The Experiment [RENESMEE CULLEN]

30

RENESMEE CULLEN

The day of the escape. Finally.

I want to cry from joy, but no tears come out. I need to control myself anyways. If anyone finds my behaviour suspicious, it will raise alarms and will ruin everything. I can only imagine what would happen after that -I would be locked into a dungeon with snakes and reptiles and my dad will come out with a machete.

The day begins like every other, but I know it won't end the same way the previous has. Hopefully, our plan will work and I will truly experience the joy of freedom that night.

I am too nervous to eat. I cannot put anything in my mouth, not even a drop of water.

My dad raises his eyebrow at me, hopefully, unable to read exactly what I am thinking about, as I am humming random tunes in my mind, "Are you okay, Ness?"

I nod my head at him and fake a smile. I don't care anymore. All I want is 

It feels strange being at the hospital today. I am hooked up to machines as usual, but it doesn't feel normal to me anymore. I deserve a better life than this.

The plaquettes that grandpa has prepared for me are and will be left completely untouched. Why bother doing schoolwork when I am leaving anyway?

I spend my very last hours at the hospital re-reading the same old Biology textbook, focusing on genetics, until my iPod's alarm reminds me that it's time to go to the toilets, where Jacob will be waiting for me.

On the way to the toilets, I wipe the sweat off my forehead. This is it. My journey to freedom stars as soon as I enter the toilets, where Jacob is waiting for me.

"Here," he thrusts a pair of jeans in my hands and locks the door. Now no one can barge in for the next 10 or so minutes.

I quickly rip off the machines I am hooked to and shove the jeans and replace my hospital gown for a sweater. I rush, knowing I don't have too much time.

Alas, as soon as Jacob and I walk out of the toilets, our backpacks on our backs, a tiny bun in my hair to make me less recognizable (hopefully), an alarm goes off.

And that is our sign to run as fast as we can. This has to be for me. I can feel it. Someone knows. Someone has to have betrayed us somehow. But who? Is it grandpa? If so, I will never forgive him if the plan fails.

I can hear people behind us screaming my name, but our feet never stop and our fingers interlocked, terrified of letting each other go. Jacob is squeezing my hand so hard, he can break it if I wasn't a vampire-human hybrid.

It seems like an eternity when we finally reach the boat, the voices still behind us. The man starts the boat as soon as Jacob and I jump into it and our journey to freedom begins. If everything goes by plan, we should be at the airport soon, from where we catch the plane to Seattle. And then, I will get to see La Push - the reservation where Jacob has been born and raised. Perhaps I can see Forks, my birthplace too?

The ride with the boat is noisy and too long for my liking, yet magical at the same time.

Jacob wraps his arms around me, shielding me from the wind. He is always so warm, like his smile and his heart. I want to smile, but my heart is racing from fear. The journey has just begun. Sadly, it can be over too soon.

The airport is half-empty. Not many people fly from there or the opposite direction. In fact, the flights to Seattle are once in a blue moon. We are lucky. It's not like we couldn't have gone anywhere else, but Jacob wants to show me his birthplace. And from there, we will visit Forks. I've only heard of it. I barely remember anything from my early years.

The last thing I remember before drifting off to sleep is the plane taking off, beginning the journey to Seattle.