Chapter Twenty-Six
Nessie arrived at the Cullens' home in a matter of minutes, bursting through the back door into the kitchen.
"Renesmee!"
Esme's arms were around her in an instant. But Nessie pulled out of her comforting grasp, searching around for the rest of her family.
"Where are my parents? Where is everyone?" she asked.
"They're all out searching for you," Esme replied, eyeing Nessie nervously. "Renesmee, where were you? What happened? Were you taken from the house?"
"You all need to leave Washington," Nessie said.
"What?" Esme gasped.
"Please trust me," Nessie said, beginning to pace back and forth. "There are humans here, an underground army. They hunt vampires and werewolves. They know about us. They've been following me for months."
"Is that who took you?" Esme asked.
"Yes. But a boy that I know is one of them, he helped me escape," Nessie explained quickly. "Please, there's not much time. You all have to leave. Go anywhere - just get out of Washington."
At that moment Edward, Carlisle and Bella appeared in the doorway, obviously having been able to hear Esme's thoughts from wherever they had been searching.
"What's happening?" Edward asked, approaching his daughter quickly.
"They're going to come and take all of you," Nessie said. She reached up, pressing her hand to her father's face.
Edward's eyes widened as all of Nessie's thoughts flowed into his own mind. He stared at her for a long moment, before turning back to Carlisle.
"It's an underground human militia - Enterprise. They took Nessie, and they have Jacob," he muttered.
"Cody said that if you all leave Washington, you'll be safe," Nessie insisted.
"What can they do to us?"
Nessie had not even noticed as Alice, Emmett, Rosalie and Jasper had joined the group, all bursting through the doorway. Emmett now stood front and center, looking furious.
"They're humans," he said loudly. "What do we have to be afraid of?"
"Do not underestimate them, Emmett. They could easily expose us, and bring on the wrath of the Volturi," Carlisle said.
"They've killed vampires and wolves before," Nessie stated.
"They've never met the Cullens," Emmett insisted.
"They know we're not dangerous," Edward said, "but they'll still hunt us."
"They don't know anything yet. You can all still escape," Nessie pleaded.
"Why do you say 'you'?" Bella asked.
"Renesmee won't leave without Jacob," Edward stated.
The entire room had fallen silent, as all of the Cullens stared at Nessie, who stood in the center of the room now.
"It's not a choice," she said softly.
"Edward and I will not leave without you," Bella declared.
"Mom, please - you have to," Nessie begged.
"Our family sticks together," Carlisle agreed.
"It's not practical, Carlisle," Jasper suddenly spoke up. "Renesmee is right. The best thing for us to do is to leave. If she has to save Jacob, then she will. But the rest of us have no obligations here."
"Renesmee is our obligation here!" Edward growled, turning to his brother.
"She doesn't want us to stay. This is senseless. Why stay and risk our whole family, when our reason for staying is begging us to go?" Jasper demanded.
"There isn't much time," Nessie urged. "You all have to get out of here - please! I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to you."
Nessie was staring at her family desperately, as they all stared back at her, each one drawing their own conclusions.
"We should have left Forks a long time ago," Emmett sighed.
"We put ourselves in this danger," Alice agreed.
"We did it for our family!" Edward cried.
"Edward, Nessie doesn't want us to stay," Jasper interrupted.
"But she can't leave. And we won't leave without her," Bella said.
"You're being irrational," Rosalie stated.
"They're being loyal," Carlisle stated calmly. "But perhaps staying so long was not the proper course of action."
"Carlisle," Edward nearly gasped, whirling on his father.
"We have risked the safety of our entire family, Edward. Renesmee knows this," Carlisle insisted.
"She would leave if Jacob Black weren't holding her here," Rosalie spat.
"Rose, that's not fair," Alice said.
"It's the truth," Rosalie insisted. "Renesmee doesn't need to stay any more than we do. But she has no choice."
"I don't have a choice," Nessie agreed, "but you do. Choose what's best."
"You are what's best," Bella said firmly.
"Washington is not," Jasper added.
There was a pause, as all of the Cullens looked around the kitchen at each other, and at Renesmee, who stood in the center of the room, still draped in her wedding gown.
"Renesmee, if you are successful in rescuing Jacob, do you think you will both be able to leave Washington with us?" Carlisle asked.
"I don't know," Nessie confessed.
"I can't believe this," Edward growled, glaring at his family. "How can you abandon us now?"
"We're not abandoning anybody but the wolves," Rosalie stated.
"All in favor of leaving Washington tonight," Carlisle called, looking around at the Cullens.
Jasper and Rosalie raised their hands instantly, Emmett shortly after. Carlisle and Esme followed Emmett.
Alice however, looked slightly bothered as she stared over at Nessie, as if she were trying to convey something of dire importance in a single look.
"I'm sorry, Nessie," she said, and there was an odd hint of discomfort in her tone that detracted from the sincerity of her apology ever so slightly.
"Don't be sorry," Nessie said, frowning as she eyed Alice's almost pained expression in confusion.
"We leave by sunlight," Carlisle declared, nodding to his family as he turned, beginning to head out of the kitchen, the other Cullens following quickly.
Only Alice remained where she was, staring at Edward with her wide, ocher eyes. Edward stared back intensely. Neither of their expressions changed as they stared at each other.
"And what about Renesmee?" Bella called suddenly, tearing the pair from their wordless conversation.
Alice turned, staring at Renesmee for a moment, as though she were contemplating something.
"I can't see Nessa's future... but I already know where she'll be," she said.
And with that, Alice turned quickly, bolting from the kitchen, as if afraid to stay a second longer. Edward remained silent as he watched his family disappear out the kitchen door. Bella grabbed his hand tightly.
"Edward," she whispered.
"All the fighting, everything we went through," Edward growled, clutching tightly to Bella's hand. "What was it all for?"
"They did what they had to do. We can't force them to stay," Bella said.
"We shouldn't have to," Edward replied.
"They made the right choice," Nessie said.
"They chose themselves over their family," Edward said coldly.
And he turned, storming from the room in his anger. Bella crossed to Nessie, kissing her forehead lightly before following Edward out of the room, into the darkness of the mansion. Nessie stared after them for a moment...
Before turning and running out of the house.
Nessie did not stop running until she was far into the woods, far enough away that her father could not get inside her mind. Only then did she stop, allowing her exhaustion and sadness to finally take over.
She let out a small cry of misery, sinking to her knees, the wedding gown billowing out around her. A cold breeze blew through the air, sending shivers down her spine.
She had lost Cody, lost her family, run from her parents - her only hope now was luck.
She stared up at the moon, allowing the cold wind to surround her. She imagined how incredibly strange she looked: a pale young girl sitting in a wedding gown in the middle of the woods, shivering and crying. It was like a scene from a Grimm fairy tale.
Just as Nessie was about to give up and allow her body to collapse into the cold exhaustion it felt, a pair of blue eyes were staring back at her.
She jumped to her feet immediately, staring at the beautiful white wolf before her. It sat serenely in the moonlight, staring up at her expectantly.
Nessie and the wolf both remained still, staring at each other in silence, until the wolf began to slowly walk away - and Nessie knew she had to follow it.
Once it was sure she was following, the wolf began to pick up speed. Nessie continued to follow the white fur as it gleamed in the moonlight. Eventually, the pair were soaring through the woods.
The wolf finally stopped, sitting down in the center of a small clearing. Nessie stopped as well, searching the area for any sign of an entrance to Enterprise.
There was not a building in sight.
Nessie turned back to the wolf, which was staring peacefully at the ground. She frowned.
"Where is Jacob?" she asked.
The wolf did not move an inch, and Nessie began to panic. The wolf had forsaken her. It was just an animal. She had put her faith in a mountain wolf, and now she was lost.
She threw herself to the ground in a moment of frantic panic... and a hollow thud beneath her immediately caused her to gasp.
The wolf watched carefully as Nessie pushed leaves aside to reveal a small, metal door in the ground. Nessie looked up at the wolf, which stared back at her in the same serene way.
"Thank you," she said, reaching out and touching the wolf's beautiful fur. Satisfied, the white wolf turned, darting back off into the darkness of the woods.
But all thoughts of the wolf disappeared as Nessie wrenched the metal door open, plunging down into the darkness below.