SM Owns it all.
Chapter 26
Even with the extra tanks that Jasper had strapped to the back of the snowmobile, they almost ran out of gas before coming upon a small town.
"That was close," he said as he pulled the vehicle into the trees and turned it off. "I really didn't want to start running yet." Half an hour later he'd siphoned gas out of a couple of trucks and refilled their own tanks.
"This gets shitty gas mileage," Bella observed. "How far do we need to go? I think it's almost sunrise, too... We should just run, Jasper."
Jasper looked at the snowmobile then back at her. She was right. This had been a stupid idea. His logic had been sound, but it hadn't taken into account the lack of speed and range of his vehicle of choice, or any other vehicle available to them in this frozen hellhole. Hell, they might as well have been using a horse drawn sleigh for all the damn good it was doing them. He was quickly deciding that he hated Siberia.
"You're right. We'll run. Let's go."
They ditched the stolen snowmobile, leaving it along the side of the road. Jasper moved into the trees and started to undress.
"What in the world are you doing, Jasper?" Bella asked, staring at him in shock.
He stopped pulling his pants off and looked back at her. "I'm changing. These clothes will get ruined running through the woods. We need to look presentable when we get back to civilization, Bella. We don't know what we're running into, or what sort of opportunity we'll have for further... um... shopping." He continued to strip as he was talking, carefully rolling the clothes up as he went. He pulled the clothes they'd gotten at the department store out of a new backpack Bella had noticed him unstrapping from the snowmobile. "Besides, I really like the boots and coat, not to mention the sweater you picked out, and I'd hate to see them get ruined," he grinned up at her.
She nodded slowly. "Alright...do you have my clothes in there, too?"
"Of course, Bella. Here you go." He pulled a rolled up bundle out and tossed it to her, and she grabbed it out of the air. "Roll your things up when you're done, and I'll put them in the bag. And roll them up nice and tight, now. I'll tie the boots on the outside of the bag." He turned his back on her, giving her some privacy to change. She knew he'd rather watch her, but he was gentleman enough to give her some semblance of privacy. It made her smile.
He began placing his rolled up clothing, including the nice coat, into the large backpack. "I'll carry the backpack, and you carry the Bond Bag. Sound alright to you?"
"Ooh...I'm honored! The Bond Bag!" Bella giggled. "Are you sure you trust me with that? Besides which, what's left in it that's so important?" Once they'd gotten clothing in Yakutsk, Jasper had made sure they were each carrying their own paperwork in waterproof bags, which they wore around their torsos and under their clothing. Passports, IDs, credit card, cash. Just in case they were separated. In addition to his paperwork, Jasper carried the phone.
She handed her clothing to him and picked the bag up from the ground, giving it a shake. "Feels pretty light to me," she told him.
"The chargers, the GPS, the rest of the lightsticks" he told her. "Nothing essential..."
"Well, THAT explains why I can all of a sudden be trusted to carry it," she said, laughing at him.
"That's not it at all, Bella," Jasper said, "Just... ugh... never mind. If you don't want to carry it, it'll probably fit in here with the clothes." Bella was amazed to see that he had indeed been able to fit all their new clothing into the backpack, including the two large coats. He was just finishing up tying the boots to the side of the bag. Bella flexed her bare feet in the snow, still finding the sensation very odd.
"It'll be easier to run this way," Jasper reassured her, having observed the movement of her feet. "Trust me. All the nomads know this."
"Is that what we are, now? Nomads?" Bella looked around them at the forest, and then back towards the road. It felt very lonely being a nomad. She thought it had sounded... free... when Edward had told her about the nomadic vampires - never being tied down, always getting to see new places... She'd changed her mind now, though. She'd rather be home and with her family - in a house... with running water... and clean clothes... and safety. She sighed sadly.
Jasper didn't need to feel her emotions to have a pretty good guess as to what was going through her mind. "No, Bella, we aren't nomads," he reassured her. "I prefer to think of us as travelers. Travelers on our way home, right?"
"Right." She nodded her head. That did sound better. Much more... reassuring. "With a little side trip."
He nodded. "With a little side trip. Ready?" He turned to the south and scanned the forest.
"Shouldn't we be going that way?" She waved vaguely towards the west, in the direction the road travelled.
"Nope. If we're running, we can just head straight south. We'll eventually hit the train tracks, and a hell of a lot sooner than if we ran to Taishan or Irkutsk. I don't know how often a train comes by, but there are freight trains in addition to the passenger trains, so we might just ride one of those."
Visions of a comfortable private cabin car vanished from Bella's head, to be replaced with one of them crouched amongst boxes and livestock. "Great," she mumbled.
Jasper grinned at her. "Let's go!" he said, and took off running.
They ran. And ran. And ran. They ran day and night. They crossed rivers, and ran through forests, wetlands, hills and meadows. The scenery was gorgeous, as it had been throughout Siberia. Signs of humans were rare, but it was clear that this area was still slightly more populated than what they'd been through so far. Oftentimes they'd have to detour around remote homesteads and the occasional small village.
They'd been running for two days, constantly on alert for any signs they were being followed by werewolves. Their second night saw a full moon rising to the east, making them even more nervous. Jasper had to assume the creatures were on their trail. While he was sure that the creatures were not capable of catching up to them while in their human form, but now they'd be in their wolf forms.
"I've got to hunt again," Bella told him, slowing down around noon of the second day. Her hand was rubbing her throat, as if that would help the burn that Jasper knew was there. "Really bad."
Jasper came to a stop beside her and looked at her eyes. They were black already. He shook his head. "Between going so long without feeding, and keeping that shield up like you are... I should have realized that. We were making such good time, though...Sorry, babe. I know you need to try to feed every day, at least until we get on the train. My mistake." He took a deep breath. "Ah, I smell..."
"REINDEER!" she shouted, starting to get excited. "Oh, boy!"
"Come here," he said, heading over to a large fir tree and quickly scaling it. He waited at the first branches for her, high above the ground. She frowned at the tree, and then tentatively began climbing up after him. He started laughing.
"You're overthinking it, Bella. Just follow your instincts!" 'you're so damn good at following them in the rest of your life' he thought to himself, a little angrily.
She stuck her tongue out at him, but did as he said, relaxing into the act of climbing. Within an instant, she was on the branch beside him, dangling her legs over the void.
"Excellent," he said, nodding.
"Why are we up here?"
"Well...I can think of a couple of reasons..."
"And they are...?" She waited expectantly.
"Well, in Emmett's book, there's an entire section on tree-related activities..." He cocked an eyebrow and waited for her reaction.
Bella was silent for a second, processing what he said and what he implied. "Um, I don't think so. Not right now."
He sighed in disappointment. "Okay. Well, then, I want to leave our things up here. We don't want to be hunting with the backpacks on, and we should leave our coats here, too, and maybe our sweatshirts so they don't get... um... bloodied up. We've been running across human scents off and on, and while I don't smell anyone around right now, I don't want anyone stumbling across our stuff."
Bella began pulling off her department store coat and sweatshirt, wedging it in the branches above them. "You don't think they'll look up and see this stuff?"
"We ARE pretty far off the ground, Bella. I don't think they'll notice it."
"What do you think people are doing out here in the middle of nowhere?"
"No clue. Hunting, I guess. There's a lot of fur trade around here. Remember the couple we got the clothes from?"
"Yeah... Ready?"
"Yep. Let's be quick. I don't want to spend too much time here. If you can, pull down a couple real quick and break their necks, and then drain them."
Bella nodded her understanding, and they dropped back to the ground. She revelled in the feel of the hundred foot drop, and decided that when they had time - and safety - on their side, she was going to indulge in a lot of tree climbing.
They moved slower through the forest in the direction of the reindeer scent. They were downwind of the herd, so they would not be detected. Within a mile of where they'd left their things, the trees began to thin out until they found themselves on the edge of a huge meadowland, through which a small river - now frozen over - ran. A large herd of reindeer was pawing in the snow, foraging in the middle of the open area.
"Perfect," Jasper whispered, and Bella nodded in reply, letting out a low, rumbling growl in anticipation of feeding. Jasper looked at her. "Are you going to be alright with me so close?" he asked. She'd been alright feeding with him at the hot springs, and before they'd arrived in Yakutsk. But she hadn't been so hungry then, and she certainly hadn't been growling before the hunt even began.
"I'm fine," she managed to spit out around the pooling venom. "Let's go."
Without waiting to see if he followed, she exploded out of the tree line onto the herd. She had one animal pulled down, its neck snapped, and was leaping for a second one before the creatures ever knew that something was wrong. Jasper pulled his first one down as she was chasing her third, the animals now in full-fledged panicked flight, and slipping on the ice of the frozen-over river in their need to escape. Jasper caught a scent that brought him up short, and he froze in shock.
The shock quickly changed to horror as he saw that Bella, caught up in her hunt, had also caught the scent.
Human.
"Bella, NO!" he shouted, running toward her and leaping. Somehow, although he would have bet money he couldn't do it, he landed on her back and brought her down in the snow. "Bella, stop!" he yelled to the struggling form that writhed beneath him, locking his body around hers. "Stop. Come back to me," he whispered.
Bella may have behaved like a newborn still, but her newborn strength had waned long ago. She was no match for Jasper, and her struggles quickly stilled.
"Oh, my God, Jasper," she finally whispered. "What the hell? Did you see that?" She started laughing.
After a moment, he had to join her, even without her projecting her emotions onto him. "I did see that, Bella."
"Oh, good," she said, laughing harder. He relaxed his hold on her and she rolled over, looking up at him. He grinned down at her. "I was afraid maybe I was adding hallucinations to my list of problems! I mean, really - a man riding a reindeer? What the hell WAS that?"
He chuckled and lowered his head until his forehead was touching hers, their lips only inches apart. "I have no idea, but can you imagine what HE is thinking right now? I mean, really – two half-dressed people come running out of the woods and start attacking his reindeer? Last I saw, the one he was riding was bucking across the river, hot on the trail of the rest of the herd. They probably won't stop until they hit the Pacific Ocean!"
He started laughing harder now, and he rolled off of her to lie in the snow next to her. "Oh, my God! The Volturi would be so PISSED! Here we are, sparkling away, showing off our vampire super skills..." If she'd still been human, Bella was sure she'd be peeing her pants by now. "Oh... oh... oh... Can you imagine when he gets HOME tonight? What he's going to tell the wife and kids?"
"Oh, shit!" She sat up suddenly.
"What? What is it?" Jasper was instantly on his feet, his laughter gone, looking around frantically for what could have caused her sudden mood swing.
"My supper! Are they still alive?"
Jasper looked around them. The two reindeer she'd brought down were still twitching in the snow, along with the one he'd gotten. They'd been joined by three of their herd mates that had not survived the stampede across the frozen river. "We're good," he told her. "Just drink fast. And leave the carcasses – maybe he'll use the meat and hides. I feel kinda bad now, knowing that these were someone's livelihood."
They ended up draining all six animals, Bella's eyes returning to a nice golden glow after three. Jasper let her have a fourth, just to be safe, contenting himself with two. For the first time since he'd met her, she'd fed to completion. She really was eating more than normal, and he didn't know whether to be concerned or not. He really wished she'd drop the damn shield – it was affecting her physically, and he couldn't remember that happening with any other vampire with a power... that he'd heard of, anyway. Maybe maintaining her shield non-stop, like she was, was harder than just occasionally using it. But then again, Edward's ability to read minds was always in play, and he didn't need to eat any more often than the rest of them. Maybe the shield itself was more of a power drain.
After quickly retrieving their belongings, they continued southward. That night the moon was still large in the sky, but they heard no howls. They had been running single file, Bella trailing Jasper by several paces as they ghosted through trees and meadows. Now, however, she put on a burst of speed to catch up to him. He glanced sideways at her and slowed a bit.
"What's up?" he asked. "Problem?"
"No," she replied, continuing to watch the land in front of them so she didn't do something foolish, like be the first vampire in history to run into a tree. "I was just wondering... I realize the moon is up, and that it's sort of like the sun. But on the nights when we haven't had a moon, how do you know which direction we're running in?" She could see him in her peripheral vision running with his head turned towards her, and she decided that if he could do it, then so could she. So she turned to watch him. After a few yards she realized she was going to be perfectly safe, being able pick a trail out with her peripheral vision while she watched and spoke to Jasper. "Is it some kind of vampire instinct, like migrating birds have? Because I don't think I've got it."
Jasper smiled. "No, nothing like that, Bella. I follow the stars. If you can read the night sky, you'll never get lost. I learned how when I was still human, a little bit. But I've learned a lot more since becoming a vampire. Bella, you weren't exactly wandering around lost when I found you. I mean, it was clear that you didn't know which direction you wanted to go - east or west - but you were definitely trying to go home, and then you'd decide to turn and head back to Italy. How were YOU keeping your directions straight?"
Bella slowed to a stop. She knew she'd told him about feeling pulled. Hadn't he understood what she meant? "The pull, Jasper. I feel, well, sort of a tugging inside. In here." She tapped her palm on her chest. "It PULLS me. It pulls me there," she pointed back east. "Back to where I suppose the Cullens are. Back to my...family. It's the pull I wanted to follow, but it's weak. It's too weak. There's another pull drawing me there," she pointed to the west. "Pulling me back to where Edward was killed." She paused for a moment, clearly lost in thought. For a moment, Jasper's heart 'stopped'. For a moment, he wondered - briefly, fleetingly - if Edward was still alive. He knew the sort of pull she spoke of - a pull that had once kept him aware of Alice's whereabouts. A pull that was now gone. He didn't feel it anymore. But, no, Edward was dead. They were sure of that. SHE was sure of that. The pull she spoke of was something different. It had to be what he'd spoken of with Carlisle – she was being pulled back to where she believed, instinctively, that she would find her mate's killers. Edward's began speaking again, and he stopped his line of thought to listen to her. Her words echoed his thoughts, confirming them. "It pulls me back to where his KILLERS are. I... I wonder if Victoria felt something like it, pulling her back to Forks, you know? Because she kept coming, and coming, and coming... It was like she didn't have a choice. And that's what I feel like, Jasper, and it scares me. Because look what happened to her. And I don't want to die... Not anymore. But I still feel that pull... Like I don't have any choice, either." She started sounding a bit hysterical.
He cut her off. "Bella. Stop. Listen to me." Dammit, this would be SO much easier if she would just let him IN. "Maybe... maybe you're right. Our kind, we usually do try to avenge our mates when they are destroyed. I've seen it before often enough during my time with Maria. I don't know if any of them felt a pull, and I don't know if Victoria felt this pull that you're feeling. So, I don't know if that's what it is. It makes sense, though... But I can't tell you from firsthand knowledge."
"But you and Alice..." she started, but then winced and looked away.
Jasper sighed. "My mate wasn't killed, Bella. That bond was destroyed. No, that's not the correct word. It was like the bond never existed. What Chelsea did was bad. As bad as murder or rape, if you ask me. But it left no instinctive need for revenge behind in its wake, not like Alice's death would have." Doesn't mean that I don't feel like a little revenge just on the principle of things, he thought to himself. "So... this pull you feel... I don't have any firsthand knowledge of it. I don't have any anecdotal evidence that might help you. But I'm gonna stay with you, Bella. I'll stay with you while we find out what it's pulling you towards." And hopefully maybe find a way to get you pulled in a different direction before you do something foolish like that stupid bitch Victoria did. Because I will NOT let you die a useless death, if I can help it, he added silently. He leaned forward and gently grasped her small face between his two hands. "I promise you, Bella, I'm not gonna leave you," he told her again, leaning down to kiss her. She leaned into the kiss, and then tried to deepen it. "Not now, sweetheart," he said, drawing back. "We DO still have werewolves on our trail. Wait until we get to the train..."
"Alright," she sighed.
"Bella?"
"Yes, Jasper?"
"Would you like me to teach you how to read the stars? It's a better way to get around than letting yourself be pulled hither and thither."
"I think I would like that very much. But, really, Jasper – hither and thither?"
"And yon – don't forget yon. Hither, thither, and yon."
"And yon – definitely can't forget yon."
"Feel better now?"
"Yep. C'mon, we have a train to catch." She took off, not waiting for him.
They hit the train tracks the next morning. Jasper was guessing it was morning, based on the fact that the moon had set - the moon that was still a little too full for him to relax. Being as far north as they were, though, the sun had yet to make an appearance.
"What do we do now?" Bella asked him.
"We start heading west along the tracks. But I think we should hunt first."
She shuddered. "Probably so. But it went so well last time...why don't we just go and find an entire village to terrorize?" She started walking down the track, consciously moving at a human pace.
"Funny, Bella. Just walk, and keep sniffing. Maybe not for reindeer, though."
"Well, geez, Jasper, what if they farm bears around here, too? Or maybe use them for watchdogs?"
"We'll worry about that when we find a bear, Bella. Besides which, it's winter, remember? They're all asleep right now."
In the end, they settled for reindeer again - a herd that was not too far from the tracks. If it was a domestic herd, there was no sign of humans around it, and that's all that Jasper cared about. They each drained two animals and returned to the tracks. The sun was up now, but hidden in clouds. Jasper could smell snow in the air, and when he pointed it out to Bella, she realized she could, too.
It wasn't too long after midday when they felt the rumble in the ground that announced an approaching train, and their luck seemed to hold because it was approaching from the east, heading west to Moscow. They faded back into the trees, which came very close to the tracks here, and climbed one of the larger ones that hung over the track.
"I feel like I'm in a James Bond movie," Bella told him as they lay in wait, intending to drop down on the train as it passed by beneath them.
"I know. Emmett will be SO jealous when he hears about this!" Jasper agreed with her. "Carlisle discourages us from doing shit like this at home."
She giggled. "Well, I guess we better enjoy it while we can, then, right? Before Dad's back in charge, putting a damper on our party."
Those words were magic to Jasper's ears. Any indication she made that she intended to return to the Cullens was a step in the right direction, as far as he was concerned.
Soon enough the train came into sight. Bella was disappointed that it was a freight train and not a passenger train, but as far as Jasper was concerned it made things easier. He hoped nobody noticed them as they dropped down onto a freight car halfway along the line of cars, and they just as quickly entered through a hatch they found in the top. Inside, light filtered through cracks in the walls that Jasper was amused to see were still made of wood. The car was full of crates, but they were able to move some around to create a small nest for themselves near the top, right near the hatch they'd entered through.
"We made it," Bella said, relief in her voice. "No werewolves. But what now?"
"Now," Jasper told her, settling down on top of a crate and pulling her down next to him, "We wait. We should be in Moscow within the week, assuming this train goes all the way."