Summary: Edward left Bella in the fall of 2005, and the Olympic coven never returned. Eight years later, the United States had a massive outbreak due to the Cordyceps Brain Infection on September 26th of 2013. Containment failed and the rate of infection skyrocketed, causing the world to go into a global pandemic. Social order crumbled and civility no longer exists. It is now to the imagination of Edward and his family to wonder if his former lover is alive, dead, or one of the infected.
I do not own the "Twilight" characters or story building of "The Last of Us". The rights belong strictly to Stephenie Meyer and Naughty Dog. This story is purely for creative purposes.
Warning(s): this story will contain descriptions of violence, acts of violence, gore, language, and sexual scenes/situations. If any of these make you uncomfortable, please refrain from reading.
Onward to chapter 5!
Chapter 5: A Shot in the Dark
Some time had passed since Alice's vision of Bella, and Rose's apology. We didn't know if it was weeks, months, possibly even years if I were to push it. As previously mentioned, the keeping of time was very hard to come by in these trying times.
My family and I were still roaming the landscape that was now known as post apocalyptic America. There was a keenness to Alice, Esme, Carlisle, and Emmett to go back up to Washington to see Bella for the first time in over twenty years. Though they were surprised to find out that she was alive, it was very short-lived. Even when we had left Forks long, long ago, those familial bonds that had formed with Bella had not wained one bit with them.
Rosalie and Jasper were a bit more hesitant to do so. For Rosalie, after having apologized, her behavior still didn't sit right with her. It would have embarrassed her to face Bella once more. For Jasper, it was because the last time that he saw Bella, it was at her eighteenth birthday party and he tried to attack her after she accidentally gave herself a paper cut when she tried to open up a present.
To say that he was still embarrassed of that, would be the understatement of the year. The guilt was still weighed heavily in his mind.
It was my final say-so that would either bring us back up to the Pacific Northwest or simply keep us to the nomadic lifestyle that we've been currently living, however. Carlisle was adamant about that.
Instead, we took to visiting our old hometowns that we lived in back when we were human. We first visited my home of Chicago, Illinois. We were quick to find the quarantine zone that had been set up there abandoned and overrun with the infected. There were a few stray human groups that we did our best to steer clear of. I had tried to see if I recognized any of the landmarks that were present in my childhood and teenage years, even after the century plus years of age and decay to the surroundings had done them in.
It was useless, though. My memory from my human years had faded a long time ago, and it was damn near impossible to try and recognize anything after Mother Nature had taken her hold on most of the environment.
There were times that I wondered if this is what Bella often thought of. Faded memories of a time that once was before normalcy and social civility went down the drain as the pandemic reared its head.
There were also times that I wondered, if she still thought of me. But I did my best to try not to dwell on that.
We then traveled to different parts of the country where my other family members hailed from, to see if there was anything different than what we had previously seen, maybe hoping that there were some shred of hope that there was at least one human settlement that wasn't run rampant with violence and the age old evolutionary thinking of "survival of the fittest". Those were few and far between, however.
Esme's hometown of Columbus, Ohio was no different than what we had seen in Chicago. Abandoned, run down, and overrun with the infected.
During our travels, Alice was still trying to keep tabs on Bella. Her visions would come every once in a blue moon of her either on patrol hunting the infected, helping out around the WLF compound, eating in the mess hall with her fellow humans. One thing that was still very prevalent in Alice's visions of Bella was that she would always keep to herself in these visions. It was as if she were still trying to keep her guard up around the other humans, trying to keep herself from getting too close to them.
I guess that part of her still has not changed. Or maybe I had something to do with that. I'm not sure.
Again, I did my best to try not to dwell on it.
From Columbus, we traveled down south to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, where Emmett was eager to get back to his old stomping grounds. I often found myself lingering in his mind where his thoughts were more carefree and lighter than mine were. Though his human memories have faded a significant amount since 1935, there were still some prominent memories in his mind. Some of which included him gambling with his friends, flirting with the local young women that Gatlinburg had to offer, spending time with his family, and hunting for game. For Emmett, there was no sadness when he thought back on these memories. He took his transition from human to vampire rather easily than most did. With the vampire life, he got a second chance at living, while also getting to keep Rosalie with him.
I distinctly remember him saying once long ago, "Hell's not so bad if you get to keep an angel with you."
Gatlinburg wasn't as bad as we had initially thought it was going to be. It was run down and overgrown, that's for sure, but oddly enough there was no infected. It was strange to encounter a town where it was actually quiet, and we didn't hear the moans, groans, and clicks of those afflicted.
Truth be told, I honestly wouldn't have minded staying there for a few more days. The silence was actually very comforting.
We were debating on whether or not if we wanted to go up north to Rochester, New York, where Rosalie once lived. We heard rumors from other vampires that we had ran into over our travels that the New York quarantine zone was still up and running with the military still in full control of it, which made us hesitant to go there. While we debated, we were also heavily considered just staying in Gatlinburg for the time being, seeing how peaceful this town was. Rosalie was starting to get very antsy with the nomadic lifestyle that we had taken upon ourselves over these past few decades.
My family and I had taken shelter in an old hunting lodge on the outskirts of Gatlinburg. Emmett, Esme, and Rosalie were out hunting while Carlisle, Alice, Jasper, and I stayed back. We were all sat around the center of a large fire pit, surrounded by a dining area.
"You know I always took you for a snake!"
My head whipped up. This was a voice that I did not recognize.
Carlisle and Jasper were sat silently with one another, their gazes peering curiously at Alice. I looked over to see that her gaze was blank, a vision overtaking her senses.
I tuned my mind in to what she was seeing.
There were two people in her vision, a woman and a man that were facing each other. The man towered over the woman by a good five or six inches, causing the woman to have to look up at the man. They were both wearing WLF uniforms, and I quickly came to the realization that the woman was Bella. I didn't recognize the man, however. The way that they were faced with each other, it looked as if they were in some sort of argument, or a confrontation.
"You're willing to let these fucking Scars go? After we catch them on our land and stealing our resources?" the man accused Bella, getting closer to her face.
"They're kids! They don't know any better!" Bella cried out, her tone of voice rising in pitch as anxiety began to overtake her. "They're just doing what they're told!"
The vision panned out further to reveal that there were more than two people in the scene. Behind them were eleven figures. Five of them were also wearing WLF uniforms, easy to identify as foot soldiers. They were standing around, watching both Bella and the man argue with one another. Two of them had their weapons out and pointed at the other figures in the vision.
The other six figures were smaller in stature, and appeared younger. Children. The oldest appeared to be in their mid teens, maybe fifteen or sixteen years old? The youngest couldn't have been more than eleven or twelve years old. These children had freshly healed jagged cuts that started around the edges of their mouths that curled up the sides of their face and reached their cheek bones.
Seraphites. Scars.
All of these children had terrified looks on their faces, several of them were crying, sobbing, actually. The oldest did their best to try and put on a brave face, but their facade was slowly starting to crumble. These children had nooses around their necks. These ropes were thrown over a large branch of a tree and were all tied to the rear bumper of a humvee.
Were they going to execute them? Surely they couldn't.
"You going soft on them, Swan?" another person spoke, a woman among the figures. "Should we start to question your loyalty to the Washington Liberation Front?"
All eyes were focused on Bella at that point in time, as the other foot soldiers were starting to become suspicious of her and her intent with defending the children. Were these humans so blind with rage and hate that they couldn't have realized that they're dealing with children? Did it finally reach a point in which the only good Seraphite was a dead Seraphite, regardless of age? And vice versa? Clearly Bella was able to distinguish a difference as this war wasn't her cause and reason for living, but it was becoming apparent that her views were not the same amongst her comrades.
The vision suddenly cut off to where the eleven figures were no longer in frame. The scene changed to where feet were dangling several feet above the ground, indicating the hanging was successful.
The vision then changed again, and the other six WLF soldiers, including the man that Bella was faced off with in the beginning, were all shot dead. The bodies were spread out and all of their weapons were drawn out from being holstered, as if a fight had broken out amongst them.
The vision stopped there and I did not see Bella make a reappearance once after her fellow soldiers started to turn on her.
"What did you see, Alice?" Jasper asked, alarm coating his voice.
I looked over to Alice to see that she was fearful. I didn't realize in that moment of time that I was sharing that same emotion as her.
"Bella's in trouble," she exhaled, as if she were letting out a breath that she was holding in. "In my vision, she was trying to defend some Seraphite kids from getting killed by her patrol." Her head hung low, and her voice quivered, "Lynched, would be a more appropriate term."
Carlisle and Jasper shared a worried expression. They leaned in closer to hear more of Alice's explanation.
"I know that she's alive for now... but I can't say for how long. The WLF soldiers that she was with are going to start to doubt her allegiance to them and their cause. It might start to make her a target for them, and then some..."
The aura of the room changed, swiftly converting it from a tense atmosphere to artificial peace. Jasper's doing, no doubt. With me, he was already used to the high strung anxiety that wracked me on a daily basis, but with Alice, it was different. Alice who did her best to maintain a happy and cheerful presence throughout this entire ordeal, if she were to start to become filled with any kind of negative emotion, well... Jasper certainly couldn't have that.
In a way, Jasper had become my mood stabilizer, like an anti-anxiety or an antidepressant medication. I was far too reliant on him for even the most basic processes of emotions. I imagine that if I were human, I would have been either had my hair graying or having it fall out fresh from my scalp. I suppose that it's a good thing that I'm not.
I immediately stood up and started towards the front entrance of the hunting lodge. I felt someone place their hand on my shoulder, and from how small the hand felt, I could tell that it was Alice.
"Where are you going, Edward?" she asked, her voice small, as if she were afraid of the answer I was going to give her.
I craned my head to look at her, and then lifted my gaze to both the anxious looks of my father and my brother. "I have to do something," I whispered, helplessly. "I have to get to her somehow."
"Let me go with you, at least," she pleaded, her eyebrows beginning to knot together on her forehead.
"What? Alice, no!" Jasper gasped, immediately pushing himself to a standing position.
"Both you and Carlisle can't leave Emmett, Esme, and Rosalie behind in the dark if we all go forward with this!" she cried out, spinning around to face Jasper. "And believe it or not, I've actually been worried about Bella, too! Edward needs this, and so do I!" She darted over to be closer and Jasper, placing both of her hands on either side of his face. "Let me do this." Her voice softened to a whisper. "If not for myself, then please allow me to help Edward. At least so he's not alone should he need the closure."
Jasper looked torn as his eyes flitted between Alice and I. He grasped both Alice's wrists with his hands, and leaned the side of his face into one of her hands as his worried expression crumbled.
I couldn't ask Alice to do this for me. It would have been too selfish of me.
"Alice, I-" I began, but she quickly cut me off.
"Shut up, Edward! Like I said, this isn't just for you!" she snapped, her head whipping over her shoulder to look at me.
I was taken aback, to say the least.
There were flashes of Bella in Alice's mind, of old visions and memories that were stored in the deepest crevices of her brain. Visions of Bella with snow white skin and blood red eyes that glowed as she stood wrapped up in Alice's embrace was the most prominent of them all. A future that I fought valiantly against, mind you, and was determined to not let it happen. Some also included memories of when Alice and Bella bonded over time from when they first met each other, to Alice helping Bella out with the basic human necessities so that Bella's father, Charlie, would be spared having to view his daughter in that light, to 'forcing' Bella get dressed up for the Forks High School 2005 prom, buying Bella her birthday gift while trying to envision what her reaction was going to be, and among others.
I remember her wearing the blue dress, donned with a silver heel on one foot, and a walking boot on the other. I also remember her freaking out when she came to the conclusion that I was taking her to the prom. I fought a chuckle back the more that I thought back to her almost having a mental breakdown in my passenger seat at the mere thought of having to dance in front of every member of the student body and faculty as we drove to the Forks High School gymnasium.
I also remember her thinking that I had changed my mind in terms of changing her into a vampire, as well as the fact that she thought that the entire ordeal was going to be a black tie event.
"Let me do this, Jazz," Alice whispered, leaning her forehead against Jaspers. "Please."
There was a beat of silence before any one of us responded.
Jasper was contemplating what was being said to him, slowly going through the thought process of what I needed to do and what Alice was trying to help me with. He let go of Alice's wrists and gingerly stepped around her, making his way towards me. His eyes were hard. "I know what needs to be done, don't think I misunderstand that," he said, an edge to his voice. "But you do everything in your power to make sure that she does not get hurt, do you understand me?" He was almost toe to toe with me.
"Yes," I whispered.
He backed up from me, his eyes never leaving my face. "Good." He turned to face Alice and wrapped her up in his embrace. She threw her arms around his neck as they engaged in a goodbye kiss. Well, perhaps not a goodbye kiss, per say, but rather a farewell for now kiss. "Stay safe for me, please," he all but pleaded.
"I'm more capable than you think I am, Jazz," she said, letting out a breathy laugh.
I looked away from Jasper and Alice to capture the gaze of my father who watched this tearful goodbye between the two lovers. Carlisle thought back to the conversation that we had in the abandoned pharmacy back in Clovis, New Mexico. The conversation that essentially called me out on my wallowing and mental anguish as the anxiety consumed me in that moment of time. Especially as my family and I had learned about what could have been Bella's fate for those who were unfortunate enough to either be infected, killed by the infected, killed by the military, killed by paramilitary groups like the WLF, killed by the rogue groups of hunters, and so on, so forth.
"You should do this, Edward. You need to do this," Carlisle thought, engaging in a silent conversation with me. "For both yours and Bella's sakes."
I gave him one slight nod.
Alice and Jasper ended their goodbyes with one another and Alice turned to join me near the front entrance.
"Tell Emmett, Rosalie, and Esme our goodbyes," she said. "I don't know what awaits us on our journey and I don't know when we'll meet again."
"We'll track you once they get back," Jasper responded. "It's just a head start to the next destination, really." It sounded as if he were still trying to convince himself of that.
Alice turned to me, her face and her thoughts regaining their composure. "Let's go."
There was a beat of silence before I quietly responded, "Okay."
How strange a turn of events! I was always thankful for Alice's ability for precognition, and I suppose that I should have taken into consideration that she, too, would want to be of assistance in this task. Bella wasn't only the love of just my life, but she also was the platonic love of Alice's life, as well. All those years back, before we had made our departure from Forks, it was also a painful goodbye for Alice. The only thing is, however, she never got to say goodbye like I did. I tried to make the parting as clean as I possibly could so that Bella could move on with her life, without any interference from me or my family.
I guess I never did take into account what that meant for my sister, as well.
"Thank you, Edward," Alice thought as she ran along beside me, "for letting me do this. For letting me help you."
"I don't think I could do this without you, Alice," I whispered, allowing my legs to push me further into the forest that surrounded the town of Gatlinburg.
Though I didn't say it, I knew for a fact that I was going to need someone with me should I find her dead.
Thank you for reading! Please leave a review of your thoughts!
-YourMusicalMisfit