Chapter Eleven

Bella

The warehouse was more crowded tonight,

"Words got around that they've got something special on tonight. They're calling it X rated so you might want to leave when it starts."

"What does X rated mean in a fight?"

"Blood usually"

"Right I'm out when that starts"

He nodded,

"Good idea. I had a word with Cheveyo the promoter and there's a small unused room at the side you can use. I explained your situation, he was happy you enjoyed last night, sorry that tonight isn't the usual. Still..."

"Who are the fighters?"

"Mainly amateurs who travel around making a few bucks, not legal but who cares. Native Americans because they make the best fighters of course"

"Naturally"

As the fights began Jake and I started betting and I was surprisingly lucky, I had a slave for a year by the time the X rated fight was announced. Jake took my hand and led me out of the main warehouse and I noticed I wasn't the only one who left. It seemed this was going to be a very special event. The room at the side was small but there was a desk and a chair so I sat down and pulled my book from my pocket. I could still hear some of the fight but not words. There was a great shout and gasps at one point then I heard the snarling again. Lot's if hissing and shouting meant the fight was a good one, then it went very quiet and I heard a rattling in the corridor outside followed by a heavy clanking then footsteps went away up the corridor towards the arena again. Curiosity overtook me and I went to the other door pulling on the handle, it was locked and I cursed looking around. On the wall to one side was a key on a brass hook. Taking it down I put it in the lock and it turned. I opened the door quietly, the noise from the arena was deafening, and I stepped out. This was the loading bay I'd seen earlier.

The two cages were still there but only one was occupied, I could see a figure hunched in the far corner and I moved closer. The figure tensed but didn't move and I walked round, I had a horrible feeling this wasn't an animal and as I came round to face it I saw I'd been right. It was a man crouched in the cage and he was injured. He held one arm against his body although I couldn't smell any blood. I moved closer and spoke,

"Are you hurt?"

He looked up and I gasped, his eyes were dark red and full of a mixture of hopelessness and rage.

"Oh God, what are you doing here?"

He looked at me through a curtain of tangled dusty blond hair, his eyes the only thing I could see clearly. I squatted down trying not to appear scared and put a hand on the bars to steady myself. He was fast, blindingly so, as he grabbed my wrist with sticky fingers. Where they touched my skin burned then went numb.

"How did you get here? How did a vampire end up in a cage? Were you fighting?"

I couldn't believe that this poor creature was a vampire like the Cullens. He was the complete opposite, a savage to their civilised"

"My name is Bella. Can I help you?"

He continued to look at me steadily and then he took his hand away rubbing his fingers together.

"Go now"

His voice was low but intense.

"Can't I help you? Who are you? Where do you come from?"

"Nowhere, you can't help just go... Bella"

My mouth went dry as he said my name then I heard voices and stepped back into the shadows.

"Well that pleased the crowd."

"Yeah but where do we get opponents from? That's the third he's destroyed in minutes and that's starving him for weeks. No one's going to take him on soon, once word gets round."

"Well, when he's finished pleasing the crowd kill him."

"Oh yeah and how do we do that? The crazy fuck just keeps coming back for more."

"Don't worry about it now, he's making us plenty of money. Help me get the cage back in the truck."

I watched as the men pushed the cage back in the truck using long poles. Then they slammed the back of the truck and locked it before going back to the arena. I went back and relocked the door, retracing my steps to the arena to find Jake. He was busy, talking excitedly to some of the others as the ring was swept.

"Jake I need to talk to you now"

"Bella what are you doing here? Sorry guys I have to see to my girlfriend"

"Squeamish is she? I don't blame her, that was carnage."

I smelled the same scent as I'd smelled in the cage under the heavy disinfectant as Jake took my arm and dragged me back to the small room.

"Bella I'm glad you left. That was pretty ugly. Amazing, but ugly"

"Oh yeah, Great entertainment, a captive vampire taking on what? A man? I guess the man's dead."

"No. You'd be guessing wrong Bella, it was two leeches fighting and one guy was fast. It's a good job they had a restraint on him or he'd have taken the audience on. Hey, how did you know?"

"About the vampire? I saw him Jake, spoke to him"

"What? Are you crazy, he's dangerous"

"Yeah well according to you all vampires are dangerous."

"True but this one is a real scary piece of work."

"Well he's locked in a cage in the back of a truck like a wild animal and it's not right. No man should be treated like that."

"Whoa Bella. He's a vampire, a really dangerous one, not a man. Why would you want to help him?"

"He's caged like an animal"

"He is an animal Bella. You should have seen him"

"Well he didn't hurt me when he touched me"

"He did what? Are you out of your mind Bella. Come on"

He dragged me out of the warehouse to the truck locking me in and starting the engine.

"Where are we going Jake?"

"Back home to Forks. You are crazy Bella. The Leech is blood crazed, he'll kill you as soon as look at you"

"You're wrong. He's being treated like an animal, no wonder he's fighting. What else can he do? We have to help him"

"You want to help him you get your leech friends to help you. I don't think he's got long anyway I hear they're taking him to a big underground fight in Chicago. They have some real bad asses fight there."

"Jake please. I can't just leave him"

"Well I can, so there"

He drove as fast as legally possible until we got on the highway to Port Angeles then he really put his foot down.

"You are certifiable you know that Bella? What were you thinking? What would I tell Charlie if you'd been hurt?"

"Well I wasn't so shut up and drive."

"You going to tell Edward about your new pet leech?"

"Shut up Jake"

Well done to all those who guessed Jasper was involved in the fight. Jules x