CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

My finger traced over the scratches on the wall. I was cold, and my thin blanket was providing little help from the frigid temperatures outside. My body was in a ball, as I tried to do what I could to keep myself warm. It was hard to do, since my growing stomach took up so much of the little bed these days.

Five. Ten. Fifteen…

I counted silently in my head the chicken scratches I had made to see how long I had been here.

My door opened. It must be breakfast time. The large brute had entered. He placed my tray on the small table, and then the loud bang of the door alerted me to his exit. I didn't hear the lock engage. It was the second day where I noticed he did not lock the door. I wondered if it was a test.

…Nighty-five. One hundred. One hundred and five…

I hadn't spoken to anyone in…

I looked back up at my wall scratches. My hand reached out to touch it, and I made a strike through the latest group of four, making it a five.

…One hundred and sixty-five days.

I pushed myself over to stare at the other side of the room. There was a tray. I felt weak. Too weak to go and get the contents on the tray. However, a swift, hard kick in my stomach told me that I had no choice. This boy inside me was hungry, and like the men who had come before him, he was impatient.

I rubbed my stomach and pushed to sit up. That usually got him going, and once again, he kicked harder and harder.

"Okay, calm down."

My feet shuffled across the floor, as I made my way towards my food. Some fruit. Toast and scrambled eggs. And, of course, one small, purple pill beside a glass of milk.

I sat down in the one small chair I was provided and went through the motions. Swallow the pill. Start with the eggs. Toast and then finish with the fruit. It was the same exact meal I had been served every single day since I had arrived.

Lunch would be a salad. Avocado and grilled chicken. Dinner was fish, rice, and vegetables. And of course, no dessert. What I wouldn't do for a decent bar of chocolate.

After breakfast, I would go and brush my teeth. They gave me a wooden toothbrush with soft bristles and a tube of paste. I had a little bottle of shampoo, a small comb, and a bar of green soap. There was no door on my bathroom, but even after all my investigating, I hadn't found any cameras in the small room, so it was the one place I found peace.

I had complete access to a toilet and shower with hot, running water, and I would trade it all in to be back in the Salem dungeon with Edward only a few miles away.

I finished my breakfast and went through my morning routine. Every other day, I was given a change of clothes. Always the same thing. Red sweatpants and sweatshirt with white underwear. At least they didn't force me into one of their stupid robes.

The water was heating up in the shower while I brushed my teeth. I could feel my resolve weakening, so I made myself hurry up and undressed while spitting the toothpaste into the basin.

I stepped into the shower, and my tears rained down, as they mixed with the shower water. This was the only time I allowed myself to cry. I would not show them that they were winning. I was so sure Edward would have found a way to help me by now, even if it was only to help his unborn time changer. Every day I was here made me think he must have moved on. Or perhaps, if I gave him the benefit of the doubt, maybe he didn't know I was here. He wouldn't know until he came back eighteen years later to collect his prize, only to find out his prize had been stolen by another.

Today's shower lasted longer than the previous day, but by the time I exited, my tears were gone, and now I knew I must put on my brave face. Bella's brave face was a mix of contempt and apathy.

When my slippers were on my feet, I went to the table and picked up the only book they had given me. I was not sure why they had provided me with a book. Maybe they were just giving it to me to screw with me. The whole book was written in Italian, and I only knew enough to not even understand the title. Mostly, I read it to practice saying the words, as if being able to read Italian would actually help me someday.

I mouthed the first sentence once again, but my eyes looked up at the unlocked door. I looked back at the camera and wondered what game they must be playing with me. But I knew they would not hurt me. At least not for another two and a half months.

I dropped the book down on the table.

"Screw it."

My hand reached for the doorknob, and I gave one more look back at the camera before turning it and pulling the door open. Once it was opened, I cautiously made my way out the door into the dark hallway. I could see the light up ahead from the garden.

Since the day Aro had me brought in here, I hadn't been outside. The one small window was my only access to the outside world. There was snow on the ground, and I was not dressed properly, but I didn't care. I nearly teared up at the sight of the trees and the smell of the fresh air. But I didn't. Crying was for the shower.

I took a deep breath in and closed my eyes, relishing the moment. My slippers crunched on the snow beneath them, as my hand reached out to touch the wet snow on the trees. For a small second, I forgot every bad or negative thing in my life. I felt as if I had been reborn. Able to see the world for the first time. See what was important. Everything I had taken for granted, would be no longer.

A chill ran through my body, alerting me to the need to get myself inside. It wouldn't do me well to deal with pneumonia. I didn't return to my room, however. I continued along the path, and when I saw a door, I tried to open it. It was locked, so I continued further on.

The hallway led me left, until I saw a small, straight staircase. I took the stairs up, curious as to what I would find. The stairs leveled out, and now I was in a huge, open area. Marble walls. Marble floors and a few large columns. You could hold a ball in this room. The area was open, so it was quite cold, and I could see the garden I had just been in was down below.

"Isabella."

Aro was behind me, standing in a large doorway.

"Nice to see you up and out today. You should join us. I'd like to introduce you."

Aro hadn't spoken to me in six months, so it seemed weird that he should act as if I were the person responsible for our time apart. I wanted to tell him to go screw himself, but the more I could explore this vast place, the better chance I would have to escape. It had become clear that the only person I could depend upon was myself.

I walked to meet him, and he smiled kindly before gesturing for me to go into the room behind him. Inside was a long banquet table filled with food. All kinds of food, which was such a sight to behold, since they had literally given me the same exact meals every day for the past six months. Somehow, seeing all those choices laid out made me hate Edward even more for not rescuing me. This was my first pregnancy, and I had yet to enjoy all the clichés of late-night pickle and ice cream runs.

Ah…pickles. My mouth watered just thinking of it.

Two men sat at the table, eating away and completely unaware of my presence. One was an older gentleman with hair that was long and white and skin that was pale and wrinkled, the other was a boy who didn't look older than sixteen.

"Isabella, may I introduce you to my father, Marcus."

Marcus looked up briefly but then returned to his steak. His eyes were glassy, causing me to wonder if he was blind. Seemed ironic.

"Nice to see you, Isabella," Marcus managed.

I gave Aro a look, and he seemed put off by my attitude.

"Just because he can't see you now, doesn't mean he hasn't seen you. He has seen you, for some time now, as we all have," he explained.

My gaze moved towards the other end of the table to look upon the young boy.

"And this is my son, Caius."

Caius didn't even bother with me, choosing to keep focused on his book while he chewed his food.

"It's an exciting time. Tomorrow evening marks Caius's seventeenth birthday," Aro continued. "We'll hold grand festivities to celebrate, and he'll choose a wife to continue in our tradition."

I snorted unintentionally. Aro looked displeased for a moment, waiting for me to explain.

"What's the point? If your plan is to end the world and use my son to do it, why continue to procreate?" I asked.

My words earned me a look from Caius, as he put his book down to finally take a look at the rude girl who had been locked up in their basement.

"Traditions are traditions, no matter when our time may come," Aro said.

"Can you explain something?" I asked. "Why do you want to end the world? Edward explained that your…ancestors didn't particularly care for how it'd end, and that you felt it'd be better to be with God sooner rather than later."

Aro opened his mouth to respond but stopped himself.

"Because, dear girl, if you could see…see what we see, why not stop the suffering?" Marcus began slowly, his glassy eyes creeping me out. He seemed to need to take a breath just to say each word. "Don't you understand? Haven't you looked around and seen how horrible it is out there? It's not going to get any better. Mankind can't help themselves. They're all selfish in nature. Each person wants what the other has. Doing whatever they can to take it. Lie. Steal. Murder. So much hate. So much division. The scales of good and evil are unbalanced, and they'll never change back."

"Okay, but don't you think if the Seers and the Time Changers could've worked together instead of against one another, perhaps you could've balanced out the scales you speak of? And I thought you believed in God? You don't see how your actions are contradicting the rules and plans He put forth in the Bible? You're not above the word of God."

Marcus seemed angered by my words.

"I'm not about to take Bible lessons from a child who hasn't even read the whole book."

"Correction, I have read the whole book. It's what happens when you're stuck in the 1600s with no other book but the Bible. Would you care for me to recite the Lord's Prayer?"

Marcus moved to stand and had trouble doing so.

"Father, calm yourself. It does not do well to argue with the ignorant," Aro warned before he stepped up and grabbed my arm with his boney hand.

"It must be frustrating to not be able to find a sound rebuttal. You know where I'll be when you finally form a concise argument," I said, as Aro pulled me out of the room.

He pushed me out the door and closed it quickly behind him.

"You will not ruin what's supposed to be a joyous occasion. And you are ignorant. There are books of the Bible you've not read. Books that have been lost. If you'd read them, it might change your mind on some things. Perhaps Edward can travel back and procure them for you, if you ever see him again, which is looking less likely every day."

I stood my ground and looked him dead in the eye.

"I don't need these extra books. I'm not Christian…or religious…and yet, it was clear to even me what the whole point was of the Bible. What God's will was for us. It's not hard to figure out. God wanted us to love one another. God wanted us to love Him. If you believe as you say you do, how could you ever believe that what God would want is for you to exalt yourself into His place and end His creation?"

I laughed and took a step back, shaking my head.

"You know what? I hope it's all true. God. The Bible. I hope it's all true, and if you succeed, I hope I can be there the day you're flung into Hell. Then you'll see, you traded all this…" I said, gesturing to his impressive mansion, "…for the fiery pits of Hell."

I smiled and then laughed, as I walked back to the staircase I had come up. I didn't need to see the look on Aro's face. Just imagining it gave me strength. Through the dark halls, I went to return to my cell. I briefly wondered if Aro would revoke my privileges, and I would find the door locked tomorrow.

My breakfast tray was gone when I came back to my room. Everything was as I had left it, except one detail was different. I didn't have many items, so it was obvious when one was moved from where I kept it.

The book I had been reading was now on my bed, instead of the table where I had stored it. My eyes traveled to the camera, as I walked slowly into the room. I picked up the book off my bed and noticed instantly it wasn't the same Italian book they had given me, even if the cover looked old and red.

I opened the cover, and the words were definitely written in English. A Wrinkle in Time. My mouth dropped open because I knew now that this book was not given to me by my captors. I flipped through the pages until a small piece of paper stuck in between caused me to stop.

Garden. Hurry.

A breath caught in my throat, and I instantly dropped the book and ran towards the door. I pulled it back open, and faster than I had ever moved, I made my way back to the garden.

I was scared. I expected someone to be on my tail, probably seeing my suspicious behavior through the camera from my room. I made it to the open doorway to the garden and launched myself onto the snow. Frantically, I looked around, but I didn't see anyone or anything out of place.

I could feel myself begin to tear up.

"Isabella?"

My feet spun in the snow, wrenching my whole body around, and there near the wall of the garden was a large figure. It was not Edward, and just the thought nearly crushed my soul. This man was nearly twice the size of Edward. He was attractive and dressed oddly.

"Who the hell are you?"

"The rescue team. We have to go…now!"

"I don't even know you," I snapped.

"And yet somehow, I trust you'd rather come with me than stay here. And as much as I'd love to argue, we don't have the time."

He quickly walked forward, and before I had a chance to protest, his arms were around me. Just as we were about to blip out of the garden, I saw Demetri running through the garden entrance, and the look on his face made me smile genuinely for the first time in months.

It had been a while since I had time traveled, and I could honestly say, I didn't miss the feeling, but I wasn't about to complain. The mystery man could keep me in this wind turbine for a year if it meant I didn't have to deal with the Seers. If it meant my baby would be safe.

We finally came to a stop, and my traveling companion hadn't let go, which I appreciated, since my head was still spinning.

He led me to a chair and helped me to sit down.

"Do you need a bucket?"

I made a noise, and I hoped he didn't need me to translate, because I didn't have the strength. My eyes were focused on the blue rug with the gold embossed filigree along the edges.

When I could manage to look up, I seemed to be in a beautiful, older Victorian house. From the knickknacks to the furniture, the place looked like something out of a catalog. It was rather impressive, every piece, from the Bonheur-du-jour in the corner, to the perfectly ironed doily on the Queen Anne chest, and it made me wonder just what time period I was in.

"Who are you?" I asked. A part of me wondered if this was a younger Carlisle. There were similarities, but it was not the same man I had met in the dark Salem dungeon.

"I'm Emmett. I'm…Edward's brother," he explained, sitting down in the Fauteuil chair opposite from me.

"Another time changer? Edward never told me he had a brother," I said.

"No…I'd imagine he didn't. Edward doesn't like me very much. And no, I'm not a time changer. Probably the reason why Edward doesn't like me."

"I don't understand."

Emmett sighed and stood back up, turning towards the fireplace. He walked over and picked up an hourglass and turned it upside down.

"I was never trained to be a time changer. My father, who, incidentally, doesn't care for me either, he looked through time and saw I'd never follow in his footsteps. I do have the ability to move through space and time, but he thought I was a lost cause. He only had Edward because he knew I wouldn't continue with his mission. Another thing my brother hates me for.

"I was destined to fall in love. I met my wife, Rosalie, and chose to stay here in this time period. We're in the countryside, far from anyone. It's better this way. The more details available, the more likely the Seers can find us. Even now, they're searching but have had no luck. I can't tell you where we are, or else they might be able to see me say it and could come for us. I can tell you, however, what year it is. It's 1935."

The spinning had stopped. The uneasy feeling in my stomach was over. Or perhaps I was so focused on the man in front of me, I hadn't noticed any lingering pains. My hand went to rub my stomach. It seemed my son had not cared for the time-traveling experience either.

"How were you able to rescue me? Wouldn't the Seers be able to know you were coming?" I asked.

Emmett came back to sit in his chair while he explained.

"Everything was a split-second decision. The future is always changing, and I'm sure they saw many ways this whole thing could've gone down, but I had to make the decision and then act as fast as possible. It was incredibly dangerous and one of the reasons I chose to not go into the family business."

He sighed and sat back.

"I couldn't even tell my wife. She would've killed me, just so I wouldn't have put myself in danger. Would you like to lay down? I have a guestroom available. You've been through a stressful ordeal. You should rest."

I wanted to ask about Edward, but I was afraid to. I couldn't bear to hear any news that would make me want to run to the nearest shower.

I looked around the room, not sure what I should say. Obviously, I couldn't go back to my time period. For one, it wouldn't take long for Aro and his pack to find me. But it would be an awful imposition for Emmett to be responsible for me. I was torn over what I should do. My eyes moved up to the hourglass Emmett had turned over, and I saw the sand running quickly through the hole. My mouth moved to say something, but it seemed the sand had mesmerized me. It wasn't until the sand was nearly finished that I finally looked up to Emmett.

"Thank you for your hospitality. Just let me rest up a day or two, and then I'll be on my way."

Emmett laughed and gave me a disbelieving look before saying, "On your way to where, exactly? It's approximately thirty miles to the nearest town and a hell of a lot more to the nearest big city. You're in a time period you have little to no knowledge of, and no offense, but in your condition…" he crooked his head to focus on my growing stomach, "…you should at least wait."

"Wait?" I asked. "Wait for what, exactly?"

The sand ran completely out of the top of the hourglass, and just like that, Edward was there, standing fifteen or so feet away. Enough of a distance where he could easily pop back out of here by the time my hands managed to find their way around his neck.

He looked just as he had when we had last met. Even the stubble on his chin was the same. I didn't say a word. What word could I possibly say to the man who had screwed me and then screwed me over?

"Bella…I…" he stopped himself, knowing the word "sorry" was just not adequate.

My eyes teared up, and for once, I allowed them, even if I was not in the shower. I slowly walked towards him and stopped only a foot away, my hands in tight fists to try and keep me from blubbering.

"I'm sorry, Bella," he stuttered.

"I'm sorry," I said, my voice high in disbelief, as it mocked him for his unacceptable apology. I shook my head and then reached back so quickly even time traveling wouldn't help him before my palm shot forward and collided with his face.

Emmett's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets, and I could tell he was working hard at keeping a straight face.

I turned and immediately headed for the door. The only fuel I had after a time jump was my anger, and so far, it seemed to be working, as I made my way out the door and onto the covered porch.

I looked around and saw the house was in the middle of a barren field. I couldn't even see anything more than a road and a few trees in the distance.

It was 1935, and thirty miles to the nearest town. It could have been worse.

AN: And here it is... I know it's been nearly a year since I updated this story. Sometimes I just have to wait until I can no longer ignore the overwhelming characters in my head begging me to finish what I started. I am hoping to finish this story soon. I can't imagine more than four or five chapters.

I'm sorry, I haven't been able to write very much. My whole house was bitten by the covid bug so we are still recovering. Thankfully, we are all alive and healthy. Thank you for your continued patience.

Thank you to DOLLYBIGMOMMA for continuing to drop everything just to edit this and get it back to you guys ASAP.

Until next time...

STORY IS MINE. CHARACTERS BELONG TO STEPHENIE MEYER.