AN: * I do not own Twilight or the characters within this story, nor the songs.

﹃﹄﹃﹄﹃﹄﹃﹄﹃﹄﹃﹄﹃﹄

"I can still feel you here now in this cage.
Every link,
Another piece of you I saved,
Afraid to open up the door to,
Who I was before,
And if I let go of these chains now,
Will I find a way? Can I just hold on?"

Of These Chains - Red

﹃﹄﹃﹄﹃﹄﹃﹄﹃﹄﹃﹄﹃﹄

Carlisle ✦ Aforementioned ✦ Amnesia

Ten-fifteen. Perfect. I released a heavy and liberating exhale. I reached into my drawer for my phone, having completed filling out the last form on my desk. I turned it on; I left it off while I worked.

My eyes widened as my message notifications chimed. Fourteen missed calls in the last five minutes. And from Alice nonetheless. The pit of my stomach fell. Desperate news from Alice could never be good.

I fumbled to call her back, but before I could press the buttons fast enough, I was receiving yet another call. I swiped to answer, simultaneously connecting my ear set and shoving the phone in my pocket. I grabbed my coat as I swiftly left the room.

'What's happened?!' I pleaded as the line cracked open.

'Carlisle! Thank God! It's… It's Bella! Don't stop. Get in your car. Now.'

My eyes narrowed. Bella? What had happened to her? Had the Volturi not kept their word? Surely not. My stomach's pit now split into a crevasse that delved down into Hell itself. Not now. Not after all our family, Bella included had already endured.

'Keep talking,' I ordered. After I scouted to make sure there had been no eyes on me, I used my superhuman speed to dash to the side of my sleek black S55 AMG Mercedes.

'Drive. Away from home. You know the park behind Medway? Go there, now. Fast.'

I grit my teeth, causing my fangs to press into my marbled flesh. I swiftly lowered myself into the car, the door slamming as it shut.

'She- she's here? In Maine?!' I exclaimed in wonder. 'Alice, Medway is still twenty minutes away.'

'Carlisle please, you have to hurry. It's Laurent… I can't believe I hadn't seen he was here. But he caught her. Carlisle, he has her! And he's taking her to her.'

Her… Surely not? Victoria!? Alice had been keeping tabs on her. Had she not seen her in Maine, either? And why was Bella here? Alice had told me she had chosen to move and study south many years ago.

I let out a growl, surprising myself. I didn't often do that. But Bella was family. The thought of her in danger only sparked the deepest of fury in my generally passive heart.

'Alice. Why is Bella in Maine?' I grilled. It had been Alice's suggestion to move here. She had even been the one to pick out our Chalet.

I had turned on the gentle machine, but I had angered it by revving the engine with such ferocity that I could swear the sounds of a lion had emitted from it; mirroring my own state of protectiveness and prowess. The wheels screeched as the car left the parking lot, and I skidded into the adjoining country road.

'Carlisle, I-' Alice fell silent in shame.

I too, was silent for a while, concentrating on the road before me. Trying not to crush my driving wheel with my tense, angered fingers. Trying not to give in to the broken feelings of despair I had wished to succumb to. There were too many emotions coursing through my lifeless veins to find a single comprehendible thought.

I persuaded myself to breath slowly and evenly; although I did not require the oxygen, it had a way about bringing me tranquillity. Although it helped keep me focused, there was no peace to be found.

'Start at the beginning,' I slowly demanded, pinching the bridge of my nose as I held the wheel with my other hand. I had been nearing the maximum of the speed gauge.

'I don't know, I guess because no decisions had been made. I only saw him take her five minutes ago. He took her deep into the forest… and then, I think she passed out. They were standing over her, waiting for her to come to…' she whimpered. 'Carlisle, I'm so sorry, you have to believe me, I didn't see this coming. The rest of us are on the way too but we are so far away, you were the closest. We'll be there in about forty-five minutes if we go fast enough.'

Noting that she hadn't answered my prior question, I chose to interrogate her.

'Why is she here? Isn't she meant to be somewhere down south?'

'I'm so sorry Carlisle… I lied.' She paused for a moment. 'She went to university in Vermont and I wanted us to be nearby, just in case… I hadn't expected her to move to Maine let alone so close, but her job offer came so suddenly and we were already here. Almost everyone had finally found peace and so I hadn't wanted to uproot all of us again,' she spoke quietly, shame laced in her melodic voice.

I pinched the bridge of my nose again.

'Alice, we don't know what will happen if we interact with her. What if we had bumped into her? This could have risked everything to the Volturi! What if Aro had seen what you saw and your choices?'

'That's why I kept it to myself, so it was only me risking it. I'd be able to evade visiting the Volturi. I haven't even told Jasper. I realise now that you also have to carry this burden and I'm sorry. There have already been times that one of us would have run into her – I made sure to change those of our decisions so that we wouldn't. I'm sorry Carlisle. I just wanted her to be safe and be nearby. I miss her.'

'Where in the park are they?' I pressed, the groves of trees becoming familiar as I entered the border of the town.

'I'm not sure. About midway through? It's all so hazy, even now. Carlisle – you have to hurry! They are going to hurt her. Badly. Please!' she was practically screaming at me now, intermingled with sobs. 'The things they're planning to do to her… I can't.'

'I'm going as fast as I can!' I hissed into the receiver as I spun the car into another road, taking a sharp left. 'I think I'm only a few minutes off now. Keep me on the phone until I get close.'

'Okay,' she murmured.

I neared the parking lot for one of the park's entrances – it had been near the pathology lab that we sent our specimens to. I skidded to a halt at the beginning of the pathway. I immediately stepped out of the car, taking with me my car's first aid kit. I inhaled deeply through my nostrils, and sure enough, there it was; Bella's delicate floral scent. Those essences of daisies and roses, coated in honey and berries. I also smelt blood. I could discern that it wasn't Bella's, but it unnerved me all the same. I grit my teeth once more as I darted after her trail.

'Carlisle…' Alice suddenly spoke, worry and despair sounding in her voice.

'Yes?' I enquired impatiently as I sped down the path.

'You're going to be too late… I just… I just saw everything. Victoria… She's going to hurt her really badly. I think they're going to break her spine. And she's going to bite her! It might be too late,' she wailed inconsolably. 'Why didn't I see this sooner?!'

My eyes flared with rage as I continued to run toward the strengthening scents with all my tenacity. The thick musk of blood was becoming unbearable; for this was not the usual clinical smell I could muster while performing a surgery, but one saturated in absolute terror; laced in cortisol and adrenaline.

I neared the source of the sickly-sweet aroma; my surroundings out of focus as I honed in on the cause.

The mangled corpse of a gaunt young woman littered the pavement some yards ahead. I shuddered, slowing to a stop, and took in the sight of the poor creature; her features had been petrified in a state of horror and dread. She was encompassed in a pool of her own blood; Laurent hadn't quite finished draining her, it seemed. The poor girl had bled out to her death. Alone. I took a swift moment to close her eyes and whispered a silent prayer before standing up. I deeply breathed in through the crimson aura her body emanated, searching for any sign of the part of our home that had been missing; that charming brunette that had was destined to stay just out of our reach forever. Not today, I swore. I would reach her. I would save her.

The scent was so thick that it largely masked Bella's now, and all of the scents were intertwining.

I clenched my jaw.

'Alice, I'm at the body of the first girl. Where did he take her?'

'Uh, turn around and then take a sharp right after about forty yards, you should pick up the trail there. That's where Laurent slammed her off her bike. Do you see it?'

I glanced up, quickly locking onto the withered bicycle. At faster than one could blink I was hovering over it, picking up the scent once more. I bound towards where its strength trailed from, breathing in those flowers, those berries, that honey with greed. I would make it. I had to make it. She couldn't be lost to us in more ways than she already had been.

The pits to Hell in my core reopened as her trail got stronger, as blood, her blood - a scent I could never forget - suddenly blended with that of her being, and it was getting stronger and stronger. Alice's vision… Bella had woken up. And they were hurting her. I didn't have much time. But I knew I was near.

Anger blazed through my body; my eyes blackened, my teeth bared, my frame trembling in rage.

I drew upon the clearing containing the three essences. I had heard them yelling from a few hundred metres away.

'Laurent! The Cullens. They're coming! Grab her!' screeched the redhead. I had heard her voice becoming more distant with each step; clearly, she was retreating.

My blackened depths locked on to the remaining shadowy figure with glowing crimson orbs as I entered the clearing. My chest was puffed, I was breathing heavily, exerting my anger. My eyes flamed as red as his own after I glimpsed to the crumpled body between us. I tossed my first aid kit to the side.

I leapt at him, grabbing a bicep in each hand. With one swift pull, I tore them clean off.

A sullied scream sounded throughout the clearing, echoing through the trees as Laurent fell to his knees; his eyes widened and dull.

I hurtled past and around him and in less than a moment had his neck in my hold. I roared as I ripped it from his torso; my eyes beyond more lightless than the night. I threw the body parts in different directions. The others I'm sure had brought means to dispose of him. I hadn't sensed Victoria; I was certain that she had chosen her usual path of self-preservation and would not dare return to the scene.

I rushed to Bella's side. She was convulsing, although I was sure she was unconscious. Whilst stabilising her neck, I located the perfect puncture marks to her neck and hissed.

I assessed the severity of her injuries. Although she had a deep gash down her left leg, it had seemed to miss her major arteries. She had still, however, lost a lot of blood. I tore out my first aid kit, rapidly applied a tourniquet and wrapped her leg in a bandage and gauze. I packed gauze into her other thigh and shoulder, and bandaged her arm. Alice had said they had taken a blow to her back, too, but as all her limbs had been moving, I thought to myself it mustn't have been too severe.

I made the choice then; Bella would live as a human today. That much, I would make sure I'd achieve. If I had let her change into a vampire, it would only put her in even more danger, and all Edward had sacrificed would have been for nothing. I wouldn't want to repeat my mistakes with Rosalie; if possible, it had to be Bella's choice. Letting her turn would only be a last resort. I'd take her to the hospital, she'd heal. And we'd protect her. No one would hurt her again.

But still, I hesitated.

'Alice. Will she be okay if I do this?'

'Carlisle… I don't have a clear answer. I see her at the hospital, I see her heart beating on the machine…'

That's all I had needed to hear.

Wasting no time, I gently placed my own two fangs down into the bite. I slowly began to draw out the venom, just as Edward had done almost six years prior. It occurred to me that I had only marginally sampled human blood when turning the others, but I'd never been forced into a position where I had needed to completely saturate myself in it.

I struggled as it pooled in my mouth, and I struggled even more as I was forced to swallow.

Her blood was euphoric. It caressed my throat as it trickled down, coating my tongue and rippling through my body with radiating warmth. She hadn't been my singer - like she had been for Edward - but the taste was exquisite.

My eyes shaded a slight hue of red as I extracted the venom admixed with her delicious blood. I hated how much I had relished the flavour, how it satiated me like nothing ever had before. I hated how a small part of me wished that this feeling would never end.

Thankfully it had only been mere seconds before her blood ran clear of the Viper's poison. Her body visibly settled; her legs fell limp. I immediately released my bite, spitting the remnants of the forbidden liquid in my mouth to the ground.

Disgrace enveloped me, I had wanted to purge it out; but I fought my way through and pushed the feeling down into that chasm that had exploded apart within me. I had to get her to safety. I had to take her hurt away. And I would take her hurt away. I would fix her. I would save her. Because she was family; destined to be forever apart from us, but forever a part of us at the same time.

I gently picked up her frail frame, taking care to keep her back supported. There wasn't time to stabilise her spine; she needed a blood transfusion and surgery immediately. She was curled up in my arms, her breath shallow. I swept her hair from her forehead, leant down and lightly pressed my lips to her skin.

'You're safe now, Bella.' I breathed against her. I held her tightly to my chest while I dashed back towards my black Mercedes.

﹃﹄﹃﹄﹃﹄﹃﹄﹃﹄﹃﹄﹃﹄