I went from defensive to offensive. I had to be a wall, I needed to protect her. If they even dared to touch one of Alice's hair….

I snarled at them and crouched, letting go of my meal. It squealed off running.

My opponents crouched as well, staring at me with curiosity. They were obviously going to attack. I had to act quickly. I wasn't going to be able to take three at once. Newborns were stronger and faster. I leaned towards them, and as fast as I could, leaped towards the one who looked weakest, in the back. It was only a child, I realized, maybe 14 years old. I crashed him into a tree. His expression was confused and angry. I had no choice. I had left Maria to escape this, and now…

With an angry yell, I snapped the boy's head off with all my strength and threw it to the ground before I felt strong hands on my arms, grabbing me. They were trying to restrain me, to kill me. I shouted loudly before I spun around to face my enemies and battle until they were dead. I hit the female in the face, knocking her backwards, and kicked the male in the legs to destabilize him. Free of their grope, I leaped on the tree in front of me, and planted my palms and my feet in the hard surface, ready to pounce at them. I wasn't Jasper anymore. I couldn't allow myself to be.

Right now, I was the merciless monster who had battled so many confused and scared newborns. I was the soldier who'd been trained to murder in seconds.

A sudden feeling of protection sprung in my entire body. I felt warmer, somehow, a lot more energized than usual. I growled again, looking down at them. They were staring up, crouched in attack position. I flipped backwards in the air, legs flinging up, and landed on my hands behind them. I kicked the male in the back as I jumped back to my feet. He pounced back, followed by the female.

Oh, c'mon already!

The male crashed into me, pushing me into a tree and locked me there, holding my arms down. The female rushed towards the one I'd already killed. My eyes narrowed.

How stupid, getting distracted by something like that. As soon as I'd gotten rid of the man, I would be able to take her.

Trouble was, the male was stronger than me, and I was struggling to keep my face in one piece. He finally managed to reach out to me. I felt a sharp pain on my neck as he bit into it. I flung my head back, pulling him off me.

I had to make sure they wouldn't see Alice. I had to…

That's when I heard her scream. But it wasn't that that threw me off guard. It was the fact that she wasn't panicked, or concerned.

Alice was running towards us at full speed, shouting furiously. Her eyes were locked on the newborns, who had frozen, staring at her blankly. Of course they would see no danger in her. She was so small, so skinny…

"Alice, RUN!" I yelled, struggling with the one trying viciously to claw at my face once more. I wasn't bothering to look at him. Alice was the only thing my mind was focused on, though my body kept working towards defending myself. I was too scared to really care about myself.

She wouldn't make it.

Then, suddenly, she leaped in the air and with an angry scream, tackled the female and landed on the ground, on the girl's back. Alice started to pull at the woman's arms with intense violence.

I saw her face then. It was indescribably angry. She looked ready to kill, to slaughter anything that even dared come near her. Her eyes were narrowed, piercing, and her nostrils were slightly flaring. I could hear a distinct growl emerging from her chest. She was pulling viciously at the woman's arms as if about to rip them off.

She did just that as I stared in shock. As she flung them back behind her, I felt the grip on my arms lessen, and the other newborn let go of me, making a dash at Alice.

Hell, no!

I growled loudly.

"JUMP!" I screamed at Alice. She looked up at the running creature and strangely enough, it wasn't fear that took over her face.

Her eyebrows pulled down as the corners of her mouth pulled up in a terrifying smile. A shudder ran through my spine.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY-AH!"

She thrust her leg up a second before he reached her, arms extended to strangle her. He crashed into the kick, with terrifying force. I was scared as I heard the distinct 'crack' that her leg had broken and shut my eyes for a mid second.

I opened them to see that Alice was frozen, still on top of the female, her foot appearing through the male's chest.

She had pierced it.

He looked down with increasing panic, arms going limp.

"Humph." She said simply, and rammed her foot out of his chest and kicking his face. The male fell to the floor. Alice turned her focus back to the girl and snapped her head off with one quick, fluid movement, before tossing it to the side, like I had done. The female went still. Alice got up gracefully and shook the dirt off her clothes.

"Can you…?" she said, motioning to the male absentmindedly. I felt slightly embarrassed. I had expertise in killing vampires. Yet she'd outshined me in every way. I shook my head, regaining control.

I walked to the male and dismembered him quickly, bewildered. Alice's kick had left him…unconscious, in a way.

When I looked back at her, she looked very calm, and was simply stashing the parts into a corner. She pulled out a match and lit them all on fire, motioning for me to bring the other body. I picked the parts up and threw them in the fire.

Alice smiled at me faintly. She looked more weary than usual. Like someone had pierced her bubble of energy.

"Let's go…" she whispered.

I swear I felt her hand touch mine as we walked back home.