Previously on Quarantine... Bella is whisked away into Tier 2 Quarantine after Angela displays symptoms of the illness, only to see a familiar face in one of the other cells.
Bella
I've lost count of how long we've been in here. Several hours, definitely. A day or two, maybe. A week, who knows. The only thing keeping me going right now is the face across the room, staring back at me through his glass. The occasional smirk, even though I can see from all the way over here he's tired.
I don't have any symptoms, I don't think anyway. Besides the exhaustion and cabin fever from being stuck in this tiny compartment, I seem to be healthy. They've come in to draw my blood so much that my arms look like I have a drug habit. That'll be a nice one to explain to dad. They take my temperature to monitor any changes, but other than that, someone passes by every now and then, looks inside, and moves onto the next one.
The worst part is the screamers. I've only witnessed two, but that's more than enough for me. It's nearly dead silent until the terror comes. The blood-curdling cries that start and don't stop, even when the suits are pulling them out of their cage and dragging them out into another room. As soon as the doors close, the screaming is gone and we don't see the person back again. I try not to think about where they've gone.
I'm laying on my cot, arm over my eyes because it's too bright in here to even try to fall asleep. Suddenly, my door bursts open and two suits appear and pull me up out of my cot and into the center of the room.
Edward must have heard the commotion because he's standing at his glass watching me with wide eyes.
"What are you doing with her?" He yells. His voice is muffled through the glass, but the worry is apparent. "What the fuck are you doing?!" He pounds on the glass as they pull me toward one of the doors on the other side of the room. "Bella!"
"Edward!" I struggle, trying to get away, but I'm so disoriented and tired and hungry that I'm like a noodle.
I'm taken into another room and down a hallway, and I realize exactly where we are. Down in the basement, just outside the pool and locker rooms.
The suits push me forward and I don't know what else I'm supposed to do so I just stand there with my eyes closed. Are they going to kill me? Poke me again? Run some weird tests? I don't know that I want to know what's coming.
I count to one hundred and sixty-eight before I hear him.
"Get your hands off me!" Edward snaps.
I open my eyes and I see them bringing him down the same hallway toward me. As soon as he sees me, he stops resisting their guidance.
"What's going on?" I finally ask.
"We're releasing you to go back to your homerooms," one of the suits says.
"How?"
"Neither of you have shown any symptoms of the disease." He looks between both of us. "And we need the space," he says, lowering his voice.
"So, we're just supposed to rejoin the pack then?" Edward asks.
"Yes. On you go." He nods to the hall behind us that leads to a door, which leads to another hallway. The main hallway that has stairs at the end that go right up to the first floor and back to civilization, kind of. "Do you need an escort?"
"We can find our way just fine, thank you." Edward takes my hand and we start down the hallway, ready as ever to get the hell out of here. We both push the heavy door open, knowing it will lock behind us as soon as it closes. And it almost does.
Just before it closes, Edward grabs my arm and sticks his foot in the door, blocking it from locking us out. He waits a few moments and then peeks back inside.
"I have to see what they're up to in there..." He says.
"No." I shake my head. "It's too dangerous."
"We might never get this close again to see what's going on behind the scenes, Bella. I have to try."
"Fine." I cock my eyebrow. "I'm going with you then." Despite my exhaustion and hunger, a sudden burst of adrenaline rushes through me.
"Absolutely not."
"You're not going by yourself, Edward, it's crazy!" I look behind us down the hallway to make sure we're still alone. "What if something happens?"
"All the more reason to go by myself. I would never be okay if something happened to you." He reaches up to touch my cheek and is so close that goosebumps spring up all over my skin. But he never touches me and pulls his hand away with an exaggerated sigh. "You're not going to let this go are you?"
"No. Try to make me, and I'll scream like a banshee."
For a moment, the cocky but charming Edwar returns. "This is normally where I would make a joke about making you scream, but I think it's probably not the appropriate time."
I blush. "Probably not." I look down for a few moments to catch my breath. "Well, then. Let's go."
I pull the door open and swoop in in front of him.
"Any idea where we're going?" I ask.
"As soon as I figure out what we're actually looking for, I'll let you know."
We make our way through the hallway and across the locker room, ducking behind the rows and checking around corners to make sure we're not spotted. We don't see anyone until they're nearly coming right at us.
Edward grabs my waist and spins me in toward the showers that sit between the locker room and the pool. I'm pressed up against the cold tile with his body sleek against mine, both of us holding our breath and trying not to make a sound as the two suits pass by the doorway.
It's the closest we've ever been, but we can't speak or move. Either one could kill us, but at that moment I want nothing more than to pull myself closer to him. Even with the strain of the quarantine apparent on his face, he's so handsome that I can barely string my thoughts together. They're more like a knotted ball of yarn than a single, conscious line.
The voices die down, the footsteps fade, and we stay as we are. Limbs entwined, his arms around my waist, chests pressed together, breath in sync. Maybe it's the fact that we almost just died...twice, but I've never felt more connected to a human being before in my life. It's kind of like magic.
"That was a rush, huh?" He whispers, slowly and with a slight smirk. It's not his usual cocky grin, though. This one is more serious. Like he's nervous and vulnerable and unsure of himself.
"Yeah."
Kiss me. I don't care about anything else, just kiss me. I scream it over and over again in my head, hoping somehow he'll hear me.
And he does. Because the next thing I know, he licks his lips and is inching toward me. This is what I wanted, my bright spot in all of this, and it's about to happen. Finally.
Just before I close my eyes. Just before his lips touch mine, something behind him catches my eye.
"What is that?" My body goes rigid, almost like it knows something isn't right. That we're not supposed to be here, and whatever I'm about to see is going to haunt me.
Between the winding pathway that leads to the pool area, I can see a tiny sliver all the way through. The tile and walls, a bright aqua blue, stands out all on its own, but that's not what makes my heart stop.
"Bella? What's wrong?" Edward asks, gently shaking me.
"Th-th-there's...in the p-p-pool," I stammer.
He turns and starts walking toward the pool area, keeping me safely behind him and an eye on our surroundings. We stop behind the last bend before you enter the open space and hide as we look out.
"Oh God," he breathes. "There's so many."
On one side of the pool, piled up like trash, are bodies. Bloodied, bruised, battered, looking nothing like a normal person should look. Had to be at least thirty to forty of them.
I close my eyes, my palms sweating and my heart nearly beating out of my chest. I still see them. But instead of the faceless heap, I see everyone I know and love. Angela. Jessica. My dad. Emmett. Rosalie and Alice. And Edward.
When I open my eyes again, one of the faces doesn't disappear like the others do. Jessica's blank stare is looking right at me from the right edge of the mountain. There's blood over her face, coming out of her mouth and her eyes. I know this time, I'm not imagining it. She's really here. She's really dead.
Edward spots her moments later and spins me back around, away from the pool. "You don't need to see that." He kisses the top of my head. "I'm so sorry I brought you back in here."
I tremble in his arms, her face engrained in my mind forever. I can't unsee it. I can't forget. And I know, even if I make it out of here, that I'll never be the same again.
A/N: *Taps mic* Is this thing on?
You're not dreaming or hallucinating. This update actually happened in real life. What else happened in real life? I got UBER busy. Kind of all at once and unexpectedly. So I'm very sorry for leaving you hanging, I haven't done much writing at all the past couple of months and it's been the pits. Please know that I will never abandon a story, even if it takes me awhile to get an update out, just know that I'm always working on it and it will get updated and completed. But I am sorry for making you wait so long, it was not planned. Life just kind of slapped me in the face.
I hope you enjoyed this update and I very much hope I'll have another one out soon. Thank you all for being awesome and patient!