Chapter 2: Strange Vampires do Strange Things

Jasper glowered at me. No, maybe it was a glare. A murderous glare.

I tried to glare back, but the tense energy he exuded almost had me cowering. I stood my ground, summoning my courage . . . and my stubbornness.

His tawny eyes were like golden fire as he slowly crept towards me. I had to wonder, would he do as his father, Carlisle, wished? To not kill me, to let me live? I knew that those two had a father-and-son relationship, but would this vampire honor it?

"All right," Jasper said, his voice so cold that ice would've been surprised. "Listen, and listen good. I don't know why my father wishes to keep you around, and right now, I would say I didn't care, but given the circumstances, I do." He began to slowly circle me as he talked, like he circling his prey. His hands were at his sides, but I saw how his fingers twitched, like he was dying to curl them into claws, or get them around my neck and rip my head off.

"You will come with me, and you will listen to what I say," his voice had a subtle snarl to it. "If you disobey me even once, it's game over. Got it?"

I resisted the temptation of saluting him and saying, "Sir, yes, sir!" Instead, I nodded slowly.

He nodded. "Good." Then he paused. I saw that he seemed to be deep in thought about something. After a moment, he looked back at me. "Close your eyes."

That baffled me completely. Did he want my eyes closed so that he could launch a surprise attack on me? "What?"

Jasper growled deep in his throat. "Do it now. Don't question it."

Damn, damn, damn. Closing my eyes was going to leave me at a disadvantage. He obviously wanted me to go around blind for some reason. Question is, why he wanted that. Reluctantly, I shut my eyes, my instincts questioning my judgement and sanity. If I did this, I would have to rely heavily on my sense of smell and hearing. It was disconcerting. This was so strange.

"Keep your eyes closed," Jasper instructed. "You look, you lose. Now follow me."

I gritted my teeth and listened as he walked, almost silently, across the ground. I walked, smelling and listening.

It went like this for a while, and as we walked, my irritation grew. I didn't know why; I couldn't possibly feel irritated now, not when my life was in the hands of this vampire. It felt like it was outside my body, like an aura was pressing down on me or something. I pondered over this as I followed Jasper, hearing his feet breeze across the ground, smelling his scent. He had a unique scent, like the other two vampires. It was a kind of woodsy scent. I hadn't been paying attention much to Carlisle and Esme's scent. I wonder if I would ever get to smell them? I wonder if I was losing my mind while I contemplated smelling other vampires?

Yikes.

We were in a forest now. I saw that light in the area dimmed from behind my eyelids, and heard the leaves brushing against each other. I heard no animals though, I had to wonder if they were scared of something. Maybe us?

Even though my eyes were closed, I could actually feel the daggers being glared at me from Jasper, probably to see if I was obeying him. I was, like a good little vampire.

I was smelling a new scent now. It was heavy in the air. It was cloying, and it made my nose itch and burn. The only thing I could pinpoint it down to was smoke.

Oh, how I wanted to open my eyes.

Eventually, we came out of the forest. That heavy smoke smell was way, way stronger than before. I felt warmth on my skin, I could tell it was the sun. Before, I had been afraid of the sun, but now I knew better, after my adventures with Diego. Oh, God. Thinking about him hurt. An impossibly intense feeling of anguish gripped me, gripped my undead heart, and I nearly doubled over. I did stop, though, briefly, feeling a whine of longing and despair rise in my throat. I swallowed it back, and picked up the pace, walking in the sun. I saw brightness behind my eyelids, and knew that the sun was reflecting off my skin, and I was sparkling like a disco ball.

A few minutes later, I heard Jasper stop. I did, too. Then he hissed, like an enraged serpent, and next thing I knew I heard him breezing towards me and then I was knocked down onto my butt.

Before I could even complain, and I was brave enough to do so, hands clamped down on my ears. What? I started to struggle, couldn't help myself, but the snarl from Jasper had me stop immediately. I started to ask what the hell was going on but his hands tensed around my ears. I knew that he could probably rip my head off this way, or squeeze it until it exploded, so I shut up real fast.

Then I heard it, muffled as it was.

Heartbeats. Big, thudding heartbeats. I sniffed the air automatically, then winced, holding my breath, my nose wrinkling. Whatever those hearts belonged to was not human, and they reeked, like an animal. Ugh.

But I could hear the blood rushing in their veins, hear air whooshing in and out of great lungs. It was something alive, but it sure as hell wasn't human. I had maybe a second to wonder before I heard voices. At first I couldn't make it out, but then I could tell that they were . . . anxious. Then the shouting started. I heard those big thumping hearts beat wilder, in excitement or exertion. Massive impacts on the ground, and growls, lots of growls, . . . and then there was a snapping and cracking noise so loud that I heard it in detail. I cringed inwardly. And then . . . a howl. There was no other way to put it. A howl, like a wolf's howl, tore through the air.

Jasper was a anxious, tense, vampire now. I could tell by the way he gripped my ears, and by the way I heard him muttering angrily under his breath, though I couldn't make out what he was saying. It sounded like he threw in a few foul oaths. I focused on the other sounds.

The howl cut off, only to be replaced with an awful snarling noise. It sounded like it was being roared out, and like whatever was making the noise was in trouble, or in pain. I had to wonder what the hell was making this noise. Was it a vampire? Had a vampire been hurt, maybe lost a limb or two? And what of the big things I'd heard, the things that weren't vamps. The snarling continued, escalating. I wondered how this vampire's face would contort to make such a sound. Well, one thing was for sure, I noted stupidly. They had great vocal cords.

Aside from the snarling, there were other noises. I heard them, despite Jasper's attempt to make me deaf. There were other growls, low and furious, and a peculiar ripping and screeching sound. Then I heard a voice, being spoken loudly over the snarling and metallic screeching.

"Please . . . you have to . . . the injuries . . ."

Dammit. I only caught bits and pieces. But I knew that methodical voice, anxious as it was now. It was Carlisle's. I felt a little bit of relief in my body, my own emotion now, that he sounded fine. I had worried briefly that he might have been hurt.

There was a growl, menacing, like an angry beast protecting its young, but then there was another one. It was a growl, and all growls are meant to tell people to back the hell off, but this one wasn't menacing. It was like . . . a calm growl, if there was such a thing. I listened the best I could, feeling unbelievably frustrated that I couldn't open my eyes and see what was going on, or listen for real.

There was another calm-sounding growl, and then I heard Carlisle say, "Thank you."

The snarling had slowly went from anguished, to small pain-filled growls, and a little bit of whimpering. The hands on my ears tightened, and I almost couldn't hear anything, and after a few infuriating minutes, they loosened a bit, but I heard now growling or whimpering now. No big heartbeats either.

Well, damn.

I was unbelievably curious as to what had just gone down. I tried to categorize it all and come up with a final conclusion. All right, there was something that was big and alive, here, with the vampires. Then something had happened, something that caused everyone to kind of freak out. Then the screeching and ripping sound, and then that awful howl. Follow that with the snarling of the howler vamp, and then Carlisle asking to . . . I guess help someone. So, that made a lot of sense. Ha. As if. I didn't have a freaking clue. Jeez. I wish I could have looked, but I liked my head connected to my body.

For a little bit, I sat there, my only sense that wasn't prohibited my sense of smell. The strongest scent was that smoke, and another heavy scent. Something like perfume, like someone put on way too much. Or maybe incense. Hmm. Why did it seem so familiar? As I wondered, I noticed that Jasper, who had been relatively calm, tense up all over again. If anything, he was as tense as a crossbow about to release an arrow.

Then I smelled it.

It was a human, a human who smelled too good to be true. I recognized this scent almost instantly; it was the scent that Riley had trained us to track, from that red blouse. I inhaled automatically, and the scent sent my throat burning, like a blazing fire. Holy Mary, Mother of God! It was unbelievable how this scent wiped all thought from my mind, all thought but one. To get to that human and drink the blood. That was all I wanted to do, all I needed to do.

I found myself in a crouch before I even considered the action. My eyes flew open and I took in the detail of where I was vaguely. I was in a clearing, a clearing, I remembered, had been the scene of that mighty battle where my coven had been pulled apart, quite literally. A huge fire, the size of a bonfire, was near me, sending a choking cloud of black smoke rising to the sky. I saw all this, but my eyes were searching wildly for that scent, that human with that intoxicating scent. I wanted it, I needed it.

Jasper snarled furiously, and pulled me down roughly. I landed, but lurched right back up, the scent sending me into a blood craze I had no hope of coming out of until I got that blood. Jasper faced me, in a crouch mimicking a lion's stance, eyes narrowed. He was going to stop me. But I had more strength than him, I knew that because of what Riley said. I would fight him, there was no question. I had to wonder if I'd survive, and I knew that I had no hope in hell.

But my mind was already saying that it didn't care, just as long as I got that blood.

The blood-scent teased me relentlessly and I hissed.

The blood was mine.

I didn't care what stood in my way.

A/N: I apologize for the late update. It's been hectic after the holidays and I'm still recovering. Anyways, what do you think? I worked on this chapter this afternoon and was surprised at how Bree came out in this chapter. I worked hard to get her character they way SM did, but then again, I'm no SM.

I hope I didn't ruin anyones views of the Twilight characters. I try hard to keep them as they are, but my mind likes to do other things.

Anyways, a review would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!