You were my conscience
So solid, now you're like water
And we started drowning
Not like we'd sink any farther
But I let my heart go
It's somewhere down at the bottom
But I'll get a new one
And come back from the hope that you've stolen

I'll stop the whole world, I'll stop the whole world
From turning into a monster, and eating us alive
Don't you ever wonder how we survive?
Well, now that you're gone the world is ours

I'm only human
I've got a skeleton in me
But I'm not the villain
Despite what you're always preaching
Call me a traitor
I'm just collecting your victims
And they're getting stronger
I hear them calling, and calling

I'll stop the whole world, I'll stop the whole world
From turning into a monster, and eating us alive
Don't you ever wonder how we survive?
Well, now that you're gone the world is ours

Well, you thought of straight big solutions
But I like the tension
And not always knowing the answers
But you're gonna lose it
You're gonna lose it

I'll stop the whole world, I'll stop the whole world
From turning into a monster, and eating us alive
Don't you ever wonder how we survive?
Well, now that you're gone the world

I'll stop the whole world, I'll stop the whole world
From turning into a monster, and eating us alive
Don't you ever wonder how we survive?
Well, now that you're gone the world is ours

The war began in 2012. It was the Volturi against we vegetarian vampires. They thought it was horrible, and that if we could not hold our ground then we were weak. A great many of our numbers were lost. We lost sisters; brothers; mates. Human blood was spilled as well. The Volturi were smug and decided to outlaw substituting human blood for animal blood. We were driven into hiding.

I was on the winning side in the beginning; I was with the Volturi. They said it was okay that I wanted to be vegetarian. But as the time passed, they began trying to force me away from that lifestyle. In the midst of a battle, I snuck away. I found another girl that wanted to be with this lifestyle, but was afraid because the rest of her coven had easily changed to hunting humans; her name was Tanya. I promised her protection, and we travelled together. I met another vampire from my past—Victoria, whom I had feared before—and she stuck with us. We hunted well; the animal population was blooming. A mated pair—Kayla and Brett—came to us soon after. And so our clan grew, took on a shape.

DAY 1 (Pt. 1)

The year is now 2066. It is the beginning of winter. We are living in Alaska, where grizzly bears are plentiful. We're living in a large, beautiful home. No one suspects that we exist the way we do. I am out hunting with Victoria and Tanya; we have a rule that you must hunt in parties of at least three for safety.

"I smell grizzly," Victoria whispers, smiling. "I want this one."

Tanya grins at her. "No way! You got it last time."

I shake my head at their nonsense, then report. "I smell a herd of elk. Let's leave the grizzly for later, okay?"

They nod and we begin running towards the elk. In less than a minute, we're upon them. We hunt gracefully and silently. Each of us takes down an adult. We barely hunt; only when we absolutely need to. Victoria's very thirsty, and she gets blood all over her blouse. We'll need new clothes soon enough. On the way back, we find the grizzly and share it. Relatively satisfied, we need to find a few to drain and store, just in case. There have been times where we can't leave the house for many months, and have lasted only on stale, bottled blood. I manage to find a den of snow leopards and we hunt. A few elk on the way back, and we're stocked up. At the house, we enter through the cellar and carefully place the bottles in the coolers. The bottles are airtight, and you can't even smell what's in them.

We move upstairs. Kayla and Brett are sitting on the loveseat, quietly talking. Martha (who we all call Marty) is watching CNN, which is being hosted now by a beautiful female vampire. Everything looks so normal. Marty suddenly looks up and grins, obviously happy we're back. Kayla smiles at us, and Brett does that cute grin of his.

"Where's everyone else?" I ask.

Marty taps her chin with her finger. "Well, Peter and Alex went to go play on the X-Box in Peter's room; Cassie is in her room painting; Sam is busy watching her paint and reading his comics."

I nod. Everyone's accounted for. Suddenly there's a quick knock on the front door. Everyone goes silent. Even the sounds of a shooting game that have been echoing from upstairs have stopped. Tanya is gone, and I see her disappear upstairs. Of course, she's going to stay with Peter. Alex is downstairs in an instant, sitting beside Marty. Victoria and I are the ones to answer the door. I look through the peephole, and I see seven people. Each is deathly pale, with gold-black eyes. I nod at Victoria, smiling.

"Guys, it's safe!" she yells, and all activity resumes.

Victoria bolts upstairs, quite obviously to change so she does not look like a she-demon.

I undo the five bolts on the door and peek through the crack made by the chain. "Yes, can I help you?"

I know them. I know each of them. But I'm not about to say that, not about to reveal that. Carlisle is the one to speak. "Is this a safe house?"

"Yes," I reply. "There's ten of us; eight are mated, and my sister and I are the only ones who are not. How many of you?"

"Seven," Esme says, her voice quivering like she's afraid.

I rake a hand though my hair, catching a few tangles. I close the door enough to take off the chain and usher them inside. "Come in, come in. We don't use the third floor; you can stay there. I just need to ask the others..."

Kayla's suddenly sitting on the couch, smiling innocently while Brett is holding her hand. "Ask us what?"

It takes a lot to make a smile appear on my face. "There is a coven here, seeking safe haven."

"Bella..." Kayla says, almost in a warning tone.

"I know what happened last time," I reply. "I was a fool to trust them; to not see through the guise. We should have listened to you Kayla. All of us should have, and maybe they wouldn't have done such an awful thing."

She glares, eyes turning to slits. "Then what exactly are you thinking? We lost two good people, just because you have a big heart! Ugh, you could cool it with the friendliness and the compassion if you want us all to stay existing. You should be glad that Victoria's your best friend; she's more willing to kick some asses if you're in trouble."

I bare my teeth in a snarl. "Kayla, calm down! This is different; ask Marty. They are not with the Volturi. They are not with the other family that took John and Nykki. They are not."

Kayla looks at me, wide-eyed. We rarely mention Marty's affinity to see what lies ahead for us. Suddenly the tension melts from her face, and she sighs. "Okay. They can stay. I trust you, Bella. I trust you. Brett? What do you think?"

Lazily, he smiles at us. "Well, my first thought is you shouldn't be fighting, girls. And the second is that it'd be cool to have a few new faces. Thirdly—"

"Ugh this is a long list!" Kayla sighs.

"—who's the third president of the United States?"

I raise one eyebrow, then reply, "Thomas Jefferson."

Brett nods, and then runs upstairs.

"HA!" I can hear him yell. "PETER I WON THE BET! THIRD PRESIDENT IS THOMAS JEFFERSON!"

Kayla rolls her eyes. "Of course. Remind me to go kick Peter's ass later."

"No promises," I reply teasingly.

Then I head upstairs with the Cullens, to find the others and get their opinions.

Peter and Tanya take one look at the family and decide. "Definitely yes!"

There's a whole moment where Tanya and the Cullen family have a reunion, but then we go across the hall to Marty and Alex's room. Marty sizes them up, and nods. Their decision is a resounding "yes" simply because of Marty's gift.

Now we have to contend with Victoria. I track her down, and her answer is—not surprisingly—a gigantic, "NO!"

I give her my best look. "Everyone else has said yes! In a family of seventeen, we'd not be open to more attacks. Can you imagine not having to watch your back even here in our little piece of safety?"

She winces. "But... Bells? Can you imagine having them here? I remember how you were, even though you'd already had Tanya find you. You will not be like that again, I swear to you, my sister."

"You're outnumbered. Nine dead-set with yes, and you with a resounding no," I say, hoping to sway her.

Victoria glares at me and shakes her head. "Okay... Okay, fine. This better not turn out like Zöe's family, or I get permission to kick all your asses and theirs, too."

I nod my consent. "Alright."

We go back downstairs, and Victoria follows. She wants to be there when I go over a few things with them.