Sorry I haven't updated in forever. I've been away, my computer crashed, we had a mini tornado, and I broke my arm falling down a hill. I swear I'm turning into Bella. Or Alice in this case. Bottle my luck and you'll be able to destroy the world.

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.

Chapter Three

Alice Brandon

Alice stayed awake until three A.M. that first day—a new personal, unsatisfying record. The cobblestone floor was hard and rough, causing goose bumps to rise against her petite arms. There was a cold draft hanging in the air throughout the night, making the atmosphere begin to feel more and more like Antarctica than it had before. The only furniture was a rusted iron bench, half of which was covered in a disgusting black goop and rotting apples, most likely the only food she would be receiving for a while.

Ignoring the pain in her aching back, Alice sat up lazily and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Squinting in the darkness, Alice could barely make out the shapes of the few objects lying around the cramped room. What appeared to be a rat scuttled around nervously looking for food, afraid of the new being in the room. There was the faintest bit of light in the corner of the cell, not visible to the naked eye, that kept track of what prisoners were doing and if they were planning escape.

A woman was moaning loudly in the room she supposed was next to her. Alice sat up, dizzy from the lack of sleep, and crawled over to the wall separating her from the strange woman. Pressing her ear against the thin, rocky, wall, Alice strained to hear what she was saying.

"No! Give them back! You will never . . . you will never take them. They are mine! My wonderful little pretties!" There was a quiet buzzing sound, and then silence. A few seconds later, a door slammed and the sound of heavy footsteps rang throughout the hall outside Alice's cell.

Crawling quickly to the corner to avoid being seen by the guard, Alice took several deep breaths to calm down. The sound of clanking metal rang loudly in Alice's ears as the guard shoved the key in the lock and kicked open the heavy metal door, what appeared to be a large gun in his gloved hand. He looked around for a few seconds, searching for the new prisoner who had been confined to the cell. Alice squinted in the sudden light, her already racing heartbeat became erratic as the guard spotted her cowering in the corner.

"You," he hissed. "Get over here, before I drag you here myself." When Alice didn't respond, the man walked forward and yanked her up by her hair. Alice winced, biting back a yelp, not wanting to show how afraid she truly was. The guard glowered at her, showing his rotten and yellowed teeth. "You're going in for the investigation." Keeping his gun pointed at Alice's back, he led her to the "investigation room" as he called it.

Once there, she was seated on a small stool, covered with sharp edges and splinters that pierced her fragile skin. The guard left the room, leaving the gun at the door and bolting the lock tightly closed. A tall man in a doctor's suit came in then, holding a pair of scissors and what looked to be a taser in his filthy, grubby hands. "The spirit inside you is causing you to see visions? Of the future?" He asked, his voice muffled under the mask.

What else could I see? Alice thought sarcastically, thinking it best not to voice her true opinion on the topic. "How long did it take to figure that one out? Didn't my witch of a mother tell my claims already? Or were you to busy paying attention to that giant mole on your face to pay attention to what your master was telling you?" Alice had heard several of the guards talking about how much they respected James, and the ore independent ones speaking of how much they were controlled by him.

The doctor growled, what was visible of his face beneath the mask turning a dark red color. "I am your controller, and you will treat me with respect." Much to Alice's surprise, he seemed nervous at what he was doing, as if choosing the wrong words could result in his death.

"Just like the way James treats you?" Alice mocked. She knew it was unsafe to be doing something like this when she was trapped in an insane asylum, but she couldn't ignore the need to get her anger out--especially on someone who seemed so weak, someone who seemed so unsure of what he was doing. Alice's uncle was the only who had ever respected the fact that she could see visions, the only one who had treated her equally and had been willing to accept her into his family when the asylum news came about. If there was a sane asylum for the Earth, it'd be empty. Alice quoted her uncle's words in her mind.

The Doctor Evil, as Alice now called him, picked up the razor sharp scissors and walked slowly over to the petite girl waiting on the stool just feet in front of him. "As I was saying, the spirit usually lurks in girls more often so than boys. Therefore"--he snipped off a piece of Alice's long, inky black locks, causing her to flinch, before continuing --"we must change your appearance, so you fit more to look like a boy." Alice's eyes went wide with the sudden information; she jumped off the wobbly stool, causing Doctor Evil to cut her hair unevenly. Alice gasped, as the left side of her head now resembled a haystack.

A scowl was visible on Doctor Evil's face, even with the mask covering his mouth and nose. "Very well then. I shall come to work on you later. You should hope James doesn't come to see you. Laurent is fine--he's not nearly as bad as the others. He's one of the newer sub-leaders; doesn't know much about what goes on here except he can't treat the vermin here well. James and Victoria are the ones you should be worrying about. One little mistake and they'll gladly kill you."

Jasper Hale

Jasper smiled joyfully as the wind blew roughly through his honey blond untamed hair, a goofy grin plastered on his face. He was going to the one place he could find solace, the one place where he could find comfort in a time like this.

Maria's house.

Maria had been his girlfriend for as long as he could remember. They had first met in the beginning of kindergarten when her family had moved into the newly redone large estate next to theirs. The Hales and the Smiths had quickly become good friends, almost as instantaneously as Jasper and Maria had. Maria had three sisters that Rosalie had often played with and hung out with as she grew older--Netty and Lucy.

Netty was the older of the two, slightly plump and with pale brown hair and an assortment of freckles scattered across her face. She was the smartest daughter of the Smith family, having made several honors and accomplishments throughout her high school years. Lucy was the youngest, currently only fourteen years of age. She was the sporty child of the family, exactly the opposite of her two older siblings.

And then there was Maria. Beautiful, perfect, Maria. Jasper didn't know why, but for some reason he had felt instantly drawn to her--whether it was her attitude, what she did, how she did it, who she hung out with, her appearance, even what she ate. She was one of the popular girls, an average in schoolwork and a total flunk in any sports besides cheerleading. Jasper had first asked her out back in seventh grade, and they had been going out ever since. Jasper knew she had her flaws--but those were immediately overlooked the second he saw her sparkling emerald eyes.

Jasper's smile only grew bigger as he pulled up to the driveway of her mansion. Maria had moved out of her family's estate about two and a half years ago, "ready to take on the big world at such a young age" as his parents--and probably every other emotional person on this crazy mixed up planet--had called it. But he understood his girlfriend, and respected what she wanted to do. Jasper parked his motorbike in the driveway and slung his helmet, something he only used when his parents were around, around the handlebars.

Jasper hadn't been waiting for more than thirty seconds when the large French doors opened before him, revealing his girlfriend in a lacy black tank top and silky black shorts. Jasper winced at the outfit, suddenly remembering why he had neglected to come here in so long. One of Maria's biggest and most important flaws: the fact that she was much to clingy, unfortunately in more ways than one.

"J! You're finally here!" Jasper winced again at his incredibly absurd nickname, hating the fact that he had to be called a letter nearly four to six hours a day. Maria threw her long arms around Jasper's neck, only to have them be removed not seconds later. She pouted. "Aww, come on. You know it's my favorite name for you."

Jasper sighed in exasperation and stepped inside the more than average sized mansion. Maria followed him in, a victorious and gleeful smile etched on her tanned face. "Maria . . . .," he started. "Remember that trip to Mexico we were planning a few weeks ago? Right before the finals started up?"

She nodded, her smile growing even wider, showing a gleaming row of pearly almost too white teeth. "I am so excited! Just think of the fun we can have on the trip together--and for the whole summer, too! Just us two . . . on vacation . . . alone." Maria leaned her head on Jasper's broad shoulder and clutched her arms to him tightly, stroking her small, manicured hands up and down his chest. Her expression became skeptical. "Why do you ask?" She gasped. "You're not breaking up with me, are you? J, how could you? After all we've--"

Jasper pushed her away and held a finger to her pouty red lips. "I've been disowned."

Maria titled her head to the side, letting her long black hair swing gently out of her messy Chinese bun. "So? After college you can come and live with me. You're going to be living with me all summer. No big deal." She blew it off like she did to her former boyfriends in sixth grade and the beginning of seventh.

Jasper looked at her, shock clear on his face. He bit his lip and ignored what his girlfriend had said. "My father lost his job, and there's barely enough money to take care of us. A friend of his offered him a job across the country--way up in Mississippi. I'll be staying with him up until school starts up again in September. My sister, Rosalie, is staying with my mom here in Houston--I can't be sure how long though. As soon as we're out of college, we're officially disowned and kicked out." Jasper walked over to the the suede couch in the middle of the living room and sat down shakily.

For once, Maria looked at him with a small bit of sympathy in her eyes, easily fooling everyone who didn't know her well. The sympathy immediately dissapeared as she jumped on the couch next to Jasper, the heels of her boots digging into the it and a terrifying glare on her face. "Are you breaking up with me, J? Is that what this is all about? Have you found someone better than me? Jasper, I'm practically you're wife!"

"Maria, no"--

"Well you know what I say to that, Jasper? Do you want to know what I say?" Maria grabbed onto Jasper's honey locks, her eyes glowing with emerald fury and rage, as she dragged him over to the French doors. "I say- Get. Out. Of. My. Life!"

And with that, his fiancée closed the door on him.

Before I forget: When swine flu broke out in the US, people were saying it might be as big as the Spanish flu in 1917-1918. At the same time, we were learning about WWI in school-the war Edward wanted to fight in.
I've been wanting to say that for weeks, but I keep forgetting. In other news, I made a oneshot called Carlisle Gets Sued. It was for a challenge. Check it out! In other news-when should Jazz and Al meet? I'm holding a contest-write a oneshot in Edward's point of view, taking lace any time during the books. Just not the "it" scene-so it must be rated T. Thanks for reading!

Reviews=Cookies