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Alice's POV
Faster. Faster! We have to move faster!
I urged my feet to keep going forward, to increase to a speed that I never knew existed in me. I needed to be fast, because my family's lives depended on it. Their future is currently unpredictable, and that's something we can't afford at the moment. It's something I don't have time to worry about. I wish I could see the exact outcome of whatever fight my siblings and mother have gotten themselves into. But I can't, and it's frustrating me, slowing me down.
Why was this happening? What had my family ever done to deserve this? I side glanced at Carlisle; his face was creased with worry and dedication. He was ready to kill for the family he created, as much as one as compassionate as him could be ready. I moved my gaze to Jasper; he was expressionless, blank, yet I could see the troubles brimming from his liquid onyx eyes.
The answer to my question was: nothing. They did nothing to deserve this.
Then there was Edward and Bella. I barely had any time to focus on them, to make sure they were alright. Had Bella made it to Edward? And if she did, what happened to them, and what happened to Mike, Angela, and the others? The last I saw of them Bella had broken her promise and split up from her friends. I prayed, to somebody, that it wouldn't end the same way my vision showed me, which was Edward and Bella being destroyed, and Mike leading the others off in the other direction without a second thought. I hoped with everything I had that it would not end that way.
If something significant happened on their side then I will catch it, I'm sure, but as for now I was so busy focusing all I could on Esme, Rosalie, and Emmett. They were my goal. Not to mention I was also watching the Volturi, still not entirely trusting of them. They were searching for Victoria, and Victoria was with Edward, which would eventually lead them to my brother if he survived.
My thoughts were interrupted by images, all flickering through my head at an increasingly nauseating speed. I watched, alert, prepared, ready to change any plans if necessary.
My eyes widened, my breath hitched. What I was seeing was not good, not at all. And there was only one explanation as to why my vision was so speedy: the fight has started. And in the end, Esme, Rosalie, and Emmett will die.
"No," I choked out in a pained whisper, never slowing my pace.
Carlisle and Jasper looked at me, their expressions becoming panicked at once. I could already see them forming answers to their own questions in their heads. They were most likely suspecting the worst case scenario, and the worst is exactly right. If I could cry, there would be no way to stop my tears from streaming down my face.
"Alice?" Carlisle asked hesitantly, wishing desperately for me to not say the news he was dreading. "Is everything ok?"
It was so hard to answer him. How was I supposed to look him in the eyes and break the news that his wife, his other half, was gone, or would be gone in a matter of minutes. I shook my head sadly, fearfully. "We won't make it in time. We won't," I stated sadly, holding back a dry sob that threatened to escape me.
My news only made Carlisle and Jasper move quicker. Of course, no matter the outcome, we would still do all we could to make it there in time, though it was a wasted effort. Giving up is not in the Cullen dictionary. And until today, I honestly, foolishly, did not believe failing was either.
"What exactly did you see?" Jasper asked quietly. I could hear that he still hoped something could be done. It can't. He was hoping for nothing.
"What does it matter, Jasper? We can't make it in time for them," I told him, a little harsher than I intended it to be. I immediately felt bad, but he wasn't phased by my lack of kindliness; I'm sure he could feel my remorse. He squeezed my hand tighter.
"Alice, we haven't failed yet," he said, staring intensely into my eyes.
"But we will! I've seen it!" He must know how hopeless it is now, now that I have witnessed their deaths first hand...again. Only this time my vision was more clear, more permanent. My mother, sister, and brother were fighting for their lives, knowing they wouldn't make it out, but fighting anyway. Just as I knew we would not make it in time to save them, but I kept running anyway. Our love drove us forward, but logically there was nothing that could be done, on either side.
Jasper was shaking his head at me. For the first time since being with him, he looked...disapproving of me. That caught me off guard. Jasper was never ashamed of me, it was nearly an impossible concept. What had I done wrong? Was it because we had failed our family, was he blaming me?
No, that was ridiculous. This is Jasper I'm talking about, he wouldn't blame me for anything, even if I did feel at fault.
"Alice," he said gently, yet sternly. "What exactly did you see?"
I sighed. I didn't want to relive it again, and I did not understand why he wanted to know, but I told him anyway. "The fighting has started. Esme will be the first to go down, though for being Esme she holds her own pretty well in the beginning. Rosalie will be next, followed closely by Emmett, who, after watching Esme and Rosalie be torn apart, doesn't feel the need to fight anymore." My voice cracked several times throughout my explanation. Carlisle wasn't taking the news well either. The broken expression he carried did not look right on his face, it didn't belong there, ever. Jasper looked the most calm out of the three of us, but he can't fool me.
There was an edge to his voice when he spoke again. "Torn apart? Is that all you saw?"
"What do you mean is that all I saw? Is that not enough for you? Would you rather see them burn too?" I asked. Again, I instantly regretted my sharp words, especially when he flinched. I was being too hard on him. I was taking my sorrow and grief out on Jasper, and I shouldn't be. I took a deep breath to calm myself. A part of my mind was surprised that Jasper wasn't helping me, by sending off massive amounts of calm in my direction, but then I realized he was hurt just as much as I was. He could not find it within himself to help me, even though I knew he wished he could.
"That's exactly my point though," he responded softly. "Did you see them burn, too?" The thought frightened him. Heck, the idea scared me, too. It took so much out of me just seeing their limbs being... I shuddered. To actually see them burning would have been too much for me to handle.
"Did you see that happening, Alice," Carlisle asked weakly from the other side of me. There was something in his tone, too, aside from the expected fear and exhaustion.
What were they thinking about? How could this matter?
"Of course not. Would you want to see that?"
Carlisle and Jasper exchanged a quick, and for some reason hopeful, look. It would be quite an understatement to say I was confused.
"Would someone like to clue me in?" I asked, irritated. Now I can relate to Emmett when he gets annoyed with Edward and I, or...when he used to anyway...
No! I shook my head sharply. What was I thinking? Realization dawned on me; actually, it hit me upside the head. When did I become so pessimistic? Why did I begin to lose faith in my family, in myself? How utterly absurd that is! How could I do such a thing? Instead of pitying my family, and mourning already when they still have a chance, however slim that chance is, I should be hurriedly thinking up a way to save them. I have seen so many different futures in my vampire life, futures that seemed unbelievably real and unchanging when they popped into my head for the first time, and yet never actually happened. Why was this one any different? The pain of seeing my loved ones die is hard, but that is no excuse for me to lose faith. Jasper's dissatisfaction of me made complete sense now. He was right to look down on me for my behavior.
"Technically, we are only too late if they are burned," Jasper explained, deep in thought. "Even if we reach them after they are,"- he frowned and closed his eyes -"torn apart, we can take care of the newborns and let their bodies heal...." He looked at me, a fierceness suddenly glowing in his eyes. "But I don't want to let it get that far," he growled.
"No, of course not," I agreed, my eyes glistening with the same fire that was blazing in Jasper's eyes.
Jasper saw, and felt, the sudden change in me. His dark eyes lightened considerably because of it. I was hit with a burst of confidence, of belief in my family, and he felt the same passion within himself.
As if recognizing the flames in our eyes was the key to my sight, a multiple number of visions hit me from out of nowhere. I gasped, not expecting so many at once.
Edward's coal orbs were intensely focused on his red-headed enemy, Victoria. He perked his head to the side, glimpsing at who could only be Bella, and his eyes sparked dangerously, protectively as he focused back on his enemy and leapt at her, showing deep, motivating emotions that were not visible before, but were now clearly written on his face.
The next scene emerged almost before the first one of Edward even finished:
Bella's red irises turned deadly as a group of newborns sprung at her. She heard something - Victoria's death, indicating Edward's victory - and the ember of confidence brightened her eyes as well.
I had no thought as to why my sight had picked up these moments to share with me. Although, I had to admit, seeing Edward and Bella together, with Victoria's death more inevitable, along with Edward's survival, was a pleasant, inspiring thing to see.
As quick as the second vision came, the third came.
Esme was down, pinned in someone's arms, breaking as I watched. She took one last apologetic, loving glance at her two children, and then the pain overtook her and she screamed in agony. I cringed, knowing what was coming next - her being ripped viciously apart. But Rosalie's face appeared instead, and this surprised me, because it was different than what I saw before.
Rosalie's clawed body dashed forward, speedily freeing Esme, and tearing as much of the opponent as she could. There was a pause in my vision and I could clearly see her face. One of her eyes was closed tightly shut due to the massive amount of rips on that side of her face, but her good eye was glowing with vengeance, stubbornness, and most importantly, love. There was a force pulling her to keep protecting the one's she loved so genuinely, especially her mother, no matter what the odds were. But I knew that that sudden shift in her attitude was only enough to help her stall their certain deaths, nothing more.
It was this sight, or what was supposed to be this sight, that Emmett before had given up. The pain of seeing Esme and Rosalie, in a sense, die had been too much for him to bear. However, this time Rosalie had found the strength in her to hold out a little while longer, causing Emmett's mood to shift in the same extremity as his mate's.
Emmett's brawny arms were twisted backwards, one snapped, but his mind was focused not on the pain, but on the action around him. He looked helpless when he saw Esme go down. He looked like he knew Rosalie was next, and there was nothing he could do anymore but die with her; he wouldn't live without her anyway. But that abrupt spark of life, of fighting power that ignited Rosalie ricocheted off of her and entered Emmett. He would not give up either. He lifted his head higher, focused more on the battle, and roared loudly, furiously, intimidatingly, so much so that the newborns all jumped and paused in their attacks, their eyes widening, giving my family another minute or so stall before their end came.
With that I was no longer seeing the new, altered future, but was gazing, dazed, into Jasper's anxiously awaiting eyes. I noticed we weren't moving.
"Alice," he called my name, his voice marinated in concern. "Alice, please answer me."
I did not answer him, not right away. I couldn't. What I had seen was slowly processing in my mind. My visions, as strange as they were, made absolutely perfect sense.
The hearts of our family are so tightly woven together that our passion to protect those we love lit us all up at the same moment in time, making us choose a better approach to succeed, to survive, and changing the future, giving us a little more of an advantage. I was beginning to understand that not all hope was lost after all, as long as my family was willing to continue fighting.
Jasper cocked an eyebrow at me, feeling the enlightened emotions within me.
"Something has happened," I eagerly told him. The return of confidence in my voice was evident.
Carlisle spoke then. He looked at me seriously, and said, "I don't plan on losing any member of my family today." And I saw it, that light in his eyes, that renown confidence in him as well.
I smirked at him. "You won't. Not if I can help it," I said. Jasper smiled, too. Saying all that needed to be said between the three of us, we set off at an unstoppable pace through the trees again. This fight wasn't over until the Cullens remained standing victorious.
Despite the burst of energy driving us onward, there was a little voice in the back of my head that added "I hope" to my confident statement. I truly did hope we made it in time, because anything could happen with just a simple, sudden change of mind.