The sunlight had gone, not reaching this new place. Fog replaced the brightness and the dark grass was all that was visible anymore. Anala walked in the endlessness with the omnipresent phantom. Her feet stopped and her toes curled in the earth. She watched. A figure, far, far in the distance. Standing across her, they were barely seen. She watched, waiting. Dark hair was visible and bright, pale eyes stared through to her. An odd sensation breezed through her. They were calling out inaudibly, hands slamming against a force of nothingness between them and her. She tilted her head curiously, stepping forward, the phantom unexpectedly wrapped strong hands around her, embracing her preventively, and her confusion transformed into fear. Black eyes looked at her then away. He pointed downward. The ground ended, dropping steeply off into a tremendous abyss. It stared at her as she looked into it and backed further into the phantom's hold. The figure in the fog was gone. She sat on the grass, plucking up a pale flower.

The phantom stood a little ways away, watching.

Carlisle stood in the doorway of Jasper's bedroom and watched Nolan pace in agitation, flipping through another book from the stack on the desk. He was muttering to himself, growling in frustration and throwing down the book only to pick up another. Carlisle didn't know what to do anymore. They had tried to comfort and support him and the man dismissed them. They had given him space and then he began to shut them out. Nolan was inconsolable, frantic. "Come on. Come on, there has to be something." He tossed the book on the desk and leaned over it, exhaling.

"You have help me out here Anala." Nolan's whispered words caused Carlisle to frown in concern and his heart ache for him.

"Nolan?"

Arctic blue eyes met his own. Nolan straightened and Carlisle stepped into the room. "Nolan you can't do this to yourself."

"I'm not doing anything."

"Nolan please," he grasped the young man's shoulders. "I can't watch you put yourself through this, put Jasper through this, anymore. I'm sorry Nolan, I truly am. You deserved more." Nolan's eyes became guarded. "But Nolan, Anala's gone. You said yourself if Anala were a spirit, you would see her, you haven't. You have to accept it and . . . let go. Continuing like this will kill you."

Nolan looked at him for a long moment and Carlisle thought he'd reached him for a moment. Nolan blinked and his clear eyes scanned the room as he stepped away. He smiled. "Thank you Carlisle. I appreciate the concern."

"Nolan—"

Nolan's pale eyes spit cold fire at him and Carlisle almost stepped back. "Could you do it?!" Nolan didn't lose his temper very often but he was always a force of heat and rage when he did. Having that anger directed at him was a completely different experience that left Carlisle unable to speak for a long moment. Nolan continued, his anger unleashed and Carlisle would have to simply wait it out and hoped he walked away unscathed. "Could you let go, Carlisle, of the person who you've been with since before you were able to even fathom you weren't part of the world yet? Could you let go of that person, after years, years, of holding onto each other to survive in your own personal circle of hell? Could you just let go of the other half of yourself Carlisle, after regaining an entire set of memories that remind just how close you two really are? Feel yourself suddenly empty and incomplete and just let go? Could you?!"

Carlisle couldn't think of anything to say to that. Nolan turned away. "Just go. I have things I need to do."

He collected himself, recovering from the raw emotion that had been Nolan's eyes. "What is it you are trying to do here Nolan?"

He slammed his hands against the desk and the pipes groaned slightly. "I don't know!" he sighed. "I don't know," he said softer. "I just want my sister."

"I understand." And he did. Carlisle knew the pain, the longing. The need to do whatever he could to get a loved one back. Carlisle had coped however, having years of experience and infinite time on his hands. He buried his brother, got closure. The blue-eyed man never received that. Seeing Nolan this way was painful. He was lost. Carlisle feared he would wander so far they would not be able to reach him anymore and they would have to watch him slowly destroy himself. "I understand that losing Anala hurts you, and it'll get easier. I promise you, Nolan. But you need to accept her death, this is hurting you."

"No! She's not gone." He shook his head. "She can't be. I don't expect you to believe in what I'm saying."

Carlisle gave him a beseeching look. "Nolan, Anala is gone—"

"Get out." Nolan sat at in the desk chair. "Just please, leave me alone. Please."

Carlisle wanted to say more, to finally get him to accept the death of his sister and let go of some of the pain he carried. Instead he stayed silent. Nolan was tense, his eyes were tired and Carlisle could see he was on the verge of something terrible. He was desperate and wounded and not thinking clearly. Carlisle couldn't push it without consequences, not today. He stepped behind him and touched his soft dark hair. He placed a hand on his warm shoulder, suddenly mournful.

"I'm sorry, son."

Nolan didn't move.

"So am I."

Emmett ripped the arm from its torso and flung it across the darkened street. The vampire screeched in pain and anger but didn't get a chance to do much else as he tore her head from her body in one smooth twist. Her body went limp. The other ran at him and they rolled for a moment. This one was more experienced and he was glad for a challenge, unlike with the first. Emmett spun, and slammed the hissing man down onto the asphalt, pinning him, and braced a knee in his lower back. He had an ex-confederate soldier and a speedy telepath for brothers. His father was a three-hundred year old vampire and Emmett had sparred ruthlessly with all three of them for years. This man would have to do better if he really expected to live.

"You should've turned back when I gave you the chance."

"That bitch was our kill!"

"Clearly she wasn't." For a serial arsonist, she smelled surprisingly good. "Delicious by the way. I chose well, didn't I?"

"You'll pay for this. There's more of us, you know. They're going to rip you into tiny pieces, man." The vampire laughed. "Then they'll put you back together only to roast you slowly."

"you mean the tall dark-haired guy, the gutsy little red-head and the dark one who looks like he stepped out of the lamest Goth apparel store on earth?" the man hesitated, confused by his knowledge. "Haven't seen them in a couple days, right?"

"You son of—"

"Watch it. My mother is a wonderful person." He tilted his head. "And she could rip you to shreds."

"Fuck you, you bastard!"

"My parents were married when I was conceived. Ironically enough so were my other parents when I turned. Your empty threats and insults just aren't doing it for me."

The vampire's growl was cut short as Emmett quickly tore him apart before dumping the two bodies into a dumpster. He waved a hand, lighting it on fire. In all fairness he did tell them to go away but they had decided the meal was worth their lives. Emmett scoffed and walked until he reached civilization once again. He pulled up his hood. People walked and carried on obliviously and Emmett melted into the crowded New York streets. He had swam halfway to Portugal before deciding the trip wasn't worth it. He didn't want to go to Portugal. He didn't want to go anywhere. It was pointless, why go if he would never really enjoy it? He ended up in New York and now he was contemplating what to do with himself. The thought crossed his mind to pick up the Mercedes from the lot he parked it in down in Raleigh. Maybe he'd head up to Alaska again, he hadn't seen Kate in . . . Emmett smirked. Quite a while. The thought didn't last long, he didn't feel like going up there either. Emmett ducked into a doorway littered with posters, stickers and strange graffiti and leaned against the dark wall as he watched the people pass by. After an hour he decided to check his voicemail, he'd been putting it off for a few months now and might as well get it over with.

"Hi honey," Esme's warm voice came through. "I know you don't answer but I hope you at least check these messages and I hope you're alright. It's sunny today, can you imagine the relief?" she laughed and Emmett couldn't stop the small smile that crossed his lips. "Rose and Alice are in the garden . . . you should see it Em, it's beautiful." Emmett didn't want to look at that garden. It was just shy of an empty grave.

The mechanical female voice interrupted as he swiped his finger over the keypad on the screen. "Message erased. Next message."

"Son, by now your mother has probably left you a message and is most likely preparing to send you another." There was soft humor in his voice. "We understand you need your space but please, check in more often to keep her sane. Be careful Emmett."

It continued for a few more minutes. He listened to two more from Esme, one from Alice, another, annoyed one, from Rosalie and a short, brief message from Jasper. "miss you bro. Edward cheats when we spar and isn't as fun durin' a hunt. Still with that bug up his ass." He chuckled as he heard Edward protest in the background and he erased it. The next message played automatically.

"Hi Em," Emmett froze as his chest cracked painfully. He hadn't listened to her last voicemail in months but he still knew every fucking word and felt angrier with each time. "I am in a certain store looking at a certain pair of underwear that a certain boyfriend would appreciate very much." the light laughter was like a crushing blow. He couldn't do this anymore. "I'm at the mall and will leave soon so if there's anything else you want me to pick up before I leave you have twenty minutes. Oh, and if you ask me to go into the auto store next door again and ask for a whatever valve for a thing you know I've never heard about and find the "right" one, I will happily maim you. See you soon. I lov—"

"Message erased."