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Charlie and Alice screamed simultaneously as the car bounced down over a small ledge and began to take off down a massive hill.
"Hold on!" Charlie shouted, peeking once to see if Alice had her seat belt on in case of a crash. The headlights illuminated the world in front of them and Alice screamed again when a walker crashed off the front, right side of the car. The small bottles of medication that she had picked up were tossed in all directions on the interior of the car.
When the car finally found it's way to flat ground again, Charlie eased on the brakes for a moment before taking the time to look over at Alice and catch his breath. The two of them sat in complete silence for a moment before they shared a smile and began to laugh together.
"What a rush," Alice said aloud and then looked over her shoulder. "That hill felt like it was a lot bigger than it actually is."
Charlie followed her gaze and nodded, still smiling for a moment before he scanned the area. "There's a small group of them in the distance up there. We need to head out to the right. It'll lead us back to the main road."
Alice nodded and took in a deep breath. She stared back again, only able to see the tops of the buildings that made up the terrible complex she'd now escaped from twice. "Let's get the hell out of here." She knew they needed to get the medicine back in time if Carlisle had a chance. All the same, she wanted to see Jasper again. She had no idea where he was or what happened when he and Paul went chasing after Victoria, or whoever it was that was shooting at them in the woods.
Charlie nodded and hit the gas pedal, barreling the truck over the uneven, root-ridden landscape. Dodging the collection of sporadic trees was a bit challenging, but the off-road capabilities of the vehicle allowed them to get back to the long road that led back to their quiet part of the town.
"I hope we make it back in time," Charlie said, "Carlisle was in bad shape... real bad."
"I know." Alice felt the buzz of adrenaline wearing off and all she could think of was Jasper. "Let's hope everyone else is safe."
...
"He's lost a lot of blood," Emmett commented, still hovering over Rosalie.
"Emmett..." She put a fresh tourniquet over the open wound as tightly as she could.
"The doc saved my life," he told her, "We have to return the favor."
"I'm trying." Rosalie looked at Esme. "Those meds should help stabilize him. "
Esme nodded, continuing to run a hand through her unconscious husband's hair.
"Hey!" Jacob burst into the barn. "I found some bandages... athletic tape... gauze pads..." He hurried over to Rosalie, "Can you use them?"
"Give me..." She reached for the collection of things in Jacob's hands and sprawled them out on the ground around her.
"They were in that house that Bella and I were in."
"Alcohol," Rosalie said to herself, noting a bottle with clear liquid. She began pouring it onto the gauze pads and then proceeded to unwrap Carlisle's head. Blood immediately began to pour from the wounds. Esme and Edward looked to Rosalie for answered, who said nothing but, "Trust me," and began to apply the alcohol-soaked bandages beneath the tourniquets that were on there.
Esme felt fear each time she saw that Carlisle gave no reaction to what they were doing. "Will he ever wake up?" She knew no one could give her that answer, but she had to ask.
"He's going to wake up," Rosalie said without missing a beat. She didn't know if her words were true, but keeping Esme at ease was also a priority. Rosalie discarded the original bandage made up of Edward's sleeve and then ripped the long-sleeved t-shirt off her own back to tie around Carlisle's head. She then proceeded to check his pulse and nodded to Esme. "His pulse is... okay."
"Does he feel warm?" Billy asked, "Does he have a fever?"
Everyone turned to him at once and Rosalie placed a hand on the part of his forehead that was still exposed. "No."
"What if he did?" Edward asked.
"He could turn," Sam said from where he sat by a window in the back.
"Turn?" Esme asked.
"He's not going to turn," Rosalie assured them, and then looked to Sam. "He's stable... stable-ish."
Jasper and Paul entered through the barn doors like a hurricane and everyone stood up, prepared to defend themselves, until they realized who had come in.
"How is he?" Jasper asked.
"He's... okay," Rosalie responded.
"He going to die?" Paul asked, and then looked apologetic as Esme and Edward stared up at him with concern.
"No. Not now."
Before anyone could ask about Victoria, Jasper's eyes scanned the room. "Where's Alice?"
"With my dad," Bella informed him, "She said she knew where to get medicine."
His eyes grew serious and he stared across at Bella. "Not at the institution..."
Everyone looked back and forth at one another.
"What's at the institution?" Esme asked him.
"Bad people." He gripped his gun tighter and turned as if he was going to leave.
"Wait!" Bella said, "They'll be back soon. They've been gone more than a half hour now and Alice said it was fifteen minutes. I know my dad. He's a cop. They'll be right back."
"You don't know that."
"I trust that," Bella told him. "If you go and they come back then you'll miss each other and you'll be out there."
"I'm going to get her," Jasper said, shaking his head as he threw open the barn door again.
Emmett and Jacob went to chase after him but didn't have to go far. Alice and Charlie had already parked the truck and were running with hands full of pill bottles toward the barn.
"Jas!" Alice greeted him with a smile, thankful to see him alive before ultimately rushing past him to get to Rosalie. "Rose... here. I don't know what's what but we got a bit of everything." The bottles fell onto the hay around her and Charlie added to the collection. Rosalie did her best to rush through them. Her bloody hands shook as she read the label of a number of bottles, tossing them aside until she found a vile of morphine. "Do you have a needle?"
"Uh..." Charlie began rummaging through the small bag of things before Alice reached into the pocket of her jeans. "I put in as many as I could fit." She removed seven or eight pre-packaged syringes and Rosalie's face turned into a brief smile.
"You're a lifesaver," Rosalie told her, "Literally."
"Thank you Alice," Esme told her. She looked upward, "And thank you Charlie."
Charlie took Bella under his arm and nodded. "I hope some of this can help."
"It should get his blood sugar levels somewhat back to normal I think," Rosalie informed them, "When someone is in pain the blood sugar levels drop dramatically because the body is attempting to deal with the pain. This will hopefully alleviate some of that."
"Is there a chance he'll wake up?" Edward asked.
"Only time will tell." Rosalie filled the needle with the clear liquid from the bottle and found a vein in Carlisle's arm. She then proceeded to administer the medication before searching through everything the Alice and Charlie had brought back. "You guys did good," she informed them, "Not good... excellent." Rosalie smiled at them and then turned to Esme, "Things are look slightly better." She hoped she sounded positive.
"Thank you," Esme told her. She took in a deep breath through her nose and put a hand up to her tear-stained face. Her eyes felt stiff and as if someone had poured sand in them. They burned and made her feel all the more exhausted. Still, she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep until Carlisle woke up.
Emmett turned to Jasper, who now stood closely with Alice. "So..." he began with a hardened expression, "Where is she? Where's the woman who did this to Carlisle?"
