Here we are again … I'm embarking on a new journey of a fanfiction story. This time, we're going with a post-apocalyptic vibe. I recently watched The 100 on Netflix. I'd been intrigued to write a story based off that show/series of novels. I decided to write it for NaNoWriMo. I'd starting almost halfway through the month, but I'm determined to, at least, get something going. My goal is to finish the story for NaNoWriMo July Camp …
Chapter Eighteen: On the Ground at Mount Weather
Edward
"I'll check medical first," I said. "Thanks." Standing up, I finished my coffee and rode down to the medical bay. Austin was there, but no Bella. I did check on my sister, who was still sedated, but the bruises and abrasions were fading from her tanned skin.
After speaking to Austin about Alice, I went up to the garage and saw a hubbub near the doorway. Jasper was laying on the ground, with Peter and Charlotte hovering around him. Charlotte was holding a towel to Jasper's forehead. I took off at a sprint. "Are you okay?" I asked Jasper, kneeling next to him.
"Some asshat clocked me in the head," Jasper groaned. "I was getting one of the Rovers ready to go to the Ark. Bella came up here, saying that there was a medical emergency, but there wasn't."
"Wait, Bella was here?" I breathed. I looked around, not seeing her or evidence that she'd ever been in the garage.
"Yeah … it was one of the guys from the Drop Ship who hit me, and I think he took Bella," Jasper groaned, pulling the cloth away from his wound.
"How long ago?" My heart was stammering and twisting in my chest. Jasper didn't respond right away. "Tell me!"
"He might not remember, Commander Cullen," Charlotte argued. "He could have a concussion."
"A half hour ago?" Jasper said, waving his hand at Charlotte. "Oh, fuck. Oh, fuck!"
Exactly … oh, fuck …
"Get the Rover ready to go," I said woodenly, unclipping my radio. "We need to find them. Bella cannot be taken back to the Drop Ship. Jacob will … he'll …" I stood up and tried to not cry. I had to be strong for my Bella.
I was failing miserably.
"We can't take the Rover. Not today," Jasper said, pointing to the dead battery. "It needs to charge for at least eight hours."
"Then, find something else to cover the ground!" I yelled, turning to face Jasper. "Run! Just get her back!" I wanted to take off into the forest, but strong arms stopped him. Peter tackled me back to the ground. "Get the fuck off me. I need to find her!"
"Bella would tell you not to go off half-cocked, Edward," Peter said. "Radio your team."
Scowling at Peter, I opened a channel to the command center. "Cullen to Command Center, Mallory come in?"
"Yorkie here. Mallory was on the overnight shift," Eric said. "How can I help you, Commander?"
Swallowing down bile, I spoke to Eric. "Can you pull up the security feeds in the garage? Bella was called up here for a medical emergency, but there wasn't an emergency. There's also no Bella. She was taken by someone from the Drop Ship."
"I remember that call," Eric said. "It came from a different channel than we use for medical."
"What channel?" I pressed.
"One we don't use … channel fourteen," Eric replied. "We can hear all the conversations, but we have to turn to the channel in order to respond. Anyway, I didn't recognize the voice, either."
"Pull up that footage and call the security team, meeting me in the conference room. Now!" I ordered. "Jasper, you, Peter, and Charlotte are coming with me, too. Let's go." I stomped back into garage, riding down to the command center and into the conference room. Eric was already in there, watching the security footage on the big screen. Lauren, who was disheveled and half asleep, was scanning the other exterior cameras. "Did either of you find anything?"
"They skirted around the mountain," Lauren said, showing a shadow on the screen. "They knew where the cameras were and their sweeping patterns."
"The clearest shot we got was when Bella was taken outside of the garage," Eric said, a grimace on his face. "Tall, with dark hair, and tanned skin. It's not Jacob, though. The person who took her had a scar on his arm. It ran the length of forearm." Eric paused the security feed on the scar. "See?"
"Sam Uley," Renee said with pursed lips as she walked into the conference room. "Sam Uley had a severely broken arm when he was a child and it had to be set with a titanium rod, resulting in a scar that ran the length of his arm."
"So, one of Jacob's cronies," I said blandly. My hands clenched into fists. "Proof that we need to go to the Drop Ship."
"We can't. We don't know what we're walking into. We need to wait until we hear back from Emmett, Tyler, and Commander Blake," Lauren said. "It's not like I can use the satellites to track …"
"Wait, can you?" I asked, hope filling my voice.
"Even if I could, I don't have the codes to hack into the satellites. I can use them to track weather or in the case of the Ark, that … but, I can't move them or change where the cameras are pointing," Lauren explained. "My guess is that the heads of state had those instructions and codes, but they're long dead."
"Can't you hack it?" Jasper questioned. "You're like this tech genius."
"Eric is more of a hacker than I am, but we're talking about multi-faceted and difficult encryption keys," Lauren sighed, clearly frustrated with the limitations placed on her. "There also could be a reset if we can't access the codes within a certain number of tries. We'd lose the satellites permanently."
"So, we have to wait," I huffed, sitting down heavily on one of the chairs.
"It's the smartest thing to do," Lauren murmured, giving me a sympathetic grin. "I know you want to go in with guns blazing, bringing Jacob down for what he did to your sister and what he might do to Bella."
"Damn right, I do," I spat. "I can be patient, but on this? I need to have her back. With Jacob's actions toward my sister, Bella's in for worse treatment."
"Do Emmett and his team have a radio?" Renee asked. "We can ask for a status update."
Unclipping my radio, I turned up the volume. "Cullen to McCarty, come in McCarty." The radio crackled with interference.
"McCarty here. We're about halfway to the Drop Ship," he said. He sounded like he was running. "But, the terrain looks disturbed, like a large group of people came through here previously. There's also hoof marks. Not deer … bigger …"
"Elk?" I asked.
"No. Commander Blake thinks that the hoof marks are from horses," Emmett responded. "Here, speak to him."
There was a rustle and Marcus came onto the radio. "I'm fairly positive that the hoof marks are that of horses. A lot of them … this ally that Jacob mentioned is the real deal. We don't know how many and if they have weapons. If they do, it might be rudimentary …"
"How are they surviving on the ground? I mean, with our genetic engineering, we can handle the radiation," Lauren said.
"We engineered our genetics … their genetics may have altered naturally due to the harsh environment on the planet," Renee answered. "Their bodies acclimated to the irradiated planet."
"Are we expecting to see these humans with four arms and two heads?" Eric snorted.
"Blake here … how should we proceed? Should we come back?" Marcus asked.
"Apologies, Commander Blake," I said, blowing out a breath. "Continue to the Drop Ship. We need you to find Dr. Bella Swan. She was taken from the mountain earlier today by Sam Uley."
"When?" Emmett asked. "We can try to ambush them and take her back."
"About a half hour ago," I replied. "We haven't investigated around garage, only watched the videos from security. That's how we figured out that it was Sam Uley … Renee helped identify him." I swallowed down bile. "We need to know where she's being held, how many people are at the camp and … if Jacob …" My voice cracked and I pushed my hands through my hair. Renee walked over to me, sliding her arms around me. "He's going ruin her."
"No, he won't. We'll scope it out, Edward," Emmett vowed. "If possible, we'll get her for you."
"Not at the risk of your own lives," I choked out. "That would be a suicide mission. Get as much intel as possible." My eyes fluttered shut as my heart stammered against my ribs. A lone tear fell down my cheek. "The more intel, the better we prepare to burn those bastards to the ground."
xx MWMA xx
Bella ~ On the Ground, At the Drop Ship
"Wakey, wakey, bitch," came a deep, raspy voice. A too warm hand cupped my face and slapped me. "Wake the fuck up!" I was punched in the stomach. I moaned, curling into myself.
"Back off, Sam," said another voice. "We need her."
I opened my eyes. I was in the Drop Ship. I recognized it immediately. I was secured to a wall, making it hard for me to move. My head pounded and I felt like I had cotton wool in my mouth. "Fuck. You." I spat, glaring at my captors.
"Now, there's an idea," said the second voice, crouching in front of me. His tanned face was drawn and gaunt, but I recognized him. "You remember me, bitch."
"What do you want, Jacob?" I asked, sitting up carefully.
"We need you to heal someone," he replied. "You save him, and you get to keep your life. You don't, my men will get a chance to have some fun with you before I slice your throat."
I gulped down bile, keeping my eyes on his. They were black and completely devoid of any emotions except for hatred. "I don't know how I can help you if I'm tied to a damn wall," I countered. I wriggled my hands that were tightly pinned together, attached to a ring on the bulkhead of the Drop Ship.
"We had to take certain precautions that you wouldn't run away," Jacob said, sitting down in front of me. "Like I said, you help our patient, and you get to live." He grabbed the tether to the bulkhead, pulling me to my feet. His gaze turned darker as he looked over me. "No wonder Cullen took a shine to you." I held his stare, arching a brow. "I'll break you yet, Isabella."
"I'd like to see you try," I sneered.
Jacob went to wrap his hand around my neck, but he clenched his fist and grabbed my tether. With a harsh pull, he dragged me away from the wall and opened the hatch to the lower part of the Drop Ship. I kept my face impassive, but the smell of decay, rot and illness permeated the small space. In the middle of the lower deck of the Drop Ship was a burnt, scarred man. "Fix him," Jacob demanded.
I looked at the man, arching a brow. "This man needs state-of-the-art medical facilities. We do not have that here. I don't even have my kit."
"Sam!" Jacob shouted. "Isabella's crap."
Sam stomped down the ladder, tossing my bag to my feet. I grimaced, praying that nothing broke when they handled it. "I can't treat him with the bindings so tight," I argued.
"You try to leave, and our new friends will put an arrow through you before you can blink an eye, Isabella," Jacob snarled, removing my bindings. He shackled my ankle to the floor. He grabbed my face, squeezing my jaw painfully. "He lives. You live."
"I get it," I hissed, pulling back, and trying to get away from his rancid breath. It was nearly as bad as the festering wounds on the patient in the center of the room. I turned to the patient, trying to keep my face impassive, but I knew I was failing.
"Do you not recognize me?" came the raspy voice of the patient.
"Nope, sorry. I can't say that I recognize you," I huffed, pulling out my stethoscope from the kit and I pressed it on his chest. "What happened to you?"
"I was on the Exodus Ship," he said, coughing weakly. "I wanted the Ark, but when I heard that ground was livable, the Ark would not do. I want the Mountain."
"Aro Volturi," I whispered.
"Smart girl … smarter than your father," Aro hissed. "How is your old man?"
"He's still on the Ark with no way to get down here," I sneered. "That's your fault, Aro. Because of your actions, the Ark was crippled when you disengaged the Exodus Ship, killing thousands of people." I examined him, wrinkling my nose. "You might be joining them. You don't look so good."
"You're supposed to be one of the stations healers," Aro growled, trying to move but struggling to do so because of his injuries. His arm was bent at an awkward angle, clearly broken. Both of his legs were misshapen and would probably have to be amputated based on burns there.
"You have burns over fifty percent of your body and from the smell, many of them are infected. You probably have broken bones from the Exodus Ship and more than likely have internal injuries. I have a small kit. None of it will help you," I said. "I can make you comfortable …" I moved to my kit, finding morphine, and loaded up a syringe. Before he could respond, I injected him with the morphine.
"What did you give me?" Aro asked.
"Something to help with the pain," I answered.
"You're supposed to be helping him," Jacob roared. He stomped over to me and pushed me against the bulkhead, slamming my head against the unforgiving metal. "You cunt! Your life is forfeit!"
"Jacob, calm down," Aro said weakly. "Whatever she gave me helped … If she can't help me, then we can use her as a bargaining chip."
Jacob slammed his fist into my stomach and letting me fall to my hands and knees. The edges of my vision were tinged with black as I coughed. I whimpered, looking up at Jacob who was glaring at me. I didn't even feel the blow until it was too late.
Blackness consumed me.
A/N: Shorter chapter … I do not want to describe the pain that Bella will endure. Also, no pictures with this one. I do apologize for that.
Anyway, up next we're going back to the mountain for the next chapter. What will happen? Leave me your thoughts. Thanks for reading!