*Warning: References to violence*
Prompt: Make History
He is still shocked that it has come to this. He's spent his entire existence trying to atone for his rebellious years, but now he has stepped right back into them…he had no choice. In the dark, Edward stands on the roof of the ten story building, overlooking the alleyway. The hazy glow from the streetlights doesn't make it back this far, but he doesn't need the lights to see the filth on the ground - the garbage that just missed making it into the industrial sized trashcan, the waste from the stray dog that roams this neighborhood, and the carcass of the dead rat. It's times like these that Edward is glad he doesn't have to breathe, the stench would be so retched if he did, even this high up.
As he is standing there biding his time, Edward thinks again about Alice's vision. Alice has no control over her visions, no control over when they come or the subjects to which they refer. And if what she saw this afternoon is correct, then he needs to be here tonight. Edward understands the weight that falls on Alice's shoulders. As much as he sometimes hates his gift, constantly being subjected to the thoughts of others - which most of the time are petty and mundane, but other times are truly horrifying - he would not want to exchange his gift for Alice's. He doesn't think he could withstand that burden, always seeing what comes next, making different decisions to try to change the outcome, and then deciding when to intervene and when to let it be.
This time, Alice could not let it be. The Cullens have never met Isabella Swan, but they all know her father, Charlie, from the time they lived in Forks. Even though they had left Forks before Charlie's daughter came to live with him, Alice is sure that connection is why she received this particular vision. Edward has always liked Charlie Swan, his mind more quiet than anyone else he's met, and he wants to spare Charlie from Alice's initial vision.
In the past, when he played the role of judge, jury and executioner, he didn't know anything about the people he saved. He knew without his intervention, they would have been victims of heinous crimes and many would have died. Edward never thought about what happened to them afterwards, though. He never thought his actions would change the course of history. He knows the future is not set in stone, but instead is a culmination of all the events that took place leading up to it. He never thought about the impact his actions had on that set of events…until he met Alice. Now he understands the difference between a possible future and the actual future. He has a new clarity, a deep understanding, that changing any event – any event at all – creates a new possible future. And that is what he must do tonight.
Alice has seen two visions of Isabella. In the first, Isabella loses her life tonight…and that will have dire consequences for the future of all mankind. In the second, the one Edward is there tonight to make sure comes to fruition, Isabella lives. Isabella is currently a biology undergraduate student at the University of Washington. If she lives, she will continue on with her education, earning her PhD, and moving into the field of research. Eventually, she will be the lead scientist developing a cure for a global pandemic that, without her cure, will result in the end of the world. Both Edward and Alice understand that in order to save humanity, they must save this girl – a girl they've never met.
When Edward first saw the vision of Isabella in Alice's mind, he was mesmerized by her. Terrified as she was in the vision, he saw an inner strength that impressed him. And while he was almost embarrassed to admit it, he felt drawn to her beauty. Her brown eyes, which sparkled even in the dark, and her brown hair, a beautiful mahogany with red highlights, contrasted with her pale skin and give her an almost ethereal look. Edward wasn't sure what he was feeling, but he felt that he needed to know this woman.
As the first vision continued in Alice's head, Edward saw a man named James drag Isabella into the alley, with a gun to her head. James started cackling and explaining his vendetta against Charlie. Charlie Swan had arrested James and testified against him at trial for multiple breaking and entering and robbery charges. This resulted in a 10-year prison sentence for James. Now that he was out, he had vowed to destroy Charlie's life just as Charlie had destroyed his. Killing Charlie's only daughter was the most satisfying choice he could think of. In Alice's first vision, after telling her his story, James shot and killed Isabella, and that's when everything else went to hell. The future of the entire world disappeared from Alice's vision.
The shock of that brought both Edward and Alice immediately to the present. How could the death of one girl result in the end of the world? Edward felt the full weight of Alice's gift at that moment and as he looked at her, he'd seen the toll it had taken on her. Vampires don't get physically tired, but they can feel mentally drained and Alice looked more drained than he'd ever seen her. Alice knew she had to change her vision, so she looked again into the future, this time deciding that one of the Cullens would save Isabella before James could kill her.
In the new vision, the future was restored, but they both were shocked by what they saw. In this future, Isabella was now a vampire - the most stunning vampire Edward had ever seen - working tirelessly to develop a cure for the pandemic that was taking over the world. A pandemic that eventually resulted in a 100% death rate. Even though death wasn't immediate, once a person got the virus, they were dead within 5 years. Desperately trying anything at her disposal, Isabella eventually discovered that she could mix vampire venom with several other chemical compounds, so that the venom itself was made inert when it came to turning people into vampires, but the new resulting compound would not only prevent further infection from the virus, but also cure the people who had already contracted it. Without Isabella and this cure, there would be no hope for the future.
Alice breathed a sigh of relief at this second vision and before she could say anything, Edward told her he would be the Cullen to save Isabella. Alice then explained to him that James would never stop in his vendetta against Charlie. Edward would have to kill him. It was the only way to ensure that Isabella lived and the future would survive. When Edward returned to Carlisle after his rebellious years, he had promised himself he would never take a human life in vengeance again. But he knew he had to make an exception this time…the whole world depended on it. So here Edward is, standing on this roof, waiting for James to drag Isabella into the alley so that he can save her…and save the world.
At the same time that Edward is waiting in the alley, Alice is at the Cullen home in Montana, smiling. She had blocked a part of the vision from Edward…the best part. She knew that if Edward were aware of that part, this night would not work out as planned. The part of the vision where Edward and Bella, as Isabella preferred to be called, fall in love. The part where Bella is wearing Edward's ring.
Alice sits next to Jasper in their bedroom, leaning her head on his shoulder, knowing that life is changing for Edward tonight. Tonight is full of history in the making.
