Chapter 7

The Explosion.

"As in an explosion, I would erupt with all the wonderful things I saw and understood in this world."
- Boris Pasternak

A massive crash woke me in the middle of the night, and I trembled when I heard the inhuman snarls coming from downstairs. My first impression was that the Cullens had come from me, but, somehow, the sounds didn't sound like it could be. I anxiously pawed at the blankets and was trying to decide what to do when the door swung open. In the small light, I could tell immediately that it wasn't one of the McRaes and I did the one thing that seemed adequate.

I screamed.

The creature's skin was paler than any of the vampires I'd seen, and was covered with grayish cracks and scarring. Around its neck was a thick, black collar with inverted spikes that were gouging the monster's neck. That's impossible…metal can't hurt vampires. However, the true horror of the thing before me was its lips...or lack thereof. Its lips had been chewed off and were oozing venom, so there was almost no distinction where its mouth ended and its teeth began.

I scooted back in the bed as it moved forward, and I anxiously glanced out the window. There was no time for me to throw myself through the glass—the creature was too close. I cringed as it loped closer to me, sniffing the air and making a horrible congested noise when it breathed. Maybe I had made a mistake—maybe I should have left the McRaes' house when I had the chance. I'll never know if that was right.

The monster suddenly cried out, arching its back in a visually painful display, and its head was ripped off its shoulders. The disembodied head rolled a few feet and landed directly by the bed. I covered my mouth and screamed into my hands, feeling the warm tears staining my cheeks. My breath caught in my throat as I saw a shadowed figure in the doorway and, as the lightning flashed, I recognized him.

Eric.

He was breathing heavily, staring down at the twitching thing at his feet, and refused to meet my gaze. The commotion downstairs was still continuing and I could only imagine what was happening below. Were there more of these things? I didn't want to think about what these demons would mean for the people of Forks…for Charlie.

Adrenaline surged through my body as I thought of these…things hunting my father, and my feet came alive. My body felt numb as I slipped on puddles in the hallway and clamored down the staircase. The only thought in my head was getting to Charlie before these things did. Somewhere in my mind, rationality was trying desperately to break free, attempting to remind me that these creatures were a hundred times stronger than me, but I didn't care. I had to warn him…had to save him. However, when I reached the first flood, I discovered exactly what the noises had come from.

The entire den was alive with motion and violence, and I had to stop to make sure what I was seeing was real. The McRaes were all moving at vampiric speed, attacking what looked like twenty or more of those monsters. I took a step forward, willing to try and maneuver out the side door, when Dante was thrown against the wall and pounced on. He tried to get up, but the monster blocked him and sank his teeth into the blond vampire's shoulder.

I screamed as the horrible thing pulled away a chunk of flesh from Dante's neck, which turned out to be a huge mistake.

The beast turned and stalked towards me, its mouth open and releasing a slew of slurred words and noises. I tried to crawl back up the stairs, but it grabbed my foot and pulled me back. My chin bumped the wooden stair and every creature and sound in the room came to an immediate halt.

It was eerie, like someone had simply pressed pause, because no one moved or said a word. I choked back a sigh and realized a second too late why they had frozen. My chin had busted open and the first drop of blood was about to fall. I anxiously brought my hand to the injury, but the bit of blood hit the ground, and that's when all hell broke loose.

The creatures swarmed around me, each trying to grab me at the same time and instead bumped into one another. This confusion and mass hysteria forced them to turn on each other, clawing and biting at the arms impeding their attack. I could only lay there while they mauled one another and wait my turn. The McRaes were behind them, trying to break through the wall to rescue me, but it seemed impossible—there were too many of them.

Sensing the monsters' distraction, I tried to claw my way out from under them. It seemed to be working—they were too busy fighting amongst themselves to see that I was almost to the first landing—when a sharp pain shot up through my leg. A painful screech echoed through the room and I barely recognized it as my own voice. One of the creatures had grasped my leg and their claws had pierced the skin.

This was a pain that was very familiar to me. When I was ten years old, I'd fallen on Charlie's tackle box and been pierced by a thick fish hook. That same agony, the piercing of flesh by something sharp, twisted my body and sent wave of pain through me. I yowled and silently begged for help.

The thing pulled me back down the stairs, causing my head to bump against the railing and steps, and lifted me high in the air. I could see the blood trailing down my leg in thick streaks, filling the air with the sickly stench of iron. My stomach churned and I heaved the canned food I had eaten for dinner on the floor. Glancing up, I knew it was moments before I was mauled, seconds before it would all end.

But the end didn't come. Instead, my face met the ground.

Avarice had reached through the ground and tore off the arm that had my calf, and was in the process of dismantling the owner of the appendage. The creature let out a horrifying wail as his legs were removed and tossed across the room.

The rest of the monsters continued their approach, but it was in vain. The McRaes were fighting through the horde, biting and ripping off heads, and soon there was only one left. With a resounding crunch, Eric—who had surfaced after the mayhem had ensued—decapitated it and spat on the corpse.

It was over…or was it?

"We have to get out of here," I heard Dante say in a rough voice. "More will come."

"Let's take this one step at a time," Avarice responded in his usual calm tone, which shocked me. I didn't understand how he could be anywhere near calm at the moment.

"One step at a time?" Eric's voice was harsh and condescending. "Is this what you call one step at a time?"

I knew where they should go—even though they weren't going to like it. I struggled to my feet, the pain from my leg shooting up through the left side of my body, and I cried out. My body was immediately lifted off the ground and into a pair of strong arms. When I opened my eyes, I was met with Eric's beautiful, worried expression.

It had been so long since I'd seen him; I had to familiarize myself with him once again. This time, his eyes were a deep crimson and his face was covered with debris. Other than that, he looked the same. I stared at him, expecting him to vanish at any time, and wondered what I should do…what I should say. Without putting much thought behind it, I closed my eyes and kissed him.

My entire body sang of Eric McRae. His lips conformed to mine perfectly, and I caught myself smiling when he reciprocated my kiss. However, after a few seconds, someone cleared their throat and I abruptly pulled away. I'd forgotten that we had an audience.

Avarice looked annoyed, Lazarus looked amused, while the rest of them were relatively unresponsive. While I was disappointed that the kiss ended, I knew this was not the right time. Staring at the demolition, I realized that there was no way we could stay here…at least I hoped we weren't.

"Well, if you two are finished," Avarice huffed and gestured towards us. "We need to make a decision fast."

"How did they get in?" Skye asked weakly, nursing a rapidly healing gash on her arm. Her clothing had been torn during the struggle revealing several scars similar to my own. Seeing my expression, she promptly pulled what was left of her shirt over her marred skin.

"I don't know," Avarice answered, shaking his head. "The entire town is covered."

"Obviously it isn't," Eric snarled and his grip tightened on me.

"Now is not the time for this," Lazarus interjected, throwing them both a disapproving grimace. "If these broke through, you can guarantee that more will come—we have to leave."

"Where?" Dante was holding the detached flesh to his neck, trying to get it to reconnect and it appeared to be working. "We don't exactly have many close allies."

The Cullens…they'll help…they'll have to…wait, the McRaes hate the Cullens…

"We might need to jump continents," Avarice continued, pacing the room and glaring at the dead corpses below his feet. "Maybe catch a cargo ship somewhere."

A cargo ship? This is getting out hand…say something…

"That might be a good idea," Eric agreed and set me down on the sofa, which was thankfully free of any ripped appendages. "We can make them think we're still here, diversion tactic."

"Stop!" I was surprised how loud my voice was in their massive living room. All their eyes were immediately trained on me, and, despite the pain in my leg, I stood up. "You may not have allies here…but I do."

"Surely, you're not suggesting—" Avarice clearly knew what I was planning on suggesting, but, after being almost devoured, I wasn't willing to put up with it.

"Yes, I am." I marched up to him and the sternness seemed to wilt away. "They can help."

"They had the chance to help," Eric growled and I shifted to face him. "Don't you remember what I told him?"

"I remember," I said and crossed my arms over my chest. "I also know that people change."

"Vampires don't." Dante had a point, but I wasn't relenting.

"I've played by your rules and look what happened," I informed them and pointed to my calf. I hated blaming others, but this was the only way to protect everyone. Watching the McRaes fight those…things wasn't something I wanted to see again. "Now, I think we should try it my way."

A shrill screech echoed outside and the McRaes' faces fell.

"Let's go!" Dante was already in the doorway, motioning for us to join him. "We make for the Cullens home."

"We won't make it," Melena growled, but followed him regardless.

"Don't move." Lazarus was there, lifting me into his arms and moving after his family members.

Avarice and Eric were trailing behind us, thoroughly unhappy about this turn of events. However, as we started running away from the house, I saw a very distinct movement from behind the structure. More of the creatures—almost twenty—were swarming towards us.

"Behind you!" I pointed and I felt Lazarus's speed increase.

They were fast, not as fast as the McRaes but still comparable, and nimble as well. Regardless of how fast we ran they were still within six yards behind us, salivating and screeching like banshees. As we crossed a highway in one jump, I immediately recognized where we were. We were less than a mile from the turn off. If I'd wanted to prepare myself for the Cullens and the McRaes meeting, I'd missed my chance.

The house appeared like a beacon in the night, glowing brightly, and I could see movement from inside. I immediately found myself on the ground, with Lazarus's back to me.

"Go!" He pushed me towards the house. "Get inside!"

I wanted to tell them to come with me, but I knew what I had to do. Without hesitating, I dashed across the Cullens driveway and up the stairs. I beat both my fists, bloody from tending to my injured leg, on the door and screamed for them to open.

The door opened right as I fell backwards, a mixture of exhaustion and blood loss.

Emmett reached forward and grasped me before I hit the walkway. "Oh my god, Bella?!"

"Help them," I said weakly and pointed behind me, where an all out brawl had started. The McRaes were easily outnumbered. "Please, Emmett, there are too many."

"What the hell?" His eyes widened as he saw the violent struggle. "Jazz, get out here, man!"

A rush of wind brought the lithe form of Alice's husband and a bit of fear crept over me. My leg was bleeding, heavily, and I wondered if Jasper would attack me. However, the moment he appeared, he and Emmett leapt towards the action and began dismantling the creatures. I pulled myself up with the guard rail, wanting to make sure everyone was okay, but it was a struggle. My jeans were soaked with blood and dirt, and the smell was making me dizzy.

I glanced around, wondering where the rest of the Cullens were, when Eric's body was flung from the forest. He landed and rolled a few feet before coming to rest on his stomach. A ferocious creature leapt from the trees after him and landed on his back, forcing a pained cry from Eric. The horrendous monster leaned forward, ready to bite down on the sensitive spot—right where the spinal cord met the brain. Carlisle had informed me that, if bitten hard enough, this was the sole way to kill a vampire without burning it. My eyes widened as the creature tried to bite down only for Eric to roll away.

I had to do something…anything to help Eric.

My eyes locked on the monster, as well as the collar around its neck. The inverted spikes were just barely piercing its skin, which gave me an idea. I gathered every ounce of my strength and dashed across the driveway, right as a pair of headlights pulled up the path.

I barely heard someone scream my name, I was too focused. I gripped the back of the creature's collar and pulled with all my might, hoping that it would be enough to move the spikes just a little. What I didn't count on was that my plan would work so thoroughly. The spikes didn't just move, they buried themselves into the creature's flesh all the way. The thing tumbled backwards and, in the struggle, its arm hit my shoulder, which sent me flying. My shoulder dislocated almost immediately, and I screamed as I rolled on the dirt.

Cold hands found me and, when I looked up, Alice was hovering above me, looking more like an angel than ever before. "Bella? What on earth—"

"Help them!" I screeched and pointed back towards the fray, which was still going on despite Jasper and Emmett's contribution.

"Edward, Carlisle!" Alice pointed over my head. "Go!"

Another gust of air passed me and I tried to rise to my feet, only to be met with a crippling exhaustion. Alice insisted that I stay down, but I refused. So, with a deep sigh, she picked me up in her arms. My right shoulder, where my arm had been dislocated, throbbed. However, I tried my best to focus and fight through the pain.

There were bodies everywhere, all of them belonging to the gruesome beasts, and I felt myself sob happily when I counted all of the McRaes. They were standing off to the side, nursing wounds and sending death glares in the Cullens' direction. My gaze fell on Eric, who was staring at me intently, and I started laughing hysterically.

"Bella?" Alice was clearly questioning my sanity at this point.

"Put me down," I growled and, when she refused, I pushed against her until she acquiesced. Knowing that my strength was waning, I partially limped partially ran to Eric, who met me half way. He cradled me to his chest, but, when he touched my shoulder, I whimpered. "I think it's dislocated."

"Want me to show you a secret?" Eric asked smugly, with a raised eyebrow.

"What?"

Before I could stop him, he gripped my arm and tugged. There was a sharp pop, accompanied with a shrill pain, which caused me to scream and push away from him. I touched my arm, though, and noted how it no longer hurt as much. Regardless, I was still pissed.

"You're a jerk!" I slapped his arm, which made him laugh. "First you disappear without so much as a goodbye—"I shoved him even though he didn't move "—then, when you do come back, you cause me even more pain!"

He was laughing hysterically, which made me turn and stalk towards Lazarus. "You're welcome for fixing your arm, Bella!"

I wasn't really upset with him, just annoyed, but I was in too much pain to really differentiate.

"Bella" Carlisle's voice startled me—I'd forgotten they were there—and I looked at him. The entire Cullen family was still as statues, eyes locked on the McRaes. "Please, move toward us."

I narrowed my eyes. "Why?"

"Bella, you don't know who these vampires are," he said warningly and I had to suppress my own laughter. "They're criminals."

He doesn't even know them…how can he be so judgmental?

I could see how angry his comment had made Avarice, who was baring his teeth threateningly, but I was surprised how furious his comment made me. With a deep breath, I lifted my chin, crossed to the Cullens, and stood in front of Carlisle. He smiled warmly at me and I merely stared at him, still trying to figure everything out. How could he have kept the Volturi from helping them? Would they still have been on the run had it not been for him? Too many questions—not enough answers.

As I glanced back at the McRaes and remembering everything that had happened the previous autumn, I curled up my fist and punched the Cullen patriarch in the face.