Chapter 35: Seventeen

Bella sat up in bed trying to adjust her eyes to the sunlight filtering through the blinds.

"Morning sunshine."

Bella sighed and fell back into Edward Cullen's arms. He held her tight kissing her with passion.

"How'd you sleep last night?" He cooed in her ear.

"Okay."

"Your dreams sounded interesting. Was I in them?"

Bella blushed. Edward, although he couldn't sleep, loved to spend the night in Bella's room just to eavesdrop on her sleep talking. She knew she had spoken his name several times.

"No you weren't in it." She teased.

"Oh really?" Edward playfully kissed her throat. "Tell me who was then."

"Mike Newton. He's an excellent at making out."

Edward let out a low hiss. Although he knew that Bella was only joking, the thought of her and Mike making out sickened him. Bella pulled Edward's face to hers. When he couldn't take the temptation anymore, Edward pushed her away. Bella shot him one of his favorite smiles.

"Who do you think I was dreaming about?" She whispered, tracing her mouth with her finger.

A ringing came from the corner of the bedroom. Edward was there and back with the phone so quickly Bella hardly saw him.

"Hello?" She said.

"Bella!" Dan panted.

"Dan!"

At the mention of Dan's name Edward looked up shock crossing his face like a shadow.

"Bella! You need to get into hiding quickly!"

Bella furrowed her brow in concentration. "What?"

"Freeman! Bella do you realize what day it is?"

Bella's heart thudded. The thrill of being with Edward again had wiped Freeman from her mind. She peeked at the calendar and saw with horror that it was September 11. Two days before her birthday and- if their guesses were correct- two days before Freeman would need to sacrifice her to the gods.

"Wait I thought you said Freeman didn't know where I was?"

"Well he found you somehow and he's on his way. Gabrielle overheard him talking. We're on our way to the temple to stop whatever he's planning, but you need to hide."

Then the phone went dead.

"Damn it."

Edward frowned. "Bella…?" Then it clicked in his mind too. "We need to get you out of here. Fast." Bella got dressed in a rush and they ran to Edward's car. "I need to stop at home." He cried as he turned sharply into a driveway.

"This is where you…?"

"Not now." Edward snapped and he disappeared into his house. Bella knew she was meant to follow him, but for now she was content with staying outside. She wasn't so sure she wanted to see the people who had taken Edward from her and turned him into…an immortal.

Bella wandered around the vast front yard. She kicked a rock and kept her gaze fixed on the ground. A hand wrapped around her arm. She turned, expecting to see Edward.

"Hello Miss Swan. Pleasure to see you again." Freeman leered at her. "Just relax. It'll be over before you know it." Then she felt a slight prick in the crook of her elbow and the world dissolved.

Bella woke up, light headed and woozy. She was lying on a stiff mattress in a filthy hotel room.

"Bella! Nice of you to join us!" A cold voice came from the dark corner of the room. Bella put her hand against her forehead wishing the dull ache in her head would stop. Freeman was sitting in the corner with a dark colored man wearing strange looking clothes. He was speaking to Freeman in Spanish and eyeing Bella with an undisguised hunger.

At the sight of Bella's confused face Freeman clapped his hands together. "Oh how rude of me!" He exclaimed. "Bella this is Acan. He is the present day Mayan leader."

"Mayans?" Bella choked out.

"Oh yes." An evil gleam took refuge in Freeman's eyes as he looked her over. "You're quite famous among the Mayans, did you know that? In fact tomorrow they're holding a special…ceremony for you."

Acan chuckled darkly by Freeman's side. Bella stood up on shaky legs. She attempted to get to the door, but her legs gave way and she collapsed. Moisture formed in Bella's eyes and she tried to stop the painful ragged breaths.

"Aw there now Bella. You've had a nice life. Now it's time you step down and let someone else have their turn."

"You're not going to get away with this." She croaked, trying with all her might to get to her feet.

Freeman made a mock pout at her. "Now Bella if you don't stop trying to get away I'll have to sedate you again. And you don't want that do you?"

Fear clouded Bella's brain. She knew the smart thing would be to lie back down on that motel bed and wait until the effects of whatever Freeman had injected her with wore off. If she struggled now and he put her under again, she wouldn't have time to regain full control of her body again before…she shuddered unable to think about it and crawled back to the bed.

"Smart move. There's no use fighting, Bella. I've won."

Bella stared up at the moldy ceiling and relived her last hours with Edward. That would be the only thing that got her through.

Edward stood in his front yard holding a note in his hands.

Game over. You've lost her to me for good now.

HF

Edward read the note over and over. How could he have been so stupid? He should've checked that Bella was behind him. By the time he'd noticed it had been too late. Something shiny caught Edward's eye.

Bella's phone.

Edward grabbed it up and flipped it open. He scrolled down her contacts until he saw what he was looking for. Dan answered on the first ring with a frustrated "hello".

"What temple is Bella being sacrificed at?"

"What? Wait…Edward? Edward Mason?"

"No time for that Dan. Bella's been kidnapped. I need to know where the temple is."

"I'll text you the map."

"Good."

The cell beeped and Edward pulled up the map.

"Thanks."

"Anytime." Dan hung up.

Dan stood in the temple running his hands through his hair. Nothing made since. Bella was kidnapped, Edward was trying to find her…but when had her and Edward reconnected? And on top of all that there was no possible way to stop the ritual from happening.

The sound of what sounded like an ancient language came from behind him. It sounded rhythmic, rehearsed. It sounded like the words spoken before a sacrifice. Dan checked his watch. It was still September 12th. They couldn't be sacrificing Bella yet.

The chanting got louder as though it was right behind him. He made to look at who was joining him, but a fist connected with his jaw. Dan gasped trying to figure out what was happening. Rough hands clutched his shoulders and held him still. A warm female's voice sang the chant in his ear. He couldn't tell who it was and he never would.

The sharp tip of a knife sunk into his back. He didn't even have time to scream.

Bella was shaken awake. The motel room was pitch black.

"Get up." Freeman growled in her ear. Bella's hands were pulled behind her back and she was pushed off the bed. With relief she found her legs worked again. Now all she needed was a plan of action. She was forcefully dragged down the long hallway and out into the warm night. Freeman all but threw her into his beat up car. Bella sat staring out the window fighting the urge to throw up. She felt along the side, searching desperately for a lock. She flicked it and banged on the door fully expecting it to open. When it didn't she heard a snort from the driver's seat.

"Did you really think I'd make it easy for you to escape? I'm not a character from one of your silly movies. I use my brain when devising a plan. There are no loopholes. No easy outs. You will walk into the temple and you will die. Do you understand that?"

Bella's mind whirred furiously trying to find a way around this. To be honest she couldn't think of a way. But Edward, Dan, Chris, Cody…none of the people she loved would want her to give up so easily.

The car rode into two crumbling gates. Great. Bella thought moodily. I'm going to be murdered in a major tourist attraction. The car pulled to a stop in front of the largest temple of all. Freeman got out and opened Bella's door. His hands gripped her arms uncomfortably making it impossible to free herself. She aimed a kick at his crotch, but he whirled her around and held her so her back was facing him.

"Nice try." He grumbled.

The temple's stale air wafted out and hit Bella in the face. She held her breath as they walked through the entrance. It was simple on the inside. Just some statues on gods and a large stone slab in the middle. Spectators stood around the temple, some of them cheered as Bella walked into the room. Acan came up holding a jewel encrusted dagger stained with blood. But the blood wasn't dried. It looked…fresh. Bella wrinkled her nose in disgust. Who had they just killed?

Her questions were answered though when two Mayan men walked by carrying a corpse. The body of…

"Dan!" Bella yelled out. She felt as though all the blood had left her body. She couldn't feel anything. "But…but…why…how?"

"We had someone on the inside." Freeman sneered. "Perhaps you know her."

Gabrielle stepped out from behind a statue. "Hey Bella. Great to see you again."

Bella felt like she'd just been dunked in a tank of ice water. "Gabrielle?" The one word was all she could muster. Everything felt surreal. More a dream than reality. The horror of Dan's death took all that was left of Bella's strength. "How could you?" She was finally about to spit out.

"There are two choices in this world, Bella. Love and poverty or power and wealth. I chose the second option."

"But Dan!" She screamed, her throat raw. "Why him? He was such a good guy! You were with him!"

"Are I don't regret one minute of it." Gabrielle replied calmly. "Dan was a good guy. And he was terrific in bed." She winked at Bella before turning to Acan. "When would you like to begin the ceremony?"

"The sun will be rising soon. That's when we'll start." He stated gruffly in a heavily accented voice.

"You won't be starting anything." Someone hissed.

Edward jumped down from a perch on the side of the temple.

"If you want to kill her, you'll have to go through me." Slowly he advanced on Freeman.