Speak || A Twilight Fanfic

Chapter 22

There are very few moments in someone's life when they can say fear was able to take their senses hostage. Not many times when death is staring you right in the eyes and taunting you with its words. Gabi never believed she'd ever encounter one of those moments. Much less when she was going through an already hard time and couldn't fathom it getting worse.

Gabi didn't know how long she had been running for until she tripped on a raised tree root and fell, rolling on the cold forest ground. She felt her skin sting under her clothes and her ankle ache where it had gotten caught. After almost losing Bella, her own life, and Jacob, she didn't think there was much more she could face that could break her.

"Hello, little Swan," a voice startled her. "Have you come to play?"

The girl raised her head to find a beautiful redheaded woman. Her long curls seemed to be ablaze even in the darkness of the night, a stark contrast to the paleness of her skin. There was a terrifying allure to her. A certain magnetism that couldn't help but draw you in. She was beauty and danger all wrapped in one. Her grin was haunting, chilling, yet enchanting. There was no way she could take her eyes away from her, even if she wanted to.

"W-who are you?" Gabi stammered as she uselessly attempted to put some distance between them. The soil beneath her hands felt wet and cold, and all she wanted was to be back in the warmth of Billy's home. Maybe in retrospect, she had overreacted. "W-what do you want?"

"I'm rather offended that no one has told you about me," the woman smiled. "Because I know a lot about you, Gabriella Swan?"

"How do you know who I am?"

"Well, I make it my job to know about the prey I'm hunting. At least when they're a very special one," she continued. "Maybe my name will jog your memory. I'm Victoria."

"You're the... you're the vampire that wants to kill my sister."

"So, you do know who I am," Victoria exclaimed with a grin. "I do want to kill your sister. And, well, everyone that she loves is good too. I mean, it's only fair. She took the love of my life. Think I could settle for taking her sister's life and let her continue on with that suffering. What do you think, Gabriella?"

"James tried to kill my sister. It's not her fault that other people wanted to protect her," Gabi retorted. "And she's already suffered enough. Maybe your fight should be with the Cullens. They're the ones that killed your boyfriend."

"Of course, I thought about that, you insolent child," the woman seethed. "But that Edward boy would be grief-stricken if he ever found out something happened to his precious Bella. Which will, in turn, cause a rift in his family. And hurting Bella before I inevitably kill her... well, that just sweetens the deal."

Gabi didn't know what to do. There wasn't much that she had in her arsenal to defend herself. Truthfully, there was nothing she could do to protect herself from a vampire. But she couldn't allow her to take her life without a little fight, at least buy enough time for any of the wolves to find her.

She balled some dirt and rocks into her hand and threw it at Victoria's eyes, using the woman's surprise to scramble onto her feet and run a few feet away. But her escape didn't last long. She was a girl who had already exhausted all of her strength that very morning, saving her sister, facing a vampire with a taste for vengeance.

An angry Victoria followed her, not even attempting to use her supernatural speed. It was a waste. Gabi couldn't go far. Not in her state. The moment the woman reached her, she sent her flying onto a tree, letting her drop onto the ground like a weak rag doll.

The girl felt the air leave her lungs as her back crashed onto the trunk. The bark scratched at the areas that had already become sore from her fall, and she was sure blood had already begun to slowly seep onto the fabric of the sweatshirt.