Chapter Two: A Fire Burning
Burning. That's all he could feel for days… or was it hours? Edward had no concept of time or what was even going on, all he could feel was agonising pain. He didn't even know if he was dead or alive. If he weren't already dead, then that's what he wished for now.
He kicked his legs and roared as his back arched. This had been going on for so long now and he wasn't sure how much of the fire he could take any longer. It was maddening. How did this even happen? One moment he was driving along a winding road and the next he was crumpled up screaming for help that would never come.
For a moment he thought it might be over when his toes cooled down, but the fire was still prominent everywhere else.
Who were those voices he'd heard up until the fire? It sounded like they knew his parents. He remembered how desperate his father had sounded, and how pleading his mother had been. Were they alive?
Another spark of hope rose in his mind as his feet were now cold and numb. If this was death taking over then he welcomed it with open arms. However as the rest of his body was put out, and he started to gather his bearings, he knew he was still alive but the place wasn't recognisable.
He didn't care about that. He was in just such great relief that the pain was over.
There couldn't be an experience on this planet worse than the fire.
Edward half expected his shaky hands to fail when he tried to prop himself up but he couldn't have been more wrong. His hands, usually clumsy, were perfectly still and he was able to sit up with ease. He paid more attention to his surroundings and even though he could tell it was dark, he could still see as if it were daytime.
He thought about standing and a second later he was wondering when he'd actually done it. He kept turning around as if to look for answers but no explanation came forth.
All he knew was that he felt… good. Like he was in perfect health and full of energy. There was nothing that could stop him from doing anything he wanted. He was indestructible. This world was his to conquer if he wanted.
Edward took a couple steps forward before bursting into a sprint, soon coming to realise just how fast he was going as trees and buildings whisked by so fast his old eyes wouldn't have been able to keep up. The wind blew past his face and his feet barely touched the ground – it felt like he was flying!
What's happened to me?
He stopped dead in his tracks. "Mum." He whispered and bolted away again.
He was so fast that it didn't take him long to get anywhere, it never would again. But as he returned to the scene he wished it had taken him a little longer so that he could prepare himself for what met his eyes.
Every detail was visible to him. The car was gone but he spotted one of the front doors flung to the side into a bush. The winding road was empty and the bodies had been discarded further away from the road. One was completely drained of blood; that was the carcass of his father. The other had her head and body sin separate locations; that was his mother. All only half covered by the fallen leaves collected on the ground.
Edward fell to his knees in shock. They'd been left here to rot, but his mother's corpse still looked well preserved unlike his fathers. He buried his face in his hands and sobbed, falling backwards after loosing his balance for the first time since waking.
"I'm so sorry." He shook uncontrollably.
What could he do now? No family? What was the point now? What was he suppose to do with them?
He found the nearest gas station he could find and tried to use the phone outside but it was broken. He hoped that there would be someone who could help him inside. He marched up to the counter and opened his mouth to demand use of a phone when he caught his reflection in the glass cabinet behind the counter.
Crimson red eyes stared right back at him and he jumped backwards.
"Whoa, dude, are you okay?" The man in a blue cap asked worriedly.
"Yeah…." His voice barely audible. "No. I- I- need a phone."
The man reached under to grab something. "Here. Use it."
He accepted the device and dialled 911 to report the incident and tried to keep his breathing under control as those demonic eyes played with his mind. He was asked to give to name of the street, who the casualties were, and his name.
The sheriff was someone he knew. It was Bella's father. So when he got the call from him there wasn't much of a gap between him leaving the gas station and then seeing flashing blue/red lights. Charlie seemed to be at a loss for words, but that was okay because so was he. There was nothing that anyone could say now anyway that would make any of this better.
Charlie took him to the station and had him wrapped up in a blanket that he didn't need.
Remembering his horror at seeing his reflection, Edward closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wall. It suited him better anyway, he'd prefer no one come up to him to ask him questions. Something that could be avoided for now if they believed he was asleep.
"How is he holding up?"
"I don't know. He hasn't said a word. Do him a favour and wait until he's ready." Charlie advised.
"Yes, sir."
"There's a lot of unanswered questions."
"I know, and they can wait. You hear?"
The cop must have nodded because nothing else was said for a while after that.
Edward stayed the night in the Sheriffs office and Charlie pulled an all nighter. He tried all he could and even though he felt exhausted now, he couldn't sleep. But with everything that has gone on he couldn't say it was that shocking.
"Hey kid." He heard Charlie beside him as he received a gentle nudge.
Edward opened his eyes wearily but Charlie didn't seem to notice like he had at the gas station.
"I'm sorry to wake you. Here, I brought you some soup."
"Oh, thanks."
"Can I get you anything else? Maybe coffee?"
After taking a whiff off the soup he had in his hands he declined the offer. For some reason it smelt off and he didn't want to try it. Though he did feel hungry for something.
"If it's alright with you, we'd like to take a statement from you today. Only if you feel up to it."
"That's fine." He cleared his throat.
"Okay." Charlie made a forced smile and patted a hand on his shoulder. "Come find me when you're ready but take your time. There's no rush."
Edward gave an appreciative nod. "Thanks, Charlie."
He was left alone again and the burning in his throat dulled slightly but it was still uncomfortable. He couldn't say what it was but it got worse again when Charlie came to take his statement. After he was finished he excused himself to get some air. They were all very understanding and gave him his space.
The burning didn't lessen like last time. He was so hungry, no it was more than that.
He tried distracting himself with the memory of the voice he'd heard. It had definitely been a woman who told him that'd he'd one day find them again. But what did that mean? Who were they? What had they done to him? All he knew for sure was that they'd murdered his parents. So if he did in fact find them again then he'd do a lot worse to them.
As a car pulled up and a man stepped out of his car with a big duffel bag, Edward gripped his own neck as the fire intensified with each passing moment. The man was heading his way and Edward was afraid of what might happen if he got closer. So to escape the man, the fire, the hunger… he bolted into the forest.
The trees should have been nothing but a blur but his improved eye sight caught every branch in multiple snapshots. There was a deer lowering its head to drink from a stream half a mile ahead and he was snapping it's neck as soon as the smell caught his nostrils to drink from it.
He had no time to think or question it. The hunger had gotten too real and too painful. There was a lingering thought on the back of his mind as he continued to devour his meal; if he was truly doing this and all the other abilities that came to him after the fire…. What does this make him?
He dropped the drained carcass and his mind flashed back to finding his father. It had been the same. The life had been sucked out of them the same way. Had he done that to his father? No! He couldn't have, even if he did remember very little of that day. Those voices had done it.
It didn't take him long to know that he didn't want to stick around to look at what he'd done for any longer, so he ran away and at some point decided to go back to his empty home.
Opening the front door felt eery with everything that had changed. This was all his now. What would he do with it? The house was three stories and he thought it had been overkill with just the three of them. Now it was just him on his own. He ignored the pictures hanging on the walls as he treaded upstairs.
His room was the same way he'd left it. He'd always been so neat and organised… but for what? Life can't be controlled or maintained. Trying to organise it is pointless.
Edward stripped off his ragged clothes and threw them to find something else. He rummaged through his drawers, scattering them on the floor as he did so. Finally finding some well-fit black jeans and a simple white top to wear as he combed a hand through his messy bronze locks.
Returning to the mirror in the bathroom to see his eyes had once again changed. Instead of red they were now a low burning orange – the same he'd seen on his mother a couple times that he was now recalling. The car wasn't the first time she'd slipped. His mother was something else and now so was he.
"What the hell is going on?" He muttered to himself.
Just like every other time; no answer came. So he decided he didn't need one. He was different, something more powerful. Maybe this was just some twisted joke that God had pulled just because he can. Whatever it was, he didn't have it in him to care anymore. It was too hurtful to think about it.
This couldn't be real. It made no sense. So what would be the point in trying to make sense of it?
"I'm done." He growled.
Soon disappearing to zap around the house to put everything away in the attic as there were no boxes for storage. All the photos, all the books, all the personal belongings were no out of sight except a sofa and television. Whatever didn't fit in the attic was put in his parents room because he'd never go in there again.
His phone rang and it was an unknown number. It would be Charlie calling from the Sheriffs department to check up on him, he didn't pick up but cast it elsewhere.
It was time to let old things go and let his new life persevere. There was nothing in his old life left for him now, if he'd learned anything then it was that life was just a series of cruel events that will eventually knock you down. So it was time to have some fun while he was still standing.