Hey guys! Chapter 13 is here! This chapter has violence and death in it. If you are uncomfortable with these topics then give this one a miss. Enjoy reading and I'll see you at the end :)
It was absolute chaos in the hall. Students were running around, screaming and panicking. Edward still held my hand tightly. One of the banshees flew into the room. The moonlight illuminated her and I manage to get a better look at her. Her skin was pale, almost blue in color. She was taller than I thought originally. Her head was larger than that of a normal person, but her facial feature were proportional to the size of her head. She had big eyes that were completely white. Her lips were thin and she was baring her teeth. She had long dark brown hair that went down to her hips. Her hands and feet were shaped like claws and looked sharp and deadly. She wore tattered clothing and looked very wild. They were all still screeching loudly and the glass of framed paintings around the hall started shattering.
Edward pulled on my hand and led us towards the doors. We were knocked to the side by terrified students trying to escape. Students were screaming and crying out in fear. It was still very dark, even with the moonlight that shown through. Students were getting restless and started pushing others to the side in an attempt to flee from the Hall. Edward pulled us to the side, away from the stampede of students. He gave me a quick but passionate kiss.
"Bella you need to leave now. Run and hide and try to keep safe," he whispered in my ear. I barely heard what he said due to the screeching of the banshees and the noise of the students.
"I'm not leaving without you Edward!" I screamed as he started to move back into the hall.
"Bella please just go and be safe. I need to deal with this," he pleaded as he headed over to help students.
The other banshees have started moving into the hall as well. I counted six of them in total. They were all similar in appearance and height. They looked like they walked out of someone's nightmare. I was shaking from the cold and fear if I'm being honest. I was lost in fear as I had no idea how to help or how to fight. Until a few minutes ago, I never knew that banshees even excited. I was frozen in my spot, staring at the madness in the hall. One banshee had a student gripped in her claws. She had wrapped her claws around the student's neck and lifted him off the ground. The student was trying to pull the claws from his neck, but it was futile. The banshee was clearly superior in strength. Professors started running to aid the poor student that had started to grow unconscious due to lack of oxygen.
The banshee released the student as she saw the professors approach her. The student dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes. I was unable to tell whether or not the student was still breathing and conscious. The banshee stood over the student's body as the professors grew close to her. She swiped her claw at the first professor to reach her. Her claws managed to tear through the clothing and skin of the professor. She left three deep welts in the chest spanning up to the shoulder of Prof. Andrew Colton. Blood was pouring out of the wounds and he dropped to his knees and clutched his chest. The banshee sneered down at him and used her foot to kick into his chest with such force that I could faintly hear the crack of bone. I watched in horror as Colton fell backward and was left lying broken in a pool of blood. I was so absorbed in watching what happened that I failed to notice that two of the banshees had managed to pass by me and into the hallway. It wasn't until I heard the manic screaming of students and the screeching of the Banshees' that I realized they were following students.
Without another thought, I ran into the hallway, desperate to try and help the students. There were students running into different lecture halls. There were students lying on the floor with what seemed to be only minor cuts. One banshee had a student in her claws just like the one had in the assembly hall. The student was clutching the banshee's claws and was choking as she tried to break free. Come on Bella think! How are you going to help the student... what can you do... I looked around the hallway frantically looking for something I could use. Against one wall, I spotted a large box frame holding inside it a wooden bow with a bag of arrows. It must have been an antique or have some significance to it. I however didn't care. All I saw was a weapon I knew how to use. My parents forced me to take up a sport since I was twelve and my sport of choice was archery.
I ran over to the frame and climbed up on the couch placed underneath the frame, as I was too short to reach it. I used my elbow to smash the glass and was happy I was wearing a cardigan and managed not to get cut. The glass broke easily as there were already cracks due to the screeching of the banshees. I grabbed the bow and bag of arrows and climbed back down to the floor. The banshee had extended her arm out and was holding the student away from her. The student was still trying to break free and was kicking their legs wildly. The position the banshee was in gave me the perfect shot. I had the bag of arrows slung over my back. I reached behind me to pull an arrow from the bag and took aim. I had the arrow on the bow and was perfectly positioned. I had a clear shot of the banshee's neck which I knew would most likely kill her. I know it seems harsh but she was busy killing a student and I highly doubted that she would just leave if asked politely.
A second before I released the arrow I felt a large strong arm hit me in the stomach. The hit sent me flying against the wall. I managed to still shoot the arrow but due to the hit I received the arrow went crooked and hit the banshee in her upper arm. At least this caused her to drop the student. I looked over to try and identify who my attacker was. Banshee number two was stalking towards me. Shit, I had completely forgotten about her. I was so focused on banshee one that I never thought about the second one. Banshee one let out loud screech as she pulled the arrow from her arm. She looked over at me where I was lying on the floor clutching my head from the impact of being knocked into the wall. My body ached, but I needed to focus. I had two banshees stalking towards me and they looked seriously pissed.
I took a deep breath to try and calm myself. I was powerful damn it! I will not have my ass kicked by banshees! The second banshee was very close to me at this point. I waited until she was about two feet away from me. I already had the bow gripped in my hand, ready to attack. I quickly pulled an arrow from the bag and shot her as she jumped towards me. After I released the arrow I had moved to the side so that the banshee would land against the wall and not on top of me. This had all happened in the space of seconds. My breathing was erratic as I looked at the banshee lying on the floor next to me. My ears started to sting as banshee one let out the highest screech I have ever heard. I cover my ears and hoped that she would stop. I looked back over to banshee two and saw that my arrow had gone straight through the left side of her chest, right where her heart would be. The arrow's tip stuck out of her back and the blood was pouring out of her.
I got to my feet quickly as I had no desire to be covered in blood. I felt dizzy from getting up so fast and I was still recovering from the blow I received. Banshee one let out another screech as she stormed at me. She was too fast for me to react. She had me pinned to the wall and was baring her teeth at me. Up close she looked so fucking terrifying. Her white eyes glared into mine. She looks feral as she snapped her teeth at me. Adrenaline started pumping through my veins. I would not be defeated by a banshee! I decided that my best bet at this stage would be to use my mind. Since an arrow through the heart killed the other one then surely removing this one's heart would kill her too. I didn't fight her or panic as she choked me with her claws. I could feel her claws slightly pierce my skin. I stayed as calm as possible as I knew that if I struggled I would loose my energy and breath. I extended my arm out and opened my hand. I kept picturing her heart until I could literally feel it pulse in my head. Next I picture her heart moving out of her chest and into my hand. My mind power allows me to control and manipulate objects and technically her heart is an object. I focus all my attention and energy on the image of her heart moving out of her chest and into my hand.
Within less than a minute, I was falling to the floor on my knees. The banshee had stumbled backward and was clutching her chest in shock. I looked down at my hand. My hand was clasping a heart, her heart. I looked back over to her and she her fall to the floor. I dropped the heart and wiped my hand against my dress to get the blood off. I looked around the hallway and found that it was empty bar three people. Well, one person and two dead banshees. My heart was pounding and my breathing heavy. I turned to the entrance of the assembly hall and without any though started walking back into the hall. The air in the assembly hall was filled with dread and a heavy silence. Professor Colton was still lying on the floor in a large pool of blood. I highly doubted he survived the attack. The student the banshee had attacked was nowhere to be seen. Maybe he had managed to escape but the horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach said differently.
In total, I counted four other students lying on the floor. They all looked badly injured but was being assisted by professors. I looked around the hall trying to find Edward. I walked through the hall and the only sound was that of my steps crushing the broken glass. I finally managed to spot a head of copper hair in the far corner of the hall. Edward was crouched over someone. There was another person on the opposite side of Edward. All I could make out was another head of copper hair, Esme. I walked faster towards them. My steps grew louder as there were more glass scattered on the floor here. As I got close to them Esme lifted her head and looked at me. Her beautiful eyes were red and puffy from crying. Her face looked so terrifyingly heartbroken.
I crouched down next to Edward and placed a hand on his back. I looked down to the person lying on the floor. My heart sunk into my stomach. Lying on the floor was Carlisle. He was still alive but barely hanging on. I felt the tears burning my eyes. Edward held one of Carlisle's hands while Esme gripped the other tightly. Carlisle's breathing was harsh and his eyes showed a considerable amount of pain. One of the banshees must have attacked him. On his torso, there were bandages covering two wounds that appear not to be fatal. The real problem was the banshee claw stuck into Carlisle's chest. Bandages were placed around the claw in attempt to stop the bleeding.
I looked at each of their faces. It was like they had already given up like there was no hope left. This was unacceptable! This couldn't be happening. Think Bella think! There had to be something that can be done. I got to my feet and moved so that I was closer to Carlisle's chest and the wound. The claw was sticking out about half way so the puncture could not have been too deep.
"Edward why has no one removed the claw?" I asked. Maybe he could still be saved.
"Because the claw puncture the right side of his heart. The moment the claw is removed he will bleed out instantly," he said in a heartbroken tone. I tried remembering back to biology in high school. We had spent a lot of time on the heart and had even been given sheep's heart to dissect. I wondered if I would be able to make the hole in Carlisle's heart reattach if I concentrated hard enough. Maybe if I picture his heart until I can feel his pulse in my head like I did with the banshee I could be able to save him. I would have to slowly remove the claw as I focus on the hole in his heart.
"I need you guys to trust me and stay perfectly quiet and do not move," I said to Edward and Esme in hope that my plan will work. Neither of them said a word. They simply nodded. Carlisle's breathing was almost non-existent. I was running out of time and needed to act immediately. I started by picturing a heart and moved to picturing a heart inside the body. When I had a clear image in my head of a heart inside a body, I looked down at Carlisle and picture that it was his heart. After a minute, I started to feel the faint beat of his heart in my head. I slowly wrapped my hand around the piece of claw. I pictured the piece of claw that has punctured his heart. I slowly pulled the claw out and as I pulled I pictured the hole closing as the walls of his heart reattached. I still kept picturing his heart even after I removed the claw. It was starting to beat faster. I dropped the claw to the side and grabbed bandages to cover the wound the claw left in his skin. I highly doubt I would be able to close that and it would be better if a doctor cleaned the wound first.
Edward and Esme were staring at me in shock. I gave them a small smile and looked at Carlisle's face. His breathing was better and color started to return to his face. He no longer looked like he was on the edge of death. Esme broke out sobbing and started kissing Carlisle's face. Edward screamed for people to get a doctor. After a few minutes and a flurry of movement, Carlisle was being transported to a hospital. Esme had gotten in the ambulance with him while Edward stayed behind to help clean up the mess. All injured students have been moved to the infirmary. In the assembly hall, the body of the professor was covered with white sheets. There were three dead banshees in the hall and the two that I killed out in the hallway. The banshees were dragged outside the university building. Big burly men came with wooden planks and constructed them around the banshees and then sat them on fire outside the university building.
Edward stared at the fire for a few minutes with a blank expression on his face. I don't think he was coping well with nearly having lost his father. He walked away after a while and headed back towards the university. I followed him out to a balcony that was at the very back of the university building. The balcony was elegantly designed with beautiful ornate stone railings. It was a very big balcony. Edward was at the very far side leaning on the railing looking out at the night. I walked over to him and stared out towards where he was staring. It was dark, but the moon cast a light glow onto an expansive forest. I looked around the balcony further and saw a thin translucent layer that looked like it shield protecting the university. This must be the portal. This layer of magic is what separated two worlds so vastly different. I looked back out to what I now knew was the Unknown. I tried to get a better view, but all I could see was a thick forest that went on for miles and a mountain range that looked awfully far away.
"She will come back," Edward said softly.
"What? Who will come back?" I asked as I moved closer to him.
"The banshee. She will come back for revenge. We killed her sisters." he said and I could hear the anger in his voice.
"Edward it will be ok. She is one against many. We will kill her just as we did to her sisters." I said as reassuringly as I could.
"They managed to kill two people tonight Bella and if it wasn't for you they could easily have killed more." he said angrily.
"Edward calm down. It's over now. Your dad is going to be ok. Who was the second person they killed?" I asked as I tried to reassure him about his dad.
"Bella he would've died if it wasn't for you," he said solemnly as he turned to look at me. Edward's eyes widened in shock and worry as he took in my appearance. I must look like a mess. I knew my hair was bloody from hitting my head against the wall and I had banshee blood all over my white dress, which made it look worse than it was.
"Fuck Bella are you ok?! You are covered in blood!" Edward panicked.
"Relax I'm fine. It's mostly banshee blood. I got knocked into a wall by one and hit my head but other than that I'm ok." I reassured him.
"You were the one who killed the two banshees in the hallway?" he asked amazedly.
"Yeah, I did," I said almost ashamed of it. I never liked the idea of killing someone innocent, but they were far from innocent. They were monsters who clearly enjoyed killing. Edward looked at me proudly and told me how amazing I was for having the strength to kill a banshee.
"Edward who was the second person they killed?" I asked again. I only saw Colton's body.
"She took the student with her," he said miserably. Oh god. Why did she need to have taken a student? I couldn't wrap my head around as to what she would do to that poor student.
"You said that they killed two. Did she kill the student." I asked as I tried to figure it out.
"No, he was still alive. I highly doubt he will be alive for long," he said mournfully. I guess no student stood a chance alone in the Unknown. My gut twisted in the thoughts of what could happen to the poor student. He will most likely suffer a tragic, painful death.
Edward broke me out of my depressing thoughts as he grabbed my hand and walked us back to his room. Once we were in his room he made me sit on the chaise as he went to get a first aid kit. He cleaned up all my wounds and made me shower before he dressed them with bandages. I only had a few cuts and scrapes. My ribs were going to be killing me in the morning from where the banshee hit me and I'll have a killer headache. I asked Edward to grab me some aspirin from my bag on the floor. I looked up at him as it was taking him a while to get me my painkillers. Edward was standing with a big book in his hands and was looking at it intently. I focused in on the book. I didn't recognize it as one of my books and then it came back to me. The book I got from the forbidden section was about that size. I didn't look at it as a stuffed it into my bag earlier. Edward was holding in his hands the book that I 'borrowed' from the forbidden section. Shit.
Wonder what Edward's reaction will be to Bella 'borrowing' forbidden books :)