"You like the movie, Rose?"
"No. But I liked the fact that there were three other people in the theater, and we sat in the back," replied Rosalie Hale, smirking seductively at her fiancé, Emmett McCarty.
He grinned broadly, the dimples showing in his boyish face. "If you ask me, that was the best part."
"You didn't even pay attention to the plot," scoffed Rosalie. "Though, I didn't either. Maybe I was just too preoccupied with the sexy thing next to me."
Emmett turned and kissed her as they continued walking. "Ditto." The part of town they were in was hardly prepossessing; in fact, it was downright dangerous. If you wanted to be raped, mugged, or murdered, just go to the slums of Seattle, particularly the area the happy couple was strolling through. Of course, you didn't need to be afraid of human thugs when you were a creature of the night, a vampire with godlike strength.
The street was dark—to human, not vampire, eyes—aside from the occasional flickering streetlamp. Rosalie wrapped a marble arm around Emmett and kissed him in turn. He groaned loudly, a guttural growl like that of the bear that had nearly killed him so many years past. She giggled. "Shall we finish this at home?" she purred.
Emmett leaned his forehead against hers. "I'm sure Alice is already evacuating the house." Rose smiled fondly. She hated being a vampire with all her unbeating heart, but Emmett and the rest of her immortal family made her happier than any woman on Earth. Before she could muse any more about her perpetual bliss, a man ran out of the alley in front of them, purse in hand, zipping up his fly.
Emmett tensed, snapping his head up and glaring at the person before them. An animalistic snarl tore out of Rosalie's chest. She knew exactly what that bastard had done. The question was, to whom had he done it to? The coward's eyes bulged and he ran in the opposite direction. "I've got him," growled Emmett. He sprinted away, flying like the wind itself. Rosalie ran into the alley. If the man's victim was injured, she'd have to get her to a hospital. She had enough control to resist spilt blood.
A choking, gurgling noise caught Rose's attention. On the ground lay a dark-haired girl, a knife handle protruding from her chest. Her jeans and underwear had been torn off. Rosalie knelt at the teen's side. A dry sob burst out of her, and an eighty year old memory of herself in the same position flashed through her mind. Suddenly, the girl convulsed and thick blood poured from her mouth, wetting her almost black hair and pooling on the ground.
"Help. Me," she gurgled, blue eyes boring into Rosalie's golden ones.
"I will," whispered Rosalie, placing one hand on the girl's check and wrapping one around the knife. Her heartbeat was muffled. The blade had grazed her heart and pierced the cavity around it. Now, the most vital organ in her body was drowning in the life-giving fluid that it worked so hard to circulate. "This is going to hurt." Rose pulled out the knife. The teen arched off the ground. Her lips curled back in a silent scream of agony. She wasn't going to live much longer. If Rosalie were human, her heart would have been racing. Let her pass or make her into a monster? Let her pass or make her into a monster? she thought frantically.
The girl spat up more blood. It splattered onto Rosalie's hands and stained her short red dress. The poor thing mustered up the last of her strength and clutched her dress in a steel grip. "I don't…want…to die." More blood flew from her lips.
"You don't want the help I can offer, darling," she whispered sadly and wrapped the trembling hand in two of her own.
Emmett had appeared at the end of the alley, cell phone pressed against his ear. "Do it, Rose. Change her. Alice just saw her, and it's better than letting her die." The girl drew in a ragged gasp, and her fingers slackened. She was fading fast.
"Emmett, I—I can't. She'll hate me—"
"No, she won't! Do you trust Alice's vision or not? She hasn't failed us yet." The girl's eyes rolled back, and she went limp. Her fighting heart was beginning to fail and sputter to a halt.
"But—"
Abruptly, Alice shrieked over the phone, "SHE'S GOING TO DIE!" Like a striking snake, she bent down and bit the girl's neck. A moment and a half later, her heart sprang back to life. It was beating much too fast but it was strong and steady. Rose called up every bit of her willpower and pulled away.
While putting the teen's clothes back on, she said, "Go get the car. I'll have to run the girl—"
"Her name's Helena," Alice chirped over the phone. Emmett shot it an exasperated look and snapped it shut.
"—over the rooftops before she starts screaming. Call Alice back, too. She can give you directions to wherever I end up outside of Seattle." Emmett looked loathe to leave his fiancé alone. "Go!" she hissed and picked Helena up. Like some action movie ninja, she did a bank shot off the alley walls and began racing across the rooftops. She was going 110mph, easy. Edward could have gone faster, but she was still more than able to get Helena out of town before the screaming began.
Rose had just danced through the suburbs when Helena flinched and let out a loud whimper. Regret welled in her chest. If Helena didn't hate her for changing her, Rose would hate herself for the pain she had caused the poor girl. Five minutes later, she'd gotten out of Seattle and met Emmett on a deserted back road. Helena was beginning to thrash and cry out sporadically. It would only get worse before it got any better.
Emmett opened the back door of his Jeep for Rosalie. "How's she doing?" he asked softly.
Rose climbed in and rested Helena's head in her lap. "She's going to live, but the pain's getting worse. Carlisle won't be able to give her any morphine. Too late for that." Helena arched her back and let out a piercing scream, as if to confirm Rosalie's statement. "Let's get her home." Emmett closed the door and returned to the drivers' side.
After an hour of reckless driving, they were almost home. Helena's screams were almost unbearable. She thrashed violently and kicked a massive dent in the Jeep's door. Emmett's golden eyes widened. "Christ, if she can do that now, imagine her when she wakes up. We'd better take Nessie to the Blacks' house."
Rose hummed in agreeance. "Speaking of lives in danger…what did you do with the man?"
He shifted uncomfortably. "He's dead. Snapped his neck, I didn't drink from him." Her eyes widened in shock. "Damn it, Rose, don't look at me like that! You know you would've tracked him down as soon as we got Helena home, or she would've found him as soon as she woke up and found out what happened. The two of you have clean records so far. Just doing a favor."
She bit her lip and hung her head. "I didn't think of it like that. Sorry." Emmett huffed and drove faster. His little tantrum wasn't a problem; Rose could always make it up to him that night or the next. As he turned onto their dirt drive, Helena began to scream even more violently. The couple caught snatches of, "It burns!"
The woods around them suddenly opened up. In the middle of a clearing was the Cullen's three story white house. Every member of their family—plus a few Quileute Wolves, much to Rosalie's displeasure—was standing outside. Half a second after Emmett had parked, Carlisle rushed over and threw open the door. He was all business from the start. "How long has it been since you bit her?"
"About an hour and a half," she answered somberly.
Carlisle picked Helena up and rushed into the house, everyone following close behind. "What about her injuries?"
"Knife to her chest," she managed to say over Helena's screams. "It must have grazed her heart…there was a lot of bleeding. I think there was some bleeding into her lungs, too."
Sam Uley stormed up to them as they began to climb the stairs. "Does the treaty mean anything to you people?" he hissed.
"She was about to die, Sam," said Carlisle in an icy tone. "And Alice saw that she's not going to be any trouble."
"A newborn that's no trouble?" scoffed Sam. "I highly doubt that."
Carlisle looked beyond irritated. "If it makes you happy, we can take her to the Denali Coven as soon as she wakes. Jacob, can Renesmee stay with you after Helena comes to?"
This seemed to brighten Jacob's day, but Bella was quick to object. "No. She's staying with Charlie. Sorry, Jake. I love you but not that much." Edward smiled smugly while Jake folded his arms and seethed.
Rose was beyond exasperated. "Give her to me, Carlisle. I'll get her on the table while you and the—" She mulled over her words, angry at their immaturity but still not wanting to start a fight— "pack sort things out."
Reluctantly, he passed the screaming girl to Rosalie. "Are you sure you can—"
"I changed her, didn't I?" she snapped and walked away. Helena kicked a few dents in the walls as she was carried to the white room. Rose nudged open the door with her foot, and memories came flooding back. The metal table in there had been Bella's pyre while she was changing. Her anger flared once more. Bella had chosen her fate and didn't have to scream once or feel the pain that everyone else had. Rosalie and Helena had no choice, yet they had to suffer. It just wasn't fair.
"MOTHER!" Helena screamed desperately. Rose's unbeating heart broke.
She placed a cool hand on Helena's cheek and whispered, "It'll be over soon, darling." Unable to look at the girl any longer, she turned and fled the room, golden hair streaming behind her.