The Definition of 'Revolution'
—an overthrow or repudiation and the thorough replacement of an established government or political system by the people governed.
All things Twilight related belong to Stephanie Meyer.
I shot straight up in bed and looked around the room. Something didn't feel right. My body was trying to warn me about danger nearby, but I wasn't exactly sure what I was supposed to be afraid of.
After a second to think, I decided to go look for Bella. She had been gone for over an hour and that wasn't usually the norm, so I lightly jumped off of her bed and checked the hallway to see if there were any nurses around. As usual, it was like a ghost town in the halls of Dixville.
I shut her door and walked softly, trying not to make too much noise. I immediately ended up in front of Aro's door and the anxious vibe I was feeling got stronger.
"What the hell is going on?" I shuddered as a stream of fire ran across my skin.
I knocked on the door, quickly coming up with some lame excuse as to why I needed to speak with the good doctor. I waited a second, and he didn't appear. I knocked again. Still nothing. I tried the knob, but it was locked.
"Dr. Volturi, open up. I need… therapy," I lied. "Are you in there?"
My fist started banging rapidly—with so much force that it was started to throb. I didn't notice I was furiously pounding until the pain became too much with each knock.
"Is there something I can help you with?" a young nurse appeared out of nowhere with a skeptical face.
"Um, where is Dr. Volturi?"
"He's in a therapy room."
"Which one?"
"I'm not sure. I think you should go back to your room." She started to block my path when I took a step to check down the hall.
I felt that familiar searing heat in my spine, but repressed it immediately.
"Let me in, Edward," the cold voice in my head demanded.
"I need to find Isabella Swan. Where is she?" I pushed the nurse out of my way and began pulling open doors, none of which had anyone in them.
"Mr. Masen, I might have to call for backup if you don't get back to your room."
"I'll go when I find Bella. Something isn't right," I insisted. "Where the hell is she?"
"In therapy. Pease get back to your room."
I found the door I wanted. It was locked, but I could hear Aro behind it. He was talking to someone. I pounded on it with my fist. "Let me in, Aro. I know you're in there."
The door unlocked and opened a sliver. He stood with a calm face. "Is there anything I can help you with?"
"Where is she?" I tried to peek around him and saw what looked like an interrogation room. There was a TV and a chair along with another door. "Is she in there?"
"Who, Mr. Masen?" Aro tilted his head stupidly.
"Bella. You know who I'm talking about. Where is she? Something's not right."
"I'm sorry, Dr. Volturi," the nurse squeaked. "I tried to get him back to his room, but he refused."
"That's perfectly all right. Maybe he should be here." Aro stepped aside to let me in the room.
I timidly went inside and tried to figure out what was going on. I tried the other door, but it was locked as well.
"What the hell are you doing in here?" I asked Aro with a hint of acid in my voice.
"Bella's is having a rather intense round of therapy," he replied. "Nothing you need to concern yourself with."
"I don't feel right."
"We can watch if you want." Aro flicked on the TV. A gray and white picture appeared from a video camera that was positioned in one of the room's corner.
Bella was sitting on the floor, her chest rising and falling in anger. Her face was twisted in the worst kind of pain I had ever seen. She had nasty bruises all over her skin, and I could see her swollen cheeks as if she had been punched. Her body was shaking in terror, but Bella's face was trying to be strong. She wouldn't let one single emotion pass her façade.
There was a man walking around her like she was a piece of meat. I recognized him immediately and I was finally able to put a name with a face. Caius. He looked so gross with his pale, drawn out face, and eyes that had absolutely no life.
I raced to the door, trying to pull it open, and then started banging on it. "Bella! I'm here. I'll get you out of there."
"Edward, go away," she commanded shakily.
I watched the monitor. She stood up, and it looked like she had a slight limp. There was a large wound on the top of her head, like it had been bashed into the wall.
"Bella, open this door." I tried the knob, but it didn't budge.
"I'm handling this," she screamed back.
I heard a cold laugh from the other side of the door and could see Caius throw his head back as if he had just heard the funniest thing in the world. He was clutching his stomach. His lips were moving, but I couldn't hear his words. I remembered his voice as being very airy, like a raspy whisper. It was terrifying.
"This is what she needs, Edward." Aro put his hand on my shoulder. "Don't you want her to get better?"
"Get your fucking hands off me." I pushed him so hard that he flew into the opposite wall. It took him a minute to regain his breathing.
"I don't want to have to restrain you. This is my treatment and it's going to work." He fixed his lab coat.
"You're hopeless. Do something!" Max's voice was loud and clear. Surprisingly, my eyes weren't clouded over in red. I had my own conscious thoughts and was in control of my body. That had never happened before.
"I'm trying," I shouted at myself. "Tell me what to do."
"Look for something to break the door down with," he commanded.
There wasn't anything in the room. So I just threw myself against the door, my shoulder pounding against hard steel.
"You're being stupid. He's going to hurt her. Find something else."
I felt so hopeless, but I was determined not to give up.
"Edward, go away. You shouldn't be here." Bella sounded so broken and scared, but on the TV, her face was strong.
Caius began walking towards her, and she backed up. She hit the wall and tried to move back even further, but there wasn't anywhere else to go. He looked like he was about to eat her, and I think I even saw him sniff at her skin. It was disgusting.
"You're a sick bastard," I spat at Aro.
"She'll be fine," he replied, an edge of excitement in his voice. "Let's see what she'll do. Don't let me down, Bella."
His hand reached out and grasped her neck. I could see him start to squeeze, lifting Bella's body off of the ground as he clutched harder.
"Get her out of there!"
I decided that I needed to get some help. I rushed to the other door and just as I was about to open it, I heard a scream that echoed off of the walls. It was more of a shriek.
I turned around to see Caius on the floor, clutching at his neck. I think Bella's letter opener was jabbed deep into the skin. I'm sure that's what it was, but I couldn't be sure. Blood started to pour of his neck, and he fell to his knees.
"Oh, my God," Aro gasped in horror.
Bella pulled the letter opener out of his neck, and then rushed to the door. It flung open, and she wiped tears from her eyes.
"Bella, are you okay?" I ran towards her.
"No." She shook her head. Caius' long finger marks were around her neck. "I need to get out of here."
"Okay, let's find a nurse so we can get back to your room." I wrapped my arms around her.
"No!" She pushed me off. "I need to get out of here as in Dixville and I need to get away from you." Bella pointed at Aro, who was backed into a corner. It was obvious that her act of violence had scared the shit out of him.
I didn't think Caius was dead, but I didn't care enough to check, either.
Bella turned back to me. "Edward, I'm about to do something rash and completely crazy. Do you trust me?"
"Yes," the voice replied immediately.
I nodded.
She went to the TV and turned it off. She pulled the tape out of the VCR. "Of course he'd tape this," she said to herself.
"What are you doing, Bella?" I asked.
"We're leaving." She handed me the tape. "Guard that with your life."
"Bella, think rationally." Aro put his hands up as she stalked towards him.
"I'm crazy. The whole point is that I don't think rationally."
"What are you doing?" he asked shakily.
"We're leaving and you're coming with us." She pressed the letter opener against his throat. "Don't think I won't do it."
He looked completely scared—to the point that there wasn't any blood left in his face. We could hear Caius' pleading in the other room for help. That only scared Aro further.
"We're going to go out into the hallway and then you're taking us out of here. If we see anyone on the way, tell them that we're going on a field trip. Make something up," Bella instructed. "Make one wrong move and I'll slit your throat."
"You'll go to jail," Aro countered. He looked so weak against her mighty power.
"Newsflash, I'm already in jail. I'm not staying here anymore and once we leave, I'm never coming back."
I was kind of at a loss of what to say. I had never seen Bella this way. She reminded me of some kind of jungle cat with her fierce eyes and snarling teeth. I didn't dare speak a word. Max was bouncing around in my head with giddy laughter and praise for her actions. I had one side of my brain telling me to stay and the other telling me to go. I could stop her, but then we'd have to stay here and suffer the consequences.
I rather liked her idea of leaving. She was right; we couldn't be here anymore. It was torture every day, and I wouldn't suffer like this anymore. Aro was a monster, and he needed to be brought down. I didn't know where we were going, but I would blindly follow.
"Bella, stop this." Aro tried to reach for the weapon in her hands.
She maneuvered away from him and the blade cut his face. "Don't test me. I won't think twice about killing you."
Aro gripped his cheek and blood dripped out of the gash.
"You're not going to get away with this," he choked out.
Bella started to pat him down and found what she was looking for. She pulled out a needle and handed it to me. "I need you to give him that shot."
I recognized it as a mild sedative that the nurse gave us when we got rowdy. I had seen it been done a hundred times before.
I pulled Aro's jacket off of him. "Roll up your sleeve."
"I'm not doing that, Edward. Listen to yourself."
"Roll up your sleeve!"
"Max is telling me that you need to roll up your sleeve," I replied.
He didn't move.
I pushed him up against the wall and ripped his shirt open, pulling it down until I could see his shoulder. He struggled, but I overpowered him easily somehow. I stuck the needle in his arm and emptied the liquid into his arm.
"We have to move fast," Bella whispered to me. "Is there anything you need back in your room?"
"No. What about you?"
She shook her head. Bella looked like an absolute mess from her ordeal. Her hair was a rat's nest, her eyes were bloodshot, and her skin had bruises all over it. I really wanted to just take a second and care for her, but we were on a schedule.
Bella went back to the other room where Caius was. She locked the door from the inside, and then shut it with a thud.
Aro was starting to sway on his feet, but just looked a little tipsy. He was still coherent for now.
"We need to go before he passes out." I supported a lot of his weight. He could shuffle his feet, but I had to prod him alone. "Do you have the tape?"
"Yeah." I held it up.
"Okay, wait for me to check the hallway."
The one good thing about Dixville was that the halls were always clear. We didn't meet a nurse or an orderly on our way out of the building.
I took Aro's keys out of his pocket once we reached the secluded parking lot in the back.
"Which one is your car?" I asked him.
"I'm not going along with this," he slurred.
Bella pushed me out of the way and pressed the letter opener into his back. "I will kill you right here if you don't cooperate."
She dug the knife deeper, making him wince and finally—reluctantly—nod. "The black one," he mumbled, pointing to a Lexus in front of us.
I pressed the button on his keys and watched the lights flash as the doors unlocked. We made our way over to the car and opened the driver's door. I put Aro in the front seat. He was still lucid enough to drive at this point, but time was ticking fast. After I got him secured, I got into the back with Bella. She had the knife right at the base of his neck. I think at this point, he knew it was futile to fight. He had lost.
"Drive out of the gate and act like nothing's going on."
Aro started the car and pulled out of the parking space slowly. He drove towards the barbed wire gate, where a guard stood. This was the first time I had seen the grounds in the light. It really did resemble a prison—no grass, no trees, no life.
Aro rolled down his window and pulled up to a stop at the guard. "I've signed them out. I'm taking them to visit a colleague of mine in the city."
"I'll have to check with the office on that one, sir," he responded.
"That won't be necessary. It was a quick decision. It wouldn't be on there, anyway," Aro lied smoothly.
"Why is he going along with us?" I whispered to Bella.
"Because he knows I really will kill him." There was a fire behind her eyes that I didn't think anyone could put out.
The guard let us pass and Aro drove on.
"Keep going," Bella commanded. "Pull up around the corner.
Aro did as he was told and kept going at a normal pace.
"Are you okay to drive?" Bella asked me.
I nodded.
When Aro turned off the car, I hopped out and took his spot. Bella pulled him in the back with her and almost as soon as he was situated, his head lolled back in sleep. The sedative had taken full effect.
"Where am I going?" I asked her and drove the car onto the street.
"Back to Windemere. You can just take the highway most of the way up. I'll tell you where to turn."
"You seem to have this planned out quite well."
"I told you I wasn't staying here long. This might be a lot faster than what I had in mind, but it was the perfect opportunity."
"Are you okay, Bella?"
"I'm fine." I saw her run her hand over the bruise marks on her neck.
"Are you sure?"
"Edward, I'm okay. I had been preparing for that for a long time. Just take us home, please."
"How long will it take?"
"Fourteen hours," she replied. "We have enough sedatives to keep him out for three days, though. Once we get out of the city, I need to find a pay phone."
I could see her picking through Aro's pockets for his wallet. She rolled down the window and threw his phone out as I was driving.
"Bella, I need to tell you something." I exhaled deeply.
"What?"
"I used to know Caius. He was one of my father's business partners a long time ago. I've been to his house and everything. I didn't know until I went home for Thanksgiving. I didn't even remember him."
"Edward, you're rambling." She snorted. "Calm down."
"Did you hear what I said?"
"Yes, I heard you. I already knew that."
"How the hell could you possibly know that? I didn't even know."
"Do you really think I would just let some stranger sleep in my bed with me every night? I did my research when I first met you. I know who your father was and I know his connections. It doesn't surprise me, though. A lot of people knew that bastard."
"Aren't you afraid that you killed him back there?"
"I hope he's dead," she snarled. "He deserves to die."
"How are you going to talk yourself out of this one?"
"That's what the video is for. I can kill a couple birds with one stone. I'm going to get Caius thrown in jail and maybe Aro too. People can't refute evidence like that."
"Impressive."
"Pull up into this parking lot," she instructed me.
I did as she said and turned off the car once I parked.
"I'll be right back." Bella climbed out of the car and slinked on the ground, in between parked cars. I sat up in my seat as I watched her.
She seemed to be looking for something and found it as she stopped in front of a beat up looking dark green Volvo. She took the letter opener and started to mess with the license plate in the back. She took out the screws, and then popped the thing off easily after a couple of minutes. Bella came back over to Aro's Lexus and switched the plates out before climbing back into the car.
"You're like MacGyver," I chuckled at the absurdity of the past hour.
"I once made a ladder out of Alice's hair bows and climbed out of my window. That was fun."
"I don't know if I should be scared or not."
"You're safe with me, Edward. Don't worry." She leaned up and kissed my cheek. "Keep driving. We have about six more hours until they realize we're not there."
"What if they check on Caius?"
"Hopefully he's dead by now, but if he's not, they won't go in there. No one interrupts Aro during therapy for anything."
I turned on the car and was glad that there was a full tank of gas.
"Just stay the speed limit and don't attract any attention."
Once I found the highway, I sunk into my seat and prepared for the long drive back home.
A/N:
Sorry about the wait. I know it's been a long time, but I had RL issues and since this story isn't pre-written, it took me forever to find an hour to just hash this out. As you can see, it's a beast of a chapter. Lots going on.
Are we satisfied at how badass Bella is? She has taken over and escaped! Someone call the police! Warn the townsfolk! Aha. It's going to be fun.
I can't say much, but all will be coming to a close soon. It's about to be explosive.
Next update soon.
Thanks to suzie55 for the pre-read and JennyB0719 for the beta work. As usual, they keep me sane. Thanks!