Chapter 19

'Be open to your dreams, people. Embrace that distant shore. Because our mortal journey is over all too soon.'

I thought of all my friends who would mourn my passing, my distraught mother, my heartbroken father. The people who would blame themselves for something they could not have changed. For fate was the worst of all enemies. I sat blindfolded and cold. I was not scared; if I were scared I would be giving him what he wants. I was regretful. Of all the things I never did, never saw, never told. My heart bled as I thought of the decisions I made throughout my, all be it short, life. That I never kicked that bully Gretchen in the shins when i was six, that i had given up ballet in my third lesson, that i never truly told every single person how i truly felt about them. I thought of Edward and how I wished to be in his arms. I thought of Jacob, how our last words together did not represent how we felt for each other.

My devil hadn't been in the room for what felt like hours. It was cold and damp. I had no clue as to where I was. The blindfold not only restricted my view but blocked my hearing senses as well. I wanted so badly to cry but I did not want to feed his desire.

'Our previous encounter was far too short!' I jumped at the sleazy voice. 'And with all this extra protection its been hard to get to you my little one! The big oaf, the little movie star and that Indian! Watching you girls like hawks. Makes me sick!' I shivered. His voice was cold and absent of emotion. 'But i have you now so it's going to be okay!' I felt him behind me. His cool breath on the back of my neck. He un-tied my blind fold revealing himself. Now I was certain of my own death. I had seen enough TV shows and documentaries to know that once a killer reveals himself to you, once you had seen his face, his dark eyes, that you were most certainly dead. I hadn't read about how he did it, I had refused to read about how my fellow students died, but I knew it wasn't going to be quick. I close my eyes tight together and wished for this to all be over soon.

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Alice POV

'Bella isn't home and I called Jacob, he said they had a huge fight and she left un-attended!!' I wailed into Jaspers chest. We had all received missed calls from her and she hadn't been home since yesterday morning. Edward had called the police but they had said that, even though there is a serial killer, she is young and could have run off with a boy or something. They told us to ring back in 48hours. Rosalie was hysteric and Emmet wasn't much better. Jasper and Edward were preparing to go and find her themselves. They had photos of her and a description. I had called Charlie and he was flying out on the next flight available. Carlisle and Esme were as-well. I couldn't get hold of Renee but i was going to keep trying.

'She is going to be fine,' Jasper reassured me rubbing my back gently. We heard a gentle knock at the door and Edward went to answer. All we heard was a loud smack and a huge yell. Jasper and Emmet jumped up to go and see what the fuss was about.

'YOU LET HER OUT OF YOUR SIGHT AND NOW SHE IS GONE! YOU MAKE ME SICK!' I heard Edward yell.

'YOU'RE NOT THE ONLY ONE THAT LOVED HER YOU KNOW!' He continued. Rosalie and I went to see what was happening. Edward was on top of Jacob beating the living daylights out of him. Emmet and Jasper were, very lamely, trying to pull him off.

'Oh no, stop beating the crap out of the man that got Bella into trouble,' Emmet tried sarcastically. He stopped trying to pull Edward off and came to stand next to us. It was just Jasper now.

'Edward, Stop it, he may have gotten us into this mess but killing him won't help get Bella out of it...He can help with the search party!' He tried yanking at Edwards arm. Edward finally stopped. He stepped back, tears freely flowing down his face. He kicked Jacob once more and stormed back into the apartment. Jacob sat up his nose bleeding and his eye already swelling. We all stared at him. Rosalie and I turned and walked away. I looked back to see Jasper reluctantly offering him a hand up.

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2 Days Later

Still no Bella. The police were now involved, especially after the lashing they received from Chief Charlie Swan. The boys still had their own search party going. Their team consisted of Carlisle, Jacob, Jasper, Emmet and Edward. Charlie was co-ordinating with police and Esme and Renee comforted me and Rosalie. The boys had demanded we stay here for our own safety.

We were all sitting on the couch. It was late Saturday night when Renee's phone buzzed. She flipped it open and Esme scooted over the couch to sit beside her. Renee's face broke down, her knees fell onto the floor and she began crying hysterically.

'They found a body!' she wailed to us as the phone dropped next to her on the floor. Esme got on a level with her and comforted her carefully. Rosalie let out a whimper. I sat motionless. I couldn't live without Bella.

'They need someone to identify the body,' Renee continued. Esme rubbed her shoulder. I sat watching as her my best friend's mother broke down and I immediately knew what I had to do, I was the only one strong enough.

'Renee, I'll do it,' I said standing and walking to the door. A police man stood constant guard in an effort to protect us from the media.

'May I please be escorted to identify this body?' I asked gently. He nodded and organised a car. It happened all too quickly. The drive to the morgue was far to speedy for my liking. I stepped out of the car and was greeted by a priest and another officer. She was female and had a soft kind face. I followed nervously and entered the cold coroner's office. I was faced with a glass window covered by and off white curtain. I prepared myself for what I was about to see. The curtain slowly whisked back to reveal a lifeless corpse. I gasped and turned to the officer as a tear rolled down my cheek.

Okay dokey, so is it Bella or isn't it?

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