***Twilight is not mine. I do have plenty of tweezers though!***


By the end of her third day on site, Bella was ready to flip out. Karon proved not only to be a bitchy perfectionist, she was also a tyrannical oppressor. She blamed Bella specifically for their lack of progress and had even forced them to work through lunch without any breaks.

"This can't go on," Maggie whined as she, Siobhan and Bella were relaxing in Bella's tent after dinner. They were completely exhausted. "I mean, I can handle the lack of bathing and proper toilets. The food isn't amazing, but it will suffice. Even the bear warnings and wolf howls I can live with. But this," she spat angrily, "is too fucking much."

Bella didn't even have the energy to nod her agreement. "I know. Once I thaw a little I'll go talk to Dr. Marcus."

Siobhan's only contribution came in the form of soft snores. She and Maggie had moved their sleeping bags into Bella's tent the night before to share in the comfort of an oil burning portable heater. The temperature outside dropped significantly at night and Bella's humongous tent could more than accommodate three people in there. The added bonus of protection against Mike Newton, who had been lurking around Bella's tent the first night, was a great relief.

Before Bella could fall asleep, she hurled herself out of bed and exited the tent, making her way over to the bonfire clearing where the archaeologists were poring over maps of the area, undoubtedly preparing for tomorrow's digging. Luckily, Karon was nowhere in sight which gave Bella the opportunity to speak directly to the site supervisor.

"Dr. Marcus?" He turned around, looking irritated at the interruption. "My name is Bella Cullen, and I was wondering if I could speak to you for a few minutes."

He frowned at her but walked away from the table. "Make it quick, girl. I've got things to do," he said brusquely.

Once they were out of ear shot of the others, Bella wasted no time. "Dr. Marcus I'm concerned about our field supervisor. She's not exactly… what's the word… flexible?"

"What on earth do you mean by that?" Dr. Marcus barked.

Bella hesitated before continuing. "She made us work through lunch, doesn't allow us to touch the artifacts, and yells at us. And she won't let us use the bathroom."

Dr. Marcus' features softened a little. "Yes, she can be tough. Poor girl thinks she has to prove herself. This is a man's occupation, Miss Cullen, and I wouldn't be surprised if she's trying to show you how hard it can be. I'd consider myself lucky to be working with someone so brilliant instead of complaining about trivial things," he replied.

Bella was furious. "That's Mrs. Cullen. I have a husband at home," she said icily.

Dr. Marcus waved his hand dismissively. "How nice for you. Now if that's all, I need to get back to work. And you should get some sleep," he replied testily before walking away, leaving a livid Bella alone in the dark.

Bella thought she heard a rustling in the trees behind her, which inspired her to get to her tent as quickly and stealthily as possible. She cried herself into a fitful sleep full of dreams of Edward.

~{0-o-0}~

The next morning was even worse than the previous days. Having made little progress at the first site, their team was moved closer to the ocean to start digging a potential stone building – a rare find indeed for prehistoric Nootka. The girls spent the morning recording and hauling bits of masonry; it was a long, arduous, back breaking process. Karon stood beside them and watched the whole time like an overseer would watch slaves picking cotton. By the time there was room to properly dig a trench, it was lunch time.

Karon allowed them a generous ten minutes to eat, though the trek to and from the main camp took most of that time. When they were two minutes late returning, Karon was furious.

"What the hell is wrong with you? I said TEN minutes, and not a second longer. Can't you count?" She fumed.

Maggie had obviously reached her boiling point. "We rushed as quickly as possible to get back here. It's not like we even had time to sit down," she growled.

"Psssht, not only are you incompetent, you're all lazy! What a bunch of idiots. I've never in my life had to work with such a useless bunch of nitwits –" she was cut off by the sound of someone entering the clearing. It was Dr. Marcus.

"Karon, I thought I heard your voice. How is this site progressing?" He asked.

She pursed her lips. "More slowly than I'd hoped, but we're moving forward. We were just discussing the merits of hard work," she glared at the girls, daring them to contradict her words.

"A fine outlook," Dr. Marcus replied.

Maggie threw down her trowel in outrage. "That's it! I can't take any more of this bullshit. Dr. Marcus, from the moment we started working with Professor McNeil, she has been nothing but abusive and degrading. I absolutely refuse to keep going like this."

Dr. Marcus pondered her words carefully before replying. "Is that so? In that case, you're welcome to have the rest of the afternoon to relax, but I'm afraid you'll get a zero for this fieldwork project," he sneered. "You have ten seconds to make your decision."

Maggie sighed and picked up her trowel in a move of utter defeat.

"That's what I thought. Now I'll leave you to it," he said as he walked back toward the main camp.

Karon walked slowly over to the girls and stood in front of Maggie. Waves of hostility coursed from her body; they knew this would not end well.

"You stupid little bitch. Do you really think you can beat me? Just shut your pretty little mouth and do as I say, or I'll make sure you never work in the field again. Got it?"

Maggie nodded her compliance though her eyes betrayed a deep and powerful rage.

The afternoon was full of intense physical labour as the girls were told to move the boulders to the other side of the ground lining the trench. Bella was certain there was no point to this exercise other than to break their spirits. They did no more digging that day and, when later questioned by Dr. Marcus, had to endure Karon's false explanation about their lack of dedication. Bella wanted nothing more than to claw her eyes out and feed them to a bear.

All three of them were relieved to be spending their last night on this field trip. They were dirty, sore, underfed, and completely miserable. Bella hadn't had a chance to talk to Edward, owing to the limited use of the satellite phone and the fact that she passed out every night right after dinner. She was concerned he might be worried about her. She consoled herself by chanting her internal mantra: 'Just one more night.'

Later that evening, after Bella, Siobhan and Maggie had passed out, Bella was awoken to the sounds of rustling outside her tent. She sighed and hoisted herself out of bed, certain that it was only Mike Newton acting like a creepy prowler again. As soon as she unzipped her tent and stepped out into the cold, the world went completely black.

~{0-o-0}~

When Bella regained consciousness, she was unable to move her arms or legs. Looking around she noted she was in some kind of one room cabin, lying down on a bed, her limbs bound with scratchy rope. She was gagged and her head ached, undoubtedly from the instrument which had disabled her.

"Oh good, you're awake," said a deep voice.

Bella blinked a few times and looked for the source of the words. In a chair across the cabin sat a man. He was short and stocky but Bella could see the muscles bulging underneath his red plaid shirt. Faded blue jeans and dirty work boots complemented his outfit. He had long, dark hair pulled into a pony tail at the nape of his neck, and his square jaw seemed large and cumbersome. He had scars running down one side of his face.

Bella struggled with her bonds and tried to mumble through her gag, but neither effort seemed fruitful. Her eyes went wide with fear as the man took out a large hunting knife and started sharpening it with a leather strap.

"Don't bother, you won't get out of those knots," he said as he rubbed the sharp edge of the knife up and down the leather. "And when I'm done this, I'll take out the gag. We're miles from anyone who might hear you."

As hard as she strained, Bella couldn't remember anything between leaving her tent and waking on the bed. She had absolutely no idea where she was or who brought her here.

"My name is Aaron. We almost met once, a couple of years back, just after you put my son in the clink," he grinned menacingly before continuing with, "I bet that name rings a bell. Aaron Voltree, James McNeil? They should sound awful familiar to you."

Realization dawned on Bella. James, the bastard who bit her at Tyler's party. Aaron, the drunk driver who killed her baby, and step-father to James. How did he know where to find her?

As if he could read her mind, he said, "I believe you've also met my wife Karon. She did me the courtesy of finding you. Not hard to fake credentials at Udub. I couldn't have gotten you here without her help."

Having finished with the knife, Aaron rose and walked toward Bella. "Now I'm gonna take this gag out. If you're a good girl I might let you eat tonight," he explained as he removed the duct tape and rag from Bella's mouth.

After stretching her face muscles, Bella asked, "What are you going to do to me?"

Aaron sat back down in his wooden chair and stretched out his legs. "Well now, I haven't decided. You see, I got a problem that needs fixing. It seems you are a rather important person to some, and I can't have you ruining my happy ending."

Bella could feel the panic rising in her throat. "I'm a university student. That's hardly important," she said nonchalantly.

Aaron let out a boisterous, evil cackle. "Don't play games with me, girl. I'm unlike anything you've ever met. I've raped, plundered, and murdered millions on my quest. I even drowned a little girl once," he said as he winked, "so let's not pretend neither of us knows the truth. It'll be simpler that way."

"Does your wife know?" Bella asked timidly, which made Aaron laugh again.

"Of course not! She'd think I was off my rocker. Can't go around telling folks that kind of stuff. I'll tell you this, though: she's a real smarty pants."

Bella sighed. "It doesn't matter anyway. They're after you," she warned.

Aaron grinned. "You think you're the first to be chosen? Girl, I've been hunting the likes of you for thousands of years. There were plenty before and there'll be plenty after. Gotta keep up the status quo, y'know?"
"I don't think that means what you think it means," Bella retorted.

Aaron snorted. "Whatever. Point is, I can't have you upsetting my plans."

"What are your plans?" Bella asked, trying to buy some time.

"Well okay, since you asked so nicely, I'll tell you a little. Get comfortable, this might take a while."