this town * cullen

chapter ten

"You're quiet. I'm surprised. For a pet you don't have a lot of bark," he laughed at his own joke, and I stared at him without emotion. The only way out of this was to keep calm, but my racing heart had other ideas. He seemed to want to roll his eyes, agitation evident in his eyes, though his face kept composure.

"I'll just leave you alone, I'm sure your friends will find you," he paused, turning to leave. "Eventually," he smiled wickedly, making his way out the door faster than my eyes could follow.

Situations can change quickly, fast enough to leave the human brain unresponsive. I was in the unresponsive mode. Panic had caught up with me, but fear had not settled in my bones for the situation. The only twinge of fear I felt was being alone, but even then I knew I was not. The pale, dark haired vampire was somewhere, even if I couldn't see him. If I made this out alive, I was never leaving anyone's side long enough to have this happen again. I wasn't ready to die, but he seemed to have other plans for me.

I remembered the phone in my pocket and immediately went for it, only to feel the emptiness of my pajama bottom's pocket. I sighed and thought about crying, knowing this was where I would spend my last moments. Tears swelled as I tried taking in my surroundings. A wooden chair stared back at me from where I sat on a bed. The bed was soft enough to sit on, but it wasn't necessarily the most comfortable thing in the world. I wished for mine at home.

Looking around the room did nothing to help me escape, even if I knew the vampire could hear me. There was a door, closed and most likely locked. The wooden chair seemed viable; I could throw it at him if he entered again, causing a distraction. I was a track runner, and I wished that helped me now. Had this been a normal hostage situation, maybe it would have.

I debated seriously as I sat there. If I began to run, he might kill me, but it was possible he wouldn't. I was working with probability, and I wished I had some of Alice's ability to see the future. Even with how subjective it is, I would get an idea of what I could do. I just needed to know his plan.

Perhaps an hour had passed before I decided to take the risk. For all I knew it had only been five minutes, as my sense of time was distorted by the situation. Still, I stood, and my heart was beating loudly in my ears.

I stepped carefully around the room. My legs felt odd after sitting for so long, and I wouldn't get anywhere on legs that didn't work. I doubted the door was even unlocked; no one was dumb enough to leave a captive in an unlocked room.

I took a deep breath, and walked towards the door he had walked in and out of. I laid my hand on the golden knob, cool metal under my touch. Slowly, I turned it in hope, and the lock did not stop me. Smiling, I turned the knob the whole way, slowly opening the door with ease. Outside the door was darkness, but I could only think of getting out. Still, I hesitated. Of course my only fear was something I could easily be manipulated by.

My stomach clenched automatically as I stepped out in the dark hallway, the light from the room the only source I could find. I wanted Renesmee's hand in mine to calm me, to keep me from panicking as I carefully tried walking down the hallway.

My steps seemed loud to me, my fear escalating noises. I couldn't see well enough yet, as my eyes had yet to adjust to the darkness, and I had to blink enough to hope I wasn't going to run into anything. I never usually stayed in the dark long enough for it to adjust, and I worried that it might not. The night never seemed more hopeful and terrifying all at once.

Walking down the hall I made my way blindly, my eyes barely adjusting to the night around me. My fingers lightly traced the wall as I went, and when there came a drop I knew there was an opening. I bent down and felt the ground below me; a drop in the floor told me there were stairs.

Before I could make my way down them a phone ringing went through the bottom half of the house, and I could see it light up down the steps, but in a room they opened up to. Scrambling lightly, I moved to the side and had my back against the wall where he would hopefully not see me. I tried staring at the wall in front of me, but I couldn't see it. Maybe my phobia would kill me before he got the chance.

"What do you want?" he simultaneously whined and hissed. He almost sounded like an exasperated child. He reminded me of Farley, and the anger blinded me.

"Give her back," Alice's voice came through the speaker, calm and confident. My heart caught in my throat, and I heard him snort in response. It was such an easy thing to know that wouldn't work, but there was always more to Alice than I could ever understand.

"She's so cute though. So scared of the dark, yet she's so brave in the face of actual fear," he chuckled darkly. I couldn't even look around at my surroundings, too dark for my eyes to adjust properly to what was around me. I thought about making a run for it, but it seemed futile.

"No one is afraid of you," Alice's hiss seemed directed for my ears, as if she knew I was listening. She was telling me not to be afraid, as if it was a possibility. Her attempt was there, though, and I knew I had to try and stay calm. I could not let fear take me over, even if I could feel my chest crumpling to dust.

"You should tell that to her," his laugh seemed much closer to me, and suddenly a cold hand had my arm. Automatically I screamed, one that hurt even my own ears. "Music to my ears," he chuckled, and he was dragging me back towards where I came. The light of the room wasn't as inviting as it might have been, the light becoming just as bad as the dark.

"You're lucky I haven't killed you yet," he hissed, a growl forming in the back of his throat. He had thrown me back on the bed, and I cringed in the corner as fast as I could. My arm felt bruised already, his tight grip was more than my bones were supposed to handle. My breath caught in my throat and I was worried I would stop breathing completely from fear.

"I was told not to harm any of the Cullens," he spoke from the door, "but I was never told not to hurt any pets they might have," he laughed with a loud bark, suddenly in front of me.

"I could kill you right now, but that wouldn't be a fun time for anyone," he smiled, turning quickly out of the door. I couldn't feel my body.