Chapter 6
The Last Human Feeling
The ride home seemed longer than usual. I held Charlie's hand the whole way there, knowing that would do no good; there was nothing that I could do to ease the burning pain, the pain that none of us were ever able to forget; our last human feeling.
Jasper and Emmett were waiting for us by the front door. They both helped getting Charlie out of the car and got him into the guest bedroom. The guest bedroom was at the far end of the house, but it did actually have a bed, for appearance purposes. As they put Charlie on the bed I noticed that the right side of his chest, where he had been shot, was completely healed. He didn't seem to be in as much agony as before, but he was still in pain and discomfort. I gazed at Jasper, and he nodded, understanding my unspoken words. Jasper seemed to be able to ease Charlie's discomfort. Charlie still holding my hand closed his eyes as if he was asleep.
We had only been home for about thirty minutes, when Carlisle and Jacob walked in. They immediately came into the room to check on Charlie. Carlisle thought of still giving the morphine, but once he saw Charlie, lying down peacefully, he decided to leave him be.
Edward turned to Carlisle and in a concerned voice, he asked:
"Carlisle, how much of a mess was it? Do we have to move?"
"Everything is fine, son. The officer that was with Chief Swan has a bad concussion; he won't have a clear memory of what really happened. We took Charlie's cruiser and parked it outside his house. It is like he was never there."
"What about the robbers?"
Jacob quickly answered to that, with a grin on his face. "They won't be coming back to Forks… well, I guess my job is done here." He glanced at Charlie, shook his head and left the room mumbling something about how mad his dad (Billy Black) would be.
Edward then asked about Charlie's cover story.
"Well son, Charlie was prepared, more prepared than I thought, and that helped. We were hiding by the store when the back-up officers came in along with the ambulance. One of the officers was asking about Chief Swan, and we heard the other officer saying that he put in for a leave of absence starting this coming morning, due to some sort of family emergency. They just assumed that Charlie had to leave early."
We were all glad that was taken care of. I just wished those were the only problems that were ahead of us. I wondered if while we were gone, Alice had any other visions about the Volturi; I wondered if the Volturi would know that Charlie was no longer a threat to them, not that he ever really was.
I looked at Edward and asked him to get Alice for me. I did not want to leave Charlie, not even for a second.
Edward looked at me and said, in his soft voice, that there was no need to call Alice. He was reading her mind. Edward calmly explained that Alice just had another vision, but before telling me what the vision was, he first assured me that everything would be fine.
"What is it Edward?" I asked impatiently.
"The Volturi changed their plan. They are still coming, just to reassure that Charlie is no longer a risk…. There are now just 3 of them coming: Aro, Demetri, and Elizabeth."
I knew Aro and Demetri, but that last name did not sound familiar.
"Elizabeth?" I asked, trying to remember if that was someone we met.
Alice then walked into the room.
"Thanks for the fine introduction to my vision, Edward." She said in a sarcastic tone.
"Bella, in my vision, Elizabeth is the one who warned the Volturi about Charlie's theories, and now, she warned them about Charlie being one of us. She must be a new addition to the Volturi's collection. Her power seems to be somewhat like mine, only her visions relate to what is happening at the moment."
I felt uneasy, but was then distracted by Charlie's strong grip on my hand. His eyes were still close.
Alice turned to Charlie and then back to me.
"His transformation is occurring faster than it should. I am not sure why, but it should be over soon."
Carlisle, looked puzzled, as were the rest of us.
I looked out the window to notice that the sun was rising. Renesmee would be up soon, and I suddenly reminded myself that we did not know how Charlie would react to being a newborn vampire. Renesmee, being half human, could be a temptation to his thirst. I looked at Edward and Carlisle horrified by the concern that just crossed my mind.
I voiced my concern and they both agreed that Renesmee would need protection until we knew how Charlie would react to humans, or until he could control his thirst, which could have been a while.
I felt a stronger grip on my hand. Charlie opened his eyes, which were now red, and spoke; his voice was soft, but he spoke with authority and assurance.
"Bells, please don't take Nessie away. I won't hurt her!"