Wasteland
Chapter 2

Disclaimer : I don't own Twilight. Stephenie Meyer does. I only borrowed her characters for a while. ...Maybe I'll steal, I mean, borrow Jasper for a while longer though. *Plots*

I realized that I was on my knees in the snow, my fingers tangled in my hair as I hid my face in my arms. Some part of my mind still functioned enough to make me aware of the wet ground under me, soaking through my pants slowly but surely, but I didn't move. I didn't want to raise my head and face reality.

Alice. Gone.

The thought caused me to let out a pained gasp, and I closed my eyes once more, my grip tightening on my honey blond hair. I don't know for how long I stayed like that, letting the pain I was feeling slowly eat away at me. The pain was better, I decided, better than facing the truth. I hated my family at that moment. Loathed them for giving up on Alice so easily. There had their doubts, but none strong enough to really believe she was still alive.

How I wished that it was only a cruel joke she was playing on us, on me. I wanted nothing more than to see her again, to hold her in my arms for the rest of eternity. To whisper how much I loved her in her ear as I held her close. By the Heavens, I would shout it if she asked me to. If only she were there.

As I slowly became aware of my surroundings, the first thing I felt was the pain of those around me. And not only over losing Alice. I blinked, quickly shutting away my own emotions, keeping them from feeling what I felt. Holding my own emotions in check was a second nature to me. I could feel what everyone around me was feeling, every minute of every day, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. Ignoring them would help so much. Out of respect, though, I didn't project my feelings back at them. Only Alice would ever see, or in this case, feel, the real me.

But contemplating the possibility that she could be gone, I had let all my barriers drop. I had let them feel the pain, fear, anger, and distress I was feeling without realizing it fully as I screamed. And scream, I had, as if my very soul was being torn away from me.

In a way, it had.

Edward had his theory that we lost our souls when we became vampires. For a time, I considered it to be true, before I had met Carlisle's family. Alice changed that. It was our own private joke; that we lost our souls by becoming what we were, but found it back when we had met each other.

So now I guessed I truly was damned.

"They're coming."

Who was coming? I raised my head slightly as Edward hissed the words, my curiosity making me a bit more aware of what was going on around me. I followed his gaze as he glared across the clearing, and before long, I saw them. Cloaked figures, the gray of their clothes blending in with the thick mist and smoke in the trees. Human eyes would probably had a harder time seeing them, and I knew I wasn't wrong from the way Bella squinted from her hiding place behind Edward.

I took a deep, shaky breath and rose to my feet, not quite as gracefully as usual. I felt drained. Rosalie stepped closer and stood by my side protectively, as if she somehow knew that simply getting up was the most I could manage. I almost smiled, if only my still heart hadn't been breaking apart in my chest. Some distance away, I heard a small, pleased laugh, but it contained no humor. I only felt disdain as the small cloaked figure framed by four taller ones walked closer. The Volturi.

"Welcome, Jane." Edward's voice was courteous, but I could feel the anger radiating from him.

"Hello, Edward." A small smile appeared on her angelic face, but as her laugh, it didn't hold any warmth. "Hello, Bella." She hissed the name, and I saw the girl in question cringe slightly from the corner of my eye, hiding herself better behind Edward.

Jane's eyes surveyed the surroundings quickly, her eyes stopping on the fire burning some distance to the side, between the two groups. "It appears you've done our work already." She looked surprised as she looked at Carlisle. "Just out of professional curiosity, how many were there? They caused quite a mess in Seattle."

"Twenty, in all." He answered shortly. "Their creator was here, and was destroyed along with them."

Jane's eyebrows shot up. "Twenty, you say? What was their creator's name?"

"Victoria."

She nodded absently, her eyes narrowing as she thought. "Well, I can't say I'm not impressed. I've never seen a coven escape intact from such a fight."

My heart sank. "We didn't." I heard myself say in a small voice, dimly aware of my fingernails digging in the palms of my hands. It didn't hurt me, but at the moment, I wished it did. Just to make me concentrate on something else than Alice's disappearance.

"Oh? Well, I'm sorry to hear that." There was no sympathy in her voice. I gritted my teeth, barely trying to keep my fury in check. I wanted to rip the small girl apart, and feed her to the fire, limb by limb, savoring her screams for as long as possible.

Edward heard my thoughts, and shot me a quick cautious look. I didn't need to read minds to know he was warning me to calm down. I turned my glare to the ground at my feet instead.

"Well, it seems there's not much left for us to do. It's odd, we're not used to being rendered useless like this." A wave of apathy coming from her hit me. "It's too bad we missed the fight, really, it would've been entertaining."

"Yes, it's too bad you weren't here just half an hour ago," Edward snapped. "Maybe you could've accomplished your mission here."

"Yes...A pity." Jane murmured. "Felix, I want to go home now." She spoke to the tall man behind her.

As she whirled around to leave, I could swear her eyes had stopped on me for a moment. I shook my head. I was probably just imagining things. As confused and lost as I felt, I probably wouldn't have been surprised if pink elephants had appeared to dance around us at that moment.

It was only when the gray cloaks disappeared once more in the mist that I felt everyone around me relax. One by one, they turned around and walked away, past me. I continued to stand where I was, until I realized Carlisle was in front of me. He met my gaze, calm as ever, for a moment before speaking.

"Come, Jasper. Let's go home." I nodded briefly, still too numb to react any more than necessary.

Home... Was it really now, without Alice? I scowled at the ground as I walked slowly, following my father.

At that moment, I made up my mind. Alice wasn't dead. I refused to acknowledge that fact. I wouldn't stop until I found her again, even if it meant having to search for the rest of eternity.

What else did I have left, if not time?

Well, that's it for chapter 2. ^-^

Is Alice still alive? Is Jasper only prolonging his pain by not wanting to believe she's gone? Will he go mad? XD You'll know soon enough. Gotta LOVE suspence!

Chapter 3 will probably be posted tomorrow night, or the night after. ( Work and all. T^T )

Thanks for reading, and thank you for all the lovely reviews!