"Now you know there is only one choice if you want your darling little Brucey back," said Deidre haughtily. "And your choice is to come back to your Deidre."
"We'll think about it and get back to you,"said Edward, mirroring Carlisle's calm manner in every respect.
"Well, you'd better be quick about it," said Deidre sassily.
She turned on her heel and walked off with a satisfied smile on her face. The smell of her perfume lingered in the air like rotten plums.
As soon as the door closed, there was a flurry of activity.
"As much as it pains me to process," I said in a voice dripping with weariness. "I have to go back to Deidre. This is a dark day indeed."
"No, you can't go back!!!" said Renesmee.
"If I don't go back I'll never see my dog again," I said.
"How can you trust that Deidre knows where Bruce is?" asked Renesmee. "She might be lying just to get you back."
"Deidre speaks the truth," said Edward. "I read her mind."
Suddenly, I had an epiphany. Of course! I thought. Vampires often have special gifts and Edward's gift is to read people's minds. He must have been reading Deidre's mind the entire time! And he would know the truth about what she had done with Bruce.
"Edward, please tell me immediately," I said desperately. "Where is Bruce?"
"Bruce has been living for the past two years at a puppy farm a few hours away from Forks," Edward said.
"What's a puppy farm?" asked Renesmee.
"A puppy farm is where dogs are forced to repeatedly breed. They are kept in poor conditions. Puppy farms are abominable!" Alice said.
With a voice shaking with fear, I asked the question I had been dreading, "Is Bruce alive?"
Alice smiled. "I have seen into the future. He still lives."
Crying tears of relief I said urgently, "We need to rescue him. Who wants to join me in a recovery mission?"
"Hell yeah!" said Emmett, who strode into the room with confidence.
"We'll go tonight once the sun sets," said Edward.
As the sky dimmed and the moon rose, Edward, Bella, Renesmee and I assembled outside the cottage.
"This feels like a military operation," said Renesmee.
"I feel like a ninja," I said, looking down at my black clothes.
We piled frantically into Emmett's jeep and headed off. After driving for about three hours we pulled outside a run-down house. I couldn't believe this dilapidated hell pit of a prison was where Bruce was being incarcerated.
To the rear of the house, we could hear pained barking. We made our way resolutely to the back of the house and peered cautiously over the fence.
What I saw broke my heart into a million pieces.
There were dogs everywhere. They were in living amongst piles of rubbish and mud. They were shivering with cold and shaking with fear.
A chorus of barks sang out like cathedral bells. Due to my gift of communicating with animals, their barks formed words that I could understand.
"Help me," said a Maltese Poodle desperately.
"I'm so hungry," said a Griffon imploringly.
"I'm so thirsty," said a Lagotto Romagnolog helplessly.
Suddenly I heard a canine voice ring out above all the others "Ella, it's you!"
I looked to see my beloved Bruce chained to a tree.
Without considering the consequences, I smashed my wheelchair through the fence and wheeled towards Bruce. With my vampire strength, I snapped the chains the held him to the post.
I scooped his cold body up into my arms.
"I have missed you so much," I said, weeping openly.
"This is the best day of my life now that you have returned," said Bruce.
"We are taking you home," I said happily. "You will never have to live in this horrible place again."
Bruce looked desperately towards an old shed at the back of the yard.
"My friends and their babies are within those grimy walls," he said sadly. "I can not save myself and leave them."
"Hell no you can't" said a voice from behind us. I noticed that Emmett, Renesmee, Edward and Bella had followed me through the hole in the fence.
"We're taking all of you," said Edward gently.
Barks of joy rang out in the night. My gift allowed me to translate these barks into cheers of excitement, happiness and relief.
"But the bad men will be back by the time the sun rises again," said Bruce.
"Hurry," Bella said with purpose . "If we're gonna save these dogs, we don't have a moment to lose!..."
Soundtrack
While I was writing this chapter I was listening to:
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