Chapter Eight
"Night One"

(Edward's POV)

"Does love wear out" said Small, "does it break or bend? Can you fix it, stick it, does it mend?"

"Oh help," said Large "I'm not that clever. I just know I'll love you forever".

Small said "but what about when you're dead and gone, would you love me then, does love go on?" Large held Small snug as they looked out at the night, at the moon in the dark and the stars shining bright.

"Small look at the stars – how they shine and glow, but some of those stars died a long time ago. Still they shine in the evening skies. Love, like starlight, never dies."

I stared on in awe, probably looking utterly dumbstruck, as Bella finished reading a short story to her little sister. She had brought only a few things with her from their home and I assumed this book must be Hollie's favourite. She had emptied her backpack a little while ago when I asked what was in it. A couple of inhalers, Hollie's book, a teddy (I have been informed he's called Fluffles), a notepad, a couple of pens, and a Robert Frost book had tumbled out onto the carpet. All weightless items, yet I felt that they held more in them for these two girls than the universe did for all of us.

I'd made the executive decision to bring them to Alice's room, purely on the basis that it was straight across the landing from mine. We were up on the third floor, the shutters were down, the lights were off, and I knew that we were as safe as we could be tonight.

It was late and we were all exhausted.

Bella frowned, sitting there silently for a few minutes. I only hoped, at the end of this horrifying day, that Hollie would find some comfort in that she was tucked up safely in bed. It was better than any alternative but I was sure this little girl couldn't possibly understand what could have been.

"How old is she?" I asked quietly, too afraid to damn well breathe in case I disturbed her.

"She's four," Bella replied, getting up carefully to join me in the doorway. "However, she acts like she's fourteen a lot of the time."

I chuckled, sighing quietly. "She's a gorgeous kid."

"She takes after our mom," Bella said, leaving it at that. It's a small town so I'm aware their mother isn't around. Being the Chief of Police's daughter, Bella is often the centre of gossip in school. She doesn't revel in it which is the only reason I didn't ask her to expand. I felt it might upset her.

"This doesn't feel real," I whispered, accidentally steering the direction of our conversation to a much darker road.

"I can't—" She shook her head. "—wrap my head around it all. Things like this are meant for the pages of a novel. None of this is supposed to happen in the real world."

"Yet, here we are," I said, sliding down so that I was sitting on the floor. We were silent for a moment before she joined me. She hugged her legs to her chest, almost as if she were afraid they would take her somewhere she didn't want to go.

"What do you think is going on?"

"I wish I could tell you," I said, meeting her questioning gaze. "I'm more curious about the lack of warning."

"Being in Forks probably doesn't help the situation, in more ways than one."

I laughed quietly. "That's very true. I wonder if—"

We simultaneously listened to Hollie's quiet whimper, waiting with baited breath to see if she would startle herself awake. It seemed her innocent dreams were to be tarnished tonight. What a sad day indeed. As we listened for any sign of her waking from her short slumber, I became blisteringly aware that my home was eerily silent. It made me feel sick. Lack of sound in a busy house like this one was rarely something I encountered.

I suddenly remembered that I hadn't asked Bella how on earth she ended up in the situation she did.

"Bella, what happened to you this morning?"

Her sigh told me she was reluctant to relive it. I threw her a warm smile, trying my best to offer some sort of friendly reassurance.

"I was reading my Robert Frost book, I think, when I heard the landline ring. My dad had already left for work and I was surprised to hear his voice on the other end. He was so panicked, Edward, and he just kept telling me that I had to get out of town. He told me to head North so that was the plan."

"What stopped you?"

"My archaic truck," she muttered, clearly unamused. I did chuckle at that. "I couldn't get it started. I sat there trying to figure out what I was supposed to do. My dad once told me that being on the move was better than staying still so the forest seemed like the only feasible option. I figured there wouldn't be many people roaming around in there either."

"Clever," I whispered, realising that her intelligence was not simply a rumour.

"We ran for a while but Hollie's socks were bothering her so we stopped to fix them. I don't recall exactly what happened but someone knocked into me from the side and pinned me to the ground. I remember hearing Hollie screaming."

She visibly flinched at that.

"How did you manage to not die?" I blurted out unthinkingly.

"Somehow I managed to roll him off. He just stared at me, this black liquid streaming from his mouth. If it weren't for a loud commotion in another direction that had him curious, I would have been a goner."

It bothered me, the casualness to her tone. However, I didn't have time to ponder it, for she was looking at me expectantly. I suppose, in all fairness, it was my turn to tell her about my catastrophic morning.

"Well, we were actually leaving town for a few days," I told her, grinning widely when she nodded. She wasn't unaware that we often go on camping trips, it was something my family was known for. "We set off early, as usual. It was busy for the time but we didn't think anything of it. Emmett kept moaning about not having a chocolate fix for the journey so my dad pulled over to shut him up."

"For chocolate?" she checked, giggling.

"For chocolate," I confirmed, sharing her amusement for a brief second. "For some godforsaken reason I was forced to go into the little 24hr store at the edge of town to get it for him. I was only in there for a few minutes but when I came back out, the car was gone and chaos had ensued in the street."

"You were right in the middle of it," she realised, shivering.

"There was literally nowhere to go. Everyone was grabbing each other, running, screaming. I couldn't see my family anywhere. I just had to figure out how to get away from the large volume of people and... the forest was the only option. Somehow I ended up moving in the exact same direction as you. Where were you planning on going?"

"I was trying to head North anyway, even though I didn't have a car."

"I didn't know where the hell I was heading," I muttered. "I heard someone screaming and I just knew it was a kid. I instinctively moved in that direction but... it seemed to take forever to find where it came from... and then you two were right in front of me. I couldn't leave you there."

"It would have been justified, Edward. The three of us will draw more attention than you being alone."

"Strength in numbers and all that," I joked, smiling down at her. "Besides, no one wants to be alone at a time like this."

Though we weren't yet safe, and this option was by no means permanent, I knew that I'd done the right thing today. Perhaps it wasn't a sensible decision, but I was sure that even the most Satanic mind would be disturbed by the thought of leaving these two girls alone to face god knows what.

"Thank you," she whispered, so much sincerity in her tone that my heart stuttered. "I don't know what I would have done."

"You would have thought of something," I assured her, more sure of this fact than anything else at the moment.

"Possibly," she mumbled and I knew she wasn't convinced. "I'm a little tired."

"A little?" I asked, laughing when she yawned. "You can help yourself to some of Alice's pyjamas."

"That's okay," she said, standing up to head over to the bed.

"Bella, I'm going to say what I think any one of my family members would say to you right now: what's ours is yours."

"I really shouldn't go through—" I gave her an exasperated look that shut her up pretty quickly. "I'll just check the drawers."

I watched her as she moved around, nervously opening compartments to find anything that she would need. My siblings and I each have our own bathroom so there was no need for me to leave—thankfully. My limbs didn't want to work properly yet.

She cleared her throat, stopping before she closed the bathroom door. "Could you keep an eye on her whilst I clean up?"

"Of course."

She smiled, seemingly reassured by my presence.

The second she had clicked the lock on the door, I unsteadily made my way over to sit on the edge of Alice's double bed. Hollie was stirring after Bella's movement and I wanted to make sure she knew she wasn't alone if she were on the verge of wakening up. I had been right when I had thought it impossible for any child to sleep soundly amidst this. Her little mind must feel as though a hurricane is ripping through it.

Minutes had passed when she finally rolled over, her eyes popping open uncertainly. She was facing me and looked really quite confused initially, then I watched as she seemed to realise that she had no need to worry.

"Where's Bel?" she asked, slightly disorientated.

"She's just in the bathroom," I told her quietly.

"Is it morning?"

I laughed, instinctively moving her long hair away from her eyes. "Not yet."

She squeezed Fluffles into her chest, looking up at me uncertainly. "Are any of the bad people going to come in here?"

"No," I whispered, the ability to breath ceasing to exist for a few thorny moments. "You're safe in here, I promise."

"I'm scared of them."

"I'm not," I told her, trying to ignore the crack in my voice that would have my brothers laughing. "You want to know why?" She nodded. "Because, deep down inside, they're still the people we know and love. They're poorly, Hollie, but that's not their fault."

"A poorly man tried to hurt Bella," she said, stroking Fluffles' head.

"I know. I'm sure though, if he wasn't unwell, he would be really upset about it. Besides, your big sister did a pretty good job of fighting him off."

"I'm not stwong enough to do that. I'm too small."

"You are very strong and very brave," I assured her, my heart melting in my chest. "But you just leave any fighting to me, alright?" She nodded eagerly. "Try to go back to sleep."

And she did without protest. It didn't take long for her breath to even out and I realised again how exhausted the little thing must be. Perhaps I had been able to ease a few of the worries swirling around inside her fragile mind, and perhaps not, but I hoped she would be able to sleep more soundly now.

Bella finished up in the bathroom soon after that and I informed her that Hollie had woken but that she was okay and she had gone straight back to sleep. I figured there was no need to upset her with the unpleasant details of our conversation; I'm sure she'll be doing plenty of reassuring in the future.

"I'm going to head to bed," I said, backing slowly towards the door. "I'll be right across the hall if you need me."

"Okay," she said, sliding slowly into bed beside Hollie.

"I mean it—anything at all."

And I swung out of the room, nearly clipping my shoulder on the doorframe. I shut the door softly, deciding that I had to make just one stop before my bedroom. I crept downstairs to the second floor, jogging along the hallway to my parents' room.

It was cold and empty and lonely in the room but I cast this fact aside, focusing on what I knew needed to be done. Under their bed exists a compartment that only opens with the use of a key. Luckily for me I know my dad keeps it under his pillow, as imaginative as he is, and so I grabbed it without a second of hesitation.

I opened it with ease and a shiver ran up my spine.

I wrapped my fingers around the frame, moving with a caution I had never before moved with. My other hand found the spare bullets.

I didn't want to consider all the possible situations that would require the use of this but I knew that those people outside weren't our only rivals. How easy it would be to become one's own enemy in this new world. It was a terrifying thought but it made me clutch the gun a little tighter.