Chapter Thirty Six
Jasper
My car was under the truck and trailer and I was trapped amid the tangle of metal, it was going to take some work to get out especially as I could smell gasoline somewhere and prayed there wasn't any hot metal close by. The snow was getting thicker as I tried to extricate an arm to give me some leverage. I had no idea how far I had fallen just that getting out of the tangled mess was going to take time, time Bella would be alone in the cabin. Thank God she had plenty of supplies but she would be worried about me when I wasn't back in a few hours. Pulling my right arm free of debris I heard metal groaning and knew the unstable mess could fall further at any moment. I twisted the steering column away from my chest feeling a sticky wetness where it had punched a hole in me and leaked venom. I really didn't need to worry about trying to heal just now, just get the hell out before the whole lot went sliding downwards to the bottom of the canyon. Every movement made the metal less stable and it was a race against time with no guarantee I would win.
Bella
I lit the fire and put a kettle on the flames to boil for coffee then went to explore the rest of the place. There was a half filled wood store by the back of the cabin with unchopped logs and an axe close by. There was a single bedroom and I lit the small fire in there too and made the bed, smiling as I did so to think of laying there in the firelight with Jasper imagining the play of the flickering flames on his body. Bad idea Bella, keep your mind on getting warm and fed, at least for now. Going through into the bathroom I saw there was no bath just a shower which hadn't been used in so long it was thick with dust so I cleaned it up stopping to get my coffee and light the small stove in the kitchen which I assumed heated the water for the shower.
I wrapped a couple of potatoes in foil and stuck them in the accumulating ashes under the fire to cook, then replenished the log piles by the fires. I considered chopping some more wood but as Bella + axe invariably = blood, decided against it. We were a long way from medical aid after all. Looking out the window I saw the snow was falling much thicker now and was glad Jasper was a vampire. A human might have found it impossible to reach the cabin in this weather.
As the light faded I heated up some chilli to go with the baked potato then cleaned up and checking there was hot water took a quick shower. Being in strange surroundings with odd creaks and groans and lit only by candles and the light from the flames was unnerving and I had no idea how to start the generator. I sat at the window looking out for Jaspers return but the thickly falling snow meant I couldn't see more than a few feet. Becoming chilled away from the fire I grabbed a blanket and pillow off the bed and curled up on the couch closing my eyes and trying to doze but hoping any minute to hear Jaspers footsteps on the porch or his voice telling me he was home.
I'd tried to figure out the earliest I could reasonably expect him back. Over an hours drive into town plus a while to return the car plus at least an hour and maybe more in this weather to make the return journey on foot. Add to that time to hunt and feed and I realized I couldn't expect him back before dawn at the earliest but I could hope and I did before falling into an uneasy sleep. Something woke me up a few hours later and I froze, listening hard to check what had woken me up. At first I heard nothing then it came again, a creak outside that sounded like a footstep on snow, was he back? I tried to get up but my feet were tangled in the blanket and I fell heavily cursing as the door opened slowly admitting a blast of cold air that had my breath fogging. I could only see a silhouette against the snow falling behind and my mouth went dry, it wasn't Jasper, the hair was too long and as the figure moved into the room I saw reflecting in the dying flames of the fire, red hair.
"Bella Swan at last. You've made it very difficult to find you, running and hiding like a little mouse and keeping away from Edward Cullen while I waited patiently for you to appear and when you did you weren't with him but The Major. I have to say that put my plans back a little, I don't want to mess with him I admit, but I followed you anyway always hopeful of an opening and lo and behold he leaves you all alone up here a sitting duck waiting for me to come in and kill you. Its been a long time but they say revenge is a dish best served cold, well I'll soon know if that's true. You will die for James, your mate killed mine and now I'll have you."
"But you know I'm not with Edward, we aren't mates"
"It doesn't matter any longer. When I've killed you I'll go back and take him out, I have all eternity to catch him unawares. Now my little mouse, keep still and I'll try not to kill you too quickly, someone had to pay and the debt has been growing all this time."
As she started to move I concentrated my gift and my ungovernable terror must have made it even more powerful. I could no longer control it as the glow shot outwards so fast and with so much momentum it blasted not only Victoria backwards but the door and part of the wall too. She screamed in frustration and picked herself up from the timber littered snow and came at me again. This time the glow turned into a golden hued whirlwind which picked up everything not bolted down, including Victoria, and tossed it whirring into the air. I closed my eyes and put my head down as timber, glass, and the contents of the room including burning logs whipped past into a column of devastation. When I opened my eyes again and looked up I saw a burning log hit Victoria and set light to her hair. She screamed piercingly as the flames licked around her face and then her body, turning her into a whirling torch. Feeling sick I closed my eyes again and waited for the wind to die down feeling the energy leaving my body to fuel the destructive power of my gift.
As it started to die down a piece of wood caught me on the temple and I saw stars, feeling a trickle of blood run down the side of my face. I looked around wildly and saw burning embers everywhere slowly fizzling out under the still falling snow. Once things settled to earth I got up and looked at the destruction my gift had wrought. The outer walls of the cabin were still standing although some timbers had been blown out and the snow was blowing in and starting to pile up. Part of the room had gone and the fire was out, the wind blowing hard and I knew I was in trouble. I'd saved myself from Victoria but had I only accomplished that to die up here in the snow? I was determined that wouldn't happen, I had too much to live for and I had to find a way of keeping warm at least until Jasper got back to help me.