A/N - Hello! So lots of feedback on the last chapter of what you all thought the pics were for...it was great reading everyone's thoughts so thank you! We are approaching the end of this story...and although I hate to see it coming - I have to admit that my next project has me very excited - hope that you will all stick with me! More details will follow but not until we reach the end...
Lots of love and squeezes to my fabulous beta and friend, changedbyEdward for putting up with all my grammatical errors on this one and making it look better! MWAH!
Stephenie Meyer, thanks for making the TWILIGHT world...I am forever indebted - no copyright infringement intended...oh and if you haven't got it yet - "The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner" is a great read...I loved it!
Now on to Chapter 32...
(Carlisle's POV)
We stood around the dining room table, the entire family staring at the images that had been enlarged and printed in hopes of one of us recognizing where they had been taken. I stared into the dark, terrorized eyes of the Weber girl and fought back the venom that rose in my throat. Shifting my line of view, I took in the look of crazed glee on the woman that currently held my family in a stranglehold.
There would be no peace, no joy until this creature was destroyed. I recalled a time when I would have sought any other solution than taking a life, but even I could recognize the madness of this woman and knew that if even if we were able to capture her, there would be no changing her ways to accept the path we had chosen. Victoria truly is a monster and will continue to wreak havoc until she is stopped.
I glanced over towards Edward; his arms were wrapped securely around Bella's waist as he murmured calming words to her while they studied the photos. This was tearing my newest daughter apart and for that alone I knew that Victoria needed to be dealt with quickly. The anguish on Bella's face revealed everything she was feeling as she looked at the pictures of her obviously distraught friend and I knew that thoughts of Charlie, Jessica, Lauren and Mike also had to be preying on her mind.
I felt Esme's arm link through mine and I squeezed her hand, our fingers automatically entwining together. As I looked around the table and took in each couple, it gave me hope. Perhaps the bonds we shared as a family, combined with the love we shared with our mates would be the one thing that would get us through. If anything, it was something to build on, in the knowledge that what we had, Victoria did not.
"Does anyone recognize anything familiar about the photos? Anything at all?" I finally asked the question, knowing that decisions needed to be made and that the photos were most likely not going to give us the answers we needed.
"I can't get a read on anything." Alice's usual bell-like tone sounded hollow as she stared at the table. "I've tried focussing on Angela, but everything is so hazy…I don't understand why I'm not getting more." She dropped into the loveseat closest to the table and Jasper followed, his arm circling her shoulders in comfort.
"Maybe we should try responding to the message again?" Bella looked towards me, but her eyes dropped when she saw my head shake negatively.
The pictures had been sent to my cell phone not an hour before. How they got my number was still a mystery, but of no matter really. They had forwarded three pictures, one of Angela alone and then two of Angela being abused by Victoria. Only one word had accompanied the photos…SOON. When I had tried to respond the call went unanswered and after numerous attempts, we decided that they had most likely been sent from a disposable phone….another dead end.
"I think perhaps we should consider going back to our original plan of luring them out, Carlisle." Jasper broke the eerie silence that had once again blanketed the room. "They are playing with us right now and we may be losing valuable time staring at these photos. For all we know they have already taken Angela's life. These could have been taken just previous to doing so."
Bella's gasp was like a piercing arrow and Edward instinctively tightened his hold on his mate, a low growl escaping from his chest, chastising Jasper for being so vocal.
"I'm sorry, Bella. I don't mean to cause you any more pain, but we have to look at this realistically." Jasper moved towards the table, staring at one of the more grisly photos. "They obviously took Angela to lure you out and these pictures are the bait. What do they need her for now?"
There was logic to what Jasper was saying, as much as I hated to believe it. The thought that another human life had possibly been taken was quite feasible. "Bella, I tend to agree with Jasper. Any chance of Angela still being alive is slim. The trap has been set with these photos – Victoria and her accomplices want us to react to…" The vibration of my cell phone interrupted my thought and I glanced at the screen to see another unknown number. I answered immediately, seven pairs of vampire eyes watching and listening as I did so.
(Angela's POV)
I watched the procession as it wound its way over the long rocky path they were travelling. They moved slowly, almost methodically, never stopping until they reached their destination. Although it was only a layover while they picked up their load and then began their descent down another winding path. I watched as each one disappeared through the small archway and out of my sight. I could only imagine the stash they had built up somewhere behind that wall. If only I were able to follow, I would gladly carry my share if it meant I would survive and be free of this place.
I squeezed my eyes closed and leaned my head back against the cool stone wall, breaking my study of the small army of ants. It scared me that a collection of bugs was all that stood between me and my loss of sanity, but I truly feared that was exactly the case.
I had no idea how long it had been since the last nightmare visit from my captors. I still had no idea what they had wanted the pictures for and resolved not to allow myself to hope they were for a ransom quest. Even if they had been, I really had lost any hope of making it out of this situation alive. In fact, I had stopped asking for that in my prayers. Now my only request was that I not be forsaken and turned into a monster like those who held me.
Glancing up at the window slits, I could see that I was losing daylight and would very shortly be left in darkness again. If the skies were clear, a bit of moonlight reflected in, but not enough to calm my already frayed nerves. The night terrified me now – more than once I had felt a presence in the cell with me even though I could not see anything. Just one more way for Victoria to torment me.
My stomach growled and I winced as I felt the hunger pangs again. The food was all gone and the water was close to follow. I unscrewed the cap and took a small sip, swishing it around my mouth to savour it for as long as I could before swallowing.
Perhaps they had decided to simply starve me to death now that they had taken those pictures? I lay down and curled into a ball, my eyes remaining dry as the tremors began. I had cried myself out of tears.
Darkness. It surrounded me on all sides. I sat up quickly, once again convinced that I was not alone.
A slight brush against my skin and I shrieked, my legs immediately scrunching up against my chest as I willed myself as far into the wall as I could.
A light flickered and flashed in my face and I stared into two ancient eyes.
"What in tar nation are you doin' holed up in my silo, missy?" The gruff voice questioned me as the flashlight continued to wave light around the building.
A sense of relief washed over me and the tears I believed gone rolled down my cheeks as I realized I had been found. The farmer reached down and grabbed the collar of my shirt, pulling me to my feet. I fought the urge to wrap my arms around the old man – I was so thrilled to see another human. Until I saw his neck snap and his body crumble to my feet.
I opened my mouth to scream, but nothing would come out as I backed myself up against the wall.
"Now Angela, just look what you have done!" Mike stood laughing as my knees gave out and I slid to the ground. "You weren't actually thinking of getting away, were you?"
I stared into his face, shaking my head.
"Why don't I believe you, Angela?" His voice was louder now, slightly more menacing. He grabbed my hair and yanked me forward until my nose was almost touching his. I felt his cold breath against my skin and shivered in response. "I'm not done with you yet!" he spat.
The flashlight still lay lit on the floor and I was able to see that he appeared to be alone. I breathed in deeply, trying to calm myself. Perhaps I could convince him to let me go if Victoria wasn't here.
He stalked towards me, a bag hanging from his hand. The aroma of fresh bread wafted through the open sack and my stomach rumbled in response. "Hungry are we?" He asked maliciously as he dangled the bag just out of my grasp. I reached up for it but he pulled it away. "Now Angela, don't be hasty. I am quite willing to give you what is in this bag, but for a price."
"Mike, I don't have anything. I don't know what you want from me!" I sobbed as I reached for the bag again, only to be denied.
He dropped to the ground beside me, roughly pulling me to him. His hand fisted tightly in my hair as he reached in his pocket with the other. I tried to pull away, but he tightened his hold on my hair and I hated myself for the whimper that escaped my lips.
Suddenly a phone appeared in my hands and I grabbed it quickly, his marble hands immediately closing tightly over mine. "You are going to make a call, Angela. But you will only say what I tell you to, understood?"
I nodded slightly and his grip tightened. "Yes Mike, I understand."
"Good. Don't disobey me, Angela, or I will make sure your worst nightmare comes true."
Treacherous tears welled again, but I fought them back as I opened the phone and pressed the numbers Mike recited to me. As I heard the call connect, he whispered what I was to say once the call was picked up.
A gentle male voice answered the phone and the conversation began.
"Hello, Dr. Cullen?"
"Who's calling please?"
My voice shook as I felt Mike tug my hair to respond. "Angela Weber."
"Angela? Are you alright? How did you get this number child?"
I was silent for a moment as Mike's words echoed in my brain. When I didn't immediately repeat them, his free hand grabbed my leg above the knee and he squeezed until I screamed.
"Angela, Angela?" Dr. Cullen's voice boomed through the telephone now as I gasped at the pain. "Are you alright? Can you tell me where you are?"
I gasped as I rushed the words out. "I'm sorry. They want me to tell you that they want Bella." His hand tightened on my leg again. "They will trade me to you for Bella." I sobbed as I said the words. I knew that Mike was lying. I knew he would never let me ago and the thought of bringing Bella into this when she had already lost so much was more than I could stand. We had only known each other for a short while, but she was one of my best friends. I couldn't do this to her.
Mike grabbed the phone from me and shoved me hard against the wall. I fought to hear what he was saying, but the words spilled out of his mouth so quickly it was hard to follow what was being said.
I heard Bella's name again and something about a clearing and the word 'alone.' The call ended and he loomed towards me, grabbing me by the shirt and shoving my back up against the wall, my feet no longer touching the floor.
I stared down into his face, begging him to simply end whatever this was. "Mike, please just kill me. If you aren't going to let me go, please just get it over with and do what you have been planning all along."
I closed my eyes and waited, only to feel myself fall to the floor. I looked up as the door slammed shut behind me, the click of the lock signalling the end of the visit. I looked around my prison, relieved to see that he had left the flashlight and the bag of food.
Crawling to the bag, I ripped into the loaf of bread and shoved the morsel into my mouth, silent tears streaming down my cheeks as I replayed the phone conversation in my mind. The words streamed through my brain and I fought to make sense of them. I grabbed the bottle of water and took a sip, gagging in reflex as my eyes met the dead ones of the farmer, staring back at me. My hunger forgotten, I sat and rocked back and forth as the horrors of the night reflected over and over through my mind.
End of chapter - anyone wanna kick Mike's ass? Leave it in a review!
