A.N: Well, I just started typing this tonight, and the words kept coming until I had a chapter written out. Please enjoy:
Thirteen. Running Blind
Alice's statement was followed by complete silence. No one spoke- no one even moved. The only sound was Andy's soft breathing- the rest of us having stopped in our shock.
"Well… that sucks," Emmett said at last, breaking the silence.
"It does," agreed Andrew. "But the situation isn't impossible- you just have to be prepared to take on a bunch of wolves at any point in time."
"It should be fun," Emmett stated, nodding slightly to myself.
Andrew looked at him thoughtfully. At first I thought he was the thinking along the same lines as me- that Emmett was utterly insane- but then he said something that made me realize just how alike the two overly large men were.
"I agree. I haven't really had the chance to do something this entertaining in a while, what with having been locked up in Volterra and all."
"You. Two. Are. Total. And. Complete. Idiots!" Rosalie thundered, emphasizing each word. "This won't be fun. It won't be-be… entertaining. We are talking about a bunch of… giant wolves who are after our blood!!"
"Rosalie is right," agreed Tia, glaring at Andrew who looked back and gave an unapologetic shrug. "This is dangerous. We have no way of knowing when, or if, they'll come here until they're practically on top of us!"
"You forget, love- you guys have a… giant wolf on your side as well. They may not be able to compete with me when it comes to control, but werewolves as a lot generally tend to think alike. It may have been a while since I was part of a pack, but I can still remember the common patterns and the thrill of the hunt. Using that information, we can form a plan of retaliation- just in case. It's entirely possible that the Quileutes won't even find this place. It's in the middle of nowhere and all. To find us, they'd either need a hell of a lot of luck, or someone who knows their way through the forest guiding them."
Andrew's words were like a punch to the gut as I thought of something- or rather, someone- we hadn't taken into consideration previously.
"Where's Samantha?" I asked weakly, closing my eyes at our stupidity for not thinking of her before.
"Why?" asked Emmett, looking as confused as everyone else.
Except Rose.
Rose, who knew exactly what I was getting at- who had been standing right next to me when Samantha had uttered her threats.
"Oh God," she groaned. "Why did we let her leave?"
"Could one of you explain what the problem is?" asked Tia dryly. "Cause the rest of us haven't had the same epiphany as you."
Edward must have read Rose's mind, because he suddenly cursed violently.
"Dammit! It's too late to hunt her down, too."
"What's going on!?" thundered Andrew.
Edward ignored him, rounding on Alice.
"Alice, look into the future- can you see Samantha?"
Alice closed her eyes and concentrated. After a few minutes, she opened them again and spoke.
"No. Edward, why-" her eyes widened and she cut off mid-sentence as she realized what we were getting at. "Oh crap."
"Exactly."
"Exactly what?" demanded Emmett. "What has you four so worked up."
"And what does Samantha have- oh… I see… I believe Alice's words are quite suitable in this situation," Carlisle ran his hand through his hair. "Well… this certainly complicates things."
"Will you explain alr-"
"Samantha is missing and Alice can't see her future, Emmett," Jasper stated emotionlessly. "That means one of two things. Either she's dead, or-"
"Or she's with a pack of werewolves," Tia interrupted faintly. "I'm guessing this Samantha knows the way to the manor?"
"I'd be surprised if she didn't," Jasper replied, his voice still flat. "She probably made sure that she knew so that she'd have something to barter with."
I looked at him, his lack of emotion worrying me. He looked at me, his eyes pained, before he looked away, as if ashamed.
He blamed himself.
"It's not your fault, Jazz," I murmured. "No one blames you."
I shot Rose, who I was pretty sure did blame him, a look that I hoped said 'don't say anything.' She gave me a wry half smile and didn't speak.
"I blame me," Jasper replied. "I brought her here, after all."
"Spilled milk, Jasper," Tia said softly. "You can't change the past- only save the future."
"What are we going to do?" Jasper asked Carlisle, changing the subject. I frowned, but allowed him to diver the subject. The question was one that needed answering anyways.
"The only solution I can see is to leave," Carlisle replied. "Staying here and fighting isn't safe."
"It won't work," Edward replied flatly. "Samantha will have already reached the Quileutes. They could be on us any day now. Even if we left, they'd just follow our scent. We'd never be free of them- not until they died."
"That won't happen- not unless someone kills them," Andrew stated flatly. We all looked at him, and he continued. "Werewolves don't die or age past maturity until they stop phasing. None of the Quileutes will have the control to do that for at least five, probably more like ten, years- if then. You'd be running a long time. Once wolves are on the trail, we don't give up- not until someone dies."
"It's hopeless, then," I murmured. "We're damned if we do and damned if we don't."
Edward pulled into his arms and held me tightly. I didn't argue- we both needed the support.
"How many wolves are there?" asked Carlisle at last.
"Six," Andy replied. "None of them are very old- the alpha's been phasing a little more than a year I believe, and the rest less than. If my guess is correct, the newest of them joined about three months ago. Their inexperience will help our situation. They won't have the control needed to fight with their heads rather than their instincts."
"You keep saying 'we'," Jasper stated.
"Of course he is- you can't seriously expect us not help, can you?" Tia demanded, outraged.
"That's exactly what I expect," Jasper replied. "The two of you just got free of a bad situation; you don't need to be dragged into another one."
"Jasper, we're in no position to turn down their help," Alice murmured softly.
"She's right," agreed Andrew. "Besides, it's only thanks to you and Bella that Tia and I are free of that 'bad situation'. I haven't forgotten that you nearly died in my place. We owe you, and I don't let my debts go unpaid."
Jasper looked ready to argue, and I had half a mind to as well. Alice jammed her elbow into Jasper's ribs to silence him, and Edward caught my eye and gave his head a nearly imperceptible shake. I felt my lips thin, but I stayed resolutely silent.
"Thank-you for offering your help," Carlisle said. "As Alice said, we're really in no position to turn it down."
"Do you know anyone else you could call up?" Tia asked. "The bigger our army, the better chance we have."
"The Denali clan," suggested Rose. "We could call them up- they've always been loyal friends."
Carlisle nodded.
"Yes. They'll help- it was Eleazar that brought the vampire killings to my attention in the first place, after all. I'll also call up my Washington contacts and ask them to keep an eye out for the Quileutes or Sam. Perhaps we can have a bit of warning before they come. Edward and Andrew are right- they would never stop hunting us, and a life on the run is no life at all."
"So it's war," Jasper said flatly.
"I suppose it is," agreed Carlisle softly.
Jasper nodded to himself and said no more.
I leaned, boneless, against Edward, praying to whatever deity was above that our days weren't numbered.
A.N2: Well, the story's beginning to come to an end. After this, I may continue with one-shots in this AU, and there will probably be one short multi-chaptered story (just a light one, with about five chapters), but this is gonna be it for the long ones. I have a few ideas for other stories- one of which, "Catalyst" (a post-Eclipse story about Jacob and a girl named Alannah), already has the first chapter (really a prologue) up. I also have two other ideas, one based around Bella's quote of: "I can't always be Lois Lane. I want to be Superman too!", and the other one based on her comment about Angela joining the party if she were a witch. The superman one is already in the works, the other one is just an idea, but there you go- that's what you can expect from me in the future. Sayonara for now!