rosalie—flight
Flight.
My instinct was to run away and leave the man. But I knew I couldn't. I couldn't be the heartless creature like Royce that let innocent humans die. Especially this man, who looked so much like Vera's Henry with his dark curls, dimples evident in his pained expression, so much that I couldn't stay away, even if I tried.
I neared the scene, holding my breath to block the scent. I stayed hidden behind a bush, and I knew neither the dying man nor the bear would detect my presence. I used my bush as a shield, a shroud so I could be there without having to intervene.
But then he screamed, and I couldn't hold back.
There was something about hearing a grown man, beautiful as he was, scream like that, something that I couldn't ignore, no matter how I tried. I reluctantly left my hideout and gingerly approached the bear and the screaming, sobbing, dying man.
With one sinuous motion, I pounced. I landed on the bear's back and wrestled it to the ground, wanting to make it pay for hurting the beautiful and quickly fading man. It roared in indignation as I quickly found its neck and drained it.
All of this occurred while the man watched, whimpering, in horror.
I tossed the body away and turned to the man. He saw my face, the face of a destroying angel, and gasped in either shock or pain, I couldn't tell which. "Who are you?" he croaked. Blood trickled in a thin line out of the corner of his mouth.
"My name is Rosalie Hale. What is yours?" I asked, trying to sound gentle and not startle the poor, probably frightened man more than I already had. He paused before speaking.
"Emmett McCarty," he whispered.
"Emmett," I mused, rolling the name around in my head. Emmett…Emmett…Emmett…
Without having to think about it, I approached Emmett, bloodstained and all, and scooped him into my arms. His head lolled against my shoulder as he slipped into unconsciousness. Then I took flight.
emmett—fight
Fight.
My instinct was to give the bear what was coming to it, but it came at me too fast. As strong as I thought I was, I was clearly no match for the strength, power, and grace of a bear. I tried to fight, but it left me wishing I had chosen door number two, to run away and never go back to that place again.
The first time the bear got its teeth into me, I braved the pain, though it tore through me mercilessly. I couldn't stop a small grimace from betraying me. The bear swiped a sharply clawed paw at me, and the claws sunk deep into my cheek, tearing through the skin.
I let out a scream of genuine anguish.
I hated myself for it, though the pain was beyond excruciating, because it showed weakness. But who, in these deserted woods, would see me die, and think that happened because of my weakness? Just then, a flash of gold came from behind.
It was a beautiful woman, the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. As I watched, she leaped onto the bear, fought with it for a moment, and eventually prevailed. Then, she bit into the bear's jugular, and drank its blood.
I couldn't make myself gasp. Instead, I just whined quietly, absolutely terrified.
She threw the bear's now limp body away and faced me. I could gasp now that the full force of her face was upon me, as well as the pain stabbing in all directions. "Who are you?" I couldn't hear my own voice, but I thought she might be able to.
"My name is Rosalie Hale," she said in a voice like bells. "What is yours?" I was too stunned for a moment to speak, but managed to choke out my name.
"Emmett McCarty," I rasped.
"Emmett." Rosalie made my name sound like the name of an angel.
She moved toward me. Her step was inhumanly graceful, but I couldn't contemplate what she could be. Then she gently placed me in her arms, and, too weak to stay awake, I finally gave in to the blackness without a fight.