I don't own these characters. They are the sole property of Stephenie Meyer. I only borrow them. No humans are permanently harmed through my actions, though I do confess to harassing, annoying, torturing, and exasperating them – just because it's fun. I make no money from my little stories, sad day. I only play in the sandbox, I didn't build it.

Author's Note: The idea for this story came to me while I was watching Source Code. This plot really doesn't have anything to do with that plot, but that's where I got the idea. Expect an update every two weeks for now. It won't be too long, probably under 20 chapters. Famous last words, huh?

As Ants to Giants

1999...

Edward heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that he had not missed his brother's plane. Ellis was due to arrive in about twenty minutes, but Edward had hit a traffic snarl on his way to the airport and had worried he'd be late. Now, thanks to some less than precisely legal driving, he had some time to kill, so he wandered over to the Starbucks and ordered a coffee. In back of him, he heard a young girl talking on her phone.

"I know, right?" she was saying. Then she laughed. "I know, I know. We're just waiting for my mom's plane to get in." Another pause, during which Edward guessed the other person was speaking. Then the girl's voice went lower. "Yeah, I'm in Starbucks." A giggle and Edward wanted to smile. She reminded him of his little sister Rosalie and he hadn't even turned to see her. "Yeah, there's uh...a...uh huh...oh yeah..." More laughter. "Yep, and extremely hot."

Edward quirked one eyebrow as he waited for his name to be called. He risked one quick glance at the girl and she blushed fiery red and turned away. "Totally hot," she said again.

Used to just such a reaction from teenaged girls, he pretended not to notice. Yes, she was about the same age as Rose, probably about fifteen or sixteen. She was cute now, but in a couple of years he predicted she'd be breaking boys' hearts all up and down the Pacific coast. Right now she was all big brown eyes and unruly brown hair along with gangly limbs and braces.

Finally, his coffee was in his hands and he made his way back to the gate. The girl followed him a few moments later but went to stand by an older man, probably her father. Apparently, her mother was on the same flight as his brother. He caught her eye and gave her a commiserating smile when the board flashed a "delayed" signal.

He went to a seat and passed the time by planning what he and Ellis would do while he was home. They'd both graduated toward the top of their high school class but they had decided that, for once, they should branch out on their own. Identical twins, they hadn't spent more than 48 hours apart in their lives. As close as any brothers could be, they had both agreed that they wanted to try things on their own for a while – just be Edward Cullen and Ellis Cullen, not the Cullen twins.

Ellis had chosen the University of North Florida, while Edward had gone with his father's alma mater, the University of Alaska. But now their freshman year was over and they had the whole summer stretching out ahead of them. Life was good.

There were parties to attend, girls to flirt with and take to bed, motorcycles to ride, and more girls. Ah yes, the girls...

~~~AATG~~~

A half hour later and the delayed status hadn't changed. Edward finally felt his patience wearing thin and approached the desk. There had been a lot of activity there in the past thirty minutes, so surely someone knew something.

"Hi," he said in his most charming voice. The young woman behind the desk looked harried and worried, and for the first time, Edward felt a twinge of concern underneath the annoyance. "Listen, I was wondering if you had any idea when flight 7798 is going to arrive?" He flashed her another panty dropping smile, one he and Ellis had both perfected over the years. It had been successful more often than not and he was not above using it now.

"I'm sorry, sir," the woman replied, shooting a quick glance at the man at her side. He looked important, so Edward turned his attention to him. "Someone will be with you shortly."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Edward asked, growing more and more anxious.

Another glance at the man in the suit. Edward looked at his name tag. "Mr. Roberts? What does that mean? Exactly when is that flight going to arrive?"

"Sir," Mr. Roberts said. "If you'll come with me. We're asking all of the families to join us in a conference room." Edward looked over his shoulder and sure enough, airline reps were approaching each person waiting for someone on Flight 7798.

Concern and anxiety flared to alarm and Edward felt his chest tighten. He watched the girl from the coffee shop start to cry and saw her father put his arms around her and support her as they followed the airline representative.

"What the fuck is going on?" Edward shouted and the woman behind the desk winced.

"Please sir, you have to remain calm," she murmured. "You're upsetting the others."

"I think they're upset because no one around here will tell them what the fuck is going on," Edward snapped. "Listen, my brother's on that plane and I want to know when he's going to get here and I want to know now."

The man in the suit put his hand on Edward's elbow and Edward found himself being led along with the others. He had a vague thought that he should fight it more, but couldn't seem to summon the energy. Edward was the last one in the room and it clicked behind him with a sense of finality.

He noticed then that someone from the airline was standing with each person or group he had seen gathered in the terminal. As if by some unspoken signal, their heads bent and they began talking quietly to the families and friends who had gathered there waiting for the arrival of 7798.

Mr. Roberts leaned in close to Edward too, and from somewhere far away, Edward heard his voice. "We're very sorry, but Flight 7798 crash landed shortly after take-off from Chicago," he was saying.

Edward turned to him, his mouth working but no words coming out. His heart thundered in his chest. "Ellis?" he finally managed to whisper. "My brother?"

Mr. Roberts paused briefly. "There appear to be no survivors."

No survivors.

No survivors.

Edward heard nothing else; it was as if someone had hit the mute button. He looked around him and the brown-eyed girl was sobbing in her father's arms. Their eyes met briefly and there was something in her eyes that made him want to tell her that this was all a bad dream. Everything would be all right.

Everything would be all right.

Everything had to be all right.

Ellis couldn't be dead.

Ellis couldn't be dead.

Ellis...