He needed to hunt. Jasper needed something, anything, to take his mind off of the unknown. And yet….
You told her you would protect her.
He hadn't.
Bella trusted you.
Alice had trusted him as well. So many people had trusted him throughout the centuries he had been alive: his biological family and human friends, now almost faceless blurs, comrades through combat whose deaths he could still see clearly, as if it was yesterday, Maria, the newborns during the Southern Vampire Wars, and now the Cullens. People, be they human or vampire, were undeniably fragile.
There was movement off to the right; a flicker of brown in the corner of his vision that caused Jasper to spin around. He ran after his prey: long legs leaping over fallen logs, ducking under low lying branches as he made his way after the creature that ran. Jasper caught that fleeting flicker of brown again; this time through the bushes off to the left. This deer was surprisingly fast-
Black Paradigm!
The words entered his mind even as Jasper caught the telltale sign of a black coat fluttering behind the small form: a foot soldier trying to outrun him, short brown hair ruffling through the wind as the boy tried to out run him. It was foolish to run off from the others; Jasper knew that. But he also knew following this young boy could lead to helpful information, to potentially rescuing Bella and anyone else who had been captured by the Black Paradigm. And it was those thoughts that made him run faster, fast enough to reach out and touch the flowing black cloak. The boy cast another look over his shoulder and Jasper could see just how thin the brown irises were, the sweat forming on the young man's brow as he spun around. Jasper leaped back just in time; the dagger made a sweeping arc towards the vampire's abdomen, hitting nothing.
Jasper slammed down on the young man's elbow on instinct, hearing it crack. "Stop fighting," Jasper snapped even as the boy tumbled backwards. The dagger clattered to the ground, his right arm hanging useless by his side. Inwardly, Jasper winced at how the arm looked; he hadn't meant to cause that much damage to it. Perhaps the only good thing in this scenario right now was that it wasn't an open break; no blood meant the kid wouldn't be as tempting to Jasper as someone else who was bleeding. "I'm not going to kill you if you just stop fighting!"
Jasper could see just how old the boy was now: roughly fifteen if he had to guess. Maybe sixteen but even then, that was pushing it. The boy licked his lips; cracked, chapped things. "B-But you'll kill me. Your kind kills everything."
"I give my word," Jasper took a deep breath; an unneeded action, but he didn't want to spook the young boy anymore than he already was. Jasper could feel the emotions rushing through the young foot solider: trepidation, fear, tinged with bloodlust from that accursed pill he no doubt took before running from Jasper. Jasper bowed, keeping his eyes on him. "If you help me, I can send for a good doctor, Carlisle Cullen-"
The boy's eyes widened. "The bloodsucker," he screeched and this time Jasper did wince at the high pitched tone.
"Well, who else do you expect me to turn too?"
The boy took a step back, his left arm reaching up to grab a tuft of his hair. He yanked on it, pressing his back against a tree. "Y-You'll kill me. Everyone. Everyone will kill me. Everyone will hurt me if I don't do my job." Eyes fastened on Jasper. "I don't want to die! Please don't kill me! Please!"
Jasper made his way to the boy: slow, careful, mincing steps towards him. It was easy to manipulate the boy's emotions: easing the sense of calm onto him, watching as the trembling seemed to leave the boy's thin frame. Jasper shrank down before him, kneeling as the boy looked away. A low whine eased out of the boy's lips as Jasper reached forward, placing his fingertips on the now swelling joint.
"It hurts, even with those pills, right?" Jasper let his hand drop, waiting. "Then accept my help."
The two of them locked eyes: hunter and prey. Vampire and killer. One scarred and the other broken. Two sentient beings frozen in time for one quiet moment, watching the other. "Wh-what do you want from me," the boy whispered.
He would need to be careful here; one wrong misstep and the boy would never trust him, rescue would be impossible. "Your help," Jasper replied. "I want to know where the Black Paradigm is keeping their prisoners of war here."
The boy gave him a shaky smile. "And then you'll break my neck, right? You'll leave me to die, just like everyone else who's ever trusted vampires. You'll kill my friends and me and everyone else."
Jasper frowned. "I don't back down from my word. I promise you. And if you want, you can tell me who your friends are so I can try to protect them from the others."
"Jasper," Rosalie's voice echoed throughout the forest. "Jasper where are you?" The boy winced.
Jasper tried to smile, to put the boy at ease as much as he could, besides manipulating his emotions. "My name is Jasper Hale. What is yours?"
It was a sad attempt at chit chat, one that Jasper thought odd considering the circumstances of their meeting. But he saw the boy crack a tiny smile and that was good. "Simeon," the boy squeaked out. "My name is Simeon."
Okies, so I've gotten a few emails about this and normally I try not to divulge what will happen next. That being said, to ease many people's minds, the last chap will be the last time you shall see physical torture for Bella. I promise. Ah and a quick note; it was only one leg that was crushed. Sorry for not making that clear. Anyhoo, hope you enjoyed reading. Please review!