Offer Me No Explanation

When I awoke my mouth was dry and my throat felt as though I'd been swallowing sand for hours. I opened my eyes on a stagger. I glanced around and found myself in a small windowless room with stone walls and a stone floor, perhaps 10 by 14 feet and filled almost completely by the dingy single bed. The thick metal door was closed tightly shut with an ominous air of finality.

Edward was leaning against the far wall, his eyes closed, as still as stone. As though he sensed me studying him, he opened his eyes. He met my eyes without hesitation, but his gaze was detached and distant in a way that made my heart ache. "The group holding us is some kind of cult," he announced. "They believe they are actually vampires." I bit my lip and let out a hysterical kind of snort laugh. Edward politely disregarded it. "Now that you are awake, we can overtake them when next they come to leave rations," he informed me coolly, as though he were suggesting we go for ice cream after dinner. So calm. "They usually only send one person," he continued, standing and crossing to the door in one step. So competent. "You will stand near this wall, I will take position behind the door with this wooden board I dislodged from the bedframe. I'll attack from behind. When I say run, you run." So bossy.

I sighed. "Oh, Edward. That won't work."

He stoically arched one perfect brow, inviting me to continue.

Right. Well. How to explain? "They aren't crazy Edward. Or actually maybe they are. But not because of what they think they are. They are right," I babbled. Oh just say it. "You see, they really are vampires."

Something flickered in his eyes. Disappointment? Pity? "I understand," he said tonelessly.

I'd been expecting an argument. "You do?" Was he remembering more than he had let on?

"Yes," he replied shortly. "Anyways. I will overpower whichever one they send and you will run for an exit."

"How are you possibly going to overpower a vampire?"

He sighed in exasperation, "I don't know, B-" he halted. He didn't like saying my name, "I don't know. I'll use a stake?"

I narrowed my eyes. "Yeah, wood isn't going to stab through a vampire."

He pinched the bridge of his nose and turned sharply away. "Not enough to believe in vampires. They can't even follow the usual rules," he muttered in frustration.

Oh. He didn't believe me. He thought I was crazy too. He was patronizing me. I'd spent the last six months trying to hide his past from him, but now, he really needed to know it all.

"Listen. You have to believe me. You can't fight them, you won't win and you might get injured. I have the feeling that around here, a paper cut is a death sentence. The Volutri aren't exactly known for their restraint. They are ten times stronger than an ordinary human. The vampires who captured us are very powerful, and very angry with you. They are upset because you revealed …" I took a breath. Best not to overwhelm him. "You revealed one of their secret's to me."

He remained facing away from me. "How would I know their secrets?" he softly queried.

An idea began to form in the back of my mind. "Actually, you might know a lot of things. They don't know you've lost your memory." Hope sprang dangerously in my chest. "Edward, listen quickly. Here's what you have to do."

He sighed as he turned around to face me again, gesturing resignedly for me to continue.