Status: Active
The Strength of Fragility
Three
Jasper watched the car disappear into the night, the girl’s blue eyes flashing to his in the rear view mirror. Something ran through him, an impulse to run after her, to take her back, to make her stay. But he remained in his spot, waiting until the tail lights disappeared around the bend.
He turned slowly, still sniffing the air that smelled like roses, the smell of her. It confused him, she confused him.
He was compelled to know more about her, for the first time he hadn’t been hit by the overpowering scent of human blood even though she was still very much human. Just an average scent, that was still intoxicating but not to an extent he couldn’t control himself.
He walked slowly into the house, shutting the door quietly behind him. His family were in the kitchen, Edward’s face deep in thought. Alice had her eyes shut in frustration, her hands were balled up in fists. Bella looked worried.
“What’s going on?” his voice echoed around the room for a moment, and the others looked at him briefly.
Edward read his thoughts quickly, seeing Jasper’s memories of Izzie replay in his head. “Her, Izzie.”
Jasper frowned, again a strange instinct of protection overcoming him, “what about her? She seems…nice.”
Alice opened her eyes and looked at him, gazing at him intently. Her golden eyes began to turn dark as she tried to see the future.
Edward shook his head at Jasper, “she’s a lovely girl…we just can’t seem to figure her out.”
Jasper looked at Edward as he tapped his fingers off the tile counter top, “What do you mean?”
Bella sighed, “Edward can’t read her thoughts the way he can others. It’s even different to the way he can’t read mine. Her thoughts fade in and out of focus as if she’s thinking them at different levels or she herself is fading in and out if existence. It doesn’t make sense.”
Alice slapped her hand onto the back of a chair, causing a deep crack to appear in the wood and Esme to moan in displeasure.
“And I can’t see her future. I can see when she’s here, what she’s going to say, when she’ll decide to leave but in the next few weeks, months, nothing. It’s just black…it’s more infuriating than the dogs. It’s as if she has no life plan, nothing at all mapped out for her future.”
Reneesme giggled as she sipped at a container of blood, her teenage face glowing in amusement. Everybody turned silent to look at her, and she shrugged, setting the cup down and smiling at her father, “I think it’s nice you can’t use your powers on her. It’s more normal…now daddy you can actually listen to her talk in conversation then read her thoughts and Alice, she can be unpredictable…spontaneous, make life a bit more interesting.”
Alice rolled her eyes, but smiled at her niece, “true Nessie but I don’t like feeling so helpless…though..”
She turned to Jasper, and grasped the sides of his face with either hands. She stared at him again, intently and then smiled smugly, “that makes things better…”
Jasper growled softly at her, “what are you talking about Alice?”
Alice skipped back to the counter, hopping up near Esme and playing with her mother’s hair, “I think you’re going to like Izzie…a lot.”
Jasper shifted uncomfortably on the spot as Bella laughed, and Edward shook his head, smiling at his brother. Then Bella looked at Jasper, “Jazz, her blood didn’t…cause you to be uncomfortable outside did it?”
Jasper sat down on an empty chair. “It didn’t actually…did you notice, her blood…it’s..”
“Off.” Emmett added in.
Esme nodded, “Yes…it doesn’t smell like anything I’ve smelt before. As if it has strange chemicals in it. I don’t have any urge to feed from her. It doesn’t appeal to me.”
Edward shook his head, “So now we have, a human girl who’s thoughts I cannot read, future cannot be determined and appears to be unappetising to the world’s most dangerous predators.”
Reneesme laughed at her father and he ran a hand through his bronze hair, “now I’ve seen it all.”
~
Wet soil clung to Izzie’s bare feet as she ran through the dark forest. She looked behind her, her hair scratching the back of her neck as it whirled around her face, something was chasing her. Something terrible.
It was a shadow, a shadow of cruelty and darkness…it creeped around the trees, suffocating them in a dark abyss of nothing. It was coming for her, she was it’s goal.
She continued to run, her breath starting to become painful in her throat, rising up to burn her insides. Her clothes were snagged by thin branches that appeared from nowhere. Nature was even trying to stop her escape.
She began to cry, the tears running hot and fast down her face, beginning to coat her cheeks heavily. She blinked, crashing through the forest trail and wiped her hand across her cold face. It came away red, and sticky. She was crying tears of blood.
A strangled yell came from Izzie’s throat and she tripped over a rock, coming down hard and heavy in the mud. Her legs hurt from the impact, her forehead bouncing off the ground, and her bloody cheeks mixing with the mud. She tried to get up though now her whole body was aching, begging her to give up, to surrender to the dark shadows. But she didn’t, she coughed, more blood spilling from her insides and out of her mouth.
She moaned into the ground, feeling the shadow begin to wrap itself around her splayed feet. She kicked out, kicking it away from her. Not today.
It began to rain as she got up once more, and continued her frantic flight of escape. The raindrops fell like tears, washing the dirt and blood from her face. She closed her eyes for a moment, allowing the seconds of cleansing. She began to breathe easier when she felt herself fall.
The forest had melted away, and she’d come to an abrupt edge of surface. She began to fall through the cold air, that bit at her fragile skin cruelly. The shadow lingered on the edge of the cliff top, mocking her in her descent.
With a crash and a shock of cold, Izzie’s body hit the water below. It winded for a moment and she gasped, water rushing into her lungs. She scrabbled helplessly against the strong current that began to drag her under and she whirled about desperately, losing the last ebbs of energy. She stopped fighting, her tears mixing with the sea as she said goodbye to everything and the shadow began to make it’s attack on her.
It plunged into the water, laughing at her as it wrapped it’s evil coils around her. She closed her eyes, welcoming the embrace of nothing when she felt something else tug at her leg, whisking her away from the shadow of death and into strong arms.
They broke the surface together, and she was carried to the banks of the water and lay down on soft ground. She kept her eyes closed until soft hands brushed down her cheeks,
“Wake up Izzie.”
She opened her eyes and looked into the face of someone she should recognise. She smiled at the unfamiliar man, raising her arm to catch his hand in hers.
“Jo?” she whispered.
The man smiled, and shook his head, his golden eyes were twinkling at her lightly, dancing with her own, “No Izzie…it’s your Jas-”
Izzie awoke abruptly, her thin body coated with a slick blanket of sweat. Her stomach heaved and she gasped, clapping her hand over her mouth and running to the bathroom, where she immediately threw up.
She heaved into the toilet bowl, beads of sweat clinging from her face, and white spots dancing in front of her eyes. She threw up again, until there was nothing left in her stomach and crawled back into the bedroom, where she fumbled in her bag.
She popped the cap of pills, swallowing several to ease her stomach and her vision began to return to normal, but her body was drained of energy, and she leaned against the wall, looking out the window and shivering.
She closed her eyes, thinking of the strange dream that she wouldn’t remember in the morning, and then fumbled in her bag to take out a memory. The diamond of the ring glistened in the moonlight, and it fell onto Izzie’s finger with ease, though it seemed several sizes too big and fell of just as quickly.
The image of Bella’s happy family flashed through Izzie’s mind and with a sigh, she allowed herself to cry for something she knew she would never have.
He turned slowly, still sniffing the air that smelled like roses, the smell of her. It confused him, she confused him.
He was compelled to know more about her, for the first time he hadn’t been hit by the overpowering scent of human blood even though she was still very much human. Just an average scent, that was still intoxicating but not to an extent he couldn’t control himself.
He walked slowly into the house, shutting the door quietly behind him. His family were in the kitchen, Edward’s face deep in thought. Alice had her eyes shut in frustration, her hands were balled up in fists. Bella looked worried.
“What’s going on?” his voice echoed around the room for a moment, and the others looked at him briefly.
Edward read his thoughts quickly, seeing Jasper’s memories of Izzie replay in his head. “Her, Izzie.”
Jasper frowned, again a strange instinct of protection overcoming him, “what about her? She seems…nice.”
Alice opened her eyes and looked at him, gazing at him intently. Her golden eyes began to turn dark as she tried to see the future.
Edward shook his head at Jasper, “she’s a lovely girl…we just can’t seem to figure her out.”
Jasper looked at Edward as he tapped his fingers off the tile counter top, “What do you mean?”
Bella sighed, “Edward can’t read her thoughts the way he can others. It’s even different to the way he can’t read mine. Her thoughts fade in and out of focus as if she’s thinking them at different levels or she herself is fading in and out if existence. It doesn’t make sense.”
Alice slapped her hand onto the back of a chair, causing a deep crack to appear in the wood and Esme to moan in displeasure.
“And I can’t see her future. I can see when she’s here, what she’s going to say, when she’ll decide to leave but in the next few weeks, months, nothing. It’s just black…it’s more infuriating than the dogs. It’s as if she has no life plan, nothing at all mapped out for her future.”
Reneesme giggled as she sipped at a container of blood, her teenage face glowing in amusement. Everybody turned silent to look at her, and she shrugged, setting the cup down and smiling at her father, “I think it’s nice you can’t use your powers on her. It’s more normal…now daddy you can actually listen to her talk in conversation then read her thoughts and Alice, she can be unpredictable…spontaneous, make life a bit more interesting.”
Alice rolled her eyes, but smiled at her niece, “true Nessie but I don’t like feeling so helpless…though..”
She turned to Jasper, and grasped the sides of his face with either hands. She stared at him again, intently and then smiled smugly, “that makes things better…”
Jasper growled softly at her, “what are you talking about Alice?”
Alice skipped back to the counter, hopping up near Esme and playing with her mother’s hair, “I think you’re going to like Izzie…a lot.”
Jasper shifted uncomfortably on the spot as Bella laughed, and Edward shook his head, smiling at his brother. Then Bella looked at Jasper, “Jazz, her blood didn’t…cause you to be uncomfortable outside did it?”
Jasper sat down on an empty chair. “It didn’t actually…did you notice, her blood…it’s..”
“Off.” Emmett added in.
Esme nodded, “Yes…it doesn’t smell like anything I’ve smelt before. As if it has strange chemicals in it. I don’t have any urge to feed from her. It doesn’t appeal to me.”
Edward shook his head, “So now we have, a human girl who’s thoughts I cannot read, future cannot be determined and appears to be unappetising to the world’s most dangerous predators.”
Reneesme laughed at her father and he ran a hand through his bronze hair, “now I’ve seen it all.”
~
Wet soil clung to Izzie’s bare feet as she ran through the dark forest. She looked behind her, her hair scratching the back of her neck as it whirled around her face, something was chasing her. Something terrible.
It was a shadow, a shadow of cruelty and darkness…it creeped around the trees, suffocating them in a dark abyss of nothing. It was coming for her, she was it’s goal.
She continued to run, her breath starting to become painful in her throat, rising up to burn her insides. Her clothes were snagged by thin branches that appeared from nowhere. Nature was even trying to stop her escape.
She began to cry, the tears running hot and fast down her face, beginning to coat her cheeks heavily. She blinked, crashing through the forest trail and wiped her hand across her cold face. It came away red, and sticky. She was crying tears of blood.
A strangled yell came from Izzie’s throat and she tripped over a rock, coming down hard and heavy in the mud. Her legs hurt from the impact, her forehead bouncing off the ground, and her bloody cheeks mixing with the mud. She tried to get up though now her whole body was aching, begging her to give up, to surrender to the dark shadows. But she didn’t, she coughed, more blood spilling from her insides and out of her mouth.
She moaned into the ground, feeling the shadow begin to wrap itself around her splayed feet. She kicked out, kicking it away from her. Not today.
It began to rain as she got up once more, and continued her frantic flight of escape. The raindrops fell like tears, washing the dirt and blood from her face. She closed her eyes for a moment, allowing the seconds of cleansing. She began to breathe easier when she felt herself fall.
The forest had melted away, and she’d come to an abrupt edge of surface. She began to fall through the cold air, that bit at her fragile skin cruelly. The shadow lingered on the edge of the cliff top, mocking her in her descent.
With a crash and a shock of cold, Izzie’s body hit the water below. It winded for a moment and she gasped, water rushing into her lungs. She scrabbled helplessly against the strong current that began to drag her under and she whirled about desperately, losing the last ebbs of energy. She stopped fighting, her tears mixing with the sea as she said goodbye to everything and the shadow began to make it’s attack on her.
It plunged into the water, laughing at her as it wrapped it’s evil coils around her. She closed her eyes, welcoming the embrace of nothing when she felt something else tug at her leg, whisking her away from the shadow of death and into strong arms.
They broke the surface together, and she was carried to the banks of the water and lay down on soft ground. She kept her eyes closed until soft hands brushed down her cheeks,
“Wake up Izzie.”
She opened her eyes and looked into the face of someone she should recognise. She smiled at the unfamiliar man, raising her arm to catch his hand in hers.
“Jo?” she whispered.
The man smiled, and shook his head, his golden eyes were twinkling at her lightly, dancing with her own, “No Izzie…it’s your Jas-”
Izzie awoke abruptly, her thin body coated with a slick blanket of sweat. Her stomach heaved and she gasped, clapping her hand over her mouth and running to the bathroom, where she immediately threw up.
She heaved into the toilet bowl, beads of sweat clinging from her face, and white spots dancing in front of her eyes. She threw up again, until there was nothing left in her stomach and crawled back into the bedroom, where she fumbled in her bag.
She popped the cap of pills, swallowing several to ease her stomach and her vision began to return to normal, but her body was drained of energy, and she leaned against the wall, looking out the window and shivering.
She closed her eyes, thinking of the strange dream that she wouldn’t remember in the morning, and then fumbled in her bag to take out a memory. The diamond of the ring glistened in the moonlight, and it fell onto Izzie’s finger with ease, though it seemed several sizes too big and fell of just as quickly.
The image of Bella’s happy family flashed through Izzie’s mind and with a sigh, she allowed herself to cry for something she knew she would never have.
