Title: Cut the Ropes
Author: LazyWerewolf
Disclaimer: See chapter 11
A/N: I hate the authors that beg for reviews, but still, I check my inbox every hour to see if I have any new reviews. I know, desperate, right? Sure, a new mysteryguitarman vid is great, but I would much rather have a review alert instead :D I prefer you guys to mysteryguitarman. Be happy. It was a whole lot easier for me to write this chapter because I write fast paced stuff easier. Either that or massive fillers with Alice. Either one.
Another thing, please please PLEASE make your window smaller when you read this! You WILL miss out on parts that are important if you don't! I know this because I read my own fic on fullscreen (-.-"), and I missed half of the good details, but when I shrunk it down it was all good.
See you at teh bahtom.

Left Right Left Right Left

"His name is Zeus, he is a very dangerous man..."

He didn't look like he was dangerous. Certainly his guards looked dangerous, but the man himself; no. I could take him. He was basically saying that I would have to never to see my family again, in return for staying at this bloody camp. I spoke in calm, collected tones. "What if I said no?"

He leaned back in the chair, which creaked underneath his weight. "I offer you sanctuary, and you refuse? I am a man of few words. We are planning to ambush the very vampires you so defend. The Volturi menace will be no more, and I am offering you a place in the most powerful army on the face of the earth. I, myself," he brought his hand to his chest to accentuate the phrase, "would not refuse such an offer."

"You must comply with everything he says..."

I left my food untouched and got up. "I'm not you, am I?"

His face seemed to contort in anger for a fraction of a second, before his aged features returned to normal. "Do not refuse me, pup. Vampires are your enemy; I am protecting you. I'm giving you a choice; either die by their hands, or stay with us."

"Say yes, no matter what his offer is..."

I gritted my teeth together. He has no power over me. "No."

His face stayed in anger this time. He was obviously not used to refusal. The man swiftly got up, and slammed his hands on the table. Wood cracked beneath his palms. The two guards at his side tensed. The entire room had its eyes on us; the probie and the Alpha. David and Emily looked extremely anxious, probably worried for my safety. However, the Alpha merely sat back down. Zeus took a few deep breaths and settled himself; the two guards around him relaxing. I relaxed as well, reaching over to pocket some food before I got caught. People quickly put their plates up and left the room, leaving David and Emily as the only spectators.

The air around me was very thick, literally. I could feel the hairs on my arms and the back of my neck raise. If I would have moved, I would have probably shocked my fingers off. The static was so thick you could probably plug an outlet into my nose and have it work, too. This situation was getting way too dangerous.

David and Emily seemed to sense this, so Emily walked over to where I was standing and slipped her hand into mine. I felt her gently press her body against mine, giving me moral support. David walked over as well, covering Emily and I and put a hand on my shoulder, gently pulling me back. I decided it was best to leave. However, Zeus decided differently.

"Very well. Escort the girl out. Tent number seven. Tent six is getting too messy." The two guards inched toward me. It was three against one, because I wasn't going to drag two innocent people into this. Apparently the two hand a plan. Emily opened her hand in mine, slipping the cold teeth of a pair of keys into my hand. I squeezed back. Motorcycle keys. David shifted the hand on my shoulder. I looked over. He looked anxious. In fact, the entire room was tense. The once grayscale aura of Zeus turned a raging green lightning storm. His two guards held identical brown auras of shields. Emily's orange aura of clouds was concentrated around her, and David's blue collar shook in fear. If I glanced through my peripheral vision, I could see the side of David's hand. On his hand in big bold letters was the word "RUN". What was that about tent number seven?

The two identical guards stepped up. I couldn't see most of their face because they were wearing masks, and since all werewolf eyes look the same that didn't help much either. The one of the left approached, and David and Emily simultaneously squeezed my hand and shoulder. The pair left me to the monsters, leaving the canteen. The tent was deserted now except for me, the guards, and Zeus himself. The gruff man growled through his teeth, his eyes visibly lightening and his nails digging into the wood of the table.

"Kill her."

This was my cue to run. I remembered watching the movie "Inception", where Leonardo DiCaprio would run as the world around him slowed down because he was thinking so fast. It was kind of like that now. I felt like time stopped just to give me a half second head start on the hunters, but I sure as hell was grateful for it. I pushed my frozen legs against the ground, and sprinted toward the tent entrance. I pushed over tables and knocked down chairs, anything to get them out of the way. However, I underestimated the speed of the pair. The two blazed through the makeshift obstacles I put up, or rather pushed down, for them. I could sense them gaining speed.

I burst into the cold desert air, with the full moon looming over the grey glowing sand. The two behind me weren't fazed by the moon like I thought they would be, but the sound of ripped clothing and angry growls told me that something behind them was. I fumbled with the keys in my hand. I needed to lead them through a maze so I could have enough time to get on the bike. Maybe I could head down the home tents and come out the back of my old tent; there's still a hole in the back of it because of my canvas ripping.

Ready? Go.

I took a ninety degree turn into a corridor of tents, throwing them off for a second. I took another sharp turn my tent, which was still in its state of disarray for the time being. I crashed into the supports while I tore my way through, causing the tent to fall on one of the hunters before I could get caught under it. The other was nowhere to be seen.

There he is. Speak of the devil. The other one was sprinting toward me at a monstrous speed. It nearly caught me off guard, but my new reflexes caused me to grab his shirt without thinking. I flung him over my shoulder with the judo throw that Daniel taught me. Thank God for good werewolves. The two were incapacitated, which meant I could go back for the bike. I didn't slow down though. Too dangerous to take a risk.

I retraced my steps and began taking a different path to the cafeteria tent. I knew that going back the way I came would be suicide because Mr. and Mrs. I'm-going-to-kill-you were still over there, but nonetheless a bit dazed. The route was a bit confusing, until I felt a rock hit my head and looked around.

David was a few feet away. I ran toward him, and he did the same. He handed me a piece of paper before he began talking. "Alex is waiting. This is his address, if you can't find him it's because he already knows you're... Well, dead. Good luck. Go. The cycle is right across from the entrance. And also..." David swiftly wrapped his arms around me and held me tight. I hugged back, knowing I probably wouldn't be seeing him soon. And for a few seconds, it wasn't about my imminent death by werewolf, or the Volturi hunting me down. It was about two friends saying goodbyes to one another. But then he pulled back. "You won't be seeing me again." The werewolf planted a kiss to my forehead. He looked at me one last time before he turned around and ran in the direction of the guards. I stood there shell shocked, until my brain kicked into gear. I still had to get out of there.

Key and map in hand, I ran toward the central corridor. There was no one stopping me, and the path was clear. Way too good to be true. Not that I wasn't grateful for the break, I just knew something terrible was about to happen. I ran in the direction of the entrance, away from the canteen. I held the key and map as if they were a lifeline. I tried not to think that they were, though.

And there it is. I heard a huge bellow coming from behind me, and I had just a second to peek back behind me. There was a huge green lightning storm sending rays bigger than the horizon in all directions. The tent canvas had been torn apart and now hung limply to a huge body. In the middle of it all was a huge, convulsing wolf man. It was much bigger than I was as a wolf; in fact I think it had a good five feet on me. It snarled and twisted its head before snapping it back in place and turning to face me. Its bright yellow eyes bore into my skull. It let out a roar. Zeus was coming.

I kept running at full blast as I continued to hear roars coming from behind me. The camp gates were in sight; all I had to do was... No! Goddamnit, no! The bike that David said would be here was nowhere to be found. I looked in both directions to try and find the rusty white cycle, but it was nowhere. Damnit! More bellows reached my ears. I had to think fast. The gates around the entrance were still open. Fixing the problem, I grabbed a rung of the gate in each hand and slammed them together, taking a brick to bar the two together. I sped off down the road barefoot, not caring where the bike was. I held the key and map so tightly in my hand, my fingers began to bleed.

I should have known that I had wasted time with the gates. I continue to run as the distinct deafening shriek of bending metal reached my ears, along with another loud roar. Zeus tore through the gates like they were paper. I had a few seconds head start on him, but I wouldn't be able to keep it at this rate. The faint light floating in from camp was dimming as I ran further and further from it. I was nearly a minute down the road when I saw a glint of metal.

I gasped quietly to myself. There it was. Why the fuck was it all the way out here? The bike was on the side of the road with the kickstand still up. I had the keys in hand, but I was afraid Zeus would catch up to me before I mounted it. But stupid Bella did it anyway. I jumped onto the bike, fumbling with the keys in the ignition. I could hear loud bellows coming from behind. I twisted the key and the bike rumbled to life, roaring happily before I kicked it into gear. I twisted the handle a few times, but I heard incoming roars and bellows coming in the direction of Zeus. Finally the bike started up and I zoomed down the road.

The bike was pretty damn fast, I'll give it that much, but Zeus was pretty damn fast times four. I had to push the bike near its limit more than once. The road below me blurred, and soon there was no distinction between the blacktop, the desert and the sky. It was just me, the machine, and the monster. If I tried hard enough, I could faintly remember being in a situation like this before. Jacob Black and the wolf-splosion. Yeah. But this monster happened to be much faster, more dangerous, and far more deadly than the little puppy Jakey. I took a peek at the accelerometer. 125... Not bad, not bad at all.

My tattered shirt flew in the wind, along with my hair. I was just starting to gain speed on Zeus, when something bright, like lightning, hit my bike. The little machine sputtered and the bike lost its momentum. The lights on it shut down, and the lack of speed caused the wheels to wobble. The handles swerved back and forth, causing me to lose my balance. The bike collapsed below me and sent me flying over the road. I landed roughly on my back causing pain to assault my ribs and spine. I heard cracks as I hit the blacktop, notifying me that I had broken something. I heard a loud bellow come from behind me. Zeus was only a few seconds behind. My hand reached for the keys, pulling them out of the ignition and into my pocket.

I tried to support myself with my arms to no avail. The warm trickle of blood crawled down the side of my face and blurred my vision. But I wasn't gonna give up. I army crawled a few inches, trying to push myself forward with the balls of my feet. My nails scratched the pavement, trying to find a hold, but there was none. My heart was pumping at a thousand beats a minute. I never thought that the little red outline on the screen in COD was real, that if you were in enough pain your body gave you a complementary red frame around your eyesight, but it was real. The pain was terrible, but not as bad as the pain of the transformation. Come on, punk ass, get your butt moving, I thought to myself. I tried to drag myself along the ground, to maybe gain some distance. But I was lifted by the back of my shirt before I could advance an inch.

I was flung backwards onto the sand. Zeus stood on all fours in the spot where I once was. He slammed his front paws- or hands, rather- onto the ground before roaring fiercely and galloping toward me. He was snapping at thin air, creating loud and frightening noises with his teeth. I was in my element, though. I dove under the sand, its familiar hold wrapping around me. Unfortunately for me, I only went a few feet before a hand plunged into the sand and plucked me out of my sanctuary. Zeus pulled me out with one hand, clawing my back with the other. The blood seeped through my shirt as I released a yelp of pain. He picked me up and made me turn to face him. Two burning yellow eyes stared through my skull. The grey werewolf released a huge roar right in my face, pelting me with the smell of dog breath.

I shook the spit off my face. "Ever heard of toothpaste, dipshit?" No, no, NO! WHY DO YOU SAY THESE STUPID THINGS?

The werewolf bellowed louder, and if his eyes got any brighter I would have been staring into headlights. Ha, ha. Get it? Headlights? Bad puns don't relieve stress as well as I thought they would. He extended his arm and held me out by the neck, his other hand going to the side, poised to attack. He was about to swing his arm when he was violently flung backwards. I landed on my feet, turning around. A huge, brown werewolf tackled him to the side. Zeus' green lightning storm was pushed to the side by a lash of blue. The blue concentrated again around the werewolf's neck. David.

The brown werewolf turned around to face me, barking something that sounded a whole lot like "Run". I tried to help, but I knew I would only end up being a liability, so I obeyed, holding my sides and trying to keep my back as straight as possible as I tried to run forward. It caused me extreme pain, but my motivation was the fact that there was a huge, dangerous werewolf the size of three of the wolves that had chased me on that day that changed my life. I advanced slowly, not going past a struggled jog to move. I tried to ignore the loud tears, roars and slams coming in from behind. I kept running, but I looked back a bit to see a large, furry creature being thrown over the shoulder of a larger, furrier monster. My footsteps sent pain through my spine, causing me to nearly fall. I was kept upright by willpower alone.

If I looked far enough, I could see a faint glow on the horizon. The glow morphed into defined lights. I was nearing the city. The closest building was what looked like a bunker, or a storage shed of some sort. It had one large, rectangular building, and was almost completely underground, save for the roof and the window. It was only about a minute away at my pace.

Behind me, I heard a huge howl resonating through the cold desert air. The chill made it easy for me to hear anything because for some reason sound traveled faster in cool environments. I don't know, Junior year physics or something. I was still running ahead of Zeus. If I was really lucky, maybe Alexander would find me and he would beat the shit out of Zeus. I don't know... I don't care much either. He probably took me for dead, like what David said before.

The storage shed was only about a hundred feet away. If I ran a little faster, maybe I could make it. I heard loud, galloping footsteps behind me, warning me of my fate. I was almost at the storage shed. My jog was working. Maybe if I just tried a bit harder. I propelled myself faster, trying to ignore the searing pain through my ribs. More blood trickled down from my head. I had to grab my arm to keep the spare bits of flesh attached to it as it very slowly healed itself. I was just reaching the storage house. I could even see the full moon reflected across the window.

My already tattered shirt was torn up even more when claws dug into my back. I screamed in agony, feeling nails raking across my already cut up back. The monster grabbed my shoulder, his nails digging into my scar. I screamed louder. I just wasn't going to bother hiding the extreme pain I was in. I had a broken spine, broken ribs, my arm was in shreds, my head was bleeding, and now a chunk of my shoulder has been torn out. Zeus bellowed again, and flung me to the side. I crashed through the window of the storage shed. But I'm not that lucky, am I? It wasn't a storage shed, it was a bunker. In other words, I had to fall.

The green walls zoomed through my vision. I suddenly landed with a thud and a groan, more pain shooting through my body. If I just had a red frame around my vision before, now I had a river of blood going over my eyes, blinding me. The blood poured down my face, neck and arms. I would have probably looked dead, were it not for the occasional grunt of pain. Above me, the moons rays trickled through the window. I heard a loud howl of victory. I couldn't keep my eyes open, so I closed them. I still felt blood trickling down my eyelids and seeping through my clothing. I let out an occasional whimper of pain. Zeus had found me.

When I opened my eyes again, all of my wounds were healed. There was no blood, and instead of a black sweatshirt and canvas pants, I was wearing what I would wear in Forks. Black Vans, a Radiohead shirt and some grey skinny jeans. There was a mirror on the far wall of the bunker. I walked over to examine myself, and had to contain tears of joy. My eyes were brown again, but my skin was pale, sparkled like diamonds, and was ice cold to the touch. I was a vampire. I looked to my right to see a corridor that hadn't been there before. I walked toward it, my steps unnaturally graceful and lithe. I was the epitome of beauty, walking down dark burgundy halls and heading toward who knows what under a huge labyrinth of a bunker. I could faintly hear my name being called from one end of the hall I was walking down.

I heard something turn around a corner, and turned to see Alice running toward me, the biggest smile on her face ever. Her aura danced happily around her. She ran straight into my arms, grabbing my face and layering my cheek with feather light kisses. The ultraviolet aura held us both in a cocoon, letting me share a private, emotionally intimate moment with Alice. I wrapped my arms around her now same temperature waist, holding her close to me. I inhaled her delicious scent of honeysuckle, rain and the faint smell of pine and smiled. She leaned back and took my face in her hands, pressing the tip of her nose against mine. The Eskimo kiss was broken when she leaned back to get a good look at me.

"I missed you, Bella," she said, giggling.

"I missed you too, Ali-cat," I responded, laughing with her.

"Come," she said. "Follow me, I have somewhere neat to show you." She took my hand in hers and skipped down the dreary halls, taking several turns until we came upon one huge central corridor. At the far end of the hall, there was a pair of double doors with a bright green "EXIT" sign over it. Alice led me down the hall, not stopping for anything. But there were small inscriptions on the wall, small enough to be unreadable to the human eye, but I was a vampire. I read it very clearly. It said, "Final Exit, No Turning Back" and below it, it said something that would have made my heart stop if I had one. "Zeus is coming". I sure as hell knew who Zeus was. I stopped. Alice turned around with a small pout on her face. She was literally glowing, her light illuminating the wall. It sort of looks like she ate fireflies, or maybe she was the sun itself.

"What's wrong, Bella?" She asked, her eyes laced with worry.

"This writing...," I touched the inscription on the wall with the tips of my fingers. "It says, 'Zeus is coming'... I know that man, he won't let you live."

She smiled again. "But Bella, Zeus can't hurt you, he's nowhere near here."

Right on cue, something burst loudly through a pair of double doors. Both of our heads snapped toward the sound, and through the darkness I saw Zeus-wolf and his characteristic green lightning storm surrounding him. There was something different about him, though. He was certainly bigger, and his eyes shone much brighter, but the distinct difference was a collar around his neck, with a huge, intricate golden "V" with red accents as its pendant. I didn't recognize it at first, nor did I care, seeing as how he was running at full speed towards us both.

The two of us took off at an incredibly fast speed, far beyond human pace, but not fast enough to outrun Zeus. I could still see the exit door a few feet ahead. Alice reached it before I did, roughly opening the door to reveal the beautiful, welcoming glow of sunlight on the other side.

"Hurry up! He's coming!" She screamed, her eyes pleading at me.

I tried to move, but my foot was being held down by something. My eyes darted down to see a familiar hand of sand grasping my ankle, not letting me move. No, no, NO! I was so close! I was finally getting out of here! "Alice, help!" I screamed at the top of my lungs as more sand came up to pull me down, causing me to fall to my knees.

"I can't, Bella! Fight it! Fight, Bella!" She pleaded. She was standing at the door, holding it open, letting the warm rays of sunlight grace my skin for a few moments.

I let out a scream. The sand was pulling me further away from the door. Alice wouldn't budge to help me. I felt a hand reach up to roughly grasp my left wrist and pull it downwards, pulling my hand straight off with the sound of cracking granite. I heard a huge bellow, which caused fear to run through my veins. I tried and tried to fight against the sand, but its hold was unrelenting. I tried to crawl forward slowly, and I freed my arm, but then Zeus pulled me roughly back, letting out a huge roar. Alice screamed behind me, her dry sobs echoing in the dark hallway.

"Fight, Bella! Get away!" I heard her sob. There were tears streaming down her face now. I squirmed out of Zeus' hold, just enough to land a right hook across his muzzle. For a moment, all holds on me disappeared, but all I needed was a moment. I blurred through the halls, watching Alice beckon me with tears in her eyes, anxious to get me out of here. But still more sand crawled across the wall, trying to cut me off. I wasn't going to let it, though. I sprinted faster, trying to reach Alice before they did. The sand was too fast, and I was cut off by hands pulling me downwards, my torso inches away from the Exit door. Alice was crying now, her sobs reaching my ears, each of them poking holes in my dead heart.

"No, Bella please!" I looked beyond the sunlight of the doors to see a figure opening the remaining door. Emmett stood at the doorway, tears coming from his eyes as well. Rosalie, David, Emily, and Embry stood with them, pleading with me to fight it. All of them were crying, their sobs each cutting into my heart. I tried harder than I had ever before, struggling against the hands of sand again. I felt my own eyes watering upon seeing the remaining members of my family, but not one of them would move an inch beyond the edge of the door. I felt another pair of hands grab my ankle, and I was roughly pulled back, hitting the side wall. Zeus took hold of my neck and roared in front of me, his eyes burning through my face. I felt the skin begin to peel off of my neck where his hands had been, and he brought up his claws to scratch through my shirt. I screamed in pain, feeling the burning sensation surrounding the claw marks. His collar was shaking back and forth, tearing up my shirt involuntarily. He opened his jaws and brought them down on my head, blocking off my vision. I felt sharp pains and heard the cracking of stone as my head was torn off and tossed to the side.

But wait. Isn't that just an image on a screen?

My eyes slowly opened. I took deep breaths. I tried to lift myself up, but was met with a protesting pain coming from my spine. I collapsed back on my side with a groan. Back to square one. The blood had stopped streaming. I could see sunlight leaking in through the window above. It was either morning or midday, by the looks of it. I rolled onto my back with a thud. I squinted my eyes, trying to adjust to the glaring sun. I brought my hand up to keep the light out of my eyes. After a while, my eyes adjusted to the light. I looked around to see that I was still in the bunker, still lying in a pool of my own blood, and still had broken bones. My large cuts had healed, though, and Zeus wasn't after me now. Thank god.

The room around me was green, either from mold or from chipped paint, I don't know. I lifted up my good hand to scratch my eyelids, which accumulated some red flakes of blood. I scraped the dried blood off of my arm and face, but could only get a bit off before my nails were completely red. I rolled onto my side and lifted myself up slowly, trying my best to keep my wounds from reopening. I managed to push myself up on my bum, sitting Indian

It was all just a waking dream. It was all just another dream. Maybe it was because of the food I ate before I slept. Oh! I have food!

I reached into my pocket and pulled out some bread and a thin slice of kebab meat. I ate it all hungrily. It was way too salty for my tongue right now, but it was food, so I didn't care. It was delicious, even with the excess salt. Some particles landed on my clothing, but I shook them off. A few landed on my shoulder. I yelped out in pain. My shoulder was still open, cut up and bloody. One or two of my ribs were still broken, but at least my limbs and spine were okay.

I got up and was almost instantly forced to go back down. I supported myself on the wall, an unusual stickiness peeling off the hairs on my arm. But fuck it. I'll take a shower later. My hands travelled along the wall until I hit a corner. The minimal daylight wasn't illuminating this side of the room, but I could faintly see the glimmer of a mirror on the wall.

It was greased up and cracked, dirty with years of being unused. I wiped it off, clearing a section large enough to see my face in.

I still had my bright, yellow eyes. I had developed a slight tan. The scar that ran along my jaw was still there, along with the one on my hand and another on my arm. The wound on my shoulder was gaping open, but had stopped bleeding. It was just a hallucination.

I figure it's best to explore. I headed down the same corridor I went down in my reverie, but it came to a dead stop a few meters in. It was completely buried in sand and rock. In sand. Sand. Yes! My heart burst with happiness. Finally something is going right. I nearly sprinted into the sand, meeting a little resistance from the rock but going through all the way nonetheless. I swam through the sand, thinking of the small town nearby. I could probably find Alex near there.

The people flew above me. I was swimming so fast, they looked like blurs, or badly painted figures. I didn't notice that the sand changed to cobblestone until I met it face first.

Ouch, goddamnit... I held my nose as it bled furiously. Why does this always happen to me? There were still some people above me, who couldn't hear my growls of pain. Damnit, I'm such an idiot. I doggy paddled with one hand holding my nose over behind the houses. They were run down, with no windows or appliances, aside from a spare window-AC. Clotheslines were everywhere, layered with things ranging from dirty towels to expensive looking silk. Probably gifts. I peeked my head up through the sand, facing a house with no windows on the back door. Coast is clear. I pushed the rest of my body above the surface, still holding my nose.

I looked down at myself. My shorts were in tatters, and Alex's black sweatshirt had a huge bloodstain on the shoulder. I took off the sweatshirt, only to find that my white shirt was ripped up at the shoulder, baring my open cut for all to see. I sighed and ran my good hand through my hair. Damnit. What am I supposed to do?

I looked over at the clothesline. Idea. I took the map and keys out of my shorts and buried the clothing into the sand.

After a moment, I walked to the front of the houses wearing my new clothing. I had a towel below my shirt to stop bleeding, a pair of dark gym shorts, and this black men's t-shirt that had some meaningless numbers on the sleeves. I walked down the sandy path toward the cobblestone. Occasionally some people would stare and murmur, though I had no idea why. I held the map in hand. Where did Alex live?

The map had a perfectly drawn trail leading from the entrance of camp to Alexander's mini apartment. If you went down the road I was on and then took a turn and headed into a wine cellar, then you would have to open a secret door to Alex's house. Perfect. I don't like the good way. I made my way down the streets, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible, which was pretty hard since I was the only one wearing something that wasn't traditional.

The city streets were crowded, but people gave me a wide berth, shushed whispers directed at me. In front of me, there was a police chopper giving a ticket to a man on a motorcycle, probably for speeding. I left those two behind as I took a turn onto the street the map said. However, the chopper sirens started up again. People crowded into alleys and even broke down doors when they saw me. The chopper engines blared louder. I looked behind my shoulder to see the police calling up reinforcements. Run, now.

My walk turned into a sprint as I headed down the wrong alley by accident. I shoved into boxes and dumpsters, trying to make a barricade between me and the chopper. My shoulder and spine didn't like this added movement, though, and sent protesting waves of pain to me. I had to ignore it, because I heard more sirens behind me, or what scared me worse, a few sirens in front of me.

I sprinted faster, finally coming to the end of the alleyway. I risked a glance at my map, which told me if I went right, I might be able to double back and head into the cellar. But there were sirens coming in from that direction. I fought with myself for a moment. Left, right, left, right... A visible police light came on in the direction of the noise. Left!

I sprinted down the open streets, watching the people crowd into buildings and shoo into alleys. More sirens sounded in from behind me. I took another glance at my map. Now, I could go onto the rooftops and double back, or I could go into the city square, where there were probably more cops with more weapons and more bikes. Hmm. Yeah, rooftops win.

I climbed onto a crate that was outside of a low building, which luckily held my weight. I jumped and reached up to grab the gutter, which unfortunately, cut into my palm, but I was on it anyway. I did a pull up onto the rooftop, hearing more police sirens blaring below me. Weren't expecting that, huh?

The rooftops were relatively easy to sprint across, but were a bit uncomfortable because they were fucking concrete. I only had a dozen or so to go before I could safely land on the barracks I had put up for the cops before, then make my way down the alley. I was at my fifth one, when I heard a gunshot coming in from below. They're pulling out the big guns...

The bullets missed me, except for a few that would go dangerously close to my head. I was scared out of my wits, seeing the squad of police firing at me. Serious déjà vu, wasn't it? Finally I reached the last rooftop. I scaled my way down the side, trying to shimmy to the side to hit the dumpster I was going to land on just right, but I'm not that lucky, am I?

I fell onto the dumpster and hit my recovered arm. I heard a crack, and then mire waves of pain went down to my arm. Nothing is going right today! What the fuck! I rolled onto the cobblestone path and ignored the pain, holding the unusable limb as close as possible to my body as I went down the alley the cellar was supposed to be on. A few doors down was the culprit, however there was a huge padlock on it. Damnit damnit damnit! I tried to pry the padlock off with my bare hands, trying to will the lock into opening with brute strength. I tumbled backwards when my hold broke, and something giggled in my pockets. Wait a second.

I took the bike keys out of my pocket. I hadn't used the second key yet, so what the hell? I fumbled with the keys with my good hand as I heard faint sirens approaching. I turned the key, meeting a bit of resistance but opening the cellar anyway. Yes! I climbed into the cellar and closed the doors behind me, pocketing the padlock for a rainy day.

It was very dark in the cellar, but I could faintly see the glow of burners. I walked forward, but then something tickled my forehead. What the fuck was that? Oh. I grabbed the light switch and turned a light bulb on. When I looked around, I realized just how much shit I had gotten myself into.

"Aw, fuck..." This is great. Now I'm part of a drug cartel. There were burning meth and cocaine stoves, filling the air with the rancid stench of drugs. Fuck. I tried to find the secret door, but it was nowhere to be found. I searched the place, touching floor tiles and poking walls, even twisting the knobs on burners, but that only ended up turning them off. There was a valve that didn't look like it turned on anything, though. It's always good to try.

I took the knob with one hand and tried to twist it. I only got halfway, though, before a loud, metallic screeching sound came from a vent on the wall. Some artificial light trickled through. Yes! Finally! However, the noise was much too loud. The cops would find me if I kept it up. Hmm.

Screw the cops.

I tried again with the valve, putting my shoulder into it so I could turn it fully this time as more noise resonated through the small cellar. More light trickled in through the vent. I could faintly hear sirens outside. C'mon, just one more... I tried my strength once again with the valve. This time, the entire vent let light in. I undid the vent bars, and crawled into the cramped airspace. I reattached the vent behind me and continued toward the light, exiting the lab just as I heard the cellar door burst open.

There was still the clue of light, though, so I pulled up a cover that surrounded the vent. Now it was completely dark, save for a light at the end of the tunnel. I crawled towards it, and furniture at the far end became visible. When I reached the end, I fell onto the hardwood floor, holding my arm in pain as it sent more waves of pain to me. I looked around to see that I was indeed in Alexander's apartment. It had the familiar wooden furniture, even the pots were still on the shelves on the stone wall. But there was one, very important thing missing.

Where the fuck is Alex when I need him? I could faintly hear the sounds of police sirens through the vent.

"Damnit, Alex, where the hell are you?" I said to nothing, wiping the sweat off my face with my good hand. I got up, heading toward the small kitchen to get some water. When I drank, all pain disappeared from my wounds and they nearly instantly healed.

I heard footsteps coming from the small staircase, but instead of Alexander appearing, there was a very sweet looking man of about twenty, with blonde hair and tan skin. He was muscular, like Emmett, but had the same startling yellow eyes that plagued our kind. The man wore a white cut off t-shirt, with khaki shorts and held a towel. His tan skin was glistening with sweat, probably from working out. He sent me a friendly smile and a wave.

"Hello, my name is Xerses-" he started to say, but he cut off when he saw me reaching for a large kitchen knife and getting into an defensive stance. He held his hands up and looked slightly amused. "I'm not here to hurt you," he said.

"I don't care. Last time I met a strange man with a Greek name I nearly died," I growled at him. I still held the knife in my hand, waiting for him to make a move.

"I'm a friend of Alexander's, I'm not here to hurt you... It looks like you've been through much. Alexander will be back in a few hours, but if you wish I will cook for you. I'm not nearly as good as he is, but I've picked up a few things here and there," he said, his hands still up. I lowered the knife and relaxed. Friend of Alex's. Safe for now.

He faced me, and gave me a warm smile. "And also, you should probably take the prison uniform off, it's not exactly subtle..."

Nother A/N: YOOHOO! Bella said no to Zeus! At the price of her sanity, her spine, some broken bones, a permanent scar, and now we get Xerxes! I swear he's a nice guy. He's Alex's friend, remember? Seriously, he's good, I swear. And Bella would totally wear a prison uniform, out of anything on the clothesline...
Did anyone catch the symbolism in Bella's hallucination? If you want to point it out, go ahead in a review so everyone can read it. If no one gets it right, I'll explain in the next chapter. I took a page from Blackboxtv's Final Exit. Go watch that if you already haven't. If you have, you'll understand the reference better.
I reuploaded the old chapter, because my beta Ashfisher92 fixed a few problems here and there. Thanks for reading, please review, and I'll see you later.
Cheers,
The Lazy Werewolf