Creation

1. Inconsolable

The sound of the grandfather clock chiming the late hour paled in comparison to the loudness of the screams that echoed throughout the house from behind Edward's closed bedroom door. It was the sound of his eternal damnation, painfully heard by all members of the Cullen family as they sat in the living room, patiently waiting out the first evening of Bella's change with their brother and son.

Although the atmosphere was serious, it was not noticeably sad even though the pained woman at the top of the stairs was physically dying. Everyone in the room knew that it was a necessary evil and a path they had all walked at some point in their lives. Only Edward seemed remorseful about the whole situation since the entire thing was his doing. He had been against it from the very beginning. But in the end it was her life and her decision, and not even his disapproval would have stopped her.

As the second chime of the clock faded, another anguished cry filled its vacated space. The screams had been gaining in their intensity through the night. Carlisle had warned before that the pain would only get worse until the last of her body's tissues were killed by the venom from Edward's bite. It had been many years for all of the vampires in the room since their transformations, but they could vaguely remember the feeling of their bodies slowly shutting down. For Edward, knowing that he had brought that pain upon Bella was the worst feeling of all.

Everyone knew that Edward was coming down on himself harshly for turning Bella into something of nightmares. For Carlisle and Rosalie, they understood Edward's reluctance to change Bella from her human state more than anyone else in the family. They had both been the reasons for their mates' existences, even if Rosalie had only been the one to choose Emmett. Rosalie was still somewhat bitter about Bella's decision in the end. Carlisle, however, only wanted what was best for his son.

From the sofa Esme could see Edward's reflection in the window as he stood staring out at nothing. His face was calm, showing none of the shame that she knew was tearing him apart inside. She supposed that each tormented scream was having an equal effect on all of her children. Whereas each member of the family had not been familiar with the rest of the Cullens before their transformation, Bella had been a part of their lives for the past two years. It was heartbreaking to hear her suffering.

Even Alice, the always-cheerful one, was somber and silent. She had seen the outcome of Bella's decision weeks before, but that vision of contentment hadn't prepared her for the distress that she currently felt wrapped in Jasper's arms. It would have been easy for him to lighten the mood with his powers of manipulation, but suffering through the torture of Bella's pain was a solemn reminder to them all that vampires were not to be created often or lightly.

"Edward! Oh god, Edward!"

The agonized scream caused Edward to flinch somewhat. Until that point Bella had been screaming for the sake of letting out some of the pain. Names and words had escaped her.

"Go to her," Esme commanded softly. "She needs you."

The nod of his head was so small that Esme wondered if she had seen it at all. But he turned and walked slowly up the stairs with the eyes of his family watching his every move. It would have been unnerving if he weren't so worried about Bella. Her cries pulled him forward, closer and closer to face his guilt.

The light from the hallway emptied into the room as he opened the door. It lit up the wall briefly and was gone before Bella had taken the opportunity to let loose another loud bellow for everyone downstairs to hear at full volume. It was bad enough that they could hear her at all.

The elaborately decorated bed that Edward had bought was being put to good use as Bella had obviously been tossing and turning in her fits of pain. It had only seemed right to give her what little comfort they could in her darkest hour. The sheets and pillows that had covered the mattress were pushed off onto the floor, and only the fitted sheet remained. He could see her fingers grasping for something to hold onto, but the flat surface of the mattress yielded nothing. He knew that as time wore on, her fingers would more than likely puncture through and make a mess of things.

She didn't seem to notice his entrance much, as she was still yelling loudly, her throat not yet hoarse in the hours since the bite. With each gasp of air she lifted off the bed slightly, and the veins in her neck and arms bulged against the strain of the movement. Not a moment did she still. Edward wondered if she would continue to writhe in such a manner until the last necessary breath had left her body.

He could see in the dim light the puncture wounds that his teeth had left in her flawless skin. The marks stood out against her wrists like black marks on a piece of white paper. The blood spilt had dried long before, and the wounds themselves had congealed as the flesh had died. It was an almost sickening thought.

"Bella," he said as he crossed the room to stand at the side of the bed.

Her eyes moved sharply to the side, finally noticing his presence in the room. Laboriously she rolled onto her stomach, crawling the two or three feet to the edge of the bed. She reached out for Edward's cold, pale hand, holding onto it with a fierce grip. The breaths that had wracked her body in loud wails before toned down to hiccupped sobs and moans as she struggled to find the words to convey what she wanted to say.

"D-d…" she stuttered into the back of his hand.

"Bella." He closed his eyes tightly.

"Die," she breathed. "L-let me die."

The words were not as painful as he thought they should have been. After all, he knew from personal experience that wishing for death was the most logical thing to do in the situation. It was hard to see light in a dark place where there was nothing good. He understood that. He tried his best to reason with the dying woman.

"Bella you don't want that," he said calmly.

"Kill me."

"That's what I've done," he sighed.

"Now," she pleaded. "I…can't…do this."

"You can and you will."

The look that crossed Bella's face was the darkest look he could ever remember seeing mar her beautiful features. It was almost frightening in its intensity. Some part of him felt compelled to give in to her plea, but he needed to be the strong one. He knew that the rest of her unnatural life depended on him.

When he closed the door behind him Carlisle was waiting. The older man seemed to understand his son's distress, even if the emotionless face gave no indication that there was a problem.

"She'll thank you when this is over," he assured.

The screams began again, more sorrowful than before. Edward looked away from his father's face. He didn't think he could stand to look at anyone then, not even his own face in a mirror. He knew he was a monster. He didn't need to see his reflection to know that for sure.

---------

A/N: After reading the entire series in one weekend, I decided to try my hand at this area of the fanfiction world. There were far too many sickeningly sweet, cliché, awful stories out there, and this seemed appropriate. Sorry to bust your fluff-loving bubbles.

More to come soon! (I hope)

Silent readers go to the very bowels of fanfiction Hell. Review!