Author's Note: Ominous music! New chapter!
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34. Disaster
The gunshots had disturbed us, as we had sat in the dark warehouse, awaiting some unknown fate. I'd repeatedly stuck my head out the door to demand the guards surrounding us take me to Carlisle, but every time I'd been shoved back inside. Blaise had watched this with apathy, realizing before I did that asking anything from the sentries was useless. So I had paced back and forth, wasting hours away by formulating ridiculous escape plans. There was no way to get out of the warehouse, in reality; I was trapped here, as trapped as if I'd been a human without abnormal strength and speed. It almost made me feel sorry for Bella, a feeble creature in comparison to all the supernaturals around her.
"This is getting old," sighed Blaise, as we faced each other on the floor. "I don't even know why Adelaide is bothering to keep us around."
"You said it yourself," I answered. "She thinks we might have some powers she can use for her new regime."
"I know, but then why are we just being held here, isolated? Something isn't right about it." Thoughtfully, the black-haired nomad leaned against one of the huge crates in the room.
Irritably, I got up and walked around, arranging my clothes in dissatisfaction. They would never be clean again. "Whatever she's planning, I wish she'd get it over with. I am so thirsty, it's killing me."
"Maybe she's waiting for us to kill each other off," laughed Blaise.
"It's a possibility," I muttered darkly.
"Oh, come, dear Rosalie. Am I that much of a bother?"
"It's not you. I just hate being locked up in a room with anyone." Besides Emmett, of course, I added in my head. That I wouldn't mind at all.
"I don't mind it so much," shrugged Blaise. "I have been wandering for so long, it's rather enjoyable to remain in one place now and then. I would enjoy this, if it weren't for the fact that I have no idea what is to be our end."
"You would enjoy sitting in a dusty old warehouse, full of dirt and whatnot?" Surely he wasn't serious.
"Some of us don't have the same tender sensibilities as you, young lady," he returned dryly.
That was when the first gunshot had sounded, ringing out over the air.
"Where did that come from?" Blaise straightened, his burgundy eyes curious.
"How should I know?" I didn't care about a gunshot, because it had nothing to do with vampires, obviously.
"Gunshots, in Rouen?" the nomad murmured to himself.
"I'm sure it was just some human cleaning his gun, and it went off by accident." I was very good at dismissing problems that didn't concern me.
"Indeed." But he still looked preoccupied.
I felt my hair and walked to one of the gritty windows on the side of the warehouse. It wasn't a gilded mirror, but it would have to do for now. Meticulously, I went over each strand of my hair, dropping it into place with a patience I hadn't exuded in a while. The rest of my face was perfect, as usual, but my hair needed some work. I could hear Blaise trying not to snicker at my feminine gesture, and I chose to give him some grace. He wasn't really all that horrid to be around--for a nomad.
The second gunshot sounded, scarcely fifty seconds after the first.
It made me jump, tweaking the hair between my fingers out of place. Growling, I smoothed it back down as Blaise got up to look out the window next to mine. "That's just not right," he said. "There are never gunshots in Rouen, this is a peacful town. And there are never two in one night."
"Vampires don't use guns." It didn't have to do with us, so why was he flustered?
"No, not for violence. But perhaps it's a signal?"
Rolling my eyes, I turned from the window to stare at him. "A signal for what, pray tell?"
Crack!
"Mon Dieu, another one!" Blaise was more riled up about some yokel's misfires than he was about our predicament.
"It's nothing!" I snapped, antsy from his unease.
"But it is, Rosalie, it is! You don't know this town like I do."
"If you know this town, why can't you--"
There was a string of little pops and cracks, like firecrackers going off just outside the warehouse. Someone swore loudly from about a hundred feet away. "Do you smell that?" I asked, detecting the scent of sulfur and--gasoline?
More firecrackers went off, and more vampires outside yelped in pain.
"What in heaven's name is going on?" queried Blaise in exasperation.
I had begun to get a hunch.
My quick eyes caught movement in the window. I left my hair alone and focused on the outside, picking up the movement again. Through the layer of grime on the glass I could see, creeping like a phantom, a familiar blond vampire. "Jasper!"
"What?! Somone you know?" Blaise peered out his window. "Is that him, crouched under that eave?"
"Yes, it's my brother! Jasper!" What was he doing here?
Jasper looked up as I called, and saw me in the window. He put a finger to his lips; I was silenced instantly, wary of the guards. Then my brother dropped a can he'd been holding and took out a white handkerchief from his pocket. He tied it to the metal brace on the building he was under, then huddled, waiting. One of our vampire guards came to the brace, frowning suspiciously at the handkerchief. He didn't notice Jasper waiting for him behind his back until my brother had fastened his hands around the guard's head and sank into the shadows, but not before I noticed the pistol in Jasper's hand.
"He's good," said Blaise, rather nervously.
Next we heard four clear shots, which masked the other, more ominous sounds coming from the shadows. The smell of burning vampire flesh assaulted us. In a moment Jasper was back, streaking like a bullet across the dirt separating us and climbing silently through the window in the front of the warehouse, pocketing the pistol--and a lighter.
I couldn't contain myself as I ran to seize him in a fierce hug. "Jasper, you found us! Where are the others?"
"There are no others," he said with a grimace. "We have to get out of here, now. Where's Carlisle?"
"What? Where is everyone? Why aren't they here?" I couldn't believe Emmett wouldn't come for me. He was my champion, after all.
Jasper handed me the pistol, then surveyed Blaise with a cool look in his eyes. "Correction: Bella's here, too. Who is this?"
"This is Blaise, he's a friend," I said, to skip the confusion that would undoubtedly come with explaining everything. "Jasper, did you say, 'Bella's here, too'?"
"Yes, she's my distraction. Fire that when I tell you to, Rose. Where is Carlisle?"
"I don't know, where's everyone esle?"
"They're not here!" Jasper was getting more restless by the second. "We really need to move. I miscalculated-- there's too many of them. Come on!"
"Out the window?" asked Blaise, already vaulting through it. He was quicker to pick up on Jasper's plan than I was.
"Go, head toward the center of town. I have to go get Bella." When neither of us moved, he sent a wave of urgency towards us. "Go, Rose!"
"Carlisle!" Blaise and I looked at one another, debating internally. Run, like Jasper said, or go find Carlisle?
"I'll find Carlisle, you just go!" Jasper shoved me and Blaise roughly, spurring us on.
"Do as he says," said Blaise, and ran. I followed him, but neither of us got far.
We both stopped dead when we heard Jasper inhale sharply.
Then we heard the scream.
"Bella," I whispered.
Spinning around, I saw, lying spread-eagled at the foot of an embankment, Bella Swan, her arm cut open. And around her were nine vicious, thirsty vampires. Nine of them. There was no way any of us could save Edward's sweetheart, not now. I felt a thrill of true fear for her, that girl I'd never really wanted as my sister. Nobody should have to die like that, in a circle of heartless killers. That was how I had been, lying broken on the ground, when Carlisle had changed me.
And she had done this to save me? To save Carlisle?
Blaise was staring, mesmerized by the horrific tableau. "She's...human?"
"She's going to die," Jasper said, his voice coming out strangled. "She's going to die. I told her to pull out!"
The first of the nine vampires dove for Bella's arm, his teeth bared.
But he never made it to his target, because he was shoved aside by the vampire next to him. Snarling so loud we could hear it from our position, the two locked together in a skirmish, fighting for the kill. The third vampire clasped Bella's arm, forcing another scream out of her, but he, too, was butted aside by his companion. Soon every vampire in the circle was fighting, causing an enormous raucus, one I was certain would attract Adelaide's attention.
Bella wasn't completely out of danger, however--the fighting vampires weren't concerned with stepping on their kill as they fought, and several times she was nearly crushed by the combatants. She still had enough of her faculties to dodge and roll out of the way, clutching her hurt arm to her. "Come on, Bella." Jasper was on his toes. "Remember the plan, Bella. Remember the plan!"
"Why doesn't she crawl out of the cricle?" asked Blaise, as if it was so easy for one human girl to do.
Snatching her good arm out of danger just in time, Bella dug around frantically in her pocket, her dirt-smeared face set. Finally, just as one vampire loomed over her, his opponent torn to shreds, she whipped out her hand, and a tiny orange smudge sprang to life above her fingers. "Oh," I whispered in comprehension.
Bella had a lighter, as well.
With a cool-headedness that impressed even me, Bella touched the orange dot to the vampire going for her throat. He leapt back immediately, swatting at the flames spreading steadily over his skin.
"Good girl, Bella!" Jasper looked as if his knees would give out from relief.
Our one weakness as vampires was our flammability. Soon the man was covered in flames, cursing adamantly and running toward the river in panic. I knew he would never make it that far before he was burned to a crisp. Triumphantly, Bella set the vampires fighting closest to her on fire, lighting their ankles up. Dancing in pain, they left off their fight and dove toward the river, but not before they set the pair of guards next to them on fire, too. The other three backed off, still snapping at each other in aggravation.
I could have laughed at those idiots, burning or otherwise.
Bella saw us now, and I could see the grin split her face from where I was standing. She scrambled toward us, leaving a thin trail of blood behind her. I could almost smell her luscious scent from here.
That was going to be an issue.
"Bella, no, not here!" Jasper waved his arms, pointing to an area of the bank that had been washed out and covered by a fallen chain link fence. "Over there, the safe point!" Bella couldn't hear his hushed voice and kept coming toward us.
"Quoi?" Blaise's exclamation was coupled by his huff of breath.
I turned just in time to watch the nomad soar through the air and smash into the warehouse. Jasper was wheeling around for the source of the attack, but there was nobody there, from what we could tell. "Blaise," I said, as he righted himself, "who did that?"
"Surprise, sugar!" A southern accent drawled in my ear.
"Rose!"
I went flying, head over heels, like I was turning some absurd back-hand spring. Blaise caught me, wonder of wonders, before I went smashing into the same spot on the warehouse he'd been thrown into. "It's one of them," he told me. "It's one of their powers!"
A second later, Jasper came sailing over, a curse slipping between his thinly-pressed lips. We both caught him and turned him right side up, and he got in front of us, protecting us. Blaise tensed, stepping up beside my brother. So, I was the only one being protected. "Come on, now, man," Jasper said to the shadows. "Why don't you come out, and we can talk this over?"
"Nope," came the response, in a casual style. "Why would I do that, when I can just destroy you from here?"
Whistling in the manner of missiles, pieces of wood and scrap metal lifted off the ground and turned into a whirlwind around us, a miniature tornado. We all got down on our knees, covering our heads, as the debris flew in closer and closer to us. "I need to get near him!" Jasper said, over the wind. "We need to give him back some of this!"
Moving fast, even for a vampire, Blaise snagged a hunk of steel out of the tunnel of detritus and hurled it with all his might in the direction of our attacker. There was a crunch as the steel made contact with a building, and the whirlwind slowed slightly. Jasper gathered himself and punched out of the tunnel; I winced as numerous pieces of garbage hit against him.
"Just calm down," Jasper purred. "We can work this out, you know."
"I've got my orders, boy," said the southern voice, but the wind slowed, and the pieces of trash fell to the ground. Blaise and I sighed in relief. It wasn't that the debris itself would have done us harm, but the speed at which it was revolving would have.
"That's quite a talent you've got there," said Jasper conversationally.
"It is," agreed the southerner. He had come out of hiding, his tall figure sitting calmly on the step of the building across from the warehouse. Jasper was putting his skills to good use, tamping down the man's need to attack.
My brother crossed his arms. "I can see why you're here, but would you mind telling me why you tried to cut us into sushi?"
"Just have my orders."
"Orders. Hm. Who gave you those orders?"
"My," a woman's dulcet tones gushed, "what an ability!"
Blaise and I turned in dread to face her. Adelaide had emerged from her headquarters, and behind her was Carlisle, his face tight.
"Carlisle," Adelaide effused, "I had no idea you had such talented children! This is one of them, I take it?" She looked Jasper over, a smile lighting her full lips.
"Carlisle!" Jasper took a step forward, then paused. "Wait. You must be--"
"Adelaide, my dear," said the woman, as five more guards rushed out and imprisoned us. "My name is Adelaide."