It was dusk. A black cat ran silently accross the road. I could see its tail erect as it closed the space between the woods and itself. It was timid, and
sly, and yet it was beautiful all the same because it could walk those few steps without wonder. It was living and breathing and it was free. There I was
sitting in this situation and I found myself envying a small animal which, two days ago, wouldn't even begin to spark a thought process such as this.
I envied anyone who could get up and walk to the other side of a room, that which I was not permitted. It is in circumstances such as this that you realize
what you have always had before these moments, and what you long for now.
I hated myself. I hated how weak I was, how utterly incapable I seemed to be, and how Edward would surely blame himself for something that was not his fault.
Mea Culpa. It was I who was to blame. I should have been more careful, but it was too late now, for I was broken and dazed and I didn't know if I could get
myself out of my head and back into reality.
Looking back on the past few days, it was hard to tell whether or not it was even possible for me to still be standing, well not literally of course, seeing as how I was not allowed to move unless spoken to. I certainly felt as if I were dead. As much as I truely feared Victoria, I wanted so desperately to to question her, to ask her what this war is all about, but I could not bring myself to speak to her. I was just a pawn in this game.
We had been driving for what seemed like days, though I wouldn't know. I was not even aware of what day of the week it was, how long it had been since that night I was sitting in the yard, or even when I had last eaten. I hadn't seen Alice since the day she faced the werewolves. It was difficult for me to think of her, knowing that I may never see her again.
A flash of headlights from an oncoming truck passed by us. I was in the backseat, sitting quietly, not daring to move. Jonas sat next to me, his dark stare vividly opposite from the color of his skin. Jonas had become my escort these past few days. I was to do nothing unless he said the word. Noone said anything to me apart from him and Victoria. We had traveled north. My guess was that we'd traveled somewhere into Northern Canada. It was always cold now.
The car began to slow, I straightened myself in my seat. We turned down a long, winding driveway that was secluded in the trees. Up ahead of us I could see the dark outline of a small building with two stories, a house. The large SUV moved easily through the ruts and holes on the stone driveway and finally stopped. Victoria was in the front passanger side. She stepped out of the car and went up to the house. She lifted up the garage door with ease and the driver pulled us inside. I starred down at my hands, wondering what I should do next.
Jonas stepped lightly out of the car and came around to my side, opening the door for me. "Come," was all he said, and I followed him obediantly into the house. It was nicely furnished and smelled vaguely of fresh wall paint. Jonas lead me through the kitchen and down a narrow hallway. "Stay," he said, and I stopped immediatly, waiting for a moment. He returned from a room holding a folded pair of jeans and a gray sweatshirt. He shoved them at me, forcing to take a small step back. "Don't," I said weakly, wishing I hadn't said anything at all. I should've known by then that every action he made was meant to make me submissive towards him. He looked at me coldly. "Walk," was all he said then, nodding in the direction down the hallway.
At the end was a small gray door, it was bolt-locked, but instead of just tearing it from the doorframe, he grabbed a key from his pocket and unlocked the door, holding it open for me. I walked in reluctantly and he closed the door behind me. I could hear him replacing the lock on the door.
It was dark in the room as I looked around, and there were no windows. I waited for my eyes to adjust. There was a single bed pushed up against the far wall and I could see now that there was another door. I tried the handle and to my surprise it opened smoothly into a small dark space. I reached for a lightswitch and turned it on. A bathroom. I stepped into the crowded space and turned on the faucet, splashing water on my face. I winced and peered up into the mirror suddenly wishing I hadn't. My reflection seemed nearly unrecognizable. On the right side of my face there was a large gash running down from just above my eye and down to my jaw. My hoodie was torn and dirty. I pealed it off of me to discover more scratches and bruises on my arms. I wondered how long it would be before Jonas came to fetch me. I needed a shower badly. I got in anyway.
The water, though it was warm and inviting, did not seem to soothe me. The scrapes on my back were painfully irritated from the rush of the water. I cursed quietly to myself and held my breath, letting the water run through me. After a few minutes, I stepped out of the shower and let myself air dry in the bathroom, searching for a toothbrush. I found one in the cabinet behind the mirror and brushed for a much needed full five minutes. I put on the dry, clean clothes that Jonas had given me and walked back out into the room. I collapsed onto the bed and pulled the covers over me, searching for the will not to cry.
I woke a few hours later to sounds of shouting outside. I could tell it was a man's voice. I could hear him arguing over something. There
was the sound of the the door being unlocked and suddenly I felt the need to hide. I ran into the bathroom, shutting the door quietly behind me.
I heard the door open then and I flinched, cowering down into the corner of the bathroom. But the room was quiet outside, and in the next
moment, I slowly opened the door to see what had happened.
"I swear to you Bella, I mean you no harm." It was Aro, his chalky white features clearly visible in the dark room. I froze, locked inside his gaze. He stood up swiftly and in movements too quick for me to comprehend, he was in front of me, extending his are towards my body.
"Pardon me, Bella, but you must understand that my curiosity towards you never ceases."
He reached for my hand and grasped it, holding it there for a moment and closing his milky white eyes. I watched him in awe, trying to guess what he may be thinking.
He opened his eyes again. "Facinating," he said. "And had I not the respect for Carlisle, I would change you right here, but to old friends I insist on being considerate."
I was still unable to speak, I just stood there, trembling until he let go of my wrist. "You truly are an extraordinary human, Bella, and as I said before,
I can only imagine the possibilities."
I opened my mouth to say something, anything, but the only sound that came out was a quiet click in the back of my throat. I was terrified but I needed answeres now. "Where's Alice?" was all I could manage.
"Ah yes, the little one, the mindreader, another important aspect of our experiment. She is in our care, no need to fret over her." He paused for a moment and turned toward the door as if to leave.
"Wait...," I said, "What are you going to do with me?"
He mumbled something under his breath, I wasn't sure whether he expected me to hear it or not. "Be patient, Bella," he said then, "Fear creates danger and courage dispels it." He left me alone again. I sat down on the bed wanting to cry. Why hadn't he given me any answers? How could he expect for me to be patient when all I wanted to do was leave this place.
I was wide awake, and hadn't moved an inch for several hours. My mind was so out of order with thoughts and figures that my heart seemed to beat twice as fast just to keep up with it.
I heard a whisper as the door opened, "Bella?" It was Alice. She raced into the room and embraced me, checking me over for any new injuries.
"Alice, don't worry about me. Are you okay? What did they do to you?"
"Nevermind that Bella! We've only got 30 seconds before Jonas comes back. We really must hurry. Get up, we're leaving."
"How did you get away?"
She turned to speak to me and I saw how dark her eyes had gotten the last few days. I took a step back submissivly as she spoke, "You can't keep me prisoner for too long. I always know your next move, even before you do. Victoria and Jonas are the only two here. Aro took the coven further north. I finished the twins five minutes ago.
We crept lightly into the kitchen and out through the sliding glass doors into the backyard. She stopped suddenly, pulling me towards her. "This is going to hurt."
Before I could realize what she had just said to me her fingers were at my wrist, slicing the skin open like butter. I gasped and tried to pull away. She stiffened slightly, fighting back the urge to feed. I wasn't sure I should move at all. She brought my wrist towards her and put pressure on it. It seemed such an evil thing to do, lathering my blood on her forearms and on her clothing, but as she did this, I felt myself getting lost in her motions, as if she were an artist and the most beautiful creature on this Earth, and creating the most perfect work.
"Bella listen to me." I was pulled back into reality again. "You will run. You will run as far and as fast as you can and you will not look back. Do you understand me?"
I nodded but I wouldn't move. "NOW BELLA!" She nearly shouted at me, I was taken aback.
She shoved me forcefully towards the trees. "Go!" Somehow my legs began to move and I was off into the trees. But I had to look back at her. She was tensed,
waiting for them. They had obviously smelled the blood from the moment she had cut into my skin.
I don't know why I kept running, I only knew that if neither of us made it home, then the other would fail for nothing, and we would both die in vain. With each step it felt as if I was betraying Alice, and yet everytime I wanted to refuse I felt as if I were betraying Edward. She told me not to stop, to run as far and as fast as I could. I could see a clearing up ahead and as my feet pressed into the muddied rocks I could see now that I was reaching the edge of the forest. Dawn broke through the leaves and bled out onto the forest floor.
I stopped abruptly, one more step and I would have run my way to the depths of the ocean. I was high at the top of a cliff and from where I stood I could see easily in both directions that the structure went on for miles. I looked down, wondering whether I should jump. I'd survived such heights before, it was all a matter of courage.
I breathed deeply, readying myself and looking up into the gray sky. It was then that it began to rain. I stepped forward despite the protest of my common sense.
I closed my eyes, "I love you Edward."