No matter how many stars I wish on, I don't own Twilight or its characters, darn it! Twilight and its original characters are property of Stephanie Meyer. All original characters (Not many of them, but the few that are here) are the result of too many late nights and too many energy drinks! :) Take care all! ~AD
Chapter 9
The house looked like a bomb had gone off.
Windows were shattered, the doors had been ripped from their hinges, and not a single piece of furnature was left whole. Gabe, now in human form, and I rushed through the house, but finally had to face the fact that no one was home. Gabe was frantic, still searching the house when I took out my phone and started making calls. First to Jacob's cell phone that went to voice mail, and then to his wife, Catherine.
My conversation with her was brief and to the point. There was trouble. Gabe was fine, but Jacob was missing. We were going to find him, but she needed to go pick up the younger children, Reese and Marie, and go somewhere safe.
"No, don't go to my house," I said, emphatically. "If they know about Jacob, they might know where I live."
Once the call ended, I grabbed Gabe and gave him a shake. "Calm down. You're no good to me or your dad like this. We'll find him."
He swallowed hard a time or two, then nodded.
The pack started arriving moments later. Jason came in first.
"The blood-sucker's dead," He reported. "Gwendolyn and Lilah are staying behind to keep an eye on the fire, but everyone else is on their way back."
"Good," I said. I forced myself to stop and think. Gwen and Lilah were the two newest wolves, the least experienced, and if they were still at the site, that left me with 16 wolves.
I looked at the faces in front of me, ranging in expression from somber to frightened, and realized that we'd need help. Russell was the oldest at 19, and Chris was the youngest at 15. Everyone else averaged out at around 17.
Christ, I thought. They're all just kids.
I couldn't ask them to do this, not with one of their own already in danger. We needed help, and there was only one other place I could think of to turn to for help. I took out my phone, and called the information directory.
"Hello, I need the number for Carlisle Cullen...Sorry, I meant Carlisle Williams," I said. "Yeah, go ahead and connect me."
The phone rang for what felt like forever. In reality, it probably only rang three or four times when it was finally answered by Esme's cheerful, "Hello."
"Esme, this is Bella," I said, figuring that it was pointless to use my new name. "I need your help."
Time had slowed to a limping crawl.
Esme assured me that they'd all meet at the border of the reservation's land in minutes, but I was beginning to feel panic set in.
Jacob hadn't shifted into wolf form for years. He'd made the decision to age and die with his wife, and I couldn't fault him for that...But damn, I hoped he was able to protect himself against Victoria and the unknown vampire, Alexandre.
Fianlly, I spotted the now familiar vehicles racing up the highway, stopping at the turnoff to the reservation. I ran to meet them.
I'd asked Esme for help, giving her a fast summary and she'd thankfully asked no questions. She'd pulled the "kids" out of their classes, Carlisle had given some excuse at the hospital, and here they all were.
"Bella," Carlisle said, leading his family to meet me. "Where would you like us to start?"
"Thank you," I said, feeling a little of the weight lift off of me. The Cullens were much more experienced at tracking and fighting. They'd help find Jake. "His house this way." I led them to the house where the Pack was still waiting impatiently.
The Cullens made quick work of searching the house, and were back outside in a flash.
"It's definately Victoria," Carlisle said. "There were two others with her."
I nodded. "That fits with what we were told."
"Speaking of what you were told," Emmett said, cracking his knuckles, "What happened to the other guy?"
"He's ash," I said, bluntly. "Up North."
He raised an eyebrow at me, "I knew you'd be a badass."
I ignored that. I wasn't ready to joke around with Jacob missing.
"Can you help me find them?" I asked, focussing once more on Carlisle.
"Of course," He assured me.
"This would be easier if I could see," Alice complained.
"So we do this the old-fashioned way," Edward said, turning to the mountains to the west. "Let's go."
As a group, with 16 young wolves following behind us, we started the trek to the mountains.
Chapter 10
We started going West, but ended up looping around to the North. We ran through the forrested areas, and finally it started thinning out as we got into the higher altitudes.
Massive caves were everywhere, and I began to worry that if Jacob had been taken to a cave, we'd never be able to find the right one.
Abruptly, the Cullens stopped. The wolves and I followed suit, as soundlessly as possible.
Again, I cursed the lack of tracking training or experience. Sure, I knew enough to find food, but what I really needed now were the skills to save someone I loved, and I was useless. We'd all stopped, but I had no idea why.
There may be no love lost between the Cullens and myself, but I had to admire the way they worked so well together. They'd tracked Victoria this far, moving with the grace and instincts that only many (many, many) years of working together can accomplish. It was almost as if they were a single being.
They turned towards a large cavern ahead of us, and entered slowly.
I told the pack to watch our backs, and stay outside. Hopefully, they'd listen to me...I didn't think I could continue with this if I had to worry about more people in danger. I had enough to worry about with Jacob.
We made our way, slowly, through the twists and turns of a cave network that seemed to go on forever. In the back of my mind, I was wondering if I'd be able to find my way back out again. The tunnel narrowed until we had to proceed single file, the opened into a large domed cavity with a small opening in the top leading outside.
Just enough light had been let in from the open top for me to see Jacob sprawled in the center of the room. I couldn't tell if he were consious or not, but I could hear his heart beat and the air rush in and out of his lungs. He was alive.
I walked forward, ahead of the Cullens and shouted into the darkness. "Come out you coward!" I put as much anger and distaste into my voice as possible, trying to goad her into showing herself.
The Cullens slowly made their way towards Jacob, and I just kept shouting into the dark.
"What? You're so big and bad that you can only get your kicks by hurting one old man?"
Jacob was going to kill me later for that 'old man' comment, but I didn't care.
Edward and Emmett had slung Jacob's arms over their shoulders, and were carefully making their way back to the group.
Damn it, I thought. Where is she?
"Aww, what's the matter?" I was never fast with the creative taunts, but I had to get her out in the open. It had to end. "Don't want to end up like every other vampire you've been with? They're all dead, you know. They're dust." I wandered a little farther in to the center of the room. "That's some ability you have. Self-preservation, isn't it? You just keep living, while everyone else around you dies."
Nope, not good enough. "Now I wasn't around for Laurent. After he bit me I was a little busy elsewhere...But Emmanuel, wow, those flames are still burning."
Still nothing. Time to jab in the one place I knew would hurt her. "And then there was James. He wasn't as tough as he appeared..."
That one brought her out. One moment I was alone, the next I had a snarling redhead glaring at me from across the cavern.
"Ahh, there you are. I was thinking that you didn't want to play." I sneered.
"Playtime's over, little girl," She growled.
"This has been coming for a while," I said, getting low to the ground. "You're mine."
"Sure," she said, her voice ringing softly. She'd always had this clear, almost child-like voice that was such a contradiction to her fierce, fiery appearance. Her orange hair almost seemed to glow in the darkness, those blood-red eyes of hers taking in everything around her. "And I'm sure the Cullens here would just love that."
"Not their choice," I said. "Not their fight. You've tracked me, tried to have me killed several times, you're the reason I'm a vampire and now you've attacked the one person left on the face of the planet that I give a damn about. Them, help me? Nah," I smiled. "I don't need them. You're all mine."
She charged me then, and I threw myself forward to meet her. She swiped at my head, and I tried to kick her in the ribs. We backed off and circled each other slowly, each of us trying to assess the other.
She was definately more graceful, and I wasn't trained...but I also didn't follow any combat rules, and it seemed to keep her off balance.
The Cullens spread out in a circle around us, prepared to finish her off if I said the word. I had meant it when I said that this fight was just her and I...but if I didn't survive, I was counting on them taking her out.
There was a sudden commotion behind me, but I couldn't turn to see what it was. I assumed that a wolf or two had come to see what was going on, but I couldn't spare a glance.
I worried when Victoria suddenly smiled. "It's done."
Involuntarily, my glance flicked over to where the cullens were fighting a second vampire. Victoria pounced then.
For the second time that day, I found myself face down in the dirt with a vampire on my back. Roughly, she grabbed a handful of my hair, forcing me to look up at the fight going on.
No, it wasn't the fight she wanted me to see. It was Jacob. He'd been unconsious before, but he'd looked fine...Now he looked beaten, almost as if he'd been broken.
How stupid of me to have forgotten the second vampire. Victoria was too much of a coward to fight alone. Somehow he'd gotten the drop on us.
I let the anger that I'd try to keep contained loose. All the rage the I'd built up from being forced into this life, watching as one loved one after another died bubble up to the surface. The pain and lonliness that I'd suffered because of this psycho bitch hit me, and all I could think about was making sure that it ended with me.
She wouldn't get the chance to hurt anyone else.
I braced my hands and feet under me and leapt straight up. I was braced for the impact, but Victoria was in an odd position on top of me, so she was caught unawares when the celling suddenly rushed to meet her. The impact broke her grip, and I was able to roll away when we both hit the ground again. I didn't give her a chance to get up. As soon as my feet were under me, I rushed at her. She got to her feet and tried to catch me, but I just ducked and went through her into the wall. The impact brought dust and small fragments down from the opening in the ceiling, effectively blinding and dazing Victoria.
I saw my opportunity and grabbed two big handfuls of that lovely red hair and wrenched as hard as I could. With her body pinned to the wall by mine, she had no room to maneuver to soften the twist, and her head came off like one of those bad mannequins in the low budget zombie movies.
I moved back a step and let her body fall, still holding her head and let out a breath.
One minute we were fighting, the next it was over. Victoria lay broken at my feet.
"Bella," Carlisle called. "Come here."
I turned; forgetting the severed head in my hands for the moment, then tossed it across the cavern and ran to where Carlisle knelt at Jacob's side. I reached out and took his hand, "Jake?"
I could hear a high-pitched wheeze with every breath that he took, and realized that his breathing was ragged and not at all regular. His heart missed a beat.
"Jake?" I asked, frightened now. "No, damn it. You can not leave me."
"Sorry, Bells," He said in a rough whisper. "Don't think I can...Help this one."
"Carlisle," I looked at the Cullen partiarch. "Please."
"Bella, I can't do anything here. He's not healing as he should. He's got a punctured lung, a few broken ribs, and probably more internal bleeding, but I don't have any of my equiptment with me. Even if I did," he put a hand on my shoulder, "We wouldn't be able to get him off the mountain in time."
I was shocked, "So, what? He's just going to die? You'll just stand here, and let him die?"
I looked at the rest of the Cullens, and none of them would meet my gaze.
"Not their fault. Not yours," Jake said, coughing and wincing.
"Can you change?" I asked him desperately. "Maybe you could heal that way."
"Can't. Been too long."
"We'll get you some help," I said, trying to keep myself together. I was going to get him help or die trying. "I'll get you down this mountain myself, if I have to."
"You won't have to," Edward said, stepping forward. "We'll help."
In a blur, they were heading back out the caves. I wasn't sure what they were up to, but they'd be back.
They had to come back, I thought frantically.
There was a soft whine, and I looked up to see Gabe standing in the doorway. I motioned him to come closer.
He moved forward to lay at his injured dad's other side.
"This isn't bad," I said, not sure who I was comforting; Jacob, Gabe or myself. "What about when you were getting ready to change and thought you had some funky flu bug? The night we went to the movies? You looked really bad then. And the first time I caught a wiff of you after I turned. By all that's holy, man, I am so glad I got used to that smell!"
Jacob chuckled and it was accompanied by a strange rattling sound. A sudden blossom of red appeared at the corner of his mouth, sending a sweet metallic scent into the air.
Blood.
Damn it.
"Where are they?" I asked myself. "Surely they wouldn't just disappear...again!"
No sooner had that thought crossed my mind, then the Cullens returned. Edward and Emmett were each carrying a roughly 7 foot long piece of wood, about as big around as my arms. Behind them, the others that came in carried tarps and rope that they must have found in a house or cabin near by.
They worked together, forming something that looked like a stretcher. Thank the Gods.
"Hang on, Jake. It'll just be a little bit longer, and we'll get you back on your feet." I promised.
Once the stretcher was finished, I helped the Cullens to roll Jake on to his right side so that we could get him on the stretcher with as little pain as possible. Even then, Jacob cried out in pain at the movement.
We began our trek down the mountain, surrounded by the wolf pack and moving at such a slow pace that it was a slow torture for me. Every instinct screamed at me to hurry, but each step we took caused him so much pain, we were afraid to move any faster. I tried my best to keep him occupied, by teasing him about things from our joint past.
If I were completely honest with myself, it was to keep me occupied as well, but I was too scared to admit it.
"Remember that little town in Missouri that we lived in for a few years?" I asked. "We were so far from any big towns, that we could go to Wal-Mart and see everyone we knew at once? The hunting there was really good, though."
No response.
"Jake?" I asked, fear making my chest tighten. "Jake?"
"Put him down!" Carlisle said.
They laid Jacob on the ground. I rushed to his side, taking one of his hands. I'd keep him here out of sheer willpower if I had to.
"Jacob, what can I do?" I asked.
"Stop trying to crush my hand, Bells." He said quietly.
I immedaitely let his hand go. "Sorry."
"You never could control that," he said, sounding more tired than I'd ever heard him.
Carlisle was busy giving Jake a once over, but his face showed nothing. I had to remember not to ever play poker with this man.
Jacob's breathing was getting worse. There was a distinct whistle with every breath he took, and somewhere in the back of my brain...in a place I wasn't ready to acknowlege...I knew he was getting worse.
"We're almost there, Jake. Hold on," I begged.
"Bella," He said, turning his head toward me. "I'm not going to make it...down the mountain. You...know that."
"Like hell," I spit out. I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I shrugged it off. "You're the only one who gives a damn that I'm alive. You promised you'd be here for me. There's no way in hell you're going to leave me here alone."
Jacob tried to respond, but ended up going into a painful coughing fit. Gasping for air, he reached out and took my hand in his once more.
He looked at someone over my shoulder. "Edward," He said weakly.
"No." I said firmly. "No way in hell. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt, remember?"
"Edward," He said again, "Please...Take care...of her..." More coughing emminated from him, and all I could do was wipe the blood from his chin when he'd finished.
"I don't need anyone to take care of me, Jake." I said to him. "Just concentrate on yourself right now."
"Bells," He closed his eyes and shook his head. "Please... Let it go. You've punished both you and him long enough…Think of it as.." he paused to take a pained breath "an old man's last request…Watch over all of the wolves…for me."
He gave his head the barest of shakes. He reached out with his other hand and placed a hand on Gabe's head.
I backed up to give father and son a moment.
Watching them together just then brought home the fact that this might be it. Jacob had never been truely sick or weak a day in the time that I'd known him. Suddenly, he was paler and more still than ever.
The wheezing was less prominant now, but his breathing was growing more ragged. His heart stuttered.
"No," I said, softly. "Not here, not now." Jacob should have died an old man, surrounded by his family and hoards of grandkids, and not on the side of this cold, god-forsaken mountain. "Please, no..." I begged...and I wasn't even sure who I was talking to anymore.
Jacob's death wouldn't kill me. The world would keep turning. The sun would rise and fall tomorrow.
But my friend, the only family I had left, wouldn't be here. For no other reason than because he was my friend. My family.
I don't know how long I stood there, surrounded by the wolves and looking over the mountains and valleys below, but when Jacob failed to take another breath and I heard Gabe start to cry I started to run. Not aiming for any particular destination, I just chose a direction and ran.