Sweet Serendipity

Chapter Nine: Hate

A. Brandon

Her breathing was hard, laboured… her feet pounded on the cold hard ground, sticks and loose pebbles stabbing into the bottoms of her feet, a trail of pain shooting from the bottom pads on her soles up through her calves into her sensitive nerve endings. But she ignored it and pressed on. Her arms pumped faster and faster by the second, and on instinct every few seconds her head would whip around to check the blackness behind her, the stalker she was absolutely sure was following in hot pursuit.

Her heart hammered in her ribcage, fearful of the perpetrator that threatened to attack her from behind. It was frightening, she was terrified. Her breathing was uncontrollable, and the rage and terror that grabbed and pulled at her was choking the air from her lungs, clouding her judgement as she staggered slightly in her efforts to get away.

She couldn't even remember what she was running from. She just new she couldn't stop.

Finally, despite her last ditch efforts to stay on her feet, the pain in her legs finally succumbed to the cuts and bruising, sending her crashing to the ground as she pushed herself up on quaking arms.

Her eyes blurred with the searing tears that ran down her cheeks, trailing lines down her pretty face now covered in dried blood and mud.

Sobbing, a scream suddenly ripped through and air, and too late did Alice realize it was hers.

Suddenly, the forest wasn't so black.

Now, she was sitting in her home, surrounded by the dead and lifeless bodies of her family. Her adopted mom and dad, and Maddy, and James… they sat around her, covered in blood as their haunting eyes seemed to seep through her into her soul. The sight making her spill the contents of her stomach over the floor by her father's feet as she wished she could un-see the horrific display that was splayed out before her.

"Mom? Oh God mom!" she cried out, trying to shake the shoulders of someone she knew wouldn't be getting up.

Approaching footsteps dragged her from the gruesome sight before her as her body continued to wrack with sobs. Alice's body whirled towards the source of the noise, anger flaring up inside her at the sudden malicious intent to disturb her dead family, as her tearing puffy eyes met the red dauntless ones of the stranger that had come to make presence in her every sleeping hour. "What do you want?" she cried out, her voice horse but strong enough to yell at him in hopeless rage as he stared at her with soulless crimson orbs as the tears fell harder from her eyes. "What else could you possibly want?" she added, her voice more broken now than it had been before.

"I just want you Alice Brandon… just you." his cold voice stated almost quietly in retrospect as she laughed humourlessly, turning to the dead body of the girl she'd come to know as a true sister. Maddy had been everything she'd always wanted in family, she'd dreamed of having a kid sister to look out for growing up, and Maddy had been just that when Alice was adopted into their family. Looking around once more, the tears just kept pouring out as a sudden thought plagued her mind.

She'd never be able to burry them.

They would rot here.

She'd never get the chance to bury them like they deserved, their souls would never be at rest… they'd just be stuck here.

"You had me… you had every part of me." she screamed out, tears blinding her vision once more as her body curled in on itself. "You had me, and I did everything you asked!"

"You were never mine Alice, not the real you." he answered as her body wracked again with more sobs.

"You have everything I could give you Jasper! And that wasn't enough? Why? WHY?!" she demanded. "I hate you! I never want to see you again!" she yelled as he took a step closer to her, watching her break down before him.

Looking up from her dead family, she turned to look Jasper directly in the eye, her puffy, swollen, tear stricken gaze meeting his flaring red orbs. "I hate you Jasper Whitlock... I hate you so… much..."

A harsh jolt threw Alice into the world of the living as her heart leapt through her chest, a sob ripping from her throat as she felt the familiar sensation of hot sticky sweat and tears running down her face. Body tangled in bed sheets as her head whipped around, taking in every detail as her chest heaved in deep breathes of air as she struggled to take oxygen into her lungs. Still crying, her hands moved to muffle sobs as she brought her knees into her chest and tried to get a hold of her fear and terror.

It felt so real. Their bodies, the smell… they were there, right in front of her. They were just lying there with lifeless eyes, staring back at her. Asking her why she couldn't save them. Blaming her for their death. It was all so real.

It was so real.

"Alice?" a soft feminine voice called out quietly as her head whipped around to the source of the voice, Charlotte sitting on the edge of her bed, a genuinely worried expression adoring her beautiful features as Alice finally was able to apprehend just who was in the room with her. As waves of calming sensation rolled over her body in caressing ways, her shoulders un-tensed before her eyes met his, and her whole world went spiralling out of control again.

"You!" she yelled across the room, pointing at the tall, muscular, blonde haired, red eyed stranger that had so easily infiltrated all her thoughts. His face was drawn into an unreadable expression, Alice could have sworn she saw flashes of fear and pain before it was quickly masked over. But she didn't care, all she knew was that he was a monster, he kidnapped her. Kept her here. Pushed her out of her home… and killed her family. Or at least… he would. He would come to kill them, kill all of them despite their innocence. All for some sick game.

Shrinking away from his gaze she backed up into the headboard until she couldn't move anymore and curled herself away from him, crippling fear taking over her every nerve as her body began to shake, making her sick to her stomach… but she couldn't control the urge that pulled tears from her eyes. "You killed them… all of them." her mouth spat out in a whisper as Charlotte and Peter's gaze turned to the Major, who's expression turned from impassive, to dark and angered in a moment.

"Charlotte… get her something to eat." he stated coldly, his eyes never leaving Alice's as he ordered the short haired woman around. Completely ignoring her statement, he turned to leave the room until Alice stopped him on his way out.

"You bastard!" Alice suddenly screamed at him as Charlotte and Peter froze, their eyes shifting nervously between a terror stricken Alice and their Major. The same Major that had fearlessly and thoughtlessly killed thousands with his own two hands, and not thought twice about it. The same Major that had vampires executed for daring to make eye contact. Only with Alice Brandon, he merely glared harder before addressing Charlotte again.

"Calm her down please. I have no desire to listen to her screaming profanities any longer." he deadpanned with a branded malice in his voice before turning to leave once more.

"YOU SICK SON OF A BITCH!" Alice finally cracked as the words just spilt out of her mouth like a live volcano spewing out molten accusation. "How could you? Why are you doing this?!" she yelled out, finding her voice as she stumbled off the bed unexpectedly before Charlotte could stop her and ran towards him with the intent to push him, or hurt him in anyway. To beat her fists on his chest, or smack some, any kind of sense into his thick skull. To make him feel even an ounce of the pain that she'd been going through every day for the past few weeks.

Despite her best efforts, in the blink of an eye she was pinned against the wall, the look of defiance still in her eyes as she tried to swallow the fear, rage, and indescribable emotion and feeling that flooded her system at the feel of his rock hard body pressed hard against hers, towering over her figure as the tears continued to fall from her eyes. His cold breath washed over her skin as her nerves betrayed her by the shiver that wracked her small body, her angry hate taking over her system as she struggled against his grip, but to no avail.

"I hate you." she spat angrily just above a whisper as the tears fell from her cheeks onto stain her shirt.

"You… darlin'… don't know the meaning of the word hate." he whispered back into her left ear as she shrunk away from his cold lips. "Learn your place girl… before I put you there." he added and before she could even blink, he was gone. Evacuated the room with Peter as she collapsed into the wall, sobs wracking her body as she went.

After much coaxing and a determined Charlotte, Alice finally found herself curled up in her bed once more.

"It was so real." she whispered suddenly, curling back into her pillow and blankets as her eyes clenched, trying to forget the horrific image of her family, those she cared about most in the world, dead around her.

"It was a dream doll face… you have to remember that. They're just dreams…" Charlotte cooed lightly, hearing her mate trying to calm the raging Major downstairs just below them.

"They're getting worse." Alice whispered as Char sighed and sat down at the edge of her bed as Alice tried to wipe away the tears still falling down her face. "It's happening… I knew it would… but I didn't think it was gonna come this fast." she whispered. Charlotte tried to piece together her miscellaneous ramblings, but she couldn't make much sense of Alice's words. She remembered some of what the young girl had let slip over the days she'd been trapped in her room, but Char just didn't know exactly how to comfort Alice when she couldn't know for definite what was wrong with her. She knew it would have something to do with her imprisonment in the room, but she also knew that it wasn't the entire case.

"I hear you… you toss, and turn, and whimper in the night. Is that what it is? These dreams, these nightmares that are scaring you so much?" she asked as Alice just stared ahead, as if her mind was in another world. "They're just dreams sweet heart." she added as Alice shook her head, the fear and torture evident in her eyes as Charlotte swallowed her sadness in seeing the young girl suffer.

"No… no they're much worse." she whispered as Charlotte gave her a questioning look, urging her to go on. "I can't tell you… I- how can I trust you?" she asked with a sob as Charlotte sighed and shook her head.

"You've got no one else hun." she answered sadly as Alice turned to her with tear stricken, pained eyes.

"They come true… they always come true. Every dream I have comes true eventually… and it's always the worst ones. The bad dreams that happen." she whispered as Charlotte hung on every word, not believing what her ears were picking up. "I've seen it. I watched it destroy my mother, my real mother… and now it's happening to me." she cried, gasping for air before continuing. "I'm scared… I can see it happening to me… it's happening to me." she cried.

"You're gonna be okay honey… you're gonna get through this." Char tried to reassure her as Alice shook her head.

"It's not gonna go away Char." she whispered. "It's too late... it's here… it's happening already."

LilaDanes - I know... it's hilarious. I do too. Most times I'd just love to make out with him... but I guess all the slapping and hugging the Major of the Southern Wars makes sense too ;) but that's whatever right? lol. hope to hear what you thought it this chapter!

deltagirl74 - umm... that is an excellent question, but difficult to answer without giving away too much in the story... ;p just trust me it'll turn out all ok and will be explained at a later chapter ;p hahaha. hope you enjoyed the chapter, and hope to hear what you thought!

Anabeth601 - awww thanks! hi back at you! I'm glad you like the story so far... annndddd it only gets better from here ;) that's a promise (I hope) let me know what you think about this chapter!

4 reviews = update!

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