—I swear, ask Seth. Lacy, Tracy, and Stacy. I cannot make this up. In the entertainment room, we are around the big table as I tell them what happened when I met Seth's friends and went to that party on the beach.
—All in cheerleader uniforms? Alice still doubts I met the perfect mean girl trio.
—Yes, and Stacy was chewing gum and repeating what Tracy said like a parrot. I can't stop smiling think how hilarious it would be to go to school with them.
—I can't believe you get to go to parties. Emmett's upset they couldn't blend in and have fun with humans as I could since they are so obviously different from them.
—I went to all the parties. I used to blend in perfectly.
—I liked our way better. It was like walking above all of them. Rosalie must've felt like the queen of high school. If I had her looks, I would feel the same.
—That's because you guys were the cool kids. School wasn't that fun for me. Bella was a student when she met them, so maybe she had a typical life for some time.
—What happened after? Alice asks, curious to hear the best part.
—I got to know Jess, Tyler, and Ben. They are all so cool and funny. And when I went to get us more drinks-
—Alcohol works on you? Edwards looks a little jealous.
—Like magic. I open a big smile, remembering how I used to drink with my friends when I turned 21 in vampire age. —Anyway, they came back to intimidate me more, and I told them I was fresh out of juvie because I stabbed a bully 26 times, and they pissed their pants and ran away.
—You hung with the trouble makers, didn't you? Bella seems surprised by how I used to have fun with humans, but her attitude doesn't surprise me too much. She was one herself, so it may be difficult for her to see just how much fun this actually is.
Throwing myself on the sofa next to Seth, I give her my coolest look. —I was their leader. I take my cady out and pick a good flavor to look even cooler. —Humans became easier to read after a few years. I like them. They're reckless and crazy, especially when they're drunk. Not melon. I give the melon candy to Seth and take the strawberry one.
As I unwrap it, the sweet aroma makes me mouth water. —But, what I really miss is skipping class. I used to have so much fun- Hey! Seth grabbed my hand, making me drop my cady, and I'm ready to give him a piece of my mind, but he doesn't look so good.
He has his hand on his neck, choking on a white foam coming out of his mouth.
—Carlisle! Edward puts him on the floor, and Carlisle injects him with something as I look at him shaking on the floor, unable to move or make a sound, still holding the bag with the candy in my hands.
Seth's body trembles and then stops. I'm holding my breath, feeling my heart sink in my chest until he finally takes a big breath.
Esme takes the bag from my hand, and I finally stand up, moving again. Seth is still on the floor, and Carlisle is examining him.
—Anne, who gave you this? Esme is shaking the bag in front of my face, and I can't tell if she just asked me this or has been repeating the question for a while. She holds me by my shoulders, and I finally come to it.
—Just a kid… at the festival.
—A kid? Emmett stands up and takes the bag, looking at the content.
—A boy. He approached me and gave me the candy. I thought he was lost. He was alone, holding his teddy bear-
—Did you see his eyes? Emmett asks. I look back at Seth. He still won't wake up.
—No. He was wearing one of those big funny glasses.
—Call David inside and take Seth out of here. They might be here already. Jasper's words make sense to me, but I can't concentrate on them. Seth is sweating, looking like he's in pain.
—What happened? David is standing next to me, looking at Seth on the floor.
—Dieci tried to poison Anne. Jasper already understands what is happening. I'm still trying to process what is going on as Edward and Carlisle take Seth out of the room.
—Are you all right? David's voice seems far to me.
—I gave him the candy. It was just… just candy.
—You didn't know Anne. He'll be ok. We go to where Edward and Carlisle are taking Seth. I follow the touch of her hand, trusting she'll guide me as I can't see what's in front of me very well.
—Call Bella and Jake. Renesmee should stay near us. I can hear the last of Jasper's orders as we reach Seth's room. He's already on the bed, looking like he's still struggling to breathe.
—He's already recovering. I suspect thallium sulfate. Carlisle says. Esme sits me by the bed, and I hold his hand. They are colder than usual, and my heart feels like it will explode.
—Why would a vampire use rat poison? Esme was right. He could've just squeezed the life out of me right there. Why bother?
—They want Mirania to come. David is inside the room too. —They expect her to come out of hiding if they kill you. She's the only one that can unlock that disk.
—Why would she come if I died? Mirania killed my parents. She has no concern for me anymore.
—Anne, Mirania orchestrated all of this. She made sure to be the one to bring you back to the lab so she could lock the disk and destroy that place. She planned to separate Padrone from the Volturi to kill him herself. All that happened was very well designed. David talks like he's stating the obvious, but I never saw through this angle. Mirania was making us dance like puppets all this time?
—C'mon, we need a plan. They might come soon. Carlisle takes David and Edward out of the room, but I can't move.
—Anne, he'll be ok. It wasn't your fault. Esme holds my shoulder, comforting me.
I nod at her, reaffirming that I'm not blaming myself. No, I know exactly whose fault this is. She leaves the room to meet the others downstairs, but I can only think about Seth now. About how weak he looks and how cold his hands are. His skin always seemed like it was on fire all the time, but now, the coldness in them stirs a fear I didn't know I had in me.
While he was in agony, he took the candy out of my hand so that I wouldn't eat it. When he was choking in poison, he still thought of me first.
Is this how he felt when he thought I died? Is this the amount of pain he had to endure, thinking we could never see each other again?
I feel so powerless right now, just waiting beside his bed, and it's like my heart forgot how to beat. Every inch of me hurts as I hold his fingers near my face, waiting to hear his voice again.
When he opens his eyes, I jump up, sitting on the bed and looking closely at his face. —Seth! Are you all right? He was all sweaty and still seemed tired.
—You didn't eat it, right? I can feel my bones hurt at his question. How could you still worry about me right now?
—No. Are you in pain? Are you really all right?
—I'll be ok. I can't hold my tears back anymore as I touch his face, ensuring his temperature is going back to normal. —Really, I'm ok.
I hug him as tight as I can. I never thought I could feel such fear. He saved my life so many times that I thought he was just strong like that and nothing could hurt him, but seeing his mortal side today created a different fear inside me. I'll never be able to forget how I felt today.
—I should do this more often. I can hear him smile.
—Don't you dare! He laughs more and complains of pain, so I let go of him, worried. —What? Does it hurt?
He pulls me closer. —Now it doesn't.
I want to stay like this with him, but we do not have time. —They are here, Seth. The kid that gave me that candy was Dieci, the immortal child Emmett fought. David said they tried to kill me so Mirania would come out of hiding.
I still didn't believe Mirania would put a hold on her plan just because I died, but David seemed sure she would come for some reason.
—We better get ready then. He sits up, looking much better now, but I can't stop worrying.
—Are you sure? You should rest more.
—I'm fine. Let's go.
I hold his hand as we go downstairs. Jake and the other wolves are there, too, looking happy to see Seth alive and well.
—I knew it. Good as new. Jake says, patting Seth's shoulder. —Don't scare us like that, man.
—I'm tougher than you. This is nothing. It's what he says, but I wish he wouldn't take this so lightly. I was worried to death, and even now, I can't let go of his hand.
—Good to have you back. Edward smiles at him.
—Since Anne didn't die, they might come down and fight us head-on as a plan B. David and the others seem to have been discussing this for a while. —We can only hope Mirania won't show up as we fight them. It would be a much bigger problem if they got her.
He was right. We needed to keep her away from Padrone and somehow get our hands in that disk.
—It's more advantageous to wait for them to come to us. We should go deeper into the woods and stay there. Edward is looking at Alice like he's reading her thoughts.
—I saw them. They'll come soon. She says. This is the endgame.
—Padrone will be here too. He's at the end of his rope. David looks like he's been waiting for this as much as I have. It's payback time.
—Anne-
—I'm going too. There's no way I'm staying here. I interrupt Esme, stating my wishes.
—I was going to say, get changed. A shirt is not enough for the woods at night. She points to Seth's shirt and the light jacket I have been wearing since I returned. She smiles at me, and I quickly go upstairs to get changed. Nanotech and my tracksuit should do the trick and keep me warm.
—I'm ready. I return as fast as I can and hold Seth's hand again.
—Let's go then. We all follow Jasper outside the house, running towards the woods.
We reach a wide valley as the sun sets behind the clouds. We are all there now, lined up, waiting.
I'm behind them, and David is hiding, perfectly still in the trees so he can look for Padrone when the fight starts. He told us he never participates in battles and stays hidden until it's time to get what he wants.
—She's not dead. What a surprise. All of the experiments are here now. I heard a lot about them, but it's the first time we are face to face.
The small child with cute dimples on his face is obviously Dieci. He has his teddy bear in his hands, just like that day at the festival.
The tall woman that mocked the fact I wasn't dead is Cinque. She has the most beautiful figure, and her eyes are of a fiery red I had never seen before. She's wearing leather clothes, and her long back hair frames her perfect face.
The cowboy-looking man next to her must be Sette. Esme and Jake fought him, and as she said, he looked much older than the others and much stronger. He has a long scar across his eye, and I wonder how he got that.
One other man that none of us seems to recognize is there too—a slender tall frail-looking guy with a dead look in his droopy eyes.
—Where is Mirania? Dieci looks around with his cute small finger on his chin. It seems like he enjoys acting like a child, even though Emmett told us how vicious he can be and how dangerous his powers are, especially for vampires.
—Hiding, like usual. Cinque has her long leg up on a rock, looking relaxed as she can't take her eyes off Jasper. She seems ready for revenge. —If we mail her E67's head, she'll come for a visit.
—Where is he? Edward wants to know where Padrone is. We expected him to be hiding, like a coward, waiting for the moment to swoop everything away when it's the most convenient to him.
Sette opens a large smile to Edward, and I can see Bella move. —You got guard dogs too. This will be fun. Esme told us he seemed fixated on Edward when they first met in Rome.
Esme is right in front of Renesmee and me; Jake is behind us, keeping guard and sticking to the plan. We had organized ourselves to fight them and keep our advantage until we got to Padrone.
The slander man makes the first move. —Otto is impatient. Sette says, smiling. Emmett takes Otto's punch head-on, holding it with his hand. The sound is loud, and he pushes Emmett back quite a bit before Rosalie jumps in, making him move away.
They are all moving now. Jasper, Seth, and Carlisle are fighting Cinque. She's concentrating on Jasper; her eyes are full of anger and bloodlust.
Bella and Alice are fighting Otto. He's skinny and lazy-looking but moves like a ragdoll, avoiding their attacks and smiling like this is all he wanted to do today.
Embry, Quil, Leah are fighting Dieci, as we agreed on. Emmett said his powers didn't work well on shape-shifters, and their fight is the most strange to me. They have their eyes closed and move away from Dieci like they are listening to him. Although it's evident to me where he will attack, they are inside an illusion and can't see where he actually is.
Sette was their biggest problem. Otto seems deadly too, but we had no way to prepare for him, so they're winging it, but they knew Sette was the oldest, therefore the most dangerous. Edward, Paul, Sam, and Carlisle are fighting him, and he is just warming up.
He changes his moves last minute, testing their speed and probably trying to outsmart Edward's powers.
Renesmee seems impatient as she watches her parents fight. I have eyes on Seth and Esme, trusting them with all I got.
The fight goes on until Dieci can hurt one of the wolves. Quil's screams are loud and painful, and Dieci uses this distraction to come in our direction. Esme moves forward but stops right away like she's frozen mind run. Leah stops his attack, but Esme won't move.
Cinque throws something like a long branch my way, and Renesmee pulls me out of the way. —Anne! Esme is free from the illusion now, and Dieci throws a big rock. Jake goes towards him, covering for the still injured Quil as Renesmee takes me out of the way again.
Dieci traps Esme again, and I see him going for her head. I'm in a panic now and ready to run towards her. I can't let her die.
Jake gets to him, but she still won't move. All the others are worried and do not pay enough attention to their fights.
—David! Renesmee calls for him, deviating from the plan. —Get her out of here. She pushes me to him, so he'll stop me from running. —I can't go because of Jake and my parents, but they don't want me anymore.
—Wait! This was not the plan. I was supposed to be the bait. Mirania or Padrone was supposed to come. We were going to kill them together.
David doesn't even answer her and takes me away. The silence in the woods is frightening when he stops.
—NO! Take me back! He'll kill her!
—I can't. I won't let you die.
I walk away from David, and he grabs me by my arm, looking closely at me. —You'll be a distraction. Trust them. I knew he was right, but the fear was suffocating. I saw Seth almost die today, and now Esme is in danger. What am I supposed to do? Be cold and calculate the possibilities? How the hell does one do that when everything I treasure the most is on the line?
—The prodigy son returns!
—Shit. David and I turn to look at the snake-like vampire standing behind us. His long thin lips in a smile send chills down my spine. I saw that face in my nightmares and hoped to rip it apart a thousand times. Now, he is right there, arms open like he's welcoming old friends, and I want to punch him until my fist goes through his skull.