Of Ashes And Curls
"Because I could not stop for Death,
He kindly stopped for me;
The carriage held but just ourselves
And Immortality."
-Emily Dickinson
What if they didn't stop?
He had her on his back. She clutched his fur tightly. They bolted into the forest; the massive wolf running as fast as possible to get away from the screeching sound of tearing flesh and the sounds of the fighting. The little girl- the cause of the fighting- ducked her head into his fur. But she could still clearly hear the sounds, as could the wolf. It made the running all the more easier, but all the more harder.
The tracker, he could hear, was taken out quickly. One of the only casualties of that particular . The kill that started the fight actually. The small girls mother wouldn't let him pass through. At least she could save her little girl.
The wolf knew, from what he has been hearing over the months, that there will most likely be no one to come home to, so he just shouldn't bother. Once he exited to the plane to Rio de Janeiro, there was truly no turning back. For Renesmee's sake. Maybe a few of the wolves would get away. Hopefully.
Maybe someone would.
But the future looked bleak. And the only one who could really see this uncertain future was gone.
He couldn't hear the fighting anymore. No one was coming after them. He doesn't think they'll bother now. They must be satisfied with what they've done. After all, wasn't Nessie more of an excuse to "punish" the Cullen's on their part? He shook his great furry head.
The little girl with her father's hair and mother's brown eyes still hid her face in his fur. She didn't fully understand, he thought, but what she knew was enough. Enough to know that she won't ever see them again. All she had was Jacob. But would that always be enough? No, probably not.
Smoke rose above the tree-tops. That hideous sweet burnt smell lingered in the air for miles. It burned Jacob's nose. Nessie didn't know what the smell meant, seeing as she never experience that. But from the dark ashy purple smoke rising, one could assume, eventually, she would catch on.
The fight, for the most part, must be over. They weren't outnumbered. They actually had the upper hand. But that really wasn't enough. Because they were better at this. They had been doing this for centuries and centuries. And they had no heart for a little girl like Nessie. Because they just really had better plans.
He phased back closer to the airport. They walked, or Jacob walked and carried Nessie, the rest of the way. Quite the odd pair they looked to be. They earned their share of strange and discomforting glances. Even some pity! But most went unnoticed to them, as more tragic things danced in their heads.
Nessie held her hand on Jacob's cheek the entire time. Repetitive images of Carlisle, Esme, Rose, Emmett, Jasper, Alice, Seth, Leah, and all the new friends she had acquired over time. But most frequent was Edward and Bella. Their faces painfully passing through Jacobs mind a million times with a longing and a missing and a question he couldn't bear answer. He certainly wish he himself didn't know the answer.
The two boarded the plane that Bella had previously acquired tickets for. Just in case. It was direct, therefore they did not stop, and they did not have to wait any longer than need be. Nessie stared out the window at the ground below; the cities, the tree stops, the suburban towns, till she dozed off into a blank sleep. Out of exhaustion. Jacob's eyes stayed wide open the entire time afraid to shut them and see things that he didn't want to. He watched little Renesmee sleep restlessly beside him. A million question arose in his mind; none to which included and answer.
Rio was, naturally, overcrowded. People yelled and pushed too and fro across the crowded terminals and halls. He held Nessie close to him and shielded her from the crowd. She held tight to his almost bear chest beside and loose linen shirt that was in the knapsack brought with them. Once out of the airport, they climbed into the first cab they could call and took off. The nearest hotel was the direction headed.
It wasn't bad. A little shabby from the outside looks. Old, vintage type looking place with a tropical twist. Something taken out from a movie. Jacob set he down, Nessie still firmly holding his hand, and tried to talk with the clerk at the desk for a room. They finally reached and understanding, and a key was given to Jacob. He took Nessie out of the air-conditioned lobby and led her towards the elevator. They rode three floors. And stopped. They were room 367. It was a good size; one large white linen bed with some tacky looking comforter, a desk, air-conditioner under the window, and an old-looking cable t.v. Nessie looked around the room, then back to Jacob. It was quite the change from her former accommodations.
"We won't be here long, Nessie. I promise." he smiled to her. She showed him images of her own room in the little cottage that Esme had built for Bella and Edward. He repressed and painful shutter at the thought. Nessie saw, and she stopped, keeping her memories to herself. "Sorry, Ness." Jacob mumbled. He dropped the bag onto the bed and Nessie climbed up onto it.
"Dump it," She told him in her small voice and he obliged. Inside was the letter, which Bella wrote. Nessie went to grab it, but Jacob got to it first. They looked at each other a long while, but Nessie finally turned back to the rest. Money, fake passports, ID's and etc. that she lost interest in. She looked to the shut curtains and jumped off the bed to open them letting the bright South American sun beat down into the room. Jacob pilled everything back into the bag.
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The rest of the day was quiet between them. Nessie watched t.v. Jacob had ordered room service later in the day for them seeing as it would be difficult to hunt in such a large city. Nessie cringed at the food, and Jacob could see her about to open her mouth to protest at eating it, like she had always refused it at home when Carlisle had offered it. But she hadn't now. She actually ate it without a grudge at Jacob. She look, actually, quite sad to be eating it, though not for the reasons one would think.
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The next morning was such a rain storm that no one was going anywhere. They were again stuck in the hotel room. Nessie and Jacob walked up and around the halls in the hotel, just to see something new, once or twice.
It was that evening though, when the thunder started, that footsteps were heard coming toward their room. Jacob had told Nessie to sit in the far corner, as far from the door, as Jacob crouched in from at the sound of the inhuman footsteps. The door was locked, but the knob still turned, breaking the lock, and opened. There in the doorway stood a small vampire with black hair and pained eyes. Beside her, a taller man, a vampire, with blonde hair. Alice and Japser. Jacob nearly fell with shock and relief at their sight as Renesmee flung herself in sobs into their arms.
Because they were all that's left.