Chapter 1

The End

The girl stood at the edge of the cliff, her toes hanging over the ledge. Her expression was one of peace, not of fear; despite the dangerous situation she was in. She curled her toes over the jagged rock, and a tiny pebble fell away, into the murky, wavy waters below. She shuddered: a ripple of relief flowing through her. Then, as quickly as dirt being washed away, the expression faded. She blinked, as though unsure of the events that led her to stand on the cliff. She watched the sea below toss, and paled, becoming very afraid. She wasn't wearing much; three quarter length jeans and a thin t-shirt, though she must have noticed the storm, the way the sea welcomed it. She didn't. Though she was afraid, the girl jumped. Just a simple movement, a bend of the knees, and she was airborne. She dove, her hair billowed behind her, almost straight with the speed she was falling. She crashed into the dark blue waters, screaming as it rushed toward her, then, silence. Nothing. She didn't resurface.

Alice Cullen opened her eyes slowly, as though the light was painful to her. She was crying. Not in the regular way; with the flowing tears and runny nose, but she was still crying. Just because there were no tears, it didn't mean she wasn't upset. Her brother Edward had seen what she saw, and was standing still in the doorway, gaping at her. He had asked her not to look into the future, but now he was glad she had.

"Sorry I looked into the future," She whispered to him, her voice cracking with emotion. He didn't speak; instead, he dashed for the stairs, grabbing his phone from his attic room, where he resided with the Denali's, cousins of theirs. The rest of the family watched them in confusion, unsure what was happening. They all knew, of course, Edward and Alice's bond, but sometimes, it was impossible for them to guess the situation. Times like now. Edward reappeared, holding onto a sleek black cell phone. Contrary to his normal calm, collected demeanour, he was shaking as he searched the phone for a number. It took him three tries to press the call button. He held it to his ear, then looked back at Alice, watching her with significance, as though warning her. The rest of the family seemed to catch on to the situation, though not entirely. It was obvious to them that Alice had a premonition – as was her skill – and Edward hadn't liked what he saw in her mind.

There appeared to be no answer. He threw the phone across the room angrily, where it not only shattered itself, but it dented the wall. "Come on," He hissed, his voice jagged and raw, like he was just starting to speak again. He was.

The plane journey was long and silent. As rich as the family were, Edward was more than happy to throw money bribes at any official he saw, so long as it would get them to Washington quicker. They had their own jet, and it didn't take long for them to arrive in Seattle. Then, deciding against taking a car, they ran the rest of the way, back to the small town of Forks. Their determination could just as easily be called desperation as they tore through the trees, faster than any car. Edward arrived in Forks first, guilt and worry pushing him forward as he thought of all that he had lost, not permanently, not yet.

They reached the boundary line, an invisible line that cut off a large part of the forest and the beach. Alice hesitated, her forehead creased with worry and uncertainty. Crossing the boundary would bring an army down on her family, possibly plenty of other vampires in America. She didn't know which she wanted less: her whole family dying at the hands of some werewolves, or her best friend, her sister dying. Edward had no such qualms. He ran through the line like it was any other part of the forest. Hesitant at first, Alice followed him. She didn't have any doubts about her brother's priorities, and her family were strong, and not in close danger.

Edward was out of her sight now, running faster than he ever had before. Just as she expected, she could hear the werewolves acknowledge their presence, and they weren't happy about it. The few that had shifted howled in rage and ran to intercept the two invading vampires. They didn't last long. As Alice ran forward, she could hear snaps, like something heavy was standing on twigs. She soon found the cause. As she followed Edward's path, she saw broken bodies littered around, some wolves, some human. She could smell their revolting blood as she passed, but the vampire scent of Edward had disappeared. It wasn't hard to tell what had happened – Edward was in the trees, having stepped on the wolves' heads and necks, rising over them, stopping their interference. Suddenly, Alice had to stop running. Vampires rarely felt pain, but Alice often did. Most of the time, she chose her visions, when she got them, what they would show, but sometimes, they just came to her. And she saw it; they were too late. In her vision, they were searching the sea for Bella, coming up with nothing. "Edward!" She cried, but she knew that he wouldn't listen to her, even if he knew they wouldn't find her.

When they reached the beach, it seemed like an unchanging day; like whatever was happening – or had happened – wouldn't affect it. Quickly, Alice found the cliffs from her vision. She couldn't see Bella standing on the edge, hair whipping about her face as she uncertainly toed the edge. She couldn't see anyone. She could smell the human girl, the way she had went, and the old, rusty red Chevy still stood in wait. Alice gasped when she saw it, like she was fighting for air through tears, but instead of mourning, she trudged over to the sea.

If Isabella Swan had jumped into the sea, it didn't show. She looked around for Edward uncertainly, to express her thoughts if he wasn't going to listen to them, but he was nowhere in sight. Then, she saw him in the water, near the rocks around where Bella would have fallen. Shaking her head I despair, she ran after him. Just as she predicted, it seemed hopeless.

Edward knew that Bella would never fit under a rock, still he checked. He knew that his vampire eyes would see her if she was tangled in seaweed, but he thoroughly checked there, too. There were no traces of Bella's red blood on the rocks, so he deduced that she had a clean fall; straight into the water. That didn't mean she was safe, of course. If he couldn't find her, then there was a problem. Alice was in the water, too, searching desperately, wanting to prove her visions wrong. "Did you see what happened to her?" Edward asked coldly. He wasn't angry at her, he was just unable to feel anything else.

"We won't find her," She whispered, voice cracking with emotion. Though Edward had no proof that she was right or wrong, her negativity angered him. How could she have given up on Bella so easily? Not just there; searching in the sea, but when they left Forks, too. If she had really loved Bella, she wouldn't have let him leave. Hell, she wouldn't have left herself. She was never forceful with her visions – she saw that Bella would either die or be a vampire, but she didn't push any of the futures forward. That's why Bella was…

No. He thought. He couldn't pin this on Alice. It was all his fault, and he knew it. Alice, and the rest of his family knew it, but they hadn't said a thing to make him feel bad. He stopped treading water, keeping himself afloat, and let himself sink to the bottom. This is nice. He thought, though it was clear he was lying. Not needing to feel, not needing to be. He smiled, but it was a cracked smile. He wasn't happy. Not one bit. Still, his eyes never missed a detail; a strand of what could be chocolate brown hair, a flash of maybe her pale skin, he saw her everywhere. Suddenly, he felt small, cool hands under his arms, and for a second, he thought it was Bella holding him. Reality came, as usual, and he knew it was only Alice. She pulled him up to the surface, and he didn't resist. She pulled him right out of the water, till he was lying on the beach, staring up at the dark, stormy sky. Then, she started pounding on his chest with a clasped fist, before breathing oxygen into his useless lungs. He pushed her off suddenly, too confused to stay passive. When he sat up, looking around in a dying hope, he saw no Isabella, but he did see a Swan. Charlie Swan, Bella's father was there, along with some La Push residents – Billy Black, Quil Ateara Sr. – all standing around the edge of the beach.

"Alice? Alice Cullen?" Charlie croaked. She touched Edward lightly on the shoulder before responding; whether to caution him, or pretending to check he was okay, he didn't know.

"Yes. I- it's me, Mr. Swan." She whispered, but he heard. He began walking hesitantly toward them.

"I can't believe-" He choked, trying to talk. "I can't believe this. First Harry Clearwater, then… then half of the La Push boys, and- and… my little girl." He wasn't all sadness, of course. Though he was human, he moved quickly. All Edward saw was a heavy boot coming toward his face, then he was lying down again, smacked to the ground by the sheer force of Charlie's kick. "This is all your fault!" He roared.

"Mr Swan!" Alice squeaked, standing up to be between the angry father and her brother. If she could cry, the ocean would be a lot deeper with her tears by now. Of course, to Charlie Swan, it looked like she wasn't upset. Her face was dry as the sun, unaffected by human displays of emotion.

He stared at the petite vampire for a long time, his glassy gaze thoughtful and half mad. "Don't you care, Alice Cullen?" He asked blankly, as though asking her the time of day.

She gasped, hurt by his doubt of her affection, but she didn't respond. She couldn't explain to him how upset she was. "How did- how did you come to know?" She asked quietly, before realizing that her question would make him ask her the same question.

"Jacob saw her jump. He had been searching for a very long time, he's only just went back in when you two appeared – how did you find out?" He asked, still emotionless, like he'd expended all his feeling for the day.

She thought quickly. She would have told him one of the werewolves said, but she only knew the old ones, from Carlisle and Edward's stories, and the new one, Jacob. "Uh…We were back in town for a while, when we were walking along the beach, we bumped into Jacob and he asked us to help him look… What happened to the other La Push boys?" She asked, trying to sound surprised, like she didn't already know.

"They fell from the trees, apparently. All on their heads, breaking necks or falling on rocks. That's what Billy Black and Quil Sr. say. They say they could feel it, they knew when they heard it. Personally, I don't believe it. I think something got to them boys. But then, the size of them… and their clothes! Not a speck or a crease on them, like they'd gotten changed before we came near them. Of course, Billy was there before I was… perhaps their clothing had been damaged, and he wanted to make them more dignified in death…" He sighed, shaking his head sadly.

"Or perhaps they had no clothes, and we just don't want to know…" Alice muttered, but Charlie heard most of it.

"What?!" He snapped angrily.

"Nothing. Sorry." She said, and she really was sorry. She didn't really feel mean toward the wolves, it was just that they were natural enemies, and a comment like that was designed for someone you hated, not someone who had died, no matter the species.

"You know I blame you and your family, Alice?" He asked quietly, but it didn't really sound like he was talking to her, or anyone at all. Again, Alice didn't answer him. Instead, she turned around, looking for Edward, who had consequently disappeared. She saw his footprints in the sand, leading back to the sea. She sighed, and looked across the waves, searching for Edward.

Edward swam through the water, still desperate. Of course Bella wouldn't float around the cliffs; she would have been dragged further out to sea, and Edward was the creature who could find her best out there. He swam with all his speed, yet he still searched around, desperate for a glimpse of her. He didn't find Bella, but he found a werewolf. The dog was in human form, yet he was still a werewolf. And he seemed to have so much to be angry at Edward for. As soon as he saw the vampire, curses spewed from his mouth like he was coughing up water.

"It's your fault she's dead!" The creature cried, trembling fiercely, though he seemed too angry to even shift into a wolf. He would rather fight, desperate situation or not. The word 'dead' cut into Edward like a knife, but he let it pass without accepting it. "You leeches killed her! It wasn't suicide, it was you!" He snarled, and a large, dark hand swiped forward, intent on hitting the vampire. He didn't dodge, but he wasn't hit. "You know what? I hope you're happy," The wolf spat. "I hope it makes you feel good about yourself, that some living girl would give up her life for you, because I want the pleasure of knowing that the devil himself will have to tear your smile away!" This time, the dark hand connected with Edward's pale face. Since he had proper strength; unlike Charlie Swan, the hit actually had affect, made a feeling. He didn't respond. Angry, the werewolf lunged forward, and the sea's waves happily obliged, pulling the two together so the wolf could get in better hits. There was a punch, a kick, anything the wolf could do. His short black hair fronted a head butt that sent the vampire back, but the werewolf – Jacob, Edward found out after finally finding out in his mind – was on him again instantly.

"If you don't mind, every second you float here hitting me, Bella could be drowning." Edward said quietly, carefully pushing Jacob away.

"Oh, like you'd care! If you haven't noticed, she's already dead! You killed her, you bastard!" He punched Edward again, still dealing every low blow he could think of; he pulled at Edward's copper hair, gouged at his eyes, bent back his limbs.

"You're stopping me from searching for her." Edward said calmly. "If you would let me go, we could continue looking,"

"No chance of letting you go, bloodsucker! Do you think I want you to find her?! She won't want you to find her!"

"Well then, excuse me," He said uncaringly. It wasn't like he understood the details of his actions when he grabbed Jacob's neck and jerked. He simply wanted him out of the way. The werewolf could have matched Edward's strength any other time, but not when Edward was like this, when Bella was in trouble. There was an awful crack as he threw Jacob behind him, but he didn't care. What was another werewolf death in comparison to saving Bella? He dove under the water again, and continued searching.

"Nothing," Alice sighed over the phone. It was dark, and there was no sign of Edward, or more importantly, Bella.

"Is he still searching?" Carlisle asked concernedly.

"Yes," Alice sad quietly, looking around the beach. It had been days; humans and the remaining werewolves had given up on searches from land, instead they had been out in boats during the day. Edward hadn't returned since the second time he left, three days ago. The only reason Alice had stopped looking was so she could watch what the waves washed up, and so she could keep the rest of the family informed, though they were already on their way to help. "He's not going to find her, Carlisle," She whispered, feeling tearful. But that was when she found out she was wrong. The humans would find her, cold and dead, almost frozen and blue. The image in her head made her retch, feel the need to be sick though there was no food for her stomach to expel. It was unbearable to see – her best friend; her sister – dead, having drowned or froze to death, when not so long ago she could have fixed it. She keeled over, coughing and retching, trying to remove the image of Bella in her head.

"Alice? Are you alright?" Carlisle asked her, just as another bout of shivers attacked her.

"Y-yeah." She said shakily. Though the idea that Bella was alive had been very unlikely to her, she hadn't expected them to find her, and not like that. She then realized that if she was reacting badly to seeing the image in her mind, Edward would be seeing it for real, and he would feel a million times worse. "Carlisle, I have to get Edward out of there- they… they're going to find Bella, and it's not good…" Her voice sounded strangled, and she felt strangled.

"Go, Alice!" Carlisle said urgently, understanding her immediately. She hung up and ran toward the sea, diving in. She swam quicker than Edward would be, since she wasn't searching for Bella. Eventually, she found him, but it was too late. He'd found her. She lay at the bottom of the sea, in amongst seaweed and rocks, perfect even in death. Edward hadn't tried to carry her to the surface, not yet. He was sitting on the sand at the bottom with his back to her, pressing his hands against his eyes as though to block out the world. Alice swam toward him, and grabbed his arm. He didn't resist when she pulled him away. He didn't even seem to notice.

He didn't notice a thing.