Chapter 35: Kidnapped
Everyone's expression was horrified as we all took in Alice's words.
"Alright, in order to prevent this happening, we'll need to fight back." Carlisle said, his voice still tight.
"Carlisle, the newborns still don't know how to fight, because we haven't needed to fight anyone off. We'll have to teach them." I reminded him, realising that in his worry he may have forgotten that fact.
"Okay, thank you Kristen. Those who don't know how to fight, please stand on my left and those who do, please stand on my right so I can see how many we need to teach." He said and Rowan and I joined Esme, Emmett, Rosalie, Alice, Jasper, Edward and Bella on his right side. Those that remained on his left included Matthew, Kat, Anouk, Jacinta, Elizabeth and Joshua. Carlisle looked around at everyone and sighed.
"Esme, do you mind looking after the children while we're fighting off these vampires? That way we'll be able to protect you." He asked her and she smiled slightly at him, nodding.
"But I'm staying to help teach the newborns." She told him and he nodded.
"That's fine." He said to her softly, before looking up at Alice. "How long do we have?" he asked her.
"Two days." She replied almost instantly, her face grim.
"Alright, we need to work fast. Those who don't know how to fight, what I'm going to do first is give a demonstration. Kristen, if you please." He said and I stepped forward, towards him. The newborns all sat down to watch.
"Watch their actions carefully." Rowan told them and they nodded, Joshua moving closer to his sister, watching Carlisle and myself.
Carlisle and I started circling around the clearing, neither moving any closer to the other nor breaking eye contact. Without warning, Carlisle leapt forward, but I held him off with my telekinetic ability, using it to throw him across the clearing. He landed on his feet and ran at me with blinding speed, but again I was too quick and I leapt to the side, causing him to have to veer slightly to avoid running into a tree. This time it was my turn to leap at him, but he leapt into a tree, causing me to run headlong into the same tree. The tree collapsed underneath my combined weight and speed, and I leapt to my feet, laughing as Carlisle landed a few metres away, having to jump back out of the tree to avoid it falling on him. Carlisle leapt at me again and I dodged him, but grabbing his arm as I ran to the side. I threw him to the ground a metre away and ran over, holding my teeth an inch away from his throat.
After a second, I moved back so he could get to his feet. We walked back towards the group, laughing, and Rowan ran up to greet us.
"Alright, now I'm going to pair you off with someone who knows how to fight, so you can learn from them. Just remember that with fighting, the method that we use is speed before strength." Carlisle said to the newborns, who all stood up, looking nervous. "Kristen, could you please pair up with Kat?" he asked me and I smiled, nodding.
"Sure." I replied as Kat walked towards me.
"Rowan, I'd like you to pair up with Matthew," Carlisle told Rowan and he nodded. "Esme with Jacinta; Alice with Anouk; Rosalie with Joshua – and Rosalie, please be nice to him. He is still unsure about whether he can trust us." Carlisle asked Rosalie and she smiled.
"I promise, Carlisle." She said and he nodded once.
"Thank you. Jasper, could you please pair up with Elizabeth. The rest of us will watch. And Elizabeth, please don't break Jasper's hand the way you did with Emmett." Carlisle said to Elizabeth, who laughed.
"I won't." she assured him and he chuckled as we all walked to different parts of the clearing.
Kat and I walked to one part of the clearing, and I took a deep breath.
"Alright Kat. With fighting, every vampire has a different method, but most use the same technique. You'll have to discover your method of taking down the enemy. I would like you to imagine that I'm your enemy, and you're the only one who can stop me. If you imagine that, you shouldn't have too much trouble." I told her and she nodded. We walked away from each other until we were a few metres away, then turned back to face each other. "Are you ready, Kat?" I asked her and she smiled, nodding once. I leapt at her and she dodged to the side, standing in a crouched position, ready for my next attack. I ran around her and leapt at her for the second time, but again she dodged my attack. She ran to me and I dodged her, but she caught me and threw me to the ground, holding her teeth at my throat.
"I win." She said as she stood back. I got to my feet, grinning.
"Well done Kat. You're a natural. Although you were almost cat-like in your fighting ability. I wonder if you have an ability that makes you almost cat-like when you hunt or fight." I wondered aloud.
"Maybe. I don't know." She replied.
"Let's try again. This time, though, you'll be on the offensive." I suggested and she nodded as we walked away from each other again before turning to face each other. She leapt at me and I dodged to the side, but she quickly leapt at me again. She was definitely cat-like in her fighting. I held her away with my telekinesis, throwing her into a tree, before leaping into the branches of another tree. As she ran underneath my tree, I jumped down onto her shoulders, pinning her to the ground, but she threw me off into a tree and pinned me there, with her teeth at my throat.
"I win again." She laughed and I joined in as we walked back towards the waiting spectators.
"You're definitely a natural, Kat. And definitely cat-like in your ability." I said as we joined Carlisle, Edward, Bella and Emmett. Alice and Anouk joined us shortly later, both laughing.
Eventually, the whole family was together again and Carlisle smiled as he looked around at all of us.
"Well done, all of you. Now that you've learned how to fight, we'll practise where all the newborns, Kristen and Rowan practise fighting as a group against myself, Esme, Emmett, Rosalie, Edward, Bella, Jasper and Alice. This is how it will be when Helen and her party arrive, so we'll need to practise." He told us all and we nodded, Rowan and I walking to join the newborns. "And if you all use any physical abilities you may have, such as telekinesis and so on, it will definitely come in handy. Hopefully no one is killed. If so, we'll have to test Matthew's ability on vampires." He added as we stood up, walking to the opposite ends of the clearing.
"Ready guys?" I asked the vampires around me and they nodded nervously. "Remember, work together as a team. Because you're newborns, you're a fair bit stronger and faster than the others, which will give us an advantage." I told them and they nodded, looking a little more confident.
Carlisle and his group leapt at us and we dodged quickly, running around behind them, standing once again in a group.
"Rowan, you take half of this group around to their right, and I'll take the other half around to their left. Go!" I muttered and Rowan took his half of our group and they ran around to the left of our opponents, while I ran with my half to the left. We closed in on them, circling them before they could even register what had happened.
"Alright, don't lose your cool. We're not at a disadvantage yet guys." Carlisle said to his group and soon, they'd leapt again at us. We fought back, and pretty soon, several of Carlisle's group had been eliminated, while some of my group had also been eliminated. Those that remained on my side included me, Rowan, Kat, Joshua, Jacinta and Matthew. Those that remained on the other side included Carlisle, Esme, Jasper and Alice. Carlisle's group were definitely now at a disadvantage.
Before we could even make another move, however, Alice gasped.
"Stop guys!" she called out and we all ran to her, looking worried.
"What is it, Alice?" Carlisle asked her, his voice tight again as he guessed it was to do with his wife.
"They'll be here in only about a minute. We need to get Esme inside and the dogs out here." Alice replied and everyone's breath caught in their throat.
"Esme and I will go to the house and I'll get the dogs. That way if they arrive before we can get to the house, I can help Esme fight them off." I suggested and they agreed hesitantly.
"Alright, but both of you be careful." Carlisle said softly.
"We will." I replied as Esme and I ran at top speed back to the house.
Arriving at the house, I collected the dogs and told Esme to be careful, before running back to the clearing. I arrived at the clearing and stood next to Rowan, just as a large group of vampires stepped out of the trees at the opposite end of the clearing to us. The female vampire at the front was definitely Helen, as the black hair and burgundy coloured eyes were obviously hers. I could see all the newborns glance briefly at each other with obvious nervousness. The dogs growled, and the light patter on leaves told us rain was approaching. Other than that, and the sound of our breathing, no other sound could be heard. There were no bird songs, no patter of the feet of small animals, and no hearts beating in the vicinity. It was absolutely silent. Helen and her group took a few steps forward, Helen in front of her army at all times, giving off the obvious vibes of a leader. Carlisle took one step forward so that he was in front of us, his eyes never leaving Helen's face. Helen glanced around at us and sneered.
"Carlisle." She said simply in false politeness.
"Helen." Carlisle replied simply, his voice still slightly tight.
"Where's your wife, Carlisle? I don't see her among your coven." Helen asked, the sneer evident in her voice.
"Where she is, is none of your business. She is to be left out of this." Carlisle said firmly, his voice no longer tight. His worry for Esme's safety had visibly been replaced with anger. It was very rare to see Carlisle angry.
I looked around at Helen's army and it hit me. They were all newborns, save for one or two, who probably hadn't been vampires for longer than a year or so. This worried me. Not only were there more of them, but most of them were also newborns. We were in trouble. Big trouble.
The rain reached us, soaking us through quickly. But Helen and Carlisle were still glaring at each other from opposite ends of the clearing. No one moved for a long time; the dogs' growling had stopped temporarily, and even they were as still as statues. The only part of the dogs that was moving was their noses, which were twitching to catch any scents.
Helen obviously realised what had just hit me, as she smirked.
"Well, Carlisle, as it's obvious that you're in trouble." She said and Carlisle's eyes narrowed. "Not only are you outnumbered, but there are also more newborns on my side than there are on yours."
"That may be, Helen, but you only rely on brute strength. We, however, have compassion, which is one thing you could never comprehend." Rowan spat and everyone turned to look at him.
"What are you doing, Rowan? Are you trying to get us killed?" I thought, directing the thought to him.
"Well, Rowan. How nice it is to see you again." Helen replied in false pleasantness.
"I can't return that Helen. You betrayed all of us, and hurt my daughter – your own daughter." He snarled and I saw one of the vampires in Helen's army turn to look from Helen to Rowan, his expression shocked. All of a sudden, he took a step away from his group, towards us. Everyone tensed, leaning forward in defensive crouches, but he didn't do the same. Instead, he stopped halfway across the clearing, holding up his hands, palm forward, to show submission.
"I don't mean any of you any harm. I'm simply curious. Your compassion and ideals intrigue me." He said softly, taking one step backwards to emphasise his words. We straightened up slowly, not taking our eyes off him or the vampires behind him. We were still tense.
"Sero, get back here, you idiot! What are you doing, trying to make friends with them!? They're our enemies, and they need to be disposed of. Especially if they're not going to cooperate and tell us where the female is." Helen hissed at him, but he simply shook his head.
"You're wrong, Helen. They have as much right as anyone to be spared. Besides, they have compassion, which is one thing that keeps them together." He told her, not turning to face her.
"If that's your final decision, then I'll have no choice but to kill you along with them." She replied with obvious hostility. With that, she and her army leapt forward, and the vampire called Sero reacted instantly, spinning around and tearing the head of one female vampire right off her shoulders.
"I'll start the fire." Rowan whispered in my ear, knowing the entire family would hear. He ran off and I let the dogs off their leashes and they ran forward, leaping at opposing vampires as the rest of us joined the fray.
I tore a vampire's arm off, throwing it into the fire that Rowan had built, before throwing the vampire into the flames after his arm.
We were seriously outnumbered, even with Sero changing sides, and we were being forced backwards, into the forest and towards the house, and we knew this was dangerous, as Esme's scent would soon become apparent and they'd know she was in the house. It was now inevitable that we'd come across Esme's scent, even with the rain that had passed through here before reaching us in the clearing.
My guess was correct, and our opponents sniffed the air, and ran in the direction of home.
"Kat, come with me!" I told Kat and she and I ran quicklyto the house, finding Esme sitting in the living room, playing with the children. Edward ran in after us, lifting Renesmee up into his arms.
"Esme, you have to get out of here. They found your scent and are just about here. Carlisle and the others are outside, trying to hold them off for as long as they can, but there are too many of them for us to last long. I need you to take the children and run as far as possible from here to avoid them getting to you. I fear there will be casualties, but Carlisle said that you were not to be one of them, and it was not up for discussion." He explained in a rushed voice and Esme nodded, lifting Krystal and Devlin into her arms and running out the front door of the house.
As soon as the front door closed after her, Helen and her army burst in through the back door, looked around once and ran upstairs. Carlisle and the remainder of the family walked in through the same door, Sero standing nervously at the back.
"Esme's gone, then?" he asked in barely a whisper. I nodded and he relaxed slightly. "Alright, we need to leave. Sero, you've shown yourself to be an honourable and trustworthy vampire, so you may join us if you wish." He said in a slightly louder voice and Sero smiled and nodded.
"Thank you." He said and Carlisle nodded, leading us at a sprint out through the front door, following Esme's faint scent. Amongst all the other scents in the area, it was very difficult to pick out hers, but we found her after ten minutes of running in a small sheltered grove with the children in her arms. She looked up as we approached, smiling. She handed the two ¾-vampire children to Rowan and I, before walking up to Carlisle.
"Are you alright Carlisle?" she asked him softly. He smiled, hugging her.
"I'm alright, but I'm afraid this isn't over yet. They're probably following our scents here now. We have to move." He said and she nodded.
"Carlisle, I have an idea. How about we all run in different directions, and I'll run in the direction of the Victoria-New South Wales border, before I will Esme to my location. This will take a fair bit of communication between all of us, but it means that when they look for Esme, they'll find that her scent will end where she last was before I willed her. I'll then direct my thoughts to Rowan, who will inform you all of my position. That way, Helen's army will be at a disadvantage because they won't know which direction to go, if they're planning on killing us all." I explained and Alice nodded.
"It's a good plan, and it'll also work. It'll set them off our path for a while, enabling us to run possibly in the direction of southern New South Wales. It will work, Carlisle." She said and Carlisle nodded.
"I agree with it, except I think at least one of us should stay with Esme, for safety reasons. Because she is their main target, if one of us stays with her, she'll be less likely to be hurt." He said and I nodded.
"Alright. Who'll volunteer to go with Esme?" I asked the family.
"That'll be me." Came a voice as Helen's army burst out from the trees and grabbed Esme, dragging her away.
"That was a good plan, Kristen. Too bad it won't work without her." Helen laughed as she and her army ran from sight with Esme, who was screaming.
"ESME! Esme, no!" Carlisle bellowed as he ran after them, all of us on his tail. We followed the scent to the Victoria-South Australia border, before the scent disappeared. Carlisle fell to his knees, his face buried in his hands in despair. Alice looked meaningfully at Jasper, who sighed, and a wave of calm washed over the entire family. Carlisle was breathing deeply in an attempt to calm himself. I sighed, feeling as though a knife had been plunged into my own heart. Helen's deduction was correct; Esme's kidnapping hurt us all.
Walking towards Carlisle, I knelt next to him, placing my hand gently on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry Carlisle. I truly am. I promise that we'll go look for her, but we need to get home. The children are getting hungry." I said softly to him and he looked at me briefly, nodding once before standing up and beginning to walk back towards the house.
"Kristen?" came Rowan's voice as the owner came running towards me, Krystal and Devlin in his arms. I took Krystal into my arms and sighed.
"You know Rowan, Carlisle's reaction to Esme's kidnapping was exactly how I reacted when you were taken." I whispered to him as the entire family began walking in the direction of home. I looked at Carlisle's back and sighed. He just looked so hurt that it was painful even for me to watch him. Rowan saw where I was looking and his eyes met mine.
"You're not involved with him, are you Kristen?" he asked me softly, suspicion evident in his eyes.
"Rowan, I don't even see him in that way. At most, he and I are friends. And if we were involved, I would tell you. Trust me, I wouldn't betray your trust." I told him and he nodded, placing his free arm around my shoulders. I smiled slightly, the pain in my heart easing at his touch.
It wasn't long before everyone, including Carlisle, broke into a sprint home, arriving about ten minutes later.
Inside the house, Carlisle placed a hand on my shoulder, mouthed "thank you" before he disappeared to his room.