Chapter Twenty Six

Hello! I'm really sorry it's been a while. I actually completely chickened out on reading all the reviews until yesterday because I was so scared everyone would hate it – but you were all so lovely, so I feel much better now. Ok, here it is!

Disclaimer – I do not own Twilight but I do own Hetani and, I guess, the plot now.

It had been the longest two hours of my life and the library was becoming claustrophobic. Elisha and I sat in our chairs and Josh sat on a table about ten feet away, not looking at any of us. My eyes drifted down to the young freshman girl and I slowly pulled a chair from behind me, gesturing for her to sit in it. She gradually got up and sat next to me.

"I'm Hetani, what's your name?" I asked quietly but not quietly enough that the shooter (who I still didn't know the name of) would think we were plotting against him. I didn't know him at all but, from what I'd observed, he was paranoid and quick to place blame. The girl looked at me with innocent eyes that screamed with terror.

"Abby," she whispered back and I nodded to show I'd heard her.

"It's going to be ok, Abby. Everything will be fine." I felt like I was reassuring myself as well as her but she looked slightly comforted.

"I'm scared. Why is he doing this?" she asked me quietly and I frowned, contemplating. Why was the boy doing this?

"Hey!" Everyone turned around to see one of the guy hostages was the one that had spoken. He was quite bulky with black hair and brown eyes (typically) and his features were very angular – so much that it was almost threatening. But I could see that he was just as scared as I was. The shooter looked up with a glare.

"What?" he growled and I flinched at the deep tenor of his voice. He sounded ready to put a bullet in the guy's head already.

"What's your name?" He looked genuinely taken aback by the question and stayed silent for several long moments.

"Josh," he answered eventually and I tried to manage a smile in his direction. He glowered at me and I assumed it wasn't working.

"Josh, why are you doing this?" I asked in as kind a voice as possible. His glare didn't lessen and I edged back in my seat slightly, unsure of how stable his temper was. It clearly wasn't at the level of the wolves' but it wasn't exactly tame either.

"Why am I doing this?" he repeated and I nodded encouragingly. America wasn't really unknown for guns in schools but I assumed this guy had a reason – at least, a reason that he saw as plausible. I wanted to hear it because part of me knew this boy was broken inside. "Do you know what it's like to walk the corridors of a school and be completely outcast because of your looks? Do you know what it's like to have guys bigger and stronger than you mouth off at you and beat you up because your skin is paler than theirs? Do you understand that people are not what they seem and their true selves come out when playing with others? I do. I know what all of that's like because I've lived it every day since I came to this school. I may not be Quileute but I was adopted into a family and outcast because of it." The tears welled up and flew over my face so fast that I didn't even notice at first. He was adopted – and bullied because he was different? I was adopted. I wasn't Quileute.

"I-."

"Don't give me your sympathy, Black. It's your precious friends that started it." I froze as his words hit me hard. My friends?

"W-w-which ones?" I stuttered, praying it wasn't Jake or Embry. Josh looked down his nose at me like I was a naive toddler. I supposed I looked desperate and kind of pathetic as I begged for information.

"Lahote. Cameron joined him once. But your precious Paul started all of it. He's the reason I'm here and the reason you're here." My heart stopped beating. He was lying. He had to be lying. No, Paul was just angry – he wasn't a bully. He wasn't cruel like this. It wasn't possible that he'd started the chain of events that led to being in the library . . . right?

Embry POV

I stared hard at Paul with my eyes gaining venom by the second. He looked even sicker than he had earlier and I was glad. Hetani knew the truth, Josh had told her. Good. He deserved the guilt because, if Hetani died, it would be better than killing him myself. The harsh reality of the situation was agonising. Vampires I could protect her from – but guns? I couldn't protect her from those kinds of things. These kinds of things weren't meant to happen – what the hell was I meant to do? My super speed and super strength and quick healing couldn't help if Josh put a bullet in – I couldn't continue that thought.

"Embry, if I'd known-."

"That's not the point! You did it and Hetani is in there with a GUN. You did this and I swear, if anything happens to her, you better pray the guilt eats you alive. If it doesn't, I will." There wasn't even a tiny hint of forgiveness in me. Hetani had to make it out alive and well for me to even consider that. It was amazing how protective and angry the wolves got when their imprints were in trouble but it happened. Granted, none of us had even been in a hostage situation with guns before but it was a revealing concept. Rachel looked at me sympathetically before dragging Paul away from me. I couldn't tell what she was thinking or feeling but she obviously wasn't as angry as me or she would have beaten Paul with a crowbar already. I guess it was kind of hard for her with Hetani being her sister yet being drawn to Paul because of the imprint.

Hetani POV

I slowly rose from my chair and Josh instantly jerked the gun towards me. Taking a deep, shaky breath, I moved my hands in the air in the universal sign of surrender and walked slowly towards him. When it became clear I wasn't going to attack him or make a run for it, he lowered the shiny gun hesitantly.

"Josh, I know that you know this isn't the answer. What's this about?" I asked softly enough that the others wouldn't hear me. I stopped approaching as he twitched just slightly.

"Leave me alone, Black." Ok, maybe it was about the bullying and proving something.

"What are you trying to prove?" I pressed, trying to get the truth out before he did something really stupid. He looked up at me once more with angry eyes and I realised that it wasn't about proving something. "You just cracked. This isn't about proof – you just got tired of being the victim." I started edging forward again, looking at him beseechingly. "Josh, this is a mistake." My tone was pleading, desperate for him to understand me at least a little bit. His eyes met mine and pain screamed from their green depths. He sighed and, just as I thought he'd finally seen sense and I would get out to see Embry again, he reached out and grabbed my hair. I was yanked back against his chest and his arm wrapped around my throat, gun pressed again my temple.

"No, it's really not." I whimpered as Josh's grip on me tightened and the gun dug harder into my temple. I had never been so scared for my life before. Sure, there had been vampires around and I'd been petrified for the pack . . . but my life had never been directly threatened. And especially not with something as simply devastating as a gun.

"Please let me go," I begged. I didn't want to die. I didn't want to never see Embry again or my family or Elisha. Oh God . . . Embry. More than anyone, he would be affected. He'd be ripped apart if I died and I couldn't wrap my head around the possibility that it might be my time. Was that it? We had just over a year together and then it was over?

"Be quiet," Josh snarled, pressing harder against me yet again. A whimper spilled from my lips as it really started to hurt.

"Hey, man, maybe you should let her go. She's not going anywhere," one of the other hostages piped up.

"Yeah," most of the other hostages agreed. Abby just looked at me with wide, fearful eyes, unshed tears making them sparkle.

"Shut up, ok? Just be quiet!" Josh yelled, jerking me backwards. I gagged painfully as his arm tightened on my throat. There would be a large bruise there if I lived to see the next day.

"Let my best friend go, you monster," Elisha ordered darkly, stepping in front of the other hostages. Her blue eyes gleamed with anger and I knew I'd be the same if I was in her position. But she was toeing a dangerous line.

"Would you shut your mouth?" Josh demanded, sounding almost desperate as the gun twitched against my head. Elisha eyed it disdainfully but didn't listen to his order.

"No! You let her go! Don't make this worse for yourself by shooting someone," she pleaded, eyes widening in fear. Josh tensed.

"I don't need this."

"Yes, you do."

"Calm down please," I begged both of them. Josh's gun toting hand starting waving around but the weapon never strayed too far from me.

"Josh, let her go."

"You don't want to kill her."

"Yeah, do what's right."

"Let her go."

"Let her go, Josh.

"Please let her-." Click. Bang.

"NO!"

OK – I promise not to hesitate in reading your reviews this time! I was such a coward but it's a scary thing when you come up with an idea then think 'hang on . . . this may anger a lot of people'. Anyway, I'll update as soon as possible, ok? Thank you so much, I feel much better about everything. Love Bianca :) x