--------------------------------------------------------------- Hybrids --------------------------------------------------------------

Emmett must have noticed we weren't following behind him, heard us stop moving. But he didn't stop charging.

"Stop." One of the figures commanded him. He didn't.

Another of the figures stepped ahead of the one who had spoken. "You don't want to attack us!" He yelled at my aggressive Uncle. The voice wasn't commanding though. It sounded more like a plea. I instantly believed the boy who had spoken, but I didn't think Emmett would.

But Emmett did stop. He slowed to a light jog and then stopped altogether. Standing almost exactly half way between us and the other 7 immortals.

And they were immortals.

It was clear to me, even from this distance, that I knew what these creatures were. The creamy skin, the light blush on their cheeks, and their accelerated heartbeats all gave them away for what they were. Not human, not vampires.

Like me.

Hybrids.

No body moved for a long moment. Not us and not them. We all just stood, measuring each other. I tried to judge the group. From the way they stood, it looked like the one who had spoken first was their leader. His hair fell messily to his shoulders and was black as pitch; it contrasted severely with his skin tone. He wasn't the tallest, and not the strongest by far - on his left side stood a boy of a similar size to Emmett - but he had a mature and weighty look in his eyes as he examined us, and the way he stood slightly ahead of the others in a guarded fashion showed that he intended to protect them. Certainly, his sharp features frightened me. The other six, comparatively, looked normal. Apart from their beauty, they were all dressed in average clothes and looked like a very human grouping. 3 boys and 3 girls. To the left of the brawny boy stood the boy who had encouraged my Uncle to stop his attack. He stood closely to one of the girls in the group. The pair were without doubt the most beautiful of the group, possibly the most beautiful of all of us, even Rosalie. They had light brown hair that was slightly waved. Though the boy's was cropped quite short, the girl's flowed past her shoulders and stopped at the middle of her back. Their features were uncommonly similar, and I grasped quickly their relationship: twins.

On the right side of the leader, stood closely by his side, stood a girl with cropped, white blonde hair, just past her ears. Her look was more intelligent, aged somehow. It instantly reminded me of Carlisle. Beside her stood another boy and girl: the boy looked plain - cropped brown hair and wearing a plain hoodie - and the girl looked young. Her hair was a honey yellow and, even in the windless clearing, looked like it was being blown by a slight breeze.

But there was no breeze. In fact, the weather reflected perfectly the tension of the encounter. It was dense, the air muggy and pressurised. I was aware that I should feel more stressed than I actually did feel, but put that down to Jasper's doing. And then, after I had examined the group, I examined the situation.

Were these 7 barley adult looking figures what would end Alice's visions of our futures? Were we about to die?

Just as the fear of this realisation hit me, Dad took a step forward. My breath caught in my throat. Was dad going to attack? But then I considered, Dad would be able to hear the Hybrid's thoughts, wouldn't he? He would only approach them if he thought they were safe, if he thought they could be trusted… right?

He took another step forward, and then turned slightly to us. In an almost unbelieving voice he said "It's alright. They won't attack us." And then moved again towards Emmett. After hearing Dad's assessment, Rosalie blurred out of vision and ran to Emmett's side, taking his hand in a firm grip and scorning him with her eyes. We followed, slower, but still swiftly to where they stood. As we moved closer to the visitors, the sun broke through the clouds, shining onto the house, and glistening off my relatives. The Hybrid's didn't even react, but the young looking one, the blonde, was smiling. We grew closer, and still no one spoke. Dad cleared his throat.

"I think an explanation is in order." He spoke to the black haired boy. His tone wasn't unfriendly, which I found surprising. It was almost… amused.

"Yes," the boy replied, a tight smile on his face, though his expression remained serious. He sighed, and the stepped forward. "I'm sorry that we have come to you like this, without warning, but we didn't know the best way to introduce ourselves." His voice was deep, and profound. It sounded like Jacob, when he spoke as an Alpha. "My name is Arnaud." he continued, "We are, as I assumed you have guessed, half species - like Renesmeee." I started as he spoke my name knowingly. It seemed I wasn't the only one. But he didn't stop speaking. "And we have come to ask for your help." He said solemnly.

There was a moment of silence.

"Our help?" Carlisle asked.

"Yes." Arnaud answered. He paused, and then added in a very grave tone, "Your help with overthrowing the Volturi."