AN: First, thank you all for taking the time to read this story. I really do appreciate it!
Thank you to mauigirl60 for editing this long chapter for me! You're fantastic!
Also, this story was on The Lemonade Stand poll this week. Thank you, Six Dlbfive for nominating it.
I just also wanted to mention if you have any questions or worries about the characters just PM me and I'll give you a heads up! I have a plan and I think you'll all like it! HEA, remember.
Chapter 5
Fear is a funny thing. It can be gripping at first and then turn downright crippling. The kind of feeling that can put you into shock, where your body just shuts down on itself. Then, there is the pure sadness that you're a helpless victim which makes you break down in a river of tears. Those are accompanied by moments of rage that make you want to absolutely destroy the one causing the dread infecting you soul.
Bella went through all these reactions to the terror that had her in its graspbut, as she was lifted up into the air by the man clutching her throat, a new reaction overtook her - hysterical laughter, sounding like a wounded seal, due to the lack of air.
'Isabella Swan murdered by model' was what the obituary would read. That would be the most normal part of this mess that she found herself in.
"Put her down, Carlisle!" Edward yelled, running up, almost tripping over Seth's body.
Carlisle shook her in the air, a bemused expression on his face. "Mrs. Black is a regular pretty little rag doll, isn't she?"
"I said to put Bella down!" Edward rushed forward, but Carlisle flew backward with Bella. He shook her again. "Want me to just break her neck? You can cuddle her at night."
Jasper chuckled. "Until the lil' darlin' starts stinkin'. Then we'll just find Ed a new dolly."
Hands going up to Carlisle's, Bella fingers tried to desperately free her neck. He only just squeezed harder. There were white spots in her eyesight and she felt so . . .
"I can't hear her! Bella has one of the strongest gifts I've ever encountered in a human. If you kill her and Aro hears of it in my mind, you'll pay, Father," Edward pleaded, his face full of concern. Who he was concerned for was entirely in question.
Carlisle winced and dropped Bella to the ground in a heap. He clutched his head, muttering. It gave Edward enough time to get to Bella and cradle her in his arms as she gasped for breath. "She can live a while longer. I'm not promising anything, Edward."
Jasper rolled his eyes. "Young love - ain't it grand. That's not quite right. Damn boy, it's like an elderly corpse trying to woo a spring chicken. I get lovin' what you eat, but not lovin' up on what you eat."
"It isn't like that!" Edward scoffed, as he tightened the grip he had on Bella in case Jasper was planning on ripping her from his arms.
"I know things, brother," Jasper said, tapping his temple and cringing. Bella watched with wide eyes. They weren't alive, so why were they in pain? Bella was trying to wrap her brain around this as Jasper added, "Aro's gonna be one pissy mafia boss if that pup's dead."
"He's fine, Jasper." Carlisle continued rubbing his temple.
Jasper kicked Seth, making the boy cry out. The vampire remarked, "Cool."
The fire behind them blazed, as Bella glanced back at it. It lit the horizon with an ominous glow. The home would be ashes in no time. Her mind raced, trying to plan an escape for her and Seth. She wasn't certain if he was part of Jacob's band of murderers or if this was a horrible coincidence, but the boy who'd grown up with her had a kindness radiating from him like sunbeams. She refused to believe that he was a monster like her husband. Bella vowed to save him, if she could save herself, as well.
All of a sudden the sounds of quickly approaching sirens echoed throughout the forest. They filled Bella's ears like a symphony; she was about to scream when Edward clamped her mouth shut. He whispered harshly in her ear, "Do you want a massacre?"
She wanted it only if it left her captors in piles of ash, but she knew that the poor men who were planning on risking their lives to combat the flames were in graver danger than they realized.
She shook her head and Edward slowly removed his hand from her mouth. Bella suggested quietly, "Don't you think it would be better if we weren't here? Those men will have questions."
What she really meant was that those men would be a late night snack if they didn't leave the area immediately.
Carlisle glanced at her with a smile. "Thank you, dear girl. There is a location nearby that we can visit. We are in need of some libations and medicine to soothe our weary heads."
His comment made Bella shudder. She had a pretty good grasp of what those would entail.
Jasper picked up Seth and sniffed him with distaste. "Good thing you taste better than you smell, Benji."
They started to run, and Bella heard Carlisle say, "Completely silent. Intriguing."
Bella prayed.
XXXXXX
She woke up in a dimly-lit basement, curled up in a moth-ravaged blanket on an old mattress. It was damp with the faint musk of mildew. Rubbing her eyes, Bella slowly adjusted to the faint illumination that was given off by a gray desk lamp that was on the floor in the corner of the room. She must have succumbed from stress and fainting was the only rational thought that Bella could come up with for how she unknowingly ended up there. There was loud laughter coming from upstairs. Monsters!
Looking down, Bella noticed that next to the mattress was a can of warm Bud Light and a package of peanut butter crackers.
"Nifty, they're planning on getting me drunk before draining me dry," she muttered. She cracked the beer open, adding, "What the hell!"
Bella shot-gunned it down, barely registering its acidic taste. A skunked beer was a better final drink than nothing, but even prisoners on death row received far better.
Her fingers touched the smooth can as she tried to picture Jason's and Sarah's faces. The way Jason, her little daredevil, was obsessed with chasing bumblebees no matter how much Bella tried to warn him of their sting. How Sarah chewed her bottom lip as she read her favorite Ivy & Bean stories, bursting into giggles when they came up with outrageous plans. She hoped they were safe with the golden-eyed family, but Bella knew that as vampires, anything could go wrong in an instant. Children skinned their knees all the time! One small tumble could lead to tragedy. Bella swallowed back more traitorous tears. They would do her no good.
The melancholy was short-lived when Edward burst in, carrying a limp Seth and dropped him. Seth hit the floor, lying completely still.
"You killed him!" Bella screamed, as she rushed to Seth. His neck was covered in blood. "You are a fucking psychopath!"
Edward regarded her coolly as if she were a small child who needed to be explained the facts of life very slowly. "We're vampires, so it really is the same thing, lovely. Never fear, he's alive for now. Aro wants him and his potent tribal blood. Carlisle and Jasper needed a taste."
Bella wiped the hair from Seth's face. He was so very pale due to the blood loss. Then it occurred to her. "Did you feed from him, too?"
"No, I didn't." Edward watched as Bella pulled Seth onto the mattress, covering him with the blanket. "Pray tell, what is it that you're doing?"
She retorted, "Making him comfortable, you heartless piece of shit."
A washcloth would have been a blessing to wipe his head with.
Edward just stood against a wall, one eyebrow raised. "He's only going to die as soon as he gets to Italy."
"Fuck you!" Bella was tired of hearing his weird, melodic voice. It was grating on her last nerve. For beings that were so beautiful, Bella was certain that their hearts were as black as coal.
"Promise?" Edward asked, but he covered his mouth as soon as it exited his lips. He looked surprised. "I'll be back soon. I have a few things to take care of and then we're out of here."
She glared at him. "I get a paid vacation to Transylvania too, Vlad?"
"Italy, Bella. Let's get our European countries straight. Just Seth and what other members of his tribe they can gather will be traveling overseas. I'll be taking you back to your children."
Bella gasped. Her children! "What's the catch? I thought your buddies wanted us dead?"
"They do, but we'll be far away when they finally regain enough sense to catch up," he stated with a grin.
Every molecule in her body was filling with joy, until she looked down at Seth, his sweating, fevered brow and the dried blood caked onto his skin. It would be a sin to leave him there to suffer. She clenched her hands into fist and marched over to Edward, head held high. "We'll take Seth."
It was not a question. She was going to make him comply by sheer will.
He laughed. "Are you insane? I'm already risking a beheading by helping you and those brats of yours! He stays and we go."
They were all heartless, but she still had to try. "Are you really without any compassion? Has your soul withered up and died?"
Edward cupped her face and gazed into Bella's eyes. Her heart was pitter-pattering, being so close to this former version of a man. He scared her but, at moments like this, he seemed softer. Almost as if he were human. He kissed her forehead, making Bella's thoughts spiral out of control. "Fine! He comes with us. Try to clean him up before we travel. His smell is there to repel us, but just knowing what his kind tastes likes makes it easier to ignore the stench."
"Clean him up with what?" Bella asked, stepping backward.
Too close. What was that?
Edward appeared to be shaken as well. He ran his fingers through that wild hair of his.
"There are some sanitizing wipes in that box over there." Edward pointed to a closed cardboard box near the bed. "Get him cleaned up."
Quickly, she grabbed the wipes and started cleaning Seth when Edward left the room. She was diligently performing the task, trying to remove every inch of the coagulating blood. She flinched as Seth grabbed her wrist. "Thank God you're alive!"
"Seth, how do you feel?"
He winced as he rubbed the wound on his neck. Amazingly, it was starting to heal. "Been peppier, but better now that I can see you're still with us. The kids?"
"Safe." She hoped.
"Dad will be relieved that you're alive. Jacob and Sam have lost their minds. If they think bringing dark energy to the tribe will make them the leaders, then they're nuts," he said weakly.
Bella grasped his hand. "We aren't safe yet but, hopefully, soon."
There was no question that she needed to get Seth back to Harry Clearwater. He was leader of the tribe and, if anyone would know about Jacob's 180 in personality, it would be him. One thing that Bella was certain of was that the relationship between her and Jacob was unequivocally over. Their marriage was destroyed beyond repair.
"Dad and Billy were trying to locate you before the ceremony, but they did something to the tribe. Some of us were able to get away to help you . . ." Seth was trying desperately to keep his eyes open. "It was as if they were frozen like statues. The ones of us who started changing and kept allegiance to the sun tribe weren't affected. We knew that we needed to stop Sam."
Bella was trying to reconcile all these things that were finally coming to light. She'd been kept in the dark for years by people she thought of as family. "You are all one tribe, Seth! How do I and the children come to play in this? I'm a pale-face, which is painfully obvious, since you didn't think I should be informed that my family was in potential danger."
"Billy never thought Jake would be influenced by Sam! He thought Jake's love for you guys would be strong enough. TA sacrifice to the moon demon has to take place in order for Sam to take over. We figure he tried with Em . . ."
It had been years ago, but the memories came flooding back to Bella. Her heart filled with sorrow, as things became crystal clear.
Jason had been tiny. He was obsessed with nursing at all hours and a full night's sleep in the house was spotty, at best. It was bright and early the next morning, when Jason was attached to her and suckling happily, as she watched old episodes of 'Who's the Boss' on the couch. Jacob sat next to her, keeping her company and staring blankly at the screen; he was always good about supporting her after those late nights with the baby. His fingers played with the hair hanging from the haphazard ponytail she wore. The phone rang and interrupted them from their late night Tony Danza viewing party.
"What the hel . . . heck," Jacob muttered, giving Bella an apologetic grin. He picked up the cordless phone quickly, so Sarah wouldn't wake up. "What? Dad? Are you . . ."
Bella watched as Jacob listened with large and sorrowful eyes, not saying a word. She gripped Jason tightly, as she tried to figure out what made Jacob look so upset. Was it one of his sisters?
"All right, Dad. The funeral . . . right . . . call you tomorrow."
Hanging up the phone, Jacob knelt down by Bella and cupped her chin. "Honey, Dad called about Emily. She's dead, honey."
Emily had been her best friend growing up. They played dolls happily together, one dark and the other light, when Charlie took her to the reservation. Emily never treated her as an outsider, but always as a true friend.
"Oh, God! How? Shit! Sam and the kids . . ."
He had tears in his eyes. "There was an accident, a car accident last night. Em and the kids didn't make it."
"It wasn't a car accident, was it?" Bella knew the answer; she just wanted to hear the words.
"No, Bells. We figured that Sam covered up a botched sacrifice attempt. Emily was a full tribe member, so it didn't work." Seth grabbed her hand. "Honestly, no one knew what he was up to until recently."
"Let me guess, someone like me needs to be in the mix." Bella looked up at the ceiling. She spat, "Me and my half-breeds, right? Isn't that what your sister always called us?"
"Leah's a bitch! You know that! You were always a valued member of the tribe!" Seth pleaded. "Sam and Leah have always wanted to be more powerful in the tribe. When the leeches started prowling around and we started changing into wolves . . ."
"I'm guessing you're referring to the blood sucking gang upstairs," Bella stated with a frown. "Jacob did this to be chief. He was going to kill his children for that fucking job!"
Seth weakly squeezed her hand. "And Sam accomplished the deed by killing his own. If he could easily do that, he would so easily double-cross Jake. Leah, too."
"Then Jacob is not only a psychopath, but also an idiot," Bella said bitterly.
"Yes, he is."
Bella tried to listen for noise outside the room, but all was silent. "How did International Male snag you?"
"I'd been searching the beaches with Claire and Paul, but we split up. That jerk snagged me before I could change." Seth shut his eyes. "God, I'm tired."
Stroking his forehead, Bella cooed, "Rest, Seth. You'll need your strength."
Bella watched as his eyes closed and she waited. The walls were a dirty brick, the mortar crumbling onto the dirt floor. It was safer to just stare at it and pretend it was Jasper.
It could have been minutes or hours; Bella wasn't certain, but Edward returned, a serious expression on his face. "We can go now."
Quietly, Bella roused Seth from his slumber. "Hey, Seth, get up - it's time to go."
With Edward watching her struggle, Bella attempted to help Seth upright. "Need help?"
"What do you think, asshole?" she blurted out. Bella froze. He was going to kill them. Instead, he chuckled.
Who was this man?
"You kiss your kids with that dirty mouth?" Edward took Seth and lifted him up, slinging him over his shoulder. "Let's go, children."
Bella couldn't help wondering if he was bipolar. Could vampires be bipolar?
Edward headed out the door and up a dark staircase. Bella's fingers gripped the dirty walls, her fingers touching sticky cobwebs as she stumbled blindly. Her feet tripped on the steps as she desperately tried not to fall.
"Can you please stay upright?" Edward hissed.
"Can you please understand that I can't see in the dark like a cat?" she retorted, her hand grabbing his shirt to stop from falling. "I'm sorry I don't use sonar like you, bat boy."
"You get sassy when you're facing your own demise," Edward stated. He looked back at her. "I like that. Hold onto me."
Seth whispered, "Quiet down! Please! I've been munched on enough!"
"Don't worry, wolf. They're indisposed."
Bella wasn't certain what Edward meant until she saw the men sitting on a dirty and stained floral couch that would look more at home at the dump. An old lamp shaped like a teapot cast the vampires in an eerie glow. Carlisle and Jasper had their heads hanging crookedly, with red eyes rolled back and tongues hanging out of their mouths.
Bella dropped the back of Edward's shirt. "They're high!"
It was like an episode of Breaking Bad.
"They - no, we are addicted to the wolves blood." Edward winced again. "It makes us act differently."
The pieces of the puzzle were quickly coming together for Bella.
"Listen, we need to get started on the journey." Still holding Seth over his shoulder, Edward laced his fingers through Bella's and led her through the door.
"What if they wake up?" she questioned. The idea that they would be more ruthless quickly entered her mind.
"We have two days. They'll be like that after the amount of wolf's blood they consumed." He dropped Bella's hand and pulled out a cell phone. Bella nervously watched Edward dialing it. "Garrett. I need your help."
Bella wished on the stars that this new addition had the golden eyes of the sun. However, she knew she probably wasn't that lucky.