Content Warning: Non-consensual medical procedures, graphic depictions of violence, and body horror.

LIV. Dark Angel

My eyes stung with sudden tears, and a strangled gasp caught in my throat as the sharp end of a rock sliced through my palm. Blood spilled, brilliant red, and dripped across trembling fingers.

Maybe this wasn't the brightest idea. Maybe I was making things worse. But I was on my own. I had nothing left to lose.

The rock slipped from my grasp and fell with a clatter as I lifted my bloodied hand, pressing it against a tree trunk. Loam and flakes of bark caught in the open wound, but I pressed onward, hiking through the jade labyrinth.

Was this not what Bella had done?

I ignored the black creeping in at the edges of my vision and the nausea swirling in my gut, carefully climbing over fallen trunks, edging around brambled shrubs, and navigating the slippery soil, pausing at short intervals to press a bloodied palm against the woodland around me. This had certainly sent the newborn vampire army into a frenzy. I could only hope that Edward and the others would catch my scent.

When the sun hit its highest point, streaks of light that poured down in shades of filtered greens, I stopped to lean against the sturdy trunk of a hemlock tree.

My time was up.

Tears spilled down my cheeks.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. It was no use. No matter how far I separated myself from Serena, it was unlikely Alice could see me. Not with what I now carried inside of me.

"What have you done?!"

My head remained tilted downward, the side of my face pressed against rough bark, black spots dotting my vision.

Serena's hand wrapped around my wrist, yanking up my limp hand to examine the dirty, blood-soaked mess.

"Isabella, you fool," she hissed. "No one is going to find you. Wasting your precious blood is senseless!"

When I didn't answer, Serena examined me closer and her expression softened.

"Come on, you need to get some rest."

Even if I'd had any sort of strength, I knew I couldn't fight her. Still, I resisted.

Serena hardly seemed to notice. She scooped me up in her arms, and the world around us blurred into streaks of green and brown. It was the last thing I saw before my vision went black.

I awoke to the steady pounding of my head and the gritty feeling of having slept for far too long. My mouth was unbearably dry and every limb ached, the feeling of having remained frozen throughout the entirety of my slumber. When I peeled back my burning eyes, I was shocked to be met with darkness.

In the dead quiet of night, the beating of my heart thundered in my ears, every breath far too loud.

The previous nights had all been the same in that I remembered none of them―only a heavy, dreamless sleep that was the result of being drugged by Serena. The lack of nightmares had easily given it away.

I winced as the bed creaked under me. Slowly, I pushed myself up and scooted out of bed, until my bare feet hit the wooden floorboards. A single source of light emerged from beyond the empty doorway.

I edged closer and peeked out into the main room. The lamp in the corner of Serena's crowded desk remained powered on, dimly lighting up the dark cabin.

Serena laid across the couch, dark curls pulled back into an unkempt knot, an open textbook sprawled across her belly, as though she'd fallen asleep while in the midst of studying―the classic image of any sleep-deprived college student.

It was no wonder I'd been so easily deceived by her.

I stared down at her, a hot righteous anger twisting in my chest, coating my throat, and searing my eyes, wishing I could smother the very life out of her.

But I wasn't stupid. With her near-vampiric senses, it wouldn't be long before she awoke and overpowered me.

I gritted my teeth and took another glance around.

There wasn't much to look at. Opposite her study space was a small kitchen sink and counter. The only appliances available were the small washing and drying machines, an ancient microwave, and a padlocked fridge.

My eyes drifted down to the lock chaining the door closed. I fiddled with the bobby pins inside Lisa's sweater pocket.

What the hell, I decided.

I was by no means an expert in picking locks. But that stupid lock picking kit I'd once bought for my brother had had its uses.

I bit into the first bobby pin, pulled it apart, and got to work.

Slowly, but surely, the pins inside the lock clicked, one by one. I ignored the fiery burn across my injured palm, wrapped tightly, ignored the tears pricking my eyes, until, to my surprise, the lock actually snapped open.

The abrupt sound jolted through me and I glanced back over my shoulder. But Serena made no indication that she'd woken up.

I quietly pulled apart the chain and set it down. When I drew open the door, I was met with the sight of rows upon rows of blood bags neatly lining the fridge racks. And beside me, along the shelf of the fridge door, was a clutter of small white bottles. I leaned closer, but the words printed across remained foreign to me―long, convoluted words that only someone with a medical background could decipher. The only recognizable label I found was the one for morphine.

I shifted my gaze back to the bags of blood and deliberated. Perhaps, for too long.

My first instinct was to take every single blood bag and dump it. Serena couldn't possibly have any more supply of blood beyond this, right?

But the plastic wouldn't be easily cut open and the tubing was far too small to make quick work of it. I'd get caught before I made it further than a handful of bags.

This would be my only chance. I had to be smart about this.

I squinted closely at the bags, and in the dim lighting, caught sight of the labels lining the base of each blood bag. My mouth dropped open.

She's an idiot.

In neat, curly handwriting, each bag was marked by name. The majority were labeled Isabella, along with an attached date―supposedly the date of consumption. But others were simply labeled Serena.

My eyes flew back over to the bottles of medicine lined across the topmost shelf of the fridge door.

I peeked over my shoulder yet again. Across the couch, Serena shifted slightly and huffed out a small breath.

I froze.

When she made no further movements, I turned back and picked a bottle at random in my uninjured hand. The medical jargon was an alien language, but amongst the many bottles, some had to be sedatives. Of that, I had no doubt.

It could work. Maybe. Serena drank blood much more rarely than I did from what little I'd seen, but if this worked, I had a chance. Because even sleeping, I had no hope against her. But drugged?

My fingers curled tightly around the bottle for a moment. And then, I got to work.

I turned and reached inside the nearby trash can, quickly digging out a used syringe, tossed amongst empty blood bags and bottles. After using it to withdraw the liquid drug from the first bottle I had on hand, I picked out a bag marked with her name, and gently tugged off the clamp holding the tube close. With shaking, hurting hands, I slowly injected the drug into her blood bag.

I picked out a different bottle, a different blood bag, and did it again. And again.

It was when I was reaching for the fourth blood bag, that I heard the shifting creak and groan of the old couch. I froze again, blood roaring in my ears.

I twisted around, from where I was still crouched beside the refrigerator, but Serena remained sprawled across the couch.

I bit the inside of my lip, refusing to make any noise that might rouse her, and turned to gently shut the fridge door. Slowly, so as not to rattle the chains, I rehooked the lock, returning it to the exact position it'd previously been in.

After shoving the syringe back down into the trash, I pushed myself to stand, legs quivering under me. I moved across the old, creaking floorboards and had just crossed the empty doorway into my prison cell, when I heard a groggy, "Isabella, is that you?"

"Who else would it be?" I snarked, incurring enough anger to conceal my shaking nerves.

"Right," Serena mumbled. "Go to bed. It's late."

I glowered and curled my trembling fingers into fists, the sharp pain across my palm serving to ground me. But, unsure if I could continue to maintain a steady voice, I remained silent and returned to bed.

Three chances, I thought desperately. I've given myself three chances.

Cold like pins and needles pierced my skin, suctioning all warmth and leaving me as a frostbitten corpse.

Black water lapped at my ankles, numbing them beyond the point of feeling. I had no feet; simply, masses of frozen flesh that somehow still moved at my command.

For a long time I trudged through the dark, icy waters, in a feeble attempt to regain warmth.

And then, I saw her.

A girl, splayed face down across the rippling water, white limbs floating uselessly on either side of her.

My deadened feet splashed noisily, until I collapsed to my knees beside her, shoving aside her mass of wet, tangled brown hair and pushing her over.

"Are you―" My words stuck in my throat.

It was…me?

No. No, this girl wasn't me. She was someone else, before she was me.

She was Bella.

"Bella?" I croaked, pressing a palm against her damp, gray cheek. It was like stone.

I checked for her pulse. But she had none.

She was dead.

"Bella? Bella, I'm sorry," I whispered. "I'm so sorry―"

I awoke with a choked gasp, feebly pushing myself up as I tried to breathe past the grief surging in my chest and knotting in my throat.

I scrunched my eyes closed and forced back the tears, breaths shuddering through me, painful, but reminding me that I was still alive; that it was not me who had died, but Bella.

"Isabella? Was it a nightmare?"

Slowly I opened my eyes, blinking, and lifted my head. Morning sunlight streaked through the open blinds, naturally lighting up the room. Serena stood at my bedside, a cup of fresh blood held between her hands.

I vaguely recalled sleeping through most of yesterday, being awoken by Serena only long enough to be fed before losing consciousness once again. Waking up in the middle of the night almost felt like a dream.

"Yes," I croaked dully.

"Here!" Serena pushed the cup towards me. "Drink. You'll feel much better."

I grasped the cup with trembling hands, wincing when a fiery sting lit across my left palm. The jagged cut was hidden, neatly swathed in white bandages I had taken little notice of the previous night.

Serena took a seat at the edge of the bed, watching me with bright, attentive eyes. And for a moment, fear squeezed the breath from my lungs.

Did she know? Had she seen me dumping cups of blood down the toilet, down the sink, in the shower? I would rather deny my child blood, deny it life, than let them be taken from me by Serena and Joham.

Reluctantly, I lifted the straw to my lips and drank, nearly crying in relief.

For the past week, I'd been glutting myself with water from the sink to the point of vomiting, only drinking blood when Serena kept me within her line of sight. It had left me weak, pale, and shaky.

Perhaps Serena didn't need to know that I'd been disposing of her blood supply. Maybe it was the pathetic sight of me that was tipping her off.

"You have to be careful," she said, as though reading my thoughts. "This is a delicate process, with a history of a high failure rate."

"You said I had the blood for it," I reminded her flatly.

Serena smiled, tucking a stray curl behind her ear. "Yes. That was one of the first things I noticed about you."

I looked away from her and slowly continued to drink.

"Are you feeling better?" she asked. "What you've been doing to yourself is difficult on your body. I'm afraid I'll have to start limiting your physical activity soon."

I gritted my teeth and instead demanded, "Where are we?"

From my periphery, I saw her eyes narrow. "Why do you want to know?"

I shrugged. "The trees aren't so different from the ones at home." What I didn't say was that I'd already exhausted myself and my time exploring the surrounding landscape. I had been surprised by the loose leash Serena had kept me on.

As it turned out, she had little to worry about.

There really was no one―no town, no roads, no signs that I could find. Whatever vehicle Serena owned was nowhere to be found. And I could only make it so far before she tracked me down by scent alone.

There would be no escape. Not on my own.

"You're closer to home than you'd imagine," Serena chuckled, rising to her feet. "Honestly, don't worry yourself about it. No one is going to find you."

"…You really believe that?"

"Your vampire boyfriend might be angry that I took you before he was done playing with you, but if he hasn't found you by now, I sincerely doubt he'll continue to look for you."

I flexed my fingers around the cup with a wince. "You're wrong," I said hoarsely.

Serena gazed at me pityingly. "You're not the first girl I've seen lured in by the beauty of vampires. He would've killed you."

I glared scathingly at her, nostrils flaring. "And this is somehow better?!"

Serena tilted her head in thought. "Either way, you're a dead girl walking. At least this way, you serve a bigger purpose than simply being someone's meal."

"Bullshit!" I spat, chucking the half-empty cup to the ground, blood exploding across the floorboards. "You experiment on living humans. You're using me as a live incubator, and then stealing away my child. You're worse than any killer, Serena. You're a monster."

The pity in her eyes vanished. "Think what you like," she said coldly. "I'm going to knock a few more of my assignments out. I'll come find you when it's time for lunch."

When I didn't say anything, Serena turned away sharply and disappeared through the empty doorway.

Gingerly, I pushed myself out of bed and stood on unsteady legs, waiting for the dizzy spell to pass. The nausea never quite settled, but once my vision cleared, I edged around the gruesome blood coating the floor and slid my feet into a pair of sandals. I trudged outdoors, ignoring the sight of Serena busy at her desk.

The scene outside was picturesque.

The golden sun shone brightly, backed by clear blue skies. The cabin was perched on a small lake, a pier extending over it, with lush greenery and clusters of towering firs as far as the eye could see.

"Where did you bury Lisa's body?"

"I never said I buried her."

Sharply, I glanced away from the lake, and turned to walk in the opposite direction, northwest.

My palm twinged, but I didn't dare unravel the bandages. As loath as I was to admit it, the half-cup of blood had helped. But even with it, I wasn't completely stable on my feet. I relied heavily on the vegetation around me to keep myself steady, gripping whatever was closest to me as I slowly hiked the uneven terrain.

Unfortunately, I didn't make it far before I was forced to sit down.

I collapsed between the sprawling roots of a cedar tree, bark sharply digging into my spine, head spinning.

"If you can see me, Alice, please come soon," I prayed. "I don't know how much more I can take."

Birds sang, small creatures scuttled, and insects buzzed somewhere above me. I closed my eyes and listened to the whistling wind and the rustle of branches above, wishing desperately for normalcy, for the nightmare to end.

My hopes for escape were dwindling far too quickly. And so far, there was nothing I had found which could help me contact someone. The cabin was barren of anything I could use to that end. The only thing I had yet to try was swimming to the other side of the lake, but even that had no guarantee of leading me anywhere promising.

Far too soon, the sun reached its highest point, and I shakily pushed myself to my feet.

"Sorry, Alice," I whispered. "It's time for me to return to the Bates Motel."

It was either that or have Serena take me back by force. I wasn't sure which was worse.

When I returned to the cabin, Serena didn't even glance in my direction. With her back still to me, she said, "I refilled your cup. It's in your room."

Wordlessly, I went to the single bedroom and found the cup no longer on the floor. It stood neat and full on the nightstand. The floorboards were wiped clean.

A mere sip managed to clear my head, but I refused to stomach anymore than that.

I gently set the cup back on the nightstand and drifted over to the wardrobe. Inside, I scratched the eleventh tally mark with a tattered fingernail. If Serena hadn't lied to me about how long she'd kept me sedated in the beginning, then today was the fifth of April.

I closed the doors of the wardrobe and pressed my forehead against the cool wood.

They would find me. I knew they would.

I had to believe it, because if I didn't, I would have nothing left.

"Isabella."

I didn't bother turning to face her. "What do you want?" I asked dully.

"I finished up a load of laundry," Serena said. "Here, I'm sure you'll want to clean up soon."

By the time I twisted around, she had already disappeared, leaving behind a towel and a fresh set of clothes folded atop the bed.

I decided this was as good an opportunity as any.

Balancing the weight of fabric in one arm and lifting the cup in my other hand, I headed into the neighboring bathroom. I dumped the clothes and towel atop the sink and soon, had the shower running, water blasting noisily against the tub.

As carefully as I could, I removed the lid and held the cup above the rushing water, slowly dribbled its contents over the rim. Blood joined the spray, noises blending into one loud din and washing down the drain. It was one of the ways I'd managed to fool Serena so far. But it only worked so long as she stood nowhere near the empty doorway.

A part of me wondered if this was a mistake. I knew I wasn't only hurting the thing growing inside of me. I was also hurting myself.

But…it was the only thing I could do that gave me a sense of control.

When at last the cup was empty, I leaned back and lowered my arm. As I turned, the cup slid from my hand and clattered onto the floor, Serena's stony gaze on me.

I paled, dread washing over me, but I stood my ground.

"I'm disappointed." Serena didn't even sound angry, and her features only expressed mild irritation.

My heart thundered more loudly than the crashing of water at my back, but my glare remained even, features carved from stone. "What do you plan to do? I never consented to any of this, Serena."

"No," she agreed, voice strangely distant. "You didn't."

A sharp stab of fear suddenly cut through me.

"But the alternative is much worse."

I was choking.

Something was jammed into my mouth, down the length of my esophagus, pulling at the contracting muscles as I gagged against the foreign entity, trying to swallow, trying to breathe.

I lifted a hand, intending to rip it out, but my limbs were slow, heavy.

I'd once thought that the worst pain I would endure was drowning. As many times as I'd suffered it, it was never any easier―the scrape of water invading my throat and flooding my seizing lungs, the dark cold depriving me of all warmth, the helpless, muted scream for oxygen.

It was silent and desperate and utterly lonely.

But being forcefully intubated was near exact in its cruelty.

Tears blurred my vision as I tried to breathe around the pain. By the time I touched my face, fingers weakly grasping at the feeding tube inserted into my mouth, another's hand interfered.

"Don't touch that," a voice admonished me gently, drawing my hand away and returning it to my side.

Tears spilled past my lashes and trailed down the sides of my face.

"I know it's uncomfortable, but you've given me no other choice, Isabella," Serena continued. As she spoke, something cold and sharp pierced the inside of my forearm. "Don't worry, you'll feel nothing soon enough."

Drowsiness pulled at my lids and I quickly succumbed to a heavy slumber.

Time ceased to exist.

I had little awareness, but every conscious moment was filled with pain and discomfort.

The plastic in my throat remained solid, an unmovable object that refused to adjust against convulsing muscles. And further below, something inside of me grew, pushing up against my ribs and pelvis and weighing me down.

I was completely and utterly helpless. I could only watch as my stomach rose, swelling up like a balloon. Something moved, painfully straining against organs and bones, making room for itself as it grew larger, inch by inch.

I wanted to get up. I wanted to rip the tube out of my throat. I wanted to puke back every ounce of stolen blood. But the drugs remained stronger than I, continuously dragging me down like the current of the tide. Every second of awareness was brief and fragile, taken from me more quickly than I could predict.

And then, one day, the wardrobe at the other end of the room vanished. In its place, a crib.

The fist around my heart tightened, bruising the fragile hope I clung to with all I had left.

The next time I came to, it was to the sight of Serena standing above me, looking down at me with a sympathetic gaze.

I was in too much pain to properly glare at her.

"Isabella," she began softly. "If you're willing to cooperate with me now, then I'm willing to remove the tube. I'd hate for this to be how you live your last days…"

Fuck you.

"So, what will it be?" she asked. "Will you comply?"

I nodded feebly.

Anything to be able to breathe painlessly again.

"That's good," Serena said, and went to grip the tube in her hands. "Take a deep breath, and exhale as I pull it out. Ready?"

I narrowed my eyes in concentration and inhaled a rasping breath.

She pulled―

―the muscles inside my throat screamed in agony, straining apart. I cried out silently, every noise muffled as I gagged against the tearing and ripping. But the pulling continued without mercy, ignorant of the torment it caused, choking me, tearing at bloodied flesh. Thick tears flooded my eyes and spilled down.

And with one final cough, the last of the tube was wrenched sharply out of my mouth.

I collapsed back against the mound of pillows keeping me upright, sobbing around every grating breath.

Too soon, something pressed against my mouth and I recoiled, hands shooting up to blindly shove away the unknown object.

"Isabella, you need to drink," Serena said.

I pressed a palm against my mouth, shielding it while I coughed and gasped. Every breath scraped down the length of my throat, insides torn and rubbed raw.

The bed dipped as she sat at my side. "It'll relieve the pain. Go on."

'No,' I tried to say, but no sound came out.

It wasn't until the sobs quieted and my breathing had evened out, that Serena raised the lidded cup once more.

"Please, drink," she said. "You promised you would cooperate."

The threat of another forced intubation went unsaid.

Tears continued to dribble steadily down my cheeks as I took the cup between shaky hands and lowered my mouth over the straw. I squeezed my eyes shut in anticipation before drawing a small sip.

The pain was not as unbearable as I'd imagined. The sweet blood slid smoothly down my tattered esophagus, causing only minor discomfort.

Serena watched closely as I drank. "Good," she said. "My father will be pleased by this development."

I froze. Serena had not mentioned Joham since the first night I'd awoken in this place.

"You're in contact with your father?" The question was a croaked whisper, barely audible to my ears.

A phone. She has to have a phone!

"Yes," Serena said with a fond smile. "He's very invested in the success of this project."

The familiar, sick feeling caused my insides to churn and twist. I thought of all the lies she'd told me; all the lies I'd foolishly believed. And I couldn't help but wonder: Why even use a false name? She had used 'Angelo' to cover up Joham's actions when she'd been hurt by him. But if I were normal, if I had no knowledge of this world that coexisted alongside humanity, Joham's name would've meant nothing to me.

Perhaps she was also lying to herself.

Around another sip of blood, I said hoarsely, "You told me that Angelo didn't exist. Is that true?"

"The story was a lie, yes," she freely admitted, seeming unbothered by the question. "I'm sorry for the deception. At the time, it was all very spur of the moment. But I confess," she continued, "the alias is one my father sometimes uses. It was bestowed to him many centuries ago. The woman who birthed me didn't know his true nature, but she knew he was something more. She called him her dark angel."

"Dark angel," I mumbled, staring down at the rim of the blood-coated straw. And then, it clicked. Angelo Black. "Serena Black."

Serena looked startled. "You looked me up?"

"You vanished. I was worried." Now, it felt like a sick joke.

For a moment, Serena didn't appear to know what to do with the information. Her eyes were wide with surprise, mouth slightly parted, as though she meant to say something. But in the end, she simply murmured, "Finish up."

All too familiar with the consequences now, I reluctantly did as told. But I drank slowly, the pain along my throat flaring up with every gulp I took, causing my eyes to tear up.

In the silence that followed, Serena cocked her head, ear tilted in the direction of my round stomach.

"Is that…?" She frowned, the color in her cheeks draining, face paling in shock. "This…this is impossible."

"Serena, what is it?" I demanded hoarsely, my own fear threatening to rise up and grip me in its familiar chokehold.

She lifted her head and locked eyes with me, gaze colored with trepidation. "I think there's two of them―twins. And you must do everything I say if they're going to survive."

A/N: It's getting uglier, but the fight isn't over yet folks.

'Dark angel' is listed as one of Joham's aliases on his wiki page, so that's where I got that from.

If you noticed that your review didn't get added to the review page in the last chapter, it's because I removed it. The initial backlash to the previous update resulted in reviews that went a tad over the line and others that were flat out aggressive, to the point where I didn't feel comfortable keeping them. Just a gentle reminder that I am person behind the screen.

I'm sorry that not everyone is on board with the direction I'm taking this fic in. But ultimately, this is the story that I want to tell, and I'm happy to continue sharing it with those who are still interested. To anyone who is thinking of dropping this story, or already has, no hard feelings! I'm glad to have received so much support thus far! :)

Also, I did want to address some of the other reviews. For whatever reason, some initially assumed that Isabella would be following in Bella's footsteps in being a perfect vampire and a perfect mother. I have no idea why anyone had gotten that impression, though I suppose you really only have canon to compare this to. Isabella is gonna be a nightmare and a half to deal with, so like hell she's gonna be some doting mother. And no babies (assuming they even survive) are being imprinted upon.

Thank you to Raviyoli for all your help! :)