Chapter 12
Bella POV
I woke in the middle of the night feeling really cold. I tried pulling the blanket tighter around me, and after another half hour of tossing and turning, I couldn't sleep. I decided to get up and go check on Paul. I pulled my socks on and my robe and wandered down the hall to Paul's room, where I could see a faint light coming from the inside. I gently pushed the door open to find Sue sitting in a chair facing Paul, and Carlisle sitting at a desk in the corner, doing paperwork. Before I could say anything, Carlisle turned around and smiled.
"Can't sleep Bella?"
I shook my head "I was too cold, and I wanted to check on Paul. How is he doing?" I asked, stepping into the room, and closing the door behind me. That cold draft seemed to be following me.
"Well, he's had a good night so far. No more scares and there is a slight improvement in his appearance already. Come and see for yourself" he said. I walked closer to Paul's bed and to my surprise, some of the colour had come back to his skin.
"He doesn't look so pale anymore" I said.
"Yes, the heating mat is pushing his body temperature back up. We check his temperature every hour and so far he is 96.8 degrees and going up. If this keeps up, we can take the oxygen away from him sooner than we anticipated" Carlisle said. I let out a sigh of relief.
"Do you, uh, need a break?" I asked politely. I knew he technically didn't need one, but he might have wanted to get some fresh air or something.
"Very polite of you to ask Bella. If it's okay with you, I might go and see Esme for a few minutes-"
"-no, of course. I'll sit with Sue, you go ahead".
He bowed graciously to me and left the room. I held my robe closer to my body, I was so cold!
"How are you doing Sue? Do you need a break? I can sit with him for a while" I said, rubbing her shoulders in comfort.
"I could go for a coffee-" she said "-I'll just go and get one. Have a feel of his forehead Bella" she said, moving her chair so I could stand a bit closer. I put my hand on Paul's forehead and relief washed over me when I felt it was hot. This was exactly right. This was what he should feel like.
"Sue this is amazing! He's getting better" I said, smiling with relief and happiness.
"Would you like me to get you a coffee Bella?" she asked, but I shook my head. I was hoping to get some more sleep so I would be able to help out more tomorrow, and caffeine would take that away from me.
"No problem, I'll be back in a minute" she said, and left me alone with Paul. I leaned down and kissed his forehead, smiling against his skin when I felt the warmth of his skin touch my lips.
"Where are you Paul? Are you stuck somewhere?" I asked him, stroking his jet-black hair. I took Sue's chair and sat down, so I was leaning on my elbows near his head. I kissed his face again, relishing in the heat.
"Why don't you come back, hm? Are you with your Mom, is that why you won't come back? You have so many people in this world Paul that love and miss you -including me. If you come back, right now, I'll tell you that myself. So, just come back, okay? I miss you so much"
It was as if someone had dropped a bucket of ice water over me. I jumped out of my chair and spun around quickly, looking for the culprit. But there was no one there.
"Paul?" I asked, and another wave of cold washed over me again. I looked back down at him, lying in the bed, looking for any sign that he was coming back. But he lay as still as ever.
"Paul, are you here, right now?" I asked again, and this time the window wall starting fogging up. My breath caught in my throat and I walked over there slowly.
"Paul?" I asked again, and incredibly, before my very eyes, words started appearing on the fogged glass.
HERE
My hands flew to my mouth in shock. My heart was hammering against my chest and I didn't know whether to feel scared or excited.
"You're here Paul? For sure?" I asked the window, feeling slightly silly for talking to the glass. I waited in anticipation as the glass started fogging again and I almost lost my balance when another word appeared.
YES
"Oh my God, Sue! Carlisle!" I shouted out, and they came running in straight away, looking flustered.
"Bella, what is it?" Sue asked, running over to Paul to check on him immediately. She obviously thought something had happened to him.
"Look, look!" I said, pointing to the window. They both stood on either side of me and watched, waiting for something to happen. The window was clear now.
"Just wait! Watch the window!... Paul, are you here?" I asked again, and we watched as the window began to fog up and the word appeared.
YES
"Oh my!" Sue said, clutching at her chest and my arm. Carlisle, however, walked closer to the window and ran his fingers across the glass. Then he himself asked a question.
"Paul how are you doing?" he asked and stepped back as we all watched what we knew would happen again.
STUCK
The word traced into the fogged glass as if someone were here, writing it with their finger.
"Well that is… fascinating. Paul, you say you're stuck. Where are you?" Carlisle asked.
The glass fogged once again.
COLD
"What does that mean?" I asked Carlisle.
He turned quickly and raced over to Paul and rested his hand on Paul's head.
"Paul-" he called out clearly, his voice echoing off of the walls "-which part of your body is my hand on right now?" he asked, and we all turned to watch the glass.
HEAD
Carlisle moved his hand to Paul's arm and asked again "And now?"
ARM
"Carlisle, he's here! How is that possible?" I asked, desperate for answers. Sue was still staring at the window, as if battling inside her head to try and find a logical explanation for this.
"Paul, are you in any pain?" Carlisle asked again, but we waited and waited and no more words materialised on the glass.
"Are you still here Paul?" Carlisle called out.
"Where has he gone?" I asked no one in particular, but Sue answered.
"I think he's travelled somewhere else Bella. He isn't in the room anymore" she said. I placed my hand on the cold glass, where his words formed only moments ago.
Paul had been here with us, in this very room.
"So he's stuck in the spirit world then?"
Sue let out a shaky sigh "It seems he is Bella, but the question is, how do we get him back?"
Jacob POV
I didn't tell Dad or the guys that I was currently on my way to the Cullen's with Grandma Inola. She had got up extra early because she was so desperate to see Paul. There was no phone call last night from Bella, so we assumed all was well with him. We were almost there, and Grandma Inola was getting restless.
"Can't you drive any faster Jacob?"
"We're almost there Grandma, if anything had happened, we would have heard from Bella last night" I reassured her. I was sure that Bella would have called if anything had happened. The only reason she wouldn't call was if she didn't want Grandma worrying, so that almost made me believe that something did happen last night. I let out a shaky breath and focused on the road. I didn't really know where the Cullen's lived, so I had to drive with the window open so I could follow the scent.
"Okay, here we are" I said to Grandma, as I pulled up to a huge house full of windows.
No sooner had I pulled up, Grandma was trying to open the car door.
"Stay there for a second, I'll come round and help you" I said, throwing my keys into my pocket and running around to help her out. She held onto my arm and heaved herself out, just as someone called out.
"Jacob? Do you need some help?" I turned around to see the mother vamp approaching us. I pushed Grandma Inola behind my back and put my arm out to stop her getting any nearer.
"Don't come any closer" I warned her. She stopped immediately.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you-"
"-it's not that, just- just stay back" I said. She gave me a sympathetic smile and walked back into the house, leaving the front door open.
Once inside, I was able to scent Paul out. His scent was so much stronger than it had been back at the house and I was feeling hopeful that maybe, he had improved. If he had improved, I had a lot of apologising to do.
And a lot of thanking. I carried Grandma Inola up the stairs to find Sue waiting in the kitchen.
"Jacob? What are you doing here? Is Grandma Inola okay?" Sue came rushing over from the kitchen and checked Grandma over.
"She's fine Sue, it was just the stairs-" I set Grandma down on her feet "-which room is Paul in?" I asked.
"He's in here" she said. I held onto Grandma's hand and followed Sue into a room that looked like your average hospital room.
The Paul on the bed was not the same Paul that had been in La Push.
"He looks so much better" I said in shock. Grandma Inola rushed over and flung herself over Paul's chest.
"Oh my dear, you look so much healthier, are you ready to come back now? We all miss you so much, and don't even get me started on how much schoolwork you've missed out on-"
"How has she been Jacob?" Sue asked me as we watched Grandma fuss over Paul. I could just imagine the smirk on his face at how much he was being spoilt by his Grandma.
"I don't think she got much sleep last night; she was too eager to come and see him. She keeps complaining about her knees as well" I told her.
"She's not due another cortisone shot for 4 months. I'll give her an anti-inflammatory to help with the pain. Do you think it's wise, whilst you're here, to let Carlisle take a look at her?"
"If it were up to me, I'd say no way. I wouldn't want the bloodsuckers anywhere near her-"
"-Jacob, they are very nice people. Paul's condition has improved so much since bringing him here, you have to see that-"
"-yeah, I do see that, and I'll say thank you to them for that. But-"
"Jacob Black, welcome to our home" a voice behind me said. I turned to see the doctor walking towards me, extending his hand. My wolf was clawing at me, wanting to attack. But I pushed him down.
No, this is the man that is saving Paul's life. He isn't a threat.
I swallowed my pride and shook his hand "Thank you for helping us" I said.
"Well, we're doing everything we can for Paul and so far, everything is working. But I must tell you that something did happen last night. Is this Paul's grandmother?" he asked, motioning to Grandma Inola, who was currently stroking Paul's hair with her hand.
"Yes, this is Grandma Inola. Don't ask for her full name because that's the one she'll give you-" I chuckled, very briefly "-but she's been worried sick about him. Is there anything you can tell her that will give her some hope?" I asked.
"Why don't you both come and take a seat. I can update you both on Paul's night" he said. I took Grandma's hand and led her to a chair and helped her sit down. I didn't miss the agonising face she made when she did sit down. I was wondering how much pain she was actually in right now.
"Welcome to our home, Grandma Inola. I've been told that is the only name you'll go by-" Carlisle smiled heartily at Grandma who was pursing her lips.
"-the one and only name I'll go by Doctor. But I flatter myself that you would attempt to call me something different-" she said cheekily, and he laughed.
"-only if you wish it. Now, I'll tell you both about when Paul first arrived here and I'm sorry to tell you that he was suffering from dehydration, malnutrition, breathing difficulties and hypothermia-"
"-oh my poor dear! -" Grandma cried out, and I held onto her hand and squeezed it, reassuring her I was with her.
"-but we saw to that right away. We also noticed a link between his body temperature and his breathing issues, so we placed him onto a heating mat, which is designed to safely and gradually help bring the body temperature back up, and we also placed him on oxygen. I'm sorry to tell you this, but the first hour he was here, Paul suffered a heart attack-"
"-what? A heart attack?!-" I said just as Grandma wept loudly. I kept holding onto her hand.
"-but we quickly managed it and he has since not suffered anymore. His body temperature has risen significantly and with a few more days or even hours, his body temperature will have returned to normal, meaning we can take him off of the oxygen-"
"-so what was the link you found between his body temperature and his breathing?" I asked.
"Well, when the body goes into hypothermia, the organs start to struggle and with Paul, specifically his lungs. So the oxygen is just to give him a helping hand until he can manage by himself-"
"-and you think he'll be able to do that within a few hours?"
"Most definitely. I'd also like to mention his body weight. When he was brought in, we saw that his body had been stripped of the majority of his fat and muscle, and we were curious as to why that was because there is no medical explanation for it. But we've concluded that wherever Paul is, he is using his body's energy stores and because he is in the coma, he cannot replace what is being taken. So what we've done is started him on TPN, which is short for Total Parenteral Nutrition. This is essentially everything that a human needs to survive, being administered through an IV line straight into the blood, bypassing digestion completely-"
"-but Sue had him on liquid food back at the house! -"
"-yes she did. And she did a very good job, and it would have been enough for a normal human being. But Paul naturally has a higher metabolism, so his body required something stronger and this TPN seems to be doing the trick. His weight is slowly starting to come back up and his facial features aren't as sunken in as they were when he first came in. He is no longer dehydrated, no longer hypothermic and there is nothing to suggest he will have another heart attack. But, there is something else I want to mention, and I don't know if you'll be able to hear this lightly" he stopped, and glanced over his shoulder at the window wall. What was he looking for?
"Last night, Bella came into this room. She had woken up because she was cold. A cold draft seemed to follow her into the room, something I didn't miss. Sue and I left the room to take a quick break, though I don't require one, I simply didn't want to be impolite-"
"-just get to the point Doc, what happened?"
"-right. Well, Bella called us back into the room and she seemed disturbed by something. She then proceeded to call out to Paul, and he replied to her-"
"-how? -"
"It seems Paul was in the room with us last night, and he communicated to us using the windows. We asked him simple questions and when he wanted to answer, he fogged up the windows and proceeded to write out one-word answers".
"Can you try now? I'm desperate to talk to my grandson!" Grandma cried.
Carlisle looked at her with consideration, before standing and walking over to Paul lying in bed.
"Paul, if you're here now, tell me which part of your body my hand is on?" he said, putting his hand on Paul's hand. Carlisle watched the window and if you could believe it, it started to fog up and as clear as day, a word appeared.
HAND
"Oh!" Grandma wailed, and she stood so fast she almost fell, had I not caught her. I held her in my arms and told Carlisle to do it again.
"Paul, your grandmother and Jacob are here. They've come to see how you're doing. Can you tell them how you're doing?" Carlisle asked the room. We both watched the window as it fogged up and another word appeared. A word that made my skin crawl.
STUCK
"Oh my poor dear! You're stuck there, aren't you? Why don't you come back now?" Grandma Inola cried out and the window fogged up once more and instead of a word, a number appeared.
50
"50? What's he talking about Carlisle?" I asked him.
"We had the same answer last night. Sue seems to think he's trying to tell us how many times he's tried to come back. But if he is indeed stuck in the spirit world, he has tried and failed to come back-" he pointed to the window, where the number 50 was beginning to fade "- 50 times"
"Is there anything I can do to help him?" I cried. Paul was stuck in the spirit world. Why? How?
"I think it's best if you talk to your Tribal Elders, they'll be able to tell you more about the spirit world and maybe explain why Paul is struggling to come back" he advised us.
I was stuck between wanting to stay with Paul and wanting to get him help. Carlisle had his body recovering, that was for sure. I couldn't be more thankful to him for that. I needed to apologise to Bella. I needed to guys to see this too.
"Is there any chance of leaving Grandma Inola here whilst I run back to the reservation? I have a few meetings to arrange" I said to him.
"Grandma Inola is more than welcome to stay with us for as long as she needs to. Bella and Sue are both here so she will have excellent company and we have plenty of groceries available if she gets hungry or thirsty" he said.
Man, I had the Cullen's all wrong. They were nice.
"Thank you for what you've done for Paul, I truly appreciate it" I told him, and held my hand out this time. Sort of a peace offering. He took it and shook it gracefully. I pulled Grandma Inola away from me.
"Grandma, here's what we're going to do. You're going to stay here with the Cullen's whilst I go back to the reservation to sort a few things out. Bella and Sue are both here, so you'll be able to ask them your questions and the nice doctor here is going to look after Paul whilst you rest".
At that moment, Sue came in and took Grandma's hand "Let's get you a nice cup of tea, hm? You can tell me more about that book you're reading-"
"-but I can't leave-"
"-you don't have to leave Paul. Let me find you a comfier chair to sit in and we can have that tea and a chat in here with Paul" she said, and Grandma agreed. I kissed Grandma and Sue on their cheeks before I left.
I was about to get into the car when "Jacob!"
I turned to see her running down towards me. "Bella"
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
"I uh, you were right. Paul needed to see a doctor and I was an idiot. I've seen how he's improved since being here. Please forgive me Bella" I said, before she ran and jumped on me.
"Oh Jacob! Thank you! Is Grandma here too?" she asked as I put her down and rubbed my chest. The girl sure knew how to knock the wind out of you, gheez.
"Yeah she's in with Paul and Sue, she'd like to see you"
"Of course, I'll go and see her now. Where are you going now?" she asked.
"Uh I'm gonna go talk to the guys. Make them see that Paul needs this-"
"-that's really good of you Jacob-"
"-no. It's not good of me. I was the idiot that tried to stop this, and I could have killed him because of it-"
"-you saw sense in the end, and that's all that matters. The Cullen's have been really good to all of us and I see no reason why we can't trust them-"
"-yeah I know, I'm still struggling with that part, but I've been brought up to hate them, for generations even, so it'll take some time" I said honestly, because I was being honest. I wanted to trust the Cullen's because I should trust them. My brother is in their hands right now and he's improving because they're taking care of him. They're doing more than any of his brothers did and we're the one's that can't trust them? The Cullen's were doing more for Paul than we ever did, and it breaks my heart. We let our brother down.
"Give it some time" Bella said, and with that she walked back into the house.
As soon as I got back to the reservation, I went straight to Quil's house. I pounded my fist on the door.
"Dude! Did you wanna keep it down? My mom just got back in from her night shift!" Quil said angrily, as he opened the door.
"I'm sorry Quil, I need to speak to your grandfather, is he here?" I asked, pushing myself into the house. Quil and I had been friends for years so storming into each other's houses didn't shock or insult us anymore.
"Yeah he's out back, what's going on? You don't look so good" he followed me to the backyard where I found Old Quil sitting in a camping chair, staring out into the forest.
"Old Quil, I need to arrange an urgent meeting with you, as soon as possible"
He lifted his head slowly to look at me and adjusted his glasses "Ah Jacob. What could be so urgent you had to disturb my peace?"
"I need to know more about the spirit world".
"The spirit world? Why would you want to know such things?" he asked, raising a white-haired eyebrow.
I huffed in annoyance; we were wasting time! "Paul has been stuck there for 2 months, and we need to get him back, can you help us or not?" I asked impatiently. If he didn't want to help then I'd have to go to Dad. I mentally slapped myself for not going to him in the first place.
"Call your Alpha and get your brothers over to the tribal centre in 10 minutes, I'll meet you there" Old Quil said. He stood up, folded his chair down and carried it back into the house.
Quil rounded on me "You wanna tell me what the hell that's about? You think Paul is stuck in the spirit world? Dude! We haven't been able to spirit walk since-"
"-I know Quil, I know. But can you give me any other reason why he's been in that coma? The Cullen's are helping-"
"-you got the Cullen's involved? What the hell is wrong with you!" he shouted at my face.
"I wasn't the one that got them involved! But I would have been a fool to have let Paul stay here and rot rather than get him the help he needs!"
"What, you think the blood suckers can help him?!"
"They are helping him Quil! They are helping! I just came from their house! -"
"-no kidding, you reek! -"
"-Carlisle told me that Paul had hypothermia from lying in that goddamn house for all those months! He was dying Quil! He had a goddamn heart attack and the only thing you're worried about is that the Cullen's are involved! Have you any idea how I feel right now? I gave Bella a hard time because she was the only one to have the brains to go to Carlisle!" I lost it. I backed away quickly and phased. Quil followed suit, and we were both circling each other, daring each other to make the first move.
You think you're the only one that cares about Paul? -Quil
I'm not saying that Quil! But look at this! - Jacob
I showed him what Paul looked like when he was in his bed at Grandma Inola's. His eyes were sunken, his jawbone was sticking out and his ribs were protruding against his chest. Then I showed him the image of Paul this morning and how much better he looked. I showed him the conversation I had with Carlisle and I showed him the window.
Wait, what the hell was that? -Quil
We called for him and asked questions. He answered them Quil. He was in that room with us -Jacob
How is that even possible? -Quil
It's not! That's why I know he's stuck in the spirit world, and we have to get him out of there! -Jacob
How do you plan on doing that? Alright fine, I'll agree with you and say the Cullen's are helping him. He looks a lot better than he did at Grandma Inola's. But how do you plan to get him out of there? We haven't been able to spirit walk for centuries! -Quil
We need to get to the tribal centre for this meeting. We'll find out more there and see if there's a way -Jacob
A way for what? – Quil
A way for one of us to go into the spirit world and bring him back -Jacob
Sam POV
Things were tough without Paul. It was nothing to do with patrols or anything, I just missed my brother. He felt like my real brother to me and to be so helpless these past couple of months was just agony. I know he needed help and I knew that we had limited resources on the reservation, but to even think about asking the Cullen's for help was just absurd. Why should we ask them for help?
But that tiny voice in the back of my mind knew that asking the Cullen's for help was the best thing for Paul. Most of them had gone to Medical School at least 3 times so they were probably more experienced than the doctors you'd find in normal hospitals. Not only that, but they also knew about us. If we had even taken a chance and took Paul to a real hospital, they would have probably started testing on him by now, trying to figure out what was wrong with him. And I wasn't talking about the coma.
I just got off the phone with Old Quil. He said something about an urgent meeting down at the Tribal Centre so that's where I was headed now. I pulled Jared and Colin from patrol and told them to meet us down there. I didn't normally just stop patrol for a meeting, but Old Quil never called us for urgent meetings. I figured it must have been pretty important.
"Sam, thanks for coming" Jacob greeted me as I got out of the truck.
I slammed the door behind me "What's this all about?"
"It's about Paul, where's Jared and Colin?" he asked.
"They're almost - oh, there they are" They walked out of the woods and towards us.
"What's this meeting about?" Colin asked. He had bits of leaves and twigs stuck in his hair; the classic patrol look.
"It's about Paul, but go on in, we'll be there in a sec" I said, turning back to Jacob.
"How is Paul doing? Is Grandma Inola coping alright?" I asked him, just as a guilty expression crossed his face.
I raised my eyebrow "What are you hiding Jacob?"
"Let's just go in and we'll get the meeting started" he said, walking into the Tribal Centre. I huffed in frustration but followed.
Old Quil had set up some chairs forming a circle in the middle of the hall and as I sat down, I had the weirdest feeling that something strange was about to happen. If Old Quil had called a meeting, it was probably something to do with our legends. That was Old Quil's business. Once we had all taken our seats, Old Quil started.
"Okay boys. This is urgent pack business, and most importantly, about your brother Paul. Now, Jacob here thinks Paul is stuck in the spirit world-"
I scoffed "-the spirit world, Jacob?"
"-Samuel, just listen. Jacob has asked for more information on the spirit world and I thought you all needed to hear this.
As you all know from our legends, ever since Taha Aki merged his soul with the wolf and passed this gene onto his sons, we have lost the ability to spirit walk. This is because there was a new way to defend the tribe, so spirit walking was no longer needed, and the ability was soon lost in history. But it seems your brother has been spirit walking for a while and now he is stuck. Unable to return to his body, which was slowly diminishing because of how long his soul has not been present in his vessel. I recognised the symptoms when I last visited the boy - "
"-so why the hell didn't you say anything?" I asked. Damn Old Quil for being so mysterious all of the time!
"Samuel, like I just said, spirit walking has not been seen performed for centuries! I thought at the time is was just a theory, that maybe I was wrong. But now Jacob here has come to me and told me exactly what I originally thought, I knew it was true. That Paul has been spirit walking. He seems very experienced in it as well-"
"-so experienced he got himself stuck?" Embry said.
"It happened a lot to the spirit warriors of Taha Aki's time. I found this passage in a journal we all thought was lost. This was written by the wife of one of the spirit warriors during the time of Taha Aki. I have translated it from Old Quileute as best I can…
His body grows weaker every day he is away and nothing I do makes a difference to this pallid affliction. We call for his soul to return to his body but to no avail, he has gone to the place where the dead souls wander. Perhaps he believes he is dead? Perhaps he has lost love for his family, or perhaps there is a chance he has lost himself. After thorough discussion with Taha Aki himself, we believe that my dear husband is stuck in that cold place, not able to come back and live and as he forgets to live, we see his body grow ever colder and weaker. I am fearful that the longer he stays away, the faster his body will die, thus making it impossible for his soul to return to this world, where he can live and thrive and be loved by his family
So as you all heard from one of the only written passages from that time, it is possible for a soul to become stuck on the other side"
"But how is he stuck? Can we get him out?" Jared asked.
"I believe Paul is trapped in the spirit world because he holds onto something there. Something he cannot have in this world and something he isn't willing to let go. What do you think he's holding onto?" Old Quil asked me suddenly.
The answer was obvious. We all knew what it was. Paul must be with his Mom and I believed he'd truly let this world go, let his life go, just to stay with her.
"His Mom is there" I said, and Old Quil nodded.
"You all know the pain he went through in his childhood, and how important his mother was to him, so it is with my observation that Paul is either with his mother in the spirit world and he ultimately refuses to come back, or his mother's soul has moved on and he is waiting for her to return with high hope that she will. Because in that world, he was with his mother once again and even if he wanted to return to his body, he wouldn't be able to because his soul holds onto something far more important to him than living-"
Jacob piped up "-Paul told us he's tried to come back at least 50 times in 2 months, do you think he knows he's been gone for 2 months?" he asked Old Quil.
"Perhaps he believes he has been there for a minute, an hour, or even a year. I cannot tell you the basis of time in the spirit world as such thing does not really exist on the other side-"
"-so it's been 2 months here. But to Paul, it could have felt like a year?" Jacob asked again.
"Yes" Old Quil answered.
There was a sudden uproar among the pack. All of us hated the distress our brother was going through right now.
Jacob called for quiet "I have something I need to tell you all and you all need to keep your mouths shut and keep an open mind, alright?" he said firmly. Alpha Jacob was close to the surface.
He continued "Paul is at the Cullen's residence getting treatment. No, just listen! -" he yelled when I tried to intervene angrily. Whose brilliant idea was it to hand Paul to our enemies?
"- when Paul was taken there, he had hypothermia, breathing problems, he had lost most of his body fat and muscle and he was severely dehydrated. Carlisle told me and Grandma Inola this morning. Paul had a heart attack when he got there-"
"-I wonder why! He knew he was getting help from bloodsucker-" Jared shouted out.
Jacob continued "-no, that's not it. I thought that too. But Carlisle explained that Paul's heart was starting to fail because his body was weak and cold, his organs were starting to shut down. He would have died! If we had left him in that bed in the house, he would have died. Do you all really want to blame yourselves for the rest of your lives because we said no to the Cullen's when they offered us help? Do you?" he yelled. I dropped my head in shame. No. I didn't want that. Paul deserved a chance at life as much as we all did. Jacob was right. He would have died if we had left him there. I felt disgusted with myself. How could I deny my brother help purely to keep my pride intact? To hell with traditions and beliefs!
"That's what I thought. I saw with my own eyes how much Paul has improved since being there. They got his body temperature almost back up to 108! His body is starting to fill out again and he's not dehydrated anymore! They are helping him!
Ask yourself this; are the Cullen's really our enemies? Sure, they're cold ones and we've been raised for generations to hate any of them because of the hell they brought to our tribe. But by helping our brother, by offering to help our brother, they've proved to us that they are NOT a threat. They never have been! The threat we need to worry about is the nomads! The Cullen's have proved to us for almost 100 years that we can trust them! I could rip the treaty up right now and they'd still respect it and stick to it! They're decent! The only threat to Paul was us! We were killing him for denying him help! So don't be angry at the Cullen's, don't be angry at yourselves! Let's just make a goddamn plan to get our brother back!"
Silence followed Jacob's speech, and then I stood up and applauded him. The guys all followed my lead as we cheered Jacob. This was Alpha Jacob, and he was ready to lead.
"I couldn't have said it better myself Jacob!" Old Quil piped in. Jacob sat down and took some deep breaths.
Old Quil clapped his hands to bring quiet again "I do have a plan to bring Paul back, but it would require the energy, hard work and belief of one of you" he said, eyeing us all up. He continued "- the person that volunteers will venture their soul into the spirit world and search for your brother. Whilst there, your task is not to simply bring him back to his body, because that will not bring him back. You will have to make him see that his mother will not return to him in that world and you must make him see that living is the only way he'll ever be able continue on, otherwise he will be stuck there permanently, never finding peace. Remember, if you cannot make his soul truly believe that his mother is no longer in the place where he resides, then he will not be able to come back. The soul must accept the past.
So, my question now to all of you… who will volunteer?"
A/N: Thank you for your reviews! So, we've now figured out that the reason Paul cannot return to his body is because he will not let his mother go! Part of his soul wants to stay in the spirit world with his Mom, whilst only a small part wants to return.
I want you all to decide who will venture into the spirit world to bring Paul back? Maybe Sam? Or perhaps Jacob? Leave me your reviews and tell me what you think would be best!
Much love to all of you and stay healthy and safe! x