Chapter 6
Their captors lead them along a narrow dirt track, the forest pressing in on all sides. Rain up in the mountains had turned the dirt to mud which clung to their shoes. It made walking all the harder and after the first few hundred feet, Bella tripped. Edward had been too focused on their guards, particularly the one walking right behind them. It was only Bella's sharp cry of pain as she landed on all fours that pulled his attention back. He'd let go of her for only a moment, but apparently that had been enough.
He pulled her up immediately, noting that her legs and arms were now caked in dark brown mud. If the cut on her leg wasn't infected from the dirt on the road, it certainly was now.
'I'm alright,' she whispered to him.
The gunman behind them shoved Edward on the shoulder. He was not budged by the sharp movement, of course, but the man made no outward sign that he had noticed. Edward took the hint however, gently urging Bella forward while making sure he had a tight grip on her arm in case of further falls.
It started to rain. It wasn't heavy, and most of it was caught amongst the dense trees above their heads, but as they continued to move ever upwards along the path, the raindrops became heavier. By the end of the first hour it was pouring down and the temperature was dropping. Bella started to shiver.
Suddenly the forest disappeared below them. The path had taken them to the edge of a sharp decline. A hundred feet or so below them, nestled in the trees, was a small encampment. Edward could make out what looked like five buildings clustered around an open space. Around it all was a high wooden fence. It was a typical hideout for the gun and drug smugglers that inhabited the reaches of South America's wilderness. And Edward knew it was a very long way from help.
He kept one hand on Bella, but his eyes scanned in all directions as they were lead down a carved path, complete with stone steps, to the camp below. As they entered it, the inhabitants stepped away from buildings to observe them. Their captors exchanged words with the other men – there were no women in sight – in sharp tones. Edward counted seven other men besides the ones that had taken them from the bus; he knew there could be more as well.
Across the camp was a simple one room shack to which they were led. A heavily locked door was opened and one by one they were shoved inside. The room had no windows and the only light filtered in through the small gaps in the wood siding and roof. It was damp and cold inside, just as it was outside. The floor was rough wood beams suspended a few feet above the ground.
And then the door slammed shut, the lock was drawn tight and they were left in near-darkness, except for Edward.
Immediately he moved Bella to the wall and eased her down. In an empty shed there was no way to get her dry or warm and both of those would become very real problems very quickly. Instead, Edward pulled off his outer shirt, still wet from the rain, and began to clean the mud from her limbs as well as he could. He used his equally wet undershirt to clean the deep cut. It was still sluggishly bleeding and though not serious, it needed stitches to keep it closed. Stitches and disinfectant and antibiotics. There was no doubt in his mind it was infected.
Bella sat silently through it all, except for the occasional chatter of her teeth. She was trembling, but Edward didn't think it was entirely from cold. She was half in shock, if not more so. When he was done cleaning her up he sat down beside her with his back to the wall. Not daring to let their skin touch and add to the coldness, he simply grasped her hand.
Bella turned wide eyes on him. 'Edward?' she whispered.
The other prisoners had settled against other walls. The German man who had been shot was sitting in one corner while his friend used strips of damp shirt to bind the wound. Edward knew he should have a look at it but, just like with Bella, there wasn't really anything to be done. The smell of blood was sharp in the room, but he ignored it. Still, it was a good thing he had hunted so recently.
'Edward?' the quiet voice beside him whispered again.
'I'll get us out of this. I promise.'
He watched her gaze flicker around the darkened room. 'Them too?'
Edward shut his eyes, trying for a moment to block it all out. Alice, please, he pleaded silently. 'Yes, them too.' And he knew that he would keep that promise. He knew Bella needed him to.
He needed to find a way out. He could get them back to the highway easily; the path was fairly obviously, but more than that he could follow the scent of humans, even if it continued to rain heavily. The path was well used, and the old scents of the kidnappers had been obvious. No, getting back to the highway wasn't a problem, but getting out of the camp was. The wooden fence was high enough to pose a problem for the humans. Edward tried to weigh the scenario. With only thirteen men in camp, he could easily take them all down. Once night fell, some of them would sleep, secure in the knowledge that their prisoners were behind a locked door. The lock would pose no problem to Edward's strength and he could incapacitate all the men before any of them could get near the other captives. As long as no more men showed up in camp, at least. He was fast, but dealing with even two dozen men before someone got trigger happy could be a challenge.
He was not worried about revealing himself to the other prisoners. They would be so happy to be free, they wouldn't care how it had happened. An hour back to the main highway was plenty of time to dream up a good cover story.
He would need to act tonight. Even by tomorrow, Bella and the German man would be suffering and the walk back would become even harder. It would be cold in the mountains, though. They would need to take clothing from the armed men before they left. Hopefully Alice would see his plan and she and Jasper could race to them. Alice hadn't been positive of where they were headed when they parted in Cusco, but Edward was fairly certain she and her husband were still on the west side of South America. They could reach them in a night's run.
'We'll leave tonight,' Edward whispered in Bella's ear. 'Until then, just rest. We'll have a long trip back to the road in the dark.'
Already exhausted, Bella just nodded in the dim light. She edged herself a bit closer to him and laid her head on his shoulder, while keeping most of the rest of her body away from his cold skin. Her wounded knee was stretched out in front of her.
Slowly the day passed into evening. Bella's shivers did not stop and the other captives were clearly uncomfortable. Edward could tell the German was not doing well. As the sun set behind the trees, the interior of the shed grew too dark for human eyes.
The prisoners seemed strangely quiet. Bella's mind was, as always a blank in his head, but the others were very focused on one specific thing: whether this was the end or not. The German's companion was running his own version of escape plans in his head, all of which would end in disaster and death if followed through. Edward would have to make certain he didn't attempt any of them.
Edward was running through different plans his head, trying to decide when it would be best to act, when the quiet outside was broken by the sound of many voices. The noise was enough to jolt Bella out of her uncomfortable dose.
'What's happening?' she asked.
'I don't know.' He moved himself out from under her moved and towards a small gap between two boards near the door. He could easily observe the scene outside. He had heard group of men arrive in camp. Quickly he counted, finding ten new faces amongst the others. They were carrying what looked like provisions and just as many guns.
Edward didn't often swear, but this situation called for it. The men were all happy to hear about the new addition of prisoners and not a single of their thoughts was anywhere near pleasant.
Bella's voice had taken on a frantic edge as she asked again: 'What's happening Edward?'
He moved back to his place beside her. He was aware of the other people in the room listening in, so he didn't try to keep his voice low. They needed to be involved in whatever was going to happen.
'Another ten men just arrived. Also heavily armed.'
'What was the plan? There was a plan, right? Alice…' Bella trailed off, aware the others could hear.
Edward shook his head in the dark; even though he knew she couldn't see, he was hoping she could feel the movement. 'I have no cell reception out here. I hope she knows.' He shrugged against her. 'I have no way of knowing that, however.' A year ago he would have lied to her point blank and told her everything would be fine. But he had promised never to lie to her again.
'But you still have a plan?'
'I was going to wait until most of them were sleeping and then go through the door. I had hoped to incapacitate them before anyone of us could be injured, then follow the path back to the highway.'
To Bella, this seemed very logical. To the others, however, who didn't know they had a not-entirely-human captive in their midst, it probably sounded stupidly brave – or just stupid.
'They'll kill you,' the German man said from beside his injured fellow. Edward thought the other man slumped in the corner looked barely conscious. That would make the escape all the harder. Edward knew he would have to carry Bella, but hoped the two Germans could help each other.
'I'm well trained,' Edward countered, having already thought of the excuse. He could not explain to them his advantages, of course, though right now only one of those advantages was of any use: speed.
One of the others, a forty-something woman, spoke for the first time. Edward thought she might be Mexican. 'Military?'
'Of a sort,' he answered, trying to be as vague as possible. 'I could handle a dozen, if half of them were sleeping. But with nearly two dozen…' Edward knew he'd be hard pressed to get all of the men contained before someone pulled a gun.
'Someone will come looking for us,' the man beside the Mexican woman stated.
'Yes,' the German agreed. 'We are due in Santa Cruz tomorrow. If we do not arrive, they will look for us.'
'Likely,' Edward agreed. 'But the civilian authorities won't find us; not up here. It could be days before they find a trace of us. Your companion will not last that long.' There was no point in being anything other than blunt. These people needed to know the odds. They also had to be willing.
'Maybe some of the men leave tomorrow? We wait a day,' the woman suggested.
The idea had merit. This was a smuggling camp – for people or drugs was hard to say – and the men wouldn't make much money by sitting around camp waiting. Some, at least, would probably leave again the next day. It might be better to wait. Though Edward was loath to do so, especially for the sake of the German, he seriously considered it. Another day would give Alice and Jasper plenty of time to arrive. Between the three of them they could deal with even a full two dozen men.
'Tomorrow night, then. We hope some of the men leave during the day, and more don't arrive. Until then, keep quiet and do what you're told. Don't anger them. They're already too quick to use a gun.'
They lapsed into silence then with the weight of the injured man on their minds. Despite the cold, Bella cuddled closer to Edward. 'Another day isn't that long. I can manage.'
He knew that. He knew that, even if the wound was already infected, Bella could last a few days without treatment and still have a good chance of recovery. But the combination of the cold temperatures and lack of suitable clothing worried him more.
'Yes, but not in this cold. Bella,' he whispered into her ear. 'I want you to go and sit with the others. You need to stay together for warmth. Being close to me won't help matters.'
Logically, she knew that was true. 'Okay,' she agreed, after a pause. It hurt to move. Already her body ached from the cold air and hard floor and her knee sent shooting pains through her leg as she moved it. Slowly Bella edged along the wall until she hit a corner, and then along the next until she encountered a semi-warm body. 'For warmth,' she muttered when the man started.
'Everyone should sit together for warmth. It's all we have,' Edward announced, glad for a moment that the humans would not be able to see that he had not joined them.
There were a few minutes of scuffling and painful exclamations as the six humans moved close together. When they had settled, Edward took a place a foot away from Bella; close enough that she could touch him, but not close enough to add to the cold.
Slowly, they settled down for the night, as did the men outside. Edward concentrated on the slowing pulse of the injured German as the night stumbled along and the hopeless thoughts of their cell companions.