(disclaimer-i do not own any of the characters from the novel twilight.)
so, my writing is completely...unlike my writing at the moment. i don't know what's happened to me.
but i figure that a new chapter is necessary anyway, seeing as i've left this story story hanging out to dry
for so long. it's about time i tried to officially end it. so, here we go. please leave reviews, if you can.
Danger, Will Robinson.
The rain was coming down swiftly and softly, moistening the roots of my hair. I didn't bother to pull the hood down over my head; I was already soaked from the mist coming up off the water. The white driftwood log was wet beneath me and the wind was cool enough to bring goosebumps to my arms. Still, I didn't move to cover myself. I was enjoying the freedom of the moment.
Jacob had convinced Junior to leave me be for a few minutes while they checked the area for threats. Embry had come to the house this morning and woken all of us up, speaking anxiously about tracks he had found in the mud near the little La Push store, and they'd all run off to investigate and try to identify the scent. I hadn't heard much of the conversation, but Jake had promised to fill me in when he got back.
So here I was, sitting in our spot, mulling over the events of the month, or, more specifically, the recent attacks I'd been receiving from the vampire species.
Just thinking about it had my teeth chattering a little more quickly, my pulse hammering through the veins in my neck.
I still hadn't figured out what Kyle was, and I didn't know whether I should be terrified or fascinated. The last time I had seen him, despite how rough he was while handling me, he had seemed more protective than threatening, as though he had been trying to save me from something awful. Maybe it was wrong to keep him away from me. Perhaps he knew something that I should know, something that could be potentially dangerous to me. He sure seemed to have some kind of knowledge about the existence of vampires.
And then, of course, were the last words he had spoken to me before he left, the words that had stuck with me every night in my dreams. "I really hope you don't die," he had said to me. He thought that I would die, but from what?
A noise startled me then, seeming to come from no where. It sounded almost like breathing, but there was no one around that I could see. My heart-rate kicked up a notch and I glanced around me, trying not to panic. If anything, it was probably Jacob or Junior, checking in on me and making sure that I wasn't stolen away by any devilish fiend. That had to be it.
But what if it wasn't? Would anyone get to me in time?
Freedom wasn't looking so swell any longer. I found that I missed the constraint.
"Hello?" I called out shakily. My breathing was so loud it was embarrassing.
Cautiously, I stood up from the rotting log, peering over my shoulder into the distant woods. I half-expected to see Jacob come tearing out from between the green fronds, ready to save me from whatever it was I couldn't see. My eyes were watering as I spun in the other direction, wishing one of my wolf-men would show up and tell me how stupid I was for being afraid.
Shivering, I turned once more to face the ocean, hoping to get whipped in the face with a blast of sea-mist so I could come out of my panicked trance. But I didn't get what I expected.
What stood before me was tall, beautiful, and the palest shade of white. His eyes were wild with fear, black as pitch, and partially obscured by rain-darkened hair. Two cold hands stretched out to me, claw-like and gentle. His shirt was torn open, revealing more of his perfection than I could handle. Edward was simply the most amazing thing my eyes had ever met. He was an angel.
And, unless my eyes were mistaken, he was very much alive--or, as alive as he could be.
"You didn't get them to kill you," I whispered into the rain.
Edward shook his head quickly, his eyebrows furrowed in what looked like determination. "Bella," he mouthed, looking up at the purple clouds above his head. "We don't have much time now; I'm already late. You need to come with me." He reached for me, stopping only as his hands brushed against the sleeve of my coat.
"What?" I objected, backing away in confusion. "Where? Why? What about Jacob?"
Edward pursed his lips, visibly frustrated. "You're going to need to trust me, Bella. I don't have time to explain. I just need you to come with me. It isn't safe here anymore."
His words matched Kyle's almost perfectly. My mouth hung open in shock and my feet stuck in the mud. "But Jacob..." I said inaudibly.
"No time," he repeated, coming toward me. His dark eyes shot warning glances in every direction, making the sinking feeling in my stomach get just a little bit worse. I could feel the blood draining from my face with each second, my eyes getting larger and larger with fear.
"No, Edward." I denied him, moving away from his grasp as he tried once more to latch onto me. "No. I cannot leave here without knowing where Jacob is. And Junior. I need to have them with me; they're my family. I won't go with you, not without knowing they're safe."
Huffing angrily, Edward seemed to bite his tongue for a minute, thinking over his response. Then suddenly he was right in front of me, his eyes intense and dazzling, less than an inch from my own. "Bella," he said, voice persuasive, eyes narrowed. "I promise you that they will be protected, alright? But for now, you need to remember that they are both grown men, both very strong and capable of fending for themselves. Right now, you are the one who needs protecting. You're in danger, Bella, and I'll be damned if I see you leave me again, even if you aren't mine."
I blinked at the passion in his tone, completely stunned and silent. While I was in this state, a second pale, white form appeared at my left elbow, her spiky black hair now slick against her beautiful little head. She smiled up at me in the rain, her white teeth tinted purple from the storm clouds above.
"Hey, Bella," she sang.
"Hi, Alice," I murmured dazedly.
"Alice," Edward addressed her, turning her toward him. "Where are the others?" She didn't respond aloud, but I watched as Edward read what he needed in her thoughts, the way that he silently nodded his head in assent.
"What? Where are they?" I asked her, anxiety working its way into my tone, giving me more volume than I'd had before.
"Emmett and Jasper are scanning the woods, looking for Kyle. I saw him somewhere near here, but it's all so blurry that I can't be sure where he's coming from...who he's with." Her voice trailed off as she stared through me, seeing something other than my face. I reached out and attempted to shake her gently, urgency written on my face.
"You know about Kyle? What is he, Alice? Do you know?"
"I don't know. He's like nothing I've seen before. He keeps going in and out of focus." Her eyebrows met confusedly and she glanced at Edward, who seemed much too impatient to be standing in the rain conversing.
"We need to go," he insisted, glancing out into the sudden darkness.
"No, hold on." I looked back at Alice, holding my hand up for her to wait. "What about Esme and Carlisle? Where are they?"
"Looking for the wolves," she retorted matter-of-factly. After a moment of staring at my bewildered expression, she added, "they're supposed to fill them in on what's going on, not that we really know all that much about what is happening. Still, they need to be informed, just in case we need some sort of...backup."
"We won't need backup," Edward snarled, his nostrils flared. "I can handle this. I can protect her."
Alice looked up at him, entirely calm. I, on the other hand, was shocked by his reaction.
"Cool your jets, Edward. You need to stay focused," she told him. I watched as his features slowly smoothed out, and then his eyes settled back on me.
"We have to go. They're already in Seattle," he muttered, grabbing at my arm. He was already running as he scooped me up against his chest, the scenery of the soon-to-be hurricane blurring around us. Alice kept up with him, following closely behind, her eyes tight with concentration.
"Edward," I murmured breathlessly, staring at his angry face. "Who is coming?"
His expression hardened and his arms felt hard as stone around me, no longer quite as gentle as they were just a moment before. "The Volturi," he spit vehemently, staring straight ahead.
My heart stopped. I felt nauseous. "The Volturi?" I squeaked. I watched in complete terror as he nodded his head, trying hard to find the words for my next question. It was hard to think with all that was going on around me. I was having trouble focusing. "Edward, why are they coming? What do they want?"
"I don't know. They must have found out about the situation." His voice was like ice, cold and biting.
"But how?"
"I don't know, Bella. Please be quiet now. I promise you'll be safe."
The next couple of minutes were very quiet. All that was heard was from the storm, the thunder, the pelting rain. There was no sound of running feet, not that I expected there to be. There wasn't even the sound of Edward's breathing. I, too, seemed to be holding my breath, waiting for Aro to appear in front of us and grant me a second gravestone.
I shivered in Edward's arms.
"You must be freezing," he muttered, angry with himself. "I should have brought something to keep you dry."
"You can't always be the hero," I grumbled incoherently, looking away from him. My attention had drifted, my thoughts lingering on the safety of my family, of Jacob and Junior. Where would they be now? Were they safe? Could Edward possibly know that they would be alright?
I was so distracted by my worrisome thoughts that I hardly noticed when we came to a sudden halt. The only thing that brought me back to the present was the voice that I heard, the angry, confrontational tone that I had come to know so well.
"Stop right there," Jacob demanded, belligerent. "Get your filthy hands away from her."
(Bad ending to this chapter, but it's long enough, so I kind of need to stop here.)