A/N: New chapter - All can scream now! haha Okay - I'm not really a fan of this chapter. I didn't turn out how I wanted it to, and just wouldn't work for me. Alanna, I'm sorry for the bad grammar in advance. I tried, honestly! See if you can get the lulzy reference I made in relation to James. Some of you who read this story: If you don't get it, I shall shoot you!!! Four more chapters to go....:D Not that I relish at the thought of finishing this, but hey. I'm excited for the last two chapters. R&R people! You know you love me, xoxo. - L.

He stood in front of me, arms folded, legs a shoulder width apart. A lazy smile hung on his mouth, widening as he saw me gasp.

"Expecting someone else?" James leered.

I pulled myself together, throwing my shoulders back. I creased my eyebrows together, and laughed sarcastically. "No, of course not." My voice had risen several notches, making me cringe inwardly.

Rule number one: don't let the enemy get the best of you.

I folded my arms to prove my point, until I realized I was copying his stance. I pushed some lose strands of hair behind my face before putting my hands in the back pockets of my jeans. I couldn't keep still, my fidgeting showing how nervous I was.

"I see you didn't bring your boyfriend along for the show," James sneered at me. I pretended to look confused.

"You mean Edward?" I laughed. "You're mistaken if you think I'm the one going out with Cullen. Urgh," I shivered and stuck out my tongue in fake revolt. "That's Bella - the one you want to kill."

James took a step closer to where I stood, causing me to step back. "I know Edward is not your boyfriend," he snarled, narrowing his eyes. They were black, coal black, I noticed as he leaned in towards me. I held my breath, standing paralyzed as he closed his eyes, breathing me in.

His eyes snapped open, another expression plastered across his face. Not moving, he spoke, his voice velvety and soft, his words dark and sinister.

"I know. Everything. Every little detail about you and your little, invisible friend."

I was screaming on the inside. I could feel my face pale, my throat go hard as I gulped. My heart raced, a frenzied beating in James' ears. I drew my dry lips against each other. "I don't know who you are talking about." My voice was low and coarse, but James heard me loud and clear.

Blink.

James was standing away from me now, his pose mimicking his earlier position of arms folded across his chest. My eyes darted around, taking in the park. No-one was around.

Why weren't there people around? It was a park! I cursed inwardly. With James standing where he was, I could breathe now. My breaths were ragged, shaking my shoulders as I released the air from my lungs.

"It's all quite funny really. I mean, I had no idea that you, Alexandra Fischer of all people, was living in Forks." He took a step closer.

I took one step back. "It's Ally," I answered back shakily.

"You do recognize me. Don't deny it. I saw your face in the field. You recognized me." He was standing close to me again. I nodded my head, scared he would take hold of my arms. Or worse.

"What confirmed it?" he hissed in my face. I kept my arms pinned against the side of my body.

"The - the note. The handwriting. It was your handwriting," I stuttered. I looked up at him. I wanted to say something else, but I bit my tongue.

"He's not here," I blurted out instead. James laughed, shaking his head.

"It's not him I want. In the near possible future, yes, but not right now. You know what I want." I nodded.

"Bella. You want Bella. Then why do you have me here?" I asked, puzzled.

"You are going to help give her to me. It makes for more interesting sport that way, don't you think?" James grinned, the smile creepy and disturbing. I shivered. "Plus she'll listen to you. I can hardly call her up and tell her to meet me now, can I?"

I stared at James. There was no doubt in my mind that he had psychological problems. Major psychological problems.

"And if I refuse to help you?" I queried.

James paced in front of me. Three steps to the left, three steps to the right. He continued pacing as he talked.

"You know, I haven't been to Italy in a long time. It's about time I took a vacation," he smirked.

I gasped in horror. "You wouldn't dare!"

"I hear Italy's very nice at this time of year," he continued on, as if he hadn't heard me. "Particularly Florence. Very nice."

I felt dizzy and faint. He could not be doing this. I covered my face with my hands. No, no, no, no!

"Look at me!" James hissed, ripping my hands off my face. "You help me, or I'll pay a visit to the Volturi and tell them where your boyfriend is."

I felt like I was going to cry, but I refused the tears to spill over.

"How?" I whispered, my voice refusing to talk any louder.

He seemed to know that my question was more connected to how he knew about Robert and the Volturi, not how he would tell them.

"We nomads may travel in twos and threes, but we are all connected in one way or another, Ally," he resumed his pacing. "There was a nomad, a tracker like myself. He was looking for someone, another vampire. A special vampire. At this point I was alone, Laurent and Victoria off with a different coven."

I put two and two together. "Demetri."

James nodded. "Demetri told me all about your friend, Robert. No wonder the Volturi wanted him. A vampire that possesses the power of invisibility? At first I didn't believe Demetri."

I shook my head, unable to believe it myself. But it was true. All too true.

"Demetri asked me to help track him. Indeed, Demetri is an expert tracker, but how do you find an invisible man? I was offered a lot from the Volturi - standing and favour mainly, but that is all a nomad really needs." He paused before grinning sadistically at me. "You wouldn't want to be on the bad side of the Volturi now, would you?"

I had folded my arms across my chest as I soaked in all this new information. "You weren't there though." I shook my head in disbelief.

"Ah, no, I wasn't. I hear it was good though," James laughed. My lip curled up in disgust.

"I almost died," I hissed. I had gone from scared to livid now. I desperately wanted to hit something - James, preferably. It took all my self control to keep my arms folded.

Something clicked then, as the silent pause fumed through the air. I laughed in disbelief. "The letter. You wrote the letter. You almost had me killed." Now I wanted to kill him. Tear him from limb to limb.

"Clever girl. I knew you would get it eventually," he said in condescending tone of voice.

I couldn't wrap my head around it. In front of me stood the man who had almost had me killed two years ago, and now he wanted to kill the person who had become like a sister to me. I looked away, not wanting to see his face.

James sauntered closer. "You will help me, understand?" He grabbed my chin, forcing me to look up at me. "Or I pay the Volturi a visit."

I tore my face out of his grip. I could feel the marks where his fingers had been redden, and I placed a hand on my left cheek. I had to protect Robert. He had protected me for nine years, saved me on numerous accounts. I had to repay him. I couldn't let James hand him over to the Volturi. I would lose Robert - the one thing in the world that mattered most to me. Who knows what the Volturi would do to me. I shuddered at the thought.

At the same time, I couldn't hand Bella over to him. I couldn't - no, wouldn't, be the cause of Bella's death.

But how to get out of this situation without causing harm to either one?

"Take your time," James scorned, faking a yawn. I closed my eyes so I wouldn't have to look at him.

Seconds past. I could hear the noise of people. They sounded far away. A plane roared overhead, drowning out the sounds of the cars on the highway. A breeze rustled the palm trees, creating the only natural sound.

I opened my eyes. "Tell me what I have to do."

It was unavoidable. I loved Robert with my whole heart. I had to save him, protect him from the Volturi.

James grinned, that same evil smile spreading across his face. I blinked my eyes. The first second he was in my face, the next I felt his hand connect with my head, darkness falling on me at the same time.

---

My head hurt like hell. I put a hand to my temple, feeling for any bruising. There was a small bump already. Groaning, I pushed myself up so that I was sitting, my feet tucked under each other. As I opened my eyes, darkness continued to engulf me. I blinked continuously, trying to get my eyes used to my surroundings.

Where was I?

"Nice of you to wake up," I heard a voice sneer. Turning my body around, I saw a man walking towards me. James.

"I would have still been awake if you hadn't hit me on the head," I shot back, pulling myself up onto my feet. I swayed, feeling dizzy.

"Couldn't have you recognize where we are now, could we?" was James' answer. He walked away, entering a small room. There was a TV in the middle, and he slipped a tape into what must have been a VCR.

I took the opportunity to look around, now that my eyes had adjusted. My head was throbbing, making my vision a little hazy, but I did recognize where we were.

It was the ballet studio Alice had drawn, the one from her vision. There were mirrors around the length of the room, the sun shining in. Judging by how low it was, it must have been late afternoon.

James strode back over to me. Grabbing my elbow, he pulled me over to where the TV was. His fingers dug into my elbow. "Do exactly as I say or I'll be forced to do things that you will later regret."

I nodded. He let go of my arm, placing a mobile phone into the palm of my hand. I recognized it as my own. It had been in my front pocket beforehand. I felt an involuntary shudder course through my body.

"You will ring Bella. As soon as she answers, tell her not to say anything unless you tell her to."

I nodded my head slowly. "What do I say to her?"

"Exactly what I tell you to. Remember, say or do anything I don't tell you." James leaned in, his nose touching my neck. I got the hint, stumbling away.

"Ready?"

I nodded. I didn't trust myself to speak.

I flipped my phone open, finding Bella's number on my speed dial. I breathed in, listening to the sound of the phone ringing. James stood close by, holding the remote control to the television.

On the third ring, Bella picked up. James pressed play on the video. Grabbing my hand, he moved it to one of the speakers.

"Bella? Bella?" Renee Dwyer said in the video.

"Mum?" I heard Bella say in response. James pushed the phone back to my ear.

"Don't say anything," I blurted out before she could speak. "Please don't say anything." There was silence on the other end. I looked at James.

Say, Hello Mum, James mouthed.

"Say, 'Hello Mum,'" I spoke. I heard Bella mimic me on the other end. My eyes stayed on James the entire time. He mouthed what he wanted me say next.

"Bella, you have to say exactly what I tell you, okay?" I said, trying hard not to let my voice rise and give away my panic. "Say, 'everything is fine Mum, don't worry,' okay?" I waited, listening to Bella speak my exact words.

There was a pause after she finished, and this time I panicked. I shook my head at James, telling him I couldn't say what he wanted me to. His face turned dark, and I stumbled over my words.

"If you want your mother hurt, you'll do exactly as I say. Say, 'No Mum, stay where you are,' and move into the other room so the others can't see your face."

I scowled at James and he smiled in response.

"Now, listen to me," I said slowly, my eyes watching James as he softly spoke. "I need you to get away from your friends. Answer yes or no."

"No," Bella said. Her voice was soft and far away.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I was hoping you would be a little more creative than that. Do you think you could get away from them if your mother's life depended on it? Answer yes or no."

There was a pause. "Yes."

I wanted to yell out and tell her it was a trick. The look of James' face stopped me.

"Good," I said. My voice was mimicking James' now. I spoke at the same time as him, matching his tone. It scared me.

"I need you to go to the ballet studio. You remember the one, around the corner from your house? Say, 'Yes, Mum, I know' if you remember."

"Yes, Mum, I remember."

"Meet me there. Get away from the others and come as quickly as possible. Do not tell them, or your mother gets hurt. If you understand, say 'Of course, Mum.'"

"Of course, Mum."

"Excellent. If they ask, just say that Renee called and that you talked her out of coming home for the time being. Now repeat after me, 'Thank you, Mum.' Say it now."

"Thank you, Mum." I heard Bella's voice crack.

"Before I hang up, say, 'I love you, Mum, I'll see you soon.' Say it."

Bella repeated my words. As she said them, I realized that I needed to warn Bella somehow. I knew it was drastic, and would probably cost me, but warning her would prepare Bella for what was to come. It could save her life.

I quickly spoke into the phone, jogging backwards as James lunged for me, anger all over his face.

"Oreos and cookie crunch, Bella! He's got me, I'm so sorry." James ripped the phone out of my hand, flipping it shut. I prayed that Bella wouldn't tell Alice or Jasper.

"You really ought not to have done that," James growled. He stalked towards me, and in an instant his hand reached out and struck me, sending me flying.

I fell to the ground. My body slammed onto the wooden floor, causing me to cry out in pain. My head whipped back, hitting something. I couldn't move anything, my body felt like lead. I tried to reach my hand to my head, to check if I was bleeding, but my hand fell onto the ground, darkness consuming me once more.