I lunged at his throat. I was set to kill. My own strength surprised me. He was pinned up against the auditorium stage by my own hand. I twisted his arm off, grinning as he screamed in pain. Throwing it to the side, I grabbed the side of his head.
"Start the fire!" I called.
Aunt Alice obeyed. I could hear the crackle of flames behind me. Jared shoved me to the floor and began kicking at my side. I screamed in pain. He grabbed my arm, wanting to prolong the moment. I cringed in fear. But in an undescribable blur of porcelain white and russet brown, he was on the ground. Grandpa Carlisle picked me up and raced to the back of the room. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my father and the russet brown wolf I loved so much attacking the monster.
"Did I miss something?!" a voice boomed. I turned to see the man in the picture---Mitchell--- standing on top of one of the balconies. "Ah," he said. "You must be the Cullens. Well, I'm not the one to miss out on a good fight!"
He lunged towards me, but Uncle Emmett shoved him backwards. By now, I was set on a row of theatre chairs. Grandpa Carlisle was attending to Leah. Leah! I almost forgot about her. Picking myself off my seat, I began crawling across the aisle towards Leah. Ethan grabbed me and shielded me, from what I wasn't sure until I heard the crack. Mitchell. His long brown hair flowed from his speed. Though vampires are supposed to be perfect, I couldn't see one fine feature about his face. Just like Jared. They were both monsters, there was not a doubt in my mind about that. But Ethan wasn't. Ethan was the good guy. If he had had the choice, he wouldn't be this monster. Ethan fell to the ground. A loud snarl ripped from my throat, making Mitchell leap backwards. He appraised me for a second, before deciding he could take me.
"You don't deserve to live," he informed me. "Your family must die. But, since you want to go first..."
"I can take you," I challenged.
"Oh, really?" he asked.
"Strength comes from within," I said.
"You should really put that on a calendar. But this isn't a calendar. This is the end of the road for the Cullens. For your traitor family."
I paused. "Why are we traitors?" Hopefully I could distract him. I glanced at Laurel, hoping she would get the hint and leave. She did and began crawling towards the exit.
"Well," he began. "First off, you hang out with mutts. Oh the stench! Second, you're half human. Humans are prey. See?" He walked over to Laurel and grabbed her arm. Her eyes widened with fear.
"Don't," I warned.
He raised his eyebrows. "And why not?"
"Because I'll kill you." I said.
He laughed. "I'm not scared of you, Little Nessie Cullen. You're just an insignificant girl." His icy lips were now pressed against her skin.
I narrowed my eyes. "Don't."
Laurel was horrified. She sat perfectly still, not wanting to provoke Mitchell.
He grinned. "Hello, my dear." He clamped down on her skin, making her scream out in pain.
"NO!" I screamed.
A flow of blazing hot moisture---venom was my guess--- seemed to repair my ribs temporarily as I lunged towards Mitchell. He grabbed my hair, and I grabbed his arm. Seeming to think I was fragile, he began pulling. But I knew better. My surprising strength overtook me again as I began to yank away separate parts of his body. His arm, his ear, his legs... his head. He was a surprisingly easy match. Aunt Rosalie grabbed the pieces and began throwing them into the fire. I stepped back to take a look at my work. I was no longer the tiny Nessie everybody knew. I was able to save my family. But... not my friends. I turned to see Laurel screaming out in pain.
"MAKE IT STOP!" she pleaded. "PLEASE! MAKE IT STOP! IT'S BURNING!"
On the other corner of the room, Stephenie was screaming, too.
I knelt to Laurel's side. Grandpa Carlisle walked over and rest his arm on my shoulder.
"Please," I said. "We have to help her."
He shook his head. "We can't. Even if we were able to save her, the Volturi would come and destroy her. Isn't this what's best for your friend?"
"No," I said. "We're taking her life away from her. It isn't fair." I brushed my fingers through her hair.
Two hot fingers brushed my bangs out of my face.
"Jake..." I said, turning to him. "She's... her life..."
"Shh," he pulled me into his arms. "It'll be okay."
"No," I sobbed. "It won't. This isn't fair. She didn't get a chance..."
"Carlisle's right," he said. Hmm. This was the first time I'd heard him say Carlisle instead of Dr. Fang. "The Volturi will come and destroy her if they knew she knew about this. It's best for her if... if she were to live like this."
I turned to look at her. "I... I guess. But... I'm sorry Jake. I should have never left you."
He ran his fingers through my hair. "Don't say that. You did what you had to. I love you."
"I love you, too," I whispered. "But there's one person I need to apologized."
I walked over to my mother who was watching Jared and Mitchell's fire.
"Mommy," I began.
She turned and looked at me with sorrowful eyes. "I'm sorry." she whispered.
"No," I said. "I overreacted. I'm sorry."
She opened up her arms and I ran into them and hugged her. My dad walked over towards her.
"And Daddy," I said. "I don't hate you. I love you. I love all of you."
We all gathered around and watched the fire.
"We missed you," my dad said.
"I missed you guys, too," I said. "I'll never do that again."
Jake walked over and hugged me.
"We're a family," I said. "Like it or not, we're always going to stick together."
My mom laughed. "I think we can handle that."
We walked out, carrying the wounded out with us. I wasn't sure where Ethan had gone, but it didn't matter now. All that mattered was we were together. And we were happy.
I learned something that day. Strength comes from within. I didn't need to be a vampire to have strength. I was powerful just by being myself.
Author's Note: Almost done :D It's short, and the fight scene was about 6 seconds, but I didn't want to drag it out. I REALLY want to start on the second one ASAP because I want to be able to possibly do a third one this summer. Next chapter is probably the last. Happy Valentine's Day! Yeah, I'm working on the next chapter of MMP. I'm thinking about posting for the BTO series normally, but Saturdays I want to post MMP. Idk. I probably won't stick to that, but you know. Oh, movie suggestion! It's a chick flick, and the girls are psycho, but go see "He's Just Not That Into You." It's adorable... even though the women ARE crazy...
Let it slide, let it slide. I know it hurts when I say goodbye... Gotta love that song. Joanna Pacitti (from American Idol) Let It Slide. Anyhoo, what do you think? Angry this story is going to end soon? Well, I'm giving you a sequel, aren't I? Lolz
--Lauren :D