Alice's eyes were wide – seeming to stare through Edward even as he sat directly in front of her, reading her vision. We all watched her intently. Carlisle had a slight frown on his face – he, of course, never really liked these confrontational situations. Myself, on the other hand? I would probably be shaking with excitement if I were human. I cracked my knuckles – how could I not want to go out and kick some newborn vamp ass?
"It's an alley in Seattle. I've got a fairly good fix on its location now," Edward said, right as Alice began pulling out of the future.
"You three better get going…" Alice added on, writing the nearest intersection down on a piece of paper. Jasper took it from her, and there was a moment where their eyes met, something powerful flowing between them. I rolled my eyes… this kinda sucked. Was I actually going to be forever alone? Jasper pressed a soft kiss to her forehead before getting up. I looked away. Usually, I'd take any chance to tease my siblings but I was too grumpy to try now.
We began making our way to the garage, and I sulked behind all the couples. My excitement had been dampened by the feeling of being a perpetual seventh wheel. Even Edward, of all people, had found someone who wanted to deal with him. Jasper had Alice, Carlisle had Esme, Edward now had Bella and a daughter, and I, Emmett Cullen, had absolutely no one. Edward tossed a sympathetic look over his shoulder, no doubt at my thoughts.
Get out of my head, god dammit! I thought in my head for his benefit. I unlocked my Jeep getting into the driver's seat. Impatient from all the good byes, I revved my engine and put myself in the hunting zone, needing this even more now so I could get rid of this dark mood.
ooo
We parked in the first place we could find on the streets at the intersection Alice had given us. The drive hadn't done anything for my sourness and I channeled it towards determination. The moment we got out, I began scenting the air, just about instantly picking up the newborn's trail. It seemed to be going away from the direction of the alley.
Us three brothers looked between each other, but it was Jasper who gave the orders, in his usual militaristic manner when it came to these sorts of things – and of course we listened, it was his area of expertise, after all. "Edward and I will follow the trail. He'll call you if we find the newborn. You sweep the area – call us if you catch a fresher scent."
My eyes narrowed at having been given the run around job, rather than the attack itself. But I could see the logic. Jasper never did anything without properly strategizing. My strength was a big asset, so if I was sprung by the newborn, I'd be able to handle it alone. However, he would take the direct attack because he had the most experience with newborns, and between his emotional mojo and Edward's mind reading and speed, they'd manage a quick take down, so it was best they directly set on the path to find it.
Pushing away the feelings of discontent and frustration, I set in the direction of the alley as the place to begin my sweep, while they began on the trail. Stupid newborn couldn't have stayed where it was supposed to be. I wondered what changed between the time of Alice's vision and now. My phone began ringing quietly in my pocket. Upon pulling it out, I found: Alice. I swiped to pick up the call and – BLOOD.
I felt venom build up in my mouth as I processed the alley – of course, the sensation was pretty distracting. The smell rose over the stink of the alley, and my ears pinpointed on a faint, sputtering heartbeat. Once I really caught the feel of it, everything else faded away. My eyes roved over the alley trying to find the source.
What happened next was a blur for me. With a speed that could've maybe have rivaled Jasper – even I wasn't cocky enough to try and match Edward there – I shoved aside a large dumpster almost instinctively, leaving huge dents in the metal which I picked up on at some deep subconscious level. There. A pool of blood. Somehow I was over her now, some part of me at the back of my mind processing the bleeding girl under me.
The blood was coming from her side, a dark red stain spreading through her shirt, pumping out with her wavering heartbeat. I took a deep breath and then held it, as I reached down to press two fingers to her wrist, red and slick. I could hear her heart beat, this really wasn't necessary, I tried to remind myself, yet, seeing that bright crimson staining my fingers I couldn't help it. It smelled so good… She was so close… It wouldn't hurt her for me to just take a taste… Not at all. I could hear Carlisle screaming in the back of my head as I couldn't help but take a taste off my fingertips. My eyes dropped shut at this feeling – no amount of mountain lions could compare. I felt a snarl build up, rumble in my chest, oh, yes, this – I needed it.
That's when her eyes opened. They were dark, I saw, with her fear, her pain, the revulsion, the desperation. It snapped me out of the haze. Guilt rolled over me and I quickly reached out towards her to pick her up, to run her to Carlisle. She scrambled back, hitting the wall of the alley – as if she could escape me, as if that wall did anything but leave me more room to –
"Please, please, please don't hurt me!" She cried out. NO. The word broke into my thoughts as if someone had shouted it in my ear.
I steeled my resolve shoving the guilt away, and offering my hand in as gentle and non-threatening a manner as I could, "Let me take you to help, I don't want to hurt you."
Her hands still pushed me away and I knew that wouldn't help. I batted her hands aside as softly as I could, like they were mosquitoes despite the fact that she was fighting her hardest. I cradled her to my chest, standing up. "I swear I'm not going to hurt you, just please stop screaming." I murmured to her, holding her carefully, trying to restrain her enough that she wouldn't be able to continue her thrashing. She was losing more and more blood and as the warmth seeped through my clothing and against my skin, I knew I had to do something before I became the monster again.
I held her up easily in one arm, using my hands to firmly grab her face and make her look at me. "I'm not going to hurt you!" I told her, my tone and expression earnest and probably panicked. Something about this seemed to calm her, and she nodded weakly, going limp in my grasp. Now that I didn't have to worry about her injuring herself, I carefully gathered her up and began moving up the ladder on the side of the building. There was no way I could risk getting stuck in traffic with her like this. I'd need to get her to Carlisle. Especially if she had been bit.
Once on the roof, and moving, I dialed Jasper. As soon as he picked up, I spoke into the phone- "Jasper, I found a girl-"
"Emmett, I can't let your weakness for women get in the way!" Jasper snapped and hung up on me.
Idiot! I thought, as I called him again, jumping between two of the roofs. Luckily it was approaching midnight and the cloud cover over the city was making me as unnoticeable as possible.
Jasper picked up again and sighed exasperated, "What?"
"This girl was in the alley Alice was talking about. She's bleeding, I think the newborn hurt her and ran off for some reason – maybe it sensed us, I don't know. I'm running her to Carlisle; bring my car back when you come." I murmured into the phone as fast as I could.
"We'll get the newborn. Edward thinks we're getting close. See you at home." With that response I hung up on Jasper, putting the phone back in my pocket. With one less thing to manage in this balancing act, I focused completely on the task of getting this girl to Carlisle, listening intently to her heartbeat as I propelled myself over the rooftops.