Chapter 24 Relentless
Renesmee's POV
The car turns down another road, as we continue driving. I'm not sure how long it's been but it has to be nearly two hours since we left the hospital. I look around, not daring to move a muscle, as the man sits beside me. I'm just about to close my eyes again, when he looks at me. He lets an evil little smile cross his face, and then he turns to face me in the car. I can see the sick glint in his eye, and I'm not sure what his intentions are, but they're nothing good. I try to shrink away from him, but there's no room to move.
He unbuckles his seatbelt, and leans over me, that smile still alive on his face. I begin to whimper because he's really scaring me. He seems to find my cries funny because he laughs in my face, before reaching down to unbutton his pants. That's when I realize what he's about to do. I kick him with every ounce of my strength, and he flies against the door. It flies off the hinges, and he's flung out of the car. We're going really fast, so he's whipped out with the force of the air. I see the look of anger on his face, before he disappears.
The driver slams on the breaks, and whips around to face me. I jump from the car, before it stops. Rolling across the pavement, my skin tears, and my jacket is torn to shreds, but I roll back onto my feet. I take a second to steady myself, before I take off running again. The man speeds beside me, knocking me to the floor. I hit my head on a rock, and roll over to look up at him. A car stops at that moment, and a tall man runs up on the scene. He sees me crying, and my torn clothes, then sees the angry man above me.
The man turns to him, and then he's standing before my would be rescuer, and rips his heart right from his chest. The man crumples to the floor, his eyes wide with fear. I begin to sob uncontrollably, as the two men hover over me. I know this is the end, but I tell myself that he won't do what he wants with me. He will not touch me like that. I shriek as he draws closer, but he doesn't seem to care. He growls in anger, before kicking me in the ribs. I gasp in pain, as the breath is torn from my lungs. He laughs at me, before swinging his foot to kick me again.
I close my eyes, but the pain never comes. I do hear a scream, but it's so distant. I open my eyes, and see that the men are no longer standing over me. There are four men on the scene now. The two who took me, and then the two that just arrived. I look up tearfully, as he looms over me. My Jacob is here, and he came for me. In that moment I realize that I'm in love with him. I smile up at him, as he reaches for my hand. I immediately give it to him, and he pulls me to my feet. Daddy finishes the second monster off, before coming to join us. We walk away from the carnage, never looking back.
Lucas's POV
I leave Emmett sleeping in our bed, as the sun slowly begins to rise in the sky. The dusk is still deeply set in the forest around the house, as I head into the early morning chill. I can feel with certainty that I need to hunt. My throat is parched, and my head is beginning to spin. I was going to wait for Emmett, but I don't want to be that person who never goes anywhere without their spouse. It feels so weird to say that Emmett Cullen is my husband. Emmett Cullen chose me, and will continue to choose me for eternity.
I head into the woods, and see that all the animals are just starting to stir for the morning. A large owl flies over me, as if rushing back home. His night is almost over. I turn my attention to the bigger animals, the ones worth my time. I close my eyes, and send a tendril of power out, hoping to find something good. I smell something, that causes my back to stiffen. It's a human. A human is somewhere in these woods, and their blood is making my mouth water. Their blood is making my throat ache.
I take a deep breath, trying to avoid the person, but their scent is growing nearer. Now, I can hear their footsteps. I feel my fangs extending from my teeth, and know that it's too late now. My instincts have caught up with my body. I sprint through the heavily wooded forest, until I find myself just before the human. She is young, maybe sixteen. She is going for a jog, but why the hell is she this far out? I race to her, and she takes me in. I can tell how startled she is, but she sees me and her eyes calm.
She thinks I'm harmless, and not too long ago that was true, but now. Now, I'm the most dangerous predator she could've run into. I'm the worst nightmare to people like her. I take a shaky step toward her, she smiles kindly at me, before brushing past me. I turn around, as she goes. I follow behind her, easily catching up, and cutting her off. She looks up, before seeing the fangs protruding from my mouth. She flinches, before turning to run away. I stop her. She whimpers, as I garb her by the arm, and twirl her around.
I look into her eyes, compelling her to stay calm, just before I sink my aching fangs into her neck. She doesn't move, she doesn't cry, hell she doesn't do much of anything. She goes limp, after a minute or so, but I listen to her heartbeat, trying not to kill her by taking too much. When I'm done, I swallow the last mouthful, savoring the energy flowing through my veins. Drinking from a human, is so enthralling, and so special. I pull away from her, and compel her to forget the whole thing, and heal her before sending her on her way.
I head back to the house, and go right for my car. I left Emmett a note with my plans for the day. I know that we may die, but I refuse to act like it. I want us to continue as usual, not overcompensating with anything. I'm going to lunch with my friend, and we're going to have a good time, then I will come home to my love, my everything tonight. I pull out of the driveway, thinking of our reunion tonight, and a mischievous smile crosses my face. It really is a great thing to have a relationship that warrants thoughts like this.
It starts to rain, as I pull onto the highway, but I plow through. I turn in the direction of Port Angeles. By the time I reach the city, the relentless rain is now a downpour. I drive through a particularly deep puddle, as I pull into the Italian restaurant that we agreed to meet at. I smile, when she comes into view. Her hair is sopping wet, but her smile is like fire. She smiles, as I climb out of my car. I walk up to her, immediately reaching for a hug, She smiles, before pointing at me with laughter. I look at her, and then at my reflection.
My face is covered in dried blood, and I look like I just tore someone apart. She laughs at me, before wiping the blood away with her thumb. Once my face is cleaned off, I follow her inside, and we wait to be seated. She soundlessly leads me over to a table, when we're told to seat ourselves. I plop down in the booth right across from her, and she looks at me with questions in her eyes. I know she's wondering about the blood.
"Who was it?" she demands, a smile on her face. I love that she's not judging me for having blood on my face.
"Some random in the forest, I healed her, and sent her on her way never the wiser, but I feel great!" I exclaim. The waitress comes by at that time, and I stop talking. I look down at my menu, and realize that I'm starving. It's weird that you can fill yourself up with blood, but you can still go and eat a full meal as well. I look up, before ordering what I always get. I get the lasagna, with mushrooms added. Alex orders spaghetti with meatballs. The waitress leaves us behind, and we pick up the conversation once more.
"So are you guys ready for them?" she asks, and I look at her with raw honesty. I'm not sure if we're ready.
"I don't know, but I did learn something super interesting about me" I tell her, and she laughs, before leaning up to listen more intently.
"What is it?" she wonders, and I smile briefly. I jump right into the story about my gift, avoiding the term Edward had used, but getting to the same point. We sit there, talking for hours, as we catch up with the different aspects of our lives. It feels good to visit with my best friend. I missed her.
Chloe's POV
I look back one last time, as we leave the now empty bunker where the Russians once were. After their leader woke up, and we followed through by turning each of them, they were more than willing to help our cause. Jasper moves slightly, as the last vampire disappears from view. I look at him, and see a guilty look in his eyes. I turn to face him, before he notices I'm watching.
"What is it Jazz?" I ask him. He scowls at the pet name, before turning back to the empty bunker. I look back again as well.
"We have to go now" he explains, and I look at him in confusion. We knew from the start that we weren't staying here. I face him curiously, but he waves me away with a hand.
"We were never staying so..." I tell him, but he cuts me off with one look. His back stiffens, before he whips around. I look too, the hair on my neck standing up. Someone is here, and they're watching us. I feel a knot form in my stomach, and then I hear something vaguely from a distance.
"Who is that?" I ask him, my voice barely more than a whisper. Jasper shakes his head, before grabbing ahold of my hand. I see him reach for Landon's as well, and then he races away, dragging us behind him. I realize the urgency in the situation, so I run just as fast as him, and soon the Russian landscape is flying behind us, as we sprint away from whoever was following us. We don't stop, not for hours. By the time we do stop, I see that the climate has changed, and we're no longer in Russia. I wonder how far we went?
"Where are we? Who was that? Did we lose them?" I ask the questions flying out nearly as we just did. He shrugs his shoulders, before beginning his explanation.
"We're in Finland for one." He says, and I look around again. I used to be in love with the Scandinavian Peninsula. "That was someone I had never encountered, but their mood was not very friendly, so I got us out of the situation" he explains, and I sigh with relief. "And yes, we did lose them. Now let's keep moving, so they don't catch up" he says.
I listen immediately, and we take off again. The trees fly by, but I let the landscape soak into my vision as we go about. We finally stop about an hour later, and we're still in Finland, but we're in the mountains, and the snow is all around. I collapse onto the pure whit bank before me, Jasper and Landon loom over me, before falling down beside me. I miss Alice. She went back to Forks with the Russians, and now we're just quiet. She put some fun into the traveling. I smile, as I close my eyes. Maybe I should embrace my inner Alice Cullen.