Bella's Point of View
I have been calling my father's cell phone every five minutes now. I didn't want to appear overly concerned. I didn't want to worry Kora. Edward was tense, I could see that something was bothering him deeply, but he wouldn't breathe a word to me about it. Even as Daniel returned with food for everyone Edward made no move to speak with anyone. He only stood at the doorway, as if he was a guard.
Darius, Dr. Franklin and Kora were all in the room, eating and chatting calmly. They talked about the twins mostly. Although Mila's name was brought up several times. It was challenging to say why Mila was allowed to be here. Dr. Franklin demanded Mila's presence during the delivery of the twins. He wanted an extra set of capable hands. Since Darius didn't have much experience with delivering babies, he wanted Mila. However, she was still considered being held by the police force.
I'm sure Seth was already on his way to pick her back up and take her back to the holding cell. Mila has been very willing to stand trial. The way she spoke, she had know idea why she was being accused, but seemed confident that she hadn't done anything wrong. Dr. Franklin believes in her as well, they have grown close as co-workers. I'm almost certain that he would speak for her innocence.
"Well, I suppose I should clock out for the day." Dr. Franklin sighed with a tired smile on his face. "I'm sure you will call with updates." He now turned to Darius.
"Of course, don't worry." Darius grinned, taking a gulp from his drink.
"Actually, I don't recommend leaving this room." Edward spoke up, for the first time. He didn't move from the doorway.
"What are you talking about?" Dr. Franklin sighed, watching Edward with a raised brow. "If you are concerned that Mila will be waiting outside the door, ready to attack me, I can assure you that you are wrong." His tone seemed a bit annoyed.
It's true, Dr. Franklin wasn't on the best terms with Edward at the moment. He felt that Edward and the police were completely wrong about Mila. He was offended that anyone would question his staff.
"It's not Mila that I'm concerned about at the moment." Edward responded, keeping his expression blank. "There is… an emergency… Ribbonwood is on lock down for now. No one leaves."
"An emergency? What happened?" Kora asked, lifting her head from the pillow to look around the room.
"Victoria has made her move. She has started an attack on the town. An entire army has rushed through the boundary line, they are all around town now, attacking everyone on sight." Edward said with a grim look.
"Well, we have to get out there and take them down." Darius said, moving towards the door. But Edward didn't move an inch.
"No, you won't leave this room. These newborns are dangerous and extremely thirsty. We need your abilities here, to protect the people here. This clinic will act as a safe haven. The pack will be evacuating all humans, most will be brought here." Edward said, looking at each of us.
"W-what about Ezra? And the baby?" Kora asked with a worried look.
"Emmett has already made it to her, he will be bringing them here any minute. But we need to get ready, I am getting live updates on the situation, we already have wounded people and casualties." Edward said, casting his eyes down to his feet.
"I need to get a hold of my son." Dr. Franklin said anxiously digging in his pockets to get his phone.
Darius seemed just as concerned as he began making phone calls as well. He most likely was worried for Alice. I hoped that he would be able to reach her. I decided to try calling Charlie again. Maybe he was busy battling the newborns. I just wanted to hear his voice. And make sure that he is okay. But after several attempts, there was no answer. I had a gut feeling that something was wrong. I had to take a few deep breaths, I couldn't get myself too worked up. It wasn't good for the baby.
For now, I need you and Kora to stay in this room." Edward said, moving to me and lightly touching my shoulder.
I looked up at him, unable to hide my worry. "I'd rather go out there and find my father."
Edward sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I'm sorry Bella, but there is no way I'm letting you leave here. I can protect you here, but outside of these walls it will get significantly harder to do so."
"You better just listen to dad," Darius said, walking over to me as well. "We will need to work together here to treat all the wounded that they bring in."
I knew both of them were right. Maybe Charlie would be brought in with the wounded. He would need me to be strong.
"Alright, just tell me what you need me to do." I said with some resolve.
"I need you to stay here with Kora for now, until we bring in the rest of those who are pregnant. This room will be under the highest protection. A lot of the women will be scared, we will need to keep them calm and safe." Darius explained.
"Alright," I lightly rested my hands on my stomach; which was still flat. I was only five weeks at this time, the same as Alice. I wouldn't be getting my baby bump for a few more weeks.
It was probably the hardest thing for me to do - just sit here and wait. Especially knowing that my family was out there on the front lines, trying to protect our home. It almost drove me insane. Luckily, people began to show up - scared and even more panicked than me.
Rene was one of the first ones to make it here, she held little Greg close to her. She looked as though she had been crying for a while now. Her eyes were red and puffy, her hair was a mess. I wondered if she had run the whole way here. I couldn't seem to stop her from trembling. Apparently she had witnessed the death of a few residents of Ribbonwood. They were all human and pretty good friends of Rene. Today was a lot for her to take in and to make matters worse, she still couldn't get in contact with Charlie.
We were both getting increasingly worried. But any time I tried to ask Edward about my dad, he seemed to go completely quiet. There was a feeling in my gut that he knew something. He just didn't want to tell me. He didn't think I could handle the truth of the situation. But I wasn't stupid. I was capable of putting it together. I just wasn't ready to come to terms with that. I would continue to pretend that we just can't reach Charlie's phone. I would hold onto that, until I am told otherwise.
Alice and Rosalie was the next to show up, they came together, however instead of being focused on the war that had just started in the middle of town, they were bickering over something dumb. I didn't pay any attention to them. They were in need of anything from me, they weren't scared. Alice was content with Darius being close by and Rosalie had Louis standing guard right outside the clinic. He wouldn't leave her unprotected here. He decided that he would remain out of the fight and just guard us for the time being. With Rosalie possibly being pregnant with his child, I'm sure he would run in front of a train to save her.
I was the most relieved when Ezra came through the door, carrying Addison - wrapped up in a big fuzzy blanket. She was shaking in fear as she entered the room, blood was splattered across her face. At first we were worried that she was injured. But the blood didn't belong to her. It belonged to a human that had shielded her from an attack from Victoria. It happened so quickly, one second she was on her way here to the clinic, the next minute a man ran out to stop Victoria in her tracks. I didn't know who the human was, but he was a hero. He had given Ezra just enough time to escape, and enough time for the wolves to jump in to help her escape.
This was nothing I ever wanted my kids to experience, or even have the chance to see. Death was a horrible and ugly thing. Nothing they should have to see. I only wished that I was there to shield them from all of this. I wasn't sure how Ribbonwood would recover from this.
It's been nearly an hour now, since the last of the pregnant women gathered here in this room. Emily Uley was here, with her daughter Brie. And of course, Dalia and Leah were here as well. The room was pretty full, but everyone stayed very quiet. There was a lot on everyone's minds. I wished that Edward would say something, anything to bring some comfort to all of us, but he just guarded the door was an unreadable expression. For once, I wanted to know what he was thinking at the moment. Was he feeling responsible for all of this? Was he suffering the same way the rest of us were?
"The first round of the wounded has arrived." Edward said out of nowhere. He looked at Darius with a serious expression. "Are you able to take control over this?"
Darius nodded. "Of course, come on Dr. Franklin, let's get to the waiting room."
Darius and Dr. Franklin bolted from the room, moving right past Edward without another word. I watched my son disappear, leaving me feeling a little more on edge. Without being able to know what's happening out there was driving me crazy.
Edward sensed my worry and was next to me in seconds. His arm went around me, pulling me to his chest. "I won't let anyone in the clinic get hurt, you have my word."
I nodded, letting my head rest on my shoulder as I scanned over the room. Everyone had their heads down. The general mood in this room was bleak. I knew that nothing I said now would help the situation. So I just clung to Edward and hoped that everything would be alright. Ezra was sitting in bed with Kora, they seemed to be bonding over their children. Addison was lying right between Zoey and Zanye in the crib. The three seemed completely content as they slept. It was a truly beautiful moment. I wished that I could have gotten a picture of them.
As dark as this situation seemed. I knew there had to be light at the end of the tunnel. I had hope.
Darius' Point of View
There were nearly twenty wounded people that were brought into the clinic, it was completely overwhelming. Blood, open wounds, broken bones and several people in transition to becoming vampires. This was a complete disaster. There wasn't enough help. I did my best to triage the most critical patients to Dr. Franklin's care. While I took on the rest of the minor injuries. But I knew this wouldn't be enough, more injured people were being brought in by the hour.
Thankfully, I was able to get into communication with Louis, he didn't have too much experience, but he had enough medical training to handle the low priority injuries. I had him take care of those with wounds that needed stitches, but weren't in the immediate danger of blood loss or infections.
Ingrid showed up as well. She was a practical nurse, she knew all the basics for patient care. So, I had her passing out medications, hanging IVs and cleaning soiled dressings. For being as shy as she is, I was completely surprised how she seemed to come alive in this situation. She was barking orders and taking charge. It was impressive to watch and very helpful.
However, it would be even better if Mila was here to help as well. I knew after Kora's delivery she was quickly transported back to the prison, but we could surely use her help now. I wasn't as experienced as her and Dr. Franklin truly respected her talent. I couldn't deny that.
We had all been working so hard that we didn't notice when time seemed to freeze. No more people were coming in. Things were turning quiet. Several patients were in intensive care, we only had one casualty so far. It was a young human boy. I had seen his face around town many times. His mother worked at my grandma's diner. He always had the brightest smile on his face. But now, he laid on our operating table, cold and lifeless.
Tears filled my eyes as I covered his body with a sheet. I couldn't bear to stand in his room any longer. Quickly I walked out, only to run into someone, small and light. For a second, I thought it was Alice, until I focused my attention closer.
It was Mila.
"What the hell are you still doing here? You are supposed to be in prison. Waiting for your trial." I hissed quickly at her. I glanced down the quiet hallway that we were standing in. "If my dad sees you here, he is going to murder you on the spot."
"Listen, there is no time to waste here. You need to come with me." Mila spoke with an edge to her voice. "Things aren't as they seem. And I think it's time to fill you in on what's really happening here."
"What are you talking about. You are crazy, do you know what?" I glared in her direction. "We all know that you are behind all of this."
Mila sighed deeply. "Maybe I am crazy…" Her expression turned sour, before taking my hand with some force and dragging me away. I tried to pull against her, but her grip was iron strong around my hand. There was no way I would be able to fight against a full-blooded vampire. It just wasn't possible for me. So I had no choice but to allow her to drag me along.
"Where are you taking me?" I snapped at her. Was she going to try and turn me into a human? Like everyone else that got in her way? Was she going to kill me? Feed me to Victoria? The suspense was absolutely killing me.
"I'm taking you to a very special room. Where I will explain everything to you." Mila muttered, walking me to a small locker room in the back of the clinic. I rarely ever used this room. There was really nothing that I brought in to work with me of any value. So I never bothered buying a lock, or picking out my own locker. The very last locker was the one that we stopped at. Mila dialed her passcode on the lock and with the flick of her wrist she unlocked the locker and pushed at the very back. To my complete surprise a hidden door was pushed open inside the locker.
Without any explanation, she pulled me into the locker and closed the door behind us as we walked through the hidden entrance. This was all starting to be too much for me. Did Dr. Franklin know about this secret room, did Edward? No, one of them would surely have brought it up to me before. This was just another of Mila's secrets.
We didn't walk very far, there was a small tight path to walk through, it was completely dark, I couldn't see more than a foot in front of me. Luckily the darkness didn't affect Mila in the slightest. She merely walked us down the path until we made it to a wide, brightly lit underground bunker. The walls looked to be made of some kind of military steel and the polished marble floors glistened dark grey. The room seemed to be clean; it could almost be considered sterile.
There was an exam table in the center of the room with a bright fluorescent light shining over it. There were a bunch of test tubes and medical tools down here. It looked like an evil scientist's lab. Sitting in the shadow was a figure; sitting in the corner of the room. I couldn't make out who it was. But my heart was beating so hard in my chest that it was impossible for me to focus on anything else but that. The beating of my heart and the sound of my heavy panting. Was this the last thing that would register in my mind before I was killed, right here and now?
"What is this place? Why did you bring me here? Are you here to kill me?" I asked, turning to glare daggers in Mila's direction.
Mila sighed and let go of my hands, before turning her attention to the figure in the corner. "I brought him, just as you asked. But I think this is a big mistake. There is no way he is going to understand any of this."
"He will understand this all completely. Have some faith in the boy." The figure spoke in a bone-chillingly familiar voice. There was no mistaking it. "Besides - he is my son after all."
My heart dropped to the bottom of my chest, tears instantly began to flow down my cheeks, I couldn't hold it back. The figure moved from their seat in the shadows. They stepped into the light, revealing the one person that I thought I would never see again.
It was my father. Demetri.
Big surprise for everyone! Is it really Demetri? Or is this a trick? What are your thoughts so far. I'm really interested in hearing what you all think.