Hey, sorry for the wait! I've been really busy, so it's been hard to get this to my co-author and get it on here!
So, I believe it's official now! Dakota Fanning will be portraying the part of Jane in the New Moon movie. I think she'll be a great actress for the part, what do you think?
So this chapter is a bit shorter than the previous chapters, but it was necessary.
-TG
Chapter 16- No Hope
Alice POV
I longed to immediately whip around at my full speed to see what could have hurt him. It didn't matter what it was- whatever hurt him would die. I would make sure of it. It felt like an out of body experience, but I was still in my body. It was like I couldn't control anything that I did, I just had to sit and stay for the ride. Finally, tantalizingly too slow, I saw Jasper. He was on his knees, his face morphed into a mask of pain, as though he was being twisted and pulled apart. But no one was even touching him. He was in one piece, but he looked as if he was emotionally being torn apart. I followed his gaze and saw what he was looking at. My brain started to function as I realized what I was looking at- or should I say, who I was looking at. There, twisted and scratched until the body was almost unrecognizable, was… me. I watched in horror as the part of me that still resembled my head winced and writhed under the gaze of a cloaked, short figure that looked almost like a young girl. I didn't know what was happening to me- that was me right? Could this be a vision? If this was a vision, was this going to happen? It wasn't enough pain just to watch it?
I guess it wasn't enough to just watch myself being torn apart. Another figure approached my writhing parts. I don't know how, but fire spewed from his hand and caught on me like I was as frail and flammable as paper. But still, it wasn't enough torture to watch myself being burned alive, my silhouette barely visible at the base of the flames. It couldn't have been enough punishment for me, because then I saw Jasper run after me: after me, into the inferno like he was entranced by a siren trying to lure him to walk into hell. He was burning alive while trying to reach me, even though there was no way to save me. I wanted to scream at him, "No! You can't die, you can't go after me! Go back!" But I couldn't. I was just an observer, because this was a vision. This was my future.
Finally I was relieved from the sight of our mangled, incinerating bodies as the vision slowly revolved around the field before me. There were so many columns of fire. I could smell the putrid smell of the burning flesh, and I could distinctly discern recognizable scents; My own scent, Jasper's , Nettie's, Lucy's, Maria's, and all of the mixed aroma of scents from that training camp, now distorted by the pungent odor of the fire and ash. With dread, I realized that this was what would happen to the army. In an attempt to be peaceful, I had angered the fates enough to cause this… massacre. At last, my vision turned away from the plumes of purplish-black smoke. I was focused on a line of black against the line of trees around the field. The figures were perfectly still, and they all wore dark gray or black cloaks with hoods that framed their frightening, beautiful faces. They were liked Angels of Death. In one motion, they turned and ran together. The vision ended, but I still couldn't see the real world around me. Maybe this was what death felt like to a vampire. Complete nothingness, complete isolation except for the company of your own thoughts.
It truly felt like I was in Limbo, stuck between Earth and Hell. I felt like I was in a state of shock, whether that was possible or not for a vampire. This vision was unlike any I'd had before. There was no premeditation to the vision- it was just there, every torturous second of it felt real. Usually, I would feel the vision happening, but be aware that there was the real world around me. But this was the real world. It felt like I was experiencing the truth in the vision, and the real world was a lie. It completely changed my perspective. Was my world a vision and my vision's the real world? It seemed like I was trapped in the twilight zone of the vampire world, where nothing is as it seems and nothing is right.
I felt like I was being shaken, and it took me a few seconds before I realized that I actually was being shaken. Finally, I opened my eyes, not realizing that I had closed them. It pained me to see Jasper's face. He looked so worried, and I hadn't even told him that he and I wouldn't be here in only a short time. I took his face in my hands quickly and pulled him to me, wanting- no, needing –to know that he was still with me. I kissed him fervently, like it was the last time I would ever kiss him. My breath caught in my throat, and I realized I was crying. Not wet, with tears and sobs, but I was crying nonetheless. Jasper, still worried, pulled my face away and looked deep into my eyes.
"Alice, what's wrong? What just happened?" He spoke quickly, and it was hard to register what he was saying when my mind was focused on memorizing every curve and every scar on his beautiful face. I was going to die soon, and if I could carry one memory with me to wherever it was that I was going, it would be what his face looked like… and the sound of his voice when he spoke to me… and the way he protected me when I was in danger; so undeniably so that it would ultimately be his death. I shook my head quickly side to side, wanting the truth of that to be denied. I would do anything for that to be false. I wanted him to stop loving me, just for now, if that meant he wouldn't run into the flames after me. Anything that would mean he wouldn't die for me.
"Alice! Alice, speak to me! What's wrong? What happened to you?" He repeated. I stopped shaking my head and took a deep breath.
"I-It's not what happened. It's what's going to happen!" I had tried to keep my voice slow and even, but towards the end I failed, the words coming out jumbled and too fast. Jasper blinked, still confused.
"What do you mean? What's going to happen?" He was obviously frustrated. He didn't know what could have made me like this. He had no idea that he was the one who had made me like this; He and his stupid, self-sacrificial tendencies.
"Gone. Everyone; you, me, the army –we'll all be gone. There's no hope anymore." Saying the words aloud only made them seem more dismally true. My voice- the normally beautiful, tinkling sound that now sounded grave and somber –had no hope in the tone. My whole being was rejecting the world now, as if it was preparing itself for the impending doom.
Jasper still confused and completely unaware of the fact that I couldn't even emotionally handle speaking now (which he probably should have been able to do, considering his gift), continued, "Alice! Talk to me! What do you mean 'Gone'?"
There was frustration in my voice now. Why couldn't he just understand that we had mere days left to be together? "I mean the battle, Jasper! This completely pointless war that Maria has started all because of me!" Jasper looked still confused, and I- unable to take it any longer- took his face between my hands, this time with anger in frustration instead of longing like it had been mere minutes before. "Jasper! Listen to me. We. Are. All. Going. To. Die. Every single one of us. You! Me! Maria, Nettie, Lucy, the army! No one will survive this battle. You will fight. I'll try to protect you. I'll be annihilated, and you'll follow me into death."
Jasper, finally registering the information I'd been trying to drill into his mind, went blank with shock. "How is that… possible? With our tactics and instinct, there is never more than a few fatalities. How can such a small army do so much damage?"
I shook my head, gesturing with my hands in denial of his statement. "It's possible. I saw it; they were different. I haven't seen many vampires, but these vampires were clearly, very different. There was this- this girl, who was just looking at me and it hurt me, made me writhe in pain. And this man who caught the pieces on fire with something or some power. And they did it so quickly and so organized that it must have been well planned. They came as one and left as one, and they all wore black cloaks that-"
"What did you say?!" Jasper exclaimed, suddenly recognizing something in my explanation. I furrowed my forehead, thinking of what I could have said that made him so fervent for an explanation.
"The girl? The strategy? The dark cloaks?" I named them off, trying to guess at what it could be.
I saw a reflection of my emotions in his eyes, though I doubted it was coming from just me this time as much as it came from the both of us. "That wasn't the other army." He said calmly, with absolutely no intonation in his voice. Something about the monotone of his voice made the words seem even more threatening and terrifying. "No doubt, the other army died as well if they even made it to the field."
"Do you know who it was?" I replied, both dreading and anticipating the answer. I could hear the fear lining every word in his statement. That frightened me more than anything. What could be so terrifying that it could scare a vampire?
He answered my question. "The Volturi. It seems that we have prompted an intervention after all."
Sorry for the cliffy! I'm already half-way through the next chapter, so I'll try to at least have that up by this weekend. But enjoy this story while it lasts! It's coming to a close soon... but don't worry. I have some tricks still up my sleave for this plot. *laughs diabolically*
Just to let you know, I may be extending time taken on this story so I can get some more readers... but I may be willing to speed up the process if you guys could help???? Spread the word if you like the story, and I'll be eternally grateful! :)
-TG
