Disclaimer: this is not the real 'Twilight'; this is my slightly twisted version.

Warning: some violence in this chapter.

There was a funereal atmosphere as we grouped in the centre of the clearing. I was stood between two blazing fire pits The Cullens were carefully positioned around me. Alice and Rosalie were at my elbows. Esme, was behind me. They formed an inner circle. In a slightly larger circle around them stood the Cullen men. It was an old-fashioned instinct, but it was a powerful instinct: the men would fight to protect their women. The ultra-powerful vampires pretended not to notice that I was holding a stout branch by my side. There wasn't much that I would be able to do. If I set fire to my branch and waved it around I would probably burn myself, or one of the Cullens rather than the newborns.

Nobody said goodbye. But 'I love you's hung heavy in the air and there was a worrying absence of teasing. Without the usual laughter and bickering, we were left listening to the crackling flames.

I knew that the moment was close, when I saw them crouch. First Alice sank into a defensive posture and Jasper, so in tune with his wife that he didn't even have to watch her, crouched in sync. Edward heard their minds and prepared himself to fight. Then everyone else followed suit. There wasn't much point in my crouching like a vampire, but I couldn't do nothing. I gripped tightly onto my branch. My pockets held silver lighters that Edward had given me. He'd had them engraved.

When the newborns arrived, they arrived fast. They crashed into the clearing, a full dozen of them, all as fast as Edward had been in the hunting film. The newborns weren't arranged at all, there was no line, no order, just a rush, like a crowd trying to get onto a train, or trying to run away from a bomb scare.

They were all staring at me, fixing me with their hungry red eyes. It was far worse than James, at least he had looked like he might have been human once. These vampires were wearing rags rather than clothes. They were so dirty that their skin no longer shimmered in the sunshine. For a split second I wondered – in that stupid, pointless way that people do when they are terrified – whether the dirt would hamper Alice and Rose. Neither of them liked to get their hands dirty.

The newborns were noisy too. They muttered and screeched. I could only make out a few words 'mother' and 'burning' seemed to come up a lot. I dipped my branch in the brazier and watched as the flames caught. I held it by my side, at least it would give the newborns something to dodge when they came for me. I was glad of the dirt and the screeching. It stopped them looking like my vampires. They were more like movie vampires, or zombies. They didn't look human any more. They were nothing like the refined, beautiful vampires that I knew and loved. If I was going to see something killed, I didn't want it to look like something human.

At some signal of Jasper's that I didn't see, the Cullens all growled together, low and determined.

Then the fight began. There was movement everywhere. I am not proud of this fact, but I couldn't tear my eyes from Edward. He sprang forward towards one of the advancing newborns. This was the third time that I'd seen Edward fight, but it was nothing like those first two times. This was not like the slow-starting, teasing fight that I'd seen him have with Emmett. Nor was this like the spinning, tango of a fight that he'd had with Jasper. Really, it had more in common with the film that I'd seen of him hunting. Approaching this enemy as he had approached an animal, not as he'd approached his siblings, Edward leapt, grabbed the creature by the neck and bit down. Edward's hands moved fast, and roughly, not bothering with his usual grace. He tugged and twisted and when he stepped back, he was stepping back from a pile of twitching limbs not from a vampire. An animal, I reminded myself, that was what I was watching: Edward hunting animals. But, I knew that wasn't it. I was watching him destroy his own kind. I was watching him kill the thing that he was, the thing that I wanted to become. I pushed the traitorous thought away and concentrated on the dirt and the rags and the insane muttering.

Edward turned to his right, there Carlisle was fighting two newborns at once. Edward reached over and, unceremoniously punched one of the creatures – I think she was once a woman – in the back of the head. The enemy staggered, Edward pressed his advantage and twisted off the head. He looked at Carlisle for a second, nodded and ran back towards me, leaving Carlisle to finish the dismembering.

He wasn't running to me, though. The fight was reaching its conclusion and the Cullens were retreating into a tighter circle around me. Those newborns that were still alive, had got closer while the Cullens were busy. Edward was so close now, that I could see the flames from my sentinel fires reflected on his skin. Fire didn't make his skin sparkle the way that sunshine did. In the firelight, his bare skin seemed to smoulder The newborn's skin was too dirty, rather than being reflected the firelight bounced back in a surreal glow. There was one between Edward and me, the red aura matched by his startled red eyes. Edward saw it and he saw me. I ducked between my braziers, getting my head and my vulnerable neck lower than the crackling flames. I clutched my burning staff in front of my face. The scent smoking wood filled my nostrils. I think that ruined the romance of an open fire for me forever.

Edward grabbed the creature by the neck and pulled it to the ground. He crouched low and twisted off the head. I watched him, slowly, calmly now, turning the limbs and tugging them away from the torso, making a neat pile. He was so close now, I could see the creature's watch, which reminded me that it had once – not long ago – been a human being like me. It was the sight of the watch that finally broke me. He was wearing one of those plastic calculator watches. Once, this had been a human. He had parents, friends, a job or a college course. Now Edward, my boyfriend, was tearing him apart. I heard my own scream before I felt my mouth open.

I could see the leg that was still trying to kick, even when the head was no longer giving it instructions.

There was a hand on my shoulder and I screamed again.

"Sorry," Rose said, "I didn't mean to make you jump. It's over, Bella. They're all finished."

I should have turned to thank her, or at least to tell her that everything was ok. But, I didn't think of that in the moment. I just ran to my Edward, hurled my arms around him and held on for love and life.

"Bella," he said, "oh, Bella. I'm so sorry. That was so awful for you."

"You're alright, you're alright. I love you so much."

His hands held me tighter than ever before. He was pressing against my back so fiercely that I thought I could feel the lines and whorls of his finger-prints through my coat and my sweater.

Then I felt another hand grab my ankle.

Again I was screaming.

Edward stamped down on the grabbing arm. Then he swept me into his arms. I clung around his neck.

Emmett stepped in and picked up the arm, it was an abandoned arm, ripped off someone in the heat of battle. Still possessed by some kind of vampire life, it was crawling along by itself, searching for the rest of its body. Emmett tossed it onto a big bonfire, already laden with body parts.

"Is everyone else alright?" I asked, belatedly, realising how awful it was that it took me until now to remember the rest of the family.

"Fine," Edward said, "it was easy."

"Victoria?"

He frowned, "Jasper," he said shortly. It amazed me that he could sound annoyed, as though this had been some kind of game and he wished that he'd been the one to score the hat-trick. Then he seemed to remember that it didn't matter who had killed her, "She's gone now, Bella, you're safe at last."

"The wolves?"

Now Carlisle answered, "fine. No serious injuries. They think that Leah might have a broken rib, she was taken by surprise, but Seth was there and he stepped in before anything could go wrong. I'm going to look at her later."

"Later? Why aren't you there now?"

"Ssh," Edward whispered in my ear, "Alice had a vision. The Volturi are on their way. It's best that they don't know about the wolves."

"Alice? Is Alice alright?"

"Yes, Bella, everyone is alright."

"And the wolves?"

"Bella, they're fine."

"And everyone else, are you alright?"

This time, Edward just stroked my hair. Rather than answering me, he frowned and said "Carlisle?"

"Probably shock, Edward. She needs rest and calm."

I could hear screaming again and I could see horror in Edward's face. What was it?

Jasper appeared in front of me, as calm and cool as he ever was. "Bella," he said, and I realised that I was the one screaming again. That was why Edward was upset, he was horrified by my screaming. "Can you tell me what colour my eyes are right now, Bella?"

I was confused, but I checked for him, "honey," I said, "your eyes are the colour of honey."

He grinned at me, "That's just how I like them. I want you to help me now, Bella. We need to help Edward calm down now, ok?"

I nodded.

"That's right. You love Edward, you don't want him worrying. So you need to look him in the eye and tell him that everything is going to be ok."

I nodded again.

Jasper eased me from Edward's arms, stood me on the ground and held me while I looked into Edward's eyes and said, "everything is going to be ok, sweetheart."

Edward smiled then, Jasper must have helped to calm him down.

"Game on in ten, nine, eight, seven," Alice interrupted.

Once again, the Cullens gathered to face an enemy. Once again, they held me nestled in their midst.

Alice completed her countdown in a whisper, smirking as she muttered 'game on' and Jane walked into sight.

I recognised her from Italy, how could I forget the creature that had tortured Edward. What was she doing here now? Was she a part of this attack? Was the whole thing a ploy to kidnap Edward and Alice? I opened my mouth to scream again, but something froze me. I couldn't move.

"I see that there isn't much left for us to do," she said, with a nauseating faux-disappointment.

"We rather expected you sooner." Carlisle said.

Jane shrugged, "what is it you Americans say? Traffic was bad."

She didn't get a laugh.

"Talking of expectations, we rather expected to see a different Isabella by now."

I was still frozen in place, I wondered if some vampire was using their gift on me. I couldn't see any companions of Jane's, but that didn't mean that they weren't there, lurking in the shadows. I tried to make a sound, but it was impossible.

Then I felt Edward's hand tighten around mine. I squeezed back. So, I could use my fingers. I wasn't frozen by a supernatural gift, merely by a perfectly natural fear. Somehow that was far worse.

"We have a plan," Carlisle said, "to ensure that her disappearance raises as few questions as possible."

Jane frowned, "I am surprised that such a large coven, containing such experienced members, who have been living undiscovered amongst the humans for all this time, would have so much trouble in arranging a convenient accident for one teenage girl."

Edward growled quietly, but he was the only one, so I assume that Jane's thoughts were more objectionable than her words. "No trouble," he said firmly, "we have this under control."

"None the less, now that I'm here, I think I will stay and help you see it through. Aro is curious to hear of how Isabella's talent develops. I think I will like to take the story back to him."

"You are, of course, welcome to stay with us as long as you please," Carlisle said stiffly, "though, to help us maintain our cover, we must ask you not to hunt in the vicinity. Unless you would like to try hunting with us."

"I don't call what you do 'hunting', Carlisle."

"Of course."

"Don't look so cross. I will not mind taking a run before I feed, it will help me to work up an appetite."