AN: Thank you, dear strangers, who have reviewed, followed and favorited! It means everything to me that someone reads what I'm uploading and actually likes it.

Don't be afraid to criticize my poor grammar or anything else, feedback of any sort is always welcome. Oh, and I apologize beforehand if this chapter comes out a bit messy – I tried not hurrying it and to be honest that really has nothing to do with it if this chapter is a mess.

I'll stop blabbering now. Enjoy… hopefully.

Chapter 9: Count on me – Bruno Mars

I don't think I had ever been this hungry in my entire life! I had been left alone in the dark, moist cellar with only spiders and old wine bottles - that would most likely never be opened as company - to keep me company. The shock from everything that had happened the last few hours had settled. The hunger reminded me of why I had gone to the kitchen in the first place. I had no idea what time it was or how long I had been imprisoned, but it must've been more than just a few hours. My entire body was sore and cold from sitting on the freezing, stone floor and my nose had slowly started to run so I had to snuffle every other second.

I stood up for the umpteenth time with my hand on the moist wall beside me. I had to pull myself together. I was hungry and so what?! Mr. Caffarelli was dead and I might never see Alec again.

Alec.

Was he looking for me? Was he worried? Or mad? Were the others trying to find me?

I sighed. I was so useless. I couldn't help Mr. Caffarelli and I certainly couldn't seem to help myself. I was trapped in a house full of hateful vampires and I knew I wouldn't make it out alive. They would never let me. They were far too set on revenge to ever show me any mercy. That much I knew.

I started pacing back and forth with my hand still touching the wall as I went. It was impossible for me to make out anything. I was surrounded by a darkness that seemed far deeper than black. In the beginning, it had been unsettling for me – and it still was to some degree – but I had grown accustomed to it by now, almost. I didn't hyperventilate as I did minutes – or was it hours? – ago. I had somehow suppressed the panic, but I could still feel it right under the surface. That was why I stood up and paced back and forth every now and then, so that I wouldn't lose it completely.

"They'll come. I'm sure they will. Demitri is the best tracker in the world. They would never leave me here. They are too smart to fall into a trap. I know they are. They have years and years of experience with this sort of things. They'll come" I kept murmuring to myself. The silence in the cellar screamed at me if I didn't say anything. I knew the vampire guarding the entrance to my prison could easily hear me – and so could every other vampire in the house without a doubt – but I didn't care. If I didn't speak, I would go nuts. The only sounds in the cellar was that of tiny creatures moving swiftly across the stone floor and though I had never been afraid of either cockroaches or rodents, I didn't like not being able to see them.

The pacing and murmuring to myself like a madman also helped on keeping my thoughts occupied. I didn't want to think about Mr. Caffarelli or Alec for that matter. It hurt too much to think about how the cook's death was all my fault and that I was being used against the one person I seemed to care about most. I still hadn't quite figured out my exact feelings towards him, but I knew I had been close to figuring it out. It was just out of reach, on the tip of my tongue. If only I could get the chance to discover, what I knew was right under the surface.

Suddenly the door burst open and I had to squint my eyes and hold up my hand against the sudden light that beamed through the door. My eyes ached and could barely adjust to the light though it was scarce and artificial.

"Would you shut up?! We might still need you alive, but I will not back down from breaking a leg or two, if you don't stop the infernal mutterings!" my guard yelled. It was the man with the ponytail. My heart was pounding rapidly against my ribcage as if I had been a scared little bird with a broken wing standing in front of a cat. He wouldn't honestly hurt me, would he? I was defenseless.

"I'll try" I heard myself squeak. I had been murmuring to myself for hours on end and my voice was worn. My throat throbbed from being used far too much.

"You better" he snapped before turning to close the door and leave me once more in utterly darkness. I felt my heart skip a beat at the thought. I had never been truly scared of the dark, but this sort of darkness terrified me.

"Please!" I hurried to say and reached out as if that would stop him, though I did not move away from the wall – my other hand still resting upon the rough surface.

"Tell me your name at least" I said rather hoarsely. I was desperate to keep him here, to have just the tiniest bit of company if only for a moment. I felt as though I had been left in that cellar for days, though I knew it couldn't have been more than a few hours.

"I do not owe you anything, least of all the courtesy of conversation, Volturi-lover" he spat out the nickname as if it was something distasteful. An odd calm settled over me. I let both my hands fall and stepped a pace forward – away from the weird safety the wall had seemed to provide me.

"No, but I would enjoy some company" my voice sounded almost serene in an unfamiliar manner. I didn't know what had suddenly come over me. Maybe I had finally snapped, but if this was how it was like being crazy, I didn't think I would mind as much. Then again, people always said one doesn't know if they are truly mad.

The guard hesitated and looked at me with a hint of… sympathy? I wasn't sure I had read his expression right. Only a moment ago, he had hissed and scolded me for talking to myself. For him to suddenly feel sympathy for me was a bit far-fetched, wasn't it?

"I'm Raoul Pearce" he said monotonously and I gave a slight nod.

"I'm Noel Donovan"

"I know" he seemed annoyed with me, but not angry anymore. I guess that was a good sign, right?

"Can I call you Raoul?"

"It is my name" he snapped.

I smiled. I was happy he was talking to me. It felt as though I had been holding my breath and I could finally release it.

"I will still break your leg, if you keep talking to yourself" he said without the force and dangerous aura as before. It seemed like more of a reminder to himself than a threat to me; still I nodded with understanding as if it was just something he would have to do. I still wasn't quite sure if it had just been empty threats.

"But I'm talking to you right now" I tried. I didn't want him to go and close the door again. I had just gotten used to the light that barely reached me across the stone floor of the cellar. I was standing in the shadows and didn't dare to step into the light just yet. I wasn't sure why. Maybe I was afraid Raoul would leave if I moved.

He turned his body fully towards mine and crossed his arms. His features wasn't hidden in shadows to me as I had gotten used to the light and I could see he wasn't sure if he even wanted to talk to me or leave me to my craziness. Maybe he figured I would be more compliant if he yielded to my need of human – well, not human in this case – contact.

"I'm not just going to stand here all day, if there's something you want to talk about, get going" he said after a moment of silence and I blushed. I hadn't realized I had been spacing out.

"What do you have to do with all this? I mean, I know your leader wants personal revenge for her mate, but did you all know him too?" I asked genuinely interested. I hadn't given it much thought to be honest, but I was truly curious. To me this entire ordeal seemed like a personal vendetta – not that it wasn't justified and I certainly wasn't belittling it, but I just couldn't comprehend how everyone but the woman was fitting in to this plan.

"No, I didn't have the pleasure to meet Nathaniel, but it's not just a headless game to us, if that's what you think. The Volturi have wronged each and every one of us in some way or the other. They think they can simply take control of the entire world and make their own rules when it's to their own personal gain. We shouldn't have to hide from the humans. The predator doesn't hide from the prey"

He was getting fired-up at the end of his speech and almost snarled at me, as if it was my fault alone.

"But… you can't just murder and kill people! There has to be order and balance" I was confused. Was this more than simple vengeance? Was something larger brewing? Gosh, that sounded melodramatic even in my own head.

"What can the humans do? Your weapons are useless against us and we are by far superior" he seemed so self-assured by this as if it was only natural to think the way he and his… friends did.

"That maybe so, but not all vampires wants or believe they have to rise above the laws like you do" I stated calmly. I knew there was by far more humans in the world than vampires and only a very little amount of these vampires actually considered humans equal or at least respected them. The Volturi was only doing a job no one else wanted to do. I knew it was nasty and I didn't want to know everything about what exactly the Volturi did, but I had faith in them. I knew Alec loved the Volturi and he took pride in being a part of it – he was always content when he came back from a mission – and I knew most of the Volturi felt the same way. I couldn't speak for the vampires outside of the Volturi as I hadn't met any other than Beth, but she disliked most people especially someone who tried to tell her how to live or what to do.

I just couldn't believe that the Volturi was as oppressive and heartless as Raoul made them out to be. Maybe I was just too emotionally involved to know. Or maybe Raoul was being idealistic and… I don't know.

I was starting to get a headache from all of this and I just wanted to get back to Alec and everyone else.

"Or maybe they're just too cowardice to do anything about it like we do. Just you wait, others might join our cause when they learn of our defiance – and as soon as we have ripped those retched witch-twins apart and burned the pieces" he gave me a cruel smile. The thought of Alec getting hurt almost made me lose my breath and my heart started pounding. I wanted him to come and save me, but… what if he… couldn't? I couldn't bear having to be the reason for his death – or any of the other guards for that matter.

The odd calm from earlier seemed to sneak up on me yet again and Raoul got a strange expression as if he could feel it too. I didn't think much of it. I was probably still just adjusting to the lighting.

"Whatever you're doing, don't! You're doing it again" he hissed angrily, but there was something else - a hint of… fear?

"Do what?" I asked in confusion and the calm left me. I wished it would come back. My ever-present panic from earlier had come back, and the calm was the only thing that kept it at bay. Now I was scared again. Scared of these vengeful vampires. Scared of never seeing Alec again. Scared of dying. Scared of being left to the darkness.

I was beginning to get a panic-attack. I would never get out of here alive, would I? Mr. Caffarelli had died for nothing and his death was utterly meaningless. I would die for something I had nothing to do with. I would die because those I cared for had killed someone in the name of the law.

"Girl? What are you doing? Pull yourself together" he seemed confused and worried now, but I knew it was not for me. I might have to die, but I had to die at the right time so that my death would make the most hurt and chaos.

I blinked a few times as if coming out of a daze and instantly heard my stomach growl rather loudly. I blushed deeply as Raoul smirked at me. He crossed his arms again, seemingly forgetting everything about his confusion just moments earlier.

"I'm not getting you anything if tha…" he began smugly, but was cut off by a loud crash. We both turned our eyes towards the ceiling. It sounded as if someone was trying to break down the entire house.

"What is happen…" I said, forgetting about my ever presence hunger that had been gnawing in my stomach for hours now. He didn't let me finish my question. Instead, he roughly grabbed my upper arm and started pulling me out of the cellar. I let out a surprised and pained gasp.

"It's show time, darling" he smiled with a cruel sort of amusement. I felt my heart sink. That couldn't be good. As soon as we stepped out on the hallway, I had to squint my eyes. There was far more lighting out there than in the cellar. Raoul didn't wait for me to get used to the light as he roughly dragged me up the metal stairs. It was a wonder I hadn't tripped. He most likely wouldn't stop to let me get to my feet.

The noise grew louder. Hisses and snarls mixed with the irregular crashing sounds. Was someone fighting? Had Alec come for me? The thought filled me with a mixture of dread and delight.

Raoul took me to the only room in the old, ramshackle house I knew. The room I had been brought to earlier when I had been "introduced" to the woman whose name I still didn't know.

My heart was pounding wildly as we entered the room with the chaise longue. Everything was chaos in there, but I still managed to spot some familiar faces. Alec was there! Dark smoke surrounded him and engulfed two of the hostile vampires making them look like zombies. It hit me I had never seen him use his gift before, but I didn't have time to dwell on it. Beth, Demitri, Felix and surprisingly Afton, who I had not been expecting to come and help save me was there too, fighting their own opponent. But… were they enough to overpower the woman and her followers. Someone screamed agonizingly to my left and I saw Jane using her gift on someone. Tom was making sure no one attacked her while she was otherwise occupied.

"Good, you heard me" the woman, who had been standing in front of her chaise longue seemingly unfazed by the smaller battle going on in front of her, seemed to light up with smug glee. Alec was momentarily distracted as he was made aware of my presence. He took a step towards me almost as if an invisible string had pulled at him, but his distraction hadn't gone unnoticed. The two vampires he previously had under his control shook their heads and used the situation to grab him. I watched in absolute horror as Alec was overpowered and held down. I instinctively tried to move to help him, but Raoul still had a firm grip on my arm, and he was now dragging me towards the woman.

"Beth! Help Alec!" I yelled as I saw her all but throw her opponent through a wall that by some miracle didn't collapse completely.

She whipped her head around to meet my eyes before turning her attention towards Alec who was still struggling to get free.

"I advise all of you to stop this madness if you don't want to see my associate break the human's pretty little neck" the woman said calmly, but everyone seemed to hear her perfectly clear, because the chaos instantly evaporated. The woman's followers stepped back with malicious snarls while my friends all but seared at the woman. Alec made a move towards me, but two men grabbed him before he got more than a few steps even with vampire-speed. The woman elegantly sat down on her chaise longue with a look as if she was one step closer to victory – which I guess she was. The whole ordeal seemed so impossible. How were we ever going to get out of this? In the cellar, I had known I was never going to live, but had I believed it? It felt as though a hope I hadn't known I held was slowly sinking from me. If only there was a way to make sure Alec and the other's safety, but I knew that was just as impossible as keeping myself alive. It was them they were all after.

"Now that I have your attention, I would like to point out the obvious fact that if any of you Volturi guards tries anything, I will have my friend kill your pet, so don't do anything foolish" she said in a superior tone and lounged back on the chaise longue. My mouth was completely dry and my heart was pounding, but I didn't care. All I could focus on was Alec. As our eyes met, he seemed apologetic as if this was all his fault and it made my heart ache. Didn't he see how none of this would have happened if I hadn't been too weak to even defend myself? If I had been able to fight off the intruders back at the castle, and not get dragged here, I wouldn't have been used against those I cared for.

The woman titled her head slightly and my friends were instantly restrained. Beth tried shaking off the man who tried to hold her back, but that just earned her a backhanded slap.

"Beth!" I gasped and took a step forward. I heard her murmur profanities under her breath, but my hearing was luckily not good enough to catch whatever curse words she was using this time – not that I could blame her in this situation. I felt a strong need to tell this woman and her followers a thing or two, if she did not release my friends, but I didn't think it would make any difference. I knew she was planning to kill all of us, but I also knew dying wasn't the worst thing that could happen. When you died you were simply gone – at least, that's what I believed – but if dad's suicide taught me anything then it was that life was far harder and sometimes more unmanageable than death could ever be. Nevertheless, I couldn't seem to let go of a tiny hope of getting out of this alive with the others. Even in my darkest place, I had always believed in miracles. Mom had always told me how important optimism was and that I was gifted with enough of it for both her and Trevor – though sometimes I wasn't so sure. My optimism was faltering just like my faint hope.

"Bring the girl here" the woman asked with a slightly bored voice and before I knew it, I was sitting beside her on the chaise longue. She pushed my hair away from my neck and sniffed, making my heartbeat race instinctively. Was she going to drain me in front of everyone? Would it hurt? Alec tossed aggressively to get free and Felix took a step forward.

"Ah ah ahhh" the woman smirked before violently grabbing my jaw. That was going to bruise faster than my arms, I was sure of it.

"Just let her go. Your fight is with the Volturi, not her" Tom tried to argue with her. He had an arm around Jane's shoulder. It was more likely to keep her from doing something rather than comfort, knowing Jane. I guessed she only came along because of Alec, but I was more than grateful to her for just that.

"So strange seeing the Volturi care" the woman sounded amused. She violently let go of me, making me whimper unintentionally. Alec snarled inhumanely and struggled. His captors chuckled and pulled at his arms, but he just kept snarling and trying to get free. To my horror, I heard the sound of something cracking. His arms! He was hurting himself!

"Alec, stop! They're going to pull your arms off! Stop!" Jane yelled angrily, but he didn't listen. The woman chuckled in amusement.

"Listen to her, Alec" she said in a singsong voice, but he didn't. The cracking noise became more prudent and I started to panic. No. No. No! This couldn't be happening!

"Stop!" I shrieked and the strange burst of calm I had experienced in the cellar came over me again, dulling my horror and worry. I wished someone would come help us, save us. Please, just… anyone! I closed my eyes and pleaded to everything that was holy, that help would come.

Suddenly someone grabbed me and pulled me to my feet. I let out a gasp in surprise and opened my eyes. Raoul was standing protectively in front of me while the entire room was looking at us in confusion.

"Raoul, what are you doing?" the woman stood up, looking furious. The calm quickly left me. What had just happened?

"I… I don't…" he seemed utterly confused before turning to me with a sneer.

"You" he snarled at me and I took a tentatively step back, but before I knew it, everything was chaos again. Felix tackled Raoul, Beth went straight towards the woman and the others quickly found an opponent to take down. My eyes instantly went to Alec, who shoved his shoulder into one of his restrainers' abdomen, but this movement caused him to get his other arm ripped off. I screamed and ran to him, but before I got there, the one who had killed Mr. Caffarelli stepped in front of me. The force of my sudden halt caused me to trip backwards and…

Everything erupted into pain. I was blind from it. My head felt as though it had exploded and my lungs contracted. I couldn't breathe. It was as if something heavy had been put on my chest and prevented me from getting air down my lungs. It was like that time when I fell from a tree in our backyards. I hadn't broken anything then, but this time it felt as though something was off. It wasn't a fractured bone, I was sure of that, but I didn't remember feeling this woozy after my fall all the way back and it had been a pretty bad fall.

I tried blinking rapidly as if that would make the black and purple spots disappear. I felt nauseous. My head was spinning painfully. I faintly heard someone call my name, but I wasn't sure who it was. I couldn't concentrate enough to put a face together with the voice.

I could feel myself drifting. The pain was getting more distant, but I knew that wasn't a good thing. I felt as though I had been to the dentist and they had used too much laughing gas. I was detached from my body, but still sort of bound to it.

Then I was surrounded by darkness. It wasn't like the darkness from the cellar where I could hear small feet run across the floor or feel the cold, hard surface underneath me. I couldn't feel anything around me. I couldn't hear anything. The black and purple spots had disappeared along with my nausea. There was just me.

And that terrifying darkness.

AN: Yep, soooo, this is what I had to offer this week. I'll write the next chapter between doing my homework and trying to have a sort of social life. Hopefully I will have a chapter ready by the end of the week.