Hello! I am so sorry about the wait. Oh, if you go onto my profile here, you'll see a link to my LiveJournal. It really is helpful. I explain everything especially if there's any problems understanding, tell you when to expect the next chapter, and sometimes even offer sneak peeks. So I'd advise you to go look at it. Alright, I won't delay this any longer.
Emmett's P.O.V.:
I slowed down for a moment, causing Jasper to shoot me a confused glance. I held up one hand and came to an abrupt stop. Facing toward the sky, I realized that Alice hadn't been exaggerating; Bella's blood really was everywhere, pressing in from al sides. For a moment, I tried to figure out her position. Then, I cried out, exasperated.
"I…can't…find her," I said in a voice so low that Jasper, who was standing next to me, had to lean in to hear.
Jasper nodded and closed his eyes. He was feeling all the emotions of the surrounding forest within a five-mile radius. I waited there silently as Jasper was deep in concentration. Suddenly, he let out a gasp and his face twisted in pain and he clutched his chest. Slowly, he raised one hand and pointed toward the northeast. And we immediately took off running, Jasper hanging back because of the pain he was obviously feeling.
It was exactly as Alice had described it, not that I'd ever doubted her. Of course it was. My heightened sense of hearing allowed me to hear faint scratching sounds and whimpers of pain.
"Bella," Jasper whispered but before the word was even fully out of his mouth, the stone that blocked the entrance of the cave was gone and a writhing Bella was in my arms. She seemed to calm slightly after hearing the sound of my voice whispering calming assurances in her ear. She was doused in blood and her clothes were in tatters. Apart from that, it seemed to me that she had been undergoing the transformation for a while now. Maybe it was almost complete?
I shook my head and cradled her in my arms, impatient to get back to my lovely wife who had been recently returned to me.
Mike's P.O.V.:
Ha! Take that you sorry excuse for a vampire! Bella deserves so much better, a whole man…someone like…me. I laughed in triumph as I thought about that terrible seed of doubt that I'd planted in Edward's mind. He really did have a tremendous amount of anxiety over changing Bella and he truly believed he was monster; I saw this with a quick glance inside the inner workings and troubles that resided in Edward Cullen's mind. Stupid, typical Cullen…becoming a vampire was the best thing that ever happened to me.
But enough about that, I won't have to worry about him anymore…
I smirked as my thoughts took on a more pleasant route. Bella would be mine soon, my equal and lover. She would finally be with whom she belonged with. Beautiful, loving, perfect Bella. I sighed, imagining our eternity. I had been wise when I hid her, spreading her blood out like that. I cover up my tracks quite well, I'd say.
Well, that I'd taken care of two Cullens, Edward and that blonde, feisty, horrible excuse for a person, Rosalie. Honestly, I don't know why they even bothered with her. I have to admit that I regretted not being able to watch her tear herself apart but my priorities were with Bella at the time. The physical injuries were actually an unexpected and added bonus. Who would've known that "perfect" Rosalie was insecure enough to let a little seed of doubt completely consume and ransack her mind?
That left five more Cullens. I believe two were already weakened a great deal. The one whose ability involved emotions, Jasper I think, would probably too overwhelmed with that of those around him to be a true threat to me. Also, Rosalie's partner, Emmett, though strong physically, would never leave his love's side now. I'd learned almost immediately that Rosalie was his life force, his sole reason for living so as long as she was how she is now, I don't think he would be so much in the fighting mood.
Keeping this in mind, I decided to check on my wondrous Bella before continuing with any further strategy-making.
Traveling toward the hiding spot rapidly, under the cover of trees and such, I noticed that something felt different, off somehow. This was reason enough for me to increase my speed dramatically. Bella was the central core of this whole strategy. If anything happened to her…
Arriving in the small clearing, I let out a string of curses. The boulder that had locked her in was thrown away and she was gone. Damn it! How could I have been so stupid? It was probably those older ones…Carlisle and Esme. Why did I let them go? I should've finished them all off while I had the chance!
For a moment, I listened intently then heard a slightly abnormal rustling in the leaves several miles in front of me. This being the only lead I had, I took off cautiously after them. Oh god…not Bella. They took Bella!
Emmett's P.O.V.:
Jasper and I rotated transporting Bella in shifts though his were always shorter. If anyone were to follow us, we wanted to make sure that there was more than one trail that could be traced to us.
I decided that Bella seemed to be in the last stage of the transformation. Strangely enough, she was not screaming out as I remembered I had during my own so many years ago. She just made various whimpering noises…almost as if she were asleep and not experiencing the worst pain of your existence.
Suddenly, Jasper pointed behind us to let me know that someone was following. My gaze hardened and I focused on moving as fast as I could back to Rosalie and the rest of my family. They'd know what to do.
After passing her off to Jasper, I dodged trees then went to meet him once again. I carried her now when I heard a twig crack, a deafening sound in the formerly silent forest. Seeing him launch himself at me, I ducked to avoid Mike Newton's attempted tackle. I closed my eyes and reminded myself to remain concentrated on my goal, get Bella to safety. I relied on the skills and instincts I used primarily for hunting to let me run blindly in the forest then.
I heard a feral snarl a moment later followed by a more familiar animalistic growl. Jasper was there. He tackled Mike, catching him off-guard and giving me more time and distance in order to perform my task. As soon as I left Bella in capable hands, I would go back, offer Jasper some back-up, and then take Mike down myself. It would be particularly gruesome, I think, seeing as I wanted or rather needed revenge for the state that my wife was currently in. I did not know if this was reversible but I just needed to hurt the one responsible for it.
Finally, after pushing myself to go faster and farther than before, I was almost at the place where I had left Rose and Alice. Suddenly, Bella stopped writhing. What I saw shocked me enough to slow down and almost drop her.
I continued running, however, trying to focus. When I reached the clearing, I heard a sharp intake of breath as Alice saw what I had seen. Bella was staring up at me with cold, malicious violet eyes.
I just stared at her, in shock. What was going on? This wasn't normal, not at all.
With a quiet, almost ghostly voice, she whispered, "Where is he?"
Alice and I glanced at each other, if possibly paler than normal.
My mind could only register one thing, Bella was awake. I had completed my task successfully. I hadn't failed.
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