March 18, 2009~
"Life is difficult, but it goes on. Remember that, Renesmee," Edward says, knelt before me, stroking my bronze curls. And then, we are forced to enter the courtroom. I know my life is about to change.
I cannot remember much of the trial. I remember standing in the county courthouse in Hackensack, and all of the people packed into the room. I remember Edward struggling to complete his testimony. I remember Jasper looking as if he was going to attack the lawyer who was questioning him (not ours). His black eyes were boring a whole through the little man with square glasses and a sweaty forehead. The lawyer would pace back and forth nervously and stare at my uncle, shuddering every five seconds. He reminded me of J Jenks, whom Bella had to deal with in Breaking Dawn.
The one part I remember most was when the two girls from Port Angeles High showed up; the one with copper hair and the really big one. The ones that almost killed me. And beside them, were the two ice cream men—Mac and his friend who claimed they knew our secret. They didn't say anything.
They were the ones who nearly killed me in the championship game against the Forks Spartans.
Oooh, they were gonna get it big time. I'd lunged at them, but Kerry held me back reassuringly. "Forget them," she'd told me.
"How can I?" I growled. But severely injuring me wasn't enough for them. They got up and said darkly, "They're vampires. We know they are because we've seen them before in the woods sucking the blood of an innocent deer."
"Is there any proof of this theory?" the judge asked. Obviously he did not believe the two girls. But then, they held up a picture.
"Allow us to show you the way they feed on it," Copper Girl said matter-of-factly. In the photo, there was blood dripping down their chins as theyf ed on the deer.
Edward's face had turned white all over. He bared his teeth and snarled so audibly that the crowd gasped in fear. Carlisle put a hand on his shoulder and Emmett grabbed him as my father glared viciously at the two girls standing in front of him mockingly. Then, I noticed.
Their chalky colorless skin; their bloodred eyes; they were vampires themselves. "Come on, bloodsucker, fight me!" the girl with copper hair taunted. My father's eyes were wild and he managed to snarl, "I'll kill you."
And that was it. People were fainting. Cameras were flashing from the press. I could just see the next day's headlines already: VAMPIRE NIGHT, STEPHENIE MEYER'S TWILIGHT IS REAL, ACTORS FROM THE VAMPIRE MOVIE WEREN'T ACTING and KIDNAPPERS BEHIND THE CASE ARE BLOODSUCKERS and things such as those. I choked back tears as police handcuffed my family. The FBI stood nearby and forced me and Kerry away from our loved ones. But Carlisle, who did not strain against the cuffs, came to us calmly and said, "The other covens have been captured as well, but there is another out there in the United States called the Underworld coven. They are teenage nomads who are very powerful. You must find them, and they are easy to spot because of their exotic eye colors. They all have ebony black hair and very white skin. There are seven of them—no, eight because of their newest member. He is the only one who does not have black hair, but he may have an enhanced eye color." A police man grabbed Carlisle's arm forcefully, and my grandfather said quickly, "You must find them. They are going to save us." Then, my family was loaded into the back of a SWAT team truck, along with the other covens, the Irish and Denalis and the Amazons. Then, I'd lost it.
"Sorry about your idiot family, jerks," the big girl sneered.
"You wanna piece of me, fatty?!" I shouted back to her.
"Nessie, take it easy," Kerry murmured to me.
"I'll take it easy when I'm dead," I hissed. "That's right, fatso, I'm talking to you." The girl turned around, her red eyes seeming scarier than before. But I didn't back down.
"What'd you call me?" she asked me.
"A fatso!" I hollered. "A big, fat, ugly person!"
"You better watch it," she warned. The copper haired girl bared her teeth and rumbled.
"Bring it," I taunted. "I've got nothing to lose!"
The girl leaped at me, but I flipped over her and landed on her back, slamming her to the ground with my feet. She threw a punch at my shoulder and hit me hard, sending me flying backward into the judge's stand. Good thing he wasn't present. But she wasn't done yet. She gripped my arms, pinning them to the wood so I couldn't move. Then, she launched her big meaty fist at my face. I ducked just in time and her hand went through the wood making a loud cracking noise. I crawled underneath her legs and was about to escape, when she grasped my ankle and dragged me back toward her. I clawed at Kerry's outstretched hand, but copper girl kicked Kerry aside and squashed my hand with her foot. I yelped and felt the big girl's hand on my neck. Lithely, I jumped up and drop-kicked her in the face, spinning around and rocketing my foot right into her fat face. Then, I thrust my foot into her back, hearing a satisfying crunch. I wrenched her hands back behind her, stretching them far up and hearing in pleasure her painful scream. Her stomach was on the floor, her back arched in an agonizing position. I yanked her arms back farther, making her scream go a few octaves higher just as security guards pulled us away from each other. "Let's go," the one officer told me. I spat at the fat girl as the man guided me and Kerry away from the scene.
Part II:
Obviously the trial didn't go well. Nothing else did either. I was sent back to the Brenner household, becoming Charlotte again, but staying my Nessie appearance. I still had my powers and vampire abilities. The first day I go back to school, though, is today.
As if things weren't bad enough already, our old school in Randale extended itself into a high school as well, so now it would just be like eighth grade all over again. Too bad.
My classmates are shocked to see me. They all ask me where I've been, while others are afraid and keep their distance from me. Gabby is thrilled to see me again and I plan to fill her in at lunch recess. She'll want to know what's been going on with my vampire life.
While all this is occurring, I have to keep my eyes peeled for the Underworld coven. It should be easy—night-black hair, startlingly white skin, exotic eyes; they are most likely going to be distinguished from other humans. But where are they? Are they even in New Jersey? Carlisle is smart enough though to figure that my adoptive parents would never let me out of the house and on an airplane alone ever again. They have to be somewhere around here…
The rest of the day drags on interminably. At recess, I am ready to tell Gabby but Megan, Carrie, Christina, Haley, and she are playing basketball with the guys. Donnie, Rob, Spood, John, the new kid Maximillian, and Joe are on the other team. I go to the left side of the court by the basketball hoop. Reluctantly, I try to get open and receive a pass. Maximillian is standing beside me quietly, his bright blue eyes sparkling even though there is no sun, his shaggy chestnut hair hanging in his face…
Wait a second; the blue looks so…enhanced.
Bright blue?!
I stride to him and tap him on the shoulder. It is then that I realize the unearthly pale skin and strange possibility that could be…
Holy crap.
"Hey, Maximillian, do you have color contacts?" I stammer nervously. My voice shakes uneasily as my mind grasps the concept that Maximillian is a teenage vampire from the Underworld coven. Oh boy.
He laughs, his voice sounding so perfect. It is like Edward's: velvet and soothing. I try not to think of my father, though. "I prefer Max…and no, Charlotte, I don't." He grins knowingly, flashing a set of white, razor-sharp teeth.
"Uh…ok." I turn to go hastily, but his frozen marble hand grips my wrist. "Listen closely," he tells me secretively. "I know what you're looking for. The Underworld coven…of vampires."
I stare at him, astonished. "How do you know?"
"I can read minds," he informs me. Immediately I think of Edward.
"Like your father." He pauses. "I know what it's like to be adopted. I was, too. But that has nothing to do with me being a vampire."
We turn around slowly to see that everyone is watching us carefully, their jaws dropping open. Except for Gabby, because she knows what's going on. I think. "Get on with the game!" Max tells them. "Charlotte and I aren't playing anymore."
Rob shoots Max a look of jealousy. What does he think we're doing? Discussing date plans? He would never know the truth though. So, he can think whatever the heck he wants to think.
Max grasps my hand tighter. Awkwardness… "I am the newest member of the Underworld coven," he says.
"Oh…well that explains your brown hair."
"Your grandfather Carlisle told you about us; to find us to help save your family." He hesitates. "I have to contact my coven immediately."
My hands begin to get sweaty, for the first time. "Now? But we're in school!"
He grabs my hand and rushes me across the blacktop. People begin to stare. "It's an emergency," he urges. "You don't understand how bad this is."
Now I start to panic. I am woken from the daze that I have been in for weeks now from being away from my family. "What do you mean?"
Max turns to face me and laughs bitterly. "I mean exactly what I'm saying, Nessie." Well, that was uncalled for. He used my real name instead of my fake one.
"Please, Max, tell me what's going on."
"We're getting Piper."
"Who's Piper?" I ask.
"Piper is in second grade. She is the youngest member of the Underworld coven but one of the smartest," he tells me without bothering to face me.
A second-grader? "Aren't vampire children against the Volturi's rules?" I ask Max tautly.
He pauses. "The Underworld coven was once part of the Volturi guard, but branched off into their own group after they were sent to restore order in the rest of the world during the uprising in the late 1800s. Your uncle Jasper was a part of that little commotion."
That's right…he explained his story to Bella in Eclipse.
"Does Piper know what's going on?"
"Yes," Max says. "She can sense moods in any case and guess what the problem is."
"Cool beans," I think aloud.
"Yeah," Max replies, grinning. "Cool beans."
Piper is in Mrs. McNeil's second grade class. Max is grasping my wrist so hard that it hurts, and then he suddenly busts open the door. The second graders stare at us in astonishment. "We need to speak to Piper," Max says darkly.
Mrs. McNeil sighs. "Piper, your brother needs to talk to you."
Piper immediately stands up and gallops to us. Max shuts the door and Piper looks up at me for the first time. She has curly black hair; curls so wild that not even the strongest gel could contain them. It isn't frizzy, but looks very hard to brush through. Her eyes are a dazzling, incredible royal green that reminds me of artificial green drink mix. She is very short, no more then four feet tall and her skin is as white as mine.
"Ah," Piper says. "A Cullen."
"Um...," I hesitate.
"She needs the Underworld coven's help," Max told Piper quickly. "Carlisle requested it."
"Carlisle," Piper repeats. "I've met Carlisle in my days…is he tall and blonde?"
"Um, yeah," I say.
"That's him."
"Oh, ok. So, help is what you need? We contain unique powers that can solve your needs. What is it that you implore?"
Piper is very sophisticated, I can tell; even by the way she talks. "My family was taken to a federal laboratory after they were revealed."
"Oooh, that's tough…for you," Piper says. "But we can get them out if we time ourselves. The government will try to turn them into weapons and will fight us at any chance they get. They know that there is something different about you and Violet, too, so do not think you are 'off the hook'."
Violet? "Oh…Kerry," I remember.
"Who?" Max and Piper ask in unison.
"Violet's second name is Kerry," I explain. "But back to the issue. Where is this laboratory?"
Piper thinks for a second. "Bristol will be able to determine that. She will track the Cullens. We will send her out at nightfall, Max."
"Bristol's a tracker?" I say.
"A good kind of tracker. She does not feed on humans. Your cousin Violet will be safe."
"Okay. When should I meet you guys, or…"
"Tonight is the eve of September 13th. We will meet in the wilderness near your home at dusk."
September 13th—Bella's birthday. My birthday as Renesmee has already passed…does that mean that I am fifteen? But Bella…she will spend her birthday in a laboratory, if she is even still there. I miss my mother terribly, and I wish that I could see her smiling face again. Her laugh made me laugh along, and her hugs were the perfect medicine for anything…
Piper leaves, going back to the classroom to resume her schoolwork. Max and I are left standing in the hallway alone, and for once, I feel that our plan is impossible.
Part III:
Kerry is at my house that day of September 12th. She has been depressed ever since we were forced away from the Cullens, and it breaks my heart to see her in such a way. Her golden eyes glint with a sadness that looks inconsolable. We sit at the Brenners' kitchen table and try to focus on homework that we know will never be done. Kerry is in eighth grade now, while I am in ninth. I feel as if I am learning eighth grade things from going to ninth grade before in Forks.
I try to explain Piper and Max's plan to Kerry. "They know what they're doing. They've been vampires for over 100 years…well, Max hasn't, but the others have," I try to tell her.
"Yeah. So what?" she says glumly. She scribbles a few more answers down on her math sheet.
"Kerry, listen. You have to pick your head up and just believe that we can do this. Stop moping."
Kerry picks her head up this time and looks me square in the eye. I want to look away, but her gold irises meet my brown ones. "That's easy for you to say. You come back and everyone hangs over you like you'll disappear again. For me, people think I'm some sort of freak now! I'm just that girl that helped you get away! Nothing important. It doesn't matter if Kerry is back anymore!"
"Kerry, stop it. Everyone missed you, and you know it. Besides, Rosalie and Emmett are your parents. There's no difference between me and you!!"
"Yes there is! You are Renesmee Cullen! Everyone thought you were fictional but you were with them the entire time!"
I stand up to tower over her. "Violet Eclipse is just as important! Is this jealousy? Are you jealous that I'm Renesmee? Are you?! Because I can't control the fact that I am half vampire! Do you think I want that? No!! I wish Bella and Edward and I and the rest of us were normal! We would still be together if we were. We would live in Forks in peace. No 'mythaphobia'. No werewolves. Everything would be fine! We would be born like regular children. We wouldn't be so pale anymore. We wouldn't stand out! I wish that I could be in a world like that. I just wish. But we aren't. And this is real. So suck it up and accept the fact that this is really happening."
Kerry purses his lips and I think that she will shout something at me. Instead she drops her head onto the table and begins sobbing.
"Kerry, are you okay?" I ask sheepishly. "I'm sorry I made you cry. Are you okay?"
"It's not you," she answers miserably. "It's me. I'm getting myself so worked up just thinking about them…this isn't fair! Why can't we just live with our real parents?!"
I sigh deeply. "I don't know. But that's what we're trying to do…get them back before it's too late. Now let me just explain our plan to you." And I tell her exactly what Max and Piper conspired earlier.
"Are you sure this will work?" she says.
"Positive." Then, Anna walks down into the kitchen. Chloe Sollino, her best friend, is with her and they both stare at us suspiciously. Chloe comes toward us. Kerry is ready to back away, but she stays put in her chair.
"Are you guys really the Cullen kids?" she asks quietly.
We both nod.
"You've met Edward?"
"Yup."
"Wow. That's really cool."
Part IV:
I sit at the dinner table with Kerry, and we eye each other nervously. At any minute, we will get up and run to the woods near Greenwood Park. We push our chairs away from the table and stand up simultaneously. "I'm not hungry anymore," I declare.
"Me neither," Kerry says.
"Sit down, Charlotte," Dan orders. I shoot him an icy glare…a glare that Edward taught me how to use.
"We're going to the field to meet a few friends," Kerry tells them.
"Which friends?" Maria asks.
"Max, Piper, and Bristol," I list. "Now we must go."
Dan stands up and Kerry and I back away to the door, our prepared bags slung over our shoulders. "Don't you two dare to think of escaping again," he warns.
"We won't," I lie. "God…always suspecting things."
"C'mon Ness—er, Charlotte," Kerry says and we race out the front door.
As soon as we hit the big pine tree in the Brenners' yard, we break into a run. My vampire strength makes me move faster, and, unfortunately, Kerry can't keep up with the scary-fast speed. So, I slow down.
"It's just Piper, Max, and Bristol?"
"Probably not," I say as we near Randale Ave. "There are most likely more of them who are older."
Kerry cracks her knuckles. "I hope they're nice."
The field is dark and misty. Crickets chirp in the woods and the grass squishes underneath my feet from a recent rainfall. Kerry's eyes dart nervously around the area and she bites her fingernails.
"Stop it," I say, smacking her hand down.
"Sorry," she replies. "I'm just nervous."
We walk to the center of the large field. The sun's rays streak through the clouds and sky, giving off just enough light to see around. The woods are silent and still, but I can hear the rush of the creek. A slight wind ripples the grass and I shiver from the chilly September wind. Then, a soft voice sings from behind us, "Hello, brave ones."
Kerry and I whip around to see a girl with pin-straight black hair down to her waist. Her luminescent pale skin glows eerily and her eyes are a rich spring green, even more startling than Piper's. She is wearing a fern colored cashmere sweater with brown leggings and dark brown Ugg boots. There is a faint sparkle to her skin from the dim sunlight and she is stunningly beautiful…
"I am Olive," she says, smiling. "I am the elder sister of Piper, and the younger sister of Bristol. My brothers are Sonic, Harvey, Percy, and Rex. Max is an ally. We are the Underworld coven."
"You look like Piper," I stutter.
"Yes, I do. We have similar eyes. Green is unusual for a vampire, as is blue and purple. These colors represent our significant power," she explains, sauntering toward us. Kerry is paralyzed with fear. "W-where are the others?"
As if on cue, the five of them appear out of the building fog.
"Sonic, Rex, and Harvey," Olive begins, "these are the Cullen children."
"Hi," Kerry whispers.
"Hello." It is Sonic, the oldest I am guessing, who speaks. He has an "emo" haircut, and looks like Adam Lambert from American Idol. Except, his hair is a deeper black, his skin is pure white, and his eyes are a brilliant dodger blue. Rex has curly black hair that sticks out in every direction and the same chalky skin as his siblings. His eyes are a dark midnight green shade, like a cross between Olive's and Sonic's eyes. Next is Harvey. He has shaggy ebony hair that hangs in his eyes, and miraculous violet irises. Piper is beside Harvey, her tight, waist-length curls pulled back in a loose ponytail, leaving some released in the front. Max is next to her. But…two are missing…
"Bristol and Percy," Max says. I jump when he says it, because I know it is directed to me, but then I remember he can read minds. "They are not here."
"Our sister is tracking your family," Rex says, his deep voice as smooth as velvet. "And our brother is waiting at your school with his car."
"Oh goody," Kerry answers. Harvey shoots her a cold look that makes her say, "I wasn't being sarcastic."
I adjust my bag over my shoulder, letting it rustle against my sweatshirt to let them know that we have our bags readied. Piper looks toward me.
"I see you are ready for the journey," she announces darkly.
I nod, and Kerry sighs. "Where is the lab?"
"A secret location," Sonic tells us. "Once Bristol finds their scent, she will call us and tell us where the lab is located. Hopefully that will be soon."
"Yeah," I agree. "My foster parents will be wondering where I am if I'm not back home soon and the first place they look will be here."
"Same," Kerry mutters.
"Well then, we must discuss our plans for the escape," Percy says, his eyes sparkling.
Part V:
The sun is almost completely gone as we travel alongside Randale Ave. Piper leads the way as we run through Memorial Field and the woods and small neighborhoods. They are all quick and lithe, but I can keep up with their graceful movements. Kerry, not so much.
"Slow down!" she hisses from behind someone's trash can. Sonic, Piper, and Harvey had just leaped over it and are sprinting across the crosswalk at a busy intersection.
"We are getting closer to town," Rex says as he jumps out of the way of a car. It beeps its horn and drives away.
Olive runs with me and Max, her silky black hair blowing from the wind of her speed. If she can run fast in Uggs, I'd want to see how fast she can go in racing sneakers.
"Please slow down," Kerry pants. "I can't go that fast."
Max sighs. "Get on my back."
"Yes!" she smiles and hops on, buckling her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck.
The sky is black with stars speckled through the heavens when we reach the school parking lot. We wait by the Dumpster for Percy in his blue Jeep.
"I will go find him," Olive declares, and she races off into the night.
I stir uncomfortably next to Max and Kerry, thinking about the Brennans and how they are most likely calling the police by now. I check my phone, but there are no missed calls from them. Maybe they don't care anymore…
I only hope.
Piper and Sonic are talking silently behind the Dumpster, discussing in voices so low and quiet that I cannot recognize what they are saying. Rex and Harvey are sitting on the wooden beams that blockade the dirt from leaking into the lot. Suddenly, Rex's phone rings and he answers it immediately. "Yes…yes…we have them…how many?...three, ah yes…okay…we'll meet you halfway…yes, sister…goodbye."
We all look at him expectantly.
"It was Bristol. She's found the lab outside a small rural town in New York State. She says all but three have escaped."
My heart skips a beat and I jolt. "Who are the three?"
Rex shrugs. "I don't know. Bristol was very vague on information. But she found the lab, and she will meet us halfway."
"How do we know where it is?" Kerry asks.
"GPS," Harvey says. "Bristol told us the town, so we just have to put it in." I didn't know vampires used GPSs.
"Oh right," Kerry snorts. "The magic of technology."
Just then, Percy's big blue Jeep rolls into the parking lot. He looks exactly like Harvey, but with the Rex's eyes. I guess that they are identical twins, except for the eyes part. Olive is in the passenger seat, her brow furrowed and her arms folded stubbornly across her chest.
Percy swerves into a spot and leaps out. Olive trails behind him, the same disappointed expression on her face. Percy tosses Sonic the keys without a word, but Olive pouts.
"What's wrong with you?" Rex asks playfully. He bumps her a little and she frowns even harder. "Percy won't let me drive."
"You're fourteen," Sonic says, getting into the driver's seat. Max, Piper, Kerry, and I follow Harvey, Percy, and Olive into the backseat.
"Am not!" Olive insists. "I'm turning 231 in a few weeks. I'm old enough to drive."
"You are fourteen. Permanently. There's no way around it," Rex says matter-of-factly. The engine roars to life as Sonic jams the keys into the transmission.
"Make room for Bristol," Piper squeaks from the backseat. I forget she is even with us. She hasn't spoken in a while.
"There is barely any room," Kerry snaps, squeezing tighter to me. Her elbow jabs into my thigh.
"Oww! Watch it, Kerr," I scold. I am stuck in between Olive and Kerry in the backseat with Max as well. Four is too big a number.
Sonic speeds down the road at an amazing speed, going at least eighty miles an hour on the small town roads. Once we reach New York highway, it is about eleven o'clock at night. I left a message at home saying that I was very sorry and that I probably wasn't going to come back alive, but I appreciated the time I had with the Brenners. I thanked Anna for trying to back me up in the church and at the trial, and that she was a great sister and I wished that I could keep her forever. Then, I slowly drifted to sleep…
Part VI:
A faint streak of sunlight shines into the tight car through the window. I check the clock on the dashboard. It is around five in the morning and I sigh deeply. It is time to wake up.
Kerry is still asleep beside me, but Max and Olive are awake. So are the other five. I yawn and turn to Olive. She is grinning, her bright green eyes sparkling in the sunlight. "Good morning, sleepy!"
"Hey, Olive."
"You slept a while. For a second I thought you were dead, but then I remembered that humans are supposed to sleep that much!" She turns to stare at Kerry. "She sure does sleep a lot."
"Yeah, she does. Don't you remember sleeping?"
"I'm 230 and a half. I can't remember sleeping at all."
"Oooh. Wasn't 230 years ago in 1779?"
"Yup. But I've been like this for 216 years."
"How did you become…a vampire?"
"It was 1793 in Philadelphia. My brothers, sisters and I were dying of yellow fever in an orphanage. Our parents were already gone, but our mother asked the doctor to save us when she was dying. The only way he could save us was by turning us into vampires, and so that is what happened."
"How did you become part of the Volturi?" I say.
"After we managed to escape from the fever-stricken town, we ran into other nomads. They claimed that vampires have red or gold eyes, not blue, green, and purple. They told us that we had special powers that should be used by the Volturi. So, being only simple-minded young vampires, we travelled to Volterra, Italy and became part of the guard. Life on the guard was…interesting. We changed our names because the original eight children that we were, in Philadelphia, were dead. I was Olivia Underwood. Sonic and Bristol, who were Simon and Bryant, were ranked high in the Volturi guard. Their powers were the most special out of all of us, along with Piper, formerly Polly, who was a favorite partner of Jane. You must've run across her once or twice."
"Yeah," I agree. "She's been mentioned." A shudder ripples down my spine and I take a deep breath. "Tell me more."
"Percy, Harvey, our other brother Track and I stayed with the rest of the guard. Percy, Track, and Harvey, or Preston, Trevor, and Harold, used to hunt. I never did approve of the idea, so I was the first to become a vegetarian. My family followed, and soon, I became more fascinated in art. My thoughts drifted often, and I became more oblivious to my surroundings. Both my names mean 'peace', and clearly being a monster was not restoring peace.
"Percy and Harvey noticed my sudden changes more than the others did. My eyes became a foggy, unforgiving green instead of the usual bright emerald they were. I became paler and less alive. Aro, Caius, and Marcus were too preoccupied with the uprising in North America to notice my changes. The other members of the guard were waiting…waiting…for the right time to kill me. They knew that my differences had had a strange impact on me against other vampires—we could be worn out when too much power was used. They stalked me and watched me and waited. Felix and Demetri were impatient, as were Jane and Alec; they wanted to finish me off. By now, Bristol, Piper, and Sonic were gone with Chelsea, Afton, Demetri, Heidi, and Corin. Renata, Santiago, Felix, Alec, Jane, Percy, Track, Harvey, and I were still in Volterra in case we needed to be called for 'backup'. We did, and we wound up going. I was plain miserable as we travelled across the globe to resolve the problem in North America. I would scream in the middle of the nights as we rode on top of cargo trains speeding through valleys, thinking about the horrors of my very last human memories—the burn of yellow fever, poisoning my blood and flowing through my veins as it devoured my health. The venom was worse; it shot through me like toxic blue flames…this strange syndrome was the con of our extreme power. We felt presences and experienced events unlike any other vampire had. And, once we were weakened, the ripping and burning wasn't required to exterminate us. We would die on our own.
"We arrived in the Southern United States to find a disturbance in the vampire existence. Aro told us to put an end to it somehow, so we tried. The fighting was awful. Imagine thousands of newborn vampires, attacking only fifteen…it was my worst nightmare yet…
"Track…was killed. He was my twin, so his death weakened me even more. In one battle, I dropped to the ground as a newborn was about to finish me off. Percy saved me in the nick of time, but things were getting worse. Aro, Caius, and Marcus were called in to help us finish the newborns off. It was the first time they'd ever left Volterra, and it was a big deal. One time, I crawled away from the fighting and sobbed tearlessly about how my life was falling apart. I wanted to be dead with my mother and father and Track…but I knew that wouldn't happen. I wasn't weak enough yet. One soldier, a Confederate vampire, came to me, his bloodred eyes boring a hole through me. His hair was honey golden, and he carried a big gun. I pleaded him to finish me off, but he just stared at me, amazed at my power and simply shook his head. He wouldn't kill me and he was against us! I couldn't believe what was happening.
"I decided to try and kill myself after that. I ran into a field during a thunderstorm, miles away from the battlefield. Lightning was striking down trees and the rain was swirling around me, but I remained untouched. I hid in the high grass, silently crying.
"I was there in that position for several months, my mind slowly disintegrating into nothing. I often thought about death or infinite equations, but towards the end just death. One day, Sonic found me and told me that everything was over: there was no more fighting and the Volturi had gone back to Italy without us because Bristol and he had insisted on finding me. Aro was no happy with their decision, but in the end he reluctantly let us go. So, Sonic came to find me. He carried me to the middle of the forest where Bristol and the others nourished me with animal blood until I was healthy again. We continued to live nomadically throughout the States and even Canada, and eventually I put my past behind me and grew to love life. Decades later, Harvey received Carlisle's distressed call for help telepathically to protect you—just a few weeks ago actually. We had come across the Cullen family here and there…and the soldier that refused to kill me became a part of them. We were willing to do anything for them especially after the soldier kept me alive." Olive beams and shrugs. "And that's our story."
"So I'm guessing Underworld Coven came from your original last name…Underwood."
"Yes. But other vampires also believed that because we were so powerful and could cause mass destruction, we were from the Land of the Dead. Almost like some sort of curse."
I nod, then think of another question. "Jasper refused to kill you?" I ask in awe.
Olive nods. "That was his name. Yes and his mate is the little one…Alice, I believe."
"Alice," I repeat, remembering the pixie-like girl. She had become one of my best friends.
"And there was the dark-haired man, the blonde-haired woman, and the bronze-haired man as well. And of course Carlisle and his mate Esme," Olive recalls.
"Emmett is the dark-haired one and Rosalie has the fair hair. They are mates, and Ke—Violet's parents."
"…What about the bronze-haired man? Last time I saw him, he did not have a mate and he looked rather…sour, if you know what I mean."
"That's Edward. He's my father, and my mother is Bella. Edward fell in love with her while she was still human and they got married and had me. Bella was dying while giving birth to me, because she was still mortal, so Edward changed her."
"Fascinating…," Olive murmurs, grinning. "We all have interesting stories to tell."
"Yeah," I agree, staring out the window. The moon is still in the sky, while the sun competes with it. I think of home, with all my family there waiting for me…
Part VII:
Time drifts. It drifts through the landscapes that one travels amidst and doesn't slow down; not one second does it slow. It just keeps going faster and faster until it reaches a new day…
We are riding down a dirt road with old wooden fences and tall trees on each side. Beyond the fences lie rolling farm hills and more forests and mountains.
Percy received a call from Bristol with the address of the lab, but Bristol was being held after she was discovered trying to escape. They aren't experimenting on her, more so just in something close to a little jail cell for disobedience. She was allowed one call, so she chose to warn us.
"We will be arriving at our destination shortly," the GPS chirps as the Jeep rolls down the roads through the small farm town.
"I think this is the place," Sonic announces, peering through the windshield at a long driveway and gate surrounded by thick woods leading back to what looks like a headquarters building. The formal sign stands outside the gate reading: UNTIED STATES FEDERAL INVESTIGATION IN SCIENCE LABORATORIES.
"Welcome to hell," Max mutters as Sonic rears around on the street with a mighty push to the pedal. We back up, but then buck forward into the woods, despite the chain fence we just destroyed.
The Jeep is maneuvered swiftly throughout the trees, Sonic's large blue eyes intently focused on the view ahead of him. The ride is bumpy, and with each jolt, we knock into each other violently.
"Couldn't there have been an easier way to do this?!" Kerry cries. Olive's and Max's heads collided, but they didn't say anything. Max simply thunders, "Watch those tree roots!!"
"Yeah really," Olive says, elbowing Max in the gut.
Rex grasps onto his seat up front and shuts his eyes. "Watch it, Sonic, or you're gonna get us all killed!"
"Ha ha very funny," Sonic says, the sarcasm thick in his voice. But I can tell he is tense.
The large modern laboratory building comes into view. The Jeep emerges from the woods and rolls out onto the paved driveway and into the parking lot. Sonic pulls into a spot, and we file out quickly. Rex and Percy inspect the damage.
"Well it certainly does look like we took a drive through the woods," Rex snorts.
"Is that a dent?!" Percy shrieks, but Piper yanks him along behind us as we race to a small array of bushes and a trickling fountain. We crouch and wait, but no one says anything.
"Perfect," Harvey spits. "Now what, genius?" We all look over at Sonic, who is pondering over what to do next.
"We could always just break in," Max suggests, but Sonic shakes his head disapprovingly.
"I don't think so," he says. "The humans will just take it as another threat." Then he pauses, and his face lights up. "Or we could always just get in the old fashioned way." He grins mischievously. When no one says anything, he says, "One word: distraction."
I guess we are all miraculously thinking the same exact thing, because at the same time everyone turns to stare at Kerry. She is crouched beside me, and hasn't said much ever since the journey began. But now, I am guessing, she will have to.
"Violet," Piper begins. "Are you a good actress?"
"Huh?" Kerry peers up from the plant leaf she was fumbling with. "Am I a good what?"
"Actress."
"I guess, but…" Then she notices us watching her like prey. "Hey if this is a scheme for distractions and I have to fall out a window or something, I'm not doing it."
"You won't have to fall out a window," Harvey assures her. "But maybe something like…"
Part VIII:
"HELP!!!" Olive screams at the top of her lungs. "SOMEBODY HELP US!!"
She, Rex, and Harvey are knelt beside Kerry outside the front doors of the laboratory, shaking the girl lying on the concrete sidewalk. Kerry indeed has to play dead, and I must admit that she is pretty good at it.
A man in a white lab coat rushes outside. "What is the matter?"
"Our friend passed out and I can't get her to wake up and I don't know if it's from that Burger King we ate or what but all of a sudden she just fell because you see my dad works here and we were coming to visit him…" Olive gushes quickly as the man inspects Kerry's limp wrist for a pulse. Meanwhile, Piper, Max, Percy, and I rush into the building as Sonic agilely reaches into the man's back pocket and pulls out an ID. unnoticed. He follows us into the building, and we hide behind a wall as Sonic hands the ID. to Percy.
"How is this going to help us?" I whisper.
Just then, Percy takes his thumb and rubs it up and down the ID. After his thumb slides past the plastic, he extends his fingers and to reveal four more ID's in his hand. One has a photo of Percy, another of Max, and ones of Sonic, Piper, and me as well.
"Whoa," I stutter. "I didn't know vampires had the ability to change an object into something they wanted like that."
Percy's midnight green eyes twinkle. "They don't call us a curse for nothing."
We power-walk down the hallways, which are blank-white sterile corridors that are almost identical. Blue doors with room numbers line the walls. I feel like I am in a hospital.
My ID hangs around my neck on a black string. Finally, Sonic stops us and says, "We have to split up. Piper and Nessie, you keep going down this corridor. Max, Percy, and I will go down here. We will try to find the Cullens." He turns to Piper. "Bristol is down your way. Track her scent, get her, and then find us. Please hurry."
Piper nods, and we walk down the hall in such at such a fast pace, that we are literally only blurred figures. She leads me through the labyrinth as if it is her own home, then stops at a door marked 666.
The Devil's number.
Piper breathes in deeply, sniffing the air, and says darkly, "Bristol is not in here, but someone else familiar is."
"Should we go in?"
Piper's brilliant green eyes sparkle deviously as she holds up her ID. "Why not? We do work here." She pushes open the door and we walk into a room with a large glass container, like a zoo exhibit, on the side wall. Lab tables are scattered here and there. But something catches my eye…
Behind the glass wall is a sleeping figure. He lies on the floor, his body cold and untouched. Like a zombie, I walk to the glass and press my nose against it.
"Be careful, Nessie!" Piper orders.
But I keep my sight centered on the passed out man. As if on command, I knock my fist on the glass.
"Nessie!" Piper screeches in a whisper. "What are you crazy?!"
The man shudders and slowly shuffles to his feet, his back still to me. A long black cape is draped over his shoulders. And then, he turns around.
Before I realize what I am doing, Piper clamps a hand over my mouth. "Nessie! We have to get out of here! You woke up…" She pauses, her hand still over my mouth. The man towers over us, glaring down with his bloodred eyes. His deathly pale skin is whiter than paper itself, and his hair is a deep black streaked with a dead bronze.
Edward.
"Piper! Piper!" I muffle into her hand, but she is frozen in horror.
"It's…your…father…," she mumbles, awe-struck.
I manage to rip her hand away from my mouth. Panting, I say, "Piper, we have to get out of here! Now!!"
Edward, or the evil clone of Edward, pulls his lips apart to bear his ferocious razor-sharp fangs.
"PIPER, NOW!!!!" I scream.
Edward raises his hands above his head, cupping them together as a strong purple light forms beneath his fingers.
"RUN!!" she cries, grasping my hand as we scramble out the door. We are inches away from it when suddenly, a huge force blasts us through the door and sends us flying into the wall on the other side of the corridor. The blow results in my head spinning and throbbing, but I regain my balance among the fried rubble and metal.
"Hurry, Piper!" I yell as we run blindly through the now-frightening white halls. We sprint for what seems like forever, until Piper yanks me into a room and slams the door shut. Panting, we keep our backs against the door and slide downward to the ground. I shut my eyes. Was I dreaming? What had they done to my father?! Then, I open my eyes and look around the room.
"You are safe," a soothing voice coos. We look up to see a beautiful girl with long black hair like Olive's, neon purple eyes, and white skin standing before us: Bristol.
Then, I woke up.