I closed my eyes and slowed my breathing, focussing my energy inwards, finding that internal compass that always told me where Jacob was.
He was close.
I felt a slight ache in my leg and chest along with a dull pulsing in my left arm.
Pain, oh god, he's in pain!
Urgency caused my stomach to squirm and my muscles bunched, urging me to spring into action.
I slid from the bed and padded towards the door but paused when I heard the heartbeat of another.
It was familiar, a slower thump accompanied by shuffling feet and the telltale squeak of rubber soles.
"Oh my god you're awake!"
I spun to see Maya staring at me with bugged hazel eyes, under which rested massive dark circles, suggesting very little sleep.
Moment of truth, play amnesia girl or be honest. Think, think think!
"Wha...what happened?" I asked, trying to make myself sound as spaced out as possible.
"It was so bad, you were like, hypnotised to go out or some shit like that, totally fucked up my tree by the way, and then some asshole sent by Humber attacked you or something but you attacked it back and...and..." Her voice started to shake "And Tobin and Torrin went out to help you..."
She wiped her eyes on the back of her sleeve before whispering "It killed Torrin... it ripped her to shreds but we got it, we got that fuck."
I stopped breathing.
No, no, no he was alive, I could feel it.
Trying to keep my voice as level as possible I asked "Where is h...it?"
Maya seemed to draw herself up before telling me he was in a holding cell on the floor below.
"Take me" I checked myself and added a "please" for good measure.
He was lying, naked and vulnerable on the floor of what looked like a giant metal box with a glass wall facing outward. His eyes were closed and his mouth pulled down at the corners and he had a drip attached to his left arm, explaining the dull throb I had felt. They were keeping him unconscious, drugging him.
Not only were the two massive brothers looming over him but there were also two large, advanced looking guns trained on him from the ceiling.
Every cell in my body screamed to go to him and fighting the urge was like fighting to pull two of the strongest magnets in the world apart.
But the spectacular control inherited from my father came into play and I fought the feeling with herculean effort.
Crane stood in front of a massive control panel but his eyes were fixed on Jake.
"He may look harmless now, but this man can change into a savage beast capable of the most heinous deeds."
I spared the man a microscopic amount of my focus and flicked my eyes in his direction.
"He hasn't hurt anyone and he wasn't sent by Humber. Please release him and we can explain everything." I said through gritted, razor teeth.
I was trying to keep my voice calm but seeing Jake surrounded by so much danger was causing my vocal chords to quiver.
Crane's eyebrows shot up about three inches on his forehead. If I hadn't been in the situation I was, I probably would have found it funny.
"I'm so sorry Vanessa but your mind is not exactly reliable at this point in time and I have rather damning evidence that says that….man in there not only murdered one of my team in cold blood but also sexually attacked you."
I could feel the beginnings of anger boiling up inside me and my focus slipped momentarily. I let gravity pull me just an inch closer to Jake.
There was a sharp pain in my wrist that brought my focus back and I froze.
I could move fast, very, very fast, but I wasn't certain that a definite move towards Jake wouldn't trigger something that could kill him before I got there. This world was full of technology that I knew nothing about and I couldn't put Jake's life to chance. Well, really it was both our lives, I couldn't even remember the moment I'd made the decision that if Jacob Black left the world of the living, I would follow him without a second thought.
"Firstly, he did not sexually attack me, it was 100% consensual. Secondly, my name is not Vanessa. It is Renesmee Carlie Cullen, soon to be Renesmee Carlie Cullen-Black. I can assure you that there is absolutely nothing wrong with my mind. Please release him and allow us to leave."
Something dark flickered across Crane's face but it was gone in an instant.
"You remember who you are? Well that's wonderful Renesmee...nevertheless I cannot allow that thing in there to leave."
Cold bloomed in the pit of my stomach as the man who had previously represented safety suddenly turned into something horrible.
His eyes were no longer soft, leafy green; they had turned to hard emerald with flecks of steel. The smile lines at the corners of his eyes and mouth turned into sneer lines and that smell wasn't just cloyingly sweet, it had a very clear undertone of carrion. I cringed inwardly.
I thought of the flowers Maya had shown me, the ones that smelled a certain way to attract their prey.
"Please, Humber must have taken him at the same time he took me. His name is Jacob, he's not a murderer." I pleaded.
He tilted his head to one side, eyeing me curiously as though one would an interesting species of bug, before answering.
"I have a body that disproves that and until I have solid proof he was not sent by Humber he will remain in that chamber, unconscious and guarded"
I didn't have time for this, Jake needed me.
"Look, I'm telling you there is no way he murdered Torrin, maybe Humber sent someone else to come and get us both and Torrin got in the way." I felt wretched as I spoke the words, that poor girl was dead because of me.
"As I said previously, I'm sorry but your mind is not reliable, whether you have your memories back or not I have to put the safety of everyone in this facility first. However perhaps there is a way we can get things...cleared up."
Alarm bells were ringing in my head, why couldn't this guy talk straight with me?
He took a step towards me with a hand outstretched. "Why don't you come with me?"
I automatically stepped further from his reach and closer to Jake, eyeing him warily.
My eyes flicked from him to Jake and back again.
"You are just as safe here as you always have been, Ness, we saved you remember?" He murmured.
Now I was conflicted, had these people actually done anything to harm me? I know they had Jake but if I put myself in Crane's position I could see he had good reason, he didn't understand.
I decided to acquiesce, perhaps in doing so I could explain everything and he would help us get home.
Gah! The thought of home, of everyone else who'd ever meant anything to me, caused a feeling of longing so great I almost crumpled right there. I could see their faces, marred with worry when they didn't hear from us, when we didn't return, when they would have come looking and found an empty cottage.
Would Dad think we eloped? Would mom think the Volturi had taken us? Alice would be giving herself an aneurism trying to see me. The wolves would be searching for Jake, but nobody would find us.
Right now we were stuck in an alien place with alien people that possessed technology I knew nothing about. Jake was unconscious and a murder suspect and I was our only hope of getting back to normality.
I steeled myself and moved forwards to place my hand in his. Warm honey ran through my veins and I was completely reassured I had done the right thing.
He closed my hands around his and led me out of the room.