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.:CHAPTER 2:.

~Alice's POV~

Staring out the window of my bedroom at the line of greenery encircling the house, I realized that the idea of the animal blood Jasper consumed being the cause of his lasting condition was far-fetched. If it had been in the doe — why only that one? Emmett or I would have been infected, too, wouldn't we? And we had made a choice on the deer we wanted — wouldn't I have seen something before it was too late? If it was in the animal, and we had made the choice to feed on that animal, I would have been warned it was the wrong choice. Something like that didn't seem spontaneous enough for me to miss. My vision of Jasper had been last minute; I practically saw it as it was happening. And the choices that triggered those visions were Jasper's; he had been trying to run, to cry for help, and he couldn't, and I saw that. Then I saw him collapse.

Bella's idea about the animal being the source of the problem had been a decent suggestion, but really thinking about it, I knew it couldn't be the answer we were looking for.

I glanced over my shoulder at Jasper. The room was dark now, along with the sky. Jasper's pale skin stood out against the deep purple sheets. I had never seen him asleep before. Sleeping wasn't a necessity for vampires. We couldn't manage it even if we wanted to. This was the closes Jazz would ever get, and a part of me was intrigued. Jasper's face was so smooth, relaxed. I'd seen him angry before; I'd seen him sad; I'd seen him happy, and smug, and afraid, and even tired. Yet, I had never seen him quite like this.

Moving closer, I ran the tips of my fingers down his face, from his hairline to the scars on his jaw. A wave of sorrow washed through my body, drowning me. To say I missed his company was a harsh understatement.

And, despite how he appeared, lying here with not a single crease across his brow or curve along his lip, I knew there was nothing quiet and peaceful about the memories he was vividly remembering. It was unfair.

And ominous.

I needed to escape this room for a bit.

Downstairs, Bella started mincing vegetables. I figured I'd leave her to her task and go see what the others were up to. The last I heard of Rosalie, Emmett, and Nessie, they had gone to the garage. From what my visions of them were showing me now, they were drawing up some sort of plan. Interesting. It could actually prove helpful.

Or my wishful thinking was creeping in.

Our garage was located a quarter mile east from the house, for Rosalie's sake. The garage had always been Rose's retreat, and when we moved to Forks she had appreciated it being so separate from the main house. So, of course, Esme found a place out here with a similar concept.

With every step I took, my feet seemed to drag more. It had a lot to do with Jasper's condition, but it also had something to do about this sense radiating through me. Call it a hunch or intuition, but something about this whole situation felt - not odd, though it certainly was that - but big. Like Jasper was only the first of many. Like this strange unconsciousness would seek more victims. Like the world would soon feel its wrath to a much higher degree.

Rounding the last curve of the path, the garage came into view. Both doors were lifted open to reveal the row of shining cars in various colors. Nessie was standing in Emmett's jeep, only the upper half of her body visible, stuck to from the top. Rosalie was sitting cross-legged on the jeep's hood, a clipboard cradled in one arm. Her free hand was held out toward Emmett, who was just grabbing a pen from the counter along the back wall. He handed Rosalie the writing utensil, then cross his arms and leaned against Edward's Volvo. Rosalie began scribbling.

"Here is what we are going to do," Rosalie announced, her hand moving across the paper in a blur of motion. "We are going to brainstorm every idea imaginable. Then, we are going to come up with a solid plan to test these theories until they are proven to be wrong. Sooner or later, the right answer has to come to us. When it does..."

"We'll be one step closer to waking Uncle Jasper."

"Exactly. Now, I have what we know so far-"

"You should add Bella's magic spells from a witch scenario."

Rosalie paused, peering up at her husband without moving her head. "Are you serious?" He didn't answer her, though his lip shifted upward. Rosalie looked at him fully now. "She was being sarcastic. Do you honestly believe there is some old witch out there putting vampires to sleep?"

"Never said an old witch," Emmett started, and then laughed when Rosalie gave him a hard look. "Okay, okay. But can we really rule witches out, just because we've never seen them? I'm asking you to open your mind a little on this one, babe. I think we're limiting our possibilities."

"And magic voodoo is your immediate alternative?"

"Well, when you call it magic voodoo it sounds ridiculous."

Nessie giggled, but Rosalie wasn't as amused.

"Em, you need to take it easy on whatever fantasy or sci-fi you've been into lately."

"But that's what he's talking about, Aunt Rose. All these made up stories that have potential to be real. Something new could be happening here. Something that's never happened before. Things change, evolve, even for us, right? We should stop relying on factual evidence and start laying out possibilities."

"Don't tell me you're falling for this."

Nessie shifted. "Actually, it was my idea from the beginning."

"Yeah. I'm the one who fell for it," Emmett said. "Besides, the kid makes sense."

"It is an angle we haven't done yet, Rose," I joined in, stepping into the garage.

"You too, Alice?"

I shrugged. Rosalie took a moment to think about it. "Fine. Say something...otherworldly is happening here. What do you three propose we do to stop it?"

"First we have to find out what's happening," Nessie responded.

"What are your ideas?"

"Brainwashed?" Emmett suggested.

Nessie bounced on her toes. "Binding spell."

"A cast illusion."

"Sleep-paralysis."

"Technological manipulation."

"Abnormal gas in the air."

"And we still shouldn't overlook witches."

There was a beat of silence before Rosalie groaned. "I shouldn't have even indulged in your wild speculations."

"Sleep-paralysis is a common thing, you know?"

"Not among vampires, Ness — we don't sleep. As much as I adore your imagination, I can't see any of this connecting with Jasper."

"There's still Edward and Bella's idea about the animal blood," Emmett said. "If it ends up being true, what was put in the blood and how did it get there?"

"And how is that any different than some supernatural, fantasy, sci-fi trick?" Nessie added. "It could be just that — some trick we would never see coming."

"You act like this was some plot pit against us."

Nessie's voice quieted. "We do have vampires who want us gone."

Rosalie shook her head. "The Volturi have the power to do what they want without a sneak attack like this."

"Not with me," I countered. "And not if they wanted to protect their reputation. Getting rid of us as quietly as possible without a way to connect them to what's happening would be the perfect cover. Anyway, I would have seen if Aro or Caius were planning this."

"Unless they entrusted our fate to someone else. Someone we don't know, and you're not looking for," Emmett said.

Rosalie tapped the tip of the pen against the clipboard. Her eyes scanned what she had written, then over the faces of everyone in the room. She was debating whether to actually write all their ideas down, no matter how absurd she thought they were.

"Just add them, Rose," I said. "You never know."

My sister said something under her breath. But at least she started writing them in. If I thought the blood idea was far fetched, what did that make all of these? Maybe I was just desperate.

"Speaking of the food source theory, I—"

Suddenly, the room faded out, replaced by another. I was back at the house. In the kitchen. And what I saw next startled me. I sucked in a breath, and the sharpness of my gasp brought me back to the present. It was too late. I just knew it was too late to thwart the future I had seen. The warning was on my tongue, but I knew it was already happening. Just like before.

"No..." My head swirled, my body pointing in the direction of the house. I began to run. "Not again. Not now."

It only took seconds. The house came into sight. There was a lack of sound from inside it. I skipped the slight curve the bricked pathway made and ran straight through the few trees that remained between me and what I wanted to see. When I saw it, I stopped running.

Near the right corner of the house was an alcove, connected to the kitchen on the inside and the backyard's grounded patio on the outside, separated from the latter by tall, double French doors and windows made of the finest oak and glass. Sometimes, during the warm seasons, Esme liked to prop the doors open to let a fresh breeze enter the house. The doors were open now. I knew how dreadful the image would be; yet, I had been wishing, pleading my vision was wrong. And so my heart still sank to the pit of my stomach the moment my eyes peered in through those doors and saw Bella on her back, legs bent slightly left, chestnut hair splayed across porcelain tile, one arm above her head, the other pointing straight out, a spoon inches from the grasp that once held it. Bella's eyes were shut, her chest was still.

Rosalie was the first to catch up to me. She froze, seeing what I was staring at.

Emmett and Nessie arrived at the same time. It took Nessie a moment to understand what she was looking at, why her mother was laying flat on her back instead of making her dinner.

"Mom?" And then it clicked. "Mom!"

"Oh shit," Emmett and Rose cursed together.

Rosalie had already sped into the kitchen after Nessie. She knelt down beside Bella and put a hand on each shoulder, shaking gently, calling out for our sister to respond, with words, with movement, anything at all to tell us she was awake and conscious.

But she wasn't. None of us were oblivious to what we were dealing with here, and I wasn't the only one a bit...shaken.

Emmett's head moved, and I looked to see him looking at me. "I don't think it was the deer."

OoOoOoO

"Someone needs to call my dad. Aunt Rose?"

Rosalie held her palms up to Nessie, her head shaking slowly back and forth. "Oh, no, honey. Not me. The last time I phoned Edward regarding your mother, fate was cruel all the way around the circle. Uncle Emmett will call him."

"Just the job I wanted," Emmett grumbled, taking his cell phone out and leaving the room. He might not have wanted to do it, and I sure as heck didn't blame him, but he was the better choice. Rose distributing the information to our overreacting younger brother probably wasn't the best idea in the book, even if Edward had calmed down quite a bit since Nessie was born.

Nessie picked up Bella, with unnecessary help from Rosalie — Renesmee was only half-vampire and so her strength did not fully match ours, but she was strong enough to pick one of us up without much effort at all.

"Take her to her bedroom," I said, seeing they would have put her on the couch. Might as well treat her as we've been treating Jasper.

I beat them to the bedroom and removed some of the excess pillows. Once Bella was lying down, the panic really began to sink in. Nessie sat on her knees on the empty side of the bed, holding Bella's hand. She had a gleam in her brown eyes that reminded me of a look Edward sometimes got — a look of desperate determination.

Rosalie leaned forward and brushed strands of hair off Bella's face, and fixed the tangled necklace around her neck that used to be Edward's mother's.

Emmett walked into the room, then. "So, he hung up on me. I think that means he's on his way. And that he's flipping out. Exactly what I told him not to do."

Some things never changed.

"It won't get any better once he remembers he can't read into Bella's mind the way he can with Jasper," I said.

Everyone's eyes went to Bella again. Her position reminded me of her transformation. The more I stared, the more I expected her eyes to suddenly pop open, bright and red and alert. Awake.

At least with Jasper, we knew exactly what his mind was going through, knew exactly that he was still here. Kind of. We wouldn't have that with Bella. Assuming she was reliving memories as well was obviously what we were going to go with, but it was different...not knowing. I hated being unsure, I hated guessing, and I hated that I hadn't seen until the last possible second.

A familiar Mercedes zoomed up the paved road, screeching to a stop just by the porch. Three doors opened and closed.

"We're in your room, Edward," I said, more for Carlisle and Esme. Though they would have simply followed Edward, who could easily see through our minds and pinpoint where we were, I let them know ahead of time anyway.

Rosalie moved away from the bed. I followed her, lining up against the wall with her. She had the right idea — Edward would mow us down if we stayed where we were.

Just as predicted, Edward dashed into the room and was instantly next to Bella.

"What happened?" he demanded.

Carlisle and Esme followed, concern etched on their faces.

"Same thing that happened with Jazz," Emmett answered solemnly. "We were all in the garage. Alice saw it..."

"Too late," I added angrily, frustrated.

"Alice ran for the house, and Rose and Ness and I followed. And then..." Emmett trailed off, but I was sure he was showing Edward the memories.

Edward cupped Bella's cheek. He stared at her for thirty seconds, and then his eyebrows knit together. His voice lowered. "I can't read her."

"But it's obvious she's just like Uncle Jasper," Nessie assured. Edward seemed to notice her for the first time. He nodded at her, as if sensing she needed the reassurance more than he did. Then he placed his hand on top of Nessie's and Bella's joined hands.

"We'll bring her back," Edward promised his daughter. "And Uncle Jasper."

My head tilted down, chin almost touching my chest. It felt like the weight of Jasper's unconsciousness had doubled. First my mate, and now one of my best friends. My husband, then my sister.

I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I knew it was Carlisle's. I probably looked uncharacteristically sad. How terrible.

"What was Bella doing?" Carlisle questioned.

"She was making me dinner." Nessie's eyes started to water. She reached up and wiped at her left one, before narrowing her eyes at Edward. "I told you I could make it myself, but you didn't listen to me."

"Renesmee," Edward said, "it is not your fault."

"I didn't say it was." Well, she probably thought it.

"Do you think it would have been better for any of us if it was you laying on this bed and not your mother?"

"Well..."

"No," Edward answered before she could. "It might have been worse, actually."

"It would have been the same," Nessie said, being more reasonable now.

"How do we even know it had anything to do with cooking your dinner?" Emmett said. "What if it just had to do with...I don't know, Bella?"

"That doesn't make sense, either," Esme said. "Jasper and Bella have nothing the rest of us do not. It had to be timing. Something was triggered, and Bella just happened to be in the wrong place."

Edward agreed with her. "And just like Jasper, Bella was affected. The problem, for us, is Jasper and Bella were doing completely different things when they blacked out. Their stories have nothing in common except for the ending."

"There is one thing in common," I argued. "Maybe I'm reaching here, but they were both alone when it happened. Jasper was the only one in the house with Bella, and since he was already out... well, you understand where I'm going."

"That would imply they were targeted," Carlisle said. "Someone would have to be behind this, watching, waiting. Why?"

"And how?" Rosalie huffed, folding her arms and sighing. "It can't be a vampire talent that works through the mind, because Bella's shield would have prevented that from succeeding."

"Rosalie brings up a good point," Edward said. I didn't miss Rosalie's surprise hearing Edward be the one to agree with her. "Nothing can break through Bella's shield. It has to be something else."

"I guess we can cross that off our brainstorm now," Emmett muttered to no one in particular.

"Brainstorm?" Carlisle asked, not understanding.

"We were brainstorming possibilities in the garage," Nessie explained.

Rosalie added, "We don't have anything solid to work with, but...I'm beginning to accept expanding our initial limitations."

A slight grin brought out Emmett's dimples. "You should look it over, Carlisle."

Rosalie rolled her eyes, almost appearing embarrassed, probably from knowing she was the one who wrote all those crazy ideas down, even if she wasn't the one who thought them up.

"Impossible doesn't exist anymore," Edward said suddenly. I didn't know whose thoughts he was inspired by. "We have to try every angle."

Every angle.

The future suddenly became crowded.

"No matter what we find out," I started, gaining the spotlight, "Jasper and Bella will still be exactly where they are now in another week." A strained silence filled the room. I continued. "Also, School begins next Monday. We should cancel registration."

"What?"

Everyone turned to Nessie. She blushed slightly and bowed her head. "Nevermind. Okay."

"I'm sorry, Ness," I said. "I know you were looking forward to going to school for the first time, but we just can't waste time."

"I get it. It doesn't matter."

Of course it did, but part of life was accepting that some things will come along and be more important. I was sure she was understanding that and how unfortunate it could be.

"I will take care of that," Esme told everybody, putting an arm around Nessie and squeezing gently. "I'll say I've decided to home school you."

Carlisle was nodding. "I may have to resign from the University, as well. As Alice said, there is no time to be wasted, and who knows how long this could last."

I saw it lasting a while, actually. I saw no end. And although they were intangible visions, I saw it would happen again.

Edward glanced at me for a second. Then his eyes moved to Rosalie, then Emmett, then Carlisle, until he took in every face in the room, every person in our family that was still okay. I did, too. By the look on their faces, I knew they were wondering exactly what we were:

Who would be next?