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xv. the other side

CHAPTER FIFTEEN:
THE OTHER SIDE
( trigger warning; major character death )

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ALICE CULLEN COULD'VE NEVER prepared herself to witness the death of Shay Chambers. Nothing could every prepare anyone for the death of someone they cared about, let alone the death of someone they loved so deeply and so strongly with every fibre of their heart and soul. Time seemed to freeze as Alice's family worked with the pack to clean up the mess that they'd made when defeating the army of newborns, a scream of heartache tearing through Alice's lips when she envisioned Riley Biers tearing into Shay's throat with his teeth, ripping through layers of skin and tissue without remorse. Shay would not survive, Alice knew that much just by looking at her. There was a sense of decisiveness that settled in Alice's stomach as Shay collapsed to the ground in a heap, her blood coating every inch of snow it could reach, the bright red shade sickening Alice to the core.

"Alice!" Jasper shouted over her cries, the Cullens having surrounded her the moment they heard her scream. The shriek was so pain filled that for a moment, they wondered if they'd missed a newborn in their fight to protect Bella and Shay. "Alice, what's wrong?"

"Shay!" she cried, barely able to stand as Shay's pained face engraved itself into her brain. She didn't have to say the words for them to know, but they still fell from her lips through dry sobs. "Shay's dying! H-He killed her!"

The family didn't hesitate to run for her. Jasper had chosen to stay behind with the wolves, knowing he wouldn't be able to control himself at the sight or scent of Shay's blood, but the others were quick to follow Alice through the maze of trees at lightning speed. Alice didn't know where she was going at first, she simply allowed the vision of that monster hurting her lover to lead her through the forest until the horrible scent of Shay's blood began to coat the air around them in waves.

No one was ready for what they were met with in that forsaken clearing, especially not Alice. The pixie-haired vampire let out a strangled cry as she stopped by the edge of the trees. She would have fallen to her knees had Esme and Rosalie not been standing on either side of her to keep her upright. Shay had lost so much blood in the short amount of time it had taken them to run up the mountain. Riley must've done a lot of damage on her neck, deciding that if he could not drink her blood, he'd have to take her life instead. One death was better than none, in his remorseless eyes. Now, Riley Biers was nothing more than a burning pile of limbs alongside Victoria as Edward, Bella and Seth Clearwater crowded around Shay's shaking frame frantically. Seth was howling, head thrown back into the air, presumably communicating with the pack as the former two put pressure on Shay's wound.

Dying was nothing like how it was described in the movies. It wasn't quick and easy, nor was it painless. Shay's life didn't flash before her eyes and there was no light at the end of the tunnel, waiting to welcome her into the afterlife. There was just an endless plain of darkness behind her eyes, an agonising fire seeping to her bones, and an angel's voice pleading for her to keep holding on, to stay with her forever.

By then, Alice had seemingly snapped out of her daze. She didn't hesitate to rush across the clearing to sit beside Shay, who was staring with wide eyes up at the sky above. Everyone else followed behind her, Esme with her head buried in Carlisle's neck, Rosalie and Emmett clinging to each other as resolve ate at their hearts. None of them were as close to Shay as Alice was, but it hurt to see the family member and her lover in so much pain. Carlisle set to work trying to save Shay, but he didn't seem to have much faith if the pity in his eyes was anything to go by.

For Shay Chambers was like a shooting star. One moment, she was there. She was bright, a beaming ray of sunshine that brought love and warmth to everyone she came across. And then the next, she was gone. Nothing more than a black hole up in space, a void that would never be filled again. Alice Cullen would know this firsthand, and she hated every second of it.

"Hold on, my darling!" someone whispered in her ear, and Shay gasped at the sound. Her angel's voice was back, a beckoning hand looming in the distance, her fingers just out of Shay's reach. "Don't you dare leave me!"

"I won't," Shay wanted to scream. How could she ever leave Alice? "Don't let me go!"

But she had spoken too much by then, cried too much, and the river of crimson gushing from her throat was beginning to suffocate her, keeping the words she wanted to shout at bay. Her eyes fluttered open one last time, desperate to memorise the faces of those she cared about, the face of the woman she loved. The cold bodies surrounding her place in the snow wore heartbreak on their faces, and for a moment, her heart ached with sadness for them. But just as quick as this pity came, it was gone, replaced by a sense of fear so strong that it consumed every inch of her being.

"I'm so sorry, Alice," Shay heard Carlisle sigh, and the cold pressure on Shay's neck disappeared. "She's lost too much blood."

Alice let out another cry. At this, a choked cough came from Shay's mouth as blood began to stain her lips again, testing the patience of everyone within breathing distance. But they had to stay, not just for Alice, but for Shay Chambers. A woman they'd been prepared to welcome into their family had things been different. Someone who made their Alice so incredibly happy. Shay's hands trembled as they reached out for nothing in particular, her fearless façade crumbling into ruins. Tears streamed down her cheeks, her sobs shaking her already aching body.

"I don't want to die," she whimpered, allowing her terror to take over. "Please don't let me die, Alice." 

Her words tore at Alice's heart.

Dying had never scared Shay before. How could it after everything that Shay had witnessed in her life. But it was different when it came to staring death in the eyes, losing everything she'd grown to cherish in one fatal instant. Shay wasn't ready to leave Sebastian or Cora or Raymond or even Charlie Swan. She wasn't ready to lose Alice, Shay couldn't picture a life without Alice at her side. But Death never cared about any of these things. It had no issue with ripping her away from everything she knew, planting her in the depths of an eternal nothingness.

"I'm here, Shay," was all Alice could manage to say as she gripped Shay's hands in her own, not noticing the blood that had stained Shay's fingertips when she desperately tried to stop the blood from flowing so much. The hue of Shay's hands matched Bella's and Edward's, who had both tried in vain to save Shay as they waited for the rest of the Cullens to arrive. The dried blood made Alice want to cry more as she loomed over her, head pressed to Shay's stomach as she pleaded for this to be a lie, that she'd snap out of this horrible nightmare and Shay would be at her side, living and breathing with a beating heart. And they could be together forever like they'd planned.

But then reality came crashing down, a sucker punch to Alice's stomach.

Shay's eyes, the eyes Alice looked into and knew she was home, had gone glossy as she gasped her final breath of air, the glow of life leaving her body as her sobs went silent. Instead, they were replaced by the heartbroken shriek of a lover who'd just lost their soulmate, who'd just lost their chance at forever. All the way down the mountain, Jasper and the wolves heard the cry, and they hung their heads in mourning.

"No!" Alice was screaming, shaking Shay's shoulders as her heartbeat stuttered and stopped. "No, don't do this to me, Shay! Don't you dare do this to me!"

"Alice," Edward whispered. He reached for his sister in vain, trying to embrace her in a hug, but Alice wasn't having it. Shay couldn't be dead. She couldn't be. They were meant to spend the rest of their lives together, they were meant to be happy. Edward's heart broke at his sister's thoughts, and the horror that already settled in his chest blossomed like wildfire. He'd been too late to save Shay, if he'd tried harder to fight Victoria and Riley, Shay would be alive and Alice would not be this heartbroken mess. "Alice, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen, I promise you."

"No!" Alice wailed over Edward, eventually sinking into his waiting arms but refusing to let go of Shay's hand. Her skin was already getting cold, losing its warmth that Alice loved so much. She should've cherished it while it lasted. But how could she have known that the last moment she shared with Shay would truly be the last? "Shay, p-please! Come back to me!"

But there was no pleading with Death. There were certain people who just could not escape his clutches like the Cullens had done, death was sealed in their fates the moment they breathed their first breath. So with a vindictive swoop, Death's door slammed shut, and Shay Chambers became nothing more than an empty vessel lying in the dirt.

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