Twilight Soldier (7a/37)
Title: Twilight Soldier
Rating: T
Summary: Dark Angel/ Twilight Crossover. X5 Bella/Edward. No Pulse. After escaping the harsh treatment at the hands of a secret government organisation known as Manticore, X5-472 has tried to settle into life as an Ordinary with varying degrees of success. Going by the name Bella, which was given to her by the CO of her unit, Zack, she comes across the Swan family and is soon adopted by them.
Years later, after an Eyes Only broadcast revealing the possibility of her location being compromised, she decides to go to a small town called Forks. There, she meets Edward Cullen. They both have their seeming impossible secrets, but that doesn’t stop them from being drawn to each other. However, when Bella’s past finally begins to catch up with her after ten years on the run, she finds that her life just got even more complicated.
Masterpost
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Chapter 7: Tremors
Bella raced as fast as she could, zigzagging as she made her way through the trees. She could hear the engine of the snow mobiles rumble as they closed in on her position. She had to get to Zack and her siblings before Manticore got her. The image of Eva, dead and lying on the floor of the hallway in a pool of blood flashed before her eyes, urging her forward. Bella obeyed the urge and increased her speed. She soon neared the clearing that she knew Zack and her other siblings would be in.
But, just as she went over the hill and took in the scene before her she stopped, horrified.
Zack and the other were all sprawled across the forest floor. Manticore TAC soldiers hovered above them, guns aimed in case any were still alive. Bella could see the blood still seeping slowly out from under Zack’s body, who was nearest.
The TAC soldier pressed a button on his ear piece and said, “We’ve got them. They’ve been eliminated.” There was a slight pause and the soldier then answered, “No, there’s one left. You were right. The X5 came straight to us.”
Suddenly all the TAC soldiers turned to her. There was no emotion on their face, they were just doing their jobs as far as they were concerned. She had over a dozen guns aimed and ready to fire at their target - her. Bella span around, hoping to escape. There was no chance to, however, as a barrel of a gun was pointed right in her face. On the other end was Lydecker, a cruel smirk upturning his lips.
The slight pause that came next seemed the longest in her life.
The gun went off, the bullet escaping the confines of the barrel, hurling right at her. She never stood a chance…
Bella gasped, jerking violently at the intensity and vividness of her nightmare. She immediately sat up, bringing her legs out from the twisted blankets and allowing them to hover off the floor. She brought her hands to her face, trying to shake of her dream. It was her worst nightmare, seeing Zack and the rest of her siblings’ dead, by Lydecker’s order.
She needed some water. She needed to settle and calm her thoughts. Her throat was dry; probably form the intensity of the dream.
She glanced at her alarm clock beside her bed. 4:30am flashed across the face of the clock in bright red numbers. She released a small groan. She thought she would get some more sleep. For the past few days she hadn’t been feeling like her normal self and wasn’t sleeping too well. While it could be attributed to the nightmares, somehow she didn’t think so.
A cool breeze swept through the room. Bella jumped to her feet.
She hadn’t opened the window. Someone had been in her room. Bella took in a deep breath. A sweet, alluring scent filled her nostrils. Edward’s scent. He had been in her room. That stalker! she grumbled. He could be the reason why she had been waking up early - she must have instinctively sensed a disturbance in her surroundings. He must have forgotten to close the window before he left.
Bella walked up to the window, peering out into the forest, scrutinising it carefully. She switched to her night vision and extended her sight. Edward was nowhere to be seen.
Bella huffed and closed the window with both hands. She began to walk over to her door, intent on getting that drink, when her hands started shaking. She glanced at them in horror. She was getting the shakes.
As children, back at Manticore, when they began to get the beginnings of seizures, not knowing what they were, they called them ‘The Shakes’. After Jack had been dragged away from them after collapsing during inspection, Zack had ordered them to hide any signs of the seizures, for fear that whoever showed signs of it would also be taken away. It was what they were terrified of, especially after Jack died.
Bella walked over to her bed, shaking as she did so. The shaking gradually began to get worse. She sat on the edge of her bed and opened her bedside draw. The first draw held her Tryptophan pills. She grabbed the nearest bottle with a trembling hand and unscrewed the lid. It was empty. She cursed and tried another. Same thing. She chucked the bottles onto the floor as she tried for a third bottle. Opening it, she found that there were a few left. She sighed shakily in relief. It would hopefully do until the Pharmacy opened in the morning. She took them dry and laid back down on the bed, knowing she would never make it to the kitchen.
The tryptophan worked for a few hours, but after that she didn’t need to wait long until the shaking go worse and she started seizing. Without her medications to make it bearable, she had one of the worse ones in awhile. All she could do was wait out the seizures until they stopped.
Inwardly, she berated herself for not picking up more medication. How could she have been so stupid… so distracted! She knew just who was the cause of her distraction, too. The bronze-haired, velvety voice, sweat scented and possibly advanced human!
It took a few hours for her seizure to subside a little, but she was left shaking. She was in a sort of half-doze during that time. An hour after she heard Charlie leave, she managed to get herself up carefully. She cautiously manoeuvred her way down the stairs and into the kitchen. She grabbed her truck keys hesitantly. Bella inwardly did a checklist of her body. Was she able enough to drive to the drugstore herself? The answer was yes, as she had too. Bella knew if she didn’t get the Tryptophan she could slip into a coma and die.
But first, she raided the fridge for milk. After gulping down all the milk, she made it outside to her truck. She drove carefully and more slowly then she normally would. Finally she made it to the drugstore. Bella stepped out of the cab and locked the door with relief that she made it so far without any incidences.
That is until she dropped her keys into the puddle because her hands were shaking too much. Bella leaned down intent on grabbing her keys and not at all steady, but before she could reach her hand out to pick up her keys, a pale hand quickly reached in and grabbed them instead. Bella looked up and let out a barely concealed sigh. Edward was leaning casually against her truck, her keys enclosed in his hand.
“What do you want?” Bella snapped, irritated. She was definitely not in the mood to deal with Edward today.
“Now, that is not a nice way to talk. I did pick up your keys,” Edward answered in a light tone. He was holding her keys up.
“What do you want?” Bella repeated.
“How about a thank-you for starters?”
“Thank-you, then,” Bella muttered quietly. Edward’s amused grin widened.
“You’re welcome,” he said.
Bella reached out, her palm outstretched to grab her keys. Edward dropped them into her hand. She shakily closed her fingers over them and put them into her handbag. Edward watched her, concern written all over his face.
“Are you alright, Bella?” he murmured. He cautiously brought his hand up and enclosed it around her shaking one. “You’re shaking,” he commented.
Bella rolled her eyes, unable to help herself. “Way to state the obvious, Edward.”
“Bella, are you alright?” he asked again.
It seemed he wouldn’t let it go, so Bella no choice but to tell him something. “Sometimes I just get a little shaky, that’s all. I can usually control it by meds. I just ran out today.”
“You should be more careful then.” Edward hesitated a little. “I don’t like to see you like this,” he admitted.
“It’s not a spectacular sight,” Bella agreed, but ignored his remark. “I’m about to head into the pharmacy, so look, while I love to chat-”
“What is your medication called?” Edward interrupted.
“Tryptophan, why?” Bella answered automatically.
Edward took off before he answered her. Bella huffed in irritation as he left rudely, without finishing his conversation. Bella couldn’t dwell on it though, she had more important things on her mind - like getting her medication before the seizures started getting worse and before someone decides to take her to the hospital for unnecessary and unwanted tests. Bella cautiously began her walk to the pharmacy.
She only had taken a few steps forward - and a couple of feet from her car - when Edward appeared again. He had a paper bag in his hand, with Forks Pharmacy written on the front of it. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what it was.
“Edward,” Bella said, her tone dripped disapproval. “Is that I think it is?”
“It depends on what you think it is,” Edward replied.
Bella wasn’t in the mood for it. Her forehead creased. “Edward,” she reproached.
Edward opened the bag, taking the sticky-tape off that held it together. He reached his hand in and pulled quite a large bottle of Tryptophan out of it. Bella knew that was the biggest bottle that could be brought. Bella glanced at what should now be an empty bag, to see the signs of another bottle.
“How many did you buy?” Bella demanded.
“A few,” Edward admitted.
Bella mentally calculated the cost of at least four of the largest bottles of Tryptophan, as she pulled her purse out from her bag. Edward moved, suddenly beside her. He placed a hand on hers.
“Don’t worry about it,” he said softly. “It doesn’t matter about the money.”
“I can pay for it myself. I’m not helpless.” Bella wasn’t going to let the matter go that lightly.
“I know. Let me do this for you,” Edward insisted.
He was stubborn, Bella thought narrowing her eyes a little, but I am too.
“No,” was all she said.
“No?” Edward said, confused.
“No,” Bella repeated. “I’m not taking those off you. I’m buying some myself.” Bella continued her walk to the pharmacy. Edward walked alongside her.
“You don’t have to do this,” he told her.
“Yes, I do.”
“You don’t have to prove anything. I know you can pay for them yourself.”
“So, you’ll let me pay for them, then?” Bella stopped, turning to him.
“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to. It was implied.”
“No it wasn’t.”
“Yes it was.”
“For it to be implied, means I had to have implied it myself. I didn’t, so it wasn’t implied,” Edward argued.
“Yes it was.”
“No… are we seriously having this conversation?” Edward asked in disbelief.
“It looks like we are.” Bella refused to change the topic. She knew she sounded like a little kid, but at this point she needed some pills, preferably ones that she had brought herself.
“You are so… infuriatingly stubborn.”
“Thanks a lot,” Bella replied.
“I didn’t mean it like that,” Edward said, tone apologetic.
“Yes, you did. And for the record, you’re pretty stubborn yourself, you know,” Bella said. She turned away from him and continued walking to the drugstore. She didn’t get very far. Her shaking came back full force and she stumbled, collapsing.
Before she could hit the ground, Edward caught her.
“Th-th-thank-you,” Bella stammered.
“What can I do to help?” Edward said quickly.
“T-t-the p-pills.”
“How many?”
“Several,” Bella answered. Edward hesitated, causing Bella to realise that he must know that several could be dangerous. “T-trust me.” She added.
Edward obeyed and quickly unscrewed the lid of one bottle and took out four pills. He placed them in her mouth. Bella swallowed them down in one go. Her hands fell back to her sides as she closed her eyes, worn out. She felt Edward gently pick her up.
“Come on, I’ll take you home. You need rest.”
“I can get home myself,” Bella moaned, her eyes still shut. “W-what about y-y-your classes?”
“It’s healthy to ditch,” Edward answered. “Besides, you’re exhausted. I want to help you.”
“T-t-t-hank y-y-ou,” Bella yawned.
“Go to sleep,” Edward ordered. His voice sounded far away. “I’ll take care of you.”
Bella felt him buckle her into a car. His car by the smell of it. She felt his cool hand stroke her face gently. “Sleep well,” he whispered. Bella obeyed. She drifted off, comforted by his voice and sweet scent.
Chapter 7b >>