Chapter Twenty-Two – Hide-and-Seek

Chapter Number: Twenty-Two

Chapter Name: Hide-and-seek

Page Number: 433 – 451 (Hardcover)

Date of Chapter: March 16, 2005

Summary: When Bella returns to Alice after writing the letter to Edward, she finds that Jasper is still not back.

Looking at her friend, Bella realises that Alice seems to be in a kind of trance and, thinking her mother is in danger, rushes over to the vampire. Jasper arrives at this point and coaxes some form of explanation from Alice.

All Alice says in response to Jasper’s question is ‘Bella,’ making Bella think that she’s seen the future change in reaction to Bella’s desperate plans. In answer to Bella’s further probing, Alice explains that she didn’t really see anything different, just the same room as before.

On the way to the airport, Bella asks Alice more about her gift. Alice explains that, while it is easy to see the future of the weather, people are less easy follow, she can only see the course they have chosen while they’re on it; if a person changes their mind about an action, the whole future can change.

As Alice explains, Bella realises why Alice hadn’t been able to see James in Phoenix until he’d decide to go there; equally, she realises, Alice wouldn’t have seen Bella in the room with James until she’d decided to there too. At this thought, Bella tries to turn her thoughts away from what else Alice might have seen regarding Bella and James.

Sitting in the airport, waiting for Edward’s flight, Bella is impatient to put her plan into action and gets more nervous by the minute. The longer she sits, the more excuses she starts to create for why she should stay and see Edward again before going to meet James.

Eventually, Bella knows she cannot delay any longer and goes to get breakfast. She asks Jasper rather than Alice to come with her, suggesting to the Vampires that she needs calming down; in reality, Bella plans to make her escape by using an excuse to use the restroom, so she needs to be on her own in there for her plan to succeed.

Escaping from the airport, Bella frantically searches for a cab to take her to her mother’s house, but there isn’t one. In the end, she is forced to take the shuttle going to Hyatt. When a cab stops in front of the shuttle, Bella jumps in and pays the cabbie well to take her to her destination.

Arriving at her mother’s house, Bella finds the number James gave her written on the whiteboard by the phone. Dialling the number James answers and reassures Bella that her mother is ok and will continue to be ok so long as Bella’s on her own.

In response to James’ instructions, Bella goes to meet him at the ballet studio and discovers the full extent of his plans to get her there. It transpires that her mother is not in the hands of James at all. He has, in fact, taken a video from her house and has been using it to trick Bella into believing that he had her mother.

This knowledge makes Bella calmer than before. She knows now that her parents are safe and becomes almost giddy with the release of tension. Equally, Bella is aware that she is dangerously close to snapping from the stress of the situation.

James confesses to Bella that he is disappointed at how easy it was to trap her. He hopes Edward will ignore Bella’s request and come looking for him.

Before attacking Bella, James reveals his arrogance and visions of superiority as he gloats to her about how he managed to track her to Phoenix.

He then indicates a video camera set to record his own message for Edward – hoping to incite his anger enough to come after James following Bella’s death. Bella realises that the camera has recorded all James has said about hunting her, and she knows that he will be recording her final moments for Edward to see.

James reveals a final, shocking, piece of information. He knows how Alice became a vampire. She was in an asylum in the 1920s when James found her and became attracted to her blood. Unfortunately for James, another Vampire, who worked at the asylum, had also taken an interest in Alice and, to save her from James, he turned her into a vampire. Angry at the escape of his prey, James killed the older vampire – which is why Alice awoke alone.

As James approaches Bella for the kill, she is frozen to the spot, shaking and afraid of collapsing. Just as he drops into a crouch, Bella regains the movement of her legs and tries to run away, but he is too fast. The next thing Bella knows, she has been thrown backwards, crashing violently into the mirrors of the dance studio.

On seeing the affect of the smashed mirrors surrounding Bella, James explains that he hadn’t just chosen the studio as a place familiar to Bella, but that he had chosen it with the understand that he could create stunning visual effect as he killed her.

After this last pause, James moves in for the finale. Stamping on Bella’s leg, he breaks it. To silence her pleas to Edward not to go after James, James smashes a mirror shard across her face causing blood to pour down her face. Despite the agony of her broken leg, Bella still feels nauseas in response to the smell of the blood.

Seeing the bloodlust has completely taken over James now, Bella hopes the end will come quickly and that he is so consumed by the need for blood that he will stop playing with her.

Hearing his final animalistic growl through her waning consciousness, Bella puts up her hand in a futile attempt to protect her face. As she does so, she finally passes out.

Characters involved: Bella Swan, Alice Cullen, Jasper Hale, James, Cab driver

Characters Mentioned: Edward Cullen, Renee Dwyer

Places visited: a hotel near the airport in Phoenix, Phoenix airport, the ballet studio on Fifty-eighth street and Cactus in Phoenix.

Memorable quotes:
“Yes, things change…” she murmured – hopefully I thought.
~Alice to Bella when she asks about her visions

“Isn’t it better that your mother didn’t’ really have to be involved in all this?”
~James to Bella after she figures out that he doesn’t have her mother

“To be quite honest, I’m disappointed. I expected a much greater challenge.”
~James to Bella

“You’re simply a human, who unfortunately was in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and indisputably running with the wrong crowd I might add.”
~James to Bella

“I never will understand the obsession some vampires seem to form with you humans.”
~James to Bella

The smell of it [blood] twisted my stomach.
~Bella about the smell of her own blood

Important Information Learned:
Alice’s visions of people are influenced by their decisions.

Bella continues to be more concerned for those she loves rather than herself.

Alice had once been James’ prey, but escaped when she was turned into a vampire.

James killed Alice’s protector.