This will be the last chapter for a while until I get farther ahead in the story. I might even finish the story before I post any more chapters. I don't know I might end up breaking down and posting chapters anyway. Be nice to me and we'll see how it goes.

BELLA POV

I was growing impatient. I knew my life would be over in less than forty-eight hours. Unless the plan Al and I formulated worked, I would be in the hands of Victoria. That is not how I want to die. I spent most of my time sleeping, or rather pretending to sleep, so Victoria would not confront me. I was intimidated by her enough as it is, I did not need her to see how frightened I am. I felt a tap on my shoulder and I opened one eye to see that it was Al. I felt a little bit safer and sat up to talk to him.

"I've been hearing talk from Victoria. She's planning on killing you tomorrow at noon and changing Frank into a vampire before nightfall. I told her I did not want any part of being a vampire but she simply just said 'Join us or Die.' We need to finalize our plan quickly before Victoria catches on to us."

"Okay Al, now we've gone over this. Bathroom, van, hiding location."

"Right, bathroom, van, hiding location," Al repeated. I sure hoped this plan would work. I did not show any fear to Al because he was the type that needed constant motivation.

"So tomorrow we'll go get lunch, all four of us. I'll make sure Victoria and Frank take a separate car. I don't think they'll disagree, they like as much alone time as they can get."

"As for the secret location, where are we going to meet?"

"How fast can you run?

"Ugh, not very," I lamented not being an athlete.

"Well, then we'll want somewhere close by, but far enough so that Victoria can't smell you."

Oh, no! I did not think about that. I wonder if there are any rest stops near, or possibly a police station. "Al, how far are we from the border?"

"About ten miles."

"Perfect, I'll run there. It will take a while but you should tell Victoria that I had been screaming in my sleep about going to the coast to swim away from here. Maybe Victoria and Frank will go that direction and I can go to the border."

"I guess that sounds alright. Just don't run too close to the road incase they refuse to go to the coast."

"Got it. Thanks Al for helping me. As soon as we get back into Washington I will fulfill my side of the bargain."

"Great, okay Miss Bella, get to sleep now, you'll need all your energy for tomorrow."

I agreed and fell back asleep. I dreamed about Edward and his perfect topaz eyes that melted my heart. For some reason he seemed closer to me than in the past few months. My dream shifted to a beach in Hawaii. I was wearing a bikini that revealed a lot of my pale skin. There standing next to me was someone as white as the sand. Of course it was Edward. On my other side Alice was standing with Jasper. All of their bodies were glowing, except mine. We were playing in the sand and the warm ocean water for hours. It seemed that we were all alone, just a happy family. Edward walked over and wrapped his cool arms around my waist and kissed my neck. All was calm and perfect.

Morning arrived too quickly. Frank came and woke me up by grabbing the roots of my hair and pulling until I screamed. I noticed I had a few new bruises. My eye had turned to a greener shade and it still hurt whenever I thought about it.

"Breakfast is outside, Swan," Frank said in a harsh tone. I followed him outside and found a magnificent feast awaiting for me. I remembered that the whole idea of the plan was to 'fatten me up' so I would taste better to Victoria. I ate the whole meal quickly making it look like I was still hungry.

"That girl just likes to eat and eat," Al said to Frank. Our plan had begun. There would be no going back now. "I think we should make it look like we're going to set her free. You know, fatten her up some more. We should take her out for lunch."

"Not a bad idea Al. How long did it take you to come up with that one yourself?" Frank retorted back snorting and trying hard not to laugh.

"How about at eleven thirty we go take Bella to a fast food restaurant, there is one down the road."

"Okay Al, we can do that. Though we have to have her back before twelve. Victoria is running errands and won't be back until eleven forty-five."

My plan was coming along quite nicely. Even better that Victoria would not be joining us. The next couple of hours flew by. Frank took a car Victoria took the liberty to by him, and Al and I rode in the van.

At eleven forty-five I went to the bathroom, just as planned. I looked around searching for a window. There was no one else in the bathroom so I jumped on top of one of the toilets and broke the window. I hopped out and started running. I was very out of shape, and I hoped being klutzy would not be my downfall today. I saw a sign that said 'US border in nine miles' and I was motivated to run harder. I did not look back and I did not stop. I remembered not to run too close to the road so I ran through grass. I did have a nasty fall after tripping in a hole in the ground. I held my wrist where the pain seemed to burn my arm. If I waited here too long the whole plan would backfire. Holding my wrist I kept running and what seemed like hours later I finally arrived at the border. I kept hidden in a few bushes so no one from the US could see me, but I still looked for Al's van. I heard a familiar voice and I almost ran out of the bushes. I stayed back to identify the voice first to make sure it was not Victoria's voice. To my fortune, it was not. I thought hard for a minute to recollect whose voice I was hearing, but I could not lay my finger on it. Finally it dawned on me. It was Carlisle.

"Carlisle! Carlisle!" I screamed and sprung out of the bushes. "Carlisle, it's Bella! It's Bella, Carlisle, can you hear me?" I did not know if my voice was strong enough to be heard over all the commotion.

"Bella? Bella! I found you!" It was Al.

"Al, there you are, I've been looking for you, thank goodness--" Al cut me off before I could tell him about Carlisle.

"Bella, I have some bad news, Victoria is on her way here right now. She went to the coast like I told her to and didn't find you there. She's heading this way as we speak. Frank just called and he's furious at me, we need to get out of here." Al seemed rather calm, but there was fear hidden in his hazel eyes.

"Well let's get on the other side of the border quick!" Just then more people I knew got out of the car, the Cullens.

"Bella, Bella!" Esme was the first to reach me. "Oh Bella, you're hurt, thank goodness you're alive!" She looked panicked at my condition, apparently I looked pretty bad.

"Yes Esme, I have been hurt while I've been here, but I had a plan to get out of my situation." I turned to Al and said, "This is one of my kidnappers, and my savior. He didn't want to follow orders of Victoria and Frank anymore, so he was helping me get out of this mess. Oh Esme, it's so wonderful to see you."

Esme hugged me, careful not to touch my bruises. Next Carlisle filed out of the car, then Alice, and Jasper. They all hugged me and said how much they missed me. Then, the most important of them all came out, Edward. His entrance stopped my heart, I forgot how gorgeous he was. I felt the blood return to my cheeks and the pain in my wrist was gone for a minute. He walked gracefully toward myself and the rest of the Cullens. He kept some distance between us.

"Bella," he breathed with relief. "I am so glad you are alive. Get into the car, right now." That was a nice greeting, I thought. I've been separated from him for a year and that is all I get? I knew I had to get the best out of how ever little time I have with him. I closed the distance between us and put my arms around him and gave him a heart-filled hug. Al chuckled.

"This must be your Edward. Glad to know someone still loves you."

"Well, that is still up in the air I guess," I managed to whisper.

"Bella," Edward said sternly. "This is to be discussed later, when you are safe, please get into the car right now."

"Hate to say Edward," Al started. "But in order for our plan to work she'll have to ride in my car. Victoria is on her way here and will catch up if we don't break up this love fest right now. She will follow Bella's track and try hunting her again."

"You have a point there Al," Edward said. "How about I ride with you two. I have a lot of things I need to discuss with Bella." I blushed with anger realizing this could end up horribly wrong. I also thought about how poor I must look after not showering for a week, and having bruises every where on my body. The pain in my wrist returned and I felt light-headed.

"Okay, fine with me," Al said. Where should I drive to, is it really wise to go all the way back to Washington right now?"

"Well I'm sure Victoria will catch up with you before then, so just make like you're going to drive back into Washington. Let's go, Carlisle we need to stop Victoria in her tracks. Ride behind us and call me when Alice has a vision about Victoria."

I was now light on my feet as Edward took my wrist and lead me to the van. I winced in pain but he did not notice.