Disclaimer: Many thanks to Stephenie Meyer who created the Twilight world which has influenced every single part of this story. Also, big thanks to whoever created Lost in Austen. Sometimes I forget where this idea came from and then I remember that it's because of you.
A/N: Here you guys go, the next chapter. Now that I've beaten the writers block, I'm on a roll. Plus, I know this chap should be longer seeing how important it is but...this is the way it's turned out. So no more chatter, enjoy.
My body seized up, feeling his breath spilling across the back of my neck. Millions of questions spun through my mind as I tried to comprehend what was going on. How did he get in here? How did he find out where I lived?
What was worse was that here, I knew I was truly alone. But then a new emotion took hold, determination. I wasn't about to let this merciless ex-vampire take me down. And if he did, I wasn't going without a fight. He was human and so was I. The playing field, for the first time since I'd ever read about James, was even.
"Look what we have here." His voice said, still as confident as ever. God, it was guys like him that I came up against in debating that made you want to go at them just to see that arrogant smile wiped of their face.
Without thinking anything more, I twisted my body round and entwined my arm around his outstretched one, pulling it into a tight lock just like I had at Tae-kwon-do. Before he could react, I stepped back and lifted my leg up, kicking him firmly in the gut. He cringed away as I let go, running out the door and onto the street.
I'd rather be out on the streets with multiple places to go than be confined to my house with a limited amount of space. The only rooms with locks on them were the bathrooms. One, I doubted it would take much time for him to break down our weak wooden doors - my sister has broken one of them multiple times during a tantrum or two. And two, I was positive that I didn't want our toilet to be the last thing I saw before James killed me. My legs took off underneath me, running the way I had done many times before. I knew the point along the street that I would reach before I would lose all stamina for running but I didn't care, anything to get away from James. The air was cold and the wind whipped around me, my hair flying around my face.
A loud curse sounded through the air behind me and a new set of footsteps hit the pavement at a remarkable pace. I glanced behind me as I ran and had to hold back a cry, James was right behind me and running at a pace I couldn't match for very long. It appeared that as a vampire he was an average runner but transfer that agility to a more human level and he was a faster runner than I was even in my dreams.
My head snapped forward again as I kept going.
Don't trip, please god don't let me trip, I thought over and over again.
I could feel my joints begin to ache and my sides hurt but the adrenaline pumping through my body kept me going. Just keep going.
I knew where I wanted to get to, my tae-kwon-do class. It happened on Wednesdays up in a hall a few streets away. If I could get there, I'd be surrounding by people who knew how to fight and seeing a guy trying to attack me, they would probably use those skills. A glance at my watch showed me that it was too early for class yet but at least the school would provide some sort of hiding place.
"There's nowhere to go Ashley. We're alone." James yelled from behind me. I didn't want to hear that. I needed to keep running. Keep going.
My legs had started to give way but no, I had to keep going. I had never run this much before in my life and it was killing me. Slowly and painfully.
I could see the school up ahead. Just a bit more! The gate had been closed for the afternoon so I would have to jump over it to get inside. Like, that was about to stop me when I was literally seconds from being caught. Trespassing was the last thing on my mind at that moment so I wasn't worried as I leapt over the gate and began heading up the drive. A glance over my shoulder showed that James was only meters behind me, having easily crossed the gate in a short jump. He was definitely fitter and more agile than I was.
Round the corner, up onto the pavement and then meters from the door, I fell. James had leant down and grabbed my leg, pulling me down. I shuddered, waiting for the impact. My body hit the concrete, my face scraping down it. Blood filled my mouth and a stinging sensation began in several places on my body. I looked behind me as James stood over me, triumphant.
"All things come to an end." He said grinning viscously.
I looked at him hatefully as he squatted beside me. He lifted my foot up, glancing at the ankle now sending spasms of pain through my body. Clearly I had twisted it awkwardly when I'd fell. He watched my expression before wrapping his fingers around it and pressuring.
I groaned in pain, my face twisting. He enjoyed it. My pain. Hurting me.
"Hurts, doesn't it?" he said. I nodded, breathing heavily. "Now, where's Edward?" he asked. I couldn't understand why he could have anything against Edward. All he ever did was protect me. Either James was insane or had an ego the size of a continent. I was willing to say both.
"Not here," I snapped, trying to squirm away from his touch.
He smiled pleasantly, "Let's –" he began to speak as I launched out with the other foot and kicked. It hit him in the chest, stunning him and giving me time to get to my feet. I took off towards the hall, limping. To my surprise the door was open. Normally you needed a key to get in. Then again, who cared, it appeared to be my only choice of direction so I took it without much thought.
I limped into the hall, trying to make it to one of the doors on the opposite side when James reached out and gripped my hair. I didn't have time to cry out before he threw me violently into one of the wooden seats on the opposite wall.
I coughed out blood onto the wood beneath me, stopping to stare at the patterns spilled across the ground. My knee was bleeding beneath my pants where it had hit the corner of the seats.
Moving past the blood, I attempted to crawl away but was quickly thrown again back into the centre of the room. It was there that he let loose on me.
Blows hit me from every direction, kicks to the stomach and the ribs, violent pushes across the floor. I balled up, my fists trying to cover my face. When I'd been here doing this as practice, I'd never actually thought it would something I'd be doing to try and save my life.
At this moment in time, despite what I was doing to protect myself, I knew it was the end. I hadn't been killed in the car accident but this was different. No way was I confident enough to think I could escape death twice within such a small space of time. I was weak and I was down. James would simply beat me to a bloody pulp and simply get away with it because in this world he didn't even exist. The police would have no leads, no witnesses and I doubted that there were any cameras in here.
I was in so much pain that I didn't notice when he stopped. He wrenched me up by my pony-tail, making me look at him. His eyes were the last place I wanted to focus on at this point in time. They were so excited and unmoved by my suffering that it disgusted me.
"It surprised me just how easy locating you was even in this human form." He grinned maliciously. "It took me all of a few moments to sneak into your school and look up your name and family. Then it was simply a matter of using a phone book. Too simple really. Not at all fun," He looked at my leg, the blood patch seeping through the material and thought for a moment. "Well, this is in a way pleasurable." His fingers reached out, digging themselves into my wound. Nothing could block out the screams that echoed around the hall. The urge to throw up filled my stomach.
"Now, that's why I need to know where Edward is. Are you going to tell me this time?" he asked pleasantly.
I shook my head, spitting blood out onto him. If he was going to kill me, there was no way I was going to tell him where to find Edward, let alone make the experience pleasurable for him. So what if spitting blood at someone wasn't lady like. Being brutally murdered by someone wasn't exactly the most dignified occasion.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." He advised, bending back my fingers until they hurt.
I could feel the tears pouring down my face, thinking back to that moment I had played the piano with Edward. Heaven, I had called it. The perfect moment, where everything seemed to be just right.
Looking back on it and comparing to what I was experiencing here and now, this was more like hell. I just wanted it to end, to be over fast. But with James human now, there was no reason why he wouldn't be able to take it slow. He no longer craved blood the way he use to. This was another form of blood lust. One that sickened me every time it appeared on the news, relentless, horrible killings that achieved nothing but suffering for everyone involved.
"I suggest you tell me where he is because whether you like it or not, I will find him. By the way, how's he doing? The last time I saw him, he wasn't looking so good." He paused, savouring the words as they flowed from his mouth and the reaction they caused me. "Actually, he looked quite breakable if you ask me." His words angered me but there was nothing I could do about it. My vision had started to blur and I could hear a ringing noise in my ears, the sort I had often after a blood test.
"I won't tell you where he is, even if you want to put me through the worst pain imaginable." I shot out.
He rolled his eyes before laughing. "How sweet, the girl is willing to die for her vampire. Maybe we should see if the vampire will die to avenge the girl." The idea excited him and I well knew it. This was what he lived for. The excitement, the pain, the…challenge. I was no challenge to someone like him. I was simply a silly, weak girl. He stood up again to resume his beating. A large kick hit me squarely in the gut and I cried out.
All of a sudden the hits stopped and I looked over the floor to find James lying flat on his back.
A voice was at my ear, panicking. "Ashley, come on. You have to get up."
Edward lifted me up into his arms despite how heavy I must have felt and how ill he must have been. Despite all this, there was a strength about him, one that I hadn't seen before. And it stood out clearly in his eyes. For the briefest of moments, I believed that I was hallucinating. Edward could not possibly be there. There was no way. But there he was, his arms around me, protecting me.
I cringed and moaned as his arms put pressure on a couple of my wounds. Then he began to walk towards one of the other doors. But James was too quick. He grabbed Edward from behind, pulling him down and sending me sprawling back across the hardwood.
I blanked in and out as they fought again. The only silver lining I could see to our situation was that at least James could not bite me. Well, he could, but it wasn't about to turn me into a vampire or anything. It sure would hurt a hell of a lot though.
The sounds of growls and crashes surrounded me when all I wanted to do was sleep. Every part of me hurt, even my pride.
My eyes flickered open again, catching sight of Edward. He looked hurt. Blood streamed from a cut on his cheek and he too was walking with a limp. James, apart from a couple of cuts on his arms looked pretty much unhurt.
He still walked with an arrogant stride. "Give up, Edward. Back home you may have been something strong but here," he gave him a smile, "here, you're just a schoolboy."
Edward stayed silent as he reached into his pocket for something. James stepped back towards the doors, blocking our exit.
I looked up as Edward smiled. It was an odd thing to see under the circumstances but that smile, to me, showed that everything would be okay. Somehow in this horrible place that didn't quite seem like home, Edward was here and would make sure I was alright.
Edward launched forward, throwing his entire body weight into James's. James flew backward into the set of double doors behind him, sending them flying open behind him. He landed firmly in the middle of another room. The scene that should have been the grass field grounds of Lugarno Public School was instead, a ballet studio. Large and open, I watched at the light reflected off the surrounding mirrors. It was silent and deserted.
It was the scene of the Edward and James's Twilight showdown. A place I recognised easily from both my imagination and the end of the movie.
With a final look at me, Edward pulled out a plastic lighter. My mouth opened as I realised what he was about to do. The flame flickered on and before James could so much as twitch, Edward walked towards the door and threw it.
I watched the small light of red and yellow fly gracefully through the air before it came to a stop, landing directly on James's chest. It spread, growing across his clothes as he cried out. If there was one way to kill a vampire, than this was it.
He thrashed around on the ground, fighting the flames as they engulfed him in a large blaze and then came the terrible scream.
I will always associate that sound with something dying. It was the sound of life being completely extinguished, quickly and painfully.
Edward stood unemotionally as the light from the flames danced across his face. There was no remorse, not even relief. If I had to say it myself, I felt no sadness at the sight of the pile of ashes now lying on the wooden floor boards on the other side of the doors. All I could feel was pain. Pain and pure, utter relief.
I didn't even realise I had cried out until Edward spun around to face me. His eyes locked in on my crumpled form lying on the ground and that was when the remorse came in. There had been nothing for the man he'd just killed, only for someone he hadn't even lifted a hand against. Edward limped towards me and sat down on the ground, pulling me carefully into his arms. There he held me against his chest, me listening to the fast paced sound of his heart beat.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." He whispered into my hair, slow falling tears landing amongst the strands. He repeated the words over and over again. I wanted to tell him it wasn't his fault, that he shouldn't cry, but I couldn't form words. Instead, I sat in silence and they were the last things I heard before I slipped slowly into darkness.
A/N: And the last chapter awaits guys. I will try and get it out by tonight, well, tonight Australian time because that's where I am. Anyway, let me know your thoughts and review. For now, I'll finish up my maths work and then begin my very last chapter of Living in Meyer.