Uncaging Alice

Chapter 21: Nicki

I had been sitting on the mattress on the floor in the other room when Alice came in and told me of her plans to leave. I know I tried my best to talk her into staying, but she wouldn't get over the whole 'dead kid' thing.

She spent an hour packing all of her clothes and in that time I tried to figure out what to do. Alice was just so wracked with guilt and now seemed to have a purpose. Because of this purpose it almost put the guilt on the back burner.

I had my doubts of whether this guy she kept 'seeing' was real, but who was I to kill her dreams? Plus, if it got her thinking about something else then maybe it would be a good thing she was planning to leave.

Don't get me wrong. I felt nothing for that little girl being dead, and it didn't bother me one but that I had killed her and not Alice... But Alice had become the closest thing to a friend I had and, being in the vulnerable state she was in, maybe I should go with her to protect her.

Getting up and walking across the hall to where she was packing, I stood in the doorway. "Maybe I'll go with you." I said, testing for her reaction. When she started to smile, I grinned back. "It'll be like a road trip!"

"Really? Are you sure?" Alice still had a hopeful smile on her face. "You just came in the house saying how much you love it here..."

I shrugged back. "I do, but I've also been here a while and I think it'd be exciting to see new places. It's been ages since I've traveled."

"Oh, Nicki. I'm so glad you've decided to go with me." She was very excited.

After another minute or two of us stating how 'happy' we were, I went back to my room to pack my things. In my years as a vampire I had been to many places across the country so I felt good about going with her. I'd be sure to keep her away from the places I knew to be trouble. And through my run-ins with other vampires in my past, if they were still alive anyway, we might be able to meet up with some of them—or avoid them, depending on who it was.

My past hasn't been as squeaky clean as most would believe. I've made enemies and been in the middle of fights that ended badly... We wouldn't head northwest too much because I knew there were still other vampires that would kill me on sight, not to mention the werewolves I'd run into so many years back.

One vampire, in particular, I don't think I would ever be able to forget. His name was Claude and he had been so romantic. I had met him in northern Washington state, where the clouds made it possible for us to walk among the humans most of the time. He was so handsome with his dark black hair and, even for a vampire, almost tan complexion. Claude was originally from Italy and he told me he had come over to the States to rule as a kind of vampire king. He had built quite a large following by the time I met him, and when asked why he didn't build his army in Italy, he told me of the Volturi for the first time, and how they would stop any vampire army if they found out about them. He thought it would be safer in America.

So I followed him.

It didn't take long for us to become lovers, and his followers regarded me almost like a queen. Anything I said was rule, as long as Claude didn't contradict me, and he rarely did. I had my own unofficial group of girls that were assigned to attend me, to make sure I was happy while Claude was away recruiting. Those girls had been more like my friends at times, and we liked to stay out late and enjoy ourselves, much like now.

The night of our 3rd year anniversary as a couple, I had been upset because Claude made it clear that it was more important to keep building his army and that he would have no time to spend with me. I had become resentful to the fact that it had been 3 years since we met and his "army" had gone nowhere. They were more like just an underground community of vampires than anything else.

The girls had coaxed me into going out with them, saying they knew this place in the woods that was a new hangout for vampires and that I would like it. I followed the five girls out there and was surprised when they brought me to an empty field that had spots of burned grass. They had been surprised as well, and tried figuring out amongst each other what had happened to what they had experienced before in that field. It didn't take long to find out.

From behind us, werewolves emerged from the trees, growling low in their throats. We were strong, but since my friends were my attendants and not fighters in the army, they had not been properly trained. They were taken down quite fast and I was left to watch while four out of the seven werewolves turned into human men and burned my friends bodies. The three remaining werewolves surrounded me and the men walked up between them. They were all dark-haired and dark-skinned, my first encounter with this kind of creature.

One of the largest of them spoke. "Tell me why we should allow you to live, Nicolette."

I was shocked. "How do you know me?"

The other three humans remained silent, as did the werewolves, while this man spoke to me. "We've been following your army for years, even before you came. This is our land and we will not allow you to take over."

"It-It's not my army." I said. He began to advance on me slowly, and said nothing, allowing time for the death of my friends to sink in... how they ripped their limbs from their bodies and set them on fire. Suddenly I was aware that they meant to kill me the same way, and I knew I didn't want to die. A plan came into my mind. "I can tell you where the leader is. You can take him down and the rest will fall."

The man laughed and the others behind him chuckled. "From what we see, you are a leader as well as Claude. Why should we not get rid of you both?"

"I'll leave and never come back. I swear! I'll tell you exactly where he is and you can go kill him, then your problem will be solved, they will have no one to take orders from. And you can keep me til you find him, so you know I'm telling the truth!" Inside, I grinned to myself. I had every confidence that Claude would be able to take down as many werewolves as he needed to, and he would not be alone in the fighting.

So the man took my deal and kept me in that field that night, while four of the werewolves were sent out to where I told them Claude would be, and we waited. It was mere hours before they returned, and I was surprised to see them all basically untouched. They stopped in front of me and the other werewolf-men, and one wolf nodded.

It was done.

My unbeating heart sank as I heard one man tell another how it had been easy to take Claude down, and how the others were already scattering. They allowed me to go, on the condition that I never return, and I dragged myself through the forest, hoping they had gotten the wrong vampire. To be sure, I went back to the community and saw for myself that the wolves had been telling the truth.

Before they could notice I was there and look to me as their new leader, I ran south and never came back.