Disclaimer: Don't own Twilight.
Revised
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Aubrey opened her eyes, a dim light flooding her sight and illuminating a dull-colored ceiling above her head, dotted once or twice with the small metal head of a sprinkler. She sat up, taking in the generic furniture decorating the room, the foul-patterned rug spread over the floor, the tacky thin sheets covering the bed she lay on, and the neatly spread piles of untouched tour guides on the small table by the window. A hotel. It had to be. She swung her legs over the side of the bed, squinting against the throbbing pain washing through her head. She must have slept on her neck wrong on the way there.
The sheets on the other side of the bed were swept back, and Aubrey remembered that she was not the only one who slept around here. She stood slowly and walked to the door, a bit disoriented as she bumped into the wall and a table on her way. She opened the door to the bedroom and found the others situated in the main room.
Alice and Jasper were sitting motionless on the couch, watching the flashing television screen without really seeing it. Bella sat in a chair, staring around at different aspects of the room in depressed and preoccupied boredom. The plain curtains were drawn over the window, blocking out any ray of sunshine, and a tray of food sat on the small round table in the corner. The sight of it made Aubrey's stomach rumble.
She walked over to the hard little chair that matched the wood of the table, and sat down, lifting the little silver lid off of a plate and looking at the different fruits heaped there. After a moment's pause, she selected an orange, breaking the skin with her nail and peeling away at the thick orange covering, meanwhile looking back at the other occupants of the room.
"There's some toast there too," said Alice, not looking up from the screen. Aubrey nodded, glancing at the plate. Sure enough.
"No thanks," she said, looking back and shaking her head. She set the discarded peel remains on the tray and walked over to the window, opening the curtains a fraction and peeking outside. "Wow, no rain for once," she commented.
"That's because we're in Phoenix," said Jasper.
"Hm," said Aubrey in a preoccupiedl response, walking back to the chair and taking a seat as she resumed peeling the orange. She looked at Bella, who sat two feet away in the other chair. "You alright?"
"Mmmhhmm..." mumbled Bella. Aubrey nodded, looking at the screen, which depicted a newsman delivering the weather report. Sunny, sunny, and more sunny. The perks of living in a desert, you could easily survive a sudden worldwide deforestation. Out of the corner of her eye, Aubrey saw Bella stand and walk back into the bedroom, closing the door behind her. The weatherman babbled on.
"I really don't understand your relationship with Marek," said Alice out of the blue, looking at Aubrey. Aubrey looked back, then thought.
"I don't either," she said.
"Oh?"
"He says we're friends, but he kisses me and holds me, then he teases me and I get confused."
"Do you like him at all?" Aubrey furrowed her brow.
"Well of course I like him," she said. "I like him a lot."
"Do you love him?" asked the petite vampire, blinking.
"Well...yes I believe I do. But he doesn't love me back," said Aubrey. "At least I don't think so. He says we're just friends, and then he doesn't act like it, but he denies whatever he's doing to deny it...in his little roundabout way..."
"I don't see how anyone can like him at all," said Alice, shaking her head. Aubrey looked surprised.
"Why?"
"Well, I mean he's so infuriating," said Alice. "Frustrating. He takes nothing seriously; even when you were in danger he was making senseless suggestions."
"I think he just doesn't focus on how he appears to other people," said Aubrey. "He conflicts with himself a lot, and that's why he doesn't make sense sometimes and contradicts himself. He's too occupied in his own thoughts..." She couldn't help feeling surprised that she had noticed this about him. She knew they were true once she put them in words, but she had been totally unconscious in the absorbing of the information. Alice looked intrigued. She leaned back against the back of the couch and Jasper looked at Aubrey.
"You're all he talks about at the house," he said. Aubrey felt her face flush, then quickly tried to regain her calm as Jasper looked a little worried.
"I am?" she asked.
"Well, when he's not busy arguing with Edward or teasing one person or another, it's always 'Aubrey creates and speaks new languages while she's asleep,' or 'Have you seen that old house on Oakum Road? I think Aubrey would like it,' or the ever popular 'Aubrey thinks I'm incredibly sexy'. Aubrey felt an interesting mixture of annoyance and flattery.
"Ah..." she said, looking down in embarrassment. Only Marek would find a way to tease her even when she wasn't around...
They sat in silence then, watching the television to pass the time. Bella reentered the room a few minutes later and Alice and Jasper scooted down to make room for her on the couch. That arrangement didn't last long though, for soon she stood and started to pace back and forth across the room. Then she would sit and stare at the couch for a while, or look at the curtains or the rug patterns. Aubrey would watch the television. She wished she could change it from the news, but, she thought, it probably wouldn't matter what channel it was on, she'd remain bored just the same. Finally, after an hour or two of this agonizing wait, Bella walked back into the back room to go to bed, followed by Alice. That left Aubrey and Jasper alone in the room.
"How long do you suppose we'll be here?" asked Aubrey.
"Until we get a call from the others."
"When will that be?" asked Aubrey. Jasper shrugged.
"We won't be here more than a week at most," he replied. "Probably not even three days."
"Three days?" repeated Aubrey, pursing her lips and groaning mentally. Jasper's mouth twitched.
"Oh no, three days is so long," he mocked, raising an eyebrow at her. Aubrey snorted.
"You're as bad as Marek."
"I resent that."
"Can't we jus--"
Jasper's head snapped towards the door to the bedroom and the next moment he was on his feet, pulling the door inwards just as Alice opened from the other side.
"Something's changed," she said. Jasper took her shoulders, steering her to the bed and setting her down gently.
"What do you see?" he asked. Aubrey stood and walked to the room, peering around the frame nervously.
"I see a room. It's long, and there are mirrors everywhere. The floor is wooden. He's in the room, and he's waiting. There's gold...a gold stripe across the mirrors," said Alice distantly.
"Where is the room?" asked Jasper.
"I don't know. Something is missing...another decision hasn't been made yet."
"How much time?"
"It's soon. He'll be in the mirror room today, or maybe tomorrow. It all depends. He's waiting for something. And he's in the dark now."
"What is he doing?"
"He's watching TV...no, he's running a VCR, in the dark, in another place."
"Can you see where he is?"
"No, it's too dark."
"And the mirror room, what else is there?"
"Just the mirrors, and the gold. It's a band, around the room. And there's a black table with a big stereo, and a TV. He's touching the VCR there, but he doesn't watch the way he does in the dark room. This is the room where he waits," said Alice, her eyes looking at Jasper.
"There's nothing else?" asked her mate. Alice shook her head. They stared at each other.
"What does it mean?" asked Bella. There was a pause before Jasper answered.
"It means the tracker's plans have changed. He's made a decision that will lead him to the mirror room, and the dark room."
"But we don't know where those rooms are?"
"No."
"But we do know that he won't be in the mountains north of Washington, being hunted. He'll elude them," said Alice.
"Should we call?" asked Bella. The phone rang at that moment.
"Good timing..." muttered Aubrey as Alice snapped the phone to her ear.
"Carlisle," she said quietly, but not in relief or surprise. Alice continued her conversation on the phone. "Yes. I just saw him." She described the vision. "Whatever made him get on that plane...it was leading him to those rooms. Yes." She turned to Bella and held out the phone.
"Hello?" asked Bella. "Oh, Edward! I was so worried!"
Aubrey walked out of the room, flopping onto the couch, hands behind her head. She watched a cable commercial involving cartoon food items singing a catchy jingle until Bella appeared beside her, holding out the phone. Aubrey furrowed her brow as she took the tiny silver contraption, sitting up, and held it to her ear.
"Hullo?"
"Seen any rattlers yet?" came Marek's voice. Aubrey smirked.
"Yeah right next to the coyote drinking the cactus juice," she said. "Where are you?"
"Somewhere around Vancouver four feet deep in a snowdrift," said Marek. "He keeps dodging courses and it's hard to keep the trail. Edward and Carlisle lost their tracker on a plane and Roger's nearly lost, so Emmett and I are heading back to Forks to see if that's where he's gone to, but we're coming down to Phoenix as soon as we can."
"I see," said Aubrey, biting her lip. "So for all you know the two trackers could be here already?"
"Doubtful. Alice hasn't seen anything regarding James, and Edward didn't see it in their thoughts when he listened for them."
"So I'll see you soon then," said Aubrey, switching topics. Marek laughed.
"If you're an optimist."
"Which I am."
"True, true, very true. Well, I've got to go now. On with the hunt, you know."
"Right..." said Aubrey, her smile fading. She took a deep breath. "I love you, Marek..."
"I know. Bye."
The line went dead.
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