"Where exactly are we, Alice?" I asked, holding her stone hand as she led me through the dark tunnel. There was no light and it made me feel claustrophobic. I reached my hand out to touch the wall and felt a rough surface, with no definite pattern trailing through it. I figured I would be more at ease if I could just know where we were.
"We're in a tunnel, leading to a secret haven that will keep us safe until we can be sure the Volturi won't bother us," she replied absentmindedly. The grip of her hand in mine was light, as if she didn't want to touch it. I recoiled from that idea in my head. Alice was not one for hostility. Except when she's planning one of her major parties, I reminded myself. She mostly looked like she had something on her mind that was bothering her. Or perhaps she was checking for alarming undertakings in the future.
"No. I mean, where are we?" I wished she would quit beating around the bush and spit whatever she had to say out. Was she hiding something from me? Was I not supposed to know anything?
"Oh, sorry. I guess my mind has been elsewhere…" she said, allowing her voice to trail off. I lost her again, so I cleared my throat impatiently. "We're in a place that Carlisle built ages ago so he could have a place to 'train' newborn vampires. It's secluded and hidden from sun, so that's a plus. He also built a tunnel that leads to a safe house, basically, in case anything went wrong…" She was silent now, not listening to her surroundings.
I decided not to let it bother me. If Alice really wanted to keep something from me, it would be for my own benefit. I couldn't help but wonder what it was though.
Perhaps someone was in trouble and she was trying to see what's going on. Was Edward hurt? No, she would be more frantic if anyone was struggling. Were the Volturi there already? That was most likely what she was paying attention to. I didn't want to interrupt her thoughts again, in case my disturbance would make her miss something vital, like Edward getting himself into trouble. That was the last thing I wanted to do. I noticed the air around me was getting musty and stale. We must have been getting farther and farther into the tunnel…
"It's safe to run now," Alice said finally. "No one's going to hear us or bother us for a while. No need to take our time getting to safety." Her facial expression did not resolve from the tension that seemed planted on her face. I wanted to see her blissful again, almost as much as I wanted to see Edward's crooked smile.
I didn't get a chance to say anything that could lighten the mood. We were off only a few moments after she had finished her sentence. It was an eerie feeling going so quickly in absolute darkness. Alice still held my hand, though, even more tightly. We ran for at least two hours…
Then suddenly, we stopped. Alice was creeping up, focusing even more before. I tried listening intently, for some disturbance in the silent atmosphere. All I could hear was my heavy breathing. It wasn't the running that tired me; it was the fear and suspense that kept my short, unsteady breaths so loud and disrupting.
But I heard nothing as she towed me a few feet forward. She let go of my hand and I shoved my back into the wall. If danger were here, at least my back would be protected. I heard a loud sound, like rock pushing against another rock. After the screech, came a blinding light. I shielded my face from the terrifying light, and then allowed my eyes to adjust. When I could see again, the commotion had ceased, and Alice was in the small room that the tunnel opened up to. I quickly shoved myself through the small opening, not wanting my back to be exposed for too long. She closed the door again after me as I stumbled past her.
I took a look around the room for the first time, and it wasn't anything out of ordinary. It looked like a small shack, with covered windows and abandoned clutter.
"Where are we now, Alice?"
"We had to choose a place that was not a common vampire home. We didn't want any other vampires knowing about it," Alice explained. "That's why we chose somewhere sunny. Of course, the windows must be covered because of the sun, but no other vampires would think to look here. That's why it's so safe."
I gave her an impatient look. She was definitely avoiding the actual answer. Perhaps this had been what she had been keeping to herself all along. All her evasive maneuvers could not work forever. She would have to answer.
She saw the demanding expression on my face and let out a huge sigh. "Phoenix," she answered dryly. Now I knew why she had tried to keep it from me.
I buried my face into my palms and let out uneven breaths. "Why?" I sobbed. I wanted with my whole soul to be human again. I wanted to hug my troubled mother. I imagined her smiling, childish face contorted into ugly despair. I wanted to be able to cry without the awkward feeling of dry tear ducts. I wanted so badly to hold her in my arms. And Charlie…
"Mom, mom, mom," I crooned. "Charlie, Charlie…Edward!" I was panicking now. "Where's Edward? I want to see him! I need him, Alice! Oh mom, mom, mom. I'm so sorry mom." I could feel the discomfited tension around the room from the gibberish spilling out of my mouth, but I didn't care. I just wanted Edward to come and hold me while I waited for the shock of Alice's news to fade off.
She pulled me closer and tucked my head under her chin. "Don't worry, Bella." She whispered to me. "I'm so sorry."
I now felt sudden remorse. I was hurting everyone around me with the hideous emotions that spilled out of me. I had to find a way to quit affecting everyone around me while I mourned over what my 'death' did to everyone.
"I'm sorry, Alice. I'm fine now. I just needed to get over the shock," I lied. Deep down, I don't think I was anywhere near fine. I decided not to make any decisions yet until later. I didn't want Alice to see what I wanted to do. Right now, I just imagined myself deciding to let everything go, and be happier. That's what she needed to see.
The corners of her lips moved up slightly as the vacant expression on her face told me she was seeing the future. I had pleased her.
She let go of me and sat down on an old chair, taking her cell phone out of her pocket. She dialed a number and pressed it to her ear. I closed my eyes and waited for her to speak. I tried to distract my mind, so I wouldn't think about whatever I was planning to do later.
"Hey Edward, it's me," she said quickly. His beautiful name caught my attention, and I tried really hard to hear his voice on the other side of the line. "Yes, I told her." She paused and let him react to her response. "Don't be like that Edward! She told me she was fine. She's trying really hard to let it go." The expression on her face looked disgruntled. Another long pause, and then a sigh escaped her perfect lips. "Fine. Here she is," Alice muttered dryly as she handed me the phone.
I accepted it eagerly and pushed it to the side of my face. "Edward?"
"Hi Bella," his voice came, making my breathing stagger. "How are you doing?"
"Um…" What could I say to him that would satisfy him, yet not sound false in my voice? "I'm fine. Still getting over the shock," I added, hoping it would justify the lie that broke out through my tone.
"That's good to hear," he paused. I knew he detected the falsehood. "Bella, the Volturi just left. They weren't here for very long, though. Maybe five minutes." His voice got a little frantic. "Bella, they're looking for you."
I didn't know what to say to this. The silence that followed pained us both. "Bella? Are you there?"
"Yes," I croaked. "How did they know to find me? How did they know I was alive?"
Now his tone sounded furious, and it frightened me. "Rosalie let it slip that you weren't dead. She thought it was helping me, defending me. She thought they would leave me alone if they knew you weren't murdered. Boy, was she wrong. They're looking for you."
More silence.
"We sent them in the wrong direction of course, but they're not stupid. Tell Alice that I'm going to meet her in the middle of the tunnel. It will take us about an hour each, but it's better than one of us taking at least two. I'll see you both in a while."
"Okay," I assured him. I saw my chance and I was going to take it. But I had to distract myself until Alice was too far away to do anything.
"Good. Love you, Bella," he whispered sweetly.
"Love you too, Edward. Bye." I hated deceiving him, but I couldn't think of any other way to take care of what I needed to take care of. I heard him say goodbye and then the phone clicked.
"Alice," I looked at my hands, trying not to make the lie seem obvious. "Edward wanted me to tell you to meet him halfway so you can discuss what is going to be done." When I saw her expression, I tried to soothe her. "Don't worry about me. He told me it would be better if I stayed here and calmed myself down."
She nodded and did not waste time. She pushed the boulder out of the way, and was gone before I could smile to myself for being successful. I decided I should wait a half an hour before I made any decisions; just to be sure nobody was going to interfere.
I pushed the stone back into place, and paced back and forth. Now was the time I really wished I could sleep, even though I knew that I wouldn't be able to sleep at a time like this anyways. I mostly wanted to relieve the tension that I felt in the atmosphere. A wave of guilt flowed through me as I thought about my deception. Alice and Edward were going to be so upset about what I was about to do…
Enough time had passed that I felt safe to plan things out. I put a cloak around me, careful not to expose any skin. I didn't want to attract any attention to myself that would defeat the purpose of doing this in a stealthy fashion. I slowly creaked open the door, and slid out, unnoticed. I soon realized that I had no reason to conceal myself. It was dark now, and the sun wasn't out to work against me.
It took me a while to figure out where I was, but when I did, I knew exactly how to get where I was going. I slid around the corner where the ballet studio once stood, ignoring the police tape that bordered the crime scene. Casually, I hid myself again, and saw that I was where I wanted to be. Renee's house was just within my grasp…