Disclaimer: All characters that are
not mine belong to Stephenie Meyer. The chapter title belongs to the Placebo song of the same name.
A/N: I hope this doesn't get too confusing- because Mel starts to look at Bella in a slightly different way, her actions begin to reflect this. She begins to call her 'Bella' in her thoughts.
-
As we continued to walk through the last of the trees surrounding the house, I began to hear more growling. One was monstrous sounding- belonging to whatever took Bella away, I figured. There were more, sounds, though- different sounds... and they only strangely added to my fascination. A vampire fight, it sounded like... but much more violent than Daniel's scuffle. The chaos of the battle itself, projected only by voice. I spun around, looking to the north- the fights' position. Of course, many things seemed less frightening if your eyes have nothing to see.
Still, there was no more than curiosity. Where did the fear go?
The deep rumble of the first monster suddenly became the only thing I could hear. A gigantic wolf- if you could call it that- stepped in front of us, a guttural snarl ripping from its depths. I could see the house, now. We were only feet away...
The wolf, reddish in color, advanced toward Daniel slowly. Its black eyes held such a bizarre, familiar intensity- were they eyes that I've seen before?
No, you idiot. You've never seen a wolf that looks bigger than a horse...
That was true.
I looked into Daniel's face, for some kind of sign. His expression, however, was not what I had come to expect from him. Valiant, maybe? Smug? It wasn't something I'd seen before.
He smiled widely, looking into the face of the wolf.
And we were running again. It took seconds to get to the house.
The porch lights were bright- bright enough to make it seem like I was caught in the act of running away. It seemed like a lifetime ago.
I saw the faces of my parents and Cheyenne, leaning against the walls of the house. My mother's expression frightened me the most. It was heartbreaking to see the amount of anxiety and worry evident on her face. Did she know what I had gotten into?
No, of course not. Just a mother's instinct.
But her eyes told me so much more. My mother, who always told me that it was 'just my imagination.' That supernatural beings were only the subjects of horror films. She was always trapped in reality.
What did I believe? A question I'd had to ask myself so many times tonight. Maybe if I pinched myself, the nightmare would be over...
Less than a second passed, and I found myself standing beside my mom. The wolf ran into the yard, and met Daniel. Another growl pierced the night sky.
My mother wrapped an arm around my shoulders.
Two figures appeared out of the opposite side of the yard. A man and a woman, I saw- their silhouettes were distinct. The man was pulling the woman by the hair.
"Dad!" This voice, like the wolf's eyes, were familiar. But unlike the wolf, I could identify the person immediately. Who didn't know their own cousin's voice?
"Dad, phase back!" Aidan's voice was louder, harsher. More like a man's than ever before.
The red wolf disappeared into the forest once again.
I saw Aidan drag Bella into the light, her long hair clutched in his giant fist. Her head was down, almost hidden in her own shoulder. Daniel roared.
Bella's voice cut into the still air. "Shut up, Daniel!" Their relationship was almost comical, even in situations like these.
The wolf did not return. There was silence.
"Aidan!" The sound of Jacob's voice came from my right side- where the large wolf had gone. Surprise colored his tone.
Jacob's son was focused only on Bella, however. It seemed like there was no end to the hate etched out onto his face.
Daniel's protests had quieted. I didn't even know where he was, until I felt his icy touch on my arm. My mother pulled her closer to me. Daniel sighed.
"Angela, isn't it?" His voice was gentle, and he leaned in front of me to see her face. She nodded slowly. He gave her a reassuring smile, and his voice sounded empathetic.
"You've seen my eyes before, Angela. Killing you daughter isn't what I'd call fun."
I thought she had nothing to say. My mother held me even closer.
"Your eyes aren't red..." Her voice was just a whisper. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Daniel smile. I wondered how she knew that.
I almost missed the scene at hand, right in front of me. Aidan, still keeping a strong hold on Bella's hair, suddenly twisted around. He pulled the strands down, making her face turn up to him. She closed her eyes as she winced.
My mother and Ben gasped. I heard the fast tapping of Daniel's foot.
Violent tremors came off of Aidan like waves. "She's ours for the killing, dad- it would be so easy-"
"Wait." Jacob spoke in almost a monotone as he came out into the yard. Where had he been, all this time?
His voice was emotionless- apathetic, robotic sounding. He was calm and collected, even though his son had made it painfully clear that he wanted to kill a woman he didn't even know. Slightly annoyed by his son's outburst, he released Aidan's hold over the female vampire, and spun her around. Jacob looked into Bella's face, and the mystery I always saw in his emotions was suddenly nonexistent.
Time stopped.
The fear returned, full on- as Aidan exploded.
A/N: And, as the closing author's note- I really am sorry about my updates. It's been two weeks... gah. Life got in the way. I hope this chapter makes up for it- although it probably won't...
I do, however, hope to finish Axiom in the coming weeks. The story is just dragging so much more than I originally thought... but this cliffhanger, I hope, was one of the more interesting ones.
Reviews are always appreciated!