More Than My Own Life (Twilight Fanfiction)

Morte

I didn't know what was happening as the world flashed around me. All I knew was that I was afraid. Afraid of what though? I tried to look around, but I couldn't see what was surrounding me. The world was dark, blurred. I squinted my eyes, focusing on one area that seemed to be darker than the rest of my surrounding. And then I saw it. The slightest of movement, a shadow among shadows. The fear that gripped my heart told me to run, but I couldn't run. There was nowhere to go. The darkness that surrounded me was a tangible substance, thick and unyielding. To step into it would mean to be lost into the abyss. There was the faintest whisper of a voice, an unrelenting hum that surrounded me. 'Morte'. 

I stared at the moving shadow, petrified as it came closer and closer. Suddenly, bursting from the darkness, were two glowing red eyes, narrowing in on me. Trapping me in their gaze.

'Morte'

I heard the dragging of fabric as the demonic creature drifted closer and closer to me. I could see it more clearly now. A dark robe, a deathly white face.

'Morte'

The demon floated towards me. It was leaning over me now, staring down into my eyes. Slowly,  so slowly, a white skeletal finger drifted towards me, reaching to stroke my cheek.

'Morte'

As the cold finger touched me, sounds suddenly filled the previously silent darkness. Screams, howls, the crackle of fire. The smell of smoke and burning flesh filled the air.

'Morte'

********

I sat up with a gasp, disorientated by the sudden brightness that surrounded me. It was the sun, streaming in through my bedroom window. Blinking rapidly, I studied the room around me, trying to convince myself that it had all just been a dream.

But then I heard it. The familiar sound of dragging fabric. The tapping of skeleton fingers against the wall. 

I turned my head slowly, horrified, to the furthest corner of my bedroom, to the corner that the sunlight didn't seem to breach. There, among the shadows, stood the robed figure. The piercing red eyes. The creature was neither a man or a woman, simply a demonic entity. It's mouth opened into a snarl, displaying rows of sharp teeth.

Though my mind was frantically screaming at me to run and my body was burning with adrenaline, I found myself unable to move as the creature drifted towards me bed. My breaths were coming in painful gasps, my heart hammering so loudly I was sure my chest would explode. The cloaked figure was standing above me now. It's arm slowly moved, and suddenly it's skeletal hand was coming towards me, reaching out to stroke my face. This time, though, I was sure there would be no waking up.

I screamed and rolled away, finally able to move. My legs got tangled in the blankets and I toppled over the side of the bed, the mattress separating me from the terrifying demon. 

Mere seconds after the scream ripped through my throat, my bedroom door seemed to explode, bursting into splinters of wood. I covered my head as a sharp piece of the heavy oak flew by my head and shattered the lamp on my bedside table. I looked up to see Edward standing in the frame where my door used to be. His eyes landed on me, huddled on the floor, and then they widened as he took in the creature standing on the other side of my bed. I watched as everybody else gathered in the door of my bedroom.

With a hiss, Edward threw himself at the cloaked figure. He went right through it, smashing into my bed. With a loud crack, the entire canopy fell off of the bed, and the frame collapsed. Edward didn't stop to analyze why he had been unable to tackle the creature, instead positioning himself into a crouch, ready to strike again. By now, the rest of the Cullens had reacted as well. Rosalie yanked me off of the ground and shoved me towards Jacob, who pulled me behind him. He was staring at the creature with wide, terrified eyes.