After Midnight

Chapter Ten

The pain stopped as suddenly as it had come. Frank lay on his back, gasping for breath as Joe lunged for Aro, his eyes murderous. "What did you do to my brother?" he hissed.

Instantly Marcus and Caius had his arms in a crushing grip; Joe was sure he felt a bone crack as he struggled. The pain was sharp and piercing; he groaned and became still.

"How terribly interesting," Aro said pleasantly. "One has some control over it, the other doesn't. Wonderful."

"Should we kill them now?" Chelsea said in a low, dangerous voice. Her black eyes were focused on Joe, malice radiating from them. "I want to take care of the blond one."

"No, actually, this young man could be quite useful…granted, his talents are not as incredible as Bella's, but I suppose, in time…"

Frank, who had struggled to his feet, snapped to attention, stealing anxious glances at his younger brother, still being held in a death grip by Marcus and Caius, his face paling with the pain of his cracked bone. "Bella? You mean Bella Swan?"

"It's Cullen, now, I believe," Aro said lazily, "but yes. You know her? Interesting." He paused, his eyes flicking back and forth from Frank to Joe, then back to Frank again. "But, I suppose we should get to business, what we came here for, no?" He nodded at Marcus and Caius, who let go of Joe. Joe cradled his left arm gingerly, the skin already swelling a bit.

"Let us see what your true intentions were for coming here," Aro said softly, then walked toward Frank, white hands outstretched, and touched the boy's head. Everyone was still and quiet for a while; no one even moved. Frank didn't know what was going on but thought it best if he stayed still. Several minutes later, Aro opened his eyes, which were now filled with hate.

"I see," he hissed. He then turned around to face his people. "Do you remember, friends, the day that Charlie Swan and Fenton Hardy paid the Volturi a visit?" Frank and Joe both looked startled. Their father? "Do you remember, they tracked me down and tried to have me arrested for the murders of thousands of people—guilty, I confess, but still—it is humiliating to have to obey the rules, even if they are your own, and wait until just the right moment to turn the tables and make the entire thing 'disappear'…

"We said we could not seek out these men, we said it was too much of a risk, and would be breaking our own standards. But now that revenge—a sweet but bitter relief—has wandered so willingly, so innocently, into our paths, why not take full advantage of it?

"I know it all now. It doesn't matter how talented that one is. He must die, and his brother as well. Painfully."

"No!" Frank and Joe chorused at the same time.

"Look," Frank said softly, "kill me. Do whatever you want. Just. Let. Joe. Go."

Very slightly, Aro nodded his head—in Chelsea's direction. With inhuman speed, Chelsea, now only a blur, had crossed the room to Joe and barreled into him so hard that his body flew the rest of the way across the room, smashed into the rock wall, and crumpled into a heap at the bottom. He was barely conscious; he couldn't move at all. He knew several bones were broken, but he knew it was worse than that. He couldn't even move the left side of his face an inch. And though he could very painfully wiggle his right fingers and toes, his left side remained motionless. He realized that his headfirst crash into the wall had left him severely and permanently injured; he was paralyzed.

Before he could really even process the thought, Chelsea's foot came into view and stomped down on his face, breaking his nose, jaw, and cracking his skull all in one. He lay bleeding, dying, helpless. Chelsea went for the killing blow…Frank struggled pointlessly against Caius, Marcus, and Aro, already feeling broken ribs and cracked bones, but not caring…But before Chelsea's blow could connect, there was a petrified scream from outside.

"VAMPIRE!"

In an instant, all six people were out the door and running into the streets of Venice, but not before Chelsea could slam her foot into Joe's ribs; Frank cried out as he heard several break. They locked the door behind them, but there was no way Frank would leave without his brother anyway.

He fell to his knees beside his broken brother, not knowing how this was possible, how this could have happened, knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that there was absolutely no hope for Joe. The door swung silently open. Frank instantly recognized the three men who stole into the room and shut the door.

The first, Carlisle Cullen from the pictures, the second, Edward Cullen, from pictures with Bella, and the third, the blond young man who had stopped them in the middle of the road the other day…it felt like an eternity ago…

Carlisle gasped at Joe's broken body. Edward shoved the blond boy toward the door, whispering, "No, Jasper, you can't…go back to Alice, we'll handle things here…"

Frank felt someone gently nudge him out of the way. Through bleary, dazed eyes, watched as Carlisle Cullen and his son bent over Joe, examining the extent of his injuries. Frank could blurrily hear the doctor murmuring to himself.

"Left side is completely paralyzed. Very faint pulse, almost non-existent. Broken ribs, punctured lung, internal bleeding, cracked skull, broken nose, both arms and legs broken…" His eyes became hard as he turned to Frank. "Frank Hardy—how far would you go to save your brother? Would you kill him to save his life?"

Dazed, Frank mumbled, "I would do anything for Joe. I'd even die for him."

Carlisle nodded curtly, then motioned for Edward to escort Frank away from danger. As soon as the boy's ice cold hand met with Frank's skin, he snapped out of his shock. "JOE!" he screamed, fighting against Edward, almost breaking his grip.

Edward was forced to put Frank in a headlock, then whispered, "It's okay, Carlisle can save him, he'll be okay. Let's get out of here, alright?"

Joe's agonized, inhuman wail sounded from within the hall. Although Frank struggled, he was no match for Edward. The continued on.

The rest was a blur. Barely escaping from the city, meeting up with Jacob and Seth and Leah, even sneaking past the Volturi, seemed insignificant as everyone sped away from the panic and chaos. All Frank could hear were his brothers piercing screams.

~Emachinescat ^..^