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CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
Burning. Every atom, every tissue, every cell in her body had been set alight, the burning, the pain felt everywhere. Her body tossed carelessly from side to side over the open flame. It had marched on its infiltration over her body until she couldn't feel anything but it, unable to form any coherent thought apart from one; the immense agony that she had never felt before, that only grew stronger and more immense as the seconds that felt like hours ticked by.
Despite all the injuries over the years, most that she had caused to herself with her own clumsiness on top of her narcolepsy, nothing even held a flame to the uncontrollable pain that had rushed through her body, leaving a lingering agony.
It was endless, the belief that time had once worked in the way she was familiar with, nothing but a distant memory. Time couldn't exist, nothing could apart from the pain that rippled through her. Everything was ripped from her in that instant, ripped from her outstretched hands until it stopped. Emptiness left in its place, freed once more from the pain, from everything, until it all came rushing back. The pain fading into a mild, prickling sensation on her right hand until it faded altogether, a distant memory.
Her eyes snapped open, casually peering around the unfamiliar surrounds. Her body moving at unexplainable speeds as she moved to sit up, her ears picking up the sounds of snarling and conversations immediately.
The realisation struck her, looking down at her ghostly, ice-cold hands, the usual tiny scars and the occasional freckle she had picked up over the years, blended away into nothing. She caught her reflection in a window across from her, the crimson eyes set into her face staring back at her. It was only then that she realised that she felt energised, a feeling so foreign she forgot what it had felt like. She felt like she could take on the world, and she could, the usual lingering fatigue that she had become so accustomed to over the years, had disappeared alongside everything else.
"Great, I've really gone and done it now," Ellie mumbled to herself, watching her unfamiliar reflection follow her every move. "I'm dead, well technically undead." She corrected, a different realisation striking her.
Her eyes scanned around searching for any of her belongings only to find none, most likely left behind in that dark alleyway, before she felt the weight of her phone in her pocket. Ellie breathed a small sigh of relief, flipping it open and typing out a simple message to four contacts before she placed it back down on the ground, crushing it instantly, as she looked to her fist in surprise.
Ellie stepped forward, following the noise that she had first picked up, reaching a large open space, several other newborns darting around, viewing the newcomer before returning to their various meals. It seemed like days ago that she had been discussing the likelihood of a newborn army with the Cullens and Bella, and it had been. The proof was laid out in front of her, but if their suspicions had been entirely right, she had a role to play and it wasn't just the part of a newborn vampire.
"When we were five they asked us what we wanted to be when we grew up, our answers were things like, astronaut, president or in my case a princess. When we were ten they asked us again we answered, rockstar, cowboy or in my case a gold medalist." Jessica Stanley started her Valedictorian speech staring out into the crowd. The one missing graduate crossing her mind. "But now that we've grown up they want a serious answer. Well, how about this, who the hell knows! This isn't the time to make hard, fast decisions. This is the time to make mistakes, take the wrong train and get stuck somewhere, fall in love...a lot. Major in philosophy, because there's no way to make a career out of that. Change your mind and change it again, because nothing's permanent. So make as many mistakes as you can, that way someday when they ask what we wanna be we won't have to guess, we'll know."
Jasper Hale clapped alongside everyone else as Jessica finished her speech, stepping down from the podium as everyone started walking up to collect their diplomas. He had attended too many graduations to keep track of, but this time something was missing. But with the empty chair beside him and the lingering presence of Allison Hadley, a battered but strong Elijah Hadley on crutches at the back of the room confirmed exactly what was missing. For a girl who didn't believe she would ever get to graduate, her excitement towards it rivalling anyone else's, it was completely out of character for Ellie to be missing it.
The only thing briefly explaining her disappearance was the cryptic text message sent to him alongside Allison, Sydney and Bella, a few days previously that merely depicted that Ellie would be extending her trip a few more days, heading interstate to visit a few more colleges but she would return in a few days. Yet it had been a few days later and there was no sign of Ellie nor any other contact from her.
The same thought had run through everyone's heads once both Bella and himself had revealed the single message to the rest of the Cullens from Ellie after days of silence. It was too easy to add up what must have happened, Jasper's fear and reluctance of letting her go, coming true right in front of their eyes. There were only three possible solutions for Ellie's disappearance and lack of contact, one a lot worse than the others. It had taken the entire Cullen family to stop Jasper from leaving the house immediately, running non-stop until he found her. An eventual decision being made that they would wait until after graduation to head up to Seattle to all look for the missing member of their family.
Jasper was reluctant to agree, his concern and fear outriding everything else but eventually, he stayed put, Ellie never leaving his thoughts for a second.
"Eleanora Hadley." Principal Greene announced, snapping Jasper from his thoughts, silence following the name as everyone glanced around the hall for any glimpse of the missing brunette before the Principal continued down his list of names.
Jasper was going to find Ellie, he was going to find his girl, no matter the cost.
