Edward
I lifted my heavy eyelids to find myself in an eerily empty metal room; a room I'd never been in before. I would have guessed it was a morgue if I didn't know better. The walls were comprised of sterile steel, fluorescent lights hung in a metal grate-like fixture above me on the table I woke up on. I had no prior experience in the room, yet I recognized it instinctively, somehow—I was on the 18th floor of VOLTURI laboratories.
I struggled to recall the previous events that led me here; they were blurred in my mind and my temple was aching.
Retrace your steps... Okay, I was hiding outside of the back entrance, waiting for Bella...
Bella.
My blood seemed to stop cold in my chest.
I need to get to her.
Her name alone was enough to clear my pounding head immediately, it woke me out of my stupor as if ice water was splashed over my face.
I pressed my elbows back against the table to prop my upper body up but became quickly aware of a restraint holding me back.
I looked down, and my eyes widened at the thick metal manacles that was secured around each of my wrists, ankles, and my rib cage, effectively pinning me to the table. I I struggled against the cuffs with all of my strength, seeing if it would budge—
"It's no use." A quiet voice sounded from behind me and I froze. "This is vampire proof." I stopped struggling immediately. Not because I wanted to comply to the voice; but because I knew better than to waste energy here—especially in the event I was held captive for a long period of time.
I'd need to save that strength.
For her.
"Where's Bella?" I demanded to the voice. The lurking man finally unveiled himself, stepping into my line of sight to appear himself to me. He was a middle aged man, extremely pale, with high temples. His deep-set eyes were dark and his thin skin was withered and sagging in the corner of his eyes, like a waterlogged book.
I wondered if he could see properly; judging by his harsh squint and yellowed eyes, he likely didn't. His sunken eyes had astounding black irises that were too large and dark for his alabaster face. His shoulder length hair was dark and greasy, as if he were too busy to shower. Beneath his black lab coat was a black dress shirt with a collar so high that it looked like it belonged to a different time period. A bejeweled V sat on a long chain in the center of his sternum, embezzled with a ruby.
This guy's look is nothing short of demonic.
"I regretfully inform you 1906 is here." His voice was as thin as his person, and had a strange accent that I couldn't place. It didn't sound foreign yet was markedly atypical in his diction, he spoke as if he were an actor from a period piece.
"I'm afraid she knows too much, much like yourself, and that is going to pose a problem." I felt a surge of rage when mentioned Bella, my fists balled against the metal table involuntarily.
The strange man raised his eyebrows at my reaction as if he were disappointed. His alabaster hand flickered over a remote control as he sighed out of annoyed.
In tandem with the device switching on, a loud buzzing sounded and electric currents coursed through me with an alarming force. I shook against the metal restraints from the sudden shock that seized my breath.
What felt like hours later, I gasped in air as soon as I could. My chest rose and fell comically as a cartoon's might've as I struggled to catch my breath. I craned my head to survey the cuff link restraints more carefully.
Beneath each of the metal braces, taser heads were embedded within them. The exposed skin beneath my wrists had pink tinged burn marks in the shape of manacles. I was in a metal straight jacket. My attention went back and forth between the burns, the cuffs, back to the burns on my wrist. I was bewildered by this invention, no...
This is a torture device.
It was just beginning to dawn on me how bad this situation was.
My breathing sped up as I thought of different ways that ultimately wouldn't work to escape this absurd table.
"None of that," The ghostly man chided calmly, waving an elegant hand. "I can tell exactly what you're thinking, so you may as well not try anything or accuse us of anything you can't prove." I recognized that quote from Bella's recounted memories of her stay here. It couldn't have been more clear if he had told me who he was, straight on. I narrowed my eyes at his beady black ones, seeing the deception in his as clear as day.
"Aro." I said dryly. It wasn't a question. He raised an eyebrow smugly at the recognition, as if his infamous reputation were something to be proud of.
Bet your mom is so proud of you, loser.
"Yes." He folded his hands before him civilly as if he were in a business meeting, ready for negotiate. As if I had a say in this.
"We finally meet." I growled sarcastically through gritted teeth. "I wish I could say it was a pleasure." I tipped my head towards the metal sheaths that restrained my body, without breaking eye contact. I held my jaw firm.
Being a hostage isn't exactly the perfect picture of a warm welcome, crypt keeper.
He laughed coarsely without blinking. The dry laughter was unprompted and there could only be one reason he was laughing at the joke I didn't make. He was staring into my soul, literally reading my thoughts like a book. My eyes bugged out of my head. How was this possible?
Holy shit. Bella wasn't exaggerating. This freaky man really is a mind reader.
"There's no need to be hostile and formal with our introductions. We've already met, Edward." His thin lips stretched deviously across his face, as if his mouth held back an inside joke from me that I didn't know. Seeing my lack of reaction; he repeated himself in emphasis.
"We've already met."
I froze.
Although his words were surely a trick, a sick ruse, the pit of my stomach sunk in dread. The fluorescent lights hanging above us flickered ominously, and I swallowed hard.
"...What are you implying, Aro?" I asked carefully. My mouth was suddenly dry. He smiled widely without letting the delight touch his black eyes. I narrowed my eyes back at him in distaste. He seemed to be testing me, holding my gaze there, as if he waited for me to remember or falter in some way. When it was clear to him I'd show no reaction, he shook his head at me in disbelief, if he were impressed.
What are you hiding from me?
"Edward, your memory may not account for it, but you are just as much a product of VOLT as 1906 is." I felt my blood turn to ice. A shiver wracked my spine and I blinked, hard.
No... no.
This must be a dream.
One of the nightmares I had of Bella, at the beginning of the semester.
Maybe I never woke up from the earlier dream I had in the car. Surely I'm still next to Bella in the van, asleep with my head against her shoulder.
That would explain everything.
I shook my head, trying to clear my mind and think rationally.
Wake the fuck up, Edward.
Don't let him play you.
I struggled to comprehend his exact meaning.
"Does that mean... Am I—" Gears whirred in my head as I struggled to grasp if this was reality or not.
"A vampire? Half breed? No. You are mortal—but modified here in tubes, like every good thing that came out of this laboratory."
What the hell did that mean?
And why did it provide no reassurance?
"How do I know you're not lying?" I tried to sound cocky butI was certain nothing could mask the sheer terror in my voice. I knew it within myself that someone that could read minds would have no need to lie. He had all the information he wanted at his fingertips.
I must've looked overwhelmed from the massive mind-fuck that was dropped on me, as Aro studied my face with a gleam. He ate the fear like a meal, being famished for it.
"I see you haven't changed at all in the past decade. Forever asking all of the unnecessary questions, yet not being able to see the bigger picture. Not wanting to be part of a cause greater than all of us."
Decade?
Did he say decade?!
What does he have to do with my past?
"What is this place, Aro?" I hissed. "And why the fuck do you keep saying I'm a part of it?" I demanded. Aro's hand fluttered over the remote and I was immediately thrown back into the harsh surge of electricity. Aro's hand twisted a dial, and the dull buzzing in the background made a high pitched noise as it produced greater voltage. My body bowed off of the table from the sudden increase in charge and convulsed against the table without my control. My vision became spotted with black and my lungs felt as if they'd explode without air.
Only when Aro's finger lifted off of the button, was I able to surface enough to take a breath. I choked on my own spit as I struggled to breathe raggedly in and out. I felt swear drip down a loose strand of hair on my forehead. The rush of epinephrine that flooded the entirety of my body made me hyper aware of Aro's every movement and I followed him with my eyes and prepared my body for the worst.
He walked civilly with his hands behind his back as if he were an old man taking a stroll in the park. It occurred to me that Aro could've been much older than he looked. It would explain his strange mannerisms and dated speech.
He circled me around the table once like a vulture eyeing prey before gently pushing a stainless steel cart beside me. The top was lined with surgical paper and was organized with various foreign instruments that winked a sinister silver color at me.
Oh fuck. Is he going to torture me?
Stay calm.
Stay calm or you won't get to Bella.
Her face in my mind sent my heart racing, I desperately wished I could be with her for a moment, even just long enough to hug her again and reassure her.
God I wish I could cradle her face right now, tell her everything was going to be okay, even through my own uncertainty.
I'd lie through my teeth to make her feel better.
Since I'm not sure I'll make it out of here anytime soon.
Aro smirked in response to my thoughts, neither confirming nor denying. He dragged a long, colorless finger across my jaw, and I flinched, not wanting to be in the vicinity of Aro any more than necessary. He glared at me and then carried on as if he were telling a simple tale; folklore.
"This 'place' you speak of is Volturi Labratories, affectionately called Volt. Volt began a century ago, after an outbreak of world war and the decline of military funding across the country. We were losing and our troops were expended to a dangerous point. The government offered funding to Volturi Labs as a last resort. They'd heard the rumors of our various underground experiments and sought our help to propose an effective replacement for the quickly depleting militia. We agreed to be a part of the cause, of course, on the account that our funding would never be a concern ever again."
In a time where money and resources were scarce, Volt was still being prioritized.
Is that why they were unable to be stopped now?
Blackmail?
"You've always been dramatic about your wording; we prefer the saying that we reached a 'mutual understanding.' Are we clear?" Aro pushed the taser button just once on his remote, sending one quick pulse through my body. After my body was set alight, I responded immediately, avoiding eye contact with Aro and staring at the wall.
"Yes sir." I answered, as if it were a knee-jerk reaction.
I haven't done that since I was a kid.
What is this horrible place?
"Anyways. Where was I? In a time where efficiency was paramount, our solution was to breed vampires, for the sole purpose of bio-mechanical warfare benefits.
Before the half breeds were envisioned, we tested the purebred vampires. As you can imagine, the experiment wasn't successful. They were soulless; too far gone. They couldn't control themselves. We eradicated the population immediately." I winced at that word involuntarily, as if my scarred subconscious was triggered.
Even if they were 'far gone' as Aro says, what they did was genocide. They created thinking, feeling, humanoid creatures only to murder them in masses.
Aro responded again to the thought in my head.
"No, no, you have your narrative twisted again. They didn't feel." He corrected me sternly, with a pointed look and long finger wagging in my face. "That was precisely why we had to create a hybrid between vampires and humans to design the first half breed prototype." Aro excitedly spoke, he was practically foaming at the mouth.
It's a wonder he works in a facility considering he belongs in one. I decided. Aro finally picked up the syringe he was toying with, and punctured the needle into a vial of dark blue liquid and drew the liquid slowly. "Anyways. The beauty of the vampires was that it taught us a valuable lesson. It was that Every plan must have a back plan, a plan B if it fails. We needed a way to ensure that the new population could be controlled, but we couldn't have just anyone controlling a population of half breeds. If half breed vampire warfare came to be a problem, if we were overrun by them—"
"I would've been the one to hunt them down." I said quietly, only recognizing what I was as I uttered it.
A hunter.
Aro emitted a look of surprise at my recognition, followed by a dry, soulless chuckle.
"No wonder why 1906 chose you. You're at least quick enough to make the connection. I suppose that's thanks to our engineering, though. You're welcome for that," he said with a light hearted laugh. It made my skin crawl to think Aro had anything to do with my creation, even if it wasn't biological.
"This was why we engineered prototype Eradicator 1872-999." I looked up when I heard the numbers, in disbelief.
My barcode tattoo.
The only remaining evidence of my past.
I finally made the connection between Aro's lecture and the note in Bella's locker today.
The 'E' on Bella's invitation didn't stand for my initials. It never did. It stood for "Eradicator," my... serial number.
Aro snickered at the naivety of my thoughts before he cleared his throat to continue.
"We built your batch to find the perfect hunter. One physically strong enough to fight against them and fast enough to outthink them. Someone immune to venom entirely so they can continue to hunt down those who couldn't control themselves. Many of the early prototypes died from venom poisoning or simply turned themselves. They had to be exterminated for the greater cause."
A chill ran down my spine at the new information handed to me.
I was an object to them, just like Bella was. I'd never even considered the possibility of turning when Bella took my blood. In fact, I offered it to her. Gladly.
My thoughts disconnected from the moment and I was taken back to the day in the alleyway. I cut my wrist as carefully as I could before I offered my blood to Bella who lay in my lap without a heartbeat. Seeing her revived, eyes open and staring up at me and hearing her sweet voice calling my name was the last thing I remembered before I passed out.
Though I never disclosed my memory to Bella, I vaguely remembered blurs of her carrying me out of the building as I lay in the ICU bed. I recalled looking up at Bella from below, I was being carried in her arms, far from her body.
My dark angel, I thought ruminatively.
Despite her distended pointed teeth and the crimson color that was smeared around her nose and mouth, before I even knew what she was, I was not afraid. Even in my most vulnerable state, in her arms while she was changed as a vampire, her altered appearance couldn't frighten me. Rationally I knew every part of me should've been afraid, yet that voice of reason didn't exist. Not around Bella. I knew I'd willingly do anything for her.
I'd give her my life.
"It's true," Aro confirmed my thoughts. "You never were afraid of 1906. It's not the first time you almost foolishly lost your life for it."
My jaw dropped. I couldn't believe what he was hearing.
Bella... I'd met you before?
Known you well enough to offer you my blood?
How can this be?
I was trying to calculate time, sputtering because nothing made sense to me. Seeing my intense reaction and jumbled calculations, Aro snickered and simplified his explanation, mockingly, as if he were speaking to a child.
"Poor confused Edward. Allow me to clear things up for you. E-999 and 1906 were engineered at the same time, 12 years ago."
My heart pounded involuntarily at the numbers that I knew bore Bella's bracelet and my own barcode tattoo.
I didn't know whether to feel relieved or angry to know the truth.
I had known Bella all these years.
We were inevitably bound for as long as I'd been alive.
"Originally, as a child we trained you with intent for the hunt. You proved yourself a quick learner, and a powerful fighter compared to the rest of the Eradicator adolescents in the batch. However, you proved to have a sort of... defect." Aro's icy gloves hands tied a tourniquet swiftly around my left bicep. I winced as he tugged hard on the rubber band around my veins to tighten it. I knew there was no medical need to pull a tourniquet so tight but I chose to keep quiet.
Aro continued on nonchalantly, as if he wasn't preparing the suspicious syringe with the inky blue solution right beside my eye level. I eyed the unnerving instrument warily and gulped subconsciously.
I'd only seen needles of this length and thickness in labor wards. Aro pointed the lengthy needle to the ceiling. A squirt of indigo came out of the tip as he depressed the plunger to release air bubbles.
I forced myself to speak before Aro could see the reason behind my thoughts, to prolong his experiment for as long as I could.
I have to stay strong.
Buy as much time as I can until I can find a way to get to Bella.
"What defects are you talking about?" Aro sighed as if he were irritated by my disruptions but answered me anyway.
"If it wasn't obvious to you by now, the half breeds seemed to have an addiction to your blood that none of the full breeds seemed to possess. It seemed to be debilitatingly strong even while the prototypes were in their conscious human states." His icy fingers flicked the crease of my elbow hard, and I flinched. More from preemptive fear than from pain.
"Upon conducting research, we discovered your blood contains an antibody that doesn't just reject venom; it heals any imperfections. You subconsciously attract vampires. And in turn, their thirst."
I couldn't reply, the flashbacks raced through my mind at a lightning pace of Bella's intense reaction when she met me for the first time. The way she choked, tried to sit far away from me... The intensity in her black eyes was a viable sign of thirst, the tensed muscles showed fierce restraint and pain that ravaged her slender body.
She was so desperate to stay away from me that she tried to use her own hair that day, to block my scent out of her path...
Aro took the opportunity of my silence to stab me with the needle, in the junction of my elbow. I winced reflexively and groaned with my eyes squeezed shut as if tightly closed eyelids could filter out some of the pain. I gritted my teeth as icy liquid traveled through my veins. A wave of nausea rolled over me and I swallowed hard, sucked in deep breaths of the medicinal scented air and focused my eyes on the stainless steel door, my only way out.
"What... did you inject me with?" I wheezed.
"Let's just say a new experiment."
I sat in silence and anxiously waited an unknown reaction to come.
What was the point of all of this? What did you want from me, Aro? I nearly begged in my mind. I swallowed again, gagged when the nausea became stronger.
Aro gleefully took the opportunity to answer my mental question, as if he proud someone was finally taking genuine interest in his experiment.
"No other prototypes warranted such an effect on the other half breeds. 1906 became so powerful she had to be starved for a week until we could safely contain it again. We couldn't afford to have 1906 so strong. By disposing of you on your little freedom run, we killed two birds with one stone, if you would."
My mind struggled to comprehend what Aro was saying in my lightheaded state.
All I could make out for now is,
I was never freed from Volt.
This life of freedom and spontaneity, chance, that I thought I led valiantly and independently was carefully constructed and monitored; engineered. I was just their test subject.
They'd been watching me all along. I remembered the paranoia in Bella's eyes as she showed me the X-ray of the metal tracker hidden within her own arm. I recalled dizzily how it was disguised and entangled within her veins; near impossible to remove.
It never occurred to me to check myself for the same tracker.
A few truths added up. I spoke dismally, not wanting to believe the words that spilled with a somber tone from my own mouth.
"Is this why I can't remember anything from before I was nine?" I had flashbacks to my parents being stunned, when they realized I was alone in a grocery store, hungry. A small, wide eyed boy with no recollection of the past with a tattoo marking his scarred body.
"We had to test how your instincts fared remotely and without any influences or external variables. The effects of your blood in 1906's system was a threat that needed to be disposed of. When we lost two of our half breeds to escape, it was the perfect time to run a new experiment. One to see whether you would serve your purpose as the ultimate hunter. Whether you could continue to attract and hunt the lost half breeds if left to your own devices. Evidently it was successful." He shrugged.
It took me a few moments to connect the dots. It was beginning to become difficult to think with the foreign drugs swirling in my system.
Successful?
That implies there were other half breeds in my life.
I wracked my mind for anyone in my life that was unusually strong, fast... ethereally beautiful, the way Bella was.
Two faces popped into my head.
My best friends.
My jaw dropped when I finally made the connection.
The extent of their experiment went further than I could've imagined. Even my own friends, brothers. Every scene of it was staged.
"You mean... Emmett and Jasper?"
"Are half breed vampires that escaped the facility a decade ago, shortly before we released you to find them."
That explained both of their uncanny ability we all seemed to have with keeping up in school without much participation. Their speed and strength, their reflexes on the field were unmatched. The entire school knew it. The preternaturally formed bond that happened so naturally as children that even we couldn't explain.
It must've been why they couldn't see what everyone else (including myself) saw in Bella.
There was just one more thing that didn't add up.
What were my dreams of Bella?
Aro answered the thoughts in my mind without warning.
"Those were created and pushed by us."
Every single thing was a lie.
My past was erased by Volt. My only friends were half breeds. Even the dreams I had were controlled by Volt.
My whole life was constructed. Fabricated.
"Why would you fuck with my dreams?" I seethed. The tasers at my ankles, wrist, and chest was set alight with a current that shook my entire body. Five seconds felt like hours as I couldn't breathe, my arms and legs contracted without my control. Only after the electrodes subsided, was I gasping in breaths like a fish out of water. I groaned and wanted to just lay down and close my eyes.
My body trembled from the exhaustion of being set alight so many times, a quick glance at my wrist confirmed blisters, both intact and ruptured under the taser heads. I closed my eyes against the dizzying fog in my mind.
"Shit," I mumbled under my breath.
Stay awake. Stay awake. Stay awake.
"No swearing." Aro chided.
"Yes sir." I found myself mumbling involuntarily, a knee-jerk reaction. I couldn't seem to open my eyes anymore, and could faintly hear Aro in the background.
"You should comply for your sake, Edward. You're sacrificing yourself for the world. For science. Tell me, what better contribution can you leave than to make the world better for others. This is a sacrifice, a priledge to leave a legacy." His icy hand gripped my shoulder as he whispered into my ear,
"This is your destiny." I forced myself to open my eyes to glower at Aro, glare at his beady black eyes.
"You do not gave any right to choose my destiny." I seethed, rage that built within me kept me alert and pushed away the effects of the drugs.
"Pray tell, what is your life worth without Volt? Don't tell me, a better world?" He snickered sarcastically.
"This is your idea of a better world?" I retorted. "War slaves that you created?" Aro clapped excitedly and I couldn't tell if the motion indicated he vehemently agreed or rejected the notion.
"No no you're missing the point--we are creating the ultimate species. We are creating tangible power. Survival is dependent on who can survive and evolve to be the best. Who better to survive than immortal beings? This about saving the human species, turning it into what it was supposed to be all along!" Aro dramatically pointed to the equipment that surrounded the room, as if these instruments were vital.
I knew it wasn't wise, but I chose to state my peace.
"What you're doing is torturing people who deserve to be set free." I riled indignantly. Aro chuckled darkly.
"Nothing is free in this world, Edward. It all comes at a cost. They are a small price to pay to see evolution at its finest." I was infuriated and despite the pain that blared through my skin I clenched my fists. I wanted to fight. "After all, there are no rights for those that need no protection. We may as well trade that for progress in mankind."
"Bella is not currency." I hissed acrimoniously. "Her gifts are not yours to exploit for a war that may not come." Aro narrowed his eyes at me, turning them into thin slits.
"You named a lethal weapon. How doting." He jested sarcastically. I was exasperated at this point, I couldn't believe this shallow man and had little patience for his pleasantries and back and forth. I continued.
"Bella is a person." I hissed. "I am a person. We are not your puppets--we don't belong to you." Aro sighed dramatically, shaking his head as if he pitied me. As if I was the one that lacked cognition between the two of us.
"I believe we're speaking in circles. This isn't the first time you've refused your orders when it came to 1906 but this is the last time you've disobeyed. We cannot let you stand in the way of evolution." Aro shook his head and picked up another needle. I arced back against the table; trying to place distance between us. A chirpy tsking sound left Aro's mouth.
"It's such a shame that you've always been so... defiant. You were our most powerful eradicator at the time, our most promised hunter. Yet you were always so obsessed with 1906's welfare." My head snapped up at the mention of Bella's serial number.
"I remember at our induction for 1906 for the line, the look on your face as she was cuffed by me." My heart stopped when I realized that my vivid imagination of Bella as a child earlier today was hardly my imagination. It wasn't a constructed idea. I was there. In person. Watching.
Bella. I had known you from a different life.
I'm sorry I didn't help you.
I opened my mouth to speak but no sounds came out. Aro beamed at the effect the drugs had on me, he was practically shaking from excitement as he picked up yet another lengthy needle and syringe.
"Any last words?" He chortled and nearly choked on his own laughter, as he saw my wide eyes, unable to speak.
Bella I love you.
Aro stuck the needle into my arm, pushing the plunger just below my tattoo. I groaned loudly, unable to control myself with the liquid that burned inside me.
I hyperventilated as the medicine circulated through my body and gasped from the shock of the visions.
So many memories flooded me. All at once.
A young Bella, with blood all over her small hands that clasped my bloodied one. Her eyes were dark and no sign of the whites of her eyes were there, yet she was crying. I touched her face with my free hand, wanting to comforter her. I couldn't hear her voice at first, it faded in like a radio being turned on, but her mouth formed the word "no", her eyes were full of horror.
My perspective and voice was one I didn't recognize. I sounded boyish, calling her by 1906. I couldn't remember her real name anymore.
I was losing blood. 1906 had caused my nose to bleed and resisting the smell drove her half mad. I somehow knew she didn't mean it and I again, tried to reassure her, despite qthe blood pouring down my face.
"No no it's okay," I'd murmured but the tail end cut off in a gurgle. I could hear a voice but I wasn't sure if it was a dream or a memory. "Take my wrist. It's okay, I don't mind. It doesn't hurt," I'd lied, forcing my boyish voice to sound brave.
She hesitantly took my wrist in her small white hands, her black eyes were wide as she stared, until she made up her mind. I flinched as her teeth went through my wrist like butter, my own blood spattered across my face.
"As far as 1906 was concerned, she was convinced you were dead after that."
I remembered being in a metal box, fighting multiple vampires at once before a two way mirror. I was panting, exhausted but I knew that I was being watched, whether I lived or died. I had no choice but to fight to live and put my fists up again and again tirelessly. I knew the alternative if I didn't.
I could practically hear the door being kicked in, as the half breeds that knew they couldn't survive the fight tried to claw their way out to escape. This metal grinding sound followed by a slam if the door successfully fell over. Which was rare, given all the reinforcements.
An angelic voice startled me from the haze of the injection. It was powerful despite its youthful feminine pitch. It belonged to a woman.
"Let go of him right now Aro." I'd never been more relieved to hear such an angry voice; it left no room for questions. I used all of my strength to weakly opened my eyes to see Aro looking amused.
Bella.
She had broken down the metal door, it lay on the floor with the hinges unnaturally twisted away from the frame. Her stance was wide, she looked so incredibly strong with her hands tensed, canines barely visible through her parted lips.
"1906, what a pleasant—" Bella's brows arched at the mention of her serial number and she curled back her lips to bare her teeth at him. Her teeth extended before my eyes, and it distorted her words the more she spoke.
"I don't have time for your small talk Aro. I'm here to take back Edward." Aro rolled his eyes and I wondered if he knew how truly capable Bella was. It wouldn't have surprised me if Bella had been holding back all these years, as she was held captive.
"You and what army?" Aro sneered, he waved her off as if she were a fly that needed to be shooed. My eyelids grew heavy as I heard a growl that rattled in the back of her throat.
"This time, I brought company." Her eyes glinted maliciously, rendering her intent.
A dry, wheezing laugh escaped his thin lips. "Don't you think I am more cautious if I was the one that extended the invite to you? I have silver all over me. You cannot touch me." And it had now come to my attention he was right. I noted the silver cuffs that were exposed from beneath his long black sleeves.
Bella didn't react, instead spoke calmly and threateningly. I closed my eyes, no longer able to fight the drug that consumed my veins.
"The funny thing about allergies? You can build a tolerance to them after enough exposure."
Exposure. That's right. Emmett and Jasper had been away from Volt for so long now that they were regularly exposed to silver. Bella was near me all the time when I wore my silver crest to school.
They were all immune.
Which means they were unstoppable.
A growl broke the silence in the room with a loud purring sound.
It came from behind Bella.
Emmett and Jasper, I thought, before I lost consciousness.
Thank you for reading.
I'm so sad to be parting with this story.
Years of thoughts and ideas are finally being wrapped up in this lengthy little story.
I'm lucky to have you be a part of that rare, rare journey.
Thank you, please comment on what you'd like to see in the ending two chapters.
Gratefully
Redeyewriter