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The first thing I notice when I come-to is that I am sticky, my eyes trying to adjust in the dark.

"Bella?"

It's Edward's voice, right in front of me. I can feel the warmth of his breath on my cheek.

I loose a shaky breath, throat burning with unshed tears, as I close the distance between us.

He clutches me tightly, and it's then that I realize I'm shaking, freezing cold and completely nude.

"I, um, I…" I try to say something, anything, but I can't string two words together and the darkness in the room seems to grow thicker, like a fog.

"What are you doing?" Edward asks softly. "How can I help?"

The timbre of his voice slows my racing heart, the fog seems to fade just a bit.

I am struck with a memory of childhood, crying to my mother that I am burning, the black fire consuming me.

The fog returns, warm this time, as if someone has turned the heat on.

"I think...I…"

"Bella, your eyes," he says with a gasp. "They're...glowing. Silver. Like starlight."

"Like yours do?" I manage, my voice rough. He laughs, his own eyes brightening. I can finally see him.

"Yes, exactly like mine do. We should probably get out of here," he tells me, shedding his shirt and handing it to me.

"I don't know what they did with your clothes," he explains. "Also, you're covered in blood."

"Not exactly inconspicuous," I murmur, pulling it over my head. He smirks and reaches for my hand.

It takes a while to find the door, I keep tripping over...bodies. People that I technically killed.

"It wasn't you," Edward says, as if he can read my mind. "They hurt you and unleashed too much power any of us would be able to control."

"I'm not sorry about it, anyway."

The hallway is so bright I feel like it's going to blind me-it's like a hospital without all the beeping and hushed speaking.

It's silent, our footsteps echoing down the all-white hallway, bloody footprints in our wake.

"Do you hear anyone with your superhuman ears?" I ask and his lips twitch, but he doesn't let himself smile.

"Distantly, far above us. I think we're underground."

"Is this whole place like… for the Faction? Or is it a rental situation? They're not going to get their deposit back."

"Are you seriously trying to make a joke right now?" he breathes.

"I mean, I guess. What else is there to do?"

He shakes his head and tells me, "you've been through something very traumatic, Bella. I'm just...worried you're in shock."

I suppose he's right. Technically I was, you know, murdered but I feel fine now. I feel great. I feel more comfortable in myself than I ever have. I feel safe and I feel strong.

The experience with the Darkness...it never felt scary. Dangerous maybe, but not scary. Not malicious or evil or wrong, just...there. But uncertainty about the Faction-that was what was starting to worm its way into my mind.

"Do you think that was all of them? Like do you think the Faction is gone?"

Edward sighs as we near the door at the end of the hall. "I don't think they'll ever really be gone. But I think we've bought some time-at least for this lifetime. I think they'll lick their wounds and wait for the next, well, you."

"Bought time?"

"Well yeah," he says, testing the handle with his index finger, then pulling the entire door off the hinges and setting it behind us. "Just because they didn't get the big weapon, it doesn't mean that they'll stop looking for whatever they can get. They still want power. They still want us."

I step through the doorway, glancing around. It looks like a parking garage, with a dimly lit staircase leading to the sounds of people and traffic above us. We keep quiet as we climb upwards, cautious and unsure as fresh air starts to hit us.

We step out onto a busy street, voices rising around us, people starting to stare at the blood we're both coated in. It looks like a...mall. An outlet mall. I can see the highway nearby, the sun fading quickly over the miles and miles of fields surrounding the complex.

I can't stop the giggle that escapes me, can't hold in the hysterical laughter and there are tears streaming down my face, creating streaks in the blood. The tears don't stop when the laughter does, and I'm clinging to Edward, silent and shivering.

"So, what do we do now?" I ask, my voice wavering and too high, exhaustion curling itself around my bones and clouding my mind.

Edward smiles softly, pulling me closer. "For now, let's just go home."

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Couple more left of this thang