I stared at Jared, quite puzzled. "Guests?" I asked.

He grinned. "Oh you'll see soon enough... sooner than soon."

I stumbled a few times from lack of sleep. Jacob picked me up and sat me in a chair. I leaned my head back... until I heard the noise.

"NESSIE!" That familiar voice... Oh no.

My father.

He burst through the auditorium doors, followed by the rest of the Cullens. I buried my face into Jacob's shoulder.

"Daddy," I mumbled. "Please. Go."

He was at my side in an instant. He stuck his nose up in the air. "Oh no."

My mom's eyes popped wide open.

"Bella," my dad whispered. A look of understanding passed through them.

"Welcome, Cullen family!" Jared boomed. "Well, it's like a little family reunion, now isn't it?"

"Jared?" Uncle Jasper asked. Jared nodded.

"Jasper?" Mom asked. "Do you know him?"

He nodded. "When I lived with Maria, he was a newborns that escaped. One of the deadliest ones I've ever seen..."

Jared was hanging from one of the balconies. "Scared?" he asked.

"Not really," Jasper admitted. "Your bark is worse than your bite."

Jared chortled. "My bite is pretty bad. It can kill one of your little human friends here."

Stephenie and Laurel exchanged shocked glances. I hovered protectively over them. Jared just laughed.

"Why didn't I realize this before?" my father asked. "I should have paid more attention!"

"Silly, silly, vampire," Jared teased. "Come, we must walk. Don't think about bringing any enforcement."

He left the room with my father.

"Stephenie, Laurel," I whispered in my softest voice, that not even a vampire could hear... if they weren't in the room. They looked up. "When you get the chance, when he's distracted, I want you to run."

They nodded. "What about you?" Stephenie asked.

"I'll be fine," I whispered. "I just need you to get as far as possible."

"I'm not leaving you," Laurel whispered. "Or the rest of them."

"You have to," I whispered back.

There were no objections. Jared entered the room at my final word, along with my father.

My dad nodded at Grandpa Carlisle, then Jacob. Jacob immediately knew and was running to my side. Jared leaped in surprise, and was at my side in a second, teeth at my neck. I screamed.

"Don't come any closer," he warned. "Or sweet precious Nessie becomes what you fear the most."

My family backed up against the wall. Ethan's eyes narrowed. Jake paused where he was at.

"You won't," Ethan said.

"Oh, but I will!" Jared yelled.

My breathing was heavy. "Please," I begged. "Let the rest of them go. I'll play whatever game you want."

His teeth pulled a little farther away. "But my dear," he said in his politest tone. "It's not a game I fancy anymore."

"Oh?" I asked. "So what do you want?"

He laughed. "I thought you may have noticed by now."

I looked at him.

"I want nothing more than your friends' blood," he said.

"No!" I screamed. "I won't let you."

I yanked away. Jacob grabbed me by my shoulders and yanked me into his arms. Then Leah burst through the doors, in full wolf form. The rest of the Cullens closed in on Jared. Jared scooped up Stephenie and Laurel.

"Put them down!" I yelled.

He stared at me before a grin lit up his face. He leaned down and grabbed Stephenie by the neck. I watched in horror as he chomped down on her neck. Dropping to the ground, something happened to me that had never happened before. I had a flashback. But not from my own life. From my mother's. She was with James. They were in a ballet studio. James locked eyes with my father, and leaned down...

"No!" I screamed.

He laughed and grabbed Laurel's wrist. Then, he was knocked to the far end of the room by the person I least expected. Grandpa Carlisle. While the rest of my family, including Jake in wolf-form now, went to take care of Jared, I raced to Stephenie's side.

"Steph! Steph!" I yelled. "Oh, God!"

She wriggled on the floor. "PLEASE!" she pleaded. "MAKE IT STOP!"

I watched helplessly. Aunt Rosalie was by my side.

"Nessie," she said. "There's nothing we can do."

My eyes widened with shock. "What?!" I gasped. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," she explained. "He bit her in her neck. There's no way we can stop it."

"No!" I sobbed. I'd failed her. But there were more issues. Leah was lying still on the floor. The rest of the Cullens backed up. A tinge of anger flared through me. This bastard thought he could come in here, destroy my family, and turn one of my friends into a... a monster! Oh! He had another thing coming! And I intended to show him just that!

"You!" I screamed. At that moment, I was fearless. Nothing else mattered. He was destroying my family. I wouldn't allow it! I couldn't! And I intended to teach him a lesson he shouldn't soon forget! A sudden srength filled me. I felt... whole. Like I could run a marathon, or lift up a building.

"What's little Nessie Cullen going to do?" he asked. "You're powerless. Helpless. You're going to watch as I destroy your family piece by piece. And I'm going to enjoy every second of it. But don't worry. You're next."

That went too far. He'd ruined too many! Anger pulsed through every inch of my body. Before I knew it, I was engaged in a fight I wasn't sure I could win.

Author's Note: Yes, it's short. But I just really wanted to get this little piece out. I'm going to be busy this weekend with a million essays to write, but hopefully I'll be able to get a few chapters out. Long weekend :D I'm probably going to start my little side project this weekend too (the human one). So yeah, I realize everything is rushed in this chapter, but I wasn't sure you'd be up for another game. Plus I wrote this in 20 minutes. And I just realized I made a ton of typing errors in my writing, like in one chapter I put flow instead of glow. Hmm. Anyhoo, have a wonderful weekend :D

Spitting fire back and forth now, times have changed in just a few months. Comments? Hate it? Love it? Wanna sell me a sheep? Click that button, folks!

--Lauren :D