{... She pressed her hand against the bandages that wrapped around her chest, hissing slightly as she went.
"No problems with the surgery?" Emily asked me.
"No, everything went perfectly. You…heal extraordinarily quickly, so you should be good to remove the bandages in-"
"Got it," she cut me off. "I know how to take care of myself, thanks." She shrugged on one of the many disposable robes and inched out of the bed, holding onto the railing to steady herself.
"Very well," I stammered, afraid she would be upset at me. "I'll just…leave you to it, then, Ms. Emily."
"Dr. Stein," Emily called out to me before I could escape the room. I halted and turned to glance at her, her gaze locked onto mine. "I can read minds. Did I ever tell you that?"
I blanched and could not form any words. She knew. She knew I knew about her experiments. She knew I knew what she was experimenting with. Vampires. I gulped as she inclined her head and gave me a sad smile.
"I really wish I didn't have to…" she cut off, never taking her eyes off me. I closed my eyes and bent my head down. It would do no good to run.
I braced myself for pain, but instead a steady darkness swept me away into nothingness. It didn't hurt at all…};
-Chapter 7: Midnight-
"Are you sure you don't want to fly home with me and come back tomorrow?" Ryan asked, checking out the mildly-impressive view of the city at night.
We had talked for over two hours about anything of consequence. It was …nice, having my brother to myself again without anyone else around. It felt like old times; just him and me going from town to town, having fun and hanging out. We also discussed our new family, and whether or not we'd become a permanent fixture in their coven or not. Ryan was, as expected, all for sticking around; he liked the family atmosphere. I told him I wasn't one-hundred-percent-sure on moving in for good, but I think we both know I would end up staying – just so we wouldn't be separated.
"I'm sure," I chuckled, leaning back in my chair. "I still have some of the orange formula and there's a vending machine in the lobby. I'll be just fine here, but I really need to get this stuff signed off." I shook my head at the thought of myself ever doing any sort of paperwork, but chemistry was my niche and I actually enjoyed my work. "You wouldn't believe how many things the CEO has to sign. On TV all they have to do is walk around with a cup of coffee and tell people what to do. Bruce Wayne never had to sign off on scheduled office parties or apply for chemical permits."
"You're not exactly Bat Man, either," Ryan smirked at me. His smile inverted and he walked over to my desk. "I just don't like you injecting yourself with that stuff. I mean the first time you did…well, we all know how that went. Get some sleep if you need it – you don't have to be running full-tilt 24/7."
"It's perfectly safe!" I protested. "There was a small miscalculation – which I fixed – and I'm considering submitting it for evaluation in a few years. Who knows, within the next decade or so sleep may be a thing of the past." I shrugged my shoulders and took another sip of my soda.
"Fine, fine," Ryan agreed. "You're the chemist, after all." He checked his watch. "I should get back. I need to pack and I promised Jasper and Emmet I'd hunt with them before we left."
"Didn't you hunt just before we left? I saw you coming out of the woods."
"I did," he shrugged his shoulders. "They said it was 'new brother bonding time,' whatever that means. I think Edward is going as well."
"Right," I raised my eyebrows at the vision of them wrestling amongst themselves after killing several deer each. Emmet was going to challenge Ryan to a fight one-on-one, assuming he didn't have as good a grasp on his telekinesis as I did – which was correct to say. But Emmet was going to lose that fight – badly. I snickered at the images that flashed through my head, and turned to Ryan. "You're going to kick Emmet's ass."
"Ha!" Ryan lifted his head in the air and laughed. "I was wondering when he would fight me. He's been giving me glances since we came back from the Amazon." His eyes glazed over and he started imagining what moves – both physical and mental – to use against the brick shithouse that is Emmet.
"Well, go on, then," I tilted my head to the single door, opposite the elevator. "The door leads to the fire escape and helicopter pad. It's a lot easier than taking the elevator."
Ryan grinned and grabbed me from the chair I was sitting in, lifting me into his arms and giving me a hug. "See you later, Emily," I could feel his excitement and happiness as he set me back down on my feet. "Don't work too hard."
"Never do," I replied as the door closed after him.
I took another swig of my soda and set to work signing off on the appropriate forms and replying – or ignoring – the emails in my inbox.
It couldn't have been more than two hours into my work that I got the feeling that something was seriously wrong. It wasn't a vision, just a gut-wrenching, hair raising instinct to either fight or run. I pushed my chair out from under my desk and stood abruptly, stilling my movements so I could listen. I heard nothing except for the quiet humming of my computer's cooling fan.
But that's all I heard.
A chill went down my spine as I realized I couldn't hear anyone's thoughts. My building wasn't directly downtown, but it was in a highly trafficked area. But no, there was no hum of thoughts – and no whisper of emotions, for that matter. I concentrated, but no visions came to me. This was just…impossible!
A metallic snapping sound came from the elevator, and I drew my knife from its holster, holding it in front of me and at the ready. My heart was pounding in my chest and I didn't know what to do – I was terrified. My powers were malfunctioning and something was coming up the fucking elevator shaft.
The sounds were getting louder now; closer. I was a good fighter – even without my abilities – but if those were vampires that were coming up that shaft, or another supernatural creature, there's a real possibility I could be hurt. I needed to figure out what to do. Fight or flight? I looked around the empty space, the glass walls, and came to the door Ryan left out of.
Fire escape!
I spun on my heels, holstering my knife as I sprinted toward the door. Something exploded – or that's what it sounded like – and there was a crash. My hand was nearly to the doorknob when a cold hand grabbed my right wrist and yanked me back. I jerked like a ragdoll and my arm popped out of socket – I gasped in pain, but didn't scream.
I pushed with everything in me at my shield to throw my attacker off, but nothing happened. The pale figure – clearly a vampire – dangled me in the air; I could see the little light my computer gave off reflect off his teeth.
"Not so tough, now, are you?" a deep voice questioned. His grip tightened, and I could feel my bones cracking under the pressure. A chill went through my body as I realized I wouldn't be walking out of this alive. I was powerful, lethal, and I would die here – this common vampire would kill me.
"No," I voiced aloud, though I wasn't quite sure if I was answering the vampire or speaking to myself. I wouldn't go down without a fight, though. I was no easy meal.
With startling grace, my left hand grasped my knife and I slashed the vampire's chest as I drew the blade from its holster. The hold on my arm loosened slightly as the vampire flinched, and I continued my last stand. With a flick of my thumb, the blade reversed in my hand and I plunged the Divinium blade into my captor's bright red eye, feeling and hearing the metallic chime of the hilt hitting his eye socket.
The vampire wailed in agony and threw me into the glass wall. Luckily – or not – the glass was quite thick, and only cracked upon impact. I groaned, feeling at least one broken rib, not to mention my right arm. I pulled myself into a hunched over stance and eyed the Cyclops before me. The blade was buried deep into his right eye, and his hands twitched and wrenched as he tried and failed to pull the weapon out without doing further damage and inflicting even more pain.
I took a deep breath and charged the marble man, eyes on my blade. If I could get to it I had a fighting chance. The vampire heard my approach and swatted me aside, continuing to flail and scream about. My body skidded across the floor fifteen feet away and I didn't get up right away. The floor felt good against my cheek, and my vision was starting to dim. This wasn't good.
"Felix, you let a powerless human girl pummel you?" a familiar voice questioned. And unnatural wind swept by me. "What a pathetic guard you are." I spit out the blood pooling in my mouth and pushed myself up on shaky limbs, looking at the white-haired ancient.
"Caius," I groaned. "If you wanted to talk, all you had to do was pick up the phone." It probably wasn't the best time for sarcasm and witty quips, but everyone has their defense mechanisms.
There was a metallic screeching noise and Felix snarled. "I'll kill that bitch!"
"Now, now," Caius said, not even attempting the charade Aro usually presented. He turned to me. "Quite a lovely weapon. Tell me, how many of my kind have you killed with this?"
"I'm not exactly a vampire slayer," I mumbled, flipping over on the ground and pulling myself into a sitting position. "Only a few." Caius examined my knife, pricking his finger on the point and flipping it in his hand experimentally.
"I know you probably expected Aro," Caius snapped his fingers and another breeze whirled by me, revealing a hooded figure holding a smaller form in its arms. "But I insisted I be the one to deal with you. The fool would probably beg on his knees to get you to join our guard before he moved to strike you down." Caius spat the last part out an gestured to the hooded figure.
"Allow me to introduce Nadia and her hybrid child, Gabriella," Caius' angry tone contradicted his warm arm gestures. "They're both quite gifted. Gifted enough to best you without any effort on their part."
"How?" I rasped out, drawing a mental blank on any sort of escape plan. The hooded figure – Nadia – crouched slightly and growled low, her veiled face pulled in the direction of my immobilized form. She was a thirsty newborn, after all.
"Yes, yes," Caius waved his hand dismissively. "You and your mental shield – you think yourself invincible. We found Nadia during one of our feasts – she is able to temporarily use the abilities of others if they are within her range. Aro was ecstatic, especially at the thought of her human. He was enthralled by the tiny Renesmee and her ability. He figured a powerful mother would sire powerful offspring – and so she has. Little Gabriella – like that vile child – flipped her mother's ability.
"She can negate abilities," I finished, relaxing my muscles. It was over. "And since she's a hybrid, Alice and I can't see her." But she was able to see blind spots, which means she can't see me right now. Sooner or later they would come for me, but Caius would have killed me by then. "Let's get on with it then," I said, clenching my fists and ignoring the spike of pain in my right arm.
Caius blurred over to me and lifted me up by the throat. "Yes, let's," he grinned widely and snarled, increasing his grip. My breathing turned shallow and I fought to keep my heart rate low so I didn't suffocate. "I really would have liked to drag this out, but as you know, we can't have your family showing up and saving your pathetic life." He brought my neck to his face and I gritted my teeth, determined not to cry or beg.
"You know," Caius whispered to me, his cold breath on my ear. "We're going to take out your whole coven. You're the first. Bit by bit, we'll hunt each one down and rip them apart. No one makes a fool of us, certainly not a group of vampire rejects and their pet." He pulled me away, still holding me by the neck, and looked me in the eyes. I stopped breathing as I looked into the coal-black irises – the look of satisfaction and dominance, I'd worn it plenty to know what it looked like.
Quick as a snake, his other hand struck me in the chest and I flew into another panel of the glass wall, cracking it as well. There was no pain. I looked down and saw my knife protruding from my chest, a deep stain of red pooling out in the fabric of my shirt. I slid to the floor.
I felt my heart stop, and for a moment I was completely silent.
My eyes closed and I fell asleep.
End notes: Emily's dead. Your thoughts?