The Edge

Alone in the Dark

Summary: Victoria is on the prowl, and has caught her prey.

Two Days Later

Bella looked around her, her heartbeat increasing as she took in the darkness that surrounded her. She began to pant, and her breath came out in loud, harsh puffs as she turned her head from side to side, taking in the complete isolation of the clearing.

She couldn't see anything except for the large, hulking silhouettes of the trees.

She couldn't hear anything except for her own terrified breaths.

She couldn't feel anything but the blinding panic crushing her chest.

Three thoughts ran through her head: Alone. In the dark. Helpless.

Bella closed her eyes and tried to calm herself, taking deep slow breaths.

She opened them again a few seconds later and sighed in frustration, wondering how had she managed to get herself into this mess?

A moment later she sighed again.

She knew exactly how she had gotten into this mess. It was stupidity ... and arrogance. She had been running with lions and wolves for too long. She had been lulled into a false sense of confidence. The lamb had begun to think that she was something better, something stronger, a fox maybe. She had begun to think that she was a clever fox, but fox's were prey as much as they were predators and they were hunted with much success by animals larger, smarter, more dangerous and far cleverer than they.

"Silly human," she muttered to herself. She heard Alice's soft, sweet voice in her mind as the words fell past her lips, and desperately wished that her lover was there with her, her cool hand, solid and comforting as she grasped it in her own.

"I couldn't have said it better myself."

Bella froze, her eyes closing as her heart seized in her chest.

She had only heard that voice one time before, but she knew immediately who it was that had spoken. The voice tapped into something primal in her, something ancient and irrational. Her Reptilian brain hissed ferociously at the sound, warning her of danger, of pain, and of blood. It recognized the voice calling to her for what it was ...the voice of death.

"Oh god," Bella moaned, turning her head to the side, a whimper escaping from her throat as her eyes landed on Victoria's lithe figure.

The redhead was at rest, leaning against the trunk of a tree about ten meters from where Bella was standing. Her posture was relaxed, her head tipped lazily against the tree trunk, her eyes trained on Bella.

Bella shivered.

Victoria was a jungle cat sunning itself, lazily watching the zebras at the watering hole, indolent and relaxed ... until the second before it pounced. The problem was that Bella wasn't a zebra. She was aware. She knew that the jaws of death were only moments away from enclosing around her. That awareness left her terrified and trembling, but ultimately it was a good thing, because along with self-awareness, human beings were capable of reasoning, of logic, of thinking. Unlike the zebra she could assess the situation and act. She could be smart.

Bella straightened her back and met Victoria's gaze as steadily as she could.

She wasn't going to let the redhead see how completely fucking terrified she was. She was going to be tough. She was going to be cool. She was going to channel every badass female she had ever seen on TV or in movies.

She was Ellen Ripley. She was Xena: Warrior Princess. She was Sydney Bristow. She was Sarah Connor. She was Buffy the fucking Vampire Slayer.

She wasn't going to run. She wasn't going to scream.