Chapter three
Complications
Will had made me promise to wait. To see if anything else happened. So I had to tell Paul and the others about my searching trip. It was too late to change my mind now. I had made my choice, and had worked out a plan perfectly. I just hoped that I would be forgiven one day...
"Ruby, Violet, Richard, Paul?" I called nervously. They appeared at once, Ruby with a book in her hand, Violet obviously had nothing better to do, Richard in the middle of an email and Paul smiling at me like always. That helped me feel a bit better.
"Yes, Anne?" Violet asked. She was staring at me curiously. Maybe I looked a little bad. I didn't care.
"Well, there's something I need to tell you." I whispered, staring at a painting as I spoke. One of Paul's favourites...
"We guessed that. What's wrong, Anne?" Paul's smile stayed, but with a hint of concern.
"I – I need to leave Dallas – to find Oscar. Will and I have a theory that has proof, but I need to go with him. Vivian's gone now too...We need to find them both as soon as possible. I want you to stay here and keep guard for me." I whispered and my voice broke on the last sentence. There was a long silence, and they all exchanged glances. They trusted me, as strongest of the family, the only person with a gift, and Paul respected me. He wouldn't stop me going, but I knew he hated seeing his family he created leave him. I saw how it hurt him – I promised myself, I swore to myself, that I would come back for him – For them.
"We'll stay waiting, Anne; As long as you want. Be careful." Richard seemed to take it all in, and he was confident that I would come back. He was very alert suddenly, as if he was also taking in the danger. He glanced around himself, frowning slightly.
"I want you all to promise me you won't hurt yourselves while I'm gone." I said, and then grinned. "So wait until I'm back so I can kill you if you do."
"Ha ha. We promise, Anne. Take care." Violet said. She was also sad to see me go, by far the most eager to experiment with my gift. She was very pretty, the easiest to talk to, and she was usually very quiet. She tried to distract herself, staring aimlessly around the house, as she had done a lot of times. The way she inspected it, though, made it seem like it was her first time entering the house. I smiled slightly at her. Paul and I had thought that was her gift. Whatever she wanted people to think she was doing, we thought it. It was annoying though, when she was being sarcastic. If I was asking "Are you okay, Violet?" And she would say "No." I would rush in, concerned, and she would laugh. It was very distracting sometimes.
"Yes, Take care. We love you." Ruby said. Ruby sounded far away, like she was concentrating on something else. Knowing her, she probably was.
"Thanks Vi, Ruby. I love you all, and thank you Paul, for understanding."
"Of course; Take care, sweet one." He replied. I hugged them all, whispering goodbyes and thankyous. I grabbed a bag of clothes, a lot of pictures and ran through the door, unable to meet any of their eyes.
I was attending university like normal, staring through my lectures, not caring if I did something wrong or offended someone. I heard whispers all day.
"Like in a trance, you know. I'm not going to snap her out of it, probably make her so furious, and you know what she's been like lately –" They caught me looking, and turned away, eyes wary. I felt like killing them, ripping them apart, they knew nothing...but I knew I wouldn't. I couldn't draw any attention, none at all, so I stared down at my desk and pretended that I was listening to the tutor. The whispers continued, and anyone who tried to get close either got a sharp rude remark from me, or I glared at them. One boy, idiotic fool, tried to ask me out. Maybe he was blind, but he ignored my glare and I had to give him a little hint that I wasn't interested. I was a little cold, but I didn't care. Nothing mattered here.
I couldn't wait to meet Will. I wanted to explain that nothing was going to happen, and we should start searching now, right now; anything to get away early.
"Will, we should go –" I started. He interrupted me for once.
"Anne, something is coming....Something big." He whispered in a low, tense voice. He grabbed my arm, and we ran together into the forest.
"What did you say?" I whispered, not sure if my imagination had gone overboard. Something was coming...but...what? What could possibly happen now? I gasped as a horrific thought rushed into my head. Paul, Richard, Vivian and Ruby...left unprotected to the danger that was focusing on all of us. I tried to remember seeing their faces at university, meeting them at lunch, anything...Will interrupted my rash thoughts.
"Something is going to turn up exactly two hours from now, a clan...nine of them. I'm not sure what they want to do, but I saw them walking through the south end of the forest this morning." He stared at me, as if expecting me to make a plan. I glanced south, tensing myself.
"We wait." I said.
"But Anne, we don't know what they are here for. They might want to kill us." He said, squeezing my arm. I shook him off.
"We wait. If we die, I will be sent to hell, where I deserve to be. Oscar's probably dead now." I stared into the forest, hoping...
"No Anne, don't give up." He started pushing me away from the forest, eyes wary.
"Leave me alone! That isn't your decision to make!" I screamed, furious. He looked pained.
"Anne, we have to run. Run away." He whispered, staring into my eyes. "Trust me on this." It was hard then to refuse, to stop myself from running right then, but I managed.
"What about Paul and the others? We can't leave them. I won't leave them. Dammit, Will! Why did this have to happen now? When we want to leave?" That distracted me for a moment. Whoever it was, might have known we would be leaving. Looking for some sign of weakness, knowing that we were leaving, trying to stop us getting to Vivian and Oscar. So it was planned. Then thoughts came flooding into my mind, buzzing and humming. "Some of their thoughts are coming into range now. They don't seem angry, thirsty...more...overjoyed about something – Celebrating." I spat the last word. He still looked cautious. "Maybe they just hunted here, and will pass. We can't run now. I can't leave Paul. I don't care if I die. You know I don't, Will."
"If you won't go, I will. Anne, I won't leave Vivian to suffer the way she is. You may want to die, but I won't hurt Vivian that way. I thought you would say the same about Oscar, but..." He tested to see if his plan worked. I ignored him, knowing that somehow, this decision would be best.
"An hour and a half left, right?" I asked.
"Yes." He said. "I heard one talking about coming here at that time. She said she wanted to meet some people that needed help." He snorted, obvious sign that he thought they were here for the opposite. How he was so sure of himself, I didn't know. Of course I needed to take charge. I couldn't take him walking all over me, and my voice sounded a little sharper than I intended it to be.
"Well, pack my bags and yours. We'll follow them. Where ever they are going. I think there is something linked between them and Oscar." I managed to keep my voice even with a lot of concentration. Disbelief crossed his face.
"If they were in any way related to them, then they would be dead by now, bodies burned." He ran away to follow my instructions before I could get my hands on him. Fury boiled up inside me. Why was he being so difficult? Why didn't he just trust me for once?! I heard someone's thoughts changing abruptly, changing from humour to serious. And before I could react, they changed back again. It was confusing.
Only a few minutes later, I started to get a headache – this person had so many regular mood swings, from angry to bewildered, from calm to shocked, from happiness to depression...Then Will returned, with one bag for him and my bag I had packed a few weeks ago, with the pictures. I was glad I had thought of that. The pictures would help keep me sane.
"Whatever you do, don't try to talk to them." He told me, begging.
"Okay. But if I think it's the right thing, then I'll do whatever it takes." I stared into the forest. Fifteen minutes.
I heard eight footsteps walking towards us, probably one staying back at their shelter, guarding it. I tensed, and so did Will, an automatic response.
In one second, nine beautiful vampires were in a circle around us.
"LEAVE HER ALONE!" I heard Will yell. What was happening? Where was everyone? Why was it all black? Something was gripping me, tightly, but it wasn't uncomfortable. I almost groaned as the last few seconds of sight flashed in my mind. Nine vampires, one separate from the rest...
"Please, let me look at her. I've never seen this before, but I know what I'm doing. Let me talk to her." A calm voice pleaded. What was going on? I tried to find a light, but it was all just black. I kept slipping in and out of consciousness. I hadn't felt this way since I was human, and those memories were dim, vague, unsure...
"She can hear us now." A girls voice whispered, obviously excited. Excited about what? I felt something lift me up, and at last I found some light. My eyelids snapped open. I glanced frantically around myself. I was airborne.
"Anne? Anne!" It was Will, whiter than usual, lifting me in his arms. I struggled against his hold, and he put me down. I looked around me. Nine still remained, but one was different. One was only a child – an immortal child? My eyes went huge, round and I grabbed Will's arm.
We have to run – Now. They have an immortal child. I should have never brought you into this. I'm sorry...run... I told Will urgently in his head, so the others couldn't hear.
"No Anne, it's not. You've been unconscious for over an hour. They explained everything." He whispered, and I was hyper-aware of all the eyes staring at me. I realised I was in a room. It was very light. I felt Will squeeze my hand.
"They want to help us." He told me. I stared at him in total disbelief.
"Oh, I see. They possessed you too." I whispered tonelessly. Despair weighed me down, dragging me down to the pits of hell...
"No." a girl from the group whispered. As she stepped forwards, a male stepped with her. She was holding the immortal child, which was also beautiful. I stared at it, with its chocolate brown eyes, pale, white skin...
"William knew we were coming." The male said. His arms were wrapped around the girl's waist, as if protecting her. I stepped towards them. The male growled, and in one instant he was in front of her, positioned in a crouch. Blimey, what was his problem? He has an immortal child with this girl, and he's scared of me, walking toward them? The ironic idiocy of it puzzled me. They were going to kill me anyway, so they might as well spare me the innocent act, as if I'm the bad person. I glanced at Will, who was motionless, staring at nothing. He had simply given up, let them posses him, now there was no hope – None at all. We were all going to die.
"Don't you trust us? I can see why not. But we won't hurt you." He said, still in a crouch. I snorted. Of course he wouldn't hurt me, if I stayed still to be killed. The girl walked around him, giving the immortal child to him. She seemed used to him doing this. I frowned slightly. What was she doing? Surrendering? Maybe she was possessed, and found her way out of it. If that was the case, I needed to find who was able to snap out of possession. I guessed the male in a crouch was the leader, and the girl was his, technically...
"Edward, she's scared out of her mind. Take care of Renesmee for a second." She kissed him lightly, and stepped towards me, her hands faced palm up, like trying to prove she wasn't armed. She had other weapons; she didn't need a gun to kill me. I stood my ground while she approached, and yelled into her head while she wasn't expecting it.
LEAVE US ALONE! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO KILL ME OR WILL! WE DID NOTHING WRONG!
She jumped backwards, like I had hit her. The male, whom she had called Edward, ran forwards, punching me back into the wall; another round of brick-breaking – just great. He turned to her while I was dazed.
"Are you ok? Where did she hurt you? Bella, answer me!" He whispered urgently, like he was in pain, too. Her eyes were closed. I frowned at them. It was only yelling. Why was she so sensitive? If they all had that reaction, I might have a chance. I braced myself, flitting out of the wall, ready for the rebuff.
"Anne, we won't hurt you. Tell us why you don't trust us. Is it our clothes, our smell? What is wrong with us?" She whispered when she opened her eyes. "Edward, remind me not to let my shield down while I'm with her. Don't underestimate them." She added, in a lower voice. He nodded, curiosity burning in his eyes. She stood up again, walking towards me faster this time.
Leave- Me- Alone.
She barely flinched. I knew she didn't hear me, and I was confused.
No, I was scared. She had defence as well as attack. I looked wildly around me, nine vampires staring steadily at the girl called Bella. She looked at me with sympathy, like she knew what I was going through. I snorted at myself. She knew nothing. I had to get away, though I knew Will was already dead. But if they had killed Will, then I knew Oscar and Vivian were no doubt dead. Maybe I should just let them kill me.
"We won't kill you." Edward whispered his voice softer now. They were closing in on me. My breathing sped, and I panicked. They were herding me against the wall. I pressed into it, glaring at them, ready to use my new weapon. Will sat still in a corner, like a stone. I didn't have to worry about him now. He had no more pain to suffer. Maybe that was what I needed, too.
"You're safe with us, Anne. Don't doubt that. Trust us." Another male said, and I felt suddenly calm. Yes, I should trust them. It was my only chance. I saw Bella glance at the male, and he nodded. She stood beside me, and took the immortal child, Renesmee. They named it. I was disgusted and calm at the same time. How strange. Part of me kept tabs on my moods, and what their expressions were. Another part was concentrating on Will, and yet another part working out on what these vampires wanted. The child reached out for me, and I recoiled away. A huge male grabbed me by the arms, strength obviously double of mine. Maybe triple. I struggled anyway. Another flood of calm suddenly spread over me, stronger than the first. Why should I fight? They might as well torture me before they murdered me. The male that told me to trust them had his graceful face tight with concentration, like he was doing something with a lot of effort. The immortal child touched my cheek, and I gasped. Pictures entered my mind, of the eight vampires, each individual.
Carlisle Cullen was a doctor, and he never hurt anyone. That reassured me a little, knowing he would probably hate it when they killed me. Esme Cullen was his wife, and she loved anyone and everyone. How strange, she loved everyone but me. Well, me and Will, Vivian and Oscar. She killed them all. Edward Cullen is their "son", created by Carlisle. Then there's Alice and Jasper, the male who was concentrating and the small girl who was excited. Then Rosalie and Emmett, They are a couple, I learned. Rosalie was very dear to this immortal child. Then there is Bella Cullen, Edward's wife.
Ah, Bella. She is the mother of the child, and the immortal child loves her so much. She wouldn't live without Bella.
Edward is its father. So Bella and Edward are together, Rosalie and Emmett, Alice and Jasper and Carlisle and Esme. A clan of vampire couples that class themselves as a family. How nice, they can all work together to kill me.
"We want to help you. Don't you see?" Edward whispered in a gentle voice. I managed to control myself enough so I could speak.
"Yes, I see. I don't want to get mixed up in any of this. Let me go. I don't want to die. Not with Oscar out –" I stopped myself from finishing.
"We will help you. We understand more than you do. We can keep you safe, you won't die." Carlisle said. He was very casual, standing a few meters away, ready if needed. I wondered why they considered me dangerous, when they wanted to help me – like I was some kind of criminal. Why should they worry about me? The answer came very fast, just that I had been putting it off. It was in front of my face. They got something out of this, too.
"We can provide you with food and a temporary home. I can't watch you suffer like this, dear." Esme said, staring at me, pleading. I distrusted that face.
"You-you want to help me-us?" I stuttered, glancing at Will. He had said nothing, not moved an inch. His face was blank. He nodded at me, glad I finally understood. Or that's what I thought. Maybe it was an insane gesture, one of their tricks. I wasn't able to focus just on that, as Esme started speaking again.
"Yes dear. We've been watching for weeks now, and it's not right. You are suffering deeply." Esme said with voice full of concern.
"Bella take Anne and William in your car; we will meet back home." Carlisle said calmly, and then only three vampires were left; Bella, Edward and Renesmee, the immortal child. I noticed that I was gripping Bella's arm so tight it would have crushed a humans arm, and quickly let go.
"I'm not going anywhere with you." I frowned at them. Edward sighed, obviously expecting this.
"You want our help, am I correct?" He asked. I glared at him. I wanted to get away, to run, but I knew that this was not for me, but for other lives, and I focused only on that. It calmed me a little.
"No. I didn't ask for your help. Will and I were doing fine by ourselves," I growled. "It's none of your business. How much did William tell you?"
"He told us all we need to know." Bella whispered as she led me carefully to the car.