I don't own Twilight.
Chapter IX — "As I Live"
It is raining and I can expect that on a night like this.
After two weeks of waiting, the old man never left his post as protector of his precious nuthouse. And earlier this evening, when I had just asked him for one, he had finally sighed out and asked me who. He seemed to finally give in and his annoyance of us being there overcame his mortality.
"The Angel with black hair and dark eyes," I had said to him.
And he looked at me like I was the Devil walking on earth. He backed up and stared at me with the widest eyes, shocked and terrified by my request. I knew then that this girl was his; the reason why he was protecting the house in the first place. I smiled and cocked my head to the side.
"What is wrong, Mr. Pierce?" I asked him. "Surely this isn't too much to ask."
"Leave, now," he said to me.
I smirked, having my suspicions confirmed. I walked over to him and looked him straight in the eye. He was terrified for the life of this girl. Now it wasn't about the love I felt for her but just to ruin this vampire's happiness. It was a game now.
I placed my hand on his shoulder and leaned forward, my lips right next to his ears. "This has now turned into a game, Mr. Pierce," I said politely. "A game I intend to win. And if you try to stop me, I will have no problem killing you. Your life is meaningless anyway."
As I live for her, I realize he will die for her. And what a mistake that will be.
Alice
***
"I've waited a long time for you," I say, looking at him.
He is the only one I remember from my human. Other than him, everything else is blank. I can remember my longing for him, the one I would finally call my own. I was all alone and he was the only thing I lived for. He's the only thing I live for.
He brushes back a piece of his blond hair with his fingers and smiles. "I'm sorry, ma'am, but … have we met each other before?" I shake my head. He smiles a bit and sighs, running a hand through his hair. "Good. I mean, that we haven't met. My mother would have called me rude for not remembering such a … beautiful woman as yourself."
My heart is still, my blood is cold but I can feel everything start to race and to heat under his gaze. I wonder briefly if he thinks I am crazy. He shakes his head as if he hears my thoughts, and then says, "Well, I am Jasper Hale … and you are?"
I shake my head, ridding the thoughts, and take his hand. I stare into his bloody eyes and say, "I'm Alice. I can see the future." It was blunt and he is taken by surprise but I keep going. "I've seen you here many times. I can't even tell you how many times." He's the only thing I've ever had a hold of. Through the pain, he has always been there, even though I didn't even know him.
He believes me.
He can see it in my eyes.
"I know what we have to do," I tell him. "Please, come with me." I hold out my hand, my heart in my throat. My mind is blank – his decision has not been made yet. He looks down at my hand, pale and breakable, though they are both.
I feel like crying. For what seems like years I've been seeing him. He's flesh and blood I finally get to see. I am not crazy. My visions really do come true. Those months I spent all alone, thinking I was crazy – they were false. I can feel an emotional rush and start to breath heavily.
He looks up at me, concerned. He knows how I am feeling. He can feel the panic, the relief, the sadness, the confusion, the hope. He can feel everything. I suddenly feel calm. He looks into my eyes and lifts his hand slowly. My breath hitches.
He gently picks up a strand of my short hair and brushes it out of my eyes. "I trust you," he says quietly, answering all of my questions. "Take me with you, Alice."
***
When I open my eyes, I can feel that they are wet with tears. The visions have not disappeared; they are no longer a nightmare – literally – of the past. They are back again; and on the night when I felt so normal once again. Oh, God. What would I tell William?
Almost as soon as the thought comes across in my mind, my door slams open with said person standing there with wild eyes. I sit up quickly.
"William," I say.
He marches over to me and kneels down beside me. Back behind him, Grandfather is standing there, eyes closed, hands folded like he is praying. Maybe he is praying. I have never known Grandfather to be that of religion. But I suppose He is always there and learning the Bible is something you can do anytime.
"Alice, you need to listen to me," William says urgently, leaning down by my bed. He takes my hands and kisses them gently. I nod, but don't say anything. The atmosphere in the room has dropped fifty degrees. I feel cold and scared. What has happened?
"You were right," he tells me much to my surprise. "Your dreams, that I always dismissed them as, weren't dreams at all, Alice. They were visions and it's taken me this long to realize this. But I have now and I believe you." I feel tears fall down my cheeks with his acceptance. The words I have been waiting to hear are here at long last.
"And that means that the monsters in your dreams were real as well. And one of them is here, Alice, and he wants to harm you. Remember what you said about seeing the end? Remember all the things you told me; about becoming one of these monsters and living as one? Remember?"
I nod reluctantly feeling like the end has come, and is here staring at me in the face.
Williams says, "Grandfather has to change you, Alice. The vampire coming is coming fast and if he doesn't change you now then you will die. This is just the first of all of your visions. Everything was true." He grabs my shoulders. "Please, you have to do this."
I start to shake my head. "But if what I see is real and comes true, then that means that when I wake up three days from now I will not remember you. I don't want that to happen, William. I … love you and I don't want to lose you. Not now. Please."
He kisses me hard on the lips. I grab his face and try to hold him there but he is too strong. He pulls away, but just barely and says, "It doesn't have to be that way. Try really hard to remember and maybe you will. But Alice, I can't leave you unprotected. I won't leave you unprotected.
"If if this is the last time we see each other, it is the way of the Lord sees it. And it is the way He wants it, Alice. Destiny isn't true. You can always change your future." His eyes are burning into mine. I can feel my eyes burn. I need to blink, but I can't. Tears continue to fall, making him blurry.
"But you have to do this, Alice," he says, "you have to."
I lean forward and kiss him again, more gently this time. His lips move against mine like perfect harmony. In the last month we have gotten quite good at this. I can't imagine not seeing him every day and eating the breakfast he brings me. I can't imagine not talking or kissing him.
I have always been weak.
But now I can't be. Now, I have to be strong for him. He wants me to this so I can protect myself. And maybe, as a monster, I can protect him too. I am determined to remember him. I can't forget the one I love. "I will," I tell him. "But … first there is something I need to tell you."
He smiles and kisses my forehead. "Tell me, love."
"You're going to meet a girl with auburn hair and hazel eyes," I say to him. "I kept seeing you by the pond together somewhere in the future. You propose to her, William." He looks heartbroken almost, like he's afraid of hurting me even though he hasn't done anything. "And you love her. You belong with her. So, if I can't find you and if I don't remember you, you have to find her, okay? Promise me."
He nods, "I promise. And you must not wait around for me either. Find the soldier that you used to talk about every day. He's out there somewhere, lost and confused. He needs you even more so than I do, Alice. You must find him."
"I will."
We kiss each other once more.
"Cut her hair."
Grandfather speaks so suddenly that we both look up. He looks down at us. "Here," he pulls out a knife. "We have to cut her hair so the vampires possibly don't recognize her." I look and nod my head once. William takes the knife and cuts it; long tressles fall to the ground in a heap. Grandfather walks over to us. "William, watch outside of the door. Take this." We both look down and see a sword in his hands. "You don't stand a chance against the vampires, my beloved grandson. But perhaps this will give you peace of mind."
William doesn't look afraid. He takes the sword and walks outside the door, closing it firmly behind him. Grandfather looks at me. "Alice, are you ready?" he asks. I nod. "Then lie back. I'm going to do this the old-fashioned way." I follow his orders, keeping William in my head solidly. He's so realistic it's almost as if I can reach out and touch him.
"This will be the most painful thing you will ever endure, Alice," he tells me seriously. I look at him and nod. "I'm going to bite your neck and it is going to burn as if you are in Hell. Do you understand?" I nod once again. "Granddaughter … good luck with your future. And I hope we meet again."
He rests his palm against my cheek and I see his eyes radiate so much sadness, more tears fall down – the ones he can no longer cry. "I'll miss you, Grandfather," I tell him.
"And I you."
He leans down and I feel his ice cold breath on my skin. Right above the neck he hovers for a split second before biting down. For a second, I feel nothing. And then I feel everything all at once. I scream out in agony as he pulls up. I can't see anything but fire.
He gets me to my feet without much difficulty but I can hardly stand. The pain is too intense; too aching. I burn and I feel like my air has been taken away, like I'm drowning.
"Alice, we have to go," Grandfather says, dragging my arm. I scream in agony. The burning … the burning in my arm, it just won't stop. "Alice, I'm going to pick you up, alright?" I squirm and cry out in agony.
William comes into the room then, at least I think it's him. There is fire everywhere in the house. I see leaves blowing every which way and dresses looming in every corner. Someone his trying to kill me but they are too late. I will burn to death.
"We have to move her, William," a faraway voice says.
My body is lifted from off the ground. Does this mean I am no longer amongst the living? I wonder this but the pain is so intense, I have to still be alive. Would God punish me like this? If I am to go up to Heaven, is it supposed to burn like the fires in Hell?
Or am I really a sin, after all? Is my power really landing me a spot in eternal damnation?
William, I remember. His face is blurry now, more so than it has ever been. This must mean I am dying, I think. I wouldn't lose a memory like this until the very last end. But I try to remember anyway.
William …
William …
William …
William
"William!" she screams my name out in agony.
Grandfather smells the air and looks at me. "They are coming," he says. "Take Alice and run as fast as you can. Try to keep her quiet." I look down to the twitching girl in my arms. She struggles and she cries of the burning, but I just hold her tighter.
"Go, William, and never come back here," he says. I look at him. "They cannot know of you. Take your father's name and your mother's maiden name. William Pierce, as far as we know, is dead. Wherever you go, don't ever come back. And never speak of William Pierce again."
I nod, accepting my fate.
"Go!"
I run through the hospital faster and faster. When I get outside of the door, the cold December air whips around me, making it hard to see. Alice's hair drops over her face like liquid. I keep running. I pass my house in a matter of seconds instead of minutes. There is a light burning on the inside.
My father is awake and waiting for me. Little does he know that he will never see me again. I want to run to him like I'm a child again and ask him to make the monsters go away. But these monsters never go away, I think and run faster.
The forest behind my house is where I head. I hear screaming from behind me and push myself faster and faster. I can't afford to be slow. Alice screams out and I say, "Shh, Alice, shush, you mustn't speak. Please, don't say anything, love."
She whimpers and struggles in my arms.
We reach the tree line and I go about a mile before I stop to rest. I set Alice on the ground and cough so hard that blood comes up. I throw up in the bushes by a huge oak tree. I feel dizzy and sick and I am afraid of getting caught.
I look back at Alice.
I have to leave her here. She is too far along in the process for anyone to hurt her, I know it. I walk over to her and look down at her, brushing her hair back. Her eyes are looking back and forth wildly and she can't focus on me. "Thank you, Alice," I say, "thank you for everything."
I grab her cheeks with my hands and kiss her gently on her forehead. She is sweating and shaking like she has a severe cold. I take off my jacket and lay it on top of her. "Please remember," I say, "please remember me, Alice. I love you."
When I get up, I take off running.
But I don't make it too far. Suddenly, I slam into something like a boulder. I fly backwards and hit the ground, skidding to a stop. I look up to see a beautiful woman with curly red hair staring at me like I am food. "James," she says. Two men appear and I know the one with yellow hair is the one who wants to kill Alice.
He looks wild with defeat.
"Where is he?" I yell, getting to my feet. "Where is the Old Man?"
James smirks. "Dead, torn to pieces, and burned. He did not stand a chance. One old vampire against three at their prime is hardly what I call a challenge. It was almost like fighting a human." I want to kill him and the fact that my grandfather is dead hasn't registered yet.
Mourning comes after revenge.
"And why did you help him?" the African one asks. "Why did you help the girl? You know we have been tracking her because of her scent and now she can no longer be tracked because she is one of us. So, boy, why is it that you helped?"
I look right at the one, James, who killed my grandfather.
"Because I love her," I tell him.
Something changes in his eyes.
He looks away from me. "James," the girl repeats. "Do we kill him know? You know that I'd rather not play with my food." She starts to walk for me but James grabs her arm and pulls her back. She glares at him, her red eyes piercing his.
"Go," he says, looking at me. "Never return here and never look for that girl. You will never see her again. Never come back here. Ever." I look at him with wide eyes. "Go!" he yells. "My mercy will only last so long. I suggest that if you want to live to see the sun again, you will leave right at this moment. Go, now."
I nod and run the other way.
I never did see them again. I never did know the real reason of that vampire's kindness. After all, he killed my innocent grandfather without any mercy whatsoever. Why he showed me, a human, such compassion was something I could hardly believe.
And yet, when I had mentioned the word love to him, he seemed to have changed completely. And I think it was because he loved her, Alice Brandon, too.
He hadn't even known her and she had him wrapped around her fingers. She had put him under her spell and he couldn't escape. Even though he was a vampire and she had been a human, he had fallen in love with her. And I was the man she loved back.
Perhaps he was jealous or envious.
I adopted my new name, the last wish my grandfather had ever made. He was with my family now in Heaven; my grandmother and mother were still waiting on my father and me to join them. He was watching over me, I could feel it everywhere.
But for whatever reason, I escaped that night.
And I never saw her, Alice Brandon, again.
A/N – Wow. I wrote this all in one sitting. Wow wow wow. Put off reading Pride and Prejudice to finish this chapter. I can't believe that I am almost finished. I know this has been a quick ending but this is how it has to be.
Just ten chapter, I know! One more and then Alice's past is now fully known. Haha.
What did you think? Please, let me know!
-Liz
