Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Twilight characters. Any original content, however, is probably mine.
A/N: Just a reminder that the four main characters are real people, people that I know, and some of the content contained in later chapters may anger some people. That being said, I did try to keep the characters as close to how Stephenie Meyer wrote them, though I know I could never get them perfect. If you feel so inspired, please feel free to review with criticism or compliments.
Chapter 10 -- You Can Run
Edward leaped out of nowhere and slammed into Daisha, causing the sound of a rockslide on sheer granite. Joe crouched and covered his ears with his hands, squinting his eyes shut as Edward continue to wrestle with Daisha a few yards away, her snarling attempts to rip at Joe's flesh penetrating his attempts to block it out. Sarah screamed from somewhere and Joe could feel her pulling him up and away from the vicious monsters.
Joe's breath came out in heavy pants and he could feel himself being dragged into a car that he didn't recognize. As soon as he and Sarah were both inside, the door was slammed shut by someone, and the roar of an engine forced Joe back into reality as he was sped away from the flaming wreckage in a matter of seconds.
In the driver's seat sat Carlisle, his stony face hiding any emotion as he drew the insanely speeding car further and further away from the scene of carnage behind them. Jasper was in the passenger seat, though turned around, facing Sarah, Joe, and Rosalie in the back seat of the surprisingly spacious vehicle.
"Um..." Joe shook his arm free from Sarah's steel grip and looked around the car. "What's going on?" When no one answered him for several minutes, he decided to try again. "How did you guys know where to find me?"
"Alice," Jasper said, looking directly at him.
Joe's eyes widened. "She came back?"
"No," Carlisle sighed slowly, his previously distant expression now one of unreadable emotion. "A few weeks ago, Alice saw major car crash sometime in the future on the interstate. We were watching it last night because we knew you and Daisha went to Seattle without telling anyone, which, by the way, was incredibly stupid."
Joe sat silent in the backseat in between Sarah and Rosalie, unable to make a comment to defend himself. So many deaths had been caused tonight because of him. The pain of the guilt that was now pressing in on him wasn't enough to keep him completely quiet though. "What's going to happen to Daisha?" he asked quietly, almost afraid of being reprimanded for speaking through the immense tension that filled the car.
After a small pause, Carlisle spoke, his face and voice once more composed and hidden. "Edward will be taking her somewhere far away and helping her to control what she's become."
"Will she ever be the same?" Joe asked with worry seeping into his voice.
"It's hard to say," Jasper spoke this time, keeping his dark eyes trained on Joe's. "It could take years before she returns to a controlled state, and even then, she'll never be the same girl she once was. It all just depends on how quickly she can learn to control her hunger."
Joe's gut turned cold at the thought of Daisha going through torture like that, the pain, the anguish.
Sarah's gut turned cold at the thought of Edward being gone for as long as several years. She was just beginning to trust their relationship and now it was gone. She closed her eyes and fought back the tears that were trying to fight free from her.
"So," Joe said slowly, trying not to upset the temporary balance that seemed to exist inside the vehicle. "Where are we going?"
"Back to our home," Carlisle said coldly. "We need to have a conversation with everyone that's left." The tone in his voice was final and threatening, and Joe couldn't help but fear the man that once seemed so calm and perfectly controlled.
The remainder of the drive was made in complete silence, no one daring to make another sound after the finality of Carlisle's last words. After what seemed like an eternity, the smooth, black car pulled off of the main road and onto the hidden path at a speed that didn't seem possible for the sharp curve. As they approached the large white house, Joe noticed that all the lights in the house were on, and it cast a strange, out of place glow around the area.
The vampires were the first out of the car, not waiting for the humans who struggled along at normal speed. Sarah and Joe looked at each other as if they were walking to their execution, and they knew that whatever awaited them inside the beautiful home they had dreamed about so much couldn't be good.
Inside the door, Emmet and Esme were standing together against the far wall, with Carlisle next to the large sofa, and Rosalie stood next to the front door with Jasper. As Joe and Sarah entered, they realized that they were positioned in the center of the room with the vampires fashioning a loose circle around them. Sarah reached out and grabbed onto Joe's arm, her nails digging into his skin.
"So," Carlisle began, his smooth voice darker and more menacing than anyone was used to. "Since you and your friends have arrived here in Forks, nothing less than the most dangerous and insane series of strange and unfortunate consequences have occurred. Not only has Bella gone missing, but so has one of your own. Your other friend is now the cause of several deaths, and has been turned into an extremely feral and violent newborn vampire. The two of you that are fortunate to still be alive have found some way to seduce two of our own, ripping my family apart and forcing us against each other in the process. You've been here for four days and you're already destroying things that we, that I, have spent centuries trying to create and protect. Not to mention the werewolves that are out there somewhere, plotting something we have no way of defending ourselves against.
"While this may not seem to be fair to the two of you, we have no other alternative. Sarah, you and Joe need to leave Forks immediately."
"We can't --" Joe began, but was cut off instantly.
"Yes," Carlisle glared at him threateningly. "You can, and you will. We have rogue werewolves running around and we're already two members short of our own family. Those odds are bad enough without worrying about the protection of you two, and your insipid bad luck would only make matters worse.
"But our friends," Sarah said softly, hardly raising her voice above a whisper. "You can't expect us to leave them behind. Jessica could still be alive, and Daisha..."
"There's nothing else you could do for Daisha," Esme said in her honey voice. "She'll stay here with us if she chooses, or she'll go off on her own. Either way, you can't help her. And as for Jessica..." Esme's voice trailed off, only to be picked up by Jasper.
"When we find her," he said steadily, looking directly into Joe's eyes still, as if attempting to explain something more to him without speaking, "we'll tell her the same thing we're telling you now."
Joe averted his gaze from Jasper and hung his head. He knew they had lost and nothing could be done to help their case.
"Alright, we'll go," Joe said, his voice cracking. He began walking towards the stairs to collect his things when Rosalie cut him off.
"All your stuff is in the car already," she frowned apologetically at Joe, then looked away.
"Right..." Joe turned and walked toward the door. Sarah joined him, and he wasn't surprised to see tears streaming silently down her face. Joe reached his hand out and placed it on the cool door handle, pulling the heavy oak door open. He stopped suddenly and peered out into the illuminated yard, immobile. Sarah let out a small gasp beside him and took several steps back.
"What is it?" Carlisle asked, already at the door before his sentence was completely finished.
Forming a line across the front lawn were about fifteen enormous, dark colored wolves. Their fur grew in rough patches, dirt and mud clotting their visage. Deep, yellow eyes peered towards the Cullen house across the damp grass.
"Those aren't Quileutes," Carlisle muttered. "What's going on?"
Then, from the middle of the battalion, the largest wolf, the leader of the pack, let out an earsplitting roar, causing Joe and Sarah to scramble backwards. Without any further ado, the leader launched itself through the damp air, its fangs glinting in the light from the house, followed immediately by the rest of its pack.
In less time than it took Joe and Sarah to realize what was happening, the front door was slammed shut, and Joe and Sarah were soon being shoved backward by something very hard and very cold, being ushered away from the front door. Inaudible muttering could be heard above their heads, and then they were both lifted several feet off the floor and were being carried away. As they were being led through an unidentified door by a vampire, a tumultuous, splintering crash from behind them could be heard as the front door was crushed to make room for the werewolves that began to stream into the Cullen's home.
There was a loud click, and then immediate darkness, and Joe could feel Sarah clutched against him as the wind whizzed by them from the speed they were being carried. Unable to see, Joe inhaled deeply, only to realize that he recognized the scent of the vampire holding them. Jasper was carrying them somewhere that was pitch black at a speed Joe hadn't thought possible, but where were they going, and how did they get here? The comfort of being with Jasper lasted only a split second as Joe realized that behind them, Carlisle, Rosalie, Esme, and Emmett were left to fight fifteen werewolves alone.
Finally, after several more minutes, Jasper slowed and set Joe and Sarah down. It took several minutes for them to regain their bearings and be able to stand on their own.
"Where the hell are we?" Joe asked loudly, not sure where Jasper or Sarah was. He could see nothing in the pitch blackness.
"A tunnel," Jasper retorted.
"Really?" Joe asked sarcastically. "Not sure I could've figured that one out on my own."
"Joe, shut up," Sarah shot out. "Where does the tunnel go, Jasper?" she asked calmly.
"Canada," was Jasper's only response, and Joe couldn't help but wonder what was going on.
"Why Canada?" Sarah responded.
"You two are going to Denali," Jasper informed them to shocked silence. "You'll stay with Tanya and her clan until we can come retrieve you and let you know it's safe to leave."
"When you say us two," Joe asked, realization entering him, "you mean..."
"You and Sarah," Jasper said quickly. "I need to go back, my family needs me."
"Oh..." Joe said softly.
"Follow this tunnel until it ends," Jasper said. "Then you'll come to a road. Follw the road west and it will lead you straight to Denali. You know what we look like, it shouldn't be too difficult to find the coven, but Joe..." Jasper paused for a second. "I need to have a word with you in private."
Joe felt Jasper's cold grip on his wrist as he was lead a ways in one direction. Finally, they stopped.
"I know this isn't right," Jasper explained, "and I know it's caused too many problems, but I can't help myself. You're something to me, Joe. I don't know it is yet, but it's something important. This isn't goodbye. I'll come back for you when it's safe. "
"I'm sorry," Joe whispered, but Jasper cut him off. The frozen feeling of the vampire's lips against his made him stop, and then Joe gave into the rush of emotions that was flooding him. The kiss was harsh, quick, and meaningful, as if each of them were trying to express their feelings in one quick kiss.
Finally, it broke off and Jasper turned away. Joe could hear his footsteps echo down the tunnel until they were gone, and it left an all consuming sadness in Joe's chest. Slowly, he turned in the opposite direction that Jasper ran and walked until he found Sarah again.
"Come on," he sad, pulling her to her feet. "We've got to get to fucking Canada, eh?"
She managed a weak laugh in response. "So, we both lose our guys in one day, huh?"
"Neither of them are lost," Joe encouraged as they walked in the direction they assumed they were supposed to go in. "They'll both be back eventually."
"Yeah," she sniffed, "but will we?"
As they continued on into a different country in silence, Joe thought to himself that Sarah had a point. They had no way of knowing what the future held, not without Alice, and it didn't look very bright from where they were standing. Even if the Cullens did somehow miraculously manage to survive the surprise slaughter of of the werewolves, would they even be welcomed back? Sure, Jasper said he'd come for them, but in the end, his allegiance would lie with his family. Joe sighed. He crossed his arms; it was cold.
Jessica slowly lifted herself from the comfortable bed she had been almost permanently residing in and lowered her damaged leg gingerly to the ground. She winced as pain went traveling from her leg into the rest of her body. Though it still hurt, it was definitely improving at a quick pace. She was pleasantly surprised. She looked around the cozy bedroom and saw her jeans lying in a pile in the far corner of the room.
"Do I really have to put them on?" she asked, allowing a bit of a whine to enter her voice.
"Unfortunately, yes," he laughed as he crossed the room to retrieve them for her. "I don't like it anymore than you do, but it is customary to be fully clothed in public, and we'll be heading through a few towns today." He bent down to pick up Jessica's jeans and tossed them to her as he reached over to the dresser and picked up his own pair of cutoffs. "See, it's not so bad," he said with a sly smile as he slowly slid his loose pants on up and over his bare skin, covering his russet skin more than Jessica would have liked.
She pouted her lips and frowned. After it became clear to her that Jacob wasn't budging, she lifted her jeans up into the air at him. "Well, I'm going to need some help with this..."
"Of course," Jacob smiled and bowed slightly, and in one fluid movement, crossed the room and had her jeans in his hands. He crouched down, sliding them up her pale legs, kissing his way up them as he slowly made his way higher and higher until Jessica the jeans were on and buttoned. "There," Jacob whispered into her ear when he finished. "That wasn't so bad."
"No," she giggled, "it wasn't."
Without warning, Jacob suddenly scooped her up into his arms and carried her outside into the woods. The sun was only just beginning to rise in the pale blue sky, and Jessica thought it was the second most beautiful thing she'd ever seen. He nuzzled her neck with his chin and held her tightly in the chilly morning air, his warmth providing an effective shield against anything unpleasant.
"Shall we?" Jacob asked her with his goofy grin, and when Jessica nodded, he began running at a quick but steady pace into the deep surrounding woods.
They continued at the same pace for nearly an hour, each of them merely enjoying each others company and the surrounding nature. Jacob enjoyed pointing out things too far away for Jessica's normal eyes to perceive, and Jessica enjoyed watching as Jacob's eyes lit up when he saw something particularly beautiful. Then, in a sudden movement, they skidded to a complete stop, Jacob's neck craned painfully, his ears at full power.
"What is it?" Jessica asked, looking around expectantly.
"Shhhh..." His face was hard and serious, and it scared Jessica. He set her down gently and she leaned against a tree for support, keeping her broken leg from touching the ground. "Stay here," Jacob said softly as he began walking away. "Don't move, and don't make a sound."
In an instant, Jacob was gone as he dashed away through the trees, leaving Jessica completely alone. She stood there for several minutes, nothing to occupy her attention but the distinct stillness all around her. What was beautiful was now ominous; what was serene was now eerie.
Then a girl appeared in front of Jessica. She was pale with dark brown hair and a plain sort of face. In fact, Jessica thought as the two girls eyed each other, they looked very similar. If the setting had been any different, Jessica thought they could have been mistaken for sisters. The other girl didn't have freckles or braces like Jessica did, and she was a little taller than Jessica was, but the effect was remarkably disorienting. Something in Jessica's mind suddenly clicked, and she realized who this other girl must be.
"Bella?" Jessica asked in a quiet whisper.
Bella surveyed her with mistrust and wariness. "How do you know my name?"
Jessica smiled. "Long story. I'm not an enemy though, I swear. Where have you been?"
Bella's expression continued to read skepticism, but she took a few steps forward. "Who are you?"
"My name is Jessica," she replied with a relieved smile.
Bella immediately shone with recognition. "You're the Jessica who got kidnapped too!"
"I wasn't kidnapped," Jessica shot back. "What makes you think I was kidnapped?"
"Alice," Bella responded simply.
"You're with Alice?" Jessica questioned. "Where's everyone else?"
"Alice left alone," Bella explained quickly, "and found me. But if you weren't kidnapped then what are you doing out here, and with a broken leg?"
"Well, I was attacked," Jessica shuddered at the memory of it, "by a werewolf, but then Jacob found me and I've been with him ever since."
"Jacob?!" Bella shrieked. "What? He's here? Where?"
"He just left," Jessica said sullenly. "He heard something I think, probably you."
"Is he okay?" Bella asked softly as she approached Jessica quickly. "Or is he still, you know, upset about Edward and I?"
"I'm sure he's still upset," Jessica said slowly, wondering if she should reveal Jacob's recent imprinting. "But not as much as he used to be."
"Why?" Bella asked, catching on to Jessica's evasive tone.
"Well," Jessica sighed, seeing no other way. "He sort of imprinted."
"He did?" Bella asked ridiculously. "Out here? On who?"
"On me," Jessica replied shortly.
"Oh..." Bella gazed at Jessica differently now, as if appraising her, and Jessica didn't like it. The look in her eyes held disapproving disappointment. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah," Jessica said smugly. "Just call me Mrs. Black."
"Jessica?" a third voice suddenly came from the trees and both girls turned to look at who it was. Alice, short and pixie like as ever, danced through the trees towards them. "You're alive?"
"And in possession of Jacob's heart, apparently," Bella shot out with venom.
There was stunned silence for a moment, until Alice spoke again with disgust. "You let a dog imprint on you?"
"That's right," exclaimed Jacob loudly as he too joined the others. "Hello Alice," he greeted. "So that was your stench I was picking up earlier. Good to know."
"Oh Jake," Alice replied nonchalantly. "Ever the charmer."
Jacob ignored her and turned to Bella, a mystified look in his eyes. "Bella," he said softly. "I'm so glad you're okay." Bella looked at him with an odd expression as she bit her lower lip, though she remained silent.
Alice's tone suddenly turned serious. "We don't have time to chat. Do either of you have a clue about how bad things have gotten in Forks?"
Jacob and Jessica just looked at each other, no clue as to what Alice was talking about.
"Well, here's a slight recap for you," she said as she too leaned against a tree.
Joe and Jasper hooked up, so I skipped town and came down here where I found Bella right as we both witnessed Sarah and Edward kiss. I tried to stop Bella from seeing it, but I didn't get there in time, so the two of us have been hiding out here like the rejected girls teenage girls we are. Meanwhile, back at home Daisha went and got herself bitten by some vampire, so now she's one of us. Edward's with her on an island somewhere trying to help her control herself, but I don't see how that's possible. The girl didn't have any control when she was a human, I don't think she'll be faring any better as a vampire. So the rest of the family decided to send Joe and Sarah back home to wherever you strange humans came from, and then they all disappeared from my vision, which means somewhere along the line, werewolves have entered the equation. Since then, the only ones to reappear in my vision are Joe and Sarah, and they're going to try and get to Denali with Tanya and her clan where they can stay for all I care.
The point of all this is that there's a bunch of pissed off werewolves attacking my family over you, Jacob. So you're coming with me and Bella to set everything right. Got it?"
Jacob and Jessica stood there for a moment before Jacob could finally speak again.
"Wait..." Jacob said slowly, gathering his thoughts. "Why are the rogue wolves after me?"
"Ugh!" Alice snarled menacingly. "I'll explain on the way there. Right now, you need to grab your soulmate, or whatever she is, and let's get the hell out of here!"
"Wow," Jacob replied as he bent down to place Jessica softly in his arms. "You're terrifying, you know that?"
Alice scooped Bella up as well and tossed her hair back to look at him. Her worried frown stretched into a wide snarl that showed every one of her frighteningly jagged teeth.
"Thanks," she growled.
And they ran.
A/N: Thank you all SO much for all of your reviews, I really love getting feedback from all of you. Even though I know some of it wasn't what you all wanted to read, I really appreciate you sticking through it. When I wrote this the first time on paper, I originally did it in two separate parts with thirteen chapters in each part. I think now on the internet I'm going to be doing the second part as a separate story. I'll give more info on that when it comes up, but just forewarning you guys that when this story ends, there's actually more to come. If you want it. Thanks again for all your support, and the real Sarah, Jessica, Joe, and Daisha LOVE hearing you guys' feedback as well. Till next time!