Author's Note: Thank you all so much for the reviews and favorite-ing! I'll try not to keep you in suspense for too long. But ye be warned, I like throwing curve balls, it's not all sunshine and kittens in my world.
Chapter 12: How to Save a Life
"Master, how many have to die before we retreat?" Riley asked pacing back and forth. Bree crouched in a corner looking back and forth between Master and Riley, wondering if she'd made the right choice. Master had not anticipated the rage that Major Whitlock had, didn't realize the ferocity of his anger. The two vampires on the search for Bella had torn through almost eleven of Master's best soldiers. They'd been holding the Swan girl in a different warehouse, a few miles south of where Major Whitlock was tearing up Master's base of operation.
"We will not retreat, you will never speak of it again," Master screamed. She was starting to lose control, Master never lost control before and it was frightening to see her unravel like this.
"It is only a matter of time before he finds us here, with just the three of us, well, we aren't likely to fare well in battle Master," Riley was desperately trying to reason with her, he would serve her until the end but he desperately wanted to spare Bree's life and his own.
"We will leave her to die then!" Master screeched. Both Riley and Bree were silenced as Maria stormed down the dark hallway to where they were holding Bella Swan.
"You've proved useless to me," she yelled at the poor human as she picked her up by her hair and threw her against the concrete wall. Bree tried to run to Bella's side but Riley kept her in place, knowing that Master would surely kill her if she were to try to help the human.
"All this time I thought you were the key, the one piece of my puzzle that I needed to lure my Major to me!" she picked her up again and Riley and Bree winced as they heard Bella's bones breaking. There was nothing they could do now though, so they stepped back and walked down the hallway, trying to get away from the atrocity.
"He's not yours," Bella rasped through her pain.
"You have a defiant mouth on you, you stupid wretch," she slammed Bella down onto the floor, busting her head open, blood pooling around her scalp where she lay.
"Master, please, when we get to Texas we will plan but we must flee now, you're unprotected here Master," Riley was at the door again erratically glancing between Maria and the window, waiting for the two vengeful vampires to speed down the dirt road.
"Just one more thing," Master laughed demonically as she pulled a dagger from the bodice of her dress. "Isabella, do you know what this is?" she was whispering in Bella's ear waving the dagger around her face. "This was given to me by a very special servant, my Jasper. I believe this belonged to him while he served in the Confederate Army but he gave it to me, do you know why?" she was laughing sadistically in Bella's face. Bella moaned, the only sound she could make and turned her face away from Maria.
"He gave this to me because he loved me, he worshipped me," she whispered close to her ear, "We used to spend hours making love, he will never love you the way he loved me, ever," she spat on Bella's face.
"You're right," Bella was gasping for air as every bone in her rib cage was broken. "He'll love me more…he doesn't fear me, you're nothing to him," she mustered.
"You're a waste of time," Maria shouted before she buried the tip of the dagger into Bella's abdomen, twisting it around maniacally. Bella let out a small subtle gasp as she drew in her last breaths. Meanwhile the Master and her two slaves escaped the warehouse to go plot a different way to get Major back.
"Perhaps without the girl he'll be more vulnerable," Riley suggested to Master as he looked back at the warehouse where Bella's lifeless broken body lay. Bree stood shivering wishing that she'd listened to Bella. If only she had helped her. It was too late for that now.
"Perhaps he will."
Jasper's POV
"Up there, that's the road!" Peter yelled. The souls of at least eleven vampires were on our hands but I couldn't think about that right now. It would probably take me years before I could look my father in the eye without feeling totally ashamed of myself, but it was for Bella. All for her, surely that was forgivable. Maybe not in the eyes of God, but in the eyes of Carlisle perhaps.
"Please don't let us be too late," I whispered to myself and to Peter. I felt his hand land on my shoulder trying to give me some form of comfort, but I wouldn't be able to think, breath, or blink until I saw Bella.
I parked the car and as we headed for the door leading into the dark warehouse, I prepared myself to see Maria, and for the absolute worst. I just prayed that we weren't too late. Please, please let her be okay.
"No one is here," Peter said as he took in our surroundings. "Look," he bent down to some tire treads on the asphalt, he rubbed his fingers over the rubber that had been left. "It's still hot, they must have peeled out of here not three minutes ago," he concluded.
"Come on then," I busted the door down and ran through.
"Jesus!" Peter said covering up his nose and falling behind a few strides.
"What?" I stopped to look at him, his eyes blazing with a crimson red.
"The blood! Oh God, don't you smell it? So sweet," Peter's hands were covering his face. Oh no. Blood. I ran through the hallways, busting through every door until finally I came to the last one, it was left unlocked and I couldn't help but feel that this was left unlocked on purpose. I twisted the knob and pushed it open.
"Oh God," I croaked out a dry sob. There lay my Bella in a pool of her own blood, a knife protruding out of her abdomen. I rushed to her side and wiped the blood that was dripping out of her mouth away. Her eyes were closed and her body was frigid. She was gone, and this was all my fault. I stood up and faced away from her, unable to see my angel looking like this. Peter stood in the doorway, his face half shocked half hungry.
"Do you hear that?" he erupted suddenly, throwing himself across the room to Bella's side.
"What?" I whispered, I couldn't find my voice.
"Heartbeat." Two syllables was all it took, I was kneeling beside her in a second, my head pressed to her chest.
"I hear it!" I all but squealed.
"We're losing her Jazz, the nearest hospital isn't for miles…we're going to lose her!" Peter was yelling, he had his fingers pressed to Bella's wrist trying to feel for a pulse. What was I going to do?
I didn't have many options. I couldn't let her die, but there was no way I could get her to a hospital in time to save her. I certainly couldn't tend to her wounds and I knew Peter couldn't.
"Jazz…there's no other way. If you don't want her to die you're going to have to bite her."
"No," I shook my head in horror, I'd never be able to take her back to Forks. "No, she has a family that will need to know where she is, I won't ever be able to take her back if I turn her, we have to try the hospital!"
"Jasper we have only seconds before she gets to the point of no return, you have to bite her!" Peter screamed at me. Horrified, I looked at Bella's bloody face, tell me to baby, tell me this is what you want. What if she didn't want to be a vampire? She'd be miserable for the rest of her life, the rest of eternity. She'd never forgive me for turning her. I thought of Rosalie briefly, my adopted sister that wished every single day that Carlisle had just let her die.
"JAZZ!" Peter brought me back to reality. I slipped my hand through Bella's, I didn't know what to do. Right when I thought my head was going to explode I felt her small hands squeeze mine just barely. I wasn't even sure if it had been real or if I'd just imagined it.
"Stand over there, I've never tasted her blood before and if I don't stop you'll have to pull me off of her, do you understand?" I commanded Peter. He looked just as scared as I was, the two of us, immortal vampires damned to Hell and we were terrified over the life of this human girl who was the root of my existence. "DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"
"YES! Yes," he whimpered. I ripped open her shirt, exposing her chest. My mouth only inches away from the top of her breast, right above where her heart was slowing down.
"I love you," I whispered the words just before I sunk my teeth into her skin as deep as I could.
"What do we do now?" Peter asked.
"We'll have to take her somewhere we can keep her hidden until she wakes up," I whispered as I lifted her into my arms.
"And what about after she wakes?"
"Then… I'll have to take her somewhere we can hide forever…"
A/N: Okay I know this chapter is SHORT. This is because the next chapter is l-o-n-g! I wanted to give you just enough in this chapter while still saving all the goods for next. Forgive me?