Hunter

Hey, everyone! I said I'd update quicker, and I have. It's not as fast as I'd like, but I can't exactly beg my teachers for no homework just so I can write all afternoon.

Speaking of afternoons, I spent yesterday's sleeping on the couch, trying to sleep off a headache. I really sympathize with Bella Colt. She gets one nearly every day. Because of this, and the fact that I couldn't get back to sleep afterwards and it is currently about three a.m., I decided now would be an opportune time to write. Plus, I'm staying home. I got four hours of sleep and I'm about ready to conk out at any moment.

Alrighty! Let's get on with the next chapter.

Warning: (Never done one of these before, but I think I should add it in) This chapter contains scenes of torture. Really vicious, but completely deserved torture.

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Bella's POV

My head pounded in time with my racing heart. I had never felt more alive than I did that moment. Power, infinite, all consuming, and intoxicating, flowed through me, eager to serve. Instinctively, I knew what to do with it.

I lifted my hand and clenched it into a fist, an action strangely reminiscent of Darth Vader's Force Choke. I wasn't in the mood to laugh about it, though. I was furious. In the words of Fight Club's Nameless Narrator, I felt like destroying something beautiful.

James didn't look beautiful to me, even though his features were as perfect as any other vampire's were. Still, the reference popped into my head, and it felt right.

On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero. And your time has arrived, Goldilocks.

James tried to walk toward me, but his feet stayed rooted to the ground, held in place by mental chains, more penetrating than the ones I still felt around my wrists and ankles in my nightmares. He grunted in surprise, glanced at his feet, trying to see what was stopping him.

I lifted my other hand and sent the largest shard of the broken mirror right through his chest.

The look on his face! Shock, disbelief, and the first stirrings of fear.

"Wha-what are you?" he choked, spitting up a clear liquid that ran down his chin. His venom? I wasn't sure, and it didn't matter anyway.

I sent another shard his way, this one piercing his left arm. He grunted and jerked against the invisible bonds. I held him still effortlessly.

This was incredible! Was it really only a week ago that I could do nothing more than make the lights flicker? I felt like an old pro.

I sneered at him. "I'm the most badass thing to ever claw its way outta hell, my friend." One more shard, this one aimed at his knee, made him roar with pain. "You know what hell is like, James? I doubt it. People think they know what suffering is, but the real thing is so much worse." Another shard sliced into his right shoulder. "You'll find out soon enough, but I've got at least ten minutes to give you a preview."

I concentrated and sent out a mental shove. James landed on his back, the glass dug into the wooden floor, making it impossible for him to squirm without feeling it slicing up his stone organs.

I stalked towards him, holding my knife in a tight grip. The vampire's eyes widened in fear, and I couldn't suppress my elation. A voice in my head shouted, telling me that this was wrong, but I didn't listen to it. My head was so crowded with memories. I saw Renée in her hospital bed, dying. I saw the Crossroads Demon smirking at me with piercing red eyes. I saw that yellow-eyed son of a bitch watching me through the flames, baiting me with that gun.

Guns. Who needed them? I was unstoppable.

I crouched down and sat on his stomach, my knees sitting just below his armpits. I took my knife and held it up for him to see, then I slashed the blade along the right side of his throat. He gargled, and more venom seeped out of the wound.

"Most people don't know how to slit a throat," I began conversationally. I mentally tugged his left arm up and smoothed the fingers out. "They tug the head back and just rake their knife across it." I clicked my tongue and slid my knife beneath the nail of his index finger. His eyes widened even more and he started shaking his head, still gargling at me in protest.

"See, tilting the head back means that the windpipe moves forward a bit, protecting the jugular vein and carotid artery." With a flick of my wrist, the nail ripped off. James shut his eyes and opened his mouth in a silent scream.

"What you want to do is tilt it forward. Then, you jab the knife into the right side of the neck and slice outwards. It minimizes blood spatter, and you don't even have to do too much damage. The heart does all the work for you."

As I continued my monologue, I sliced off the rest of his fingernails until they all rested in a pile on his chest.

"Of course, you'd know about that, being a vampire and all. I bet you know all the best spots to make a person bleed. I know I do. But I bet you didn't know how sensitive the nail root, also known as the radix unguis is. Alastair always started with my fingernails, then my toenails, and then my eyes." I paused. "I hated being blind, not knowing where he would cut next." I reached up and ran my knife along his cheek. He closed his eyes so tightly that the lids trembled with effort. "Don't worry. I'm not gonna cut yours out. I want you to watch."

With that said, I mentally tugged up one of the floorboards and snapped it into four pieces. I then lit a match and threw it onto the pile. The fire spread slowly. I reached down and plucked up the amputated nails, then casually threw them onto the growing blaze.

James moaned as they vanished into the fire. It hissed hungrily, as if pleased by the sacrifice. I felt The Smile grow on my face again. "Here's an interesting fact. Did you know that you only need one eye to see?"

I didn't give him time to react as I plunged my knife into his left eye. As I slid it out with a gooey pop, rather reminiscent of pulling something out of wet cement, I heard him curse. I looked down at his throat and saw that it had almost completely healed. "Well, what do you know. This is just like hell all the way through. Doesn't smell as bad though. You're lucky in that sense. You know what sulphur smells like?"

His remaining eye squinted up at me in fury. "The…thing that told me where your mother was smelled like that."

I froze and stared at him blankly. A slow smile spread across his mutilated face at my reaction. "He told me exactly how to get to her, and that it would lead you right to me. He said he would be watching the show." He laughed, a garbled, painful sound. "Whatever you do to me, you still have to deal with him."

He laughed again, but I ignored it. "What colour were his eyes?" I asked.

He grinned. "Why should I tell you?"

Slowly, remorselessly, I positioned my knife above his remaining eye. "His eyes, James," I said in a voice that allowed no argument.

"Yellow," he answered, staring up at the knife.

So, It finally did it. It finally killed my mother.

I let out a feral scream and hacked at his remaining eye. This time he really did scream in pain, but I was deaf to it. I then raked it across his shoulders, severing his arms from his squirming torso. I didn't bother with his legs. He wasn't going anywhere. Instead, I plunged it into his chest and neck, tearing up the stone flesh and releasing more of his venom. It spattered on my arms and face, but I didn't stop until the flesh under Waylon's jacket was in ribbons.

With one final move, I sliced right through his throat. His head rolled to the side. I picked it up by the hair and tossed it into the dying fire. The second it landed, the flames ignited once again, drawn toward the venom. I realized that the accelerant was unnecessary. Vampires were very flammable, or at least their venom was. I threw in the rest of James and stood there watching the smoke rise.

I was still numb from the adrenaline, but as I regained my senses, I realized that my nose had started bleeding at some point. I lifted up my arm to wipe it off with my sleeve, only to realize that it was still pulled up over my elbow. I started to tug it down, but a sharp burst of pain made me pause.

I stared at it in confusion, until I remembered that I'd sliced up my arm to draw out James.

Mystery solved, I chose to ignore it and simply wiped the blood off with my gloves.

The fire crackled. I took a cautious step back. I still had a clear path to the exit, but fire was unpredictable and I needed to be prepared just in case.

"I almost wish I was in hell just so I could see how much you're suffering," I murmured. "After what you did to my mom, you deserve to rot there."

I shuddered as my arm began to sting badly. I tightened my left hand into a fist and decided I would bandage the wound when I got back to the hotel. Right now though, I needed to take care of something.

I walked over to Renée and touched her face. She was colder now, even with the fire burning so closely. Tears welled up in my eyes and I frantically blinked them away. Colts never cried. We were strong and brave and we fought to protect those who couldn't protect themselves. There was no time for tears.

I had work to do.

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Edward's POV

Finding out that Bella had disappeared was quite possibly one of the worst moments of my life.

"What do you mean?" I hissed, too low for humans to hear. Esme let out a soft gasp, her thoughts frantic with fear. Carlisle's mouth tightening in anxiety. Even Emmett looked worried. Rosalie was apathetic, but at least she wasn't actively gloating.

We were stuck in the shadows of the hotel lobby until the sun went down. It would only take a few minutes, but every second counted. Bella could already be dead.

My dead heart rejected that thought even as my mind plotted. Asking my family to end it was too cruel for them. Better to ask an impartial vampire for the gift of death. Aro and his brothers would surely find allowing Bella to know about us a violation of the rules, even if she was de-

Still, Aro liked Carlisle. He wouldn't want to do anything that might cause a rift between them. Perhaps if I explained it to my family first so that they would know that this was entirely my will. I wanted this. I would beg Aro to punish me in place of my family. He could find no fault in them once he read my thoughts. And if he still wouldn't…

I went over the rest of the rules in my head even as Alice explained her visions of an old martial arts studio just a short run from here. Immortal child? No, I couldn't condemn an innocent child along with me. Rosalie would kill me herself if she knew of that thought.

What remained? Hunting in their city? There were bound to be some criminals in Volterra. Some murderer or rapist of which I could do away with swiftly. That would bring down the Volturi's wrath in seconds. They were very protective of their city.

"Edward!" my sister hissed furiously. "Don't even think about it. I won't let you."

I stared at Alice, her shoulders reared up and her face a mask of fury.

Jasper looked at me sympathetically, perhaps guessing my thoughts through my emotions. "We don't know if she's dead. Alice is having trouble seeing them. For all we know, she changed her mind and is heading back right now."

I doubted that. Once Bella decided something, there was little anyone could do to stop her. I stared out the window, counting the seconds as the sun drifted lazily behind some buildings.

"Now?" I hissed.

"Not yet," Alice replied, her brow narrowed in concentration. After seventeen seconds, she strode toward the door at a brisk human pace. My family and I followed quickly behind her. Several people took one look at Alice's fierce expression and got out of her way. Very intelligent of them too, because, through Jasper, I sensed that she was ready to start tearing heads off if it meant getting to Bella sooner.

She drove me crazy sometimes, but I loved her more than ever at that moment.

Once outside, we spared no time talking. The darkness was our ally. Above us, the red light of the sun still shone in the far west, but we were shielded by shadows. We ran at top speed through alleys, using Alice as a guide to keep us from being spotted. I easily pulled ahead of them. Light pollution prevented me from using the stars as a guide, but Alice shouted directions to me with her thoughts.

Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime of dodging streetlights and people, I finally arrived.

I spotted Bella's car instantly and rushed over to it, praying that she had gotten smart and was waiting inside for one of us to come help. Of course, it was empty. I resisted the urge to smack the siding, knowing that if Bella was alive she would probably shoot me if I damaged her car, and if she wasn't…

No time to worry about that! I needed to find her.

It was then that I noticed the smoke billowing out of the windows of the studio.

I couldn't sense any thoughts from inside, but that didn't mean anything. James could have taken off, leaving Bella's body-

Someone had destroyed the side door. I slipped inside, bracing myself for the worst…

And then I smelled her.

I'd been away for so long that my wretched body screamed at me to hunt, too feed, but I maintained complete control.

"Bella!" I called, hearing unbridled happiness in my voice the likes of which I had never heard before.

Bella peered over at me and smiled weakly, clutching her arm as if in pain. "Hey, Superman. You're a little late. Lois Lane already dealt with the psycho-leech."

I wanted to hold her in my arms and kiss her and order her to never do that again, but at that moment, I finally noticed the other smells in the room. Bella's scent always distracted me from everything else, yet I should have noticed the sickeningly sweet smell of burning vampire.

And death.

A body lay at Bella's feet, already showing the first signs of decay, undetectable to humans. Short brown hair, pale skin, pretty features. I knew this face.

"Bella," I whispered. I didn't know what to say or do. I had little experience in dealing with grief.

"I have so much to do," she said, her voice never wavering. "I need to find out where they were staying before someone calls the cops. My guess is the walls are covered with articles on recent murders and it's never a good idea to let the feds in on anything. Next thing you know, they call you a murderer and stick your face up on America's Most Wanted."

This wasn't right. Was she in shock? Surely, she had to feel something.

"I'll need to call Bobby," she continued. "And Ellen. She'll probably offer to adopt me at this point." Suddenly, a strange smile spread across her face. "Oh, man, after all these years, I'm finally an orphan."

I was quick enough to catch her as she started to collapse. Her face was white and her muscles were all tensed. "I don't feel so good, Edward," she said in a small, childish voice.

Up close, I smelled dried blood, Bella's blood. I fought for control as I laid her down on the ground. "Bella, did he bite you?" I asked, praying that Alice's vision wasn't coming true. I wouldn't be able to stand it if my beautiful angel looked at me with red eyes.

Her jaw tightened. "No, why?"

"I smell dried blood," I answered truthfully, wondering if perhaps she was hiding an injury, or simply unaware of one. Adrenaline had that effect on humans, didn't it?

"Edward!" Alice's shrieking voice caused me to look up. "Something's wrong! I can't see anything!"

Jasper touched her shoulders gently, sending out a wave of calm. "It's all right. It's probably just temporary, like before."

I narrowed my eyes as I caught a glimpse of Jasper's thoughts. They'd taken a detour to someone's house, and Alice's visions had stopped working. Something had…neutralized them somehow.

The rest of my family finally arrived, obviously surprised by the lack of homicidal vampires.

"Oh, man!" Emmett lamented, "Just great! Bella gets to have all the fun!" He pouted. "I still wanna play with that flamethrower," he muttered, crossing his arms.

"Ah!" Bella cried out, her body trembling. "Darn, I…must have pulled a muscle or something. My arm feels like it's on fire." She peeled her eyes open and smiled up at me reassuringly. "Is this a good time to ask if the Doc has any morphine on him?"

Carlisle rushed over, but paused as he finally noticed Bella's mother. "Oh, Lord," he whispered, crossing himself automatically.

Bella forced herself into a sitting position and looked at Renée's body with calculating eyes. "I need to find Phil's body too. They need to be cremated. I'll have to make some calls, find out if anyone can finish this Hunt for them." She stopped speaking and groaned, squeezing her eyes shut.

I gripped her arm and pulled her hand away, revealing a long, thin cut, most likely made from a knife or a sharp piece of glass. And within the cut I saw…

"Carlisle," I moaned, though I felt like screaming. "There's venom in her wound."

He leaned over to get a closer look, just as Bella thrashed in pain.

"Son of a bitch! Goldilocks better pray I'm not dying, otherwise I'm gonna tear hell apart until I find him! Then I'm gonna rip his scalp off, and shove it down his frickin' throat! Goddamnit!"

"Goldilocks?" Emmett repeated, the only one not startled by Bella's graphic threats.

"Bella, it will be okay," Carlisle comforted, allowing his medical training to take over. He ripped his shirt and tied it above the cut, keeping the small amount of venom from spreading to her heart. Still, unless Bella was willing to lose an arm, this was a temporary solution at best.

"What do we do?" I pleaded. "I can't this happen to her."

Alice raced over and crouched beside me, holding Bella's should down as it trembled. "It's going to happen, Edward. I've seen it."

I shook my head. "No."

"Maybe…" Carlisle wondered aloud.

I saw what he was thinking, and felt hopeful. "Are you sure that will work?"

He gently took Bella's arm and held the wound up to his face. "I should be able to suck the venom out without taking too much blood," he explained.

"No!" Bella cried out, jerking her arm in his grip. The windows above us shattered, startling Carlisle enough so that he let her go. "Not you. Edward. I want Edward to…" She clenched her teeth together, stifling a scream. A crack appeared in one of the mirrors, branching out and growing bigger until the glass burst onto the floor.

We watched in amazement. My mouth hung open. I swallowed. "Bella, did you-?"

She cut me off, pushing her arm closer to me. "Hurry up! Before I bring this whole building down by accident!"

I took hold of her arm gently, looking to Carlisle for guidance. He nodded at me slowly.

"Start putting the fire out," he ordered, attempting to give me some privacy.

Man, this guy is toast!

Emmett's thoughts helped me relax. I concentrated, calling forth all my decades of control, as I leaned down and placed my mouth over her wound.

It took every ounce of effort not to bite down the second her blood coated my tongue. I wanted, so badly, to just keep drinking. Underneath this sweet ambrosia, I tasted James's venom. The fact that this foreign agent existed inside my Bella made me jealous. She was mine!

I looked down at her eyes as the pain finally started to clear away. "I think…you…you got it all, Superman," she whispered.

Carlisle put his hand on my shoulder. "She's right, that's enough, son."

For a second, my grip tightened, but then I unlocked my jaw and fell back with a gasp, catching myself with my hands. I licked my lips, still desperate to taste her.

"Damn, that frigging stings!" Bella whined, finally sounding back to normal. She clutched her arm, but I saw that she was in no real pain anymore.

Carlisle untied the tourniquet and rubbed her arm soothingly as the circulation returned to it.

Bella climbed to her feet, wobbling slightly. I was up and steadying her in a quarter-second. "Easy, Bella."

"Easy schmeasy," she countered childishly. "Come on, we gotta get going. James said that that yellow-eyed bastard led him to Renée. We gotta find him."

I blinked. "Yellow-eyed…the demon? The one who caused that car crash? He's here?"

"Maybe," she replied, scoping out the damage from her fit. Broken glass lay everywhere. I wondered if her shoes were thick enough to protect her feet.

"James said that It would be watching." Her eyes narrowed, and she started shouting, surprising everyone, "Is that right, you smoke-bitch? You wanna piece of me? Come on! I'll send you right back where you came from!"

I stared at her, wondering if the blood loss had affected her mind, but then I heard it…

A soft, low chuckle, like the sound of kindle wood burning in a fireplace.

"Not yet, Angel…but soon…"

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I'm gonna put up a short epilogue for this part of Hunter. It's not the ending. Don't hyperventilate. It's just the ending to this part. I figure I'll probably end up writing about fifty or so chapters for this story. The New Moon edition is going to have some very interesting changes. But I won't spoil anything. You'll just have to read it to find out.

I'll update again soon.