Authors Note: What did you think of the last chapter? Updated a little sooner because I couldn't wait to show you guys. x Review please!
Chapter 2: Last Breath
The black bear snarled deeply. It kept one giant paw atop Emmett's body to prohibit him from escape. It nosed through the boy's belongings as a strong scent wafted into its nostrils. Chuffing in triumph when it discovered what it was looking for, the beast tore through the hunter's burlap sack and gobbled down the rabbit carcass.
It licked its bloody jowls and continued to guard Emmett's body.
Another low growl resonated from about a hundred feet away. Emmett prayed to God that it wasn't another predator attempting to devour him. The presence of a wolf or bobcat would contribute to him suffering an even more tortuous death.
But it had sounded almost... feminine?
Emmett strained himself to open his dark blue eyes, mystified by the peculiar growl.
A strikingly beautiful young woman wearing a thin white dress was crouching upon the incline of the mountain. She was the most breathtaking human being he had ever seen. Her wavy blonde hair billowed in the wind and her skin dappled with a thousand tiny diamonds in the sunlight. She was the epitome of magnificence.
She was his guardian angel.
The bear roared and gnashed its crooked teeth upon her arrival. It eyed Emmett evilly as if in warning that he should stay put. It lifted its heavy paw from Emmett's body and proceeded to lunge at its new target.
The woman released an aggressive hiss and was poised to spring at the bear.
Emmett's hazy thoughts were spinning in disbelief. Blood was draining out of him at a rapid pace. Moving was impossible and his limbs felt like deadweights.
But his eyes were cemented on the gorgeous woman who vaulted herself at the dreadful creature.
The woman collided with the massive black bear. It stumbled backwards in bewilderment of the impact of her body. Though the animal was twice her size, her power was much more. Her prowess like a wildcat... She was much too quick for the bumbling beast. Gurgling in frustration, the beast swatted at her with its dagger claws.
When it realized that she was a threat, the bear attempted to scramble away. The creature attempted to climb up a dogwood tree in desperation.
Fear flashed in the beast's eyes.
The impossibly strong woman leaped onto the wild bear's back and tore it from the branch.
She wrapped her arms around its thick frame and suffocated it instantly. It did not have time to fight back. The savage brute's body fell dead at her feet.
He dazedly watched her crouch near the animals neck but could not decipher her actions.
And in seconds, she was face-to-face with him.
Her appearance was not marred in the slightest. Even after the fight, she was still perfect. The blood smears on her dress were from the animal's wounds. The horrible beast was not able to lay a claw on her.
Emmett's savior lifted his brawny physique without any struggle and carried him gently. Her pasty white arms were as cold as ice.
And then they were moving.
Trees whipped around the two of them in every direction. Emmett thought they were flying. He trusted that she would protect him. Even with blood pooling from his gashes, she invoked an overwhelming sense of calm in him.
His angel was taking him to Heaven.
Emmett could barely stay awake, but he could not stop himself from studying her immaculate face up close. She was the sole distraction from the immense pain he was experiencing. Her skin appeared as if it was carved from stone by a master sculptor; her complexion was very pale and without flaw. She had the most exquisite liquid golden irises that melted into his soul. He'd never seen eyes so comforting... They were like honey, drawing him into their depths. His dying heart held on a bit longer.
The woman gazed down into the dying man's eyes as she held him. Her face was contorted with great anguish and other indiscernible emotions.
Immense blood loss caused Emmett to black out in her grasp for the duration of the journey.
The nearly-dead twenty year old had regained a hazy consciousness when he was laid upon an antique wooden table. A piercing white spotlight shone into his sensitive pupils. Aside from the lamp, his surroundings were dark and bare. The room smelled strongly of must and the air was moist.
A few people whom he could not identify hovered over his still figure. Emmett prayed that his angel was still there.
Voices around him spoke with haste, most of their words were too abrupt for him to understand. One voice in particular was so captivating and so lovely that it stirred his fragile heart.
Only pieces of their conversation stuck out to him.
"...Mauled by a bear. He's dying! Carlisle, do something!"
A man with golden hair and brilliant eyes to match studied his unexpected patient. Similarities between the man's features and his savior's were uncanny. His amber gaze held a great deal of empathy and sorrow. Emmett trusted this stranger instinctually and wholeheartedly.
"There is nothing to be done except for what you already know, Rose. Is that what you want?"
"...I'm sorry, Carlisle."
"Don't apologize. I understand."
The dying hunter was convinced the man before him was God.
"I absolutely cannot waste anymore time here." Murmuring to himself fervently, the saintly man ascertained that his patient must be taken care of at once. His voice was gentle but to-the-point.
Emmett had no idea what the man was speaking about. The McCarty boy was too weak to ask. His vital organs were on the brink of shut down and it was incredibly painful for him to keep fighting.
Emmett was on the edge of the knife that was life and death.
"This will be over soon." The Godlike creature promised the boy below him and offered him a knowing glance.
Craning his head, the man bit into the suffering boy's neck. His sharp teeth pierced through the skin and clamped the jugular vein. Liquid seeped from the man's fangs into the patient's bloodstream.
Emmett's eyelids flew wide open. He howled in horror and writhed at the new pain that erupted in his body.
Fire.