Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. I only own what I come up with.
I don't know the last time I actually dreamed. It was probably right after I had made it back to the caves. Alone. After Sammy and Paul had found me. They had, at first, made sure I was still me, still human. When they saw that I was, and the state of pain and brokenness I was in, they took me home. That had been the first time in almost a year I had seen my brother. He was sound asleep, curled up to the blue teddy bear I had gotten for him. I remember laying down right next to him, pulling him close to me. Seth had unconsciously turned around and buried his head in my neck. When I closed my eyes that night, falling asleep to his steady breathing, it was the last time I dreamed. It was the last time I dreamed about the happiness I had lost. But it was also the first night I dreamed about becoming the Slayer.
...
My mind was awake before I opened my eyes. Soft voices floated throughout the car, either not realizing I was awake, or not caring. Either way didn't make much of a difference to me. The only thing that annoyed me was that my neck was killing me, which in turn was giving me a massive headache.
"Unless one of you has a giant ass cup of hot coffee on you and can give fabulous neck massages, I suggest you all shut the hell up." I growled, not bothering opening my eyes. Someone- most likely Felix- chuckled a bit before I opened my eyes and sent him a trademark glare. He held up his hands, causing the others in the car to smirk. My eyes turned to them, as if daring them to say something.
Wisely, none of them spoke up. I sat up, rolling my neck to try and help soothe the muscles there. My gaze traveled out the car windows, taking in the scenery. The rows of pine trees that we were passing quickly were familiar. When we passed an oak tree that didn't belong was when the memories of him came back to me. The smell of sunshine and grass invaded my memories. I could still hear the resonating sound of his deep laugh, ringing through the air. There was a quick flash of blue eyes before I slammed the mental wall back in place.
For a single second, I almost let myself be weak. Everything about him was still very much alive in this place. Maybe it was because of the few months we had spent together, or maybe it was just the way that he was everything I could have ever hoped for. During my stay, he was the rubber band that held me together when I was ready to fall apart. He was the reason I had the courage to break out, to make a difference.
In another universe, another time, any other circumstances, it could have worked. But because of those exact conditions, we were torn apart. Now my only hope was that he was that he was dead and when I passed on, he would be waiting for me with his bright blue eyes and perfect smile. And if he was waiting for me, he better have the rest of my damn family waiting with him.
"We're about five minutes away," Felix said gently, breaking me out of my inner thoughts. I didn't reply, just focused on breathing. Letting the past get the best of me was a sign of weakness.
Rule #19 of Isabella Swan's Rules to Surviving a Vampire Takeover: The past is the past for a reason. Don't dwell on it unless you know you can use it against your enemy.
After the longest five minutes of my life, the car slowed down to a stop in front of a giant building. It was nice looking, I'll give them that. It was like one of those gothic style private school buildings, but on steroids. It held both boys and girls when I was here, but who knew what had changed since then.
All my defenses were in place as the front doors opened up. Out walked a group of boys and girls, all dressed similarly in red, black, and white uniforms. Just some of the current occupants of the Center. I recognized none of them, but they all seem to know who I was. Whether that was good or bad, I wasn't sure just yet. Their eyes were shifting back and forth between themselves, the car I was in, and the door. I already knew the drill since I had been here, but that didn't relax me in the slightest.
Rule #3 of Isabella Swan's Rules to Surviving a Vampire Takeover: Don't ever let your guard down unless you know you are safe. Considering I never really know if it's safe or not, you can guess just how many times I let my guard down.
Someone finally opened the Center doors, letting two of the Center's owners file out. My hatred burned higher as I stared at the people standing with cold smirks on top of the steps. The human boy and girls all looked at them with a slightly awe-filled look. It disgusted me, especially knowing that they were the reason for a majority of the pain I felt in my life. The figure on the left raised a hand, silently telling them to open the door for me.
One of the vampires I didn't recognize stepped out first. Soon it was only Felix and I in the stupid car. He gave my hand a little pat, before climbing out and bowing to them. I took a deep breath before crawling out the car behind him.
The sun danced across my skin, as if greeting me. Stunned silence also wrapped itself around me. Nobody knew what to say or what to do at seeing me. Not that it surprised me. I was probably one of the only humans here who knew that I was coming back. To bad they didn't know the truth about this return of mine.
"Welcome back, Isabella. You've been sorely missed."
They spoke in unison, their voices weaving together perfectly. It made me sick to my stomach, not that could tell. Rule #7 of Isabella Swan's Rules to Surviving a Vampire Takeover: Never show weakness. Always fake confidence until you actually feel it.
With that rule in mind, I replied coolly. "If only I could say the same for you two, Lucinda, Natalia. Now where is your leader? Hmmm?"
The two blonde women bristled at my tone. Behind me I could sense a few people covering their laughs by coughing but I didn't care. Something felt off without seeing the third woman. These two weren't nearly as smart or devious as her. After all, everyone but them could tell they were only there out of convenience.
"No need to be rude to my fellow coven mates." Speak of the devil, and the devil will appear. My eyes cut straight to wear she stood, perfect posture, looking very much like the demonic spawn she was. Her red eyes were much more cunning than the two ditzy girls she sometimes liked to refer to as sisters. Not she looked anything like the other two. She was shorter, for one, and then there was the fact that her hair was darker than dark chocolate.
I sent her a cold smile. "Hello, Maria."
Hi everyone! So this was a somewhat hard chapter to write on. I hope it makes sense, but if it doesn't let me know. I'll be more than happy to re-write it and fix things. Sorry it's a bit shorter than the last chapter. I'll try and make the next one longer!
Anywho! How do you guys feel about having Maria in the picture? And who is this mystery guy? Hehehe. There are a lot of plot twists ahead of us. Thanks for reading! Leave a comment if you can, I'd really appreciate it! :)