Well, I'm back, like I never left.
"I don't understand your draw to her," Edward ground out between his teeth.
"I don't either," Alice answered with a shrug.
"She puts my teeth on edge."
"Okay, but is that even her or just your general anxiety?" Alice quipped.
"I don't have anxiety," Edward snapped. Alice looked at her brother skeptically. It was three AM, but the darkness didn't interfere with her vision or his. He felt like her bright golden eyes were searing into his mind, even though he was the mind reader.
You're being a twat.
"Alice, my caution has saved us trouble in the past. My instincts have been right before, and they'll be right again." Alice knew he was referring to the wolves across the border.
"You've been wrong before too," Alice replied, while she conjured an image in her mind of the many times that Edward had thought his cars could make jumps that they couldn't. He'd left a Pontiac Firebird twisted at the bottom of the Grand Canyon once.
"That was different!" Alice shrugged. "I don't know what she is, but I don't think she's safe. She's dangerous. She doesn't answer any of my questions. She doesn't offer any indication of what she is."
Neither do we, Alice thought to herself.
"We're not dangerous!" Edward paused. "I mean, we definitely are, but not to us. I think she's dangerous to us."
"I think you should spend more time with Jasper. He seems to be the only one who can keep you relaxed."
"Mark my words, Alice. She's dangerous."
Bella pulled in to the school's parking lot. Her over ear headphones were connected to her phone, blasting the soundtrack to Emmett's video game. She had downloaded it last night and spent most of the night listening to it. She needed sleep, but not nearly as much as the humans around her. She'd run through the soundtrack again and again. It was a masterpiece. "Legend of the Eagle Bearer" was her favorite song of the powerful score, and she vowed to look up The Flight to find more of their compositions. Bella slammed the door of her truck, music cranked up and reminding her of home. She leaned against it, eyes closed, feeling the music flow through her.
Bella sensed a change in the air around her. Something was off. Bella opened her eyes and saw panicked children everywhere. Her eyes settled on Alice, who's golden eyes were wide as her mouth formed Bella's name. Bella yanked down her headphones and the sounds of scared teenagers surrounded her. "Bella, look out!" A kid cried. Bella looked towards the woods and saw what they were afraid of. A bear was charging out of the woods next to the school and heading straight for her truck. Bella sensed the animals' distress. It was sick and wild with the incurable illness. Bella jumped up, landing on the hood of her truck. The bear slammed into it, eyes wild and mouth foaming. Bella scrambled back a bit as the bear stood up, reaching forward. Bella reached out, touched him gently, and murmured, "pigaínete stin eiríni." Her eyes flashed as she came in contact with the bear. His eyes closed slowly, and he fell over, dead. Bella's heart clenched as tears came to her eyes. She hated what she'd had to do, but there was no curing the bear. Every civilization had a new name for the wild disease. There was still no cure for rabies, and Bella mourned the loss of.
Bella took in her surroundings as people slowly came towards her. She was still on the hood of her truck. The Cullen's watched Bella from afar. She wondered how much they had noticed. Who are you kidding? Everyone saw everything.
"Bella, are you okay? Is it dead?" Mike approached from the side, ready to run if the bear got back up. Mike reached up to help her down. She allowed him to, even though the help was unnecessary. He pulled her into an uncomfortably tight hug.
"I think so, Newton. I'm not gonna check, do you want to?" Bella pushed out of his arms. He looked scared. Slowly her group of friends appeared.
"Bella, that was so scary!" Jess yelled, hiding behind Mike. "Holy shit, you moved so fast. How'd you do that?"
Bella shook her head. "I don't know. Just reflex. Scared, I guess."
"I'm glad you're okay," Angela said sincerely. "I would have panicked and been crushed." Bella wiped her eyes. She hoped they would assume her eyes were watering from fear, not from sadness. "It's okay," Angela said, patting Bella's shoulder. "You're okay."
Bella looked back at the bear. "We should call someone." Bella kept looking at the bear.
"It's okay Bella, we've got it." Bella didn't know how long she'd been looking at the poor bear, but adults were all around. Angela pulled Bella into the school by her arm. "Come on, I've got you."
Bella knew this feeling. The killing of an animal for anything other than food always hurt. She felt connected to animals in a way that she couldn't explain to any human, and she grieved the bear like a member of her family. She considered leaving school, but she thought being home with no one but Charlie would hurt just as much. "Thanks, Weber," she mumbled. Angela pulled her into a bathroom.
"It's okay Bells, come on. Take a minute." A few kids tried to come into the bathroom and Angela shooed them out. "I've got you."
Bella sank down onto the ground, her back against the wall and her head in her hands. "Thank you."
"It was scary. No one blames you for needing a minute." Angela looked down at Bella with nothing more than understanding on her face. She reached out tentatively and put a hand on Bella's head. "However long you need, I'm here."
Bella took then minutes. At some point she put her hand over Angela's, just allowing herself to be close to someone while she grounded herself. Bella stood up and moved to the sink. She splashed water onto her face and shook her head, trying to clear it. She dried her face off with paper towels and took a deep breath. "Okay, I'm good. I'll be fine." Angela smiled at Bella. "Weber, you're the best."
"Tell me something I don't know."
"Isaac Asimov is the only author to have a book in every Dewey-decimal category."
"What?"
"You said tell you something you don't know," Bella shrugged and smiled. Bella threw a gentle arm around Angela's shoulders. "Thank you."
"What are friends for?"
Edward murmured quietly at the lunch table while he watched Bella. "No human could have done that. Not a single human alive, or ever, could have avoided that bear. And did you hear it? It's heart was in overdrive and she reached for it and it just died. How does that happen?"
"You smelled that bear. He was done for." Emmett shrugged. "Maybe he just hit his end after hitting the truck.
Edward looked at Alice. They had seen the same thing. Bella touched the bear before it dropped. Edward was positive it meant something. Alice tried to tell herself it meant the human did foolish things. Edward gave his sister a withering glare. He could read her mind, and he didn't agree. Bella was something more than they knew. She was different, and the more he learned about her, the more he worried. Alice knew what he was going to say, and she glared at him. She's not a threat. He huffed.
Bella walked into Biology and took her assigned seat next to Edward. "Masen," she said cordially. Her day had been tainted by the morning, but she was still trying to be polite to the people around her.
"Swan." He sighed. "Interesting morning you had."
"I wouldn't call it interesting. I would call it tragic." Bella sighed heavily.
Edward knitted his eyebrows together. "What do you mean?"
"An animal should never die for no reason. I wish that bear hadn't. It was unfortunate, all the way around." Bella's jaw worked hard as she started writing the date in her notebook. Edward opened his mouth, and then closed it. "What, Masen. What do you want to know." She said it flat, like a statement instead of a question.
Bella's tone threw him off. He didn't know what to say. She seemed in pain. She seemed hurt. She seemed like today she didn't have time or patience for him. She hadn't come to the lunch room, and he hadn't missed that fact. Edward surprised himself when he said, "Are you okay?"
Bella looked at him, and he would have sworn her green eyes flashed white. "I'll be okay. I'm sad. I'm shaken. I didn't expect a bear with rabies to charge me today."
"How did you know he had rabies?"
"What else could it have been?" Bella asked as she looked back at her notes. "I've never known a healthy bear to charge a crowded parking lot, have you?"
Edward looked on edge. "No, I haven't. He looked crazed, but I didn't think you could see that from where you were."
The teacher began the lecture, but Bella kept her eyes on Edward. "What do you mean? Could you see something I couldn't?"
"No, definitely not." Edward started writing in his notebook so hard he tore the paper. He huffed then turned the page. Bella watched the boy. His hair stood far too tall, and he wasn't breathing nearly as often as he should. She watched him for half the class before he finally murmured, "Stop looking at me. It's unnerving."
Bella looked back at her notebook and didn't look at Edward again. He abandoned his chair as soon as class ended, leaving his pencil behind.
After school Bella walked slowly to her truck. She stood in front of it and looked at the front bumper. You couldn't even tell a bear had collided with it this morning. Bella's throat choked up and she felt like she might throw up. Angela swept into Bella's space. "Come to Port Angeles with us." Bella looked up and saw Jessica and Lauren standing by an old white Mercury. It was definitely newer than Bella's truck, though Bella didn't like it as much. "You're alone, right?" Angela murmured. "I don't want you to be home alone. We're just going clothes shopping. Come on."
Bella considered Angela. "Okay, Weber, but only because I need some new books. Can I stop home and feed my dog first?"
"Of course, we'll follow you!"
Bella drove home and fed Charlie. He came bounding out to meet the girls, ecstatic to have company. All three girls jumped out of the car to meet the huge hound. They were all amused by him. Bella fed him and sent him back into the house, much to his chagrin. The ride to Port Angeles was about an hour. Bella sat in the back and politely answered questions when they were asked. Bella really liked Angela, but she wasn't too sure about Lauren and Jessica yet. She'd met a lot of women like them in her lifetime, and they often grated her nerves.
In Port Angeles, however, Jessica and Lauren cast an entirely different aura than they did at school. They were warm and welcoming. "Bella, do you like this sweater?" They asked while holding it up to the woman's tall frame. "You'd look really good in this!" Lauren looped her arm through Bella's, saying, "I'm really glad you weren't hurt today," before releasing her and heading off to look at different pants. She wondered if she had misjudged them. Angela watched with a small smile on her face.
"They're always like this outside of school," Angela said when she and Bella were waiting for Jess and Lauren outside the dressing rooms. "They act one way, but they're both super sweet. They've been kind to me my whole life."
Jessica and Lauren came out of the dressing rooms at the same time, wearing the same outfit. All four of them laughed. "I'm buying it!" They both declared at the same time, and the girls laughed harder. Before they knew it, it was eight pm.
"Let's get dinner!" Angela said, rubbing her stomach.
Jessica froze. "I need to go in here." Jess was staring at the only clothes shop they hadn't gone in tonight. Bella rolled her eyes, but Angela looked inclined to follow them.
"I'm pretty sure there's a book shop up here," Bella said, pointing up the street. "How about I go check it out and you guys stay here?" They made plans to meet back up in an hour. Bella watched her friends disappear, a small smile on her face. They were good-hearted people, all three of them.
Bella was lost in her thoughts as she made her way down the mostly quiet streets. She looked at her phone, wondering if she had missed the book store she was looking for. The buildings around her seemed to be interfering with her GPS. Why couldn't it be a Barnes and Noble? Those were visible from a mile out. Bella passed a bar. A sign out front said happy hour was 6-8. There were a few men outside who looked like they had partaken in happy hour every night for the last month. They were sloppy, two of them holding up the third. The fourth man looked at her with hungry eyes. Bella didn't pay them any mind. She continued on confidently, knowing she'd find the book store soon.
After about five minutes, Bella realized the streetlights were spaced further and further apart. She was lost. Footsteps echoed behind her, and she knew she was being followed. It didn't concern her; she could take care of herself. Bella continued on at a lazy pace. She checked her phone, which told her it was 9:00. She only had thirty minutes. She should turn back if she had any hope of meeting her friends on time. Bella turned a corner, sure that she could cut back to the streets she had vacated this way. As soon as she turned the corner, she saw what had happened. She was being corralled. In front of Bella stood two men. One of them stumbled, clearly intoxicated. She finally looked behind her and saw two more men. She stepped toward the first two, seeing an alley on her left. She darted into it, looking for safety. Instead, she saw two more men at the end, waiting for her. Bella strode confidently into the alleyway. About halfway through she paused. Men penned her in at each side, cornering her like a wild animal.
"So," Bella said loudly, "What's the plan here?"
The men leered at her. They all seemed excited. One of them could barely stand, but he stumbled forward. It looked like he was hoping to get a piece of the action. Bella wondered how many times they had acted out this exact scene, and how many young women had been hurt this way. One of them laughed. He carried himself like a ring leader. "If you don't struggle too much, this will be over quickly."
"Well, you know," she said quietly, "I've never been one to just quit." The men approached quickly from both sides. Bella sighed heavily. "I don't recommend you do this. You won't like what happens." She rolled her shoulders. "It's already been a long day, and I don't recommend you push me."
The men kept coming. The ringleader laughed again. "Don't worry babe, let us help you relax."
"You guys don't want to do this," Bella said loudly, confidently, making sure they all could hear her warning. The laughs coming from them told her they didn't take her seriously. "Okay, but I warned you." They all closed in on her. Some of them reached for her, while the ringleader started to undo his belt. Bella took a deep breath before she let the power of her family flow through her. Bella withdrew a pocket knife from her back pocket. She preferred more sophisticated weapons, but this would have to do. She flipped her knife out of its handmade sheath and prepared herself. As soon as the first man put his hands on her, Bella began.
The first man that touched Bella lost his hand. She kicked him quickly, and he fell down, holding tight to the place his hand had been. The man behind her who attempted to wrap her up felt the knife bury itself in his stomach and twist. Two more men tried to fill his place. The ringleader held back, watching things go wrong. Bella stabbed a man in the groin, knowing he wouldn't recover. The next man turned to run, and Bella slit both his Achilles' tendons. She pushed him forward. He laid on the ground, crying. The fifth man was the most intoxicated. He covered his face, crying. Bella passed him to pursue the ringleader, who screamed. Bella caught him easily. She wrapped a hand around his mouth and slit his throat. She dragged him back to the drunk man with her. The ringleader gasped his last breaths as Bella pulled him with her back into the alley. He left a trail of blood behind him. He stopped moving, and she dropped his corpse. Bella stood over the drunk man, wondering what she should do. He whimpered on the ground. She knew what he was intending to do, but she wondered if he could be redeemed.
"Bella?" A small, musical voice called. Bella looked to the end of the alley, her bright pale eyes shining. At the end of the alley was Alice, her gold eyes shining. She looked down at the carnage around Bella. "Bella, are you okay?"
Bella tilted her head, struck by the question. Alice had asked if she was okay, though there were five injured or dead men around her, while the sixth laid at her feet crying. As Bella watched, Alice's eyes got darker. She couldn't figure out what was wrong with Alice, but the smaller woman seemed to be trying not to breathe. "I'm fine Alice." Bella looked at the man. She tucked her knife in her back pocket, deciding the sixth man had suffered enough. "They were going to-" Bella paused.
"I know," Alice said, using as little breath as she could. "Bella, please get in the car." Alice opened the passenger door of a yellow Porsche. Bella hadn't noticed it right away. "Please, let me take you home." Bella looked at Alice. Alice seemed dangerous. Maybe not to Bella, but definitely dangerous in some way. Bella stood up straight, looking the smaller woman up and down. "I'm not going to hurt you, Bella."
"I know, Little Cullen. But how do you know I'm not going to hurt you?"
"I don't. Get in the car and tell your friends you're safe. We need to get away from here."
Bella regarded Alice for a moment longer before getting into the car obediently. She stared out into the night and watched the forest fly by, not realizing how fast they were driving until Alice pulled over on the side of the road.
Oh, snap. Next chapter, the reveal? Maybe, I haven't decided yet.
I'm not going to lie, I wrote this whole chapter drunk. I'll be back tomorrow to review it.
Review!