Incubus Nightmare

x-x-x

Bella Swan looked intently around the enclosing dark forest that seemed to close in on her. A thin, creamy fog flowed between her legs as the cold breeze swayed her rich red hair. Her thin jeans and white blouse weren't enough to keep her warm, her body shivered almost uncontrollably. The vibrant glow emitting from her albino skin was the only light thing within the gloomy walls of bare trees.

Her worried, hurt eyes scanned the dead woodland around her, but to find nothing she was hoping to even catch a glimpse of. The lack of her vampire's presence made her body feel lonely and uncompleted. Her grieving heart longed to touch his marble stone skin, to embrace it and never let go. She missed the scent he carried with him.

A distant hooting of an owl brought her out of her small reverie, she jerked her head in the direction where the sound came from. Her heart beat faster when something moved the low branches of the trees a few feet from her. A small involuntary gasp escaped from her lips as she took a few steps back in retreat. The shaking tree branch ceased to a stop, but her eyes lingered at the spot for a mere moment more.

"Edward," Bella called in a broken voice, her heart seemed heavier when she called his name. "Edward, are you here?"

Her voice echoed in the empty bliss full of utter hopelessness. Not another soul answered her call. The forest was cast in a heavy shadow when the gray clouds concealed the light shining from the crescent moon.

He said he'd never leave me and now he's gone, she thought to herself miserably as she remembered his assuring words.

"I won't leave you, Bella," he had whispered into her ear once. "Never."

She shuddered as she pushed the sound of his velvety voice out of her mind and continued to desperately search for him. She dared to take a few steps deeper into the forest.

Her breathing got heavier as she trudged through, pushing branches away and struggling to keep a straight face. Despair and neglect devoured her heart, she felt like screaming and crying with tears full of sorrow.

A distant snarl brought her to a complete halt. It sounded familiar, although she might have heard it once and only once in her lifetime. Her eyes fought through the sheet of darkness and squinted her eyes to try to see anything or anyone nearby.

"Edward?" she called again, but slightly louder this time. "Edwa--"

An enormous, bloodlust animal lurched from behind the trees and plunged forward, cutting Bella off. Bella gasped when she saw the cunning eyes of a werewolf drilling through her horrid ones. His sharp teeth glistened as drips of saliva oozed from his treacherous mouth.

His russet brown fur looked hoarse and shaken up. Gleaming blotches of blood adorned parts of his fur above his head and around his nuzzle. His right paw was limped in an angle, bent towards his body as he held it a few inches from the unforgiving ground. The low gnarls made her as still as a statue against the chipped trunk of a tree, she was more than frightened to approach him.

A sudden epiphany hit her when she realized who the werewolf may be. "J-Jacob, is that you? You're hurt!"

The words barely came out from her mouth when a pale light from behind the werewolf caught her attention.

The vampire's luscious golden brown hair looked undisturbed and well kept. His golden eyes were slowly decreasing to an intense shade of black. His lips curled into a deep frown as he laid his eyes on the weakened werewolf laid before him.

Bella was submerged in complete shock. She blinked twice to make sure it was her Edward standing before her, getting ready to attack the werewolf. Backing away from the tree, she rushed pasted the wolf form of Jacob, but tripped in the hurry. Before she hit the unforgiving ground, a cold hand had caught her. She looked up at Edward when he let her go. It was like she couldn't notice him anymore. His face was full of hate and revenge. The once loving eyes looked as cold as a serial killer's.

"Edward, stop this!" she cried aloud as she grasped onto his arm and did her best to keep him back from fighting.

Gently shrugging her off, he walked forward to the werewolf and in a low, firm voice he hissed to his opponent, "I don't ever want to see you near her again."

Bella screamed as Edward struck the face of the werewolf with his incredible speed. He was by her side then fighting the next instant. Blood squirted from Jacob's furry face, spreading into the air. Edward's furious yell was overshadowed by the yelping pain from Jacob.

"Edward!" Bella cried with rage and anger. The vampire she once thought that was controlled and understanding was killing others instead. She couldn't believe the torture she had to witness, especially since two of her best friends were fighting each other.

Jacob snapped back at Edward, his teeth almost tearing through Edward's perfect skin. He knocked Edward down to the ground when he leapt on him with great force. Growling viciously as he hovered over Edward, a dark trail of blood dripped from his cuts and burns. Edward muttered a few unintelligible words under his breath and flung the dog off of him with a mere movement of his arm.

Jacob barked in discomfort as he hit the ground, his insides shaking from the hard collision with the ground.

Bella quickly ran to Edward before he got up, but she was too late. He had already reached Jacob again for the final blow. His razor sharp nails dug deep into Jacob's gut, his teeth puncturing through his neck. Bella tried to push Edward to the side but he didn't budge one bit. He stayed in place as he looked at the dying werewolf.

Tears flowed from Bella's eyes as she reluctantly looked down at her dying friend. It looked as if he was drowning in his own puddle of blood. The deep scars had sliced through his body, parts of his fur were missing. His black eyes drooped lowly to the ground, his breathing was quite shallow.

"Oh Jacob," she whispered to herself and knelt down on her knees to touch his blood drenched mane.

"I'm so sorry. Jacob, please don't go," her words broke in the end as her sobs got the best of her. She glanced around but couldn't find the vampire anywhere. He had vanished and left Bella to say her teary goodbye alone.

Resting her head on Jacob's defeated body, she tried hard to hold back her tears as his breathing began to cease slower and slower.

--xx--

Bella jerked awake the next moment to find herself in her own room. She waited for a moment to let her breathing cease to a normal pace and waited until her mind was clear from the frightening images she witnessed.

The thin stream of sunlight beamed through her open window. Her body was pressed against Edward's, his arms tightly around her fragile waist as the two lay in her bed peacefully. His cold stone touch made her quiver when she touched his chest with her trembling hand.

It took her a few moments before her heartbeat became steady, then she was able to speak calmly. "Edward?" she barely whispered over the faint roar of an engine from outside passing by.

"Yes, Bella?" Edward answered in a dreamy voice as he waited for her to proceed.

"I can trust you, can't I?" She pulled him closer, telling herself that Edward would never go to such extents to committing a murder one of her friends, werewolf or not.

"Of course, with anything," he assured her in a melodic tone. He toyed with a lock of her hair.

Bella sighed, she had nothing to worry about. The murderous Edward in her mind was just an illusion.

"I'll be right back," Bella said as she pulled the covers off from her shaking body, she rushed down the stairs to the kitchen and picked up the phone from the receiver. It shook in her hand as she hurriedly dialed the number to La Push. The phone rang at least three times before a voice on the other line picked up.

"Hello?" greeted a sleepy voice, followed by a short yawn.

"Jacob, that you?" she tried to tame her excitement. "You're alright?"

"Yeah, Bella. I'm fine," he answered her, pushing the worries from her mind.

Sighing with relief, she added, "I'm so glad. How about Edward, me, and you hang out somewhere today?"

"What? With the bloodsucker?" Jacob groaned annoyed into the phone. "Can he stay behind?"

"Please, I really want you two to get along," Bella pleaded hopefully as she coiled the phone's wire around her finger.

"Alright," Jacob sighed with defeat, agreeing to her wishes. "If it makes you happy."

"More than you know, Jacob, more than you know." Bella smiled as she hung up and headed back upstairs to her Edward.

-End-

A/N: My first Twilight one-shot. Please review!! I hope you like it! I think that it turned out pretty well.

-MissInvisible