The Beacon -Paul Lahote 2-

Chapter 37

"Come on," Bella yelled. She opened the front doors of the institution. "Carlisle is here!"

The blond man ran towards the building. He saw the girl withering in pain in Paul's arms. There was a hole in the side of her head that was bleeding. "We need to get that closed." The voices were consuming her. It wouldn't be long until there was nothing left.

"Where?"

He thought for a moment. This wasn't an area he knew well. "There's a vet office down the street we passed on our way. It's late. It should be closed." That was the only option right now. "Come on. We don't have much time." Carlisle had read about Banshee's whose powers consumed them. Their screams would progress. It not only killed them but others around them. Alice opened the back door, allowing Paul to get inside. He sat in the back seat with the girl in his arms. "We'll run ahead and make sure it's ready." Carlisle took off with Bella and Edward.

Emmett was in the driver's seat. "Come on!" Jasper got in the passenger seat while Alice sat beside Paul. The jeep was moving quickly into the darkness.

"Stay with me," Paul whispered to Mavis. "Stay with us. You're going to be fine. We're almost there." Mavis's eyes were shut tightly. The voices in her head were all screaming at her. She had never felt anything like it. "Hold on."

"It hurts," Mavis cried.

Paul looked down at her sadly. "I know."

"Emmett, faster," Jasper said. The vampire nodded and hit the gas. They were driving blindly in the dark, hoping they would get there in time.

"Hang on, Mavis." Alice was begging her. "Hang on."

She wanted to, but it was hard. Mavis was trying to hold it in but couldn't. Without any warning, she screamed. It was loud. Paul flinched but wasn't able to cover his ears. Alice ducked her head to the side. Emmett swerved, the rearview mirror shattered. Luckily, he was able to get control of the car.

The scream died out, but the voices didn't. Mavis could feel the familiar sense of dread. Someone was about to die, and she knew it was going to be her. "Hey, hey." Paul placed a hand on her cheek. Tears were streaming down her face. Mavis was shaking as the voices worked to consume her. "Hang on. We are close. Just hang on, Mavis. You have to hang on." She felt as if she had no energy left. "Stay with us."

Mavis stared back at him. "Okay."

"There!" Jasper pointed at the building. Emmett quickly turned the car into the parking lot of the vet office.

"We are here, Mavis." Paul held her tightly. He was unable to sit still. His worries were getting the better of him. "You're going to be okay." His hands were trembling. Everything happened so fast. It was hard for him to process. "Hang on." Alice eyed the blood dripping from Paul's ear. There was a horrible ringing in his ear, but he didn't care. All he cared about was Mavis.

Emmett stopped the jeep, and they all got out. Bella held the door open as Paul ran inside with Mavis. "Put her on the table. Hurry." Paul did as told. Mavis groaned in pain as he laid her on the cold table.

Carlisle was mixing together a green substance. "What is that?"

"A collection of herbs," he explained. "It's all they had." It's the best he could do. "Get her hooked up to the machines. I need to monitor her levels while I do this." Edward took charge. He had done this with Bella when she gave birth to Renesmee. He was prepared.

Mavis cried out in pain, her body shaking as she tried to claw at her head. "Hold her down!" Jasper and Bella pinned Mavis's arms against the table. Edward flipped on the machines. The monitor spiked instantly. Mavis's heart rate was significantly high, almost unnaturally high. The voices were consuming her.

Mavis wailed, the room shaking. Paul looked around. He had no idea what to do. "Carlisle-"

"I'm working on it." He was trying to go as quickly as possible. "Okay." He held the bowl. "I need you to hold her still."

"We're trying," Jasper breathed bitterly. "She's in pain."

"She has a fucking hole in her head," Bella snapped. Of course, Mavis was withering in pain. It had to be incredibly painful. Mavis cried. The voices were becoming too much. They were begging her to let go, to join them.

"Well, if you don't and I fail to apply this properly, the voices will consume her, and she'll die." There was a silence—everyone looking at each other. Alice moved first. She stood at the tip of the table, holding Mavis's shoulders down. It helped. "Okay, here we go." Carlisle grabbed a thick syringe. He placed a hand on Mavis's head. Paul watched as he stuck the syringe in the hole. He pushed the herbs inside. The heart monitor spiked, and Mavis cried out.

"You're hurting her," Paul screamed. He went to stop Carlisle, but Edward grabbed him. "Let me go. You're hurting her." He didn't trust Carlisle, not after he was so willing to abandon her in the first place.

"I'm trying to save her." Carlisle pulled out the syringe. All at once, the voices changed. Everything changed. Her body lurched forward. Mavis screamed loudly, shattering every window in the room. The scream echoed off the walls and bounced around the room. Everyone ducked in order to protect themselves, other than Paul. He stayed beside Mavis.

He didn't care how badly her voice hurt his ears or the glass cutting his arms. All he cared about was her. Mavis fell back down, her blonde hair covering the metal table. Carlisle had successfully patched the hole.

Paul grabbed her shoulder, tears in his eyes. "Mavis, hey." The ringing in his ears faded and was replaced by something else. It was the heart monitor. It was flatlining.

"No," Alice whispered. Bella and Edward slowly stood back up.

"Mavis." Paul placed a hand on her cheek. There was nothing. No movement. No heartbeat. Nothing. "Mavis, hey. Come on. Open your eyes." He didn't understand why she wasn't waking up. The events were blurry, but they did everything right. Carlisle patched the hole. She was supposed to be fine. "Mavis? Come on, wake up." He held her face in his hands. A trail of black blood started to drip out of her nose. "I don't understand. Why isn't she waking up?"

The answer is simple. Mavis is dead. 

This is exactly what Alice saw in her vision. Every detail was the same. "Paul," Carlisle whispered. They already knew. Mavis was already gone. They hadn't gotten there in time. "She's gone."

"No, no, no, no, no." He couldn't accept that. "No, you said she would-" his voice broke. "Mavis, come on. Hey, wake up. Open your eyes." His fingers brushed through her matted hair. It was full of blood and the green substance Carlisle had injected into her. "Hey, Mavis. Just listen to my voice, okay? Open your eyes." She couldn't be dead. "Wake up. Come on." Alice placed a hand over her mouth. Her vision was correct. This was how Mavis died. Nothing had changed. "You have to wake up. You have to." She had to wake up.

"She's gone." They weren't fast enough. "Paul, she's gone. Mavis is gone."

"No, she's not!" Paul refused to believe it. "Come on." He used his thumb to wipe her forgotten tears. "Wake up. Please." The Cullens watched him. "I love you. Wake up." She had to wake up.

"Paul-"

"No," he yelled at Bella. "Come on, Mavis. Open your eyes. Wake up!" Suddenly, the heart monitor spiked. There was a heartbeat. It was faint, but it was there. Alice gasped in disbelief. "Mavis?"

Edward looked up, his eyebrows furrowed. "I hear her." He had never been able to hear her thoughts so easily before. They were available to him.

"Mavis?" Paul watched for any change. For a second, there was nothing. Then a pained groan passed her lips. "Mavis?" Her eyes opened, revealing their beautiful blue color. "Oh my god." Alice fell into Jasper, a grateful laugh escaping. "You're okay." Paul was shocked. Mavis stared at him, blinking a few times. She felt different. The voices were gone. The darkness inside of her was gone. She felt normal. Paul was concerned by the expression on her face. "What?"

"They're gone," she whispered. Mavis was still in a significant amount of pain, but the voices were gone. "They're gone." But it was different. They weren't gone for the moment. It felt as if they were gone for good.

Paul smiled at her, tears streaming down his cheeks. "That's good, yeah?" Mavis nodded but winced. "You okay?"

"Mhm." Mavis was okay, and she knew going forward she would be okay too. "I'm okay."