We were on the road shortly. I had my phone with me and some money Charlie had given me ages ago to update my wardrobe. It seemed we were leaving James behind. Halfway to Port Angeles I could no longer detect him. Jasper was driving.
"Are you guys faster or slower than a car over long distances?" I asked sleepily.
"Faster but sleep," encouraged Jasper. "At the moment at least we know we haven't yet been followed. It's better if you sleep when you can. Thank you for your help."
About a half hour later I finally fell asleep. The car's windows were tinted. I woke up at about eight. I was in Seattle, the sun had risen. Yesterday had officially happened. I was pretty sure I wasn't going to be able to hiccup out of James being a problem or just get to spend some time repeating on the nice parts of yesterday like dancing and playing duets with Edward.
Edward was in the driver's seat but the car was parked. He watched as I yawned and stretched. We were out front of an off brand electronics shop. Edward explained that they had the owner's number. They had called ahead to get the store to open early for private access. Supposedly this wasn't hard to do if you were going to drop enough money. He said the others would be a while and asked if I wanted breakfast. With my sleep all messed up, I wasn't hungry yet so I had a muffin and some orange juice at a local coffee shop.
Edward protested a little. He was hoping for something more formal. "I'm going to get a real meal into you at some point today." He gave me his funny crooked grin.
Most stuff wouldn't open for another hour. Charlie phoned. It was a long phone call. He was less than impressed with a before dawn note rather than actual permission for a surprise trip to Seattle. I was to explain when exactly I thought he'd given me the impression that this was the way we operated.
I stared at the phone with no idea what to say. "Sorry. You were sleeping so peacefully. You've been so busy I didn't… I'm sorry." Edward was an adult in a way I wasn't. He had the right to go gallivanting about like this. Me, not so much.
Charlie wanted to know who all was there. Where we were. What our plans for the day were.
I was grounded. No Edward, no Cullens for two weeks but now that I was all the way in Seattle: just get the clothes you need Bella, we'll talk more when you're home.
"That's fair. Sorry Charlie," I answered softly. "Bye."
I looked over at Edward and sighed.
"He's overreacted," protested Edward.
"So you're telling me if you were responsible for your seventeen year old daughter's welfare after these last few months of craziness and she snuck off in the middle of the night without a word but hey, she left you a note. You'd be okay with that?"
Edward was silent for a moment. "No, I guess not. What do you think he meant, no Edward, no Cullens for two weeks?"
Alice and Jasper had finished their shopping and overheard part of the conversation. Without comment they waited to see what I would say.
"What do you want me to say? He's the Police Chief for a reason. He has decent instincts for ferreting out when something isn't right and right now something isn't right. You don't keep secrets in your family right?"
Vampires nodded.
"Don't expect it not to cause the occasional problem when I'm keeping secrets from my Dad."
Edward looked pained but there was really nothing to be done.
"Let's do some shopping," offered Alice.
We'd been shopping for about an hour. It was nearly eleven o'clock in the morning when, "Guys?" I pointed to the north-west. "So what now?"
"Thank you for coming, Bella," spoke Jasper staring in the direction of the pointed finger though there was nothing to see but the wall of a clothing store.
Jasper called back to Forks to let the rest of the family know James was coming.
"Why didn't I see him decide to follow?" asked Alice.
"Like a dog following a trail, he may not even have a concrete plan," suggested Edward.
"You guys said you move faster than a car. We were half an hour from Forks when I stopped being able to detect him. We have less than a half hour. We need to move. If you're leaving me behind to move faster, just go."
A vision hit. Alice and Edward both went grim.
"We're not leaving you behind," answered Alice. "He'll target you. You smell like us and we smell like you. He'll find you first."
At human speed the ten minute brisk walk back to the car seemed very long.
Shopping seems a cursed activity for me; first Port Angeles stalker creeps, now Seattle blood thirsty vampires.
We drove down toward one of the ferry docks that cross over to the 101 to head back to Forks. As we got closer to intercepting James, Alice started having visions. Traps were being laid and evaded, speech was happening at vampire speed. All I knew was the car was moving way faster than I was comfortable with and James was anticipating us and getting closer.
I saw a flash of red hair weave through traffic and then a semi was coming directly for us, and a white Ford Bronco was boxing us in to the left; grinning vampires at the wheel. In the next moment Edward ripped off my safety belt and we were airborne with my head tucked against his shoulder. Everyone exited the vehicle while it was still in motion. Our car was headed for water.
Given the forces involved in our sudden movements I blacked out. Humans are frighteningly fragile. I'd done a fair bit of study on this on hit by a van day. Do you know how many people die just falling on flat ground yearly? It's the number one cause of death in older adults. Being yanked out of a moving, twisting high speed vehicle through an awkwardly shaped door to impact the ground with another body hard as stone whose fine muscle control over deceleration is your only cushion is a very tricky business. I won't go into it in detail but though Edward thought he could save me from anything, he was very wrong. His limbs are too short too slow the deceleration of a human moving at over a hundred miles per hour to a stop while preventing all damage. Turning some of the momentum into rotation movement helped but I'd spent years of van days doing university level calculations on the MIT math and engineering help website, this was going to hurt.
When I regained consciousness Laurent was dead and burning but James had Alice. I wasn't sure about Victoria but Jasper had a hank of red hair in one hand. Edward was reattaching Jasper's leg. I couldn't help but feel that protecting me had been a liability. Jasper, Edward and Alice were powerful. Laurent, James and Victoria shouldn't have stood a chance. How had this happened? Jasper alone survived decades of vampire wars. Three on three should have been a decisive victory for team Cullen.
I staggered off and threw up in a nearby bush.
As soon as Jasper was remotely mobile my vampires hotwired the nearest car. Still acting as their compass for evil, I led them to the airport. We got close enough that Edward could hear Alice. She was in a steamer trunk in pieces but she was alive. James had hopped on a plane. I was able to identify the plane for them but it was already taxiing down the runway and there was no reasonable way to catch it before take off. They planned to follow via private plane.
"Get a cab home, Bella. We'll reimburse you. We have to rescue Alice or at least try. I love you." They were out of sight so fast I couldn't tell you for sure where they went exactly.
Abandoned, I stood at the airport thinking for a while. James loved drama. He'd just lost his coven and he'd be looking for revenge. He was vicious and twisted; this was sport to him and he liked drama. Alice's wasn't just going to die she was going to die as an event. I had a suspicion that Miami, the plane's destination, was not where James would stop and stay. I booked the next flight to Biloxi, Mississippi. It was a long shot but it felt right.
I needed to be eighteen to fly on my own without special permission. I crafted a four out of the nine on my driver's licence month. I spent the wait time for the flight researching the probable sanatorium Alice would have been in. I know she was born in 1901, the same year as Edward 1901. She was turned at um… I know she's physically older than Edward because he was supposed to be the youngest. There was only one sanatorium open in the 1920's in Biloxi.
Alice had been ripped apart. I'd need to bring her food or we wouldn't stand a chance. It was a four and a half hour direct flight. I spent the entire time frantically planning.
My plan was,... it was a Lexi plan. It was weird, desperate and not great. I went from the airport to the dog shelter closest to the sanatorium. I needed a big dog, the biggest dog I could handle.
Bumper was an ex-police dog whose handler had died in the line of duty. He was due to be put down. He'd taken to biting people. He was ornery and didn't usually like anyone. He really, really liked me though. The shelter was astonished by how much he liked me and how gentle he was with me. The folks running the shelter were in tears because Bumper couldn't go home with me.
Unlike in 101 dalmations or Annie or Benji, the dog pound people weren't animal haters out to sadistically put down hated stray animals. They were animal lovers that wanted to rescue as many animals as they could. Local law had a very clear three strikes you're out policy. Bumper had bitten too many times. Bumper might have been a local hero but after his handler had died he'd been angry and scared.
He was muzzled but because he was a hero, they let him go for one last walk with his new favourite person. I was definitely getting a please steal him vibe off them which was a good thing because that was the plan.
"Hey Bumper, you know my intentions towards you aren't wholesome right?"
Bumper tilted his head as if listening.
"I need someone to help my friend because there's a bad man who has hurt her and he'll hurt her whole family too if he can. At least this way your death will mean something right?"
Yes I did have this one sided conversation with a dog I stole to feed to my vampire friend.
"I mean I don't know if all dogs go to heaven like in that Disney movie or no animals go to heaven but Police dogs aren't just animals are they? Surely you'll go to heaven right? Maybe you'll end up taking care of a little vampire girl or boy on some other earth."
He woofed at me. Bumper woofed at me and bumped his head under my hand asking for scritchy-scratchies. I think that's how he ended up with the name Bumper. I took the muzzle off of him. I figured if he really wanted to bite me, I kind of had it coming.
We started the hike to the sanatorium. I didn't know if James and Alice will really end up there but just the same I went. I suppose I should explain one thing. Alice had been very, very excited to learn that I actually was not in love with hunting flannel. She'd also been rather stressed by the whole James thing because she wasn't getting clear warning visions. She'd distracted herself by picking something pretty and girly from her closet just for me, for our shopping trip to Seattle. She'd selected it with utmost care to prove to me that she could help find articles of clothing that I'd love. I smelled a lot more like Alice than I ordinarily would have.
We explored the sanatorium together, Bumper and I. Maybe I'd just wasted a bunch of money on a plane ticket, stole a dangerous dog, illegally altered my ID and created a bunch of problems and worries for Charlie and the vampires. I don't know. Maybe I'd be saved by a Lexi you're stupid hiccup.
Bumper played fetch with me and then curled up in my lap while I fell asleep hidden in a cluster of trees watching the sanatorium. I had turned my phone off to save the batteries. I turned it on to check the time. It was after midnight. From a hiccup standpoint Alice was meant to be kidnapped or at least that part of it had permanently happened. I was in Biloxi with a dog in a forest near a sanatorium and that part wasn't going to unhappen. I checked my messages. I had a lot of messages. Charlie, Esme, Carlisle, Emmett, even Rosalie. All mostly said the same thing in varying degrees of panic. Where the heck are you? Call.
I had the least connection to Rosalie. She had the least influence over me which is what I wanted so I chose her to text to.
Bella: Hi Rosalie. I did exactly what you hate. I did something weird, immature and maybe a little poorly thought out. I did some research. Mary Alice Brandon was born and died in Biloxi, Mississippi. She died in a Sanitorium. James was hunting her. She was the one that got away. Yesterday James took Alice and headed south. The boys followed his airline flight. I took a chance that he'd take her back to the start instead of just somewhere random to the south. If I'm right, my hope is that I can stall things until the boys catch up. I have a dog now. His name is Bumper. He's a good boy. He has Alice's scent. We're just waiting.
Rose: Why text me of all people back? Everyone has been going nuts trying to find you.
Bella: You care about Alice. And you see me as I am, a goofball with the maturity of a twelve year old so you'll dumb things down for me. You're smart and I'm not sure how to justify my actions in ways that protect your family. If all else fails I will say I just hopped on the first plane to anywhere because I didn't want to go back to living with Renee anymore.
Rose: Wouldn't that hurt Renee?
Bella: Do you have a better idea?
Rose: Just come home. Say you got lost. Say you lost the phone in the car crash. They have divers in the river! You've worried everyone going off on your own thoughtlessly.
Bella: See I knew you were smarter than I am. That is a better thing to try as a first idea. I don't want to hurt Renee. I had to 'doctor' my driver's licence in order to get on the plane because I'm not old enough to fly without parental permission. If I get caught with that trick on the way back, the 'I got lost,' trick won't work but it's worth a try. Now I have a plan and a back up plan. You're awesome Rosalie.
Rose: Are you alright?
Bella: I know I lost consciousness due to the force Edward had to use to get me out of the car safely. Pretty sure I have another concussion. I'm sure someone will assume that has something to do with my odd behaviour. A third plan. You're on a roll!
Rose: Isn't that your third concussion in as many months? That's not good, concussions tend to have cumulative effects.
Bella: As long as Alice gets out of this okay, all's good.
Rose: I'm taking these texts to Carlisle. He needs to see.
Bella: I'm turning off the phone. I don't have a charger and I'm in the middle of nowhere. I'll turn it on again for a little while in a few hours. Bye Rosalie. Thank you.
It was official. Everyone was going to be mad at me. I hugged Bumper. He licked my face. In another hour I could feel it. James was coming. I turned on the phone and hit Carlisle on the speed dial. He answered on the first ring.
"James is coming. He's half an hour out. I can feel it. Please tell me Jasper and Edward are in Mississippi now. I don't want to try this on my own."
"They're coming Bella, just stay hidden. They'll take care of this. James will kill you."
"Carlisle. I know most of the things I do seem crazy but hey, I found Alice didn't I? I won't take action unless I think it will actually be useful and not completely suicidal. Bumper will take care of me. He's a good dog."
"Bella, no matter how scary your dog is, it's a light snack for a vampire. Do you really not understand how dangerous this is?" Carlisle tried to warn. "Esme, you try. This girl…"
"I think I should hang up. I'm freaking Carlisle out."
"Sweetie no, Don't hang up just stay safe."
I knew the day would probably hiccup but it was after midnight and there was a good chance this would take more than one try to get right.
"Esme. I am not a fighter. I know that. Please help rather than just yelling at me."
I died the first try of the day very quickly I was positioned too close to the road and James heard me. Bumper and I woke up again just after midnight. Try after try I died, again and again. Bumper usually died too.
I don't know if it was my imagination but it seemed Bumper was huddling near me more protectively. He looked more determined than he did before. I think maybe he remembered. He certainly knew what I needed of him better on day try one hundred, than on day try one. I don't know how many times the day repeated other than that it got into the triple digits. Because I kept dying, the repeats didn't hurt. Unfortunately James frequently tortured both Alice and me. Bumper at least was always granted a quick and painless death. He was also granted endless hugs by me before we got to that point. Bumper is the most amazing dog I've ever known. I don't want him to have to die. I don't keep him on a leash. He just stays and tries to help. Oh, Bumper...
Alice is depending on me. I can do this. I will do this.