A/N - No long note this time…glad everyone is still enjoying the tale!!
Big thanks as always to my wonderful beta, changedbyEdward and to all of you who have taken the time to share your thoughts!
Everything Twilight owned by Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement intended.
Chapter 29
(Bella's POV)
I sat in horror as I allowed Alice's words to sink in. Jessica Stanley had been a good friend when I first moved to Forks. I hadn't really gotten to know Lauren; she had never really warmed up to me and seemed to have taken it as a personal insult when Edward and I had started dating. Nevertheless, it was heartbreaking to think of how these two girls must have suffered at Victoria's hand because of me. I swallowed back the venom, knowing I had to remain calm or I wouldn't be allowed to hear what else Alice had to say, although I was unsure I really wanted to know more.
I glanced down at Edward's hand, his fingers entwined protectively with mine and I tried to regroup. I looked up to find Jasper's eyes on me, silently asking me to accept his gift. I nodded slightly and immediately felt the tension inside release as a soothing calm washed over me.
I looked back to Alice and knew from the way she was watching me that she was hesitant about proceeding.
"Alice, I would rather know than not. Please just tell me the rest so that we can start figuring out a way to deal with whatever Victoria has up her sleeve." I felt Edward's hand tighten against mine briefly and then relax and I appreciated the comfort it gave me.
Alice glanced quickly at Jasper and then continued. "When we spoke with…Jacob…," she grimaced, "he told us that Mike Newton also went missing that day."
"Went missing?" I whispered in dread.
"Bella, we think there is a strong possibility that Victoria turned him. His body hasn't washed up anywhere and she left Jessica and Lauren to be found in an obvious fashion – as if she were taunting us. I can't believe she wouldn't do the same with Mike if she had killed him."
"Is it possible that he maybe got away? That he is just so freaked out that he hasn't come forward?" I knew I was grasping at straws, but to believe that someone as wholesome and kind as Mike Newton could have been attacked and turned was just too much to process. I moved from the couch and felt Edward rise behind me. "Edward, please just give me a minute." His hand released mine immediately and I refused to look into his eyes for fear of what I might see. I moved towards a window and stared out into the yard, taking in the beauty and peace of where we were staying. It really was a fragile moment in time – all too soon we would be facing a fight, no- a war- with Victoria and all of her newborns. Once again, the people I loved were being thrown in harm's way because of me.
The silence in the room was deafening, each of the family lost in their own thoughts and fears of the coming days. There had to be a way to resolve this before more people were hurt. The only way I could come up with was to give myself over to Victoria, but I wasn't even convinced that she would let things rest once she had fulfilled her vengeance by killing me. I sighed and turned, moving back to where I had been seated. Sinking into the soft cushions, I felt Edward's hand move gently against the back of my head as he wrapped his arm around me, pulling me close. I looked again to Alice and knew immediately that there was something else. "Alice?"
Jasper grabbed Alice's hand in his and squeezed it tightly, quickly bringing it to his lips and then releasing it. "Go on, darlin', we need to get everything out in the open."
Nodding, Alice closed her eyes and her voice was no more than a whisper as I felt Edward tighten his grip against my shoulders. "Victoria has changed her methods. Apparently she doesn't just want vampires."
I looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean, Alice? I don't understand."
"Someone else has been taken, Bella, and for some reason this person has been kept alive."
"So now she's taking hostages? That doesn't make sense!"
"I know it doesn't – but so far it is only one hostage, Bella. She has Angela," Alice whispered, her voice breaking with the revelation.
I sat in stunned silence as I processed this information.
"You mean Angela Weber? The minister's kid?" Emmett asked angrily. "What the hell is that red-headed bitch doing?"
Alice nodded her confirmation. "I don't really know what she has planned for her, but they have her in a terrible place. She appeared to be alive but she has been badly beaten and she looks terrified."
"Of course she looks terrified! Imagine being thrown from your regular life into some horror freak show, Alice!" I spoke rapidly as I pulled away from Edward and wrung my hands together. "Are you sure about this? Maybe it hasn't happened yet? Has anyone checked on her?" I dropped my head to my hands, trying to regain the self-control that I was quickly losing. Faint images from what seemed eons ago surged through my mind as I thought of the shy, pretty brunette who had been so wonderful to me from the moment I arrived in Forks.
Even after I befriended the Cullen's, she remained my friend and made the effort to include Alice and Edward in her conversations and activities. When Edward had left...I felt the familiar pain in my chest as I remembered those dark days…she had been the one to quietly comfort me, sitting with me in silence when all the others avoided me like the plague.
I raised my head and looked at Alice and then the rest of my family. "We can't let this happen. We can't let her destroy any more innocent lives. We have to get Angela back."
"Bella…" Edward began.
I wheeled around facing him. "Please Edward! We've got to do something!" I grasped his hands in mine, begging him silently to not try and argue.
He sat quietly staring into my eyes and I knew it was against every fibre of his being to agree with me. He closed his eyes briefly, pressing his fingers against the bridge of his nose and then nodded, his eyes meeting mine as he turned to Carlisle.
"Bella is right. We can't let this go on any longer. Victoria is not going to stop unless we make her do so."
"Bring it on, brother!" Emmett stood up, fist in the air, but not before Rose smacked him hard on the arm.
"You're right; we need to deal with this situation, Edward. I am afraid that if we don't handle it soon, there will be others who come to do so and we don't need that happening." Carlisle stood and held his hand out to Esme. "Perhaps we should all take a break from this and reconvene in an hour or so to come up with a plan?"
I watched as Carlisle and Esme left the room, Emmett and Rosalie following behind them. Jasper stood and walked over to Alice, who had been silent since my outburst.
"Alice," I moved to her side. "Alice, I'm sorry I freaked out. It's just..."
"I know, Bella. I understand. Angela is my friend, too and I can't imagine what she's going through right now." Her hand covered mine and I pulled her off the chair into a hug. We stood quietly together for a moment, two sisters afraid.
Another wave of calm spread through the room and I raised my head to look at Jasper. He shrugged his shoulders, unsure of how else to help us and I smiled tentatively to let him know I understood. Pulling away from Alice, I reached behind me and immediately felt Edward's arms wrap around me. The four of us stood in silence, lost and unsure of how to proceed.
(Angela's POV)
I woke to the darkness, my hands flailing in a blind search for my glasses or what I feared was left of them. I moaned as I moved around the floor of my cell, pain shooting through my legs from being still for so long against cold cement.
Granted a small reprieve, my left hand touched the frame of my specs and I silently thanked God for not totally forgetting about me as I put them on.
A faint source of light began to leak in through a small window twenty feet above my head. I leaned back and looked towards the light, surprised to see more small windows further up the wall. The small room I was being held in appeared to be circular in shape. Where the heck am I?
I let my head fall back lightly against the wall, fighting back the tears that surged behind my eyelids. It wouldn't help to allow myself to dissolve into a puddle of despair. I had to keep my wits about me and try to find a way out. Clinging to that thought, I pulled myself to my feet and using the wall, slowly moved around the small space, grinning in triumph when I located the door in the semi-darkness. My happiness was short-lived however, when I realized that it was locked solid. Dismayed, I moved back around the room and sank to the floor, defeated.
What on earth do Mike and that woman, Victoria he had called her, want with me? How long will they keep me here? Are people looking for me? My parents must be frantic. What happened to Mike Newton?
Resigned to the fact that I was a helpless prisoner, the tears I had fought back only a short time before fell in earnest until I collapsed, emotionally exhausted. I don't know how long I was out, but the room was a little brighter when I awoke. As I glanced around the space again, I noticed seeds some kind scattered on the floor and I could clearly make out the steel door that held me captive.
I surmised from the seeds and the stale scent of grain that I was being held in a silo of some kind. Noise from outside the door shook me from further thought on the subject and I began to yell. "Help! Is someone out there? Please, if you can hear me, please help me!"
The door flew open and hope turned to anguish as I felt a sharp cuff against my cheek that made my teeth rattle. I shrank back in fear as two rough hands grabbed my shoulders and shook me forcefully before throwing me hard enough against the wall to knock the air from my lungs.
"Shut up you stupid bitch, before I rip your tongue out!" Victoria hissed as she stalked towards me again.
"Vic, calm down! We need her alive." I stared in silence at Mike as he approached me, glaring. Victoria threw her hair back and flounced towards the door watching us sullenly.
"I don't know why you insisted on coming back here so soon anyway. She could have gone at least another day without food and water." She spat angrily.
I shrunk back as Mike came closer, his red eyes still scowling at me darkly. He dropped a bag and bottle of water at my side. A hiss escaped his lips and his eyes darkened immediately as he grasped my hair in one hand and yanked me towards him roughly, his eyes focussed on the side of my mouth. A growl escaped his lips and I fought back a scream as I instinctually pulled away, my tongue darting to where his eyes were fixated.
He moved back from me quickly at the same moment that I tasted the blood that seeped from my split lip. Nausea and terror overtook me as I grimly realized that I was in grave danger and that perhaps some of the legends of the area were not so far-fetched after all.
Mike had moved back to the door where Victoria stood and pointed to the items he had left on the floor beside me. "Make it last, Angela, and if you even think of making noise like that again, I'll kill you myself!" he snarled.
With one last glance around the room, they left, the deadbolt echoing around the chamber as they locked the door.
I stared at the door for a long time after they left, afraid to move, afraid to breathe. When I was sure they were gone, I allowed myself to crumble, my body shaking uncontrollably as hot tears once again ran down my cheeks. I wrapped my arms around my body, rubbing my arms with my hands to get my circulation going. It wasn't physically cold, but chills ran up and down my spine as thoughts rushed rapidly through my brain.
How could it be possible? I thought back to two summers ago when a bunch of us had camped as a group down at La Push, staying up late into the night by the campfire sharing scary stories trying to terrify each other. Some of the kids from the res had been there and they had definitely told some dark tales, but we had all laughed everything off, never dreaming that they could possibly be true.
Yet, I had seen it and felt it with my own eyes. Mike was no longer the person he had been. His body was like stone, cold and hard to the touch, and his eyes…they were terrifying – so red and full of hate. I trembled again as I remembered the look on his face when my lip had been bleeding. I had known at that moment that he would not hesitate to kill me, but why hadn't he? He told Victoria that they needed me alive – what for? Why me?
None of it made sense, but I knew if I even had a chance to survive, I would have to keep my wits about me. And that meant eating. I moved back against the wall and grabbed the large bottle of water, gulping back some of the cool liquid, careful not to drink too much. I ripped part of the paper bag and dampened it with water so I could wipe my face and hands and then looked at the contents. It looked like they had raided a convenience store, but I was grateful for it anyway. Tearing open a bag of chips, I took inventory of the few other items I could ration out. Hopefully they would be back sooner than later or I would starve to death. But perhaps that would be a better fate than what they had planned for me. My body trembled again at the thought and I closed my eyes, forcing the visions of red eyes to the back of my mind…if only for a moment's peace.
End of chapter – poor Angela! Reviews might cheer her up!!
