To Go Amongst Mad People
Title: What I Can't See
Pairing: Alice/Jasper
Warning and/or Summary: What happened in the baseball clearing during the newborn battle in Eclipse?
To see other entries in the To Go Amongst Mad People contest, please visit the Contest's FanFiction page:
http:// www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net / u /2128870/
It was a rare, spectacularly sunny morning. Jasper and I hiked out and checked the trail that Bella left for the newborns. Edward had led her precisely to where it would cross their path and divert them from Forks.
"Is that-?" Jasper paused and sniffed the air. I smiled at his reaction. Bella had cut herself and used the blood intensify the trail. "Did she cut herself?"
"Not intentionally. Edward wouldn't have allowed that." I smiled at both Jasper's enthusiasm and the patient yet irritated expression that I had seen on Edward's face when Bella made the decision to spread her own blood along the trail. Jasper looked like he'd been given the best Christmas present ever.
"Alice, I don't understand how we found this girl but she stays. I don't care what happens - from now on, she stays." He almost issued the statement as a challenge.
"Don't look at me. Edward's the one who pushed her away before." I held my hands up and continued up the path with my husband.
"This will work rather nicely," he hummed and noted a rust-stained fern where Bella had obviously deposited a significant amount of blood. "How did she get him to let her do it?"
"She fell a few yards back and cut it open on a tree branch." Bella was possibly the most accident-prone creature on the face of the planet. Keeping up with her was a challenge even for me. "He kept arguing that she needed to let him clean it but I think that she's just as stubborn as he is," I warned.
"Good, he needs a firm hand," Jasper remarked, seemingly satisfied with our soon to be sister in law. He paused for a moment and stopped to look at me. "What about the dog?"
"She'll always love the dog but she loves Edward more." The explanation sounded weaker than it should. "I don't see her disappearing in the long run. There are some fuzzy patches but she'll be one of us."
"Alice, darlin'," he spoke and pulled me closer to him, "I know that when we left before that it was hard on you -"
"Jazz-"
"No, let me finish this." He put a finger over my lips. "With this dog involved it's possible that your visions are less reliable and I don't want you to get so attached to this idea that you get crushed again."
"It will happen," I growled playfully.
"There's obviously no reasoning with you." He pulled away and we resumed our march back to the clearing. The light there caused our skin to reflect a million facets of light. I smiled. It was good to be in the sunlight. The warmth was incredible.
"Are we set?" Emmett approached, rubbing his hands together and bouncing slightly.
"Could you try to be a bit less excited about violence?" Jasper smirked at our over-enthusiastic brother.
"Oh, come on… finally, some action!"
"Hey, action junkie, get over here and help your wife gather some wood, will ya?" Rosalie sounded disgruntled - once again. She was obviously irritated with the whole situation. She had softened to Bella a little now that Bella had saved Edward's life and her change was inevitable. The two were still edgy around each other, and they walked on eggshells like the other one would snap at any moment.
I watched my family and helped gather wood until the dogs arrived. Sam Uley had to phase in order to speak to Carlisle and Jasper until we worked out a better system. The three stood on the edge of the clearing, the pale vampires shining in the morning sun and the dark skinned shape shifter standing slightly in the shadows. Apparently Bella had had a rough night, according to Sam. It was cold and Jacob kept her from freezing to death. I wondered how Edward was taking that. Carlisle briefly considered going up to check on her but threw out the idea because he wouldn't have enough time to make it back before the newborns arrived. I continued to pick up as much aged wood as I could and tossed it onto the pile that would become our pyre and listened intently to the exchange between the chief, the patriarch, and the soldier.
It was during the conversation that my eyes clouded and I caught a glimpse of the last set of vampires I ever wanted to see. The Volturi were coming. They would be conveniently late in their arrival to the battle, partially because Jane would wait to see smoke before embarking on their trek to the clearing. I dropped my load of wood and flitted over to Jasper's side.
The men noticed my prescence immediately and Jasper's hand slipped into mine to offer support. Sam Uley stepped back at the additional scent of vampire added to the meeting. Carlisle turned and met my eyes with a look of concern.
"We have a problem," I whispered in a hushed tone trying to avoid undue notice. My hushed delivery still gathered a crowd. Our family was there instantly and it didn't take the wolves long to catch on that something was off. They protectively crowded in behind Sam and waited for danger.
"The Volturi are on their way to 'handle' the newborn issue," I relayed the information. Some of the dogs in the woods cocked their heads slightly to the side, Sams eyes narrowed, but there was a collective gasp from the vampires present. "They're intentionally showing up late and to make matters worse, it's Jane, Felix, Demetri, and another guard member."
I could tell that Edward had heard and was relaying information to the pack through Seth at the campsite. Realization dawned on several of them at once but Sam still appeared puzzled. He became slightly agitated as Carlisle explained who the Volturi were and their significance in our world. His form shimmered slightly around the edges but solidified quickly. His expression was dark as he listened to Carlisle.
"They won't honor our treaty," Carlisle explained. "The assumption that will be made is that you are the same type of werewolves that exist in Europe. They're entirely uncivilized and ruled by the moon, unlike your tribe. The Volturi hunt them. There will be a full-scale war if they see you and they will hunt the tribe to extinction."
"Are they a danger to the other humans in the area?" Sam was understandably displeased with the prospect of the Volturi arriving so close to home.
"No, they're here merely to deal with the newborns and to check on our family," I explained, lying by omission. Jane would want to check on Bella. We should have changed her after graduation and gotten it over with like she wanted. Jasper squeezed my hand slightly. He knew that I was carefully filtering information. He could feel my anxiety. The Quiluetes didn't need to know that Bella had to be turned. "They won't venture into town or onto The Reservation unless they feel it's necessary."
I caught a quick flash of Jane and Demetri leaving us and heading up the mountain to find Edward and Bella. They would leave Felix to watch us. I pushed down the terror that rose up out of my gut at the sight of Jane incapacitating Edward and Demetri taking Bella. I looked at Jasper; he had been staring at me during the vision. The fear that it brought was overwhelming.
"We will make sure that we are gone by the time they arrive," Sam acquiesced with a nod.
"Edward and Bella should come down as soon as the fighting is over as well," I suggested. Carlisle looked at me wide eyed. I shook my head slightly and silently begged him not to question the suggestion while the dogs stood so closely. "They will be safer if everyone is accounted for, the Volturi know about Bella, and her absence could cause some distress." I needed Carlisle to understand.
"Consider Edward informed," Sam indicated one of the wolves next to him.
"Do you know how long?" Jasper brushed his thumb along the back of my hand to soothe me.
"I'm not sure how long they'll give us." I shook my head. "I only know that it's after the newborns have been destroyed."
One of the pack members emerged from the trees clad in a horrendous pair of sweatpants that had been cut into shorts.
"Edward wants you to give him a definite time," the flustered child stammered.
"I don't have it nailed down precisely quite yet," I snapped. "I'll have a time for you as soon as I get one," I promised Sam.
"Thank you," Carlisle dismissed me gently. The gathering broke up and we finished our preparations. The air around us seemed to grow stagnant with waiting. I moved back to Jasper at the first opportunity.
"Just remember to stay with me, darlin'," Jasper spoke softly and swiveled so that we were back to back.
"I know what I'm doing," I kept my voice low. "You just need to make sure that you don't do anything stupid, Jasper Whitlock. I find the battle scars sexy and all, but you don't need to search out new ones on my account."
I felt him laugh through my back and I smiled. They were getting closer. The dogs were still obscuring my vision but I had a clear sense of timing. It was close now.
"You really love Bella, right?" Jasper's tone was light so I knew that the question was a joke.
"Of course, Jasper, and you do, too." I smirked over my shoulder.
"So, it's a pretty big day," his comment was smooth, almost offhand, "Newborn battle followed by a visit from the Volturi."
"I was thinking about finding time for a bubble bath afterward, maybe a little shopping." I raised an eyebrow and looked around his tricep and up at his face.
"Always with the shopping, woman. What do you need to buy now?"
"Wedding stuff, of course," I chided.
"You've got an awful lot of stuff stashed for this wedding, darlin'. How do you know he's not going to let her drag him off to Vegas?"
"Please," I snorted. "I have the situation completely in hand. It'll be perfect."
"Time to be quiet," Jasper hissed suddenly. I assumed that he felt their bloodlust as they came up the trail.
We adopted defensive postures and watched the tree line. They were still a few minutes in reaching us. The newborns practically stumbled into the clearing when they finally arrived. They all stopped for a moment, briefly stunned by the light refracting off of their skin. This was going to be too easy.
Emmett let out a whoop and charged them. Rosalie shook her head and rushed to cover his back. Her job in this fight was probably going to be the most difficult: keeping Emmett from getting injured. I shook my head and stifled a laugh at her expression. She was thoroughly annoyed.
I didn't get to laugh for long. One of the males quickly singled me out as an easy target and came after me. He was strong but I was fast. He made a grab and I swiftly stepped out of the way. He came at me again with the same result. I decided to play with him just a bit and tagged him in the back with a fist on my next pass.
"Alice!" Jasper warned from a few paces away. I had moved away from his back as soon as the fight began, and he caught a glimpse of me playing with my opponent. Jasper was clearly unhappy with that. I relented and succumbed to the wishes of my overprotective husband.
On the next pass I captured the young vampire's hand and twisted it unnaturally until his arm ripped at the elbow. The movement was so swift and efficient that he hadn't even realized what I'd done until I spun around and sunk my teeth into his throat. His head sliced of cleanly with only the metallic noise of my teeth shredding through stone skin. There was no time for him to even scream.
I heard faint shouts in the distance. I couldn't see the future at that moment but I knew that it was about Bella. I scanned the clearing while dismantling the male's body and noted that Victoria was suspiciously absent. There was nothing to be done about that. This fight had to be finished first and I could still see the wedding clearly. Edward and the young dog on the hill must have had the situation under control. There was nothing to be done if they didn't have a handle on it. We were too far away and otherwise occupied.
I still had a leg and an arm left to sever from the mass of marble flesh in front of me when one of the two newborns that were fighting Jasper spun in to attack me. I used the body as leverage and flipped away from her. She hissed, absolutely enraged. There was a large chunk missing from the side of her neck. It seemed that Jasper had made brief contact with her but not enough to tear her head off.
She stalked slowly around the body. Her brown hair was pulled back into a bun; some tendrils had escaped and flowed around her face like waves. I kept the body between us for a few moments to lure her into a false sense of superiority. She saw only my small stature and thought that I would be easier prey than Jasper. I hesitated slightly and allowed her what she thought was a clear shot at me but as soon as she lunged, the partially dismantled corpse was between us. She sunk her teeth into its shoulder and ripped it clean off.
I smiled when she realized exactly what had happened and waved my fingers at her playfully. She threw the male's body to the ground and used it as a springboard to jump at me. I assessed her trajectory and used her momentum against her when she reached me. Instead of getting her arms around me, I launched her to the side and into the vampire that Jasper was fighting.
"You're having entirely too much fun with this," Jasper grunted as I crashed into his back.
"Shut up and fight, Jazz."
The newborns feebly tried to coordinate a circle around us. I almost laughed. Jasper's male was missing his arm at the shoulder and one leg didn't look like it was quite at the correct angle to his body. Why had Bella been worried again?
The female made another blatantly obvious lunge at me and before I could do anything Jasper had spun me out of the way and knocked her to the side. I shot him an accusatory glance. The next attack came from the badly damaged male and once again Jasper prevented me from fighting. I t-sked at him under my breath and he spared me a sheepish glance - which is how he missed it when the two attacked simultaneously.
Jasper managed to prevent the female from getting to me but in maneuvering me out of harms way he left himself completely open to the other vampire. I was on the wrong side to help. By the time I'd spun around and pulled said half-dead newborn off of him there was another crescent shaped indentation in Jasper's wrist. I shook my head and shoved the offending party back. I heard Jasper cleanly dismantle the female in what I knew would be a series of efficient movements and focused my attention on the male.
He hopped toward me and I swept the good leg out from under him with a fancy spinning kick that I'd learned from Rosalie. When I came back around to finish him I found Jasper in my way again. He was already dismantling him. I growled and Jasper smiled up at me.
"That was totally uncalled for. I had him," I scolded and placed my hands on my hips. I took a moment to survey the field and found very little left to do. Carlisle and Emmett were both still engaged but Rosalie and Esme had started the fire and were rounding up pieces. The heavy stench of burning flesh and purple smoke were already heavy in the air.
I covered my nose briefly and searched for the nearest wolf to find out what happened up on the mountain. I reassured myself that Bella was okay. The visions still hadn't changed but being unable to see her immediate future and having no clear concept of what had happened was disconcerting. I recognized one of Bella's friends, Embry or Quil maybe - they were hard to differentiate as wolves - and immediately went to him without mentioning the incident to anyone else.
"Is she okay?" I implored him and received a one-bark, 'yes' in return. I glanced up and caught a glimpse of purple smoke from the campsite. I checked on Jane. She had seen the smoke and decided to actually do her job. "We have fifteen minutes. You should try to round everyone up and get out of here as soon as possible."
The dog nodded solemnly.
Then, I heard it. Through the dense air, a pained yelp and a crunch that would have curdled my blood if I had any. Every wolf shuddered before rushing to the same spot in the woods. I scanned the clearing and found Carlisle with his head up looking in the same direction. His fight had ended but not in the way that I would have anticipated. The newborn he had been fighting, a young girl by the look of her, was seated on the ground and Carlisle stood over her. I rushed to him, followed by Jasper.
"She surrendered," Carlisle explained. Jasper shot him an incredulous look.
"We're taking prisoners?" Jasper snapped unhappily.
"No, we'll take responsibility for her and socialize her." Carlisle indicated the small vampire.
"Carlisle," Jasper protested.
"Dr. Cullen, it's Jacob Black! Come quick!" A shout came from the woods. The three of us lifted our heads to see a boy shouting and waving from the trees.
"Oh no, Bella isn't going to take that well," I hummed.
"There's been enough death today, son. Will you watch her?" Carlisle looked pointedly at the woods. "I think I'm needed."
"Carlisle, we have about thirteen minutes," I warned. He nodded and ran off to the woods.
An image of Edward carrying Bella swam to the front of my mind, it was only a minute or two in the future. She was frantically demanding that he tell her who was injured. It was like watching an oncoming train wreck. He told her that it was Jacob and Bella went limp. I sighed and turned my attention to our captive. We needed to move her to the other side of the fire to prevent Edward from bringing Bella too close to the feral newborn.
"We need to move her," I told Jasper and noticed that he was surreptitiously rubbing his arm. "Stings, does it?"
"Just a bit," he responded. I sniffed and shook my head. "Let's go." He grabbed the girl by the shoulder and dragged her to the other side of the fire. The scent of burning vampire flesh was stronger there and I could tell that Jasper hoped that it would help ward off the young vampire's bloodlust when Bella showed up.
We had ten minutes until the Volturi arrived when Edward made it into the clearing with Bella draped across his arms like a heroin in a B-movie. Edward's overly dramatic expression didn't help the scene seem any less like a bad dramatization. Bella was fine. She had passed out because she barely slept during the week leading up to the fight and she was unprepared for the intense emotion of having her friend, the dog, wounded. It was too much for her. I could see her waking up and that she'd be fine for the time being.
"So, what's the verdict?" Jasper asked.
"There's no more trouble today," I sighed. "Her change will have to be soon, though. Otherwise we're looking at an all out war."
"We'll worry about that another day," he commented.
"The only thing to worry about is what I can't see." I nodded toward the woods. Jacob Black was the one thing that could throw a massive monkey wrench into our lives. His relationship with Bella would determine how soon the impending fight with the Volturi would take place. At some point, no matter what, we would have to fight them. I looked at my family, Carlisle, Esme; Edward huddled around Bella; Rosalie and Emmett watching the perimeter; and Jasper watched the prisoner while I watched the future.