Chapter 1: Where We Left Off

AN: Thanks to everyone who reviewed and to the people who are reading this story—it was nice seeing some of the old names from my readers and reviewers of Stranded. Okay, so here is the deal: I'm currently writing two stories-The Missing and The Epic Tales of Alice Brandon. The story that gets more reviews is the one I will update more often. So if you want faster updates, you guys have to review. Now to where Stranded left off…

EPOV

I sat at the table, worrying. Bella was acting strange. It was like she felt something bad was going to happen to the kids. I swear, ever since the letter incident, Bella had become paranoid. She was always afraid someone was going to come and disrupt our lives.

I looked to the dance floor and saw Emmett twirling Rosalie around. I smiled as I looked at my older brother. He hadn't had a chance to spend time like this with his wife since Charlotte had been born. My niece was a replica of her father—loud, funny, and full of energy. She had inherited Emmett's curls and eyes, and Rosalie's hair color and cheekbones. She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen until the birth of my daughters.

After I met Bella, I thought I could never love anybody as much as I loved her. When Emily and Olivia were born, I realized how wrong I was. I still loved Bella with all my heart, but the birth of our twin daughters had somehow expanded my heart. Instead of wanting to protect Bella with every fiber in my body, I know had this fatherly feeling that I would never let anything happen to any of the women in my life, my sister-in-law and best friends included.

My mind drifted back to Bella and my quickie in the bathroom. It had been ages since we had done something reckless and impulsive like that. Ever since Bella had gotten pregnant, she had become more reserved and conservative than she used to be. Not that she was ever a party girl, but we stopped going out on the weekends or even just hanging out with Alice, Jasper, and the rest of the gang. We saw everyone for events like this, but we weren't as close as we used to be.

I looked at my watch. Bella had been gone for almost 15 minutes—how long did it take to check on the kids if they were all sleeping? Maybe Olivia had woken up—she always had a panic attack if Bella was more than a foot away from her. I chuckled, thinking how Olivia was so much like Bella. She was stubborn and goofy, but also possessive. She never let me kiss Bella if she was with her.

Rosalie and Emmett came over to me, laughing.

"Having fun?" I asked. They nodded.

"I can't remember the last time we spent time like this without Lola and Gigi," Rosalie sighed, resting her head on Emmett's chest.

"It was probably before they were born," Emmett grumbled. He bent his head down, planted a kiss on the top of Rosalie's head, and snaked his arm around her tiny waist.

"Damn Cynthia for making these dresses so fucking tight," Rosalie said quietly. "I can barely dance in them. Bella was saying that earlier. By the way, where is she?" Rosalie asked, looking at me.

"She went to go check on the kids. She's become really paranoid lately, like she thinks something bad is going to happen to one of us. I don't see how—I mean, everyone who was a threat to us is dead."

"We think. Edward, we can't know that every single person who knew about us actually died," Emmett whispered.

"Do you honestly want to start this shit again?" I asked Emmett. "We've been over this a thousand times—if they haven't come now, they're never coming."

"I guess you're—"

Rosalie was cut off by a loud scream that filled the room. I looked around and saw Bella running through the doors and into the middle of the dance floor. When she got there, she looked around for a moment before dropping to her knees, sobbing. I jumped out of my chair and reached her a moment later. I bent down and knelt next to her.

"Bell," I whispered in her ear. "What's wrong? What happened?" I had never seen my wife look so distraught in the eight years I had known her. The only time she had looked close to this was when Jasper carried Alice back to our camp after she had fallen off the cliff on the island.

"The kids," she moaned. "The kids…" She couldn't get the whole sentence out before collapsing into my chest. I sat on the ground and pulled her onto my lap, rubbing her back and kissing her on the forehead.

Alice walked over next to me and peered down at Bella. "What's going on?" she asked. The whole time, Bella kept moaning and saying "the kids." I had no idea what that meant. She had just been with the kids, so she had no reason to be worrying about them. Maybe she was suffering some kind of mental breakdown and that was the first thing she thought of.

"I don't know," I said, looking into Alice's green eyes. "She keeps saying 'the kids' but I don't know why."

I heard the ruffle of a dress and the click of high heels on hard wood floors. I looked around and saw Cynthia peering down at Bella from behind me, looking at her best friend's face with worry.

"Bella," she said cautiously. "Is everything okay?"

"No!" she sobbed, putting her arms around my neck and burying her face into my chest. "The kids!" she shouted again.

"Bella, what about the kids, love?" I asked her, trying to figure out the answer to her tears. I had her cradled against my chest, trying to calm her down.

Rosalie walked over and bent down next to me, brushing Bella's hair out of her face. "Bella, what's going on?" she asked, a trace of fear in her voice. We had never seen Bella act like this, and it was scaring all of us.

"You're scaring us!" Leah said, putting her hand on Bella's shoulder.

Bella looked up at everyone with pleading eyes. She pushed everyone away and sat up, still resting in my lap. She took a deep breath. "It's the kids," she said with a shaking voice. "They're gone!" Her chest heaved as another sob escaped from her chest and she collapsed into my chest. I threw my arms around her and held her close to me as my world crashed around me.

********

APOV

Someone screamed—I think it was Leah. I heard a thud and looked over—Rosalie had fainted. Emmett rushed to her side and pulled her into his arms. He walked over to the nearest table and sat down, trying to wake her up.

People were whispering, unsure about what Bella was talking about. No one her knew the full truth about what we had been through—no one but the ten of us. Why would someone take our kids? Why would someone target our children?

I grabbed Jasper's hand and walked over to Edward and Bella, who were still on the floor. Bella was sobbing into Edward's chest as he whispered reassuringly that everything was going to be okay in her ear.

"Bella?" I asked tentatively. She looked up from Edward and I saw her eyeliner had started to run. She looked like a raccoon with puffy red eyes. "Are you sure? I mean, maybe they're just hiding or playing a game?" I had to think she was wrong—it was the only thing keeping me sane at the moment.

"Alice, you didn't see the room," she whispered. "It looked like someone had broken everything in sight and grabbed the kids. There's no doubt in my mind that someone took them."

I held out my hand to her. "Give me the key—Jasper and I are going to check it out."

Bella reached into her purse. She was about to hand it to me when Edward grabbed her hand.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" he asked. "Shouldn't we wait for the police and let them investigate?"

"Edward," I said, looking him in the eyes. "Someone obviously sought our children out. If there are any clues to where they are or who did this, I want to find them now, before we get the police involved. Anyways, I have a sinking suspicion that this is related to the island."

"Me too," he said, taking the key from Bella and handing it to me. Jasper and I left the room and started walking down the hall. I heard footsteps behind us, so I turned and looked. Seth and Cynthia were running after us, a look of pure terror in their eyes.

"Guys, go back to your party," I mumbled.

"No way, Ali," Cynthia said, calling me by the nickname she always used for me. "I want to check this out for myself—this is my niece and nephews we're talking about."

"You only have one nephew," I reminded her.

"No, I have five, plus one niece. Seth and I are married now, remember?"

Oh, right. She had now inherited Leah's kids as her niece and nephews now too. I nodded at her, then the four of us continued down the hall until we reached the room. I stuck the card into the slot. It beeped twice and the light turned green. I slowly turned the handle and pushed the door open. The sight that met us was something I only expected to see in some kind of horror movie.

Cynthia let out an audible gasp as we walked into the room. I looked at the bag I had packed for David with his clothes, toys, diapers, and food. It was now on the other side of the room with the contents scattered all over the floor. Olivia and Emily's backpack was emptied. I saw Mr. Bear, Gisele's teddy bear on the bed—well, what was left of him. He was missing an arm, a leg, and his head. On the ground, there was stuffing everywhere. This wasn't right—she never went anywhere without her bear.

I looked over at the television and saw it had been knocked to the ground. Steam was coming off it and it was emitting sparks. The desk in the corner had been turned on its side and its contents were scattered all over the room.

The walls were scraped up and covered in black marks. The pictures that were hanging were either crooked or broken on the ground. It was a mess.

"What happened here?" Cynthia whispered, looking around shocked. I ignored her and bent down, picking up Mr. Bear's head, which was on the floor in front of me. I picked up David's bag from the floor and put the head in there. I walked into the conjoining room and the same sight met my eyes.

"We need to go through the room and see if we can find anything that could indicate where the kids are or who did this," I said in an empty voice. I walked into the next room while Seth, Cynthia, and Jasper stayed where they were. I closed the door that led into the other room and sunk down onto the bed. I put my face in my hands and started sobbing.

How could this happen? How could I let this happen? I was David's mother, and I couldn't protect him. What kind of person was I for letting this happen?

There was a knock at the door. "Alice?" Jasper's soft voice came from the other side, full of concern. I wiped my eyes and opened the door. He took one look at my appearance and threw his arms around me. "It's okay, baby. It's going to be okay."

"How can you say that?" I sobbed. "How can you say that when they're all gone? We don't know where they are or who took them! They could be anywhere in the world! It's all my fault," I said, falling into his chest. "If I had just been a better mother—"

Jasper grabbed my shoulders and forced me to look him in the eyes. His normally calm blue eyes were now blazing. "Don't say that! This isn't your fault, Alice!"

"I'm his mother, Jasper. I'm supposed to protect him! I'm supposed to watch out for him! I' supposed—"

"Hey guys?" Seth said, coming into the room. "You might want to check this out." He handed us a sheet of paper. I took it from him and started to read it. It looked exactly like the notes we had received a few years ago. It wasn't hand written or typed. Instead, the words were formed from letters cut out of newspapers and magazines.

What is the world coming to when people can't turn their backs for a few minutes without the fear that someone is going to snatch their child? I have your children—all of them. Their safety and survival depends on you. If you do exactly as I say, they'll be safe. If not, well, you'll have more blood on your hands. Should I remind you of Eva, Carl, Steven, and Savannah? In a few days, one of you will receive another letter with further instructions on what to do. If you're smart, you'll do exactly as they say, no questions asked.
Another thing—don't even think of involving the police in this. If you all want your secrets to stay secret, you'll keep this between us. And if I find out that you've gone to the police, your children are dead.

"Oh my god!" I gasped. "They've been kidnapped! Look!" I said, shoving the note into Jasper's hands. He read, it, his eyes getting wider and wider.

"We have to go find the others," he said when he finished reading the note, handing it back to me. I put the note in the bag, and the four of us left the hotel room. We sprinted back to the reception and began searching for the others. I found Leah, Mike, Emmett, and Rosalie, but Edward and Bella were gone.

"They went home," Leah said softly. "Bella was going into hysterics, so Edward decided he needed to get her out of here. What's happening?"

"I'll explain everything soon. Let's all meet at our house," I said, grabbing Jasper's hand. "We'll meet you all there." We ran out of the building and jumped into the car. Jasper shoved his keys into the ignition, and we sped off into the night.

********

BPOV

I stared at the road in front of me, not really seeing anything. My chest kept heaving and my eyes were dry—I had no more tears left in my. The car stopped, but I didn't know why. Suddenly, I was lifted out of the car and carried up a path. I heard a door open, and I was laid on something soft.

I looked around and saw I was home in my room, lying on my bed. Edward climbed next to me and grabbed me hand, stroking the back of it with his thumb. When I looked at him, he saw the sadness in my eyes.

He put his arm around me and pulled me close to him. He kissed my head, my face, my neck, my hand, everything. He was trying to tell me everything was going to be okay, but I knew it wasn't. My daughters were gone. My Olivia and Emily were missing, and I had no idea where they could be.

I leaned my face into Edward's chest and started sobbing again. He didn't say anything—he just rubbed my back and buried his face in my hair. He hummed the song he had written for me since he knew that always made me feel better. Tonight, however, it didn't work.

We were interrupted by Edward's cell phone ringing. He sighed, pulled it out of his pocket, and flipped it open.

"Hello?...No, we're just going to stay here. Bella's really upset…What? Are you sure?...How can you know…Yes, I understand. We'll be right over." He snapped the phone shut and threw it on the nightstand. He gently pulled his arm away from me and got off the bed. He walked over to his dresser and pulled out a pair of jeans, a black tee shirt, and a grey zip-up hoodie. He walked over to my closet and pulled out a pair of jeans, a white tank top, and a blue sweater.

"Put these on," he said to me, throwing the change of clothes next to me. He started to strip and pulled his more casual clothes on. I stayed where I was, to numb to move. Edward sighed and sat me up on the bed. I felt the zipper to my dress being pulled down, but I didn't care. Edward pulled off my stilettos and slid the dress off me. He pulled the tank top over my head and put the jeans on me. He draped the sweater over my shoulders, then picked me up off the bed. He carried me out of the house and put me in the car. I didn't even care that I didn't have shoes or my purse. My mind was racing, trying to figure out what happened to Olivia and Emily. I just kept picturing the destroyed hotel room in my mind over and over.

We pulled up in front of Alice and Jasper's house. Edward opened my door and helped me out. I was too shocked to walk on my own, so he supported me while I shuffled my feet, not looking at anything. We walked inside the house. Edward took a seat on the couch and pulled me onto his lap.

For the first time, I actually looked around. Everyone was here, even Seth and Cynthia. Alice walked in, still in her bridesmaid dress. She looked at all of us, sadness in her eyes.

"They've been kidnapped," was all she said. She picked up David's bag off the floor and pulled out a piece of paper. She passed it around, everyone reading it. Edward handed it to me and I read it quickly, tears falling down my cheeks once I finished. I quickly passed it to Rosalie, unable to look at it anymore.

"Why would someone want to do this to us?" Edward asked. "We never did anything to anyone!"

"We lied about the island," I said quietly. "Is it possible that this is someone getting revenge for that?"

Edward looked at me, shocked. It was the first time I had spoken since I collapsed into his arms at the reception.

"But who knows about that? Everyone who knew about that is dead!" Rosalie shrieked.

"Obviously not," Alice said. "I have a feeling it's the same person who sent us those notes a few years ago." Jasper nodded in agreement.

"Well, what are we supposed to do?" Cynthia asked, standing next to Alice in her wedding dress. "Are we supposed to stay here and do whatever this madman tells us to do, or should we take this into our own hands?"

"What do you mean?" Leah asked.

"Let's go and get those kids back!"