Chapter 32
The following day, Edward and Bella went for their usual walk through the forest. It was a warming up thankfully now that it was coming into spring. Although it was still cold by the rest of North America's standards, Edward didn't wear a jacket, just a long-sleeved shirt. Bella on the other hand was bundled up in a fair few layers, resembling more of a burrito than a human. A fact which Edward kept to himself.
As they walked through the forest, Edward told Bella about how he communicated with nature.
"Nature runs at a different frequency to humans and I happen to be able to tap into that frequency."
"When you say talk to them do you mean you have conversations?"
"Not in the sense of our conversations. It's more like a feeling that I can read, a sense."
Bella still looked confused, so Edward tried to explain it further.
He walked up to a tree and asked Bella to hold her hand on it.
"What do you feel?"
"Bark." She said, before dropping her hand.
"Exactly. It's purely physical, right?"
Now Edward held his hand on it. "Other elves would say the same thing. That all they could feel was bark." Edward dropped his hand and turned to Bella. "Now put your hand on me."
Bella followed his instructions and placed her hand on his cheek.
"Close your eyes. Tell me what you feel."
At first, she felt nothing but then suddenly she felt a small vibration, a tickle on the palm of her hand.
"You feel it, yes? The current running through my skin?"
Bella nodded. "How?"
"We're connected. No one else would be able to feel this. But you can feel me, correct? The frequency we run at can be felt by each other."
Bella nodded again, her eyes still closed. She'd never felt anything quite like it before. She could feel the vibrations running from her finger tips, up her arm and then all over her body. It was an oddly calming and relaxing feeling, really. It made her feel like she was home.
When Bella's eyes fluttered open, Edward was standing in front of her, waiting. His eyes were roaming over her face, drinking her in. He gently pecked his lips to hers before pulling back and smiling.
"I think I understand it more now. I could feel… you. Your emotions and who you are, your needs."
"Exactly. You get the essence of someone, you can feel them vibrating, calling out to you."
"Thank you, for explaining it to me. I feel like I know you a little more now. How you work and think."
"You're welcome."
Not long after their conversation, the pair decided to head back to the bunker. Carlisle didn't like them all to be separated for long periods of time, even though Edward was more than capable of looking after himself. Bella was human after all and could be harmed much more easily than father and son. Carlisle was her guardian now and he took the responsibility seriously.
As they approached the tree line, Edward pulled Bella to a stop. She looked back at him to see why and immediately new something was wrong. His ears and back were straight, perked up and anticipating something. His eyes were squinted, trying to look for something that had caught his attention. His head was cocked to the side, listening for a sound Bella had yet to hear.
"What is it?" She whispered after a moment of silence.
In response, Edward pulled her over to a tree. And brought a finger to his lips, signally that he needed to stay quiet.
He peaked his head around the tree and watched whatever it was he saw. Bella was desperate to look too, so she carefully she craned her neck until she could see what Edward was seeing.
Two men with guns were approaching the bunker. For a heart stopping moment she thought they hadn't locked the door. But she made herself calm down. Neither of them were irresponsible enough to do something like that. She took a deep breath. Carlisle was safe in the bunker. The door was blast proof. Shooing off bullets at it would do nothing.
The pair continued to watch the men. They approached the door and tested the handle. When the door stayed closed, one of them pulled a block with wires out of his back pack. They stuck the blocks to the door, fiddled with the wires and then started walking backwards away from the door. A single red wire following their path.
"They're going to try and blow the door open." Edward gasped.
"It won't work." Bella stated, trying to reassure him.
"But Carlisle. Will he be okay?"
"I think he'll be jostled and very surprised but he'll okay."
Edward nodded after a moment. Bella could see the strain it was taking for him to not run over and stop the men. Carlisle would be okay, she kept reassuring him. It was better they let the men try this and fail and then leave, she thought. Then the pair would be able to get back to Carlisle safely. He would want them to be smart about it.
When the men were far enough away, they fiddled around with the wires some more before there was suddenly a huge explosion. Dirt and grass were kicked up into the air and a deep scotch mark could be seen on the metal door, but it stayed closed and more importantly locked.
"Fuck." She heard one of the men scream when he approached the door. "It didn't work!" He yelled back to his buddy.
"We'll wait them out." The friend called back. "They won't stay in their forever."
Edward and Bella both looked at each other with panicked eyes. Carlisle would try and come out soon, they were sure of it. He would've heard the explosion and would be worried about them.
"What do we do?" Bella asked in a whisper yell.
"We'll have to try and distract them so we can get back into the bunker. We'll be safer in there than we are out here."
Bella nodded.
"We wait until it's dark. For now, we need to pray Carlisle stays inside so that we can come up with a plan."
The pair decided to climb the tree they were hiding behind.
"It will give us a better vantage point. And we'll be hidden if they decide to patrol the perimeter."
Bella simply went along with what he was saying because he seemed to know what he was doing. When they were both situated on a branch, Edward passed Bella the water bottle so she could have a drink.
"You need to stay hydrated." He insisted.
"What about you?"
"I can survive much long than you can without water. Besides, with all those layers you must be sweating after all that climbing."
Bella nodded, somewhat bashfully, she was wearing a lot of layers after all.
"At least you won't have to worry about me freezing once the sun goes down."
Edward smiled. "That's true." He replied. "Now, we need a plan."
"We need a distraction." Bella insisted. "Something to draw them away from the bunker."
"Yes, that could work." Edward agreed.
"And then we need something to hide us when we run to the door. Some kind of cover."
"Fog!" Edward thought suddenly.
"Yeah but where are we going to get fog from?"
"Me!" Edward responded enthusiastically.
Bella looked at him with a confused expression.
Edward let out a huff in response. "Magic, remember?"
"You can do that?"
"Sure. It's a simple spell. But will work perfectly." Edward boasted playfully.
"Okay, so once they're distracted we make a run for it through the fog. It will need to be dark though, by the time we do that. Really dark."
"I worry Carlisle will come out before then."
Bella nodded. "We need to get him a message somehow."
For a long while the pair were silent, trying to think of a way to send Carlisle a message.
"How far can you reach with your powers?" Bella asked, breaking the silence. "Would you be able to reach the inside of the bunker?" She clarified.
"It would depend on what I needed to do. What's your idea?"
"Is there some magic that you could use to write a message to Carlisle from out here? There are enough supplies to write out a word, maybe on the floor."
Edward thought for a moment.
"You could levitate them, like you did to us in the field."
"I could try. I don't know if I'll be able to without seeing them though. I've never tried that before."
"Let's climb down so you can practice on some sticks or something." Bella suggested.
Together the couple climbed down the tree and began collecting rocks, sticks and other forest debris. Bella organized them on the floor and showed Edward where they were.
"Now, you walk about 100 feet away and turn around. From memory, try and move them to make a word."
"What word do you suggest?" Edward asked, still somewhat hesitant about his ability to follow through with the plan.
Bella thought for a moment. It needed to be short but clear.
"Stay." She suggested. "Just make the word stay."
Edward nodded and began walking away from the pile forest debris. When he deemed himself far enough away he turned around and thought back to the order and placement of the items.
One by one he levitated the objects into the word 'stay' as best he could. About 10 minutes later he approached Bella to see how he'd done. It wasn't great. He decided.
"I think with some practice…" Bella trailed off, looking at the wonky and crocked letters.
Edward nodded but Bella could tell he was disappointed with his first attempt. This was the only plan they had though and he had to make it work. Bella remade the pile and Edward walked back to his spot. For an hour the pair practiced going back and forth and before deciding Edward was ready. They both thought back to one of the shelves in the bunker that they could visualize. Bella was going to help him place where things were for him to levitate and move.
This time, the pair chose a tree closer to the bunker. It was a risk, but Edward needed to be close to do this. It was hard enough to concentrate without having to stretch his magic to its limit.
One by one, they recalled where things were on the bunker shelves and Edward used his mind and his hands to move them around. After 15 minutes he let out a sigh and opened his eyes.
"That's the best I can do." He told Bella.
"I'm sure it will work." She encouraged.
"And now we wait." Edward responded, leaning back on the thick tree trunk.
Bella lent back next to him and together the pair came up with a way to distract the two men.
"It just needs to be enough to draw their attention away from a few moments. A sound or some movement." Bella suggested.
"What if they heard voices coming from up the way? Not so deep into the forest that can't hear it, but deep enough that they can't see anything."
"Then when they turn to see what it is and hopefully go and investigate, you can bring the fog in and cover us so we can make a run for it."
"Can you do both with magic?"
"Yes." Edward responded vehemently. "I'll need to go up the forest line a bit to cast the first spell. As soon as you see the fog, make a run for it. I'll be able to catch up."
"Are you sure."
"I'm sure. And I can make the fog stretch to me to provide cover."
"Okay." Bella agreed after a moment.
Together the pair sat in the tree and waited until the sun began to set. As it lowered behind the hills, Edward and Bella made their way down the tree to the forest floor.
"Are you sure about this?" Bella asked, one last time.
"I'm 100% sure. It's a good plan. We'll be back with Carlisle in no time." He reassured.
Before they parted Edward pulled Bella into his arms and placed his lips on hers. They kissed for a few moments, enjoying the sensation of molding their lips around the others. Eventually, Bella broke them apart and hugged Edward fiercely.
"Stay safe. And don't wait too long to make a run for it."
"I won't." Edward insisted. "Here." He said, passing Bella the bunker key. "You open the door as soon as you get to it. That way I can run straight in and we can close it as soon as possible."
"Okay. Good luck." Bella wished him, giving him one more quick peck.
She watched Edward carefully walk up the forest line, being sure to stay hidden behind the big trees until she lost sight of him. Bella decided to sit and wait; it would be a while before it as dark enough for their plan.