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Disclaimer: SM owns everything Twilight. I own my twist on the story.
Chapter 31
Her voice was soothing, calming. Edward…Edward…Edward. With my eyes closed, my mind still, I could hear my Bella's faint call like a soft caress of the wind.
"Bella," I moaned pitifully into the darkness, as if she was here, as if she could hear me.
I listened intently for movement around me, but the forest was eerily silent, as if the pulse of the wilderness had simply stopped beating. I appeared to be alone, but I knew I was not forgotten.
My muscles were wary of movement, my arms so tightly wound around me I wasn't sure they would obey me if I attempted to use them. But as my senses awakened, my adrenaline surged, and with it, a small spike of courage.
I suddenly noticed the scent of the moist earth underneath my body, the forest floor cold and unyielding as I unfurled my limbs, stretching them tentatively. Every part of my body was sore from the rough way I'd been handled. I was bruised and scuffed from my knuckles to my toes.
I propped myself up onto my knees, my fingernails scrabbling in the dirt. I straightened my legs, locking my knees, but instantly staggered backward into a large tree behind me, a stabbing pain in my side causing my already wobbly legs to buckle. I rested against the tree, my heart beating frantically in my chest as I inhaled painful breaths.
My hand flew up to my chest, my palm enfolding my ribs as if it could somehow ease the squeezing, debilitating pain that seized me with even the smallest movement, the shallowest breath. Within seconds, I was drenched in sweat, the aching in my body momentarily overshadowing my fear.
Edward…love…I'm coming.
My head snapped up, my eyes scanning the trees. I must have wanted Bella to be with me so badly that I was imagining her voice.
"No!" I muttered weakly. "Don't come, Bella."
But where was I anyway? There were massive trees and dense foliage surrounding me on all sides, no discernable trail to follow in the dim light of early dawn.
What hope did I have of escaping this situation? My need to do something – anything – was rapidly escalating, but I knew that stumbling around in the deep forest in the near-darkness with my broken body wasn't the best plan.
I took a weak step forward, my arm clamping down on my throbbing torso, my hand clutching at my skin. I tripped and fell forward, throwing my arms out; before I hit the ground, cold hands caught me around my forearms.
"And where are you off to?" Victoria asked, her lips grazing my ear, her hands clamping down on my arms, cutting off the circulation until they were numb.
"I…I…" I stuttered, as I dangled from her arms, my legs trying to find purchase with the ground. I was physically repelled by her. Everything about her seemed hard-edged, sharp, and dangerous.
The sound of leaves rustling caught my attention and I turned to see the male vampire ripping a small sapling in his path from it roots, tossing it violently to the side as he emerged from the shadows. He slithered to Victoria's side and she instantly dropped me to ground as if disgusted by me and uncomfortable that she'd been caught touching me.
She took a step away, throwing a hateful look my direction before kicking me swiftly in the groin, and launching me into the air. I flew backward and collided violently with the trunk of the huge tree behind me, collapsing in a broken heap at its base.
The impact knocked the air out of my lungs and I suspected broke several of my bones. I instinctively tried to pull my legs to my chest, but they wouldn't move. My fear numbed me, allowing me to subsist in a state of hazy ignorance. I knew my body was damaged – perhaps beyond repair – but somehow I didn't feel anything beyond a general throbbing throughout. I had crossed a threshold of pain, my consciousness slipping. But I struggled to hold on, to retain my senses.
After a hushed conversation with the male vampire, too low for my ears to hear, Victoria moved closer, standing above me with her hands on her hips. For a moment as she looked down on me, I marveled at the perfection of her features, frozen for all time as if captured in a photograph. But her classically beautiful face belied her true nature. There was no humanity left in her cold, stone body. She was a selfish, hateful monster that was so unlike my lovely Bella that I couldn't believe they were the same kind of creature.
My hatred for her gave me a surge of energy and I struggled to push myself up to a sitting position. I may have been her prisoner, but that didn't mean that I was going to give up hope entirely or that I was going to tolerate being treated like an animal. Victoria realized what I was doing and laughed cruelly, flipping her hair over her shoulder almost coquettishly.
"What are you doing, human?" she asked. "Getting comfortable?" She tilted her head to the side as if waiting for my answer. Before I could even begin to form a response, she reached down again, wrenching her fingers into my shoulder, squeezing until I felt tears involuntarily spill from my eyes.
"Come on, we've gotta move," she said as she yanked me up onto her back, brutally wrenching me by my bruised and tender arms, and began to run. I couldn't keep my eyes open as we flew through the trees, waves of nausea and dizziness forcing them closed.
It seemed like only a few minutes later when I felt Victoria's steel grip release me and I dropped onto a hard, concrete floor. My fingers slid across the cold surface, my body adjusting to the new sensation of the interior space. I carefully lifted my head to look around when the male vampire grabbed my shirt and dragged my limp body to a corner.
"There you go. You can watch the action from here," he said in an almost friendly, but condescending voice. He propped me up so that I was leaning against the wall, patting me on the head as if I truly were a pet.
I was startled by the click of Victoria's shoes as she walked around the room, my eyes lifting and seeing my surroundings for the first time. Her footsteps echoed in the wide space, the large mirrors on the wall reflecting her image as she stalked back towards me.
"I don't think those damn wolves will follow us here," she said to the other vampire. "The others should be able to keep them busy in the forest."
She turned down to address me but I tore my eyes away from her, staring instead at the laces on her ridiculously impractical high-heeled boots. She grunted and kicked me in the chest as if to direct my eyes back upward. She grabbed my chin roughly, yanking my head toward her.
"Pay attention! It won't be long now. Bella is on her way and this will all be over. And then she'll be mine again," she said, grinning devilishly.
Though I knew it was futile to reason with her or to talk with her at all, her arrogance made me furious. Before I even realized that I was speaking, the hot, livid words spilled from my mouth.
"She will never be yours…even if you force her, she will always belong to me," I said passionately, knowing intrinsically that my words were heartfelt and honest.
"You stupid, annoying human!" she spat at me, losing her composure. She breathed deeply as if trying to control her emotions, her nostrils flaring like an angry bull. "You don't know anything! You're just the bait! And she won't belong to you when you're dead!" she yelled, kicking me hard in the side and I felt the snap - the stabbing, excruciating pain of a rib or maybe two breaking.
Victoria threw me a satisfied glance as she whipped around and stalked off, the male vampire following at her heels, leaving me alone in my corner of the vast room. I slid down the wall a little, my damaged body trembling of its own accord. I knew I was close to slipping in a state of shock and that my body could not take much more abuse.
I tried to focus on the sharp angles in the room, but my vision was growing more distorted, blurring around the edges. My determination to stay alert warred in my mind with the very physical need to rest my eyes.
I couldn't give up hope…I wouldn't give up hope. As long as Bella was still alive, I would fight for my life. I would continue to breathe until it was no longer possible. The only thing that kept me vaguely conscious was my need to see her again, to ensure that she was safe.
I wished with all my heart that she'd stay away, that she'd go on to live and forget about me. But I knew – as sure as I knew anything – that she was coming for me. I could feel the pull; I could feel my soul calling for its other half.
I quieted my mind and listened for her, throwing the net out as far as it would go, to catch her thoughts as soon as she was close enough. I kept my eyes trained on a patch of sunlight on the grey floor that beamed down from a small, high window. I was almost hypnotized by the glowing triangle as it stretched and bent with the movement of the sun.
I waited, my thoughts wandering, and I couldn't help reflecting on my situation – the events that had led me to this place - and how vastly my life had been transformed in such a small amount of time. I finally closed my eyes and considered my brief life and prepared to die.
I don't think that many seventeen year olds think much about death. Just a few months ago I never once gave it a thought – thinking incorrectly, that it was a subject best pushed to the recesses of my mind. Ironically, I now find myself bloody and bruised, huddled against a cold, unforgiving wall, breathing my last few labored breaths. In these last few minutes of life I wonder how to prepare to face what I can easily imagine will be a violent and brutal death.
Instead of worrying about the pain of death or how my parents will suffer, how my brother will grieve, or how my sister will spend the next few years crying herself to sleep – I think only of her - Bella. I think of how I have lost the chance to live my life loving her, taking care of her, and reminding her of her humanity.
I know the end is close. I can sense that my time is up. I have never been more afraid – I can feel the fear in every inch of my body, in every shaky breath I take. My only hope is that Bella will live on, to find love again. No matter how badly she thinks of herself, she is an angel, and she deserves happiness. I will think of her when my blood is drained from my body. And when the venom begins to kill me, her face will haunt my last breath.
I had slipped into a blissfully empty oblivion. Murky, heavy darkness flooded my brain. I didn't hurt anymore; my body was simply floating, drifting, existing. It felt like my mind had folded inward, leaving no room for any thought, any feeling or emotion.
And then a small light appeared, shimmering intently in the bleak blackness, filling a hole in the emptiness of my mind. My eyes immediately fixed on the glowing ember that beckoned me like a candle's flame. I stared at it until it exploded in a fiery blaze, too bright to contain and I recoiled as if looking directly into the sun.
I was floating on my back in a swimming pool, the lukewarm water supporting me, carrying me. A soft breeze blew across the water, caressing my skin with a feather-like kiss. The pillowy clouds in the turquoise sky were familiar shapes – a car, a hat, a butterfly, a galloping horse.
A lovely song was playing in the distance, its melody carried across the wind. I hummed along with the song. It was familiar, but I didn't know why. It grew louder and I felt a nagging stab of recognition. Why did I know this song? My fingers began to move as if touching keys on a piano, making little splashes in the water.
I searched my mind for a memory while my fingers and arms continued to play an invisible piano. My legs began to sink and I kicked them to keep them from falling, making water fly around the pool. I kicked and kicked desperately, but I kept sinking, falling down below the surface of the water. And then I slipped down through the black, the volume of the song increasing until it was deafening and I was forced to cover my ears with my hands.
But the song was thoroughly embedded in my mind and continued to play. Like a bolt of lightening, I instantly and acutely remembered that this was a song that I wrote – Bella's Song. As I came to this realization, I began to fall faster through the nothingness. I held tight onto the precious memory as I drifted, my love for Bella guiding me to safety.
Bella! Where was she? Bella!
Edward…I'm coming. I'm coming. Edward, please be alive. Please hear me!
Bella! I was jolted awake. Victoria had balled my shirt in her fists and was shaking me.
"Wake up! You stupid…stupid!" she was saying as she continued to shake. My head felt so heavy and I couldn't hold it still on my neck. I grunted, hoping it was enough to get her to stop. Her eyes found mine for an instant before she carelessly dropped me back against the wall, my head cracking loudly on the cement.
I groaned, which seemed to be the only response my body was capable of making. In fact, I marveled that I was still alive, that I could physically withstand so much abuse, so much pain.
Edward, I feel you. I sense that you're still alive. Please stay with me. I'm coming. I know I'm getting closer. I can feel it. Can you hear me? Edward? Please, I know I don't deserve you, but I love you. I love you. Can you hear me?
"Bella," I muttered unintentionally, her name like a prayer - a prayer to an angel, a goddess - to the unbreakable bond of love that would never die, even when I inevitably passed from this world and into the next.
Victoria's eyes snapped to mine, and for once I saw uncertainty, panic underneath her sheen of confidence. She tangled her fingers in my hair, yanking my head so that it was close to her face. She looked deeply into my eyes with her red ones as if trying to glean some deeper meaning in my expression.
But I hardly felt her mean fingers or saw the ire in her gaze, because I was with Bella as she ran like a bullet through the forest, my scent leading her to me. I could sense her getting closer, her thoughts flashing through my mind quickly and intensely. Her emotions were staggering. I had never experienced such a depth of determination, her anger driving her to an extreme and powerful level of concentration.
I could literally feel our mental connection growing stronger with her imminent arrival, her single-minded pursuit, the strength of her thoughts giving me a boost of energy that I wouldn't be capable of without her.
I somehow pushed myself more upright as I listened fixedly for more of Bella's words or a vision from her mind that would somehow reveal her whereabouts. Victoria was perplexed, noticing the obvious change in my mood and demeanor. She tugged on my hair viciously, snarling.
"Where is she?" she asked without letting go of my hair, her eyes scanning the room nervously.
It felt as if the air around me was all of a sudden electrified. Victoria tugged harder on my hair, banging the back of my head against the concrete. "Riley! Riley!" she yelled shrilly, but there was no response. I didn't have time to wonder where the other vampire had disappeared to, because Bella burst through the doorway on the other side of the room, ripping the door entirely off its hinges so that it skidded loudly across the floor.
She jumped across the room toward us and I felt my cells sing out to her, trying to reconnect. Her hair swirled around her face wildly as her feet landed a short distance away from the corner with a graceful thud. Her knees bent in a crouch, her arms flying outward as if to touch me, her beautiful chestnut hair swishing around her shoulders.
Her eyes flicked back and forth between Victoria and me while she strategized. I knew that she was visually assessing my injuries, calculating the time she had before it was too late to help me. For a brief instant I saw myself through her eyes, broken beyond belief, dried blood and dirt smeared across my face, my legs sitting at an odd, abnormal angle.
Despite the disturbing image from her mind, I was overcome by a feeling of pure joy that warmed my heart at the sight of her. I couldn't deny the way my entire being responded to her, lit up for her. My fear almost thoroughly vanished; and though I'd been terrified for Bella, my worries were replaced with an immense sense of relief and…confidence.
I will destroy her. She will never touch you again. I will rip her head from her body and crush her skull with my hands. And then she will burn…burn…burn.
I was surprised that I wasn't more frightened, but now that she was in there, in front of me, I truly believed that she could and that she would save me. I didn't doubt her; instead, my damaged body was swelling with pride in the gorgeous, capable woman who'd come to my rescue.
The two vampires measured each other, squaring off for several tense seconds without movement, or even breathing. Victoria was the first to break away in a moment of doubt, her eyes exposing her insecurity.
"It doesn't have to happen like this, Bella. You know I could kill him in a second," she warned, tugging harshly on my hair so that my head stretched to the side.
I tried not to show any sign of pain, but I didn't fool Bella. Her façade of strength wavered for an instant and I saw myself in her mind again – the twisted grimace on my face, the grey pallor of my skin, the glassy sheen of my eyes as the glimmer of life began to fade from my body.
"Let go of him," Bella growled, warningly.
"Why do you even care? He's just a human." She pulled her hand away from me, and held it up as if surrendering, taking a small step closer to Bella. "He's disposable," she claimed, placing her hands on her hips.
".," Bella replied through clenched teeth, her gaze darting away from Victoria to me.
I will kill her. You are mine. Kill her…kill her…take what is mine…
"He's practically dead already," Victoria said cloyingly. "Listen, his heart is slowing as we speak."
Her words reverberated in my brain. Was my heart slowing? Would I die there on the concrete floor? Was Bella too late?
"Bella," I groaned, my arm weakly lifting toward her, reaching out. More than anything else, my dying wish was to touch her again, to hold her in my arms, to breath in her sweet scent one last time.
Victoria reacted in an instant, flying back toward me, snagging me under the arm and lifting me so that I was hanging limply, my legs bent and my knees grazing the floor. I struggled to inhale, my broken ribs crushing my lungs as I dangled. I tried to keep my eyes open, my eyelids fluttering with the effort.
"You're really attached to this human," Victoria stated incredulously as if the notion was thoroughly inconceivable.
"Drop him," Bella ordered.
"Not yet," Victoria teased. "How about we make a deal…a trade?" she asked in a sickeningly sweet tone, as if bartering for my life we're nothing out of the ordinary.
"What kind of deal?" Bella asked, her fingers flexing with tension.
"You come with me and I'll let your pet go…simple," she replied, swishing her red hair over her shoulder. "You belong with me, Bella," she said with a smile. "I still have so much to teach you, to show you…to share with you." Her voice faltered slightly, showing a hint of vulnerability.
Bella shook her head from side to side, her eyes fixed on mine. "Never," she seethed, while she calculated all the many possible outcomes of her words. Blurred images zipped through my mind so quickly I couldn't focus on any one.
I grunted, the mental strain more than I could handle in my weakened state. All at once the images slowed and I clearly saw Riley being ripped apart, chunks of flesh and limbs flying. I smelled the heady, dense scent of smoke as flames flickered on the edge of my vision, revealing a large pyre burning in a clearing of the forest.
The sensation of burning was so real that I felt the heat on my skin, and a searing in my nostrils. The flames receded from my mind as quickly as they came. I blinked at Bella who was poised to strike. Victoria seemed confused by Bella's stance as if surprised that she hadn't readily agreed to her terms.
"You're willing to die for this man?" Victoria asked, shaking me as if took no effort at all.
"If he dies, I die," Bella said.
"No!" I yelled. "Bella, you have to live. Promise me you'll live!" I mumbled, barely able to produce sound.
Bella shook her head. She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could respond, her head snapped to the open doorway. Victoria's eyes too flashed to the door. She released her hold, pushing me behind her, and kicking me to the corner.
Luckily I didn't slam against the wall, but landed on my back several feet behind her, my elbows taking the brunt of my fall. I managed to turn my head so that I could see what was going on, my ear pressed to the concrete. I felt the floor vibrate underneath me, a heavy pounding that built up in intensity until a loud explosion rippled through the cavernous room. Bits of wall crumbled as a giant wolf bounded through the open door, ripping the jamb off in the process.
He stalked forward, positioning himself defensively behind Bella. Two other wolves suddenly appeared through the doorway, their teeth gnashing viciously, their long claws scraping the floor as they uneasily maneuvered into the room.
I felt as though I was hovering between two worlds as my eyes swept across the scene before me. It was like a dream – a misty, surreal illusion that I was observing from the outside. I was drifting, slipping away.
I should have been involved in what was unfolding. I knew that I should have been worried and frightened, but I didn't have any energy left. I was so incredibly tired.
The wolves huffed, their bodies in perpetual motion as they moved in closer to Bella. Jacob was at her side, his teeth exposed, his wolf eyes narrowing menacingly.
Victoria was instantly in front of me, blocking my vision. She grabbed a handful of hair with one hand, the fingers of her other wrapping tightly around my neck.
"Tell your dogs to back off!" she ordered.
"Go!" Bella yelled at Jacob, her eyes panicked, and the three wolves hesitantly retreated.
Victoria's hand slipped away from my neck. Her gaze fell on Bella for a moment before she returned them to me, a decision made. She curled her fingers into a claw-like shape directly in front of my eyes so that I could see her intent as she situated her hand threateningly over my chest like a weapon.
"I can see now that you can't be reasoned with," Victoria growled at Bella. "You're not normal…you're a useless vampire! I don't understand why you'd rather side with these…dogs and your human pet.
"You disgust me!" she spat at Bella as she spiraled around to face me, her hair flying out dramatically as she moved. I heard Bella screaming both aloud and in my mind as Victoria's blurred figure moved over me, her arm thrusting out violently to make a broad swath across my chest.
It was piercingly, painfully silent for an instant before chaos broke. I heard snarls, growls, grunts and explosive banging that sounded much like cars crashing or metal crunching. I couldn't physically see anything; the fighting was much too tumultuous and fast to follow.
I closed my eyes, seeing things more clearly in my mind through Bella's eyes than I could with my own vision. I felt strangely detached this way, feeling virtually no emotion other than relief when Bella caught Victoria, biting off a hefty piece of flesh from Victoria's neck while Jacob and the wolves tore both her right and left legs from her body. I heard Bella's angry cry as she tangled her fingers in Victoria's red hair, wrenching her head to the side.
"You will never hurt anyone ever again," she said directly into Victoria's eyes while she sliced her nails across Victoria's neck, yanking her head off in one quick, easy motion.
Despite all the things Victoria had done to me, I wished that I didn't have to see her gruesome end in such fine detail. I just wanted it all to be over. A small grunt slipped through my lips and Bella flew immediately to my side, her cold, gentle hand on my arm. Her touch awakened me and I all at once felt the searing, blazing pain raging like fire through my body.
Through Bella's mind I saw the expanding pool of blood that oozed from the five deep gashes across my chest. I had a very vague sensation of being moved, my body shifting as Bella's arms slipped under me. I looked up at her and recognized that her beautiful lips were moving; she was speaking to me, but her words were hollow, as if she were on the other side of a thick pane of glass.
Edward…stay with me! Keep your eyes open!
I tried to speak, to reassure her, but I couldn't.
"Bella!" I screamed to her in my mind, but I made no sound.
Her worried eyes held mine captive until I no longer had the strength to keep them open. Darkness consumed me, surrounding me and cocooning me in heavenly numbness. Just as I felt my last shred of consciousness falling away, I heard a whisper of Bella's plea in my thoughts.
Hold on, Edward. Stay with me. I'm getting help.
Please…Edward…Edward…Edward…Edward…Edward…
Thank you so much for reading. Hope you enjoyed the gore! I know it's hard to imagine Edward so broken this way. Trust me, he won't be this way for long! Please leave me a review!