Hello! This is the first story I will be publishing, so if you continue reading, you have my sincerest gratitude. I will update as frequently as I can. Leave a review if you so wish, let me know your thoughts
WARNING: Mature/Adult themes; Character Death; future Lemons
All recognizable items belong to Stephanie Meyer
EXTINGUISH
Chapter 1
BELLA
If there was one thing she knew for certain, Bella Swan knew she was dying.
She also knew that death couldn't come fast enough.
Lying on her side, she could feel the blood gathering underneath her head. Sticky, hot, and flowing in time with her weakening heartbeat, it gathered in her hair and dripped soundlessly into a puddle around her. How that slowing rhythm in her ribcage was even possible after the events of the past hour was beyond Bella's comprehension. She was sure after the plan went horribly wrong in the ballet studio her heart had ceased to exist, swallowed by the insurmountable pain of watching the light of her world extinguished. She had to already be dead, and there most certainly was a hell.
Gone. Edward was gone. Gone were the moments of pure bliss in the meadow. Gone were the smiles and touches and love that he had just for her. Gone was the promise of forever. All of it stolen from her by one abomination of existence. A wave of grief swept over her so strong she was helpless to stop the bile that rose and expelled the contents of her stomach on the floor in front of her. She didn't move. Even if she could've at that point, there was no use. If she was lucky, she would be dead in a matter of minutes. How could it have gone so wrong so quickly? Edward was the hero of this story. He was supposed to win. That's what heroes do, right? How had James managed to best him?
Oh, yeah. That was her fault.
He had gotten Alice. Also her fault
She should have stayed where she was, in the corner, away from the terribly frightening display of superhuman strength. But then James had killed Alice, and her body had risen and taken off towards James in a fit of rage before she even knew what was happening. This wasn't real. This couldn't be happening. None of this could. Alice should have seen this coming. But the vision of James stalking towards Bella to lure them closer and then doubling back quick enough to rip Alice's head from her body was not one that she seemed privy to. James threw her head into the fire before anybody could register what had even happened.
Watching Alice's beautiful form crumple to the ground had sparked something in Bella. With a growl that was unlike anything she had ever produced emanating from her throat she had sprang up and sprinted towards James, jumping over Jasper clutching the form of his dead mate. With the sound of his despair pounding in her ears, she forgot herself.
She forgot she was human.
She forgot what he was, a vampire, one powerful enough to kill her 500 ways without exerting himself in the slightest. He had easily just killed one of the most amazing of his kind that had ever existed. What chance did she, the mere mortal that she was, have to defeat him? It didn't matter to her. None of it mattered. There was nothing but pain-fueled rage clouding her mind, painting the scene before her in ominous shades of red.
In distracting James, she had also distracted Edward. It was by far the worst mistake that she had ever made, and there was no going back now. Bella wasn't even sure what happened next. The last thing she saw was her hands reaching for James, the desire to rip his head from his shoulders overpowering the basic human instinct to survive.
Force.
First from the kick James landed to her sternum, the sound of cracking ribs felt more than heard. Second from the wall she was subsequently slammed into. She felt her skull collide with the painted cinder block and give. Her body rebounded from the momentum away from the wall and she was left in a crumpled heap on her side.
Blood.
There was suddenly so much of it. She could feel it flowing from her nose, feel the warmth spreading from the back of her head. It was quickly filling up the hollow of the ear that was now facing the ceiling. When her shuddering breath finally returned she could feel one of her ribs grating across the floor. If she had been able to move her head enough to look down, she would have seen that most of her body now consisted of compound fractures; the bones jetting out from beneath her skin. Her hair lay partially over her face, obscuring most of her vision from the one eye she was still able to open.
From beneath her hair she watched her world end as James threw the last bit of Edward into the fire. There was an awful sound filling the air and it took Bella a moment to realize the forlorn sound was her own doing. Bella closed her eyes and waited for the sweet bliss of oblivion to take her, lest she ever feel the pain of knowing that it was her own fault the Sun was extinguished from the sky. As the pain began to drip away slowly she knew this was it. It would finally be over.
Bella welcomed it.
With her eyes closed she couldn't see how far away the fire was, but she could smell it. For a brief moment she was taken back to the campfires of La Push. Sitting around with Charlie, watching with disgust as they skinned the fish they caught earlier in the day. Running with Jake and the rest of his beautifully tanned friends. Chasing each other amid squeals of childish laughter. Making s'mores and watching with delight as the marshmallows on the end of her makeshift roasting stake caught flame and toasted the outside to a deep black. Burning her tongue from impatience to let them cool. The smell of driftwood, and color changing flames.
Only those fires didn't clog the senses with the rank of burning loved ones. The fire must have finally reached her as her whole arm was suddenly engulfed with burning. The fire was spreading quickly, and she was soon engulfed in flame.
She didn't even notice she was being picked up off the floor before she slipped into the beckoning abyss, the enveloping darkness her last solace.
JASPER
He always assumed she would be there.
Nearly a full century had made him arrogant to the fleeting swiftness of death. He saw it. He caused it. He did not endure it. It did not affect him. He was a constant, as was she. They were no mere mortals. Plague, warfare, catastrophe, these things were no longer threats. These things did not affect him. He would survive as he had since his death and following rebirth. Humanity would forever be living and dying around them, but they would stay the same.
They were to live out the rest of the days of the earth together, always together. She was his Sun. His Moon. Part of his being entirely, almost an extension of himself. She was his conscience, his confidant, his soul mate.
She was dead.
The sight of her face as she had glanced at him briefly before James had beheaded her was burned into his mind. The last time. It would be the last time she ever looked at him. The last time he would feel the connection of their souls through a glace. The realization was completely debilitating. Sure, he was aware they were still in the middle of a shitstorm. But he ceased to care. He had dropped to his knees and gathered what little of her body was left into his arms. She was always so tiny. His fingers ghosted over her form, shaking.
A fearsome growl jolted him out of his reverie. Snapping his head up, he was immediately returned to the situation around him.
Astonished, he watched as Bella launched herself at James. What on earth was she doing?
Laying his beloved as carefully as he could while jumping to his feet, he stood in time to see Bella flying in to the wall. Hearing bones snap, he knew for certain she wouldnt survive. This was confirmed by the blood flowing from her cracked skull.
Jasper snapped.
Alice. Edward. And now Bella. Gone.
His rage overtook him. He slipped into autopilot, and the machine that kept him alive during the war came out. Even decades of suppressing the instinct never truly forced it out. The last coherent thought he had was that Carlise might have been disappointed.
James was dead. Jasper blinked. Looking down at his hands, he found pieces of vampire, glinting in the firelight. Not much time must have passed, because he had yet to hear the sirens of human firetrucks. He was certain that by now the blaze was easily noticeable from the outside. He didnt have much time.
Surveying his damage to the room, a terrible thought entered his mind. He would have to burn them. All of them. Even his Alice. The thought of placing what was left of his world into a fire wrenched a strangled sound from his throat. He had no other choice. He couldnt save her. The damage was done.
He walked back over to where she lay. Picking up her lithe form, Jasper walked reverently to the fire. If anyone was going to do it, it would have to be him anyway. He grasped her small delicate hand, placing a kiss on the palm. It was the hardest thing he would ever have to do.
After laying her down carefully, he stepped back. A quick thought of laying down beside her in the fire flit through his mind. Maybe this was where he would end it. They could go together.
Before he could act on anything, a small sound was made.
Bella.
Was it even possible she was alive? No human could have survived that hit. It had to have been the equivalent of being run over by a train car. Rushing to her side as fast as he could, he was angry at himself for not checking on her sooner. With the sound that her skull had made when it connected to the wall, he had written her off as dead as soon as her frame had hit the floor. How was she still alive? Blood had congealed in her hair, she was laying in a pool of her own vomit, and from what he could hear of her hearbeat, she wasnt long for this world. A thought nestled deep in his mind. He could save her. He needed her. There wasnt much time now. She was slipping fast. What were the odds that she would even survive the change?
No. She had to survive. He needed her.
Steeling himself from the oncoming bloodlust, Jasper bit her. Blood collected slowly in his mouth, much slower than if her heartbeat had been going full speed. She was delicious. The most exquisite blood that had ever touched his palate. For a moment, he was nearly lost, then the image of Alice looking over at him moments before her dead flashed in his mind's eye. He dropped her arm as if it burned him, and sat back on his heels. He had stopped himself. He had done it.
Truth be told, it was a completely selfish reason.
Yes, it would save her. In a way. Jasper had no idea if she wanted to be saved. But he knew for certain that he didnt want to be alone. The thought of returning back to the rest by himself... He couldnt fathom it. She would make it. She had to, dammit. He couldnt let her perish. He had been unable to save Alice. Unable to save Edward. He would save Isabella Swan.