when I thought about Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie, and Emmett, all I could see was blackness. I didn't know what was going to happen to them, I was totally in the dark, but Edward didn't need to know that.

So I lied to him. "Edward," I said, looking him straight in the eye, never wavering. "Bella is going to be fine. I've seen it. She'll be fine. She and Jasper will hold Victoria off and be back by morning. Jasper's my mate and Bella's my best friend, Edward," I said, fighting the anguish that threatened to tremble in my voice, "I would never leave them alone to die, to suffer. They'll be fine, she'll be fine." But I knew in my heart that they wouldn't be. I couldn't see Bella's future or Jasper's future anymore, I couldn't see any of their futures, but I knew that I couldn't let Edward leave either. As much as I wanted to run to Jasper, to try to save him, just like Edward wanted to run to Bella, we had three humans entrusted to our care upstairs who would die without us and we couldn't just leave them.

"Go upstairs and wake the humans," I instructed as I moved toward the garage. Edward stood perfectly still, staring out of the backdoor. "Edward!" I yelled and he jumped, looking over at me. "Now!" I said. Finally, he nodded and sprinted up the stairs. In the garage, I quickly found the three things I saw that we would need – two blow torches and a chainsaw. Pausing in the doorway, I looked over at the empty spot where Jasper's car would have been sitting in only a few short days, after he'd had it towed here from the house in Montana. A sob ripped from my chest before I could stop it and I collapsed to the ground. Everything was falling apart, everyone I loved was in danger, Jasper and my best friend, my sister, would be fighting for their lives, my family would be fighting, and I couldn't see any of it. I had never felt more helpless in my life.