Bring Me to Life

By: KellyCRocker59

Chapter Nine: Moments of Weakness

Sorry that it's been so long since I've updated. This isn't much of a chapter, but it sets up for a very big chapter to follow. I would also like to make an announcement; there are projected to be 5 MORE CHAPTERS until this fanfic is concluded.

I felt Jacob catch me before even realizing that I was falling. I gripped his arms, my eyes bleary in shock as I looked out into the morning light. The apartment was torn to shreds, the walls knocked out. It was like we were raised onto a platform, with nothing around us. Then I looked down, and my stomach heaved.

Dead bodies, their organs torn out and littered along everything, lined the streets. Vomit poured from my lips and I was left gasping as Jacob pulled me against him. His chest was rumbling in anger, and I knew that he was on the brink of transforming.

"Jacob…" I whispered weakly, and he was instantly calm.

"We need to find out what's going on." He said, pulling me up into his arms.

I pressed my face against his bare chest, and then I felt a rush of cool wind. I looked up in time to see us land on the ground. The roads were impossible to see through the blood and bodies. Jacob set me down, and then I heard a phone ring. Jake pulled his cell out of his pocket, answering it. He instantly stiffened, and then handed the phone to me.

"I'm guessing that you're alright?" Simon's voice said clearly over the line.

"Y-Yeah." I said.

"I need you to meet me two days from now at Starbucks in New Jersey at 12:00 p.m. It is the first one you see as you come into town. There will be no attacks there." He said, hanging up the phone.

I sighed, handing the phone back to Jacob.

"What did he want?" Jacob asked, an edge to his voice.

"He was just making sure that I was okay." I said.

Jacob's searching gaze revealed that he knew me better.

"He wants me to meet him at a Starbucks in New Jersey in two days at noon. I guess he wants to talk." I said.

When I got no response, I began to look around the bloody city. There was no one left. No survivors.

"Do we really have a choice?" He asked.

I turned to him and saw the helplessness in his eyes. I took a step forward and wrapped my arms around him, his arms winding around my waist. I felt like a caged animal. There was no where to go, no place to run to for help. Our only hope was Simon.

I got into Jake's car, sitting in the passenger's seat. He had found his car in surprisingly good condition, as all the other cars were. Of course, cars didn't have hearts. Jake sat down in the driver's seat, placing a pile of CDs in a small space in between the seats. He started the engine and pulled out a CD called 'Riot!' by Paramore. He slid the CD into the player and the first song started, the drums and guitar nicely playing as the female singer began.

I listened to the songs as we drove through the torn and beaten city. I tried to keep my mind off of everything that had happened; away from the fear and pain that resonated within me. It was hard to leave this place, knowing that we had been the only lucky ones. I felt, for the first time that day, a tear sliding down my cheek. It was the only tear that I allowed myself to cry that day.

We arrived at New Jersey by nightfall, my eyes immediately locking on the first Starbucks that we saw going into town. By what I knew to be no coincidence at all, there was a very nice hotel just a mile or two down the street from the coffee shop. We pulled into the hotel's parking lot, but neither of us moved. I looked over at Jacob, and he was sitting there with his head in his hands against the steering wheel.

"Jacob?" I whispered.

"Bella, I'm so worried. For the first time in my life I don't know if I can protect you."

I placed my hand on his arm, and he looked up at me. His eyes were red, but he hadn't been crying. That was the only moment that we allowed ourselves to show weakness.

We got into the hotel and were given a room on that floor. We got to our room, number 005, and went in to find a spacious area with one bed (as we had requested), a TV, a radio, a nice bathroom with a shower and, of course, toilet, and even a small refrigerator. I sat down on the bed and sighed, Jake sitting beside me. He gripped my hand firmly in his, and I looked up at him with a smile.

"I promise, Bella; I will protect you." He said firmly.

I nodded, but for some unknown reason, I fleetingly thought that I was going to be the one doing the protecting. However, just as this thought occurred to me, the phone rang. I answered it.

"Hello?" I asked.

"I'm glad that you found your room without any problems. They won't attack here, so you can sleep without worry. See you in two days at noon."

Simon hung up the phone before I could say anything. Jacob didn't ask, because he already knew. We watched a show on TV called 'Heroes,' and I found myself engrossed in the interweaving plots of the unfortunate characters. I couldn't help but to compare myself to the cheerleader in the show-not being able to fit in, living in fear, the only trustworthy person being her boyfriend-she was just like me.

I fell asleep in Jacob's arms that night, trying to let the fear and pain go, but it didn't work. We all had to have our moments of weakness.