AN: Disclaimer: I do not own twilight. To begin with this is rated T. It could change to an M at some point!
The trees creaked under the intense weight and battering of the harsh winds, as a blood soaked and panicked Bella raced through the forest. Aside from the brutal winds and creaking trees, her racing heart took up all the hearing capability in her ears as it hammered in her chest. Her throat was aching and sore from screaming, but she continued to call for her lost sister.
"LISA!"
Hot tears poured down her cold cheeks, burning the skin in their wake as Bella stumbled clumsily through the thin line of trees surrounding her, pressing in on her, and trapping her within the fearful confines of the forest; away from society. Quickening her pace, Bella tried to put focus into her actions as she skipped a small stream of water.
She was unsuccessful, and instead tripped; soaking her foot and right through her thin gown. The only benefits of the frigid water were the eradication of blood from her clothes, although from what Bella could see in the dark, the material was still stained an ugly, rust red color. The further into the woods Bella travelled, the darker her surroundings became, and the more scared and confused she felt.
With the darkness came more injuries: branches pulling her hair like crooked, gnarly fingers and rocks that sliced the pads of feet from toes to heel. As the injuries accumulated, the more Bella's body became one big, pulsating ache and the more her mind spiraled into the dark and forbidden territory of madness.
As her running became a slower stumble, in pain as she was, the more her heart calmed to a slower, if not still unhealthy pace. Without her heart pounding in her ears, Bella began to hear different sounds that associated with the woods: animals, rattling wind, flowing water, tree branches rubbing together, and… something else. Something she couldn't determine.
Despite not having a name for the noise, it unnerved her and made her anxious, tickling her sixth sense. She felt acutely aware of her surroundings, despite the darkness, as if she was being intently watched. With her limited visual capabilities, Bella glanced around her but found nothing that caused alarm.
A tree branch snapped suddenly, frightening her into screaming which picked up in sound as Bella's foot glided over a lone tree branch and she fell, landing hard on her back. The position on her back had her sliding down a steep, muddy hill she hadn't seen and left her to crash down into rocks and obstacles designed to further batter her already battered body.
After what felt like a life time of screaming and grunting in panic and pain, Bella finally came to a crashing stop and slid straight into a pool of frigid water that felt murky; filled with dirt. Her body instantly locked up from the ice water and she scrambled to get out immediately. It took several attempts because of the slick floor but she was finally upright several minutes later.
Bella stood in shock for some time, her arms wrapped tight around herself, trying to hold in any ounce of warmth but failing miserably, and not at all aided by the elements. With the violent shivering she was now experiencing, Bella knew it wouldn't be long before hypothermia set in. She needed to find people, and warmth.
Bella set off on her sore feet once more, her body hunched in from the cold, her arms wrapped tight around her and her clothing dripping. After only a few minutes she began to feel dizzy, and sick. Her eyes darted around, trying to find a break in the trees or a sign of civilization somewhere, anywhere.
A terrifying feeling of being watched, of having eyes pressing in on her made Bella's heart race and tears spring to her eyes in fear. She was so scared, so tired and hurt and she was positive she was dying from her combined wounds and the chill that settled deep inside her, freezing even her bones.
Bella continued on, determined not to give up, if not for her then for Lisa. It had only just occurred to Bella that she had stopped calling Lisa's name when a loud, very startling crunch, followed by heavy breathing made Bella's insides curl over and her heart speed up. She turned fast, staring into the darkness, dreading what she would find.
The scream that rose up in her throat locked behind her teeth at the pair of bright, ominous eyes looking straight at her from the corpse of trees. By the time she had blinked however, the eyes were gone and that was the first moment Bella thought she might actually be going mad from her own terror. She was going literally going to be scared to death.
Knowing she had to move and find her sister, Bella ventured further into the darkness, her body still in intense agony. Her eyes and ears stayed stained, waiting for anything and expecting everything. Hours and hours went by as Bella walked. She knew it without knowing, because she felt like she was walking in an endless loop of darkness and fear.
Her feet were caked in dirt, most likely infecting all the cuts she had obtained in them. One more thing that was likely to kill her, she thought with detachment. She truly was going mad. Her body was exhausted, each cut and ache burning. Bella was positive she was going to die. She couldn't prevent it. Her legs were weak, and were crying to give out and rest.
She wouldn't allow it, knowing that the moment her knees unlocked, the moment she stopped would be her last conscious moment on this earth. She would drift away: cold, and in agony, to her death. The thought of Lisa kept her going for even longer. Bella wondered why the darkness wasn't lifting, turning into day. She would have more chance if she just had some sunlight.
On and on she walked until very abruptly Bella's legs finally gave out and she crashed, hard, onto the cold and unforgiving ground. Once on the floor, Bella resigned herself to the fact that she was done for. She pressed her back into a large log close to her, trying to settle in as best as she could and let herself slip into oblivion.
It is afternoon and the sun is shining gloriously; hot and welcoming. There is laughter, clapping and screams of delight from all around; celebrations. Warm grass tickles her feet as she looks at the banner hung up before her; high enough for everyone to see. The banner reads: Happy Birthday Isabella!
Every person gathered in the small garden she finds herself in is smiling ear to ear. Bella's attention is stolen by a man who makes her heart squeeze as he begins a speech. His eyes are warm as he looks at her. "Family, friends: welcome! I thank each and every one of you for being here today for my beautiful daughter: Isabella, on her big day. Five! Growing up so fast."
There is a lot of humored chuckles and a few glances at young Bella, smiles for her special day. Her father continues to speak, smiling and raising his glass. "Although she's growing up fast, she is still my beautiful baby girl, and I just wanted to raise a glass of juice –yes, juice! I'm a responsible man! - To Bella, one of the best things to ever happen to me."
Her father raises his glass as if it were of the finest champagne, even though it is mere apple juice and toasts to Bella. Her family members and her parent's friends follow suit. As they break into chatter, they don't notice five-year-old Bella sneak away from the party, and vanish into the house beyond.
A young Isabella goes straight into the kitchen from the back door and comes face to face with a boy. A young boy who hates Isabella and forever bullies her behind both their parents back, despite being a year older.
Countless times she has told on the boy to both sets of parents, but he never stops and so she begins to take matters into her own hands. "Leave me alone Derek!" She shouts.
The young boy laughs before promptly slapping her across the face, leaving a burning print behind. Bella cries and follows it with a scream as Derek hits her again. She throws her arms over her face, scared of Derek hitting her once more. After a couple of seconds though, Bella feels something warm and gooey land over her upper body.
When she opens her eyes, she screams the loudest she has ever screamed in her young life. Music cuts off abruptly and then suddenly adults are there, gasping and screaming. Bella catches site of her father, who looks terrified as he picks Bella up, now crying, and hugs her close.
The dream becomes fuzzy from that point, because all Bella can remember is the police sirens and her father running her out of the house, with her clothes and skin covered in blood.
Bella shot awake, groaning instantly as she smacked her head against the tree she had used as a pillow. She realized she was crying and wiped her eyes hastily before pushing herself off the ground. She hated her nightmares or rather, memories, but she was almost thankful of this one, because it meant that she was alive.
As if to confirm her, her stomach began to rumble with hunger. Bella moaned softly, cradling her slim stomach. As she glanced around the forest, she was immensely grateful to find that the sun had finally come up, eradicating last night's fear and darkness. But she still felt the pain and fear for her missing sister.
Trying to access her surroundings with the new light, Bella spied a large rock up a head with a small smattering of trees, suggesting a break to open road. Feeling hopeful, Bella paced ahead quickly to the rock. From her new point of view, Bella let out a joyful shriek as she saw not an open road, but a small river and over that small river, a whole town.
Apparently she had been too eager from finding a new source of hope because the next thing she knew, she was once again tumbling down a hill and shrieking. Bella tried to tuck into herself, knowing she would just have to wait until she landed in to that cold river, and preparing herself.
Only this time, when she did land, something went seriously wrong. Intense pain ripped across her leg muscles, following it with a sharp crack of her bone and her knee colliding sharply with a jagged rock. Bella had never screamed so much in all her life. The pain was nothing she had ever felt before, or could compare.
It hurt so much she thought she would be sick from the dizzying pain. Her screams were cut off suddenly by her landing face first just besides the cool water of the fast flowing river. From the pain flaying up and down her leg and what she could feel, the bone was positioned in a dangerous angle and to make everything a thousand times worse, was trapped under numerous heavy rocks.
Lifting her banging head, Bella reached cut and bloodied hands towards another rock in front of her, that was implanted in the ground, and grabbed on tight to try and lift herself. One tiny movement made her swear up a storm and sent a wave of pain through her so intense she saw black spots around the edge of her vision.
It was stuck on the ground, pinned by the large and numerous rocks that Bella really started to panic. Dying in the darkness was one thing, but to suffer such pain and terror in broad daylight was awful. Bella attempted to move a few more times, swearing, crying and screaming every time. She finally pressed her hot cheek into the cool floor, panting from the pain.
It was only as she started crying again did she notice the rising water levels of the river. Oh please no, she thought miserably. No one can be this unlucky. Bella lifted her head with considerable effort to see if the water really was rising, which wasn't confirmed for a few minutes, until the ends of her hair were soaked.
Panic broke afresh, coating Bella's body in a cold sweat. She tried to twist her body but the rocks covered from her feet to her waist, effectively pinning her down. She realized she couldn't wiggle her way from under them, so she began pushing and pulling, trying to throw them off her but to no avail; they were too heavy.
A few more minutes and Bella began crying heavily, screaming for help and cursing any God or Gods that were so obviously trying to kill her. The water was now touching her jaw, freezing her teeth and soon it would drown her; she didn't have the upper body strength to hold herself away from it.
Knowing it was probably fruitless, Bella spent every ounce of strength she had screaming for help. None came and suddenly it was too much, it hurt too much to hold herself up or try to escape the inevitable. Her face splashed back into the water; entering her nose, mouth and sub sequentially her lungs, on impact. Darkness took her soon after.
Unbelievably, Bella woke up from death for the second time. From what she could feel, she was lay on a grassy bank and the river was at her feet. The minute she was consciously awake she began coughing and gasping, spitting out water from her lungs. She rolled onto her side quickly, trying to pull in cold, crisp oxygen.
When she was empty of enough water, Bella lay back on the grass and let the relief, and disbelief wash over her. How had she escaped death again? Who had saved her? Who had gotten all those heavy rocks off her, and pulled her out of the water? Sitting up was painful, but it had to be done.
Despite the curiosity burning her, she knew from the lack of people present she wasn't going to get answers and should instead hurry to that town she had saw before falling, and drowning. Before third time was the charm and she died from phenomena or hypothermia. Bella stood slowly, being cautious of her pain riddled body.
Her leg was in more pain than any other place on her body, but not as much as it had been, and she could stand on it, so it wasn't broken despite the crack she had heard. From assessing her surroundings, it was clear she would have to soak herself once more and move through the river if she wanted to get to that town.
Numerous times she nearly slipped on the rocks from her heavy, injured leg but she managed to keep her balance. She was desperate to run, but her body wouldn't allow it and so she adopted the fastest pace she could manage. At least twenty minutes later, which would have been ten if she could run, Bella finally felt concrete beneath her bare feet.
She was instantly surrounded by people who were bustling around her, getting on with their day. Many people who saw her pointed at her, but she couldn't stop and talk because she was feeling overwhelmed and concaved from pain, and hunger. She finally collapsed outside a white, ancient looking building.
Bella's eyes began to flutter but she heard shouts and pounding footsteps; people running. To her? She was slipping away she knew it, and tried to fight as hard as she could. She couldn't die now. She'd got through so much. Her eyelids struggled. Someone lightly tapped her cheek, helping her fight.
"Ma'am? Ma'am, are you all right?"
Bella tried to reply but something incomprehensible slipped between her lips. The person seemed to understand she needed help and was just picking her up as she slid into the darkness.
She woke again in a large room and a dripping noise that indicated fluids, and medicine. Someone had gotten her help, and saved her life. People were talking behind a white curtain, startling her. "This is her, one of the sisters that went missing," a male voice, full of stress, said.
"Have you informed the head office? They might want to contact-" A female was cut off.
"Of course. Did you see the state the poor girl was in? Anyway, don't worry: it's sorted. I want you and the rest of the team to spread out and search the fields for her sister; she's still missing."
At the mention of Lisa, Bella's heart began to race with terror. She was still missing! Instantly her heart monitor noticed the change in speed and began screeching. Bella tried to rise from the bed but was attached to too many tubes to do so. The amount of noise she created alerted the people on the other side of the curtain.
The curtain was yanked back roughly and a man in a white coat stepped through, followed by a police officer. They both rushed to her side and gently touched her shoulders, coaxing her back into the bed.
"Hey, it's okay. Just settle down, please," the doctor instructed her gently.
Bella did as the man said, tears rolling down her face as she looked between the two. "My- my sister… she wasn't with me. I don't know where she is!"
"I'll let my team know, and we'll spread out to look elsewhere, okay?" The officer gave her shoulder a tender squeeze before issuing the new order into his radio. He then turned back to Bella. "Isabella, I need you to understand that one of my team will have to come and ask you some questions. All right?"
Wiping at her wet face, Bella nodded in response but otherwise stayed quiet. The man smiled and then nodded towards the door, which seemed to be a signal because another police officer walked in holding a small notepad. She was accompanied by yet another police officer. Bella recognized the uniform; chief of police.
It was this man that spoke to her. "Isabella, we're so glad we found you. We've been looking for you since we got the call about the tragedy at your adoptive family's home. Unfortunately, we haven't seen any sign of your sister, but we're looking as hard as we can. We're 'gonna bring her home safe and sound: I promise."
The man paused, indicating to the female at his side. "This is Officer Cheri, and she's going to be taking note. Anything you can tell us, anything at all, about the attack and your sister, will be a great help." The man smiled once more before turning to the other man. "Gordon, a word, if you please."
The two left the room; leaving Bella, the doctor and Officer Cheri. The doctor left straight after the first two to give Bella and the officer some privacy. Once they were alone, Officer Cheri smiled warmly and opened her note book. "What do you preferred to be called?"
Shuffling under her hospital bed covers, Bella sat back against the firm pillows and answered quietly, "Bella. I like Bella."
The officer smiled, scribbling it down. "Well, Bella… I know his might be a big ask, but what can you tell me about the last time you saw your family?"
Looking Cheri in the eye, Bella gently bit on her lip before releasing it and shrugging. "I-Um, can't really remember," she lied.
Cheri smiled encouragingly. "Bella, we're here to help you. Anything you can tell us can, and will, help us find your sister. So what can you tell us?"
"I- my… they were fighting, as they always do. Me and Lisa, we… we ran away to the barn. Then after the fight we went back inside the house, and got in trouble for running around at night."
The woman nodded, writing it all down. "And do your parents always fight?"
Sighing, Bella nodded. "They aren't my parents, but yes: they always do. They… they…" Bella looked away sharply, fresh tears streaming down her cheeks.
Bella didn't look at her, but she could tell that Cheri was pinning her with a look of pity and sadness. "Bella, do they… have they ever… abused you? Or your sister?"
Without looking at her, Bella dodged the question. "Me and Lisa shared a bed that night. They continued to fight; plates were smashed and we could him beating- beating her up." She swallowed before she continued. "When I woke up, there was blood everywhere." Bella's voice cracked from remembering the sheer terror. "But I couldn't find Lisa. I searched, but I only found the... bodies."
Bella's voice had been cold, and uncaring as she had said 'bodies' and she knew that Officer Cheri didn't miss it. "Thank you, Bella. I'll let you rest, and I'll come back in a little while, okay? I promise that we will find your sister."
Promptly, Officer Cheri stood from the bedside chair she had settled into and walked over to Gordon, who had just walked back through the door. Bella noticed that he looked angry. "Did you find out anything that can-" He had begun to whisper, only to be cut off by the door blowing open once more.
"Sir, you have to see this! It's her record."
Bella's heart began to hammer in her chest and she quickly slid her eyes shut in panic. She pretended to be asleep, hoping they wouldn't take the conversation outside so she could hear what they had to say. There was silence, as if Gordon was glancing at Bella to ensure her sleeping status. Satisfied, he flicked through it. Bella could tell by the rustling of papers.
Silence, and then: "Well… It seems this isn't the first animal attack that has happened around miss Isabella Swan."
AN: So here is the second chapter I will at some point start to name them. This chapter might seem a little slow but thing are going to pick up real soon. Thanks to my beta LeighJ11 for being awesome with the cover art and for being the beta on this! I haven't had the chance to go through this so if there is any mistakes please let me know and Ill get to work fixing them anyway hope you all enjoyed thanks for reading!