It's time, it's time! Halloween time, of course!
October. Cooling air, colorful leaves blowing around, and the sound of bare branches scratching against windows in the night…
I love this time of year. So here we go, Halloween! Twilight and all its characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. I like to play in the world she's created.
Halloween Card – Chapter 3 – The Cabin
Behind her, Bella heard a peal of musical laughter.
"She's on the move!" the man exclaimed.
"Spirit, this one," someone said.
Were they coming? Maybe they would follow her in the car. She would stay on the road where it was easier to see her footing until she heard the car coming. Then she could cut across the field and into the trees. She could always wait there until it was light. They couldn't be that far from the main road.
But shadows appeared on both sides of the road. Before she could turn to face them, the woman called Esme appeared directly in front of her in the center of the road, looking calm and collect. "Hello, dear," she said. "Lovely evening for a stroll."
Bella turned to her left and saw the tall guy standing next to her, his white track suit luminous in the dim light. He had been joined by someone new, a woman with blonde hair. Bella turned right and the pixie was standing six inches away, smiling with those terrifying teeth.
"You're not going to just give up, are you?" she asked Bella.
"No," Bella replied as she pulled back her fist and punched the girl in the face.
There was a sickening crack, and Bella shrieked with pain. Her hand felt like she had just struck a rock. She grabbed it, sobbing.
"Wow! Love it!" the guy exclaimed, clapping his hands and patting Bella on the shoulder. "I wanna keep this one, can we? Here, let me, it'll help your hand."
He peeled Bella's left hand from her bruising right hand and covered it with his. His touch was light, but his hand was cold and stony. The cold did help her hand's throbbing.
"Now, now, don't get attached," the woman said. "Let's get her back in the car." She turned to the new girl. "Do you want to wait her for her friend?"
The blonde girl nodded, and Bella was pushed back into the car. She dragged her hand across the outside before the door was closed, hoping maybe it was bleeding and she would leave a blood trail. There was no blood, but the guy leaned over and sniffed it deeply. "Yummy," he said.
Bella screamed. She slid out of the car and sat on the ground, clinging to the door, pushing her face into the cold metal. To her horror, the woman returned and simply picked her up, peeling her fingers from the door handle and setting her back inside the car, holding her in place while the big guy shut the door behind them.
"Man, you're fun," he said as he got into the driver's seat.
They took off, Bella looking out the back window, not knowing whether she wanted to see Jessica's car or not. Jess would probably wait a few minutes before setting out, telling the story of how Bella's car broke down to the other party goers. Bella could picture her friend arriving on the scene, ready to lecture Bella about her truck. Jess had been telling her to get rid of it for the past few months.
But that would be a good thing. Maybe a group would come with Jessica, and if the worst happened, a number of people at the party would know where Jessica had been headed. Having a blabbermouth for a friend might pay off.
The car turned a corner and the field where they had stopped disappeared from view.
All too soon, the car pulled up in front of a small building surrounded by trees. Bella couldn't see it clearly in this light, but assumed it must be a rental cabin. Her heart sank.
There were hundreds of these cabins, always surrounded by trees so they could be advertised as scenic in the brochures and on-line photos. It might take months for Charlie to track her to this one, assuming he ever did. But she had to trust that he would. They hadn't been in the car that long, so surely this would be one of the first that would be searched as it was close to Forks.
Unless, of course, it was an illegal building, one that had been erected without notifying the proper authorities to avoid taxes or building code requirements.
The car slid to a stop and Esme exited. She was at Bella's door before her own car door had even clicked closed.
"Come inside, you must want to rinse out your mouth. Maybe you're thirsty," Esme said.
The driver, now standing directly behind Esme, peering at her over Esme's shoulder, rubbed his hands and said, "Well, I'm thirsty. That's for sure." His eyes twinkled and a shiver went up Bella's spine.
Esme pulled her out of the car, her hand cold, her grip insistent but not painful. Bella's legs wobbled and she almost fell. The guy caught her before she hit the ground.
The woman opened the cabin door but paused on the threshold. "Your friend isn't very punctual," she commented. "She's making you wait in the middle of the night by your broken-down truck? Tsk, tsk."
Esme flicked on a light and the interior appeared. Bella was surprised. From the outside, the building looked like a run-down hunting cabin. The inside was plusher than she expected. The lights were dim but she could see it was clean, with nice furniture and curtains. The floor was covered with a spotless white rug, not what one would expect in a cabin in the woods.
The woman kept her hand in Bella's back, guiding and pushing her at the same time. Bella stumbled, weak from fear.
She jumped when she heard a low sound, like a growl. Did they have a large animal in the house? The thought that she might be food for their pet panther flashed through her head.
But it wasn't a big cat. The noise was coming from a blond man who appeared in a doorway, his shocking red eyes focused on Bella. He sank into a crouch, his arms stretched in front of him, as if prepared to spring.
"There'll be enough for everyone, we've invited one of her friends," the woman said.
"Jasper, what is it?" the girl with spiky hair asked.
With a roar, the man leapt and grabbed Bella, caging her in his arms. Startled by the speed of his movement, she froze then began screaming and shoving at his arms, kicking his legs and anything else she could reach. He pinned her arms against his chest and swept her up, holding her in front of him, making it harder to kick. But that didn't stop her from screaming, so she kept screaming.
The pixie backed away, lowering her head and averting her eyes. "Oh, I understand. Back away everyone, I'll explain later. Just back away."
The man's growl turned to a rumble in his chest, like a purr. He began to nuzzle Bella's face and neck, then let out a loud growl when he came to her mouth. His touch was reassuring somehow, despite it being cold.
"She got sick, but she's not hurt," Esme said.
The blond man touched Bella's hand, now swollen from punching the girl on the road, and Bella flinched. He put it to his mouth and licked it, purring. It felt strange, but oddly, her hand, though it stung slightly, felt better after he touched it with his tongue.
But it was all too much. Bella's fear overwhelmed her and she collapsed and let go, relaxing against his arms, her last impressions being strange growling sounds and the feel of a rumbling coming from his chest.
When Bella woke up, she found herself in bed, lying against something cold. She tried to sit up but she was pinned by something hard and stony. It was an arm. She turned and saw a man lying next to her, his eyes staring at her. His red eyes.
It was the blond man from last night, the one who had crouched and leapt at her. Last night, he had been dressed. Now, his chest was bare. Looking down, she realized so was hers. She covered herself automatically and slipped out from under his arm.
Cold fingers lifted her chin so she was staring into the bright red eyes again.
She gulped. What to do? She did a quick assessment. Her hand was sore, and she felt like her breath stank, but nothing else hurt.
She reached up to brush her hair out of her eyes. The red eyes across from her never blinked, never left her face.
"Um, good-morning?" she said.
"Good-morning," he said, his voice soft, touched with a drawl that made her flush to her toes.
A smile crept across his face and he lifted her injured hand to his mouth and kissed it. He stroked it as he asked, "How's your hand?"
"Um, not too bad," she said. Why was he asking about her hand? Wasn't he going to kill her? They were both naked in bed, so he was probably going to do something much worse first.
A frown flashed across his face. "What's wrong? Why are you afraid? You don't need to be afraid of me. I won't let them touch you."
"Thank you," she said. After a moment she added, "I really need to go to the bathroom." It was true.
He nodded and she sat up, pulling the sheet around her. She didn't see her clothes, so she started tugging at the sheet. He watched her, an amused smile playing across his face. The sheet wasn't coming off the bed because he was lying on it.
She started working on the top sheet and it slowly slid her way. He grabbed an edge playfully but let it go after a few seconds.
When she finally had the sheet, she wrapped it around herself and went to the bathroom. She stared in the mirror before using the facilities. After, she brushed her teeth with her fingers and used the washcloth for a quick spit bath. How long before they forced her to come out?
Bella opened the drawers and cabinets, looking for something she could use as a weapon. A curling iron would work. It could leave a burn, and if she hit them in the face with it, that could be worth considering.
The drawers and medicine cabinet were nearly empty, holding only a small black plastic comb, a nearly- dried, rolled up tube of Crest, and a bar of Dial soap. Not even cleaning products. There was scented soap dispenser in the shower, but that was about it.
Now that she thought about it, the group last night had looked like models for magazines. That meant make-up, hair gel, hair dryers…all those tools of the fashion trade, things that Jessica kept in her bathroom. They had to have that stuff somewhere.
A pang. Jessica. What had happened to Jessica?
There was nothing in here. She could stay in here to until they dragged her out, or go see about Jessica. Assuming she was out there.
There was a knock on the door. "Just finishing up," she said.
Tucking her sheet around body like a toga, squaring her shoulders and thinking, this is for Jessica, Bella opened the bathroom door.
The blond man was standing there waiting for her, still stark naked. She gasped. Was this it, were they going to kill her now?
He put out his hand, touching her reassuringly on her arm. "What is it?"
She blushed, trying to look anywhere but below his shoulders.
Xxx
Thanks for checking out my story. Please leave a review. They make my pumpkin smile. He doesn't know that Thanksgiving is coming, and that means pumpkin pie….bwah-ha-ha!
So…would you gasp?
