The pounding was back. Edward couldn't decide if it was in his head or on the door. He cracked an eye and looked around, squinting in the bright light. It was such an insistent sound that it made him want to slam his head against the wall to drown it out, but he figured that wouldn't help. Instead, he got out of bed and answered the door.
“Why are you at my door for the second day in a row?”
Jacob looked closely at Masen. He’d seen corpses with more color. “I know you're up to something. You look like you’re dying. Did you catch what your daddy had?”
Jacob had dark, slicked back hair that his family was known for, hence their surname. He was deeply tanned from working outdoors all day, like most of the men in the town. He was taller than Edward but had terrible posture that kept him hunched over. Edward despised him.
“I’m feeling under the weather, but I am not dying.” Edward automatically put his hand up to cover the new bites, but it was too late.
“In a new spot, huh? You got the pox? Nah, that’s not what that looks like. If I didn't know any better, I’d say it was a . . . No!”
“What?” Edward was leery of the expression on Black’s face. It was clear that something had just occurred to him that wasn’t going to be good for Edward.
“A vampire! There's only been one spotted in the area in anyone’s recollection, but we’ve all heard the warnings and know the tell-tale signs. You got one plaguing you now, don't ya?” He slapped his hand on his thigh. “Just wait ‘til I tell the others!”
Jacob ran off like someone lit a fire under his ass. With effort, Edward shook his head and went out to start his day. His head was heavier than a cannonball and he struggled to keep it upright. Every movement was a huge undertaking. He found the place where he’d left his plow the day before and tried to bend over to pick it up. When he saw the ground coming up to him quickly, he knew he’d come to the time when he was going to die. Helpless to avoid it, he collapsed in the middle of the field with his face in the dirt.
oOo
Isabella couldn't wait much longer. Edward would have to make a decision because it was inevitable that she was going to kill him. She found herself inching closer to his home before the sun had gone down, despite the inherent dangers.
The last thing she expected was to be ambushed. She was so focused on getting to Edward before the sun went down that she didn't hear them coming. She was lassoed and dragged into the sun before she could register their intentions. She cursed herself for being so distracted by Edward’s every thought and pump of blood that she allowed herself to be caught. She hissed and struggled, running away from the mob with the rope. There were so many of them, but she was stronger and faster.
Or she would have been if not for the sun’s voracious rays beating down on her otherwise impenetrable skin. When it blistered and peeled, she screamed and wailed. The men laughed, circling her and taunting her. They threw heavy chains on her body and jeered, calling her vile names. She struggled to fight, to use her abilities to survive. She threw the chains from her shoulders and they pulled layers of skin with them. She had never experienced such excruciating agony in all her years, not even when she was turned.
Lunging at the nearest man, she had his neck snapped in an instant. She went on a rampage, draining and killing three more men before the sun was simply too much for her body to bear. She fell to the ground and someone kicked her in the stomach. She hoped they broke their toes.
“You blood sucking leech! We’re going to roast you alive as a proper send off to hell!”
The man screeching at her seemed more unhinged than she. Isabella managed to swipe at him and cut through his arm with her clawed fingernails. He screamed louder than any banshee she’d ever come across, but her amusement was short lived. There was a real possibility they were going to kill her. She was dragged through the bushes kicking and screaming until they reached the center of town. She moaned at the pain of the sun shining happily upon her. She was spat on, had her clothing torn, and rotting waste thrown at her. She was strapped into the pillory where they left her to burn. She tried to search out Edward’s mind for the soothing balm his thoughts typically brought on, but all she saw was darkness.
When dusk fell, Isabella was so weak she couldn't lift her head. Any area of her skin that had not been covered by her ripped clothing was scorched, and the movement of the person releasing her had her crying out hoarsely.
“If ya had a soul, I still wouldn't be prayin’ for ya.”
The man chained her heavily and dumped her in a cart. They traversed an ever-darkening path until she realized that there was some sort of dungeon beneath the town. The man dumped her out on the floor and closed the iron-barred door behind himself. She couldn't believe that she was reduced to nothing in such a way. No strength, no abilities, no one to fear her; just loathing emanating from within her.
She made a vow as she thought of Edward and what might become of him. If she ever made it out, she would kill every last one of the townspeople, and then she would flee with him.
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