Red Moon ~ Chapter 22 ~ Betrayed

Chapter 22: Betrayed

“One move and she dies,” he warned not letting go of me.

I felt tears streaming down wetting my shirt. I wasn’t crying because I was scared to die. I was feeling so betrayed right now. It was different just having someone telling you that a friend was fooling you and actually living it! No matter what, I never believed that Victor would do something like this. I was sobbing uncontrollably and my vision was blurred from the tears.

The same thought lingered by everyone in the air. Will he really do it? The Volturi wanted us alive. How would they react if I was dead? I prayed he wouldn’t do it. I wasn’t afraid about it happening anymore but still, I didn’t want my life to end. I had so much that I could not leave behind!

‘We won’t let anything happen to you, Eshe. We’re going to fix that.’ Nessie tried to comfort me but I wasn’t listening. What could they do? The Volturi would be here in any second.

“D-d-do as he says…” I whimpered.

“Sooo it can be nice and easy… nobody gets hurt and you follow me, do you understand?” he said motioned at them to move forward and get out of the door.

“Mel, now!” Cole told her and she vanished before I could even blink.

“Noooo!” Victor growled and his hand dug so hard in my shoulder that I almost screamed. “Where did she go?” he snapped at Cole.

Cole smiled satisfied. “Who knows? Here? There?” He shrugged.

Please, Cole, stop playing with him! He’s not kidding! My eyes begged him but he was looking Victor straight in the eye instead.

“Stop fooling with me if you want her whole!” he barked at him.

“I really don’t know. Somewhere hiding. Do you want me to go find her for you?”

“No. I’ll come back for her. Now go on. Let’s get done with this,” he growled and his look forced them to walk out of the house. My feet felt as if they had rooted on the floor, I couldn’t move an inch. Until Victor pushed me forward.

We walked in silence for a while. So this is it. Everything is over. There is nothing for us to do. Why should it be so unfair? What did we do wrong? What?! I was sobbing so hard that I almost tripped on my feet. I had given up. What was the point after all?

I didn’t pay attention to where we were heading or who was doing what. I could feel my world shattering before me. I’d never see the Alps the same way again. Actually I might not see the Alps again at all…

Victor grabbed my wrist impatiently, making me walk faster and at the same time checked that the others did nothing but walk along. As we came closer to the forest I saw some dark, cloaked figures waiting. And I wasn’t the only one who noticed.

Suddenly a loud thud broke the silence of the night and it started raining furiously, limiting my vision, but hopefully theirs too. With the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of Phillip’s eyes turning dark blue and I had a hunch that this was his doing.

‘Eshe, move!’ Nessie shouted inside my head and with that I yanked free from Victor’s grip and punched him hard on the face.

“This is for betraying us to the Volturi!” I told him and gave him another angry punch. “And this is for threatening to kill me!” Another punch.

He ran a white arm over his face, whipping the raindrops away and laughed. He had the nerve to laugh!

“There is so much you haven’t learned yet, little one…” He shook his head in disapproval. “So… so much…”

I could see them surrounding us and I attempted to run but a strong hand pushed me back, causing me to fly back on the spot where I was previously standing and crash on the ground roughly. I moaned from the pain but got on my feet quickly.

‘If they do it, you won’t have time to give them permission. You won’t realize a thing,’ Cole’s words ringed in my ears like warning bells.

I heard a ripping sound and as I turned around I saw Jacob phasing midair as being about to attack Felix. Nessie and Phillip were back to back trying to defend themselves from two other vampires, Heidi and one more that I didn’t know. Dawn was struggling to approach Aro but his never leaving shield, Renata, was blocking her way and it was as if Dawn was bumping on an invisible wall.

I felt a hand on my arm and before I could think about it I grabbed it and spun around, freezing for a single second with shock. It was Alec.

He’s nothing more than the rest of them, I thought to myself.

Up to now my survival mode was on, but my mind’s turn had come. I had to move fast or he’d get me. Either with his gift or for real. Or both. I wouldn’t be tricked like that twice though. I leaped forward but found myself in front of nothing, he dodged faster than I expected. A small half smile shaped on his lips but it faded as I attacked again, this time my fist finding his stomach. He half growled, surprised and in pain at the same time. He stared at me with his blood red eyes and his twin, Jane, took her place next to him. There was this much I could handle though. Together they were practically invincible.

She didn’t hurt me as bad as the other time but she wasn’t gentle either. I gritted my teeth to keep myself from screaming and turned to face her, smirking.

“Is this the best you can do?” I asked sarcastically. I wasn’t a masochist, it surely wasn’t a nice sensation, but since I had to play their game, I’d do it my way. And this was pissing her as much as possible.

A smile lit up on her face but it wasn’t radiating from happiness. It looked more like saying, ‘We just got started. You haven’t seen anything yet.’ And I was sure I should take the warning seriously. Soon I felt it too. The pain was more intense, making my knees buckle. I tried to focus on the raindrops that were slapping the ground instead of Jane’s torture. But to my surprise it stopped. I didn’t have the power to stop it. Something else must have happened. I lifted my head and saw Cole fighting with Jane. He was GOOD. When he said he’d been trained I didn’t know how good he meant he was. But now I saw. He was a REAL fighter.

Dawn, on the other hand, still had a problem with Renata.

“Dawn, let go!” I shouted at her.

A female vampire was getting in the way. She was skilled but I managed to sneak my way around her and reached Dawn. Just then, in the center of this chaos I realized what was happening. There was no escape. We were totally outnumbered.  They were seventeen, we were only six. What I did seemed wrong, even to me, but I gave up. It would be best to stop before ended up badly hurt.

“Eshe, what are you doing?” Dawn exclaimed as I let my arms drop on my sides and didn’t even flinch when someone held them tightly behind my back.

But what was I really doing? This wasn’t me! I’d never give up that easily! Something was clouding my judgment. I couldn’t pinpoint it though…

“Told you not to try escaping, little one,” Victor said. “You don’t know what you’re messing with.”

“Oh, yeah? Care to enlighten me then?” I told him, shockingly calm compared to the disorganized chaos that was taking place in front of me. For a second I wanted to shiver when I thought that I ended up again in Victor’s grip again.

“Don’t you feel a bit out of character lately?”

“You can’t answer my question with another question. It’s not–” I stopped realizing what he was saying “You’re doing this! It’s been you all along!” I almost shouted, all my calmness disappearing into thin air.

“Clever, little fox,” he commented.

He had been affecting my mood! He had been for a long time! All my mood swings, the negative feelings that came from nowhere and disappeared again into thin air for no obvious reason, why I was so upset when I saw the painting, why I was unable to relax when Jacob jumped on me, why I couldn’t stop making a big deal of Cole’s past –I mean, I did want to know who I am talking with but I didn’t become hysterical at the point that I’d have a fight about it! But this wasn’t the point! He point was that I had been tricked. He was somehow fading in the background everything positive in my mood causing my so bad reactions. The lack of the usual humor that I used to face things with. I felt so betrayed! Victor was supposed to be my friend! But he had been messing with my mind all along! Was this why I wasn’t suspicious of him today? With all these thoughts I felt so overwhelmed that even the fight didn’t matter.

I tried shoving him away again.

“Not this time. Eshe, didn’t you realize yet? It’s game over.”

I could see it. Dawn was held by Renata and Nessie and Phillip were surrounded by five other vampires. Jacob, who was fighting with Demetri, now looked exhausted. Cole was still holding on but he had to deal with too many of them too.

“No. Not yet,” I growled and kicked Victor hard, making him stumble. If I was destined to fall, it would happen my way.

I used everything Cole had taught me, trying to reach for his head. I flipped him over crashing him on the ground, hoping that if he ended up on the ground he’d be an easy target but I was wrong. I had expected taking a little longer until he’d get up but I didn’t have the luxury of such an advantage. I was getting tired trying to avoid his attacks and at the same time make my own moves. I stopped, just for a second, to catch my breath, and his punch met my shoulder. It hurt. I saw black spots in my peripheral vision but I still tried to punch him back. My hurt shoulder was slowing me down though. He must have dislocated it but it wasn’t time to bother with a medical diagnosis at the moment. Victor found a chance to hold me again and pulled my fists behind my back just like before.

This can’t end like this! Not after all this effort! It was so unfair! I thought to myself. At least Mel is safe. Or I hope she is… A spark of hope lit up inside me. They are coming. They will come for us.

As I stayed still the adrenaline started leaving my body and the pain of my dislocated shoulder was getting stronger. It hurt much worse than I could imagine. I gave Victor a glare that promised I’d kill him as soon as I found the chance but his face remained emotionless as he forced me to walk forward. And then, before I could realize what was going on, I was knocked out.

* * * * *

For a second my thoughts felt so mixed up and hazy that I’d swear they weren’t even mine! All kinds of different things came to my mind, Volturi names, the names of Jacob’s wolves and the ones of the vampire witnesses and had come for Renesmee, my vacation in the Amazon, the last night… The last night! I remembered someone hitting my head and I felt my temples throbbing in agreement. I wouldn’t be shocked if my head was twice its size by now, it felt like that, swollen and bigger than it should anyway. I half opened my eyes expecting the strong morning light to blind me but instead I struggled to make out details in this darkness. There was a torch on a wall far from me, its flame weak. Maybe on purpose. The floor felt cold and hard under me and I tried getting up carefully, without putting any pressure on my shoulder that was swollen and numb.

I felt so alone, everything was so silent, eerily silent. But the others should be somewhere around here. Where else could they be? I knew everyone was alive, I had seen it. I was pissed with myself. For once again I came into consciousness too late. Where were we? Obviously in a dark, dirty dungeon but where? This could be anywhere from Count Dracula’s underground hideout in Romania to a secret tunnel under the Stonehenge! I would expect anything from these vampires! Or we could be back in Volterra. In a dark, unattended part of the castle that nobody bothered to decorate in a way that would make guests feel welcome. Judging from the chains on my wrists? No way. Surely they didn’t care for that in that side of the place. I wanted to look around, find a weak point, some stronger light maybe but the chains wouldn’t let me go too far. I was practically stuck with my back against the wall.

“Eshe, is that you?” I heard a tired voice on my right.

“Dawn!” I felt relief as the knowledge of not being alone hit me.

“Nessie’s here too but she hasn’t woken up yet. I’m a little worried but I can’t reach her.”

I stretched my neck and saw Dawn’s tangled hair and just behind her Nessie’s bronze curls, but that’s all my eyes could make out in the dark.

“Is she hurt?” I asked feeling my stomach nauseating even at the possibility of Dawn saying yes.

“No, she seems fine. Just asleep,” she assured me.

For some time I sank again in my thoughts and my anticipation and worry for Nessie. Where was Cole? Jake and Phillip?

“Melanie!” I said aloud and felt Dawn’s eyes on me.

“She’s not here.”

I exhaled in relief. “Good. She must be safe then. She will be already explaining to everyone what happened.”

Dawn looked down with a lost expression as if she was in deep thought.

“What? Is anything wrong?” I asked without wanting it I raised slightly my voice.

“Dunno… I mean we haven’t seen her but this doesn’t mean they didn’t find her.”

“Didn’t you see? I was out, somebody hit me in the head and I can’t remember much.” I admitted, feeling worse for my weakness with every passing minute.

“You hit your head?” she asked and I saw her body tense.

I nodded and automatically I reached for my temples where it was hurting worse. There was a deep cut on the one side and I knew it was still bleeding a little but I didn’t tell Dawn. She was already upset enough for Nessie. It would stop at some point after all. I let my hand fall on my side hiding the little bloodstains from her sight.

I pulled my hand with all my strength trying to break the chains. Or just loosen their hold on the wall. Nothing.

“Don’t bother. They’re not breaking, I tried that already.”

I gave up and despaired let my head touch the stone wall.

“Just great!” I mumbled.

“Humph…” Nessie groaned and Dawn’s and my head turned at her direction.

“Nessie?”

She looked at me sleepily as her eyes tried to adapt to the darkness of the dungeon. She looked around murmuring Jacob’s name softly over and over again.

“Where is he?” she asked with a shaky voice anxiously.

“I don’t know.” I said avoiding her look.

“He’s alright, I’m sure about that,” Dawn assured her.

She didn’t look convinced. She got on her feet and tried to free her hands from the chains. Just like me she failed.

“I need to find him!” she was shaking and her eyes were wide. “I need him!” She punched the wall and the stone broke; little shattered pieces falling on the ground but that was it. Somehow her chains were longer than mine, she could move freely up to an extent.

“Don’t waste your strength. Sit down,” Dawn advised.

Since I met her I was always amazed for her maturity. She was keeping her calm and acting way older than she looked. Or was. How was she doing that?

Nessie let her body lean against the wall and slip on it until she was sitting on the floor again and staring into nothingness. I closed my eyes thinking about Cole. His deep blue eyes, his messy hair, his amazing smile… I thought about how the last night was, so peaceful, we fell asleep without expecting what was to come. Would I ever touch him again? Would I see him? I wanted so bad to know what was going on with him! We might not have an imprint but our love was just as strong. Or I wished it was… Nessie was so lucky. She could be sure that Jacob was the one for her. Just like I wanted to convince myself that Cole was my soulmate. She and Jacob had imprinted…

“The imprint…” I murmured to myself. “The imprint, Nessie! The imprint!” I said more urgently.

“What?” she was looking at me confused.

“Your imprint! Remember when we were at that car with all the Volturi? You told me you’d know if something bad happened to him because he was your imprint. You are bound to each other. Can’t you try and sense him?”

She pushed her lips together thinking something, then nodded and closed her eyes tightly. I didn’t need to get into her head to know she was thinking of Jacob. She mumbled something so quickly and silently that I couldn’t understand it and then she sighed in relief. I didn’t know what she was doing and if she was somehow communicating with him but I wished I had the same connection with Cole.

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