Edward
"Love you too, Dad. Talk to you soon." I hang up my phone and set it down next to me. Bella's head is still resting in my lap and as much as I would love for her to be asleep so she could rest, I know she isn't. She probably looks the same she did last time I peeked over and looked. Her eyes just straight ahead, not quite there. Can't blame her. I wouldn't fucking be alright if I just saw one of my best friends dead in a heap of corpses.
I hate myself for letting her come back in there with me. We've been up on the roof since our release, partly to gather our thoughts and partly to get some fresh air. I'm sick of smelling death.
She didn't say much once we walked out of the showers. In fact, she hasn't said much since then either.
About an hour later, I see a police car in the distance, off behind the fence. It slows as it approaches, almost like whoever inside is surveying the area. I wonder who it is. Is it Bella's dad? I hope he knows I'm looking after our girl the best I can.
"Bella, it's getting cold. You ready to go back inside?" I ask, nudging her a bit.
"Jessica's dead," she says, in a matter of fact kind of way.
"I know."
"Angela is probably dead."
"I know." I rub her shoulders.
"We're all going to die in here."
"Hey." I pull her up. "You're not going to die. I won't let it happen, I promise." I brush a stray hair from her face and it just hurts how much I like this girl. "I'll get you out."
"Okay." She nods, tears streaming down her face. "Okay."
I pull her up into my lap and wrap my arms around her so tight that I worry I'm going to break her. But I want her to know I'm here. Feel me around her. Hold her together when she feels like she's falling apart. She did that once for me. I owe her that.
When the sun dips below the trees in front of the parking lot, we head back inside. I go to my homeroom and she goes to hers. Emmett and Jasper have a million questions about where the Hell I've been, so I fill them in.
I still don't know how long we were down there, but everything seems to have changed. No more laughing and joking or really anything. Everyone up here just stares at each other like we're already dead. Except for Emmett.
After I tell them all about what we saw, I settle down into my cot, actually thankful for being able to sleep here instead of inside that horrible cell. The lights go out, and our homeroom supervisor slides into her chair at the front of the classroom.
"Edward?" Emmett whispers from the cot beside mine.
"What?" I turn my head toward him.
He glances up at our supervisor and finds her enthralled in a book from the library.
"I think I found a way out," he says.
"A way out? How?"
"Meet me by my locker tomorrow after breakfast. I'll show you." He nods and turns away from me.
A way out? Is he fucking with me?
I flip over on my side, facing the hallway. Across the way, in the other room, Bella is curled up on her cot looking straight at me. I think about all the things we could do if we got out of here. Go on a real date. Have a real first kiss. Feel normal again. God, I'd give anything to be normal. Bored even. I'd take one thousand boring days out there over one day in here.
A million thoughts run through my head. What's it like on the outside? Is it safe for us out there? Is it safe for others to be around us? Even though they let us come back up, I worry that there's more to this than what they're telling us. But the moment I see the beautiful girl falling asleep across the hall, I remember my promise to her. I would get her out. And maybe, if I'm lucky, I'll get out too.
Charlie
I check my phone again, hoping to see a text or something, anything from Bella. I haven't heard from her in days and I'm going insane.
Carlisle Cullen walks through the door of the precinct. He's been doing some research for me and keeping me updated on any news from the kids.
"You hear from them, Carlisle?"
"Just did. That's why I'm here, Charlie." He pulls a folder from under his arm, all of his research and data. When he sits down in the seat just outside my cell, he looks tired and pale.
"Everything okay?" I ask.
"Afraid not. I spoke to Edward very briefly and am quite disturbed by what he told me." He fingers through his papers.
"What happened? Is Bella okay?" I spring from my seat and stand at the edge of my cell.
"It sounds like it. Both Edward and Bella were apparently...detained for a short while."
"Detained? What the hell does that mean?"
"According to Edward, they were taken to what the people running this whole thing called Tier 2 Quarantine, where the infected go."
My heart stops. Is Bella infected?!
"They're both fine," Carlisle says, sensing my panic. "They were released, but he was able to pass along some helpful information. They saw some unfortunate things when they were there, Charlie." He lowers his voice and glances over his shoulder to make sure we're not being watched. "This is a lot worse than they're letting on. They're putting the bodies in the pool."
The image alone is enough to make me want to throw up.
"We need to get those kids out, Carlisle. They can't be kept inside there like animals."
"I'm afraid we might not have much of a chance of that right now. Plus, things are odd around town. People aren't really leaving their homes. It's like ghost town, everywhere except for the area right around the school. Parents are still going down there every day to get information on their kids and they're not giving much out."
"Any update on what this thing is?"
"We're still not entirely sure. It doesn't seem to be airborne. Not now at least. Based on what Edward told me, it does seem to be mutating rather rapidly and appears to be a high fatality rate once contracted. The CDC won't give me any additional information or testing facilities, so that's all I have to go on right now."
"I wish I could get out of here. I feel so useless behind these bars." I make a point to stare at Ms. Larson through her conference room window. She seems to have her shit together but I'm starting to think even they don't know what the hell they're doing.
"Ms. Larson, may I have a kind word with you?" I call.
Her head lifts from her paperwork, sighs heavily, and makes her way toward my cell.
"Chief Swan, what can I do for you?" She asks.
"Can you give us a minute, Dr. Cullen?" I say.
"Absolutely. I'll just go grab a water." Carlisle nods and heads across the room to give us privacy.
"Ms. Larson, what I need you to do for me is let me out of this cell. If you don't, I have more information that can be leaked to the press and I can tell you it's information I'm sure you don't want circulating." I keep my eyes right on hers. "I'm done with this bullshit."
"Try me, Chief."
"I hear there's a pile of bodies in the pool at the high school," I say. Her face shifts. "And from your reaction, I can tell that information is correct."
"How did you come by this information?" She asks.
"Not of your concern. What is of your concern is getting the keys to this cell and opening it before I open my big mouth to the wrong person and you're the next Breaking News headline."
She stares at me for a long time, not saying a word. Not verbally anyway. The glare on her face speaks for itself.
"Deputy," she calls behind her. "Please open the cell and allow Chief Swan out." She cocks her eyebrow. "I expect that you'll be on your best behavior."
"Yes, Mom." I wait for the deputy, my deputy at that, to unlock my cell. Once it's open, I gather my belongings and step out into the precinct. Freedom.
"Carlisle, let's go." I pull my phone charger from my desk and follow Dr. Cullen outside.
The sky is gray and overcast, a perfect mirror of how this town is feeling.
"We can go to my office and talk a little more," Dr. Cullen says.
"I'll meet you there, I want to drive by the school first."
He nods and slides into his car.
As I drive toward the school, I see exactly what he's talking about. The town just looks...dead. All the curtains are closed, no one is out walking on the sidewalks. Even the trees aren't their normal green.
When I'm closer to the school, I see the tanks and the fence and spotlights and weapons. A line of parents dot one part of the fence, holding signs up like it's some kind of protest. We want our kids back. Stop lying. Let us in. The guards have no reaction to their screams.
I look past them toward the school, wondering where Bella was in there. Did she know I was here, just outside? Is she scared? Alone?
"Don't worry, baby. I'm going to get you out." I take one last glance at the school, and then drive away, leaving my heart there with my girl.
A/N: Does Emmett really have a plan? And more importantly, will it actually work?
I will be on vacation next week so I will most likely not have an update out next week. Hope you all have a good week!