Chapter Thirteen - Skipping Town
Rose called Carlisle to update him with the new developments. He and Esme were waiting for me outside as I ran into the yard. They were instantly by my side as I carried Bella's limp form into the house. Her wounds were still obvious, and Esme was continuously whimpering as her eyes spied each new wound. Carlisle was in full doctor mode, cataloging the nature and extent of the damage to her system. He was clearly troubled as he examined the bullet holes in her head.
Edward raced out of the forest, filled with rage and panic. "You changed her! How could you? She was supposed to have a normal human life! We all agreed!"
Rose growled at him. I was surprised she had gotten here so close on my heels, even though I had tried to run carefully to avoid jostling Bella and causing any additional pain or injury to her poor, broken body. There must not have been anything incriminating in the truck that would require time for clean-up detail. "Well, Fuckward, you have to be alive before you can have a life, now don't you?" she sneered hatefully.
He glared at her, furrowing his brow in confusion. I figured she must be blocking him. His jaw dropped and his eyes flickered over to Emmett in horror. Emmett was staring at him intensely, filled with anger, grief, and determination. Edward cried, "NO!" and fell to his knees.
Carlisle looked over at him impassively and followed his gaze to Emmett. He knew Emmett was filling Edward in, letting him see what we had witnessed of Bella's suicide. Edward covered his head in shame and wailed, "What have I done?" I could feel his regret, but also his fear. My mind began processing his reaction. I knew the others believed he was feeling remorseful, but that wasn't it, not really. He wasn't truly sorry for what he did, but for the potential consequences of his actions. Like a murderer who's not sorry he killed someone, just sorry he got caught.
"How can I face her?" he whimpered. "She's going to hate me! She'll kill me! Why did she have to try to kill herself? She promised she wouldn't! She lied!"
I snorted in disgust. "Listen to yourself! You didn't keep your promises, and you lied to her all the time. You don't care about her. You're upset about her changing not for her sake, but because you're afraid of how that's going to affect you. You're worried about having to deal with the consequences of your actions for the rest of eternity. You're concerned about saving your own skin and about your own comfort level. You disgust me. You are such a pathetic immature spoiled brat who thinks of nobody but himself. Have you thought about what you've done to this family? To Bella's family? Or have you been too worried about how this is all going to play out for little, frightened Edward Masen?"
I felt the words tear through my family as they recognized the truth of my statements. Their disappointment in and disillusionment with Edward increased exponentially. He would never be the perfect golden boy in their eyes ever again. He whimpered at my last thought, looking at me in despair.
"Why, Jasper?" he whined. "Why did you have to tell them?"
"Because they deserve to know the truth," I calmly explained. He had never appeared more like a sullen child than he did at that moment. He was finally showing everyone his true colors. He had been turned far too young and given far too much knowledge and responsibility for his emotional maturity level.
"You did the right thing, Jasper," Carlisle remarked firmly. "I'm proud of you. I guess it's a good thing we didn't bother bringing the cars all the way back here, seeing as we'll be moving now anyway. Here, give her to me, Jasper. I'll just finish checking her over, and Esme will find some new clothes for her, while you go and pack up your things."
I nodded and reluctantly allowed him to take the broken human from my arms. I hadn't bothered to set all her broken bones yet, due to the arrival of the wolves, so I knew Carlisle would take care of that for her. It would make the healing easier if the bones were already in the correct position to knit together properly. I also knew that even though I had been the one to strip the old clothes off of her, she would be uncomfortable with the idea of me dressing her unconscious form. Needless to say, I still packed faster than I ever had before in an attempt to get back to her faster. I also wanted to get her away from the wolves, just in case they changed their minds about letting her become one of us. I wasn't sure whether or not Billy Black would have more clout than the Alpha wolf and how he would feel about his best friend's daughter becoming something he feared and hated.
As I went through my things, I heard the unmistakable sound of ripping metal in the distance. I jumped out my window and ran toward the forest in the direction of the sounds, momentarily concerned the wolves might have decided to attack us after all. It didn't take long to get within hearing distance though, which quickly put my fears to rest. I snickered when I realized Rose and Emmett had decided to take advantage of Carlisle's and Esme's distraction with caring for Bella to teach Edward a lesson. I was fairly certain Edward had never lost a limb before, but by the sounds of it, he was learning all about it now. I had lost body parts in battle before and knew just how painful that shit was.
I decided to let Rose and Em have their moment of fun with Edward. There would be plenty of time for me to confront him once we arrived at our new house. Besides, I figured Bella deserved to have a shot at him herself, and there's nothing worse than an enraged newborn. I could wait until she was ready, and we could take care of it together. If I weren't there, there's no way Edward would survive her attack.
As I ran back to the house, my inner beast exalted in the sounds of Edward's agonized screams. Though I would never admit it to Esme or Carlisle, his pained cries were like music to may ears, soothing my savage soul that cried out for his destruction, for what he did to the innocent young girl who had wormed her way into all our hearts and now belonged to our family.
The family had rented another moving van with the new understanding we'd never be able to return to this house. We made sure we took anything and everything of value to us and donated the rest. They were surprised to find that after they donated all the furniture, clothing, and other household goods they didn't want they were able to return the second moving van. Nearly every item of sentimental value belonging to everyone but me had already been loaded into the first van, the one that was still waiting in Ketchikan.
Since I had donated every piece of clothing, jewelry, and decoration that Alice had forced upon me, I knew I'd easily be able to fit all my belongings in the cab of my truck. I had learned long ago to travel light. My irreplaceable items, such as my civil war uniform, the deed to the house where I'd been born and raised, and my priceless antiques were all stored away in a hidden vault. That way, I'd always be free to pack up and leave at a moment's notice if need be.
Many hands make light work, and it didn't take long until we were on our way out of town. I drove my truck, with my motorcycle in the back, and Bella lying across the seat with her head in my lap. She was still unconscious, which didn't surprise me, but it did make the drive easier, not having to worry about her flailing or screaming the whole way. The rest of the family, except for Edward, were running back to Ketchikan to pick up the cars and moving truck they left there when they ran to Forks for Bella.
Edward was driving his Volvo, and I let him speed past me, putting a little distance between us, so I wouldn't have to worry about him constantly monitoring my thoughts. I snickered, feeling the pain of his knitting limbs. At least he hadn't gone running back to tattletale to Mommy and Daddy. I think he knew he wouldn't be getting any sympathy from the two of them right now. I was looking forward to hearing about it from Rose and Emmett later. I knew that when I could no longer feel Edward, he likewise could no longer hear me, so I allowed my mind to relax its vigil and try to process the myriad of events that had occurred in just the past few days.
As the miles passed, I listened to Bella's breathing and heartbeat, making sure the change continued to progress. This wasn't going to be easy, but I had high hopes of Bella surviving. The others would be in for a shock though, if they expected this change to be normal. I knew Esme had been badly damaged in her plunge from the cliff, much as Bella's body had been from her fall, but it wasn't the broken bones that were the problem. It was the giant hole in her brain that worried me.
When I first began making newborns for Maria, the Civil War was still in effect, so I deliberately searched the battle grounds for injured soldiers that would likely die anyway. Gut wounds, amputations, shrapnel wounds, you name it, all were restored to perfect condition by the venom. It was amazing to watch as a leg that had been amputated at the knee by a cannon ball grew back to full perfection, seemingly creating a foot and toes out of thin air. It didn't matter if the dying men were Union or Confederates, as the Vampire Wars knew no such boundaries. I was able to hold onto some of my humanity by taking those who would be losing everything anyway. I didn't have to feel guilty about prematurely ending the life of a perfectly healthy, viable human. In addition to those wounded in battle and left to die, I also raided the medic tents for those overcome by disease or starvation.
Over the years, as the war ended and battlefields were no longer littered with men for the taking, I tried to find ways around changing young, healthy men and women who still had their whole lives ahead of them. I always checked the hospitals first for those dying of illness or injury. Often those who had missing limbs or were wheelchair bound found a new lease on life as a vampire as they were restored to full function. I also regularly checked the slums for those starving to death or those slowly killing themselves with drugs or alcohol. The rapists, murderers, and those abusive to women and children were used as meals. I didn't want to change any of them, lest their evil, sadistic tendencies cross over with them. I also avoided taking young women as much as possible, unless they were already dying, for fear they might be pregnant or have young children at home. I never wanted to be the reason a child grew up without his mother.
I tried taking older men, past their prime, thinking their wisdom might help in the battles. I found that the older men had a much stronger degree of self-preservation and struggled the most with vampire life. They had a much harder time adapting to all the killing and bloodshed. They tended to question orders, hold back during fights, and hesitate in feeding. Some even suggested avenues of diplomacy, such as alliances and treaties, to Maria and were quickly ended for their perceived insolence, as she wanted no part of sharing territory or cessation of hostilities. For Maria, the war gave her a purpose for her existence. Time passed quickly and had meaning for her as she fought various other vampires over territory. She found peace to be boring and would instigate trouble if none came her way for a time.
I quickly realized that young men between the ages of 16-24 were the ideal soldiers. They were frequently overzealous and eager to please. They viewed war as an adventure, a way to prove themselves worthy. They would usually develop some degree of patriotism for their new vampire clan, giving them a sense of loyalty to Maria and her cause. They also tended to consider themselves invulnerable, so they would rush into battle without fear of defeat. As long as the number of available vampire women was sufficient, they were fairly easy to please and control.
The most relevant part of my experimentation to my current situation came from my work with head wounds. Obviously there were a fair number of unfortunate individuals who had taken an artillery round to the head to be found on the battlefields. I had hoped regrowing the brain and skull would be just as easy as regrowing a missing arm or leg. It did work, as in, the brain did regrow to form a functional vampire brain. The problem was that, depending on the extent of the damage, the person lost all human memories, including how to walk, talk, eat, etc. They awoke from the change in much the same state as a newborn human, needing to be taught all the basic skills of life.
I did know they were able to grow mentally, and the knowledge and skills came to them much faster than to a human, but Maria had never given me the opportunity to raise one up to full capacity. Those newborns needed constant supervision in the beginning, just as human babies and children do, and Maria thought it was a waste of manpower to allow anyone to try to raise one. Thus, each time I tried, they ended up having to be destroyed within the first week, because Maria was too impatient to wait and see how they turned out in the end. For their sake, I stopped trying, not wanting them to endure the pain of the change only to be destroyed days later. Any head wound victims were automatically classified as meals, quickly putting them out of their misery.
At last, I finally had the opportunity to see what would happen, how much one could learn, and how far one could go. I knew I wouldn't give up on Bella, and I was certain the family would be willing to help me. Rose and Esme always wanted a baby. Well, now they were getting one, in a way anyway. When she first awakens, she won't even be able to feed, bathe, or dress herself. I chuckled and thought about how fascinated Carlisle would be with watching her grow and learn at a vampire pace. I was sure he wouldn't have encountered this situation before. Both the scholar and the father in him would be delighted and proud to teach her and raise her as part of the family.
I wondered then if I should call Peter and Charlotte. They had tried to help me in the past with one such newborn, during their time with Maria. Char had sobbed for days after we had to kill him, having gotten attached and considering him a son. Perhaps they would like to join us in Alaska and help with Bella? They already knew some things that worked and others that didn't. I resolved to call them and update them on the situation.
Not five seconds later, my phone began ringing. I checked the caller ID to see if it was Alice or Peter and answered as soon as I saw my brother's name.
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AN: Well, there ya go. A lot of you have been wondering how much Bella would remember. The answer is very little. I figured if the venom had to completely grow new brain cells from scratch, there wouldn't be much of a residual memory. But there will be certain impressions of who is safe and who is not. *snicker* The memory of intense pain would probably survive, don't you think, even if the details don't? Causing an instinctive reaction to the source of that pain . . . (Remember, she was unconscious before Jasper got to her, so she wouldn't associate him with the pain of her change.)