EPOV
With the small lantern I had brought down, it was hard to see our surroundings, even with vampire sight. I knew that Alice had packed extra flashlights and lanterns down here somewhere, but I was afraid of moving away from Elsie. She was afraid of the dark. Her tiny hands were grasping Bella's shirt, burying her face in the fabric. Bella was rubbing her back and cooing in a soothing tone, hoping to calm the sobs still coming from Elsie.
The wind seemed like it was only getting stronger, and both of us were scared. I heard a faint beep, which I assumed meant that the power had been knocked out. I reached up and found a small pipe, on which I hooked the lantern. I wrapped my arms around Bella and Elsie. Elsie was now shaking, which I'm sure was only making Bella more nervous.
"Don't worry, Bella. We're going to be all right." I stroked her cheek with the back of my hand, and her eyes met mine.
"Edward, one of the only things we have no power to control is the weather. I feel so human again, and I feel so helpless." I shook my head, but she wanted to get her point across. "Edward, the rest of your family is still out there! Alice can't possibly see this, because the weather doesn't make decisions, so it can change in a split second. If they get hurt, Edward, I don't know what I'm going to do."
"Shhh, Bella." I pulled her closer into my arms. "They will be fine. I promise you that."
Bella buried her face in my shoulder, but I still heard her murmur, "I hope you're right."
We sat huddled together on the cold concrete floor, listening to the howl of wind, rain, hail, and thunder. After what seemed like hours, the howling died down. A little bit later, it faded entirely. I looked at Bella, who was sitting Indian style with Elsie sleeping in her lap. She looked up and nodded. I grabbed the lantern, and she carefully moved Elsie into her arms. I found the bolt and swung the door open, climbing out to help Bella. She climbed out, and I swung the door shut. We hurried into the house and surveyed the damage. After searching the house, there was only minor damage found. The windows had shattered in one of the empty rooms, and there was a small leak in the corner of Carlisle's office.
Both Bella and I tried calling Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmett, but no one was picking up. Bella was getting tense once again, and she stood beside Elsie's basinet with her arms crossed and her brow furrowed.
Before I could say anything, a large, strangled howl came from outside. Bella and I strode to the window and saw a great black wolf. This time, unlike so many other times, Bella didn't need a translator to know what Sam needed to say. "Bella, we need you in La Push. It's Jacob…he's been hurt." With that, Bella sped out of the room, and I watched as Sam strained to keep up with her blur as they raced to La Push.
BPOV
As I was running to La Push, the only thing going through my mind was "Not him. Not Jacob." I couldn't bear to ask Sam what had happened. Not yet. All I knew was that Jake was hurt and he needed me. That was reason enough to be speeding through the trees into La Push.
Sam and I pushed our way into the Black's house. Billy was sitting in the corner with his head in his hands as Quil, Embry, and Paul were standing around him. I looked at them, and their eyes all went in the same direction…to the hallway. I strode down the hall and into Jacob's room. I stopped cold in the doorway. My breathing stopped, and I felt myself falling backwards. Two warm hands caught me, and they belonged to Sam.
"Sam….What happened? What…" My voice cracked as I looked at Jacob's mangled body on his bed.
"There was an accident." Sam's voice was quiet, hoping not to be overheard by Billy or any of the others. "The storm snuck up on us while we were having a meeting at the beach. We saw the tornado going in the direction of my house, where Emily had stayed to get dinner ready. I tried to run there, but Jacob was faster than me. He got Emily out….but the house collapsed on top of him. When I found him, he had a metal rebar though his chest. We removed that, but…we don't think he's going to make it much longer. He is healing, but it isn't going to be quick enough. He lost a lot of blood, and we can't get it back into him fast enough. He asked to see you." I looked at Sam when his voice cut off abruptly. There were tears gleaming in his eyes.
I took my arms and made them wrap themselves around Sam. "I'm so sorry, Sam. But thank you." He nodded, took one last look at Jacob, and walked slowly back down the hallway. I walked over to Jacob's bedside, trying not to see the stains of blood on his skin and sheets. I took his hand in mine and kissed it. His eyelids fluttered, and he looked up at me.
"Hey, Bells." His voice was barely a whisper. "I'm glad you came."
"Yes, I'm here." I tried to control my voice, not wanting to upset him.
"Bella…" His voice went ragged, and he started coughing. His pain was etched on his face, and it tore me apart. I kept my figure, and squeezed his hand a bit, letting him know that I was still here. Blood appeared on his hand when he took it away from his mouth, causing my quick intake of breath.
"Oh, Jake…"
"Don't, Bella. Don't make me spend my last moments alive listening to you cry about me. All I ever wanted was to see you happy again. I love you, Bella." His words hit me, and I did the only thing I could think of to do. I bent slowly, giving him fair warning, and let my lips gently brush his. He responded, and I kissed him tenderly, knowing it would be his last, and that he wanted it to be from me. I straightened back up, and he slowly opened his eyes. "Bella…"
His hand went limp in mine, and his eyes became hollow. I felt my knees shaking beneath me, but I forced myself to hold it together. I could fall apart and grieve once I got home. I slowly walked back to the living room. When the eyes all came onto me, all I could do was drop my head. Billy began sobbing, and Quil wrapped his arms around Billy's shoulders. Embry and Paul were both shaking, trying to hold themselves together. Sam only stared sullenly at the ground.
"I should get home," I said. I noted the monotone in my voice and corrected it. "This is a family affair and I'm intruding."
"No, Bella." Billy sobbed in my direction. "You are my family. Jake cared more about you than he did anyone else. If you were that important to him that he would hold on long enough to say his goodbyes to you….that makes you pretty damn special in my book, vampire or not." I tried to smile for him.
"Thank you, Billy. I really do think of you as family, too. But I think I do need to get home. Elsie was really scared, and I need to get back to her." Billy nodded, his body quivering with his tears. I strode out the door and took off running for home before I could begin to replay everything that had just happened in my head,
EPOV
I was holding Elsie when the front door opened. Emmett and Rosalie came in, soaking wet, their hair in disarray. "What happened?"
"Edward…we were trying to drive home before the storm hit, but the car was going to get picked up by the tornado. We all tried to jump out, but the only one who got stuck in the car when it got picked up was…" Rosalie cut off when she saw Jasper loping up the stairs. He swiftly walked into the house and placed the limp figure in his arms onto the couch.
Jasper stepped away, and a horrible, high-pitched shriek came from behind me. There was Bella, standing in the doorway from the garage, looking at Alice's limp form hanging from the couch.
A/N: OK, I know some of you might be mad at me for this chapter, but Iassure you there is a good reason why Jacob is dead. Besides, I wasn't a big fan of Jacob after he tricked Bella into kissing him in Eclipse. And before you all start yelling at me, no Alice isn't dead, so don't start telling me that I haven't killed and vampire properly. I'm going to finish this story up after a few more chapters, but there will be a sequel. I'm trying to think of titles. I'm thinking maybe "Daybreak"? "Sunset" might be too ironic, but maybe people would be able to connect it with Sunrise better? I'm not sure. I'd love some ideas. I'll put up a poll on my profile later on.
gotbooks93 : Well, I thought about it, but I wanted this chapter to be a little less fluff. A lot of serious things happen in this chapter, and I wasn't sure that I wanted the random humor. But it really was a good idea that I hadn't thought of. If it had worked with the way the chapter flowed, I would have used it.
Mini : lol I could see them doing that, too. that part of the chapter played in my head like a movie.
mama-chana : I'm not exactly sure where I came up with the "popcorn chicken". I guess I wanted to describe what they thought it tasted like, and I wanted to play with the saying "Tastes like chicken." And since he said they were bite-sized, popcorn chicken just popped in my head and seemed to fit.
xo-kari-ox : I haven't gotten to read Breaking Dawn yet, because my shipment got delayed when I ordered it, so I'm not going to be able to have it in my hands until the 6th. I have heard that many people don't like it. But I don't want to hear anything else about it. I can't even look for fanfics to read anymore because some people have put the spoilers in their summaries, assuming everyone has read it already. It's annoying, and it gets boring not being able to read fanfics.
Well, I'm sorry again for the time it's been taking me to write. I assure you that I'm going to try harder to write more. I'm trying to take a day off from my busy scedule to stay at home and read and write. Just keep your fingers crossed. Keep commenting. I love you guys. Be safe.
