Chapter 36: FATALITY Bella Wins: Flawless Victory

Bella's sneakers barely touched the pavement as she sprinted down the 101, moving so fast she half-expected her soles to ignite from the friction. The heat emanating from her feet only fueled her determination, urging her to run even faster. Her mind was laser-focused on the gunshots she had heard over the scanner—shots fired at her father. She had to reach him in time. Though their relationship hadn't always been the best, that didn't matter now. All she wanted was to protect the man she knew would do anything for her.

In the distance, Bella could faintly hear the unmistakable sounds of gunfire. It sounded like a war zone. God damn it, it sounded like they were using machine guns. She pushed herself harder, every muscle in her body humming as she approached Newton's at breakneck speed. As she turned off the 101 into the parking lot, her heightened senses captured the scene in an instant, like a high-resolution photograph. Through the front windows, she spotted two gunmen behind a counter, their weapons aimed toward the other side of the store. That had to be where Charlie was. She prayed she wasn't too late as she swiftly erected a shield between the gunmen and their target, hoping to protect her father from harm.

As Bella raced towards Newton's, she had no intention of stopping her momentum and jumped straight into and through the concrete wall. The wall stood no chance and was just beginning to explode into the store as she took in the scene before even landing. Her eyes darted to the right, spotting Charlie standing with his gun aimed at the criminals. Relief washed over her; he looked unharmed. But then she noticed his expression—one of grim resignation. She had seen it before; it was the face of someone who knew they were about to die. Turning her gaze left, she saw the first bullets hitting her shield. Their deadly path, had they not been stopped, would have ripped through her father's body.

Bella landed gracefully, facing away from Charlie, her body and mind focused solely on shielding her father from the relentless gunfire. As the two gunmen continued to fire, her rage intensified, burning hotter until it transformed into something dark—a primal fury Bella had never felt before. These bastards were going to kill her dad. Her senses sharpened, every detail crystal clear as her anger surged. She focused on the gunmen, their bullets uselessly bouncing off her shield. "No mercy!" The mantra echoed in her mind, growing louder until it drowned out all else. As the gunmen's magazines finally clicked empty, a cold, savage glee surged through her. They were about to pay for their actions... with their lives.

Bella's entire being thrummed with a need to strike, her fury boiling over. She took a step forward, locking her gaze on the thug to the left. Her mind screamed for blood as she wrapped a shield around his head, lifting him effortlessly into the air. The man thrashed around violently, his hands clawing desperately at the invisible prison around his head. Bella only increased the pressure, his screams growing louder. Her thoughts echoed a single command: "Finish him." With a swift, decisive motion, she slammed two shields together as if clapping her hands. The asshole's head exploded in a gruesome spray, his headless body dropping to the ground like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

Bella's mind hummed in approval as the scent of fresh blood inflamed her thirst, a need that demanded immediate satisfaction. She turned her attention to the remaining gunman and smiled. He stood dumbfounded, drenched in blood and gore, staring at the spot where his partner's head had exploded. Her smile widened as he finally met her gaze, eyes wide with terror. She almost laughed as he threw down his weapon and turned to flee. As if he could escape her. She wrapped a shield around his midsection, yanking him back hard towards her while he screamed the whole way. Catching him by the neck with her outstretched hand, she felt his blood pumping beneath her fingers, its rhythmic thumping intoxicating.

The scent of blood permeated the entire store, and as she watched each pulsation beneath the thin membrane of his skin, she couldn't resist any longer. She brought his neck to her mouth like one would an apple and bit in happily as he screamed. Annoyed by his cries of anguish, she wrenched his head to the side, snapping his neck instantly with her other hand. As she drank greedily, the soothing flow of blood began to calm her, easing the frantic fear for Charlie's life that had driven her rage.

As Bella's rational mind resurfaced, the gravity of her actions washed over her. Her eyes widened as she became acutely aware of the man's neck she was currently munching on. Oh God. Fear and anger had driven her into a frenzy, and she had completely lost herself in the haze of her bloodlust. Her gaze shifted to the headless body on the floor, surrounded by a gruesome mess of blood and gore, bits of the man's skull scattered everywhere. Her eyes cast downward at the man she was still draining, feeling the blood flow slow to a trickle. Then, her senses picked up on the rapid heartbeat behind her, pounding like a drum. Fuck. Charlie had seen… was seeing everything. There was no way she would be able to explain any of this away. She had revealed everything to him. Fuck! In a fit of frustration, she flung the body away, watching it land in a heap against the front counter.

Bella's mind raced as she considered her options. She could run; Charlie hadn't seen her face, and she could disappear before he connected the dots to her. But as she looked around at the blood-soaked carnage, she knew none of this could be explained. The decapitated body, the drained corpse—everything she had done screamed supernatural. And the Chief of Police was standing behind her, witness to it all. Charlie would report what had happened, and word would spread far and wide, exposing the secret of vampires. No, she couldn't run; she had to contain the situation here and now.

Bella's mind quickly shifted to another line of thinking. She could turn around and reveal herself to Charlie. True, that would be breaking vampire law, but maybe together they could clean up this mess. Wouldn't containment be the better option? She nodded to herself and wiped any blood away from her mouth with her sleeve. If she was going to introduce her new self to Charlie, she didn't want to do it with blood all over her face. Dammit, this was not how she had planned their reunion. Taking a deep breath, she steeled herself for what was to come and slowly turned around to face him.

"Hi, Dad," she said with a half-smile. It was a simple greeting for what was undeniably the biggest clusterfuck Bella had ever faced.

Charlie stood still, his mind reeling from the scene before him. In front of him was the creature—a true monster—who had... he couldn't even find the words for what he'd just witnessed. Yet, this same creature had saved his life—a contradiction he couldn't reconcile. And yet, the most shocking realization, and most important, was that this was his daughter. As he stared into her blood-red eyes, he could still see his little girl reflected back. But now, as he looked at Bella in totality, she resembled... Jesus, she looked like some sort of avenging angel sent down from heaven. Not the grotesque demon he had always imagined vampires to be. The sheer impossibility of it all made his own head feel like it was about to explode. Finally, he managed to whisper, "Bella?"

Bella looked at Charlie, her eyes pleading for understanding. "Please, let me explain…"

Charlie, still reeling from the revelation, cut her off abruptly, his voice a mix of disbelief and urgency. "How long have you been a vampire?"

His question stopped Bella in her tracks, derailing her thoughts and silencing the words she had been about to speak. Did Charlie already know about vampires? It seemed highly unlikely, given the whole secret society thing. Maybe he was just guessing after seeing her drain that asshole behind her, and had put two and two together. Still, she felt she should ask, "Do you know about vampires?"

Bella watched Charlie slowly nod. The revelation that he already knew about vampires shocked her, but it also made explaining everything much easier. If he was already aware, she wouldn't need to go through the trouble of explaining the existence of vampires, allowing her to focus on dealing with the current mess. As she began to think of possible ways to clean up this shit show she had created, she heard it—the faint sound of police sirens, still a few miles away, but they wouldn't be for long. Dammit, she was on the clock. Her mind raced, knowing she had to act fast.

She looked at Charlie, rethinking her options. "Dad, I can't explain everything right now, but I promise I will. Listen, I can hear your deputy coming. This whole scene screams supernatural, and I can't let this become public knowledge. It's crucial that you don't tell anyone about vampires or what you've just witnessed. Do you understand?" Bella's tone was urgent, her eyes locked on his, trying to convey the gravity of the situation. She needed Charlie to grasp the seriousness and necessity of keeping the secret, as the sirens drew even closer, heightening her tension.

Charlie nodded, still reeling from the whirlwind of events that had unfolded in the last five minutes.

Bella looked at Charlie, her mind racing for a solution. With the sirens drawing nearer, she knew time was running out. Only one plan came to mind—far from ideal, but it would work. She rushed to Charlie, carefully lifting him with a gentleness that belied her strength, and sprinted with him to the far end of Newton's parking lot, where she set him down gently.

A wave of confusion washed over Charlie. He had just been inside the store, but now he was suddenly outside with Bella standing beside him, the scene shifting in the blink of an eye. He wondered if he was losing his mind or if the stress of everything was causing him to black out. As he tried to process what was happening, Bella's voice cut through the haze, and he tried to focus on her words.

"Listen, Dad, your backup is almost here, and I can't let what I did become known. When everything is over, I'll be at your house, and I promise I'll explain everything. I'm sorry our reunion had to be like this, but I just couldn't let you die." Bella's voice was urgent as she turned her gaze toward Newton's. Concentrating intensely, she began channeling her power inside the store. This wasn't just some drug dealer she was making disappear; it was something far, far bigger. She had never consciously caused an explosion of the magnitude to destroy a building before, and with the sirens wailing closer, she knew time was running out.

Bella increased her focus, channeling as much power as she could. As she poured more and more energy into the building, she watched, captivated, as the glass windows began to vibrate, then shatter, the shards flying inward. Small pebbles on the ground started rolling toward the epicenter of her power, and unusual noises, like shelving units collapsing, echoed from inside. Finally, even the two cars in front of the store began inching toward the building. As the coalescing mass of energy inside began to hum audibly, a large crack suddenly developed on the building's side. This had to be enough to do the job. As a precaution, she erected two additional shields around herself and Charlie. With a final push of energy, she released her power, watching as the entire building erupted in an unbelievable explosion.

Debris flew in every direction, and as the dust began to settle, Bella could see that where the store had once stood, only a deep, smoking crater remained. To her dismay, she noticed that Charlie's police cruiser had also been blown away; it was now upside down in a ditch near the main road and on fire. Fuck, she had overdone it. She took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. Her father and the secret were safe; that was all that mattered right now.

Bella turned to her father, her expression a mix of remorse and guilt. Charlie stood motionless, eyes wide as he stared at the smoking hole where Newton's once stood. Clearing her throat, Bella caught his attention. "Uh... sorry about your car and the... well, everything. I guess I'll see you probably tomorrow. It looks like you've got a lot on your plate right now. Please remember, don't say a word about what really happened here. I can't emphasize enough how important this is. I'll see you later."

Bella could hear the police sirens growing louder; it sounded like they were just around the corner now. The massive fireball that filled the sky from the explosion must have prompted them to speed up. Her time here was at its end. Bella looked at Charlie one last time, her eyes conveying a silent apology and a plea for him to keep the secret. Without another word, she turned and sprinted towards the forest, disappearing into the trees in a blur of motion, leaving a confused Charlie to handle the chaos and its aftermath.

From the cover of the trees, Bella watched anxiously, praying that Charlie would follow her instructions. She held her breath as the first police cruiser skidded to a halt near Charlie, sirens blaring. A deputy jumped out, his gun drawn, eyes wide with shock at the scene before him.

"Chief, oh my god! Are you alright?" he called out, glancing around at the devastation and ruin surrounding them.

Charlie thankfully snapped out of his stupor quickly, taking control of the situation. "Stand down, Crabtree. The hostiles blew themselves up. When I arrived, they had already brought a lot of explosives into Newton's. I have no idea what their reason for doing so could have been. We exchanged fire, and I managed to take one of them out, but the other two must have panicked and detonated the explosives early. I just made it out in time as the building exploded. Unfortunately, Mike was already dead when I got here." He glanced at the pit where Newton's Outfitters had once stood, noticing water spraying out from some underground pipe, and a grim expression settled on his face. "Start calling in everyone, Crabtree. Shit, this has to be one of the worst disasters in Forks' history."

Bella watched as Charlie's deputy holstered his firearm and hurried back to his squad car, relaying what Charlie had told him over the radio. As Charlie turned towards the forest, likely searching for her, Bella sighed, feeling a surge of relief. It seemed like the situation had been contained. With a final glance at the scene, she took off towards Charlie's house, knowing it would probably be a long time before he was free to come home.

I hope you've enjoyed reading about the immediate aftermath of Bella and Charlie's reunion. This was actually only the first half of what I had planned for the next chapter, but since I haven't started editing the rest, I thought you'd like to read this now instead of waiting until next week. It ended at a good break in the action, too, as the rest of the chapter deals with Bella at Charlie's house.

I wrote the action piece a little like a Mortal Kombat match. Maybe it was a bit lopsided in the respective power levels of the combatants.

I found it interesting that this entire chapter probably takes place over just a five-minute span of time.

Comments are appreciated. I enjoy reading anything you have to say.