Bella
I waited restlessly, ill at ease for someone to meet me by the prescribed exits. The exit I was told to be met at remained stagnant as the meeting time approached. I stared anxiously at the silver airlock door. Not a single sign of life, I even began to wonder if this exit was used at all. The forgotten leaves by the sterile door were intact, the long grass beneath it swayed, untouched.
As more time inched past, I checked my watch multiple times. Dread built a sickening trench deep in my stomach.
Were my instructions somehow unclear, somehow misunderstood?
Edward, Jasper, Emmett...
Where are you?
My ears perked up to the faintest sound of life, a quarter of a mile away. I forced my body to tap into the monstrous side that I knew could aid me now. With a small quake, I strained my enhanced ears to listen again.
In the distance, a metallic click sounded, and a human gasp followed with a thud.
I instantaneously took off into the unknown with my feet pounding on the forest floor, moving blindly on pure instinct toward the trajectory of the sound that still echoed in my ears. A metallic door was opening—I recognized it as the sound of the airlock door releasing—Volt's only entrance.
In the dimly lit forest, I could see the door in the distance, and I pushed my sprint harder, letting my legs fly forward with no abandon. The door began closing, I was as only meters away.
I slammed my fist against the metal door just as it closed from top to bottom, leaving no space in between.
Shit my only chance. I need to look for another entrance. I continued to scan the ground quickly, barely letting my eyes stop moving for too long. The fallen leaves beneath the trees were broken and appeared displaced, yet there was no one there.
A sign of struggle. My heart sank with fear when I that this was Edward's post. My mind whirred as I realized what this really was.
It was a trap, a set up.
They took Edward, knowing they would be ambushed if they met me as originally planned. They were counting on me to go in after him.
Two birds with one stone.
Something bothered me deeply however, I thought with my fingers pressed against my lips as flashbacks projected in the back of my eyes. Of Demetri when he first saw Edward, the strange smile that spread across his face. Do not bring E. A chilling thought occurred to me.
What if Volt took Edward for a reason more sinister than just to hurt me?
That made me question another thought, with a shiver.
What does Volt want with Edward?
I heard rustling sounds behind me; something was cutting through wind. It was too fast to be a leaf or branch. Though the sound was faint, there was a tenth of a millisecond of a foot stepping off the ground.
Another vampire? A half breed? I focused hard on the sound. It was too many steps for one person. There was two of them.
I whirled around, ready to fight with my teeth bared at the pack that snuck approached me from behind. When they did, I let my guard falter.
It made sense for Jasper and Emmett to be here. But it couldn't have been them running, right...?
"Jasper? Emmett?" Confusion made my voice sound small. "What are you doing here?"
Edward
"Let go of him Aro." Bella growled out. Aro didn't twitch, instead gave Bella a sneer as he tipped his chin towards his silver suit. He waved his hand down against his suit, as if demonstrating its power.
"This time I brought friends." She growled. Her word were neutral but the threat behind them was more than clear.
My jaw dropped as Emmett and Jasper came in through the broken door frame. Their eyes were dead set on Aro, making their intent clear.
They were only here to kill.
Holy shit.
Emmett and Jasper are...
My head spun from the new information.
In the fluorescent lighting, I realized how unprecedentedly frightening Emmett and Jasper looked, and for once, that they didn't look human. Under the green cast tinge from the fluorescent lighting, the chiseled features of their faces appeared alien; too ethereal.
Eyes narrowed in hatred glowed as if they were felines, and dark shadows were cast beneath their eyes and hollow cheekbones.
I was aghast. I grasped for the first time that the best friends that I'd known all my life were half breeds. They were here to fight alongside Bella, and not with me this time.
How could I have never noticed?
Aro disrupted me from the naivety of my thoughts as he added onto his previous statement with unwavering confidence.
"I have 6 pounds of silver armor protecting me."
As if to prove it to us, he added onto his silver ensemble by opening a cabinet against the wall. He fished out silver mesh gloves, taking his time as he slid them on and buckled them at the wrists cordially. He did not look perturbed in the least.
I looked up to see Bella's lip curled up in disgust, a hiss sounded from her parted mouth. Aro's eyes sparkled; he seemed to be enjoying whatever sadistic thoughts ran through Bella's mind. He continued to taunt her.
"I'm afraid in retrospect, Edward is far too valuable for me to release him. He can strengthen our populations with his unique essence. Don't you care about the others? Don't you see the bigger picture? We can use him to make all of us stronger, imagine the sheer potential. Just what the half breeds could do with our collaboration?We would have a monopoly on the world with the enhancements!" He was practically foaming at the mouth from excitement. I was surprised he wasn't clapping his hands and jumping up and down.
I was overcome with horror, realizing how deeply twisted Aro was, that it was about more than just the institution —he sought power.
What kind of twisted upbringing would turn someone into this?
A flame of anger sparked within me, as I realized how dark Aro truly was. To cage an impressionable Bella in for years, accusing her of being a monster when he only projected what he was onto her.
He was only using her as as a scapegoat.
Bella sneered in disgust at Aro, shaking her head, her patience was clearly waning.
"You have 3 seconds." Bella's angelic voice was tinted in malice and left no room for questions. Even in my drugged state, my eyes widened at the sound of her threat.
Aro looked surprised by her tone, but didn't so much as move a muscle. When it was clear that his reaction was no action, Bella didn't hesitate to hold back.
She closed her eyes and dropped her chin to her chest. She convulsed once and opened her eyes once more to reveal complete darkness. Oval coals sat against skin as white as snow. She roared, her jaw cracking multiple times as it accommodated pointed fangs that barely fit her mouth.
Though this was the third time I'd witnessed her change into her other half, I was startled and in awe each time the changes overtook her.
Despite the frightened and paranoid girl that I went to school with this morning, she's standing tall and unbreakable.
At the sound of Bella's roar, both Jasper and Emmett who had been in a tense crouch at attention to Bella's side had suddenly doubled over, as if an invisible man had stabbed them in the stomach.
I was horrified and mystified, my jaw was open as my throat fought back the urge to scream. My eyes were as wide as my jaw was, and I couldn't remember how to make either one of them close.
When Emmett arose, slowly stacking one giant vertebrae atop the other, the Emmett I knew was gone. He was replaced by a monster, with the same traits that Jasper exhibited beside him in a crouch. Purple veins made an incomprehensible pattern beneath their eyes, they looked as if each vein was a poisoned river that led up to soulless eyes on a canvas of marble skin.
I heard a low purring sound, it took a moment for my ears to trace the low rumble back to Jasper. His teeth were so large that his mouth could no longer close and clear fluid dripped from his teeth and rolled down his chin. His jaws snapped, and the shining fluid went flying.
I reflexively bit down on inside of my mouth at the sight, not believing my eyes. I tasted the copper flavor of blood flowing in my mouth and winced a little. It only struck me then that I was bleeding in a room full of half bred vampires.
Oh shit.
My friends don't recognize me.
My smell is overwhelming to them.
I'm just prey.
Jasper's head snapped up at me at an alarming rate that my eyes barely adjusted to. His nose wrinkled as he snarled, his bloodthirsty eyes locked on mine. I couldn't seem to look away from the black eyes and lips stretched over the pointes edges of his teeth. Emmett on his flank sniffed at the air animalistically and as if he could smell the direction of the blood began to curl his lips back at me, a low rumble sounded from his throat to match Jasper's.
Bella was the only one who seemed to be the only one in control of the transition. She appeared to be perfectly balanced, somehow evenly distributed on either side of the teetering see saw. Her eyes transitioned back and forth between a few shades shy of dark coal and the amber color I knew and loved.
When the sounds of the growling intensified, I began to panic. I was still bolted into the table, yet tried aimlessly to make the metal cuffs around me budge.
As if to voice her protection over me, Bella had sounded a thundering bellow at Jasper, exposing shining teeth at him threateningly. No words needed to be conveyed for Jasper and Emmett to immediately turn away from me. Their attention returned to Aro instead.
Bella is the chain of command. Was she... communicating? Do they somehow understand territorial signals like wolves?
"Last chance Aro. I'm not asking again."
Aro looked marginally uneasy, but said again, simply.
"Silver."
At his words, Bella's brows arched, and Emmett and Jasper's growls crescendoed. Their glowing eyes trained on him, drooling in anticipation.
"Get him," Bella gritted out. Emmett and Jasper moved faster than my eyes could process, both of them released their rampage without hesitation, charging Aro like sled dogs moving in a pack.
I craned my neck, unable to see the commotion from the table I lay on. The sound of jowls snapping and bodies being tackled to the ground resonated through the air was enough to give my imagination a break. I heard a sickening crunch and a cry that sounded very unlike Aro, so undignified.
A detached arm came flying into my peripheral vision, landing on the floor beside me, still spurting blood. With a few more ripping sounds, Aro's cries suddenly died down, I could imagine it was only a matter of time before he was done for.
One down. I thought grimly. I tore my attention away from the sinews in the grizzly arm and turned to Bella.
She was still animalistic in her movement, and bared her teeth once toward Aro's remains before appearing at my side. I closed my heavy eyelids out of relief, and slowly felt myself surrendering to whatever drug swirled through me.
"Edward-" Though her voice was still unrecognizable, her strangled cry sounded distraught.
No my angel, don't be upset.
The familiarity of her icy fingers soothed me as they pried apart the cuffs that bound me to the table. Surely I must've been dead, no touch should have the right to feel so divine.
Am I dead?
I asked myself if this was it, and surprisingly felt no remorse.
I never gave much thought to how I would die. But dying in the place of someone I loved seemed like a good way to go.
The metal cuffs groaned as they were bent in the opposite direction, until the tasers no longer touched me. At that moment Bella began searching me with frantic hands. Her frigid hands left trails of frozen electricity on my body. I struggled to open my eyes, and managed to flutter them open to see a moon-colored goddess bent over me. Her dark hair brushed my face.
Her unblinking eyes remained deathly black and unseeing but her hands continued their search, as if her fingers could see in her place.
"Hurt?" She managed to ask through a rough voice I hardly recognized.
"I'm fine," I mumbled, but it took all of my effort. I was becoming weak from whatever was circulating through me. Bella nearly tore my clothes off as she frantically searched my chest, arms, head for injuries.
I closed my heavy eyelids for just a moment, letting her soft touch caress me everywhere, what felt like all at once. I felt Bella's icy hands abruptly stop flitting, successful in their search, when she reached the two fresh dots of blood and bruises marking the inside of my elbow where Aro stabbed me with the needles.
"What did they put into you?" Her sweet voice had returned, and she sounded bewildered.
Why are you worried my angel?
I forced my left eye open, and peered down to see what shocked Bella so much. To my surprise, the veins in my left arm were turning a crude black from the poison that was running up my veins.
Oh shit, that can't be good.
"I have to suck out the poison." She gritted through a tight throat, I could see the tendons in her neck straining as she said it. I knew she was struggling in her efforts to simply resist me, without the offer of tasting me.
I feebly nodded.
I trust you. You won't hurt me.
"Need you off this table-" she grunted. Her hands now worked raggedly at the cuffs around my ankles, which were much thicker than the ones around my wrists. I summoned enough energy to speak, but my voice sounded faded.
"Bella, wait-" I wasn't sure if she heard me as she continued her efforts on the manacles.
"I have to tell you something!" I pleaded with all of my remaining energy. She grunted as she exerted her full strength to pry apart the metal cuffs which protested with a metallic groan. She managed to pull it apart with a cry, and lifted my body off of the table. She cradled me in her arms lovingly as she lowered me to the floor, letting my limp legs settle against the tile, keeping my upper body upright against her. I was losing energy, rapidly. I decided to get straight to my point.
"Bella, I was a product of Volt." That finally got her attention. Her entire body set like stone and the arms that were wrapped around my upper body stiffened like molten lead that had gone cold.
The black orbs of her eyes slowly decreased in size until they were the size of normal irises. An earthy tone flooded in from the outside of her irises to chase away the black. Her eyes almost matched the amber shade I knew and loved.
"What?" The teeth reduced to a size that protruded ever so slightly out from between her supple lips.
"I was an experiment too." I mumbled with a pathetic excuse for a nod. I forced in a deep breath, trying desperately to hold on to my consciousness and focus in the conversation.
Bella's face undertook a series of emotions in a short period of time. Her initial look was horror. Then confusion. A new emotion then flashed on her face, clearly. One of shock and recognition. Her white hand trembled as she placed it against my face, the feeling sparked vivacity through my veins, as if it were the first time we'd ever touched.
"The bronze haired boy." She whispered, at a volume only we could hear. "The initiation ceremony where they put serial numbers on us with cuffs... The one staring at me... that was you." She breathed. I was still overwhelmed by the knowledge of the strange history we shared and nodded in solidarity of the core memory I had left of our shared time at Volt.
"That was me." I echoed softly, hardly believing what I was saying. Bella looked flabbergasted, she stammered.
"I-I thought you were dead. I... mourned you." She sounded remorseful, and I knew she meant it.
Sweet girl, I didn't disappear by choice. I wouldn't have left you if I had any memory left in me.
"I know. I didn't forget you because I wanted to." Bella nodded ferverously, as usual so quick to be understanding, as she sniffed back the tears that shone in her eyes.
I no longer wanted to deny it anymore.
We belonged to each other and always did, since the second I laid eyes on her.
We were meant to be together.
The fact that my past laid here, that I grew up alongside Bella only made my bond to her that much more real, stronger.
I reached up with a trembling hand to cradle her arctic cheek, hoping she'd somehow hear all of my thoughts and one day, understand.
Bella
Edward lay in my arms, so weak, yet he summoned the strength to stroke my cheek, so gently, the way he did in the silence of his car when I had fainted in biology, what felt like light years ago. I leaned into the eternal summer of his hand and sighed subconsciously. I closed my eyes as time took me back.
I remembered him clearly now. The "Initiation Ceremony" as they called it, was the day we all awoke from our pods and received our numbers. Little did we know, the majority of us were awakened only to be slaughtered a few weeks later when we didn't meet the top 1% of Volt's high standards.
We were the newest test batch that year. It was the day half breeds were cuffed with silver to prevent us from being so strong we could attack, and the eradicators were in a separate line to have bar codes inked onto their arms, marking them as a hunter forever, so there was no leaving Volt without setting off security alarms.
The two lines consisted of children all my age at the time, around 5. There were a few girls. Mostly boys. There were varying looks and ethnicities and no common traits that I could see except for one. The half breeds all looked as though we'd never seen the light of the sun. The eradicators appeared opposite, they all seemed oddly vivacious, athletic and tanned. Though we were children, they appeared to have prominent musculature, eveon from a young age.
I remembered distinctly when Caius called my name to the stage in the auditorium. It was on that day that my fate was sealed as Aro cuffed me, with cold, gloved hands. I wish I knew. I wanred to scream to myself, to all of the young children, 'run!' Before you are marked as property of Volt!
Among the many cold stares penetrating me from all directions, there was only one stare that was different... somehow softer. Is the word admiration? A pair of earnest green eyes gazed at me, in wonder.
I caught his gaze as Aro released me from his administrations. I wanted to walk over to him, but I was told to have a seat. I had to obey. As I begrudgingly took my seat, the boy with green eyes did the strangest thing. He lifted his hand at me, bent at the elbows. I looked down at my own hand and copied him, raising a stiff hand back at him. The action earned me a beaming smile that made the edge of my lips turn up.
I remembered now. That I was forced to fight this boy in the labs, months later.
When the metallic buzzing went off, and Jane's voice sounded over the speaker, "Test subject eradicator- 1872." The jumble of words and numbers meant nothing to me until he was pushed into the lab, stumbling in as he was still shackled in handcuffs and manacles. After the heavy metal door closed, a guard bent down to unlock his many restraints. He looked at me, earnestly.
It was probably only a half year since initiation, yet this boy showed no fear as he looked into my face, intensely into my eyes.
"You," he mouthed. His back faced the reflective side of the two way mirror, his eyes darted to the mirrors across from us, as if to remind me that they were watching. I blinked in agreement, "as if I'd forget."
Despite us not being able to see them, we knew we were being watched at all times. Likely recorded too. They expected us to perform. To fight to the best of our abilities. We were not here to form anything amicable. No, they wanted us to fight to the death.
I felt the other side prickling over my body in reflexive anticipation, it began consuming me. I covered my mouth with a hand, as if my fingers alone could prevent destruction. I shook my head hard at him.
I'm a bred killer.
Don't you understand?
I don't want to hurt you.
Leave while you still can.
The fear I felt for him slowed the process of changing just enough that I could still barely speak.
"Get back," I managed to choke out. My jaw began cracking and expanding, and my hands that were clamped over my oversized teeth could no longer hide the nature of my changes. My fingernails began extending like claws and my teeth and outgrown my hand that feebly attempted to cover them. I howled, as I couldn't hide the pain that came with these changes.
Despite all of this, the eradicator showed no fear. All of the eradicators fought, but it was usually a desperate struggle for their lives from the moment they were dragged in. This bronze haired one stayed away from me, but I sensed it was for my sake and not his. He was practicing a foreign concept... courtesy.
What is wrong with you?
Have you no sense of self-preservation?
I shook my head again at him, feebly.
"As if you could outrun me," I choked out. "As if you could fight me off," I shook my head in horror of the idea of hurting this bronze haired boy.
This is your last chance. Please run, somehow.
You don't understand, I'm designed to kill!
He stayed firmly planted, held his fists up by his face and gave me a single nod. It could've been mistaken for a trick of the light, but I knew what I saw and I was taken aback.
He was signaling me that he understood the consequences, and that he was ready to fight.
We both knew we had no choice but to defend ourselves but I never detested it more than I had in that moment. To be forced to fight the one person who I knew had no intention of hurting me disgusted me. I never hated Volt until then, the way I had that day.
The rage I had for Volt took over my vision and the transformation began instantly. Everything in the room started brightening, even in the darkest corners. My fingernails lengthened into claws and the smell of this eradicator was amplified, and hitting me harder than anything in my short life ever had.
Forgotten drool escaped the sides of my mouth as I growled at him, unthinkingly. This eradicator pushed a umber colored hair out of his tsavorite eyes and he crouched back at me. The world turned blood red and I felt as if I were witnessing the world through someone else's eyes. All I knew was rage, and my soulless body went for his neck.
The young eradicator with the strange hair used his forearm to push me away by the chest. I snapped my jaws at him, even my wild state, it was clear this wasn't his full strength. It was obvious in the way his hands never grappled me. He kept pushing me away as opposed to clawing me, there was no distress.
Was this a defensive strategy to fight with?
Or was he really trying to protect me?
Between flashes of moment, when there were small lapses in the blind rage, I could see his eyes were pained each time he struck me. It was clear he didn't desire hitting me, nor did he strike me nearly as hard as he could. He never laid a hand on my face or in other sensitive areas. He seemed to strategically aim his strikes at the muscular areas that could better absorb the impact.
Normal eradicators would've gone for my head, or heart by now. I've seen some of them so desperate to put a stake in my heart, they try to pull apart furniture to create a weapon.
We knew Volt would rate us mercilessly to our peers, by strategy, strength, and stealth. Strategy was a low priority though, they wanted cold blooded killers. We'd be within the markings of 1-10, and each week we prayed we were not marked as the 1's. The test subjects that were at the bottom mysteriously disappeared. The one thing we all had in common was that we would kill each other to not end up on the bottom.
I liked to believe if the ranking wasn't in place, none of us would've wanted to hurt each other. Especially in this situation now, today.
When I was conscious of my state of being, I copied him, similarly avoiding hurting him in exchange, using attacks softer than what I would normally throw. I decided to ensure I would leave some evidence of a good fight, so the fight would not be considered "null."
I threw a fist at his dense shoulder, seeing that it had ample muscle to absorb the shock. My hit was enough for him to stagger back, and I saw the barest hint of a crooked smile. He appeared to be entertained by my strength. I barely had time to wonder why before the other side took over.
The session lasted less than the usual 10 minutes, the buzzer went off, signaling our session was over.
The sound of the alarm was like an awakening for me, it called me back into my state of consciousness like a reverse dinner bell. When I came to, my hands were around his neck, his shaking hands were wedged between my hands and his throat, leaving room for him to breathe.
I had been choking him. With horror, I leapt backwards, as far away from the eradicator as I could imagine in the small room. I felt the steel walls dent in in the shape of my shoulders as I pressed myself against the wall, desperately forcing myself as far away from him as I could manage.
As I sucked in deep breaths, I thanked the universe with every cell in my body to see that he was alive, despite the purple bruises that already colored his neck. I looked across the room to him, praying to every god I could think of my appreciation that I didn't hurt him when I was in my monstrous state.
My incisors began reflexively shrinking back into my mouth. I swiped a fist at my mouth instinctively and pulled back to inspect my arm.I was relieved to see that at least no blood was spilled.
The sweat-soaked copper haired boy bent over at the waist, with his hands on his knees. Despite his body being bent over, he continued staring at me even while gasping for breathe. I felt a strange clarity come over me as he gazed at me, and I felt the monster within me quiet completely.
Though he was on the other side of the room, I felt a strange urge to be closer.
The door buzzed loudly as it was being pulled open. I instantly wished he would somehow have more time here, just in the same room with me. Though we had no opportunity to exchange words, he managed to flash me a crooked smile before the guard had forced cuffs on him, and forcibly pulled him out of my cell. That was the last I saw of him that day, and I didn't get an opportunity to return the favor.
We were paired often the year before I turned 9. The subtleties in his actions may have been silent, but they were monumentous to my otherwise secluded life and disassociated existence. He helped me up off the floor after we sparred. He would smile at me when no one else did, or even knew how. His quiet generosities knew no bounds.
Even following an accident when I drank from him, he didn't seem to mind, even though he was found passed out from blood loss. I grew uncompromisingly strong after that.
And that was the last time I saw him.
Unconscious on the steel floor of the large test lab, bleeding out while I suddenly gained inexorable strength. Even silver wasn't enough to stop me, for well over a week. I was confined in solitary during that entire time.
The countless memories I had of him surfaced before my eyes and I counted each one before his sudden disappearance.
It explained everything.
Why I felt as though I knew Edward from my past.
The familiarity in all of our touches... as if we were created to complement each other.
Edward's ability to fight, and the strange amnesia he experienced as a wandering child.
The bar code tattoo with his batch number.
Our instant need, reflex to obey.
It all made sense.
It was him all along.
Edward
I saw her onyx eyes widen for a few seconds, flooding with memories that I couldn't see. I hoped to myself that if we made it out of here, that one day she'd share them with me.
"I wondered what'd happened to you." She whispered. "I thought I killed you..." She whispered in disbelief. I shook my head my head once, though it made my vision spin. I closed my eyes, instead.
"They had to let me go because I was making you too strong. We can still take them down, Bella, if you're at your full strength. It's not too late." I pulled down the collar to my shirt, exposing my throat to her. Her brows arched and her lips twitched in response. She looked angry.
"No. Absolutely not." She left no room for arguments.
"I don't mind the pain, they already injected me." She shook her head, realizing what I was asking of her.
"No, Edward," she pleaded. Her voice returned to its normal pitch and I saw her teeth recede ever so slightly. "I can't let you die—" Her fangs were barely visible now.
I shook my head, taking her trembling hands in mine. I wondered if the trembling was a result of psychological fear of losing me, or from the physical strain it was taking for Bella to hold back from me.
I noted despite the fact that her pupils were dilated in her pleading almond eyes, her fingernails didn't extend past her fingertips. I was speaking to Bella now.
"You won't let me die. You won't." I reassured her. "We can't take down this place without you." She bit her lip, looking down. "Bella." I said again, softly, until she looked up. Despite the ripping sounds in the background, it seemed as if the world was silent except for the two of us. "I trust you." I reminded her gently, knowing she saw my logic.
She kissed me once, on the lips. I exhaled at the feel of her cool lips molding against mine for just a moment, before she pulled away.
Bella's eyes closed in surrender as she concentrated. I saw her shudder only the slightest bit and she opened her eyes to complete darkness. The veins in her cheeks stood out starkly against her white face as though they were purple rivers in a snowy bank. I felt entranced by her, even in this state.
Still so beautiful.
I realized that this must've been one of my flaws as a prototype hunter. I was still affected by them. The veil of normalcy that Jasper and Emmett seemed to cast was thick for me and I wasn't able to see past it. Bella's beauty was no exception. I was dazed. Undeniably dazzled. Even with my awareness of what she truly was, I couldn't look away. I never could.
She approached me slowly as if she was buying me time for me to change my mind. With her long hands, she carefully turned my head for me. I allowed her to do so and then stood as still as I could. I squeezed my eyes closed as she placed her lips on my neck and braced myself for pain.
I flinched, expecting pain that wasn't there. Her teeth had made no contact with my neck. She had merely kissed me, barely pressing soft and cold lips onto the inside of my arm. I shivered. My body couldn't help but react each time we touched. I felt as if time, or my mind was reacting slower.
Revelations came to me in multiple waves.
The electricity was a very intentional signal. I realized.
It was energy passing between us. It wasn't merely attraction, it was tangible power.
I relaxed in her touch, nearly forgetting where I was and why I was here.
I could relax near Bella because I was bred to stay calm around her. I came to the relevation that not only I was about to be calm near her, I was bred to be able to tame... No, comfort her.
Only as I was distracted, I felt her grab my arm, and gently bite into the crook of my elbow. The pinch ensued and I winced.
Bella sucked on the inside of my elbow, turned her head and spat. She repeated the process over and over, her dark hair tumbled over my face in her haste and I found myself breathing in her familiar and sweet scent each time. I found myself becoming more and more clear headed as Bella drew the poisoned part of my blood from me.
Feeling more coherent, I finally looked up at Bella.
Her dark eyelashes were against her milky cheekbones, until she peered up at me. Her eyes were devoid of any emotion in this state, yet she looked inhumanly beautiful even with her black eyes and bloody mouth. I felt hypnotized. I watched as her tongue flickered out to taste the blood on her lip.
"Clean," she said. I nodded dumbly at her.
She brought her lips to me once more, and I trembled once at the lightning her touch brought to my skin. She went in deeper this time, tilting her head sideways as if to fit more of me in her mouth.
I focused on staying present, I found myself reaching up to stroke Bella's hair absently. I focused on what I could see... smell, touch...
She needs you.
She took only single pull of blood, and Bella stiffened in my arms as full awareness returned to her. Her eyes widened and she stopped.
She panted heavily, I could tell resistance was taking all she had.
She pulled a roll of gauze from her pocket and wrapped it around the crook of my elbow. The blood all over her face was a bright crimson compared to the milky flesh of her face, but even with the blood, I could see her complexion was much more rosier, there was an alertness to her eyes that was hyper human.
"You stopped." I said incredulously.
"I can control it easier now." She revealed with a nod. Her hyper vigilant eyes scanned my face, then concern touched her features especially in her brows.
"Are you--"
"I'm fine." I told her urgently. She nodded, and then pushed a piece of plastic into my hand. It was a single badge attached to a lanyard. I studied it quickly, it appeared to be an identification badge with a bar code on it.
"Listen to me carefully. Find the security room, it should be on the twentieth floor, there's supposed to be a override button on all of the locks in the entire building in there. We need to free as many of them as we can and give me access into the most flammable room in this building." I nodded feverishly along with her fast instruction.
"I'm going to torch this place from the top, to bottom." I opened my mouth to ask, but one look at her amber eyes told me she was serious. "You need to be out of here in 30 minutes. Do you understand? I'm not waiting any longer than 10:47." I looked down at my watch and set my count down to 30
Thirty minutes? Is that enough time for her to set an explosive off and fight any potential guards that would try to stop her? Is that enough time for me to get out of here? I was riddled with concern, but as always, my first concern would always return to Bella.
"You have to promise me you'll get out safely," I took her hands and held them between mine, pulling them between my chest. I gripped her hands, hoping desperately that she'd be able to feel, if not hear, that even my heart was begging her to be safe.
"Stop being a martyr, Bella. Stay alive for me." I murmured, before releasing my grip on her hands. As if my words were a spell, she turned to stone, her face suddenly became void of expression and she snapped.
"None of that. Just run as far as you can away from this building."
"You, too. I'm not running without you." I promised with a solemn nod. She pushed a kiss against my lips, it lasted for only a second and was over much too soon. When she pulled away, she pushed me by the chest.
"Go!" She hissed, I nodded and tore my eyes away from her as I climbed over the fallen door to go into a large hallway.
I took off from the test lab, running, surprisingly clear headed since Bella withdrew poison from me.
As I ran for the elevators in the curved hallway, saw all of the halfbreeds slamming against their doors, pounding on the small window to get my attention. The reactions ranged from deranged snarling to desperate shrieking. The muffled yells and shrieks made a quiet concert of frequencies that barely touched my ears, it was like a thunderstorm that settled in a valley. My chest felt tight as I was forced to leave them there, for now. I had to find the security room to free them, and all of us.
The hallway ended up a circular one, that brought me back to the center of the building where the elevators were.
What a strange construction. I pushed the button to go up with my fist. I heard a soft, metallic whir sound from behind me and glanced up to see the multiple security cameras all swiveling in my direction. I narrowed my eyes at the camera, knowing they could see my face. I tilted my chin up, providing an optimal angle for them.
Let them see.
I'm coming for you, whoever you are.
I stepped into the elevator, swiped my badge and held my breath as I pushed the button for the twentieth floor. To my relief the button lit up and the doors closed.
The elevator music was eerie music, way prior to the war. I'd heard it once, on a phonograph. The lyrics crept up to the listener slowly.
"In my solitude-"
As if it were an enchanting spell, the lyrics brought me back to my days as a prisoner here. That exact song played faintly in the background. The quality sounded iffy at best. I looked down at the shackles on my wrists, and then glanced up with what little height I had to the white-dressed staff member who was escorting me, and wouldn't let me out of his sight, even to use the restroom. He looked down at me coldly, without an ounce of warmth in his eyes. Like everyone else here did. Numb, without an ounce of feeling.
I shivered at the memory, shook my head of it. I forced myself to return to a state of consciousness as we approached the 20th floor.
The elevator pinged, alerting me that I was on the 20th floor, and the doors slid open. I stood on the side of the elevator, giving myself a hiding spot for whoever would try to ambush me. As soon as the doors slid open, I reflexively balled my fists by my face, but instead, a can releasing gas was thrown in.
Shit, I'm being trapped.
I ran outside of the elevator full force, and I was greeted by a security guard holding a tranquilizer gun pointed at me. His eyes were full of fear and he nearly pulled the trigger, but I kicked the gun out of his hand before he could pull it, reflexively. I instead tackled him in the opposite direction, away from the rifle that clattered to the floor.
He gasped beneath me and I took advantage, twisting my arm under his chin. I braced my body against his grappling arms that struggled to grasp me, and held steadfast to my chokehold. His frantic movement lasted for a couple of minutes, the position rendered him unconscious without oxygen traveling to his brain. Once he stopped struggling, I set his limp body aside. I breathed with my hands on my knees as I surveyed my assailant. A quick look at his badge told me he was Amun from the security department, his white uniform had GUARD written over the breast pocket with bolded red letters. I took the badge off of the clip on his lanyard and pocketed it.
Bingo.
Now where did he come from?
I took a chance, and went back towards the side of the hallway the guard lay in. The first door in the hallway was a large door, labeled "SECURITY PERSONNEL ONLY."
I noted the padlock on the side of the door and swiped the newly acquired badge from Amun. The alarm went off rapidly as I pushed open the door, but to my surprise, the door pushed back at me. Shock lasted for a millisecond before I reacted, and pushed back hard.
Oh no you don't, not when I'm this close.
I gritted my teeth as I pushed against the door with full strength. I could hear the shoes of the person blocking the entrance skidding across the floor as my strength matched more than the entirety of their body weight. Although I couldn't see a face, a straw colored head of hair stuck out of his baseball cap and into my peripheral vision. I braced myself once before I pushed once more, slamming the door open and sending the opposer tumbling backwards onto the floor, landing flat on his ass.
The person didn't have much mass on them, even through the white staff uniform, it was clear that he was lanky with unfortunately proportioned gangly arms and legs; they reminded me of a oddly shaped spider.
Below his out of place baseball cap, the lower half of his face reflected surprise, despite the fact he should have had every warning that I was coming in.
"No!" He shouted desperately in horror, scooting backwards away from me on his palms and heels. I recognized the nasality in his voice and the distinctly upturned nose from anywhere. I blinked.
"Mike?" I asked incredulously.
Mike fucking Newton? From school?
"What the fuck are you doing here?"
Thank you for reading thus far. I decided to break this chapter up; so the story will appear a little longer than I anticipated. Hopefully this is good news to you all.
Thank you from the bottom of my stomach (it's much larger than my heart) to those that left a comment. I read every single one and it fills me with so much warmth to know that this story lives on in others now, too. It keeps me writing. Thank you.
Any guesses on where this is going? Requests for an ending? I'd love to incorporate your opinions! Thank you in advance, thank you always. With gratitude, Redeyewriter