The Walkers (Twilight Fan Fiction)

Chapter Seven

I was so focused on my impending death, I barely heard Jillian when she spoke. “What the hell do you want?”

I had to look then. My eyes widened, desperate to see what had caught her attention—who was stupid enough to follow us this deep into the park—and my gaze rested on a familiar, dirty flannel shirt and torn jeans. Collin’s gaze was transfixed on us, and his hands were balled into fists at his sides. What on earth was he doing there? I wanted to tell him to run and save himself, but I could hardly breathe through Jillian’s grip.

“Why are you here?” She snarled loudly, the sound making my skin crawl in terror, and her hand loosened on my throat for a moment. I coughed as air filled my lungs, but her fingers steeled on me before I could take an additional breath. “Need I remind you what today is?”

My body had started to go limp, the trees were beginning to spin and fade away, and I knew unconsciousness was imminent. I tried to pull up Edward and Alice’s faces, tried to think of all the good times we’d had together, but it was nearly impossible. The only thoughts swirling in my head were of my parents and all the pain and suffering my death would cause them.  Mom… Phil… Charlie… I’m so sorry.

“This is no concern of yours, Walker!” Jillian’s voice climbed an octave higher, and there was an unmistakable level of contempt to her words. However, as hard as I tried to concentrate, my cognitive processes were slowing down drastically. “What do you think you’re doing?”

When the corners of my periphery began to darken, a haze spread through my body, and I felt the complete absence of pain. It was almost over… or so I thought.

I yelped when my body was suddenly cast aside, shoved toward the dirt with brute force. I felt pain shoot through my appendages when I hit the ground. As I rolled onto my back, happy that I could breathe again, the reality of the situation hit me. I quickly scrambled across the ground, struggling to find my footing, however the brief loss of air was affecting my basic motor functions, and I found it difficult to walk.

Although I knew I should have focused on getting out of the park alive, my human curiosity got the better of me, and I chanced a look in Jillian and Collin’s direction. Jillian was backing away from him, and in my frantic terror, confusion swept through me. Why was she retreating? Granted, Collin towered over her by almost a foot, but he was only a human. What reason would a vampire have to fear a human? And Jillian was afraid. Her eyes were wide, and although she tried to glare at him, her gaze roamed around the forest. Was she looking for an escape route?

As if in answer to my question, Jillian suddenly lurched toward Collin and unleashed a virulent wail. I expected her to tear him to pieces but was shocked when Collin reached out with his right hand and stopped her in her tracks. His fingers gripped her throat, just as she had done with me, and he lifted her off her feet. She began to screech at an inhuman decibel level, forcing me to cover my ears, and she clawed at his forearm. His skin opened up under her assault, and my stomach heaved when blood began to drip off his elbow.

There were a million questions rushing through me—how Collin could withstand a vampire attack, for one—but I ignored all of them. Instead, I pushed myself upright and tried to make a run for it. Maybe, just possibly, Collin’s distraction would allow me to live. I made up my mind to go home, grab Renee and Phil, and go… somewhere. I wasn’t entirely sure where we would go, but I knew I had to get out of Jacksonville. Unfortunately, as I tried to move in my unhinged state, I made it two feet before managing to snag my shoe on an above ground root. I cried out when I stumbled and fell face-first into a tree, and I froze when the scent of salty iron overwhelmed me.

The sounds of Jillian’s struggle ceased almost immediately, and an eerie silence descended on the forest. Shaking with fear, I turned my attention back to her and Collin, and I was shocked to see they were both staring at me. While her desperate, anxious breathing scared the hell out of me, it was Collin’s expression that was the most unsettling. He looked genuinely surprised about… something—his mouth slightly parted, his eyebrows arched high on his forehead, and his eyes focused on me.