Bella almost couldn't believe for a moment what was going on before her eyes. She stood, stunned at the top of the staircase. She had been drawn by Alice's screams, and now saw her friend, naked and crying under another man's cruel attention. The man was well dressed, and he was biting Alice up and down her arm. There was blood smeared over her, and Bella feared that he was killing her.
A rage and hurt washed over her. Edward was letting this happen. Why wasn't he stopping this? She scanned the small area and saw Edward on his back, lying underneath a woman, just staring. A small whimper escaped Bella's lips.
Edward met her eyes and held them, but he was too far away for Bella to see his expression. Still, she held his gaze. It was the only real thing in this horrific nightmare, and she held on like a drowning man gasping for air. Everything seemed to be a blur. Bella for the first time noticed Jasper when he shouted Edward's name. Apparently he had had enough of Alice's torture, and lunged himself at Alice.
The man holding her threw Jasper back with sickening ease, and he landed against the far wall with a crack. This seemed to ignite Edward into action, fighting the woman who was on top of him. Bella could only catch glimpses of what was happening, because they were moving so fast, but suddenly the other man was in the fray.
With the stranger no longer holding her up, Alice collapsed in a pile on the floor. She wasn't moving. Jasper wasn't moving.
"Alice? Can you hear me?" Bella had run down to her without her brain even telling her feet what to do.
Alice had lost a lot of blood and appeared too shaky to stand, but at least she was conscious. "Is Jasper alright?" she asked Bella.
Because Alice seemed to be hanging on, Bella ran over to Jasper. She quickly scanned him for injuries. The fight between the strange vampires and Edward went on loudly behind her. Though Bella was scared, she trusted in Edward's abilities. She knew he wouldn't let anything happen to them.
When Bella touched the back of Jasper's head, her fingers came away bloody. "Jasper," she shook him a little bit, but he wasn't moving.
Alice had crawled over to them. "Jasper?" she questioned, placing a hand on his chest. "Is he breathing?" her voice was panicky.
When she pulled her hand away, a bloody handprint was left in its place. She placed her head on his chest, to listen for a heartbeat.
"What's going on?" Bella cried desperately to Alice, but she didn't answer.
"Jasper," she said brokenly, shaking his shoulders lightly.
All that Bella could think to do was wait for Edward - wait for Edward to kill the monsters and come to her, wrap her up in his arms, and take care of Jasper.
A horrible wrenching sound came from the vampire fray, and an arm was flung in their direction, hitting Bella in the foot. No. It couldn't be. Bella pushed it away from her like it was on fire. That was Edward's arm.
The horrible fighting was still going on, but it was at human speed now, allowing Bella to see the horrific nature of what was going on. She couldn't look away. Bella couldn't help but scream as she watched the sick man biting off Edward's leg, as Edward still fought with the woman.
Edward wasn't going to save them. The thought hit her hard. Edward, being the only vampire among humans, had always seemed infinitely strong and powerful.
Edward suddenly stopped moving, and Alec went for his head. With a dread in the pit of her stomach, she remembered Edward telling her how to kill a vampire. Edward was going to die.
"Nooo!" Bella screamed, but it didn't seem to affect the man at all.
"No, leave him alive," the woman said suddenly, which did cause her companion to stop. She stood up and seemed to dust herself off. There was blood all over the three of them. She turned to look Bella in the eyes.
Bella had been so scared to lose Edward, that she had for a moment forgotten about the danger she was in. But now, in that horrible creature's gaze, it was all too real.
.
..
...
...
..
.
The sweltering heat suddenly started to dissipate, and Edward knew that it was sunset. With a marked determination, Edward tested his throbbing leg. He could move it - he could walk. His arm was attached to his body, but it hung there uselessly for now.
Just another half hour, and the sun would no longer be a threat. He could go find Bella. His only hope was that they would wait to harm her. That they would want him to watch, and that would have kept her safe. He wouldn't let himself think of the alternatives. He couldn't.
Finally, Edward knew it was night. He threw the blanket off him and tried to stand. He wasn't used to being so slow, so weak. He tried to take off running, but he stumbled over his own feet. He needed time to adjust, but that was time he didn't have.
When Edward made it outside, the first thing he saw was the body. It had the horrible quality of the dead, so he knew there was no hope. A horrible wail built up inside him.
"My son," Edward gasped out as he fell to his knees before what was left of Jasper. "My boy."
Edward remembered the boy that Jasper was, how he had watched him grow into a man. The man he had raised. He picked up the lifeless blonde head in his hands. Human life was so tenuous. Edward had seen so much death in his long life, it was almost nothing. He even remembered thinking that Jasper's time would one day come as well, but he hadn't pictured it affecting him in the least.
But now, Edward cried. He didn't have any blood to spare, and still, it ran down his cheeks.
Jasper was bloodless, that much was obvious to Edward. Alec and Jane had drained him. There was no sign of Alice or Bella, so he knew they must have kept the girls.
Edward knew he had to go on, he had to find Bella, but he couldn't wrap his head around leaving Jasper there.
Edward had never changed a human, but he had seen it done. Even as Edward bit into his wrist, letting the precious blood flow out, he knew it probably wouldn't work. The human had to be only second's dead, their heart just having took it's last beat. The soul needed to still be lingering in the body, or else it wouldn't work.
He knew he needed as much blood in his veins as he could get, to have the energy to heal and find Bella, but still, he let it flow into Jasper's dead mouth. Edward knew the human should start to show signs of life immediately. But Jasper didn't move. And still, Edward let his blood flow into him. Jasper still didn't wake.
Edward cursed himself. He had gotten Jasper killed. He should have protected him. Jasper relied on him, and he had failed him. He felt weak by the time he finally realized it was hopeless. He kissed his dead son's lifeless forehead, for that's what Jasper had been to him. He hated himself for what he let happen, but he couldn't think about that now. He would hate himself even more if Bella was hurt. He had a responsibility to find her. He staggered to his feat, and followed the trail that Alec and Jane had done nothing to hide. They were expecting him. They knew he would come.
Edward would show up weak, drained of blood, a useless arm and a leg not much better. They would easily defeat him. They would kill Bella. They would torture her first.
Though it pained him not to go swiftly and surely straight to Bella, he knew that before he could do anything, he had to have blood. Edward made a detour to town. It was night, and most of the citizens were locked away in their homes. He needed blood. He needed a meal fast. He was beyond caring who he hurt in the process, there were more important people that he had to protect. He was about to break into a home, not caring whose it was, when he saw a man lying on the side of the street. By the smell of him, he was passed out drunk.
Edward picked up the man's thick wrist and bit, the man didn't even wake up. It had been a long time since he had killed anyone for blood. He drank from many people, but had maintained a strict composure, never taking too much.
As he drank from this man, though, her realized that he wasn't going to be able to stop. His body hungered for the blood too much. It was a sacrifice Edward was willing to make.
The man didn't even wake as Edward drained him dry. He felt more powerful, and though his left arm was still clumsy, he could start to move it. It wouldn't be enough though. Jane and Alec had beat him before, there was nothing to say they wouldn't be able to beat him again.
Edward was so strong, despite his relatively modest size, that he never really noticed the height difference on other men, he was stronger than them no matter what. But this man's size sparked an idea in him. He was even taller than Jasper, but where as Jasper was lean and somewhat lanky (it still hurt to think of him), this man was muscled. He was probably among the strongest of men. He must have been drinking all night to get himself this drunk.
Edward bit his own wrist, then flipped the dead man over on his back, fed some of the recently consumed blood back into him. This time it worked. The man's eyes flicked open as soon as the first drop made its way down his throat. Edward could see fear and confusion in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by bloodlust. New vampires were very hungry. Edward dutifully let him drink for a few minutes, before pulling his arm away.
The man looked up at Edward with wide, black eyes.
"Who are you?" The man asked, dazed.
Edward realized that this plan had been building in subconscious since he woke that morning. If he couldn't defeat the twins himself, he needed help. He could try to find one of his few vampire allies, but even if he could convince them to come help him, that would take weeks. The only other way was to make his own.
Edward hadn't wanted to think about this idea too much. He had never created a vampire before, and the idea was all-around unpleasant to him. He also knew that a baby vampire wasn't the greatest of allies, they could be unpredictable, to say the least. But beggars couldn't be chooses.
Edward watched his new creation warily, unsure what to expect. The man looked around, his eyes wide and questioning, he shook his head as though he was still drunk. Edward wondered if he could be. He recognized the other man's gaze zeroing in on his neck, and was therefore was one step ahead and was able to hurl himself back as the other man lunged for his blood.
"No." Edward said firmly.
"Who are you?" the man asked again.
"Come with me and I'll give you what you need to feel better."
Edward stood up and started walking away, going slow enough that the baby vampire had a chance to follow him, but quick enough not to leave him enough time to think about it.
Edward was really out of his element here. He barely spent any time with other vampires, let alone newborns. He wasn't sure the best way to treat this one, to get him to do what he wanted as soon as possible. Edward realized that he had to be open to the idea that the new vampire wouldn't be able to fight tonight. But if there was any chance, he had to take it. The idea of leaving Bella and Alice with Jane and Alec for even one extra day and night made his stomach crawl.
Edward knew that his creation would need blood, but he also knew that giving him human blood could send him into a bloodlust so strong, that even Edward's influence now as his maker could be overridden.
He would give him sheep blood. His creation didn't want to drink it at first. Edward drank some too, and the taste was horrendous, but he forced him to drain two sheep before he led him on the trail. He was in a zombie-like trance, following Edward. Edward wasn't sure if he thought he was dreaming or what, but he wasn't about to ask and get him thinking too hard. The docile nature suited his purposes just fine.
Edward was a good tracker, and easily followed the scent into the woods. He focused on Bella's scent, the stronger it got, the closer he knew he was getting toward her.
"Who are you?" The baby vampire asked, he was starting to get his bearings.
"All will be explained soon," Edward said in his best soothing voice, despite the tension in his body. "Trust me. We are in danger. We need to fight. Don't hurt the humans. But the others, fight to kill." Edward thought the more minimal the information the better. He needed his creation to focus on the task he was created to do.
Edward gripped his arm and stared him in the eye. He watched the hesitancy leave the other man's face, replaced by a grim determination. Edward's ability to influence the baby vampire would slowly fade as he lost his confusion and haziness that accompanied the change, but he hoped it would hold out for now.
"When we find them," Edward spoke with seriousness, "Hang back. I'll distract them. You need to attack them when they least expect it. Dig your nails into the neck and pull. Use your teeth if you need to. Do you understand?"
"Yes. . . but why? What is. . . "
"All will be explained. Trust me." Edward didn't give him a chance to answer.
Edward found them in a meadow in the forest. They hadn't made it nearly as they could have. They had decided to stop relatively close - to wait for him. They were confident in their abilities against him.
Though he could see in the dark no matter what, the moon was out, which meant Bella and Alice could see as well.
"Edward, finally," Jane said when he stepped into view. "We were starting to think you weren't going to make an appearance tonight after all." Jane was naked. She sat lounging, completely comfortable, with her hair flung over her shoulder. She looked like a goddess in the moonlight.
The scene behind her was terrifying.
His eyes immediately traveled to Bella. She was naked, her dress was bunched up around her face, blocking her view. Her hands were bound and stretched over her head, tied to a tree limb. Alice was in a similar position, only with no dress. Bella appeared to be balancing most of her weight on the balls of her feet, but Alice hung limp, her head lolling on her shoulder.
Edward quickly ran his eyes over her body, looking for any injuries. She was covered in dirt and mud and what looked like blood, but it was impossible to tell the extent of her injuries. He wished he could see her eyes, but just as well. He needed to focus on killing Jane and Alec, before he could go to Bella.
Jane was grinning at him, her smug expression telling him that she was ready to drag this out for as long as possible. She was about to open her mouth to presumably give some sort of gloating remark, when Edward's new vampire flew out of the woods and tackled Jane.
Edward realized that the vampire would most likely die. He wasn't trained, he wasn't as strong. But Edward didn't care. If he could just stay alive long enough to continue distracting Jane while he killed Alec, then it would be one on one, a fair fight. Edward didn't stop to see what was going on with Jane, he lunged himself at Alec. Alec had been in the panicked process of going to help Jane, and Edward waylaid him.
They fought. Edward wasn't at his strongest, but his rage well made up for it. Alec might not have spent the day under the sun with only a blanket for protection, reattaching his limbs to his body, but he had spent it allowing himself to fall into a state of relaxed, overconfidence. It was hard to say who had the advantage.
Edward was animalistic. He needed to kill Alec before Jane joined the fray, but Alec was a more stubborn opponent than he would have been comfortable with. Every time Edward was in position to dig his fingers under Alec's chin, the other vampire squirmed away at the last minute, hitting Edward with a punch, rolling them over. They were evenly matched.
Then Jane was on top of him. Edward didn't realize at first what had happened, when he felt two additional hands punching him in the back. It didn't make sense. It was too soon. Surely his creation could have held her off for longer than that. It felt like he had only been fighting with Alec for a minute.
Edward couldn't allow himself to give up, though. He doubled his effort. He had to just kill one, he kept thinking, then it would be a level playing field.
Then all of a sudden some of the weight was off of him again, and now he was only struggling with Jane. For a wild moment, he wondered if he had been able to kill Alec without realizing it, but then he saw the struggle off to his left and could have cried at the joy of it. His creation was still alive and what's more, had jumped back into the fray!
Edward focused his attention on getting Jane's arms from around his neck. He bit at her shoulder. They were pressed together as close as lovers, as she punched his head and he clawed at her arms and neck.
Dawn hit them all with a wave of burning warmth. They had all missed the first signs of the sunrise as they fought for their lives. Edward dazedly wondered what could have made the sun come up so early, which was of course ridiculous. They had been fighting a lot longer than Edward had realized.
The smart thing to do would be to run for cover. Edward could see that that was what Alec was trying to do, but Edward's creation wouldn't let him. Edward wouldn't let Jane either, as she furiously tried to buck from his arms, no longer on a war path, but furiously trying to retreat for her own life.
Edward knew that the baby vampire probably was unaware of the harmful affects of the sun, or else he would probably be running for cover himself. Edward didn't care. He now had the advantage. He wouldn't let Jane get away for anything, and if he had to give up his own life, so be it.
There, the sun burning his skin, the hissing, lethal vampire at his feet, Edward almost laughed at the poetic justice of it all. They had always thought themselves so strong, and had abused that strength against the humans. Edward was aware that he was far from guiltless in this. And now, on this day, their fatal flaw, the sun, would be what killed them all. Bella would survive. Alice would survive.
Edward let out an animalistic growl as he held onto Jane. She was screaming at him, calling him crazy, telling him the sun would kill all of them, but Edward was beyond hearing her words. Jane made the mistake now of trying to reason with a man possessed with rage, and Edward was still intent on the kill. He was going for her throat, but she blocked it with her arm. He tore it off with a harsh, metallic sound. Blood was gushing out. Alec was screaming for his sister.
Jane was weakened without her arm, and Edward had the much needed tactical advantage, finally. He pulled off her other arm, and she was helpless. Edward could feel his body weakening, but he would do this last thing. He dug his nails into her hard neck, and tore. After all that, he beheaded her with surprising ease.
Edward's eyes flashed wildly. Jane was dead. The other vampires were a pile of gore, flesh, and blood. Alec was limbless, except for his right arm, which was only partially attached. He appeared to be unable to move, but he stared at the head of his sister, moaning out a terrible, wordless lamentation. His creation lay on the ground, breathing hard. He knew that it was an act of shear terror, for vampires need not breath. Their skin was a horrible mottled black, and Edward knew that his must be as well.
He observed all this in the quickest of glances, but his focus on Bella. He knew he didn't have much longer left to live, and he needed her then.
"Help me," he felt the baby vampire reach out and grab his ankle. His creation had fought fearlessly and loyally. This new life would be gone from him before it could form into anything more than a dream. Perhaps that was for the best. Edward kicked off his pleading hand and continued to the tree where Bella was still strung up.
He tore the rope from the oak. Her sweet, soft body instantly collapsed into him, and he fell under the weight of her, barely able to hold her to him.
Bella tore the at the fabric over her head and screamed. She pushed herself wildly away from him, shear terror in her eyes. Edward wanted to hold her close, but didn't have the strength. All he could do was watch her. Her whole body shuddered with heart-wrenching convulsions as her eyes wildly flew around the clearing. She was like an animal newly released from a cage, unaware if this was a trick, trying to decide whether she should bolt or not.
But then, mercifully, she came to him. "Edward." His name on her lips was like a prayer. He could feel her gripping him under the shoulders, trying to pull him. He was too heavy for her.
"Edward," she begged, "Please move. Please!" He could feel her fists against his chest. He managed to lift his arm enough to grasp her hand in his. "Listen to me!" she was crying. "I love you. I love you, you idiot. Don't die. Please, try."
She was crying and pushing his body, but it was useless. Edward wasn't thinking clearly. His mind was like a fog. All he could focus on was Bella. He was aware of her command to move. He wanted to tell her to be quiet, that he would do anything she asked if only she would let him rest another moment, but she was crying and begging, so he made an effort for her. He managed to crawl a few feet in the direction she had been pushing, but then collapsed.
"Oh Edward." Bella was murmuring over him. He wanted to pull her closer, to hold her, but then she disappeared. He felt bereft. He needed her, this was his last chance.
Bella scrambled for what to do. Edward was barely recognizable, and she knew he was dying. She didn't know how long the sun had been up, but Edward seemed unable to move. The mess of death behind her was too horrible to look at. She tried to push Edward further into the shade, but just didn't hold the strength. The sun was beautiful and merciless.
Bella ran to her dress that she had torn from over her head only moments before. She tore it into pieces, and covered Edward's head, his hands. She layered it over his exposed skin until she had no more. She didn't know if that small protection would be enough to make it through the day.
She went back to Alice. The small girl hung helplessly from her abused wrists. She was bruised and so covered in her own blood that it was hard to believe that there was any left inside her. Bella cried as she tried to undo the knot holding Alice's wrists so tightly that her hands were white. Like Edward, the rope was unrelenting. Bella cried out at the frustration of it all.
Her eyes wildly flew around for something to cut it with, a sharp stone, but there was nothing. She pressed her head against Alice's chest, but could hear nothing.
"Alice," she pleaded. She held her head against the girl's chest for a moment. "I'm sorry." Bella was begging for forgiveness, for leaving her like that, in that final indignity. But right now, Edward needed her.
Edward felt her come back, finally, as though she could sense his need. She pressed herself flush against him, wrapped her arms tightly around his shoulders.
Bella felt so alone in that moment. How had things gone so horrible so fast? She was the only one left.
Jasper knew right away that Alice was dead. There were many bodies in that clearing, but only one beating heart.
Ever since waking up, it was like his world was suddenly in focus. Everything was so much clearer. His sight, his hearing. All the sounds were sharp and poignant and beautiful. Colors were more vibrant, the edges of things more visible. It was as though, up until that point, he had been viewing the world through a slightly dusty mirror, and had not even known it. And now, it was actually like he was seeing the real world for the first time.
He knew he had been changed. The last thing he remembered clearly was yelling for Edward to do something, to help Alice, and then he woke up alone. The sun was shining brightly on him, but oddly enough, he felt no pain. It didn't make sense to him, because he knew it in his bones that he was no longer human, but if he was vampire, the sun should have been killing him. It wasn't.
There was no sight of Edward or Edward's body. Nor Alice or Bella. He took of in a run immediately. It was amazing how he could pick out their smells. He could tell the smell of the ocean from the smell of the dirt, and how they mixed together. He could actually decipher Alice's scent from Bella's, and could tell when he was getting closer because the scent was getting stronger. Edward's scent veered off toward the village, but Jasper kept on following the girls.
And running was indescribable. He thought this must be what animals feel like, when they are so completely and instinctually one with their movements. When the very act of moving muscles transcends all reason and thought of why one was doing it. He felt like a bird of prey, so intently diving through the sky.
When he reached the clearing, he tore Alice's restraints easily from the tree. It was a macabre sense of deja vu as he held her naked body to his. He remembered that day not even so long ago, when he had first found Alice, like he remembered an event from childhood.
"Jasper" he heard Bella call to him. She was crouched over Edward's prostrate body, fierce and animal-like in her unawareness of her own naked form. "Help. He's dying."
Bella was of course surprised to see Jasper there. She had watched Jane kill him herself. Jasper held Alice under one arm like she weighed nothing as he walked over to Edward. He grabbed the man by the color of his shirt and drug him into the tree line. The strength it required was beyond that of a human. Jasper was changed.
There were two graves. Jasper knew what they were for. He had often seen Edward spend days in the protective, healing womb of earth. Alec and Jane must have dug the graves for themselves, sometime during that awful night, for when daylight came. Jasper tossed Edward's body into the hole with such urgency that he fell like a rag doll. He shoveled the dirt quickly over him.
Then he turned to Alice. At that moment, everything he knew about changing a vampire was called into question. After all, he had been changed, presumably by Edward, but the ritual couldn't have happened according to plan. He was pretty much flying blind, but he had to do what he knew: all the blood must be drained, then the vampire would feed the blood back into the corpse.
He pulled Alice against him, and bit her still warm throat. There was such precious little blood in her, it made his heart hurt. This was Jasper's first feed, and it tasted better than anything he could have imagined. He drained her dry and wanted more. But he had to focus. He bit his wrist, and coaxed the blood into her lips. He rubbed her throat to try and get her two swallow it.
"Come on, sweetheart," he said as he poured his life-blood into her, his voice sounded odd, harsh against his ears. Bella hovered over the scene. Even as he poured his blood into her lips, he kissed her lifeless cheeks and her forehead and hair, begging her to drink. She didn't move.