Hey guys. I thought I'd post this today since I don't think I'll be posting this weekend. I might be able, to, but it's doubtful, so no promises. Sorry.
Chapter Ten: The Journey
Alice stumbled across the field. It had been three days since she had woken up. In that time, she had discovered that six navy submarines had inexplicably gone down in close proximity to land, and in areas that they really shouldn't have. Murder rates had taken a steep incline all over the country. She had been gone from the world of the living for only two months, and everything had changed. They only had about a month before this started happening more publicly, and not long after that point, it went international. On a brighter note, most of her memories that had been stolen in the Kingdom of Broken Souls had returned.
Right now, Alice was trying to track down Lin. It was slow work without being able to race around. She managed to steal a minimal amount of money, but it was almost all gone, even though she had been trying to conserve it. Alice felt as though it might be a good idea to go back to the Cullens. She wasn't sure if she could face them, though. But she might have to face them anyway, because the were probably Lin's only shot at survival. Alice sighed. She was in Washington and it would only be a few hours on the bus if she really needed to….
Looks like I'm pickpocketing someone for more money, Alice thought. She looked around. Train station to her left, McDonald's to her right, Sheri's straight ahead, and a gas station right behind her. The train station was her best bet.
She walked inside as normally as she could. She had shoplifted a pair of jeans and a hoodie a few miles back before picking a bike lock and riding here, so she looked somewhat presentable, which meant being less noticeable. Alice examined possible targets. She didn't like doing this, but it was to save the world—and of course her mate—so she supposed it was acceptable.
There was a woman right in front of her with expensive-looking shoes and a purse that must have cost a fortune. Good pick, she thought. Unfortunately, Alice no longer had superspeed, and the woman did not have a wallet in her pocket. Probably in the purse.
The woman jumped slightly. "Oh shit!" she groaned. "If I forgot my sun dress…" she trailed off. She bent down, put her purse on the floor, and started rummaging through her suitcase. Alice saw her chance. She put up her hood and quietly slunk forward and grabbed the woman's purse. She took off running. She may not have superspeed anymore, but she was still fast and had good endurance. "Come back here!" screeched the woman. "She's got my purse! That horrid girl's got my purse!"
Woman, Alice silently corrected. I'm over eighteen by a long shot, but she of course did not comment on it; Alice most definitely did not have time for that.
She could hear people running behind her. She made the mistake of looking back and almost tripped. She quickly righted herself and continued on towards the mall several blocks ahead. All she had to do was get inside the mall and get lost inside the crowd.
They were gaining on her. They were so close to her. Alice's breath was coming in ragged strokes now. She wasn't used to tiring this quickly, even if it was not as fast as most humans. She picked up her pace. At the most, she had 180 more seconds of pain. She could handle that. She sprinted into the mall and took as many turns right away as she could.
Where would the most people be? Alice silently wondered. She glanced around. It was lunch time. Food court. Alice brought herself to a walk. She shed her sweatshirt, hanging it over the purse, and fluffed her short hair so that it fell in front of her eyes. Alice headed down to the food court and sat down at a table near a gaggle of teenage girls laughing loudly. She began to look through the purse.
Evidently, the woman had indeed been quite rich. Inside there was the normal things you'd find in a purse—tampons, pens, a few stray pennies, and a phone. There was also a wallet. There were several receipts inside of the wallet, along with credit cards, a driver's license, and 983 dollars in cash. That was much, much more than enough to get her from here to Forks. She pulled out ten dollars and decided it would be less conspicuous to buy some food than just sit there and hope that none of the police officers after her noticed Alice.
She got herself a meal and then proceeded to buy some new clothes. There were some cops wandering around with stern expressions on their faces, and it appeared as though they were probably the ones after her. She put on her new attire and walked out of the building as calmly as she could. Surprisingly enough, none of them stopped her.
She found a bus as quickly as she could and hopped on without a second thought. She had to save Lin, and she was going to do whatever it took, even if that meant returning to the Cullens.
It was a very long bus ride. She wanted very much to get off at the next stop, but she knew it meant that finding Lin would take longer than it needed, and she wouldn't have that. So she rode the bus all night. At various intervals, she had to get off and switch buses, but that was expected. Finally, quite early in the morning, she arrived in Forks, Washington. The time didn't matter, though, because her family would be awake no matter what time it was.
She walked up to the front door and took a deep breath. She could do this. They were some of the only people who could help her find Lin, and no matter what, Alice had to find Caroline.
Alice took a step forward and raised her hand to knock. She paused, though. This would mean seeing Jasper for the first time in ages, which was going to be hard, especially after their argument, and with all of this newfound information about her soul mate.
"I can hear you breathing, Alice! Come on in!" Esme called. Esme had always said that Alice's breathing sounded like no one else's.
Alice sighed and walked in.
"My god Alice!" Esme said, dropping her book. "You're human!"
