I'm so sorry for the delay – I was out of town without an internet connection! But I'm back and ready to get on with the story, so I hope you will be able to forgive me.
The characters are from Twilight by Stephenie Meyers, though I pulled a few names from Harry Potter – not the characters – just the names, I was having a little trouble coming up with ones I liked.
Thank you all for sticking with the story, and again, sorry for the delay!
No, no…NO! Of all the horrible, no-good, rotten luck! This couldn't be happening – Murdoch, here, now – after Edward had finally agreed. I couldn't believe it. I felt the tears rise with my anger at the unfairness of it all.
Murdoch came to wipe a tear off my cheek as I stood rigid with anger, "Dearest Bella, there is no need to be sad. I know you had your heart set on becoming a vampire tonight…"
I pulled away and gaped at him in shock. How could he possibly know?
Murdoch chuckled at my reaction, flashing his too large teeth, "Yes, Bella, I do know all about your plans. You see, your little friends aren't the only ones with…what shall we call them?...gifts. Though why such a sweet, young lady would do something so foolish - well, I guess we must chalk it up to young love. C'est la vie. But I must say, it was very fortuitous of you to send Alice away like that. Although she looked to be a delectably frisky little morsel, I would have hated to ruin my new suit. Armani, you see."
I knew he wouldn't kill me – they needed me alive and human. So I crossed my arms, gave him my best withering glance, and said, "You were obviously ripped off."
This time, Murdoch's chuckle was laced with a not-so-subtle menace, "Cheeky, aren't we? Well, if you want your father and his little friends to survive the night, you will keep your little comments to yourself and say goodbye to him like the good little girl you are. Otherwise, I will rip them apart – literally."
As if on cue, I heard Billy's car pulling into our driveway. As I turned, Murdoch grabbed my arm and warned, "Remember Bella, I will be watching."
"Hey, Bells! Billy's here!" Charlie called.
I tore my arm away from Murdoch's grasp, took a deep breathe, and headed downstairs. While I was gone, Charlie had managed to get all his fishing gear packed away, and now Jacob was taking it all to the car. I gave him a wan smile and a wave in greeting, and he smiled in return as he headed out the door with the bags. I wondered if he knew why Billy was really taking Charlie on this trip. Then I wondered if he would believe me if I told him I had a werewolf waiting to kidnap me upstairs in my room.
"So everything all set?" I asked, trying to keep my voice as calm as I could.
"Yup, we're just about ready to go. I'm going to miss you Bells," Charlie said, putting an arm awkwardly around my shoulder.
I couldn't help it - I gave him another tight hug. As if all this sudden hugging was getting him thinking, Charlie asked, "Bells, are you going to be okay?"
"Sure Dad," I said with a fake smile, "I talked to Alice, and everything's all set."
Charlie still seemed unsure, and suddenly, I felt that I had to try and warn them even if Murdoch was listening. So I turned to Billy and said, "Billy I can't thank you enough for all your help," emphasizing the last word.
Billy and Charlie both looked at each other, then Charlie said cautiously, "Help?"
"Uh, yeah," I said, stalling and trying to think of something plausible, "It's been a real help having familiar faces like Billy and his family around while I settled in here at Forks."
"Well…we're happy you're here," Billy said uncertainly.
But then Jacob came in and said, "We're ready to go. See you later Bella."
"Bye, Jacob," I said automatically. He smiled and headed back outside. Charlie and Billy stood there, looking at me as if unsure what to do next. Clearly, they didn't understand what I was trying to say. I was frustrated, I wanted to shout at them, tell them what was going on, but I had no doubt that Murdoch had meant every word of his threat. If I said anything, Charlie, Billy and Jacob would be killed, and Murdoch would still take me away. So, knowing that Murdoch was lurking around somewhere, I said quickly, "Dad, don't worry about me. I can take care of myself. It's only a week. Go and have a good time."
"Are you sure? You know, I can always go another time –"
"No, Dad," I said, cutting him off, "you've been working really hard lately, and you need a break. Go and have fun. Bring me back a souvenir."
Charlie smiled at me gratefully. "Will do. Thanks Bells. See you in a week."
And with that, he and Billy were gone, along with any chance I had to warn someone. I wished there was someway to project my thoughts so that just this once Edward could read my thoughts and take care of Murdoch.
I sighed, then stiffened as I heard clapping behind me. I turned to see Murdoch lounging casually in Charlie's chair. He stood and came toward me. "Nicely done, Bella. I was a bit afraid that I was going to have to intervene with your little attempt to get help, you cheeky girl. But luckily, your Indian friend didn't understand what you were trying to say. It saved his life - and your father's."
But before I could come up with a sufficiently scathing reply, Murdoch's beefy fist made contact with my skull, and everything went dark.
The next thing I knew, I was being slapped lightly across the face. I kept my eyes firmly shut, my head was throbbing, and I was afraid that opening my eyes would only cause the sensation to worsen. But the slapping persisted, even as I swatted the offending hand away.
"Bella…Bella," called a soft, soothing voice. The voice was melodic, reassuring. Slowly, I opened one eye, then the other, to look up at the girl calling my name. I looked into a pair of intelligent brown eyes framed by dark cat-shaped glasses, in a cute heart shaped face. Which, I noticed, was framed by a shock of spiky magenta hair.
The girl smiled, "Hey, there. Glad to have you back with us, Bella. I'm Sarah."
"Sarah…" I croaked, trying to sit up. I regretted it immediately – my head felt like it would explode. Sarah quickly leaned down to lend a hand of support as she lowered me back down. I realized I was lying on the bottom bunk of a bunk bed – one of three in the sparsely furnished room. Behind her I saw the four curious faces of three men and one woman.
Sarah saw where my gaze went, and said, "Bella, let me introduce you to Fred, George, Ron and Ginny," she said pointing to each of our fellow cellmates in turn. They all smiled and waved in a friendly way, and I smiled back weakly.
"Boy, are we glad you're here," said Fred, or George, I couldn't remember which was which.
"You are?" I asked, confused. I tried to sit up again, and this time Sarah was ready for me and propped up a pillow behind my back. I smiled at her gratefully, and leaned into the pillow. I needed to find out more about what was going on, despite my throbbing head.
"Sure," said Ron, "you're supposed to be the indestructible one, right? With you around, we should be able to come up with some kind of escape plan. Maybe if we can all arrange to be in the lab at the same time, you can make a break for it, while we create a diversion."
"Me? Part of an escape plan?" I asked, panicking, "I'm really not good at that kind of thing. I'm not sure what you've heard, but I think you need to know that I'm not athletic inclined - at all."
"Really?" asked Ginny uncertainly.
I turned to Sarah and said pleadingly, "Surely John must have told you that I'm…I'm… not very coordinated."
Sarah looked at me and said, "He did mention it, but I thought he was just trying to keep me from being jealous. You can't imagine, when he found out about the Council's decision to use you, it was Bella this, and Bella that, until I told him to shut up. So when he said that you were a bit…clumsy, I thought he was just trying to, I don't know, make things easier for me. I guess he wasn't."
Then she smiled and reached for my hand. She looked at the others and said, "There must be some other way - we just have to figure out what it is."
I squeezed her hand gratefully, and asked, "Do you guys have any idea where we are? Are we close to Shenandoah Valley?"
"Shenandoah Valley?" repeated Sarah, confused. She and the others exchanged nervous glances, as if Murdoch's blow had caused me brain damage or something.
"Well, yes," I said, "John and Rachel were able to trace your cell phone to the Shenandoah Valley. That's where they were going to start their search."
"Oh, that's just perfect!" exclaimed George (or Fred).
Sarah looked at me sadly, "Bella, we're in Jacksonville."
"Jacksonville?" I asked, horrified at the implication.
"Yes," confirmed Sarah, "Murdoch and Flint wanted to insure your cooperation, so they moved us here. They told us your mother lives here. I'm sorry, Bella. But I'm sure they won't hurt them or anything – they want you to cooperate, and that means everyone stays alive and healthy. Murdoch and Flint'll probably come here shortly to rub it in before they take you to the lab to get your blood."
"Blood?" I blanched, my face draining of color.
"Are you alright, Bella?" Sarah asked, concerned by my sudden pallor.
"It's just that I don't do well with blood," I admitted.
"Ah," she said, nodding in understanding, "the sight of blood does that to some people."
"Actually," I corrected, "It's the smell of blood – it makes me sick, to the point that I usually pass out."
"People can't smell blood," Sarah protested.
"Yes, I've heard that before. But I promise you that I can, and it does make me sick."
Sarah looked at me thoughtfully. It was as if I could see the wheels turn in her head, "What?" I asked.
"Well," she said, "being able to smell blood is a pretty unique characteristic. And though it might be useful if you were a vampire, it wouldn't really do a werewolf much good. If I can somehow manage to isolate that trait rather than your ability to heal quickly, that may buy us some time. Flint has been getting careless lately – letting me do all the work. In fact, since we've been here, Flint has only been checking the magnification results. And since we're under a time crunch, maybe he won't notice until it's too late."
"But surely he'll check with Bella's blood!" protested Ron.
"Do you have a better idea?" retorted Sarah.
"Wait a minute. Could you please give me a chance to catch up here? First, what 'time crunch' are you talking about?"
"Well," Sarah explained, "the full moon is in two days. We think that's when Murdoch and Flint will try to attack the Council itself. The serum takes 3 days to make – the first 24 hours goes into purifying the vampire venom, which should be ready in about" she looked at her watch, "three hours or so. Then they'll need to combine it with the isolated trait from your blood. That part takes a few hours, so they should come and get us soon. Then the remaining 48 hours is necessary to let the venom mix with the blood to reach its full potential. And actually," she said, turning to Ron, "if I play my cards right, even if Flint does check the isolate from Bella's blood, it will be too late for him to do anything about it before this coming full moon."
Ron grunted in reply, clearly not as impressed as I was. Sarah's plan seemed to make sense to me, and if it could at least take some advantage away from Murdoch, I was all for it. Except for the part about using my blood, which brought me back to my next question.
"What did you mean, it's a good trait if you're a vampire?" I asked Sarah.
She seemed surprised by my question, but answered, "Well if you were able to smell blood as a human, then I would imagine as a vampire, that sense would be heightened a hundred fold or more. And from what I've been told, vampires are particularly sensitive to blood's smell, so you could tell the subtle differences in human blood, which would make you a very determined hunter indeed. Think of it like…like…a wine connoisseur – someone able to tell the subtle differences in wine simply from its smell, and so is naturally drawn to the finest wines."
"Or like a heroin addict?" I whispered, thinking about what Edward had once told me.
"I suppose a drug addict could tell the differences in the quality of the drugs they were taking," she said skeptically. She paused, as if unsure what to say next, then said in a rush, "I don't mean to pry or judge or anything, but are you using? I need to know, because that could really mess up my results."
"No, no," I assured her, "I was just thinking about something someone said to me once."
"Oh."
"Sarah," I asked tentatively, "is that what would definitely happen? I mean, if someone was sensitive to the smell of blood like me, would it be inevitable that they were more…drawn to human blood than other vampires?"
Understanding dawned on Sarah's face. She said to me gently, "Bella, what we do in the lab is completely unnatural. How can I put it? It's like making a test tube baby – ordering up what sex it is, if it has blue eyes and blond hair, if it's smart or athletic. But in real life, you never know what you're going to get when two people decide to have a baby together – will it have the mother's chin or the father's nose – it's all up to nature. If someone were to become a vampire naturally, I would assume it would be the same way – you would never know what traits would be enhanced, though the strongest traits would most likely be dominant. It would be up to the person to decide if it was worth the risk."
She touched my shoulder gently, and I nodded my understanding. Ron, however, did not seem to approve of where this conversation was going, "Bella, you can't seriously want to be a vampire. I know your boyfriend is supposedly one – what is it with you girls? There aren't enough humans that you two would willingly date freaks?"
"Why you little…" Sarah said getting up to challenge Ron. But then the door opened and Murdoch came in followed by Flint. Flint was not at all what I expected. He had a chubby, open face and a sincere smile. I could see why the Council trusted him, he looked completely honest and trustworthy, especially next to that thug Murdoch.
"Hello, Bella," he said cheerily, "I've been waiting a long time to meet you. And thanks to Cyrus, you're here now." He finished, looking up at Murdoch with adoring eyes.
Murdoch ignored him and came toward me. I braced myself, but he stopped short of the bed I was on. "Glad to see you're awake. I would hate for you to sleep through your first day here in Jacksonville. We had some of the boys take in one of your step-father's games. He's not very good, but your mother was very supportive of her hubby. I can show you some pictures if you like."
"Leave my mother alone," I said through clenched teeth.
Murdoch chuckled, pleased with my response. "Don't worry, dear. You cooperate and everyone will stay happy and healthy."
"Yes, yes," said Flint, coming up beside Murdoch, stepping in closer than seemed natural, "we don't want anything to happen to your parents at all. We just need a bit of your blood. You'll find that if you cooperate, things will be much easier for you." He looked up at Murdoch, eyes round, like a schoolgirl with a crush.
If Murdoch noticed, he gave no sign. He said, "Sarah will take you to the lab, Bella. If everything goes according to plan, then we may even let you see how your mother is doing yourself." And with that, he and Flint left the room.
"Cripes, that's creepy!" said Ron.
"What, now you're homophobic too?" asked Sarah scathingly.
"No, I just can't see how anyone, male or female, human, werewolf or vampire, could possibly find Murdoch in the least bit attractive," replied Ron dryly .
For once, I agreed with him, but I didn't have the chance to say anything, as once again our door opened and two guards came in to take me and Sarah to the lab. The lab was filled with huge pieces of complicated looking, shiny machines, surrounded by smaller workstations with computers and racks of test tubes. I noticed there were no other doors than the one we came from, and no windows either. I didn't understand how the others had expected me to escape from this room. The guards led us to a work station in the far end of the room, where Sarah quickly sat down and pulled on a pair of latex gloves. She began rummaging through the drawers as the guards pushed me into a chair opposite her. I looked around, but we seemed to be the only four in the room.
"Aren't there any other people working here?" I asked Sarah.
"No," said Sarah shortly, "Murdoch had them all killed."
I shivered. Then I saw that Sarah was preparing three vials, the last of which she had hooked up to a particularly large and ominous looking needle. I gulped. "What exactly are you going to be doing with that?"
Sarah looked up, and smiled at me apologetically. "I know this looks bad, but I'm really very good at this. I will be done before you know it."
My stomach rolled, and I said, "Sarah, I don't think you realize how badly I react…"
But then there came a deafening crash from the left. One of the guards immediately ran back toward the door we came through, while the other one glanced at us, then looked back at the door hopping from one foot to the other as if itching to join the fight. As he was looking at the door, Sarah picked up her computer monitor and with a crash dropped it on the remaining guard's head.
"Let's go!" she yelled, grabbing my hand and heading for the door. I looked back at the guard, but he lay motionless on the floor. Then I looked down at my feet, hoping that they wouldn't betray me now as I clung to Sarah's hand. At the door, she turned left, but I pulled her up short.
"Bella, this is our chance! We need to go now!" she said urgently.
"Not that way – unless you plan to carry me out. I can smell the blood from here."
She looked at me for a second, then quickly turned and went the other way. We ran down the long narrow hallway, then turned left as the hallway came to a T. At the end of the hall, there was an exit, and Sarah let go of my hand as she made a dash for it. I ran after her, but all of a sudden, I tripped and reached for the wall to brace my fall. As I reached, my hand found a fire alarm, and I grabbed it in an attempt to regain my balance. The alarm went off with an earsplitting wail and the sprinklers turned on. I stood there in shock, soaked by the water.
"Bella!" Sarah cried, turning back to get me. But something else had caught my attention. Coming down the hall, his shirt torn open, his body drenched from the water and his murderous rage barely held in check, was Edward.