Let Me In-Chapter Eleven
Isabella's growl shatters the silent night as she sees Mason twisting Charlie's arm.
Their bodies impact when Isabella lunges at Mason with a force that propels them through a window and into the nearby woods. She is weakened from the earlier car crash so her strength fails to withstand Mason's.
He easily launches her into a sturdy tree while he returns inside to retrieve Charlie. Charlie was trying to drag his maimed body to the Cullens, but he is unable to move with enough momentum. Mason smirks at the human's attempt to evade his superior strength and speed.
If any of Charlie's neighbors looked out the window, they would see a predator at its finest.
Mason is almost euphoric as he circles Charlie in the middle of the darkened road. Charlie only sees a fast moving blur that he assumes is the creature that attacked him. He knows that this creature must be the same as his Isabella and he is worried about her. He wanted to get help from the Cullens after he saw Isabella attack the man, but he can't move fast enough. His heartbeat accelerates, not because he is fearful of what could happen to him, but because he is fearful of what the man will do to his Isabella. Charlie knows that he isn't as strong as Isabella, but that never prevented him from not wanting to protect her. His only hope now is to distract this thing long enough so that Isabella can get away.
So Charlie makes a decision to give up his life for Isabella's while standing in a poorly lit snow covered street. He doesn't care what happens to him, he just knows that he has the opportunity to protect Isabella and he will take it.
He steels himself against the unforeseen force that surely would end his life. Mason is surprised when Charlie looks like he is getting ready for battle. He notices that the man's heart has decelerated as if preparing for what is about to come and he gains a bit of respect for this human.
He crouches ready to take one of Isabella's valued pets when his form is bathed in light from a car turning the corner.
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When Isabella left, Alice told the others that she seemed frazzled and went to help Charlie. Edward and Alice went to look for her but they saw her drive away before they could reach her. They drove after her, but she was too fast. Soon they fell behind.
It was only when they came upon a car crash that they realized, she was lost forever. No one could survive that trauma; and Edward felt himself shatter because Isabella was dead. He didn't understand his reaction but he went into a panic attack after they stopped their car. Alice had to calm him before they both made the decision to tell Charlie in person.
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So imagine their surprise when they see Charlie standing in the middle of the street bleeding while a very strange looking man is crouching before him. This isn't even a man; he seems to be more of an animal.
Mason briefly turns to gaze upon the two teenagers in the car. Both Alice and Edward see his red eyes glinting against his wretchedly pale skin. He looks sickly because the skin surrounding his eyes seemed to be deeply bruised. It's as if the veins around his eyes are engorged with coagulated blood.
Mason stands tall and smirks at Edward, ignoring Charlie for a moment to take in his next victim. He is elated that Edward is present to experience the anguish on Isabella's face as he destroys Charlie.
Edward visibly cringes at the hatred embedded on this man's face. But it isn't his sharp white teeth or his abnormal eyes that disturbed Edward the most, it's the resemblance. It's like looking at a self portrait come to life. This man looks like Edward.
Before Edward can turn to look at Alice to ask her why the man looks so much like him, they see a thinner body in a tattered and burnt black dress launch itself at him.
Isabella uses Mason's distraction to slam him with as much force as possible. She causes them to fall into the snow, tumbling down the hill.
"Shit Edward, I think that was Bella!"
Alice's eyes are wide as she glances at her brother. They look at each other for a millisecond before Edward turns off the car and they both step out running after the entangled bodies.
Charlie is ahead of them though. He is screaming with all his might to leave Bella alone as he pushes his broken body to move faster.
The human body is incredible and can achieve great things under stress. Sometimes we can find the strength in ourselves to perform impossible tasks when our loved ones are in danger.
Charlie finds that strength in him for Isabella.
Mason has Isabella by the throat as he crushes her body to his. Her back is flattened against his chest and he is squeezing her throat causing small cracks to develop along her neck, marring her unblemished skin.
Charlie jumps on Mason's back, wrapping his arms around his neck in a choke-hold. He uses his fingers to push into Mason's eyes before going back to tightening his hold on him. Mason cries in anguish as Charlie's fingers dig into his eyes and he releases Isabella out of surprise and anger.
He is done playing with his food.
Charlie is sent flying into the air and a sickening crack is heard as his torso is caught by the hardened ground. Alice screams as she sees Charlie's mangled body and she turns to vomit. Edward is more determined to get Bella out of this creature's grasp once he sees the damage it inflicts on her father.
What Mason didn't realize was that it was a mistake to ever threaten Isabella's loved ones. Because the same strength that Charlie called upon when Isabella was in danger is now spurring Isabella into an uncontrollable frenzy.
She screeches causing Edward and Alice to cover their ears and cringe. They look up when they hear a thunderous crack.
Venom pools in Isabella's mouth and her eyes are red as unimaginable power surges through her body. She is lethal as she meticulously severs Mason's head.
Our creature is disturbingly beautiful as she moves with grace; like a dance on the banks of the Seine River she waltzes from one part of his body to another. She moves too quickly for Mason and his face remains in a surprised look as he falls apart.
The grotesque magnificence of the scene cements Edward where he stands. Both he and Alice watch as Isabella starts a fire with dry twigs and toss the man's body into the burning flames.
Isabella only has the purest rage flowing through her as she clinically continues with the task of amassing Mason's body to burn. Her ire is only tempered when she hears the faint heartbeat coming from the broken Charlie who still lies in a crumbled heap.
She moves quickly to him and falls on her hands and knees. She cradles his head in her arms as she looks into his eyes. They are glassy and he seems to be looking beyond her into another dimension; one she can never reach. Weariness descends on Isabella and she slumps forward hovering over Charlie as she begins to weep. She seems so young and vulnerable in that moment.
"Please don't leave me…"
Her voice is like a child's; so different for the assassin that Edward witnessed a second ago. He is roused from his state of inaction by her plea and he slowly walks towards her.
Isabella doesn't notice Edward's advancing form and she blocks out Alice's sobs. All she sees is Charlie. She now understands how much Charlie loves her. She never allowed herself to let anyone in before Charlie and his pain deeply cuts her. She is consumed by the grief of being without him and she has never felt so weak.
Charlie's gaze shifts to really see Isabella, to really see the person behind the red eyes and sharp teeth. She is just a girl. He has always known that she needed love and that was all he gave. He treated her as if she was his child because she was the child he never had. Although he is looking forward to being reunited with his wife Renee, he doesn't want to loose Isabella.
"Hey, look at me." Charlie's voice is weak as blood leaks from his body, "I'll always be with you and just remember that I love you and I always will."
Charlie closes his eyes and sighs deeply; and with a smile on his face, held in the arms on his impromptu daughter, Charlie Swan is reunited with his wife, Renee.
"Wake up!"
Isabella's voice is filled with anguish. She gives Charlie's body a pleading stare as if looking at him will wake him from his eternal slumber.
"Please don't go, please don't go Charlie. I'm so sorry I've been bad. Don't leave me, I'll be good again."
Grief is a sentient being that graces us with it's presence in waves. Grief settles on Isabella causing her to wail and rock back and forth. She has never succumbed to such weakness.
She has lost too much blood.
She lies next to Charlie but her body is not attempting to heal itself because there isn't enough blood in her system. The cracks in her neck from Mason's hands are still apparent and she welcomes the pain that she feels. She knows she needs blood but as she lies next to her dead Charlie surrounded by a mixture of his blood and her venom, she can think of no reason for her to make an effort to save herself…
That is until she sees Edward in her line of sight.
His face is above hers and she smiles at her heart's desire.
"Bella, please let me help you."
"No Edward, I should have died instead of Charlie. He was good…and I'm not."
"No, don't say that. You don't know what it was like when I thought you were dead. I…I…need you to live…I don't care what you are…just please tell me what to do to help you."
Isabella cocks her head slightly and looks at Edward. He wants her?
Her gaze pierces him, "promise me, you won't tell anyone what you saw tonight. You can't tell them what I am."
"Yes, anything…I promise and Alice won't say anything either."
She turns to look at Alice, who nods weakly while kneeling in the snow.
She returns to marvel at Edward's tender look. He seems desperate to help her, to make the pain go away, "I need…blood…to live."
"Then take mine," Edward's voice does not falter as he brings his wrists to her lips.