Hey guys! Chapter 15 is here! This chapter is a bit longer and contains a lot of violence so if that's not your thing give it a miss. With no further ado enjoy the Unknown as their marks are ready to come and play :)
Ps: Happy New Year!
The seriousness of the situation came crashing down on me like a ton of bricks. I was standing in the Unknown. A place that was filled with cruel creatures that I knew nothing about. A place that I knew very little about. I took a few deep breaths and could see my breath in the cold air as I exhaled. It was absolutely freezing. It must have been winter here. There was a thick layer of snow on the ground and the air was icy. All around us were lines after lines of trees. A shiver ran down my spine as I remembered my nightmare about the forest. The trees were so dark they almost appeared to be black. The trees were also ridiculously tall, almost as if they were trying to touch the sky. There was no light leading into the forest, it was completely surrounded by darkness. To the right of us was a large river. The water flowing was the only sound I could hear other than me and Emmett's breathing. Emmett and I had put our jackets on and headed towards the stream.
The river was about fifteen meters in width and seemed to stretch on for miles. There was an old beaten down path leading along the length of the river. The path looked like it hadn't been used in a long time. Grass and weeds have started to grow onto to the path and completely covered certain parts of the path.
"You want to follow the path?" Emmett asked as he rubbed his hands together as he tried to warm up. I looked around and the path seemed like the only logical option for us. I couldn't see a path into the woods and I was afraid we would get very lost if just started walking into it. The path was illuminated by the moonlight which made it easier to see and follow. I had found it strange that the moon was up, considering when we were on the balcony last night we were staring at the moon as well. Does the sun not come up in the Unknown? Is it always night time and forever dark here?
"Yeah, let's follow the path. It seems like a good place to start." I said as I started walking.
We walked down the path and looked around as we walked, trying to find a different path. I was hoping that we would find a path that led into the forest. We walked for about half an hour along the stream and we manage to find nothing. I was getting frustrated at our lack of progress. The forest seemed like the obvious choice, but Jasper had taken a search party into the woods last night and found nothing. I looked across the river and saw the forest extended on that side as well. Perhaps that would be the place to look. Now all we need to do is cross the river. It was freezing cold and the flow seemed quite strong. It would've have been impossible for us to swim across. We would have gotten swept away in the river. Even if we had made it across the river, we would most likely have frozen to death anyway.
I looked at the trees and an idea formed. Maybe I can use my telekinetic powers and build us a bridge out of the wood from the trees. I focused on one tree first. I imaged all the branches detaching from the trunk of the tree. As I pictured it happen in my head, I watched as the branches fell from the tree. Emmett stood next to me, watching fascinated at what I was doing. Next I imagined the tree breaking apart at the base. Emmett and I stood to the side as we watch the tree fall. Next I needed to move the tree trunk to the river to start forming a bridge. Luckily for us the trees in the forest were tall enough to span across the width of the river. I repeated this process with another three trees. Four trees in total were enough to form a steady bridge that was large enough for us to cross comfortably. I started crossing the river over my tree bridge. I could hear the stream below me and had to focus so that I wouldn't lose my balance and fall. Emmett followed closely behind me, never once questioning the stability of the bridge.
We made it safely to the other side. On this side of the river, there was no beaten down path running along the river. On this side, we needed to make our own path through the forest.
"You want to go into the forest don't you?" Emmett asked with a smirk. He knew me so well.
"I do. What do you say? You up for a little adventure?" I asked smirking right back at him. I knew Emmett would never back away from a challenge like this. He always went along with whatever crazy scheme I came up with.
"Hell yeah. You know I'm always up for your crazy adventures," he said as his smile grew bigger.
"I don't know what you are talking about Emmett. I have never put you up to any crazy adventures." I said and pretended like I was offended.
"Yeah, right Bells. Keep telling yourself that," he said as he playfully pushed my arm. Truth was me and Emmett have gotten ourselves into a lot of trouble with my crazy ideas. Once I convinced him to fake falling off his bike so that the ice cream man would stop and help him. When the ice cream man helped him I would sneak into the van and steal us ice cream. Unfortunately for me the ice cream man came back before I could get out of the van. It took the police and my parents four hours to find me hiding in the back of the ice cream van. I also might have thrown up in the van since I kept eating ice cream. That was not one of my finer moments in life.
"Ok fine, I admit that I might have come up with some interesting ideas in the past," I said as I stuck my tongue out at him like a four-years-old. Emmett just laughed at me and started walking into the dense forest. Emmett turned the flashlight back on as we tried to maneuver our way into the forest. There were trees everywhere. We had to squeeze past them and at the same time avoid bushes and plants that have grown around them. We also had to balance ourselves walking over rocks and fallen trees. The bloody forest was so dense and overcrowded that I started to feel claustrophobic. To make matters worse, I could hear the humming of bugs. The further into the forest, we managed to walk the louder the humming became. It no longer sounded like bugs. It sounded more like a woman softly humming a tune. After another few minutes of nearly having to crawl through the forest, we saw light through the trees. It looked like there was a clearing up ahead. We moved faster and managed to reach the clearing fairly quick.
I had to push Emmett out of the way so that I could move into the clearing. I couldn't understand why he would have just stood still and block my way out of the forest from hell. I stumbled into the clearing, nearly falling on my ass. When I looked up I saw what had frozen Emmett to his spot. In the middle of the clearing, there was someone lying on their back. Crouching over the person was a banshee. We had managed to find Liam and the remaining banshee. When the banshee noticed us she let out one of her high pitch screeches that makes your ears want to bleed. She started storming towards us and was still screeching. Without giving it much thought, I lifted my arm and swung it with the thought of it being able to move the banshee. Well, throw the banshee. I was unsure of how I managed to do it but as I moved my arm and the banshee was knock back into a tree. I must've somehow channeled my telekinetic power to my arm as I swung it.
Emmett and I ran to where Liam was lying. We dropped to our knees next to Liam. He was very pale and was visibly shivering. The good news was that he was awake and alive.
"Emmett, get the extra jacket," I said as I removed the first aid kit from my bag. Liam had scratches and bruises everywhere. There was a big cut on the right side of his stomach that was still bleeding. Emmett and I lifted Liam so that he was sitting up. Emmett quickly put the extra jacket on Liam as I disinfected his wound. I had put some wound dressing on the cut to attempt to stop the bleeding. Emmett helped me put the bandage on around Liam's stomach, to keep the dressing steady against the wound. We were so focused on Liam that we didn't notice the banshee storming back at us. She managed to grab me and throw me away from Em and Liam. I covered my face with my arms as I tumbled to the ground. I had hit the ground hard enough that my body tumbled over and over again before it stopped. I had the breath knocked out of me but other then that my injuries were only bruising and sore spot that will be blue in the morning.
As I was getting up from the ground I could see Emmett shaking as he took a few steps back from the banshee. The next second I saw Emmett's mark come alive. It started with a paw and then the rest of the bear lunged out from Emmett's arm. I was still amazed watching his mark come out even after having seen it many times before. The bear increased in size until it was as large as the banshee. The bear lunged at the banshee and managed to tackle her to the ground. Emmett moved back to Liam as did I. We could see he had another bad cut to his legs. We bandaged up his leg as Emmett's mark fought of the banshee. All you could hear was the growling of the bear and the screeching of the banshee. I helped Emmett get Liam to his feet. Liam wasn't able to stand up on his own due to the leg injury and the fact that he was very disorientated. We moved closer to the edge of the clearing where we entered earlier.
The banshee had managed to knock down Emmett's mark and was storming straight at as. She looked absolutely feral and livid. Before she could reach us, the bear managed to tackle her back to the ground. The were rolling around, each of them trying to get the upper hand. After a few minutes, they managed to break free from each other. The banshee was standing bearing her teeth at the bear. The bear swung his paw at her and knocked her off balance. As she tried to regain her balance the bear pounced on her and brutally ripped a chunk of her throat out with his teeth. The banshee fell to the ground as blood was pouring out of her neck, well what was left of it. The bear spit out the chuck of banshee throat and walked over to us. Emmett rubbed his mark's head in appreciation and pride. I looked over to Liam as he was hanging onto Emmett's side. He looked very bad. We needed to get him back to the university and fast.
We needed to find a way to get Liam to the university for help in the fastest possible way. Another crazy idea struck me.
"Emmett do you think you and Liam will be able to get on to your mark's back and that he would be able to carry the two of you back to the campus?" I asked.
"Yeah, that shouldn't be a problem but how are we going to get the bear through the forest?" he asked. This was where I came in. If I could clear a path with my mind through the forest and the bear can carry Emmett and Liam then time of our journey would be cut in half at the very least.
"I think I'll be able to clear a path for us. I need you to hold onto Liam on top of the bear so that he doesn't fall off. We need to move quickly." I said.
"Ok. Let's do this shit." Emmett boomed. I helped Emmett get Liam and himself onto the bear. Emmett was sitting behind Liam as he mostly laid on top of the bear.
"You ready Em?" I asked.
"Hell yeah Bells. Let's go!" he yelled excited. Emmett always loved being this connected with his mark. I walked over to the bear and stroked his head.
"Are you ready?" I whispered to the bear. He nodded his head at me. I moved back around to face the forest.
I imagined a path opening up. I pictured the trees, plants, bushes, rocks and everything else moving aside, making way for us. I kept imagining the path opening up for us as we started walking through the forest. The more confident I became the faster we were walking on the path that was being created by my mind. After a few minutes, we were able to start running through the forest. We were moving fast and after another few minutes we made it out to the river. I wasn't sure if the wooden bridge would be able to hold the weight of the bear along with Emmett and Liam. Emmett got off the bear and we decided that we will let the bear take Liam over. I crossed over the bridge first so that I was ready if something happened. Next the bear slowly crossed the bridge with Liam on his back. I held my breath as I watch the bear cross over. I was so nervous that the wood would break. I kept my mind focused on the trees forming the bridge, making sure that they stay together and not cause a disruption as the bear crossed over. I let out a sigh of relief when the bear and Liam were safely on the other side. Emmett followed over after them with no trouble. After we crossed I destroyed the tree trunks with my mind as I was afraid other creatures would use the bridge and cause problems on this side. There must be a good reason we never found a bridge to cross over and I wasn't about to leave one in place for no good reason.
I went to check on Liam. He was starting to lose consciousness. I stroked his face with my hand and could feel he was starting to burn up with a fever. He was however still shivering from the cold.
"Just hold on a little longer Liam. We are almost back to the university." I whispered to him. He simply nodded at me.
"Em get back on the bear. We need to move faster." I said. Em jumped back on the bear. I started running down the old beaten down path with the bear right on my tail. My lungs were on fire and I was getting tired. I kept running and pushing myself faster. I couldn't give up. We were so close to the portal. We made it back to the portal in record time. I helped Emmett get Liam of the bear. As the tunnel was so small Emmett had to return his mark back into himself. The bear would not have fitted through the tunnel in its current size. It would have been no help us if it was smaller and therefore it made more sense to return the mark. I watched as the bear returned back into Emmett's arm and the tattoo mark of the bear reappeared on his arm. I noticed how sad it made Emmett too have to say goodbye to the bear.
Emmett had Liam slung over his shoulder like he weighed no more than a sack of potatoes. Emmett crossed over the portal onto the other side. Just as I was about to cross over I heard a howl that rippled through the night. That didn't sound good. My dream about the woods came crashing back to me. The yellow eyes, the snarls, the baring teeth, Edward... I couldn't breathe. I needed to find Edward. Emmett looked back at me and he could see my fearful, panicked face. I knew he was debating on whether or not to let me go back alone.
"Emmett please take Liam back and get him the help he needs. I have to go. I have to find Edward." I pleaded with Emmett. He looked so conflicted. I knew he wanted nothing more then to keep me safe, but he also knew I would never forgive myself if something happened to Edward. I also couldn't let them continue to search for Liam and put their lives in danger as we already found him.
"Bella go. Just please be safe!" he said worriedly.
"I will be," I promised as I watched him run to the tunnel. I grabbed a bottle of water out of my bag and quickly drunk it as I was parched and borderline dehydrated.
Another howl ripped through the air and was followed by a man screaming. Fear gripped my heart. Just as I had done before, I cleared a path out in front of me as I started running through the forest towards where I heard the howl and scream coming from. I ran as fast as my legs would carry me. The howling became more frequent and the screams grew in volume. As I got closer to the screaming the faster my heart raced and the worse my fear for Edward got. I was terrified at the possibility of something having happened to him. I could see a small clearing up ahead. I could also see and smell something being burned. I heard a scream to my left. I slowed down and looked over and saw a big guy running towards two other guys. Chasing the screaming guy was a big black furry werewolf with glowing yellow eyes. I watched fascinated as the three men attacked the werewolf with silver swords that shined in the night. One guy bent down and swung his sword into the werewolves leg. As the werewolf fell forward the second guy jumped to the side and plunged his sword into the werewolves back. The third guy waited until the werewolf fell to the ground completely before he swung his swords across the wolf's neck, effectively decapitating it. Next they set a piece of wood on fire and threw into on the werewolf. I watched as the werewolf caught on fire and burned.
I heard a loud howl from behind me and turn to see yellow eyes running towards me. I quickly ran to my right away from the three guys. I didn't want to get caught being in the Unknown. I ran as fast as I could. I had the hood of my jacket up so no one would be able to tell who I was in the darkness. I could feel someone running near me and it wasn't the snapping wolf behind me. No, I recognized this change in the air anywhere I went. Edward was running along side me and just to be sure I turned and looked. Yup, my green-eyed God was right there beside me now. Edward pushed me out of the way as the wolf leaped forward. I went crashing into a tree as the wolf knocked Edward to the ground. Edward managed to hold the wolf away from his face, but I could see he was struggling. I pictured what I did earlier with the banshee and will my power to my arm as I swung it at the wolf. Just like earlier the wolf went flying into the trees.
I walked towards where the wolf was lying and I could feel Edward get up to join me. I had taken out the bow and arrows at the tree I crashed into and left my bag there. I aimed the bow and drew out an arrow. I fired my first bow and it hit the wolf in the stomach. As I was getting ready to fire my second arrow another wolf knocked me out of the way and right into Edward. We tumbled to the snow covered ground. I ended up on top of Edward. We were almost nose to nose. Even with the dim light of the moon shining through the trees, I knew he would recognize me this closeup.
"Bella!" Edward breathed out angrily. Before he could do or say anymore I got up and started to back away from him. He jumped up and faced me. He looked absolutely lived. I knew by his face that I was in so much shit.
We were broken out of our moment by the howling of the wolves. The one I had shot was running towards Edward. I watched as Edward drew a whip from the side of his belt. The whip looked like it was made out of metal and was long, thick and heavy. I watched astonished as a small fire started where Edward held the whip and spread down and lit up the entire whip. Edward took a few steps forward as he was slowly swung the whip in small circles. He looked like a predator stalking his prey. As the wolf got close to him, he took the whip and swung it at the wolf. The whip that was still on fire, wrapped around the neck of the wolf. Edward pulled the whip back to him and as he did this the whip severed the head of the wolf. I watch amazed as the wolf's head fell to the ground, followed by his body mere seconds later. Edward moved to where the wolf laid, dead. I presumed he has to set it on fire as the other guys did with the other wolf.
I watched as Edward created a small ball of fire in the palm of his hand and threw it on the remains of the wolf. Just like earlier the flames spread quickly all over the wolf. Edward must have an affinity for fire. I never asked him about it and I really wanted to kick my own ass for that. Edward turned back to face me. He stalked towards me and grabbed my arm. He held onto my arm and started walking faster in the direction I came from. After a few minutes, he let go of my arm. He looked around with a look of pure concentration on his face.
"I can't hear the thoughts of any werewolves or creatures anywhere between here and the portal. You will go straight back to the fucking portal and up to my room and wait for me there. Do you understand me Bella?" he yelled at me furiously. I knew he would know if I didn't go back and I would just be taking away from his focus and that will put him in danger.
"I promise I will go straight back," I promised him. He stared into my eyes for a few seconds and must have seen that I was being honest. He simply nodded at me and turned around and walked away. Shit he was seriously pissed off at me. I suddenly remembered about Liam. I needed to tell him to stop looking.
"Edward, we found Liam. He is safe back at the campus now." I yelled after him. He stopped and turned to give me another nod before disappearing back into the forest.
I started walking back to the portal. After a few minutes, I heard a low growl. I quickly started running in a different direction. I ran as fast as I could and I could feel the wolf hot on my trial. I knew Edward wasn't following me as he went back to help his search party. This time I was all alone with an angry wolf chasing me. I kept running as fast as my legs could carry me. Fuck! I tried to think of how to kill a werewolf. I saw I was running upward to a hill. I could see that I was coming up to an edge of a cliff. I looked down at my arm and noticed that my mark has moved to my wrist. This was it. I needed my mark. I ran faster and didn't stop at the edge of the cliff. When I reached the edge I jumped as far from it as I could. I turned myself around as I jumped off the cliff so that I was facing the cliff. I was falling and I could see the wolf jump off after me. I released my mark and looked at how it crawled out my skin. It quickly increased in size till it was as big as the wolf. I grabbed onto the tail of my scorpion as it leap forward to attack the wolf. We were still falling down the cliff. My scorpion managed to get on top of the werewolf and with one quick motion used its claw to snap of the wolf's neck. I watched was the wolf fell to the ground below with its severed head. My scorpion managed to grab onto the rocks of the cliff before we hit the ground. My heart and breathing were erratic. My mind was still trying to catch up on what had just happened. The fall had only taken seconds, but it had felt like an hour. My scorpion climbed down the cliff to the ground where the werewolf laid, dead. I quickly got off and got the lighter out of my bag. I used a small branch to set fire to and threw it onto the werewolf and watched it burn. I burned the werewolf as I saw the three guys and Edward do the same. I had no idea as to why they did it.
I climbed back onto my scorpion and headed back to the portal. When we reached the portal my scorpion return to her place and I have to admit I was sad to see her leave. I looked back down to my wrist as the tattoo of my mark appeared and knew that she never was far away. I made my way through the portal and tunnel and up the stairs. I quickly made my way to Edward's room and waited there for him. By the time I got back to the normal side it was already after eight the evening. I sent Emmett a quick text to let him know I was back and ok. I hopped into the shower, washing away the activities of the day. I dressed in tiny cotton pajama shorts and a thin tank top. I grabbed my phone and sat on the chaise waiting for Edward. I got a text back from Emmett telling me that Liam is ok and was being looked after. I was so happy that we had managed to find Liam and that he will recover. Just as I was about to text Em back the door swung open with a loud crash. Edward walked to the door and slammed it shut again. He dropped my bag that I had forgotten in the Unknown to the floor with a loud thud. He stared straight at me with livid eyes and flaring nostrils. Oh, I was in so much shit.
Oh, I wonder what is going to happen between them now...:)