.:Narrator's POV:.
Quick footsteps sounded through the hall, echoing off the marble walls, until they stopped soundlessly outside two wide, mahogany doors with intricate gold designs. The owners of the footsteps made no move to know — Aro heard them.
The Volturi leader stared out the large window of his personal chamber, gazing down at the city of Volterra in thought, his mind filled with wondrous plans.
The vampires just outside his doors remained motionless, patiently waiting for their master to welcome them inside. They had urgent news, and he needed to be shown.
Aro, acknowledging the anxiousness his guard members were feeling, granted them entrance inside his room.
Heidi and Demetri, carrying a slick television set, glided into the room. Aro smiled as they entered.
"What news have you brought me today, dear ones?" he asked in a delighted tone. Nothing pleased him more than knowing his children were working hard to keep the peace in the world.
"We fear an out of control newborn army may be threatening our exposure in the Olympic Peninsula," Heidi informed him. She stole a glance at Demetri before continuing. "They have taken out an entire town's population."
Aro's eyes widened slightly, his smile vanishing. Never in his years had he heard of a town's population being diminished completely. He gestured his hand to the TV, curious, and Demetri turned it on.
The world News was raving about a strange even that occurred yesterday in the United States. In a small town in Washington, over 3,000 people were murdered in the same day, among the same hour. Residents from the nearby town of La Push were passing through the area when, seeing lifeless bodies across the roads, they called the emergency hotline.
Aro was astonished at this. The two guard members, even having already known, were still staring at the screen intently with shock.
"Have Caius and Marcus been informed?"
"Yes, sir," Heidi and Demetri affirmed together.
Aro nodded, listening as the anchor man described the strangeness of the deaths. Most of the bodies were broken apart, torn to pieces. There were only a few who were found in tack, but still leaving no trace of the cause of death except for the blood being drained from them. This was all Aro needed to hear. He was absolutely positive this was the work of new vampires — new vampires that someone must have created.
He strode out of the room without another word. The two guard members casually fell into place behind him. Aro made his way to the main chamber, where Caius, Marcus, and the wives were all gathered already. As Aro entered, Caius spoke.
"Aro, what action do you suppose we take?" he asked harshly. Aro did not seem to mind his brother's sharp tone. "There is someone creating more of us and not taking responsibility for them."
"Yes. And, of course, they must be found, stopped, and punished. Jane," Aro called. The tiny vampire requested hopped forward with a sweet smile on her face. Aro rested his hand tenderly on top of her head. "Take your group to Forks, Washington. Alec, take yours as well."
The twins nodded.
"Hmm, Forks..." Aro pondered. "I believe that is the very town Carlisle Cullen and his family are located."
Silent concern filled the room.
"They could be possible victims," Aro said worriedly.
"Or culprits," Caius added, seeming a little too eager if that was the case.
"That is possible, as well," Aro agreed sadly. "Perhaps it is time to give our old friend Carlisle a call."
.:Alice's POV:.
It was a sunny day today, and I was glad. Sometimes it was nice to skip the high school charade we played.
Jasper and I lounged lazily on the sofa. I watched him flip through the TV channels. He wasn't hugely fond of television; it angered him when there were too many shows that were illogical, unintelligent, and vulgar. But once in a while he would find something that caught his interest. When those shows were found, his creased forehead would smooth, and his brow would rise slightly in surprise, amazed that he had actually found something decent to watch. Then he'd relax into the couch, seeming at peace.
He was so cute!
Grinning when he found a show to watch, I went back to scribbling a design in my sketch book. This dress I was working on would be for Rosalie — she would look perfect in it! It accented her slim legs and waist, while fitting her curves. Oh! The color would be a dark raspberry. I could see it now. Literally.
As I added and erased details about the outfit in my mind, then confidently placed them on the page in 'reality' once the future had been perfected, I couldn't stop myself from pausing many times. A certain distraction had been going on with me lately. As it had been for the past couple of days, my mind kept wandering back to my vision from two days ago. I couldn't let it go. It was so strange. The rainy atmosphere and bombardment of familiar trees had me believing the place I had seen was Forks. Jasper told me that it could have been anywhere. But I knew Forks when I saw it, no matter how forbidden I was to look there.
Emmett and Rosalie started squabbling out in the garage. Apparently, Emmett had killed the motor on his jeep one too many times and Rosalie had had enough. He wouldn't learn any lesson — I could see they'd have this same disagreement in a month's time.
Images played through my head, then.
Carlisle. A phone call. He looked nervous, worried. Why was I seeing this? Did it have something to do with Edward? It couldn't be anything good.
"Alice?" Jasper asked, concerned about my sudden distress. He switched off the TV set, and leaned toward me. The feeling that something was not right was flowing through me. I held up my finger to keep him from talking while I looked further ahead into the future.
I gasped at what I saw. My pen and sketchbook dropped from my lap as I stood up. Jasper had his arms around me in an instant.
"What is it, Alice?" Some time went by, and I still didn't answer, while my feelings only intensified, no doubt. "Alice! What do you see?"
Esme came in from her garden, followed immediately after by Rosalie and Emmett, all of whom heard the anxiety in Jasper's voice and had come to see what was going on. But I didn't know what to say to quench their curiosity. I couldn't find my voice. And my focus was primarily on the information Carlisle would soon be receiving. News that affected this family personally. And the one who this would affect most was not here. This bothered me.
Carlisle walked in last. His eyebrows furrowed as he took in my blank expression around the other confused ones.
"What is happening?" he asked calmly. I simply pointed to his jacket pocket, where his cell phone was. Carlisle took it out and it rang right on cue. I turned and stared at the TV, knowing what to wait for, though I had no desire to see it again.
The others watched Carlisle as he flipped open the phone and greeted the caller. Carlisle glanced in my direction with questioning eyes, wondering what exactly I had seen, speculating what exactly the Volturi wanted — the Volturi have never bothered contacting him by telephone before. Judging from my unresponsive reaction, he was most likely thinking it was not something good. And it wasn't, but he was clearly misunderstanding. We were safe; someone close to us might not be.