I know it's short, but I couldn't justify keeping it at the end of the last chapter and making it like an 18k word chapter. That's just extreme.
I also can't access a lot of the analytics still, so it shows that 0 people are reading this. I'll just assume that's incorrect.
Supermassive Black Hole- Muse
Decode- Paramore
Tyger Tyger, burning bright,
In the forests of the night;
What immortal hand or eye,
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
Edward's head bumped again against the headrest, this time harder than before. Rose couldn't help but laugh, and I sprung to her side and shoved her straight into a tree. There was no need for her to be running with us besides watching Edward bounce around in the Jeep; she could very easily have run ahead with Carlisle and Esme.
But of course, that's not it happened, and Emmett just had to insist that he needed to show off the Jeep.
"Come on, Bella, he's never gotten a chance to experience the ride," Emmett pleaded. I thought it was all a bit much. Edward had been in pieces for the entire day, and he looked exhausted, but he actually turned to me as if he needed to ask my permission. It's not like I could ever say no to him in the first place, much less just after his sister had been taken away to a psychiatric facility.
Edward got dressed and picked at the spread of food Esme presented in the kitchen, and then followed Emmett out to the garage to ogle at the monster of a truck that Edward needed to be lifted into. He had remarkably good coordination for a human, but watching him try to clamber up the side of the Jeep. Rose was the one who custom-built the truck, so she had never bothered installing running boards since we could all just jump up. None of us had ever thought a human would be close enough to be graced with a ride-along in Emmett's precious toy.
Rose burst through another tree, her steps heavy and pounding as she tried to ram into me. I leapt up and launched myself forward, racing past the ambling Jeep as Emmett powered them over the muddy terrain. Rose chased after me, not really trying to catch me because at the pace we were running she most assuredly would be able to cover the few feet that separated us.
"What are th-they d-doing?" Edward asked, trying to peer over the dashboard as Rose and I weaved around the trees in front of them.
Emmett chuckled just as Rose caught up and punched me in the arm, putting enough force behind the hit to send me sideways. "Being dumbasses."
I tore through bendy tree Rose had sent me through and circled back around, skirting past Rose to run alongside the passenger side of the Jeep. All in one motion, I jumped and grabbed the door, opening it and balancing my feet on the inside so I could hang out the side of the truck. Edward jumped when I seemingly appeared at his side, the movement sending his head banging into the headrest again.
"It's Rose who was being a 'dumbass'," I corrected Emmett, sliding my hand behind Edward's head as he was jostled around, then through his still-damp hair to stabilize him from the nape of his neck.
"Was not," Rose yelled, loping further ahead of us to our makeshift baseball field.
"Are you ever going to pull over, or are you going to run down the trees and piledrive your own path?" I asked, giving Emmett a pointed look.
"We can go a bit further," Emmett argued.
"Yeah, another mile or so and Edward's brain will have rattled right out of his skull."
"I'm f-fine!" Edward said, loud over the grind of the engine.
"You would have shot out of the roof if you weren't strapped down," I said, rubbing along the soft wisps of hair at the hairline of the base of his head.
"It's f-f-" Edward cut himself off, accidentally biting down on his own tongue. "Ow."
Emmett burst out laughing but pulled down on the gearshift, slowing the Jeep down at a rapid pace to skid across the mud. The wheels spun pointlessly as the Jeep sunk down into the soil- Emmett would have to pick it up and lift it out of its place and get himself covered in mud in the effort. Which meant he would have to drive the Jeep home and get mud and dirt and water all over the premium, buttery leather seats. And that meant that at least Emmett would get a little bit of punishment for this stupid idea.
I didn't mind the baseball so much as the drive. It would have been far easier and faster to just carry Edward and run the trek west to the field, the way we did when we used a few months before with the Denali coven to practice before going to Seattle.
The baseball was potentially a surprisingly good idea, though. Edward was thoroughly distracted through the entire drive, what with the whole strapped into an intense harnessing contraption and still bouncing around as Emmett sped off-road with no trail.
And he always liked sports. It was one of the only things he and Charlie had managed to genuinely bond over, and then again with Emmett. They watched games, they played sporting video games, they talked about sports. And then Edward had also fought our football game the month before highly entertaining, though I don't know exactly how much of it he had caught. We had tried to slow it down for Edward to watch, but in the end it got too competitive as the game was tied up, and we just couldn't hold back. Even Esme was caught up in the excitement and slamming into the other team in our version of tackling at a speed too fast for Edward to see.
But even still, Edward had watched us intently the entire time, cheering and clapping when appropriate, though he didn't catch every applaud-worthy moment.
"So what do you think?" Emmett asked, turning in his seat to look at us. Edward fiddled with the buckles at his chest, trying to find the release. I reached over and unclipped them one by one, my fingers lingering in the hollow of his neck.
"It's big," Edward said, rubbing the back of his head where he had banged against the headrest.
"I know, dude! Rose keeps saying she's lifted it as far as the suspension will allow but I think we can get bigger tires and really push it."
"To m-make it even b-bigger?"
"Well, at least taller. It'd give it more bounce on the off-roading."
"Edward probably thinks there was plenty bouncing around," I laughed, slipping out and holding my hands up for Edward to balance on as he jumped down. He was bending his knees too much so I carried his weight and absorbed the impact, gently depositing him in the mud.
"Oh, it wasn't that bad, was it?" Emmett asked, appearing at our side with a stricken expression.
"It was fun," Edward said unconvincingly.
"I know humans like off-roading. It's a thing!"
I helped Edward squish through the mud to firmer ground, holding him by the elbows so he didn't slip or sink too far. "Yeah, in like Texas," I said.
"We live in a national park, people definitely do that here too!"
"On trails, Emmett! Trails!"
"This wasn't a t-trail?"
"No, Emmett just figured he would drive straight to the field for as long as he could."
"It was the quickest way!"
"The quickest way would've been just running there," I reminded him.
Emmett pouted, sticking out his bottom lip dramatically to really try to shore up the sympathy. "I thought it would be fun."
"It was f-fun!" Edward interrupted, squeezing my hand in his. "I've n-never b-been in anything like this b-before. It's like a r-rollercoaster instead of a c-car."
"That's because it's not a car, my dear brother," Emmett said, slinging his arm over Edward's shoulder. "It's a Jeep."
Emmett managed to draw an actual laugh from Edward, short and shallow but a laugh nonetheless.
"Sure, Em," I sighed, pulling Edward's around and bending my knees to help him climb on my back.
"Want me to get him?" Emmett offered, holding a hand out.
I rolled my eyes. "I think I can manage."
"S-s-so… t-take me out to th-the ball g-game?" Edward joked, wrapping his arms around my neck and his legs around my waist.
"Race you!" Emmett challenged, shooting off in a blur.
"I've got precious cargo, Em!" I yelled, following after him at a much slower speed and pacing my steps gently.
Edward was smiling against my hair, genuinely distracted from the fact that Alice was gone, and I thought that this just might work. Emmett might have actually had a good idea, and between our antics and the speed of the game, I hoped Edward might have the briefest of respites from the reality that was waiting for him when he went home.
"I would p-probably fit b-better with Emmett," Edward said out of nowhere.
I slowed down a bit, giving us time before we reached the field. "I think we fit together," I said carefully.
"Not like that." Edward squeezed around my neck, pressing his chest to my back before kissing my cheek. I smiled under his lips, leaning into his lips. "I j-just mean that s-s-sometimes I feel a l-little s-s-silly, with you carrying me l-like this."
I felt a hint of panic well up in my chest. "You do?"
"I'm l-like a half a f-foot t-taller than you."
"Eight inches," I corrected.
"Really? How t-tall are you?"
"I haven't changed, you're the one who's grown," I laughed, jumping up to cross an overflowing stream and readjust Edward on my back before he slipped down too far.
"I have?" he asked, surprised.
"You haven't noticed? From my understanding, most teenagers experience growing pains."
I could feel him shrug from behind me. "S-s-sometimes things j-just hurt. I didn't r-realize it was g-growing p-pains. I thought I had s-s-stopped g-growing a while ago."
"It's the food," I surmised. "You might have stopped growing because of malnutrition, but now your body is trying to catch up."
Edward was quiet for a moment and I dodged around a tree, approaching the baseball field where I could hear Emmett and Rose throwing a ball back and forth, the leather clapping against their hands with the impact.
"S-s-so how much?" he asked.
We came through the tree line and I bent down to let Edward down next to Esme.
"About two inches since February," I told him.
His eyes widened and he blinked, seemingly continuous in his surprise. Then he turned his head and looked around at our makeshift baseball diamond.
In what distant deeps or skies.
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand, dare seize the fire?
Tall, wet ferns and draping moss bordered the clearing, with arching hemlocks- unstruck by lightning- stretching into the open space. It was an enormous field in the lap of the mountains and holding a striking contrast with the rocky peaks around us.
Carlisle was breaking chunks off a boulder, shaping the pieces in his hands until they were flat and smooth. He spun it out like a disk with Rose on the other end, catching each to deposit on the base spots.
A deep rumble of thunder shook the forest around us, even the trees quivering as the ground shook, and then crashed westward toward town.
Emmett whipped a ball at me from a mile into the field, grinning. I caught it easily in my free hand, the leather on the ball already hot and tearing with the speed.
"Who pitches?" Edward asked, looking at the ball I was tossing absentmindedly.
"I will," Esme called, holding her hand up for me to throw the ball to her. I shot it over to her, and she ran to the middle of the field where Rose had left a larger, more sloping stone to mark the pitcher's mound.
"Esme thinks she's the most honest of all of us," I told Edward, walking over with him to the cropping of stones on the edge of the field. The rain had drifted east with the storm, so he would be more comfortable here this time than he had been when we were here with the Denali coven, and again when we played football.
"You all cheat!" Esme called out, loud enough for Edward to hear her.
"So says you!" I said back.
Rose circled around the field one last time and appeared at our side, flipping her hair into a sleek ponytail. "Team?" she asked, studying Edward's face briefly.
"I'll take Carlisle," I said. Rose pursed her lips but nodded, accepting her husband. She flipped up a bat from the bag of equipment laying on one of the rocks and gripped the base, holding it out for me to grab. Her hand grabbed the handle on top of mine, and I pulled my hand from Edward's to cover the grip. Her hand got the base, but I covered the butt of the bat.
"I won," I laughed, pulling it from her hand and twirling it in my own so the aluminum bat whistled through the air. I turned to Edward and took his hand in mine again. "Do you want to umpire and keep score?" I asked.
Rose arched her brow in question but didn't say a word, running off to corner Emmett and quietly coach him into being serious in her desire to win.
"Am I even g-going to be able t-to f-follow along enough t-to know what's happening?" Edward asked.
"I'll help!" Esme promised, smiling warmly from her position.
Edward looked humorously nervous as I led him to stand several yards behind and to the side of our home plate.
"We're first up," I grinned, then leaned up on the balls of my feet to whisper in his ear, "Give us some good calls, okay?"
Edward choked on a laugh, and Emmett hooted from the outfield.
"Don't forget who your favorite brother is, Edward!" he yelled. Rose elbowed him and rolled her eyes.
"Like that's going to matter," she said flatly. "She's his mate. Would you take Bella's side before mine?"
Emmett was quiet, and Rose took issue with his silence, shoving him into the ground. The entire back of his shirt was stained by grass and mud already, before the first pitch was even thrown. Edward looked down at me, confused by the outburst that seemed to come out of nowhere since he couldn't hear their squabble.
"Children," Esme chastised, calling the field to order. She tossed the ball up once and smiled. "Batter up!"
"Oh yeah!" Emmett shouted, jogging another mile out and clapping his hands together. Rose ran in the opposite direction, covering the other half of the field. Carlisle came to stand next to Edward, the collar on his shirt uncharacteristically open and messy and billowing in the breeze.
I kissed Edward gently, much to Emmett's joy since he hooted and hollered from his position, then stood up at the plate. I bent my legs and straightened my shoulders, carefully gripping the bat so the aluminum didn't dent under my fingers. I set my feet in my stance and then nodded, giving Esme permission to throw.
Esme nodded in return and quickly glanced behind her to where Emmett and Rose were positioned, trying to gauge the best spot for me to hit the ball. She never favored any of us, and the job of the pitcher was to strike out the batter, not help her.
The first ball came quick, in the blink of an eye. It was low, almost skimming at my knees, and I didn't bother to hit it- if I had, the ball would have rocketed upwards and been easy for Rose to catch and get me out.
The ball went skimming on the grass. Carlisle grabbed it before it could go too far and tossed it back to Esme, who was smiling slyly.
"Was that a s-s-strike or a ball?" Edward asked.
"If we don't hit it, it's a strike," Carlisle told him.
Esme hurled the ball back to me, but this time I was ready. She overshot it, throwing it wide in the hopes that it would only skim my bat. But I slid my hands down on the grip to extend the length of the bat and it connected solidly.
The crack of the ball hitting the bat was shattering and thunderous, echoing off the mountains just as another clap of thunder rumbled in the distance.
I shot off, not waiting to see where the ball would go. I hit it to the right field where Emmett was, and hard enough so that the ball rocketed through the woods.
It hit a tree, but as I rounded third base I heard it drop to the ground before Emmett got to it. I shot out to third with Rose in front of me, waiting for Emmett to throw the ball to her. He launched it over just as my foot touched the stone base on third, too late to get me out but early enough that I didn't score a run.
I grinned at Emmett proudly as Edward whispered, "Safe."
Carlisle picked up the bat I had discarded and hit his first throw, shooting the ball low and straight downfield so it skimmed the ground. It was perfect strategy, giving me enough time to run to third and him to second without an opportunity for Emmett or Rose to catch us and call us out.
Much to Emmett's and Rose's chagrin, Carlisle and I scored four points before Rose caught a lobbing ball that I had been forced to hit before my third strike, and we were out.
"We only do one out before changing positions," Esme explained to Edward when he looked confused as to why I was tossing the bat over to Rose. "If we did three outs before we changed, the score would look like a basketball game."
"It would give those two a better shot at winning, though," Emmett said, puffing his chest out and standing next to Edward as if he had something to be proud of.
"We're up four-oh," I reminded him, darting off to stand on the far edge of the field, far back and ready for Rose.
"Not for long!" Emmett retorted, crossing his arms and bumping his elbow against Edward's shoulder. "Check this out," he said quietly to Edward, nodding in Rose's direction.
She squared her shoulders and bent, seemingly ready to hit the ball with all the strength she could muster with an aluminum bat. But her eyes flickered very briefly to me, then to Carlisle, and I knew what she was doing.
I didn't want her to know I knew, so I stayed where I was. But the second she whipped the bat around, I sprinted forward to dive for the bunt she hit. Carlisle saw me running and seemed to understand just a few seconds after I recognized their play, darting over to first base with his palms open and ready. I tumbled and grabbed the ball, whipping my body around to throw it over to him just as Rose ran to the base. The ball reached there before she did, her foot hitting the stone a second after Carlisle had the ball.
"Out?" Edward guessed, swallowing when Rose shot him an unnecessary glare. I growled in response, the sound automatically rising from my chest as I jumped up and dusted the grass off my clothes.
It went on and on, with Carlisle and me rounding the bases while Rose and Emmett continuously ran into each other, colliding and crashing together with booms. Edward jumped at the sound the first time, but when they both popped up unscathed and laughing, he learned he could laugh with them.
Every once in a while, especially when I was in the outfield, I would glance over and catch Edward in a moment. It would be brief- just staring up at the dark and cloudy sky or into the dark green moss hanging down from the hemlock at the corner of the field.
But it was still there.
And what shoulder, & what art,
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand? & what dread feet?
It had been hours since Alice would have left with the social worker. They were probably in Seattle, checking in to the hospital and getting Alice situated. We wouldn't be able to visit for the first few days, but I would check with Carlisle to see if they would allow Edward to see her maybe after the weekend.
Another boom of thunder came just as Emmett slammed the ball as hard as he could, the bat splitting apart in his hands. I chased after it, zipping through the forest and weaving through the trees as I tried to keep tracking of the ball flying overhead.
I scampered up a tree and launched myself off, flying through the air at just the right angle to be able to reach out. The white leather skimmed my fingertips, and I curled them and brought it into the palm of my hand mid-air.
I took a victorious tumble on my way down, flipping gracefully with the catch securely in my hand. The leather was ripping all along the ball, torn apart and worn. It had certainly made its last flight, but I kept it safe and began to run it back.
I jogged back through the dense thick of woods, wanting to draw out the drama. I imagined the stupid look on Emmett's face as he stood on home plate, waiting to see if I would come out with the ball in hand and call him out. Carlisle and I were already up by five, and there was no shot Emmett and Rose would be able to catch up.
I decided to take a page from Rose's book in dramatics. I climbed up one of the hemlocks on the edge of the field quietly, my fingers digging into the slippery wet moss as I skirted up to the lowest branch. I kept the ball in one of my hands and with the other grabbed another branch, jumping up to the highest branch that could manage my weight.
With a flourish, I launched out of the tree and into the field, summersaulting in the air and coming down in a tumble, then sliding up to my feet and throwing my hands up, the ball on full display for everyone to see.
The smile slipped from my face quickly. No one was even looking at me, not even Edward.
What the hammer? what the chain,
In what furnace thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp,
Dare its deadly terrors clasp!
Everyone's faces were stony and slack. I crossed the field to stand beside Carlisle and Esme at the pitcher's mound, breathing deeply to try to smell any kind of intrusion that may have elicited this reaction.
"Do you hear that?" Carlisle asked softly.
I tilted my head, listening to the sounds all around us.
Animals tended to flee when we were near, sensing a predator in their midst. There was a flock of birds whistling a happy tune about a mile south of us, finally free from the heavy rain of the storm. There was also a mountain lion not too far away, enjoying and taking advantage of the cover of darkness and creeping along the rocky terrain, searching for its next prey.
But there it was. Whatever everyone else had heard while I was chasing Emmett's out-of-the-park ball, that had made everyone freeze in place.
It was distant, and faint. Barely a buzz, and clearly far away. I was surprised anyone had heard it over the thunder and the noises that accompanied our game.
It was a scream.
"What's g-going on?" Edward asked, turning to face the direction we were all facing- back west, almost in the direction we had come from.
"I don't know," I said honestly, cocking my head to try to listen closely and figure out what was happening.
"I should go-" Carlisle started, taking a step towards the direction the sound had come from.
"And appear in the middle of the forest?" Rose asked sarcastically. "Way to stay inconspicuous."
"If someone is in trouble, I need to help," Carlisle said, at the same time I snorted back, "Yeah, like that shiny red convertible of yours is so inconspicuous."
"You mated with a human, Bella, you have no room to talk," Rose said snidely. I glared at her and set my jaw, biting down on my bottom lip to try to keep from growling.
As if that was something I could help, or should in any way be punished for.
"You," I growled, unable to hold myself back, "Just existing, you're so obv-"
Another yell rung out, this time minutely louder, and more clear.
My whole body froze, tenseness building in every joint and limb.
I recognized that anywhere. It was faint, and far, muffled by the trees and sounds of the forest, but I would still recognize it anywhere.
I gasped, venom flooding into my mouth in a defensive reaction.
When the stars threw down their spears
And water'd heaven with their tears:
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?
"Alice."
Just saying her name sent an icy shock through my body.
"What?" Esme asked, turning to me. Of course, no one else who could hear from this distance recognized her, not from so far away and so out of place.
"That's Alice," I said again, finally moving. Edward turned to me, brows knitted together and confusion clear across his face. But I couldn't go to him, not now. My limbs felt cold, impossibly cold in the temperate weather, but I wasn't frozen anymore. I shuffled my feet in the thicket of grass beside the smooth stone at the pitcher's mound, freeing myself from the panic that was pressing me into the ground.
"What's g-going on?" Edward asked. He held his hand out, reaching for me from the other side of the field.
"That's Alice," I repeated. "I need…" I felt my body stiffen again- a natural reaction to panic was to completely freeze. "I need to get her."
Before anyone could say another word or even try to stop me, I shot across the field and through the forest, into the thicket of moss and trees in the direction of the voice.
I pumped my legs, pushing through the mud and over a cluster of rocks faster than I had even chasing the baseball. I didn't even bother weaving around the trees, just barreling through whatever saplings were in my way and leaving behind a trail of destruction.
The closer I got, the more sure I was that it was Alice.
Her voice was hoarse as her screams pierced through the forest, drowned out only by the occasional claps of thunder.
And she wasn't just yelling. She was yelling Edward's name.
And mine.
I was there in just a minute, crossing miles in just seconds to get to where the screams were coming from. They were only getting softer, too, her voice was fragile and scratching.
I slowed the nearer I got, and skirted behind the trees to stay hidden. I didn't know exactly what was happening, but there was no need to unnecessarily expose myself if I didn't have to. Maybe she was on a hiking path and the park could be called for someone to pick her up.
But there was no hiking path. Alice had climbed and crawled through the mud and the mountains, miles away from any road and any trail I knew about.
I peeked behind a tree, cautious, and froze where I stood. She looked to be on the verge of collapse, kneeling on the ground with her hands in the dirt and mud streaked with tears on her face. Her hair was matted and sweat poured from every pore on her skin, drenching her ripped clothes with the smell of salt and fear.
"Alice? What are you doing out here?" I asked, carefully approaching her and coming out from where I was hidden in the trees.
"Bella!" Alice cried, tears streaming down her face. "You have to stop them, Bella!" Her voice was haggard and hoarse, but she kept screaming, grabbing at her face. Blood dripped down from where her fingernails had pulled out with the force she had been digging them into the dirt, and from the scratches packed with dirt and leaves that marred her arms from a struggle through the forest.
"Stop who?" I asked, calmly kneeling beside her and placing a hand gently on her shoulder. "Alice, I think we need to get you home."
She was clearly having some kind of psychotic break. I wondered if I could manage carrying her back to the street without her noticing, but even if she did notice I doubted anyone would believe her- as morbid and disgusting as the thought was.
"No," she hissed, jerking away from me and curling into a ball with her knees in the mud. "They're coming. They're almost here, and they're going to get Edward, and they're going to get you."
She was sobbing now, and I tried to brush at the muddied hair falling in her face. "Who, Alice?" I needed to calm her down, and maybe if I talked her out of this delusional episode she would hopefully fall asleep or at least be amenable to me carrying her.
I could hear heavy steps in the distance, coming from the direction of the baseball field. I wondered why Emmett had come instead of Carlisle, and figured he might have thought I was in danger and needed protection. It didn't matter how many times I wrestled him into submission, Emmett always wanted to be there to make sure I was safe.
Alice opened her eyes, glassy and green, and stared up at me. It was like Edward had been all day, the same gorgeous verdant leaves framing dilated pupils clouded with tears and the whites reddened with stress.
Tyger Tyger burning bright,
In the forests of the night:
What immortal hand or eye,
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?
She stared right at me, her gaze piercing. "Monsters." She shivered and collapsed onto her hands, a sob ripping through her chest that caused her to whimper from the strain on her vocal chords. "Red-eyed monsters."
The poem is by William Blake btw