Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.
Previously: Edward arrived at the institution and found that Bella was still alive. Edward removed Bella from her cell and they were reunited. Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper searched Forks for survivors and told the wolves that Bella was dead. Bella received the awful news of the pandemic. After a day of traveling, the Cullen's temporary camp was attacked when Edward and Carlisle were out hunting, and Bella was cornered by a very thirsty vampire.
Chapter 6
(Edward's point of view)
"Don't pretend this is the only reason you asked me to come out here, Carlisle," I sigh resignedly as I drop the bloodless carcass of an unfortunate mountain lion to the ground, "I know what you want to talk about."
Carlisle straightens up from finishing off the deer that would have fallen prey to the lion. "Well then I suppose there's no use beating around the bush, then, is there?"
"You want me to change Bella," I say flatly, listening closely to his thoughts.
"Now, son, before you write the idea off, I want you to hear me out," my father begins hurriedly, "Due to recent events, I think the only prudent thing left to do is change her. There is nothing left of humanity. What kind of 'human' life could she have now? Being chased around by thirsty vampires all the time—you know they'll find us eventually—and having to scrounge around for food all the time, getting older and older until she finally passes away from disease or old age or something? Before, I could understand what you wanted. College, a family, a life without the wretched thirst…That I could see. This, however, is irrational. I must insist that you consider…"
"Relax, Carlisle," I say, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, "If you were human, I'd be worried about your blood pressure. I have already come to the same conclusion as you have."
Carlisle relaxes then. "Really? What changed your mind?" I know what you think about our souls; it must have taken something significant to sway you.
I pause for several milliseconds before responding. "I just had lots of time to think, you know? I had lots of time for contemplation while I was away. Some things Bella said really stuck inside of me. After a while—longer than it should have taken—I reached my conclusion. The argument that did it was probably…" I pause, looking nervously into Carlisle's eyes, "was that I couldn't look you or Esme in the eyes and tell you that you didn't have souls. I couldn't do it myself, and I would probably seek my horrible vengeance on anyone who tried."
The shock in Carlisle's mind is almost wordless. Finally, he smiles warmly at me, portraying his pride and gratitude in his thoughts.
"My son," he breathes, embracing me paternally, "I'm so glad you have finally seen the light. You have grown so much, and it has brought your mother and me much grief to see you so depressed. I pray that, now, you will be able to find happiness, my wonderful boy."
I hug him back, swimming in my pride in his sincere remark. "Thank you, father," I tell him, "For putting up with my foolishness. I know I've been unreasonable for the past few decades, but I will do my best from now on."
"That's all I could ever…" Carlisle begins.
Edward! Rosalie's mental voice shrieks, shattering the heartfelt moment, Get your sorry butt over here! We're under attack, you idiot!
I jerk out of Carlisle's arms, instantly alert. Horrible things fly through my mind. What's going on? Who's attacking us? Who's winning? The most dominant, dangerous thought in my mind is: Is Bella okay?
As soon as I am able to tune in on Rosalie's location, I sprint determinedly in her direction. I am vaguely aware of Carlisle following me as I push myself. Nearing the already damaged battleground, the cacophony of sudden war is spewed into my ears. Shrieks and the wretched tone of tearing metal prod me further into my more animalistic self, intent only on finding and protecting his mate.
Thoughts also race on around me. I scan them as quickly as I can for any sign of Bella. First, I hear Alice despairing as she takes care of a former opponent. Where'd she go…Oh, I've lost her! Alice's thoughts ignite such a panicked fury in my heart that my already heightened senses are thrown into hyper drive.
Finally, I am able to pinpoint Bella's location. Unfortunately, my horror drowns out any and all relief I may have had. "Delicious…" The semi-frenzied thoughts of a monster a distance away are suddenly my focal point. I deviate sharply from the path I'd been following, knocking down a tree or two in my quest for speed. Rage bubbles inside of me, boiling until my heart and lungs float to my throat and I let out an uncontrollable, animalistic roar. I tear through the forest, an ultimately destructive force with only one purpose: to end the life of the malignant creature who dared to threaten the girl I love.
The demon continues, his voice like claws raking slowly through my insides. "So long I have gone without hunting, and so easily we have found you…" I push myself further, the utterances of my love's pain I hear through the thoughts of this monster, propelling me to a point at which I truly think I can go no faster.
"Delicious…"
At long last, they come into sight and I have only milliseconds to plot my next maneuver. To run straight into him could injure Bella. To confront him verbally first would run the risk of him taking her life before I can stop him. Both outcomes are obviously unacceptable, but the idea of doing nothing is atrocious. With no time to weigh further options, I decide to do a variation of the former option. I wrap one arm around the assailant's neck and grip his other wrist in my other hand. Bella slides to the ground, but I don't have time for any examination of her health greater than verifying that her beautiful heart still beats.
The other vampire, having been quite fixated on the hunt, is still overcoming the shock of my attack when I throw him against another tree. The thick trunk of the great pine cracks under the pressure, and the tree itself lands at a slant among its brothers. Spitting obscenities at him, I proceed to quickly ripping his throat out. The screech of tearing metal fills me with insane pride and pleasure. With no lighter or matches on me, I settle for spinning around and hurling his head into the trees about a mile away. I continue to lob his various body parts in different directions until there is nothing left but Bella and me.
Feeling almost tired, I turn to look at Bella. She has pulled herself to her feet again, crouching against a tree in fear. I walk toward her slowly. "Bella?" I ask quietly, "Are you hurt?"
To my great shock, she throws herself into my extended arms. "Oh, Edward…" she sobs as I rock her back and forth.
"Sh, Bella, it's okay," I murmur comfortingly, reveling again in my stupendous luck. She could have so easily been taken from me, whether by that wretch or any of the other forces that have moved against us in the past few months. Things will be so much easier once she has been changed!
I sweep her up in my arms and listen carefully for the thoughts of my family. To my relief, their fighting has stopped as well. I can hear Carlisle conversing with their leader, my family disheveled but otherwise unharmed. I run in their direction. "We're sorry to have trespassed on your territory, Jacques. We were only passing through," Carlisle assures the leader of the opposing coven.
"Oi,'t's not my territory. Not no longer. Nothing here but bêteset les morts ! No good !" the apparent Frenchman grunts, "Vous irez!" His remaining coven members grumble their agreement in French.
"Yes, Jacques, we will be leaving now," Carlisle agrees as I run into the clearing with Bella.
The moment the scruffy, bearded man sees and smells my Bella, his amber eyes widen, and he gasps, "Elle est humaine! It is human!"
"She is not food," Carlisle asserts, "She is family."
"But, she is alive!" Jacques exclaims, "How is it that she is alive?"
My adoptive father glances back at us. He scans Bella for any obvious medical abnormities, and, apparently placated, responds calmly, "She was in solitary confinement throughout the duration of the disease. Her lack of exposure saved her life."
"Etrange…" he murmurs, "Are there others?"
"No, she was alone," Carlisle replies curtly, "That is why she lived, and she will stay alive."
"But, she knows our secret!" a smaller man of the coven shouts, "Give her to me, she must be killed!"
"What, Jean, are you an imbecile?" Jacques shouts resentfully, turning on his accomplice and waving his arms around wildly, "You heard the little witch child. Humans are now an 'endangered species' or something of that sort. If you kill this one, you might as well create an immortal child for the Hell there will be to pay!"
In his mind, I see Jane and a few more members of the Volturi paying them a visit. "We are searching for survivors to be taken back to Volterra for preservation. Any vampire found with bright red eyes or a newborn vampire is subject to a fate worse than death." I hold Bella tightly to my chest, my eyes widening as I take in this new information. Of course, the Volturi would have to come in and do something about this crisis. For them and the majority of the vampire populace, humans are their only food source, and, with a vast percent of them gone, they would have to take affirmative action before their followers rioted.
"We'll all die anyway…" Jean rants pointing madly at the sky, "It's the apocalypse, I tell you, the apocalypse! They've killed the humans and left us to starve until we go mad and kill each other!"
I am not the only one bewildered by this new information. "Excuse me," Carlisle inquires, "But I am afraid my family and I have yet to come across the 'witch child' and her associates. Would you be so kind as to relay their message to us?"
"Aye," Jacques agrees, turning to face us again, "So she comes and she says what we already know. Disease, blah blah blah, endangered, blah blah blah blah… And then she says we can't eat anything we come across! I haven't seen such oppression in ages. Telling us what we can and can't eat… It's an outrage!" He pauses briefly, his dark eyes focusing on Bella. "As for you lot, I suggest you head straight off to Volterra. Some sort of registry, they've got there. The punishment for any lawbreakers shall be…severe."
"Worse than death, they say," the one named Jean interjects.
"Oh, be quiet, you great oaf!" the leader shouts at him.
"Thank you," Carlisle says politely, seeing that this conversation must come to an end very soon, "I think we'll be going now. As I'm sure you know, we're in quite a hurry."
"I see. Good luck then," the man agrees, waving his coven forward and looking pointedly at Bella, "And I suggest you be very careful what you do with that one."
Author's note: Thanks for reading yet another chapter. I've been getting some good reviews, but not quite in the quantity that I would like. I'd like to thank sujari6, the lone reviewer of chapter five, for her repeated reviewing. It's really nice to know some people are reading the entire story. I would also like to thank everyone who reviewed chapter five (including sujari6) for being awesome. I politely request more reviews this chapter, though the rest of the story will come whether you comment or not. Now that I've gotten through the first few introductory chapters, things are really going to get interesting…:D
Review Prompt: What do you think of the Volturi's decree?