After I fall I rest a bit then sit up looking around. Damn this place, out in the middle of nowhere. Every direction I look there is nothing to be seen but trees and wide open spaces. I cannot give up so I pull myself up to run and run till I can run no more. Then I start to stumble again. My arm aches more and more as the time goes on. I have no idea how long I have been free, all I know is that I am lost and I need to find help soon. Holding onto my hopes for finding a way out and back to my life I move slower and slower but refuse to give up. When I stumble I get up over and over again. I can feel my legs aching but I refuse to stop then I fall down hard, my head hits something hard.
"I remember tears streaming down your face when I said I will never let you go. When all those shadows almost killed your light."
That song, our song starts to play in my mind.
"I remember you said don't leave me here alone. But all that's dead and gone and past tonight."
Dead and gone, dead and gone echoes through my mind as images flood me. I see Edward as I saw him last and that is the image that I want to cling to but my mind flashes back further. The first time I saw him and when our eyes met for the first time.
Green eyes staring into violet ones…two lives that were meant to be one making the first connection.
"Just close your eyes, the sun is going down. You'll be alright, no one can hurt you now…." But the song suddenly stops as the pain in my head intensifies.
Darker and darker I fell myself falling, spiraling out of control from the pain and with no hope of being found. There is nothing here, just miles and miles of forest. I scream out louder and louder as I run then I fall down hard. The pain, my head throbs and my arm... Hours or minutes could have passed while I lie curled into a ball. The darkness keeps threatening to take me over again and I fade in and out of consciousness. Thoughts of Edward come to me as I try to rest before I move again. The pain in my arm is excruciating but now my head aches as well and I shout into the empty woods around me. Hot tears run down my cheeks, will I ever see him again?
My mind flashes through all the people in my life faster and faster as if it is nearing an end…then blackness comes again. I move in and out nightmares laced with memories. The first time I looked into those green eyes comes to me, I cling to that memory. It is all that I have now. His voice and image come to me. "Get up Bella. Do not give up."
The coldness is now in my bones as I shake on the ground. I yell out again but this time there is no sound. I am locked in nightmares. I want to listen to him but the aching won't let me move. "NO NO NO!" I mutter to myself and push up with my one arm so I slowly rise to my feet then start to try to run but now its dark all around me. Night has fallen, its pitch black here and the only light I can see is what the moon is casting off. My feet are stiff as I walk so I fall over and over again until the last time I hit my head hard on something. It leaves me dazed on the ground relapsing back into the darkness.
"Bella!" I hear my name and realize its Christian crying out my name. I cannot tell if he is upset with me or worried but I run. I run without looking back. All he has done is try to control me and I want to be free. As I run I stumble, his voice follows me as if he is hot on my heels. "Bella he doesn't love you. You should know that." I try to cover my ears as I run but then I stumble to my knees hard. "He is called Wicked for a reason. Did he tell you all the people he has killed? The pain he has inflicted on others? Is that really what you want?"
"You are the one who doesn't love me, you only want to control me." I cry out at Christian as his image fades away to only darkness. I shake my head as I stay down on the ground. Where did he go? Am I dead or just losing my mind? He was there a moment ago. I try to stand up but before I can I am pulled up from behind. "Who is there?" I cry out.
"I should have made you forget him." I hear then recognize Damon's voice.
"Leave me alone, if you want to compel me then compel me to forget Christian and YOU!" I scream waving my hands blinding in the dark hoping to strike him but it seems as if I am alone again.
"You don't want to forget me Bella. Let me tell you the real reason I am here." Damon suddenly appears in front me leaning in to bite my neck hard. Screaming I slap him hard but he won't let go. As he bites down I can feel my skin ripping wide open. "He gave you to me."
"WHAT?" I close my eyes then just screech at the top of my lungs. Then I am alone locked in the dark again.
Edward's voice soft but strong rings in my ears. "Do not stop fighting." Even in the darkness it lifts my spirits then I hear something close to me.
"Is she alive?" I hear a strange voice. My body screams in pain as I feel myself lifted up. I want to open my eyes but I can't. The air around me feels warmer but my arm aches so much it is all that I can focus on. Then I realize my head is wet. Did it rain on me?
"She is but barely, call for help." Panic sets in from the tone of this voice then I yelp in pain as my arm is bumped, it takes me over and the darkness comes again...
"You should have left her there. Look at her. That one arm is broken and probably her left leg too by the looks of it. That gash on her head needs stitches, who knows how much blood she has lost. Probably has a concussion too. She is barely alive. This is prolonging her suffering." The voice sighs. "Did she have id on her?"
"Just this cell phone."
"Never give up." Edward whispers in my ear. Even in my weak state I feel myself fill with hope. The cell, I still managed to hold onto it. Please use it to contact Edward or Abby, please. I beg in my mind. I do not want to die here alone. PLEASE! I want so much to open my eyes and scream that I am still here. I am still fighting, I am not ready to let go. Please contact them but the effect takes too much and the darkness beckons.
As I flint in and out of the darkness I hear voices around me and I am now longer cold but I cannot escape these nightmares. Christian and Damon take turns coming after me and I have nowhere to hide. I keep looking for a way out and looking for Edward but I cannot find him. I hear his name mentioned around me but I cannot be sure if it really being said or just my mind wishing for it. I am locked in my own mind and it is turning against me unleashing every nightmare I have ever had at me.
I see myself chained to that cross again but this time Damon is not feeling generous. He comes at me with dark eyes and I know this time I will not escape without submitting. My mind is screaming out for help then a sudden calm washes over me and even locked in my darkness I recognize it. I hope against hope I am right, EDWARD! Could it be?
"How long has she been like this?" I hear his voice and my heart sings but I am still locked in my own mind. Can he hear my thoughts?
"We have no idea, she was brought in by some hunters who found her on the edge of the forest. I would say she doesn't have long."
"She is dying?"
"Yes, multiple injuries and brain damage. She hit her head several times I would say and the swelling is bad, there is not much we can do but make her comfortable."
A growl echoes through the room, I sense his anger then I feel his touch on my arm. His voice is a whisper that reaches into my dark thoughts. "Bella, hang on please do not give in yet. I can save you."
I scream out to him but no sound can be heard, I curse over and over but yet my voice is silent and my body motionless. Frustration takes me over and I see myself in the playroom again. This time when Christian comes at me I lash back. "NO! I am done with you and you will free me!" I slap his face hard only to see him stare at me in amazement. I know why, never have I spoke back like this and never have I raised a hand to him but now I am fighting for my life. I know what I want and he is in the way of that. He needs to let me go and let me go NOW!
"That is right Bella, fight!" Edward's voice surrounds me and his love gives me strength. I continue to fight back the darkness while I hear him talking to someone. "I am taking her out of here. You said she is dying so let her die in peace."
"But Mr. De Santis here we can give her something for the pain."
"I said NOW! I am taking her with me now.
In a whirlwind of motion I feel myself being moved. The pain comes again and in my mind I see myself being punished while I scream. I will not submit. I will not give in. I will fight but I am fading fast. The strength is ebbing from me. I think of Edward and try to continue but each blow makes me weaker and weaker. "NO!" I hear Edward hiss then I feel something warm against my lips. "DRINK! NOW!" I gurgle and gasp trying to obey but even swallowing is hard. "Please baby, you cannot leave me. Drink."
Edward...my mind suddenly changes and I see alight in front of me. He is standing there with his hand out reaching towards me. I hear his voice faintly in the background calling out to me but the light is calling to me. I want to run to him but something is holding me back.
Thoughts of her soft voice call out to me over and over again. She vanished, no clues and no contact through the cell phone that I gave her. I refuse to believe that I lost her. She felt our connection, I never meant to let her go but Christian knew I would be close behind. Somehow I lost her, I have not been able to rest as I search endlessly. That bastard has had me looking all over the globe. He bought plane tickets in her name to almost every destination on the planet. He knows he has lost, she loves me but now he won't let her go. If I have to search to the ends of the earth I will find her again.
The first clue to her came to me in a dream. I can hear her calling out to me then the phone rang. "Mr. Edward De Santis?"
"Yes." Snapping I braced myself, the caller id said this was some Memorial Hospital.
"We have a patient here that had your name and this number in her cell phone as her emergency contact."
"And?"
"We believe her name is BellaDee Masen, from the cell phone information."
"Check her id." Barking at the voice I am already throwing things together to leave. "Never mind just tell me where I am going."
"Memorial Hospital sir, in Hell, Michigan."
Michigan! He had me running all over the world and she has been so close this whole time. FUCK! I slam my fist into the wall then grumble to the caller, "I am on my way."
She has been so close and yet I missed finding her. Well I will not miss her this time. Now she will be taken care of and never again will I let her walk away from me. Putting a call to her sister Abby I leave her a message where I am going and that I have found her.
On the way there I think of her...her violet eyes that express so much. She can never hide her feelings as they are reflected in them. Then her voice, soft but strong. I have missed her so much, I am just longing to pull her close and get lost in her scent once again but if she is harmed Christian will pay. There will be no forgiveness for this and to think that once I called him a friend. He knew how I felt about her and yet he chose this route. He uses women for pleasure then discards them except her. For some reason he refuses to let her go. Jostled out of these thoughts I realize we are here. Time to finally see her again.
As I enter the building I immediately sense something wrong, I can barely feel her. Her heart is beating so slowly that is makes me almost run to find her. In her doorway I clench my fists. He is going to die. She is a ghost of herself. Her face is so pale and there is a huge bandage on the right side of her head. One leg and one arm are in casts. The thought of her dying never entered my mind and now I am floored looking at her. "NO! I will not lose you Bella, not now." The words come out before I can stop them and I push the nurse away as I go to her bedside.
Closing my eyes I zone in on her thoughts. She is locked into her own mind and fighting off nightmares. Christian has tormented more since I saw her last then as I search through her memories I notice things missing. The baby… I gaze down at her stomach, it is flat but by now she should be showing. What happened to the child? As she moves through her nightmares I hear mentions of her being compelled. That bastard, to take her from me and then take the child from her. Her physical body is damaged almost beyond repair especially her brain. She must have fallen on it hard when she was running. I know why I was called, they think she is dying but I will not let her leave me even in death.
"Dee I am here and yes I am saying Dee because you are now and always will be my Dee." Pushing her hair back off her face I fight tears then speak to the nurse, "I want her doctor here now."
"Yes sir."
As she leaves I turn back to Bella, "You are not leaving me again."
Seeing the images in her mind I can see it heading towards a point where she is about to give up. Her door is still closed tightly so I dare to act. Biting my wrist just a bit to make it bleed I push it to her lips. "Dee baby, drink now. Please come back to me."
As the doctor comes in I quickly wipe the blood from her lips then look over my shoulder. "What is being done for her?"
"We are keeping her comfortable."
"And?"
"Till the end."
"That is it, you are just letting her die?"
"Mr. De Santis, she has suffered a major brain injury. There is considerate swelling and to operate might kill her."
"Then I am taking her out of here."
"But we can keep her comfortable."
"NOW! Do not make me say it again."
Storming out of her room I know that I can save her but I cannot do it here but let the world think she has died. Then Christian will not come after her and then I think back on her thoughts. I keep seeing someone else there tormenting her. They will both pay for this. I will not let her die unless that is her wish.
Hours later he had her back at a place he had bought many years ago but never used. She was sitting there in the bed, looking like hell froze over. He growled under his breath as he walked over to her and kissed the top of her head, "He's fucking dead. I'm done playing fucking nice." He bit out to her as he sat on the edge of the bed.
"No." She whispered, she had slowly started to heal from his blood. Her arm she was moving freely, her leg too and the blow to her head was fading fast but most importantly she was freed from the inner struggles. The nightmares had left her but she still looked miserable.
"Would you like to become what I am Dee? Never to age, never to die? Bound to me for as long as you can handle me?" His voice was stern as he looked at her, his red eyes hard but glowing. At her gulp and nod, he sat next to her, "Then let me tell you a story," He started as he gazed into her eyes, a hand on her shoulder, "Let me ease the pain you feel." He spoke softly, his compulsion working. Ed nodded his head, then smiled as he sat back, beginning his tale for her. "Do you wish to hear it my love? On how I became what I am? How I can influence people by a mere touch, or to revolt them with the same method? Or how I can draw you in with my green eyes." As he watched her eyes grow wide, though he could see a hint of a smirk cross her dark purple lips. "I was born a monster, I acted like a monster, let me show you."
"Please..." She rasped. The sound made him shudder as he moved to lean against the wall, watching her. Giving a slight shake of his head, Ed tried to fight of the memory. But the story, of the story wanted to be told. So it shall be told. A story that would keep little boys and girls up all night, frightened. A knowing smirk tugged at his lips. "And so it shall be told. Relieved by my memories. As if it was yesterday. "Then, he began his tale. But he shared the memory with her. Projecting the image to her, as it were. "And so I shall tell it." He whispered, smirking like the devil himself.
It was Sixteen hundred and Twenty on March the twenty-eighth. Edward had been on his own for over a hundred years now. Something he never thought would make him feel so lonely and lost. Velandra, his sire, was dead. His family dead in an epidemic that hit in Scotland. Everything was oddly, normal. He sighed softly as he walked by a brothel. As he passed, a scent caught his attention. Inhaling the sweet scent he shivered. "Exotic beauty." He breathed out. Turning his body around, he saw a person standing there. A beautiful female. Exotic. Just as he said. Slowly he made his way towards her. Inhaling her scent. She stood there, taking it in. "You know what I am?" He asked her. At her simple nod he smirked. "And you know I could easily snap your neck if I'm not careful?" He whispered softly. She looked at him and in her simple accent. Indian. Exotic. "Yes." She drawled.
Giving a throaty laugh, Edward swiftly moved behind her, drawing his hands just barely over her skin. He watched her form shudder. "You feel that do you not?" He asked her. At her nod, his hands slowly came closer to rest on her creamy exposed stomach. He felt the ripples run through her body. Applying a bit of pressure to her abdomen, he leaned down and nipped at her tender flesh. "You taste exquisite." He whispered hotly into her ear.
Listening to the pants and groans the woman was giving, his lips curled into a wide smirk before he gently bit into the flesh that held the main vein. He heard her moan, he sucked slightly. Her blood was warm. Not coppery in taste, but jasmine. Pulling the back of her skirt up, quickly unzipping his pants, he felt how exposed she was under the garments as well. Groaning, he let her neck but quickly the pricks so they'd seal, he turned her around to face him. Hunger and lust blazed in his blue eyes. Grabbing her brutally around the waist, he hoisted her up and slammed her down onto his cock. Snarling out a grunt, he fucked her with abandon. Rough. Deep. His fingers dug deep into her skin, but he wouldn't crush her. Yet.
He howled in pleasure as he listened to her moans and cries, her sultry cuss words. "Fils de pute!" He swore in French. His large cock continued its brutal assault on her pussy. Hearing her scream of release he thrust his bulging cock a few more times deep inside her before his seed ejected deep inside her.
Pulling his flaccid cock from her folds, he smirked as he watched their juices drip down her thighs. Setting her down, he passed a hundred dollar bill. Watching her eyes go round as saucers he knew he was the first to ever give her that much before.
Giving her a wink and a nod, he turned on his heel and walked away. Losing himself into the shadows. Using them to his advantage to hunt.
The male form stood just on the other side of the darken alley. A lil wisp of thing. But blood pumped into him like water. Ed licked his suddenly dry lips. His flaccid cock grew hard. Stepping up behind the male, at least eighteen in age, and pressed his cock against his back. The male let out a moan. Forcing the male up against the wall, tearing his clothes away, but letting lose his own, he rammed his cock into the male's ass, growling at the sensations. He sank his fangs deep into the male's neck, drinking. His thrusts grew more rapid, he could hear the bones on the male begin to shatter from the sheer force. Taking the last drop, Ed let loose his release deep in the man's ass. When he withdrew, he let the body drop. Fixing himself he walked away.
Letting her finish seeing it, he sat down next to her. "Do you want to be like me, do you want to be with me? Bound to me as your lover and your maker?"
He saw thoughts run through her mind making him smirk at her, "I warned you that I was Wicked, did you think I came by that nickname by accident? I have killed many in my immortal lifetime some deserving and many innocent who did not have fate on their side but now I feel changed. It is you, you came into my life at a time when I was not looking for anything then you gazed at me with those eyes of yours and now….I would stop time for you. So I ask you again, do you want to be like me? Do you want to be mine?"