Disclaimer: I don't own anything, but I do own the pair of Winnie The Pooh slippers I'm wearing.
26. Plans, flames and action.
Jpov:
I stood in the corner of the small cabin we were hiding in. My back was against the wall. I was quivering even though there was a nice warm fire burning in the small fireplace. I was quivering not because I was cold but because I was staring at the two monsters I have created. I was quivering because for the first time in my life, I was going to betray them and not only am I going to betray them, I'm going to betray myself. As two pair of eyes glared at me, I was truly afraid. Afraid that my plan will fail. They seemed like wild animals, doing as they pleased and taking orders from no one. Once upon a time, I was able to control them but as they say, you can take the animal out of the wild but not the wild out of the animal.
"James what the fuck is going on?" Laurent asked me while he was cleaning his nails with his knife.
For some this might seem disgusting but I knew he only did this when he was severely agitated. "Relax Laurent, I'm going to take this little present to Edward and when he opens it he would know he was almost too late to save his little whore." I took out a small silver box and placed the strand of hair inside it.
"Can I take it to him?"
My head snapped up. "No!" I screamed out, shit I didn't want to shout. "I want to see the despair on that morons face when he finds it." I did some damage control and hoped no one would linger on my little outburst. I placed a small folded piece of paper on top of the hair.
"I'll still be the one who gets to kill her right?" Laurent asked, pointing the knife in my direction. I nodded. Edward, you had better get here in time. I won't be able to stop him the second time around, I thought to myself as I still portrayed the image of the hunter.
"I still don't see why we can't kill her now. We could be across the border before they even find the body." Victoria asked as she sat down on small brown couch.
"Well, that defies the whole point of the game now doesn't it?" I said as Laurent smiled.
"I agree with Victoria, we should kill the little bitch now and then when we're across the border we can let Edward know where to find her body." I suppressed the anger in me,
"There's a chance that the police will be looking for my Jeep. This means that we can't drive in the day. Therefore, we have to drive during the night. And, I don't know about you, but I don't want to sit around with a dead body until nightfall."
Laurent glanced from me to Bella's door and back. "I guess that makes sense, but I'm not waiting for midnight. As soon as night falls, I'm going to kill her. If you try and stop me this time, I would not be held responsible for my actions." He said this so normally as if it was second nature like a hunter catching his pray, just a way of life.
"Fine then as soon as night falls. Now if you'll excuse me I have a delivery to make." I pressed away from the wall and strolled past them casually walking to the door. I had been forming this plan for the last hour and seeing that it was almost two in the morning, it was a pretty desperate plan.
I was about to get into the Jeep when Victoria spoke behind me. "Can I join you?" She asked as she walked up to me.
"I rather you don't, It would be awfully hard for me to concentrate with you around me." I hoped my small lie had the desired effect.
She trailed her index finger over my lips and smiled a little. "Maybe you're right, but what will I do while you're gone?" She said while she started to fiddle with my top button on my shirt.
"I won't be long and I'm sure you'll think of something." I said and she smiled, she tilted her head up for a kiss.
I leaned down and pressed my lips lightly to hers when she suddenly pressed me against the Jeep deepening the kiss. She fisted my shirt and began kissing me with so much passion it almost hurt. It felt like the desperate nights we sneaked away from Edward for a quick stolen moment.
Back then, the adrenaline combined with the fear of being caught at any moment, could take you to such highs, now it was overwhelming and exhausting. Victoria was always wild and she never slowed down. She always left me exhausted. Even though the sex was really great in the beginning, I just wanted to take it easy and really enjoy the moment. As I kissed her back, I smelled her perfume and it burned my nostrils, the smell was so sharp it was almost revolting.
She finally broke the kiss. "Hurry back I'll be waiting for you." She said seductively against my lips.
I forced a smile at her. "I'll be back as soon as I can."
I climbed into the Jeep and started it. As I pulled away, I looked in the rear view mirror and watched as her figure disappeared. Ok the hardest part was over. I just hoped the rest of my plan would be as easy as this first part. I drove for a while before I stopped and rested my head against the steering wheel. I have never regretted anything in my life. However, kidnapping Bella was the biggest mistake I have ever made and that includes sleeping with Victoria while she was still with Edward.
I wasn't a fool I knew how life worked. One right doesn't correct a million wrongs. They say whatever you do comes back to you in tenfold, well if this was the shit hitting the fan, I would take it gladly. I sighed, Edward I am buying you some time. I just hope it is enough. I started the car and drove to Bella's house. Indirectly I was driving towards my own doom.
There was no one there. I parked the Jeep a few streets from her house and walked to the deserted house. Every lamp pole had a poster with her face smiling at me, she looked so happy so serene. I walked past the house and into the back yard. I could smell a faint trace of wet dog. I spotted a swing set and walked over to it. I sat down on the seat and started to swing back and forth. The paint was faded and here and there, it was peeling from the steel, it was possibly a family heirloom.
I imagined Bella's mother playing on the swing, swinging as high as possible. Then I pictured a small brown haired girl being pushed by her father, he would smile in wonder at her carefree laugh. He would suddenly stop the swing, pick her up twirling her in the air and then fall to the ground drunkenly, tickling her.
I shook my head to rid myself from the visions. The silence was disrupted suddenly by soft voices. I got up and placed the silver box on the swing, someone was bound to find it eventually. I walked into the cover of darkness and slowly made my way past the house in the dense forest, as I passed the living room window I couldn't help but peek inside. Bella's mother was crying and her father was trying to comfort her but I could see the tears fall down his face. A tall lean blonde guy was comforting a small black haired girl. Her tears were flowing freely down her face and his shirt was completely soaked through. He didn't even notice it, nor did he notice that there was a cut on his arm that needed some attention.
I spotted another couple, a muscular bear of a man was comforting the most beautiful person I have ever seen. Even with a swollen tear stained face she was beautiful, I looked away from her when another pair of people walked into the living room. I didn't recognize them but the woman was weeping also while the blonde man tried to comfort her.
I felt like an outsider catching a small glimpse of the agony I have caused. Revenge seemed so easy, yet seeing the despair it can cause others somehow, it just wasn't worth it anymore. I wanted that good feeling I was bargaining on for the last month. I wanted to feel like a God, knowing I had the power to punish the people that sinned against me.
It's funny I never considered that Gods could bleed. I noticed a movement at the door and saw Edward for the first time since I took Bella from him. I hardly recognized him. He was a mere shadow of the man that broke my jaw in that parking lot. He glanced around the living room until he was swept up in the unfamiliar woman's arms. They must be Edward's foster parents. He hugged her back before he headed to the kitchen. I walked to that side of the house and watched as he opened the door heading for the swing.
He was about to sit down when he spotted the box, I wanted to run to him and knock it out of his hands. I wanted to take him to Bella and give her back to him. I didn't want him or her family to suffer anymore. Instead, I stood frozen and watched as anguish crossed over his face. He looked at the box and then walked back into the house. I walked back to the living room window and saw how he walked into the living room.
A tanned boy I didn't notice the first time looked up and said something, now everyone's attention was on Edward. He looked at them and then very clearly made a decision. He said something and then very slowly opened the box. He took out the small folded paper and looked into the box before reading it. He seemed relieved as he spoke probably announcing that Bella was not dead and passed the paper around. They passed it from the one to the other I turned and walked away. I walked to my Jeep when a new poster caught my attention. I walked up to it and glanced at my face.
I smiled. This was going to make things much easier. I climbed into my Jeep still smiling. I climbed over the front seat to the back and lay on the seat. I would crash here for a while before setting in motion the final part of my plan. I woke to the sound of rain falling on my windshield. It felt so eerie and quiet. It was still dark out. It can't still be morning, can it? I glanced at my watch and shot up, three pm in the afternoon.
I must have been really tired, shit I wanted to finish my plan by now. I climbed into the front seat and started the car. I drove to the very outskirts of the town and stopped at a fairly old looking shop. I grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled a few lines on it. I climbed out and ran through the drizzling rain entering the shop. It looked like a small café. I spotted an old man standing behind the counter and walked over to him.
"Sir I'm very sorry to disturb you but I was wondering if I could quickly use your phone please?" I asked him smiling friendly.
He looked me up and down, "Is this some sort of scam? You young ones always come in here with some sort of scam." He grumbled in my direction while pointing his finger at me accusingly.
"No Sir, I just want to phone the chief of police and give him some information." I said politely and he just grunted.
"Oh this is new, nice try boy but why don't you just leave my shop." I sighed while I hung my head.
"Very well but the information is very important, here I wrote it down you can call him yourself." I placed the paper on the counter and walked out of the shop. I glanced back and saw him dialing frantically. Hold on Bella, your savior is on his way. I got into the Jeep and started driving back while whistling to myself.
I stopped outside of the small house and as I got out, I knew something was wrong.
"You bitch, today you'll die. Ugh…you'll pay for that!" I heard Victoria scream and ran for the front door. The house was filled with black smoke. "Where are you, you little slut!" Victoria screamed again, my throat was burning with each breath I took and my eyes were watering from all the smoke. I saw a figure stumbling over towards me. I could not make out anything in this smoke but froze when the figure stopped in front of me.
"I will find you and then you'll pay. I swear I will kill you, you whore!" I looked into a wide-eyed, frightened to death Isabella Swan.
Bpov: From early that morning.
I did not sleep a wink last night, ever since I heard James leave I expected Laurent to walk through that door coming to kill me. He never came and James was yet to return from where ever he went. Why did James stop Laurent last night? Was this really some game to him? Or did he try to buy me some more time? I shot up when I heard a key turn in the lock. Victoria walked in and closed the door behind her.
I clutched my knees and brought them up to my chin. "You can relax I'm not going to kill you, at least not yet." She walked to the other side of the room and leaned against it facing me, she folded her arms and her upper lip pulled up slightly as if she smelled something disgusting.
"Tell me something Bella, what does Edward see in you? You're not very attractive. You're so thin you're almost fragile. You don't wear any form of make up and your sense of fashion is nonexistent. Why did he pick you out of all the girls in this hick town?" She asked looking at me waiting for me to answer.
Well what was I supposed to say? It was a mystery to me as well. There was no legit reason for him to like me. "I don't know why he wants me." I said in barely a whisper, she smirked at me.
"You know I never intended to cheat on him, it just happened. It was an accident and I should never have done it." I looked up suddenly and suppressed the urge to giggle.
"How do you accidentally sleep with someone?" I asked before I could help myself. There was no reason for me to provoke her. After all she could decide to kill me at any moment.
"Easy. I had too much tequila, he looked cute and I took advantage. Or he had too much tequila, I looked cute and he took advantage. Either way, a lot of tequila was involved and someone definitely took advantage." She smiled at her little inside joke.
"I felt dirty and stupid for betraying someone like Edward, at least I did before it happened again and somehow it always happened again. I went to him after he caught me cheating on him but he did not want anything to do with me anymore. I wasn't used to being told no to. I wasn't used to men like Edward denying me. It hurt like hell being rejected by Edward but James was more than willing to fill his place." She chuckled lightly as she found something amusing.
"Did you listen to yourself just now? Are you still wondering why he didn't want you back? Are you really that daft? I wouldn't want to go out with someone as narrow-minded as you."
She glared at me and I could see her opening and balling her fists. "Yet here you are. You're the one staring death in the face and I am the one with all the power. Life is just not fair is it?" She said as I rested my chin on my knees.
"I never expected life to be fair, that way I'm not all depressed when things doesn't work out the way I planned. The only thing I have learned from life was that you can merely survive it." I stared at my feet but I could hear Victoria move.
"Do you always have answers for everything?" She asked and I looked up, she was standing at the door with her hand on the doorknob.
"I don't have answers for everything. I just have views and beliefs. Finding the answers is what living is all about." She looked at me quickly before walking out locking the door once more behind her. I glanced at the clock it was about eleven am, this was going to be a long day. I fell to may side and laid in the fetal position I stared at the clock and watched my time tick away.
Epov: about three pm in the afternoon.
The whole morning rushed by, there were even more volunteers today than yesterday. Everyone came over once they heard that Bella wasn't dead. We searched through areas we couldn't get to yesterday and were still waiting for some search parties to return from their search. We were all gathered in the living room when Harry's cell phone suddenly rang. We stopped our discussions so that he was able to hear the other person over the phone.
"Yes…and when was this…yesterday morning…..they are always just one step ahead of us…yes…thank you ….bye." He turned to Charlie. "That was the tracking company, the last coordinates they received was within Forks. They must have disconnected the device after that." The weight that rolled of my shoulders briefly returned in what felt like twice the amount. I can't believe we still couldn't find her, time was running out and this time I feared, they weren't going to give us some more.
I walked into the hallway trying to escape the suffocating feeling of despair when the Swans house phone suddenly rang. I walked over to it slowly. "Swan residence." I answered automatically.
"I have some information regarding Charlie's missing daughter." I straightened up and grabbed a pen and notebook that lay next to the phone.
"I'm listening." I held the pen at the ready.
"A suspicious black Jeep was sighted at the fallen cabin near Goat Rocks. One woman and two men where spotted entering the cabin please tell Charlie." I scribbled the details quickly while thanking the kind stranger. I placed the phone back on the receiver and searched for Charlie.
Once I spotted him I wove through the men and stopped out of breath in front of him. "Charlie someone phoned with a possible location where they might be." He looked up at me and took the paper from me reading it quickly.
"Dammit it was under our noses the whole time. I want every police officer to follow me to Goat Rocks." While he said this, he walked to the door and grabbed his gun belt and chief of police jacket. I followed him. I wasn't going to let him go without me.
"Charlie let's take my car, its way faster than your Cruiser." He turned when he heard me speaking.
"You and the rest of my family are staying here. I don't have time to worry about you too." I slammed the top of the cruiser.
"I'm not staying behind Charlie. There is absolutely nothing you can do to keep me here." He glared at me for a while.
"Fine. You stay near me, understand?" I nodded and began walking to my car. The crunching noises that his shoes made on the gravel were a good indication that he was following me.
"Buckle your seat belt and hold on." I said as soon as he closed the door. I pulled away with screeching tires. Gravel was sprayed in every direction. Charlie only gave directions when it was necessary but then it was single words forced out of tight lips.
"Is that smoke?" He asked suddenly pointing to something in the sky. I looked up and saw a cloud of dark black smoke.
"Yeah, seems like it." I focused on the road again as we flew around a corner.
"The smoke is coming from the area the cabin is situated in." I didn't reply but pushed the gas pedal even harder into the floor. We shot into a clearing and I stopped the car with a new spray of gravel as it slid on the ground. We got out and stared at the burning cabin, flames leaked out of the windows and as we watched the roof came crashing down. Harry stopped next to us in his police cruiser.
"Phone the fire brigade! Get them here now!" Charlie said as I spotted the jeep behind the cabin.
"Charlie the Jeep is still here. Tell Emily to bring the dogs, James and his followers might still be here". I said and he turned to Harry.
"Call Emily maybe we'll be lucky this time."
We watched as the cabin slowly burned away. The fire brigade just extinguished the last of the flames. "Chief we found one body in the cabin, it looks like a male. We don't know how the fire started yet but we do know that he was dead before the fire started". I looked up. Bella might still be alive. What happened here? Charlie walked over to the cabin just as Emily arrived with the dogs. She brought about five dogs, I recognized the sand colored one as Seth and a big black one which must be Sam.
"You two, each take a dog and see if you can find a trail, Emily you and I will also take one." I took the last leash out of Emily's hand before Charlie could appoint someone else.
"I'll take the last one." I didn't wait for him to answer and walked to the forest behind the smoldering cabin.
"His name is Quill!" I heard Emily call after me. I raised my hand to let her know I heard her just as Quill barked excitedly.
He picked up pace and I had to hold on extra hard onto the leash to control him. "Slow down boy, I can't follow you if I break my neck." I said aloud but he just continued to drag me deeper in to the forest. After what felt like hours of treacherous hiking, he stopped suddenly and growled loudly. I squinted ahead but saw nothing when there was a sudden loud bang.
"James, no!" I unmistakably heard Bella scream and I dropped the leash in shock. Quill shot forward and flew ahead. There was a sudden growl and barking just up ahead.
"Ah!" I heard a small scream before it was suddenly cut of. I shot into action and ran ahead bursting into a clearing only once again to freeze in my steps. Quill was standing over Victoria growling at her when she even made the slightest movement and Bella was on her knees next to James. There was blood flowing from his right shoulder and their hands were clasped together on his chest, her forehead was pressed against his while tears were rolling down her face.
Bpov: Around three pm that afternoon.
I shot up when I heard a key in the door, as it opened slowly I instinctively knew it wasn't Victoria. Laurent entered my room and closed the door behind him locking it. "Your time...is up." He said popping the p. He placed the key in his back pocket "Now no one will disturb us." He took out his knife and walked over to me. I stared at him when I suddenly began smelling gasoline.
"Oh don't mind the fumes. Where just going to burn this place to a cinder so that there is nothing for the cops to find. Now stand up Isabella." He pressed the tip of the knife under my chin forcing it upwards. I had to stand up to avoid becoming impaled, I felt so hopeless. Where was Edward? Wait...Edward. Light bulb, I actually had a plan that might work.
"Walk this way Isabella." He grabbed my wrist and started walking backwards. I followed without protesting. "That is a good girl know take of your shirt." He dropped my wrist. I stopped a few inches from him.
"Laurent can I ask you a question before you do anything?"
He smiled. "Of course feel free to ask whatever you want." He trailed two fingers down my shoulder.
"How much did it hurt when Edward broke your knee?"
He pulled a face. "A lot. I have never felt a pain like that in my life."
I smiled lightly. "Good." I kicked the same knee Edward broke with as much force as I could muster. I heard a satisfactory bone crunching noise and he fell to the ground and grabbed his knee with both hands leaving the knife on the ground.
"Bitch!" I bent down and picked up the knife just as he made a lunge for me, he slipped and fell into my hand that held the knife. I heard a gurgling sound and then he became rigid.
I kicked him in the ribs but he didn't react whatsoever. I tried turning him over but he was just too heavy. I saw the tip of the knife handle sticking out and when I pulled it out from under him the entire blade was covered in blood. I reached into his back pocket and removed the key. Creeping to the door I unlocked it silently.
I took a big breath and opened it. More fumes hit my nose as I snuck into the empty hallway. I was about to enter the living room when I walked around the corner of the bathroom and straight into Victoria. She dropped the candle she was carrying and the moment it hit the floor the entire floor went up in flames.
"You bitch, today you'll die… Ugh…you'll pay for that!" She screamed as I launched forward and stabbed her in the stomach. I ran past her as she clutched her stomach but by now, the entire cabin was filled with smoke. It burned my throat as I inhaled it and made my eyes water, I had no idea where the living room door was.
"Where are you, you little slut!" I heard Victoria scream behind me, seemed the smoke had the same effect on her. I saw a beam of light through the dense smoke and began making my way over to it. "I will find you and then you'll pay. I swear I will kill you, you whore!" I stumbled on when I walked right into James. I froze as fright took over my body. He just stared at me before he suddenly came to life.
"Come Bella the door is this way." He held out his hand for me and I took it without thinking twice. He started pulling me towards the beam of light. We stumbled out into fresh air and inhaled deeply as my airways burned in complaint about all the smoke I had inhaled. "Come on Bella we have to keep moving, Victoria will be out any minute now." He grabbed my hand and began towing me into the forest behind the cabin.
He dropped my hand as we stumbled over branches and uneven ground for what felt like eternity. He finally stopped and sat down on a fallen tree, I leaned against a tree breathing heavily. "How did you manage to escape from Laurent?" He asked when our breathing normalized.
"I broke his knee and then he fell into his own knife."
He smiled suddenly. "I have always told him that thing was going to kill him one day." I smiled at him.
"James you backstabbing fucker, wait until I get my hands on you". We heard Victoria from somewhere behind us.
"Come on this way." he indicated to an open space behind him. We ran to the other side were we found a small inlet formed by two trees crossing each other. "Get in there and stay there." He pushed me into the inlet and went to hide behind a tree just as Victoria stumbled into the clearing.
"Bella if you don't come out this instant I will go back to the cabin and kill Edward, he finally found our hiding spot. I'm sure I can get a clean shot before they arrest me." I flew out of the inlet and faced Victoria.
"Edward has nothing to do with this." She smiled and aimed a gun at me.
"Oh but he does, nobody says no to me." There was a loud bang at the same time James flew out from his hiding spot jumping in front of me.
"James, no!" I shouted as he fell to the ground. James took a bullet for me!
Suddenly there was a loud growling noise and barking.
"Ah!" I turned around and saw how a big dog bit down on Victoria's arm tackling her to the ground. He stood over her and every time she moved, he growled menacingly.
I turned back to James and sat down on me knees next to him. "What did you do James?" I asked pressing some pressure on his wounded shoulder.
"I gave my life for a friend. Didn't you say that it would be a good way to go?" He grabbed me hand linking our thumbs and making a fist with it turning my hand inwards resting it on his chest.
"Why didn't you just let me die? Why did you have to give your life for mine?" I asked in a whisper.
"Because... I chose too." He said as his body went limp.
"No…James….no". I whispered. Tears fell from my face to his as I rested my forehead on his still warm one.
A/n sorry it took so long but I wanted the perfect rescue and it was very hard for me to kill James. He really grows on you after a while. I felt no pain in killing Laurent though lol, he just doesn't have the charm that James has.
Where does time go, Work takes two thirds of my day, then I have to make dinner for my brother and I and when I'm finally done doing what I love (writing Fanfics) it's early morning and the start of a new day. Well I'm of to bed I hope the rescue was worth the wait.
Thanks for all the reviews; they totally motivated me to write this chapter the best I could. Thanks for adding the story to your favorites and alerts lists. A special thanks to my wonderful beta, Princess Blair Rose, for polishing this chapter to perfection and all your support. Be sure to check out the story she's busy writing "Bella Cullen" it's really good.
Thanks for reading.