JASPER

I was not the intelligent one in the family. I was the fighter. This was the role that I'd always filled and I was still content to fill that position if my family needed it. It had been for that very reason that Maria had turned me. Fighting for feeding territory had not been an easy endeavor. Maria had wanted me to mould newborns into weapons and while I had hadn't always liked doing it, I had been good at it.

I used these skills tin the forest to help teach Edward to control his growing powers. However, I felt the same mixed emotions that I'd always felt when Maria turned another human into one of us. I was sad that Edward's vampire abilities were returning because I knew that he wanted nothing more than to stay human for Bella. But I also knew that we would need Edward's mind reading if we were to findCarlisleand Esme and kill Oscar. And killing Oscar was quickly becoming all I could think about. He deserved to die for all the suffering that he'd caused my family.

So, I pushed my conflicted feelings aside and began the task of pulling out Edward's buried powers. I just hoped that it would be Edward's vampire side that would come out and not whatever Oscar had injected into him.

As I began to take him through the training process, I quickly realized that Edward's supernatural side was closer to the surface than any of us had originally thought. He was able to keep up with some of the training that I had only ever used on newborns but at the same time was able to learn how to block the thoughts of others.

However, just before sunset, Edward reached his limit. So while he rested, I began to gather our supplies.

I sensed the mutts before I heard or even smelled them. Their hatred was palpable, so I knew that they were preparing for a fight.

I dropped what I was carrying and focused on the approaching attack. There were five distinct scents. As I catalogued them one stood out because it was familiar- Paul.

Fury filled me.

This left no doubt. It was Oscar's pack.

When they reached the tree line, one stepped into the clearing while the rest stayed on the perimeter. I sneered at the thought. How little they knew about us was funny. I would have thought that Paul would have used his knowledge about my family to his new pack's advantage, but he was just as much of an idiot as I had always thought.

"Edward, don't move," I said, in a low voice. However, this caused the lone wolf to focus its attention on Edward.

Changing tactics, I said, "Edward, back away slowly."

Knowing that this would distract the mutt, I waited for it to make a move towards Edward. A moment before its attack, I launched myself at it.

We rolled to the ground, raking at each other with teeth and nails. I fought to subdue the creature quickly, knowing that there were others waiting. But when it bit down on my shoulder and tried to tear my flesh, the pain triggered a surge of energy. It gave me a focus for the anger that had been building inside of me from the moment that I saw Edward huddled in the corner of the hospital room inVancouver.

I now had an outlet. I could kill.

One after another, I attacked the mutts, letting the thrill of the kill consume me. Over and over again they attacked and I defeated them. I had restrained this side of me for so long that it was exhilarating. I loved my family, but a part of me had missed the fight for survival— kill or be killed.

As one of the last mutts dropped dead at my feet, its blood dripped from my hair down my face to where it coated my lips. I couldn't resist licking it off and while it had the wild taste of mutt, the tang of human was still there, causing me to shudder with pleasure.

I wanted to drink. I wanted the blood that pumped through the veins of living creatures- the delicious coppery taste of life.

"Hey! Over here!"

For a moment, it felt as if Edward's blood was calling to me, beckoning me to drink.

I wrenched myself out of these thoughts and refocused on the threat in front of me.

"Edward, get out of here!" I shouted.

I threw myself even more into the fight in front of me, trying to concentrate on killing my enemies and not on the blood. However, the sound of thudding hearts all around me was hypnotizing. I could hear the whoosh of blood rushing through arteries and it felt like my body was throbbing with it.

As one heart stuttered to a stop, another grew louder. Its rhythm was even sweeter than the mutt's. I turned towards it, needing to drink. I could see it pumping through the jugular of its neck only a few feet away.

I took a step towards it.

"Jasper… no…"

I growled in annoyance of the distraction. I needed the blood.

"Remember. It's me, Edward."

Edward…

The word sounded familiar which gave me pause, so I tried to focus on its face and not on the blood pulsing through its veins.

Edward…

My brother…

I fought for control of my instincts and finally won the battle. With the haze of blood lifted, I was myself again. And with it the reality of our situation hit me. If we were attacked, there was a good chance that Alice and the rest of our family were in danger as well.

"Edward, we have to get back to the reservation. The others are in danger."

We ran into the forest, both of us intent on getting back to our loved ones. However, we were too slow. Edward couldn't keep up with me.

"Edward, we have to be faster. I'm going to carry you," I stated.

Without waiting for his response, I pulled his arm over my shoulder, wrapped my arm around his side, and carried his weight as I ran full speed back to the reservation.

As I ran, my anger was increasing exponentially. Again my loved ones were in danger and I was not at their sides. With this fury, my hunger returned. However, it wasn't for Edward this time. I hungered for the blood of my enemies.

I realized at one point that Edward and I were amplifying each others emotions. With the close contact, Edward's anger was pouring into me and I was feeding it back to him tenfold. I wasn't even sure whose need to kill was the strongest.

I should have felt a twinge of worry about this, but I didn't care. I needed to destroy my enemies. I was the fighter. I was the protector.

As we approached the reservation, I smelled the mutts.

"They're here…" I snarled and Edward growled in response.

When we burst through the trees, I took in everything at once.

My eyes foundAlicefirst. She was standing on the far side of the clearing, unharmed. Leah and Seth were guarding a naked bleeding mutt. Charlie and the rest of the pack were standing in a circle around Jacob who had a bleeding Bella in his arms.

I turned back toAlice, needing to get to her. As I started to move, however, I heard a snarl from my right.

I whipped around, ready for an attack but I saw that it was Edward.

His chest was heaving and his eyes were filled with fury, but it was not directed towards the enemy shifter but to the group huddled around Bella.

"Bella?" Edward shouted and began to run towards them.

Bella looked up from where she had her head rested on Jacob's shoulder.

"Ed-" she mumbled, unable to complete the word.

From the scent of her blood which permeated the air, she was suffering from blood loss.

"Where are you taking her?" Edward demanded, approaching the group.

His fury and hunger were like a wall slamming me in the face.

"Give her to me!" he snarled.

"EDWARD! NO!"

I ran towards him and threw him to the ground. As I pinned him to the ground, he continued to thrash and snarl, trying to get away from me.

Aliceappeared at my side and placed a hand on Edward's chest.

"Get Bella, out of here!" she shouted over her shoulder before looking back down at Edward.

"Edward, take a deep breath. Bella will be ok," she murmured soothingly.

"Where is he taking her?" he demanded, his eyes darting around but not focusing on anything. "He can't have her," he screamed, arching off he ground. "She's mine!"

I looked atAlicewith barely contained anger. I knew that this had been inevitable, but I still had hoped that it wouldn't come to this. Oscar was to blame for all this tragedy.

I tried to calm Edward, but his agitation was so strong that even my ability seemed to only make a slight change in his emotions. Thankfully, his strength was not as strong as a vampire, so we had no trouble keeping him restrained.

"Jasper, you're hungry. You need to get away from him,"Alicesaid, softly.

"I'm fine," I growled, not taking my eyes off Edward.

"Jasper, look at me," she said, firmly.

I looked at her in surprise.

"Your hunger is affecting him. We won't know how much of his behavior is you until you get away from him," she explained.

I realized suddenly that she was right. I wasn't in control of my abilities and my own hunger and anger were mixing with Edward's.

"Will you be ok?" I asked, torn by the thought of leaving her with Edward.

"I'm fine," she said softly, before looking back down at Edward's face.

With her left hand on his chest, she used the other to try to soothe him by rubbing his shoulder.

I felt a surge of anger again at how much pain I knew that she was in.

"Jasper. Go. Now," she ordered.

I jumped to my feet and turned to Sam who was standing a few feet away.

"I need to feed. I'll guard the perimeter," I stated.

Sam barely looked at me as he nodded because he was so focused on the horror in front of him.

Anger surged inside of me again, so I ran.

BELLA

"Jake, put me down. Edward needs me," I gasped between breaths.

"You've lost a lot of blood, Bella. I need to get you to a doctor," he said firmly.

Everything became hazy as I felt myself losing consciousness.

"They have a name for someone who smells the way Bella does to me. They call her 'la tua cantante' my singer because her blood sings for me."

Edward's words flitted through my mind, just as if he were next to me.

"No… no…" I said, struggling to hold on to reality.

"I think I understand why I allowed us to be together when it went against every rational thought. My hunger for you is stronger than my will. I wish that you could feel the complexity… the confusion… I feel… on the one hand, the hunger- the thirst—that, deplorable creature that I am, that I feel for you…But… there are other hungers. Hungers that I don't even understand, that are foreign to me…"

...

"Good God, Bella... Tell me to stop... God, I want you so much... Bella, please, I could hurt you..."

…

"You don't make a whole lot of sense, Bell. You're afraid of blood but you like a show about a crime solving serial killer. You're a nut…"

"Aidin?" I struggled to open my eyes, but failed.

"We're almost there, Bells. Stay with me. Everything will be alright."

"Don't you dare say that everything is going to be okay! Nothing is okay! You knew...all this time… you knew! How could you not tell me? How could you... let me believe that I am...? How could you let me believe that I am a... man?"

"Edward, I'm sorry," I mumbled, trying to reach for him.

"Bella, stay with me! Open your eyes!"

With a groan, I opened my eyes. I was in Jake's truck. He had his arm around me, holding me up as he drove one handed along the dirt road.

"You're strong, Bella. The strongest person I've ever met. Just stay with me and everything will be ok. Please, Bella. Stay with me."

I tried to say something, but the words wouldn't come. My eyes felt heavy and against my will they slid shut.

"Why do you think that you can't hear me?"

"I don't know. The only guess I have is that maybe your mind doesn't work the same way the rest of theirs do. Like your thoughts are on the AM frequency and I'm only getting FM."

"My mind doesn't work right? I'm a freak?"

"We're at the medical clinic, Bella. Hold on."

A pair of strong arms lifted me up and I felt a wave of dizziness at the motion.

"We need help! Is anyone here? She's seriously hurt! Please help us!"

"Put her on the gurney. Is she on any medication? Does she have any allergies?"

"Not that I know of."

"Does anyone have the flu here?"

"Edward's human DNA is still in control, but you have to realize that you are in a really vulnerable position. Edward could change at any moment if his human DNA weakens. You could have also easily become infected with the flu today when you followed him. However, if you haven't begun to feel the effects of it yet, you've probably not been infected. However, that doesn't mean that you are immune. You need to be careful."

"So far, none of us have been affected, but it is spreading rapidly."

"And here we are trapped on the reservation because if we leave we'll be putting everyone in jeopardy of catching the flu. I feel like we are in that movie Dawn of the Dead, trapped in a shopping mall and surrounded by zombies that want to eat our brains."

"It's not just torn skin. There's also damage to the muscle. We have to operate. Are you a relative?"

"I'm a friend. Her father couldn't be here."

"Dad…"

"Bells, I'll be there soon. Everything will be okay. Just find a safe place off the main road and wait for me. I'll be there soon."

"What attacked her?"

"A wolf."

"We had an agreement, Edward… You broke it… I don't know how you got away, but I warned you. And now I'm here… Yes… here I am… in the middle of your territory, your family, your… herd."

…

"Ah... ah... ah… Not so fast… Remember your visitor last night? I have many of them… Some are like me and others are of your kind. They're just waiting to take vengeance on you depraved creatures for all that they've lost."

I started to cry. So much tragedy. So much grief. So much anger. The people in my life and the people they loved had suffered so much—the Blacks, the Clearwaters, really all the Quileutes. Not only had many of their loved ones been killed, but also many of the younger generation had become werewolves to compensate for vampires moving into their vicinity. So many people who could have vendettas against the Cullens.

I fought to regain consciousness, needing to tell Jake what I'd figured out.

"He had help… Jake, he had help... One of you. Someone... with nothing to lose..."

"Bella, it'll be ok. I'll be here when you wake up."

"Wake up love."

"No, it's too early. Five more minutes," I groaned, burying my face back into the pillow.

"Bella, open your eyes."

I loved the soft chuckle that Edward got in his voice some times.

"Five more minutes…" I mumbled again.

"Don't you want to have pancakes with your husband before he goes to work?"

I turned over with a yawn, not quite ready to open my eyes.

"Pancakes with maple syrup and bacon... It's sitting in the oven just waiting to be eaten." He said this in his sexy voice, which caused me to laugh and open my eyes.

"Ah, there's my love…" he murmured with a smile before kissing my lips.

...

"Bella, I need to get to the hospital. I guess there is an especially virulent flu that has broken out in the city. They're calling in all the local doctors so that we can contain it before it gets worse."

I paused in the middle getting dressed because I had an extreme case of déjà vu at his words.

"Did you mention this to me before?" I said and I was shocked to hear a quiver in my voice. I hadn't realized that it had upset me until I opened my mouth.

I finished buttoning up my shirt and sat down heavily on the bed.

"No, it's the first I heard of it," he said, moving towards me. "Are you feeling alright?" he asked, cupping my face and looking into my eyes.

"I don't know. When you mentioned the flu, I got a really bad feeling. You'll be careful, right?"

"Of course, sweetheart," he murmured, kissing me gently on the lips.

I smiled tremulously at him, trying not to worry him.

Tracing my cheek with his thumb, he looked at me intently.

"You look tired. Why don't you take a nap before you go to work?"

"I might," I responded with a deep breath.

"Okay, I'll call you in a few hours to check in," he said, kissing me before opening our bedroom door.

"I love you, you know," he said with his beautiful crooked smile.

"I love you too," I said, with as bright a smile as I could manage.

...

"Bella, wake up."

A hand was shaking my shoulder, but I wasn't ready to wake up yet.

"Five more minutes…"I groaned.

"Wake up. You've got to wake up!"

Edward.

Edward's voice.

I swam out of sleep.

When I opened my eyes, I was shocked to see how deathly pale he was. The car keys were still in one hand and he was still using the other to shake me, although my eyes were open.

"What's going on? Are you okay?" I asked, alarmed.

"I'm fine, but Bella I need you to pack a few things and go to your father's."

I looked over at the clock and saw that it was three in the morning. Edward wasn't even supposed to be here because he was on the night shift.

"What's wrong?" I asked, sitting up quickly.

"The flu is much worse than we had expected. It is killing everyone infected and so far we haven't found a treatment. I need to get back to the hospital, but I had to get you out of town first," he explained as he grabbed my suitcase and started to stuff my clothing into it.

"Edward, you have to come too," I pleaded.

"I can't Bella, but you have to go. I need you to be safe," he begged.

He stopped his frantic packing to come over to me. Gripping my shoulders, he looked into my eyes and I saw a desperate gleam in them that I had never seen before.

Letting go abruptly, he dashed into the kitchen. Plates rattled and doors slammed as he rummaged through the kitchen.

"Where's the emergency fund?" he shouted.

"It's in the crock pot on the top shelf," I responded, my voice hoarse.

The reality that something really terrible was happening hit me at that moment. This money was our supply of cash that we had been collecting in case something really bad happened.

He dashed back into the room and pushed the wad of cash into my hand.

"Edward, you have to come with me," I said again.

He was about to respond, but suddenly jumped away from me before sneezing explosively.

Looking up at me, I gasped at the look of horror in his eyes.

"Oh God, Bella! I have it! Get away from me. Go!" he begged, backing towards the door.

"Edward," I pleaded, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Bella, go!" he shouted, stumbling down the stairs as he coughed uncontrollably.

I stood in the middle of our bedroom in a state of shock.

...

I coughed uncontrollably, not able to catch my breath.

"Bells, take it easy. Breathe in through your nose."

My father stood next to my hospital bed dressed in a hazmat suit. When I saw him for the first time, he looked like an alien standing next to my bed. He was wearing a suit that covered him from head to toe with a full-face piece. It even had a two-way radio for a mouth piece.

He was trying to sound soothing but the fear in his eyes paired with the hazmat suit told me that things were anything but okay.

"How are you feeling?" he asked when I stopped coughing.

"Same… you?" My voice was so hoarse that I didn't sound anything like myself.

"I'll be ok, Bells. You don't have to worry about me," he said with a forced confidence. However, even through the tinny speaker I could hear the nasal quality of his voice. Charlie was sick.

"Dad, you're not-" I started, but then I started coughing again.

"Bells, don't worry about me. You need to focus on getting better. The doctors are saying that you're body seems to be putting up a good fight against the virus."

"Ed-" I couldn't get the word out. I tried again, desperate to hear that he was ok.

"He got sick around the same time that you did. I haven't heard anything since," Charlie murmured.

I saw him start to reach out to touch my shoulder, but he caught himself and reluctantly pulled his hand away.

"Dad…" I wheezed.

"Take it easy, Bells."

Even through the mask, I saw that his eyes glistened as he spoke. Seeing that he was on the verge of tears, I started to tear up as well. However, another fit of coughing took a hold of me. And this time I couldn't stop.

"Help! She's choking! Doctor! Anyone! Please! Help!"

These were the last words I heard before the darkness took me.

…

As strange as it sounded, it was the silence that woke me.

I couldn't hear anything and for a moment it felt like I had gone deaf. However, when I sat up, I realized that the lights were out, the machines next to my hospital bed were not blinking or whirring. The hum of electricity was gone.

As I pulled my legs out of the blankets draped over me and set my feet on the floor I was amazed to feel healthy. Hadn't I been deathly ill? Had I imagined it?

I stood up on unsteady feet and changed out of my hospital gown and into my own clothes which made me feel more like myself.

However, when I turned towards the door, I gasped at the sight before me.

Next to the door spray painted in huge red letters were the words

FREAK! WHY ARE WE DYING AND NOT YOU?

My body started to tremble all over.

Suddenly, the need to get out of there was the only thing that I could think about. I almost bolted blindly through the door and into whatever lay beyond. I needed to breathe fresh air and then get far, far away from this terrible place.

However, the desperateness of the words on the wall made me hesitate.

I opened the door slowly and tentatively stepped out.

The corridor was dark without the fluorescents of even a back-up generator, so it took a while for my eyes to adjust. Once they did, I scanned the hallway. At first it looked like someone had left a pile of clothes in the middle of the floor, but as I inched closer I saw that it was a body. I froze. I felt a scream building in my chest, but I was so terrified that I couldn't even give voice to it. Instead it burned inside of my chest making it hard to breathe. I felt myself getting faint, but then the fear of lying comatose next to a body caused me to pinch my arm as hard as I could.

It was a man in a long beige trench coat, sprawled face down on the floor with one hand outstretched as if he had been reaching for something when he died.

I started to slide along the wall, trying to stay as far away from it as possible. However, my eyes remained fixed on it. If the man moved, I knew that I would completely lose it. But I didn't think the person was going to getup. Not now, not ever.

As I got past it, I moved more quickly. I needed to put as much distance between me and it as fast as I could.

I heard a sound like skittering behind me and this time I really did scream as I whirled around. However, there was nothing there except the body.

My scream seemed to reverberate back and forth in the empty halls, a nightmarish echo.

The sound broke me and I started running, panting with fear. I was running so fast down the corridor that when I reached the end and had to turn right, my sneakers slipped and I landed on the floor.

Hitting the floor jolted me out of my hysteria.

As I started to pull myself to my feet, I sensed that I was not alone.

There was just a small noise behind me, but it was enough to cause me to scramble to my feet. I spun around, not knowing what to expect.

A man stood in the middle of the hall. He was hunched forward, so I couldn't see his face, but his body was tilted at an unnatural angle with his hands swinging loosely at his sides. I was about to ask him if he was ok, when suddenly he started shambling towards me, his movements spastic.

Unconsciously a word escaped my lips, "… please..."

At the sound of my voice, the man stopped moving and slowly, so slowly, looked up at me.

His eyes were absolutely vacant, but a long string of snot hung from his nose.

He had it- the killer flu.

I turned and ran.

I ran aimlessly down so many corridors and turned so many corners that I had absolutely no idea where I was going. Then, a thought brought me up short. What if with all the running, I had actually come full circle. The man could be around the next corner. I had seen more dead bodies as I ran and I knew that it was highly likely that I was the only one really alive in this building. However, as I said this I heard faint groaning. Someone began coughing, a harsh sound that continued unabated. I edged closer to the lab at the end of the hall, needing to know whether someone was alive. The door to the lab was missing so I could see into the carrels where people worked. In one, a young man dressed in a white trench coat lay sprawled over his desk. He was comatose, but blood was dripping from his nose and mouth where it pooled on the table. His breath rattled in and out of his lungs with a lengthening pause between each. I started to back away, but at the sound of my shoes shuffling on the tile floor, the man's eyes opened. They stared at me, barely focusing on my face.

"Why… are… you alive?" he panted. "What is… different…" He took a gurgling breath and blood frothed at the corner of his mouth. "… about you?"

He took one last gurgling breath and then went still.

I began to sob as I turned and ran.

"Bella, open your eyes. You need to wake up." It wasn't Charlie or Edward's voice, so I clenched my eyes shut, not wanting to be told that they were gone.

"Why hasn't she woken up yet?" The person's voice was full of emotion, like they were on the verge of tears. I tried to listen more closely because something about the voice was familiar.

"She's recovering. You need to give her time," a woman's voice responded.

"So, how's our patient?" another voice asked.

"Doctor, she hasn't woken up yet," the familiar voice responded.

"That's to be expected. She underwent a pretty serious surgery. Are you her partner?"

"No, I'm her best friend. Her partner… He couldn't be here." It was from these words that I realized that the familiar voice was Jake's.

"Is there any way that he can be reached? This is really something that I should discuss with him or her father," the doctor stated.

"No, I'm sorry. They can't be reached. There's just me."

"Okay. Could I talk to you in private?" the doctor asked.

"Bells, I'll be right back. Take it easy," Jake whispered in my ear.

I listened to his footfalls as he left the room, but I could still hear some of their muffled conversation.

"… on any drugs?"

"No, Bella doesn't use…"

"… something different about her blood… not seen anything like it…"

I drifted off into unconsciousness before I could hear anymore.