Keeps Oxygen

Summary: This was our last day to live. Let's live it before we die.

Disclaimer:

One shoe
Two shoe
Don't own
Don't sue

Chapter 1

"-terrible, fire everywhere-"

The District Sleeps Alone Tonight.

"Birdie, Birdie, Birdie..."

"It's been near 5 years, Alice. She has to move on eventually."

"Is it really so wrong that I find beauty in humanity?"

"I must've graduated at least 15 times, and the robes never get any less itchy."

"God, I must've graduated at least 10 times now, but could the robes get any less itchy? No-"

"-Jasper, please change the station-"

"-I like this song, it's catchy-"

"-Country, Jasper? Please, just-"

"I like it, Edward, don't make him change it."

"Thank you, Bella!"

"-I mean, there are a thousand different fabrics they could've used-"

"Real men like Country, Ed!"

"Emmett McCarthy Cullen, I don't care if you are immortal, you will sit down when we are in a moving vehicle, you're going to wear the tires out before we get home!"

"-But Rose-!"

"That's right, Emmy, sit down and keep your girly opinions to yourself!"

"-And Cotton's hypo-allergenic, too! Poor Angela Weber was breaking out into hives the size of golf-balls! I'll have to make a comment to the principal-"

"-Lyin' on a beach, wearin' nothing but a smile, playin' kissy-kissy, smoochy-smoochy, talkin' mushy-mushy 'bout nothing-"

"Who says Teenagers grow up after 50 years or more?"

"-Oh, come on, Esme-"

"Alice, Rose - Kill the engines!"

-STOP-

I looked up at Edward confused. We were only 2 miles away from the house - why stop now?

"Edward, what-"

"C'mon, Edward, we're-"

"I can't hear Carlisle's thoughts."

Everyone went silent. Out of everyone, Carlisle's thoughts the clearest to Edward. If he couldn't hear Carlisle, then something was wrong.

Esme took a deep, unneccessary breath, as if preparing herself. "Alice, do - can you see anything?"

We all turned to Alice, who had already shut her eyes. She was deeply concentrating, and for what felt like hours we sat in dead silence and I can almost promise that I felt my heart stop when her eyes opened, full of fear.

"I- I couldn't see - Like static, Couldn't focus- Everything was so fast, so loud-" Alice stumbled over her words; I had never seen her this disturbed by a vision. Jasper took her hand, and I could feel a wave of calm. "There are vampires- at least two, maybe more, and not good ones. They're in the house. They've been waiting for us to return for hours." She shut her eyes again, paused for a brief moment, then began speaking again. "We're in the living room. None of us are moving. There's screaming - a girl's screaming-" I could feel eyes glance at me, then flash back to Alice. "But. . . Edward, Carlisle, and I aren't there." She stopped talking, and it seemed as if she was having another vision, but when she re-opened her eyes, I could see that it wasn't. There was a look of deep remorse on her face - a look I had never dreamed of seeing.

This isn't happening, this isn't happening, was the only coherent thought going through my head. I shut my eyes. I couldn't deal with this, not right now. I wasn't ready to lose all of this happiness, not after having lived some of the best months of my life!

Everything felt so far away. Distantly I could hear Esme ask if Edward could hear any of the vampires' thoughts. The conversation sped up, and I was unable to hear what was being said. I was launched back into reality when I felt the car move again.

"What?" I could hardly hear myself speak.

Edward looked at me, a deep sadness crossing his beautiful face. "They already know we're here. If we don't go. . . Putting it lightly, the whole town will be dead by dusk should we try to leave. We have to go."

Sheer terror rocked my body. It appeared that I would finally have feelings of self-preservation. How odd, though, that it would have to occur when facing a potential octuple-homocide.

Edward:

I felt a tremor rack Bella's body, and I let go of her hand to put my arm around her. If ever there was a time that I would watn to read my love's mind, now would be the oppertune moment. If only I knew the words to console her, relieve her of her fear.

Alice had said she, Carlisle, and I were missing from the scene she had envisioned. Where had we gone? Horror slowly filled me: Would the others be forced to watch our murders, where that to be the case? I held Bella closer, and hoped with all my might that that wouldn't be the case.

Dear God, anything but that.

We pulled up in front of the house, and filed towards the house slowly, a dead silence thick in the air. I blocked out everyone's thoughts. I couldn't bear to hear them.

We were almost all assembled on the porch when the door swung open and a familiar face became visible. My jaw dropped - This was one the last people I expected to see here.

Bella:

"Carmen!"

I furrowed my brow. This made no sense - we were supposed to be fearing for our lives and here was one of the Denali Clan.

Carmen certainly was breath-taking - A long mane of chestnut locks cascaded down her back, and she had such beautifully set features it was almost painful to look at. She distinctly struck me as French, though I knew her origins were Spanish. Edward had told me before that Carmen was 'more plain looking than the other girls.' I could hardly begin to imagine what the other three girls could possibly look like, what with them being succubus'.

Esme, taking charge, took a step forward. Her position as the matriarch of the coven was clear. "Carmen, what-"

Carmen lunged forward and grasped Esme's arm. "Oh god, dear Esme, it was horrible! It was terrible, fire, fire everywhere, I barely made it out with my life-"

Everyone's mouths were agape. What was going on? Was now going to be the one time that we could bet against Alice?

The woman was clearly distraught - I highly doubted that we would have to worry about her killing us. "Come inside," she begged, yanking on Esme's arm, urgently trying to usher us inside, "Hurry, please!"

I looked up at Edward, his face unreadable. What was he thinking: What was she thinking?

His face was blank - either he knew someting and didn't want to convey it, or he truly didn't know.

Alice, however, had a knowing look upon her face,and asked, "Carmen, where is Carlisle?"

Now, maybe it was just all in my head, but I could've snown I saw something change in Carmen's eyes.I shook my head a little - No, Carmen was a friend of the Cullens. There should be no reason to fear or distrust her.

Carmen was now near incoherent with her dry sobbing, and I could only understand the word "hurry."

I exchanged looks with Alice and Jasper. They both shrugged as if to say, What else can we do right now? So, bewildered beyond belief, we all filed into the house.

No sooner had the door clicked shut, I heard Edward emit a low, feral growl. I turned to look at him, only to find that I couldn't.

I couldn't move my body.