Chapter 4: Fight


The Cullens were going to La Push, upon Billy's request, to investigate the bodies of the dead, to determine whether their demises were at the hand of their kind or of something else. The "something else" is what everyone was so anxious about, not ready to accept that the creatures that had lived in their legends could actually spring from the pages and be completely real. Carlisle was looking over some old manuscripts he had on the creatures—texts which he kept both for scientific and personal reasons—and they all would be leaving in a few minutes.

I was in the kitchen now, unconsciously munching on an apple I had found, when suddenly I felt arms around me. I hugged Edward back tightly before craning my neck up to look at him.

"Were you scared by the stories?" He asked, his eyes worried. I smiled half-heartedly.

"No. I thought they were very interesting. You never told me about them," I replied, feigning my intrigue in the stories I already knew by heart.

"I figured you wouldn't be interested in them. They're just old myths," he said.

"So you don't believe in them?" I asked, cocking my head to the side, genuinely curious.

He shrugged around me.

"I don't know what to believe. When I was human, I didn't believe in such idiotic nonsense," he admitted. I couldn't help but smirk slightly.

"I'm guessing you didn't believe in vampires as a human, did you?"

He met my eyes, his own amused now, though I could see the darkness underneath that could only come from his kind's legends taking seed in reality.

"Yes. So I don't know what to believe." I laid my head on his shoulder, sighing deeply.

"Are you feeling well? You worried me after today at school," he tried to ask nonchalantly but I could tell he was fretting about me.

"I'm better. I felt sick and I still do, though not as much. I guess the IV did help a bit," I pretended to admit. I refused to allow him to see the lie in my words. I knew I wasn't well, but I would never admit that to him or the family; it is not something they could understand at the moment, with all this mayhem going on.

"I want you to stay here while we go deal with this at La Push," he said. I looked up to meet his gaze.

"You're willing to leave me here alone, unprotected?" I asked, slightly shocked.

"You're safer here than on La Push. And, if these things"—he almost hissed the word—"are real and are here, they will go after us before you."

I felt a wave of fear come over me. I knew he was wrong, but he didn't. But even still, even if he was right, his safety in the balance did not sit well with me.

"I think I'm going to be sick," I admitted, one hand curling over my abdomen as it clenched with pain, both physical and emotional. Edward tightened his hold on me and I clamped one hand around his bicep that was around my shoulders, hugging him back at much as I could.

"It will be ok, I promise you. With my mind-reading and Alice's visions, not to mention our strength in numbers and the wolves on our side, we will be fine," he assured me, overconfident. I didn't respond.

Minutes later, the Cullens departed, Edward kissing me passionately and Alice giving me a hug before they left. Carlisle instructed me to relax and get better, but since I couldn't do either, I sat in the living room, my eyes closed, trying to focus. I hadn't tried to do this in a long time, so I struggled a bit in the beginning, but finally it worked.

My eyes opened, mentally, and I saw everything the Cullens saw. They were at La Push and were inspecting the ten bodies. They lay all over the reservation, some in the woods, some by the beach, some in the houses. The latter is where they were now, inspecting the body of a young woman that lay dead in her bedroom. She was completely drained of blood and every bone in her body was broken, deliberately and unnecessarily. I fought the urge to shudder; yes, this was definitely not the work of modern vampires. I heard crying and saw Emily, Sam's imprint, holding a toddler, who was sobbing her little eyes out into Emily's shoulder. It did not take much to determine that the dead woman was Emily's sister, and the little girl's—Claire's—mother. Anger burned in me, anger at the loss and at what I knew was going to happen.

I felt my body get to its feet in the middle of the Cullen's living room, and I felt my body running, flying faster than it had in a very long time. I felt the burning in my legs as my ragged, starved body protested the supernatural movement but I ignored it, racing toward La Push while my mind stayed there. I could feel the presence, even in my mental state, before the Cullens did, having been taught to notice it since I was young. It wasn't long though before the Cullens and werewolves took notice, but they ignored their instincts. A black SUV pulled up a few hundred yards away and they all paused, stopping to take in their surroundings.

It was a mistake.

It came from behind, targeting Emily, who was cradling a sobbing Claire. They both screamed as it hit them full force, knocking them to the ground. Blood spurted from their bodies and I pushed myself faster, hurrying to get to them. The vampires and werewolves reacted simultaneously but the werewolves were closer. Quil snarled fiercely, lunging toward the creature, only to be thrown back, whimpering. The SUV's doors opened to reveal four young human men, who made toward the group. Meanwhile, the creature turned toward its attacker, smiling devilishly. The werewolves followed suit, their shared mental state reacting to the agony Quil and Sam were experiencing at the attack of their imprints.

The Vercrian was elated, enticed by the fight. He met the wolves head on, attacking with such speed and strength; the humans assisted in the fight, pulling guns out and aiming at the wolves. It was hard to miss the horse-size beasts and, thus, all the werewolves were on the ground in less than a few minutes. The Cullens hurried to their defense. They fought the Vercrian, but they were not prepared, as I expected and feared them to be. It did not take long before they were losing, and fast. That pushed me over the edge and I felt myself painfully break through my mental barrier at the same time I broke through the brush of the trees that stood behind the house where the fighting was taking place. One of the humans noticed me first and hurried toward me, a knife in his hand. He was younger than the others, only 16. I grabbed the knife and swiveled it around faster than he expected, plunging it into his heart, killing him instantly. The rush of blood from the wound that dripped over my fingers alerted the rest of the party.

The Vercrian pivoted, looking on the source of the bloodshed. His eyes, sickeningly black from the center of his pupils to where the whites of his eyes should be, widened with a new level of shock and anger.

"You," he hissed, his voice deadly. I met his gaze head on, my own face determined. The other humans stopped attacking the Cullens and Quileutes to watch their master, curious. The vampires and werewolves, though, beaten down from the fight by a single vampire and a handful of humans, were horrified as it made toward me. I did not back down though. The Vercrian was stronger and faster than I was; that was certain. He was young, though, and had not been fully taught the techniques to correctly defeat an opponent. We circled, each of us working to find the other's weakness. The Vercrian made the first move, slicing at me with his fingers. I refused to make a sound as my flesh tore, blood pouring down my side. We continued a fighting dance, him making swipes at me and me dodging them. The tactics I learned were effective enough to keep myself from losing for the moment, but I knew I need to give myself the upper hand and I needed to make a move and fast, as I could feel my body beginning to wane. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a glimpse of Esme; she was lying on the ground, Carlisle beside her, both of them staring at the match between the Vercrian and me. Anger boiled through me again and the reacting adrenaline rocketed through my veins and I felt a surge of power and I used it.

I went on the offense, attacking. The Vercrian reacted but not fast enough, shocked that I had made an advance and with such speed. I took the knife that I had taken from the human that lay dead a few feet away and jabbed it under the creature's ribcage, pushing it up into his heart and twisting 180 degrees. The Vercrian howled as I jumped back for a moment, hands over his heart as blood pumped out of the jagged hole I had made. The heart was healing already though and I knew I would only have seconds. I attacked again, using my bare hands. I was no where near full strength but the rage and blood lust I felt was enough for the few moments I had left. I threw my weight against the creature—he was not that much bigger than me—and he fell to one knee, which was all I needed. Using the rest of my strength, I grabbed his skin, fingernails digging in painfully, and, bringing my head down to his jugular, my teeth bit down, hard.

The Vercrian screamed in agony as my venom, though not fully pungent, flowed into his bloodstream, going to his heart in mere seconds. He fell, and I fell with him, collapsing as my body sagged. I was up immediately though, as the humans had started their attack on the vampires and werewolves again. I made toward the humans, slowly. The vampires and werewolves were defenseless as they used their weaknesses against them, fire against the vampires and guns against the wolves. Even though I had just taken down a creature that was thousands of times stronger than them, I knew I wouldn't be able to take them down physically. They heard my approach and swiveled to point their guns and tasers at me. I met their gazes impassively.

"Don't move!" one yelled; he looked about as Irish as was physically possible, his hair fire-engine red and freckles spattered across his face. Of the other two, one was short and stout and the other looked like the emo kid that everyone shunned in middle school, characteristic of the people who would think to join the Vercrian's side. I took another step toward them.

"I said don't move, you bitch!" Mr. Ireland growled. I stopped and looked at him, raising an eyebrow.

"That's offensive," I said calmly. The three didn't move an inch, at least by human standard. I could see them trembling from thirty feet away.

"Not as offensive as you are," Munchkin Guy sneered and I couldn't help but laugh humorlessly.

"What did I ever do to you, may I ask? You've never met me before in your life," I asked. The fact I was responding and how nonchalant I was acting disturbed the boys. Mr. Ireland, the leader I guess, answered.

"Your existence is enough! The very air you breathe is a disgrace to the vampire world, Kadali," he says. I smirk again.

"Well now, that's a little overkill, don't you think? No matter, I'm not in the mood to talk," I say. The three are dumbfounded, looking between each other before tightening their grips on their guns. I smiled, amused.

"You boys have obviously don't have much experience with guns," I tease. They were angered by the remark.

"You shouldn't be offending us when you're about to die," Emo dude said. I smiled wider.

"Do you boys really think you can kill me? Ha," I laughed slightly, "you would've done it a while ago if that were true. Now, let's see how much you actually know about the weapons you hold in your hands." Gathering up the mere fumes of my strength, physical and mental, I met the leader's eyes. I felt his resolve crumble immediately as my eyes overpowered him and he became a puppet at my disposal.

"Why don't you put the gun in your mouth? That's it," I crooned as the kid's hands obeyed, taking the gun in his hand and turning it around and placing the tip between his teeth, his lips falling over the cool metal. His partners stared in shock, their faces horrified.

"Don't listen to her, Pat!" Munchkin Guy pleaded, his and the other's feet frozen in place from fear. They could not move they are so scared. Good. I kept my eyes on Pat and allowed his eyes and brain to register what he is doing. He was shocked and scared, but unable to move a muscle unless I let him.

"Now, pop quiz: how many pounds of force is needed for this particular weapon to fire?" I asked casually. The other humans were trembling so hard they are vibrating. None of them answered.

"I'll give you the answer: five. So, Pat, put four pounds of force onto the trigger. There we go," I said, my voice soft and smooth as silk. Pat obeyed, but the tears in his eyes showed that he wish he couldn't. His friends were trying to get away but I don't let them. Instead, I juggled holding Pat's commands steady as I looked toward the emo guy. I could hear the slight brush of cool metal against his jeans from his every movement.

"Put your knife on the ground," I said. He stared. I sighed, frustrated, and rolled my eyes. "The one strapped to your right ankle." He stared more, but obeyed me, his body trembling. I instructed him to kick it over to me and he does. I dropped the knife I was holding and picked up his, feeling it in my hands as my eyes lazily went back to Pat's.

"How does it feel, Pat? To be robbed of your own mobility and at the mercy of another being? To nibble on the barrel of your own gun, an inch away from death?" I asked, my voice enticing. Pat sobbed underneath the metal in his mouth, praying. I couldn't help the smile on my face. The feeling of control was something I had not felt in a long time and, though the circumstances could be better, I felt comfort in feeling somewhat like myself again. I then changed my tactic.

"Ok, Pat, you can take the gun out now," I said as I relaxed my mental hold on him. He pulled the gun out quickly, breathing fast and heavy, terrified. They thought I was done with my games. But I was not.

"Kill them," I whispered. Pat obeyed immediately, without hesitation, turning and putting a bullet in each of the men beside him, killing them instantly. After seeing what he did, he dropped the gun, horrified.

"You are a demon, Kadali," he gasped. I was already on him before he finished. I gripped his shirt tightly, at least enough that he didn't think to try to escape.

"Look who's talking, Pat. I find that many people, including myself, despise child molesters," I snarled. His eyes widened; he now knew that I know about his sick pleasures. Countless children, all under the age of eight. It made me sick. Only such twisted people could ever have the thought to become Vercrian. He tried to be witty.

"When I am awakened, I can have as many of them as I wish," he sneered, entertained by the thought. I smiled as wickedly while resisting the urge to throw up.

"You will never be 'awakened'. You have a minute to live," I replied. His eyes widened again, this time with fear. He knew I am serious and he began to grasp at straws.

"But your kind, they are merciful. You are merciful; certainly, you would not kill me," he said, trying to play nice by advocating for my side. But he failed to see my resolve.

"Yes, we can be. And I would also prefer to not kill you in front of my family. I also give you credit for being able to recognize me," I said and I saw him relax. His mistake. My grip tightened so his air was cut off.

"However, we are also smart. And I know for a fact that if I let you live, you will continue on your road to become Vercrian, assaulting children as you go. And I will not allow either." My statement struck the most purest form of fear imaginable and I smell urine begin to seep from his clothes. I hold him farther away from him, my nose wrinkling slightly.

"Please, have mercy. I will fix my ways!" he begged breathlessly but I shook my head.

"I know you are lying."

"Please! I don't want to die!" he wailed and I couldn't help my smile.

"I know. Most humans don't. However, until the day of their death, they wake up in the morning and think they will live forever, knowing they won't. Death can come for them at anytime, as it has come for you now. I will compromise with you, only because I am doing this publicly. I will kill you painlessly; you will not feel a thing, which is not something you can say for your own victims." I finished my little monologue with a smile. Quickly, swiftly, I plunged the knife into his sternum. Keeping my promise, he died instantly, and I threw him to the ground.

I collapsed, breathing heavily as my mind and body screamed and writhed in the agony I just put them through. Taking a unsteady breath, I turned to look at the Cullens and Quileutes and take in their open mouths.

Hi everyone! Here's another chapter! Hope you guys enjoy! Will probably post at least one chapter by tonight!

BTW, if anyone is a fan of A Family's Love, I've been bombarded with requests to continue it and I am thinking about it now. Just so you know! But this story would be my priority!

Please review! I love your comments!

~Melinda :)