In the year 2020, Vampires took control of society and ordered all humans placed in vampire custody. The people who were not captured formed a Resistance movement, headed by the Human Council, who began to plan the Insurgence.

I am, of course, indebted to Stephenie Meyer for this world we all play in, and these characters we all adore. Additionally, I am indebted to hitntr01, who has graciously allowed me to use certain concepts from her wonderful story "In Need of Rescue", which constitute much of the background of my own story. These include: the language Vampiri, the Rules, the machines used to draw blood from humans, Manners Training, and the plot theme of Edward working as a guard at a facility holding humans. Thank you, hitntr01.

Chapter 10 – First Meeting, from Carlisle's point of view.

(Carlisle's POV) –

The last few days had been a whirl. I had been outraged at the Event almost twenty years ago. It was agonizing for me to read about the rounding up of the humans, and the massive slaughter of educated human society. Where would the future art, music, literature and technology come from? Jasper had been called into duty to participate, and he didn't mind going. He had always found living with humans difficult, and he liked simple military structures with duties and hierarchies clearly outlined, so participating didn't bother him. Esme and I had been put in difficult positions as human friends and colleagues tried to get us to shelter them, but we couldn't shelter them all. We didn't end up sheltering any. Many vampires who tried to help humans were killed outright, so I told Esme we would survive and help somehow.

My children had all moved out of our family home. First Emmett and Rosalie, then Jasper and Alice, decided to take human pets for food, and we wouldn't tolerate this treatment of humans in our household. Edward left a few years later, hoping that by living alone he could get some peace from his mind-reading ability. But all of the children did come back for visits. Especially little Alice.

Alice had taken mysteriously ill a few months ago and had begun spending time at our house again, clinging to Esme. First she had stomach pains, then she began having numbness in her fingers and toes, and she was becoming clumsy. She complained of being cold and spent days sitting in the living room wrapped in a blanket. She still went to the back to her house in Forks on a daily basis, as she and Jasper had a captive human, a pet, that they were exsanguinating for food. Her name was Ardella I learned, though they never called her that.

Rose and Emmett were the first to have a human for a pet, as it was trendy. Their first pet, a boy named Clyde, died suddenly while Emmett was traveling. Rose went to Human Containment Facility side that sold pets, the Pet Store, and obtained two other males to live in their household before Emmett returned from his trip.

After Edward moved out, he took a job at the Human Containment Facility in Seattle. There were jobs that were required of all registered mind readers, such as working in courts and at the Human Containment Facilities. In the Facilities, the mind readers were used to check for escape plans. He decided to stay on at the Facility after his required duty period had been fulfilled, however. Some of the pets were being trained to be "musical", without being trained to read, so as to be able to entertain their owners. The Human Containment Facility owner was trying to give the premier auction houses some competition by training humans in certain behaviors. Only a few behaviors were allowed, all performance style for the vampire owners, including singing and dance. A talented human could fetch a very high price in the auctions at the auction houses such as Belial's. Edward was in charge of this music education at his Seattle Human Containment Facility. He wasn't patient, so I wasn't optimistic about his success in this endeavor, but it was a job. He only had a few hours of this type of work per week, the rest was spent working as a mind reader in the general human population at the HCF.

Two days ago, while visiting a hospital in Chicago, I had sensed a heartbeat somewhere below my feet. I went to the subbasement and was stunned by an appealing floral scent, though it was very faint. I tried to track the human, but she was wedged somewhere in the walls. The longer I spent in the basements, the more I wanted to see her. I tried to lure her out with hot food, but she wouldn't come out. I began placing food at the entrances to the steam pipes and then leaving, and noticed eventually she was taking the food.

By the second day, I grew worried as a cold front was coming in. I spent all day trying to trace the heartbeat throughout the maze of steam pipes. Finally, she appeared. I was almost brought to my knees by her scent, attracting me like nothing I have experienced before. She was small, with messy hair full of what looked like twigs and leaves, dark shadows under her eyes, and a determined look. She was carrying some type of blow torch that produced a flame that looked dangerously hot. She looked me in the eye, turned on the torch, and then looked back at me. I couldn't leave her, every ounce of me was drawn to this tiny, worn out yet determined feral being.

I was able to take her back to my office in the main hospital. She hasn't spoken yet but doesn't fight me. She has some nasty scars, including one on her neck and a series of scars around her ankles. She is very underweight due to malnourishment, and so is probably small for her age. Despite this, she is very appealing, and this disturbs me. I called in a favor, and got a judge friend of mine to give me custody papers, based on neglect and abuse. Now I can take her home and heal her.

But what are my intentions with this young girl? I tell myself I am protecting her from others, perhaps she was released to be tracked by her owner. She is now lost forever to whoever was foolish enough to let her go, because I know that if her owner contacts me, and I can't buy her from him, I will kill him. A few days ago I would never have even considered buying a human, and now I am taking custody of one.

I call Esme, and ask her to convert the small room that opens onto my office into a bedroom. It is a small room and has no windows, but for now that will suffice. I call Jasper and tell him that I will need his help. I am bringing home this child and plan to provide a highly structured environment. I plan to be with her when she is awake and close by when she is sleeps, and to monitor her food intake, clothing, and all other aspects of her daily routine. Perhaps by providing a routine that gives her stability, she will begin to talk. But when I am gone, I want him there, to make sure she keeps the same stability. She may like me, but I suspect that at the first opportunity she will try to leave. The injuries and scars indicate a life of abuse that I will need to overcome if I am to gain her trust. Let Esme be gentle, and Emmett be fun, but I need someone who will be able to command obedience when I am not there, which is why I have selected Jasper to be her sitter.

I don't know how to explain this to my family, but my decision as coven master is my final. Now it is time to leave, to take this child back to Forks. In this world, I have the right take possession of this feral child and keep her with me, and I intend to do exactly that.

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