Where The Animals Attack
Bella stood up immediately, her chair screeching against the linoleum floor. It came crashing down with a loud thud, causing everyone to turn around and look at her.
She didn't care about being the center of attention. The only thing she seemed to care about was the red liquid seeping from the cut on Newton's hand.
"Bella?" I asked tentatively, standing cautiously beside her. She calmed slightly at my presence, and I begun to think that the moment had passed, but it wasn't long before she started to shake again. Another deep growl erupted from the depth of her chest, and in one fast movement, she grabbed her things and sprinted out of the room.
She paused at the exit, looking back at me as guilt flashed in her dark eyes, before the door closed behind her.
"What was that about?" Mike breathed, my attention snapping back to him. "I swear… it was like she was about to eat me."
"No one would want to eat you Newton," I stated, chuckling quietly to myself as he glared at me.
"Let's get you to the nurse before you die from blood loss," Mr. Banner spoke, grabbing Mike's wrist and leading him out the room.
The laughter died quickly as soon as he was out of the room, and I took my seat wordlessly, my mind now filled with Bella again.
What had just happened?
Her behavior was unlike anything I'd ever seen before. It was almost inhuman.
I laughed to myself, Bella was anything but human.
I knew there was something odd about Isabella Swan, something different, and I was going to find out, no matter what.
--
"Why do you need to see dad?" I asked Alice as the Forks Hospital rolled into view.
"I need to ask him something about me…and Jasper." I nearly stomped on the breaks and crashed into the car in front of us just at the sound of his name.
"You and Jasper?" I asked, shocked. "But he's my best friend! Why don't I know about this!?"
Alice rolled her eyes, flipping through the radio again but I slapped her hand and she recoiled.
"Jeeze – chill out! You know how long I've liked him, and it was just a matter of time before he felt something towards me too." She unbuckled her seat belt and walked out of the car before I could question her further. I sighed, throwing the car door open as I followed her into the hospital.
"But… why haven't you two told me?" I asked again once I'd caught up with her. I felt left out that I hadn't been informed until now. Jasper always told me everything.
"Look Edward," she turned and looked back at me. "It's just that what I have with Jasper is real. I didn't want either of us to tell you because I didn't want you to try and put an end to our relationship before it had even begun. I'm in love Edward, and I don't need you to tell me that I'm too young to understand, or to even know what it is."
She turned back around and headed into the hospital, leaving me standing in front of the doors, my face frozen in shock.
Did she honestly believe that I would have tried to stop her?
I sighed and stepped into the hospital, the same odd sense of comfort washing over me. Possibly because my father had been a doctor all my life and always smelt like his work.
The sound of an ambulance touched my ears and I looked back to see the vehicle pull up at the emergency entrance.
I returned my attention to where I was walking, working my way past the familiar workers to get to my father's office. Alice was already inside, waiting on his leather couch.
"Working?" I asked as she sighed and nodded her head. I slowly took a seat beside her, an uncomfortable silence filling between us.
After what felt like forever, our father walked into his office out of breath.
"What happened?"
"Animal attack," he let out a deep breath of air and folded into his chair, leaning his head back. "Pretty nasty too."
That's when I knew that his patient didn't make it.
Whenever Carlisle lost someone in his line of work, he'd do the same thing. He'd slump in his office chair, looking tired and defeated as he hung his head backwards. It was something that no child should ever see their father look like, but Alice and I had seen it plenty of times.
Death was welcomed in our home. Instead of fearing it or shying away from it like most, we were comfortable with it. Esme, our mother, had insisted that Carlisle quit. But no matter what he'd been through, we encouraged him to stay. Forks needed him, and he loved his work.
I slid off the couch and walked to him, kneeling down beside him as he slowly turned and looked at me. He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.
"I'm sorry, dad," I whispered.
"It's alright. I can't save them all." He spoke as I nodded my head and looked back at Alice. She sighed and walked over to us, draping her arms around our father as she kissed him on the cheek.
"I'm sorry, daddy."
He nodded his head and squeezed her tiny, pale hands. "You kids better head home. I bet you've got homework and stuff."
We parted with a few more words before standing, and heading for the exit.
"Poor dad," Alice murmured as soon as we'd left the office, and I sighed, wrapping my arms around her small shoulders.
"He'll be fine. He always is."
She leaned against me and together we walked slowly to the doors, at least until we saw Angela Weber. Angela was one of Alice's best friend's, her face was stained a shade of red and her hands were wrapped tightly around her.
Alice removed herself from my hold and rushed to her friend. "Ang. What's wrong?"
The dark, blonde haired girl turned to my sister in surprise, her swollen eyes widening. Her gaze moved to me then back to Alice. She looked confused, as if she wasn't sure where she was.
"What happened?" Alice asked softly as Angela opened her mouth to speak, but the only thing that came out was a strangled cry.
"Ben…" she whispered brokenly, "H-He died." She crumpled forwards into Alice's small frame, her hands gripping the edge of her t-shirt as Alice's gaze flashed towards mine, pleading for help.
I wrapped an arm under her shoulder, pulling her onto the spare seats at the side of the hallway as Alice wrapped her arms tightly around her waist.
"How?" I asked as she buried her head into Alice's shoulder, her body shaking with sobs. Alice sent me a glare over the top of Angela's head, warning me with her eyes.
"We went on a-a hike," she whispered through her tears. "And he decided to run off the trail and into the woods. I would have gone after him. I really would have but I didn't w-want to get lost."
Angela and Ben were an ideal couple for everyone in Forks High School. They had been together for so long, never fighting, and never worrying about the other cheating.
We all wanted that. But now it was gone.
"I remember calling out to him, searching for him from the trail. I remember seeing something run past me." She paused, drawing a deep breath. "It was large, and dark. I began panicking, and I started calling out his name." She looked up at me with wide, horror-stricken eyes. "Then there was this growl, like a bear or a wolf. H-his screams… were the last thing I heard before I called 911."
I couldn't even imagine the pain she was going through, and as her fingers gripped Alice's shirt tighter, the tears falling faster off her face. I placed her hand on her back, rubbing it gently.
A loud bang made me jump. I turned to see a group of people pushing a hospital bed out of a room. On the bed was a body covered in a white sheet with red stains.
Ben.
Why did this whole thing feel so suspicious? Animal attacks were very common this time of the year, but why did this feel…wrong?
The group of people pushed the bed past us on their way to the mortuary, and there was only one thought that flashed through my mind.
I have to get down there.
It was almost impossible to do it without getting caught, so I'd have to be cautious, and sneaky.
I pulled away from Alice and Angela, leaving them with a sad, comforting smile as I made my way down to the basement. I took the steps one at a time, constantly looking back at the door I had come through.
When I made it to the bottom, I slipped out the door and down the hall to the mortuary. Listening for others, I heard male voices further down the hall and I quickly hid in a storage room. Their footsteps and voices carried past me, and I took that time to rush to Ben.
I stalled at the door, listening for anything.
There wasn't a sound.
I slipped into the room, my eyes raking over the surroundings. Everything looked so fragile.
There was what looked like a large filing cabinet installed into the wall and I could only imagine how many bodies were in there. I saw a white and red sheet from the corner of my eye and I quickly walked towards it.
I bit my lip, thinking about the morals of whether or not I should do this. If I were mauled by an animal, I wouldn't want my friends sneaking a look. But this was more than me wanting to poke a dead body with a stick. This was me going between enemy lines, me being Tom Hanks and discovering Da Vinci's secrets.
It was a puzzle that needed to be solved.
With a shaky hand, I reached out towards the ruined sheet, feeling his cold body underneath my grasp as I tugged the sheet down to his knees. I took one look at him before whirring around on my feet, turning away from him as I controlled my gag reflex.
I took a glance over my shoulder, clamping my mouth shut and holding my breath.
I had never seen anything more shocking, or appalling in my life.
The first thing you noticed was his face. The skin on his forehead and left cheek was gone, replaced by muscle tissue and red bone. The skin that was there was spotted with red and scratches. His neck had a large bit mark, but I couldn't tell what type of animal it was. His right shoulder had been cut, with large cuts that were still leaking with old blood.
But his other arm was gone. Completely. It must have been torn directly from his shoulder. His chest had very deep cuts, so deep that you could see the inside of his chest. White bone from his ribcage stuck out of the tears and his heart was obviously not beating.
My eyes travelled down to his stomach, a single tear falling from my eyes – no one should have had this much pain inflicted on them. His intestines were out, skin gone. His torso organs were out and completely disturbing. I shut my eyes and shook my head, this didn't seem possible.
His dead body came with a smell. It was revolting and had a dry hinge to it. As if he'd been out in the heat, sun bathing in the desert.
But it had a strange animal hint to it; like he'd been covered with strays. It was terrible.
I had to get out of here, and I hoped with all my heart that Angela hadn't seen this. No one should.
I quickly fled the mortuary, making my way back to Alice. She was waiting for me beside the exit doors, and even from a distance I could see the tear marks down her cheeks.
"Are you ready to go home?" I asked her quietly and as she stood up, she wrapped her arms tightly around my waist.
"Yes," she breathed, letting her arms fall to her side. "Carlisle doesn't need any more shock."
I nodded my head in agreement, my eyes tightening as I realized the pain she was concealing.
"So, what do you think of the new kids?" Alice questioned as soon as we were seated in my Volvo.
What did I think about the new kids?
There was only one new kid I was thinking about, and her name just happened to be Bella.
All of a sudden, Ben's tormented body flashed through my mind, as did Bella's actions in Biology. The boy who sat by Bella glared at me protectively, her fearful eyes matched my own terrified ones.
My hands gripped the steering wheel, my jaw clenching as the single sound of Bella growling erupted in my head.
"Edward… are you alright?" Alice asked. I snapped out of my reverie.
"Perfect," I lied.
A/N
Thanks to everyone who faved/reviewed/alerted. It means a lot to me.
Big, huge thanks to the beta, the cookie monster, the one and only, Oxygen. and .Cucumber :) She is too cool for all of you, bow down and serve her cookies.