Ash Over Seas

The floating people surrounded me, and I prepared myself to scream out in terror once again, but the sound never came.

I stared around me in awe, as it appeared the people had returned to their slumbers, and were dormant once more. They looked so peaceful, but I now knew better than to get close to them.

A warm feeling made itself known in my chest and my head began to ache slightly.

And then I panicked as I realized why. I was running out of air.

I began to kick and swim fiercely; pushing in the direction that I assumed was up. But it was as if I was moving through molasses, and my limbs grew exhausted as the burning in my lungs increased.

I could see the sky above me; it was just a little farther now.

I felt my legs give out and they cramped and refused to kick anymore.

‘No!’ I wanted to cry at them; force them to move but I couldn’t.

Perhaps I was crying by now; I couldn’t tell with all the water surrounding me, but the burning in my chest was now accompanied with a sinking feeling of anguish. I would never see Jacob again, I would never see my father, or Atticus, or anyone.

I had all but given up when a violent current overtook me and I found myself tumbling in the rip tide of a wave. I rolled, losing all sense of direction until I was finally spat out onto the cold, sandy beach. The wave retreated as I coughed and gasped for air.

I crouched on my hands and knees, chest heaving, as I took in large gulping breaths. My dress stuck to my body at every curve and I was covered in sand.

Finally, I pushed myself to my feet.

I stood shakily, my eyes scanning over the familiar scene of First Beach.

I sighed heavily, cringing at the rough feeling against my throat.

And then something caught my eye—something I had never seen on First Beach before.

A cave was cut out of the rock along the cliff face. I frowned, wondering how it had gotten there, and I made my way toward it. The sand squished between my toes, and a strange feeling of excitement pooled in my stomach, as I got closer. The sun seemed to break through the clouds, and the warmth on my back felt good.

The entrance was tall, taller than me and maybe even taller than Jacob. There was a decent-sized rock right in sand at the center of the entrance, but unlike the barnacle-covered rocks of the beach, this rock was perfectly smooth and free of parasites.

Upon closer inspection, I noticed that there was a script written across it. The language and characters were unlike anything I had ever seen before, and curved in a perfect circle across the face of the stone.

A perfect circle of black writing.

I brushed my fingers along it.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?”

The crisp, smooth voice behind me caused me to whip around quickly, my hand flying toward my racing heart.

My jaw dropped and I could have sworn I was having a heart attack.

The woman stood before me, her thin nose and elegantly pointed chin making me reach my hand to my face. Her clear, navy blue eyes were warm and inviting, and her honey blonde hair blew softly in the wind. I blinked several times.

“Mum?” I breathed, and the woman’s smile grew.

“Hi, baby,” she said softly, and I felt tears pool in my eyes once again. Her voice was like a song and it lingered in my ears pleasantly. I had never heard it before.

“Oh my god,” I choked as I stumbled forward and collided with her in a strong embrace. She smelled like lilacs and I sobbed with pathetic joy as her delicate fingers brushed through my hair soothingly. “Mum, what are you doing here?”

She pulled away and smiled down at me.

“I thought it was time we met. I’ve come to welcome you into your new life.”

“New… new life? Am I coming back with you?” I asked, now surprisingly content with the thought of letting go. If this was the other side, maybe it wasn’t so bad after all.

My mother chuckled and shook her head. “No, sweetie. As much as I wish I could see you every day, I can’t take you back with me.”

I frowned. “Then… what do you mean?”

She placed her surprisingly cold hands on either side of my face, looking down at me proudly, though there was a hint of sadness behind her eyes.

“Today is the first day of your life as a woman, Colby. You're eighteen now, and officially an adult. You do remember that it is your birthday, right?”

“Oh. Right.”

She smiled softly, and nodded her head. “Eighteen is an important year for a growing girl, and I didn’t want to miss out on seeing you. You’ve grown into such a fine woman, and I only wish I could have been there to see you through it, but I must be content with watching you from afar.”

My lip trembled slightly and I bit down on it. “I don’t want you to go,” I whispered. “I miss you. Isn’t there some way? There has to be a way if you're here and can see me now… isn’t there? There’s so much I want you to see. I want Jacob to meet you, I know you’d love him, he’s the kindest boy I’ve ever met.”

My mother sighed sadly. “I have seen him with you, and I am glad you’ve found someone who will care so much for you… you will need it. And as much as I would love to stay and come back with you, it simply isn’t possible for me to return with you. But I think it is that you should go back,” she seemed to glance behind her at something not visible to me. “Your Jacob seems a mess, and I think your father will lose his mind soon if you do not return to him. You’ll tell him hello for me, right? And that I love him.”

I nodded, tears overflowing my eyes. “Of course.”

I felt a sharp pain in my side, and my vision began to blur around the edges, as my limbs grew heavy.

“Okay. I love you, Colby. I want you to know that I’m so proud of you.”

Her voice already sounded distant, and my eyelids were slowly closing.

I felt the lingering sensation of her cool lips pressing to my forehead, and then everything went dark again.

Jacob was still pacing. It had been far too long and neither Carlisle nor Henry had come down with any update on Colby’s progress.

He glanced at the clock; it was nearly midnight.

She had been in there for over an hour.

“Jacob, sit down for a moment. It’s going to all right,” Bella tried to soothe him but it was no use. Nothing could calm him.

He halted in his steps as a different sound reached his ears.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

It was erratic, and harsh, and Jacob knew that it was definitely not normal.

He knew the tone of that beep, and he knew it was Colby’s heart monitor going haywire. This wasn’t a good sign.

He tore from the living room, heading for the stairs and ignoring the calls from behind him. Something was wrong, and he wasn’t going to wait any longer. He heard a sharp, burst of a scream and a panicked sweat broke out on his brow.

His feet pounded against the wooden steps and he heard Henry’s yelling as he drew closer. He heard the beeps increase in speed and within seconds he was bursting into the room as the two vampires were staring in horror at Colby’s body lying on the table.

The flat line tone was hanging heavily in the air, and Jacob’s heart stopped in his chest as the bells continued to chime through the house.

He stared at the unmoving, green line stretching across the monitor. His breathing froze and he began to feel the seams of his body slowly coming undone. This was his imprint, the one person that was his reason for living, and she was lying, unmoving on the table in front of his eyes.

He was ready to collapse in a heap onto the floor, already feeling the horror and grief ripping at his insides.

Then it happened.

It was so bright that it blinded him and Jacob had to cover his eyes with his arm to stop from going blind. The crisp white light illuminated the room, and as Jacob’s eyes finally adjusted, he saw that Colby’s body was no longer lying on the table.

No, it was three feet above it.

She was suspended in the air, her hair whipping around her face from some invisible wind as her limbs spread out on either side of her. He could hear Henry’s cries, demanding to know what kind of sick treatment Carlisle had created for her, but Jacob couldn’t rip his eyes away. And despite the terror he was feeling for her safety, and his confusion about what was happening, he couldn’t help but marvel at how beautiful she looked.

Her body jerked slightly and the harsh light seemed to focus into one beam, shining upward from her chest. The lights in the room began to flicker and the floor shook, causing several paintings and other adornments to scatter and break on the wooden floors.

And then as soon as it had started, it was over.

As if someone had flicked a switch, the light was immediately gone, and Colby’s body came crashing back down onto the table, her head lolling to the side.

There was one second where the three men stood in awe of what had just happened, but soon they were rushing forth as fast as their feet could carry them.

Jacob was the first to reach her.

“Colby! Colby! Are you there? Please, oh God please be there,” he whispered, taking her hand, his eyes pooling with tears. He continued pushing her damp hair away from her face as his eyes searched it hungrily, his nerves fraying to the point of breaking.

He prayed with everything he had.

His heart nearly burst in shock when her brow twitched, and he gripped her hand tighter. “Colby! Colby, can you hear me?” he gushed, his voice rising in pitch.

She let out a soft groan.

“Jake?”