The Chapter You've all been begging for at last, please review. Jules x
Chapter Fifty Three
Edward
When he pulled me out of the door I expected Bella and Jenks to be sucked out behind us, that would mean he lost. We would survive the fall but not his precious Bella. Then I saw the door closing and knew he'd outwitted me again. Now all I could do was to hold on so I didn't lose him on the way down and hope my landing was better than his. As the ground approached way too fast I saw with relief that we would hit water not the ground. It would still be bad but not as bad as it could have been. I twisted to make sure he hit first, that way my entry to the water would be cushioned, a little. We hit with a terrific force and a huge water-spout flew into the air, all the displaced water shooting skywards before raining down behind our entry. As the surface closed above us I finally let go of his arm taking a good chunk with me which I spit out as I hit the lake bed. Any advantage, I'd take it and a weakened Jasper meant more chance for me. The pain as I finally hit was excruciating and I was unable to move so I lay there waiting for some sign that my body had survived the fall.
I had no idea how long I lay there as broken bones knitted and internal organs recovered from the outrage but eventually the pain dulled to a point where coherent thought was possible and I moved my head gingerly to look around me. The water had cleared, the silt lay quiet once more on the lake bed so I had been in suspension for some time. Moving as little as possible so as not to disturb it again I searched the area but there was no sign of Jasper. Had he been able to recover more quickly? Or was he buried in the sticky mud and ooze laying below me? I had no way of knowing but I needed to move before he appeared and I knew with certainty that if I had survived then so had he. I struck out for the surface way above me and gasped a breath of air as I hit the surface, testing for his scent but the air was free of the taint of vampire. So he hadn't resurfaced yet! I swam quickly to the shore and pulled myself from the water, dripping stinking mud from every inch of clothing. With a curse I stripped off and washed my clothes out in the lake, getting the majority of the mud off and put them on the grass bank to dry as I plunged back in to clean myself.
I waited as the sun dried my clothes, they were still damp and wrinkled but passable if I met anyone. Looking up at the sky to get my bearings I saw the sun dropping behind mountains. With no idea where I was I set off moving downwards, hopefully towards civilization and transport. Now it would start all over again, I had no idea if the plane had survived the decompression but if it had it would have made an emergency landing somewhere and that would mean records. All I needed to do was find the records and it would give me somewhere to start looking for her. There was no way she was going to live to find another or worse still find Jasper again. Thinking of him I looked round quickly but there was no sign of movement anywhere and the strong wind blowing downhill would give him away if he tried to follow me. Perhaps I'd been lucky and the force of his entry to the water with my body on top had done more damage to him. If so I might have some days head start, that would be a plus.
Jasper
Praying that the plane made it safely to the ground I tried to twist us around as we plummeted but his grip on my arm stopped me getting atop him and seeing water below all I could do was try to relax as we hit the surface. It was like hitting concrete and I felt my spine snap and other bones shatter as we sank below the surface. Our velocity was such that we sank deep into the mud on the lake bottom and I lost him as he finally let go, ripping a chunk from my biceps as he did so. Consciousness came and went as the agony of reconstructing bones and internal organs worked its vampire magic. All I could do was endure but Bella's face floated before my eyes and I concentrated on that, it helped with the pain and I wondered if she was OK and where she was. She'd had my cell phone with her and if she survived, oh God let her survive take me if necessary but keep her alive, she could ring the others and they would find her and keep her safe. I wondered what she thought when she saw us falling, I hoped she knew I'd done it to keep her safe, that they told her I would survive and find her. The only unknown was when, how long it took for my body to heal enough to function once more. As soon as I could move, never mind the pain, I would start my long journey back. I had to get back to her, I needed her near me, to complete this wreck of a man.
When I felt that I could move my legs I kicked free of the sticky ooze and then rested on top of it looking around as the pain from partially healed bones subsided to manageable levels again. I couldn't see Edward but there was silt floating all around me so it had been a gamble that I would have any vision at all. I had no idea how badly the crash had hurt Edward but like me he would be eager to get out of here and after Bella. I promised myself I would kill him and Esme too. Never again would they terrorize Bella, she was my mate and no one hurt or frightened The Majors Mate. Once I could bear the pain again I started to move, drifting slowly to the surface to avoid disturbing the mud any further. When my head broke the surface I floated looking around, no sign of anyone, no movement around or on the lake. Had I missed him, or was he still at the bottom of the lake recovering? Not waiting to find out I swam to the bank and dragged myself out onto the dry ground. My clothes were thick with stinking mud but I didn't bother cleaning off, the mud would help to hide my scent from Edward and give me cover from prying eyes. Getting to my knees I stood up slowly, partially healed bones and damaged muscles protesting but my legs would bear my weight and that's all I asked of them, the pain I would work through.
