AN: Thank you SushiLovesWhitlock, Ham, LivieLiv, AND PandorasFF. They are the best fic ladies ever. Without all four of them, this story would never see the light of day.
OUTBREAK
CHAPTER 8
"Bella... Bella, wake up!" My head was spinning and my eyes wouldn't focus as I tried to figure out where I was.
I remembered running with Angela...the screaming and the faces.
"My head." I tried rubbing away the sharp pain stabbing my skull as images of Jessica's body laying on the floor hit me.
Her blood, his hands, those teeth...it was all racing together. The images assaulted me and made my head spin.
"She's dead. She's dead and I didn't stop him." I felt my throat closing, the sobs choking me as I tried to talk.
How could I just let him do that? How could I not help her? "I didn't warn them. I should have warned them and I just kept my mouth shut." What kind of friend was I?
"She was dead the minute he bit into her." I felt his hand against my cheek, wiping away the tears that were falling. I watched them hit the floor, mixing with the blood and swirling into a trail of pink.
"Something bit me!" I jumped back and reached for my leg. "Oh god, something bit me." I was trying to claw at my leg, trying to see it, to see anything.
"Don't look down." Edward grabbed at my hand and pulled me up to look at him. "You're fine, Bella. I got to you before he could hurt you. But don't look down." He crushed me to his chest, his cold body soothing my over-heated skin.
"Edward?" I asked frantically, glancing up at him, just as someone screamed in another part of the school. The echoes made me cringe away from him.
"Shhh... I need you to stay as quiet as possible."
"Where are we?"
"I was just behind you when someone pushed you out of their way. I watched your head hit the lockers before you went down." I could hear the anger in Edward's voice as he pushed me behind his body. "I smelled him before he grabbed you. Those things put off a nasty ass smell." His nose wrinkled when he looked at me. I could barely make out familiar gold flecks his black eyes before he glanced down.
"Worse than pizza?" I gulped trying to resist the urge to look down.
"Much." He chuckled as he turned, looking down the hall. Besides the scattered papers and a few books, it was completely deserted.
The emptiness did nothing to slow the thrumming in my chest. "That thing?"
"It's dead, it can't hurt you now." There was another loud scream and then a bang just to the left of us, where I had come from.
Tears were pricking at my eyes again as I tried to block out the noises.
"I need to get you home." Edward hissed as he searched around us.
"What?" I tried to catch my breath as he grabbed my hand. The familiar burn ran over my body, trying to consume me.
"Charlie radioed Carlisle at the house. We need to go now."
"But the school."
"I can't protect everyone, Bella." All of the sweetness that had laced his voice was gone now. This Edward was angry and on edge. "I protect you. That's what I promised." He gave my hand a tight squeeze, before pulling me away from the lockers.
"Where are we going, Edward?" I asked, following him blindly down the hall.
Edward stopped as soon as another scream broke the silence and turned to me. His eyes had changed again, a dark black replacing the comforting gold. "I need you to close your eyes. Close them as tight as you can and don't scream." He placed both hands on my face, his thumbs gently rubbing my cheeks. "Do this for me, please?" He begged.
I'd never heard him sound desperate before, yet I could feel a growl he had pulled me so close.
Just as another scream was cut off, closer this time, I nodded. With my eyes glued to him, Edward smiled tightly before I felt his fingertips run softly over my lids and close them.
My cheeks reddened as I felt his cool breath on my face and suddenly my feet were off the floor.
"Edward?" I asked, fighting the urge to open my eyes.
"Shh. Not a sound, Bella," he said as his arms tightened around me and I felt a shift in the air.
He was running with me in his arms, he had to be. By the time I realized what was happening, it was over and my head was swimming as my feet touched the floor again.
"You can open your eyes Bella." He chuckled as he began digging into his pocket.
"I don't understand," I said. The screaming was further away now, but I could hear something scraping against the floor close by.
"Those things are covering the school. There are at least a dozen just behind us and they aren't all slow. I can't protect you like this."
"Then let me help." I tried to look around him but he blocked me just as something smacked into one of the metal lockers, making me jump.
He caught me, holding me steady on my feet and shook his head. "You saw what that thing did to Jessica. I can't take that risk with so many."
"I can stay. I can fight." I was shaking all over and I knew he could see it. My thought's stopped on Angela.
Where was she? Did she make it?
"I can't leave Angela." I shook my head, and stood my ground, eyeing Edward.
"It's not safe in here. I'm sure she found a place to hide."
"What if she didn't? What if one of those things has her cornered or she's passed out somewhere like I was?"
"You really think I'd let you go off looking for her?" He laughed like I told the funniest joke he'd ever heard.
"Well I can't just leave her. Eric was her boyfriend, what if she went back to him?" I know she saw what I did, but those two had been together for years. Dead or not, she loved him.
"To do what, exactly? See if he wanted to eat her too?"
"You asshole!" I reared my hand back to slap him, but Edward caught it mid-air.
"Don't do that," he growled, pushing my hand down.
"She helped me get away from Eric. I have to help her." I was getting angry, and ready to try and outrun him if I needed too. If he wouldn't help me, I would have no choice.
"You can be so goddamned infuriating sometimes." He shook his head, as he stuck his hand in his jeans pocket.
"You can't make me go without her."
"Stop being so damn hard-headed." His eyes were slits as he looked at me, hissing through his teeth.
"I'm not being stubborn, she's my best friend." I could feel the tears pricking at me eyes. I would never ask him to leave someone behind.
She saved me and I needed to save her.
Please, Edward?
"Fine, but I need you to listen for a minute." Edward grabbed my hand, his voice just above a whisper, as he looked behind me.
"What are you doing?"
"These are the keys to the jeep. If you want me to try and find Angela then I need you to run. Run as fast as you can and lock yourself inside. Nothing can touch you there, but I need you to run now." His eyes grew darker as he looked down at me. "Don't look back." He opened my palm, shoving the keys into my hand.
I looked down at the hard metal and back at him. I closed my fingers around the keys and wrapped my arms around him, before he pulled himself free.
"RUN!" He yelled, shoving the metal doors open and prying one long metal bar off the door with ease.
I took one look behind him and bit back a sob before running to the Jeep.
I pressed every button on the ring and listened for the alarm. I knew it was a mistake the instant I did it, but my mind was frantic and I couldn't see the car.
Edward had brought me to the side entrance of the school. The parking lot was a good five minute walk from here, but at a terror driven sprint, I should have been there in no time.
Instead, I ran into three people who looked as if they'd been in an accident.
Torn, dirty clothes hung from their ravaged bodies. Their milky, dead eyes were drooping open and bloodshot. I tried to move around them on the right, but the closest one lunged and grabbed my shirt, ripping it in half. His blood stained fingers only missed my skin by an inch.
My foot reacted on instinct as I kicked myself free and jumped up. I could see a chunk of flesh, looking as if it had been chewed, hanging on the man's arm as he tried to scramble up as well.
Something had bitten him, tore at his throat and he should have been dead. The other two looked worse. They looked aged, their skin grey with scars that looked as if they'd been attacked by a very big cat.
A huge hole had been ripped from the tallest one's cheek. I could see his teeth inside his mouth. I didn't recognize any of them as they began towards me again, arms open wide and gutteral moans echoing between them.
As I began to panic I heard the familiar sound of a car alarm. All three of my attackers turned at once, allowing me to swallow the lump in my throat. I shoved the closest one against the others and took off running, breathing a sigh of relief as their muffled moans moved further away from me.
It took less than thirty seconds to finally reach the loud Jeep, and no time at all to unlock the doors and jump in.
I sat in the protection of the vehicle and smiled as my lungs burned. I'd escaped from three zombies all by myself. I escaped from them and I made it.
I looked around while I waited for Edward. I needed some way to protect myself out here, but the Jeep was practically empty. I popped the console, searching for a knife, and found a map, hair gel and a Zippo inside. It only made me crave a cigarette, but at least I had the lighter.
It offered little help as a weapon though, how the hell could I kill anything with a Zippo?
Maybe they were flammable. I would definitely like to see one of them on fire.
There was no movement and no sign of the three I'd run from as I waited for Edward. I was starting to worry that something had happened. Sooner or later his douchey ways would catch up to him, but I kind of hoped it wouldn't be right now. Afterall, I was starting to warm up to him, he'd saved my life, twice. And then there was the kiss I had blocked out until now.
He needed to be alive and here so I could beat him for it.
I waited five more minutes and kept myself busy with the lighter, watching the parking lot for any sign of him.
My head snapped to the school when I heard something move nearby.
Another few minutes and I could just make out the sounds of gravel being pushed.
In a blink, it was a nightmare.
I heard the moaning before I actually saw anything. It was low, sounding so much like a wounded animal that I almost ignored it. When a head popped up over Jessica's Honda I screamed, not thinking about drawing attention to myself, until it's creepy, dead eyes scanned the cars and landed on me.
Sliding down into the seat, I cursed Edward for not having tinted windows. If it couldn't see me, maybe it would just walk on by, and ignore the human sitting in the seat. I had no idea if it could smell me, or hear my heart like Edward could.
I was never very lucky.
A hand slammed on the glass, streaking it with blood and I screamed as I tried to scramble as far away as possible.
Damn it Edward. Where the hell are you?
For a moment I thought it was gone when nothing else happened. I lifted my head just enough to peek over the window seal when it's eyes met mine again.
They were nothing like the milky white eyes of the three outside or Eric's. His were nothing but red, as if all his blood had pooled there and stopped. In fact, his entire body was covered in red. There were chunks of hair gone, ripped from the scalp, and his face was smeared in dirt and wet blood.
It was like a frenzy. His fingers clawed at my door, teeth bared and hungry as he screamed right along with me.
Tears streaked my cheeks as blood stained the window. His fingertips began peeling away with each slam of his hands and I knew it wouldn't take long for him to get inside.
"EDWARD! God damn it, come save me!" I screamed, praying to whoever was listening that the glass would hold long enough for Edward to reach me. I had nothing in here to protect myself with but a lighter and CDs.
I watched the thing stop mid-scream, fingers splayed wide on the door as a sickening crunch echoed in my ears.
Edward came into view as he pulled the thing away from the door, a knife stuck in the back of its skull.
"Thank you, Jesus," I whispered, rolling down my window an inch, as it fell to the ground, revealing a wide-eyed Edward standing behind it. He cleaned the blade of the knife with a quick swipe across the dead guy's shirt before looking up at me in relief.
"I've been called a lot of things, never Jesus though." He gave me a little wave before walking around the car.
"Women trouble?" I laughed with relief when he jumped inside, laying the knife in the back seat.
"I save your life and you make a joke. Glad to know you haven't changed." Edward rolled his eyes as he grabbed the keys. "Why didn't you just drive off?"
Damn, I hadn't thought about that.
"Of course you didn't." He chuckled as he started the Jeep, and my hands balled into fists.
"Wait!" I grabbed his arm, wincing at the pain that shot through my hand. It was like smacking a rock. A good looking rock, but still a damn rock.
"What? What's wrong?" Edward turned to me, eyes wide and frantic.
"Where is Angela?"
Edward's face fell as he looked at me. "She's fine. There were a few classrooms that had student's packed inside. They barricaded themselves inside. I heard her thoughts in one of them."
"How do you know it was hers?" I knew he could read minds, but if the classrooms were packed, I wondered if he could find her's out of all the others.
He closed his eyes tight, letting out a harsh sigh. "She was thinking of... of Eric."
I choked back a sob as I thought of him too. I hadn't even been worried about what Angela might be going through when her boyfriend was eating the face of our friend. I'd been too worried about myself and my safety.
"Everyone would have reacted that way." Edward broke me from my thoughts as I turned, glaring at him.
"Could you stop that?" I asked, annoyed at him already. Funny how he could change my emotions so quickly.
"Stop what?"
"Answering my thoughts. It's unnerving." He was doing it more lately since I discovered his gift and I hated every minute of it.
"You practically scream them at me."
"Ignore me then," I replied as my eyes scanned the parking lot.
"I can't smell any more and I took care of the ones I could. Once I heard you scream, I took off out of there. I know I said I would get her, but you are a hell of a lot more important," he said, ignoring my request instead.
"I ran into three of them." I shuddered, remembering their faces. No way in hell did I want to see them again.
Edward's mood darkened quickly as he shut off the car and turned to me.
"Where were you bit?" he asked, looking as if he hadn't just obliterated a face against the window. His eyes were blacker than before, fueled by anger I was sure. Whether it was at me or them, I didn't know.
"No, I wasn't bitten. You're the one who wants to eat me, remember?" I glared at him, trying hard not to let him see me shake as the shock started wearing off.
"To them, you are nothing but meat. So I'm going to ask again, did they bite you?"
"No," I repeated with a shaky voice. I didn't feel them bite me, and I was sure I would have.
"Did they touch you?" Edward demanded, his eyes narrowing at me.
Shit.
"One grabbed my shirt and took me down, but I don't thinkâhey, what the hell?" Edward leaned over me and pushed my seat back. His face was just an inch above mine and my breath caught in my throat.
I could smell him, I could feel the icy chill of his body pushing into mine, and I couldn't breathe.
With a smirk, he moved back to his seat and looked at me.
"You did that on purpose, you asshole."
"I did, but you aren't shaking anymore are you?" he asked. The edge in his voice still there, but at least he was smiling. "I don't smell it on you, but that doesn't mean they didn't infect you."
"Infect me?" My eyes grew wide at that. I hadn't even thought about them infecting me, only getting the hell away from them, whatever they were.
"It's happened here just like we thought it would. Those things out there, zombies as Emmett called them, are out there and inside the school."
"Oh my god! Ben...Angie...Mike. We have to go back in there." I scrambled to unlock my seatbelt, needing to help them.
"We can't do that. There are too many of them in there and I did what I could, but I can't save everyone, and neither can you."
I was already in a panic thinking about everyone still in there with those things. "How can you say that? They are people, Edward. People! We have to do something."
"I did."
"So they're okay?" I asked suspiciously.
"Some of them. Like I said, I took out as many as I could, but there is no telling how many of those things are left in there."
"Or out here." I scanned the parking lot again, hoping I wouldn't spot one of those things.
"Exactly. Which is why I need to get you away from here."
"Where's my dad?" Everything I had was still locked up inside the school and I had no way of calling Charlie.
"He's calling in backup, they will be here soon, but I need to get you to the house." Edward was already sticking the keys back into the ignition when I grabbed them, earning me an angry glare.
"No, not until he gets here." I shoved the keys under me, angry that he would try to make me leave without talking to Charlie.
I knew the danger here. I saw it first hand. But I needed to make sure my dad was okay, too.
"Bella you've been touched by one of those things, and if we don't get you checked over..." Edward trailed off, looking away from me.
"Fine, check me out," I said, slipping open my already ripped shirt and revealing nothing but a black sports bra. There was no way in hell I was leaving here until I saw Charlie. They'd only touched the collar of my shirt, maybe my neck, so if he wanted to see if they touched me, he could do it.
"Jesus Christ," Edward muttered in what sounded like a moan.
Had he never seen boobs before?
"I've seen breasts," Edward said, so low I thought I imagined it.
"Boobs, Edward. Say boobs." I tried not to giggle. If Edward could blush, I was sure he would right now.
Boobs. Tits. Nipples. It was wrong, I knew that, but it was making him so angry and I couldn't help myself.
"Fine. Boobs," he gritted as his eyes trailed over mine.
Maybe not so gay.
"They didn't touch my boobs. They touched my back." I turned around, knowing my body was one big blush as I felt his cold hands ghost over the skin at my neck.
I was lost in the feeling of his fingers on me when a moan slipped out. My eyes snapped open quickly, wide and horrified, when I heard Edward chuckle.
"Oh look, there's Charlie!" I said as blue lights flashed along the trees.
"Shit...pull your shirt closed," Edward hissed.
"Or what? Afraid you won't look so golden to my daddy?" I turned and gave him a wide smile.
"Pull your damn shirt closed Bella or I'll take mine off, too." Fucker. Charlie would kill me if he found us both shirtless inside a Jeep steamed up by my breath.
Edward sat with a smug smile as I held my shirt as tight around me as I could just as Charlie pulled up beside us.
I looked over at my dad, his fists white knuckling the wheel.
"Is he okay, Edward?" Charlie's face was pale, and shaking as he looked around the parking lot with wide eyes. "He doesn't look okay." I grabbed for the door ready to jump out and go to my dad.
Edward pulled me back quickly as he clicked the lock down.
"He's fine, just worried about you. Give him a minute to collect himself."
With that I began to count the seconds, as Edward chuckled beside me.
AN: Any mistakes in this are mine. I added more than one thousand words today.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, it means a hell of a lot to me. I didn't get to answer them all, but I figured you'd enjoy an extra long chapter in exchange? Yes? No?
Now, what did you think? Are you warming up to Edward yet? OR are you TeamZombie? Don't be shy.