Disclaimer: Nothing whatsoever is owned by me. Sadly.

Chapter 11

Killer

It was both funny and sort of disturbing to watch Jasper's behavior just before we went out hunting. He was acting like a little child, all exited and strangely cheerful, but at the same time his eyes burned with desire and his body showed every sign of predatory impatience. Like he was ready to sink into a crouch just to jump at whoever might open the door. I realized that I had been holding him back for too long; the agony and bloodlust was the only thing controlling him right now. Fortunately he acted a little saner when I held his hand. Like he could concentrate on me instead of the thirst. I could handle a tight squeeze.

Just then Carlisle appeared in the hall and Jasper almost went crazy with excitement again.

"I am ready to go. Shall we?" He asked, gesturing towards the door and we were off.

I kept holding Jasper's hand as we ran, afraid to let him take the lead. I needed to control him, when he wasn't able to himself, so Carlisle ran in the front, leading us in a parallel line with the city of Dupree. It was the usual way, the way we went most of the time when hunting.

We hadn't gone long before the whole hunting trip turned into a failure.

A vision hit me again and the mayor's daughter was there again. I had no idea of how she could suddenly be here, but at least the vision was different the time. I was staring at the scene where Jasper was being held back by Carlisle and myself, only a hundred feet from the girl, who was looking confused and scared, but oblivious to what was coming at her.

"Stop!" I yelled half-conscious, realizing a few seconds after that they had stopped long ago. They both looked anxious and they had good reason to. I had no way of telling whether we would be able to hold Jasper back or not. Somehow I doubted it. I took a few seconds to figure out what to do now.

"What is it, Alice?" Jasper asked, both looking nervous and crazy with thirst. His black eyes bored into mine and I wished Edward had been here to explain while I went after the girl. I just had to explain quickly.

"I had a vision of the girl again, she's out here somewhere in the direction we're going, but I don't know why and I have to find her so nothing will happen, but you still need to hunt so go the opposite way and I'll catch up later. Bye!" And then I ran. I looked over my shoulder to see if they were gone, but they just started to move now. I hated leaving Jasper at this particular moment, but I had to secure the girl. Otherwise the past waiting time had been for nothing.

While I ran I searched ahead to see if I was getting close, which was difficult as it left me running only half-conscious. I caught at glimpse of her though and zeroed in on her. I shifted direction and ran into the woods where she was right now. I was getting close and when I saw her tiny shape in between the trees two things occurred to me: First of all I had to slow down, otherwise I would blow our cover, so I did. Second – and far worse – she smelled delicious. I hadn't thought of how thirsty I actually was until that moment. Even from this distance it was close to unbearable, but I had to control myself. I needed to bring her somewhere safe. Ignoring the burn in my throat as far as I could I ran towards her as fast as a human my size would be capable of.

"Hey, you", I called softly to get her attention. I had realized I didn't even know her name. She heard me and turned her head towards me. Of course she was a perfect match with the picture of her in the newspaper. The long blonde hair was ruffled and filled with little twigs and her clothes were dirty with mud, probably from falling. There were fear in her big blue eyes and the trace of tears on her cheeks wasn't dry yet. At least the fear wasn't provoked by me.

She didn't say anything at first, but she had stopped.

Most of all I felt the need to rush her, get her back quick, but I could see that I needed to be careful with her.

"What are you doing out here?" I asked. She burst into tears and I ran to her, despite the agony.

"I-I ran away, a-and then I got… got lost. Please, help me!" She sobbed and clinged to me, wrapping her arms around my thighs and buried her face in my shirt. She was a petite girl, only reaching a little above my hips. I tried to shush her, calm her, but it didn't work at first. I sighed and feared the worst, then kneeled so I was at eye level with her.

"What's you name, Sweetie?" I asked. She sniffled a little and rubbed her eyes until the became red.

"Amy", she choked out. "My daddy i-is the mayor."

"I know. Listen Amy, my name is Alice and I need you to come with me so we can get you home, okay?"

"Okay", she sniffed. I turned around and told her to climb onto my back. I figured it would be easier to endure the closeness if she wasn't right in front of me. She sniffed again, but obeyed and I started running towards the city as fast as I dared.

"Wow, you're strong", she said. I hadn't thought of that, but I guess it wasn't too exaggerated, so I just shrugged it of.

"Yes, I'm in a good shape." It made it easier to endure the pain, when we talked, I realized. "Tell me, Amy, why did you run away? It can be a dangerous thing to do", I asked her.

There was a silence first. A hesitation. "Because my mommy and daddy were yelling. They do it all the time and I hate it! I want them to stop!" She sounded like she was about to burst again, and I was desperate seeking for the right words to say to her.

"I'm sure they will stop, if you tell them why you ran away. They will understand." Her answer was a quiet sniff, but she didn't cry again. I did feel sorry for her; the situation had to be more than a little bad for such a young girl to run away. It didn't seem like she had intended to disappear for very long though, maybe just hide somewhere and then she had gotten lost. If I had time I would have to talk to one of them. They couldn't treat their little girl like that. She was actually really sweet and I would have enjoyed the presence of her if it hadn't been for my thirst. I felt like I couldn't take it, but I had to. Still, the hunter instincts had me focused on her scent and her every movement, despite the fact that she was on my back like a koala. It felt like my body was ready to betray my mind and just go for it. I flinched at the thought.

I had to keep talking to her. I thought about something to say to her, but she saved me.

"You are the new girl, aren't you? Daddy said that you moved here with your friend."

"Yes, that's me. My friend's name is Jasper", I told her. I thought of Jasper immediately, hoping he would hunt soon. We had been together two minutes ago.

"People say that he's scary. Why is he scary?"

I thought about how to explain it to her in a simple way. "He… has a lot of scars. That frightens people", I told her.

"Do you think he's scary?"

"No. I love him."

"Love him? Like… kissing? Ew, that's gross!"

I didn't get to answer her comment. It was a miracle that I managed not to drop her, as I froze in horror at the vision.

The edge of the forest, a man walking around, like searching for something – or someone – but oblivious to what was coming. Jasper had scented him and his eyes zeroed in on his target, all emotion but one was gone from his face. Pure bloodlust. His overwhelmingly predatory instincts had sent him flying towards the human and he had the skills and speed to avoid Carlisle's grasp until it was too late. He slammed into the unknowing man and buried his face in the man's neck, tearing into the flesh until the blood was running down the neck of him. Then Carlisle was there pulling at Jasper with panic, and finally ripping him away from his prey. The limp body fell to the ground, almost empty of blood.

"Alice? Alice?!" At first Amy's voice was only distant, but as I returned to reality – or this reality – I felt her shaking my shoulders, trying to wake me from the strange trance. I felt devastated. That vision had been crystal clear; it could only be minutes away. Maybe only seconds. Carlisle wouldn't have the strength and there was nothing I could do to help at this distance. I felt lost.

"Alice, what's wrong?" She shook my again.

"N-nothing, Amy", I managed to say, but my voice was shaking a little with shock.

"Yes, there were, tell me! Please Alice!"

"No, Amy, it's nothing. I just remembered something. Stop asking me, please." A complete lie. This wasn't nothing, this was almost everything to Jasper, which made it mean a great deal to me, too. I didn't recognize the man, but this could have consequences other than Jasper's depression. I couldn't see them yet, since no one knew the man was dead.

"Okay", said the girl in a disappointed voice. This could mean that she was out of danger, though, but I had to bring her in anyway.

"Cheer up, Amy, we're almost there. See?" I said, pointing towards the edge of the forest.

"I can't see anything." Oops, of course not. To my eyes it was getting a lot lighter, as we reached the edge. But I could always trick her.

"Really? Can't you see that it's getting lighter over there?" There was a short silence, and I imagined her narrowing her eyes to see the light.

"Yes! I can see it now! I'm home!" I wasn't certain that she could really see it yet, or of she was just faking it, so she wouldn't look stupid. Children were so easy when it came to that.

As we reached the edge of trees the girl started getting impatient, urging to get home, but at the same time frighten of what might happen.

"Mommy and daddy are going to be so mad at me. They'll yell at me", she said sounding sad. At least the tears were dry now.

"Don't worry, Sweetie, I'll have a word with your dad, while explaining to him how I found you", I assured her.

"Okay. Thanks Alice. And I'll tell him how nice you are."

I smiled. "You do that. But, Amy, could you walk from here, I don't think I have the strength to carry you any longer." Also a lie, naturally, but my throat felt like glowing flames and just a little distance would be nice.

"Okay", she said and glided down my back. Instead she took my hand. I could feel her pulse through the thin skin, but tried not to think about it. I had to admit that the distance was a nice change, but I still held my breath as long as I wasn't talking. For the same reason I decided not to start another conversation and we walked through the city in silence. It was exceptionally quiet at the moment, but it was getting late after all. Amy led us to the town hall, but I stopped in front of the building. She was probably announced as missing, and it would look weird if she just came running into her dad's office all of a sudden. I had to look like I was bringing her in, not following her.

"Okay Amy, I'm gonna have to ask you to stay with me until we find your dad, can you do that?" She nodded. "Okay, let's go inside." I held my breath and walked through the door.

The entrance hall was big and there were a few people at the other end of it, but I they didn't see us, seeming to be caught up in some unfinished work. Amy led us to a room on the right and then straight through the hall. That led us to some kind of waiting room, currently empty except for the secretary behind the desk. She looked up and nearly jumped.

"Amy, you're back! Good Lord, your parents have been worrying. We have looked everywhere for you!" She was around the desk in and instant and Amy ran towards her and hugged her. Only then did the secretary notice me. "Where did you find her?" She asked me and I took some time to think of a good explanation, only that time would seem like a fraction of a second to her. I also had the time to notice that the whole room reeked of human scents.

"In the woods. I was out running", I told her and she accepted that, despite the fact that my clothes probably did look like a normal outfit for exercise.

"Your dad is in his office, I'll go get him right away", she said, already on her feet, looking slightly overwhelmed and startled by the situation.

"I'll stay here with Alice", Amy said with a huge smile on her face. She didn't look like a girl who had recently been desperately lost in the woods. The secretary nodded and went through the door behind the desk. I could her everything they said in there, but it was only now I noticed that the mayor was on the phone.

"Sir, this is very important", she whispered, so she wouldn't disturb his conversation, which I thought was weird. His daughter must mean more than a phone call.

"Hold it for a second, Jefferson. What now, Karen? If it's about this damn weird brother of Rosalie Hale again, I don't give a-"

"No sir, your daughter has been found", she said and there was a sudden silence. Even Amy was silent, maybe trying to listen, but I didn't know if she could hear anything.

"I'll call you back, Jefferson." A moment later the mayor practically ran through the door and stopped in the doorway to scan the room for his daughter. Once again I seemed to be entirely invisible at first glance, but I didn't mind. The only thing I did mind was that there were now three humans in the room with me and I was almost desperate for blood. The venom was washing around in my mouth and it felt like my whole chest was on fire.

"Daddy!" yelled Amy and threw herself in her father's arm. "I got lost, Daddy, I'm sorry! I won't run away again, I promise."

"Oh, honey I missed you, we so scared. Why on earth would you do something like that?"

Amy shot her mouth for a second and looked at me. Tell him, I thought and nodded at her, because of course she couldn't read my mind.

"Because… Because you and mommy were yelling again", she said in and low voice.

"Oh… okay, we'll talk about that later. I need to speak with…"

"Alice", she said. And then she pushed herself a little away from her farther and looked him right into the eye. "You promise? That we'll talk?"

I was astonished by that little girl. And so was her father, he nodded and hugged her again.

"I will call your mom, so she can come pick you up and we talk tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay", she said rubbing her eyes again. She looked sleepy now, but I guess I understood that. She had had a hard day.

The mayor turned to me. "What was your name again?" He asked, but not as unfriendly as it could sound.

Hi, I'm Alice Cullen, a thirsty and therefore seriously dangerous vampire, and very much in love with the other even more dangerous vampire you've just almost insulted.

"I'm Alice Brandon, sir. I live with the Cullens", I said.

"You're that new girl then. I'll need to have a word with you, but I have to make sure my daughter can get home and then I have a very important phone call. Can I ask you to wait here in the meantime?"

I guess I didn't have much choice so I agreed. This was going to be a long night.