Fire of Your Soul

Chapter Seventeen

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Chapter Seventeen

Charlie appeared at the door of the ambulance, his face dirty and filled with anger. "Good riddance to bad rubbish," Charlie muttered. "That asshole got what he deserved ... to burn in hell."

"Was he inside?" Bella asked. That's when she noticed her father's arm strapped in a sling. "Daddy?"

"He didn't want to be saved. I tried, but he fell to his death," Charlie explained. "He damn near pulled my arm from my body, but he's gone."

"Are you certain?" Bella pressed.

"He fell ten floors," Charlie said. "Also, some of the guys saw him go down. Nearly every bone in his burnt-out body was shattered from the fall. He also landed on some rebar, severing his brain stem. You can't get much deader than that."

"No, you can't," Bella mumbled.

"You are all the most stubborn humans ever," Jane grumbled. "Chief, back to your ambulance. Your wife was loaded up with you. You're being transported to Virginia Mason."

"What about us?" Edward asked.

"So are you," Jane said. "I take it you're not leaving this rig?"

"Nope," Edward answered, tightening his hold on Bella.

"Fine. But, she needs to be put back on the gurney. Chief, let's go," Jane said, helping Charlie. They scuttled away.

Edward sighed as the EMT came back with a smirk, moving Bella back to the gurney. The doors were closed, and the ambulance lurched away.

Bella pulled the mask away, her eyes filled with tears. She coughed. "Is it bad that I'm relieved that Aro is dead?"

"No, it's not," Edward said, putting the mask over her face. "I'm relieved, too. He'd wreaked so much havoc on your lives, Bella."

"He kept saying this one thing ... 'like a moth to a flame,'" she whispered. "Moths keep flying to the flame, even if it results in their own death. It's poetic. Aro was the moth. It was his obsession with the flames that ended his life."

"It's poetic justice, Bella," Edward breathed. "He got what he deserved."

~0~0~0~0~

The ambulances rushed through the busy streets as the blue and red lights flashing brightly through the dark night while they traveled to Virginia Mason Hospital. All of the patients were in stable condition, though they all needed blood work, oxygen, and chest X-rays. The EMTs had their hands full with Edward and Renee, who wanted to ride in the same ambulance as their loved ones.

Charlie had the most serious injuries with a dislocated shoulder, practically torn from his body, and facial burns. The EMTs heard how he had run through a wall of fire with only his turnout coat and came through with only minor burns to the skin that was not protected by the coat.

Bella was the next in line for serious injuries. Though Bella's injuries were from the physical altercation with Aro and Peter. Her face was covered in bruises, scrapes, cuts, and a deep laceration at her hair line. She also complained that it hurt to breathe, like something was poking her on the inside. More than likely, she had several broken ribs, and one was pressing against her lung. They needed to move her carefully, preventing the rib from piercing her lung and causing it to deflate. Bella also had a splint around her wrist from a broken wrist.