Alternate Universe
Jasper- Hope for the Undead
Intro: My sister and I lived for a long time and remained ageless. She is a PureBlood and can sustain a vampire's hunger for months after only one drink from her. But, their venom is toxic and very painful. I have always helped her. I have always been able to heal her.
We spent the entire 14th century held prisoner in the castle of Voltuiran's Kingdom. Klaus and his family are Original vampires, the first of their kind. After years of being the main dish at the seasonal vampire gala, my sister and I were rescued - by a woman with extraordinary ability. We don't like to use the word WITCH when talking about our dear mother, but she has unmatchable power that makes even an Original Vampire cower away in fear.
I can only piece together that much of our past from dreams... night mares. Our mother Willah, shattered our memories like glass and cleared them away. We just don't bring it up. My sister, Arie, is very sensitive and we do what we can to protect her from the past. Every 10 years or so we move and create a new life. And the memories are cleaned up again.
It's gone.
It's been a weird day, my previous school memories seem to be fading into the past so quickly. The last few weeks, I have made a bad habit of keeping to myself.
It was a long walk back to my locker. I had agreed to feed the leopard geckos after school in the Biology lab because Mr. Duram had to leave early. My mom says I have a 'supernatural talent' to cure animals and she has always encouraged me to expand in this area. The school was empty when I left the lab and as I rounded the corner to my locker, I was shocked to see Jasper Cullen standing right in front of me. He was assigned the locker right next to mine at the very end of the hallway, but I had almost never seen him use it. He avoided people and seemed to only speak to his brother Edward, who also attended school at Forks. He looked extremely annoyed to see me. He rolled his eyes and slammed his locker open. The air suddenly felt cold and I became uncomfortable. This is not the refreshing kind of cold that is welcomed on a summer day- but instead a type of chill that made me feel weak. I had an urge to run away, but I gathered my jacket and books as quickly as possible while keeping him in my peripheral vision. I noticed that he was breathing hard. As strange as it sounds, it was as if he was smelling me. I turned to watch him directly and it was clear his mood had changed. He no longer seemed annoyed that I was there. He breathed in deeply and moved closer to me until he was inches away from my face. His facial features were very defined and attractive contrasting with his messy curly hair. He stared at me with his pale blue eyes and the mood of his face was clearly disbelief... At that moment I felt someone behind me place their hand on my shoulder. I turned around quickly and saw my sister Arie. Her pretty face and brown hair always make me feel like I'm looking in a mirror but her outgoing smile and innocence remind me of the truth.
"Whoa Marty... were you talking to Jasper Cullen? Are you friends?" Arie asked.
I turned to look back at him, but he was no longer behind me. Amazingly, the doors were slamming shut at the far end of the hallway. He must have ran.
"That poor guy, I heard that he's always in pain. Maybe you could heal him the way you do pets?" Arie continued, completely ignoring how strange it was that he was able to leave so quickly.
A beautifully decorated party, like a wedding. Flowers and scented oil. A pretty young girl in a flowing dress stood on the balcony above the crowd of guests. The dress seemed so familiar, like I designed every inch and made it with my own hands. The beautiful girl was Arie. She held a silver dagger in her hands and a gentleman to her right held a golden basin. The man had so much evil in his eyes. "It's time." he said to her in a different language, but it felt so familiar to me. Arie reached up with the dagger, I could feel that she was terribly afraid. She forcefully struck the dagger down toward her own left arm, but she stopped herself at last second. She shook her head and tried to run. Another man came from behind to hold her into position, the Evil man to her right grabbed the dagger and stabbed her left arm with no mercy or hesitation. They caught her blood in the basin. The crowd of guests below cheered with delight and I rushed to make my way to be with her. It felt like I was in quicksand. I couldn't run. Her dress became dark. "No! Arie!" I woke myself up talking or screaming.
I realized it was another one of my bad dreams and I felt the joy of knowing we were safe at home rush over me. Through the light of the moon I could see my favorite family pictures hanging on the wall across the room. The smell of the warm artisan bread mom made with dinner still fresh in the air. I began to feel myself fade back into sleep, but I noticed the room was too cold for me to be comfortable. I decided I would make myself get up and close the window I had left open. I lazily flung my arm off the side of the bed to turn on my lamp when I felt a cold hand grab my wrist. The amount of strength within the ice cold fingers was incredible. In the dim light of the room, I could see my attacker was male, but I couldn't make out any features. I could feel him reach across me and attempt to grab my other arm. His shirt brushed my face, forcing me to breathe in his surprisingly pleasant scent. As fiercely strong as this guy was, there was nothing overpowering about his scent. He smelled so clean and neutral. His actions to hold me down felt effortless. I kicked and screamed while fighting to sit up and fight this person off.
A single instant before light filled my room, I felt him release me. As my eyes adjusted the only person in my room was my mother, who had just turned my light on. "Who was it, Marty? Did you see him?" she said shaking me.
"No." I said gasping in disbelief of what had just happened. She quickly moved across the room to shut and lock my window as Arie appeared in the dark hallway behind her. "Did you have another bad dream?" Arie asked in her fragile sweet voice. "Yes" I answered as my eyes locked with mothers'. The truth would crush her- We have to protect her so she can have a normal life.
That weekend, I decided to not think about the things in my life that don't make since. My mom sprinkled dreamshade and other herbs around the entire house to protect us. She brings me so much comfort and safety. I want to be light and carefree like Arie. I decided to spend my entire Saturday applying for jobs in town. My first choice was the veterinary and pet hospital, which was in walking distance from our house. My mom pointed it out the first day we arrived here to look at the house and it's been on my mind ever since.
A man sat behind the counter as I walked in. "Here for a pick up?" he asked, noticing that I didn't bring any animals with me. "No, sir. Actually I wanted to see if you had any open positions I could apply for?" I answered nervously.
He frowned at me and my heart sank as he replied, " I'm sorry dear girl, this is a family owned business, we... we just don't make enough money to hire in help." A lady appeared from the back room.
she interrupted him and said, "Oh Walter...we are so swamped, we can hardly manage... we could use.. at least part time." They began a heated argument about money and business situations they were facing.
I stood there, very uncomfortable, trying to decide if I should walk out or stay in case he changed his mind.
"I'm willing to volunteer." I said loudly to be heard over their shouting. They both suddenly became silent as they stopped to look up at me. "Yeah," I explained nervously, "I could come for an hour or so after school everyday." A smile crossed the woman's face.
She reached out her hand to me. "I'm Jane," she said, sighing with what seemed like relief, "And this is Walter, let me show you around a little bit."
I felt a huge rush of excitement as she showed me around the exam rooms and the kennels. Because we live in such a rural area, there was a huge stable out back for horses and livestock. As we were walking outside to the stable for the final part of my tour, a rugged truck pulled up pulling a horse trailer. A woman jumped out of the truck. She was a stunningly beautiful Native American with long dark hair. She seemed very urgent and as she moved closer, I noticed something else about her that made me stare curiously without thinking about how rude I was being. The right side of her face was completely scarred. It looked like claw marks from an animal or maybe a bite of some kind.
"Oh, It's Emily." Jane said to me before rushing toward the truck.
"Please, my horse... broke his leg this morning!" Emily said with tears in her eyes. She glared at me and I realized I had been staring.
Jane ran to prepare a stall and I walked closer to the horse in the trailer. I reached through an open sliding window and touched his face. I closed my eyes and I could feel the emotions of pain. My hand felt hot and the heat traveled up my arm and then through me. The horse began to trust me and calm down and I took my hand away. Emily turned away from me and opened the trucks driver side door to get something. I quickly ran to the back hatch of the trailer and opened the door. The sight was horrific with blood. The bone had broken through the skin. I grabbed his back left leg with both hands and instantly felt as if I had a fever. I was sweating uncontrollably. So much damage, I needed more time.
"Marty! Stop!" I heard Jane scream as she began running towards me. I opened my eyes and saw Emily standing very close to me, starring intently. Jane, who had just ran all the way from the stable, pulled me forcefully to my feet me away from the horse. "Honey, you can't do that, horses can kick you!" Jane pushed me back a safe distance and walked away shaking her head with frustration at my recklessness. Emily starred at me with an unbroken gaze as Jane led the horse out of the trailer. "How long was she watching me? Did she see anything?" I wondered.
"You know Natalie, it really doesn't seem broken. He's walking just fine." Jane said puzzled, after examining the horses leg. Hearing that made Emily and I both smile. Emily felt like someone I really wanted to be friends with. I got a good vibe from her and I knew I could trust her.
Monday at school seemed to drag by slowly. I was looking very forward to spending time volunteering at the animal hospital after school. I sat in my usual spot in Biology, which was at a table in the back row by myself. It had the best view of the reptile habitats and I felt at home there. We have a mulberry tree at home and I always make sure to stash a few leafs in my bag to feed the iguanas. I reached in my bag to get the leaves and felt someone sit in the empty chair beside me. When I looked up, I was surprised to see Jasper.
"Hello." he said calmly.
I shyly waved with my hand and decided to sit back and hold still. I was pretending to pay attention to the lecture but Jaspers actions were distracting. He was slowly and carefully inching closer to me, and seemed to be breathing me in. I've never seen him look so comfortable and painfree. He was so close now, his shoulder touched mine. He smelled fresh, but he wasn't wearing any chemicals or cologne. It was a very neutral smell. I turned and glared at him. I put my hands up to block him from coming closer and asked him "What are you doing?"
"I'm sorry," he said acting embarrassed. "I just have to say, you smell so good."
I tried to think of something to say quickly to avoid being rude. It was such a bizarre compliment. "Oh... it's probably eucalyptus oil," I said remembering I had put some on this morning. "Do you want to try some?" I offered as I reached into my bag.
"Is it some kind of natural remedy for pain?" he said looking curiously at the tiny bottle I was showing him. I gave him a confused look and shook my head.
"Oh, what's this?" Kristen said as she turned around from the table in front of us and grabbed the bottle out of my hand. Kristen had a lot of friends and extremely wealthy parents, but I was unimpressed by her social skills and rudeness. I felt like I was the only person in the school that was annoyed by her immaturity. She dropped some oil on her wrists and threw the bottle back at me to catch.
"Let me" Jasper motioned for her to allow him to smell her wrist.
She extended her hand out dramatically, flattered by his attention. He was so untouchable by everyone, it truly does feel like an honor to have his attention.
He carefully smelled her wrist, but seemed to gag. He coughed and pushed back in his chair to back away from her. His face became overcome with pain and he gathered his things quickly and left the room without permission. I followed after him.
He was so quick, the hallway was completely empty. I decided to walk to my locker, but before I rounded the corner, a terrifyingly cold hand grabbed my wrist. It was Jasper and his grip was careful but firm. He pulled me close to him and blatantly smelled me. "Why does the pain go away when you are near me?" He said directly in my ear.
I forced him to let go of my arm and turned to run. He pushed himself against my back and pinned me facing forward against the lockers, so I couldn't see his face. He was breathing in my ear. "Tell me the truth, Marty."
"Please stop," I begged as he pinned my arm behind me so I couldn't move at all. "You're hurting me." I lied.
"Forgive me." He whispered. I could feel him relax and he gently turned me around to face him.
"Being around people is incredibly painful for me, their strong smells and careless noises. I would have never chose to live this long. Please don't run away. I can't get close to anyone because of the pain." he said desperately.
I felt sorry for him for a moment. His eyes were so lonely but strangely felt familiar, like I had spent 1,000 years looking into eyes just like his. The bell rang and he turned away from me around the corner, out of my sight. "Wait, were you in my room Friday night? Was that you?" I asked rounding the corning after him. But the hallway was empty.
After school, I waited by the car I shared with Arie. I was really surprised to see her outside walking towards me. She had been riding home with a boy she met and I haven't had many chances to catch up with her. Arie through her arms around me. "Hey! You've been busy lately." I said to her.
"Yeah...I wanted to tell you not to wait for me tonight, I'm having dinner with the Cullen's again." She said beaming with happiness. I could tell she was really falling for the Edward guy and I felt guilty that I hadn't been around to hear about it. "It would be great if you joined us, I know they wouldn't mind. Jasper has been asking about you.." she said watching my face carefully for any interest.
"Really?... Well, I would but, I'm volunteering at the animal hospital after school." I answered as I considered calling Jane and canceling for the night. "What a coincidence Marty! I'm sort doing some volunteer work too!" Arie said proudly. "but it's sort of a secret." she said quietly while leaning towards me.
My mouth dropped open in protest. "You can't do that to me." I said giving her a playful shove. She smiled and jumped like she had been waiting eagerly to tell me something for a while.
"I know I can trust you with this. So, Dr. Cullen asked me if I'd be willing to donate some blood- for like a research study. He says I have a super rare antigen and it could really help a lot of people. Even save lives." she said excitedly with desperate hope in her eyes that I could share her joy in this.
"You mean Carlyle Cullen? That creepy doctor from the Medical Center?" I asked without even thinking.
"Yeah, he's really super nice, Marty." Arie said, sounding disappointed.
"I'm really proud of you, that's great." I said in complete disbelief of what my sister had just told me.
Edward honked his car horn from across the parking lot, signaling for Arie to join him. "Hey I gotta go." She said not taking her eyes off Edward. He raked his hand through his thick brown hair.
"Yeah..." I said shaking my head. "Give Jasper my number, if he wants to invite me, he can call." I watched her race across the parking lot and leave with Edward.
I walked into the Animal Hospital with a million things going through my mind. I should have just left our car at school and rode with Arie and Edward. I checked my phone again, Thomas still hadn't called. I called Arie, but her phone was turned off. Is Arie in danger right now? Who are these scary people and why is there something so familiar about them? I checked my phone again - nothing. Did Jasper come in my room? What does Carlyle want with Arie's blood?
"Why Marty, are you okay?" Jane said, bringing me back to reality. She was sitting behind the counter looking surprisingly organised. "I'm so glad to see you, Emily is here, out back." She ushered me quickly through the backroom to the back entrance. "She's been asking about you."
As soon as we stepped through the door, the phone began to ring inside. Jane left me outside and went to answer it. "Hey!" said Emily as she walked towards me from the stable. "I'm so glad to see you."
"Good to see you too Emily, how's the horse?" I asked checking my phone again. Nothing. I put my hand over my mouth and I began to feel consumed with worry for Arie.
"Spirit's leg is healed, but, Are you okay?" Emily asked with deep concern. She must have been able to tell how stressed I was.
"Yeah, I just have something going on that I feel like I can't talk to anyone about." I said looking up into her eyes and suddenly I felt the deepest level of comfort and understanding.
"Yeah, it's probably really difficult having such a special talent like what you have. Did something happen today? she asked gently but with confidence.
I paused for a second and thought about how nice it would be to have hours to talk to this girl. But there was really no time for that right now. I checked my phone again. Nothing.
"Something happened with my sister, she went with this boy she likes, Edward Cullen. I'm so worried. The situation with them... it's odd.." I said as my voice trailed off. There was no need for me to finish. The look on her face was terror and worry. "Do you know the Cullen's?" I asked watching her face carefully.
"Yes, did she say they were going to his house?" she asked waving to signal someone in the truck behind us. I hadn't noticed anyone else was outside until then.
"Yes, they mentioned having dinner with his family. Do you think she's okay?" I asked, relieved that she knew the Cullen family.
"It would probably be a good move to go check things out. My friend Jacob can drive us, he knows where they live." She said looking towards the truck. "Actually if he gives me directions I can..." I stopped mid-sentence as I watched the most gorgeous guy I had ever laid eyes on get out of the truck and walk towards us. "You know.. maybe Jacob should drive us." I said as we both laughed.
I sat in the middle spot in the truck between Emily and Jacob. "Emily told me how talented you are with animals, we would be honored if you came out to our farm some time. I could show you around." He said looking away from the road for a moment to give me a confident smile. "Yeah, that sounds great." I said forgetting about all of my worry for a small second. I glanced down at my phone and to my amazement, it was ringing. "We're here." said Issac pulling to the side of the road near a long driveway that bent and disappeared in the trees. I smiled at Jacob and whispered, "thank you."
I answered the phone. "Hello?"
"Hello, Marty." said Jasper in a soft careful voice. "I wanted to invite you over for dinner, if you are free tonight."
I breathed in deeply, "Sure, Thank you, I'm right by your house anyways, Arie's phone is off and I needed to talk to her." I said after pausing to think of something to explain how I got there so quickly.
"Wonderful, see you a minute then." he said sounding surprised.
I sat back in my seat feeling relieved that he called. Arie was probably safe and I felt silly for making such a big deal about all this. "Guys, I just remembered that I left Jane hanging, I was supposed to help out at the animal hospital, and I left without even telling her."
"We'll take care of it, Marty, go check on your sister." Jacob said sweetly.
"Oh, you're not coming?" I said realizing I would be going into the Cullen's house alone.
"This place is off limits for us." Emily said looking up the mysterious driveway. "Yeah, we've kinda been banned." Jacob agreed. "We'll wait here in case you need a ride home."
The expansive house came into view after I hiked the driveway for several minutes. Just like the driveway, the house was also beautifully surrounded by a dense forest of tall trees. The house was unlike the comparable newer houses in town where the builders clear the lot of trees before beginning to build. The entire house was shaded with mature oaks which blocked out the sun and almost made me wish I had a flashlight.
Jasper was waiting outside near the house. A shy smile crossed his face as he greeted me. "Thank you for coming, Marty." he almost whispered. "Sure," I said laughing lightly. His dark hair made his gorgeous blue eyes stand out. His looks alone would easily win the heart of almost any girl at school, but he pushed everyone away shamelessly and seemed determined to be alone.
"I want to apologize for the way I acted in the hallway today." he said moving dangerously close to me and staring into my eyes. "I really need someone right now and I didn't want you to run away, but that's not your problem and I'm so sorry." his voice was level as if he was truly speaking from his heart and this had not been rehearsed.
"It's not a problem, let me know if I can help. I'm a good listener." I assured him. I didn't want him to feel guilty about today, but there was something very mysterious about him and Edward. I knew I couldn't trust him until I understood more about his situation.
"Come on in, I want to introduce you to my parents." he smiled, opening the entry door for us.
The large house was modern and open but every room was decorated with valuable antiques from centuries ago. All of the large windows were adorned with several layers of Victorian era drapes that covered far beyond the windows and dragged the floor. It was stunning and I wondered if I would ever be able to bring our mother here to see all of these rare treasures. She has a deep appreciation for antiques and artifacts of the past.
"I can't tell you how excited we are that Jasper invited a girl home to meet us." said his mother Esme as she set down the pan of lasagna she had made. She put her hand on Carlisle leg as she slid into her seat at the table. She had a classic type of beauty and charm. Her smile was genuine and even though I felt like I had already managed to win her favor, I was very nervous. I glanced across the table at Arie. She looked so comfortable sitting next to Edward. They seemed to have a silent language together, and there was no question that they enjoyed each others company. I had no idea things had progressed so far with them in what seemed to me like such a short amount of time.
"So how do you like Fork's so far, Marty?" Carlisle asked me as he passed the salad bowl to me. "It's going good so far." I answered with very little confidence.
After taking a few bites in between carefully chatting with the family, I began to notice that Arie and I were the only ones that had eaten anything. No one else had touched the food on their plates at all. I was so grateful Esme had put so much thought into dinner. The table was adorned with fresh flowers, rare china, and dripping candles. Despite all of the obvious effort to celebrate and share dinner with us, I couldn't help but feel that something sinister was going on.
I watched carefully for several minutes and still, every member of the family left their plates completely untouched. My eyes fixed on Arie as she finished her salad and gracefully moved her main dish plate closer to her. Her big green eyes glanced up playfully at Edward with a giggle.
"Arie," I said breaking the silence in the room. "Can I talk to you for a second in the kitchen?" I got up without even waiting for her to respond.
We walked into the kitchen and she leaned in close to whisper in case the family could hear. "What's the matter?"
"No one else is eating at all. Are they poisoning us?" I said quietly, grabbing her arm and dragging her deeper into the kitchen to give us better protection from being heard. I reached out to open the back door leading outside to the deck.
"Wait, No Marty! Poison us? How could you even think that?" Arie said dramatically grabbing my hand away from the door.
A sound outside interrupted our discussion and we were shocked to see two men appear on the deck outside.
"Which one?" asked the man wearing a red shirt. "Take both" answered the second man with graying hair who was dressed in black.
We were not given a single moment to react before we were being carried outside away from the house and into the forest. Trees and branches flashed by me at a speed that was not humanly possible. I tried to scream but the bouncing and unpredictable movements silenced me.
The trees disappeared and the men dropped us off their backs where they had been carrying us. We had made it into a flooded and muddy soybean field. "I didn't know there was a twin" said the man with gray hair as he looked questioningly at both of us. He seemed nervous and glanced over his shoulder back in the direction we had came from. I walked a couple steps toward Arie and put my arm around her as she covered her face with her hands in disbelief. The men stopped bickering among themselves and the man with gray hair shouted at us "Which one of you girls Ariedella?"
"Me, why?" I lied without hesitation, pushing Arie back slightly. In that instant the man in the red shirt dove on top of me with such force I fell back into the flooded ground. My clothes filled with cold water and mud and I felt the coldest most unimaginable pain in my neck and shoulder. The pain was paralyzing and it was hard to tell if I was hearing my own scream or Arie's. I forced my eyes open and it became clear that the man had bit me. He was kneeling over me with my blood dripping from his mouth, but he was trembling with pain. His face was changing and he seemed to be hurting even more than me. I watched as his face dried and turned to gray ashes. A girrgling sound escaped from his throat and deep cracks formed in his unrecognizable face. He crumbled into dust and the ashes covered my wet clothes. His entire body had crumbled and his empty red shirt and clothes sank down into the water and mud.
"Arie" I whispered trying to sit up, scared of what I might see. In the distance across the field I could see Edward holding her and running back towards the house. Her hair was flowing and she looked completely untouched. The gray haired man was gone. I allowed the weakness I was feeling to take over and I abandoned any progress I had made in my attempts to sit up. Jasper's cold hands caught me before my face fell in the water. Dr. Cullen's voice was the only sound I heard, "Marty is the Lethal Blood."
I jolted awake and immediately got into a wrestling match with the quilt covering me. "Shhhhh...It's okay, you're safe." Jasper whispered as he brushed his cold hand across my face. The room was very dim and he was kneeling next to me as I laid on a blanket on the floor.
"I killed him." I said trying to calm down even though I felt like my heart would explode. "I'm so sorry, I'm sorry." I started to cry.
"No Marty, you just hit your head." Jasper said not making eye contact. I knew he was lying.
"Where is Arie? Did you call the police?" I asked getting up. "Edward is taking her home now." Jasper answered avoiding my other question. I looked around and realized I was in his room. It had a nice clean smell and the walls were covered with paintings, actually works of art instead of the typical rock band posters.
I looked down at my clothes. I was covered in mud and my shirt was stained with blood and I felt so ashamed that I was inside their clean house. My right shoulder surprisingly felt almost normal. But, I couldn't help but wonder if I was still bleeding and perhaps even in need of an ambulance. Jasper was clearly not going to cooperate in telling me the truth. I suddenly felt a surge of anger at Jasper for ignoring everything that had happened to me. Blinded by tears, I quickly removed my filthy shoes and socks and pushed my way past Jasper as I headed for the door.
"Please...Let me drive you home." Jasper said chasing after me. I shook my head and ran to the front door without even looking to see if his parents were in the room.
Once I was a distance away from the house I slid my shoes on without socks and flung my dirty socks into the woods surrounding the driveway. I ran, desperately hoping that Jacob and Emily were still waiting for me in the truck. I could feel Jasper's coldness in the air near me as I ran.
"Marty, what happened to you?!" Emily said jumping out of the truck. "Get in guys! Let's go!" Jacob commanded as he removed his shirt to cover the middle seat. As we sped away, I felt overcome with relief.