But if any harm follows, you shall give life for life,, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.

~Exodus 21:23-25~

The waves crash up against the sand. Alice sits on one of the rocks, staring at the sunset. I watch her from the shadows, listening to everything. The seagulls screaming from the air as they search for food. The sound of the waves on the sand. The far-off sounds of the city. Alice's steady, metronomic heartbeat. The sounds of our breathing. A car, two miles away on the road, its driver talking on the phone about his latest business project; something about Italy and venom and worldwide impact and a client in Portla…

Good God, I'm an idiot sometimes.

"Alice." I call, just loud enough for her to hear. She turns her head to stare at me. "I…have to…run an errand. Stay here, don't talk to anyone, no getting into cars and don't go into the water." The last thing I need is for her to get into trouble. She nods.

"Yes, mommy." I sigh. I have no time for sarcasm. And the car is driving away. Without another word, I turn and run, soon stalking the meaninglessly foreboding Lexus, listening to the conversation.

"In fact, I met with a client yesterday evening." The man's voice is strangely harsh. "She's from a good family, sweet-looking young girl…I think her name's Alice…? But she had a tiny bit of an…adverse reaction to the treatment." I am furious beyond words at his nonchalance.

"Bullshit!" I hiss. Client? Yeah right. More like a victim. As far as adverse reactions go, nearly dying could be counted.

My vision is tinged with red as I leave the protective shadows. The man pulls into a driveway, in a secluded section of the Oregon forest. I follow, jumping from tree to shadow in a strange pattern. The garage opens while I am opening an upstairs window, and the sudden light catches me off guard. I slip in the window quickly, tumbling, feeling oddly like an actor in a cheap 1980s spy thriller. Or James Bond. Personally, I prefer James Bond.

The man is humming to himself. Battle Hymn of The Republic, by the sound of it. I slip across the floor to stand by the soon-to-be-opened door. Taking a moment to look around, I see a passport, a half-emptied suitcase, and even more of the Vexxon-esque containers. I shudder involuntarily, and freeze as I hear the man come closer.

He walks in, unaware, and turns on the light, walking over to the unmade bed, takes off his shoes and tie. He doesn't see me step out of my hiding place. I glare; I know that black eyes will be more effective. He turns around, still untying the grey tie, and startles when he sees me.

"Dr. Johannes. What a pleasure to see you again." Dr. Johannes is nervous, and I turn this against him, multiplying the fear a hundred fold. "Or perhaps I should call you by your real name. Dr. Michael James Johannesson?" The man turns to see if there's an escape.

As if running will help.

"You nearly killed her." I say in a much darker tone. "You probably would have killed all of us. And Volterra's destroyed. But you're fine with that. You're fine with hundreds of innocent people over there in Italy dying." I mutter. He knows his errors, now.

"I'm…sorry…" he sputters, unsure of what to say.

"No you aren't. Life for life. Even trade, don't you agree?" I walk towards him, unbreathing.

But if any harm follows, you shall give life for life. It repeats in my head like a mantra, over and over.

"I'll still kill her. My men can find her." He whispers. "She's nothing to me."

In that moment I lose my self-control and lunge forward, my eyes going red for a brief second before I attack.

*~*~*

I hear the sirens behind me as I slip into the trees. To the cops, Dr. Johannes will appear to have fallen off his balcony, broken bones. Killed when he landed on the metal railing of the downstairs porch.

More like pushed.

Sure, some of the wounds are inexplicable, but that's how everything is.

I walk down the beach until I get to Alice, who has fallen asleep on the sand. Carefully, I kneel down next to her and touch her arm. She jumps, waking up, and looks at me in confusion.

"Jasper?" she asks, drowsily. I smile.

"And who else would it be? Pedro the Muffin Man?" She rolls her eyes. "A magical pink bunny named Carl? Some kid named Charlie?" I continue asking, sarcastically. "C'mon. We should get you to a hotel." Cue cheap romance-movie music.

Alice stands up, and drowsily falls into my arms, covered in sand. She grumbles in exhaustion. Feeling strangely weak, I pick her up and begin walking towards the city.

"Sleep now, Alice. That doctor can't hurt anyone ever again. You can relax." I whisper. The sudden shock isn't what I'm expecting. Alice's eyes fly open.

"What? Jasper…where were you? What did you do?" she asks. I am silent.

"Jasper…" her voice is a growl.

"He…suffered an unfortunate accident." I reply.

"You mean…he's dead?" The tone is accusatory. I stare ahead. "Jasper!"

"Yes, he's dead." I reply monotonously. "I killed him. It was absolutely necessary.

She's confused. "Why?"

Now I can finally say that mantra in my head aloud. "But if any harm follows, you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. Exodus 21:23 – 25. I would have had to kill every criminal I ever met in order to pay back for the deaths in Italy, but I had to settle for him. I think there's still more people out there though, working for him, and I'm going to find all of them and kill them, too." I reply.

All is silent.

"It's not over just yet."

Alice finally falls asleep and I use that moment to wipe a drop of blood that stayed on the corner of my lips, despite my precautions in keeping this new secret away from her. It'll never happen again. I know it won't. One little slip, but I'm back in control of myself.

In the glow from the city lights, my eyes glow red.

*~*~*

A/N: And…I'm done with the first book! YAY! The poll results are in, and since most said that I should write the second half of the story as a sequel, I'm going to. Keep your eye out for it. In the grand tradition of me listening to Hollywood Undead more than is absolutely necessary, the sequel is going to be called Paradise Lost (which is a really good song. You should listen to it.)

Songs for the chapter: My Bloody Valentine by Good Charlotte, Hammerhead by The Offspring, and (I cheated) Thoughtless by KoRn.

Okay, since this story is done…Thank you, I love you all, air hugs, all of you deserve a really big cookie, review, vote for Adam Lambert, and wish Gabby Shibaki a nice warm Happy Birthday. And keep your eye out for the contest winners, the Facebook group, and the sequel.

That's all for now. Adios!