"So what? You're just going to quit! Just Like That!" (Janey Glenn, Girls Just Want to Have Fun)

(6) FATAL

We literally screech to a stop in the parking lot of the Mirage. Well not the front entrance but behind the casino with all the dirty dumpsters and employee cars. Alice bypassed the forbidden entrance using her hands to break the heavy barrier without breaking a sweat! Well, you know what I mean!

I turned my head to check on Esme who was lying across the backseat. We put Rosalie on the floor scrunched into a blanket-clad ball! What? Like you wouldn't do the same. Don't judge.

Alice maneuvered the Porsche to the emergency exit we used when she carried me out of the hotel. A hotel worker was on a cigarette break watching us. Alice ignored him and turned off her high beams, which was probably a good idea. The fact that we were in a secluded entrance wasn't suspicious enough! The car was idle and I waited for Alice to think of a brilliant plan.

"Now what?" I prodded cautiously lowering my voice so our unexpected visitor could not hear our conversation.

"I dunno. I wasn't expecting an audience." Alice murmured and the exit door opened. Two female workers in their revealing work outfits joined the cigarette man outside. Grrrreattt! They lit their own cigarettes. It was a cigarette convention outside. The smoke always bothered me, which is beside the point.

"I don't know, lemme think!" Alice looked contemplative looking up in the sky and smiling. She hopped from her seat. For a split second I was envious of Alice's flexible body parts. That passed and I watched her stride towards the workers with the huge blanket over her shoulder. I cringed and watched the deviation began.

"Hi." Alice paused and the man threw his cigarette on the ground. "I'm here!" Another pause. "Did Gale call you?" Quicker pause. "I'm part of the illusion act, in fact I have an integral part of the show with me." She gestured to the blanket. The women shrugged and turned back to their conversation. The man sighed and opened the door.

"Thanks." Alice sang and adjusted the blanket-covered Esme.

"Hey, wait a minute!" The man shouted. Alice froze turning slowly. "Is that a girl?"

"Umm, yea." Alice mumbled. She gave me a quick look that meant if the you know what hits the fan, Leave Fast!

He chuckled, "I knew it!" The man laughed and they went inside. Alice smiled shortly and nodded.

I sat in my seat watching her move Esme into the kitchen. She came back a minute later and walked to the car.

"Where's Esme?"

"Don't worry I put her somewhere safe!" Alice heaved Rosalie out of the car and I followed closely. Alice swung the heavy door open and walked in the kitchen. A few workers milled around glancing in our direction.

"What if someone stops us?" I asked looking at a desert tray filled to the brim with chocolate covered treats.

"They won't." Alice put Rosalie in the same bin and threw some towels over her. "Let's go." Alice pushed the cart along the corridor and I tried to keep up lamely. She went to the service elevators and pushed our floor. "One thing I've learned is if you act like you know what you're doing. Nobody ever questions you."

I folded my arms around myself and nodded. "Are they going to be okay?"

Alice lost her smug smile and gave me a dreaded look. "I don't know. Everything keeps changing."

The lights traveled down the buttons and the elevator door opened. Alice pushed the cart inside and I squeezed between the small opening. Alice pushed the door shut and we rode up. There was nothing that needed to be said.

The bin started shaking violently. I shrieked and planted myself flat against the wall. I put my hand over my mouth to stop the terrified scream. Alice reached in the bin and I saw her whole arm convulsing.

"What's happening to them?" I asked controlling my fear.

"There body is going through a chemical change." Alice paused and bit her lip.

"How?" I gathered my thoughts. Please make sense! "How is that possible? I mean don't they have to be human to have this affect them?" The words were coming out all wrong.

"No, not when the blood enters our system. It's a food for our body it nourishes us. Not the same way that food is for humans. Our body can fight the toxins in most blood. The chances of this happening are a tiny percent miniscule. I don't understand this." Alice shook her head and wheeled the cart down the hallway.

"Edward and Carlisle are almost here." Alice sighed in relief and guided the cart and me to the room down the labyrinth of hallways.

"That was fast." I breathed. "I mean were they far away?"

"No, they were hunting by the border of Oregon." Alice explained and opened the door.

She rolled the bin to the middle of the room and took out Esme. She carefully laid her on the floor and set Rosalie next to her. Their color was worse than in the dark desert. The lighting magnified their features and I felt nauseous. Their beauty was marred, it looked like their body was shriveling.

The (a-ha) moment came to me. "Wait you said Carlisle and Edward. Where's Jasper and Emmett?"

Alice frowned. "They were hunting a little further south. They're going to take longer to get here." Alice paced the room and peered out the window. I went further away from them and sat on the couch. I bit my nails and watched Alice whiz in circles until she made me crazy.

"Alice."

"Sorry, I just feel so helpless." She sat beside me on the couch. I leaned against her and she wrapped her arms around me. "I know you're scared. But I believe in Carlisle. HE can fix this!"

I stared out the window and listened to my heart. We both did. After sixty beats there was a knock on the door.

Finally…