I don't own Twilights: Stephanie Myers does. Nice she lets me play there.
Ch. 9
Carlisle Cullen ran faster than he had run in many, many years. He had to get back to his family, share what he had discovered, and continue to shield his thoughts from Edward, all before Finder finished her self-appointed task. He was, he admitted only to himself, frightened. Carlisle knew himself to be a phlegmatic man, rarely rattled by the vicissitudes of life, but this…this woman….changed everything. For an instant, he hated her, hated Finder all the way to his bones. How dare she come here, involve him and his beloved family in something so hideously dangerous that the world might not survive. He stopped, standing stock still as he let the emotion run through him. 'We could kill her,' he thought. 'There are twelve of us and only one of her. If she died, this would be over. We would be safe.' Carlisle breathed deeply and set off once more for the house. They would not be safe if Finder died, this would not be over if they killed her. They would only be safe if Finder was wrong, if that virus never existed, if their unknown enemies did not ever enter their world. But the virus did exist – he had seen the from the flash drive, and to his experienced eye it did not look faked - and that man he had seen in the forest, talking to Finder, existed too. That man was the source of their problems, Carlisle knew it. Killing Finder would not solve their problems, but killing that man…Carlisle found venom pooling in his mouth at the thought of killing the man. He was absolutely certain that man was evil beyond description. He found he feared the man, feared the utter ruthlessness, the callousness he heard in that man's mellifluous voice, though fear would never stop him from following his duty as he perceived it. Carlisle often wondered about the duty of his kind to protect the rest of the world, about what vampires owed to the rest of sentient kind. Many decades ago, he had settled the question regarding himself, and dedicated his existence to becoming the best doctor he could, helping whomever he came into contact with. For him, that meant helping Finder as well. He could not, indeed would not, countenance her death. That evil man in the forest was the source of their current problems, he was sure of it. Stopping that man was most, if not all, the answer to their dilemma. Though Carlisle did not approve of killing people, death was the only answer this time. Finder had not spoken it, but he knew if she was half as clever as she appeared, she accepted this, indeed, planned on it. They had to help, if only to save themselves. But Carlisle also knew- though the others did not– that they owed Finder a debt that could never be paid. They had no choice but to help in any way they could.
Edward jerked his head up. "Carlisle is coming."
"Good", said Esme. "He needed a little space to clear his head, but if he is coming back this soon, he must feel better."
"I don't think so," said Jasper.
"No, there is something going on, something he needs to tell us," agreed Edward.
"What? Some weird woman with prophesies of doom?" sneered Rosalie.
"Oh, come on Rosalie," sighed Alice. "We've been over this. Carlisle has good reason to trust her, at least to the extent that we will listen to her and participate in her little tests."
"She cut my husband with a stupid knife, she waltzes in here with some cock-and-bull story and here we are, sitting around waiting for something else to happen."
"Rosalie," chided Bella softly, and Rosalie looked abashed. "Ok, ok. But I still don't like it."
"What do you like, Blondie?" shouted Jacob from the other room and the others laughed as they heard Reneesme smack Jacob on the head. "Ow. What did you do that for, Nessie?"
"Don't call her Blondie."
"Ok, but she doesn't like Peroxide. Owwww!" The family in the kitchen chuckled at Reneesme's second smack on Jacob's head and even Rosalie managed a smile which faded as Carlisle bust in the kitchen door.
"There was a man in the forest, Finder talked with him," he got out at vampire speed.
Listening to his father's thoughts, Edward saw everything Carlisle had experienced as Jasper sorted through the confusing and powerful feelings. The two looked at each others, brows raised in surprised. Carlisle was shaken by the encounter he had witnessed, a thing both Edward and Jasper believed to be nigh impossible. Carlisle was the rock of their family not because he was the sire of three of them, but because he was an unshakable tower of strength, compassion and wisdom. Anything that shook Carlisle was more than disconcerting: it was terrifying. The others had crowded into the spacious kitchen, watching Carlisle as Edward and Jasper communicated silently.
'He's actually frightened' Jasper thought, watching Edward closely.
Edward nodded fractionally as Esme crossed to her husband's side, hugging him tightly.
Carlisle spoke over Esme's head as he wrapped his arms around her. "I have never heard a voice so malevolent, and yet so beautiful. He threatened Finder, and anyone close to her. He knows what she is doing and purports to stop her by any means. I have no doubt his threats are very real. But the strangest thing is that Finder said he used to be her husband."
The Cullens stared at Carlisle, then at each other, speculation running through their minds. Edward saw Carlisle's thoughts clearly, viewing he through his father's thoughts the strange encounter in the forest. The man Carlisle saw was unfamiliar to Edward, as was Carlisle's sense of dread during those moments.
"Not to be disrespectful, but what scares you?" Jasper asked quietly.
"Scares me? No, I am not scared, son. I am terrified out of my wits." replied older man, running a hand through his hair.
Esme hugged him closer and he buried his face in her neck, breathing her scent deeply.
Edward spoke carefully to avoid making Carlisle feel any worse. "Carlisle, I mean no disrespect, but from your memory I can't see what has you so…upset."
"Edward, son, I am not 'upset'. I am frightened beyond words for my family, for our friends, for our world. Finder alone is bad enough, but coupled with that data disk and that man I saw tonight…I know, I know, it sounds insane. I assure you, I am not insane. A… gestalt, I guess, has happened in my mind. I don't have all the pieces, but the outlines of the picture I now perceive literally terrifies me!"
"Carlisle, shhh…we're here and we will deal with whatever this is," whispered Esme from his arms. He held her away from him, looking into her face as a small, bitter smile crept across his lips.
"Ah, Esme, if it were only that simple," he sighed, burying his face in her hair once more.
The rest of the family crowded back into the kitchen, silent, watching Carlisle and Esme, their thoughts and emotions bombarding Edward and Jasper as they waited to hear what else their beloved father, grandfather and friend would say.
"Come on, Carlisle!" growled Emmett. "There isn't anything we can't handle."
Carlisle whirled on Emmett, his face a mask of anger and fear. "You don't know what you are talking about, Emmett," he almost shouted. "We can't fight a damned virus, no matter how strong we are!"
"But surely you can find a cure or a vaccine…" Reneesme began.
Carlisle cut her off. "Reneesme, darling, there is no 'cure' for any virus ever known. We do not 'cure' viruses. We simply have treatments that assist the body itself to fight the disease, but there is no cure. Vaccines help, indeed they do, but even vaccines are not a 'cure'."
Jacob squeezed Reneesme's hand and asked quietly, "I don't understand. What did you see, what did you hear, what happened that you are suddenly so…different about all of this? I just don't get it."
Always at his alpha's flank, Seth added, "Me either. Not to be disrespectful or anything, but it is just a virus, and just a man. Vampires don't get sick, wolves have incredible healing and Reneesme is half vamp, she has those healing powers too. So we can handle the virus and for the rest, well, no matter how good he is, he's just a man, right? Can't we deal with that?"
Shaking her head, Rosalie glared at Jacob, then softened a bit as she looked at Seth. "You guys…haven't you had Biology One? There are no cures for any virus ever. This means no cure for the common cold, no cure for HIV, no cure for herpes, no cure for smallpox, no cure for any virus. Vaccines work, and well, or the world would still be enduring smallpox epidemics instead of rare, contained outbreaks, but just like H1-N1, or avian flu, or the influenza that killed Edward's first family, viruses can't be cured. And one that can kill vampires, wolves and humans? We are all vulnerable to that, and we can't even try for a virus until we have a sample of the virus to work with." Sometimes it was easy to forget that Rosalie, like Edward, had more than one medical degree.
"Ok, so Finder is real and there is this dangerous virus out there. I still don't understand why you are so disturbed, Carlisle." Bella's voice was soft and gentle as she searched Carlisle's eyes, trying to understand what he felt.
"Bella, family…" Carlisle sighed and turned slightly away from Esme, though he never let go of her. "I…" Carlisle stopped, thinking furiously, blocking Edward from his deeper thoughts with the smooth effort of years of practice. What could he say, how could he explain that everything had just…clicked into place in his mind, when he could not tell them about that fateful night in Phoenix when Bella died, and Bella was given to them again, though the auspices of Finder. He understood why Finder knew about him, about his family. He understood why she had given Bella to them. He understood her cryptic remarks about his family being vital to the salvation of the world. He even understood why Finder had sought him out as ally. There were missing pieces, of course, and the biggest one was motive. He had no clue who their enemies actually were. Until he saw the man in the forest, he had been floundering in the dark, lost and confused. Now he was no longer lost, less confused, and far more frightened. They, he and his family, truly had no defense against this enemy, not yet, and they were utterly dependent upon a woman who had been involved, at the very least, with one of their enemies, perhaps the leader of that shadowy group, to find a way to defeat them. And he knew, oh how he knew, that they might not all survive. Bella hadn't, after all, and she had not even been involved in this.
Carlisle ran his free hand over his face and through his hair, till the blond perfection stood on end, loose and shaggy. He took a deep, cleansing breath and blew it out noisily.
"I see it, at least most of it, now. There is a group at work in this world attempting to overthrow all governments, open or secret, in order to rule. Why this world of all the others, I don't know, but it is this world that sets the pattern for their conquest. And no, I have no clue why someone would want to be a ruler of anything. I have never had any interest in that sort of power, and desire it not now. These enemies have managed to find something that might just actually work. They have a virus that kills humans, vampires, shapeshifters, were-creatures, and very likely, most of the higher life forms. If they can control this virus, use it to kill selectively, put the entire world in disarray by killing off the larger portion of the population, they might indeed be able to rule. Against them, we have Finder and any unknown allies that come with her, and ourselves. I think, and I stress that I haven't any proof at this point, just a very well educated hunch, that Finder believes that I can find, if not a cure, a vaccine for this virus because I have more experience than any practicing physician in the world and because I am a vampire. I believe that she thinks that something about Edward, Bella, or Reneesme may hold the clue to what we need. And all we have to do is discover the cure or vaccines, locate and destroy the source of the virus, and defeat any who wish to use this world as their personal fiefdom."
Sardonic clapping sounded through the kitchen where the family was gathered. "Very good, Dr. Carlisle," said Finder. "You state the situation very well, sadly enough."
The vampires whirled to face the small, weary woman who had materialized in the doorway to their kitchen. "Finder," said Carlisle in granite tones, "it's time."
Finder sighed as she crossed to the kitchen island, pulling things from her pouch and pockets as she walked. "Yes. You are right. But you, none of you, will like anything I have to tell you. It is indeed as bad as Dr. Carlisle has hypothesized. It may very well be the end of not only this world, but of many others."