Disclaimer: I own nothing.

The Edge of Night

Chapter 1: In the Air Tonight

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Well I remember, I remember don't worry
How could I ever forget, it's the first time, the last time we ever met
But I know the reason why you keep your silence up, no you don't fool me
The hurt doesn't show; but the pain still grows
It's no stranger to you or me

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The roar of an engine, a blur of sleek black and silver. A young man was dozing in the passenger seat, a journal and assorted newspapers in his lap. The other was driving, his eyes on the road as he sang along softly to an old rock classic. They were coming to them. Alice blinked out of her stupor, meeting the concerned topaz eyes of her husband, Jasper.

"Okay?" he asked softly, more out of reflex than anything, reaching up to lightly touch her face. He knew that the visions rarely hurt her physically- it was more the disorienting effect that concerned him.

She flashed him a dazzling smile, nodding as she allowed him to press her back to a laying position on the couch. "Yes," she answered softly, running a tiny hand through her black, close cropped hair as she ran over the details again in her mind. "Those two I saw before. . . the brothers. You remember? The younger one is a Seer, like me. . . they're coming to Forks."

Jasper tensed where he knelt beside her. "The hunters?" he asked sharply, beginning to rise. "Then we must alert the others at once-"

The light clasp of her marble fingers around his wrist caused him to pause, glancing down at her. "I don't think that it will be that simple," she murmured, sitting up. "They aren't coming to hunt us. In fact, I don't believe they even know we're here at all."

"Then what are they coming for?" he inquired, raising a pale blond eyebrow in question.

Her eyes seemed to become veiled by mist again, seeing something beyond him and their room. Jasper waited patiently beside her, wrapping her in soothing calm as he held her hands in his lap. The honey gold depths cleared suddenly, and she exhaled shakily, looking to him. "They're coming because of our sister."

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"Y'know, to be perfectly honest with you Sammy, I never thought we'd find her."

"Yeah, me neither," Sam returned, his eyes on the page of the journal he was reading. "At least not alive, anyway. What I can't figure out is how she ended up in a small town in Washington."

Dean shrugged, concentrating on navigating through the winding roads. "Who knows? Maybe the Demon never got her like we thought. Maybe she managed to get away and was hiding out here."

A slight frown creased Sam's brow. "Maybe. I'm not sure." He lifted his gaze from the lined pages covered in his father's handwriting to stare out the window at the rain and landscape, momentarily taken aback by how green everything was. It was a sure sight different from Kansas or California. But then, Sam had always preferred places where warmth and sunshine were dominant. Places like Forks, Washington were almost depressing.

"It's not a place I would have picked," he admitted to his brother.

He laughed, grinning. "I'm with you there. But then, maybe Ava has different tastes."

The younger brother didn't answer, reaching into the pile of papers on the seat between them to pull out the photograph Ash had sent them less than a week ago. A slender, delicate young woman with shoulder length brown hair was walking with a group of six others, her face turned slightly to the side to listen to something one of the others was saying to her. It was a poor picture, the quality low and the image blurred. Even then, there was no mistaking her. Ava Wilson.

His brow scrunched as he examined the picture for what seemed like the thousandth time, recalling what Ash had told him as he handed it over to the brothers.

"I finally found something on your missing girl," he'd told them, setting down his drink and pulling a photo out of the stack of papers he was rifling through. "Sorry 'bout the quality- the hunter who took it isn't much for cameras. I cleared up the image the best I could and made it bigger. Is it her?"

Sam took the picture and stared down at it while Dean tried to peer at it over his shoulder. "Yeah," he said after a long pause, his voice oddly strained and relieved at the same time. "Its Ava alright."

Ash grinned, rubbing his knuckles against his plaid shirt and blowing on them. "Another victory for the great Ash. You are most welcome."

"Thanks a lot," Sam murmured distractedly, his eyes still fixed on the image.

Clearing his throat, Dean asked pointedly, "So, where is she?"

"A small town in Washington state," Ash replied, pulling a map towards the brothers and circling a miniscule dot on it. "Forks. Really tiny, out of the way place in the middle of some impressive wilderness. All in all, a good place to hide. Any idea what she might be doin' there?"

Sam didn't seem to hear. "She looks alright, don't you think, Dean?"

"Sure she does, Sammy," his brother said soothingly, understanding the current of worry in the other's tone. Addressing Ash, he added, "We'll let you know the answer to that when we find out. Thanks again."

"No problem," Ash replied, smirking as he watched the brothers walk out the door. "Any time."

"We should be there in an hour or so," Dean said suddenly, breaking through Sam's reverie. "How do you figure we find her?"

Frowning slightly, Sam shook his head. "I'm not sure. The traditional way, I suppose."

"Look her up in the phone book, and if she's not listed, ask around?"

"Yup."

Dean frowned, glancing over at his brother who was staring from the picture back out into the rain, then back to the picture again. "You okay?"

Sam blinked, managing to drag his mind away from his drifting thoughts to focus on the sound of Dean's voice. "I think so," he said slowly. "Its just. . . I'm worried about what we'll find when we get there."

"Why?"

"I don't really know," he answered. "I mean, Ava looks fine, but that's not to say that she isn't possessed or anything. I just hope. . ." his voice trailed off and Dean glanced at him sharply.

"You haven't had any visions, have you?"

He shook his head, rubbing his forehead absently. "No. Its just an uneasy feeling."

Dean frowned, turning his eyes reluctantly back to the road as he pondered his next words. "Well, your feelings are usually right. We'll just have to be extra careful, that's all."

Sam nodded silently, sliding the picture back into the pile of papers as he settled back into his seat to brood out the window at the falling rain. What had really happened the night Ava had vanished? Did she know about her fiance's death? It was something he had wondered about for- how long had it been? Five months? Had it really been so long?

He rested his forehead against the cool window, his eyes closing. That night he could remember in perfect detail. The dark house, the destruction, sulfur, and bloody man in the bedroom. The tiny, glittering ring on the carpet. And finally, at last, his search for the missing woman had come to an end. Almost, Sam reminded himself. They still had to find her- though in such a small town as Forks, how hard could it be?

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"You're being awfully quite today, Edward. Is something wrong?"

Bella's sweet, questioning voice made him blink, turning topaz eyes on her. She cocked her head to the side, causing her long dark brown hair to slide across one shoulder, her eyes filled with gentle concern. He smiled back at her, sliding an arm around her waist.

"Not really. We're just going to have some visitors soon."

Her eyes flooded with alarm, and she couldn't keep the note of panic from her voice. "Visitors? Please, tell me they're of the vegetarian variety."

He chuckled, nuzzling the side of her head as he inhaled deeply of her fragrant floral scent. "I don't know what their eating habits are, but I can assure you, you don't have to worry about them eating you."

"That's a relief," she returned with a beaming smile, twisting in his arms to look up at him. "So are you going to explain at all, or do I have to guess?"

He exhaled slowly, glad that his siblings had gone on a special hunting trip this week, to prepare for their visitors, glad that they weren't there to put their concerns and thoughts in. "Alice has had a couple of visions about a pair of brothers. They're going to be coming to town looking for something sometime soon."

"That doesn't sound so bad," she remarked. "Why the big fuss?"

Edward hesitated for a moment before admitting reluctantly, "Because they aren't normal humans. They're hunters. They hunt supernatural creatures to protect people."

"Like vampires?" The alarm was back in her voice, a worry wrinkle appearing on her brow. "And. . . and werewolves?"

"Sometimes," he sighed. "But that's not what they're here for. They don't even know we're here."

She was quiet for a moment, watching the other students wandering around the small cafeteria and mingling with friends. "So why the cause for worry?" she asked at last.

The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch and they rose, his fingers automatically twining with hers as they moved off in the direction of their next class. "We're not sure how they'll react to us," he said at last. "If they discover us, which is most likely going to happen. They are looking for Ava, after all."

Comprehension flooded Bella's eyes and she nodded slowly. "So. . .what's the plan then?"

"We're going to try to keep a low profile and keep Ava out of sight," Edward murmured as they took their seats. "Obviously, the hunters will be asking questions. There's nothing we can do about that. If you do run into them, answer their questions the best you can, with the least amount of information and leave it at that."

"Are they looking for her to hurt her?" Bella inquired softly.

The bronze haired vampire hesitated, admitting, "Alice says they aren't, but I would still rather be safe than sorry. There's no need to take unnecessary risks with anyone's safety."

Her voice dropped a few octaves lower so only he could hear, pretending to look at the worksheet the teacher had just handed out. "Then you know I'll be careful. I care about Ava too."

Edward touched her hand lightly. "Thank you," he told her earnestly before taking up his pencil to help her fill in the questions, though naturally, he already knew all the answers.

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"I haven't seen a single glimpse of her," Dean grumbled, walking into the motel room, a Mountain Dew and a bag of beef jerky in his hands. "I wandered around the school yard, browsed through the library, and checked out the super market. No luck. And get this, the few people I got to talk to me? None of them have even heard of an Ava Wilson." He ripped the plastic bag open, stuffing a piece of jerky into his mouth. "Vou vantsh shome?" he asked, mouth full as he held out the bag.

His brother winkled his nose, shaking his head at Dean's lack of manners but took a small chunk of the jerky, chewing and swallowing before responding. "Well, I didn't have much luck either. I walked through the neighborhoods, and checked out the park. No sign of her," Sam sighed, running his hand distractedly through his hair. "I think we should go look around the sporting-goods store and the gas station."

Dean groaned, opening the soda and taking a huge gulp. "Right, right," he muttered. "Major hot spots in a place like this."

Sam chuckled slightly, rising. "Lets go check it out then." He had taken no more than three steps towards the door when his vision suddenly blurred and he gasped, hands rising to his head as he fell to his knees, dimly aware of his brother's voice calling out to him frantically. But he could no longer see him. He could only see the vision searing through his mind.

A small, delicate, pixie-like girl with short black hair was speaking to a brunette girl with chocolate brown eyes in a huge, well-lit room, a grand piano just visible behind them.

"Edward will be back soon," the black haired girl was saying. "Don't worry."

"I can't help it," the brunette sighed. "You know that, Alice. If the Quileutes find out about the treaty being broken. . ."

"They won't," Alice assured her, laying a hand on the girl's arm. "Don't worry. For all they know, Ava could have come from somewhere else. They can't prove anything."

Sadness suddenly flooded the girl's warm brown eyes, and she looked away. "They'd know if it were me. . ."

Alice's strange topaz gaze was full of understanding as she hugged the other girl gently. "Don't worry," she murmured. "I told you, that vision hasn't changed, and it never will." She pulled back, beaming as she brushed a stray lock of hair back from the other girl's face. "No one ever bets against me, remember?"

"Of course."

Sam's eyes were suddenly staring back into his brother's anxious face and he exhaled slowly, shakily. "I'm fine, don't worry," he said automatically, shakily trying to adjust to his bearings once again.

"What was it?" Dean demanded, helping his younger brother to his feet. "What did you see?"

"I. . . I don't really know," he murmured. "No one was in danger or anything. There were two girls, talking about something. A lot of it didn't make sense, but. . they mentioned Ava. Nothing that could really help us though."

Dean frowned, his mind racing. "Maybe, maybe not. Those girls might be from around here, right? Would you recognize them if you saw them?"

"I guess so," Sam replied, still disoriented, allowing Dean to guide him out the door and to the car.

"Then lets go look for them," was the response.

Ten minutes later they were walking into the sporting-goods store. A few people were wandering around, mostly people in hunting outfits, though there was a teenage boy and girl who looked as if they worked there. Sam glanced around, checking, but there was no sign of Ava at all.

"Okay. . ." Dean murmured. "I'll go talk to the blond guy over there."

"You're letting me take the girl?" Sam asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well. . . you're better with getting chicks to talk to you," his brother admitted. "All you have to do is turn those puppy dog eyes on them and they'll tell you whatever you want to know."

He punched Dean's arm and he returned the favor, laughing softly to himself as he crossed the store to speak with the blond teenager. Exhaling slowly, Sam turned on a friendly smile before walking over to the slender brunette girl. She was kneeling on the floor, sorting boxes of fishing lures into their proper area when he stopped behind her.

"Excuse me?"

She glanced over her shoulder, her deep brown eyes immobilizing him momentarily before she smiled and stood up. "Hi. Can I help you with something?"

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And I can feel it coming in the air tonight, Oh Lord
I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, Oh Lord
I can feel it in the air tonight, Oh Lord, Oh Lord
And I've been waiting for this moment all my life, Oh Lord, Oh Lord

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