We all knew this was a battle that not many of us would survive. We were facing insurmountable odds. Those odds were against us. Even so, I couldn't bear to watch Alice struggle in the Volturi's grip. If I only I could save her… Save just even one life in this battle…
"Let her go!" I screamed as the Volturi guards grabbed Alice. I couldn't help myself. I was boiling in indignation. They were going to pay. Alice was one of our own. And we take care of our own. Running at full speed, I managed to knock two guards out of the way. Then I moved on to my main target: Aro. He saw me and leaped into the air. We met halfway as we soared over the icy air, and then… I could see the faces of my family. My friends. My allies. Esme's soundless, agonized scream. They're horrified expressions. But what I could not see was my body. My dying brain confirmed what I had suspected. Aro had decapitated me. I saw them surge forward, Edward in the lead. And then everything began to fade. First was a blurring of my vision, and then gradual darkness overtook me. This was the end. I was soon to face judgment. Was Hell awaiting me? It might as well be. Our kind was damned. I was about to find out.
I didn't know where I was. This wasn't the Hell that I'd often heard of from my father's pulpit growing up, Sunday after Sunday. Where were the fire and the brimstone? Where was the sulfur? Where were the screams of tormented souls? Where were the demons torturing them? There was no gnashing of teeth and utter darkness. No unquenchable fire. No worm that "dieth not." Where was I? If anything, this was opposite of everything I had heard of from my youth. If I had to guess, I would say it was Heaven. The gates were made of pearl and gold and men in white, shining robes walked about. How is this possible? Two such men ushered me in, taking me by the arms. One of them was holding white robes like his.
"Welcome," the Shining One on my right said. "We have long been expecting you."
"Expecting me?" I repeated, not sure what I'd heard, or if I'd heard it correctly.
"Your arrival is long overdue," the other on my left said.
"Is there to be a judgment?" I asked, fearing the worst.
"Be at peace," both of them said. "You are not condemned. You will not face the judgment. You have entered into your reward."
"This is your salvation," the one on my right said.
And then I saw him—my father. Smiling. Younger than I ever remember him to be. He was there to welcome me with arms wide open. I had been redeemed this was my salvation. I had been right all along. All these years, I held out hope that I would at least receive credit for trying and for the good I had done while living in that state of unsure immortality. I had found redemption.
