Chapter 27

The weather had finally warmed up, or at least by Forks standards, and the snow had pretty much vanished. Only a couple months remained of my senior year before I would bid high school farewell forever. I still couldn't fathom why the Cullens willingly subjected themselves to this torture. While I could understand pursuing college every 50 years or so to acquire new skills and stay current with the times, repeating high school felt like enduring the same bullshit over and over. I'd made my opinions known. Ultimately, it's up to them whether they want to change.

I was in the forest practicing, aiming to enhance my skills. All my abilities were operating like a well-oiled machine. I thought it, and it happened. I could hardly wait until I became a vampire, gaining even greater control and power. Nothing would hold me back then. The literal sky's the limit.

One aspect I was truly looking forward to was learning how to fight. I loved observing Jasper and Emmett wrestle in the Cullens' backyard. When they moved at top vampire speed, I could only see two blurs. However, at a slower pace, my eyes could keep up, and I watched intently, always noting their movements and strategies. It was evident that Jasper held a significant edge, likely due to his background as a fighter—a dimension that Emmett lacked. Though I wished to participate, I knew it was impossible while I was human. I actually hadn't revealed my extra abilities to the Cullens; they only knew about my ability that rendered their powers ineffective on me. I preferred to keep my cards close to my chest.

I lifted up a massive tree trunk that I had cut down and sliced into sections using my abilities. I practiced spinning it on its axis. I aimed to increase my speed in rotating such massive objects. Additionally, I enjoyed altering the direction in which objects spun, aiming to become adept at various movements. As I switched it up, causing the tree trunk to appear as if it were hopping along the forest floor, my phone rang in my pocket. Carefully, I lowered the tree and retrieved my phone. I saw that it was Alice calling.

"Hey, Alice," I said, smiling to myself, wondering what my friend had in store. She often called with some new idea of hers, and I was usually open to them.

"Hey, Bella, I wanted to invite you to something I think you'll like. The weather is going to be good this afternoon for us to play vampire baseball."

"That sounds interesting. I'm down, but what is vampire baseball?"

"It's pretty much like real baseball but with vampire skills. You can be the umpire."

"What? I have pitcher written all over me," I said jokingly.

"Maybe in a few years," Alice giggled. "But right now, you can be the umpire and keep Emmett in line, as he loves to cheat, unless he's on my team, of course. Then keep Jasper in line because he loves to cheat as well."

We both started laughing. "Okay, I'm in. When and where is it?"

"We can only get there by running, so how about I pick you up in, say, 45 minutes?"

"Sounds good, see you then."

I ended the call. It should be fun to see vampires play baseball. Maybe I can convince them to throw me some balls at a slower speed. I bet I could surprise them by hitting it out of the park or wherever they played. I looked at the fallen tree trunk and sliced it in two. That got me thinking. I should try using my abilities to carve a tree into an object. Yes, that sounded cool. I could see if I had any artistic talents. Maybe tomorrow. I headed back to my house to get ready.

When Alice knocked on my door, I was all ready to go. "Hey Alice, do I need to bring anything special?"

Alice gave me a quick once-over, her eyes taking in my attire from head to toe. I had opted for my trusty blue jeans and boots, completing the look with a Mariners jersey that Charlie had picked up for me during one of our baseball outings. After a brief pause, she offered,"It's going to be sprinkling with some thunder, so you might want to grab a rain jacket."

"Nah, sprinkles don't bother me."

As we settled into the car, Alice began explaining the plan. We would drive to a certain point, but from there, I would need to catch a ride on someone's back since the clearing they used to play baseball was located 50 miles deep within the forest, completely off-road. On such journeys, I usually opted for piggybacking on Edward's back. I would have preferred Emmett's, but despite Rosalie warming up to me a bit, she still embraced her role as a cold-hearted bitch a little too convincingly. For some reason, she seemed overly protective of her man, as if I would try anything with a married man. Nevertheless, there was no point in provoking her.

We turned off the main road, and Alice parked the car at a small parking area designated for vehicles, probably intended for hunters to use. As we stepped out of the car, the strong scent of pine trees filled the air. The day was cool and refreshing, and I inhaled the air with a smile. Though it wasn't raining at the moment, the earlier rain had clearly left its trace, intensifying the aroma in the air. Alice walked over to her trunk, opened it, and pulled out a giant sack of baseballs. There seemed to be several hundred or more inside the bag, which appeared larger than Alice herself. She had a resemblance to an elf, as if about to present Santa with his bag of presents.

"Do you really need all those balls?" I asked, my curiosity piqued, envisioning what it would be like to watch vampires unleash their full strength in a game of baseball.

"Yeah, often the balls get destroyed after just a few hits," Alice said, her grin widening. "Metal bats have made a world of difference in our games. Before that, we were using normal wooden bats, and they would get destroyed with every swing, every time they made contact with the ball. Just picture Emmett lugging around a sack like this, filled with 200 baseball bats on his back."

I chuckled at the image I conjured up. Movement caught my attention from the corner of my eye, and I turned to see Edward approaching us. Like me, he was donning a baseball jersey, though his featured the Chicago Cubs logo. "Good afternoon, Bella," he greeted, his gaze sweeping over my attire. "Seems we both went with a baseball theme. You can hop on; I'm ready whenever you are. Everyone else is already on their way to the field."

I offered him a smile and a nod. As I waved to Alice, I noticed Edward lowering himself to one knee, indicating it was time for me to climb on. While Alice locked up her car, a curious thought crossed my mind—what it would look like riding on Alice's back. Given my size compared to hers, I imagined it would appear rather comical.

Securing myself on Edward's back, I instructed him, "Try and go full speed like last time. That was such a rush." On previous rides on Edward's back, I had requested him to gradually increase his speed, usually beginning at the 100 mph mark. Surprisingly, I hadn't experienced any sickness so far, and speeding through the forest like that was incredibly enjoyable.

Edward took off and holy shit, he was fast. I could barely distinguish anything as the scenery rushed by in a blur. Gazing far into the distance helped a bit, but with the trees whizzing past constantly, it was nearly impossible to get a clear view ahead. After about 10 minutes, I gave in and closed my eyes, surrendering to the smoothness of the ride. Eventually, he slowed down and announced our arrival. As he gently set me on the ground, I took a moment to regain my balance. Once ready, we broke through the trees, revealing an expansive clearing, even larger than a football field. I saw the rest of the Cullens getting ready including Emmett who was casually swinging a bat with one hand. He looked at me and spoke quite loudly, "Hey B, ready to knock a few out, or are you planning to watch from the sidelines like a little girl?"

No way am I taking that shit. "You know I'm hitting. Throw me some before you guys start," I declared. The corners of Emmett's mouth curled into a mischievous smile as he handed me the metal bat. "Just don't throw at full vampire speed, and I'll hit it out of the park," I proclaimed in a cocky manner.

"No way," Emmett chided, "You look like a 'three strikes and you're out' kind of player." Emmett and I always liked to talk smack to each other.

I walked over to what I assumed was home plate and took a couple of practice swings. Maybe I shouldn't have boasted that much. I had actually never played baseball, but all my other skills in sports had increased exponentially along with my hand-eye coordination, so why not hitting a baseball.

As I got ready to swing, I heard Alice's voice from behind me, "You can do it, Bella," and Esme's comforting words, "Be careful, sweetie."

I observed Emmett as he readied himself to throw, and he hurled the ball swiftly in my direction. Swinging with all my might, the bat connected with the ball, making a powerful bang as the ball soared beyond the field. "Home run number one," I boasted to Emmett, pleased that I had indeed managed to hit it.

"What the fuck," Emmett exclaimed loudly.

"Language, Emmett," Esme reprimanded. She was always strict about swearing.

"You got lucky, B," Emmett grumbled, bending down to retrieve another baseball. He appeared somewhat annoyed. "Okay, I bet you can't do that again."

He threw the ball again, a little faster I noted this time, but I still managed to hit it out of the ball field. Emmett looked truly pissed now. He got ready to throw another pitch, but this time he must have used vampire speed, as I barely saw the ball once it left his fingers. "Cheater!" I yelled, laughing. "Can't beat me by human standards, so you had to rely on your vamp powers. Shame shame, Emmett." I handed the bat off to Jasper, grinning.

"That was very impressive, Bella," Jasper said approvingly. "I don't know how you did that. Emmett actually cheated every throw, and they were all faster than a human could pitch," he continued, looking at me curiously, likely trying to figure out how I had done it.

"Oh… well… I've always been good at sports. You know me, Bella the jock," I smiled, giving him a wink, and settled down on some large rocks next to Esme.

"Well done, Bella. It's good to see Emmett put in his place every now and then," Esme said, patting my leg.

"Alright, everyone, let's split up into teams. How about Edward and Alice be the captains?" Carlisle suggested, strolling over to Esme and me. The rest of the Cullens gathered around, and I watched the two youngest vampires duke it out like real siblings, deciding who would end up on whose team.

Vampire baseball was everything Alice claimed it would be. Each time they made contact with the ball, it resonated like a thunderclap, and their speed as they raced around the bases was almost a blur. I was solidly cheering for Alice's team, and they were ahead 8 to 6. Edward was on the mound while Alice pitched. With a swift motion, Alice threw the ball, and Edward sent it soaring into the center field, a clear home run. As he dashed around the bases, he suddenly halted and turned, his gaze fixed on where the ball had disappeared. In a fraction of a second, he was back in front of me, and I realized that all the Cullens had quickly gathered around. What the fuck was going on?

It was then that I noticed two figures emerging from the woods. One of them casually tossed the baseball between their hands. As they approached, their features became clearer, revealing a man and a woman, both unmistakably vampires. Jasper leaned in close to me and whispered, "Stay still, Bella. Those are two of the vampires who caused us so many problems last year."

I observed the two approaching vampires. They were responsible for the deaths of the two Forks High students—Jessica's best friend Lauren and her boyfriend. They had tried to frame the Cullens for those murders. Why had they returned? With seven vampires here, all united against them, they were hopelessly outnumbered.

Breaking the tense silence, Carlisle took a step forward. "You are not welcome here. We made that abundantly clear last year. This region belongs to us. You must depart immediately."

The man, who looked rather grungy if you ask me, let out a laugh. "We heard your game and thought you might like two more players. We apologize for our actions last year. We were just having a little fun." He attempted to give a smile, though I didn't buy his words for a moment. His appearance suggested he hadn't washed in weeks, and there were stains on his pants that I'm pretty sure wasn't ketchup.

The woman with flaming red hair giggled and nodded in agreement with her companion. "Yes, we're so sorry," she chimed in, her voice a high soprano. "We ran into those two humans and we were quite parched. After we had quenched our thirst, we remembered how much you cared for them. So, we knew you would want to give them proper burials."

Carlisle appeared as unimpressed with their words as I was. "Actually, our game was just over. Now you two must leave the area at once." Just then, a shift in the wind seemed to carry my scent over to the two vampires. They both turned their heads faster than I could perceive, fixing their gaze on me.

The male vampire leered at me, hunger evident in his ruby-red eyes. "Ah, I'm so glad you were lying when you claimed not to indulge like normal vampires. You brought refreshments. She appears quite delectable, and her scent is rather unusual. May we join you?" He eyed me as if I were his next meal. In his dreams. In my opinion, he was about a second away from death.

"Bella is our guest," Carlisle stated firmly. "I won't repeat myself. You're not welcome here."

"Bella, is it?" the woman purred, her seductive gaze traveling up and down my body. I had a sickening feeling that these two liked to do more to their victims than just quickly draining them. "It appears you animal lovers don't comprehend the law. She has witnessed and heard too much. She must die. The law demands it," her grin twisted into a malevolent expression as she challenged Carlisle to justify his stance.

"Bella is under our protection. You will not do anything to her. Now, leave," Carlisle stated firmly.

I observed the man exchange a glance with the woman and wink at her, accompanied by a big smile. "Of course. We will take our leave. We apologize for interrupting your game. Have a pleasant day."

I couldn't believe this shit. Carlisle had to be the biggest pussy I had ever seen, letting these two assholes run over him like that. I would not stand for it.

"Stop," I yelled. The Cullens tried to shush me, but I had had enough. The man and the woman stopped and turned towards me.

I walked past the Cullens, positioning them behind me, and stood about twenty feet away from the two nomads whose red eyes bore into me. "I don't know what my friends are thinking, letting you two walk away again, but it's you who have broken the law, and I can't allow you to leave," I stated angrily. "You threaten me... you threaten the people of my town. I don't think so."

"Bella, please come back here," Edward pleaded urgently, his voice revealing his fear for my safety.

The male's voice dripped with venom as he belittled my defiance. "You better listen to him, little girl. Maybe you don't realize just how perilous your situation is. To us, you're nothing more than an insignificant meal. Just a common cow waiting to be drained. We'll savor draining you slowly, relishing every drop. And when we're done with you, we'll move on to anyone else we damn well please. We're..."

It happened instantly. Ever since I resolved that these assholes would never leave, I had been focusing my power. I had never used it consciously on a vampire, so I did not know how much was needed to incapacitate them. Thus, I used everything I had. I built it up as I was talking and focused more and more as my rage increased, thinking about what they had done and what they planned to do. I listened to all I could take of the soon-to-be-dead assholes' last words and unleashed everything I had, directing it at the two nomads.

It was as if they had collided head-on with a freight train. Their bodies literally exploded, the resulting carnage propelling backwards, creating a messy trail of venom and body parts that extended about 20 feet from where they had been standing. Nothing remained recognizable of either of them. What a mess. Gasps echoed behind me as I used my powers to push all the parts into one big pile.

I walked towards the mound of remains and goo, and pulled out the lighter Demetri had given me. I always carried it, but this marked the first time I would be using it. With a flip of the lid, I knelt down, igniting the edge of a part sticking halfway out of the pile. It might have been part of a foot. I didn't want to just throw the lighter on top of the pile as it was a gift which I was very fond of.

As the remains of the two nomads went up in a swirling cloud of purple smoke, I turned around, a sense of satisfaction washing over me. Before me stood the Cullens, all seven of them frozen in place, their mouths agape in shock.

"Sorry if I overstepped my place, Carlisle, but those two had to go," I explained, walking back to them and casually sliding the lighter back into my pocket.

"Holy fuck, Bella," Emmett exclaimed, being the first to come out of his stupor. He had a wide grin on his face. "You're a bad ass."

I shot him a smirk and replied with conviction, "You're damn right I am!"

The rest of the Cullens were just regaining their composure, astonishment still evident on their faces. "How... how did you do that?" Carlisle stammered, clearly shocked.

I regarded him with a slight smile forming on my lips. "I guess I have some other abilities," I replied coyly. Then I shifted my gaze back to the still-smoking pile. A sweet, sugary smell wafted from the dissipating smoke. "That was actually the first time I've had to use them on someone. Since they were vampires, I wasn't sure how much power would be needed. I might have overdone it. Just slicing off their heads probably would've done the trick."

I observed Edward gulp. He was likely recalling the threat I had given him and the promise I had made about what I would do to him if he blabbed. I winked at him and nodded.

"Bella, you've got to show us what you can do. I can't believe you were holding out on us. We showed you all our cool vampire powers," Emmett exclaimed, clearly thrilled at the prospect of witnessing my abilities. I smiled and thought, why not?

"Sure thing, Emmett. Watch this, everyone." I announced, then focused my power on Emmett, lifting him up into the air.

"Oh my god, look at me. I'm flying!" Emmett yelled in delight as I lifted him up 20 feet in the air. I then turned his body so he was perpendicular to the ground and started moving him around. To me, it looked more like he was floating slowly than flying, but Emmett loved it. He extended his hands in the air in front of him and yelled that he was Superman. I started to laugh, which broke my concentration, and he fell to the ground, landing face-first in a pile of mud. That only made me and everyone else laugh even harder.

Emmett picked himself up from the mud pile and smiled. "That was amazing, B." I could see that Emmett would never get tired of asking to see my abilities. Maybe I shouldn't have wasted those two after all.

Later that day, Alice dropped me back at home, and I thanked her for taking me. Despite the brutal double execution I had carried out, I had had a great time.

When I got up to my room, I figured I should let Demetri know about what happened. I pulled out my phone and called him. He answered immediately as always, "Hey Bella. How's it going?"

"Hey Demetri, pretty good. The Cullens took me to watch them play vampire baseball. It was really cool. But that's not why I'm calling. There was an incident during the game, and I thought I should fill you in."

"What happened?" He sounded genuinely concerned.

"Well, I had to sit on the sidelines, of course, which was bullshit but I guess understandable. Anyway, as they were playing, two nomads showed up. They had terrorized the town last year, breaking vampire law in my opinion. The Cullens had asked them to leave, but instead, they killed at least three people that I heard about and deposited two Forks High students drained on the Cullens' front porch, where anyone might have found them. The Cullens mentioned they had done a piss-poor job of cleaning up their kills too. Well, those two assholes came back and started threatening me."

"What happened?" Demetri said, sounding like he wanted to make a trip here to take care of them himself.

"Well, the Cullens were going to let them go again, but I would not stand for that. I told them to stop, and while they were giving me a long-winded speech about how they were going to kill me and anyone else they felt like, I turned them into vamp goo. I kinda overdid it and they exploded into a million tiny pieces. I did get a chance to use the lighter you gave me as I set them ablaze."

"Wow, well done, Bella. I'm so glad you're able to protect yourself, especially when real vampires failed to do so. Did you happen to catch the names of the two nomads?"

"Thanks. Yes, I asked the Cullens afterward, and they said the two were named James and Victoria. He had a pretty sketchy appearance, while she had long, flaming red, curly hair."

"Okay, I remember them. We issued them a warning 60 years ago about drawing attention to their kills. We hadn't heard of them since, but it seems they've continued skirting the law. I appreciate you taking care of the situation. You've saved me the trouble of tracking them down."

"Oh, just doing what I could. You should have seen the Cullens' faces after I did my thing. It was priceless. I hadn't told them I could do anything like that, so they were all quite shocked."

"I wish I could have seen that." Demetri chuckled, but then spoke more seriously, "I know you've never killed before. How are you doing?" he asked, clearly concerned about my emotional state.

"Thanks for asking. Luckily, I'm doing fine. I would have no issues doing that in the future if it were to put down the likes of those two. They were really awful and deserved everything I gave them, and probably more." I didn't want to think about what they had put their victims through.

"I'm glad you're okay. So your graduation is just a couple months away. We should discuss how you want to handle your trip here. I assume your father has no idea who I am, so some strange foreigner knocking on his door to pick up his daughter to take her out of the country is probably not the best course of action."

"No, I think the chief of police would have some issues with that situation. I could top it off and say I met you in an online chat room. At least I would be able to see how bullets bounce off you," I said, laughing. "We'll think it over and come up with something that works. Hey, maybe I could ask Alice, and we could pretend her parents gave her a graduation gift of a trip to Italy and she invited me to come along. Then she can either drop me off at the airport, or you could come pick me up. How does that sound to you?"

"Sounds excellent. Discuss it with the Cullens, and I'll start making arrangements on my end. I'll talk to you soon. Great job again on protecting yourself and helping to enforce the law."

"Talk to you later, Demetri. Thanks," I smiled as I ended the call. I reflected on the moment when I turned those two assholes inside out. What a fucking mess. After Demetri's arm accident last year, I had imagined vampires breaking apart into well-defined solid parts and pieces, like they were made of stone rather than flesh. However, the amount of spray and goo was quite something. Maybe they had drained someone recently, and there was still a lot of human blood in them that lubricated their insides. I shivered a little at the thought. At least I learned I have that killer instinct when it's needed. It could only help when I become a vampire.

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