Chapter 11: The Plan

Ember pov:

Just as quickly as my life changed to include light, laughter, smiles, comfort, and simple pleasures, it was snatched away. Safety felt false. Laughter felt fake. Though I had promised myself that I would enjoy my possible last moments with my family, I found myself spiraling. My mind desperately clung to the instant happiness I felt when Emmett told a joke, Mom hugged me, Dad smiled at me, etc. Regardless of how tightly I clung, seconds later the happiness was replaced with anxiety, loneliness, and fury. Even though I was not physically in reach, yet, my father's grip on my life was as tight as ever.

I didn't need the water swirling around me, holding me in place, to feel like I was drowning. One benefit to years of masking my abuse, my emotions were easy to hide. For those couple days before I left to go on an almost certain death mission, no one suspected a thing. Well…Jasper did. When Edward, Bella, Carlisle, and Esme had been out hunting I had slipped. My guard came down when I had allowed myself to zone out. Alone in my room the night before I'd leave behind the only place I felt I belonged I had drifted. Reality around me became fuzzy and my eyes glazed over as I focused on the same spot on the wall. I thought about what it would be like to stay, to not have my father's threat looming over me.

I saw myself walk across the stage at graduation. I imagined Mom and Dad moving me into my dorm. I imagined visiting home at Christmas. Chess with Jasper and Edward. Games with Em. Chatter of sisterly conversation. Asking advise for my inevitable first date at some point. Reading in companionship with Bella. New houses. New places. New opportunities. Unconditional love.

The nice thoughts filled me with sorrow I couldn't seem to swallow. My chest hurt with it and my heart felt heavy. I felt a lump in my throat and a burn in my eyes. I think this was the point when I realized I had given up hope. I don't know when I had decided I didn't believe I would return, but I realized my decision in that moment. Not any amount of torture I had previously endured prepared me for that. I used every bit of strength I had to hold the tears at bay. I had to prepare. I had decided how this was going to happen, and so there was no use in me crying. It wouldn't change a thing. I truly began to hate what I was, because it was the same as my father. The tainted blood that ran through my father ran through me and the power we shared was the cause of this. Filthy. I felt filthy and an overwhelming desire to rid myself of the blood inside me. In one moment of frenzy I had moved to get up, to find some sharp object, not quite understanding my impulse. What stopped me what the absolutely crushed and shocked looking man in my doorway.

"Ember-" Jasper gasped out.

In panic, I put my shield back up with so much force I swear I heard it slam into place. No. The shield had not slammed, the door had. I blankly looked. I had acted on such instant to protect myself from discovery and vulnerability I had slammed the door shut while across the room. I was breathing heavily and could feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins. If anything, the short scene had stomped out the impulsive desire. It would be stupid to do that for more reasons than one. If my father didn't find me, he would go after my family. I knew after the episode Jasper understood what I had actually been feeling under the smiles and daily motions. I had to make sure I wasn't questioned. Walking to the door, I opened it to him still standing there. I tried not to fully take in his expression, already disgusted with myself because of the powers I had just exemplified.

"I am not ready to talk about it. I'd appreciate if my feelings remained private." I looked down at his chest as I spoke, unable to meet his eyes. After several silent moments, however, I looked up. He wore such a conflicted expression.

"Please." I added. He could hear the begging in my voice which only caused him to give a terse nod before disappearing. I let out a breath, not able to feel more than a few seconds of relief.

I stepped backward into my room and closed the door, using my hand this time. I looked around and tried to take in every detail. Esme, my mom, could be felt in the details. In the perfectly imperfectly placed décor I could see her. I sat at my desk and pulled out a piece of paper. I couldn't bring myself to simply disappear without thanking them.

I stared for a couple seconds before the words poured out.

Family,

Thank you. These past few months have meant everything to me. I never knew what it felt like to simply be accepted. I have never smiled as much as I have recently. Should I fail and never get to say it out loud to you, know that each and every one of you have impacted me tremendously. I am a better person to have known you all and I will cherish the short time I had to experience a real family. I am so sorry for bringing this target onto you, but I will take it away. I promise that. There is no reason why any of you should be in danger because of me.

I love you all more than my own life,

Ember

I continued to stubbornly hold the tears in. I read over it once and decided no words would truly express my gratitude, so these would have to work.

That night, I allowed a few single tears to escape as I clung to my panda stuffed animal. My birth mom had given it to me years ago and many times it was the only companion I had. I felt the damp fur where the tears had fallen when I reburied my face. I evened my breathing and the exhaustion from my anxiety took hold of me quickly.

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I dressed as I normally did on Saturdays, in athletic clothing. I was not going to give them any reason to suspect I was not going to dance class so I had on my usually cropped leggings, sports bra, tank top with a long sleeve athletic jacket over top, and tennis shoes. While I got ready, I allowed myself to pretend I was going to attend class today. I thought about the routines we'd be perfecting for the upcoming competition. We were still a little sloppy in places. I paused as I went to pack my dance bag. Normally, I'd I have a pair of tights, a leotard, jazz shoes, point shoes, ballet flats, turn shoes, my water bottles, etc. Today I simply shoved my stuffed panda, Oreo, in and zipped it up. I thought for a second and unzipped the bag to add in a couple changes of clothes similar to what I was wearing now, a stack of cash I had started to save again, as well as my cell phone after switching it to "do not disturb."

I took a deep breath and decided not to look around my room once more for fear it would unravel me. Here we go.

Getting out of the house was actually very easy as no one questioned where I was going with my dance bag slung over my shoulder. I gave nonchalant goodbye's in return to their "see you later." I set my bag in the front seat, started the car, and began the drive to the dance studio. First things first, I did stop there and put on my best acting face. I quickly walked in, allowing myself to look as ragged as I felt. It wasn't difficult to convince them to let me leave as they didn't want me to get anyone else sick and they wanted me to heal before competition. With that taken care of, I got back in my car and pushed away any emotion. I was robotic, as I needed to be, as I raced toward my old house. I was careful when I pulled up to it, making sure there was no one home. I knew my father would avoid returning to stay in the house as it would no doubt be searched for him and checked frequently. I also knew he wouldn't be able to resist trying to get his car and retrieving some belongings. I couldn't tell you how I knew he had been here already, but I felt it. There was a bond between us, as much as I hated it, that made it so I could tell when he was close. It was not a warm fuzzy feeling but rather a rush of adrenaline and fear. I was also sure that he was not here currently because those emotions were not too overwhelming. This would work to my advantage because when he came back he would sense I had been here and find my note. As quickly as I could, as if I could be snatched away any second, I ran up to his car and tucked the address under a windshield wiper. It was in a ziplock in case it rained and I had to just pray police didn't intercept it. I doubt they would as I tucked it well under the wiper and planned for him to see it once he tried to use them. I then raced back to my waiting car, closed the door, pressed start on the gps, and allowed the directions to guide me toward my doom.

I was starting to become exhausted. I had left town around ten and now the sun was setting. I was now almost to Northern California, deciding to stop just before while still in Oregon. I didn't bother trying to get a motel or anything because I was underage and I didn't need the cops called on a runaway. I parked my car in a parking lot of a 24 hour market and reclined my seat, telling myself I'd only sleep a couple hours and then continue, knowing travel would be quicker in the night without traffic anyway. I had already stopped to get gas earlier and used impressively real looking stickers to alter my license plate.

I grabbed my phone for the first time since I left to set a timer for three hours so I wouldn't oversleep. My heart jumped at the screen when I saw two to three missed calls from each of my siblings, ten from Dad, and twenty-six from mom.

11 new voicemails. Do I even want to…

I clicked the button.

"EMBER IDALIA CULL-" my mom's voice, loud at me for the first time, rang out before I clicked away and decided not to listen. I tried not to pay attention to the warmth that spread as she was about to call me Cullen or the pang of sadness I felt at not being able to hear that ever again.

Instead, I had a deranged moment where I laughed as I remembered the scene in the Harry Potter series where Ron receives a Howler for stealing his dad's magical car and flying it to Hogwarts when they were unable to get onto the train platform. For an odd reason, I couldn't stop giggling thinking of it. I guessed it was the exhaustion and all it took to sober me was a thought about what I was going to be doing in no time at all. I breathed out a sigh.

"Hey siri. Set a timer for three hours."

"Okay. Timer set for three hours." The Australian male voice said back.

"Thank you." I said back, as I always did. It was completely unnecessary but it was always just a habit I had."

I closed my eyes and drifted.

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I woke with a start, cold sweat made my baby hairs cling to my forehead. I looked around, disoriented and panicked. I became aware of distant lights from a store as well as brightening then fading lights from the nearby traffic. My wits came back to me quick and I tapped my phone. The timer countdown was at 1 hour and 26 minutes left, which meant I got about just that for sleep. I suddenly felt the intense need to move. I felt I had been stationary too long even though earlier I figured three hours was enough.

I readjusted my seat to an upright position and followed my instinct to leave. I wasn't Alice, but I had intuition of my own. On the chance my gut was right, I needed to move.

Alice Pov:

I gasped, immediately horrified at the vision that finally hit me. It was dark out right now and the entire family was gathered around the living room. Since Ember could block herself, I had no vision until she let her block down. I figured this wouldn't happen until she was asleep. I had been mentally kicking myself for not looking into her future the past couple nights while she slept. I could have prevented this. I felt the eyes on me but I was too petrified by the scene before me. I also heard Edward growl ferociously as he saw what I did.

Ember was on the ground, barely conscious, as her father laughed.

"See?! Weak! Your precious little posse of vampires would be as disgusted as I am if they could see you. Where are they now?" He stepped on her chest, forcing a breath out of her.

He continued his rants, telling her everything from we won't care when she is gone to her being worthless. I pushed the vision away the second he put his foot on her throat and shifted to put his full weight down. I immediately broke into tears, hoping Edward would give the necessary details as I couldn't speak. Jasper was immediately at my side, holding me up as I sagged into him.

"He...He…" I gasped.

Jasper's attempts to calm me were doing nothing. I had just watched my sister murdered by her own blood. Her father. It would happen if we couldn't change it.

Carlisle:

I didn't need to ask what Alice saw and neither did Esme. She immediately sat, a lost look on her face. I, however, became enraged. I felt my grip on my vampire nature slip and all I wanted was to rip this man, no this monster's, head off.

"Where? How long do we have?" I asked shortly, barely keeping the growl out of my voice.

"It looked to be in in the middle of nowhere. A desert. Looked an awful lot like the terrain around the I10 we took to Arizona to get to Bella when she ran to James. I can't be sure, though. It just felt familiar." Edward said to me as Alice was still buried in Jasper's chest trying to pull herself together.

I immediately softened my voice. "Alice, honey." I called. She peeked out at me, a despairing expression that tugged my heart. I was desperate. "I need you to look to see where she might be in the very near future. I am assuming she is sleeping and she could wake up any moment and her shield would go back up. We need a start. Can you look, sweetheart?"

Alice simply closed her eyes and a small crease formed in between her eyes. After a few seconds they snapped open.

"She is leaving a Fred Meyer parking lot in four minutes. She passed a sign that said the city limits were ending and she is heading into California. Later she is arriving in Orange County. If we find a flight to John Wayne or LAX within the next couple hours, we may be in time." She spoke hurriedly. In the middle of her speech she had run upstairs, knowing we could still hear her. She was grabbing her purse from the sound of it. "We need to go. Now. We book a flight that leaves in an hour and a half. We have to run on foot."

Everyone moved in a flurry and we were out the door in less than two minutes, zooming toward the nearest airport.

Adrian Hagan Pov (Embers father):

I crumpled the note in my hand and felt a mixture of emotion. Anger. The stupid girl was telling me exactly where she'd be but she was making it so inconvenient. Excitement. I would have my revenge. That insufferable worthless bitch would pay for getting me arrested. I could hardly wait to hear her begging for mercy and apologizing. She didn't even know a fraction of what her power could do so it would be easy to overpower her. Just as always. I had contacts who, after a beating, told me exactly what she had been up to.

I mulled over what I would do when I finally got my hands on her as I drove toward the coast. I'd travel by ocean, it would take me half the time as a car would. I felt…Powerful.

Ember Pov:

As I drove into Orange County, I turned the gps off, knowing my way around. I easily got to my desired destination but the panic that suddenly flooded me as I pulled up to the address I had left my father was unnatural. He was already here.

I hadn't planned for that and I had no idea how to execute the next step of my plan. I had anticipated there being time for me to prepare and leave the second note. I had stopped and parked so I moved to start the car again, wanting to drive away and buy time to think of a new plan. Suddenly my passenger door opened and I let out a gasp of surprise. I couldn't turn the car on fast enough to pull away before the person who opened it climbed in and shut the door. A tight hand suddenly was around my throat.

"Hello daughter, I have so looked forward to our reunion. Here is what is going to happen. You are going to drive and follow my every direction. If you pull any tricks, you will regret it. We are going to go somewhere I can deal with you, you insufferable little bitch. Maybe I'll go easy on you if you behave yourself now." He let go with a slight shove. I could hear a ringing in my ears and my pulse was racing. This was absolutely not how I planned this going down, but I figured I would meet my end in some way. The best I could do now is listen and hope when the time came I could fight back. The brief thought of pulling into a police station crossed my mind but he would just escape again. I had to do this and I had to do it now.

"Pull out and turn left." He said. I still hadn't responded to him and I mechanically followed directions. I felt incapable of responding I was caught so off guard. I hoped that my following his directions was enough of a response for him. I felt my control on everything slip away as I focused solely on not panicking in front of him. Turn left. Drive faster. Take the on ramp. All I could do was robotically follow, I didn't even notice time passing, but clearly it had been a couple hours because I did register that we were on the I10 heading through the desert.

( Couple hours prior)Alice pov:

I could see a sign, Blythe 50 miles with indicators of miles until Phoenix and Quartzite. Ember was staring intently on the road with bright red-orange eyes, a clear sign of distress. Her father in the passenger seat! He looked impatient and continued to bark orders.

I then saw the exit , well more of a side dirt road, and the struggle the little Honda had to go over the terrain. They drove for quite a while and came upon a flat topped mountain and a hidden clearing. It was clear he wanted privacy to do whatever horrid things he had planned.

Ember must have lowered her guard if I was seeing this, which means she was probably already in the car with him. I focused harder on the immediate future, what would happen in a few minutes. Sure enough she was still in Orange county area. I zeroed in on how far behind we'd be. Hmmm in the parking garage of the airport there would be two good candidates for cars, half of us would take each one. Floor 3 and floor six. We would obviously be speeding, Edward would be in the leading car to warn for immediate cop traps, I needed to focus on Ember's location as much as I could. I hope she kept her shield down. It would be close. I could see we were too late to intervene before anything could hurt her. Daddy would be able to help her. If her father didn't change his mind and every decision remained consistent, we would make it and save her.

I stood and Jasper immediately looked to me. "Her guards down, I can see." I said simply before walking up a couple aisles to where my mom and dad were. Luckily, their row had an empty seat. I sat down in the aisle seat next to my mom, who was sitting in the middle and leaned forward so I could see both of them.

I explained what I saw in detail to mom and dad and they both looked relieved, but saddened and angry at the fact we wouldn't be able to completely prevent Ember from being hurt.

"How bad?" daddy asked.

I simply looked at him unsure if I should say. A flash of anger in his eyes at my lack of response had me put my hands up in a placating manner.

"She…Well I am not sure because I can only see her but …she's unconscious. Passed out from pain I would assume." My dad swallowed a few times, trying desperately to not growl in this plane full of humans. He nodded. Esme grabbed his hand he seemed to calm a fraction of a bit.

"We will get our daughter back Carlisle. Focus on that." Esme said to him but she was nowhere near convincing, she was in just as much emotional turmoil as daddy. I knew even though I was speaking too quietly for humans to hear, my siblings would have heard and been updated.

"I will keep watch for any changes." I said and got up, wanting to be near jasper. I needed his calming if I was going to be looking into her future.

I sat down, took his hand and closed my eyes. My eyebrows creased as I saw a change in the outcome. I hadn't expected that at all and my eyes snapped open.

A/N: Hey guys, I know I said I was going to put some fun stuff but that is going to have to come later. I can't write happy chapters right now, so we are going to be seeing some anger, drama, etc. I promise there will be fluff and stuff coming don't you worry. Please leave a review :) –Cullengirl9397