"I can't see anymore!" I yelled, panicked. It had happened before, usually when I was tired, but right now, the adrenaline pumping through me didn't allow that.
"You can't see anything?" asked Jasper.
"No!" I wailed into his shoulder.
"It's okay," he said. "We're almost to the ocean. He won't be able to smell us there."
Before I could reply, a figure lunged from behind us. A shrill scream left my mouth as cold hands gripped onto my waist and yanked me off of Jasper.
I turned and saw blood-red eyes which stood out from the pale face they belonged to. "Hello, Alice," he said with a chilling grin. His voice was deep in a soothing way, but it only caused me to be more terrified.
"James," I gasped out.
He gripped my arms tightly and turned me so I was facing Jasper. He snarled, but made no move towards James. I was in shock, the only things jolting me back to reality the coldness of James' grip.
"Jasper Hale," said James in a mocking tone. "I see we meet again. You really should've done a better job of killing me during the Bella incident," he mocked.
Jasper crouched down and prepared to leap forward. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," taunted James. "One step forward, and she dies," he chuckled darkly. His breath tickled against my throat. All I could do at that point was close my eyes and hope it wouldn't be too painful.
"I must say," said James, "You smell delicious. Not nearly as good as Bella, though."
I heard Jasper growl, but he didn't approach us. Of course not.
"If you hurt her," Jasper warned, "I will kill you."
"You would kill me anyway," replied James. "Might as well get my revenge on the Cullen clan before I die."
It was strange. If someone had told me a few months ago I was going to die at the hands of a monster so he could get revenge on my vampire lover and his family for trying to kill him when he tried to eat my best friend, I never would've believed them. In fact, I would have laughed in their face and told them they were crazy. How funny it was that this was how I was going to die.
I spent a long minute staring at Jasper, making sure he'd be the last thing I saw. He looked as if he wanted nothing more than to lunge forward and rip James' throat out, but the second he decided to take a step forward, James would sink his teeth into my neck and it would be all over.
It was like a scene in a cheesy movie: the bad guy holds a gun to the girl's head, while her boyfriend stood there helplessly. Somehow, though, they always got a happy ending.
Then, out of seemingly nowhere, a large wolf tackled James to the ground, just barely missing me. "Let's go," said Jasper, scooping me off the floor where James had dropped me.
"No, wait!" I yelled as he ran. "What about Embry?"
"He'll be fine," assured Jasper. "It's just one vampire."
"No!" I protested, trying to squirm out of his arms. "What if he's hurt?"
He tightened his grip. "He'll be fine, Alice, I promise."
"How do you know?" I said stubbornly.
He suddenly stopped and turned around. "Look," he said. A tall column of smoke rose from the trees behind us, disappearing into the sky. The faint smell of something burning reached my nose. "James is dead, Alice," Jasper whispered.
I sighed in relief, letting my body relax in Jasper's arms. "Now what?" I asked.
"We're going back to the island," he said.
"You realize I'll be reported missing, right?" I asked. "I mean, I did just escape from a mental hospital and am about mysteriously disappear."
He smirked slightly. "The Cullens don't have endless money for nothing. We'll take care of it."
I sighed quietly. "Then back to the island it is."