Chapter 11: Interrupted Fun / Hunt

Alice POV

We were deep in the forest nearing Canada when a vision came. Jasper had gotten so good at sensing when I got them, because even though we were running at full speed, he reached his arm out to steady me, while safely bringing me to a stop.

*Vision*

Bella home alone having a salad and reading. She stops and starts rubbing her scar with a worried look on her face. Then she's reaches for the phone and dials. She calls Mike and they make plans to meetup in a group, at the Diner and hang out.

*Vision Switched*

Bella getting out of her truck at the Diner, and slipping. Ben comes to her rescue and something about him vibrates. Then, they are joking and laughing while going inside. Together with Mike, they sit and tell Mike about Bella's accident. Tyler shows up and he's with Lauren. The waitress takes their drink orders and they continue chatting.

*End Vision*

Well, that was certainly interesting - I thought to myself. I turned to Jasper to tell him everything was okay, but before I got the words out, Edward interrupted. He must not have been too far, and saw the vision in my mind.

"Why isn't she with Charlie or Jared? She wasn't supposed to be alone while we're gone. I've already fed, I'm heading back. Please tell the others." Edward rushed out, but I quickly moved to block him before he ran off, knowing I wouldn't be able to catch him if he got far ahead of me.

"Edward, I happen to know that Bella doesn't want to feel as though she's being babysat. If you show up now, you'd probably spoil her fun and make her feel like you're smothering her." I tried to reason with him.

"I understand Alice. I get it, but she needs protection. If her father and the pack aren't around, she could be in danger. I'll go and be near, without showing myself. She won't even know I'm there." Edward said hopeful, but the tone of his voice had raised. A hysterical vampire, just what I need – I thought to myself and to him, then he frowned.

"That would be stalking and smothering… And you'd probably tell her anyway, wouldn't you?" He lamented, so I mentally replied, "YES!"

"Edward, and my sweet Mary Alice. You both seem to forget I'm not privy to my wife's visions or Edward's telepathy. Yet, I gather from what little you've both said, that Bella was left unsupervised and you want to go back early. If you so, you'd be spoiling some kind of fun that I can only imagine she cooked up, unless you go and watch her secretly. Does that about cover it?" Jasper spoke calmly, while looking between Edward and me.

"Yes." Edward spoke, while I nodded at Jasper before turning my furious gaze back at Edward. Will you ever learn? - I questioned in my mind.

At that point, the others had heard the commotion and Jasper's abridged version, and came to weigh in on the matter.

"Are you mental?" Rosalie shouted, unnecessarily since she was practically in his face, and Emmett was shaking his head at Edward, but smiling at Rosalie's temper.

"Edward, if I may …" Esme's respectful voice chimed in as the voice of reason. "Alice, do you see if Bella is in any immediate danger?" When I shook my head, she continued.

"She's far younger than any of us, it's true. But she is not a child, Edward. She doesn't require constant supervision. Is she alone or upset about us being gone, Alice?" When I shook my head again, she spoke to all of us, but mainly to appease Edward.

"Then, I think it's best to leave her be. However, for Edward's peace of mind, and since we've all fed some, we can finish our hunt in the woods, closer to Forks. We'll be close enough to get cell phone reception, without interfering with Bella's night… not unless we're needed, or she calls us."

After we all agreed, Carlisle embraced her and complimented her compromise. Edward thanked me for helping him. I nodded at Edward, and embraced Jasper. Emmett said we should have a race, and we agreed, but only if we all got a 5-minute head start before Edward. Then, we were off.

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Edward POV

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I caught up to my family as we neared Forks, and I would have beat them is I hadn't been distracted by an unknown mind. I heard someone's mind saying, "That ought to send her a message". If that those thoughts weren't chilling enough, then there were several images of a bloody and mutilated body with multiple bite marks around the neck. Whoever this person was, they seemed to heading away from our direction. However, just before they were out of my powers range, I caught an image of Bella siting at the Diner and laughing. Seeing her in his mind, along with those gruesome images, made me stumble and land hard.

Jasper got to me first, and was trying to move me and snap me out of it. When I blinked and focused my eyes, I saw my family standing before me with extremely worried faces.

"Edward, what in the world made you so petrified?" Jasper questioned, while I could feel him trying to calm me.

I began to breathe in my surroundings, deeply... Partially to trying to use my sense of smell and find the stranger, but mostly to try and calm myself. I was just finishing relaying to them what I'd heard, when I heard Alice gasp and get thrown a vision.

*Vision*

Bella playing darts with her friends, when a wild throw sent the dart through the open window beside the cork target. She and her friends all laughed. She offers to go back to retrieve it, and Mike offers to go with her when he finishes his phone call with Jessica, but Ben tells him not to worry, and goes outside with Bella.

They round the side of the building while laughing at her poor aiming skills. When they turn the rear corner, they start looking around the floor for the dart. Bella finds it beside trash bins and turns back towards Ben, holding it up triumphantly, but Ben isn't focused on the dart. Instead he calls out her name in a serious tone and she notices his seriousness and questions him. He tells her to walk toward him and hand him her cell phone. She does as he says and he dials 911. He does it without moving his eyes away from something behind Bella.

When she realizes that, she tries to turn around, but he holds his arm to her shoulder, preventing her from looking. He speaks to the 911 operator and asks that they send an officer and an ambulance to the Diner. At his words, Bella moves out his hold and turns around. Her eyes focus on a dirty jean clad pair of legs wearing dark boots, laying near the tree line. It didn't seem to register at first, that the stains on the jeans is blood, until she heard Ben describe the nature of the emergency. Ben tells the operator there was a person behind the Diner, that didn't seem to be conscious and was covered in blood.

He tells the operator he can only see the lower part of the body by the tress, and that he and his friend have not approached it. He tells the operator he can already hear the sirens and hung up. He softly tells Bella to stop crying, that she is ok and he won't leave her side. Bella's eyes snap to his, appearing surprised be crying and mumbling about calling her dad and Edward. When he hands her the phone, she closes her eyes and says "Alice".

*End Vision*

Jasper had been carrying Alice while we ran towards Forks, and I was relaying Alice's vision to everyone, as Alice was seeing it. I was about to ask Alice when this would be happening, when Alice's cell phone rang and jumped off Jasper's back and we all stopped so she could answer immediately.

"Alice, there's a body. I think it's a dead body and there's a lot of blood." We heard the terrified whisper of Bella's voice.

"Bella. Calm down sweetie. I know what happened, I just saw it. We're already on the way and we're close, okay? Stay with Ben. It's going to be okay. Here's Edward." Alice spoke calmer than her thoughts, and handed me the phone.

"Edward?" Bella questioned and I could tell she was barely holding it together.

"Bella, my Love. We're almost there, I promise. You know how fast I am, I promise to be there very soon. You're still with Ben?" I spoke softly to her.

"Yes, Edward. Ben's with me." She said and I heard Ben speak too.

"I'm here Edward. She's okay, I didn't let her get close. Besides, the officers should be parking any minute." I was grateful she wasn't alone and for Ben's update. He must have known I'd be frantic.

"Bella, please stay with Ben and tell him I'm about 5 minutes away." I told her.

"But Edward, there's blood. And you're …" She said, but I interrupted before she could finish what she was about to say.

"Bella, Shh. It will be Okay. I will be Okay." It was evident she wasn't thinking clearly and I couldn't blame her.

"But Edward, there's too much blood… You'll smell it and there are too many people…" Bella sounded increasingly out of it, and I worried she was close to saying too much. Before I could cut-off her hysterical rambling again, Ben spoke up.

"Hey Edward. Look man, don't freak out, okay? But, I know about you guys and I have for some time now. You can trust that I won't say anything, I promise. But, before I get into that right now, I'm gonna hang up and move Bella away from the body. I'll keep her quiet, so nobody accidentally hears anything they shouldn't. You have my word." Then, he hung up.

As my family and I ran, we shared incredulous looks between us at Ben's words, and I heard their minds panicking. I had to trust Ben at the moment, but ran ahead of everyone else, just the same. My girl needed me and she was my priority. I would worry about Ben, later.

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Ben POV

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When I hung up with Edward, I looked at Bella's face and noticed she appeared to be in shock. Her teary eyes were open wide and she was still mumbling about 'blood causing them to lose control'. I needed to move her or find a way to shut her up. Maybe I could snap her out of it. I wondered if she would be as accepting of me, Angela or even Mike, if she knew. She will– my ability told me.

I figured my secret would to come out soon anyway, especially after speaking to Edward. Although, I was still pretty sure Angela didn't have any immediate plans on sharing her secret, neither did Mike, for that matter, I'd keep their secrets to myself. It wasn't like either of them told me either. Had it not been for my ability, I would be just as clueless as most of the population of this weird little town.

"Bella, look at me… please." I rushed out as quietly as I could, because I heard the officers' walkies approaching. "BELLA!" I forced out in a harsher whisper. Asking for help will work – my ability chimed in.

She was facing away from me, but turned her head to me, and I took that as a good sign. "You're safe, okay? But I need you to listen. Please pay attention!" She kind of nodded, so I went in for it. "I really need your help, here Bella. I'm … I'm not entirely human and I need your help." I said, in hopes of snapping her into focus.

She shut her mouth, turned her entire body to face me and her already wide eyes seemed to widen further, and I knew I had her full attention.

"You're not?" she asked, and I shook my head. She must have sensed my urgency so she didn't ask me to elaborate but thankfully, she seemed more herself. "What do you need me to do? How can I help?" She asked determined, and I was grateful she was that kind of a person.

"I need you to remain alert to what you're saying." I told her and tipped my head at her, hoping she'd catch my drift, and she didn't disappoint. "The police are here and we need to make sure there aren't any accidental slips… Here they come."

When I said that, a lady officer turned the corner and came towards us, jumping right into business. "We got a call about a body, but neither the owner nor anyone inside seem to know about it. Did either of you make the call?" She was looking us both over and sizing us up, and I noticed the moment she recognized Bella.

"Hi Sharon, I mean Officer Tomlin. Yes, my friend Ben and I made the call." Bella jumped right in.

Officer Tomlin's focus remained on Bella, and she asked where it was, what we'd seen, and if we had touched anything. By that point, Chief Swan came around the corner as well, and I saw he was being followed by several other officers.

"Bella! Are you alright?" He asked worriedly, and pulled her into a hug. I saw Bella breathe deeply and when she exhaled, she seemed much calmer, even if still on edge.

"Yeah, I'm ok, as good as I can be Dad. I'm just a little scared… Luckily, my friend Ben from school, kept me from overreacting or making anything any worse." She told him, and shot me a grateful smile, which I returned.

"Good, good. Okay." He said and turned to the Officer Tomlin. "Sharon, where's the body? Have we confirmed death or located any I.D.?"

"I only arrived a few minutes before you. I made sure the kids were ok, and was questioning them when you got here." She replied, and he nodded.

"Kids, I'm going to need you to head to the front of the Diner and wait out there for me. Please try to avoid answering anything to anyone, about what you've seen. It might be important for the investigation." He said to us and we nodded, then walked toward the front of the Diner, like he asked.

Before we got too far, he stopped us for one last comment and request. "Ben, thank you for looking after my little girl. Please, have one of the officers contact your parents for me." When I nodded, we resumed our walk.

On our way, we passed the Diner's owner that was speaking to one of the officers. When we turned the corner, I saw a large crowd of people that must have come outside when the police arrived. In the center, Edward was standing with a not-much older blonde man. Vampire, Animal drinker, Non-threatening, Carlisle – my ability informed me. In an instant, Edward's eyes met mine and he looked stunned. Mind reader – my ability told me. And I noted his face hardened towards me, as Bella and I approached them.

She hadn't been paying attention while I was leading her, so she hadn't seen him yet. But when she did, she gravitated towards him and melted into his arms. I was glad she finally seemed to be getting the comfort she needed. Edward must have heard me think that, because he shot me a grateful, albeit still stiff nod. Edward must have known we weren't supposed to share any information with the crowd, so we seemed to move away from any prying ears.

"Bella, Love… are you alright now?" He asked her softly.

She stayed in his arms, took a breath and responded. "Edward, I was playing darts and I was doing so well… Me, can you believe it? I was having a good time but then I accidentally threw a dart out the window. Mike offered to come outside with me, but he was on the phone with Jessica. I hope she isn't mad that we came out without her. Anyway, Ben came with me to look for the dart. I finally found it when Ben called me over to him. His tone scared me, because I had already been nervous earlier, because of Victoria. So, I immediately walked over to Ben to ask what was wrong, but he only asked for my phone. Then, he called 911."

That was the longest I'd ever heard Bella ramble, without taking a breath. She was better, but she was clearly, till I shock. She took a breath, and kept right on going, as I stared on in amazement.

"I still wasn't sure what was happening, but when I heard Ben talking to the operator about the body, I turned to look. Edward, Ben was great, I swear. He tried to prevent me from looking, but you know me. I agree with you, that sometimes I'm too suborn for my own good. Anyway, I saw him Edward, he … he had blood everywhere. There was so much blood… It was everywhere." She began sobbing towards the end.

"Shh, Love. Shh, It's over now. You're okay." Edward was holding her and soothing her.

I took the opportunity to take a good look at the silent Carlisle. He didn't really appear too much older that Edward, but I knew he was much, much older, in creation terms. He exuded the poise, wisdom and maturity that only centuries of life could provide. He was looking sadly and worriedly at Bella. He's kind and compassionate – I noted. I didn't think Bella had noticed, but Carlisle had one hand flat on her back, and the other by her inner arm near her wrist. Monitoring her breathing and taking her pulse - I recognized.

"Ben, this is definitely not the time, but I'm very interested to know how you seem to just know so much. It's interesting, how your mind just provides you with information." Edward said to me, while looking right at me, over Bella's shoulder.

"I've always been a good observer and as for the knowledge thing…" I started out loud, but finished in my mind "…My family and I are Panlong."

"Panlong?" Edward whispered in question, clearly at a loss, but Carlisle's eyes flashed over to stare into mine. He knows – my mind said.

"My name is Carlisle. I'm sure you're aware that my family and I mean no harm to anyone." He said.

At my nod, he bowed his head minutely, but noticeably and said, "It's an honor to know you, son. Please know, myself and my family can be available to you and your family, if ever called upon." He said, and I knew he meant those words.