The Finer Things in Life: Belonging
A/N: This is my first Twilight fanfic. Please be nice? Pretty please? I hope you guys enjoy.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the idea for this story. Bellice have minds of their own and have demanded that I let them out to play.
Mary Alice Brandon hadn't always felt too much for the finer things in life. How could she? She'd awakened to this life in a dark alley covered in mud.
On shaky legs she stood with wet dirt and fabric clinging to her skin. The remnants of her uniform gave her the identity that still seemed foggy to her. The uniform was all she knew. The fabric was a worn in navy blue that seemed grayer than gray.
The only details she could affirm as interesting were the words scrawled across the right breast pocket of her shirt. The pocket was sewn shut but felt thick to the touch. She couldn't imagine the reasoning behind it. Alice traced the letters finding what she assumed to be her name emblazoned in scratchy thread. Mary Alice Brandon, Patient #38456, Woodbury Asylum. Alice balked at the words.
Asylum. Patient.
The words swiveled in her mouth as she repeated them over and over in a voice that sounded too beautiful to be her own. It sounded like wind chimes. Eventually the repetition was more for the benefit of her ears rather than to seek any meaning from them. Her voice was a high-pitched soprano peal that sent delight coursing through her. Despite the grime she was encased in, her voice filled her with pure joy. She wasn't broken. She wasn't damaged. She could speak and it sounded like the prettiest bird tittering about gracefully in it's own world.
Her vision blurred and she fell forward onto her knees. She expected pain from her fall but felt none. Her hands clawed at the surface before her and sliced through the hard asphalt. Shock struck her but couldn't hold her attention as images danced in her mind. An Eastern Blue Bird hopped along a stony window ledge chirping merrily at something beyond the glass. The room looked familiar to her but the memories were hazy.
Had she been there once? Possibly.
It was such a dreary looking space that Alice hoped it wasn't true. The walls were a drab grey and the floors were tiled in a faded yellow. Three-inch thick mattresses that appeared to have seen better days covered the metal beds. Above all the room was empty and contained so signs of life save for the bird peering anxiously into the room. She watched its grey and blue wings flutter as it bounced back and forth. It was looking for something not easily discernible. Alice suddenly wished she could speak its little language of tweets and chirps. Her vision became more focused on the bird and the window. As she moved closer, much faster than she ever thought she could, the reflection in the window shocked her and shattered her calm. A creature so still and perfect stared back at her. It had her nose and her lips, her cheekbones and soft smile. Her eyes were more red than the ripest apple. Sunlight escaped the clouds and an errant ray peered through the window warming her skin briefly and making it sparkle. Alice gasped. The bird tweeted happily. The bird had been looking for her.
Alice looked about the room and then down at her cheerless jumpsuit and hissed when the world locked in place.
Patient. Asylum. Asylum. Patient. She belonged here. The bird stopped its stream of sound as if pausing to contemplate Alice's noise of malcontent. It hopped closer and Alice seemed to not be able to keep her eyes off of it. She decided to comfort it. It was the only friend she had in this world. It wasn't much but it was something. Something beautiful and natural. Something she was starting to feel that she would never be, if she ever were, again. This little life was precious.
She brought her nose to the glass and inhaled the scent of brick, mortar, and something incredibly delicious. She couldn't place it and put the thought off for further inspection at a later date. She eyed the bird cautiously as it tilted its plump little head to the side.
"Hi, I'm Alice."
The bird chirped then squawked loudly as a dirty pale hand ripped it from its perch. It squeaked it's way to non-existence as Alice threw herself back from the window. Another pale hand gripped the ledge and its attached arm followed as a brunette woman pulled herself up to face Alice. She climbed onto the narrow ledge, balanced on the balls of her feet. The large window accommodated her tall lanky form.
Alice hissed angrily at the blood that dribbled from her lips and the blue feather that stuck to the woman's right cheek. She was dirty all over, dressed in a loose man's shirt and wool pants, barefoot and wore her hair loose and wild. She had killed the most beautiful thing in the world and screamed danger without uttering a word. Alice eyed her perfect red eyes with confusion and rage.
The woman smiled, showing sharp and bloody teeth, and tapped the glass until it cracked and broke at her feet.
Alice choked and sputtered as her vision refocused and she could see again the alley instead of the murderous woman. People moved beyond the alley on their daily business. Alice barely cast them a glance. She concentrated on trying to return to the images of the bird and the woman but found snippets of different scenarios at each attempt. She growled deeply. Some small part of her argued that it wasn't real but overall she knew no truth rested there. She'd seen it with her own eyes. If she began to doubt that then maybe she really did belong in an asylum.
She didn't think she was crazy. Alice paused awaiting for some sign to appear that she was. During this she heard the sounds of the city surrounding her. Water dripped down a nearby drain pipe and her throat began to itch terribly. She moved towards the water but felt no desire to drink it. Water was good wasn't it? Her body told her otherwise. No more than ten feet away a man stepped into the alley and leaned against the faded brinks. He procured a cigarette, lit it, and then began to smoke. Alice quirked an eyebrow and took a step forward. A powerful rhythm set her senses ablaze.
She closed her eyes and listened to the beat and became aware that it resonated from the man. His heart perhaps? Alice decided on a closer look and walked towards him. He didn't notice her approach, nor did he acknowledge the pounding beat that held her attention, it was a thudding drum by the time she came upon him. His head rolled in her direction and he screamed when he saw her.
"Geeze—where'd you come from?"
Alice gestured behind her. "Here."
Her throat constricted painfully with each beat of his mesmerizing drum.
"I'm going to listen now."
Alice stood no more than two inched from him and placed her head on his chest.
The beat was steady and caused her body to hum with a need she had been previously unaware of. What was it that she needed? His heart? She had one of her own. Didn't she? Alice paid no attention to the man's mystified demeanor. She continued her investigation and tore at the jumpsuit whe she reached for her own heart, encased in her tiny chest. Alice rested her fingers against her hard skin and waited. The man became hysterical.
"Shh." She said and he obeyed long enough for her to realize brokenly that her chest did not work like his. His heartbeat sped up and so did the pain and the need. They went hand and hand now to torture her mind with thoughts she didn't believe possible. She had no heart beat and yet she was still standing. She craved no other natural substance despite her throat feeling more dry than a desert.
"M—Ma'am."
"No."
"No what?"
Alice shuddered. The need hounded her and her mouth filled with an unfamiliar liquid. He shook and she placed her hands on his forearms.
"I'm so sorry."
"S-sorry for what?"
Alice spoke no more and threw him into the back of the alley, surprised by her strength and speed. She climbed atop of him, head resting on his chest again. The rate was faster than before. Alice crawled up him and pressed her lips against his neck.
She was so thirsty and her mouth salivated the most when she rested it against his veins. She shuddered in disgust as she bit down, piercing his skin, and began to drink the only thing that seemed to be able to sooth the want, need, and pain. Her throat moistened and dulled it's rampant torture in appreciation as she drained the man until his heart beat no more. The silence was deafening. Alice was a monster, just like the woman.
A beautiful and evil thing.
She searched for the bird again in her mind but kept coming up with the same view.
She cursed and growled and hissed. She was no better. Her body hurled itself away from the corpse. Cold. Dead. Like her. A pain in her chest forced a whimper from her lips. It felt like a light tugging then a stronger pull that eclipsed the attraction to the formerly beating heart. Her legs moved without her command and her mind edged out any room for reproach. It was as if she was to leave the area immediately and had somewhere else to be. Alice surrendered morosely and flew from the alley down the street. She crossed town at a dizzying rate until there were no more buildings, cars, or dark ground beneath her. Green grass stuck to her bare feet as she raced through the countryside alongside a dirt road.
When she first saw the building her undead heart started excitedly. The tall window was still intact and faced her and the ledge was unobstructed.
She had hope. Maybe she could save her little friend. A life for a life. Alice discovered that most of the humans were in the courtyard far away from her task. The few that lingered were closer but not unavoidable. No more killing. She promised herself right then and there that she'd never do what she did again. Life was too precious even if hers was lost before it even really began. She broke the lock on the back door and maneuvered down the halls from memories she didn't want to admit that she had. They were fuzzy and barely recognizable but they did the trick as she came upon what she assumed must have been her room.
She glanced about the melancholy mess of her old life and vowed to never life like that again. Whatever she had been she would no longer be. Her friend chirped at her arrival and Alice felt hope flutter in her chest even as her tiny friend bounced along oblivious to the impending threat. She had no time to waste and gripped the lower sash of the wooden window. Her hand went right through and the bird tweeted in surprise. Alice smiled at it hoping she didn't have the bloody teeth she'd seen on the woman. The bird hopped to the side as if accommodating Alice's attempts at rescue.
"Don't worry," Alice cooed. "I've got you."
"I'm Alice, remember?"
The bird cocked it's head to the side as Alice ripped the window frame from its place and threw it on the floor behind her. The wind blew in an unfamiliar scent and alarm clouded her cheerful features. Alice growled and reached for the bird but was beaten to the punch by the same pale hand as before. Amidst the squeaks and chirps of alarm Alice peered over the ledge to view the murdering bitch of her vision. She smiled toothily at Alice, swung her feet forward and braced them on the wall, then pushed off and executed a solid flip.
"Not this time," Alice hissed. She dove from the window crashing down on the body before her. She heard fluttering wings and squawks of terror that became more distant after she and her captive hit the ground.
Alice glanced up and watched mournfully as the little bird disappeared into the distance. Her distraction proved to be a gross misstep on her part as suddenly her legs were swept out from beneath her and her body was pinned to the ground faster than she could blink.
She looked up at her captor's triumphant grin with a petulant look of her own. The grin morphed into a smirk that sent a pleasurable chill down Alice's spine. Red eyes bore into hers and brown hair tickled her neck as the woman above her leaned down and rested herself on Alice's chest. Her arms were folded with her head resting neatly on top of them. Her eyes widened and lit. She looked wild.
"Hello Alice," the woman chimed throatily. Alice perked at the beautiful although hoarse sound. She wondered what obstruction had caused it briefly and how it could be fixed before snapping back to her anger. This woman tried to kill her bird. She opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by a light vibration tickling her chest and the sound of deep purring emanating from the woman on top of her. She'd rested her head against Alice's chest.
"I'm Bella," the woman introduced herself as if the situation weren't out of the ordinary. As if it were a totally normal afternoon and they'd just met to talk about books or the weather, or politics. Perhaps there'd be tea and biscuits. Oh, oh, and little bit of cheese. Alice laughed but was unaware of why.
Her arms automatically reached up to wrap around the woman who snuggled closer to her and placed her head right in the crook of Alice's neck.
"Mine," the woman, Bella, purred contentedly. Alice sighed. What the hell kind of afterlife was this?
Bella repeated herself over and over and then sat up abruptly and placed her fingers to Alice's lips. Alice sat up with her. Footsteps approached from the other side of the building and startled voices shouted above them. Alice heard Bella growl then move to get off of her.
"No!" Alice shouted, gaining her attention instantly. Bella looked her over quickly as if to assess a problem. Alice shook her head. "Don't hurt them."
"I'm not going to hurt," Bella's voice was stilted.
"Right."
The footsteps became louder and the metallic sound of a gun cocking became apparent before either of them even saw the men approach. Alice hissed and Bella leapt to her feet.
"No hurt. Just kill."
Alice jumped up but Bella was faster. Screams surrounded them and Alice sank to the ground watching Bella leap and dance her way through the men, leaving a bloody trail of corpses behind her. The smell of spilled blood sent Alice into a frenzy of need so much stronger than before. Even more than that she felt the need to follow Bella. Her chest ached painfully now that she was away. Alice hiss and growled in protest. She didn't want to kill. She couldn't kill. But the blood smelled so good. So fresh and delicious. Once again her body moved for her almost removing her mind from the equation. She struggled against it and forced herself to her knees. She gripped the earth beneath her hoping that it would tie her down. She didn't want this.
The blood invaded every sense she had. She could see it dribbling from the downed men and smell it creeping closer, she could hear the fading heart beats and recalled the unforgettable taste she'd had of it before. Craving was an understatement. Blood was her ultimate quarry. She sobbed. The pain was back and stronger than ever. With a start she realized that no tears slipped down her cheeks. Apparently death had taken that from her, too.
Alice slumped forward disappointed in herself for not following Bella and wondering if she were safe, for not taking the blood that her body desired, for not ripping apart the men herself for daring to approach them with murder in their minds. She choked back another sob and snarled regretfully. The release she needed didn't exist anymore. The only one left laid before her.
The screaming stopped. Alice keened in response. Seconds later a woman's body appeared before her, warm and shuddering in terror. Alice moved away from it only to be pinned down by Bella's piercing stare.
"Drink?"
Alice shook her head and Bella's lower lip jutted out in disappointment. Alice whimpered at the sight, forgetting the guilt and destruction that she could see with her own eyes before her. She inched forward and watched Bella's eyes light in anticipation. The brunette crouched down and with the woman between them she reached out and stroked Alice's cheek. Alice hissed at the contact, both disgusted and aroused. The need for blood and the need for more of that touch intermingled. Bella gripped the body, drawing another long hiss from Alice, and held it up to Alice's lips.
Alice let go and bit down feeding slowly from her prey. Bella giggled and joined in, chomping down on the woman's right thigh while still holding her up.
Alice let the flow of the blood soothe her and the presence of Bella excite her. It stirred a feeling of intense relief and power within her. This was where she belonged.
And….scene! A little ridiculous, I know, but I hope you like it. Better yet, I hope you review and tell me what you think of it! So c'mon leave me some words—good or bad. There will be more if I hear from you guys. If not then I'll leave it where it is and be on my merry way.
BTW: This is a picture of that silly bird. .info/photo_gallery/eastern_