*** This story contains some mild language, suspense, romance, and some frightening images and situations—13 and older, please.

In the Grip of Twilight

By:

Olivia Tannis Moore

Chapter Eighty Five:

Part Two: The Changeling

Isabella, please….you must wake up, the gravelly voice in my head coaxed. The man's voice was foreign to me. I shook my head. I was unbelievably tired; all I wanted to do was sleep. Surely Charlie didn't expect me to go to school today, not when I was so exhausted…not when I was so miserable…

The voice became insistent. Pull yourself out of it—this is no time to sleep.

My eyes opened slightly. It was still dark in my bedroom. "No," I mouthed, closing my eyes.

The voice took on a stern tone. Isabella Swan…we will all certainly perish if you don't wake up, the voice warned.

I huffed, aggravated with this man who was waking me. I started to reach up to wipe the sleep from my eyes, but someone was holding my wrists. Weakly, I tried to pull from their grasp, with no success.

"Stop…" I complained as I reluctantly opened my eyes.

But I wasn't in my bedroom; nor was I in Forks. I was sprawled out on a dirty stone floor. And the hands that held my wrists weren't hands at all, but shackles.

But it was worse than that…

I was shackled and chained, not once, but twice to the floor. The chains bound me from the left and right side leaving me very little room between them to maneuver. Even the slightest movement sent the thick links rattling against one another.

I groaned then, remembering. The dungeon. I was just another inmate now. The past weeks were coming up and piercing the fog that had clouded my mind.

I turned my head and my breath caught in my throat as I saw Alice sitting in the dark corner of the cell, her eyes wide open and staring ahead.

"Alice," I called softly. But she didn't reply. Her eyes didn't blink. Her head didn't turn toward me. She was still under Aro's trance.

Now that you're awake, you'll need to wake your friend also. You'll need her help to get free. Hurry! They'll return soon.

That voice again! I hadn't dreamt it.

I looked up and around the dank cell. Except for Alice, I was alone.

"Who are you?" I asked. "Where are you?"

Something rustled in the corner and I turned to see Alice, still catatonic, but pointing to the adjoining wall with an arm propped up on her knee. I could see now that her wrists and ankles weren't shackled as mine were.

"Alice?"

No response.

"Alice, it's me, Bella…you can hear me, can't you?"

I thought I saw a flicker of her long dark eyelashes.

"I can't do this without your help," I told her. "Please, if you could just come closer."

She didn't move.

I tried another approach. "Think of Jasper…"

Her eyes closed tightly then, and her bottom lip quivered. "Jasper?" she breathed.

"We have to get out of here, Alice. I need you to come over here. Can you do that?"

Silence.

"Can you please try…for me? For Jasper? We all need you right now."

"Bella…" she sighed. "Oh, Bella…he's too strong."

I shook my head. "No. Don't say that."

"We can rest, now…" Alice whispered sleepily. "You're here…that means Edward will be coming for us soon…I see him…He's running through the forest…on his way… won't be long now…"

***

Alice's claim that Edward would be coming for us shocked me—especially when she said that she could see him running through the forest. After all, I'd seen the same thing while in the midst of changing and even while the change was leaving me.

But I understood perfectly well that Alice's seeing Edward meant something very different, and I was afraid that her vision was real…that Edward was on his way to the castle…and that Aro would capture him, too.

And that was the thought that nearly drove me over the edge as I leaned over as far as my chains would allow and demanded Alice to wake up.

She sighed heavily and her head rolled back and forth against the cell wall. "Didn't you hear anything I said? Edward's coming…"

Frustrated, I snapped, "Did you forget that he deceived Aro into thinking he was dead?

If Edward does come here, there will be three of us in this cell if Aro doesn't kill him first."

Alice surprised me by half-giggling, "He'd have to catch him first…and I can tell you that's not an easy thing to do…"

To my relief she was starting to sound more like Alice and less like the zombie in the corner.

I held my shackled wrist out. "Since we both know that Edward would never run from Aro, it doesn't matter how fast he is, does it? Now, I want you to come over here—I'm going to need your help to get these off."

Slowly, Alice slid her fingers through her spiky hair and inhaled deeply. "Feels like I'm coming out of a coma…my muscles don't want to work. But my head feels a little clearer now."

"I know," I said. "Caius did the same thing to me with that damned trance spell…that Latin gibberish."

"Well," Alice said, "at least that strange man's voice isn't in my ear any longer."

My head swiveled around to stare at her once more. "You heard him, too?"

Alice's grin was impish. "Oh, yeah. He's in the next cell; our friendly and enthusiastic neighbor. He's been cheerleading since I arrived." Alice deepened her voice and mimicked the man: "Alice, wake up…you must wake up!'" She shook her head as if bewildered. "I thought for the longest time that I was dreaming. But then he began to rap on the wall."

My mouth dropped open and I stared at her as she crawled stiffly across the stone floor towards me. "Are you sure you heard him in the next cell? I could have sworn his voice was inside my head…"

Alice picked up my wrist and gazed at the thick iron shackle, ignoring my question. "I don't know that I'm going to be any help with these things…I haven't much strength yet…and these chains are expertly forged."

"Between the both of us we should be able to do something…" I told her, keeping my voice optimistic. But Alice's attention seemed to be behind her as she looked over her shoulder in the direction of the wall.

Alice's forehead creased in thought. "He said…well, nevermind…it might be best that you don't know."

I stopped my inspection of the wrist shackle and was turning to look at her when her open hand slapped my cheek, snapping my head back.

(Thanks for all the reviews—can't believe we're almost at a thousand! That boggles my mind… Another update soon, thanks for reading. OTM)