Perpetual Existence

Chapter Twenty-One—Stir of Echoes

Edward

The fall to my knees correlates with everyone around us—vampire or human. Their eyes roll back before their bodies go limp and fall where they stand. It is brought on so suddenly no one has a chance to groan or moan before their vision goes dark and they fall.

Even my family has no time to register what's happening.

Bella tumbles from my grasp, her body rolling away from me, her eyes closing like the others. My head seems to vibrate to the point my body decides it's best to shut down than face the problem.

I try to fight it, knowing if Bella awakens before I do, she may kill someone due to her newborn bloodlust. I keep her in my line of vision, crawling over the wet grass to reach her. Inches from her, an onslaught of thoughts bombard me from everywhere; they're coming from beyond my surroundings.

Between the voices, some kind of echo of everything that has happened around us since this all started, and the strange vibration that rattles my head, I know I won't win. Darkness bleeds from the edges of my vision, realizing the outside is intruding, the time bubble we are in is collapsing.

Desperation to touch her one more time should we not survive this is strong, crying out as my fingers close around her cold ones. Sobbing in relief and pain, I pull her until she's tucked beside me, her heart…

Thump. Thu-thump, thump, and then it stops. My world goes dark.

.

.

.

Sam

It happens in increments—whatever's stopped us from reaching Forks starts to fade away. Our kind is blessed with superior hearing and we can now pick up the humans' heartbeats, but there is something strange.

A town, even one as small as Forks, is always alive with people and the sounds they make. There are no voices, not one. Even while most people sleep in the middle of the night, there are still several awake and talking or singing or various other human sounds.

Paul is getting agitated; he always does when we're facing the unknown. He'd been the most violent before his change, other than me. Shaking the horrible memory of the pain I caused my Emily, instead, I focus on the present.

Paul losing control isn't something he enjoys, and not knowing what's happening in Forks, a town so close to our land, sends fear rippling through him.

"Paul, walk it off."

He puffs his chest and shakes his head. "I'm fine."

"No, you're not. None of us are." I look toward Jared and signal him to phase to check on the rest of the pack. Since Forks closed off to the rest of the world three days earlier, we've had four members of our tribe exhibit symptoms of the change.

Something is coming.

I look toward Forks and wonder if the Cullen family will be on our side or those who intend to darken our borders.

Paul shifts again and rolls his tense shoulders. "I can't hear even animals. It's like…"

I finish the sentence before he can. "They're all asleep."

.

.

.

Bella

My head is blessedly clear as I take on my surroundings without opening my eyes. I fear what I'll find when I do, though I'm not sure why. I know I'm on a tepid, wet surface; the scent of grass assaults my nose, overpowering everything else. It's rained recently, which makes me internally roll my eyes. It is Forks, Washington after all.

I try to place why I'm on the ground, why something is wrapped around me, an iron clad hold that tightens something in my chest. Instinct has me pushing away from the source of my cage and into a defensive crouch. The snarl on my lips shocks me, but it's nothing compared to my reaction of the offensive arms I woke up within.

He's beautiful. Sharp jaw, inviting lips that appear equally soft and hard, an intriguing combination. His hair has a hundred different shades of autumn and is in complete disarray.

Five hundred dollar haircut, anyone?

I shake the thought away, wondering why he's asleep despite my rather abrupt push. The distance between us is several feet. How have I thrown a man who outweighs me by fifty pounds at least? Why has he been wrapped around me?

A troubling feeling erupts over my body; instead of heat infusing my cheeks with an embarrassing blush I inherited from someone, there's only awareness. Something I can only describe as longing fills my heart and stomach, causing a gnawing ache I'm not familiar with—the only word that filters through my thoughts is mine.

I growl the word and feel the truth of it to the deepest part of me. He's mine, and if anyone comes between us, watch out. I feel the smirk spread across my face and startle; it's so unlike me.

Yet, is it really? How many times have I held back a sarcastic response, too shy to say it aloud in case no one will even understand my sense of humor?

A sound distracts me, a moan from the beautiful boy underneath me. Once again, I startle, shocked to find myself covering his body with my own. My instinct to protect him feels lethal, as in I'll destroy anyone who dares to hurt him.

"Bella," he murmurs. His eyes move rapidly under pale purple veins on his closed eyelids, and they match the circles under his eyes.

Who is Bella?

I growl, sensing a need to find this Bella. I snarl under my breath, surprised by its ferocity. "Mine!"

A gasp filters through his beautiful mouth before his eyes snap open. "Bella," he whispers again.

I feel my lips twist into another snarl, my fingers flexing beside his head as I hover over him dig into the wet grass and earth. "Who is Bella?"

Pain fills his gaze, followed by understanding. "You are, my love."

My head tilts to one side to study his enchanting golden eyes, marred only by spots of blood red.

Blood.

I sit upright on his body, ignoring his hiss, my hands circling my throat. A sensation of burning intensifies, or simply, my mind allows it to become the most prominent sensation. Something I dislike immediately.

"Thirsty."

He nods and lifts his hands to show me they will remain off me.

"But why?" I ask, my hands moving quicker than I've ever seen them. My fingers encircle his wrists to place his hands on my thighs. "You called me 'my love' and I already feel that you are mine. Why would you not want to touch me?"

Can he hear the vulnerability in my voice? The hurt?

"Oh, my love, you are mine, as I'm yours. For all eternity, but we have other pressing matters."

Something warm settles in my stomach as another ache surprises me. His words invoke my hips to slide forward against his. Another shocked gasp falls from his lips, his hands locking down on my thighs, hard and truly irresistible.

I freeze, recognizing the perfect fit of our hips. My eyes close without my permission as memories assault me, millions of them. The second I open my eyes, I look around at the prone bodies. I recognize his family, several students I've only met several times, and my father.

"Did I kill them, Edward?" I shudder as his arms enclose around me.

"No, they're asleep, though we don't have much time."

I pull away, but find his face quite distracting. Stupid vampire hormones; why hadn't he warned me?

"Time for what?"

"They're going to wake up soon and you're not going to be able to control your thirst."

His mentioning it increases the feeling. I nod, but remain on his lap as he sits up fully under me. "There's something else, isn't there?"

He sighs and nods. "The wolves are debating entering the town to ensure the safety of the residents."

"Wolves?"

Edward winces as he groans. "You don't know everything about the Quileute, do you?"

I chase a thread of thought in my mind, but it keeps escaping me. I do sense something miles from here that is more predatory than normal humans are, though. Instinct has me on my feet and my body shifting into a protective stance in front of Edward.

I search the area, sensing nothing threatening nearby…yet. Before I can ask Edward where these wolves are, I look over my shoulder to see my mate appearing dazed and swallowing hard, though his gaze is on me.

A sigh, a simple sigh is a big mistake. I'm running before why I should stop even registers in my mind. My prey, a familiar face, but the beast inside me doesn't care whom, only that he's stirring.

"Bella! No!"

AN: So much going on! Midnight Sun, quarantine, too many people in this tiny house, financial stress, and not one moment of peace. All we can do it take it one day at a time. Thankfully there's been more good days than bad. I'll try not to take too long for the update. So what are you reading lately? Fic or books? Oh, I never mentioned Midnight Sun, Edward's "planning" in Biology is what triggered this fic idea years ago but I thought no one would want to read it. lol