Chapter 35

"Edward! Edward!" Bella shouted her beloved's name as she shook him in a desperate attempt to wake him. Tears filled her eyes as she got no response. Edward was unconscious and shook limply as Bella tried to wake him. His blood did not stop pouring from his body. Yoruichi tensed as she looked at the scene before her. She's seen this before, but in a different situation. Ichigo looked from Bella and Edward to Yoruichi, then spoke to the latter woman. "Yoruichi-san, aren't you going to do anything? Isn't there a kido that can help?"

Yoruichi swallowed. "I've seen this before… But there's nothing that comes to my mind that can help."

Bella's head shot her way. "Please! You have to help me somehow! How are we going to succeed in this mission without Edward? What if he dies?"

Yoruichi closed her eyes as she pondered hard on what she could do to at least ease the situation. She opened her eyes and came to Edward's side. Crouching near him, she touched his pulse point and that's when her eyes widened. Deep inside she expected this, and it actually happened, his heart was beating.

Bella's eyes widened when the soft sound of heart beat finally reached her. She fell back in shock, propping herself up with her hands. "How… Is that possible? Please tell me it's not his heart beat I'm hearing."

Ichigo simply looked at the situation. No matter how much he wanted to do something to help, deep inside, something was holding him back. He clenched his fists till his knuckles went white. This was so frustrating!

Yoruichi sighed. "There's nothing that can be done… At least nothing that I know of." She mentally contacted Urahara and informed him of the situation, which he already knew about and was working on correcting.

Alice stopped walking as another vision washed over her mind. Jasper appeared at her side in a flash, supporting her should her legs fail after the vision. Once she was out of it, she looked at her mate with exhausted eyes. "What did you see?" Jasper asked, looking back into Alice's eyes.

"I saw… Karin." Alice spoke with pauses. "She's in a horrible state… And I think I saw her captor."

Jasper grew nervous all of a sudden. "Did you see clear enough who it was?" He could feel and even see by Alice's current state that whatever she saw was not going to be pleasant to hear in any way.

"It's… Emma." Alice finally spoke the name.

Jasper's eyes widened. "Did I hear you correctly? You said Emma? The one who studied with us in high school and entered the same college as Ichigo?"

Alice gave a single nod to confirm the information. Jasper looked lost. He thought that for a moment he himself may grow weak and collapse from shock. Who would've thought? He knew Emma as a nice girl from working with her on a few class projects. She was always smiling and constantly chattering on and on about the most random things, but he liked the girl because she wasn't like others who simply stayed quiet due to awkwardness.

Alice's strength returned to her and she could stand on her own. She cleared her throat and took a moment to make sure her legs wouldn't fail her. She looked at Jasper. "I myself can't believe it… But we'll know only when we see it for ourselves."

"What did the room look like?" Jasper asked. Perhaps he could guess in which part of the enemy grounds to look.

"It was dark. It looked like an abandoned chemical lab. There were also machines… Like large computers. Perhaps even the size of a vending machine." Alice told the details.

Jasper pondered, and then it hit him. "What if it's in the basement? Did it have windows?"

"Yes." Alice's response made Jasper sink into deeper thinking. "But light didn't fall inside. The only source of light was… The computer at which she sat."

Jasper thought for a few more seconds. Then an idea came to mind. "What if it isn't under-ground but the windows are simply covered up?"

"That's possible." Alice agreed.

"Come on, let's go outside and look for windows that are covered." Jasper urged. The two turned and were about to go on the search of an exit from the building when they sensed a third-party not too far from them. They raised their guard, ad soundlessly made their way down the corridor to a large hall. As they got closer, they could hear sounds of heart beat, along with bones breaking and flesh tearing. The coppery stench of blood hit their noses like a brick when they got close enough to the entrance. They made expressions of disgust, and then carefully peered into the room. The sight inside was horrific: the floor was black with dry blood, rotting human and animal organs lay scattered about the place. Some body parts here or there could be made out among the mess. The hall was large, and judging by the many out-lets it had in its walls, it used to be some sort of control center of the facility. They picked up heavy foot-steps getting closer to the hall from another direction and hid behind the large metal door as another leading to the hall opened and a beast they had not seen before entered. It was dragging a man's body after it. It had a muscular human torso, slightly hunched over. It had the head of a wolf and the mane like that of a lion which covered its neck, upper back, chest, and head. It had 4 arms, the top ones being the largest and in length to its knees with the bottom ones being smaller and in length like those of a human. Its legs were shaped like those of a rabbit but its paws were like those of a predator cat. Its fur was mostly grey, only the mane was white, and its claws were black as if polished.

Alice gasped in shock and Jasper embraced her protectively. They exchanged glances and quietly hurried as fast as they could to find the exit.

The beast sent the dead body flying into a concrete pillar, then stopped to smell the air. It growled lowly when it smelled another presence and followed the scent trail. Its eyes flashed a bloody red as fury from missing a potential meal or a sparring partner(s) filled its being.

Jasper and Alice finally found the exit. They didn't stop there though, they had to make sure that they got away to safety so they hurried into a neighboring facility, silently praying that they won't encounter anything ill-wishing there.

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