Chapter 3: The Plan in Action
Bella woke up the next morning with one mission on her mind: she had to find another vampire.
However, before she could delve into that task, she had to address the very important problem of laundry, as she wondered how she could get in contact with Rosalie, Carlisle and Esme.
Jasper had said Carlisle and Esme went to Italy; Bella presumed Volterra. Edward and Carlisle had told her about the Volturi coven, so they may have gone to the vampire royalty for their safety from whatever killed three of the Cullens and turned two of their vampires into some kind of hybrid. Jasper had also said Rosalie was in Bethany, Oregon, but Bella couldn't just drive there with finals hovering over her head without more information.
A voice next to her broke her reverie. "Earth to Bella," Jen's voice interjected as she pulled out her clunky laptop as they waited for their clothes to wash and dry. Bella's clothes lay in a haphazard pile on the folding table, her face buried in their warmth instead of focusing on making any progress.
"Sorry, what were you saying?" Bella finally looked up.
Jen cast her a concerned glance. "I was asking if you were okay. You seem off."
Bella shrugged. "Just lost in thought, I guess."
"Was…was it because I offered you a drink last night? Because, Bella, I'm soooo—" She stopped mid sentence at Bella's shaking head. "Was it the guy from last night?" Jen wore a mischievous smile and immediately shut down her laptop, legs crossing and chin resting on her fist, attention wholly on Bella.
Bella didn't respond.
"He came in with that brunette. What's her name? Chrissy? Where'd you meet him? He looked a little older than us." Jen tried to look busy folding her clothes, but Bella saw her long, sideways glance.
Bella shifted uncomfortably. It was hard for her to figure out how much information to divulge. "Yeah, I actually knew him from before. His younger brother and I were dating back in Forks before they moved." Bella pulled herself off the pile of clothes and curled her lip. "I don't trust him."
"You look upset," noted Jen.
Bella was quiet for a while. When she didn't answer, Jen stood in front of her, holding both her arms, and looking her in the eyes. Seeing the tears swimming in Bella's eyes, Jen pulled her friend into a hug.
"Edward," she hiccuped, crying again. "Edward's dead."
"I'm so sorry," Jen said into Bella's hair, rubbing her back. "That was your ex-boyfriend, right? The one from back home?"
Bella nodded.
"Is that why the older brother met with you last night? Did he tell you what happened?"
Bella shook her head. She pulled away from Jen and leaned against the folding table.
"What don't you trust about him?"
Bella took a moment to wipe her face, trying to get her emotions back to a neutral zone. "Our relationship has always been a bit... rocky, to say the least." Jasper—lunging at her as the gift wrapper sliced her finger, lunging at her in the alley, leaning over her exposed throat. "He came all the way here to tell me something important about my ex and the rest of the family, but now he refuses to say anything. It's irritating!"
"But the way he was looking at you last night..." Jen sighed dreamily.
"What was he looking like?" Bella asked, feeling both intrigued and uneasy.
"Like you were the only woman in the whole room."
Bella balked. This was weirdly flattering and disturbing. "Jen, seriously, he's not what you think. He's complicated—not in a cute way—and probably even dangerous. I would avoid him like the plague." Bella was starting to get uncomfortable with Jen's questions and observations.
Jen leaned back, laughing. "Well, I'm not into him. He just seemed intriguing…and hot. But did you notice what he was wearing last night? Short sleeves and sandals in December? Man must have had some training in Alaska to wear that."
Bella's thoughts screeched to a halt. Alaska?
Suddenly, like a lightbulb flickering in a dim room, an idea sparked in her mind.
While Bella has never met the Denali sisters in person, the Cullens mentioned them often when regaling the tales of their past. If she knew anything about vegetarian vampires, they generally liked being around humans without having the urge to kill them. After all, Carlisle, Edward, and Rosalie had all chosen to become physicians at some point to serve humans. With renewed determination, she tossed her unfolded laundry back into her bag, kissed Jen on the cheek with a rushed thank you, clumsily ran all the way back to their shared apartment, and hurriedly stashed the laundry in her room
She dashed to the library to search for the Healy, Alaska police department's number.
"Hello, Healy PD," a nasally voice answered.
"Hi, my name is Bella…Cullen," she began, willing herself to stop her voice from shaking with every word. "There's been a family death, and I really need to get a hold of Tanya, Kate, and Irina to let them know about the upcoming funeral. Edward would have wanted them there. But I haven't been able to get in touch with them at all. I would truly appreciate your help."
The conversation with the police officer flowed quickly. He had babbled excitedly when he heard the three names and told her that they ran a small co-op and that she could try calling or emailing them, but that he'd pass the message to the sisters. She hung up, the weight of anticipation mixing with relief. She felt she was finally taking control—she was finally going to find out what happened.
As she stood there at the chilly entrance to the library, the sense of accomplishment waned with another thought. Bella 1. Jasper... well, also 1.
The day passed swiftly. Bella spent most of the afternoon in the library studying, though she anxiously checked her email every fifteen minutes to see if the Denali sisters had responded. She had called almost five times over the last few hours, but she was always forwarded to their answering machine.
As the midafternoon sun bathed the library in a warm glow, Bella's eyes caught sight of a familiar brunette girl a few tables away.
"Christine!"
Startled, Christine glanced up from her textbook in surprise. "Oh, hey Bella."
Bella hesitated, then decided to get straight to the point. "Great. Um, can I ask you about what happened yesterday?"
Christine paled. She quickly began shoving her books into her backpack.
"I just want to make sure you're okay. I'm so sorry I wasn't able to help you."
Christine paused, her expression hardening. "Help me?" she scoffed. "Jas told me you guys had some fling, and you got jealous because he was making out with me and called the cops on him. That's some sick shit."
Bella's jaw dropped. "What?!"
"Like ten cops showed up to watch him give me a hickey. Not cool."
Bella gawked at Christine's neck. That was not a hickey. That was a slightly open wound on her neck. She wondered if people just believed whatever they wanted to.
"That is not what I meant to do. He was trying to —"
Christine abruptly stood, collecting all her belongings, and shoved a hand between them. "Save it. You know, I was on your side about the stuff that happened between you and Andrew last year, but now I get what people are saying about you. You're a freak. Leave me alone, stalker bitch," she said before relocating to the other end of the library.
At that point, several people were watching and listening in on their argument.
Bella was left speechless, her jaw still on the floor, when her phone began to vibrate. An unknown phone number flashed across the screen. She hurriedly answered. "Hello?"
"Bella Cullen." Bella could have cried. The voice on the other end was like music to her ears, with a faint Eastern European accent softened by centuries of travel. "I'm surprised to hear that name again," the woman sneered. "What do you want?"
There was a shuffle on the line, and another woman's voice replaced the previous one. "Bella, I'm sorry, Irina is a bit rude today. This is Tanya. We just received your message. How are you, darling?"
Bella scurried out of the library into the cold winter air. "Tanya, thank you so much for calling back. I didn't know who else to contact."
"What is it, darling?"
She drew in a shaky breath and blurted out, "I just met with Jasper yesterday, and he told me that Edward, Alice, and Emmett are dead, and that he and Rosalie have been changing, and that they both have the same kind of condition, that Carlisle and Esme are in Italy, and... Jasper... he's feeding on humans!"
A heavy silence lingered on the other end.
"Hello?" Bella prompted after a minute.
"Jasper and Rosalie. Are you sure?"
"I saw him with my own eyes," Bella insisted. "And he said Rosalie was nearby."
"...I see. What a terrible tragedy," Tanya said, making a clicking sound with her tongue. "It's caused quite a disturbance. What has the empath told you?"
"Nothing at all," said Bella. "But whether he tells me or not, he doesn't look like a vampire anymore. I mean, he probably still is one, but he looks almost human. Rosalie might have the same condition as him."
There was another lengthy pause. "Really?" Tanya's silence sounded as if she were carefully weighing this information, and immediately, Bella had the odd suspicion that she had said too much. "We don't know all the details, but I believe the Olympian coven instigated some... trouble in South America that alerted the Volturi. The thief of Queen Sulpicia was present, as were a few guards. I do not believe the Cullens surrendered very easily. We knew Carlisle and Esme survived and had been taken to Volterra as prisoners, but... we were not aware Rosalie and Jasper did as well; we assumed they had annihilated the rest of the coven."
Confirmation of their deaths felt like a crushing weight on Bella's chest. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Who is Sulpicia? Who is this thief?"
"Sulpicia is Aro's wife," Tanya explained.
"Did they tell her nothing?" she heard Irina say in the background.
Tanya continued, "Her favorite guard is named Mele, who is rumored to possess the ability to steal and transfer the abilities of others. I believe she was sent to acquire Edward, Alice's, and Jasper's abilities before their demise."
Well, that's not what happened, Bella thought, remembering how easily she was able to walk away from the chaos last night. "Jasper still has his abilities."
"Then I urge you to stay away from him and Rose. If the Volturi intended to kill him and he escaped somehow, they will find him and finish what they started. You do not want to be there when that happens."
Fearful, Bella wanted to half-jokingly, half-seriously ask whether she could hide out there with them but Irina, who was already several leagues ahead of her, said in the background, "She cannot stay with us. I don't want the Volturi up our ass too."
"…Thank you, Tanya."
"You're welcome. Please be in touch. And Bella…I am truly very sorry for your losses."
After they hung up, Bella felt hollow, a familiar void ripping through her chest. Collecting her belongings, she left the library, feeling more alone than she had in a long while. The urge to reach out to her dad or Jacob, if he would even take her calls, clawed at her, but there was nothing they could do for her without putting themselves in danger. Alone, she trudged through the darkening streets, dread clinging to her shadow with every step.
It was pitch black outside when she arrived at her apartment, the front door slightly ajar. With the exception of the kitchen's soft backsplash lighting, the rest of the space was shrouded in darkness.
"Jen? Hello?" Her voice trembled as she called out, the silence amplifying her unease. She cautiously stepped into the apartment, flicking on every light, the apartment feeling colder and emptier with each step. When nothing appeared around the corner, she sighed and tossed her backpack onto her bedroom floor. She'd have to talk to Jen about being more careful.
She then noticed a large, dark blue duffle bag in the center of her bed. A peculiar tightness gripped her chest. Slowly, she approached the duffel bag, wary of the dark stain spreading from the bottom onto her comforter. She pulled the zipper open. Inside the duffel bag was a jumble of life-size doll parts—a pale arm, a leg—but when she peered closer, she saw the lifelike head of a mannequin through the limbs and the long brown hair draping every limb. Her heart pounded beneath the skin of her chest as she recognized Christine's round features.
Bella screamed and collapsed on the floor. She scrambled away from the bed and the duffel bag. Her breathing became shallower as she stared at the bag on her bed, and she started having a full-fledged panic attack.
"Not again. Please, not again," she pleaded with the darkness. She smacked her hoodie and jeans, searching for her cellphone, dropping it three times before managing to open it. Her gaze was fixed on the duffle bag through a blurry curtain of tears, her thumb hovering over the '9' on the number pad
"Your life is over," she whispered to herself. You barely recovered after the last time. The ominous thought echoed in her mind. With a strangulated cry, she closed the phone, collapsed against the wall, and slid to the ground. Unable to contain it any longer, she began to cry.