I do not own Twilight or any of its' characters

BPOV

A thousand apologies for last week's cliffhanger, I posted three more chapters to make up for it. Please read and review them! I read over this one a dozen times, worried that my explanation of what is happening to Edward isn't clear enough. The idea makes sense in my head, and I hope it sounds sensible on paper! Thanks again for all of your support and great comments, it means so much to me.

Chapter 47

The Death of Edward Cullen

When I finally came to, I didn't recognize where I was. I knew I was no longer in the woods, I was indoors, somewhere, and I was seated upright. I looked around me trying to figure out my surroundings. It was very dark wherever I was, but not as dark as it had been when I was in the woods. There was dim yellow light on either side of the cement walls, several primitive sconces lined the long hallway that was before me. Everything seemed somewhat familiar to me even though I had no recollection of ever being in this place.

A dull pain ebbed in my hip and I remembered getting shot. I went to run my hand over the wound, but to my dismay, my hands were bound. The panic hadn't taken me yet. I twisted my hands around in a motion that would put a contortionist to shame. They weren't tied too tightly, I wasn't the primary focus. The crude nylon rope burned my skin as I loosened it and finally I was free. I groggily stood and felt my legs buckle underneath me and fell to the floor. I let out an irritated grunt as I propped myself up on the cold cement. What was going on and where was I? Edward, where was Edward? My mind began to clear; this room was familiar, familiar because I had seen it before in my head. A cold sweat came over me as I realized what was going on. This was the setting for the nightmare I had been struggling with for the last six months; the one where Edward died. I rose from the ground, still groggy, still uncoordinated, still hazy and started to make my way down the hallway, I leaned against the wall for support, looking like some addict on a bender. I ran my hands against the wall, my fingernails dragging and catching on the rough cement structure. In my dream, the hallway was very long, but eventually came to an end, at the end of it was some kind of office or room, sealed with a plate glass window or a two way mirror, I would find him there.

As I continued, the drugs began to wear off, my vision became less blurry, my thoughts more lucid, soon I had all of my awareness and determination back. I began to run down the hallway, the sound of my heavy boots echoing against the bare walls. As I had predicted, at the end of the room was a large window. Flashes from my dream came to me in rapid succession, Edward, trapped, shadowy men around him, the color leaving his face, my heart thumped wildly in my chest at my horrified anticipation. Then, I heard his voice, it was slow and slurred every so often, but it was his voice, it was Edward.

"I told you, we broke up, there's no reason for her to be here. Just let her go. What good does it do her to be here?" Who was he speaking to I wondered as I slowed my pace as the window came closer. I slid along with my back flush to the wall and ducked down and sat underneath the window.

"Honestly, I could care less if you're together or broken up or whatever. She was with you this evening Mr. Cullen and now, she must be dealt with as well." A very congenial voice said.

"Bella has nothing to do with any of this. She's probably still unconscious, you could dump her off somewhere and she'd stagger off without a clue." I heard Edward say in his most casual tone, he was trying so hard to protect me.

"I highly doubt that Mr. Cullen. I also highly doubt that she remains unconscious, in fact, I'm sure she's much closer than you think." The voice continued.

"Let her go."

"Let's get started." The voice said ignoring the rising fury I could hear developing in Edward's voice, I heard footsteps moving lightly around the room.

"Get Bella out of here and I'll do whatever you want," he bargained.

"I'm not going to require your free will, you arrogant little prick," the voice snapped at Edward. "You can't do anything to me. I know exactly what you are, and I know exactly what happened to you over the winter. You are not a threat to anyone anymore, Mr. Cullen. Not since you became human." I gasped as I heard the words, someone did know, I started to slowly recognize the voice, it was Gordon Scott. I could just imagine the look of defiance that was surely making its' way across Edward's face as the man spoke. Even in the face of the most dangerous and desperate situation, Edward would never dare come across as fearful; he only saved that emotion for when he was with me.

"Juno's wonderful isn't she? Amazing talent, able to heal animals, humans and vampires, quite a gift really. A gift that only got stronger when I changed her. Her blood was amazing, I can still taste it. I'm sure you know the feeling Mr. Cullen, with your little Bella? You must have slipped up a few times with her am I right? I've seen the way you look at her, there's more than just affection in your stare." Scott instigated.

I waited for the screaming, the threats, the curses that Edward would let spew from his mouth if anyone spoke to him like that, but they never came, he was playing his role very carefully. "You're absolutely right, there is more," he replied in a surly tone.

"You're a very composed individual, Edward."

"It comes with age."

"That's a crock." Scott responded lightly, I heard him shuffling something around, "it comes from outside influences. I'm sure you'd like to rip my head off right now and spit down my neck hole. You wanted to since the day I took over that class, ironically though, now you can't. You're as much an animal now as you were before you changed back. Clearly I can see that. You see, I know exactly how you feel because I feel the same way. I may be human now, my body has changed, my lifespan has shortened, but my old mind is still intact, I'm still a predator and so are you."

"We're not the same." Edward said flatly.

"That's right, we're not, you changed for love. I changed because I'm selfish. I wanted to be human again, and I wanted her blood. I didn't want her at all. The fact that she could even change me back was a miracle, and then when I found out about my blood, that was just the icing on the cake."

"What are you talking about?" Edward asked, now sounding genuinely confused.

"Surely you've noticed your unique talent since your change Mr. Cullen? I mean, even I noticed, your blood can heal. So can mine actually, so can anyone's who's been involved with a healer. She passes her power on to whomever she helps, which is why, if you've done your homework, a healer's life is so drastically shortened. Which brings us to why you are here, I'm sure you're curious."

"Not particularly." Edward said crassly.

"You're trying my patience now." Scott said with a dark edge to his voice, I heard his footsteps become rapid and a thud. I slowly rose to my position on the floor and peered through the window, trying to stay out of view.

Scott had Edward seated in a wooden armchair, a rope around his chest held him to the back of the chair, his ankles were tied individually to each leg and each wrist was tied, palm up on the arm of the chair. He stood over him with his fist against Edward's throat and Edward just stared up at him with contempt.

Two other men that I did not recognize were in the room with Scott, they stood at attention, waiting for his next move. He gestured for them to approach and roughly rolled the sleeve up on Edward's shirt, exposing his bicep and brachial vein "Mr. Cullen is about to go down in history as the world's most devoted blood donor." He growled as he straightened Edward's arm and tied a rubber tourniquet over his elbow. He walked around to the other side of the chair and repeated the process with his other arm. Edward winced as he tightened the tourniquet. "Mr. Cullen, these are my friends. They work for a very well known, very powerful pharmaceutical company that has just come across a very bio friendly, very organic product that can heal wounds and extend a person's lifespan; your blood. I'd offer them mine, but, I'm not as much as a humanitarian as you are." He said roughly clapping Edward on the shoulder.

The two men now approached Edward with a cart strewn with medical supplies. They began to prep his arms with surgical scrubs and alcohol.

"This is a fine way to honor the woman you loved." Edward said sardonically to Scott.

"And who might that be?" Scott said smiling. Edward just stared at him angrily, "Juno? You think I loved her? I told you, I wanted some very specific things from that woman, which I got in addition to a few other things. When I ever discovered that she changed you from a vampire into a human, I had to figure that the same thing would happen to your blood that it did with mine when she changed me. I had always hoped that I would live long enough to come across another person healed by her, because if I did, I vowed that I would find the unlucky person, get the blood, and use it for my own gain. Juno has served her purpose, and now she's dead." He said lightly, smiling. "You should have seen how she tried to protect you and Bella, it was pathetic really, she was truly a human in a vampire's body. A waste, good for only one thing, and then her temper got the worst of her and those stupid wolves took care of the rest. I couldn't have planned it better myself, it was like a Christmas gift."

So he had used Juno, all of that love and devotion and hurt she felt for Gordon Scott, and he used her. He never cared about her and all she wanted to do was take care of him and be loved by him. I felt desperately sad for her and promised myself that if we got out of this, I would do right by her memory back home in Forks. The two men were putting catheters in each of Edward's arms, the needles were huge, they must have been twelve gauge and I watched as his body tensed up from the discomfort of it.

Blood started to flow rapidly out of Edward and into the plastic sterile collection bag at the end of the IV line; they were going to bleed him to death. I had to get to him somehow. I reached into my boot and pulled out the cell phone, I scrolled through the menu frantically and found the GPS setting, I switched it on, so now the phone could be traced and found. I heard movement in the room and scrolled through the menu again till I found Edward's contact list. There was only one name I wanted to find now and it was way at the bottom of the list, Tanya. I clicked on Tanya's name and hastily typed out a text, one word in capital letters, HELP. I pushed the send button and snapped the phone shut. I peeked through the window again, Edward's color was getting pallid already, he wasn't trying to fight at all, he just sat in the chair and seemed to be accepting what was happening to him. I couldn't bear to see it; he was going to die in there if he didn't do something, if I didn't do something.

Tears welled up in my eyes, how could I get to him? I didn't see a door anywhere, maybe I didn't need to get specifically to him, maybe he needed to know I was still trying to get to him. I stood up and ran down the hall, the hall that went on forever, I ran back to where I had woken up and found the metal chair I had been sitting in. I grabbed it and ran down the hallway and threw it up against the window, Edward's head snapped up, he couldn't see me, it was a two way mirror, which meant it was practically indestructible. The chair ricocheted off the glass I picked it up and again and heaved it full force at the glass, it shook but didn't break, I couldn't even put a crack in it. I started to cry in frustration, in desperation and then I got angry, I screamed and took the chair and rammed it against the glass over and over again. The window shook ferociously, but did not crumble. Blood was continuing to pour out of Edward's veins and he was clearly getting weaker, I was running out of time. I was not a religious person, but I prayed that Tanya had gotten my message.

Scott turned his head toward the glass and smiled wickedly, his steel gray eyes cold and hard, I felt like he could see right through the heavy window pane and was staring at me, I shuddered as a chill came over me. I saw his lips move but heard no words, within moments he had disappeared. I continued with my efforts to break through the glass to get to Edward, and each time made no headway, I was losing hope. I started to cry and banged on the glass with my fists, my voice was hoarse, I couldn't form words.

Someone pinned my arms behind me and I became wild with fury, I pushed off the wall with my feet, throwing my shoulders into the hard body behind me. "Don't touch me! You'll never get away with this!" I screamed in a voice I couldn't even recognize. "Edward! Edward wake up!"

"You're wasting your time, he can't hear you, he'll be unconscious in a moment." Scott's voice purred in my ear.

"He knows I'm here." I growled.

"It doesn't matter now does it? He's quite incapacitated at the moment and I can only see him taking a turn for the worse."

I thrashed and threw myself against him, but he was too strong for me. My arms remained pinned and he pushed me up against the glass. "You watch him now. Watch him die. This is how your precious vampire boyfriend's victims died before he so nobly went 'vegetarian', amazing how love and infatuation can blind you." He hissed in my ear.

Edward's head was slumping against his chest, the only thing that was holding him in the chair was the rope, the two men approached him, the collection bags were full, and they were pulling his catheters. His arms looked purple and bruised from the stress of the needle size and the rapid blood loss.

"Edward!" I screamed, "Edward no!!" I heard Scott laugh quietly behind me and loosen his grips on my arms.

He heard me that time, he glanced up at the window and I saw him mouth my name, but no sound came. The two men cut his ropes and he fell from his chair onto the floor like a ragdoll. One of them poked him with his toe and they went to leave the room.

Scott let go of me completely, I couldn't even turn to fight against him. What was the point? What would it accomplish? My eyes were glued to my broken Edward on the floor in some dark place, dying and all because he wanted to be human for me. I felt like it was my fault. He would have been better off if he had never laid eyes on me, I thought miserably. He'd be alive now, he'd be alive and immortal and beautiful and strong. Scott was gone, the men were gone, all that remained was me and Edward, separated by a pane of glass that I couldn't break, I wouldn't even be able to say goodbye to him.

I began to cry and crumbled down onto the floor, I didn't care if I never got out of here. I didn't care if I died and was never heard from again, all of my hopes and dreams were expiring on the other side of the wall. I pressed my hand against the concrete and felt like I could feel his slow, thready heartbeat through the wall.

"Bella?" I thought I was hallucinating, his voice was just a hoarse whisper, any other person wouldn't have heard it, but it was my lifeline so it was louder than thunder to me.

"I'm here." I shouted weakly so he could hear me.

"Are you, are you alright?"

"No." I sobbed.

"Please don't cry love," he whispered, his voice shaking.

"Please don't die." I pleaded loudly.

He chuckled softly, "I don't think I have much say in the matter,"

I couldn't bring myself to respond.

"I can't hear you…" he whispered.

"I'm still here," I called, my voice rising.

"I'm cold."

"I told you to wear layers, even though it's the spring," I called back to him, barely holding myself together.

He chuckled again, I could hear his breathing changing as he tried to speak, "you would want me to admit that you're right on my deathbed," he teased weakly.

"Pompous ass," I said through tears.

"I love you so much," his voice was choked and tearful.

"I love you too,"

His breathing stopped abruptly, I wrapped my arms around my knees and sank onto the floor. The sobs that tore through me were painful, I felt like I was dying too. I hoped I was right.