The Beautiful Ones
Summary: A doctor released a supposed cure for cancer five years ago, leaving vast amount of the human population of North America deceased. The rest, a mere million people, are currently living in small pockets of the United States and Canada, forbidden to be deported or emigrate for fear of spreading the deadly virus. Half starved from the lack of sustenance from human blood, the vampire population of America quickly turns savage on the remaining survivors. Desperate, the humans turn to werewolves to act as patrols and border guards to keep them safe from the vampire threat.
Warning: There is major Out of Characterness in this story. None of the vampires feed off of animals, and almost all of them are reduced to the level of extremely smart predators, nothing more. If you decide that you don't like this idea, and then don't read on.
Note: This is all written from the third person point of view, and place changes will be marked with a line, while scene changes will be marked with a page breaker of some sort. Thoughts are in italics and emphasis will commonly be in bold or italics, as will Author Notes. Everyone is pretty much the same, like who is with who, except Sam is not the leader of the pack that protects Bella, Jacob is. Sam is in Chicago with the humans there. And obviously with Edward out of the picture Bella is single and very good friends with Jacob. It might become more but I'm an Edward girl so probably not.
Now on with the show.
Chapter One
"It has now been five years since the fateful pandemic of North America and still no word has been received from the supposed survivors of the disease, released July 24th by a Dr –"
"Studies have shown that it is possible for blood abnormalities to occur that could make a person immune to the virus' deadly attack. However, the theory has yet to be tested and -."
"Supply trains have been sent out to some of the cities of the United States. We have received no response from them however -."
"Here is a clip of an attack on one of our supply trains, heading for Chicago."
Bella tensed at the clip that followed. Although the blissfully ignorant people of the rest of the world did not know what these creatures were, she did all too well. It was nighttime on the clip, and she could hear the heavy rumble of the supply train as it made its way down the road that nature had reclaimed. The man holding a camera was occasionally swinging it from side to side, emphasizing the truck's movements. There was a sudden flash of pale skin to the right, and the camera swung around to look at it. The two men – the driver and the cameraman – were both beginning to panic; they had heard the rumors.
No, don't panic. They can smell your fear.
They heard a faint hiss from the left, and the camera shifted just in time to catch a glimpse of one of them.
He was insanely beautiful, just like the others of his kind. His eyes were black, he was thirsty. Extremely thirsty. The one that had provided the distraction jumped up on the right side of the car, smashing through the windows to reach the man holding the video camera. The camera dropped, providing a view of the driver being pulled out by the first vampire, his eyes wide and screams slowly dying on his throat as he struggled to breath through his blood. The only thing that could be seen now were twisting writhing shadows, and all that was heard was the slow slurping noise of a beast feeding.
How did they get this clip? Bella wondered, surprisingly calm while watching – or hearing – her fellow humans die.
Her question was answered as a pale hand ghosted in front of the lens. The camera was picked up, and it was the same vampire from before, the one that had taken the driver. His eyes were bright crimson now and blood still lined his jaw and lips from the feeding. He grinned and his companion joined him over his shoulder.
"Thanks for the meal," he purred, his voice just as beautiful and deadly as he was. Then both of the men laughed and the tape abruptly ended. There was a brief silence on the news as the woman announcer paused for a silent moment for the dead, then continued on.
"The disturbing rumor that the survivors of the virus have turned to cannibalism is as of yet unconfirmed, since neither of the two men has been found on file as inhabitants in the United States. However, studies and searches have been launched to find any possible survivors -."
She flicked the television off, sighing. People were so stupid, anyone with half a brain could tell that this was the work of vampires; who else drank blood and was so insanely pale and beautiful? But no, the living world would rather find comfort in their facts, not their fairytales.
A man entered the room she was sitting in and Bella smiled as he sat down next to her. There was one fairy tale that she was glad was true.
"Hey Bells," Jacob, her best friend, said cheerfully, hanging his arm around her shoulders and pulling her to him. "How are you this beautiful morning?"
"Someone's chipper," she replied, a small smile coming to her lips.
"Why shouldn't I be?" He gestured to the now-blank TV screen. "I just found out the location of two more bloodsuckers."
She winced a little. "I really wish you wouldn't call them that, even if it is true. They are simply trying to exist. We all are."
He snorted, looking down at her appraisingly. "You amaze me sometimes, Bella. How can you love those who would kill you as soon as smell you? Who are slowly but surely slaughtering what's left of the population of the US of A?"
"I didn't say I loved them. I can simply understand them. Humans have been reduced to this level of savagery, who are we to judge them for simply continuing their existence? Why do we hate them, simply because they are so much more capable of surviving then humans are?"
He snorted. "I hate them because vampires and werewolves don't get along well, if you haven't noticed. They are evil and hateful creatures. They cannot love or feel pain. They don't have emotions or guilt or consciences, so they are not worth understanding. Why are you sitting around, waiting for them to discover and kill you?"
"I am not waiting around. I will go to Chicago as soon as I can. I know that there is a larger human populace there, and more werewolves for protection. I simply have to get enough food ready, and then get everyone prepared. Charlie will need his medication as well, and Mike and Lauren and Jessica and everyone will need help. You and your pack too, Jake. You're either with me or against me."
He sighed. "I'm with you Bells." His hands tightened around her waist, pulling her closer. He nuzzled his face into her neck and she smiled, petting his hair.
"Good boy, now go fetch me some grub." He growled a little, pushing her over playfully, then stalked out of the door.
Werewolves, she thought with a smile.
It may have interested her to know that, a lot closer to home for her liking; someone was thinking the exact same thing.
Werewolves.
The loud snarling thought broke Edward out of his daydreaming, where he sat gazing up at the sky in a vain attempt to control the burning hunger in his throat. He needed to keep a little bit of control tonight; the gain would be so much greater if he did.
Night was falling. Twilight was here.
His brother – if you could call him that – came out of the trees with the same predatory walk all of his kind possessed, both graceful and menacing. He stopped beside Edward, looking down at him with charcoal eyes.
"How close?" Edward asked without looking up at his brother.
"About three miles North. And where there are werewolves…" Jasper didn't bother finishing his sentence; the bright spark in his eyes and his smirk said it all.
Edward's mouth curved into a mimic of the anticipatory smile. "There are humans."
"Exactly. Carlisle has called us all to meet him. There are a fair few of the dogs, almost eight, so the catch must be good for there to be so many to guard."
Edward nodded in agreement, jumping smoothly to his feet. "Let us not waste time then." Jasper agreed enthusiastically in his mind and both vampires took off running towards the rendezvous point.
His other brother met them half-way, his giant muscular frame overshadowing theirs. They acknowledged each other with a few nods and sparse words. Neither of them cared for the lack of affection; they had the hunt on their minds. Already venom pooled in their mouths, making them swallow in excess or spitting it out to freezing points on the ground.
They slowed to a stop at the meeting point, around half a mile east of their target population. They waited impatiently, but none dared to continue on; Carlisle was ruthless in his punishments for letting discipline slide. He insisted that they all went in together, and all came out together, to increase the amount of successful killings. And whatever was attained would be divided among the successful; if you failed you went thirsty. They were like wolves, in a way. The omega – the one who was weakest or the one who didn't catch anything – fed last, and perhaps not at all. It was a cruel system but it ensured success from everyone.
Carlisle and his mate joined the three males soon after. Rosalie and Alice followed about a mile behind, and both Emmett and Jasper let out low purrs at their mates' arrivals. Edward didn't mind the lack of affection towards him; he only lived to continue living. He was complete within himself.
"How successful will we be Alice?"
She hissed, and Edward abruptly realized his mistake. "I apologize," he muttered, not meeting his sister's eyes. She nodded curtly and they all proceeded forward, Edward lagging behind them all, listening and watching.
They stopped as they noticed the fortifications around the town and wore equally amused smirks. Humans always tried such vain attempts at security; but they were pointless really to a predator that could leap them in a single bound or scale them faster than a human could blink.
But there were werewolves here, so caution must be applied.
Carlisle ran his dark red eyes over the walls, noting the haste with which they had been constructed, and the frailties that had resulted. He motioned Edward forward, who joined his father by his side.
I smell perhaps a dozen humans here, and almost as many wolves. They have not crossed here in some time, but that does not mean that they won't come back soon. I want you to go in and see what you can see, hear what you can hear, and come back to this point in ten minutes. The rest of us will scout the perimeter.
War-like, but an order nonetheless. Edward nodded and ran at the walls, leaping over and catching onto a piece of sacking that made up the top few feet of the wall. He climbed the remaining few feet, vaulting over the top in less than a second.
Once he was successfully over, he opened his mind to all of the inhabitants of the town. He cut off his breathing at the sudden rush of human scent, lest he lose his control and risk upsetting Carlisle.
There were several thought processes going on at once. He walked forward, his mind and senses on the alert for any sudden werewolf appearance. He listened vaguely to the dreaming humans, not staying more than a second. All of them were in four houses in the center of the town. The werewolves were nowhere in sight.
Something's wrong.
No sooner had the thought struck him than a giant shadow loomed over him from one of the house roofs. He looked up, meeting the gaze of the giant black wolf, unfazed. He hissed, tensing a little as the wolf growled, crouching as well to prepare to attack. They stood like that for some time, Edward listening to the thoughts of the wolf for any sign of attack, before he heard Carlisle's annoyed thoughts break through his barriers.
Edward, come back here now. Don't let me find yourself in trouble. Make your way back to the rendezvous point. If you are not here within five seconds I am sending in Emmett after you, and your punishment will not be pretty.
Edward winced. Oh if only his mind-reading worked two ways! If he said – loud enough that Carlisle would hear him – that he was in trouble, then the wolf would attack. He could feel the rest of the pack creeping closer. He needed to act fast, or it would be the end for him.
The wolf had taken his advantage of Edward's distraction, though, and launched himself onto the cold marble skin of the vampire, his jaws at his arm. Edward growled and kicked the wolf off over his head, sending the giant animal into a wall of the abandoned housing.
He ran then, towards the wall. He felt the wolves after him, but they had nothing on his speed. He kept his mind on the thoughts of the pack behind him, watching to see if they decided to split off at any one point.
They did. Four of them branched off to the right while the remaining three – the lead black wolf included – remained chasing. Eventually the other two took off to the left and it was just the leader remaining behind him. He heard the leader's thoughts as his own as he directed his pack to begin closing the jaws of the trap. Once Edward reached the wall it would be over.
He suddenly veered to the right, pelting as fast as he could to the other side of the town. The wolves were momentarily taken aback by his sudden movement, but they quickly regrouped and were on the chase again. He felt his family's annoyed thoughts after him, wondering why he wasn't back yet and angry at him. Emmett was about to go in with Jasper.
"Damn it!" he yelled, loud enough for them to hear. "The wolves know I'm here! Run!"
Carlisle's thoughts were hesitant, but eventually he directed the family to return to their domicile. He requested that Edward return if possible, but Edward could tell that Carlisle didn't really care; he was merely a way to make hunting easier, but he was replaceable. Expendable.
Edward growled and kept running, even as the wolves howled, and he suddenly realized that there were more in the vicinity.
Damn it.
Bella sighed as she pulled the covers around her ears. She could hear the pack making their nightly patrols around the perimeter of the small town of Forks. She could hear the occasional distant howl, followed by a closer one as one of Jacob's pack answered. She half-expected him to come in at any moment saying that they had to go help a brother pack – as they sometimes often did – but he never came. It must not be that bad then.
When the sun rose Bella woke up surprisingly well rested. She got to her feet, trudging downstairs to get breakfast – cereal. Again. Yummy. Most of the fresh food had been used long ago. They had tried growing crops but most of them had been devastated by the wildlife as it occasionally passed by on migrations. The animals had mostly fled long ago, driven by the need to leave. She hadn't understood it then, but she did now; they had been fleeing the vampires.
And now so was she. Eventually. She would leave eventually, once everything was ready. The vampires primarily didn't know that there were any humans here yet. As long as they didn't, they were safe. However, should they suddenly discover that they existed here; she would be ready to leave and lead the others to safety.
There were almost thirty people here, most of them her old classmates. Jessica, Lauren, Mike and Eric, Charlie and Billy and Tyler. The pack, of course, and some more people from the reservation. There was also Angela and Ben and his parents. Her, of course, and then a few older people who had fled here from Victoria, up north. The immunity to the virus seemed to have nothing to do with age. It was odd, how completely inconsistent some illnesses could be.
She was broken out of her reverie by the door opening. "Morning, sunshine," Jacob called cheerfully.
"Hey Jake, get any vampires last night?"
"Almost, sneaky buggers must have smelt us coming and took off."
"I heard howling last night, was everything alright?"
"Yeah. A coven tried to get at the inhabitants of Port Angeles. Unfortunately, it seems that only one of them actually entered the city, and he got away after warning the others. They actually abandoned him to the pack, and he seemed to be smart too. Got away, sneaky leech."
"They just left him there to the pack?" she asked, shocked at the callousness of the species.
"Yep. He got away though." Jacob began to grumble, folding his arms.
"Port Angeles isn't far from here, by how they run…" she mused quietly and saw Jacob tense beside her.
"Yeah…you're right. I'll have to send someone out to check in the forest and National Park. It would be a perfect place for a bugger like that to hide."
"Please stop calling him names."
"Fine, but only cause you asked nicely."
She smiled a little. "Thanks, Jake. Now, shall we go see how the food's doing?"
He shrugged. "Sure, I'll be back after I take a shower. I don't know if you've noticed but I reek. I can even tell it myself." He wrinkled his nose and she laughed.
"Okay Jake. Ewww," she wrinkled her nose too, "you do smell. I'll meet you by the old Newton store in half an hour, okay?"
"Sure, sure. See ya Bells."
"Bye."
Edward limped through the trees. Everything in him hurt. Everything. His head bore several scratches from werewolf claws and teeth, and his arm had been almost completely severed, as well as one of his legs, just below the knee. They were healing already, but it still hurt like hell. He needed to find a little haven to heal, and then find a way to return to his family without them finishing the job.
He had cost them the hunt. He didn't honestly believe that, but they would blame him. He was definitely not the favorite of the group, and that was only because he had no mate, no one to support him or back him up, though he had been Carlisle's oldest and first companion, he had been replaced as soon as Esme came into their coven.
He sat down, leaning against a tree even as he hissed in pain at the movement. He ran his hands through his hair, thinking. He was so thirsty, everything was so much harder to concentrate on when he was thirsty, it wasn't fair. He hadn't asked for this existence, hadn't wanted it. Sometimes he found himself thinking that he would have rather died in 1918.
To have such an existence; ruled only by the wish to find his next meal. A life plagued by desires stronger than his mind could cope with, and on top of that the minds of everyone else, it was maddening. He wondered if he had gone insane at one point, but shook the thought away; he probably wasn't, but there was no real way to tell.
If he had any hope of returning to his family unscathed then he needed to find another hunting ground, another way of appeasement. He needed to find some more humans, then go back and find his family and tell them of their existence before they ripped him apart.
He took a deep breath just as a strong wind came blowing towards him. He froze as he recognized the strong – and more importantly, recent – scent of human.
Perfect.
He would rest, and then the hunt would be on again.
The crop field was small, but it sustained the lives of the humans of Forks. Bella looked around at the small field of beans, corn and potatoes and sighed with a small smile; none of the animals living around here had been attracted by the scent, and if they had they hadn't come to eat. The food would soon be ready for eating, and they would have fresh vegetables for the first time that year. Good.
She walked around the edge of the field, making sure no insects had gotten to them, and Jacob followed, his large ears flickering everywhere, along with his eyes. Going outside the defensive wall that had been built – especially with Bella – always made him antsy, so he had taken his wolf form just in case, though he highly doubted that any vampire would attack them here; none knew of Forks' existence.
Still, he would never risk hurting Bella if he could. Besides, those bloodsuckers could catch her scent at any moment and come running. One could never take too many chances.
He began to whine as the tension of being out here began to get to him, and Bella rolled her eyes with a slight smile.
"Alright, we'll go, but only if I get a ride!"
Jacob tilted his head to the side and snorted in what could only be called derision, and then did a large wolf-like version of a shrug. Bella grinned at her triumph and hauled herself onto his large body, sitting just behind his shoulders and holding onto his long russet fur. He took off once he was sure she was steady, falling into a graceful yet incredibly fast lope, his impatience increasing as the town came into view.
She laughed at his impatience, scratching between his shoulders. He gave a low growl of pleasure when he stopped, rubbing his head against hers and giving her a big lick across the face.
"Ewww Jake, gross!" She giggled and fell to the floor. He snickered and waited for her to get to her feet. She was about to walk home – him following behind – when a series of howls went up around the town. She paled at the sudden sound. It was a sound that they had rehearsed many times, and she felt fear grip her heart.
They were here.