Nightfall

-

-

Death Bed

-

-

WARNING: THIS CHAPTER IS RATED T FOR VIOLENCE

-----------------------------------------------

He nodded. His body shook with emotion. He laid down next to me and placed his lips over the tender skin of my neck.

"I love you." He whispered

"I can tell."

I felt his sad smile against my skin moments before his teeth grazed my throat with one deadly kiss.

----------------------------------------------

The bite itself wasn't as painful as I thought it would be. His teeth were so sharp he slid through my skin like butter. What I felt next was something so strange, so amazingly different I can't really describe it. When he touched his lips to my throat and drank from me I felt connected to him in a way I never had before. It was as if I were becoming a part of him. As if I were giving myself up to him completely and willingly, which I was, in a way. My life, or rather my death, was completely in his hands from that point on.

I felt his tongue against my small wound; drinking me so fast I didn't even get a chance to smell the blood. I started to feel weak, lifeless. I must admit a very tiny part of me was afraid he wouldn't be able to stop.

I could feel his struggle. I could sense him, battling against all instincts. After just a few moments, he pulled away from me. He roared in pain and frustration. His eyes rolled to the back of his head when he threw his face upwards in an attempt to regain some control.

"Edward." I whispered.

My voice seemed to help. He looked down on me with fear in his wild eyes. I lifted my wrist towards him weakly and, in a very small voice, said, "Hurry."

Shaking from pain and fear, he took my delicate arm in his strong hands and caressed my veins with his lips. That time I was able to see him when he used his teeth to slide my wrist open.

He kept his eyes on me while he drank. Even though he was slowly draining the life out of me, and even though from the corner of his mouth I could see a drop of blood threatening to fall on my brand new dress, he was still the most beautiful creature I had ever seen. In fact at that moment when his instincts collided with his humanity, he looked more enchanting than ever before.

I had never seen him like that, so in battle with himself, so powerfully determined to stay calm. His eyes were starting to change. I saw it happen. They slowly went from the warm color I was so used to, to the vibrant burgundy I'd seen only a couple of times in my life.

When his teeth left my skin, I reached up with my other hand to wipe away the small drop of my blood on his bottom lip. My hand never reached him, for at that precise moment, the burning began.

--------------------------------

At first, I felt as if someone had skinned me alive and poured salt all over me. It was a pain so sharp, so intense, I lost all control of my body. My back arched, lifting me from the bed against my will. With every thump of my heart, the scorching sensation spread further. I'd told myself repeatedly, before the whole thing started, that I would try to keep myself from screaming so Edward wouldn't feel too bad. It was a promise I could not keep.

I heard loud sobs and terrifying screams long before I realized they were coming from me. I barely noticed when Edward bit my other wrist. I did, however, see the expression on his face when he pulled me close to him under the covers. He was scared. What's even worse, his eyes were full of self-loathing.

Through my pain, I somehow managed to whisper to him "I love you."

His tearless sob broke my heart.

--------------------------------

The feeling of thousands of pricking needles that coursed through my bloodstream only got worse as the hours went by. I was so consumed by the fire in me that I threw away the heavy quilts that Edward had wrapped me in to keep me warm.

Snow had started to fall. The tree that Edward had located the bed under provided enough shelter to keep us dry. He kept trying to get me back under the covers, whispering almost incoherently about me getting sick. I couldn't find my voice to remind him it didn't matter anymore.

My bare feet were curled, my toes pointing in all directions. It was as if one huge cramp had taken over my body from the moment the venom started to spread. With my back painfully arched, I fisted my hands on the blankets without noticing. Edward had my feet between his hands. He was trying to relax them. But no amount of rubbing would ever be enough to soften my muscles while the transformation was going on and he knew that.

A seizure hit me then. Those scared Edward the most. He covered my body with his own and pressed my face to his chest. My body shook so hard I bit my tongue.

He smelled the blood instantly. He pushed me away from his body slightly and used his finger to open my mouth gently. I bit down on his rock hard skin uncontrollably, but he didn't even flinch. He was probably afraid I'd chip a tooth.

When the seizure passed I threw my sweat soaked face against the pillow, exhausted. He rubbed his cold finger over my bleeding tongue, soothing it a little. My throat was closing up from the tension in my muscles, making it impossible for me to swallow. Edward somehow noticed this and pulled me gently to the edge of the bed. I coughed and spat out all the blood that had accumulated in my mouth.

Embarrassment, fear and excruciating pain caused and endless stream of tears to roll down my cheeks. I was sobbing so hard my whole body shook as if I were having another seizure. Edward steadied my face with his hands and pressed his forehead against mine.

"It's okay, my love. You're going to pull through this. It will all be over soon. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I love you so much." His broken voice filled me with despair. I wanted nothing more than to hold him to me and whisper words of comfort but it was as if my mind had detached from my body. I was locked inside a cocoon of pain and could do nothing more than twist in agony.

----------------------------

I got my voice back the next morning, but I had no control over the words streaming out of my mouth. "Burns! It burns! Make it stop!" I yelled over and over. Edward spent most of the morning running fistfuls of snow all over my body. I could feel nothing but the heat, the burning, scalding heat. The snow only provided momentary relief.

Edward realized this after hours of my endless screaming. With a determined look on his face he struggled to get me out of my dress. Once he'd gotten rid of my clothes and his, he lifted me in his arms and carried me to a nearby stream.

The water was icy cold, but not frozen. He walked right into it, allowing the chilled release to cover me from the neck down. Even though it did nothing to alleviate the pain, I could feel the heat of my body decreasing. My muscles relaxed in cold comfort. Edward held me to him with one hand and used the other one to pour water on my face and stroke my hair.

By the time the sun went down I felt so exhausted I couldn't even lift my head up. Edward carried my limp body back to our bed. He dressed me with care, never taking his eyes away from my face.

Once we were fully clothed, he pulled me to him on the bed and wrapped his arms around me, creating an iron cage that made it impossible for me to even shiver. With his lips pressed against my forehead, he softly hummed my lullaby.

----------------------------

On the second morning, Edward had to restrain me, because I was in so much pain I started pulling my hair out in desperation. I trashed around, fighting against his hands and screaming incoherently.

He held my wrists over my head with one hand and used the other one to press my chest to the mattress. He tried as hard as he could to keep me from hurting myself, but I somehow managed to hit my head against the tree trunk serving as a headboard. I must've hit it pretty hard, because I stopped trashing around even though the pain grew exponentially.

When he realized I wasn't going to move as much anymore, Edward took a water bottle from a bag at the foot of the bed and lifted me up gently. He gave me very small sips, just enough for me to wet my lips.

I could feel the pain spreading, my cells hardening. By the last night of my transformation I'd lost most of my motor functions. I couldn't move, I could barely breathe and what little breath I had left was used for screaming. That was the first time in my life I ever wished for everything to end. I stared at Edward, my eyes being the only part of my body I had control over, and silently begged him to kill me, to drain me, to finish me off.

He couldn't read my mind, but he could interpret my stare. He crushed me to him and lifted my face roughly so my eyes could meet his. His voice broke when he whispered, "You're pulling through this, Isabella. We've come this far. Listen to me! I love you! I need you! If you die on me, I'll find a way to follow you."

My eyes filled with the last of my tears and they slowly spilled down my cheeks. He kissed the salty tracks. I knew then that I would never cry again.

-----------------------------

I could feel my transformation coming to an end. Through the pain I noticed how my heart slowed down considerably every passing second. I was barely aware of the sun shining on my last human moments.

Edward, his body stiff from stress, rocked me back and forth when my screams turned into tearless sobs. His tortured eyes stared into mine. Only his beauty, his perfection and his smell kept me from losing my mind.

He could feel my heart. He knew it was going to end soon.

"Bella..." He whispered.

Two things happened at once. Edward's head snapped up, his eyes wide with fear, and one of the cell phones that Carlisle had given us started to ring loudly.

He got up in one swift move, leaving me on the bed.

It happened so fast I'm amazed my eyes were able to see the whole thing. A huge body was running at lightning speed towards me. Edward ran right into it. The sound of the crash was deafening.

Edward jumped to his feet but the stranger was faster. When I saw his face a fear so strong it made the pain pale in comparison, overtook me.

I'd seen that face and that huge body before, hundreds of times. The wild, red eyes. The messy hair. He was the vampire from my nightmares, the one who would eventually kill us both.

Edward's roar startled me. He tackled the stranger from behind and threw him to the ground, but the strong vampire shrugged him off, lifted him by the neck and threw him.

I could hear Edward's body slamming against a tree trunk. He was by my side again in a fraction of a second, but not before the other vampire had a chance to lift me up and bite into my stomach.

I felt the bite on top of everything else. He wasn't gentle, the way Edward had been. His teeth tore my flesh apart, provoking even more pain than I ever thought possible.

I tossed my head back and screamed the first two coherent words to leave my throat in two days. "Edward, go!"

I wanted him to leave me there and save himself. I could feel the blood flowing freely, soaking my dress and the bed underneath me. I knew how it was all going to end.

Edward probably didn't even hear me. He was already fighting the bigger vampire off me. He succeeded, momentarily. The vampire dropped me. I bounced off the edge of the bed and fell face first into the snowy ground. The snow around me got tainted with my blood. The redness spread fast, too fast.

I could see them fighting in front of me. Thunderous punches and snapping noises filled the air while the two males tore each other apart. I shook with fear and shock, unable to do anything.

Edward was trying really hard, I could see it in his eyes. But he was fighting two monsters, the one in front of him and the one inside of him. His eyes were wild with thirst but filled with love and fear for my life. The other vampire had it easy, he was not only bigger and stronger, but he was only fighting Edward to get to me.

No matter how many times Edward pushed him away from me, he always bounced right back and lounged for me again. Edward couldn't keep him down.

Eventually, the red-eyed rival realized he had to neutralize Edward in order to get to me. The next time Edward snapped at him, he grabbed his neck and threw him down on the ground.

I tried to scream, to warn him, when the vampire's teeth, still covered in my blood, tore open Edward's bare chest.

It was happening, my nightmare was coming true right in front of my eyes and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

Edward roared in pain and fear for me. He turned around to look at me when the other vampire grabbed a fistful of his wounded flesh.

"I love you." Edward mouthed.

I was still sobbing uncontrollably, lying helpless on the ground, when something amazing happened. I saw light all around me, brightness coming from everywhere. When I looked down I realized it was coming from me. It was then that I noticed the small ray of sun filtering through the trees and bouncing off my skin. My transformation was almost over; my muscles were already inhumanly strong. Only the pain kept me on the ground.

I was not going to let that one vampire deprive me of my life with Edward. I was not going to sit there and watch while he destroyed the love of my life.

With the excruciating pain still present in my body I got up. Determination and love forced me to crawl towards the two vampires. Once I got close enough, I stood up. The pain multiplied by a million, my body refused to cooperate but somehow I managed to walk up behind the enemy.

Edward's eyes were wide with surprise. "No, Bella!" He yelled.

The red-eyed beast in front of me turned around, clearly startled by my presence.

I threw myself at him, catching him by surprise and sending us both flying backwards.

Something strong lifted me off him and tossed me to the side. My body was so exhausted I couldn't even breathe.

From the corner of my eye I saw Carlisle and Esme cornering the intruder. Edward was lying just a few feet away from me.

"Edward." I whispered urgently. He turned his face around to look at me, but I could tell he was still in too much pain to move.

"I'm dying." I mumbled.

His eyes flew open. He crawled to me, his pain forgotten, and pulled me into his lap.

"It's okay, my love. It's almost over. Let go, you're safe now. I'll be right here when you come around." And then he gave me my last human kiss.

My head rolled limply to the side. During the few moments it took for my heart to stop, I saw a pair of blue eyes staring at us from the edge of the forest. I'd seen those blue orbs only once before.

If you believe, like I do, that eyes can smile, then trust me when I tell you those eyes were not smiling. They were grinning.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-

-

This is the shortest chapter you'll ever get from me. I just thought it was important for the transformation to have it's own place.

I'm going to the beach for a week, I'll start working on the next chapter as son as I get back.

I hope you liked this. I'm a little nervous about this chapter because it's so… well I don't know. As always, sorry for the mistakes. I have to go pack! See you in a week!