Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight!
Alice opened her eyes to darkness. She was flat on her stomach, her wrists bound behind her back. Rough ridges were digging into her torso and there was a thick layer of something on her tongue.
All of her instincts were screaming at her to yell and thrash, but the coherent part of her mind warned her that might not be a good idea. She swallowed thickly, trying to quickly think things through.
She was in an enclosed space, a strong smell of diesel fuel layered the ground. She guessed it was the back of a pickup truck. She couldn't see anything, the combination of the dark fog and her face being pressed against the ground made that impossible.
So she decided to try her other senses. She closed her eyes and listened. A few seconds later the sound of masculine voices reached her ears.
"What the hell Emmett? You knocked her out? What the hell is wrong with you? Don't you understand that every second counts here?" Edward snarled, his voice pure undiluted acid.
"I'm sorry boss, but she was lethal! You should of seen her thrashing and kicking, I thought she was gonna knock my teeth in!" Emmett shouted, his voice rising an octave from nerves.
Edward just growled, seething.
"She's tiny Emmett, she couldn't weigh more than 105. Are you going soft on me? Because now is not the time."
"Sorry boss."
"Screw you Emmett, just go see if she's awake." Alice heard heavy footsteps.
She held her breath, chanting again and again to herself that she could handle whatever was coming.
It couldn't be worse than a vision.
Suddenly the tailgate fell open and the blinding ray of a flashlight beamed in. She blinked against it, trying to get a look at the person holding it.
"Come over here." a deep menacing voice commanded.
Alice decided to test the waters.
"No." she said, her voice hard.
"I said come over here." the voice hissed.
"And I said no." she replied, her voice sounding no where near as threatening as she meant it to.
She heard a loud thud as the man jumped onto the tailgate. She rolled to the back, curling up into a tight ball.
A strong hand grabbed her bound wrists roughly, tugging her back to the front. He dropped her onto the dirt, towering above her with dark eyes. Alice spit out the dirt that had gotten into her mouth, looking up at the intimidating man.
"Now little girl, you need to learn to listen or this is never going to work." Emmett threatened, balling his fists. Alice just nodded, her courage fading out like a flimsy flame.
Just then Edward strode around the corner, glaring at them with hard eyes.
"Pick her up and bring her over here Emmett." Edward ordered.
Emmett grabbed Alice by the back of her shirt, towing her around the truck and tossing her onto an old picnic bench.
She narrowed her eyes, tiring quickly of being tossed around like a rag doll.
"Emmett, round up Jasper and Rosalie and go scout out the area. I have business to attend to."
Emmett nodded, and Alice's eyes followed him carefully as he strode off into the forest, his deep voice echoing off the trees as he called out unfamiliar names.
Then her eyes shifted to Edward.
He paced back and forth a few times, then sat down onto the bench fluidly.
Alice was terrified.
She had spent more than enough time in the mental hospital to know when someone was unstable. And when she looked into Edward's wild, turbulent eyes, she knew he wasn't okay. He was perched precariously close to the edge of a cliff. But what scared Alice the most was she had no idea what would push him off into insanity.
Alice gathered up her frayed courage and tried to speak.
"What to you want from me?" she murmured.
Edward smiled.
It wasn't a happy smile. It wasn't even a cheerless smile. It was the kind of smile one might carry out before they tore you apart.
"Oh Alice. Alice, Alice, Alice. I need something that only you can give me. Information." he stated, his voice dangerously even.
"I don't know anything. I've been inside almost my whole life." Alice said, a little more confidently now that she knew he wasn't planning on killing her straight away.
"That's where you're wrong Alice. The reason you were inside you're whole life was because of this information."
Realization dawned on Alice like a ton of bricks.
She shook her head slowly and precisely, scrambling off the bench and backing up, her wrists still bound. But she couldn't seem to break eye contact with Edward. Lightning fast he was behind her, dragging her back brutally. He had no remorse when he threw her into the table, her head colliding with the grimy wood.
"Now Alice. I can make you one promise. The moment I find what I'm looking for I'll set you free. Send you scampering back to your empty life."
Alice could hear the seal of promise behind his carefully chosen words.
She nodded.
She didn't have a choice. Edward scanned her face, taking in the defeat in her stormy blue eyes.
He nodded also.
"I need you to look for someone's future. Isabella Swan's. We need to find her." Alice became worried.
"I've never actually tried to have a vision before." she murmured. Edward growled.
"Try now." he hissed.
She nodded mournfully. She laid her head down on the gritty wooden table and closed her eyes. And just like that she began her journey into hell.
Edward watched from the outside. He watched as her eyes fluttered open against her will. He watched as the soul and life deserted her wide eyes, and they became as blank as a corpse.
He smiled.
On the inside Alice was soaring through empty skies, colorless mountains shaping the imaginary ground. Then she was falling. An image blew up in front of her, taking up the forefront of her world.
She was in a dark room. A young woman was slumped in the corner, blood dripping down her face from her nose and mouth. Dark bruises covered her fair face, and one of her legs looked twisted. She moaned quietly, murmuring one word over and over.
Alice tried to tune in on it. She was saying Edward's name.
The door flew open and three tall figures stepped in. One was holding a candle, and with the flickers of light she could make out it was one woman and two men. As soon as they entered the young woman stopped moaning and stiffened. Her eyes became steely as she glared at the with hatred.
She was trying to play tough. But Alice knew the truth.
The man said something calmly. Deadly calm.
She saw one of the men reach out to back hand her as she spit out a nasty remark, but the vision was fading quickly.
It was like the dials on a radio being switched, the sound dulled out first.
Then she felt a strong force rip her from the scene and she was again falling.
But this time when she landed, it hurt.
Edward watched closely as she started to scream. She threw herself backward off the bench. She tried to grip her head with her hands, but they were tied tightly behind her back. She rubbed her face into the ground, whimpering. Then she became still. Edward strode over, flipping her onto her back.
"Where are they?" he snarled. "What did you see?"
"It hurts." Alice groaned, her voice a whisper.
"Answer me Alice!" He watched in awe as Alice squeezed her eyes shut, gathering every ounce of strength in her tiny body.
"He had a southern accent." she whispered. Edward smiled.
"Go to sleep now Alice. We'll need to do this again tomorrow."
And with that he ran off to find his allies. To tell them they were heading south.
A/N: Please Review! Next chapter means…Jasper!