Till Death (Volturi / Twilight Fanfiction)

10: Still is the Night of Wakeful Dead

From the window came such a horrid noise, Taylor was afraid to open her eyes. A metallic scream followed by shattering glass. Her nerves were a flutter. She was in a daze, and slowly came to. She was in Greece, on the second floor of her hotel. Not home, not in the RV, no one was breaking in. Or if they were she was not the room they had chosen. Opening her eyes she exhaled in a sudden loss of panic. A few breaths, a turn, her phone was still on airplane mode. When she turned it off in between a barrage of notifications she saw the time, 1:40 am. 

"What's somebody doing fucking around this late?" Taylor mumbled to herself, kicking her legs out of bed. She never put on covers, and her yellow jacket was still on. If the noise hadn't woken her the heat was surely about to even with the window cracked. She slipped off the jacket and the sweater then unhooked her bra. She was in her tank and jeans now, jeans which would certainly come off after she was finished with her next move. She opened the curtains further. 

The cause of the noise was a fallen lamp post, the ornamental glass at its' top had shattered almost to the bulb. That shone with great difficulty, flickering spastically every second or so. The pole was illuminated dimly by the surrounding lights. Taylor's own reflection was making it hard to see. She leaned closer to the window, resting her arm against the glass to lean her forehead on. There was no car that ran into it. Could've been a hit and run she guessed (not entirely believable to even herself) the bend seemed a bit high for it to have been a car though. And beneath it seemed undamaged. She shrugged, not entirely invested, and closed the window with her free hand. 

The alley behind the pole caught her eye. There was nothing there to catch one's eye it was too dark but she looked to it all the same. There was something in the darkness, she could feel that. Maybe a spirit? It seemed dead. But why? Why couldn't she see it? Perhaps if- ...Her eye refocused to a thin line of movement. A trickle of blood on the window pane. Thin and mixed with the frosted window to turn a pinish hue. And in the background a light buzzing. She pulled her head back, vision narrowing on her bracelet she had neglected to take off. It was rubbing her wrist raw. Obviously, someone had been trying to contact her all night. 

"This damn thing." She grumbled, shutting the curtains and taking the cuff off. She felt gross, and unnerved, so she took a bath. Her damaged skin stung at its introduction to water, even more so with soap. But it was scraped up and Taylor didn't want to deal with an infection. She let the water envelop her body, surrounding her in warmth. She had a warm bath, she didn't have to worry about someone barging in, she didn't have to worry about her next class, or if she had locked the skylight. It was all hers. She smiled. When she returned home, she needed to find her own place. Maybe college was for her, maybe it wasn't, but she was done with people (living or dead) in her space. She leaned back, closing her eyes.

"On this solace, bring me to my peace. To the place we spoke, you in the crick and I in my memories. I've no reason as to why but you must leave soon. It is not safe. I don't know why, I don't know why, I don't know how-... Go, find me now."

A blur, then almost a face, she appeared out of darkness as she had been trying to since Taylor laid to rest. A panicked tone.

"Wake up."

Taylor jumped, water splashed out of the tub as she straightened herself out. She shook her head, water had gotten up her nose. Her hand rubbed down her face as if to guide the water back out quite a few times then stayed on the bridge of her nose as her nasals started to burn. She was sat straight now, knees nearly to her chest she rested her head upon them for a few moments. Taking deep breaths. In and out...in and out...in...and out. The water was cold, she unplugged the drain, her head no longer hurt. 

***

In the silence of the night she felt her every labored breath could be heard for miles. In this small village, everyone else seemed to be sleeping soundly. Her grunting as she threw her duffel bag into the back seat seemed more akin to a growl. And the car door slamming...a roar. It echoed through the empty alleys of this stone countryside. She arranged her scry on the dashboard, looking at herself for only a moment before tilting it to the side. Behind her shoulder a woman with no face waited impatiently for their arrival at her destination. Engine started, clock says 2:32 am, Taylor shot the woman a pointed look but shifted gears all the same. She didn't know why she was going now. Why she couldn't just ignore the spirit's request till the morning? But Taylor had never heard the woman so panicked, in the time they had known each other the spirit had never demanded her to do a thing, only asked. Taylor felt that if she had refused the spirit would wander off eventually. So she could've. But she didn't.