Chapter 8:
Looks Like Jalice Isn't Getting Her Father's Power
Happy New Year's Everyone! :D
-Dommy
I took off my blindfold and looked at the person hugging me. All I saw was long, black, straight hair. The person in Jasper's arms was similar to the one in mine. I looked at A.C. and through mind, I asked who was hugging me. It was just to make sure that my guess was right.
"Jalice," A.C. mouthed.
So I was right! Yay! Anyway, I kind of knew it was Jalice from the gentleness of the hug compared to what Carly gave Jasper. Both twins pulled away from Jasper and me. Carly showed her perfect white teeth while smiling but Jalice did it very little. They looked the same but at the same time, they looked different. Their similarities were that they both have long, straight, black hair with side bangs. There was also the height. They looked like they could pass for thirteen year olds. The yellow eyes and pale skin was another thing. Carly was different from Jalice because she had some freckles that were too dark to not notice on her face just like Emmett told Jasper and me. Also, Jalice already took a major liking to black mascara and black eyeliner. She kind of had too much on. It was hard to tell if these two were fraternal or identical. I decided to choose later.
"Hi!" Carly exclaimed happily.
"Hello," Jalice said quietly.
"Which one's which?" Jasper whispered to me.
"I'm Carly! Jalice is the one with too much make up on," Carly explained.
"Hey!" Jalice yelled and she glared at her twin.
"Now, now, let's not start fighting," Carlisle said. "Anyway, I need to show your mother and father something. You both have to come with us. A.C., you can come too."
A.C. stopped hugging Sethy and she, Jasper, Jalice, Carly, and I followed Carlisle to his study. When we were there, Carlisle sat Carly and Jalice on his desk. A.C. stood next to them. Then, Carlisle turned to Jasper and me.
"I've been noticing that Jalice is… different… from normal vampires," Carlisle whispered.
"What do you mean by different?" I asked.
"I mean, her senses aren't as great as a normal vampire's," Carlisle explained. "It may be a birth defect of some sort."
Since when did vampires have birth defects? I thought we were "perfect"?
"What's a birth defect?" Carly asked.
"He didn't say anything about that," Jalice said.
"Yes he did," A.C. said and looked at Carly. "A birth defect is when something is wrong with you because of birth… I think… I could be wrong but stop being so nosey!"
Carly rolled her eyes.
"As I was saying," Carlisle started, "Jalice has human-shaped teeth but so does Carly. They'll get sharper as they keep hunting. I have to test Jalice for a minute on her senses."
Carlisle turned off the lights. Since I have raptor vision, I was still able to see everything exactly the way it was. I didn't even notice that Carlisle had the windows covered. He turned to Jalice, A.C., and Carly.
"Jalice, what do you see?" he asked.
"Nothing," Jalice said. "It's pitch black in here."
"A.C.?"
"I see outlines of everything."
"How about you, Carly?"
"I could see everything exactly how I saw it when the lights were on."
Carlisle turned the lights on. I heard him mutter "Cullen." Then he asked:
"Jalice, what did you just hear?"
"The room was silent."
"A.C.?"
"You muttered something but I couldn't make out what."
"Carly?"
"You muttered 'Cullen.' Hey, isn't that my mom's last name?" Carly asked.
Carlisle nodded. "It's mine, Esme's, Edward's, Emmett's, Renesmee's, and A.C.'s too."
Carly and Jalice looked at A.C. with confusion. She didn't look back at them. I was getting worried about Jalice. A.C. couldn't see in the dark perfectly and she couldn't hear what Carlisle said perfectly but that's because she's half human. Carly did everything perfect like a normal vampire. So far her senses were as good as a vampire's. Jalice, well, I don't know what's up with her. I looked at Jasper. He was studying Jalice. In his mind, he was probably thinking the same thing as me. Carlisle walked out of the room but was back in a second.
"Now," he said, "Jalice, what scent do you smell in the air?"
"Mmmm… Sorry, all I smell is air."
"A.C.?"
"Werewolf."
"Carly?"
"Sethy and Jacob the werewolves on the third floor in Uncle Edward's old room. Carly said. "If you don't mind me asking, why are we doing this?"
Carlisle ignored the question. "Now, I'll give you each one cup of blood and you just tell me what it tastes like. Jalice, you start."
Jalice took a sip. "Just plain blood."
"I taste dog's blood," A.C. said. She made a face of disgust as she tried to swallow the blood. That's what she gets from eating human food all the time.
"It's a husky's blood," Carly said and chugged the rest down her throat.
Carlisle's eyebrows creased in hesitation. I saw A.C. nod. She stuck out her arm that already had a scar on it. Carefully, Carlisle cut her arm with a pocket knife. As blood gushed out of A.C.'s arm, Jasper, Carly, and I stared at it. Jalice didn't seem to notice. Some of A.C.'s blood was poured into a cup. Carlisle gave it to Jalice as A.C. wrapped her cut with a bandage.
Once Jalice was finished chugging A.C.'s blood, Carlisle asked her, "Was there any difference between this blood and the animal blood?"
"They tasted the same," Jalice said.
Carlisle nodded and took the cup back. He motioned for Jasper and I to go in the hallway. Scared for what we were about hear, even though we had an idea of it, we did what we were told. We walked into the hallway hand in hand. Carlisle came out shortly after us. He faced us.
"Jalice's sense work like a human's," he said.
My mouth dropped. I was so shocked. "But… she's a vampire."
"Or is she somehow not?" Jasper asked, bewildered by the news.
"There's no beating heart and no blood in her system. She moves fast and graceful so she is indeed a vampire. Her strength is a little weak but it will improve as time goes on," Carlisle explained.
"But why is she like this?" I asked.
Carlisle shrugged. "My guess is as good as yours."
I sighed. A.C. came out of Carlisle's study with the twins following her. She was about to hug me but once Jalice came and stood next to me, she thought twice. For some reason, a sad look came over her face. Jalice looked up at me with fear in her eyes.
"Carly said that something's wrong with me," she said. "She says that I'm not a normal vampire so I'll have to go to some mental institution for vampires."
I flinched when "mental institution" was said since I spent some of my human life in one. I told Jalice, "Just ignore her. You're normal." I felt like I was lying when I said "You're normal." I was starting to believe Carlisle and Carly myself.
Carlisle left up by smiling and going back into his study. A.C. stormed off and rushed downstairs to go by Edward she was starting to worry me too.
"Hey mom," Carly started, "how come A.C. can read minds and we can't? And why do you call her A.C.?"
"Uh, she can read minds because, uh, she just can and we call her A.C. because, uh, her name is Alice Cullen too," I explained.
"Why'd you name her the same thing as you?" Carly asked.
"And why do you keep asking so many questions?" Jasper asked. "C'mon, let's go outside."
Jasper and Carly were outside within five seconds. Carly cheered for herself for beating him to it. I walked slowly to the living room with Jalice. No one was on the living room so I put on Keeping Up With the Kardashians. I plopped onto the couch and Jalice sat next to me. The TV show dragged since it was a boring episode. I changed the channel to MTV and Jersey Shore was on. "I can't see over the counter because I'm a frickin smurf!" Oh wow Snookie! I know exactly how you feel!
"Mom?" Jalice asked.
"What?" I answered and looked at her.
"How come we can see the future? Is it because you can?" Jalice asked.
"Mhm," I said and nodded at the same time. Then I realized what she said. "Who's 'we'?"
"Me, Carly, and A.C.," Jalice said.
"You can see the future too?" I asked. "Since when?"
"I don't remember, we could also tell people what we're thinking just by putting our hands on their cheeks. How come we can do that?" Jalice asked.
I shrugged. "Must be a sister thing."
"But Renesmee can do it too."
I didn't say anything. Keep silent is what I'm going to have to do a lot now. I don't think Jalice and Carly would want to know about my past with Edward and how I got A.C. I barely remember it myself.
Jalice noticed my silence but she ignored it. "I could do something else that Carly and A.C. can't do."
"Like what?" I asked.
Jalice was quiet for a minute but then said, "I could give human traits to vampires. I was practicing it earlier today. It never works on me or Aunt Bella though."
"How come it won't work on you?" I asked.
"I don't know," Jalice said and she shrugged at the same time. "Carly told me that my senses didn't work how a vampire's should. Half of me says it's because of my power but the other half thinks it's just because I'm developing late or something. I could use my power by touching the person but I could also do it through mind. Uncle Edward says that mind powers can't be done with Aunt Bella. That's why I can't do it to her. But I could do it to you. Wanna see?"
"Sure," I said but I didn't believe it.
But sure enough, I had a beating heart and tears streaming down my cheeks.
