Sorry this update took so long! Out of curiosity, when do you guys get out of school? I'm not out until June 2nd, so I was just wondering if anyone else got out as late as me. Anyway, this. is. not. the. last. chapter. Now that I have you wondering, read on.

Innocence and Instinct

Bella

The door clicked shut and I immediately slapped a hand over my mouth. Hang in there... Just a little longer now. I tried to keep my breathing as shallow as possible as a warm liquid began pooling in my lungs. Shoving the blanket off with my free hand, I waved it lightly, trying in vain to cool off. So hot, I thought tiredly. Apparently, another of the side effects was some type of fever.

Just a little longer, I thought. They can't see me like this. I breathed lightly through my nose, trying not to cough. Don't you dare let them hear you. Groping for the bedpan, I gave it a tug and leaned weakly over it. The thick liquid slowly climbed up my throat and settled in my mouth, leaving the ever-familiar iron taste in its wake. Once my mouth was full, I spat the foul fluid into the waiting tray and shoved it back under the cot.

Finally able to breathe normally, at least for a little while, I settled against my pillow for a peaceful catnap.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Jasper

Less than five minutes after we reached the waiting room, Claude and Baron had already crashed. Samson and I were sitting silently, waiting impatiently for Jasmine to come back. What were they talking about? I was dying to know.

Five minutes soon became ten, then twenty, then thirty. Samson and I shared a look, and I pulled the file out of my hoodie. Maybe we could figure out something helpful while we waited. Just as I flipped it open, though, Carlisle walked in. He eyed the file curiously.

"What might that be?" he wondered aloud.

Samson looked up at me, then shrugged. He must not mind Carlisle seeing it.

"It's the file Baron had earlier," I replied nonchalantly, like it wasn't at all strange that I had it.

Carlisle glanced at Baron sleeping in the corner, then at the file. "Anything worth telling me?" he asked curiously. "I don't know what could be of help now, but it might be worth a try."

"I haven't read much yet, but I'll let you know," I responded. Samson nodded in agreement.

"Alright, then. I'll be tending to the other patients." Carlisle gave a halfhearted wave before turning on his heel and disappearing around the corner.

Once he was gone, I redirected my attention to the file. The first page was basic information.

Name: To be determined

DOB: 9/13

Gender: Female

Blood Type: Unidentified

Eyes: Ultraviolet (not fully formed)

Hair: Brown

Weight: 9.99lbs

Length: 18.00in

Additional Information:

-Purple tint to skin at and before birth implies possible circulatory problems.

-Eyes not fully formed, blind.

-No crying, expressionless.

-Avoids contact when possible

-Blood same ultraviolet as eyes and skin. Open circulatory system?

-Weighs more than estimated (expected to be roughly 5lbs)

-Unresponsive, sleeps roughly 18hrs/day

-Further research required.

I scowled down at the paper. "Further research required?" I deadpanned. Just what did these people think she was? An experiment? Samson turned the page, urging me to continue.

Several blood tests have confirmed that a foreign, unidentified chemical has somehow mixed itself into the subject's bloodstream, in turn, causing many extreme side effects:

-Subject's pH level varies from 8.5 to 9.0 (severely basic, should be around 7.35 to 7.40)

-Chemical's color is suspected to be blue, creating the ultraviolet color.

-Accelerated healing abilities?

-Resilient to sudden changes in temperature, injuries, and other environmental changes.

-Advanced thinking and motor skills for given age.

-Able to go relatively long periods without food/water.

-Irregular heatbeat—study longterm effects.

-Source still to be found.

-Negative effects to be determined.

Below the bullet points were graphs and data tables comparing Bella's stats to the average person. They were so far above the average level that the graphs had to be adjusted just to show them. Most of the numbers didn't make much sense. I knew what pH meant, but that was about it. Still, I continued skimming the pages until I heard shoes tapping lightly on the tile floor. Jasmine was back.

Samson flinched. I looked up and saw him gazing warily at Jasmine. When I saw her myself, I understood his alarm. Her eyes were bloodshot, and her makeup was smeared across her flushed cheeks. That was not a good sign.

"What happened?" I jumped out of my chair and rushed up to her.

She sniffed, and kept her eyes carefully fixed on the wall across the room. "Nothing. Bella just needs some space is all." She shifted awkwardly on her feet.

"What aren't you telling me?" I asked, dreading the answer.

"Don't worry about it," Jasmine said, avoiding my question.

Samson walked up to us and gave Jasmine a gentle pat on the back. The haunted look in his eyes told me he knew a lot more than I did about all of this.

"I'm going back," I told them as I turned toward the hall leading to Bella's room.

"Wait! Don't go in there!" Jasmine cautioned. "You'll only make things harder for her."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Make things harder, as in, they're already hard? "What is going on?" I repeated.

"Bella doesn't think she'll get better." Jasmine's voice cracked. "She doesn't expect-" She stopped to take a deep breath. "She doesn't expect to make it through the night." A sob escaped her lips and she covered her face with her hands. "She said, 'Nice meeting you'. Who says that in this type of situation?" Jasmine started shaking, and Samson carefully nudged her into the nearest chair.

My stomach sank further with each word Jasmine said. But Bella looked like she was doing so much better, I thought brokenly. What are we going to do?

Suddenly, Jasmine looked up at me. "Go see her," she decided. "Make sure she's comfortable and that she doesn't suffer in silence for our benefit. Bella deserves a break."

I took take as my cue to go and left Samson to comfort Jasmine while she broke down. It's like I just stumbled into my worst nightmare...

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Bella was sleeping when I first walked in. She was lying on her stomach with her face buried in her pillow. I moved noiselessly toward her cot and took a seat beside it. She shifted away from me in her sleep, but otherwise didn't react.

For well over an hour, we stayed like that. Bella sleeping, and me watching her every move like a crazed stalker. It didn't make any sense. Jasmine had been so freaked out earlier, but Bella looked fine. Sure, she had a gaping hole of a burn in her back, but other than that she just looked like she was sleeping. After a while, I started feeling drowsy. Giving Bella one last cautious glance, I leaned back in the chair and let sleep take over.

I woke with a jolt after a loud thud echoed through the small room. Taking in my surroundings, I realized I was still in the hospital. My eyes landed on the source of the thud and I cringed. On the floor on the opposite side of the cot was a flustered Bella. She had one hand clamped over her mouth while the other flailed about, groping the empty air as if it were looking for something. I ran around the cot and kneeled down beside Bella.

"What happened?" I asked in shock.

Bella sputtered a cough and clamped her free hand against her mouth as well. Was she going to puke? I looked around until I noticed the bedpan just above our heads. That should work.

I stood up and gave it a tug before setting it down on the floor. Reaching for Bella, I did a double-take. Why was there a giant blood splatter in the bedpan? Shaking my head, I nudged Bella toward it. I'll ask later.

"Here, Bella. Do you feel sick? What's wrong?"

Suddenly, Bella swayed where she sat and started falling forward. I managed to catch her by the shoulders before her face smashed into the bloody bedpan. Holding Bella in place, I watched a stream of crimson pour between her lips. Now I know where the blood splatter came from.

The stream flowed steadily on for at least a few minutes, making me wonder how much blood could possibly be left. What should a person do in this type of situation? The answer was obvious: Call Carlisle. So why did I feel like I couldn't do that? That answer came just as quickly: Bella doesn't want me to. Had she wanted help, she would've asked Carlisle to stay in here with her.

"You'll only make things harder for her... Bella doesn't think she'll get better."

Jasmine's words sliced through by memory like a double edged sword. Bella's condition won't improve. That much was obvious just looking at her. Blood still dripped from her lips five minutes later, slower than before, but that didn't mean it was about to stop.

"I'm making it harder," I mumbled. Still, what was I supposed to do? Sit in the waiting room, maybe take a nap, and wait for the bad news all this foreshadowed? Hell no. I couldn't just sit around doing nothing while my best friend died. I stopped.

Best friend... Until then, I hadn't even thought about what Bella was to me. Why did I wait until now to realize this? Just the thought made me growl at my own stupidity. Of course she was my best friend. I'd actually cried when she told me she was leaving, and I am not a crier. At all. Not even a little bit. I was ripped from my thoughts by a sputtering cough.

Bella leaned away from the half-full tray and sucked in a deep breath, breaking into another round of wet coughs. I let go of her shoulders and pushed the bed pan to the side, moving closer to Bella. She looked more alert now than she did before, and she was sitting up without help. That's good.

"Are you feeling better? Want some water?" Bella nodded, so I got up and walked into the bathroom connected to Bella's room. Beside the sink were a few Styrofoam cups stacked on top of a piece of paper. Ignoring the paper, I grabbed the top cup and filled it up. I was about to leave when my eyes flickered back to the paper. Was it a note?" With an irritated sigh, I snatched up the paper and walked back into Bella's room.

She was back on the bed, acting as though nothing had ever happened. The only evidence proving it wasn't all in my head was the bloodied bed pan on the floor and Bella's blood soaked face and hospital gown. Rather than interrogate her about it, I decided to play along for a while. No point in fighting her if I don't need to.

"Here's the water. Let me get a washcloth for your face." I watched Bella swish some of the clear water around in her mouth and spit out a pinkish liquid into the bedpan. It would've looked like a magic trick, had she not been covered in blood.

In the bathroom, there was a set of washcloths in a cabinet just above the sink. Taped on the inside of the cabinet door was note.

Have you read it yet? Was written in large, cursive print. I immediately looked down at my left hand, the one holding the small paper. Tearing the note off the door, I crumbled it into a tight ball and tossed it into the trash can under the counter. I pulled out a washcloth and soaked it in warm water before I finally read the small paper in my hand.

Follow your instincts.

What was that supposed to mean? Shrugging it off, I grabbed a dry washcloth and the wet one before walking back into Bella's room.

This time, she was pulling awkwardly at her hospital gown, her empty water cup long forgotten. Probably because it's sticking to her. I stood next to the bed until she acknowledged me a minute or two later.

Bella scowled up at me and said, "I didn't get anything on you, did I?"

"Nope," I answered. "I'm clean."

"Good." Sensing what I wanted, Bella turned toward me and shook her hair out of her face.

"Thanks." I tossed the dry towel next to Bella and gently tilted her face up with my free hand. While I carefully washed the blood from Bella's face, I remembered, "You never answered my question."

"Which one?" she asked with a half smile.

"Are you feeling better?" I reiterated.

"I guess," she replied. "The side effects seem to come and go."

"Oh," was all I managed to say. When will they be coming back?

"I was wrong about something," Bella suddenly remarked.

"What's that?" I asked curiously, reaching for the dry washcloth.

"About you, I mean. I completely underestimated you."

I let go of Bella's face and stared with open curiosity. She underestimated me? I would've thought she overestimated me. "What makes you think that?"

"You seemed sort of apathetic at first. You didn't bother trying to talk to anyone or fight back when they tried picking a fight," Bella recounted thoughtfully. "Then you turned around and helped me out when I had one of my meltdowns," she added. I could hear the embarrassment in her voice for mentioning it. "After seeing your more sensitive side," she smirked, "I wondered how long I'd be able to keep you around. I wasn't thinking about killing you," she added hastily.

"I know that." I rolled my eyes at her, though I knew she couldn't see.

"Anyway," she continued. "I didn't think you could handle being around me, seeing and hearing the things you would, for very long. You always managed to surprise me, though. And since you took so many things in stride, I selfishly decided to drag you further into my mess, introducing you to everyone, having you work for me."

"Those were my decisions, too," I pointed out. "You didn't force me to do anything." Actually, I'd been more than willing to do everything she'd suggested.

"Really?" Bella didn't sound convinced.

"Yeah. It was my choice to drive you home to feed your crazy bat, my choice to see where you work, my choice to start working there, and my choice to help find you after you disappeared. Besides, I'm here now, aren't I?" Bella hadn't even wanted visitors to begin with, so she obviously couldn't say she forced me to come in here and take care of her.

Silence echoed through the small white room while I waited for Bella to think things over.

"Why didn't you leave?" she finally asked. "Didn't it go against your instincts putting yourself in such a dangerous position?" Follow your instincts. My eyes shifted toward the bathroom where the note was lying face down on the counter.

"No," I suddenly realized. "Nothing I did went against my instincts. I'd do it over again the exact same way, if I could, unless I found a way to keep this," I gestured vaguely around us, "from happening."

"You really are far too kind. I hope no one else chooses to take advantage of that," Bella sighed.

"No one, especially not you, has taken advantage of me," I assured her.

"It feels like I did." Bella swayed a little to the left before righting herself. Out of what felt like pure instinct, I stepped closer and held her steady like I had earlier.

"You didn't. It was my choice," I repeated.

"Why?" I heard her ask. She seemed to be leaning more heavily on my hands than before.

Taking another step closer, I let her lean against my chest. Bella tucked her head under my chin and slumped against me while she awaited my answer. Why did I do all those things? Surely it wasn't just a twisted set of instincts that had me coming back despite everything. The average person would've run away screaming just after following Bella into her dark, creepy basement and being tackled by a fruit bat. I, on the other hand, did the exact opposite. Why?

"Because I l-" I froze. "Because I knew you were worth anything and everything that could ever be thrown at me," I told her honestly.

My eyes widened in shock when I felt Bella's arm wrap loosely around my waist. "You really are too nice," she sighed. "I'm sorry that you have to face the consequences of our choices, but I'm glad we made them."

I didn't know what to say, so I followed my instincts and wrapped my arms around Bella's tiny shoulders, resting my head on top of hers. Neither of us said anything for quite some time, but the silence was comfortable.

After an immeasurable amount of time, Bella leaned away from me and gave my shirt a gentle tug. It took me a second to realize what she wanted, but when I did, I quickly obliged. Pulling back the covers on the cot, I laid down on top it and waited for Bella to curl up next to me before I dragged the covers over the both of us.

When I woke in the hospital for the second time, it wasn't because Bella had fallen of the cot. She was lying next to me, shaking violently enough to make the headboard smash repeatedly into the wall behind it. I tried sitting up, but Bella had a death hold on my arm.

"Bella?" I whispered. "Bella, are you awake?"Her grip loosened just enough for me to slip my arm out and sit up. I quickly pulled her into my lap and tilted her face toward mine. I was about to ask her again until I got a good look at her face.

My stomach dropped as my eyes took in the familiar red liquid seeping between her lips and dripping from her eyes and nose as if she were crying tears of blood. I sat in stunned silence until another round of wet coughs echoed loudly through the otherwise silent room.

Snapping back, I tried to think through the thick haze that had begun clouding my mind. What should I do? What should I do? Nothing would work, and I knew it.

Suddenly, Bella wrapped her arms around herself, and through her heavy panting, I thought I heard, "So cold. Bad little monster."

I reached out to touch her, and she was on fire. It actually hurt to lay a hand on her arm.

"Bella?" I asked alarmed. I couldn't hide my panic anymore, and I didn't want to. "Can you hear me?"

"Stop it!" she snapped. "Bad little monster! Die!" I flinched back in shock. What the hell is happening? "Run," she said.

"I can't just run!" I yelled back at her. "What happened to you?" This wasn't the Bella I knew. It was like she was possessed or something.

"Mistake, messed up, bad things die," she stated.

"What was a mistake? Who messed up?"

"Useless, blind brat. You're lucky you're so damn indestructible," Bella snarled.

"You're talking about yourself," I finally realized. "Repeating what the lab rats told you."

"Save us the trouble. Go die." Her liquid-filled lungs made her sound like she was talking to him under water, only adding to the already startling words.

Bella fell against my chest, breathing heavily. The blood seemed to be flowing faster than it had before. Her body convulsed violently as her lungs struggled to find oxygen.

It wasn't long before we were both drenched from head to toe in Bella's blood. Even the sheets on the cot beneath us were stained an unsettling red. The fog had thickened, dulling my senses. The only one remaining was touch. All I could do was hold Bella tightly against me while she slowly gave up her struggle for air. A heaviness in my chest grew worse as the minutes passed, and I knew, even through the fog, that Bella was gone.

Again, I remind you: the story is NOT OVER YET! There are still one or two chapters left. Hang in there! Also review if you have the time. I want to see what people thought of this chapter.