Disclaimer: Twilight is the creation and property of Stephenie Meyer. This fanfiction is nothing more than an homage to her series of books. Any references to plot devices/characters/etc. used in Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn, or the draft of Midnight Sun belong exclusively to Stephenie Meyer. This is a fan-created story.
Author's Note: I'm so sorry this chapter wasn't posted on Friday night. I owe you guys so much for sticking with this story! And what great responses to the last chapter! Thank you very, very much, everyone! I hope you have fun reading this chapter and that you'll leave a review. I especially like to hear what you are enjoying about the story and what you're confused about, etc. It helps me improve. All feedback but flames appreciated. I've gotten several suggestions about using the review reply feature and I've decided to employ it. Anyone who did not leave a signed review will still have a note at the end of the chapter. Thanks!
CONTENT WARNING: I want to make it very clear that this is a PG13 story. There will not be any graphic violence, sex, or language. Also, there will be no sexual assault. I had some reviewers who were concerned about that and I want it to be understood. This is not that kind of story. However, this story does show Renesmee in serious peril. Just to be safe. Thanks, again.
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"Everything was gone inside of me. I did nothing. I could not think. I knew she was going to die and I prayed that she would not. Don't let her die. Oh, God, please don't let her die."
-Earnest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms
Renesmee gasped as the darkness began to drain away, leaving only the pain. She opened her eyes once and squinted into a dimly-lit space. She thought she heard water dripping faintly above her. The sound echoed metallically. Her head felt as though it weighed a million pounds. She struggled to lift it from the cold floor. With effort, she pulled herself up to a sitting position. The room spun and she fought the urge to vomit. Uncertainly, she reached her long, thin arms out. Her trembling hands gripped the metal bars in front of her. It took nearly all of her remaining strength to shake them, once, twice, then again and again, frantically. She could hear the cage groan with the effort of containing her. Terror and panic squeezed in her chest and she began to cry, "No, no, no!" She shook the bars again.
"I have to say," a familiar voice began from somewhere slightly above her. "I am very impressed."
Renesmee froze, her heart thudding in her ears as she recognized the sound.
"I mean," Ed continued, coming lightly down a set of stairs in the far corner of the room. "There's quite a bit of drug in your body right now. The human heart can't sustain that much in their system actually. You should be dead."
"Wh-why are you doing this?" she asked, afraid of the answer.
"It's pretty fascinating, I have to say," he went on, as if she hadn't spoken. "A family of vampires."
Her heart seized.
"Carlisle and Esme. Rosalie, Emmett, Alice, Jasper, Edward, Bella…" he pronounced their names mockingly as if he was telling a funny bed-time story. "Beautiful, lethal…not belonging to the living or the dead. Trying to pass off as humans." He snorted, his voice dripping with disgust. "But still animals. Always animals."
Renesmee stiffened. Had he known all along?
"And then there's you," Ed mused. "Not a vampire, no…but certainly not a human, either. What exactly are you? Renesmee Cullen. Your father is a vampire…but it's not the doctor, is it?" he smiled.
"How did you—…"
"Which brings us to Edward! Tall, handsome, mysterious Edward. Always just a little more protective than a brother should be. Always one step ahead of the teacher's questions. Always a little more well-informed." He faked a gasp, "It wouldn't be that pesky mind-reading thing, would it?"
"My family will find you," Renesmee said, her voice suddenly sure. "They will find you and they will kill you."
"Now who might your mother be?" Ed said, as if he hadn't heard her, at all. "Female vampires can't conceive. I've considered this carefully and I'm guessing it has to be the youngest of your kind…Bella. She's only recently changed, correct?"
"You have to let me go," she told him, more forcefully.
"So Edward can't control himself and violates a human. After awhile, he changes her. But first…" He paused, the smile disappearing from his face. "First, they create you. Little Renesmee Cullen, half-vampire, half-human. You don't belong anywhere, do you?"
Even in her terrified state, Renesmee felt the deep sting of his words.
"It's too bad you're tainted," he told her sadly. "We can never really be together the way I want. The way I've dreamt about." As he said this, he leaned towards her, sniffing deeply.
Renesmee clawed at his face through the bars of her cage, her face white with fury.
"All the same, I've never done it with a half-breed before." His voice had turned decidedly cruel.
Renesmee felt sick. She shrank back against the wall, her eyes wild with fear. "Stay away from me," she growled.
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Edward turned his eyes towards the clock again. Even without it, he would know the time. 8:07. He waited, silently, tensely for the sound of Jacob's car.
He and Bella exchanged meaningful glances. She pushed against her mental shield, allowing Edward to hear her. It's late, huh?
He nodded, sighing.
Will this ever get easier? Being away from her?
"I don't know," he whispered.
"I mean, we're going to lose her. It's inevitable. She'll finish growing up. She'll marry Jake. And she won't belong to us anymore."
Edward pulled Bella into his lap, "She'll always be ours. It'll just be different." He lifted his head as Jacob stepped through the front door, his eyes puzzled.
"Where's Nessie?" Edward asked, immediately alarmed.
"She's not with you?" Bella stood up.
"She never called me," Jacob's face was confused and worried. "I waited and waited. Tried her cell like ten times. No answer."
Edward already had the phone raised to his ear. Hi, you've reached Nessie. I can't answer my phone right now but leave me a message and…He snapped the phone shut.
"I thought maybe one of you picked her up," Jacob said.
"Alice!" Edward growled.
Alice flew down the stairs, her eyes wide with concern, "I know something's wrong, Edward…but I can't see. I can't see anything."
Jacob was pacing, "Well, that's normal, right? You can't ever see what's going on with Nessie."
"She can't see Ed, at all," Edward murmured, watching Alice's face.
Alice was completely frozen on the landing. Jasper and Emmett appeared behind her, the lines in their faces hard.
"Fine," Jacob snarled. "We do this the old-fashioned way. We track her." He was gone, streaking out of the house, pulling his shirt over his head as he went. Edward threw himself through the door, a blur there and then suddenly not. The rest of the Cullens weren't far behind.
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"They're going to find you," Renesmee said, trying to sound threatening.
"Who? Mommy and Daddy Fang? Your psychic aunt? Your werewolf boyfriend?" he smirked. "Not a chance." He fingered a small stone around his neck. "Let's just say my great-grandfather wasn't the only one with some extra help."
"That stupid necklace isn't going to stop Jacob from ripping your throat out," she told him, fiercely. "And I can't wait 'till he does!"
"Not gonna find me, babe. This stupid necklace is a masking spell. It hides everything within a two-mile radius from sight. And smell."
"You don't want to do this," Renesmee said, her voice breaking. "You want to let me go."
"And why do I want to do that?" Ed asked, amused.
She stared at him a moment, not moving. She straightened and wove her fingers around the solid bars. She pushed her face as close to his as she could get. "Because when I get out of this cage, and I will get out of this cage, I am going to kill you. And I'm not going to need any help doing it." Even in the dingy fluorescent light, her teeth glinted dangerously.
Ed didn't look frightened but he did back up several inches.
The door at the top of the stairs creaked open and a figure appeared there.
"About time you got here," Ed sighed with something that sounded like relief.
The girl's dark hair fell in her face but even so, Renesmee recognized her.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….The Cullens flew through the forest, Edward and Jacob leading. They had picked up Renesmee's scent near the main highway and now followed alongside it, well-hidden by the trees.
Alice brought up the end, murmuring to Jasper as she ran, her voice floating like music. Beside her, Jasper's face was distorted, lips pulled back, teeth bared.
Suddenly, the familiar migraine sensation overpowered her and Alice halted along the ragged path.
Almost simultaneously, Edward stopped and turned, his eyes on his sister.
"I was wrong, Edward," Alice said. "I didn't see the picture completely before. I was wrong about…"
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"Emily," Ed grinned. "Look what I found."
Emily turned to stare fully at Renesmee and a wave of recognition washed over her. She took the stairs two at a time and came quickly to stand next to Ed, "It's her?"
"Yup."
Renesmee raised scared eyes to meet the other girl's.
Emily shook her head, "It can't be. I know this girl. She's in my English class. I know her brother…he…" She trailed off. "He…"
"This," Ed said, pointing at Renesmee. "Is the animal's daughter."
"Vampires can't reproduce," Emily said automatically.
"They can. With a human woman."
Emily looked back at Renesmee, her eyes torn, "And you think we can use her for bait. To catch the vampires?"
"Sure." Ed shrugged, looking uninterested in finding any of the Cullens. He stared hungrily at Renesmee, his cold blue eyes almost glowing in the dark basement.
For the first time in her life, Renesmee wondered silently what death would feel like.
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So this is what it feels like to go crazy, Jacob thought, his paws thundering along the ground. He had picked up Renesmee distinct smell at least ten times only to trace it back to the Cullen's property. Each time the edges of the rooftop peaked through the branches at him, his heart squeezed a little tighter. He would never forgive himself for allowing this to happen, for letting her out of his sight. He rejoined the Cullens who had gathered in a small clearing. He panted loudly, his long wolf tongue hanging from the wide of his mouth.
"This is ridiculous," Edward said, his voice tight. "We're going in circles."
"That's not possible," Emmett said with frustration. "I can smell Nessie."
"We all can," Carlisle said quietly, his arm around Esme's shoulders.
"Then why can't we find her?" Rosalie hit her fist against a tree trunk, felling it easily.
"Where is she?" Bella choked, returning from another loop. Her eyes were frenzied; her voice hysterical. "Where is she?" she screamed, her voice echoing into the deep parts of the woods. Edward was immediately next to her, his arms wrapped tightly around her waist, his voice soft and lilting as he whispered in her ear.
"I just can't believe I didn't see it before," Alice looked disturbed.
"It's not your fault," Jasper soothed. "The vision wasn't complete. That's all."
"I must have completely misinterpreted what I saw," his wife went on, miserably. "I just don't understand."
"Carlisle, how is this possible?" Edward asked, his eyes on his father. "What is happening to us?"
The patriarch furrowed his eyebrows, "There are things that, even after three centuries, I am still unsure of. It's possible that someone has discovered something that shields against your abilities or…manipulates them." His eyes got a faraway look, then, "There are things my father spoke of in whispers. Things I never truly believed in. Magic and darkness…But then, I never really believed in vampires and shapeshifters, either." He smiled sadly at his family. "This is something I have not experienced."
Edward turned to Jacob. "When?" he asked, responding to some thought. "The others are on their way – Seth, Leah, Sam, the other pack. They'll be here soon."
"We need to find Emily," Alice said urgently. "Emily knows where Nessie is. I can sense it."
"Except if she's anywhere near Renesmee now, we have no chance of finding her," Emmett looked like he was struggling to contain himself.
Words from earlier in the night echoed in Bella's mind like a horrible joke…We're going to lose her. It's inevitable. The mother's cry that rang through the night pierced Jacob so deeply that he yelped once and turned to dive back into the forest, searching again for that sweet, familiar scent.
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Author's Note: Don't despair. Review and tell me what you're thinking. Next chapter is already in the works but I need some feedback. Thanks, guys!
Notes for reviewers who didn't sign in:
Maddie: I'm sorry there's not an answer to your question in this chapter. Thanks for reviewing! Looking forward to hearing what you think.
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