Okay...so I know, it's really really REALLY late and I'm lame...but I hope you guys still love me :))
I apologize that some of you haven't been enjoying the story :(( I hope this chapter changes your mind!
By the way, I think it's REALLY adorable that some of you have crushes on me :)) you guys are too sweet!
BY THE WAY: The previous chap was dedicated to , and idk why her name didn't show up when I typed it in lol.
This chappy is dedicated to ALL OF YOU :))
I love you all! Enjoy!!!
***
As I drifted, I dreamed.
I dreamt that I was sinking deeper and deeper into an inescapable whirlpool of dark water, crushing me with it's unwavering weight.
Then, I was being pinned up against a wall, a spear nailing me to the concrete by my right hand. I howled with agonized desperation, needing the pain to subside.
I was going to die.
Perhaps I was already dead, though.
The pain began to spread down my arm, burning with the hot intensity of one thousand scorching coals.
Surely, I was dead, for I could hear Ashley's voice calling me through the fog.
"SPENCER! No, no, no, SPENCER!" Her musical voice was laced with evident pain, and I heard a deafening thud as my eyes flew open. My vision was hazy, but I could still make out Ashley's tensed form, crouched in a defensive position a few feet away from me. I watched, handicapped by the blazing ache in my hand. I ignored it as best I could, and gazed on helplessly as my angel was slammed into a mirror. The pieces shattered, but she didn't appear to have experienced the impact.
"You're faster than the others," Carmen breathed, just audible enough so I could hear in my blurry state as she squeezed Ashley's neck. "But not stronger." My girlfriend's golden eyes flashed briefly to mine, softened the slightest bit, then flickered back to the tracker.
"I'm strong enough to kill you," Ashley snarled viciously, shoving Carmen backwards. The red-eyed vampire skidded across the floor, uprooting the waxed wood in her wake.
At that precise moment, my body felt as if it was on fire. My head spun, pounding relentlessly, and I couldn't see Ashley anymore. I felt my body convulsing uncontrollably, and I shrieked from discomfort.
"Spencer!" Came Ashley's strangled cry from somewhere in the distance. I heard another series of loud thuds. Ashley's furious, wild roar rang through my ears, and I forced myself to open my eyes. My glazed, cloudy gaze settled on Ashley, leaping from a ledge above the mirrors. She flew forward, growling fiercely, and hurled into Carmen. The crashing sound of the collision only furthered the pain in my body and the building pressure in my head.
I closed my eyes warily, and attempted to regulate my breathing.
I was still convulsing involuntarily, and spasms of pain were rocking every part of my body. I cried out frantically; the only sound I could make at this point.
"Spencer, please! Listen to me, Spence. Please!" Ashley's broken, tearless sobs came from close by, possibly beside me. I couldn't tell exactly where through the fog of my thoughts.
I wanted so badly to tell her I was listening.
But I couldn't. The pain was robbing me of my speech.
"Raife!" my angel called, panicked anguish coloring her velvety voice. I felt like my lungs were being compressed, and began to gasp for breath.
"She's lost quite a bit of blood," Raife's calm, methodical voice was directly above me, but I still couldn't open my eyes. "The head wound isn't too deep, but her leg is broken. Some ribs might be cracked."
A frenzied snarl of anger left Ashley's curled lips, and suddenly, the ever-present aches in my body faded away. Instead, the scalding pressure in my hand flowed through all of my senses, and I fought to keep consciousness.
I needed to see Ashley.
I needed to see her angelic face one last time.
"Ashley," I managed, and I could tell from the way my voice pronounced the syllables of her name that I was still thrashing about violently.
"Spencer, I've got you. Can you hear me? I love you. I'm so sorry." I think she was stroking my burning cheek, but I couldn't feel it.
Everything was numb with pain.
"Ash," I struggled, only getting the first syllable out.
"I'm right here, Spencer," she said fervently, pressing the back of her icy hand to my forehead. I could practically feel myself trembling from the pain under her touch.
"I-it h-h-hurts," I stuttered, sobbing and panting.
"I know, Spence, I know," she whispered soothingly.
"M-m-make it s-stop!" I yelled, torn between wanting to die from the scorching spasms of my hand, and wanting to stay with Ashley.
"Raife, do something!" My angel shouted angrily.
"Kyla, my bag, please," Raife ordered. With my good hand, I blindly reached out, and clutched Ashley's frigid one in a death-grip.
"K-K-Kyla's h-here?" I sputtered stupidly. I faintly registered Ashley squeezing my free hand back with just enough returning pressure to let me know she was there.
"I'm right next to you, Spencer," Kyla answered. Contrary to her statement, I felt her icy hands bracing my quivering ankles on the ground as Raife wrapped my leg tightly in something.
But the small aches in my broken leg were nothing compared to the blistering sensation in my hand.
"Ashley," I whispered, "my hand hurts."
"It will stop, Spencer. It's alright; Raife is going to fix it. You're going to be fine."
Then, something in me broke. My eyes widened to enormous proportions, and I broke free of everyone's grip, save Ashley's. I writhed wildly on the floor, a dark film covering my eyes. The searing pain in my hand was worse than before, and I honestly didn't know how long I was going to be able to stand it.
"MY HAND IS BURNING!" I screamed, clawing desperately at Ashley's strong form. I heard the sound of fabric ripping, and felt Ashley grasp my hand harder. I was able to make out her face through the shadows in front of my eyes. The torture she was experiencing plainly mirrored mine.
Yet, she still looked so breathtakingly beautiful.
I must be in heaven.
"The tracker bit her," Kyla's declared quietly, appalled. My angel didn't look surprised, though; her expression was exactly the same. Horrified.
She already knew that Carmen had bitten me.
"Ashley," I whispered, still reaching for her. If I was going to die, I wanted her to hold me as I went. She merely reached up with her free hand, and swiftly wiped away the tears in my eyes. I continued to convulse and sob, wanting so badly to relax.
I couldn't ignore the scalding pain in my hand much longer.
"Ashley, you need to do it," Raife's methodical voice floated towards us.
I wasn't listening; I was simply focusing on her perfect face, rememorizing each of her features.
"No," Ashley's voice was strained, muffled, as she kept her golden eyes on mine. "No, please. There must be another way."
"The bite is fairly clean. You'll probably be able to suck the venom out in a few moments if you hurry."
I wanted to laugh, but I could hardly breathe. How calmly Raife spoke of Ashley sucking my blood.
"Are you sure that will work?" Kyla's soprano voice was panicky.
"I don't know," Raife replied honestly. Then, my hand flared sickeningly, bringing with it another onslaught of distressed sobs and shrieks. Ashley looked at me, terror masking her face as she squeezed my good hand.
"I…I don't think I can do it, Raife," Ashley admitted, her silky voice strangled. "I'm not strong enough. I'll hurt her."
"Yes you can, Ash," Kyla said confidently.
"Spencer needs you, sweetie," Raife added, tightening the makeshift brace on my leg as I continued to shake uncontrollably. "Fight the temptation."
"Please, Ashley," I begged, crying for everyone I had put in danger, and the unyielding white-hot feeling increasing in my palm. Her flawless face was frozen in shock, deliberating with herself. Then, I squeezed my eyes shut as another spasm of pain shot through my hand. I choked back a scream as I felt a pair of cool lips that I knew so well press against my sensitive hand. I thrashed about, trying to break away from Kyla's grip on my ankles, and Raife's hand on my chest, forcing me down.
Then, I miraculously felt the fiery pangs ebbing away, and with it, my consciousness. I felt Ashley lace our fingers together, and squeeze weakly as she sucked out the venom.
And I fought to stay with her.
"Ashley," I tried to say, but I don't think it came out.
"She's here, Spencer. She's right here," Kyla assured me, her voice painted with relief.
Then, the burning was gone.
I felt as if I was drifting into sleep; in the absence of the pain, I felt exhausted. My body slackened, the convulsions dying away as I breathed heavily.
"Ashley…" I groaned.
Speaking was becoming incredibly difficult.
"Stay with me, Ash. Please…please don't leave."
"I won't, Spence," her voice was strained with disbelief, as if she couldn't understand that she had just saved my life.
My angel.
"Did you get it all out?" Raife asked robotically.
"Her blood tastes clean," Ashley reported. "There was a substantial amount of morphine, though."
Then, it was silent, and I felt myself being gathered into a pair of cold, marble arms. I relaxed, sighing contently as I leaned against Ashley's chest. She tucked my head under her chin, and rocked us back and forth.
In her strong embrace, I felt whole again.
"Spencer, is the fire gone?" Kyla asked in a tiny voice. I nuzzled my face into Ashley's neck, deeply inhaling her unique scent.
"Yes. Thank you, Ashley."
"I love you," she answered, her musical voice quavering. I looked up, and saw her butterscotch eyes glistening with unshed tears. I leaned up to kiss her, but she pressed her lips to my forehead instead, drawing me closer to her body.
She was shaking.
My poor Ashley.
"Ash, it's okay," I murmured decrepitly, wrapping my arms around her torso as she continued to rock us back and forth. "I love you."
She responded by pressing soft, butterfly kisses to my face and hair. In our private moment of intimacy, her father and sister had gotten up to converse with the rest of their family members.
I was too absorbed in Ashley to really listen, but fragments of conversation floated toward me.
"We got her…" Glen's triumphant voice.
"…burnt to pieces…" Jake.
"Spencer?" Raife asked from somewhere above me as Ashley continued her affectionate assault on my face.
I was welcoming every bit of her I possibly could. I had missed her, and I realized I was trembling just as much as she was.
"Mhmm?"
"Where is your mother?"
My mother. I almost didn't respond, figuring I wouldn't dignify that with an answer.
But I digress.
"Not here. The tracker…the tracker tricked me," I told him, trying to express my anger through my frail, hoarse voice. "She used a home video…and I wish that…I don't know…"
Incoherency should be a synonym for Spencer Carlin.
"Let's move her," Jake's smooth voice suggested. "She looks exhausted, and this place gives me the creeps."
"No, I'm too tired to move," I complained, burying my face in Ashley's chocolate locks.
Then, I heard my favorite sound in the world: her musical chuckle.
All was right again.
"You can sleep, sweetheart. I'm going to carry you," she promised me, standing up and cradling my frail form closer to her chest.
I was floating.
"I love you," I reminded her as my eyes fluttered shut. I felt her press a tender, loving kiss to my dry lips in response.
"Sleep now, Spencer" were the last words I heard.
And I knew she wouldn't leave.
***
R&R PLEASE!
SPASHLEYFOREVER&&EVER!! :))