Chapter 25

The blissful numb of unconsciousness did not last. Pain, unlike anything Claire had ever felt, racked her body back into consciousness as she lay in a heap on the forest floor. Tears coursed down her lacerated face, the bleeding lines stinging as the salt-water rivers burned their way down. Claire felt as though a boulder was resting squarely on her chest, diminishing her lung capacity and causing the knife-life pains to slice through her with every breath. Meanwhile, the fiery venom slowly and torturously continued to burn its way through her veins.

Claire felt the chilly wind brush against her skin, sending painful shivers throughout her body; she also felt the pounding of large paws thudding against the ground, which intensified her already unendurable pain. She clamped her teeth together in an attempt to hold back a shriek, but she only partially succeeded as a long moan escaped her lips. Soon, Claire felt gentle yet icy hands grasp hers, then move to her face where they fluttered over her skin.

"Claire..." Louis called softly, his agony-filled golden eyes already beginning to darken in response to the scent of her free-flowing blood. "Cherie, can you hear me?" With great difficulty, Claire drew a shallow, pain-filled breath and whispered, "Louis...," so faint that she could barely hear herself; she knew that he would hear it regardless as she bit her tongue, tasting her won blood as she did so, to keep from screaming.

"Oh Claire," Louis breathed over her face in a sigh of relief, his gorgeous yet pained visage going in and out of focus due to the tears in her eyes. "Where do you hurt, chérie?"

"It hurts...to breathe," Claire managed to squeak out. "He grabbed me...from behind." She gasped and cried out in agony as a fresh wave of pain washed over her body. "Where...is he?"

Louis moved his stone-cold hand to gently hold hers, and she gripped it with all her might as the fire continued to snake its way through her veins.

"Lestat fled shortly after we arrived. Edward, Bella and Jacob took off after him." Claire nodded her head as gently as she could, yet even that small movement sent racks of pain afresh within her limbs.

"Do you hurt anywhere else, chérie?" Louis questioned.

"He bit me," Claire replied through clenched teeth. She motioned to her shoulder with her eyes only. "Back here...feels like it's on fire...and it's spreading." Louis swore loudly in French and then hung his head; Claire could only guess at what he might have been thinking. With a pained expression, Louis looked over his shoulder and barked, "Where's Carlisle?"

"He'll be here in just a minute," a familiar voice rang out. "I can hear him coming now."

"Renesmee?" Claire gasped.

"Yes, my love, she's here," Louis assured her quietly. Claire heard some rustling close by, and over Louis' shoulder appeared the ivory-skinned face of her best friend and sister, her copper curls tousled from the hunting excursion, her chocolate eyes brimming with unshed tears.

"Hey girl," Renesmee said softly, a large tear rolling gently down her rose-petal cheek.

"Hey," Claire whispered, then she groaned and gasped in agony.

"You're gonna be all right," Nessie told her. "Grandpa Carlisle is gonna fix you up good as new, you'll see." Claire squeezed Louis' hand as hard as she could, locking her jaw to muffle the screams of pain as much as possible. She nodded her head minutely to acknowledge her sister's words and squeezed her eyes closed in an attempt to meditate and block as much of the pain as possible, but to no avail. Claire could not focus enough of her energy to maintain the block because pain was the only feeling that registered in her brain.

Louis carefully slid his free hand behind her shoulder, his icy, marble skin partially soothing the burn, but only by a minute degree on the surface, the fire within charring her body. He looked over his shoulder as a new voice approached and demanded, "Let me pass, Louis." Claire blinked rapidly to clear her vision and over Louis' shoulder appeared a good-looking, pale young man with blond hair, knowledgeable and youthful honey-colored eyes with a professionally serene smile on his face. Claire had seen his picture a few times in Nessie's living room: the family patriarch, Dr. Carlisle Cullen. Carlisle knelt gracefully on the other side of her body, opposite Louis, and began his examination.

"Where does it hurt, Claire?" Carlisle inquired as his fingers gently, yet painfully, poked and prodded her limbs.

"She said it hurts for her to breathe," Louis answered for her. "Lestat apparently grabbed her from behind and then he bit her on the back of her shoulder." Carlisle began checking her sides and every prod caused her to cry aloud, which in turn increased her excruciating pain.

"It's like...I can't get...enough air," Claire choked out in between painful breaths. "It feels...like someone's...sitting...on my...chest. Louis...make it stop!" And she screamed in agony as Carlisle pushed in on both sides of her chest, but the scream was drowned out by a gurgle in her throat, all the while the flames continued to course their fiery way thru her body. Carlisle gentle yet quickly rolled Claire onto her side, clearing the obstruction from her mouth.

"Lestat broke every rib," Carlisle reported, keeping Claire's airway clear by cradling her head between his frosty yet steady hands. "Her lungs have been punctured by the shattered fragments and she's bleeding internally." Claire's vision had blurred so much from the intensity of the pain that she finally just closed her eyes. She opened them again to see Louis lower his head once again, this time in defeat. Another scream escaped her lips as Louis began to speak.

"What can we do?" he demanded softly, his coal-black eyes desperate and pleading.

"There's nothing I can do for her here," Carlisle replied honestly. "Trying to move her will only make it worse, and the nearest hospital is still a five-minute dash from here, but it would probably take a lot longer because of the way she would have to be positioned," Carlisle elaborated. "Louis, she's already been bitten. You could help the change to happen."

"No, no, no," Louis sobbed dryly, his eyes vulnerable and pained. "I didn't want this for her."

"You have to choose, Louis," Carlisle instructed as Claire gurgled through another scream and Carlisle cleared her passageway. "You're going to lose her if you don't choose now." Somehow, Claire found the tiniest of voices and whispered, "Louis, please...save me." Louis opened his darkened eyes, looked from Claire to Carlisle and asked, "You'll stop me if necessary?"

Carlisle replied solemnly, "You have my word." Louis gently picked up her wrist and as he brought it up to his lips, paused, gazed at Claire's pain-stricken face and uttered, "I love you, Claire." Claire managed a shadow of a smile, whispering laboriously, "And I...you...forever." Then Louis bit her, tasting her life's liquid briefly before licking the wound, sealing the venom inside.

A deep shudder rolled through Louis' frame in response to the undiluted sweetness of her blood. He shook his head, attempting to clear his normally razor-sharp mind, fighting the instinctive bloodlust struggling for control of his actions. Louis bit her again, in the crease of her elbow, and deftly sealed the wound. Every bite seemed to increase Claire's excruciating pain tenfold, the burn spreading even more quickly throughout her limbs.

Louis repeated his actions on her other arm, then on each of her legs and the top of each breast. Carlisle put a hand on Louis' shoulder and said, "That's enough. The venom will do the rest."

"I hope you're right," Louis replied, opening his eyes for the first time since biting Claire. The black color of thirst had been replaced, not by the pure gold of the vegetarians, but neither by the fiery red of the normal vampires. His eyes were now a coppery burnt orange, a mixture of the two colors Claire had come to recognize. The flames moved throughout her entire body where they continued to slowly char her veins. Louis knelt beside her once more, slipping his chilly hand into her clenched fist. Another shriek escaped her lips unbidden as tears continued to slide down her scratched skin.

"When will we be able to move her?" Louis asked, looking hopefully towards Carlisle.

"It's unclear right now," Carlisle answered, clearing Claire's mouth once more as a gurgled scream bubbled its way through. "Someone will need to stay with her and keep her airway clear until the venom heals the breaks and repairs the damage to her lungs." Claire squeezed Louis' hand hard as another ripple of pain shot through her body. Louis looked down at Claire's face, brushed away her tears gently with the back of his frigid hand and assured her softly, "I'm right here, chérie. I won't leave your side, I promise."

Claire attempted a weak grin and tried to say "Thank you," but her response was cut off by another bubbling up of blood from her lungs. Louis shushed her, saying, "Don't try to speak, love. It will only make it worse. I'm going to take care of you." Claire gazed at Louis' blurry form and nodded once as gently as she could. Louis softly caressed her cheek before glancing over his shoulder at the sound of someone approaching.

"What happened?" Bella inquired as her indistinct form appeared at Louis' shoulder. Claire furiously blinked her eyes to clear her vision, once again attempting to block the pain from her mind. She managed to catch a quick glimpse at Bella as Louis recounted the tale.

"Where's Lestat?" Louis asked gruffly, returning his gaze to Claire's quivering form.

"Jake is still chasing him," Bella answered. "We came back to check on Claire and see if there was any way we could help." Louis shook his head and replied, "Carlisle looked her over and told me that I'd lose her if I didn't..." Then she disappeared and Edward took her place, setting a hand on Louis' shoulder.

"I did everything that you suggested," Louis said to Edward. "I only hope it was enough."

"She's going to be all right, Louis," Edward reassured him. "She's no worse than Bella was, and she came through just fine."

"I pray you're right." Louis placed his free hand on top of Edward's, squeezed it and said, "Thank you." Edward clapped Louis on the back after he'd released his hand and both he and Bella departed. Claire squeezed her eyes shut, forcing herself into a trance as the flames scorched her body through, time trudging slowly onward.

The next time Claire remembered opening her eyes, the sun was shining through the gap in the canopy. The intense fire continued to rage as she glanced around and once again tried to block the pain from her mind. Louis was still by her side, his gorgeous face glittering brilliantly in the daytime sun, his coppery eyes locked on hers.

"Hey beautiful," Louis sighed. "You had a rough night, you know." Claire locked her jaw and groaned as another wave of fire broke through her body, scorching her chest. Louis' body trembled as he listened to Claire's cry of pain, knowing that there was nothing he could do except wait for the venom to finish its work. "I'm sorry," Louis repeated once again, as he had many times throughout the night as he watched his love writhe in pain before his eyes.

The knife-like pain Claire had been experiencing with each breath now took on a burning sensation as the fire snaked its way through her chest. Claire once again shut her eyes, forcing herself into a trance-like state where the only thing that mattered was the pain. She knew that the pain was healing her; she only needed to stop fighting it. The more she struggled with the pain, the longer the pain would last. Claire instead focused on the only other thing that held any meaning for her: Louis. She could hear his slow, steady breathing beside her, and she attempted to match her breathing with his, but soon gave up. Her body still reacted to her injuries as the venom slowly made its way to heal them. So in her mind, she kept time with Louis' controlled breathing as the fire continued to burn.

Three thousand seven hundred and forty-six breaths later, Claire noticed her own breathing no longer sliced through her body. She had not spit up any blood since somewhere around one thousand two hundred and some odd breaths. She knew that that meant the venom had repaired the punctures in her lungs. Louis could hear the near-silent cracks and snaps as the venom rebuilt Claire's shattered ribcage while she lay there, her body twitching slightly, her eyes tightly closed. The fire had reached her fingers and toes, the whole of her body now burned with excruciating pain. Claire pushed herself deeper into her self-induced trance, intent on nothing else but her immortal angel. She heard the soft rustle of leaves and some footfalls as they were approached, Claire continuing to keep count with Louis' measured breathing.

"How is she doing?" Carlisle's voice asked quietly.

"I think her lungs have been repaired," Louis answered, squeezing her hand gently. "Her breathing has improved greatly and I believe that her ribs have also been healed." Carlisle's voice hand moved closer when he replied, "Let me check." Claire felt icy hands grasp her sides gently, poking and prodding to either affirm or disprove Louis' suspicions. "You were right, Louis," Carlisle confirmed. "We can move her anytime you're ready." All the while, the flames continued to scorch Claire's entire body, changing her internal structure into the being that she was becoming, her heart pumping laboriously to move her now-venomous blood throughout her veins.

Ten thousand one hundred and eight breaths later, Claire found herself laying on a long table under several bright lights. The fire had intensified once again and now began to creep its way towards her heart. Louis had remained at her side throughout the entire process, just as he'd promised. He had carried her from the secluded forest glen, where the whole nightmarish incident had occurred, to the safe haven inside the Denali clan's immense home.

"How much longer, Alice?" Louis asked quietly, his hand still clasped within hers. Claire noticed that as the fire left her fingers, Louis' hand no longer chilled her skin.

"Not long. I'll get everyone up here," Alice's voice chimed from across the room. "Don't worry, Louis. She's going to be perfect."

Ever so slowly, the flames left her toes, then her feet. Claire screamed internally as the heat in her chest intensified as the fire slowly began to consume her heart. She knew she could wiggle her toes and curl her fingers, but didn't dare try to move for fear of breaking her trance, which had allowed her to keep most of her cries of pain inside her, sparing her Louis more feelings of guilt for his actions. The venom slowly snaked its way out of her arms and legs, filling her torso completely with its fiery burn. The fire charring her chest, the last remnants of the venom fled her torso; Claire's back arched as the fire reached the very center of her heart, burning intensely until it caused her heart to falter. Claire slumped back down onto the table as her heart stumbled thru a few beats...a heavy thump...then silence, never to beat again.