CHAPTER EIGHT

TRAINING

We had all gathered in another room away from the party. The Cullens, me and Bella debated on the way as Jacob flanked by Quil and Embry tried to follow us.

"How long?" Edward asked.

"Four days," Alice sighed.

Carlisle blanched, "This could turn into a blood bath."

"There aren't enough of us to protect the town," Jasper said.

Jacob barged in, "Someone's going to attack Forks?"

But he was ignored. And I let it happen. I didn't want him anywhere near this.

"Who's behind it?" Edward asked.

"I didn't see anyone familiar -" Alice began.

"This has to be someone we know, though," I cut in, "It's too convenient and gunned for us not to be."

"Riley Biers..." Edward murmured, reading Alice's mind.

"The missing guy?" I asked.

"But he didn't start this," Edward answered.

"Then it has to be someone we know," I said, "Someone who knows about your visions, Alice. They know how to hide in them."

"Only the Volturi could know how Alice's gift works," Edward said.

"Either way," Jasper said by Alice's side, "the army is coming and our odds aren't good."

"Alright, hold up!" We all looked at Jacob startled. I was about to go to him but I saw he was shaking a little. "What damn army?"

Edward and Carlisle shared a look, Edward shook his head. But Carlise looked at Jacob, "Our kind. Newborns."

"Someone's been creating them in Seattle," I added.

"How many?" Quil asked.

"Enough," Jasper growled.

"What are they after?" Embry asked.

"They were passing around a red blouse and a black shirt with the word... Tokyo on it?" Alice guessed, thinking back to her vision.

"That's my Tokyo Hotel T-Shirt. I haven't been able to find it since..." I trailed off.

"Since the vampire was at our house," Bella finished.

"They were passing our scent around," I realized.

"What the hell does this mean?" Jacob stepped towards me, addressing Carlisle.

Carlisle looked so upset, "It means an ugly fight. With lives lost."

There was a pregnant pause in the room. I caught Jacob's eyes. He looked so worried about me now that he realized that there was a whole damn army after me. He got this determined look in his eyes before he looked back at Carlisle, "We're in."

"What?" Bella and I asked at the same time. I gaped silently as Bella continued, "No, you'll get yourself killed!"

Jacob scoffed, "Please, it's what we were made for."

"Forget it," Edward said.

Jacob growled at him, "Wasn't asking permission-"

"Alright!" I shouted. "Drop it." I sighed to myself, I knew I wouldn't be able to talk Jacob out of this. He was as stubborn as I was.

"You believe Sam will agree to this... understanding?" Carlisle asked.

"If that's a fancy word for fighting together, yeah," Jacob answered, "We happen to live here too."

Edward looked at Carlise who was still weighing the possibilities in his head. Finally he looked at Jasper, "Jasper?"

Jasper went into military mode. I knew all about Maria and the newborn army in the Civil War. I read it in the journal he gave me for my birthday. "They'll give us the numbers. And the newborns won't know werewolves even exist. That'll give us an edge."

"But they don't know how to handle newborns. It's different, harder," I protested.

"It's the same for any of us," Carlisle told me.

"Don't worry, Darling," Jasper grinned as he put his arms around me and kissed the top of my head, "It'll be an easy fight with their help."

Jacob tensed when Jasper hugged me. I heard a growl bubbling in my throat. I gave him a look and he shut up.

"We'll have to coordinate," Carlisle began, "Fighting newborns requires knowledge that Jasper has. We were already planning a strategic meeting. You're welcome to join us."

Jacob took one look at me before he said, "Name the time and place."

Afterward, I followed Jacob out of the room and into the throws of the party, "Jake, wait, please don't do this-"

Jacob turned on me, "It's what we do, Callie. You should be happy. Look at us, working together."

"Would you just shut up and listen to me?" I shouted, "Did you not hear me the other day about not wanting you to get hurt? Or was I not dramatic enough for you?"

"So I'm supposed to sit at home with my knitting and worry about you running or fighting vampires?" Jacob asked sarcastically, "It's my job to protect you." that he spoke gently, coming closer to me, "I'll see you at the meeting."

The eerie silence was completely different than the party just two days before. The large field was surrounded by a dense forest, trapping light from the Cullens. But it was almost midnight so that didn't make much difference.

The quiet was broken by Emmett being flung through the air. He landed hard on his back but immediately sprung back up to face Jasper. "Again."

We all watched them spar. I came early in my jeep. Edward was just now pulling up with Bella in Emmett's jeep. They both climbed out and headed to us. Edward froze, "They're here."

I searched the treeline, but it was pretty dark. Suddenly, all the wolves started appearing from the darkness of the trees and walked slowly and cautiously into the field.

"Two more joined the pack," Bella revealed. I counted and she was right.

"They're young," Edward said, "Very young."

"They're here," Carlisle said, "That's what matters."

I searched for my wolf. I found his reddish fur just behind the gray wolf. Jacob. He seemed to smile at me, tongue lolling out. But the black wolf – Sam – gave him and look and he straightened up.

Carlisle addressed Edward, "Will you translate?"

Edward nodded. Carlisle moved slowly toward the pack, "Welcome."

Edward spoke for Sam, "He says they'll watch and listen, but that's the most we can ask of their self-control."

Carlisle nodded, "That will be fine. Jasper had experience with newborns. He'll teach us how to defeat them."

"They want to know how these 'newborns' differ from us." Edward translated.

"They're a great deal stronger than us," Carlisle began to explain in what I called, his 'doctor voice', "because their own human blood lingers in their tissues. Our kind is never more physically powerful than in our first several months of this life." With that, he nodded to Jasper.

Jasper looked uncomfortable under the wolves' gaze but he spoke anyway, "Carlisle's right. That's why newborns are created for armies."

Edward interrupted for the wolves, "One of them – Quil – he wants to know how many vampires constitute an army. He seems to be made... nervous by the term."

The brown wolf that was Quil looked embarrassed. I giggled.

Jasper laughed, "'Army' is an expression for a large number of newborns. Good news, it's not a thousand or anything like a human army," he paused, "The bad news, no human army could stand against them. But they're untrained, and their thirst will make them wild. Volatile. That can work in our favor."

He moved to the center of the field for a demo, growing more commanding as he slipped into his civil war days. "The two most important things to remember are, first, never let them get their arms around you. They'll crush you so fast your head will spin. Second, never go for the obvious kill. They'll be ready for that. And you'll lose. Emmett? Don't hold back."

The bear in question grinned, "Not in my nature."

Emmett charged Jasper with impossible speed, but Jasper blurred. Emmett lunged again and again, but he only caught air. Jasper paused long enough to say, "You have to come at them from the side, and keep moving. Always moving."

Throughout the many duels and demos Jasper spoke and educated both his family and the wolves.

"Focus on speed, agility, keep your opponent off guard..."

"Use their momentum against them -"

During the fighting, Jacob cautiously approached me. I side-glanced at him before I looked away, focusing on the fight, "You know what you being here means for me."

He whined slightly, prodding his nose against my shoulder. "Don't try to make this better, Jake. You guys are my family too. I don't know what I'd do if I lost any of you... But I've already told you all about that. And yet, you're still here."

I watched the fighting for another half hour. Carlisle fought Edward – Bella loved that – Emmett fought Jasper, Jasper fought Alice, Rosalie fought Jasper. Basically Jasper kicked everyone's asses.

The wolves had sat down, their guard down. But Jacob stood right behind me, not leaving me with his eyes for a second.

"It's called Dysthymia." I blurted quietly.

Jacob wolf walked to my side and looked at me curiously, not knowing what I was talking about.

I sighed, "My affliction. My disease. It's called dysthymia. It's a mood disturbance. Basically it's a step below major depression. I was diagnosed in Phoenix. Mom didn't react the way I hoped. She just sent me to every doctor she could find. Eventually she sent me to a hospital in Texas for four months. But that just made it all worse. About six months before we moved to Forks, the dysthymia developed into DD-NOS."

I could tell he didn't know what that meant either. "It stands for Depressive Disorder Not Otherwise Specified. It's just a fancy way to say that they don't know what's wrong with me. Every since we moved here, I got better... then I got worse. It was better away from my mom and when I met you guys..."

He looked at me with happiness – happiness that he had done something to make me happy. I smiled fleetingly before looking back at the Cullens. "Then it got worse when the Cullens left and Bella abandoned me. Now..." I sighed, "I don't know. I can't pin point whether or not I'm happy. Sometimes I am. Most times I'm not. And with this fight coming our way... If I lose you I'll never be happy."

There's a name to Callie's problems. I'm no doctor but I did my research. So there.

REVIEW!

RegalGirl94