Place of the Lost

A/N: This chapter has both Edward and Bella's point of view. I hate doing that in one chapter, but it was necessary to get the whole story. Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: Twilight and all of its Characters belong to Stephenie Meyer

Chapter 25: This is Forever

BPOV:

A strange mix of emotions washed over me. Excitement, fear, anticipation, worry, confusion and doubt coursed through my veins with an overwhelming vigor. I didn't know it was possible to feel that many things at once. I had finally reached my destination. I felt closer to Edward than I had in weeks. It was as if I could feel him calling out to me, beckoning me to come to him. But some of that exhilaration was lost on the fact that I had no idea what to do upon arriving in Jocassee. The moon was slowly retreating behind a patch of thick clouds, and I was lost in utter darkness, only the sound of the misty flowing river to guide my way.

I stepped lightly, trying to avoid stumbling over the riverbank. I listened intently but most of the sounds of the night forest were drowned out by my labored breaths. My chest heaved forcefully from the two mile hike; I was exhausted. My legs felt weak and unsteady underneath me. As I was feeling around for a safe place to step, my big toe crashed into jagged rock. "Ouch!" The words escaped my lips in an angry cry.

"Who's there?" A voice came from the blackness. I froze, my body becoming rigid with fear. I stood perfectly still, my toe throbbing, and my heart pounding violently inside my chest. "I know you're back there. I've heard you for nearly the last mile." I breathed a sigh of relief. It was only Jacob; He wouldn't hurt me. "Damn it!" He shouted. "I'm carrying a knife. If you don't speak up right now, you're going to have a hell of a lot of trouble on your hands."

As much as I didn't want him to know I was here, I wanted to be stabbed even less. So, I gave in and spoke. "It's me." I whispered.

"Bella?" I could tell by his tone that he was shocked. "What the hell do you think you're doing here?" His thunderous footsteps began to move toward me.

I tried to lie. "Uh…I s-saw you leaving, and I thought maybe something was wrong. So, I followed you."

He scoffed. "You followed me for twenty miles to see if something was wrong? You know I hate being lied to." His words were full of venom.

"It's the truth." I sounded slightly more convincing than before. "I didn't know where you were going. I was worried about you."

He stood directly in front of me. "There is nothing to be worried about Bella." He couldn't hide his anger any longer. "You need to go back to the hotel and go to bed. Now!"

"I can't Jake. You know that. The taxi left over an hour ago." That was the truth. There was no way I was getting back to Seneca before sunrise. "I'm in Jocassee for the night." I said, a slight hint of triumph in my voice.

"You shouldn't be here!" He screamed, his hot breath pounding against my face. I could barely make out his features through the darkness, but I could tell they were contorted into an angry grimace.

"Jake." I said, my tone sugary sweet. "What's wrong?" I put my hand on his shoulder. He shrugged it off.

"Damn it Bella, this is dangerous!" His voice was becoming deep and throaty.

"What are you talking about?"

"These woods, they're full of.." He hesitated. "Bears, mountain lions, wolves, snakes. You don't need to be out here."

I giggled falsely, "It's okay Jake, I'm with you."

"Don't give me that bullshit Bella. I know you're mad at me. You won't even talk to me anymore. You don't want me to touch you. You don't want to spend time with me. I'm beginning to think you don't even like me."

My face grew solemn, my voice emotionless. "Why would I ever be mad at you?" He didn't respond. It was as if his temperature was rising, I could feel the heat radiating off of him. It reminded me of the night of the storm, but this time his heat didn't come from passion, but from rage. The fury burned inside of him.

He grabbed my wrist violently and started to pull. "Damn it, come on" His words were full of venom. "You have to get inside my house. Now!"

"Jake! Stop it!" I pleaded. "You're hurting me." His fingernails began to dig into my skin.

"Shut up Bella! Don't say another damn word."

"I'm not going with you Jake. Let go of my arm!" I jerked back, but his grip was too strong. I couldn't get free.

He pulled me close to him, and began to whisper in my ear. "You can walk, or I'll drag you behind me. But either way you're going to shut your mouth, and go to that cabin."

My hands were clenched in angry fists. He was not going to talk to me like that, and I was not going with him without a fight. There was something out there that he didn't want me to see, and it had nothing to do with wild animals. I raised my trembling fist and smashed it into his jaw with all my strength. My hand immediately began to throb, it was as if I had punched a brick wall.

He didn't hardly flinch. "You little bitch!" He screamed. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" As he spoke, the clouds cleared from in front of the moon, illuminating his angry features with an eerie glow. His breathing began to quicken, and I could hear his heart pounding inside his chest. His spine started to raise under his shirt into an unnatural curve. The death grip he had on my hand began to loosen, and eventually fell away. I wanted to run, but I was too scared.

He fell to the ground, his head twisting back and fourth, and his writhing spine breaking through his shirt. Spidery blue veins broke out across the stretched skin on his bare back. He lifted his hand into the moon light, his fingernails began to grow, changing into long razor sharp talons. He raised his head and looked me dead in the eyes. It wasn't Jacob anymore, his eyes were dark and blank…soulless. A throaty snarl escaped his throat. I couldn't move, couldn't speak, could barely stand. Paralyzing fear held me tighter than Jacob's grip on my wrist.

Tufts of russet hair began to push through the skin on his back, and a thousand tiny cracks echoed through the air. At first, I didn't know what they were, then I saw his arms and legs contracting and lengthening rhythmically. They were changing shape, and his bones were breaking under the pressure. He groaned in agony, but the sound was no longer human. His muscles swelled, and his clothing burst at the seams, until they lay in rags beside him. He hung his head back down to the ground, claws digging violently into the earth. His face was shrouded in shadows, but I could see his features twitching erratically in the moonlight. The hair suddenly began to spread over his body, like he was putting on a thick coat. I was so terrified, so confused. What was happening to him?

Then, with one last writhe and groan. He lifted his head. I took a deep breath. Jacob was gone. In front of me stood an enormous wolf, its teeth bared and its eyes full of fury. It glared at me, and snarled into the night. Suddenly, it leapt towards my frozen frame, it's white razor sharp teeth searching for my throat. I felt its hot breath against my face. I watched its claws reach for my shoulders, as if in slow motion. The moment was surreal, impossible. It had to be a dream.

Just before it landed on me, a white blur darted from the trees, slamming the enraged wolf to the dirt. The ground shook as it's enormous body crashed into the earth.

"Run Bella!" A familiar voice shouted. My heart leapt into my throat. Edward! It was Edward! He was alive, and he was with me! Relief washed over my entire body, replacing my terror with elation.

"Edward!" I called back to him, the snarls and growls of the wolf almost drowning out my voice.

"It's me Bella." He replied over a loud crack of what I could only assume was bone. "Run Bella! You have to run! It's not safe here. I'll find you when this is over."

I didn't want to leave, but I had to listen to Edward. "I love you!" I cried as

I made my weak legs move furiously through the wet grass. The wolf roared back at me.

"I love you too." Edward shouted the reply. That would have to do for now. I was off, I had no idea what time it was, but the sky seemed to be getting lighter. But I still couldn't see very well, a heavy mist began to settle over the landscape. Yet I haphazardly put one foot in front of the other breaking out into a near sprint.

I could hear the river, I was getting closer but still couldn't see it through the darkness and the fog. Suddenly I lost my footing, my feet slipping in the mud and wet grass. I tumbled forward and bashed my head on a rock. A scream of agony erupted from my throat. The pain was excruciating, my vision went bleary… then black. I started to roll downward uncontrollably. I reached my hands out frantically, trying to grab a rock, a branch, anything. But I immediately jerked the weak plants out of the ground, and the loose rocks and dirt clods crumbled in my hands. I rolled violently two more times hitting my head on another rock. The sound of the river was upon me.

I hit the icy water completely disoriented. I tried to fight against the strong rushing heave, but I was too weak to pull myself out, too cold to even move. The frigid water seeped into my mouth and nose, filling my lungs like daggers. I coughed against the pain, but I only got another mouthful of water. I moved swiftly downstream, until my body got caught against a large dam of rocks. The water protested, repeatedly smashing me into boulders, I felt my bones crunching at the force of the relentless current.

I gave up, bringing my flailing arms to rest at my side. I was caught in a tumultuous battle between the earth's most fundamental elements. The cold penetrated my bloody skin, my broken bones and my burning lungs, all the way to my faintly beating heart. I knew I was going to die. I thought of Edward. "I love you too." He said.

EPOV:

I grappled furiously with the wolf, overcome with unfathomable rage. He was going to kill Bella, and that stirred emotions in me I never knew existed. A deep hate rose from the bowels of my soul and erupted out of me in the most menacing roars I had ever heard from any creature. The wolf's snapping teeth lunged for my exposed neck. It writhed underneath me, its claws penetrating my rocky skin. It was the first time I had felt pain since I had changed. It was simultaneously exhilarating and terrifying, finally fighting a worthy opponent.

When I heard Bella run, I pulled myself off the wolf. We began to circle each other, darting in and out, trying to gain the upper hand. Low growls spewed from his throat, as I taunted him. "Friends!" I scoffed, skirting out of the way as he lunged at me. "You're a lying bastard Jacob Black, and you're going to die like the filthy mutt you are."

I sprang on him, his claws digging into my back. I punched him with all my strength; he whimpered as his jaw shattered. "For Bella." I whispered. Then I heard a shrill scream, only yards away. It was Bella! She was in trouble! Worry washed over me, drowning out my evil pride. The wolf fell to the ground, laying there nothing but a sniveling mass of fur. I picked him up and threw him against a tree. The timber cracked as he crashed violently into the trunk. His bones crunched, and he hit the ground with a thud. I could still hear the faint murmur of his heart, but I was too worried about Bella to continue. I left him lying there, and sprinted into the dark mist.

I frantically searched the air for Bella's scent. It lead me to the river. My dead heart sank, as I smelled her freshly spilled the blood. The rocks on the riverbank were stained red. I raced downstream, following her scent.

My heart shattered as I saw the messy mop of wet brown hair floating at the top of the misty river. The current had pinned her unmoving body against a crop of large rocks. "Oh God, Bella no!" I screamed the words, as I leapt into the water. I took her limp body in my arms, clutching her tight to my chest. Placing my hand on her heart, I felt a weak pulse. She was still clinging to life. Her intoxicating blood began to stain my skin, but the fire in my throat didn't react at all. The fear of losing her was so much greater than my desire for blood.

Closing my eyes, as I lifted her out of the misty river, strange images clouded my sharp mind. I saw a beautiful Indian girl with long black braids. She was in the arms of a strong man, with a long gash in his throat. He looked at her with loving eyes. "Save her!" They screamed at me. "Break it. Please break it!" Confused I blinked furiously, trying to clear the images from my mind and the mist from my field of vision.

"Bella!" I shouted but got no response. Hurrying out of the river, I laid her body against mine on the bank. I pushed forcefully on her torso, dirty water poured from her mouth. She gasped, trying to breathe. I pushed again, more water spilled from her lips, but still her chest refused to heave.

"Edward!" A familiar voice, like the tinkling of bells, called my name. Alice was by my side in a second, followed by an older man whom I had never met before. I couldn't be bothered to introduce myself.

"Alice? What are you doing here?" My words were fast and frantic. "She's going to die Edward. We have to do something."

"What can we do?" I pleaded, still pushing the water from her lungs.

"Only one thing Edward." Her tone was grim.

"No." I cried. "Anything but that! I can't do that to her. She didn't get a choice."

"I've seen it Edward, she only has minutes left."

I wanted to cry for her, to plead for a normal life, but once again the tears wouldn't come. "I don't know if it's what she wants. I can't make this decision for her."

"You have to!" She exclaimed.

"But this life, Alice, it's so difficult. I don't know if it would be safe."

"Edward!" She screamed. "Get a hold of yourself. Now think, you know her better than anyone. Do what she'd want!"

"I c-can't." I stuttered over the troubling words. "But I know who can help." I scooped Bella up into my arms, and sprinted through the darkness and the fog towards the widow's cabin. I heard the quiet bounds of Alice and her friend behind me. Pounding my fist on the door, I heard the widow moving faster than usual.

She quickly opened the door. "Edward!" She shouted sleepily. "It's four thirty in the morning." Then she looked down, and saw Bella's limp body in my arms. "Oh god!" She exclaimed.

"She fell into the river." I explained. "While I was fighting with Jacob. He tried to hurt her. Alice says she only has a few minutes left, and I need your help."

Her eyes grew wide and terrified. "Well for God's sake come in child." She guided the four of us into her living room. She took Bella's hand and began to tremble at the cold touch. "Take her to my bedroom." She commanded, pointing towards a door in the corner. "I'll get some extra blankets."

I carried her to the room, laying her gently on the quilt covered bed. Her wet hair splayed out messily over the white pillow. Placing my hand on her chest, I was devastated. I could barely detect the faint beating of her heart. The widow returned with an arm full of blankets. Alice took them from her and began to spread them over Bella.

The widows wrinkles were deep with worry, she reminded me of a cracked painting. She took Bella's wrist in her hand. "I can't even feel her pulse." She said in a defeated tone. "I'm so sorry Edward. I don't think there is anything I can do."

"I know." I cried. "I just need to know. If he could have bitten you, and given you the life he had. Would you have wanted that? If you and Tyler could have been together?"

She sighed deeply, a large tear rolling down her cheek. "The life of a vampire is not an easy one, you know that. But what greater gift than an eternity to spend with the one you love?"

"I'm just not sure." I cried. "I don't want to be selfish and ruin her life."

The widow took my hand and looked directly into my eyes. "Edward." Her voice was calm and soothing. "She's lost without you, dead at seventeen years old. Or you can save her and love her with all your heart until the end of time."

"Now Edward!" Alice screamed. "You have to do it now!"

I took a deep breath, and tried to put my fears and worry behind me. Gently pushing her wet hair from her neck, I leaned down and whispered in her ear. "This is forever." I placed my lips on her throat, and sank my sharp teeth into her delicate porcelain skin.

A/N: Aw… finally back together! I'm not sure how much I want to write about Bella's transformation. I could do a three or four chapter thing, or just an epilogue. I also have some ideas for a sequel. Tell me what you think! Thanks for reading! Please review!