Chapter 4
The awkwardness, surprise, and slight offense in my presence were really beginning to piss me off (though I knew I should be more scared than frustrated). There was definitely apprehensiveness pulsating throughout me, but the sheer vibes of kindness and benevolence that flowed from this group was something only I seemed to feel. Despite the fact that any one of them could kill me instantly, I knew they wouldn't. Something about their faces showed a wisdom and placidness that wouldn't be tainted by bloodlust. There was something else buried in their faces, a look of loss and grief. But those questions would be asked later. I sighed heavily and plunked myself back on the couch, slapping the leather as I sat down.
"Alright, I suppose I should better explain myself shouldn't I?" I said. Their attention completely focused on me, they looked around to each other and slightly nodded. In what appeared to be fast motion they all moved to various couches and chairs surrounding me. I was a little flustered by the speed.
"Sorry," Alice mumbled. "We need to get used to slowing down again." They really were out of touch humanity. I took a deep breath and began my story.
"About three years ago, when I was seventeen, my brother Neil and I decided to become pilots together. We did everything together to be honest. By this time, everyone had been living on the station for decades. Some, like my grandmother, even knew relatives who lived through the Great Departure. After we finished our schooling, we flew missions around the Station, delivering cargo, exploring, whatever, really. About six months ago, my brother was assigned something that everyone had been waiting for; he was assigned to return Home. We were all ecstatic about it; in fact it was all he ever talked about. If his tests came back positive, and proved we could return Home, he would come back a hero.
So after another three months of training, he set off for the week's journey. I remember Neil practically bouncing off the walls the days before he set off. He knew the gravity of the mission, and was absolutely determined to succeed. He would always call during the mission. I had never seen him happier or more exited about anything before. I was eternally grateful that he found something that made him feel so complete." Just talking about Neil made my throat start choking up. I paused to collect myself before adding on. Nahuel gave me a look of utter sympathy.
"After a week, he finally landed. It was exactly three months ago. He called back the Station to report his successful landing. He signed off to explore the area before he would conduct his tests. Of course he was smarter than me; at least he brought something to protect himself in the outside world, an energy pulsator, I think. After that, he shut off his radio. We never heard from him again. The last and only evidence we have is that he landed near Paris. Many thought that he was killed by toxic poisons in the air, but obviously I'm still here.
"I immediately volunteered to find him, just as long as I agreed to also continue with his original mission. I couldn't imagine how he got killed, he may have been a goofball, but he wasn't stupid. He didn't leave his cabin without protecting himself first. Even though many told me it would be foolish to try to find him, I couldn't abandon my own brother. I set off for him, and ran into you, far from anything I could have ever expected to find here, no offense."
"None taken," Carlisle said. There was such kindness in his face, but I could also easily distinguish pain in his eyes that he was obviously trying to hide. They all watched me intently, which made me even more uncomfortable than the situation already was. I never faired well with speaking to a crowd, but this was something different entirely. They all seemed to take another second to fully absorb my story, which created an empty silence. They looked around at each other, seeming to keep a secret from me and debating whether or not to tell me. Finally, Rosalie spoke out, breaking the silence.
"Well, I'm sorry Christelle, but we have every reason to believe that your brother is dead." As much as I considered the possibility, as much as I realized how horribly dangerous Home had become, I refused to believe the blasphemy of her words. How dare she simply tell me something she isn't even sure of! Neil could be anywhere, safe and happy. Perhaps his radio became damaged, or maybe his ship malfunctioned, but I knew that he couldn't be dead. Such a heartfelt rage pulsated through my core that I wanted to do nothing more than hurt Rosalie for believing such an atrocity. I didn't care if I couldn't hurt her, or that she could hurt me, I wanted to do it. I stood up and advanced toward her quickly. My plans were faltered when a cold, hard hand grabbed my arm and held me back. It was Bella. Now I was angry at her too, and though I knew that such anger was completely irrational, I wanted to feel it anyway.
"How dare you! How dare all of you!" I shouted. "Neil isn't dead! He can't be!" I tried to thrash away from Bella's infinitely powerful grip, but I knew it was useless.
"You don't understand, Christelle; Paris is kinda the vampire capitol city right now," Jacob said. I could barely detect the slight resentment in his voice. How odd for a vampire to hate his own kind. Or was he a vampire? There was a vitality to him that made him different, but I still knew something about him wasn't right. I shook my head; there wasn't time to get sidetracked.
"What do you mean? How many of you are there?!" I shouted, still angry at everyone.
"Eight hundred and twenty-seven, exactly," Edward said. If I could as close to a vampire and still be alive, it was at this very moment. I could feel my heart slow, and my face grow pale. I felt the goosebumps rise on my arm, suddenly overcome with a shock of cold. Eight hundred and twenty-seven. Neil…he landed in Paris. What are the odds? How could this happen? As much as my heart refused to believe that such horrific circumstances could happen to him, my head knew Rosalie's logic right now. Three months in a city filled with vampires who have been craving human blood for a century and a half…I felt sick. Without thinking, I yanked my arm out of Bella's softening grip raced out of their front door. A ripping pain seared through my arm; I had dislocated it trying to free myself. Still, I ran out the door, screaming and crying along the way. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I had failed. I came all this way only to receive the more awful of news. My brother was almost certainly long dead, perhaps thrashed apart in the most bloody and gruesome way. I gagged thinking about it.
How dark the sky had become since I arrived. It was almost nightfall, and a bitter cold ripped through with a hideous wind. I knelt into the damp grass for several minutes, unable to breath, unable to move, waiting for an answer and a truth which I knew would never come. Though I was not completely, without a doubt assured, I knew my brother was dead. No human could survive these monsters. Monsters. My gut filled with loathing of the Cullens; how they pretend to be human when they are only mere reflections of the life they once had. Now they were only an indestructible force meant to suck the Breath of Life to sustain their own vitality. They, the creatures of the night who've preyed on countless humans for eons, and not regretting it. They with no true feelings, only cruelty, who wouldn't think twice about silencing a human being with a soul and love and family forever.
And then it struck me. I'm such a hypocrite. How could I possibly judge them when I was furious that they judged me? I felt like such a fool. Didn't I already determine that these creatures were benevolent, not malevolent? If they were truly the evil, merciless bloodsuckers of the scary stories of my childhood, they would have not hesitated to consume me. I could see their restraint, how much effort they put into themselves to stand my smell. I could see the grief and loss in their faces, though I didn't know the cause. And I almost looked past this and labeled them off the spot. I'm such a bitch. I giggled at myself, slowly turning into hysterical laughter.
"Are you alright?" said a musical voice. It was Emmett. Everyone else was also at the door with him. Had they been watching me this whole time? I didn't see cynics or snide in their faces, only pure empathy. I slowly rose, feeling ashamed of my appearance. I must have looked atrocious in their perfect eyes.
"I'm fine," I choked out. Ugh, the taste of vomit lingered in my mouth. I tried to swallow it down without success.
"No, you're not; you dislocated your shouder," Emmett said. If the situation were different, I would have shrugged.
"I've had worse," I said, though the searing pain showed in my voice. Emmett sighed.
"Ok, I'm gonna put your shoulder back; this will hurt," he said, rightfully speaking the truth. I appreciated him not going soft on how it would feel. Of course it would hurt like hell. I breathed deeply to relax my muscles.
"Ok, one...two-" he pushed my shoulder back into its socket, a awful cracking sound accompanied it. I cried in pain, but it was only for a brief moment. In the next second, there was only a dull, throbbing ache where the acute pain once was.
"Do you want some water?" Renesmee asked, as if seeming to read my thoughts. I nodded. As I ascended the steps into the front door, they cleared a path for me, leading me into their warm and safe house lit by several torches and a great fireplace. Now I knew for sure that they would not harm me, that they would protect me from the outside world. To what extent they would protect me I didn't know, but I knew that they cared for my life. Once inside, Carlisle led us to the main living room, to the couches once more. I sat down, with Jacob and Renesmee next to me. How peculiar! Even though I wasn't touching him, I could feel his hot skin. He definitely wasn't a vampire, but nothing could be that hot, could it? Carlisle sat in the chair facing me directly. He placed his elbows on his knees.
"Let's sit down, and we'll tell you our story. It's a sad story, but what isn't anymore. If there was a happy ending to our story, God would have called us home long ago.
"About ten years after Bella married Edward-"
"Wait, they're married? I thought you were all related?"
"We're all an 'adopted' family," Emmett said. "I'm married to Rosalie, and Jacob is married to Renesmee." My odd questions were then answered, and it all made sense why those particular people seemed especially close. Carlisle, Alice, and Nahuel said nothing. Their expressions were hard and unreadable. I didn't dare to ask if they were married. Carlisle continued with his story.
"About ten years after they married, that was when the Great Departure began. We knew what was going on in the world, we saw the signs, saw the crops die and the skies turn gray, and saw the ash falling through the air. We knew we couldn't leave; what could we eat on board? Since we could live through it, we remained, along with all the other vampires as the Volturi ordered."
"The Volturi?" I asked.
"I'll explain. They were what you would call the Royal Family for vampires. The three of them ruled us for thousands of years." It was hard for me to encompass the fact that three creatures could exist for such a long time.
"But after the Great Departure, our community was hit hard. There was no food left for most vampires save for those critical few humans left behind. They didn't last long," he said grimly. I cringed.
"We were comfortable for a while, since we already had survived on animal blood for a long time, but after a while our food supply's numbers died due to the Disaster. We often went hungry, especially Jacob," he said. I turned my head to face Jacob. He looked at me and smiled meekly.
"The Volturi decided that we needed to group together in order to survive. Every vampire across the globe gathered in Volterra, Italy, where they resided. We attempted to organize ourselves. Everyone was forced to eat animals, what choice did they have? We tried to raise predators to increase food supply, which worked, but barely. There was much hunger; many went mad with the craving for human blood. It was a dark time.
"After about twenty more years, pandemonium ensued. There was talk of revolt against the Volturi, saying that they couldn't rule us properly or keep us organized. We stayed away from fighting, but many vampires lead an enormous revolt, and destroyed the Volturi. A lot of people died." At this point, Carlisle paused, seeming to be in distress. He rubbed his hands in his face, as if erasing tears. There was an echoing silence in the room. Looking around, Alice also bore that same disturbed face. He seemed to gather himself and resumed. "Leading the fight was Gustav and Matthieu, two French vampires. They seated in power, and moved us to Paris, where we've centered around ever since. The world has recovered since then, and many have scattered throughout Europe.
"Life's become difficult since then. There's no running water, no electricity; we become quite antique," he said, chuckling. "Our world has become quiet again. Unsettling and imperfect, but we are no longer suffering terribly like the chaos of before." At his conclusion, everyone quiet and somber, their eyes on the floor. I suddenly felt very tired. I yawned and rubbed my eyes.
"Would you like to go to sleep?" Nahuel asked. I was almost taken aback by his voice. I hadn't heard it before, but it sounded…like a bell or a glass when you cling it. It was beautiful. He was looking at me with a face that looked like he would do anything I asked for.
"Yeah, I think I just…need to rest," I said lamely.
"You can sleep in my room," he offered.
"But what about you?"
"Don't worry, I'll be fine. I'll sleep on the couch or something."
"No, Nahuel," Carlisle said. "She can sleep in my room. I still have a bed that's largely unused. You don't need to sacrifice your sleep."
"But what about you, Carlisle?" I asked.
"I don't sleep," he said cheerfully.
"But isn't that bad for your health?" He chuckled.
"No, as in, vampires don't ever sleep." Oh.
"Well, in that case, thank you very much." I said goodnight to everyone. Nahuel, Jacob, Renesmee, and I were the only ones who retreated to the upstairs rooms while everyone else remained downstairs, speaking so softly and quickly that I couldn't decipher them. I found Carlisle's bed. It was large and soft and luxurious, but obviously unused for a very long time. I could see that it did once serve its master, but that seemed so long ago. I crawled into the stiff sheets. They even smelled old and dusty, but I wasn't going to complain. I could always wash…with no machine. Just how did they function around here? I didn't care. Sleep quickly covered my eyes over as I dreamt of Neil waiting in his ship for me with some snacks.