-Chapter 14: All Along the Watchtower-
"Oh, no," Rosalie breathed. The sound of the air that swirled out of her mouth – now our mouth – sounded as loud as the wind on a stormy day. The house suddenly wasn't silent; I could hear the wood shifting in the walls and floors and the ticking of a clock somewhere above me. I could also hear two heartbeats; one was increasing in tempo and growing louder, while the closer one grew more and more silent with each thump-thump it echoed.
My body – or, Emil's body – was on the floor of the garage, barely breathing in short, shallow gasps. We stood there, Rosalie in body and myself in mind, for what seemed like days and weeks. The heartbeat pounded again. Thump-thump. Everything was in slow motion to me now; events seemed to stretch on and on. The second heartbeat grew closer, still, and another whistling breath blew out of Rosalie's mouth.
The pounding footsteps and thudding second-heartbeat came up behind me and my muscles seemed to bunch together and freeze under the perceived danger. My breathing cut off for a moment as the overhead lights in the garage flickered and hummed, the sound nearly deafening to my improved hearing.
Thump…thump.
We turned our head and shifted our body's weight to see who had come up behind us. The motion caused a wave of shock to flow through me, as I registered my new and improved vision. The light threw shadows of light that faded and softened as it reached the edges of objects; so much more than I had been able to see just moments ago.
I recalled briefly my hesitance to wear glasses when I was a freshman in high school. I had no frame of reference to compare my poor distance vision to at the time, and the degeneration happened so slowly and subtly that I had never noticed it dim on me. This – the sudden intensity of color and detail that was nearly overwhelming – was comparable to my first pair of glasses.
Before, when I had put the glasses on for the first time, the grooves in the linoleum floor of my house and the curve and shape of the leaves in the trees were revealed to me. And now, it was the microscopic pieces of dirt and dust that were scattered about the concrete floor of the garage. It was the hairline cracks in the wall that I would have needed a magnifying glass to see before.
It was the HD of HD.
Thump…thump.
We completed the turn and faced the person who had come up behind us. He was even taller now, from my shorter height, and he seemed both more intimidating and less intimidating than he did the last time I saw him. The pores in his skin were sprinkled with short, fine hair, and his body heat hit me like a humid shower. We breathed in. I shuddered inside Rosalie's mind as the revolting scent registered, although the reaction didn't physically affect the ice queen I was trapped inside of.
Jacob's eyes were wide as he stared at the spot where my old body lay. He breathed in – a wet, rough sound, in comparison to Rosalie – and his mouth gaped like a fish for a quarter of a second. His eyes darted back to me – us – and they hardened and shined with accusation.
"What did you do?" Jacob demanded. His form vibrated in place like a tuning fork and his fists clenched as he held himself back from what I could only assume was phasing.
"I didn't," Rosalie said, disconnectedly. "I don't-"
Thump…
Rosalie was cut off by the faltering heartbeat, causing the panic inside us to rise. She whirled around suddenly and darted over to the failing body on the floor. She was crouched low with her hand extended, thinking of what to do.
Save him! Save me! I shouted out as loud as I could from the depths of her mind. Rosalie's mind blanked, similarly to Matt's own reaction, sans the fainting part. When she came back to herself, the onslaught of emotions made me squirm and buck inside her head. Panic and desperation – so much stronger than Lori's reaction – rained down on me from every side and Rosalie let out a hiss.
Thump…th-thump…
I could almost feel the life draining out of Emil's brain dead body. His pulse was nearly gone, all the warmth sucked away and fading fast as his heartbeat wound down. My mind mirrored Rosalie's in that moment, the frantic need to get out of this elastic prison and back into my chosen body. I felt my mind shudder and shiver inside Rosalie's head as I reached out, trying to grab hold of anything.
Move! Do something! I shouted. Why, oh why, did she have to freeze up now of all times?
I lashed out again, my panic built up to a boiling point, and the sensations that ghosted up our limbs and torso were both cold and warm. It was like getting microwaved, I imagined, though I had never had the pleasure of trying it out personally.
And then something happened. My phantom flailing and seething mind solidified, and suddenly I had control of Rosalie's body.
I stumbled back, away from the dying body I was so desperate to save from spoiling. My back hit one of the concrete walls, though it felt like smacking into a padded, foam board. The sound of the collision was like rock on rock and I could feel the house shudder minutely from the impact.
By the time I had shaken off my disorientation from the sudden body hijacking, Jacob was already kneeling over the body, pumping the chest up and down. The sound of the heart manually being forced to beat made me cringe, though the dark skinned Quileute powered on in his endeavor. I took a step toward Jacob to see if I could help – maybe if I touched the body again I could jump back in – but my attention was drawn to the sound of the front door slamming open.
Tiny footsteps blurred together with heavier ones and less than a second later Alice and Renesmee rushed through the door and stopped a few feet from Jacob working over Emil's body.
Alice's eyes were wild and panicked as she took in the scene. She glanced at me and a visible relief showed in her gaze before it was replaced with one of confusion. Renesmee drew her attention away as she moved closer to Jacob.
"What happened?" Renesmee asked in a small voice. Jacob just shook his head and let out a low growl that I assumed was meant for me. Or…well, for Rosalie.
In my mind I heard a screaming and snarling that I realized I had been blocking for the few seconds I had taken control of Rosalie. Not just screaming and snarling, though, it was Rosalie who was yelling and cursing at me.
I could feel myself being tugged and pulled under, and suddenly I wasn't in the driver's seat anymore. I was shoved – violently – into the dark corner of Rosalie's mind once again. Our body jerked as our muscles reacted to the new controller, and Rosalie let out what sounded like a mix of a hiss and a sigh.
"Parasite!" Rosalie snarled out loud. Thoughts of springing at the immobile body flickered through her mind, causing me to panic and struggle again as I tried to regain control of her body somehow. It was useless; I was too mentally drained from my first Rosalie-test-drive to do anything about it.
Stop! No. If you kill that body I won't have anywhere to go!
Rosalie hesitated, though her muscles were still pulled tight and ready to spring. Her body shuttered as she imagined being saddled with me for all eternity inside her head. The thought of being in Rosalie's mind while she and Emmett have sex sent a shudder through me as well, and I tried to blank out the stream of images.
Just…touch him – the body – and I'll be out of your hair. I don't want to be stuck with you either.
Rosalie walked forward and knelt next to the body. Jacob continued to give CPR to it, but as soon as he took his hands off Emil's chest once a steady rhythm was established, the heart would begin to wind down again. Both Rosalie and I silently cursed Carlisle for not being here. We leaned closer and Rosalie stretched her arm out to touch Emil's cheek, but Jacob violently pushed us out of the way and we rolled back into a crouch.
"Haven't you done enough?" Jacob spat, glaring at us. He turned away after a few seconds to resume his CPR.
"He's inside my head," Rosalie said, clenching our eyelids shut. "He thinks he can go back into…" She opened her eyes and motioned to the nearly-dead body.
"Well you better do it then," Jacob replied with wide eyes before shaking his head and returning his focus to keeping my host alive. "I don't know how much longer I can keep this up."
Rosalie nodded and crept forward, sliding her hand onto the cheek of Emil's immobile body without hesitation. She held it there for a moment before she let out a growl. I was still inside her head.
The pulse was nearly gone, reduced to merely a low hum and phantom heat. The connection I could feel was weak, like a collapsed tunnel, and my stomach dropped as I realized it may have been too late.
It's not working. Usually it happens right away.
"What do you mean?" Rosalie snarled, causing Jacob to flinch away. "Get. Out." Rosalie kept her hand on Emil's cheek, but I could tell it took effort for her not to just crush it in anger.
I'm trying! I shot back.
I concentrated hard, forcing every part of me to focus on the bridge that connected Rosalie's mind to Emil's frail one. Slowly but surely, the connection widened, letting out a steady increase pulse and heat. Jacob continued to pump away as the mental connection widened even more.
An immeasurable amount of time later, I had the connection wide open – though I had to hold my concentration to keep it from collapsing again. Without so much as a 'goodbye,' I gathered my mental self and flowed through the frayed and frail mental chord.
I felt like shit when I finally regained some semblance of consciousness. My chest felt like it had been trampled by a bull and my eyes refused to open. I was just…tired. I could hear a soft, steady beeping sound; I concentrated on it as I tried to wake up.
I took in a breath and turned my head to the left. The side of my face hit the cold spot of the pillow and a smile worked its way into my face from the cool, relaxing texture of it. My eyes finally opened to the harsh light of day, which was currently streaming through the window of the room I had been staying in.
Suddenly, my last body-snatching mishap flooded back into my mind and I sat straight up in bed, flinching from the ache in my chest and the tugging on my arm. Connected to my left hand was an IV, hooked into a bag that was hanging on a metal stand, much like you'd see in a hospital. I laid back down.
Off to the side was an array of machinery that reminded me of that hospital in Kansas City. I wasn't hooked up to a feeding or breathing tube this time, but there were several wires hooked onto my chest – probably monitoring my pulse. I flinched as my hand made contact with my raw chest, which radiated pain deeply. I pulled my hand away, content to leave the wires and doodads attached for now.
A knock sounded at the door and I gave an audibly pathetic 'come in.' Carlisle entered swiftly, and I admit I was half expecting him to be wearing a lab coat instead of a sweater and tan pants. He checked the machines and came back over to me, gently pulling off the multiple sensors from my chest and shutting off some of the machines.
"How are you feeling, Davis?" Carlisle asked, taking a step back once he was finished with his work.
"Horrible," I laughed and instantly flinched from the sharp pain it caused. "What happened to my chest?"
"Ah," Carlisle nodded and sighed, moving over to me again and propping the area gently. "Jacob had to perform CPR on you…your body…for several minutes. I'm afraid several of your ribs were cracked in the process." I nodded.
"How long was I out?" I asked.
"Over twelve hours," Carlisle said gravely. "It's nearly eight in the morning now."
"I didn't think I was going to make it," I sighed and closed my eyes, relaxing my muscles to keep my chest from hurting. I breathed shallowly, trying to minimize the pain.
"Yes, Rosalie filled me in on what happened," Carlisle's voice took on a disappointed tone. "I am sorry for her behavior. She can be…"
"A bitch?" I cracked, making myself laugh and then instantly groan.
"Well, yes," Carlisle allowed a small smirk to show on his face.
"What's with all this equipment? Was it really that bad?" My eyes widened as I recognized the fact that I could have died last night. The connection was so weak that I wasn't sure jumping bodies would even work.
"No," Carlisle replied immediately, shaking his head. "Emmett and I went to pick this up for you to demonstrate your gifts safely." He laughed quietly and shook his head again. "But I think you need to take it easy for a while."
I nodded and glanced up at the ceiling, wondering how long it would take for my cracked ribs to heal. It would be absolute agony to try to walk around, but I didn't intend to lay around in bed until they didn't hurt any more. I dreaded getting up to use the bathroom, that's for sure.
"I looked into your…condition, Davis," Carlisle said, and I refocused on him. "We spent hours searching for anything related to what you've experienced, but I'm sorry, we haven't found anything."
"I didn't really expect you to," I sighed. "Thanks for looking, anyway." Carlisle nodded.
"Jacob even called his father to see if he knew anything," Carlisle continued. "They were intrigued, to say the least, but there was nothing in their tribe's history that could tell us anything conclusive. Jacob told me the legends of the Spirit Warriors were the closest, but they were never able to possess a person while they were still inside."
I gave a slight nod, though I didn't try to speak. I didn't really expect him to find anything useful. That would have been very convenient, and in my experience so far in the world of Twilight, it was anything but convenient. It wasn't so bad here, though; certainly never boring.
"Esme will bring you up some food in a few hours if you're hungry," Carlisle said, and I nodded. "I'll let you get some rest."
Carlisle moved to the door and left the room, leaving me immobile on the bed to stew in my own thoughts and obsess over everything for a few hours.
End notes: Sorry about the delay, folks. This chapter was difficult for me to write for some reason - hard to get motivated enough to sit down and write it.
I have a rough outline of what's going to happen from here on out, though I'm not sure how many more chapters it will take to finish. We'll see.
The next update may also take more than a week to get up, since I've been heavily neglecting Unstoppable Force lately and it needs an update desperately.