Blood Moon
Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to SM.
Fever Dream
Coming out of the dark lane, Bella was blinded by the brilliant sunlight beating down into the principal plaza. The strong wind shook her body, flinging her hair into her eyes and blinding her further. She pulled it out of her eyes, panting heavily as she tried to find a way through the dense throng.
There was no pathway, no crevice between the close pressed bodies. She pushed against the them furiously, her panic lending her extra strength, she battled the hands that tried to shove her back. The exclamations of irritation and even pain of those she fought fell on deaf ears. All she had on her mind was escape.
The sea of faces blurred around her as she continued to force her way through, surrounded as she was by the ever-present red. A blonde woman scowled at her, and the red scarf coiled around her neck looked like a gruesome wound. A child, lifted on a man's shoulders to see over the crowd, ginned down at her, his lips distended over a set of plastic vampire fangs.
Bella recoiled away from him, accidentally barging into another family group, they jostled her out of their way, their annoyed shouts making her ears ring, she was sent spinning in a totally new direction.
Frustrated tears welled in her eyes as she glanced up above the many bobbing heads in an effort to get her bearings. She spotted the clock tower looming above, both hands pointed up toward the pitiless sun. It was like it was mocking her, warning that she was already too late, that soon Edward and the others would recapture her. That this fanciful flight was madness, a pointless effort of trying to regain control over her own life, her own being.
Bella shoved viciously against the hordes of warm bodies, taking out her anger and resentment on them. She felt stupid and slow and weak, and she was going to die because of it.
She already imagined Edward, Alice, and Jasper on her tail, flinching at any dark shadow, convinced it was them creeping up on her. She had already failed. Why was she bothering to bolt? It was hopeless.
But even as Bella's doubts continued to plague her, she continued to fight her way forward. She listened, above the angry exclamations coming from the crowd, trying to detect any signs of whispered movement.
Suddenly there was a break in the crowd – she could see a bubble of space ahead. She pushed urgently toward it, not realizing until she bruised her shins against the bricks that there was a wide, square fountain set in the center of the plaza.
Anguished tears ran down Bella's pale cheeks as she flung her leg over the edge and ran through the knee-deep water. It sprayed all around her as she clumsily thrashed her way across the pool. Even in the sun, the wind was glacial, and the wet made the cold acutely painful. But the fountain was very wide, allowing her to cross the center of the square and then some in mere seconds. She didn't hesitate when she reached the far edge- she used the low wall as a springboard, launching herself back into the crowd.
The many bodies moved more readily for her now, avoiding the icy water that splattered from her dripping clothes as she ran. She glanced up at the clock again as a deep, booming chime echoed through the square. It throbbed in the stones under her feet. Children screamed at the loud noise, covering their ears. Bella wanted to scream herself, but she was too breathless with exertion to manage even a whimper.
The clock tolled again. Bella ran past a child in his mother's arms- his hair was almost white in the dazzling sunlight. A circle of tall men, all wearing red blazers, called out warnings as she barreled through them. The clock tolled again. It was like it was signaling her impending doom.
On the other side of the men in blazers, there was a break in the throng, space between the sightseers who milled aimlessly around her. Her eyes frantically searched the dark narrow passage to the right of the square edifice under the tower. She had glimpsed a tall figure wrapped in red that sent her heart racing with fear, but couldn't be certain it wasn't just her eyes deceiving her. It was hard to see clearly from street level -there were still too many people in the way. The clock tolled again.
Bella hesitated, not sure what to do, or in which direction to head. She was probably safer mingling with the crowd, but worried she stood out too much as she was the only one not cloaked in red. The wind whipped at her face and burned her eyes. She couldn't be sure if that was the reason behind her tears now, or she was crying in defeat as the clock tolled again.
A little family of four stood nearest the alleys mouth. The two girls wore crimson dresses, with matching ribbons in their hair. The father wasn't tall. It seemed like she could see something bright in the shadows, just over his shoulder. She cringed, her heart skittering madly in her chest. She retreated quickly, then spun around, hurtling away in the opposite direction, trying to see past the stinging tears as she realized she was probably already too late.
The clock tolled again, and the littlest girl in the family of four clamped her hands over ears and cried. The older girl, just waist high on her mother, hugged her mother's leg and stared at the tall, shadowy figure that slipped silently out of the alley. As she watched, she tugged on her mother's elbow and pointed toward the moving figure.
The clock tolled again, the booming sound seeming to reverberate across the square, causing Bella to stumble. She gasped, struggling to right herself, she glanced hurriedly behind her, immediately catching sight of the tall, cloaked figure moving swiftly in her direction.
Panic stricken, Bella swerved again, changing course, and heading right for the little family by the alley. She was soon close enough to hear the older girl's high-pitched voice. Her father stared at Bella in surprise as she bore down on them, pleading breathlessly for help.
The older girl giggled nervously, thinking it was all a prank. She gestured toward Bella, tugging on her mother's elbow again. The father swept the smaller child up in his arms, taking a step back, and urging his family to follow him. He didn't want trouble. And the distressed girl hurtling toward them had trouble written all over her. He didn't want to get involved.
Bella drew to a halt in front of the father, her eyes sparkling with moisture. She gazed at him pleadingly, but he just clutched his youngest daughter tighter against his chest.
"Get out of here, young lady." He yelled. "You're scaring my girls."
With one swift motion, the father then herded his little family away from Bella, his face set in grim lines as he ignored her anguished cries for help. As she watched him go, she knew that her last chance of help went with him. Everyone else in the crowded square reacted the same. They were here for a fun day out. They didn't want to get involved in this strange girl's mess. One by one, they turned away, averting their gazes, and ignoring her silent pleas.
Bella knew in that moment that it was over. She could see the figure now, drifting toward her, his face hidden beneath the cowl of his cloak. She stayed where she was, knowing that it was pointless to run. There was nowhere to run to. It was time to give in and accept her fate.
Bella hung her head as the tall figure in red stopped in front of her. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing he had won. She raised the step that would put her directly in his path, only to have the breath knocked out of her as she stumbled, slamming into him with such force that she would have been hurled to the ground if his arms hadn't caught and held her up. Her head snapped back, quivering in fear as the clock tolled its last warning.
"Amazing!" The familiar husky tones sent Bella reeling. "I've been all over this damn city and here you are in the last place I look."
It was only then that Bella realized that the arms holding her steady were not icy cold, but blazing hot. Her distress and fear was making her hallucinate, coupled with the burning sun beating down on her head, she was sinking further and further into the delusion. But she found she didn't care. She would rather remain in this delusional state than face the reality of her situation. She had to give her overactive imagination credit, though, because as delusions went, this felt all too real.
Bella stood immobile; her arms relaxed at her sides as she bathed in the warmth of his voice. Her despair melted away, her expression turning peaceful, like she was dreaming pleasant things. She sighed in bliss as he pulled the cowl away from his head, revealing his beloved face, her thirsty gaze marveling at his beautiful skin, silky and russet-colored; his dark eyes, set deep above the high planes of his cheekbones, bore down into hers. They were so different in moments like these, softer than she knew eyes could be. If it were anyone else, she would have dropped her gaze by now, but with him she was drawn in closer, always wanting more. She mesmerized every line and curve of his face, knowing it was the medication she needed to survive whatever was coming next.
"Bella, honey, we need to get out of here." He said urgently as the clock tolled again.
Bella looked up at him in bemusement as his hand brushed softly against her cheek. The warmth from his touch felt so real. It was very strange, for she knew she was in mortal danger. Still, in that instant, she felt safe again. Whole. She could feel her heart racing in her chest, the blood pulsing hot and fast through her veins. Her lungs filled deep with the familiar scent that came off his skin. It would be so perfect, so easy, so simple – if she could stay in this delusional state, she could face her death with courage.
"I am so grateful you're here with me at the end." She mused, closing her eyes, and resting her forehead against his chest. She felt the soft velvet of the cloak against her skin and rubbed her cheek against it. The clock boomed its final chime. "If this is hell. I don't care. I'll take it."
"Bella, we're not dead, not yet." He sounded half amused – half frustrated. "But we must get out of here. This damn place is crawling with vampires."
"Huh?"
Comprehension flickered on Bella's face as he spoke. Before she had a chance to respond, he suddenly yanked her toward the narrow alley, spinning her effortlessly so that her back was tight against the brick wall. He loomed closer, crowding her, leaning against the wall himself until his forearms bracketed her head. The look in his dark eyes stole the breath from her body and the heat from her skin. She could feel his firm torso and the heart that beat within. His mouth was less than an inch from hers. It took all of Bella's self-control not to lean forward then and capture those plush lips of his in a heated kiss.
"You're really here?" She whispered. "You're not a figment of my imagination?"
"Bells." He breathed. "I'm here. I'm really here."
Bella placed her hands flat on his chest. He made a little pained noise in the back of his throat that only she could hear. He swallowed and she tracked the movement of his Adam's apple, fighting the sharp urge to trace its shape with her tongue. Here they were in mortal peril and all she could think about was ravishing his lips with hers.
It seemed he was having similar thoughts. He was eating her with his eyes, running his hand through her tangled hair, as if he couldn't quite believe she wasn't part of an almost forgotten dream. When he finally closed the gap and kissed her, it was sweet, gentle, and tasted of her tears.
Bella wanted to speak, to say something profound, but all she could do was croak, "You came for me." She mumbled over and over, tears of relief beginning to fall from her eyes. "Oh, Jacob!" She breathed, finally convinced that he was really right there with her. She wasn't delusional after all.
Jacob's mouth painted a soft smile and he nodded once before folding her in his arms again. Then just as suddenly he stiffened. He released her, spinning around so that his back was to her as he faced away into the alley. His arms spread wide, protectively, in front of her.
With her heart beginning to up its tempo, Bella peeked under his arm to see two dark shapes detach themselves from the gloom and drift silently toward them.
A/N-thanks for reading!