"Hey, Bella, are you awake yet?" Edward asked, sticking his head inside the tent. I could see a few heads milling outside, all attempting to peer in.

As promised, he arrived bright and early. I sighed, finally feeling well rested now that the thrumming in my head was just a dull throb. "I am now," I grinned. I didn't particularly react kindly to being woken up; regardless, even I couldn't deny my excitement to see Alice and everyone else. It also made me feel pretty good that they cared about my well-being.

"Great!" Edward called, tossing me my book bag before zipping the tent closed.

Bless him, although I had a sneaking suspicion that Alice may have been behind filling my bag with goodies. Water and a change of clothes were much appreciated and, after tying up my shoe laces, I tried to stand. At first, my legs were a bit shaky but I regained my balance quickly and managed to stand at my full height. I stretched; my muscles were certainly sore but my body appreciated the movement.

I walked towards the tent to unzip it, as soon as the flap fell away I noticed two things. First, it was incredibly bright outside. I had to squint at the sun's radiance after being unexposed to it for days. Second, Alice's petite body was barreling in between people as she struggled to get through the breakfast crowd. Her destination: me. I braced myself, expecting a brutal impact but was relieved when she slowed down and hugged me warmly.

"I'm so happy you're awake!"

"Thanks, Alice, I am too. How are you feeling?" I pulled away from her embrace to examine her. As expected there was nasty green bruising on her neck and a few more down the side of her arms. A few scratches were scattered throughout her body.

"Nothing hurts if I don't touch it, don't worry about me Bella. Honestly, you look dreadful." She took my chin in her hand and I resisted the urge to wince. Just like she said, nothing hurt if you didn't touch it. "Honestly, Bella, you're still slightly swollen and you have bruising everywhere! I'm sure your long sleeve is hiding a lot but we'll get Stefan to check you out because, truthfully, I don't know what I'm doing it just looks bad. Maybe he'll give you something for your face? Does it hurt? Bella your eye is red and your cheek is like a green blue color! I'm so sorry I didn't get there in time, if-"

I took her wrists before she could prod me any further, "Alice, breathe. I'm thankful you came at all. Honestly, you're an idiot for even approaching us and I wish you hadn't because that little shit fucked up your neck but, ultimately, thank you. It doesn't hurt too much, please stop worrying, my ribs are killing me but it's nothing compared to before. I can manage it and I'll take a look at myself later, if you want Stefan there that's fine but trust me, I'm not going to let myself die." I made an attempt for lighthearted humor at the end but Alice was not having it. Worse, people were staring at me. I needed to look in a mirror.

"Well you've seen better days." Emmett said gruffly as he approached us with Rosalie and Edward by his side.

"Fuck, Bella," Edward took my head in his hands, angling it so that he could obtain a better perspective of all my battered angles. I avoided eye contact with him and practically everyone else. I knew this would happen but that doesn't make it any less humiliating.

"Does it hurt?" he mumbled.

"No," I replied instantaneously.

"Bullshit." Emmett stated.

Obviously!

"I can handle it." I amended.

Edward dropped his hands, fisting them together.

Rosalie stepped in front of him, "Stefan said he'd be willing to take a look at your ribs if you want. We made a tent dedicated to med supplies, like an infirmary. Want to go?"

I nodded, "Yeah, let's see if there's anything for bruising."

Alice was ever so eager, "Oh, there is! It's wonderful! I used only a bit because we had to ration it. It's like a cream that goes deeper than the skin and into your bones, we used it for my ribs. I think you might need it too."

"I bet she's hungry, we should eat breakfast first." Emmett interjected.

Rosalie laughed, "Oh how thoughtful, are you sure you're not looking after your own interests?"

He feigned innocence, "What? Of course not, Bella needs to nourish her body in order to fully recover."

"Right, babe, let's go feed Bella." Rosalie joked, winking at me.

It was settled, we were going to eat first and then seek out Stefan to see if the same cream would help me. Throughout the meal several people wished me a good recovery and, despite the blatant gawking from mostly everyone, I appreciated the support. Afterwards, I received the same treatment on the way to the infirmary.

"Stefan, we're back!" Rosalie called.

A spacious tent had both flaps open, welcoming anyone that entered. Two sleeping bags were made on the right side. I assumed those were for victims in critical conditions. To the left were tables and a few chairs, Stefan was seated in one as he counted syringes. Cubbies on tables held medical supplies and I was both surprised and grateful at the abundance.

"Aye! Look who's up and running!" Stefan exclaimed as we entered, moving to side hug me. I clenched my teeth to not yell out in pain.

After he didn't release me quick enough, I stepped away. "Still a bit sore." I explained.

"Well," he said, moving towards one of the containers. "I have just the thing." He pulled out a white tub and put some gloves on. "Here," Popping the lid open, he scooped out some of the cream inside and placed it in a tiny circular container for me.

"Thank you," I said.

He nodded, "Just rub it where there's bruising."

I pocketed it, opting to apply it privately. "Thank you."

"Want me to look at your ribs? Alice said they were pretty screwed."

I shook my head. "I appreciate it but I'll be okay."

Once it was clear we were done and had resulted to small talk, Edward laid his hand on my shoulder, "Are you ready to see James?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

.

.

.

It was pretty surreal walking up the steps of the ark –the same steps James had previously thrown me off of. I knew exactly who was waiting for me inside and all I could feel was anger. This was all his damn fault; just looking ahead of me into the back of Alice's bruised neck was an instant reminder of his barbarism. How fucking dare he? I didn't have anything against him whatsoever; yet, as soon as he saw me, he made it his mission to seek some sort of vengeance against me. What the fuck. Worst, I felt defeated. He had not only beat the shit out of me, but he touched Alice. I felt culpable and I couldn't shake it off.

Felix and Garrett came with us to assure maximum safety against both James and the forest guy. I was thankful for them trailing us, the last thing I wanted was for James to believe that he had the slightest opportunity of escaping. After making it to the first floor of the ark, we continued our way to the third where both James and the forest guy were being held. Unfortunately for me, that meant I had to trudge up two latters. Admittedly, the strain it put on my shoulders, ribs, and arms was horrible but I refused to voice those complaints. Edward surely noticed, though, and discreetly followed my pace without mention.

"Thanks," I muttered, already out of breath once we got to the very top.

"Of course," he replied. I really appreciated the fuck out of him right now.

My sentiments were interrupted the moment I heard Alice gasp.

Shooting my eyes forward I took in the sight before me. James was tied up to one of the pipes on the edge of the wall. They didn't allow him the comfort of a chair so he lied sprawled across the floor as he slept with his arms raised slightly above him. On the other side of the room was the reason for Alice's shock: the forest guy stood at his full height, wire chains restraining him to five wall pipes. He was slightly shorter than Edward but had more muscle; a lot more muscle: his chest was absolutely bare, showcasing both the rippled abdominal muscles on his stomach as well as his sculpted biceps, one of which was sporting wicked ink. His tan skin which could have otherwise been considered beautiful was a rancid sight. Gashes had been made on the sides of his stomach, causing blood to drip down to his peculiar, fur-like slacks and shoes. His chest was no better with what resembled whip marks in several areas. My suspicions were confirmed with the evidence no less than three feet away: the blood stained wires.

"How could you do this?" Alice exclaimed, rushing forward to the forest guy.

Before she could move more than two feet, Emmett had his arms wrapped around her middle.

I was instantaneously livid.

"Who did this?" I pointed to the victim. Out of my peripheral I could see James waking up but he was efficiently ignored.

The forest guy shifted his focus from the metal ground to us. His blue eyes were stoic, not revealing any emotion.

"Bella, calm down-" Edward began but I was quick to cut him off.

"No!" I pointed my finger at the forest guy. "He saved us, Edward! He didn't know if James had a gun and he sure as hell didn't know us, but he did it anyway! You don't do this to people, Edward, he's human." I moved around Emmett's form to approach the forest guy and was faced with another human obstacle: Rosalie.

I tried to side step around her but she followed my motion.

"Move." I said through gritted teeth.

She positioned her feet shoulder-width apart. "No. Bella, you don't know him. He literally came out of nowhere and you expect us to throw him a tent and invite him to our next campfire?"

"What the fuck, Rosalie? I don't expect any of that! All I expected was that in my absence you all would be capable of displaying a single shred of humanity! Tie him up, what do I care? We can debate the dangers he poses later but we do not torture humans like that! Look at him! He's defenseless here! Yet you whipped him," I changed my focus to also place some blame on Edward, Emmett, Felix, and Garrett. "You beat him and shredded his skin apart!" I gave them all individual eye contact. "You did all that just like James did to Alice and I." I barked out at Edward in specific, I knew he was the unannounced leader on the ground. "Ironically enough, James seems to be in better condition than him as he takes a fucking nap on the floor while he's strung up like an animal!" I didn't even know Edward anymore and spat venom in every syllable.

Thankfully, at least Emmett had the decency to look ashamed and released Alice who quickly came to my side. I noticed Garrett was also looking quite uncomfortable. Felix was looking at Edward who, unsurprisingly, had a whole textbook written on why he was right. "Bella, we don't know him! He wouldn't communicate with us at all when we-" I could detect some insecurity behind his eyes but the confidence in his voice would never reveal it.

I interrupted his bullshit midway, "When you what? Tied him up for saving Alice and I? Or when you whipped him like an animal? Do you even hear yourself? I can't blame him for not wanting to cooperate when you were on the receiving end." It's like he was a completely different person.

I gave Alice a sharp look, "Get Stefan and tell him to bring a first aid kit. I need you to get cloths, something warm, water, and food. I'm going to stay here and make sure they don't hurt him any more."

Alice was quick, rushing to the exit. Thankfully, Edward didn't try to stop her. A moment of silence followed. Hopefully they were all pondering their actions, attempting to see where they went wrong. It serves them right; they should be ashamed of themselves.

Unfortunately, it was interrupted.

"So, the princess awakens." James muttered darkly.

I resisted the urge to cringe at his voice.

The same voice that promised me death.

"Don't scream or I'll kill you!" He threatened, gripping my arm and heaving me up towards him. He wouldn't let me face him and pressed my back against his front. I tried to focus but my body could barely stand. Then, I felt it in the middle of my back and all the blood drained from my head. Oh my, God, he was going to rape me.

"HELP!" I screamed as I hauled ass. Oh fuck, I hoped I was screaming loud enough to be heard. I only made it three steps before he tackled me onto the ground again. "Shut up!" he commanded as he grabbed my neck and pulled me to my knees, his mouth against my ear again. "I'll choke you. You're going to fucking do what I tell you or you're going to die."

My back was to him and I took a moment to clench my eyes shut at the onslaught of memories. I breathed through my nose and then opened my eyes. Edward raised his hand, moving to touch my shoulder in some sort of gesture of support but I flinched away from him. That was a torture inflicting hand and, right now, it was not anything near what I needed. I shot steely eyes his way, promising castration if he touched me, and then spun to face James with my chin held high.

"No thanks to you."

He chuckled. The audacity. "You look marvelous, Bella, as usual." He raked his eyes over my body, landing on my face which I knew displayed the most evidence of our encounter.

"Fuck you." I growled, enraged by his utter lack of remorse. He was reveling in my pain. Alice's pain. "You're sick." I seethed. I couldn't deny the satisfaction I felt when seeing his purpled face and slacked form. I knew he was also suffering.

James went from bored to psychotic in seconds, banging on the pipes that were holding him in place. "LET ME GO! AHH!" he pounded with his feet against the floor and pulled against the wiring on his wrists. For a moment I feared he might get loose but that moment was forgotten once Stefan came in.

"Bella, Stefan is right behind me. We brought everything you asked for." Alice had an enormous bundle on her back and she set it down in front of the forest guy. Emmett shadowed her, inches away and his eyes on the forest guy.

I settled my entire attention on the forest guy, ignoring James' mental breakdown.

"Bella," Edward tried again.

Big mistake.

"Dude, back off. I don't even know you." I didn't even wait for his reply and opened the first aid kit Stefan brought me.

"Cut the cords." I told Stefan.

He obliged, snatching the scissors off the kit and cutting the first wire.

"Stop that!" Felix boomed, snatching the scissors from Stefan's grip. "If you cut another one he's strong enough to get away."

In that moment it took the remaining shred of tolerance I had to not strangle him. "Felix, let him cut the cords while you tie some around his wrists. He's been standing for days; I'm not going to leave him like this." I moved towards him to take the scissors and he was immediately defensive.

"No," He snatched his hand back and moved no less than four inches from my face. "You're letting him-"

"Let her, Felix. He can't outfight all of us." Edward stated.

The finality in his voice was enough for me to pry the scissors from Felix's grip. I gave them back to Stefan while I offered one of the water canteens for Alice. "Help him drink and eat, I'll clean him up a bit." She moved fluidly, taking both towards him. Meanwhile, I took the rags she brought me and soaked them in water. I wiped down his arms, chest, neck, back, and face. Admittedly, the movement involved strained my body, especially my arms. I was already sore and I knew this was worsening my state but I felt like I owed it to this guy to, at the very least, help him out after he saved my life. Most impressive, throughout this process he didn't utter a word, not even when the wires were all cut. He didn't even move. Once he was free, I could sense the tension in the room. Everyone was on edge, ready for him to snap. Alice and I would be the easiest targets since we were the closest; yet, he only opened his eyes and stared down at us. Eventually, when I decided he was clean enough, I tried to explain to him the pain that would ensue.

"Okay, I'm going to disinfect your cuts." I held up the clear liquid with the swabs I would be using to dab his skin with. "I'm also going to stich a few up." I showed him the sewing kit. "It's going to sting a bit okay?"

He stared back at me, not caring. Alice poked his cheek for the next bite of food and he turned towards her, mouth open. I'm guessing that was the best response I was going to get.

"We told you he doesn't speak English." Rosalie muttered.

"That's not the point," I snapped. "He hears my tone."

I ignored them and continued with him. I was halfway through disinfecting and wrapping four chest wounds when I finally reached a pretty nasty cut on his bicep. It had been covered in grime before but now that it was clean, all his flesh was on display. I chose the sharpest needle I could get, knowing it would need to be stitched. I placed it in front of his eyes and then poked his arm so he'd somehow understand me. I cleaned it, tied a knot on it, and began weaving his cut closed. Still no display of any pain. He was tough.

"Okay, we need to get him to kneel or something because I can't properly stitch the ones on his upper back, they're too high." I told Alice.

She nodded and together we pressed our weight on his shoulders, trying to get him to sit. I motioned with my fingers toward the ground and said, "Sit." He complied instantly and in that moment I knew he had been bullshitting everyone the entire time; he was perfectly capable of understanding English. As I pointed towards the ground he wasn't comprehending anything but as soon as I said sit he obliged instantly. Once he noticed my pause, we exchanged a knowing look but I didn't verbalize any of it. Obviously, I wasn't going to share this information with Edward but maybe I'd somehow be able to get him alone long enough to try to talk to him. I continued with stitching his body together. Once I finished, Alice and I draped some blankets around him for warmth, he didn't even own a shirt but I was positive no one his size would be willing to sacrifice their already limited selection of clothing.

"Now that he's all bundled up and toasty, are you going tell me why the fuck we shouldn't kill him?" Felix demanded.

I was appalled, storming in his direction. Alice, thankfully, caught my wrist. "Bella, calm down."

After a moment of recollecting myself I replied to Felix as evenly as I could manage with the fury circulating my veins. "Felix, I'm not sure what part of 'he saved our lives' you're not understanding. Are you fucking dense? We're not going to kill him; we're going to-"

"What?" he barked. "You're going to try talking to him, like we already did? He doesn't speak-"

"He understands English!" I erupted. "I was talking to him and he understood me, he didn't talk back but he knew what I was saying!" I was beyond angry at that point. "If you hadn't been so fucking savage then maybe he would have cooperated with you!"

Felix along with everyone else in the room was shocked.

My face was hot and everything was silent until James spoke, "Well, well, well, good job Princess."

I huffed, "Everyone except Alice, leave."

No one moved. Finally, Edward approached me, "Bella you can't expect us to leave you and Alice alone in a room with him," He pointed to the forest guy. "And him." He pointed to James.

I crossed my arms. "That's exactly what I expect, Edward. He's clearly not going to talk with any of you guys here. He only listened to Alice and I. Frankly, I don't blame him, but if that's the only way he's going to respond then that's how it has to be. It'll only be for a little and you can be right outside the door."

Edward looked conflicted, I knew that he could understand that this was what made logical sense but his eyes exhumed the inner hesitancy he felt.

"No way!" Emmett boomed. "I'm not leaving my sister alone with them, Edward, what the fuck?"

Before he could reply, Alice beat him to it. "Emmett, don't be irrational! We'll be absolutely fine and I'm not asking you for permission so get over it."

Soon after, they all filed out of the room with a few mumbled protests but nothing more.

"We'll be right outside." Emmett uttered before we slammed the door shut.

"You really shouldn't have done that." The forest guy said, displaying his loose wires. I could hear James mutter "Oh, shit."

Alice and I held our breath. For some odd reason, I didn't feel threatened. He was still sitting down on the floor a few yards away and made no attempt to move. "In what world do two young girls like you two trust us enough to be in a room alone? I'm not trying to insult either of you but, in my mind, that wasn't smart at all." He continued while stretching his arms in front of him. I noted his English had a drawl to it.

"I think I trusted Felix to tie better knots." I replied evenly.

"That boy couldn't tie a knot to save his life." He commented.

Alice bounded over to him, "Why did you save us?"

I was momentarily shocked that she so easily trusted him with her life. Of course, he did save us but he was also tied up and probably trying to think of any way to escape. I decided to stand close to the door in case something did happen and we needed help.

The forest guy, for the first time, managed to display some level of emotion: surprise. "Well, you were being attacked. I couldn't let him kill you."

"Were you the guy by the river stream?" I blurted, recalling when Alice and I were followed back to camp by a stranger. "Is that how you knew where our camp was?"

He thought before responding, "Yes. I want to clarify that I wasn't just watching you girls bathe, you actually stole something quite important from my people and you were being hunted. You ought to be grateful that it was me that day, otherwise I'm not sure what would have happened."

I was alert, "We didn't steal anything, what are you talking about?"

"Your necklace," he stated dryly. I had completely forgotten about it up until this point. "It's valuable and belongs to the leaders of our tribe. There are only three and they know you took it."

I blanched, "I'm so sorry, I had no idea. I'll give it back." I began untying it from my neck, ready to hand it over but he was shaking his head.

"Well, I've been gone for days. My village is already searching for me and I can assure you they know where I am. I, however, do not want any conflicts, which they know. Despite what your people have done to me, I want to see this out as peacefully as possible. I see that you also have power and that boy is not the only leader. I trust that you can agree to a peaceful resolution. I must warn you that we are a somewhat violent village, known for our brute strength. I will do everything in my power to assure we will all be unharmed." As he spoke, my heart filled with dread. I was understanding the severity of the situation more, seeing the consequences of all our actions and I was terrified.

"We're so terribly sorry, we'll do all we can to convince them to give you back." Alice encouraged.

I prayed we did, otherwise I wasn't sure how we'd survive.

"I believe that returning me as soon as possible would be in your best interests." He replied.

She nodded, "You're right."

"What a load of shit," James groaned. "He's taking advantage of both of you. Do you honestly believe what he's feeding you?"

Forest guy shot a steely gaze towards James but then continued to ignore him, "I also want to warn you that we're not the only villages in the forest. There are countless more and, most importantly, there are the Cracks: the reason my village prides itself on its army. The Cracks were once human, but after making the trip up to the peak of Mount Meyer, they came back as crazed cannibals. I urge you to watch out for them, build up your walls and stick together. They often travel as groups so don't go wandering for water alone anymore. They tend to stick close by rivers since they know it will lead them to villages and they also prefer caves because that's where they live."

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"Are you guys done in there! Times up!" Emmett boomed from the door.

"Get me out as soon as possible, for the sake of your people." He warned as he returned to slip his wrists into the lousy restraints.

"We will." Alice replied, offering him more water.

"What's your name?" I questioned before we'd have to leave.

"Jasper."

The boys came busting through the entrance of the room, looking around as if they expected to be met with a battle scene.

"What happened?" Edward asked.

I looked at Alice offering Jasper water before replying to Edward. "We all need to have a chat." I said. "Away from here," I added once I made eye contact with James.

.

.

.

I relayed the conversation I had with Jasper to Edward, Felix, Stefan, Alice, Rosalie, Eleazer, Jason, Garrett, and Emmett. Edward insisted on all his friends being present and I was surely not going to protest so we all gathered in the large tent where we could all fit. Their responses were an array of disbelief, anger, and fear. I tried to be as understanding as possible because I knew that I, ultimately, would have to figure out a way to convince them to let Jasper go. I just prayed they were feeling generous.

"What does that mean for us?" Jason asked. I only met him today and he struck me as a compassionate person, more so than Stefan. He had thus far agreed with all my opinions as I spoke which I wholeheartedly appreciated.

"We have to give him back." I stated firmly.

"Why would he do that? So he can tell all his friends where we live? No way." Felix shot back, shaking his head.

I could see that Garrett seemed to be agreeing with him so I decided to reply quickly, not letting his words settle any further. "His village already knows where we live. Whether we give him back or not, they already know we're here; that's no longer the problem. The issue now is that they're pissed we took their friend and want to retaliate. They're going to want a war if we don't give him back because they'll fight for him. If we kill him, we're mega screwed because he won't be able to vouch for us. If we give him back peacefully we're showing that we don't want a war and we're really fucking sorry."

Thankfully, they all pondered over my response, weighing our options.

"What makes you so sure that he's not going to run back to his village and return with an army?" Garret asked.

"Two things. First, he said he doesn't want a conflict and I believe him. Lives shouldn't be wasted. Second, if we return him to his village and he goes back on his word by returning with an army, at that point we'll be provoked enough to engage in a war but we really have no fucking clue what we'd be doing so I hope that doesn't happen. None of us have any combat experience so, aside from our guns, we'd be fucked. A war is the last thing we'd want happening." I answered.

"She's right."

I think the heavens opened from above and hell froze over because Edward just agreed with me. He was seated beside me on my left and even I could see the shock expressed on the faces of those around us.

"We'll give him back after we sentence James." He continued.

I wanted to face palm myself. So close. "Edward, I'm all for condemning James but we need to prioritize here. We can do that afterwards."

"No." Emmett said. "He needs to pay for what he's done and we need to make sure that everyone knows they can't get away with that."

"Float him." Garrett mumbled.

"What should his punishment be?" Felix asked.

"Water duty?"

"No food for a week?"

"Incarceration."

Several responses were passed around but they, truthfully all sucked.

Alice spoke up brilliantly. "Kick him out of camp. Take his tent and his sleeping bag and leave him with nothing but the clothes on his back to fend for himself in the forest. He's clearly displayed that he can't peacefully coexist here and, truthfully, he's a menace to not only Bella and I but other people. He can't live here anymore, if he comes back he'll be trespassing and you guys can do whatever you want to him."

"I second that." I said smiling. We shouldn't waste our resources on him and with the Cracks out there, he'll see what a blessing this camp really was. "Anyone opposed?" I asked.

No one uttered an objection.