Beyond The Dawn - A Twilight Fan Fiction

Book 4 - Edward - Chapter One

                                                                       1

                                                         "As We Know It"

Having just destroyed my latest nameless opponent, I looked around. It was an apocalyptic sight: fires, dismembered bodies, and blood everywhere. A thick black smoke rose from the incinerated vampires and wafted through the trees, aided by the stormy wind that had developed around us. In the distance, I could hear my daughter's disembodied thoughts.

"Please don't let anyone die, please don't let anyone die, please don't let anyone..."

I couldn't hear anything from Bella; I imagined her frozen with focus, eyes on the battle while she remained in a determined silence. I knew how hard my wife was working to keep us safe from Jane and Alec. And I knew that the two of them were waiting for Bella to slip while Chelsea did her best to puncture her extended shield. I, however, hoped this would all end soon. With one swipe, I thoughtlessly took off a vampire head, discarding it and its body into a nearby fire.

My thoughts turned to Esme; I had heard her thoughts, among the many, in the moments before her beheading. It had been hard to concentrate, in fact; the thoughts of all those in the field, each fighting for their own version of a 'good cause', had threatened to swallow me whole the entire evening. That's not to say it hadn't worked for me as well. I was among the most dangerous in the clearing, thanks to the advantage of hearing my opponent's next move before they could execute it.

During the course of the evening, Esme's thoughts passed across my subconscious many times that night, it was the only way I could know if my family was safe. They were a jumble of fear, anger and courage, over and over again until – nothing. Blackness – it was her lack of presence that made me turn. The horror of seeing Esme beheaded distracted me to the point where it nearly got me killed. There had been no time to react. It only took seconds for Carlisle to avenge his wife, while the wolf I knew to be Leah scooped up Esme's remains and took off away from the clearing. Esme's mangled body haunted me as I took out my enemies, one by one.

It was Leah who returned first, appearing larger than life and much, much more composed. Sadness and anger filled her eyes, and my insides ached as I longed to know my mother's fate. I tried to focus on her thoughts to see if any of it was replaying in her head. I pressed, but heard nothing. All I could discern was her focus on the fight. Her head back in the game, she tore apart a random vampire before landing in the center of the clearing to check in with Billy.

The noises from the clearing made me wonder as an afterthought if the locals had been alerted. Then again, the mortals were stupid that way – they'd probably brush it off as an overnight, freak thunderstorm. Mercifully, a wall of rain had appeared in the clearing about an hour into the fight. Disturbingly, it did nothing to squelch the flames from the piles of werewolf and vampire bodies, but it did provide us with an airtight excuse that would keep the Forks Police Department away. Having just disposed of another vampire, another Volturi 'witness', I turned to select another opponent. It was then that I heard my daughter's voice, repeating my name again and again.

"Dad! Dad! Dad! Dad! DAD!"

Her voice was so pristine, so clear that it made me jump. I turned from left to right frantically, searching for Renesmee whom I was certain had just come from among the trees to find me.

"Don't look for me – I'm still in position. We've had to move closer. Mom's weakening. She doesn't know I'm filling you in, but you have to get to Chelsea, Jane, and Alec. I don't know how much longer she can hold on."