"[His] bones are fortressed like matchsticks, [his] veins running on gasoline. Both are only waiting for the flame to light them up."
—r.m. | excerpt #71
• • •
"Wake up!" A frantic voice muttered, whispering closely in Bailey's ear. "Bay, wake up!"
Groggily, Bailey did as told, opening her eyes slowly that were no-doubt bloodshot and swollen after having cried herself to sleep. She blinked over at the clock perched beside the lavender lamp atop her bedside table. 4:27 a.m., it read. Bailey moaned. "Bells," she grumbled sleepily, burrowing further under her warm covers as she clutched one of her many white pillows tightly to her chest. "'M too sleepy to get up righ' now."
An exasperated sigh sounded throughout the otherwise quiet room and the soft hand of her older sister yanked back Bailey's yellow duvet roughly. "Get up, Bailey-Wren. There's something you need to hear!"
Slowly forcing her petite body into an upright position, Bailey yawned and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes as best she could with her fists. Her right hand unfurled to ruffle her golden curls softly, and she failed to staunch the yawn that escaped once more for good measure. "What is it, Bells?"
"Jacob came to see me." She stated, effectively gaining Bailey's full attention as her spine straightened noticeably.
"He..." her red eyes fluttered down to stare at her hands as she played with her fingers bashfully. "He did?"
Bella nodded, a combination of both pity and sorrow rushing through her as she took notice of Bailey's tear-stained cheeks and red-bitten lips. "He climbed through my window a few minutes ago to try and explain why he did what he did earlier today..." her voice trailed off at the recollection of their shared pain, and she flashed Bailey a sympathetic smile when she winced. "He tried, Bay, but- but he said he couldn't -like physically could not speak the words out loud- and told me that I already know the reason and that you might not realize it at first, but you do too!"
Bailey's head was spinning, the fog from her sleep having induced her mind into a slow haze that struggled to make sense of Bella's near frantic words. "Bella, I-"
"Something happened in the woods that day, didn't it? That day you fell? Jacob said you couldn't have just magically made it back to the truck -that you weren't alone, even if you didn't know it at the time. But you do know, don't you? You saw something strange when you were out there. You saw something you weren't expecting to see."
"Bella, I don't understand!" Bailey exclaimed. "What are you talking about? What is Jay talking about?"
"Just get up!" Bella insisted instead, tossing Bailey the white summer dress hanging across the back of her desk chair to throw on over the underwear she had opted to wear to bed. Then, upon noticing Bailey had made no move to follow other than blinking up at her sister bewilderedly, Bella groaned. "Lift up your arms," she demanded, and with an abashed gasp, Bailey flailed as her older sister pulled the cotton fabric forcefully over her head. A pair of socks were shoved onto her feet soon after, which were then followed by a firm tug on her un-bandaged arm, and Bella held her in a tight grip as she pulled her down the stairs and out the front door.
"Bella-"
"C'mon!"
"But where are we-" Bailey cut herself off when a squeak suddenly escaped her lips as her wool-covered feet slipped across the cold, dew-laden grass. Her knees hit the ground, dress caught beneath them, and she gasped as she was yet again yanked upward and pulled toward Bella's truck.
"Bells," she whispered fearfully as her unsteady hands struggled to buckle in her seatbelt after said Swan had all but unceremoniously thrown her into the passenger seat. "W-Where are we g-going?"
The truck slammed into gear, tearing out on the road as the eldest Swan sister all but raced to their destination. For a long moment the cab was only filled with the sounds of the two girl's heavy breathing until, finally, Bella turned her head to meet Bailey's gaze. "We're going to see Jake," she said, lips set into a hard line. "Because if I'm going to lose someone else," a steely determination entered her brown eyes, "then I want to know why first."
---
Time seemed to move by impossibly fast. Whether that was because Bailey had never before been awake during the Twilight hours or simply because Bella was driving at an unlawful speed, the young girl wasn't sure. However, the moment Bella parked her truck in a clearing the younger Swan had never seen before, she became absolutely certain that come the moment they made to leave, it would not be without consequence. The events forthcoming would change them; there was no mistaking that.
What remained unknown however, was whether that change would come in the form of something good or something horribly, terribly bad.
As if likened to an omen of foreboding soon to reign down, beams of moonlight seemed to illuminate the clearing in an eery yellow glow. A cacophony of chirping cicadas and croaking frogs sounded to fill the silence, the noise feeling amplified as Bailey stood shivering next to Bella in front of the now parked pickup truck. Gooseflesh prickled her arms and legs, the cool night breeze tickling the hairs on the back of her neck as the unkempt locks of her golden curls swayed wildly about her messy braid that threatened to break loose of its binding at any moment. The socks covering her feet proved all but useless as the dew clinging to the soft grass soaked through the thick wool almost completely, thus pervading in enhancing the shivers that racked Bailey's petite frame. Her arms encircled her abdomen tightly, seeking comfort and warmth that Bailey felt too wary of Bella to attempt to ease around her older sister's side instead. Quietly, she stood there; wondering. Watching. Waiting.
Until it happened.
A rustling sounded from the trees in the same moment Bella had begun to walk forward. Spooked, she froze, staring intently ahead as a figure emerged from the shadows of the brush. Bailey, unaware of just what was happening, gasped when her eyes met those of Jacob's -the warmth in them yet again not present, but still alight with a hard glint that she remained unaware what to make of. However, just as quickly as they had locked gazes, they broke contact when four other figures followed out behind him.
Sam Uley, Embry, and two other boys whom Bailey had never met before -though knew to be named Paul and Jared- stepped into the clearing to stand behind Jacob. Their movements appeared almost synchronized, fluid in a way Bailey had never seen before either, and were yet again half-clothed in just simple pairs of shorts. For a moment they appeared simply a regular group of young men; then, upon notice of Bella standing before them with her hand outstretched in Jacob's direction, their faces morphed into simultaneous expressions of fury. Bailey flinched at the action, taking a small step back as if the poisonous glares were directed her way instead, and proved unable to help the heaving breaths that escaped her lungs. Her heart felt heavy in her chest, as if in mere seconds it would sink to the ground below as realization hit her. This was the change she had been waiting for.
And unlike before, she knew with an upmost certainty that it would prove far from something good.
"What the hell have you done?!"
"I didn't tell her," Jacob defended himself, eyes hardened as they trained on Paul when he suddenly rounded on him in a whirlwind of unbridled anger. "You'd know if I did."
"She's here, isn't she?" Paul argued, unrelenting in his rage as it simmered like boiling blood in his veins. "And brought her along with her."
"Bella, there's nothing to see here," Sam Uley barked gruffly, gracing the eldest Swan sister with a hard look of unwavering demand. "You should go home." His gaze then flickered to Bailey's trembling, wide-eyed figure, and the stone look in his eyes visibly softened as he added just as softly, "you too, Little Wrenning-bird."
Bella barely spared her little sister a glance. "Not until I know what you did to Jacob."
"What we did?" Paul spat, all but yelling in Bella's face while his own became red with anger as he advanced on her. Before he could step too close, however, Jacob moved to take a protective stance in front of Bella and faced his friend.
Sam, upon sensing the rising aggression and boiling anger soon to overflow, tried to interject. "Both of you, calm down-"
"Sam, she knows things about the bloodsuckers. She's been on the inside. She can help-"
Paul interrupted Jacob with a self-deprecating scoff. "Like a leech lover's gonna help us."
"Watch what you call her," Jacob seethed.
Embry then tried to diffuse the tension as he took a small step forward. "Get a grip guys-"
However, Paul and Jacob were already so angry, already so past the point of no return, and there proved no stopping them as their bodies began to shake -limbs nearly convulsing as their fury heightened to unfathomable degrees. Bella stood frozen, unnerved completely. Yet had she thought to look behind her at the little sister she had so unceremoniously neglected, she might have noticed the way Bailey's lungs seemed to suddenly cease in functioning.
"It's alright, Jacob," Bella attempted to assuage, yet it proved to no avail. "I'll go-"
Paul sneered at Jacob. "All you care about is her-"
"Paul, back off." Sam commanded, shoulders drawn taunt.
"-and she doesn't give a crap about you."
Jacob reacted, pushing Paul, hard, and as he flew backward, Bailey chocked on the emptiness in her throat. Her hands were trembling so badly, almost as violently as the two boys standing only a few yards away from her, and she struggled to keep her knees from buckling underneath her. Oh god, she thought to herself, tugging uselessly on the fabric of her dress as the material suddenly felt like it was suffocating her. Oh god.
"Jacob."
Paul arose slowly, normally handsome features contorted into ones of complete and utter outrage. Bailey stared in mute horror, unable to look away as he threw his head back roughly and growled, his entire body vibrating with such vigor that she feared he would soon explode.
"Too late." Jared spoke up for the first time since the group of russet-skinned boys had all walked out of the brush. However, his interjection went on unheard.
"Bella," Sam called, "get back!"
And that was when everything changed.
Paul fell forward, yet halfway to the ground, a loud ripping sound echoed throughout the clearing. Bailey's heart stuttered a beat as she widened her eyes, opening her lids as far as they could stretch as if a clearer vision of the scene playing out before her would somehow help her make sense of it. It shouldn't have been possible -seemed to be something that could only ever take place in fairytales and tv shows. No human in their right mind would ever believe it. No human in their right mind ever could believe it. But then again, this wasn't a matter between men.
Such was a matter between man and beast.
If in that moment Bailey had been able to breathe, she might have inhaled enough oxygen to let loose the scream that built up in her throat. And if in that moment Bailey had been able to stand, she might have mustered up enough strength to scramble outside of the parameters of the wolf's warpath. Her mind shrieked at her -yelled for her to get away, pleaded with her to seek safety. Every rational thought flickering through her brain centered itself around hasty retreat and self-preservation, yet, for some reason that fell outside Bailey's known realm of comprehension, her heart commanded her to stay still. Look, it urged quietly, and when she did, she realized she had seen the wolf before. It was different this time, angry like the young man who had transformed into it, but still retained that same pelt of silver-grey fur and deep brown eyes. The wolf had been there that day in the woods, had watched her as she tied the tourniquet around her arm and whined in tune with her whimpers. It had been so gentle then -so tame. Yet now it stood with hackles raised and a muzzle snarling. Though it didn't act like it, this was the same wolf she had so readily defended against Charlie, and with a startling realization, Bailey finally put the pieces of the puzzle all together. What Jacob had told Bella only hours ago had in fact been the truth. Bailey didn't make it back to the truck that day in the woods all on her own. The wolf had been there. And that wolf wasn't just a wolf.
It was a man.
"Run, Jacob!" Bella screamed, scrambling away from the monstrous-sized wolf that had once been Paul. She moved to grab his arm, moved to pull him away with her as she forgot about her little sister who had all but faded into the background. Her eyes were wide with terror and shock, but Jacob paid her no mind. He ripped his arm out from under her hand and ran directly at the wolf. "Jake, no! Stop!"
However, her words fell on deaf ears, because where in one moment Jacob ran charging at the snarling wolf before him, in the next he had transformed into a wolf just the same. His clothes ripped midair, scraps of cloth raining down on the grass below, and in their place sprouted russet-brown fur that concealed his skin. Instead of landing on his feet, he hit the ground on four paws, and rather than letting loose an indignant shout of outrage, a snarl of challenge escaped between dagger-like teeth. He reared back, tightening his muscles in preparation, and with a skin-crawling growl, the two wolves charged. The sound that followed the impact of their bodies shook the very earth below their feet, and as they rammed into each other with an indelicate crash, teeth flashing at each other's throats, the sound proved deafening.
Bailey jumped, entirely sure her heart had stopped in that very moment. A ringing in her eardrums beat against the walls of her skull, any more force threatening to crack under the pressure completely. She couldn't understand, couldn't fathom just what her eyes had seen. They're wolves, she thought, hands grasping at her chest frantically. They're wolves!
Their snarling echoed throughout the silence while their fighting grew further and further into the shadows of the forest, the two gradually distancing themselves from the clearing and the pair of Swan girls in result. Bailey tried to shake off her dizziness, but her lungs still failed to work and her knees gave way. She clawed at the ground, desperately trying to draw in a breath. Oh god, she thought. Oh god. It wasn't real, she tried to convince herself. They're just a bunch of normal boys! But then the voice of reason made its harrowing appearance, and the cadence of her breathing grew even more unbalanced. No they're not, it whispered in the back of her mind, taunting her with its terrifying truth. They're not normal boys at all.
Bailey closed her eyes, dreading the words to come.
Foolish girl, it hissed. They never were.
And deep down, Bailey realized she had known it all along.