A/N… I'd like to thank you all for your excitement about this new story. I'll let you get to it. We're with Bella this time around.

~oOo~

Chapter 2

BELLA

"Bells, come in," I heard over the radio on my hip.

Unclipping it, I called back, "Almost on point, Al."

"Copy that," he replied.

The stairs seemed endless, but the old building had no power for elevators. Hell, it didn't even have windows. It had been raided and stripped ages ago. Some floors still showed damage from a raiders team that had tried to flush out residents of Oz for "sterilization," though really, they'd started taking us for free labor. Slaves. It was in this building where I'd been hiding with my parents when the raiders came. They'd taken me, shooting my mother and knocking my father out cold.

From there, they'd forced me into a truck, along with a few others they'd taken that day. I was put through a physical and vaccines and humiliating public showers. The train station had been converted into a holding facility. We were separated by gender, and someone working for Aro would come down to inspect us, pull a few from the rooms, and take us upstairs so people from the Sound could pick who they wanted. Whoever was left after they chose was sent to do heavy labor, clean, cook, or taken for medical testing.

No one wanted medical testing.

Honestly, I was pretty sure that Edward's parents had never even thought about getting a slave, but Dr. Cullen had been called to the room to check on a young boy who'd had some sort of breathing issue – or thinking back, maybe a panic attack. As a thank you, Aro had given me to Dr. and Mrs. Cullen, and as nice as they were, I'd still been a kid – a young, emotionally wrecked kid.

And if it weren't for Edward, I'd still be in the Sound as a slave.

I didn't hold anything against his parents. He did. But I didn't. For Edward, seeing someone his own age being held against their will, being traded like property, was too much, especially since it was his own parents. Edward had hated the rules, the closed-up feeling, and the lies of the Sound. Even more, he hated that I cried every night.

Even at thirteen, Edward had such a deep, unwavering grasp of right and wrong. And to him, my being held against my will – even though it was his own parents and they'd never hurt me – and been the final straw of how wrong the Sound had become.

I smiled at the memory of us back then. Edward would keep me company late at night, he'd sneak us out of the apartment to explore where raiders couldn't see us, and he'd hold my hand when the grief over my mother and homesickness for my father would just about make me sick. By the time we made it to Oz, we were inseparable best friends.

As I neared the roof of the old bank building, I shivered. Winter was closing in fast. Soon, we'd have cold rain and, eventually, snow. In fact, Thanksgiving was right around the corner.

That thought made me shake my head as I pushed the roof door open. Thanksgiving. Oz was filled with thankful people. We'd survived viruses, wickedly cold winters, sections of Seattle on fire, and the raiders from the Sound.

"Okay, I'm in position," I stated softly over the radio.

"Tell us what you see, Bella," Edward called back.

"Copy."

I brought my binoculars to my face, scanning the Outer Zone. The sections were clearly defined. And that wasn't due to any cultural issues. The sections were for work and security.

Section A was us, the resistance. We were closer to the wall, and we defended Oz against raiders, snuck into the Sound for supplies, and we smuggled slaves back to safety, back to freedom. Section B was food – the hunters, gatherers, fishermen, and farmers. They worked hard to keep us all fed. Section C were our scouts, who searched for anything left over from the old world that we could put to use – clothes, furniture, canned goods, dry goods, weapons, ammo, and gasoline. Sometimes, they'd find fun things like movies, music, or candy, which lifted spirits of us all, especially the kids. They were our electronics people too. Finally, there was Section D. It was farthest from the wall because it was our elderly, our hospital, and our school.

The sun was barely peeking over the horizon. Oz was quiet and still this morning, but after Edward's raid two nights ago, Alistair and Sue were pretty convinced that they'd hit us hard with a raid soon. And it was all because of who my father had freed.

Alice. Aro's slave.

I hadn't met her yet, but Edward had said she could probably use a friend. I was going there next.

Turning my binoculars toward the wall, I searched and waited, but it seemed the Sound was just as still and quiet as we were this morning, except for the harbor. There was activity there because they were still cleaning up the ships that Jake and Seth had destroyed.

That thought made me smile. My guess was that Seth was ahead in points, but I wasn't sure. It was hard to keep up with those two.

Even farther away was the distinct sight of a train's steam.

"Inbound train," I stated over the radio.

"Roger that," Alistair answered. "According to our intel, that's from the South, which means food and slaves."

Shaking my head, I scanned the city again. I knew eventually, we were going to take a train and probably destroy the tracks. We'd been building up to it for months and months. And I knew for a fact my Edward would lead that mission. We not only wanted to stop the slave trade, but also end the Sound's ability to transport them. However, raiders guarded those trains vehemently, so it would be a dangerous mission.

And the fact that we were now expecting a baby made me nervous.

My hand dropped to my stomach. We hadn't told anyone. Not a soul. Sue had probably figured it out, and Rose was suspicious, but we kept it to ourselves. Edward really wanted my father to be the first to know. And that would be a few weeks or so, unless my dad had an emergency slave removal he needed us to do.

The last place I checked was the train station, which was the raiders camp and slave depot. If they were planning a raid, then the place would be active, with soldiers running around and vehicles being loaded. I sighed when I saw a line of Hummers and a squadron gearing up. Quickly, I scanned the small group of buildings. My dad's barrack was the last one on the end. And in the window was the signal. He'd tie the curtain into a knot if they were coming.

"Shit," I hissed, picking up my radio again. "Guys! Signal sighted."

"Bring it in, Bella. We'll sound the alarm," Edward stated. "Get to Grandma's. We need to get everyone on alert and hidden."

"Okay," I said, putting my binoculars into my bag and racing for the door.

About the time that I made it downstairs to the lobby of the building, the old church bells started to ring. Running down the street, I made my way to our apartment building. Sue hadn't always lived there, but she moved when all her "kids" got old enough to live on their own.

She had the first-floor apartment, and I rushed inside, closing the door behind me. I faced the room where a girl a few years younger than me stood. She was covered in healing wounds and yellowish bruises on her face. She was about my height, with raven-black hair and sad blue eyes.

"Alice?" I asked, and when she nodded, I introduced myself. "I'm Bella. Edward's wife. We need to hide you. We're about to get raided."

"Where?" Alice asked softly, slipping on her boots.

"We have a hidden bunker for high-risk targets," I told her, guiding her out of Sue's place and back out onto the street. "And you… You're definitely high-risk."

She didn't say anything about that, but she kept up just fine as I led her to the auto shop we used as a home base of sorts. The place was empty, but I expected no less. Everyone would be getting into various positions to fight. Under normal circumstances, I'd have my own location to cover, but Edward was adamant that I stay underground. His protection of me had always been intense, but now that I was pregnant, he was just…more. And someone needed to protect Alice, so that ended up hiding us both.

We went out the back of the shop to the fenced-in area where some old cars sat on blocks, rusting away. Between a small hatchback and a big, rusty red truck was what used to be a delivery van. One of those with the box on the back. However, the box sat flat on the ground.

Alistair, my dad, and a few other elders had come up with this safety bunker when Edward and I first showed up in Oz. Because of who Edward's parents were, the raiders were sent in droves to bring him home. And because I was their "property," I was a target, as well. We needed to hide a lot those first several months.

In the center of the moving container was a stack of pallets. It was made to look like they were stashed in there to keep them out of the weather, but it was a false door. They slid back, which opened a hatch, revealing a ladder down.

I reached into my backpack, grabbing a flashlight and handing it to Alice. "Go on down. I'll close this behind us."

She did as I asked, and we both jumped a little when the sounds of gunfire, explosions, and yelling could be heard in the distance.

"Quick!" I hissed, and she took the ladder shakily. When she was down below, I stepped on the ladder, grabbing the handle of the false door and pulling it closed over us, effectively hiding it when the pallets slid back over.

There was a lantern on a shelf that I lit, taking the flashlight back and stowing it in my bag. Batteries were harder to find than oil for lamps. The safe room was attached to an old cellar or basement. Alistair had said that the area we were in used to be houses and apartments in like the 1960s or 70s, so some parts of that neighborhood were still around.

The bunker was set up for people to stay hidden comfortably for several hours, overnight if needed. There were chairs, a few cots, and some canned goods. What was interesting were the walls.

Someone originally had carved their initials into the main wall by the chair Alice was in. There were initials and names and ages and dates. In the center was written Bella Swan and Edward Cullen. Spreading out from our names, there were so many more that it was hard to catch them all. We'd been fighting against the Sound a long damn time.

"You both came through here," Alice guessed, pointing to my name.

Smiling, I nodded. "Yeah, we were just kids. And Edward's from the Sound, so we had to hide him more than anyone else. His parents raised all sorts of alarms."

Her eyes widened. "Why'd he come here?"

I huffed a laugh. "Me." I nodded when she gaped at me. "Yeah, his parents took me as a gift from Aro, but Edward… He got all sorts of pissed off about that. I was the first he ever smuggled out."

"You were a slave?"

"Yeah, but I was lucky. His parents were kind."

"You were lucky," she agreed, gently touching her healing split lip.

"You're safe here. I promise." I sat down in the chair next to hers. "Although, they're probably going to want to talk to you. The elders, I mean."

She nodded, nervously fidgeting. "That's what Sue said. How many are there?"

"Not as many as we started with," I answered sadly. "There's Sue, Alistair, and you met my dad, Charlie."

"He was… He's a raider!"

I grinned, nodding a little when a laugh escaped me. "Yeah, he used to be a cop, so when they took me and killed my mom…" I trailed off, glancing around the room. "Once Edward got me here, my dad decided that it was time we truly started fighting, so he volunteered to be 'taken' the next time the raiders came through. Once I was safe, he decided to go undercover.

"After that, Alistair started teaching us all how to fight, fire weapons, and move silently through the Sound without anyone noticing. He's a former Navy Seal." I glanced her way. "We also have Charlotte, who runs the school. Reverend Weber, who runs the church but also works at the hospital. He used to be in the Army."

I thought for a moment. "We had a bad virus come through several years ago, and we lost four of the elders. One of them was our computer guy, but his son is doing it now – Owen Gordon, but everyone calls him Flash."

Alice broke into a smile. "Flash Gordon."

"Yes," I said through a laugh. "He's unique but insanely smart; he takes all the tech we steal from the Sound and turns it into something we can use."

Alice sighed deeply. "You guys are way more organized than where I came from," she stated, wrinkling her nose a little. "Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, and Alabama are all still a war zone. They started building walls around Atlanta way before the virus." Her gaze shot to mine. "Like they knew it was coming."

"Mm," I hummed and nodded. "Edward thinks it was set loose on purpose. Genocide or…or…cleansing of some sort."

"Anyway, the people were split in half. Half fought against it. Half trusted their government. But there was no government after about a year. It was something else. And most of those who rebelled against men coming in to take people as slaves or steal crops and livestock were killed because they resisted." She grimaced, shaking her head a little. "It was even worse when those outside the walls started fighting amongst themselves."

"Sue tells it the same way here," I told her, listening to the radio when my friends communicated to each other, because it sounded like the raid was almost over. "She said when they started protesting, the fighting got really bad, but when they shot at them, threw tear gas in their faces, and killed a few peaceful protestors, that's when Oz got organized. The first raid killed like twenty-five people because they fought back or protected themselves or their families.

"My mother was killed protecting me," I told her softly, glancing her way. "One day, we'll either tear down their towers or move someplace where there are no walls or slaves."

She smiled sadly. "Sounds nice."

"Right?"

That was a weird dream I had, moving away from fighting and struggling. Someplace where I could see the ocean, hear the waves, and raise my child without violence and fear. Alice and I went quiet for a few minutes, and I daydreamed about my baby. I wondered if we'd have a boy or a girl. Edward hadn't given a preference, but I kind of thought he'd want a boy, though he'd make a wonderful father either way. To a girl, he'd be sweet and protective and calm. For a boy, he'd teach him and lead him. Either way, Edward was an extremely loving man, especially to me, so I knew he'd love our child – no matter the gender.

Things went quiet above us. The shooting stopped, and I couldn't hear the sounds of the military vehicles any longer.

I glanced over to Alice, and even though she seemed calm, I asked, "You okay?"

She nodded. "Aro's a monster," she said randomly.

"How long did he own you?"

"Months. I lost track of time, really." She met my gaze. "I wasn't his only one. He has like four women." She gestured to her face. "This is what happens if you fight him…or do something wrong…or say the wrong thing. But really, he provokes just enough so that his slaves get upset or angry, which just give him an excuse to punish."

I ground my teeth together, shaking my head. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I'm free of him. I'll do anything you guys want if you just keep his ass away from me."

I huffed a humorless laugh at her solemn vow, because we'd heard that before from other freed slaves. They were providers of information and passionate fighters.

"How'd my dad get you out?" I asked her, because we didn't always know when Charlie would simply snatch up a slave and put them in hiding long enough for Edward to go get them.

"I was in the infirmary. Slaves don't get to go to the hospital. We aren't allowed. We have our own clinic. Charlie had brought in one of the road crew. When he saw me, he must've known I was Aro's. He caused enough of a distraction with the man he brought in that he was able to push me toward the door. He told me where to go so I wouldn't be seen and where to wait for him. It was a boarded-up building nearby." She smirked a little. "A few hours later, he showed up with Peter and Lauren. He told us to be patient, that he'd be back after dark.

"When he showed back up, he led us to an old abandoned elementary school. Again, he said be patient, to wait. And we did. He guarded us from outside, but when he finally came back in, he had Edward with him."

I nodded because I knew the rest. Edward had told me how his night had gone. I knew I needed to get with my dad concerning Edward's parents. If they wanted out, then we'd need Dad's help to do it. It was one thing to smuggle slaves over the walls, but it would be another thing altogether to remove two of the higher up members of the Sound. Edward escaping had been a huge deal, and it felt like the raiders never stopped coming. His father was part of Aro's medical research team, and he would be a threat to Aro should he decide to switch sides.

The door above us slid open, and I smiled at Jasper and Edward checking on us.

"You two okay?" Edward asked, taking the ladder down.

Both were loaded down with weapons. The more powerful ones were strung across their backs. However, I assessed my husband. I couldn't help it. He'd been so very sweet as a boy, not to mention so cute I could barely look at him back then, but he was my best friend, too. As we grew older, he and I became closer and closer, and then closer became more.

"Bella love?" he whispered, kneeling in front of me. "Are you two okay?" If I had been anyone else, I wouldn't have seen the barely there flicker of his eyes as he subtly glanced down to my still-flat stomach where our baby was nestled. I nodded, reaching up to brush that untamable hair from his forehead. I would need to trim it soon. However, my eyes zeroed in on the blood on his brow.

"What happened?" I asked him.

"What do you think happened, Bells?" Jasper taunted Edward, nudging him a bit from behind. "Demetri happened."

Snorting, I rolled my eyes. "Did you specifically pick a fight with the head of the raiders? Again?"

Edward's grin was mischievous and slightly evil, and he shrugged a shoulder. "Maybe. Eventually, that asshole's luck will run out, and he'll get what he deserves for ever laying a finger on you…and for pulling the trigger on your mother. And for every other slave he's stolen from Oz."

My eyes stung at that, but Edward wasn't lying, nor was he exaggerating. Demetri took way too much pleasure in his job for the Sound. He was responsible for running the raiders, managing the Sound's security, and for gathering slaves. It was that last thing that he enjoyed more than anything, because he didn't care who he hurt when he came into Oz.

"Eventually, we need to seal the gates," I said for the hundredth time. "Like concrete barriers and trenches with fire or something. They should have to walk in here instead of driving."

Edward grinned. "Eventually, we'll level their compound."

"Mmm," I hummed, leaning in to kiss his lips. "That too."

"You want to get to Aro, then you start with Demetri," Alice piped up. "Take away his biggest guard, and you'll finally send him a message. He knows all about the resistance. He knows you've got a spy inside, because slaves go missing left and right."

Edward's eyebrows shot up a little, but he nodded her way. "Okay, well, Sue wants to sit down with you. Are you feeling up to it? We could use some info, and you're the closest person or thing we've taken from Aro."

"Hell, yes." Alice stood up. "Just do me a favor…"

"What's that?" I asked her.

"I want to light the fuse that takes down Aro Volturi," she said, following Jasper up and out of the bunker.

Edward hadn't moved from his kneeling position in front of me, but he faced my way. "She's…feisty."

I laughed, kissing him again. "She's mad, but she'll probably prove to be a good fighter. But more than that, she's not unwilling to talk about what she knows."

"Good," he said softly, reaching up to tuck my hair behind my ear. "How're you feeling?"

Smiling a little, I said, "I'm okay. Hungry, but okay. Now, that could change after I eat, but…"

Grinning, he nodded and stood. He offered me a hand, and I took it.

With a hand on my face and one on my stomach, he whispered softly against my lips, "C'mon. We'll feed you both."

"We need to tell them, Edward." I walked to the ladder to climb back up.

"I want to tell Charlie first, Bella."

"I know, and I love you for it, but soon, they're going to want to know why I'm not going over the wall on the next run," I told him. "We can leave my dad a message in the usual spot. I'll write him tonight, okay?"

Once we were both up top and pulling the pallets back into place, I gazed up to see his uncomfortable expression. "And we need to talk about your parents. I'm putting that into my note to Dad, too."

"I should've gotten them out before now."

"Maybe, but you were angry for a long time."

He nodded, wrapping an arm around my waist to hold me close. "Yeah. It took until recently to realize that to refuse you as a gift from Aro would've been a red flag, so I get that they were scared. But what I didn't get was not trying to find a way to get you home."

Sighing deeply, I lifted up on my toes to kiss his lips. "You weren't always this tall," I teased him, smiling when he chuckled. "But maybe your parents didn't know where to start or whom to trust. If we bring them here, handsome, you've got to let that go. I'm here, you're here, and we're married with a little one on the way. We're okay. We came out of the Sound perfectly fine. They have been lied to and used. It's time to let the past go."

Edward's deep-green eyes were fierce, and his jaw rolled as he gritted his teeth, but when he met my gaze, he was warmth and love and sweetness all combined. Finally, he nodded in acquiescence.

I knew that was all I would get from him on his parents for now, but I'd say something to my dad, have him at least make contact with the Cullens.

My stomach growled a little, and Edward laughed. "Okay, okay! Starving. Got it. Sue said she wanted to sit down with everyone anyway. Alice included."

Taking his hand and leading him back toward the auto shop, I said, "Okay, let's go see what she knows."

~oOo~

A/N… So far, this story is flip-flopping POV between Edward and Bella. That may change, but it works for now. There may be additional points of view later, but we'll see.

Chapter 3 is good to go for next Sunday, and we're back with Edward. So until next time… Mooches, Deb ;)