Chapter Six
"Prayer"

(Bella's POV)

Sometimes, you will encounter a moment so terrifying that part of you just about succumbs to the fear. Pinned to the forest floor, beneath an unfamiliar man whose face looked as if it had been torn open from the inside out, was certainly one of those moments.

He must have followed us in here.

He was shouting and grunting and all I could do, habitually, was try to use my arms to block him. A black liquid poured out of his mouth and, in order to avoid it spilling on my face, I used every ounce of strength I had to roll him off of me.

He fell onto his back and I used those few precious seconds to scramble to my feet and reposition myself, so that I was blocking my little sister from his view.

As he slowly got up, I took note of the mud saturating his clothes and tried to formulate some sort of logical explanation for this occurrence. His hands looked as though he'd bathed them in a pool of blood just moments ago and the momentary, golden glint of a wedding ring tore my heart in half. What the hell is going on?

He stepped towards me. I stepped backwards. We both froze.

I looked up from his hands, seeking his eyes, and his piercing, blue gaze struck me. Though he looked like some sort of monster, I'd never seen anyone look more human in my life. An eruption of screams in the distance made me whimper. His face twitched in response to the sound and he turned, throwing himself in the direction of the commotion.

I stood there, contemplating everything I though I knew, and I honestly don't know how I managed to turn around and look at Hollie. She had her tiny hands over her face, in an I can't see you so you can't see me manner. I cautiously stepped towards her, checking behind me out of sheer paranoia, and bent slowly down to her level. My legs were shaking so violently that I had to fight to stay on my feet.

"It's okay," I whispered. "He's gone."

She cried then, her small form shaking with the sobs. She'd known to stay quiet throughout the ordeal and I was so incredibly proud of her for being so brave. No one should have to see anything like that, never mind a little kid.

I pulled her off of the tree trunk and into my arms, holding her as close to me as I could possibly get her.

"Be strong," I whispered, quoting Deuteronomy 31:6, "and of good courage. Do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, he is the one who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you."

I looked around, unsure of what exactly I was meant to do now. The longer we sat here, I was seemingly putting us more at risk. It was time to move but I didn't know where to go. My father had told us to head North, but that was assuming I had a vehicle, which I do not. At this precise moment, I couldn't even tell left from right. If I could somehow figure out which way was North, and that was a massive if, what chance did we have? It was only a matter of time before we were in some sort of danger again, though I had no clue what exactly we were up against, and being out in the wilderness wasn't a long term option.

I felt an unbearable surge of emotion rush through me. It was a combination of heartbreak and panic. I had absolutely no way of knowing where my dad was and all I wanted was for him to be here with us right now. I needed him to tell me what to do.

"Bella?"

Fair to say, the unexpected voice just about gave me a bloody heartattack. I was upright in mere seconds, shielding my little sister once again. I looked around me frantically, trying to locate the direction in which the sound came from; until my eyes finally landed on a very familiar face.

"Please tell me I'm not hallucinating," I said, still trembling.

"Funnily enough," he replied, his hands held up in surrender; obviously in response to the stance I had taken in front of Hollie, "I was just thinking the same thing."

(Edward's POV)

All she did was stare blankly at me, utterly dumbfounded. I couldn't quite believe the situation myself. She had taken a protective position in front of a little girl, who looked no older than five. My mind twisted and flipped with endless possibilities as to how they ended up in here, but I had to conclude that Bella had simply been clever enough to know what to do.

I took a second to really look at her, whilst we stood there silently. Her clothes were sitting at an awkward angle and there was a thick, black substance coating the left arm of her parka. I scanned her face, trying to understand her attire, and her eyes glistened with unshed tears. It was only then that I realised she must have literally just been in some sort of struggle.

"There was, uh—" Her breath caught in her throat, cutting her off momentarily. "There was a man. H-he was... T-there was liquid pouring out of..."

All rationality left my brain at that second because I realised that I, along with the small child behind her, might actually be in danger.

"Did he bite you?" I asked, trying not to frighten either of them.

"What?" She looked completely confused, and I knew that she obviously had no idea what was going on, but I had to make sure.

"Did he bite you, Bella?" I repeated, more urgent this time.

"No," she replied, almost inaudibly. "He knocked m-me over but I managed to roll him off of me. P-p-people started screaming, s-so he ran that way."

She pointed behind them, into the canopy of trees. It was unbelievably difficult for me to believe that she, considering her small form, had managed to get a grown man off of her. If it weren't for the mess she was in, I'd have thought she was joking.

"Are you hurt?" I asked, suddenly overcome with an embarrassing surge of emotion. I was unexpectedly thankful that I'd found an acquaintance in this condition rather than what could have been. It assured me that there was still hope.

She wiped her eyes, her hands trembled. "I don't think so."

"Good. That's good."

We were silent then and I wasn't sure exactly what to do from here. I hadn't anticipated an apocalypse when I went to bed last night, because they aren't supposed to exist, and I certainly hadn't anticipated that I'd end up face to face with Bella Swan amidst it.

She spun around and bent to the little girl's level, having to put her hand on the muddy ground to keep herself upright. She used her other hand to move some hair out of the girl's face and I couldn't help but stare on.

"Everything is going to be okay," she whispered, a promise I wasn't sure she could keep.

"Where's daddy?" the girl demanded, her sweet voice surprisingly calm considering what she'd most likely just witnessed. I could see the streaks down her face, however, where terrified tears had fallen.

"He's working," she replied. I knew that if I had to make a guess, Bella probably wasn't sure whether or not that statement was actually true.

She turned to look up at me, her eyes finding mine almost immediately; I didn't even have time to pretend I wasn't gawking at the two of them. I could see the questioning look on her face, combined with absolute horror.

"What should I do?"

My heart stammered, a natural human response to her helplessness. I knew in that second, even if I was somehow an inch from death, there was no way I could leave them here alone. I could never forgive myself.

"It's too dangerous to stay here," I said, stepping cautiously towards her. "Please come with me."

"There's nowhere to go."

"My house."

"Will it be safe?" she asked desperately, pulling who I assumed was her little sister around so that she was standing between us.

"It's in the middle of nowhere," I explained, realising too late that she probably already knew that. "I can't promise you anything but I'm hoping no one has found it yet."

"We don't have any other choice, do we?"

"I really don't think we do right now," I admitted, unzipping her coat to slip it off of her shoulders. Something about that black liquid was causing me great concern, and I certainly didn't want her covered in it.

I dumped it on the ground to the left of us, keeping my eyes on her face the full time. I was trying to be reassuring but it was a difficult task when I wasn't convinced we were even going to be alive in a few hours time. The thought itself made me want to throw up. Nonetheless, she had fought off an animalistic man, and so I had no excuse not to match her bravery.

"You're incredibly brave," I complimented, trying not to imagine the scene I could have arrived at.

A deep, crimson blush spread across her cheeks and I was reminded of the very little I knew about her: intelligent, amusing, and indescribably shy. I knew I could add courageous to that short list.

She grabbed a backpack off of the ground, and I almost laughed in awe at how prepared the two of them were. From the boots, to the parkas, to the bag... I was quite amazed. How anyone could think straight at a time like this was beyond me. The only conclusion I could really come to was that Bella didn't know exactly what to prepare for and so she decided to prepare them for anything.

An eruption of screams startled all three of us.

The little girl looked up to Bella for reassurance, but Bella looked straight at me. I had asked her to come with me and because of that, I was now responsible for their safety. I couldn't guarantee it, but I could try.

"We have to go," I told her, holding out my hand unthinkingly. "Now."