Warnings: There is talk of violence in this chapter, and in the chapters to come. Violence is a HUGE part of this story, so if it makes you uncomfortable, exit stage left.

This chapter is long, just like I promised. Enjoy.

SM owns it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~CHAPTER 3~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I tried to shake the shock of Edward's words off of me as I made my way into his intimidating looking house.

Of course, I failed dramatically as my jaw dropped opened when I paused at their door. It looked like it cost more than my truck. It was easy to tell why this family hid from the rest of us, if their huge house and the shiny cars were any indication, I'd hide too.

I mean, Edward was like some kind of runway model, with his carved from marble jaw, and his oozing with sex attitude. He obviously didn't fall far from the tree, as Carlisle looked like he smacked into the stone his son was carved from.

Stupid good looking family.

I wouldn't blame them for hiding, not really. Especially if they saw the riots down at Sue's. The people in this town were known to be harsh to outsiders, and they were definitely outsiders.

Everything screamed it. They shut themselves away from everyone, they didn't go to school, and no one even knew what they looked like. Until now anyway.

Having a son who should have been bent over someone's knee for a mouth that looks like it'd taste like heaven, but spews nothing but shit, wouldn't help things. I would want to keep him far away from the public too.

Why did he have to be so damn cute? Its' always the assholes that are pretty.

"Now who's being creepy?" Edward snatched the door open, scaring the crap out of me.

Did Edward read my mind, or had I slipped when he stunned me with his douchebag attitude and say that outloud? He was awfully good at driving me crazy.

"Don't worry princess, I'm not taking your crown." I gave him my sweetest smile, the one Charlie saw whenever he dragged me to police benefits.

"Bella, don't be rude. Come on in." Charlie peeked his head around Edward who, if looks could kill, would have snapped my neck with his eyes.

I wanted to shoulder check Edward so bad I could taste it, but he took one look at Charlie and moved out of the way. I would have screamed like I was dying, just to see if Charlie would have pulled his gun on him, so it was probably a good thing.

"You are crazy," he hissed, making me wince as my arm shook with my silent laughter.

I ignored him. Either I was really crazy or he was definitely reading my mind.

Like I said, always the pretty assholes. Especially the ones with bald spots.

I looked to see if he'd react, but his cold mask was back in place as he stood in the corner of the room like a dog being punished.

Charlie cleared his throat, snapping me out of my douche infested thoughts as he cleared his throat.

"I'd like you to meet my family," Carlisle motioned for me, as he moved past us in the foyer. "This is my wife, Esme." He pulled a beautiful woman, with honey-colored hair and eyes that matched his, into the room.

She definitely smacked the marble too.

"It's so nice to finally meet you. We've heard so much about you." She pulled me into a hug, her skin as cold as Edward and Carlisle's. Her embrace was comforting as she held me to her.

"Bella." The name Isabella has always made me feel odd, like an adult, something I wasn't ready for yet.

Esme gave me a warm smile as she'd walked me into the huge open kitchen. Windows lined the back walls, showing the river and a beautiful meadow filled with flowers.

"I think that's enough for now. Bella, if you would join me in my office. Charlie." Carlisle led us to the stairs and onto the second floor.

In his office the lights were bright, and the room was filled with machines I'd seen in the hospital, only smaller.

"I don't have an x-ray machine, but if you'll let me examine it, I may be able to help." Carlisle slipped on a pair of surgical gloves and his white lab coat. He looked much older like this, and it made me wonder how he and Esme were able to adopt at such a young age. Neither of them looked as if they were even thirty yet.

"He's a very good doctor, Bells. You can trust him." Charlie's voice was reassuring when he spoke, obviously sensing my hesitation as I looked around the room.

"I have some pain pills for you, and a sling if it's needed." Carlisle's smile was warm as he spoke softly to me. "No needles, unless you need it."

I laughed a little at that. Charlie must have told him I hated needles. Taking shots when I was a kid always became a wild goose chase for Charlie. The second they brought out that needle, I would run out of the room screaming.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Outbreak~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It took Carlisle five minutes to figure out I only dislocated my shoulder and sprained my wrist.

One loud, painful pop and two pain pills later, we were sitting in the living room surrounded by most of Carlisle's family. The pills had taken effect and I caught myself smiling from the high.

Alice was the first to introduce herself. She was all tiny, bouncy, and high strung. And when she hugged me her grip was way too tight. She explained her boyfriend, Jasper, had business in town and wouldn't be joining us.

Emmett and Rosalie were next.

Every single person in this family was oddly beautiful with smooth faces and perfect hair. They looked as if they belonged on some runway far away from here.

Rosalie's sneer, and they way her eyes cut at me, made me actually relax. Everything about her might have looked fake, but the way she looked at me was real.

Her boyfriend, on the other hand, scared the shit out of me. He was at least twice the size of any senior at my school. When he took my hand in greeting, I was sure he'd crush it. Instead, he was the gentlest, offering me a warm, goofy smile, and a deep, booming laugh when I cringed.

Everyone looked nervous as Esme brought out tea, but none of them touched it.

"I'm sure after what you heard at the station, you're very curious about what's going on, why we're here," Carlisle started, as I sat as close to Charlie as possible.

I didn't miss the fact that Edward had his back to us, his eyes scanning the meadow just behind the house. He was much more quiet this time around, and for that, I was grateful.

"I'm definitely confused, but I think you were talking about the sick people in town." I didn't want to come right out and say everything I had heard. Just talking about killing sick people made me nervous enough.

"I think we should start at the beginning." Carlisle slid forward on the couch and took Esme's hand. "We moved here a little over a month ago from Italy. While there, we noticed some strange things happening. Sick people, just like here, sicker even. I offered my services, as did a few members of my family. But no matter what we did, none of them recovered." He paused, and looked around the room, his eyes stopping on Edward.

"Soon reports started popping up in several places. They all claimed the same thing; Food Poisoning. Most people thought it was beef or even chicken that was causing the illness. Yet every farm was tested, and all the reports came back clean."

"How is that possible?" I asked, interrupted.

"We're still not sure. I very much doubt it's food poisoning."

"It's an easy place to blame," Charlie looked a little more relaxed in the Cullens' home as he spoke to Carlisle. Like he had made himself at home here long before now.

"It is. This is something more than just bad meat, they just need a target, something to take the heat of them." Carlisle agreed.

"Why the curfew then? And all that talk about killing 'them' in the office?"

"The first case I discovered was in Atlanta. A colleague of mine works for the CDC and asked if I would come in to observe. The cases I'd been working on were linked to his, and he thought I could help." Carlisle looked over at Edward, whose shoulders were stiff as he stood, unmoving at the window.

"The man had been an extreme case. His symptoms weren't controllable like the others. He began vomiting blood within the first few hours of admission, which brought in the CDC. His vitals were erratic at best, and he flatlined at least half a dozen times. The hospital staff was afraid to touch him. His mind began to waver and he tried to attack them. By the time I got there he had no idea who he even was." Carlisle stopped for a moment, and I watched as Esme squeezed his hand once more.

"I called Edward in to help me, since he'd been by my side during the outbreak in Italy. Neither of us knew what to make of the man. When he lost his memory, all symptoms from before. It was as if they they never existed in the first place. He was healthy, walking around and eating just like you would do on a normal day. It was his eyes that gave us our first clue, and it should have been enough."

"It would have been if they had listened to you," Edward spoke up, his voice angry and cold.

"We're not CDC, Edward. We were there to observe, not demand they listen." Carlisle's eyes turned sad as he watched his son, his voice slipping into the soothing one I'd heard in his office.

"They died because they were too egotistical to listen to someone who's been doing this before they even dreamed of existing."

"Edward," Rosalie hissed from her spot.

"It's alright, Rosalie. He's upset and for good reason." Esme stood and walked to Edward, who turned as soon as her hand lifted to touch him.

Edward moved quickly out of her reach and past Emmett and Rosalie muttering, "Idiot". I turned to see what Emmett had done, but Edward was already gone.

"What's going on? Did he just call me an idiot?" I jumped to my feet and eyed everyone in the room, including Charlie, who put a hand on my shoulder and pulled me back onto the couch. "What in the hell was Edward talking about, and where did he go so quickly? How did he?"

"There are things about my family that will take time to understand and accept," Carlisle shook his head. His eyes never left the spot where Edward has stood. "I ask for now, that you just accept what you see, and try not judge too harshly. For now I've promised you answers and that's the most important thing."

I looked from Charlie to Carlisle and back again. What the hell does that even mean?

"They're different, Bells. Not bad different, but different. They're here to help us."

"And you just want me to trust them? Just like that?" I couldn't believe he was asking me this. I knew if he trusted someone I should too, but that didn't mean I would. There were already too many damn secrets in just one day. I was even more confused now, than I had been in the station.

I sat down for a moment and looked around. Rosalie didn't hide her disgust toward me, and I was fine with that. At least she was consistent in her hate.

Everyone else looked worried, like my opinion would make or break them.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes before speaking again. "I want to know what happened. Right now, I just want to know that."

"The man's eyes," Carlisle turned towards me, and I offered him a grateful smile. "A milky film had settled over them. They grew darker every time he was given a meal, a little bit redder when he finished. Another twenty four hours later, and the meals weren't enough. He demanded meat; banged along the walls and door until his wishes were granted. I tried to warn them something was wrong. That all his vitals were becoming erratic again and as a precaution no one should go into the room without a suit." He shook his head, obviously remembering something.

"Our last day there, the man crashed in the middle of a psychotic break. He almost busted the two way mirror completely out and had broken his restraints. I warned them not to go in, Edward begged them, but none of them listened. We didn't matter in the department, and because of that ignorance I lost my friend and colleague."

"What did he do?" I asked, completely unaware of all the eyes in the room trained on the two of us.

"They walked in that room and declared him dead. He was dead, those milky blue eyes had proven that to me, but how do you convince a world renown doctor with an ego to boost?"

"As the doctor was removing the monitors from his chest, the man jumped up. His wide, sickened eyes zeroed in on my friend and he launched himself right at him. Before any of the nurses could stop him, his teeth latched onto his jaw and his fingers had dug into his chest." Carlisle paused and closed his eyes for a moment. "I will never forget those screams, or the pure look of terror on my friends, face."

"Oh my god."

"God didn't do shit." Rosalie spat at me, her dark angry eyes narrowed and shooting daggers at me.

"Rosalie that's enough," Emmett barked, making her head snap in his direction. He looked at her for a long minute, before she closed her mouth and settled back in her chair.

"He was dead, yet he was trying to eat the doctor. I'd never seen anything like this. The nurses tried to pull him off, but all four were bitten and clawed at as well. An automatic quarantine was put in place. Within an hour, each of those nurses and my friend reanimated just like patient zero."

"Patient zero?"

"He was the very first case, an anomaly they called him." Carlisle laughed bitterly, it made him look more unnatural than anything else had all day.

"They incinerated the entire room. There was nothing left standing. Not a single heartbeat. No bone, no flesh. Everything that might have indicated a human had once been there was swept clean, eliminated." Carlisle let go of Esme's hand for a moment and cleared his throat. "Now, every patient is compared to him. Every hospital in the world is looking at cases similar to his. Forks' outbreak is small, but compared to the towns numbers, it is a very large threat."

"But you said shooting them?"

"I shot the man that attacked Dr. Matthews. He came barreling towards the door after he'd feasted on the room. The hallway was filled with people, and I wasn't taking a chance," Edward said as he emerged from the kitchen. He looked even paler than before, if that were possible. "He took a bullet between the eyes and stayed down until the room went up in flames. That's how you kill them. One single bullet, right to the brain."

"The curfew is for your safety," Carlisle said, offering Edward a warm smile. "If any of these cases turn into what we witnessed in Atlanta, it will be easier to control if we don't have anyone roaming around at night."

"Why here though? Why did you come all the way out here, instead of staying in, Atlanta?" I asked. It seemed that would be a better place for him.

"This was my home once. Just like your father, I'd like to protect it any way I can."

"So you ran away." I didn't mean to just say it like that, but it sounded like he was.

"Maybe a part of me was. Watching a friend die like that is traumatic. I came here because it's familiar for us. We're needed here a lot more than we are in Atlanta."

"Why haven't we heard any of this on the news? I mean, are there sick everywhere now?" You'd think something like that wouldn't be kept from the public. They'd want us protected, aware.

"It's a single case, and there hasn't been another one reported like it."

"There will be," Edward snapped.

"Yes, there will. We want to help. This place is where Esme and I raised our children. Where we met. We came back because it means as much to us, as it does the rest of you." I looked at him blankly.

There was no way he'd raised them here. I'd lived in Forks almost eighteen years, and never once had I seen any of them.

"I'll explain when we get home," Charlie said, noticing my confusion.

"Is there a cure?" I asked, trying to stay focused on Carlisle's story.

"We're working on it, but for now, no. I've been doing what I can for the patients, but if they don't get better soon, we may have an outbreak on our hands."

"Wait!" Emmett flew out of his chair and out of the room. I had just enough time to see Rosalie's surprised face before he was back in his chair waving an xbox game in the air.

"Was that really necessary, Emmett?" I knew Carlisle was trying to get onto his son, but the hint of the smile made me think he was grateful for the interruption.

"This whole situation has been bugging the shit out of me since we left Atlanta," he was off the couch again, this time plopping down in front of the TV. "Remember that game Jasper and I used to spend hours on?"

"You spend hours on a lot of games, son." Carlisle finally laughed, making me relax a little.

"Just watch, you'll see what I'm talking about." He turned on the TV and started the game in his hand.

The introduction caught me by surprise. Resident Evil. I'd watched a few of the movies but never played the games. I remember the insane dogs and the bad ass chick, but not much else.

"BAM!" Emmett jumped up after blood spattered on the screen. He was at level two now, and about a dozen kills in. Everyone had been sitting quietly, sucked into the game with him, until he scared us all to death with his screaming.

"You wanted us to watch you play a game?" The graphics were great and all, but I didn't see the point.

"You said they talked about shooting, they said a single bullet to the brain. It's the only thing that takes them down, right?" Emmett was looking at us sitting on the couch. I'd never seen anyone so excited over a game before, and I couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm.

"That's what you think this is?" This time it was Esme who chimed in. She was leaning a little closer that before and her grip had tightened on Carlisle's hand.

"Wait a minute," I tried but Emmett was up and in front of us before I could say anything more.

"Can't you see it? We're always watching the movies, and playing the games. It only takes a shot to the brain, or chopping off their heads, but it's the same. It's right in front of you!" His voice was booming and he had such a wide smile on his face as he talked. "It's zombies! That thing in Atlanta was a zombie."

"Zombies? Walking dead people who want to eat you like you're the best buffet they've ever seen? That kinda zombie?"

"Yep." He was so sure of himself that I was waiting for him to pop his collar.

"You mean to tell me, that right now, there is something out there that wants to eat me?" The room was starting to spin and the last thing I wanted to do was fall face first onto the giant man telling me about zombies.

"Well, besides Edward, yeah." He started laughing loudly.

"I think I'd like to go home now," I said lifting myself off the couch and walking out the door.

Maybe Charlie would let me have a beer. I definitely needed one now.

AN: I want to thank you all for the support and love you've shown this story. It's incredible and you guys are awesome! I tried to reply to everyone, but ffnet decided to not send anything, but thank you so much for the reviews. They mean the world and keep the ideas flowing for this.

PandorasFF, LivieLiv79, and Sushibrat are AMAZING. There are NO WORDS for what they do for me. I'm one lucky ass lady to have them in my fic corner.

So what did you think? Is Emmett on to something? Next chapter is a short update, so I may post it in a few days. Reviews are love!