AN1: I said I would recommend fics I like so here is another one of my absolute favorites of all time. It's called Je Me Souviens by Queen Zulu (or just Zulu on AO3).This fic can be found on Oralfxatn dot com and on AO3. It's about 60k words long, it's a Buffy/Faith pairing, and it's one of my absolute favorite femslash fics I have ever read. Seriously I think I've re-read that story more than just about any other fanfiction out there… it's that good. Unfortunately it is not on the FF dot net website.

A word about the Buffy fandom. It's an old fandom and while not completely dead its glory days are long gone. However if you have never read it before/played it in it before it is a goldmine of amazing Femslash fanfiction. I started reading Buffy FF on a whim and I ended up watching most of Buffy and all of Angel because the femslash fanfiction was just that varied and that fucking good.

I'm telling you from the bottom of my FF reading heart; if you like femslash and have never explored the Buffy femslash world GO DO IT TODAY. If you don't know the characters read of them a bit on a wiki page and dive right in. There are literally dozens of amazing novel length fics (many on them not on this site unfortunately though this one still has many, many good ones). Start by reading Je Me Souviens and message me if you want any more recommendations. Trust me. It's that good.

As I'll say every chapter if you read my recommendations and like them drop me a line and let me know. I would love to hear what you thought of it or would just enjoy chatting about some of these fics :D

Happy reading

AN2: Sorry for the long long delay. I think I burned myself out temporarily writing this fic too fast and had to take a break to play around with writing other things or just not writing in general. However I am back. I don't know how often I'll update but it will be faster than once every two months. Enjoy the chapter!

00

The Night of the Zombie Attack, after the battle.

"Investimento de Valori della Volturi" came a an apathetic cultured voice in Italian.

"Independent agent 03957," said Luke Taylor into the phone irreverently, "need a bit of info to help me track down your wayward witch."

"Please hold," said the voice in an emotionless monotone. Then he was put on hold with the same crap elevator music major companies played when they put you on hold. Luke had to smother a laugh. Fucking vampires.

A few minutes later someone picked up the line and a different voice spoke through. "Name?"

"Taylor. But you already know that don't you my pale friend?"

"What is it you want?" said the Italian accented voice. It sounded like a middle aged geezer with a stick up his ass. Then again he was pretty sure every Volturi vamp had one surgically grafted when they joined up.

"I have a lead on your wayward bonny lass. Thing is I might need a bit of info to make it easier to track her down. Speed things along, you understand."

"I ask again, what is it you want?"

This is the part that had to be handled delicately. If the Volturi thought they knew where she was they'd come themselves and cut him out from getting his fat paycheck. Just enough to get the info he needed not enough to draw attention.

"A spirit I managed to consult said a vampire in the Washington State area of the United States might be able to provide a lead on your missing girl. Eventually I could find him on my own but if I wait too long the trail might go cold. I know neither of us wants that."

The vampire was silent for a few moments before he spoke. "What can you tell me about this vampire?"

Hook, line and sinker. "The spirit showed me an image of him. Looked young, about sixteen or seventeen. Bronze hair. Slim build. Fairly tall fellow. A pretty boy. Golden eyes so he's one of those animal drinking blokes. Ringing any bells?"

"Yes," said the vampire brusquely. Luke thought maybe his tone had offended the centuries old vampire, poor baby, "I know who of whom you speak. And you think this person knows where the witch is?" asked the vampire. There was something eager and dangerous in his tone, well hidden but there all the same.

"No, no nothing like that," said Luke, "if it was I would have just come out and said so. No the spirit just said he may have heard or seen something relevant. I got the impression that the vampire doesn't have any idea that he knows anything of significance."

There was a silence. "I see," said the vampire and Luke thought he could hear disappointment in his voice somewhere. "If I tell you I must remind you that you are not empowered to act with the authority of the Volturi. Getting them to speak to you will be up to you and I don't imagine that will be easy. This body will not provide any further assistance."

Of course you won't you wankers. "I completely understand."

"The vampire you are looking for is a telepath. I trust that you have some way to block his abilities? If at all possible we would prefer that the details of your assignment remain confidential. However if it is inevitable revealing some of what you know is no great loss."

"Right, right we can whip something up to block mental powers. Don't want no stranger rooting about in my head any more than you'd want them to."

"See that you do that. You are looking for Edward Cullen of the Olympic Coven."

"Roger that. And where might this coven be located?"

"Forks."

00

Bella woke up slowly as the sun shone through the window. Dimly she contemplated going back to sleep before she reached out to the spot next to her and found it empty. Her subconscious mind had apparently hoped to find Victoria there but the vampire was (sadly) gone. But wait, why would she expect Victoria to be in bed next to her? As Bella became more awake her memories from the night before began to flood back.

She was suddenly very aware that she was in Victoria's bed wearing only her panties. Slightly guiltily she buried her nose in the mattress and took a deep breath enjoying the lingering scent of her protector. The smell was calming, soothing, and always just a bit exciting. Before she started feeling too weird or too much like a perv she forced herself to stop. Feeling the need to use the bathroom she moved a little too quickly to get out of bed.

Big mistake. She'd forgotten about the abuse she's endured the night before.

She winced as she felt the pain from pretty much every muscle in her body. Her back seemed to be especially bad and she felt like one giant living bruise. Using the sheet to cover herself she gingerly sat up on the side of the bed. She felt like crap. The act of sitting up alone caused her a wave of dizziness and she had to use both her arms to keep from falling over back onto the bed. It took a full minute for the room to stop spinning. Victoria must have taken a lot of blood from her last night and foolishly Bella hadn't even bothered to drink a glass of water before going to bed.

When she felt more steady Bella stood up letting the sheet drop. There was another wave of dizziness but thankfully it passed quickly. As Bella shifted her weight she audibly winced. Looking down and examining herself she saw the inner thigh of her right leg was basically one big black and purple bruise. Standing on that leg hurt and putting more weight on it hurt even more.

Gingerly and limping Bella made her way to the mirror above the dresser that Victoria kept in her room. She felt a little self-conscious standing almost naked in front of the mirror but it didn't stop her from examining herself. Bella noticed that she looked pale and had little black bags under her eyes. More eye catching were the angry red bites all over her body. Delicately, almost reverently Bella ran her fingers over the bites. She ghosted over the bite over her heart, the one on her hip, the ones on her wrist and the crook of her elbow. They were sore and hurt a little but it was a good pain, a pleasant pain because it reminded her of something else. Idly Bella wondered if this is what it was supposed to be like when someone said they had been "well fucked", when you're left with aching pains and soreness that are more pleasing than uncomfortable.

Bella turned her head to take a look at the more significant bite on her neck. It was as might be expected puffy and red and the skin around it was bruised an ugly purple. When her fingers gently touched it the puncture wounds felt like exposed nerve endings, so sensitive to her touch Bella couldn't decide if it felt good or if the sensation was too overwhelming to be pleasurable. As she looked at the bite and traced the edges with her fingers it began to sink in. She'd have this scar on her neck for the rest of her life. For a moment Bella felt a flash of irritation and anger at Victoria for having done so without her permission.

However the irritation passed quickly as Bella thought about what marking her in such a way signified. A smile tugged at her lips. If it meant Victoria would stay with her after she freed her Bella would have taken a dozen such bites with a smile and nary a complaint. There was also something… very primal about being marked in such a way. Very animal like. And though it should offend her modern sensibilities the teen couldn't deny a part of her liked being marked. Though it could be taken as demeaning Bella chose to look at it as proof that her life and Victoria's were entwined for good now. That taken with the conversation they'd had the night before made Bella feel a degree of security in their relationship that had never been there before. Really it would be quite silly for her to object.

The previous night had been intense. The biting, having her clothes ripped off, coming a hairsbreadth away from losing her virginity in a dubious fashion, the crying, the emotions… the kiss. Bella touched her lips, remembering, and couldn't help but wonder if it meant their relationship was going places it had never been before.

Oh yeah and the whole zombies thing had been intense too she supposed. It says something about your life when nearly getting killed by zombies takes a backseat in importance to developments in your personal life. Sad as it was she had gotten more or less used to things trying to kill her.

Unwilling to leave the room in her mostly-naked state Bella half limped to one of the drawers on the dresser and pulled out an oversized T-Shirt. She pulled it on and hesitated before opening the door to leave the bedroom. Bella didn't know what she would say or do when she saw Victoria. Luckily for her the hallway was empty. Mindful of her bruised and aching body Bella made her way to the bathroom.

After taking care of her morning necessities she decided to go ahead and step into the shower. The hot water made her a little dizzy so she settled for a warm shower instead, taking her time cleaning herself thoroughly and letting her mind wander back to her vampire and the night before. What she most wanted to know was how things would be different in the light of day. Bella could be a little naïve but she wasn't completely foolhardy. She knew there was a decent chance Victoria might have a minor freak out and be mean or short with her for a while. While not pleasant it wouldn't be the end of the world, by that point Bella knew that Victoria tended to react to discomfort by lashing out and she was going to make an effort not to take it to heart. Sure a kiss and a cheesy romantic declaration might have been better but that just wouldn't be Victoria. It would probably freak Bella out if the vampire went and did that to be honest.

When she was finished Bella limped to her room wrapped in a big towel. No hide or hair of Victoria in the hallway. Funny how last night she had briefly thought everything had been resolved. Instead she was now feeling nervous and jumpy. Chewing over how Victoria was going to treat her this morning was driving her bonkers. Shaking her head Bella told herself to stop being silly and get herself ready for what she guessed was going to be a crazy day.

After a brief debate in her bedroom Bella decided not to put on that cute lacy set of bra and panties she owned admonishing herself for letting her imagination run wild. Instead she put on simple underwear, a light colored casual button down shirt and a dark pair of jeans. Looking in the mirror she decided she looked a little country but didn't care enough to change. Plus it still looked pretty good on her. The long sleeves covered the bites on her arms and her hair along with the collar would do a decent job of hiding the bite on her neck if she was careful. Satisfied Bella gathered up her courage and went downstairs.

When she walked in the kitchen she found Victoria sitting in the small kitchen table working on her laptop. She was dressed in a casual but more adult outfit in dark colors making her look like she was in her mid-twenties. Bella hesitated as Victoria's red eyes turned to her. The vampire seemed to evaluate her with a neutral expression for a few moments before turning back to her laptop without saying a word.

Bella had not known exactly what she would be walking into but Victoria seeming completely disinterested in her had not been at all what she had been expecting.

Despite the uneasy knot in her belly Bella moved into the kitchen knowing she needed to eat after last night. She moved mechanically, opening cupboards and the refrigerator while occasionally stealing glances at Victoria. The vampire was focused on something in her computer and did not seem to notice or pay any attention to Bella. Growing frustrated Bella might have made more noise getting what she was looking for than was strictly necessary but it didn't get her the attention she was hoping for.

A little sullenly Bella placed cereal, milk and apple juice across the table from Victoria and sat herself down. She looked at Victoria's face, looking for any trace of anything as she absentmindedly poured her cereal. To Bella's increasing worry Victoria's face continued to be perfectly neutral and at ease as if somehow she wasn't even aware that Bella was in the same room. Unable to tear her eyes away in case she misses some kind of sign Bella lifted the jug and poured the milk without looking. Her distraction caused her to spill milk all over the table.

"Fuck!" she said. At least she didn't get any on her clothes but she made quite the mess.

Bella got up and went to the kitchen to get some paper towels to clean up the mess. When her back was turned she heard Victoria say, "You're not usually one for cussing."

Bella freezes for a moment. There was no joking, no scolding, no inflection of anything, just a bland statement of fact. In some ways it was almost worse than the silence.

Realizing she was letting herself get more and more worked up Bella tried for some normalcy. "Good morning by the way," she said, trying to sound cheerful.

"Afternoon actually," Victoria replied.

"Huh?"

"It's past twelve."

"Really?" Bella asked, momentarily surprised. She was never one to sleep in even if she wanted to. Her internal body clock usually wouldn't let her.

"Yes really. It's 12:06. You needed the rest," she said, and for the first time that morning there was a hint of some emotion in her voice. Had she heard guilt? Anger? Something else entirely? Bella couldn't be sure.

She walked back to the table with paper towels in hand. The girl kept her eyes on cleaning up the spill as she searched for some way to strike up a conversation. What she wanted to know was why things felt so awkward the morning after. She didn't doubt that Victoria meant what she had said the night before but… did she regret saying it out loud? Did she regret something else she did while she wasn't fully in control?

Bella finished cleaning the mess she made and threw away the paper towels before coming back and sitting at the table again. The silence between them felt tense and awkward to her even though Victoria just sitting there acting like Bella didn't exist. Mechanically the teen spooned cereal into her mouth. It was so unfair that the vampire could sit there so nonchalantly while Bella's insides churned with anxiety.

"Alice called last night," said Victoria suddenly.

"She did?" asked Bella feeling surprised. Then she remembered. Alice… Edward.

Oh stars I'm a horrible person… how could I have completely forgotten about him? There was so much going on last night but that's no excuse. The truth was she had been confident he would make it no matter what so she had just put him out of her mind. It still hadn't been the right thing to do. She sunk her head into her hands feeling guilty about just forgetting him and worried about what Alice and Esme must think of her now because she did.

Bella noticed that Victoria was now looking at her, an amused little smirk on her face. The teenager leveled her a flat glare. She was unamused. It didn't do anything though, if anything it only made Victoria look even more insufferably smug.

Bella sighed. She'd wanted Victoria's attention but having it in the form of the vampire enjoying her distress is not what she had in mind. Why am I so into her again? She wondered with ill grace.

"I didn't hear the phone ring," Bella said after a few moments.

"She called about an hour after I put you to bed. With the shape you were in its no surprise you slept right through it."

After I put you to bed. Memories flashed in her mind of being gently carried and put into Victoria's bed. Of the redhead taking off what was left of her clothes and curling around her. She remembered thinking that Victoria must have at least taken her pants off when their bare legs entwined.

Bella closed her eyes and shook her head, rubbing her face. Ok so she was still processing what had happened last night and part of her mind was still slightly disbelieving about the whole thing. She could deal with that later. Finding out what happened was more important now.

"What did she say?" Bella asked as she went back to eating.

"She wanted to make sure you made back here safely. Apparently you and I play havoc with her visions which looks to be quite the source of frustration to her," said Victoria looking unrepentant about that fact, "she said she received a vision warning her of what was happening rather late. Apparently she and her mate arrived only to find Edward missing a leg and in the process of losing his head." Victoria looked entirely too pleased by that fact.

"Somehow she figured out or had a vision of you escaping the attack. She spent most of the rest of the night in Port Angeles doing what she could to contain the incident. Apparently Carlisle had to be called in, bribes and threats were involved, the whole thing. I don't think they managed to contain everything perfectly but then again these are humans we're dealing with. They tend to do most of the work for us."

Bella nodded. For all the effort the Volturi, vampires and the supernatural in general went through to hide their existence in some ways one could argue it wasn't even necessary. Humans have an outstanding capacity for rationalization and they often dismiss evidence of the supernatural as a hoax or make up some convoluted explanation to fit the event in question with their own worldview, cherry picking facts to make a picture they are more comfortable with. Even if hundreds of people were to see a yeti tearing its way down Times Square it would probably just get dismissed as a guy in a suit with hydraulics simulating super strength. In the modern world of computers and science even the most open minded of people would flat out reject any explanations that had the words "magic" or "supernatural creatures" in them out of hand. It is too big, too scary and too unbelievable for anyone to take seriously.

Seriously… who was going to put "suspected zombie attack" on a police report?

"So was Edward ok?" she found herself asking.

"Yeah. Your 'boyfriend' was fine," said Victoria in a flat displeased tone.

Bella couldn't hold Victoria's suddenly intense glare. She ducked her head down and avoided the vampire's gaze.

"He's not my boyfriend. I shouldn't have gone out with him… and not just because of the attack. I'm sorry," Bella paused and braved to look at Victoria in the eyes, "besides he's not the one I'm interested in."

Bella felt that maybe she was being too forward but by Victoria's reaction it didn't look like that was the case. Her shoulders relaxed marginally and her gaze lost most of its searing intensity. She gave Bella and almost imperceptible nod and Bella knew that meant she acknowledged the apology and while maybe not forgiving her at least she was willing to let the issue go for the moment.

The witch absentmindedly brushed a stray strand of hair out of her face when Victoria's eyes snapped to her hand. It took Bella a second to realize her sleeve had ridden up when she went to touch her hair and it revealed the puncture wounds on her wrist. For the first time that morning Bella saw a crack in Victoria's armor, a sign that she hadn't been completely unaffected by the previous night and it hadn't all been a dream. There was a strange quality to the look, an intensity that made it seem like her attention had been drawn to the healing bite almost against her will. Bella just looked at Victoria for a few moments, fascinated, before self-consciousness caused her to put her hands down on her lap.

Victoria's gaze turned to her face and briefly flickered to her collar. There was a certain unexpected heated heaviness to her gaze, something in her face and her barely parted lips that told Bella seeing the bite on her wrist unexpectedly had excited her. Instead of playing it off however Victoria just stared and the atmosphere became heavy with a kind of tension Bella couldn't quite identify. Bella got the impression Victoria was looking at her expectantly but expecting what she didn't know. It wasn't until the vampire's eyes flickered to her collar again that Bella got it.

Part of Bella was uncomfortable flagrantly showing off her new permanent mark but a larger part of her wanted to see Victoria's reaction to it. With her eyes locked on the vampire's face Bella swept her hair to the right side while exposing the left where the bite was. It was a bit surreal and intense for Bella how one minute they had been talking and the next they were staring at each other tensely, a heavy silence between them where words seemed anathema. The teenager undid one more button on her shirt and turned her head to the side, tugging down her shirt's collar with one hand.

Bella carefully watched as Victoria's eyes were drawn to her healing bite with the sort of focus one might commonly see in owls and wolves but not in people. People never looked like that since intense, instinctual attention fully given was no longer a thing experienced by modern man. Bella watched as Victoria's red eyes visibly dilated and the ample chest Bella secretly loved to look at heaved with unnecessary breath. She got the impression Victoria might have been biting or licking her lips if such a thing were not below her dignity.

After a few seconds that seemed almost eternal to Bella the vampire tore her eyes away with some visible effort and locked eyes with the young witch. The intensity in her eyes caused Bella to swallow nervously and a heat to begin low in her belly.

"It looks good on you," said the vampire managing to sound surprisingly casual. Bella caught the barest glimpse of fully dropped fang in her mouth as she spoke.

"T-thanks," said Bella, and instantly hated how her voice came out weak and a little breathy. She felt stupid. Only a few looks and a few words from Victoria and she was reduced to a stuttering anxious puddle on the floor. But Victoria could put so much into so little. Just seeing the extended fangs would have been enough to leave Bella feeling a little off balance.

Vampire fangs only came out for three reasons: violence, feeding or sex. Often it was some combination of the three. Seeing the dropped fangs made her wonder if Victoria was going to come across the table and do something to her and it also made her realize she was unlikely to put up any sort of a fight.

Then just like that Victoria leaned back into her chair casually and the spell was broken. The vampire gave her an appreciative up and down look deliberately checking her out with a self-satisfied look on her face. Then she looked away and went back to clicking on her computer as though nothing had happened.

Not knowing what else to do Bella simply went back to eating her breakfast. A few minutes passed in silence while the each of them focused on what they were doing. The silence between them wasn't uncomfortable per se but for Bella it was somewhat uneasy since she still didn't know where they stood. Obviously something had changed. But other than Victoria obviously enjoying seeing her handiwork on Bella's body the teen didn't know how. She wanted very much to prod and verify but she had no idea how it would be received. The girl sighed. She realized she was probably too close to the situation and needed to find some way to get some perspective. Why couldn't have Victoria just hungrily kissed her in the morning and declared that she was now her girlfriend? If that was even the direction they were going. Bella had definitely thought they were when she woke up that morning but now she was feeling a bit less sure.

"You should pack up whatever's truly important to you. We're leaving late this afternoon," Victoria said unexpectedly snapping Bella out of her musing.

"Today?" said Bella, a touch of surprise and sadness in her voice. "So soon?" she asked. The witch had known this was coming but she had thought she would at least have an extra day. Even though she hadn't known them for long she had wanted the opportunity to properly say goodbye to Alice and Esme. They had been kinder and more accepting towards her than anyone she had met in long time in spite of them being vampires. The thought of abandoning that fledgling connection was painful.

"I just have a feeling. I think staying in this town any longer than that would be extremely dangerous. My gift is telling me we should be on our way before sunset," Victoria's gaze cut to Bella this time hard and unyielding. "Don't even think about fighting me on this. You didn't listen to me yesterday and we came this close to dying. We're leaving today, end of story."

Bella thought about arguing but instead hung her head in defeat. Not listening to Victoria had ended in disaster the night before and Bella was not willing to risk a repeat. Besides her rebellion had stemmed from her belief that Victoria was going to abandon her. Bella had no problems letting Victoria dictate her life as long as it meant the vampire would stay with her and wouldn't leave her. Despite what had transpired the night before Bella's fear of abandonment had not been completely washed away and the teen had always been eager to please. Those things combined made Bella think she wouldn't be fighting Victoria on anything anytime soon.

"I'll get my things ready," she said in a soft voice. She would just have to say goodbye to the Cullens on the phone.

Victoria's whole posture relaxed a fraction with Bella's agreement. "Good," she said, standing up and closing her laptop, "I need to leave for a few hours to take care of a few things. Pack up what you need and keep your head down. I'll be back well before nightfall. Make sure you're ready to go by then."

"Sure," Bella said trying to keep her voice even.

Victoria gave her an evaluating look before going to her room presumably because she couldn't go out barefoot. As soon as she was out of sight Bella's body sagged and she rubbed her face. They'd never had to move so soon after arriving at a new place before and for the first time in a long time Bella really didn't want to leave. She liked it in Forks despite how tiny it was and she felt like she had been making friends for the first time since she'd had to go on the run. In the end though she had no one to blame but herself. If she had listened to Victoria's warnings like a sensible person she wouldn't have been found in Port Angeles by whoever had controlled those zombies. They could have stayed in Forks for longer and they wouldn't have had to move and she could have explored her budding friendship with Alice and whatever else might have come of that. Being found out had been her own damn stupid fault and now she was going to have to pay the price for it.

Victoria came back out of the bedroom with shoes and jacket on and the ring on her thumb firmly in place disguising her more obvious vampire features. She walked by Bella to the front door and stood by it while she turned to look at the teen.

"Put the wards up and don't do anything stupid. I'll be back as soon as I can," said Victoria. Though her words were harsh her tone almost sounded concerned.

Bella waved her off. "Go. I'll be fine. I'll be ready to go when you get back," she said with a reassuring smile.

Victoria looked like she wanted to say something else but didn't. Instead she just nodded and walked out the door. It occurred to Bella she hadn't even asked where she was going. Probably setting up false trails leading away from Forks or something like that.

Suddenly feeling down and lonely Bella forced herself to drink a few more glasses of juice to help her recover from the previous night's blood loss. She quickly moved to wash the dishes and clean up after herself. While she's doing that she mused that it was kind of pointless since they are going to have to leave the dishes along with almost everything else behind when they left. Still Bella washed and dried the dishes anyway while her mind was somewhere else.

Packing the things she couldn't bear to leave behind would take her half an hour tops. After moving so many times Bella knew how to be ready to leave in a hurry if need be. That left her with a lot of time to kill. The only thing Bella could think of that she really wanted to do before they left was talk to Alice. She wanted to at least thank her for being so nice to her and ask if she wanted to keep in touch. There had to be a way to do that safely even while on the run.

Bella went to look for her cell phone to call Alice when she remembered that she had lost it the night before. It was probably laying broken on a dirty street in Port Angeles somewhere. She could use the house phone to call Alice but her whole contact list had been on her phone. Bella hadn't bothered to write down those phone numbers anywhere else. Suddenly frustrated Bella realized she had no way of getting in contact with Alice and that Alice wouldn't be able to contact her unless she happened to call the house phone before she and Victoria left.

Bella tried to think of what she could do. It was a Friday and Alice would currently be at school. The easiest way to talk to Alice before that afternoon would be to go there and talk to her in person. She also felt she owed the Cullens an apology and explanation for the night before. If she stopped by the school and talked to Alice for a few minutes she could kill two birds with one stone.

That decided Bella placed a call to the local cab company. Victoria would have probably preferred for her to stay inside but if the witch or wizard that had come after her knew where she was they would have attacked already. She would only be gone for one or two hours tops. What was the worst that could happen?

00

On that day Alice was having a hard time going through the motions of eating lunch. Looking around the table she could tell the same applied to all her siblings as well. The news of what had happened last night had left all of them on edge and feeling clueless and adrift. It didn't help that Edward had withdrawn into a shell and had been irritatingly tight lipped about the attack. He was hiding something and refused to say anything more than what they already knew, that he and Bella had been attacked while on their date. Alice huffed in frustration. Occasionally Edward could act like a petulant child but this was taking things to the extreme. They needed to know as much as possible. Edward's broody angry silence about the whole thing was extreme even for him.

It had caused such an argument between all of them that Edward had chosen to skip lunch. Currently she sat with Jasper, Rosalie and Emmett at the table, all of them unusually quiet as they absentmindedly went through the practiced motions of fake eating and hiding their food. Rosalie had been furious that one of their own had been attacked and even now you could tell she wanted some target to unleash her worry and anger on. Alice's sister had always been the member of their family most inclined to dealing with a threat with violence and not having something she could do ill-suited her. Jasper had been quietly thoughtful and had spent most of the previous night on the internet and in books trying to figure out what different things could cause a spontaneous zombie attack without much luck. Emmett as the most carefree of them all had been somewhat amused by the whole thing once he found out neither Edward nor Bella had been seriously hurt. Still despite his cavalier attitude on the outside Alice could spot hints that he wasn't nearly as unruffled about the situation as he liked to pretend.

As for Alice herself she had been mostly worried about Bella. The zombies seemed to have targeted Edward and Bella but the way he had been acting made her suspect that more had gone on in that mall. It might have been that he had simply been worried about Bella but Alice got the impression that maybe Bella had been the one targeted specifically and for some reason Edward wasn't sharing. Maybe that was it or maybe not. He was hiding something and that increased Alice's worries even more. Just what in the hell was had happened? Alice hated it when her visions failed to keep her one step ahead of everything like she usually was.

Why had they even come to school that day? Alice felt rather like a useless lump sitting through meaningless classes that day. Yes school was important for their cover and it was a nice diversion but they really had other priorities at the moment. It was almost by force of habit alone rather than a thought out choice that the five of them went to school that day. Looking around the table she thought her siblings were all thinking something similar along the same vein.

Well if Edward was really hiding something she might be able to get Bella to spill. After Alice had briefly talked to an incredibly irate Victoria/Andromeda the night before she'd had to convince both Rosalie and Edward that going over there would be taking their lives into their own hands. She had at least managed to confirm that Bella was safe which was the important thing. It was no surprise that the human had stayed home from school the day after something like that. She would try calling again that evening and see if Bella was feeling up to talking about what had happened.

Suddenly Alice felt the unique sensation of an incoming vision. She relaxed as the world around her dissolved and her whole experience became what her power had deemed to show her.

00

I know I know this chapter ends somewhat abruptly. However I really wanted to update and I figured the readers would prefer I post this early rather than waiting for a more complete chapter.

I know not a great deal happened in this chapter but I was personally very happy with how the Bella/Victoria interactions came out. What did you think? As always more reviews mean faster writing which means faster updates :D