Chapter 6
Saved Too Late

When I awoke, I was neither confused nor disoriented. Instead, I was graced with something much worse. Comprehension. Knowledge. I understood all too well what had happened to me, understood that my situation was as dangerous as it was inescapable.

With this knowledge came fear. Fear of the obvious: pain, death, torture. Fear of the unknown future. But also things that a rational person wouldn't be thinking about: guilt, the Cullens, Alice, Edward. Perhaps a rational person would think only of themselves, but I sat in place, thinking only about those I left behind. Those people who cared for me.

And I was angry at myself. Terribly angry. I couldn't get it out of my mind – that solitary moment when I had thought of the Cullens as bad. As monsters.

Out of nowhere, a sound. My head whipped around, long hair whip-lashing my face. A figure stood in the doorway, small sections of light entering the room around his tall frame.

It was Laurent. He stayed where he was, leaning casually against the doorframe. "Hello, Isabella."

"Bella," I corrected.

He smiled obligingly. "Bella, then. Of course." He took a breath, as though searching for words he could not say. "You will find that James and Victoria both wish for your demise; Victoria quickly James slowly. I myself am merely curious: what does the coven see in you? Why do they keep you, rather than feeding?" He shook his head. "It simply doesn't make sense to me."

I glared at him. "Stay confused, then. I don't know why, either. I didn't even know they were...that they..." I groaned in frustration.

"That they were vampires," he finished sympathetically. His voice was smooth, and, like Edward's, exuded a perfectly believable amount of coercion. I was sure that Edward used this power unintentionally, but with Laurent, I believed the opposite.

"Vampires are not myths. They are not fairy tales." A sickly twisted grin grew on his face. "They are horror stories. They are nightmares. James is a nightmare. It is unfortunate that you came across him, of all of our kind. But, no matter. You can't get away now.

"You'll never get away. Not from James. James is a tracker." I didn't understand what he meant, but I knew it wasn't good. Noting my ignorance, he explained. "Somehow, his senses are much more acute than ours. He can catch someone's scent and follow it across the world. He's stronger than any vampire I have ever seen. What makes him so lethal is that he is unable to be deterred once he has his eyes on something." He pushed himself off of the doorway blindingly fast, glancing around, looking. "I'd best be going. He wouldn't be pleased to see me here, talking to you." I didn't have to guess twice to know who he was referring to. "Good-bye, little human." His red eyes stared at me unblinkingly. "And good luck. You hardly need me to tell you that you will need it."

He left. The door closed behind him.

Door. Room. I was in a room – of course I was. My mind hadn't previously let me take in my surroundings, but I distracted myself from the thought of my imminent death by recognizing it now.

The walls were a faded navy blue; I felt engulfed by darkness. A small light was plugged in the corner, but the light emitted was barely enough to see with. There was a bad – I was sitting on it. It was a light mahogany wood. A night table was next to it, and a bean bag chair in the corner. Lined up against the wall was a collection of Hot Wheels toys.

This used to be a young boy's room. What had happened to him? Had these creatures killed him? Or had he died of something more normal, like cancer? Or had he simply grown up and left this place behind him? I wished I could. I gazed intently at the window, contemplating the effects of jumping through it. I discarded this idea as I looked three stories down to the concrete patio below.

A cold hand rested on my shoulder; I resisted the urge to scream. I tried to turn around, but found I could not. The hand held me in place. Or maybe it was my fear.

"Isabella," James said, "Or Bella, as you prefer." At the sound of his voice, the feeling came back into my body. I wished that it hadn't. I wished that I could become numb, shut everything out, so I wouldn't notice when he killed me.

But if I stopped feeling, I stopped thinking. I didn't want to stop thinking, because at that moment, my mind wasn't where my body was. Instead, it was with Edward. I thought about him, his topaz eyes, his crooked smile, his cold embrace, his friendly words, and I knew I was ready to die. To live and see a creature with such a cruel nature be so kind caused me to see how little significance I had in the world. I was ready to die.

I turned around. I opened my mouth to speak, but something he held in his hands stopped me. A video camera. A cell phone.

"It's untraceable," he said, guessing where my thoughts had gone. "At least, the number leads to a little town right outside of Sydney, Australia." He set the camera on the nightstand, pointing it in my direction.

He pressed the 'on' button. The blinking red light on the side of the device nauseated me. It looked too much like their eyes. But not James'. James' eyes were the deepest black that I had ever seen. It terrified me. Yet I couldn't scream. I couldn't move. I just stared at him. Waiting. For what? For death. It frightened me, too, how calm I was about my own demise. Maybe because I had always been waiting for it – only it came in a rather unexpected form, at the hands of beings that shouldn't exist.

"Bella," he began, and I noticed that his voice took on an air of hostility that had not been there before. "I'm going to make a little bit of a production. You see, it disappointed me when your coven wasn't there to protect you. It was much too easy. I hope that, once they see this video, they will come to me to avenge your death. I want a good fight. I want to go for the visual effects." His hand motioned to the room surrounding us. "I thought this room looked rather innocent, wouldn't you agree? And I do hope the glass of that window will come into play. Very...visually effective." I closed my eyes – how could God let this happen? If any of the Cullens were hurt...

"But before we begin, if you have no objection, allow me to call them up." He flicked open the cell phone.

"Their number is private," I interjected desperately. "It can't be accessed by-"

He cut me off. "Clearly, it can." His fingers flew overt he keypad, and then he held the small device in front of him, speaker up, lying in the palm of his hand.

From the cell phone came a voice. "James." My eyes filled up at the sound. Angry, harsh, biting. Hopeful. Edward. I bit back my outcry, but a small gasp escaped my lips.

"Edward," James replied pleasantly, a smile toying on the corner of his pale lips. "It's good to hear from you – I was worried that Bella would be dead before I called." The phone almost fell off his hand; the snarling coming from the speakers was enough that it made me cover my ears.

My captor pursed his lips. "We don't have all the time in the world." The snarling died down, then ceased. "Good. Now. Are you coming?" I was confused, but then I realized that the question was directed, not at me, but at Edward.

"NO!" My horrified shriek pierced the phone and reverberated off the walls. James turned to stare at me.

"Why not? Don't you want to be saved?" He smirked. "Or have you no sense of self-preservation at all?" He chuckled at his joke.

However amusing he found it, I couldn't stop my voice from breaking. "He can't...get hurt."

James looked surprised. "I think you'll find he can. I have no problem with him getting hurt. I'm up for the challenge." I wasn't listening to him anymore, just staring at the phone. James followed my gaze.

"Very well." He smiled, handing me the phone. "I'm not cruel. I'll give you a few minutes together." He retreated into the corner. "Proceed."

I took the phone off of speaker, forcing it against my ear desperately. "Edward," I whispered, unable to say any more. "Edward..."

"Bella," he replied, just as hopelessly. We didn't speak at first. I don't think we needed to, or wanted to. In that moment, we were connected, together. We could forget the fact – almost – that I was about to be killed. We could forget because we weren't speaking. But we both knew that we were merely putting off what was already decided. Trying to avoid the inevitable. "Bella, is he in the room?" I could practically feel James' presence behind me.

"Yes."

"Of course. Bella, you know now...what I..." I had never heard him at a loss for words. It might have seemed comical in any other context. But here it was heartbreaking. Horrible. He couldn't finish, but I knew what he was referring to. The small matter of his species. I winced – my own sick humor was awful.

"What you are. Yes." There was a silence. "That doesn't matter."

A sharp intake of breath on the other side. "What?" he hissed out. "It doesn't matter?"

"No. Not what you are – a vampire. It's who you are – Edward. My friend. My family." I knew he would argue; it was in his nature.

"It doesn't matter to you what I am? That I drink blood to live? That I've killed more people than you've met in your lifetime?" He was breathing hard. I wondered how he could think that – that I could ever blame him for anything. Didn't he realize that he was all I had? Didn't he realize what he was? To me? For me?

"No." You are, to me, the most important person in my life."

"Bella." He didn't finish.

"Yes?" Silence. His next words were rushed, but decided.

"I am coming. Don't argue. I'm on my way. I'm almost there." James stiffened behind me.

"But Edward," I protested. No way in the world was he coming here – no way was he going to get himself hurt! Because of me. No. I would not let it happen, could not let my Edward – my life – be harmed. "No, you're not-"

"No, Bella. I am coming. I am not losing you."

I knew I couldn't argue, so I said what I could. "You will not be hurt." Although our words were strong, sure, and commanding, our voices were not. We both knew the impossibility of survival. We both knew. I tried desperately not to.

"Bella..."

"Yes?"

"If things...end...badly, I need you to know something about us." He waited, supposedly for my assent. I gave it. "We aren't...normal-" I bit back a laugh "-for vampires. We are different. Carlisle was different when he started this...family. Coven. He only drank the blood of animals." He waited, but I gave not reaction. "We are like that, too. We don't kill humans. We can live peacefully alongside them. Carlisle wouldn't have brought you into our home unless he was certain you would be safe. Clearly," he added bitterly, "You weren't."

Silence. "Bella?"

For I had not reacted to this new information. I wasn't surprised, I wasn't relieved. I had already accepted him as he was. I would accept him however he was. I wondered what it meant about me that I didn't feel bad for those he had killed. But I couldn't bring myself to care. Because I cared for him. Because I loved him.

"I...I..." Stuttering. How completely cliché.

"I think that's enough time." As James plucked the phone out of my hand, I heard in that lightning-quick moment 'BELLA!' – and then nothing. He had snapped the phone in two. He dropped the pieces onto the floor. They scattered, skittering like mice over the hard wood beneath our feet.

He grinned, black eyes glowing with excitement and malice. "Your turn." He took a step toward me.

From downstairs, Victoria shrieked. "James! They're outside!" His eyes widened, a sadistic smirk found its way to his lips. "Let them come in," he called to his red-haired mate. "It's dinnertime."