Chapter 38
Edward lead the way to meet up with Alice's group by reading her thoughts that she projected loudly to him. Their large extended group cruised wildly through the trees toward one of the lower elevations of the state.
The atmosphere was cool and the fall foliage would have provided certain beauty had it been in the daylight hours. The landscape was decorated with families of oak, maple and pine trees that their family was forced to weave in out of on their quest to meet with Alice, Jasper, Emmett and the rest of them.
By the time Carlisle, Esme, Bella, Esme and Alexandra reached the location, Jasper was already instructing the wolves to hold positions in various strategic areas. Alice and Emmett were talking closely with Eleazar and Michael close by.
Carmen spoke intimately with Garrett and seemed prepared to use her talents against Olivia and Peter immediately. She looked determined and angry, as did her sister.
"Carlisle," Eleazar approached, "I can't help but apologize again for leading your family down this road. I'm sorry that we trusted Peter enough to let him get this close to you."
He shook his head and put a hand on his friend's shoulder, "It's not your fault. We're here together. We'll be alright."
Eleazar nodded and looked at Alexandra, "I'm sorry to you too, Alex."
"It's not your fault," she told him, repeated her father's words.
"We just want to get Lucy out safely," Esme said, "And be done with all of this."
Michael looked at Alexandra's sad expression and felt the need to comfort her, though didn't want to overstep his bounds. She made eye contact with him briefly and looked a second time at his longer than normal stare. He quickly looked away and focused as Jasper came to accompany them.
"Edward just told Alice they're somewhere underground," he said, "We could be right on top of them."
"What did Edward hear?" Carlisle asked.
"Something about tunnels. He can hear their thoughts clearly, we just have to find a way in."
Emmett strolled over, "I can crack this ground in half," he volunteered.
Alice, Edward and Bella quickly added themselves to the circle, "No," Alice said, "In my vision from awhile ago, had Benjamin did that, it would have caused chaos and a lot more deaths than necessary."
"When was that?" Bella asked.
"From the time with Renesme when the Volturi backed down. I saw Benjamin do just what Emmett said and... well, it was just bad."
"What's our other option?" Esme asked, thinking Emmett's idea wasn't half bad.
"We have to scatter the area and find the opening," Alice said, "Look under leaves that blend in with the ground. It's not in a clearing, it's in the woods somewhere nearby."
"Are they aware of us?" Carlisle asked.
"Not yet," Edward answered for her, "But it won't be long."
Jasper looked at all the wolves, "Everyone should surround the immedate area. Form a circle and communicate telepathically," his eyes shifted to Seth, "You come with me."
Seth snarled and nodded, walking on all fours next to Jasper, who helped calm him down to a point where he would be more effective and rational.
Carlisle, Esme and Alexanda tracked the area together, and Renesme stuck by her parents upon Jacob's departure to his post. Garrett and Kate walked fiercely side by side, with Eleazar and Tanya closeby. Emmett traveled with Alice parallel to Jasper and Seth. Everyone's senses were on high alert.
Somewhere in the immediate area, Aro and Demetri sought out the scents of the Cullens and the Quileutes. It didn't take long for the twosome to arrive in the upper east corner of the United States. In all of his years, Aro had never moved so rapidly to arrive at a given location. Demetri was his best bet to find them immediately because of his proficient tracking skills. He knew how unfortunate it was that his daughter had no scent, though on the contrary he also knew that Alice and Edward would certainly be able to pinpoint Luciana's location and their scents were undeniably traceable.
Demetri stuck his nose high into the air and breathed in everything that he could before pointing through the trees, "That way," he said, "We're not far."
Aro let his best tracker take the lead as the two of them bolted through northeastern woods at impossible speeds. For the first time in his life, he had no idea what he was going to do when he arrived at his destination, and as bad as he wanted to bring Jane and his other assets, waiting for them to return from hunting and other areas had been immediately out of the question. The second Olivia had made the menacing phone call that indicated his daughter had been held captive, Aro was out the door with his best weapon for the job at hand. Plus, he realized that the Cullens gifts and numbers were plenty to take on the immature pair that held Luciana.
Emmett scanned the ground with his eyes and tested for weaker areas beneath his feet as he walked, knowing they had to be close. Alice froze for a moment and he tried to pick up on what she was seeing.
"You're going to find it," her words rang out, "Emmett. You're going to be the one to find the opening."
Determination crossed his face and he moved even faster over the land, desperate to get the job done. Faintly, he began to smell the lingering scent of Peter and he followed it with Alice on his heels.
"Jas!" she called through the night, seeing him across the way in the distance.
He and Seth immediately changed course and followed to where Emmett was leading him.
"Carlisle!" Emmett called, "Edward!"
Alice originally had wanted to remain quiet, though knew their entry into the underground lair would not be inconspicuous. It would be nearly impossible not to make a scene.
Within a moment, the rest of the family and the Denalis were running along with Emmett, also picking up on the scent until clung heavily at the base of a tall oak tree.
Everyone began scattering leaves and pushing brush aside until, as Alice had predicted, Emmett's hands crossed over a steel barred opening. Flat metal bars were entwined like a weaved basket, leaving two or three inch holes to peer through into the darkness.
"Rip it off," Jasper urged.
Emmett didn't hesitate. He grunted and pulled, ripping the round object of the hinges like it was nothing. He tossed it to the side and plunged down into the unknown cells below.
Carlisle was the first to follow him, with Esme and Alexandra right at his heels. Edward and Alice went next and Jasper reluctantly asked Seth to remain at the entrance in case one of them tried to escape.
As much as he wanted to disagree and go down with them, he knew Jasper's instincts were like no other, and so he painfully agreed with a snarl and breathed hastily into the hole that everyone else leapt down into.
"Aro's on his way," Edward told everyone, as they began to scatter.
"Where?" Esme asked.
"Close enough where I can hear him," he told her, "Demetri's with him."
"Anyone else?" Carlisle asked.
"No," he shook his head.
"Seth!" Luciana's voice rang through the chilling corridors, "Seth! I'm here."
From above them, everyone hear Seth's loud howl and the pounding of his powerful paws on the earth's surface.
"Come on," Carlisle told them, "We have to move."
"Go that way," Alice called, pointing in one direction. Jasper had already taken off the opposite way, "Hopefully this is just a roundabout, but I'm not sure. We have to cut them off from all angles."
"What if there's another way out?" Bella asked frantically as she gradually made her way opposite of Alice.
"The wolves are out there," Alice called back as a reminder, though immediately wished she hadn't in case Olivia and Peter heard them.
Seth's tortured howls continued to plague the vampires underground, as Luciana's cries died down.
"Where is she?" Bella called to Edward as he ran in front of her and Renesme.
"She's close. I can hear her. I can hear Peter. And Olivia."
Alexandra shuddered at Peter's name and ran hard, not looking to either side.
Michael had changed his course from running with Jasper and caught up to her, "We'll get him Alex," he said, "I promise."
She looked at him for a quick second and continued her determined pace, just at the heels of her parents. Carlisle took a look over his shoulder upon hearing Michael's voice before he looked back and continued after Edward, Bella, Renesme.
"There's definitely another way out," Edward called, "They're heading up. Peter has Lucy. His hand is over her mouth but she's trying to talk to me through her thoughts."
"They're on the run," Carlisle said aloud.
"Seth!" Edward called, hoping he could hear him from above, "Follow us! It'll lead you right to her!"
A loud bark came from above them, followed by the increasing pounding of Seth's feet and increasingly loud heart rate. They were all sure that the rest of the wolves were on the same page.
Alice's voice called from somewhere else in the tomb-like structure, "We're going up! Follow us."
Esme's foot crunched over something and she looked down, realizing it was Luciana's necklace. The next thing she knew, she was being pushed upward by her husband and suddenly the stuffy, confined air she had been breathing had transformed into something more pleasant and free.
"Come on," Carlisle urged respectfull, tugging her hand at her moment of hesitation.
She grabbed his and continued to run, now back in the swing of things after the sudden change of atmosphere. "Alex," she called blindly, trying to look behind her.
"We're right here," her daughter said back from Carlisle's side. Michael cruised next to her.
"In front of them, three bodies went scrambling to the leaves and dirt that covered the ground below them.
"Got him," Emmett called, clutching Peter around the neck and midsection. They both flopped wildly on the ground and for a moment, Luciana was freed.
Seth charged toward her, though no sooner than she was set free, Olivia had her in her grasp again and raced away in the opposite direction, then upward against a series of trees until she was at the very top of them.
Edward, Alice and Jasper followed her up, leaving Seth, Sam and Jacob barking and jumping up as high as their wolf bodies could go.
"She took her!" Esme called.
"Edward's right after her," Carlisle said, "And Alice and Jasper." He approached to where Emmett was still wrestling Peter and aided him in his hold so he was immobile.
Peter smiled through a painful look as Emmett's strong arm tightened around his throat.
Carlisle stared into the young man's, now, red eyes and he felt a fury inside of him that he'd never felt before in his life. Emmett continued to hold him, unsure of what his father would do.
"What?" Peter choked out, still forcing a smile in his arrogant demeanor.
Again, Emmett tightened his grip, causing a cough like sound to escape Peter's throat.
Esme stood by her husband, knowing what he was feeling, though physically he looked like he could rip the man's head off at any second.
Alexandra stood to the side of him with Michael closeby, looking on.
"Go ahead Dr. Cullen," Peter taunted him, "Kill me."
Emmett tried to make eye contact with Carlisle, but his focus never left Peter's face.
Alexandra felt a rush of emotion rain over her as she waited to see what would happen next.
Peter shifted his head to the side and looked at her with a closed mouth smile, "Hey Alex. I missed you."
A growl lingered in Carlisle's throat and he rushed at him, sending both Peter and Emmett back into a tall tree. Emmett braced the move and held his position between the trunk and Peter. He squeezed his neck tightly while Carlisle's hands wrapped tensely on either sides of his head.
Esme and Alexandra made eye contact for a second before Esme decided to walk up to him.
Venom lingered in Carlisle's mouth as his aggression and self control battled for possession of his body. He felt more animalistic than he'd ever felt in over three hundred years. Even as Esme's soothing hand landed gently on his shoulder, he could not bring himself to release the tense grip he had on Peter's head and neck.
Emmett waited patiently for the result of his father's action. Inside, he wanted to see him rip Peter's head off, though he caught a glimpse of Alexandra's broken hearted expression as they all remained entwined.
"Carlisle," Esme said tranquily, also picking up on her daughter's expression.
He barely heard her voice, though the true spirit inside of him began to bring him back to reality. He turned to face her, taking his eyes of Peter.
Esme looked into the blackness that overtook his amber colored eyes, "Let Emmett do this."
Emmett squeezed Peter again as he was about to try speaking.
Carlisle's clenched jaw loosened a bit, though his hands remained just as tight on his enemy's face.
"Come on," she said again, more relaxed than the first time, "Alexandra needs you."
He felt his upper arms relax, before a similar feeling trickled down all the way to his fingers and his hands released Peter's face.
Emmett immediately took Peter away and nodded to Michael to join him, who immediately was at his side. The two of them disappeared from the immediate area.
Carlisle bowed his head and looked at his wife and daughter.
Alexandra hugged him fiercely and began to cry. He pulled her to his body before she let the words slide of out her mouth, "You could have killed him."
He took a deep breath and stroked her hair, "No. I couldn't do that to you."
"I hate him Dad. I want him dead."
Her words hit him like a ton of bricks. He didn't want his daughter to feel such pain in her heart that would justify wanting to kill. After Olivia, he would vow to stay peaceful throughout the rest of his life and show his children the importance of that type of lifestyle... after Olivia.