She eyed the clock with contempt as she contemplated her next decision.
She was already past the 'point-of-no-return' in which the day would fall exactly how she'd set it. But that only covered the general happenings.
What Rosalie would say to her exactly—and how furious on a scale from one to ten she would be—was still up in the air.
What wasn't undecided, was that in ruining Rosalie's day, and souring her own reputation amongst a boardroom of Lieutenants, Alice had spared herself a morning of torment. And spared Carlisle from having to answer a series of tricky questions on her behalf while in her presence.
Now that she would miss the first half of the meeting, Carlisle could provide whatever answers he deemed necessary to the pair of irritable New England men who wanted to know more about Alice's past.
Alice let her foot fall from the gas pedal, allowing the car to slow down ever-so-slightly. Quickly deciding that it wasn't slow enough, she merged over a few lanes and let her speed fall by a few more miles per hour.
In her defense, she had already told her fellow Protectors that she would be running late. But she'd also done that before even truly knowing why. It had come as a bit of a shock to herself when she realized it was going to be by her own creation, and for the purpose of making her day a bit easier.
And even knowing that the meeting would go smoother with her delay, she still felt bad about abandoning Rosalie and Carlisle to handle it. If they saw through her rouse, she would have to find an adequate way at assuring them that it had been imperative that she showed up late.
(Really, she just didn't want to go through any more grilling in a business setting. She'd had enough of that the past few months.)
She'd missed her exit a few minutes prior and was currently driving through the middle of Boston, halfway sightseeing and halfway keeping her mind's eye on the situation at the edge of the city, where two dozen people were irritably going through report summaries and budget discussion.
Alice eyed the clock again. The meeting had begun forty minutes ago.
Rosalie was going to kill her.
Not immediately, no. Not with so many witnesses present. But, perhaps later on in the day, after they found some empty corner of the center, Alice was going to get an absolute earful. As the blonde woman contemplated how she'd phrase their inevitable encounter Alice caught glimpses of what that future entailed…
Seeing as how none of these conversations were anything she actually wanted to take part in, Alice let her foot pull back off the gas pedal a little bit more, letting the car slow down a smidge further.
Yikes. Nope. Alice was playing with fire now, she realized, as the visions morphed. She was toying with Rosalie's patience a dangerous amount today, already.
Alice huffed and flicked her turn signal on, pressing further down on the pedal and speeding forward. Ten minutes later she was driving in the other direction down I-90, and as she passed through the tunnel she let herself sneak a few more glances at what she was currently heading for.
There were currently twenty-two irritated, anxious people—human and vampire both—filling the boardroom. It seemed they had barely enough room to fit them all, despite the size and length of the room and the table.
At the end of it, next to Carlisle's seat, was an empty chair. One that met more glances and glares than was likely normal.
Shit.
Picking up the pace a little more Alice cursed when she realized she was going to get caught at the next several stoplights as she drove toward the edge of the city.
She was fifty-two minutes late at this point, and had all-but-sealed her fate away.
Yep. Rosalie was so going to kill her.
After a few minutes she made a sharp right, barely making it under a yellow light before she was slowing down to avoid crashing though the gates. Quickly, she lowered her window, shooting the woman behind the window of the gatehouse a quick grin as she extended her short arm, showing the woman her credentials.
Surely, she didn't need to do it, but it was protocol. And Alice had been trying hard to learn how to do things the right way instead of the easy way. And her visions always tempted her with doing things the easy way, that was for sure.
The woman, an older white-haired human, didn't bat an eyelash at her presence and simply buzzed her through.
Despite it being her first time in Boston, and at that center specifically, she already knew exactly where to go. She drove through campus for a couple minutes before parking her rental car outside of the building she knew her colleagues were in.
Alice almost forgot to lock the car as she rushed toward the entrance. It was something small and white and was, what Rosalie would likely say, sorely lacking underneath the hood.
It was her second rental car that she'd gotten in the past few weeks—the first one had actually been stolen. Bella had laughed herself silly when she and Alice had walked out of what remained of the currently shut-down center in Baltimore and found the spot they'd left the car (around the corner from the nearly-destroyed campus) entirely bare.
Apparently, she'd quickly learned that day, leaving the keys inside the car was a no-no.
Walking briskly through the front door she had to repress a laugh when she startled the receptionist; the man went from staring at his phone to on his feet in a blink of an eye.
Alice smiled politely, but didn't pause. "Which room?"
"I—um, room 2-A."
"Second floor?"
"I—yes ma'am."
She flashed a thankful smile, nodding down to his phone. "I won't tell." She winked and was down and off the hallway. Sure, she could've reprimanded the man, but truthfully this meeting was the most inhabited this center had been in months now.
Most centers were like that, now. Ghost towns. She couldn't fault the guy for likely being bored out of his mind; manning a desk that likely received two or three calls per day.
She opted for the stairs, just so she could arrive a few seconds earlier. Besides, when the inhabitants of board room 2-A heard her hurried hustle from the stairwell, it would play into her 'accidentally late and very apologetic' piece a bit further.
Turning the handle to the door, she braced herself as she pushed her way in.
Immediately, all eyes were on her.
Okay. Showtime.
"Sorry I'm late," she smiled bashfully, closing the door and promptly walking down toward the end of the table. She smiled at everyone as she passed them, meeting more shocked glances than angry ones, surprisingly enough. Her size came in handy in that regard.
Most people had a vague idea of how short she was due to the news, but she was learning the more she met people that her size caught them off guard. They could hardly believe a stick-thin woman under five feet tall had ended the deadliest war in vampire history.
It made her wonder if they knew that Maria hadn't been much bigger.
Underestimations (or perhaps, overestimations) aside, Alice reluctantly met Carlisle's tired gaze, and then Rosalie's irritable glare. She would apologize later profusely. And then hope they wouldn't ask her what had made her late.
She was still trying to get a hang of the whole 'lying for the greater good' thing she had adopted as of late.
Carlisle quickly introduced her to the rest of the room, and as she stared at the inhabitants she couldn't help but notice that most of them were human. That was a slight surprise. A majority of the humans stared at her with a mixture of confusion and surprise (at her stature, she was sure) but the rest regarded her coldly.
Alice knew it was due to the fact that they had just breached the topic of now having more finalized casualty reports when she'd opened the door. She was almost regretful that she'd missed the portion of the meeting discussing the local economic strains. At least it would've steadily lead into a topic this heavy instead of sending her catapulting directly into it.
Rosalie and a lieutenant were going back and forth, discussing and doing the mental math on total number of injuries, deaths, and ongoing disappearances. But despite the seriousness of the topic, a small handful of people kept their eyes glued to Alice.
It was easy to know what they were thinking; she didn't need to be Edward.
Two days prior, the New York Times had published a deep-dive think-piece fully dedicated to her. Thankfully, it had missed a few facts—no mental hospital was mentioned and her early-early years had been overlooked—but it had further fueled an already-prevalent nation-wide search for answers. And for justice.
And when an editorial from one of the largest publications in the continent pinned you as the one thing lying between your boyfriend and his rightful execution, it directed a lot of ire your way.
Up until that point, Alice had still been passively enjoying the way the general public had flocked to her in the weeks and months following the war's end. She'd been lauded as a hero, and celebrated despite the loss of life.
Now, over six months later, the people's infatuation and appreciation was slowly dying, and the trauma of last summer's events were wreaking havoc on the people.
It was understandable. Edward had warned her when people's minds had begun to change about her, so she'd been given adequate time to adjust her actions in preparation. But still, it kind of sucked.
"If you exclude all missing person's reports prior to the nineteenth of August we're left with only a two percent decrease in overall numbers." Rosalie flipped between three different papers as she did the math, her golden eyes moving quickly as she read. Her hair was pulled back tight in a bun, her brown lipstick complementing the color of her nails.
One of the older vampires, a man who had been alternating between glaring at Rosalie and glaring at Alice, piped up once more. "Wouldn't it be wise to leave that two percent in? After all, until we learn for sure there's no way to count them out as Radical casualties."
"I think two percent more than adequately accounts for unrelated disappearances, Lieutenant." She opened a separate folder as she spoke. "In fact, the number of disappearances was at an all-time low prior to August. Tacking that number onto our report would be inappropriate."
"Even vampire disappearances—"
Rosalie read out loud, cutting off his escalating tirade. "From the DVA, last summer: 'On July 1st, the Boston metropolitan area was pleased to, for the second year in a row, announce themselves as one of only four areas in the Americas where vampire resident's participation in their annual census was at one-hundred percent." She lifted her head from the photo-copied document and shot him a dull look. "There is no conspiracy here, Lieutenant. The defectors amongst these walls were previously law-abiding citizens."
It wasn't a controversial statement—after all, virtually all of Maria's in-house recruits had been high-ranking, well-liked, law-abiding vampires—but even Alice knew how much of a painful reminder that was.
Sensing this too, Carlisle took the reigns then, reaching for the folder on top and reading clearly.
"The only number we have that isn't finalized is that one. With our total missing still close two two-hundred. One-ninety-eight, to be exact. But that's the lowest number I have for you." Alice had to resist the urge to reach out and place a reassuring hand on his shoulder. She knew this was difficult for him.
As impossible of an idea as it was, Alice was sure that every time the death toll climbed, she was sure Carlisle aged one more day.
"Human casualties capped at six-hundred and eleven, with less than one percent currently being held at newborn centers. Vampire casualties," he paused then, swallowing, "in the metropolitan area alone, are at a finalized 25,620 with a death toll of 24,725."
Alice blinked over at him. She had not been expecting that high of a number.
Boston's vampire population had only been barely 31,000 this time last year.
The sound of a chair scooting back brought everyone's attention toward the end of the table, where they all watched silently as a young man placed an arm over his eyes and led himself from the room. The second the door closed behind him, they could hear a sob break loose as he hurried down the hallway.
Alice felt like her heart was going to drop into her stomach.
Another vampire muttered a quick apology as they followed after the distraught man.
That's when Alice took note of the lack of credentials on half of the vampires in the room. This wasn't a meeting with the highest ranking Boston lieutenants…
It was just all they had left.
There were a few human politicians that Alice vaguely recognized from local news reports, but other than that, this small group was all the leadership this city had left.
"Our main priority now, is continuing the extension we have on resources for the next-of-kin of deceased government employees, regardless of their own status. But," again, a sigh, "the southern Center's last day of operation will be Friday, effective immediately."
The rumble through the room was unanimously disapproving.
"Funds have not been reduced," Carlisle reminded them all over the chattering, "but adjusted for the needs of the community."
"Three of our major suppliers worked from the edge of town," a woman with a stern frown chimed in. Suppliers of blood, she meant. "Two of them are closed and the third has cut it's hours massively due to inflated prices and low demand. We're still struggling on our day-to-day, Carlisle," she spoke familiarly, but not disrespectfully. "Shutting down buildings won't help us right now."
"But reallocating funds will," he replied kindly. "We are not a authoritarian power; we can not force them to remain open but we can incentivize them. Even still," he hesitated, "it needs further approval before anything is enacted. In the meantime," he reached into a suitcase on the table in front of him and retrieved a crisp document. Clicking a pen, he began to write quickly. "We can open a state-run bank temporarily."
"Where?' The man from before asked, still fixing the trio of Protectors with hard, unwelcome glances.
"Here," and clicking the pen, he re-pocketed it.
"And just grant civilians access to the campus?" A human politician chimed in, seeming baffled by the idea. "Surely, we can supply a building in a less restricted area."
"Then please, try to," Carlisle tried forcing a smile, but Alice couldn't help but notice how it looked decidedly like a grimace. "You'll need to get it approved through the state; a local ordinance won't cover this. In the meantime, convert the cafeteria into a public-friendly space. Enact hours of operation; as many as you can manage, but don't waste too much manpower on security measures." The woman simply nodded, turning and whispering to the younger human man at her side. He wrote a few things on a yellow note pad. "I apologize," Carlisle looked at the rest of the room then. "I can not show up and fix all of your problems. None of us can," he gestured to the women at his sides. "It has to be a collective effort in order to enact adequate levels of change that are sustainable for the remaining population of your city. But right now, our power barely extends beyond these campuses."
Someone in the room muttered something that sounded like "maddening" and Alice couldn't help but agree.
It was becoming more and more clear every day that back in the beginning, when Carlisle and Esme had worked along human politicians and figureheads in order to fully sort out the extent of their jurisdiction and what they would have control over, they had been given truly a bare minimum amount of power. Enough to keep their own people in check.
But not enough to protect them.
The meeting ended soon after that. Alice hung back with Carlisle and Rosalie as the room emptied.
Still, from the hallway, she couldn't help but overhear two humans walking toward the elevators.
"I wasn't about to be the one to ask."
"Yeah, but now we lost our shot."
"I don't think asking whether they'll execute Brandon's boyfriend while she's sitting right there is a wise call."
"I knew I should've said something earlier, before she showed up. I can't believe they're really just letting everything slide, I—" the ding of the elevator doors closing indicated their true departure.
Alice turned her attention to Carlisle the same moment he pulled his eyes from the same direction. "Sorry," was all she could bring herself to say.
"Don't even apologize," Rosalie spoke coolly, but Alice could just tell her temper was simmering under the surface. She walked away to thank a few of the human politicians, but Alice knew she'd be back when the room was fully empty and then she'd be in for it.
"It's good to see you," Carlisle squeezed her shoulder and Alice had to refrain from hugging him outright. It was difficult to have to reserve her affections for more private settings, and she very much disliked having to be professional with people she loved so deeply, but she had an image to maintain.
Well, an image to develop, really. One that was her own, and not the factor of everything happening around her.
That was one of the reason's she wasn't too distraught over current events. The people had been intrigued by her when she'd taken her oath. They'd become entranced with her in the build-up to the war and she'd become a household name between the media and pop culture's fascination with her. Then they'd become her biggest fans when the war had ended and she'd been revealed as the 'hero' of the final battle.
(She still hated that description fiercely, but there was nothing to be done about it.)
Now that the illusion of her perfection was fading in the eyes of the media, they were reacting appropriately. Understandably.
It was her perfect opportunity to take her own image in her hands. And if her vague visions were of any help, it was just going to take a little while to get it done.
Lifting her hand she placed it on top of Carlisle's and squeezed it. "I missed you." It had been almost six weeks since she'd seen him last. In fact, the main reason she hadn't cancelled her appearance today entirely was so she could see him.
And as irresponsible as it seemed, she was going to take any chance she could get to see her loved ones.
"Give me three good reasons I shouldn't eviscerate you right now."
Carlisle sighed as Rosalie approached them, the board room now fully empty except for them. "Rosalie—"
"No, she needs to know how serious this is. How important it was that she was here today."
"I'm sorry," Alice apologized again, anyways. "I know it's valuable training but—"
"But what?! Alice, I've been doing enough damage control for you the past couple of days. The least you could do is show up."
Damnit.
Alice wriggled in place, hating the way Rosalie was right. "I know," was all she could say, bowing her head like a child being scolded. And really, that's what it felt like.
Rosalie sighed and then looked her up and down. "How is he?"
"He's been better," Alice half-shrugged, "but he's also been worse."
Truthfully, Jasper hadn't given two shits about the article, despite it being the most buzzed about thing all week. All the end-of-week news programs with a high viewer count were already writing up their own interpretations of the situation, and the topic wouldn't die down until late next week. Alice couldn't quite see specifically what would be stealing the spotlight from them, but she didn't quite care, either.
"He'll be toast when I see him again," Rosalie grumbled, carefully placing all her papers and folders back into her own bag. "Next time you call him tell him blocking me only comes with consequences."
"Oh trust me, he knows," Alice fought a smile then. She wasn't going to tell the blonde that she had told him over the phone to block Rose's number. Or how he hadn't even been reluctant in the motion.
When Rosalie reunited with Emmett on Thursday, Alice knew it would provide enough distraction that the woman wouldn't even care about her nor Jasper soon enough.
"Where to next?" She turned toward Carlisle, her question genuine. She knew it was a toss up between Buffalo and Albany, and she very badly hoped it would be Albany. Because if she was sent to Buffalo then it would be another two weeks on the road.
But if she lucked out with Albany, she could be home this weekend…
He must've sensed her unease at even asking the question because he simply sighed at her. "You want Albany don't you?"
"I miss home," she defended pitifully. It had been almost a month that she'd been gone now.
It was the longest she'd been gone since returning to Ricketts after the war. Traveling from center to center, surveying damage, interviewing war-created newborns, and sitting in on meetings with her fellow Protectors. It had kept her entirely busy for weeks now.
Her comrades hadn't needed to travel as much as she did—they could settle into a place for weeks at a time, taking care of everything that was needed—but since she was still technically in training, she couldn't hold any official meetings on her own yet. Basic aid, she could do.
And aid is something that centers across the nations were absolutely in dire need of. Even still.
So on the road she remained.
He opened a thin envelope, flicking through it. "Albany first, and then Ithaca for a couple days, please," he plucked a few papers out of the folder before placing it in an empty one and handing it over. "I'll be home in a couple of days. I'll see you there."
Alice almost gasped with joy when his words caused a fantastic series of visions to overcome her. And then her skinny arms were wrapped around his torso and she was smiling and hugging him and nearly jumping in place. "Thank you thank you thank you!" Because not only was she going home after this, but she'd be allowed to stay for a little while.
"No rushing," Rosalie's eyes were stern as she pointed a perfectly-manicured finger. "I mean it. No running late, either. Take this seriously."
"I do—I will," Alice defended with an immediate frown. "I take this plenty seriously."
"Prove it then," her stern glare went from Alice and then softened up at Carlisle. "I'll be upstairs for a few more hours."
He nodded at her. "I'll let you know before I leave."
Rosalie pointed another stern finger Alice's way before gathering up her bag and leaving.
"Am I to assume your tardiness was 'for the greater good'?" He raised an eyebrow at the girl once they were both certain Rosalie was out of earshot.
"Will you be less mad if I said yes?"
"I'm not mad—"
"If you say you're disappointed it will hurt my feelings more, so tread lightly."
He cracked a smile at that. "I'm not disappointed, either. You've been exceeding my expectations since day one. I don't have any criticism for you."
"Good, cause Rose has enough for all of you."
"She's very good at pushing people to be better."
"So I'm not good enough?" Alice challenged.
He laughed then. "You are. But she'll always want you to be better."
"I should've pretended to suck at this job at the beginning. That way maybe now I'd only be starting the boring stuff, instead of stuck already doing it and being yelled at for being late to meetings I'm not allowed to hold control of yet."
"Do you think you're ready for that?" His question was genuine.
"God, no."
"I think Rosalie is hard on you because she sees more potential," but before Alice could groan, he continued. "I agree, by the way. You've basically been forced to learn everything very fast this past year. Faster than anyone else had to do it. And you've done it remarkably."
"Remarkably enough to earn a vacation?"
"Not a vacation, a break."
She pouted then, "Why not a vacation?"
He grinned back at her, knowingly. "Where on Earth would you go?"
Nowhere but home. That was the truth of it. And it would remain her reality for as long as Jasper was still on probation.
"Exactly," he chuckled to himself. "Head to Albany, help out there. On Friday drive to Ithaca and see just how many interviews they still have and let me or Esme know. You'll be there a day if it isn't a lot; two days maximum. I'll see you this weekend, most likely."
"Back to Denali?"
He nodded, not even questioning the fact that she already knew where he would be over the next few days. They'd all gotten used to her gift by now. "You can come next time."
As exciting as the prospect sounded, she knew she was more excited to get home. "Next time," she confirmed with a smile.
When she got back to her car—relief that it was still there very prevalent upon sight of it—the first thing she did was turn her phone back on.
A few delayed angry text messages from minutes before the meeting from Rosalie buzzed their way through. Alice simply glanced over those in favor of opening a few from Josie.
She grinned widely at the screenshots her mother sent her. Six different pictures of men's suits.
HeS driving me up a wall. Please pick for me before I end up dragging his sorry butt to the menS warehouse in town. Oh he will hate it more if he doesnT listen!
Alice laughed happily, knowing that Jasper was outright refusing to accept Josie's offer to buy him a 'church suit'. Mainly because he wasn't religious (and refused to attend church) but also because he hated when the woman spent money on him.
But, and bless his un-beating, agnostic heart, he'd been driving Josie to some community church every Sunday for a couple of months now.
And now, her mother was outright determined to get him to actually go with her. And she was going to dress him for the occasion…
what are his measurements? Another text read. he wonT let me take any. The nerve!
Alice grinned and sent back a few quick texts. Knowing that, although she was off and working tirelessly, at least her two most precious people were keeping each other company.
She missed them both terribly. It was like nothing else, to watch her stern elderly mother fuss at Jasper. And Jasper, being the gentleman he was, but also being very unsure how to handle Josephine Foote's sometimes-abrasive nature, was typically left annoyed or exasperated at the woman's actions.
They got on each other's last nerve constantly.
It was the best.
She sent Jasper a quick text, too.
If you tell her you like the blue one she'll leave you alone for two days
She grinned conspiratorially as she placed the phone down. Then, turning the music louder she pulled away.
Four more days, and she'd be back home again.
A/N: Uh, surprise?
I wasn't planning on posting this so soon. (And yes, I'm calling 18 months after CotN's ending 'soon'.) But it's been one hell of a year and a half; for me personally and for the world in general. With an election in the US looming, with a pandemic still ravaging the globe, and with the police still brutalizing people day in and day out, it's an exhausting world to exist in here in the United States. I haven't even had time to finish this story, which was the one prerequisite I gave myself: finish the story and THEN you can post it. But while it's important to be present and informed right now, I know how important some good old fashioned escapism can be. And knowing that I can be a source of light for some people nowadays, no matter how little or dim that light may be, has forced my hand and helped me make the decision to start posting this story now.
Personally, I've been through a shitload in the last many months. I had a major surgery last year, moved to Los Angeles almost a year ago, and since then I've begun a new career in restaurant management while I work on advancing my ever-struggling music career. I've gained one (1) stalker, many friends, a few legitimate enemies, and have been through some bonkers nonsense. (There are things I can't even tell you; legally, I mean. But we won't get into that insanity.)
So today, on my birthday, I gift YOU this. Call of the Night's long-awaited sequel. I'll only be posting once a month. (At the beginning of each new zodiac season probably lmao; happy Libra season y'all! Especially to ALICE!) Or, at least until I still have the story as a WIP on my end here. Once it's fully written and finished I'll switch it to three or four times a month, but until it's complete, this is what I can offer you.
I hope you've been kind to yourself this year, and know that I'm here and I love you.
Hope you enjoy Walk in the Dark.