Content Warning: Non-consensual medical procedures, graphic depictions of violence, body horror, and temporary character death.

LV. The Sinking Girl

The reality was that there were no tests Serena could administer that could confirm her suspicions. Even if she had access to ultrasonic equipment, the amniotic sac was far too formidable to allow us a glimpse. All we had to go on was her supernatural ability to hear what could not be seen―two individual heartbeats thudding away inside of my uterus.

"This changes everything," Serena said as she ran a bath. "I will have to do the procedure much sooner than I anticipated."

My grip around the edges of the sink tightened. "How much sooner?" I watched myself ask the question as I stared into the mirror. My long hair was flat and oily, lips chapped, and eyes dull. Serena had kept me intubated for ten days. I was long overdue for a shower, but with my belly as huge as it was, Serena had decided that a bath was the safer alternative.

Or maybe she just didn't trust me not to purposefully hurt myself. Not that I would. At this point it would be a useless endeavor, and would likely result in my immediate death.

"In three days or so," Serena admitted over the noise of gushing water, frustrated. "At best, the full gestation period for a hybrid is thirty days. The closest I can cut it down to is twenty-three."

I frowned. "What is the equivalent to that in a human pregnancy?"

"Seven months, I would estimate," she said. "It's risky, but I think it's the safest course of action. They have only so much room to grow. Either way, I'm not sure if they will survive."

Her expression was dour. I should've felt smug at the sight of it. Every single one of her plans was being ruined, just like that, and in the end she might not even have anything to show for it.

She would fail.

Isn't that what I'd wanted? Hadn't I tried to deny my child life, rather than allow Serena to steal them away? So, why did I feel so grieved?

My gaze dropped and I stared, bleary-eyed, at the round protrusion of my stomach, hidden under the cover of a towel.

Maybe because I knew the little monsters weren't so monstrous. Not really. Renesmée had proved as much. If they lived, they would be strange, developing far too quickly than any child should, but they would be alive.

When I was younger, I used to imagine what it would be like to have children of my own. But not like this. Never like this.

More tears welled up, trailing down my cheeks and dripping onto the towel stretched over my stomach.

"Serena," I said, my voice still a weak rasp, pushing aside all hopelessness. "Where are we?"

"This again?" she huffed, voice nearly drowned out by the crashing water. "Why does it matter?"

I bit back the sudden surge of anger and said, "Please?"

"We're in California," she finally admitted, exasperated, and then shut off the water. "Are you ready?"

I turned away from the mirror and faced the tub, now three-quarters of the way full. "Yes. You can go now."

"No," she said, rising to her feet. "I will help you get in first."

I clutched at where the edges of my towel were twisted, secured firmly around me, and scowled at her. "Is that really necessary?" I bit out.

"Yes," she said firmly, and held her hand out.

I gritted my teeth and, with a tug, dropped the towel to the floor. My nude body was hideous, the expanse of my belly a mess of mottled bruises, shades of black and blue that discolored my once pale skin.

When I bypassed Serena's gesture completely, she forcefully took my hand in her strong grip, and refused to relinquish her hold until I was sitting safely inside the tub of water.

"You can go now," I said again, snatching my hand away.

"Very well. But I'll be back in a little while to help you back out," she warned me and in a sharp breeze, disappeared.

I slid down until I was completely submerged in the clear water, and gazed listlessly up above.

The warm bath water was soothing against my grimy skin. I closed my eyes and imagined I was merely bathing in the Cullen household after a particularly long day, ready to crawl into Edward's bed and sleep away the weariness. It was a nice fantasy.

Too soon, I ran out of breath, chest burning and heart hammering against my ribcage. Reluctantly, I pushed myself up.

I hissed in pain as something abruptly moved inside me, bruising my ribs.

"Knock that off, you little monsters," I said sharply, trying to adjust myself into a more comfortable position. "You're hurting me."

To my shock, the movement ceased, and I was able to breathe easier.

"Thanks," I sighed, picking up the bottle of shampoo near me, pouring a generous amount onto my palm. "If you two keep moving like that, you're bound to shatter my pelvis."

A small nudge caused the skin of my belly to briefly distort.

"You can understand me, huh?" I hummed as I lathered my hair. "That's freaky as hell."

Unexpectedly, I was able to bathe in peace after that. The little monsters were obedient enough to cause me no further trouble.

For a brief moment, I pretended they'd been created by my own free will.

In the days that followed, I kept a watchful eye on Serena. Maybe it was too late; maybe she had consumed all three of the drugged blood bags during my forced intubation. But maybe she hadn't.

So, when she heated up a cup of blood intended for herself, I watched. And I waited.

I situated myself directly behind her, sitting on the couch while she drank and flipped through one of her many textbooks at her desk, making notes along the margins, occasionally murmuring quietly to herself.

The change was gradual.

Over time, the speed at which she read slowed considerably until she was pausing on single pages for far longer than was normal. Serena rubbed at her eyes and drank more blood, trying to keep herself awake.

When she suddenly lowered and rested her head atop the glossy pages of her textbook, I froze.

The seconds dragged by, turning into minutes. My heart fluttered in my chest and pounded against my ears.

I stood on shaking legs and slowly approached her, but she didn't make a single move.

That was when I struck.

Crouching down, I buried my hand into the pocket of her hoodie. I nearly cried right then, as my fingers curled around a small cellphone. I pulled it out, stumbling away from Serena's slumped form, and flipped open the phone.

My fingers shook badly as I dialed Edward's number.

"Hello?"

"Edward, I'm in California―"

And then, the phone was flying out of my hand, striking the wall and shattering to pieces.

"What have you done to me?" Serena hissed, struggling to stay upright, eyes bleary.

"You've given me no other choice," I said flatly, cradling my now throbbing hand to my chest.

Edward knew where I was now. That was all that mattered.

"This ends…now," Serena suddenly spat.

Even drugged, her strength was incomparable.

She knocked me down, my head and spine colliding against the floorboards with a sharp crack. My vision grayed out, blinding pain radiating across my body in hot waves. I couldn't breathe, couldn't see, agony shooting through me, consuming me.

"I shouldn't be this kind," I heard somewhere in the distance. "Luckily for you, I already had this prepared."

Once more, the cold metal of a needle pierced the skin of my arm.

My eyes shot open. (When had I closed them?)

Serena hovered precariously above me, a snarl on her lips.

Gradually, the pain across my body began to numb and my limbs grew heavier than concrete. But the drugs refused to pull me completely under.

I could do nothing but lay helpless, watching in horror as Serena lifted my shirt with a quivering hand, dropping her face to my rounded belly, baring a perfect set of gleaming white teeth.

The wet sound of flesh ripping apart engulfed my ears. My mouth widened in a silent scream.

My body broke open before me, a bright, bloodied sight of torn skin, fat, and muscle, fluids gushing everywhere. And still, Serena continued, a gruesome sight, mouth coated in blood as she continued to slice me open with razor sharp teeth.

Soon, she hit the amniotic sac, and with one last sickening tear, severed it open.

For a moment, Serena struggled to straighten up, but when she did, she reached down, digging through my insides, pushing organs aside, until she scooped out a pair of newborns. I watched in revulsion as she chewed through each of the umbilical cords and snapped them off.

Babies secured, Serena turned away, unsteadily rising to her feet and stumbling away, vanishing into the bedroom.

I remained a broken body, bleeding out, the frail hope I once held dying swiftly, like the final wavering flicker of a candle flame. But still, my lungs expanded and shrunk, again and again, air scraping through my paralyzed body, as though there were any hope left to live.

When Serena returned, she was empty-handed, her face still streaked with my blood and bodily fluids. She reached down with trembling hands and picked me up, gripping me tightly in her arms.

I tried to speak. I tried to scream. But I couldn't make a sound.

"They're perfect," Serena gasped, blinking heavily as she carried me across the cabin, movements erratic. "Obviously, I will call the girl Isabella. But the boy, I haven't yet decided."

I tried to move, to push her away, but I remained a limp doll.

This couldn't be it. This couldn't be the end.

And then, we were outside.

Above me, the skies glowed violet, clouds a pale, fiery pink as twilight consumed the last rays of sunlight.

Serena's green eyes remained unfocused, lids drooping, her hold around me loosening―

―my heart leaped, breath stolen from me as I fell.

Splash!

The frigid temperature shocked me into momentary awareness, long enough for me to recognize that this was it; this was truly the end. Alice had been wrong.

The cold, heavy waters dragged me down into a vast and lonely void. My sight blurred and darkness stretched over me, until the light vanished forever.