I know…been a while.
This is picking up where chapter 5 ended. To recap: The Cullen's are in L.A. and are helping Angel and co find Victoria. A plan that was meant to lure Victoria out goes sideways and Bella is now alone. With Victoria.
Enjoy.
Spike clenches his jaw, flexing his fingers as he glared murderously at Edward. Jasper tried to influence the tension a bit, hoping to calm things down. Spike turns to him in warning, pointing a finger at him in agitation. "If you don't stop trying to influence my emotions…" Angel intervenes by stepping in between them. "This isn't helping. We're all worried right now, and we're going to get back on the streets. We can't help Bella aimlessly searching. Victoria had backup which we weren't aware of. Now Edward, you heard her thoughts. What were her plans?"
Edward rubs his jaw, leaning away from the hole in the wall, stepping away from Spike. "I don't know. She wasn't being very specific. I don't know where she could have gone," Spike hums sarcastically. "Well, we sure don't have a shot at finding out now do we? Why didn't you put the tracker on her?" Spike refrains from stepping close to Edward, instead crossing his arms over his chest. Edward sighs, shrugging. The room descended into an awkward silence for a few seconds before Edward spoke. "I thought I could handle it. I disposed of it," The Cullen's look to Edward in disbelief, and Carlisle frowns heavily.
Spike snatches up his jacket, roughly shoving past Edward in the process. "Where are you going?" Angel calls, a bit concerned. "To look again. It's better than standing around here doing nothing," Angel lets him go, scrubbing his hand down his face. He turned to Jasper, waving him forward. "You can help me see what we can get out of Victoria's friend," He then looks to Carlisle, "Once we get her back, I think it's best to leave L.A.," Carlisle looks like he wants to object, but Edward nods, going to Carlisle's side. "He's right. Spike wants nothing more than to pretty much kill us all, and shall anything happen to Bella….well….I think we'd need to make haste. We've…I've done enough damage as it is,"
Angel nodded in agreement forgetting for a moment that Edward could read his thoughts. You think?
Angel pulls up a chair, sitting across from the vampire known as Riley. He just stares at him for a moment, his once vibrant red eyes a dark Ruby. "There are two ways we can do this. You tell me where Victoria is, and her plans. If the girl is alive and unharmed, I'll let you go. Or, I can torture it out of you. Your choice," Riley stares at him perplexed, looking around the dimly lit room.
He pulls his hands back, once again making the chains rattle in protest. "What is this? How did you contain me?" Angel leans back in the chair, inclining his head towards the chains. "Those can hold any creature said to exist. So you can stop trying," Riley strained against them anyway, sighing in defeat as Angel just waited. His face was barely visible in the dim light, and Riley struggled to see him clearly. "What are you? You don't have a heartbeat, but you're not like me…" He was wary, his voice, posture, and face said it all. Angel sighs, "Where's Victoria? Where is she keeping the girl?" He asks, time constantly ticking in the back of his head. It's been a few hours at best, and with Victoria being as vindictive as she is, there was no telling what she was subjecting Bella to.
"I don't know," Riley answers, clenching his jaw shut. "You sure? Or you don't want to tell me?" Riley leans forward with a hiss. "I. Don't. Know." His brave face is unwavering for a moment, and from the other side of the door, Jasper didn't think he'd talk without some influence. Riley is taken aback though as Angel leans into the light, yellow eyes and shifted face making him look like the idea of nightmares. Riley sucks in a breath of surprise and horror. "What…what are you?"
Angel's smile was terrifying, making Riley slowly shrink back. "I'm a vampire. Much older, much stronger, and I mean…a bit more traditional, don't you think? So, we're doing this the hard way,"
Angel is easily able to grip Riley's knee, crushing the bone with just his hand. Riley can't hold in his grunt of pain, and Jasper tilts his head, influencing his heightened emotions making Riley cry out.
Bella stared into the darkness, ears listening for Victoria's return. She winced at the throbbing in her fingers, unable to even muster the courage to try to move her broken limbs. Victoria seemed more inclined to play torture rather than just get the deed over with. She started with breaking the fingers of her left hand one by one. Bella knew what broken bones felt like, and even the knowledge of how painful it could be didn't help her hold in her cries. The dislocation of her shoulder barely registered to her by the time Victoria decided to knee her in the shoulder with a restrained force.
Bella had passed out some time in between, and once she woke, Victoria was no where to be found. She knew she'd be back, but she didn't have a gauge of time. She looked over the grate that had minimal light showing from the moon, the rays shining dimly in the small space she was in. She uses her right hand to shift her body, sucking in a breath as her ankle throbbed. She sucks in a few deep breaths, closing her eyes. Her hand absentmindedly pushed against a rock, sliding it in front her. Her brows furrow as she heard the rock slip down what sounded like more cement, the small sounds stopping in the distance.
She peers over in the darkness, straining her eyes to see with the light. She knew L.A. had various tunnels, but she didn't think she'd be directly at the end of one. Hope bloomed in her chest, and she carefully leans to the side, using her good hand as leverage to boost herself along, slowly dragging herself towards the darkness. It was then that her hand touched cool cement, and Bella blindly felt forward feeling more cement. She moved her hand to the right of her, feeling up the wet walls until the reached the top. Her hand was barely touching her head, and Bella knew that if she wanted to make it out alive, she had to get moving.
With that in mind, Bella uses her hand to move herself forward, then pain nothing but a small inconvenience, the yearning to live more potent. She ignores the sewage, and simply gags at the feeling of thick liquid coating her hand. She does her best to ignore the putrid smell, realizing this was more of a sewage pipe than a tunnel. She wondered how she didn't smell it earlier, but it was too late to answer that question. Bella continues at a slow crawl as she makes her way down, wondering how far it actually went. To make it a bit easier, Bella resigns to using her elbows and knees to get her as far away as possible. It kept the pressure off her ankle and put more to use. She took in steady breaths, breathing out of her mouth, slightly grunting at the feeling of sloshing liquid. She keeps going, unwilling to stop for anything now, determined to live a somewhat normal life. If she could make it out of the tunnels, she could make it back onto the streets.
Bella wasn't sure how long she had crawled for, knowing that Victoria had to have returned by now. She could only hope that the smell of what was probably human feces blocked her scent. She gave a tiny cry of triumph as she could see bright lights ahead and hear cars from above. In front of her was a pole, that if careful, she could slide down. She poked her head from out of the pipe, seeing that it wasn't a far drop. She carefully uses her hand to grasp the pole, using it to pull herself the rest of the way. Wrapping her other arm around the pole, Bella was able to maneuver her body out and slide down very slowly to the ground.
Just the lightest landing on her foot made her want to hike her legs back up, but Bella had to tell herself that bones could heal. Victoria had given her worse, took everything she loved away, so when it came down to the comedown, broken bones were nothing, and if she were this close to tasting freedom, this was just a fork in the rod.
She gingerly sets her foot down, wincing in pain, but used the walls to help keep herself steady. She looked up overhead to see the passing of lights and cars, but it was quite a few feet above, no way she could get up there or through the small slit. She glides her hand along the damp wall, letting the tunnel lead her until she couldn't go any farther.
Spike was agitated. It was like they vanished. He had gone over the area where Bella and Edward were last. The scent of them was strong, still lingering after almost a day. He walked down the streets, hands in his pockets, sniffing Bella apart as he went. It was fading though the farther out he went, a good thing, and a not so good thing. It limited Bella's disappearance to a specific area, but there was a lot of ground to cover. He wasn't sure where Victoria would even take Bella. It made him wonder what she was doing. Was Victoria torturing her? Was she going to kill her, or had she done so already?
The thoughts were making his head swim. He wondered if she was around here, screaming for help, and he just couldn't hear her. He clenched his fist, shaking his head. He wasn't going to go there. Torture himself like this. He already blamed himself enough for letting her go in the first place. He should've gone. He could only hope that he still had time. He hadn't been able to trace her tracker as he assumed it got damaged. If only Edward hadn't been a cocky little shit.
He falters in step, completely stopping for a moment. The heartbeat sounded familiar, but he knew it was too irregular for a human. He softly sighed, turning to look over his shoulder. "Come on out Lorne," He murmurs, and a few seconds later, Lorne steps out from the shadows, hands in his own pockets. "How'd you know it was me?" He wonders, falling into step with Spike. Spike just snorts. "Your heart is in your ass mate," Lorne can't help but to roll his eyes. "Of course," Lorne doesn't bother with too much small talk, helping Spike look for Bella without invitation.
"Did Angel get anything out of that kid?" Spike asks, turning around at the end of the block, this time looking down any vacant alley. Lorne follows along, shaking his head. "Kid doesn't know anything. She was just his lackey. Nothing more than a distraction," Spike quietly huffs. "Another dead end. She's two steps ahead. She knew how to take Bella, distract Edward, and leave no trace," He and Lorne continue down the street. Spike knew it was futile as this wasn't helping. "Tell me something," Spike says after a few minutes of silence. Lorne nods, waiting for Spike's question. "What do you know about us? Bella and I, I mean," Lorne tilts his head back and forth, deciding on what he could tell him. "Eh, a lot, and a little," Spike gives him a dirty look, clearly wanting a more responsive answer. "I can't tell you everything because I don't know everything," Lorne murmurs defensively. "Well, what do you know?" Lorne sighs. "Okay, I know that you weren't made corporeal simply because the Senior Partners wanted you to be. That part wasn't only their doing. The PTB allowed that so that you two could cross paths. You could call it a match made in….heaven. You two…I've said all I can say. I think you can draw your own conclusions," He was right. Spike knew what he was trying to say.
"Well, it kind of sucks now doesn't it with a sadistic vampire in the mix," Lorne just nodded, looking around for anything unusual. The streets weren't quiet by any means, and it made it that much harder to search. "You'd know if she were dead," Lorne admits. Spike just slides his eyes towards him.
When Bella finally emerged from a manhole cover, all she could do was breathe in the fresh scent of air. It took her a moment to hoist herself up and out, but she surprisingly managed. A few people had approached her upon seeing her disheveled figure. She had dirt, mud, grime, and other things sticking to her every crevice. Even her face was slightly smudged. Her hair was sticking to the back of her neck, making her nose wrinkle. She simply waved them off, asking them to point her in the direction of Wolfram & Hart. She almost groaned at having to walk another two miles, but she made it this far, and she wasn't going to stop.
She knew by now that Victoria knew she was gone, and the only things saving her was her appearance, smell, and the fact that the sun was just starting to rise. She heads on in that direction, limping her way down the desolate street. There were few cars running in the early morning, some early risers walking down the street, casting her a glance every time she walked past. Few tried to make sure she was okay, and like the others, she waves them off, and keeps going. The less time she spent out here the better, and the more people she pushed away, the more lives she'd save.
It took her well over two hours to make into the building, and she could have cried from the relief. The security guard at the desk almost stopped her, and Bella held up a hand, explaining who she was, and after looking down at a picture that Angel had passed out to all the employees, he let her forward, offering to call Angel's office. She declined. For one, she didn't want everyone swooping down and clamoring her. Two, she had saved herself. No vampire to come to her rescue, whichever kind. No friend or family to help her to her feet. It might've been the fact that the people who could save her were gone, the people she loved most. Only she could save herself this time. Once in the building, she knew she was alright, and all she wanted to do now was ride the elevator up, shower, and sleep, aching body parts be forgotten as she'd drift off into what she would hope would be a dreamless sleep.
The security officer hits the button for her, and even the button for whichever floor she needed. She nods, and he grimly smiles, holding his sleeve to his nose. "I know…." She murmurs as he prepares to tell her exactly how she smells. He just nods, stepping back as the elevator door closes. She sighs, wondering how in the hell she got off easy. For the first time, this was the easiest escape she ever made. She knew Victoria didn't let her go again. Not this time. Bella knew that Victoria planned to kill her. She just didn't know what she was waiting for. She couldn't dwell on it now however as the doors had opened, the lobby empty aside from Harmony who was at the desk.
Harmony wrinkled her nose in disgust, turning to look over at Bella, only to gasp at her. "Oh my god!" Harmony practically screeches, moving from her desk, and quickly walking over to her. "You smell like…ugh..but you're alive. I would so hug you right now, but…Boss!" Harmony calls, and Bella can only smile tiredly as Angel yells from his office. "If it's not about Bella, put it to the side!" Harmony goes to respond, but Bella just chuckles, shaking her head. "It's okay," She whispers. Bella trudges over to his office, hearing both Angel and Spike talking heavily. "Nothing. I told you that wasn't a good idea, and we let them lose her. I can't wait 16 hours to go look. We should try some of the tunnels underground," Spike suggests, running his hands through his hair worriedly.
"I really wouldn't go down there," Bella interrupts, cradling her injured hand. Both men can't help but wrinkle their nose, turning around. They look her over from head to toe, and Spike was the first to move. Bella was surprised when he engulfed her into a hug, squeezing his arms around her shoulders. The crud from the sewer and tunnels had since dried into her clothes and hair. "No offense when I say this love, but…" Bella wraps her good arm around him, huffing. "I smell like shit, I know,"
Angel opens his mouth to ask questions, but Bella shakes her head. "I'd really like to take a hot shower. I know you have questions, but I've been crawling in human shit and god knows what else for hours," She shudders, and Angel just nods, noticing her swollen and red hand. "I think it would be best to take you to the medical wing," He offers, and Bella can't disagree. He nods to Spike, who ushers Bella carefully out of the office.
"Broken hand, twisted ankle, mild concussion, temporary bruising around the knees and elbows…" Spike just frowns, following Fred around as she listed off the injuries Bella sustained. "She'll be okay though, right?" They pass by her medical room, cleaned up and sleeping peacefully. "Yes. She will be fine. She'll be on bed rest for the next few days, and maybe crutches or wheelchair for a good month. I'd advise giving her these sedatives at night," Fred hands him two bottles of pills, and he doesn't even try fooling himself to read the names, only the directions. "It'll help take the pain away and help her achieve uninterrupted sleep," Spike listens to everything Fred was saying, nodding.
She gives him a small smile, squeezing his arm before heading back to the lab. Spike just stands outside of her door, frowning again. He didn't know the first thing about taking care of someone. Bella would need help showering, moving around, pretty much everything for a good while, and he wasn't sure where to start. "Okay then," He mumbles to himself, making his way quietly into the room, sitting in the chair at her bedside. "Just you and me for the moment pet," He whispers quietly, her porcelain skin showing various bruising from her rough night.
Bella of course doesn't answer, deep in a dreamless sleep.
That's all for now. See ya!