Chapter 6
REMEMBERING
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Bella POV
"I'm in a wee bit of a hurry," she hinted, still smiling. "A wee bit of hurry?" Talk about playing it down!
The guard blinked twice, and then shoved the money inside his vest. He took a step away from the window and waved us on. None of the passing people seemed to notice the quiet exchange. Alice drove into the city, and we both sighed in relief. Thank goodness...If that man had not taken the bribe then... No, I cannot allow myself to think like that! At least now, we should be able to get a move on.
The street was very narrow, cobbled with the same color stones as the faded cinnamon brown buildings that darkened the street with their shade. It had the feel of an alleyway. Red flags decorated the walls, spaced only a few yards apart, flapping in the wind that whistled through the narrow lane.
It was crowded, and the foot traffic slowed our progress.
"Just a little farther," Alice encouraged me; I was gripping the door handle, ready to throw myself into the street as soon as she spoke the word. I was eager to go, to get out of this car, to get out of this traffic, to do something to save Edward. As I was I felt useless, Edward was about to do something stupid that would surely result in his death and here I was, sitting in a stolen car.
She drove in quick spurts and sudden stops, and the people in the crowd shook their fists at us and said angry words that I was glad I couldn't understand. She turned onto a little path that couldn't have been meant for cars; shocked people had to squeeze into doorways as we scraped by. We found another street at the end. The buildings were taller here; they leaned together overhead so that no sunlight touched the pavement – the thrashing red flags on either side nearly met. The crowd was thicker here than anywhere else. Alice stopped the car. I had the door open before we were at a standstill. My body was screaming at me to move, to run quickly, to get out of the car and go and save Edward.
She pointed to where the street widened into a patch of bright openness. "There – we're at the southern end of the square. Run straight across, to the right of the clock tower. I'll find a way around –"
Her breath caught suddenly, and when she spoke again, her voice was a hiss. "They're everywhere!" Oh, the power those words had. I knew that if they-the Volturi wished it, I would be dead in under a minute
I froze in place, but she pushed me out of the car. "Forget about them. You have two minutes. Go, Bella, go!" she shouted, climbing out of the car as she spoke.
I didn't pause to watch Alice melt into the shadows. I didn't stop to close my door behind me. I shoved a heavy woman out of my way and ran flat out, head down, paying little attention to anything but the uneven stones beneath my feet. I ran, I ran as I have never ran before.
Coming out of the dark lane, I was blinded by the brilliant sunlight beating down into the principal plaza. The wind whooshed into me, flinging my hair into my eyes and blinding me further. It was no wonder that I didn't see the wall of flesh until I'd smacked into it.
There was no pathway, no crevice between the close pressed bodies. I pushed against them furiously, fighting the hands that shoved back. I heard exclamations of irritation and even pain as I battled my way through, but none were in a language I understood.
The faces were a blur of anger and surprise, surrounded by the ever-present red. A blond woman scowled at me, and the red scarf coiled around her neck looked like a gruesome wound. A child, lifted on a man's shoulders to see over the crowd, grinned down at me, his lips distended over a set of plastic vampire fangs. If only they knew the danger that surrounded them, I thought as I shoved by.
The throng jostled around me, spinning me the wrong direction. I was glad the clock was so visible, or I'd never keep my course straight. But both hands on the clock pointed up toward the pitiless sun, and, though I shoved viciously against the crowd, I knew I was too late. I wasn't halfway across. I wasn't going to make it. I was stupid and slow and human, and we were all going to die because of it. Why, oh why had I not insisted that Alice turn me, if she had then perhaps we would all be alive when this was over, but now I did not need to be Alice to know that my future was uncertain.
I hoped Alice would get out. I hoped that she would see me from some dark shadow and know that I had failed, so she could go home to Jasper. After all, I saw no reason why we should all have our lives ended...
Alice POV
'Run Bella, run!' I urged her with my mind. Bella needed to hurry; my visions were telling me that there was a chance that she would not make it in time. With this thought in mind, I slammed down on the acceleration. "Move stupid humans, I do not have time for this!" I yelled staring out the windshield as several mortals leapt out of the way of the car. 'What can I do?' I thought. Already I knew that I was attracting too much notice, any second now one of the Volturi guard members will be over to investigate the disturbance. Decisively I dumped the canary yellow Porsche in a darkened alleyway. "Now," I muttered, "Here comes the fun bit; getting to the Plazzo dei Priori without a human noticing the fact that I am quite clearly a vampire, avoiding capture from the Volturi, and all without leaving the shadows, this should be fun." As I turn to leave, I look long and hard at the Porsche. "Also, when we save Edward, make sure that he gets me a Porsche.
Bella POV
I listened, above the angry exclamations, trying to hear the sound of discovery: the gasp, maybe the scream, as Edward came into someone's view.
But there was a break in the crowd – I could see a bubble of space ahead. I pushed urgently toward it, not realizing till I bruised my shins against the bricks that there was a wide, square fountain set into the center of the plaza.
I was nearly crying with relief as I flung my leg over the edge and ran through the knee-deep water. It sprayed all around me as I thrashed my way across the pool. Even in the sun, the wind was glacial, and the wet made the cold actually painful. But the fountain was very wide; it let me cross the center of the square and then some in mere seconds. I didn't pause when I hit the far edge – I used the low wall as a springboard, throwing myself into the crowd. At least this way I could travel faster and get to Edward. I landed oddly, twisting my ankle I ignored the sudden hot burst of pain and ran on.
They moved more readily for me now, avoiding the icy water that splattered from my dripping clothes as I ran.
I glanced up at the clock again.
A deep, booming chime echoed through the square.
It throbbed in the stones under my feet.
Children cried, covering their ears. And I started screaming as I ran. No, no it cannot be over, I cannot be out of time, No!
"Edward!" I screamed, knowing it was useless. The crowd was too loud, and my voice was breathless with exertion. But I couldn't stop screaming. I screamed for Edward who was willing to end his life due to his feelings of guilt. I screamed for Alice, my friend who was about to lose her brother. I screamed for the Cullens who on Edwards's demise would lose a son, brother and friend. I screamed for myself, for I knew that without Edward my life would be rendered meaningless, pointless. Without Edward, what reason did I have for living?
The clock tolled again. I ran past a child in his mother's arms – his hair was almost white in the dazzling sunlight. A circle of tall men, all wearing red blazers, called out warnings as I barrelled through them. The clock tolled again.
On the other side of the men in blazers, there was a break in the throng, space between the sightseers who milled aimlessly around me. My eyes searched the dark narrow passage to the right of the wide square edifice under the tower. I couldn't see the street level – there were still too many people in the way. The clock tolled again.
It was hard to see now. Without the crowd to break the wind, it whipped at my face and burned my eyes. I couldn't be sure if that was the reason behind my tears, or if I was crying in defeat as the clock tolled again. Or perhaps they were tears of agony, of loss, of devastation as I realised I was too late.
A little family of four stood nearest to the alley's mouth. The two girls wore crimson dresses, with matching ribbons tying their dark hair back. The father wasn't tall. It seemed like I could see something bright in the shadows, just over his shoulder. I hurtled toward them, trying to see past the stinging tears. The clock tolled, and the littlest girl clamped her hands over her ears.
The older girl, just waist high on her mother, hugged her mother's leg and stared into the shadows behind them. As I watched, she tugged on her mother's elbow and pointed toward the darkness.
The clock tolled, and I was so close now.
Edward POV
Bella, my darling Bella, is gone forever. Bella is dead. My reason for living is gone, never to return. Without Bella, Tanya Denali will continue to try and flirt with me. Without Bella I am nothing. Slowly I begin to unbutton my shirt. I hope Carlisle and the family will forgive me. I just cannot live out my days, if what I am can really be constituted as being alive, without Bella and I cannot imagine spending the rest of my days being accosted by Tanya. These past few months have been pure undiluted torture. Everything I look at reminds me of Bella, plus Rosalisle contacted Tanya to let know that I am officially single and as she put it " back on the market" once more and so for five weeks whilst Tanya visited, I locked myself in my room in order to take cover from Tanya's, ahem, amorous advances. Oh my sweet Bella, if only you could see what my life is without you! It is hell, pure and complete. As I prepare to step out in the sunlight, I realise that never again will I have to deal with Tanya. This thought alone is enough to bring a smile to my face.
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REMEMBER: narration
Directly From New Moon
"speaking"
'thinking'
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