A/N: This fic was initially inspired by Charmed, funny when you consider I have never watched it, I was looking for empaths in movies/shows and I came across a scene of a demon in a basement-like thingy freaking out. Made me want to write a fic of Jasper being found in a basement freaking out bc of his gift and well… this fic was born ~~~
The initial idea was for Alice and Jasper to have never met, but Alice knew about him and had grieved his death. Then when I was through chapter 5 I decided to change it, such a pain in the ass, I really wanted them to not know each other XD
Since the moment Alice woke up as a vampire she knew about her soulmate, knew him to be out there.
She knew his name and she knew how he looked like.
His name was Jasper and he was blond, he had lots of scars on his face, and while his eyes were guarded they were also warm.
She had seen him at her side with the Cullens, with beautiful golden eyes and the most charming of smiles.
He had been the first thing she had seen when she woke up, she had seen him in the South, had known him to not be ready for her.
So she had waited.
And waited.
Practicing the animal diet in the meantime and learning as much as she could about them.
The black bloods.
He was one of the last of said kind and she had found him as fascinating as she had found him amazing.
And then she met him, in 1948 and at a diner in Philadelphia.
Getting to speak to him had been like a dream come true.
But then, in 1949, while passing through Kansas, she had left the cabin they were staying at for a quick midnight hunt, not wanting to wake him she had left him behind, thinking it would be alright.
That's when he disappeared from her visions.
Her future.
As if he had never existed . It had felt as if someone had torn her chest open and ripped her heart out.
Even more so when all she came back to was to a burning cabin and his blood soaking the ground.
She had hated herself for so long, because he had trusted her to keep watch while he slept, she had assured him over and over again that he could sleep, that it was alright to let his guard down, that she would never let anything bad happen to him.
But she had.
She left him vulnerable.
And she lost him.
She had mourned him for a long time, heartbroken to know she had failed him, unable to move from that place, she had watched the fire die down, had watched as nature took over the cabin, seasons went on, rain, snow, sun.
She sat there for so long, starving, but no hunger could ever compare to the agony of losing him, she had almost crystallized there.
In 1960, as life would have it, Peter and Charlotte came across her.
Peter had managed to convince her to find the Cullens, that that's what Jasper would have wanted, that it wasn't her fault, she didn't fail him.
And still.
Part of her would forever feel like she was to blame for his death.
Regardless of Peter and Charlotte's words.
But she had seeked the Cullens out, it took her five years to get her bearings back together before she felt anywhere near ready to find them.
She never told the Cullens much about Jasper aside from the fact that he had existed. She had felt herself in the need to tell them about him after she kept noticing Carlisle and Esme's attempts at putting her up with Edward.
She had loved Edward.
Yes.
But as a brother.
And she had known he had felt the same.
She knew Esme and Carlisle hadn't meant ill with it, but it had still been uncomfortable to even think of being set up with someone.
The one and only man she had ever cared about about was dead, he would never turn up as Esme had once implied before any of them knew.
The man she had loved with all her heart was gone, she would never get to see his smiles, hear his voice nor see his little frowns again…
A fact none of the Cullens even knew, because she had lied, had said he never left South, because making them think she never met him hurt less than acknowledging the fact that she was to blame for her mate's death.
Because hiding the fact that she did meet him kept them from asking too much, she didn't want questions nor sad looks, she could barely hold on as it was.
It was bad enough she had to spend weeks in a motel somewhere far away, aiming to contain her breakdowns when Jasper's absence became too much to handle.
But then she saw him.
She was walking back to the house when the vision hit her.
Screams echoed down the halls, the clinking of chains following right behind, a dark room, windows sealed with steel bars, a figure curled in a corner by the shadows, black staining pale skin, muzzle, pitch black eyes, such raw anguish, such loneliness.
Alice sucked in a sharp breath as the vision slipped out of her grasp. She had no idea how or why, but she knew right then right there that he was alive.
She had no idea where he was nor what had happened to him to be like that. Who would do something so cruel as to chain and muzzle someone else like some kind of beast? And those eyes, she wanted nothing more but to wipe away that anguish. But she needed to find him first.
Thus.
She bolted back home, ignoring Emmett and Bella's shouts for her to wait for them, she knew Carlisle didn't want them wandering around alone, he was still a bit anxious over their new place of residence, but right now she couldn't care less, she needed to get home, she needed the whole family.
He needed her.
~
Esme was in the living room unpacking the last of what she had decided to bring from Forks to their brand new house. It had been ages since they bought a new house, but after getting confirmation from Eleazar that there was officially no danger for vampires in the South Emmett hadn't wasted a second to beg for them to move to Texas next.
And so Texas was it. It was his turn to choose where to move after all.
Speaking of Emmett, he had left to explore the forest with Bella and Alice tailing behind. Those three could be quite the headache.
Edward was helping Esme with the unwrapping of the frail silverware while Carlisle was finishing building the shelf with Rosalie's help.
And Jacob had taken Renesmee to explore town.
That's when Alice burst through the door.
-He's alive!- She was almost vibrating with excitement. Her thoughts so jumbled Edward couldn't for the life of him decipher what had his sister so overly happy.
-Who is alive dear?- Esme asked gently.
-Jasper , I saw him, he's alive!- It didn't took much to decipher who she meant.
Alice had never been one to sulk over the fact that she didn't have her partner. She had been a ray of sunshine since the moment she arrived into their lives, she had spoken about her deceased partner once.
His name had been Jasper, he had been part of the vampire wars in the South, and he had been a highly skilled fighter.
He had also been meant to join them.
But he never left the South, one day, out of nowhere, he disappeared completely from Alice's visions, even his future alongside them disappeared.
And all of that could mean nothing but one thing.
He had died.
She never mentioned his name again aside from when she told Bella about him, other than that she never mentioned him.
And while Esme was more than overjoyed by the possibility of such a miracle being possible she also needed to make sure Alice wasn't seeing things that weren't there, vampires who lost their mates had the tendency to become… unhinged.
Some killed themselves because they couldn't deal with the pain, some became shells of who they once were, others grew extremely violent, and some even went as far as becoming blinded by hatred towards other mated vampires.
Alice had never shown signs of violence or depression. She was a cheerful and energetic girl, which is why it had taken Carlisle and her weeks after finding out about Jasper to realize what was amiss with Alice.
Shopping.
She did excessive shopping, she bought things she didn't even need, there were some days where she would seriously exploit her credit card buying thousands upon thousands of things that she would end up giving away at the end of the day and then spend hours rearranging her closet and room.
Shopping was like some kind of escape route to her, and since she wasn't harming others or herself with it Carlisle and Esme had decided to let her be. She gave the stuff away anyways, and they weren't exactly short on money, Alice herself made sure of that.
-Darling, are you 100% sure?- Esme asked, her voice gentle.
-Yes, but…- As excited as she had been, just as quick her mood fell, Edward was able to see right into her mind, the vision she had had.
-Absolutely not.- Were Edward's definitive words.- You are not looking for him nor are you getting anywhere near him.
-I'm not asking for permission.- Alice snapped, eyes growing hard.
-What's wrong? Why shouldn't she look for him?- Rosalie questioned Edward, they might not like each other and they might argue a lot, but they were certainly on the same page when it came to Alice, they both would do just about anything to protect her.
Which is why Rosalie couldn't understand why would Edward refuse the idea of Alice looking for her soulmate, who she had thought dead for years mind you, she deserved to be happy, of course Rosalie first had to make sure the guy wasn't a jerk, Alice never actually met him so no one could be sure if he was really as good as she had made him out to be.
Was that why Edward was refusing? He couldn't be that much of an idiot right? He would certainly know Alice listened to no one when she put her mind into something that she wanted.
And she definitely wanted Jasper.
Even if she never met him in person she had grown quite attached to him through her visions.
-He was in chains, in a basement. With a muzzle! And did you see his eyes? Something is definitely wrong with him. You can't seriously want to go looking for someone that's obviously not right!
-There's nothing wrong with him!
-What's wrong with who?- Emmett asked as he appeared at the doorway with Bella by his side.
-Jasper's alive and Edward thinks he already knows everything about him.- Alice said, something akind to resentment leaking into her voice as she glared at her brother in question.
-You don't know if it's him, and you are being way too careless, just because you saw some guy in a vision it doesn't mean it's him. It could be a look alike, didn't you say before he was dead? How come you get a vision of him now? Conveniently right after we move here?
-Edward.- Carlisle warned, cutting his son off before he could get into an argument with Alice, even if there were high chances of him not being Alice's same Jasper he couldn't just ignore the fact that there was someone chained and muzzled somewhere, who would do something so inhumane?
But he also needed to remember this was Texas, the epicenter of the vampires' wars for territories, the South in general had been extremely dangerous, wars had raged on for years. And while it was safe now, had been so for years now, it didn't mean some people might not still be on it.
What if he had been caught on the crossfire of a fight? Carlisle couldn't just ignore it, he wouldn't be able to be at ease until he was saved, plus, Alice deserved to see if it was truly him, if he was, with more reason Carlisle couldn't ignore him, that would be like turning his back to one of his own children.
-It's not the same, he's nobody to us.- Edward stated bitterly at Carlisle's thoughts, Rosalie glared at him.
-Bella was a nobody to me, and I still helped her not end up torn apart by James, or have you forgotten?- Rosalie threw Bella a quick look, she didn't have anything against her anymore, but she needed Edward to see the hipocrisy of his words, just because someone meant nothing to you it didn't meant you shouldn't help them.
She had helped Bella because she meant something to her family, Edward should help this guy because he meant something to Alice.
Jasper was literally the brother they never got to meet, in a weird way, he was part of the family.
-It's not the same, she was human, harmless, he's a vampire from the South, are you seriously willing to bring into our family a nomad from the South?
-Are you seriously judging someone based solely on where they come from?- Rosalie asked, a dangerous edge in her voice, warning him to choose his next words wisely.
-Of course not.- Edward was quick to defend himself.- But this is different, we don't know why is he like that, if he's dangerous. What if releasing him ends up being a grave mistake we can't back off from?
-He's not dangerous.- Alice snapped, anger starting to set in, she had expected much more support from Edward than this, he, after all, understood the agony of thinking one's mate to be dead just for it to turn out to be a lie.
-How would you know? You just saw him in your visions, you never actually met him.
Alice winced at that, right, she never told them, it had been easier to lie, but now… but there was no time for this.
-I just know. He looked like he was in pain, and lonely, he didn't seem dangerous.
-You are being irrational.- Edward refuted.
- You are being irrational.- Alice snapped harshly.
-That's enough.- Esme's voice shut the whole room up.- We are finding him, even if he does end up not being the same person or runs off, even if he is dangerous, I won't just sit here and act as if I didn't just find out there's a boy chained somewhere and in pain, and if any of you for one second think that leaving him chained like that is an option then I must say, I'm truly ashamed of you.
Silence reigned across the room for a moment before Emmett poked Alice's shoulder.
-You did see where he is, right?
He might not like the idea of some random guy anywhere near his sister, but he could always set him right over what he shouldn't do, plus, Alice did deserve to be happy, and Emmett would kill for a brother less uptight.
Edward glared at him but Emmett ignored him.
Alice for her side frowned.
-... There were steel bars on the windows, and the place looked abandoned, sort of like a basement… but there were hallways… I think it was a church.
-A church?- Carlisle repeated. Bella pulled her phone out to make a quick search of the churches in this town.
-There's two churches in this town, one has been abandoned for the past 30 years after the priest went crazy and slaughtered the entire choir before killing himself, survivors from the scene claim he was screaming about red eyed demons.
-Red eyes? Could it be a vampire?- Emmett questioned to no one in particular.
-Possibly.- Carlisle was deep in thought, 30 years ago, had the vampire actually been the one to kill those people? Had he somehow made the priest kill those people?
-How come no one's demolished that place and built something new?- Rosalie's question got her more than one look.
-It says here people avoid the place, they say they can feel the dead souls' anger and bloodlust towards whoever dares to go in. Some others even swear they can hear screaming sometimes.
-Dude, that's cool.
-No, it's not.- Alice says, she had heard the screaming, he was the one screaming, such raw sounds it broke her heart, why was he hurting? Who had hurt him?- I'm going looking for him.
- We are going looking for him, there's no way you are going over there all alone.- Emmett interjected as a statement of fact.
Alice smiled.
~
Jasper moaned as he felt the ripple of excitement in the air, curiosity, wariness, annoyance, hope, irritation, way too many emotions, way too many people at once, it made his fingers curl into fists, jaw set tight, it was the first time in a long time that so many emotions were felt at once, and as much as he tried to whisk them away he couldn't, something was stopping him from making them run.
There were seven of them. Seven. He wished he could curl into himself, hide, if he couldn't use his gift, there was barely anything he could do but hope that no one would find him, he was in no shape for a fight, no shape for even walking, he didn't even remember when was the last time he got to walk or even stand up, or move anything but his damn fingers .
Footsteps began coming closer, emotions raw and so overwhelming it felt as if his skin would be burnt off. He bit his tongue and shifted a bit, the movement made steel pierce his back, forcing him to halt.
The door opened and he flinched. He felt nauseous over the new wave of emotions crashing upon him. Loud. Too loud. Like razors inside his brain.
He growled, he might not be able to do much but he sure as hell wouldn't go without a fight, he would never go without a fight, he wanted them gone gone gone.
Fear flickered across the air but so did shock, surprise, pain, pity.
It sliced across his skin making him flinch and bite back a whimper. God he didn't remember emotions being so deafening. It made his head spin and he wanted nothing more but to scream, but his throat was burning, melting, and at this point in life he could no longer tell if it was because of the hunger or the screams.
The shadows backtracked as someone spoke somewhere above, but his senses were too deplorable to make out what was being said.
He wanted to claw at his skin when surprise seized the air, shock, disbelief, why? Why so loud? He wanted everyone to shut up, and his damn gift won't work on them, it won't do as he says, he wanted them gone, his head felt as if it would explode, his chest, fingers, which were close to his face, clutched the muzzle as he dug his fingernails at the edge of it, piercing his own skin, not for the first time hoping that his pain would be enough to drown the chaos around.
Hoping to feel anything but people's nightmarish emotions.
~
The church is quite easy to find, they split so as to search quicker, Bella uses her gift to shield the place, just in case, if people claimed they could feel something from this place it was most likely that this vampire had some sort of gift that could affect others.
Esme is the one who finds him, in a hidden room, he greets her with a warning growl that makes fear flicker inside her for a moment, this before she takes on the scene before her.
And the sight breaks her heart, just like Edward had said, he was chained to the walls, but not just his wrists, rusted shackles are tight around his wrists, ankles, knees, there's even some sort of collar on his neck, and something around his waist, arms, shoulders, it keeps his arms tightly against his chest, hands close to his face, he probably couldn't even stand up let alone move with that mess of chains and shackles and God who would do something so cruel?
There's even a muzzle strapped to his face, his hair looks almost brown and like it hadn't been washed in years, it falls on his eyes, down his shoulders, his clothes rumpled and worn out, they kind of remind her of some sort of uniform but she can't be sure, he's also barefoot.
And his skin, with the little light leaking through the open door she can see it, his skin is almost translucent, grayish, his eyes, they are pitch black.
Even the sclera.
Which shouldn't be possible at all unless he was...
She freezes, an involuntary gasp leaving her.
Not because of the sudden realization of just what he was but of what state he was in.
How long has it been since he last fed or even moved? His eyes narrow as he looks at her, such agonizing expression on his face, he seems to be in pain, angry, warning her off.
Then she hears Edward's shocked yet alarmed voice from somewhere above.
-Esme, get away from him, he's an empath.
That's enough to make her gasp in surprise, she quickly backtracks, leaving the room, by the time she makes it upstairs everyone has already gathered together.
-Are you sure of what you say?- Carlisle questions, definitely surprised by this turn of events, empaths were extremely rare, mostly because most of them never made it past their newborn stage, the overwhelming turmoil of emotions around them driving them insane.
-Yes, I heard his thoughts, he could feel us, it hurt him, but… I think he can also manipulate people's emotions, he was freaking out because he couldn't make us go away, which I guess Bella's shield had to do with his gift failing.- Edward's words…
Carlisle had no idea what to do with that, he had never heard of such a gift, an empath capable of manipulating emotions… how did he end up down there? Why?
-I think he's been down there for years, his skin… he's starting to crystallize.- Esme said sadly, Emmett sucked in a sharp breath at that, it didn't took a genius to know how would that happen, vampires were immortal, for the most part at least.
And while starving wouldn't kill them it would make their bodies crystallize, but that would also only happen if the vampire had been unmoving for years, dust petrified on their skin and eyes as response to the venom in their bodies, their skin becoming translucent.
If he was like that…
How long has he been there? Why? How had he even been subdued? Why didn't he break out while he was still strong enough to do so?
-I think he's a black blood.
Esme's words freeze the room aside from Alice who grimaces at her words.
Carlisle looks tense as he gives his wife an doubtful look.
-Esme…
-I know, but I saw his eyes, they were black, like, seriously black, even his sclera was black. That would never happen with one of our kind.- She insisted.
-Wait, black blood? Like, fangs and claws black blood? Those black bloods?- Emmett asks, needing to be sure he wasn't misunderstanding anything.
-Yes.
-I thought you said before that the Volturi had killed them all?- Bella felt the need to point out, she had read the books Carlisle had on black bloods.
Turns out vampires with fangs had existed.
Long ago.
These vampires were called "black bloods" and were the first reanimated corpses to walk the earth. Their origin was unknown and their bodies had been composed of two things; blood and venom. Their blood had had a black color and an intense acidic scent which was what had given them their name and characteristic acidic scent.
The rotten blood in their tissues needed to be stimulated with doses of venom from time to time in order for them to survive. Before the poisonous vampires came to be black bloods survived by feeding off of each other.
Too little venom weakened them and too much venom could poison both their bodies and minds. Poisoned black bloods couldn't control themselves and would end up bringing death upon themselves due the insanity taking over them.
With time some of them began evolving and losing aspects that threatened their survival. Adapting .
These were called the poisonous vampires for their bodies held nothing but venom.
While the first ones were stronger and had their senses and bloodlust more heightened than their sparkling counterparts their nature still made them also weaker.
They had black blood coursing through their veins, forever lingering in their tissues making them as strong and fast as the worst newborns.
Their eyes turned silver when they fed on venom but would become completely black, even their sclera, when the venom in their bodies ran low. Black veins marred some of their skin as a sign of the rotten blood coursing through their bodies.
Unlike the poisonous ones these were unable to turn humans with their bites. The venom in their bodies being too weak to be able to affect humans or even other vampires.
Some referred to them as "the cannibals" due the fact that they not only fed off other vampires but they also fed off each other's blood.
Also. It was thanks to the rotten blood in their veins that there were rumors about the females being capable of procreating.
These vampires also held the abilities of flight, scale walls, shapeshifting, a form of echolocation and compulsion on their side, separating them even more from their counterparts who lost these abilities as nothing but venom began coursing through their veins.
Black bloods, as humans claimed in their legends, wielded retractable fangs and claws that could pierce a vampire's skin without troubles. Could transform into horrid humanoid creatures with bat-like features. Would sleep when the sun was out and wake at night.
But while these abilities could put them over the others their weaknesses gave them a great disadvantage that put them below their counterparts instead.
Their skin burnt under direct sunlight, during sunrise to be more precise, but their resistance to light in general was little to non-existent which did great at making them nocturnal creatures as a result.
Vervain could weaken them incredibly the same as silver and holy water could burn them. Religious chants, crosses and garlic could also harm and repel them. A stake to the heart would turn them to dust and they couldn't enter houses unless the owner invited them in or the house became theirs.
With time the poisonous ones became the dominant specie as the black bloods began meeting their demise either under the hands of human hunters or the Volturi themselves. Their never-ending thirst for blood made them become aggressive with time. Irrational. Feral.
And as their extinction neared their need for venom increased, they began slaughtering entire covens.
The Volturi saw them as too much of a threat to their specie and decided to exterminate them.
Some claim that the real reason behind their extermination was decided due the discoveries of them being able to infect other vampires and humans alike with their blood. Others that the Volturi got rid of them due the fact that they couldn't be tamed and less much controlled.
But the point still stood.
They were extinct.
-Did you know?- Edward asked, turning to look at Alice, she didn't seem particularly surprised by this discovery.
-Of course I did, I just didn't think it was important, Bella's still friends with shapeshifters even though she's now a vampire, we have Jacob living with us now, why would a black blood matter?
-They feed on venom, our venom.- Edward said slowly, hoping to make Alice realize the gravity of the situation. She frowned at him.
-So? Wolves kill us, they literally tried to kill us when Renesmee was born.- She reminded Edward as a statement of fact.
-That's not the same, he-
-I'm not leaving without him.- Alice cut off, fingers curling into fists as she glares defiantly at Edward.- I can take him somewhere else if you don't want him at home, but I won't leave him.
She won't abandon him again, never again.
-I wasn't gonna say that.- Edward replies, now that he knew what he knew… it didn't matter who that man was, no one deserved such torture, and if his thoughts were something to go by he hadn't even been to the outside world in years, no one deserved that.
But…
-You do realize he's been starving for years, right?- Edward needed Alice to understand what they were getting into, right now, that vampire was starving, he might not be aware of the severity of it at this point, but that didn't meant he wouldn't become uncontrollable and potentially dangerous the second he caught a whiff of blood.
Or worse.
Venom.
-I know that, which is why we should be letting him go instead of standing here.
-He's going to maul everyone on sight if you do that.
-Or he might not, he's too weak, he can't move. And if he's crystallizing as Esme said, don't you think his body, regardless of how much he is starving, won't function as well as it should? He probably can't even walk.- And that was a thought that made something burn deep within her core, anger, she wanted to find whoever did this to him and tear them apart.
-Alice is right, if he's crystallizing… I don't think his body is in the greatest conditions right now.- Carlisle said, he couldn't help but feel anger towards whoever had been so cruel to do something so inhumane to that boy.
-How are we getting him out of here?- Rosalie asked, she might not be thrilled over the idea of having a friggin' black blood in her house or anywhere near her family, but she couldn't just ignore the injustice done here, someone had chained him down there, muzzled him like some kind of dog.
Why?
-Edward, can you bring the van to the back? I think it would be better if no one saw us leaving with him.- Carlisle said, plus, it would be better to keep him away from humans for the time being. He didn't even knew how to approach this, an empath, a black blood, that was seriously a dangerous mix.
-You should stay calm, it might hurt him less.- Edward supplied, Carlisle nodded before turning to look at Alice, she was obviously itching to go downstairs already, but Carlisle couldn't let her act impulsively, she might get hurt.
-Alice, you may come with me, but do please don't approach him, I don't want you to accidentally get hurt, we don't know how long he's been isolated down there or how he might react to other vampires.
Alice didn't seem pleased with his words, but she at least nodded.
-The rest of you can go back home, wait there, and tell Jacob to keep Renesmee in town a bit longer.- Carlisle instructed, this before making his way downstairs, Alice following right behind.
The clinking of chains was heard, followed by a growl, an almost animalistic sound, but rather than intimidating it sounded more like a desperated attempt to sound intimidating.
Carlisle opened the door, and there he was, he heard Alice gasp behind him, and it took everything in him to not turn around and cover her eyes, keep her from seeing such horrifying scene, even with that muzzle, Carlisle could perfectly see how young he was, he was warning him off, in pain, angry, but there was something else in those unnatural black eyes…
Fear?
He was sitting on the ground in quite the uncomfortable position, hunched, arms against his chest, hands close to his face, his hair matted in God knows what, the place reeked of acid, and it took Carlisle a moment to notice the black liquid trailing down the muzzle, fresh fingernails marks marring the corners of the muzzle.
He really was one of them, a black blood, he hadn't seen one of his kind since his time in Volterra, he knew that the rumor of them being insane and uncontrollable creatures was nothing but a lie, he had met enough civil black bloods in the past.
They were as smart and aware as any other person.
-Oh God.- Alice's sudden sorrowful voice got the vampire flinching, she peeked from behind Carlisle, taking a look at the vampire on the floor.
His attention fell completely on her, eyes narrowing, a hint of confusion swimming in his eyes.
He took a step forward and the vampire growled, glaring at him dangerously, Carlisle raised his hands in a peaceful gesture.
-It's alright, we mean you no harm.- He assured softly, that didn't stop the growling, and Carlisle saw himself having to step back.
The growling stopped.
Alice stepped into the room and Carlisle grabbed her arm.
-Alice-
-Let me try.- She cut off pleadingly, she needed to get him out of here, even if none of them believed her, she knew it was him, this feral-looking vampire was him.
It was her Jasper.
Carlisle for his side held her gaze, he knew Alice was adamant about this vampire being her Jasper, and while Carlisle had his reservations about it, she had confirmed that he had been a black blood, this vampire was also a black blood.
He released her arm, who knew? Maybe fate was truly on their side, maybe Jasper was truly alive.
Meanwhile, Alice turned back to look at those pitch black eyes, he was staring at her, not glaring at least, just staring, she tried to keep herself relaxed, focusing on calm feelings, comfort, delight, happiness, she didn't want him to be in pain.
He gave her a curious look, confused, but at least he seemed to relax ever so slightly.
What did burn was the lack of recognition in his eyes, as if he had absolutely no idea who she was.
Still.
She tried to attribute it to the lack of food and blood loss.
For the time being she would just deal with what she got.
-Hi, I'm Alice, and that one behind me is Carlisle.- She introduced gently, taking a tentative step forward, he narrowed his eyes at her, a light growl coming from him.- I promise we mean you no harm, we just moved here, and I had a vision of you, you seemed to be in pain, so we came to help you.
Each word was accompanied by a step, he was watching her cautiously, but Alice kept her movements slow, open, relaxed. He frowned at the word 'vision', a question in his eyes.
He truly had no idea who she was, did he? Why? What had been done to him?
-I have a gift, I can see visions of the future.- Alice told, blinking away the sudden blurriness from her vision, she couldn't break down now.
She needed to get him out of here first.
She was now at arm lengths from him, he stiffened and she lowered to the ground, she didn't want to tower over him and scare him, he gave her a wary look, she smiled.
She kept moving, ever so careful, talking, same methods she had used in the past to approach him whenever he had an episode, flashbacks, people would call it now days.
-I have two brothers and two sisters, Emmett is huge and people often find him intimidating, but you don't need to worry, he's an absolute goof, he gives the best hugs and he loves playing chess even though he would rather die than admit it.
She used the exact same words she had used to describe him before, but there was still no recognition whatsoever.
And she was so close to him now, and he seriously had no idea who she was .
-He's married to Rosalie, she's the most beautiful person you might ever meet, and while she likes to act cold and all bitchy she's actually very kind, and loyal, she's just afraid to open to people, but once she does you can be damn sure she will do anything for those she loves. There's also Edward, he's a bit moody, but he's great too, he likes to play chess, and argue with Rosalie just about anything, but he's got a good heart.
So close.
-He's married to Bella, she was turned by Edward four years ago, she used to be really clumsy, and a bit awkward. But she's grown quite the backbone since she became a vampire, she does whatever she pleases even if it gets Edward hyperventilating out of drama, he can be a bit of a diva when it comes to her, but they love each other a lot.
She sat before him now, she could very much touch him if she just reached out, but she didn't, he looked tense, wary, but oh so curious, confused.
She craved to wrap her arms around him, to make sure she wasn't dreaming even though she couldn't really sleep, but God, this felt so surreal, to have him right infront of her, alive .
-There's Esme, she's like our mom, she's very kind and caring, she cares about everyone and is awfully patient, she's the nicest person you might ever know, she's married to Carlisle.- She pointed behind her to remind him who she spoke of.
He didn't even look behind her, he was staring at her intently.
-Carlisle is like our dad, he's also very kind, and compassionate, very trustworthy, he likes helping people, he works as a doctor in a hospital.- She could almost hear the question as his eyes filled with surprise, confusion, doubt.
And she knew the why, he had reacted the exact same way when she had first told him.
-Do you know why our eyes are golden even though we are vampires?- She knew she had him when he gave her a curious look, she could swear she felt a tingle across her skin, at least he didn't seem to be in much pain anymore.- We feed off animal blood, Carlisle taught us so we could live among humans, have a normal life, or as close to normal as we can.
He stared at her, doubt and suspicion back to his eyes. He didn't seem to believe her, well, that at least hadn't changed, he had reacted the same way before.
-Do you want to get out of here? I would like it very much if you came with us, even if you don't want to stay with us afterwards, I would like to help you get better, no one deserves to be in this situation.- She said softly, she let her emotions open, calm, honesty, hope, comfort, she didn't mean harm, she just wanted to help him.
He looked tormented at her words, confused, scared, doubt, anger, desperation, pain, more fear…
It broke her heart to see him like this.
It felt like an eternity before she saw his eyes finally soften, a new kind of glimmer in them.
Hope .
-I need to reach out so I can take the muzzle off, is that alright?- She asked, her voice soft, he seemed to hesitate for a moment before giving her a short nod, flinching at the action, odd.
Alice left her sitting position on the ground so she could kneel, reaching out behind him to look for anything that might help her get rid of the muzzle.
She felt him shudder when she touched the back of his head, when she didn't find anything she decided to snap the leather, carefully mavenouring the muzzle off his face, she pulled it back, throwing the muzzle away.
Alice felt the world stop around her as she saw his face, even with all the grim and dried blood marring his face, even with the fingernails' shaped scars and fresh wounds on his cheeks.
It was him.
It was seriously him. He was alive.
Her vision blurred as she felt a breath she didn't knew she had been holding leave her.
Jasper was alive. He was alive, she didn't got him killed.
He shifted, an uncomfortable look on his face.
Right . Focus.
She had to control her emotions, she might know who he was, but he apparently had no idea who she was, she needed to keep her emotions under control if she didn't want to come off as a creep and freak him out.
She snapped the chains around his wrists, ankles and legs. The metal around his shoulders, he flinched everytime their bodies came into contact, was he in pain?
It wasn't until she reached for the one around his waist that he tensed and sucked in a sharp breath, it took her nothing but a moment to find what was wrong, the second she did the second she felt horror seize her, a pained moan leaving him.
-Oh God.
-What's wrong?- She had almost forgotten Carlisle was there.
-His back, they, he's, oh God.- Alice was obviously distraught, Jasper at her side was starting to breathe rapidly, undoubtedly reacting to Alice's negative emotions.
Carlisle quickly made his way over to them, Jasper was way too focused on his pain to mind him, the second Carlisle saw what had Alice so upset the second he felt his dead heart drop.
Oh God.
Now that would explain how come he was so still, not even struggling to be free, there was a steel bar that went right through his back and into the ground, Carlisle glanced to the front, he couldn't see well considering the boy's position made it hard, but he had a feeling that that bar went right through him, it was on the ground, making sure that any movement on his part would cause him pain.
He touched Alice, gently asking her to move aside, she did so, the empath didn't even react to the proximity.
That until Carlisle touched his back, that got him reacting, he flinched and wasted no time to snap at him, snarling in the process, he managed to tear off a part of Carlisle's sleeve, but he didn't got to his skin.
-It's alright, you are alright, I won't hurt you, I just want to help you, you heard Alice, I'm a doctor, I help people regardless of who they are, it's my job. And right now, you need help.
He glared at Carlisle, such ferocious glare, so different from the soft eyes he had been giving Alice, even his growling had become guttural, dangerous as he bared his fangs at him. Those eyes… whoever this boy was he was definitely not harmless.
Watching his daughter approach him had been nerve wrecking, but Alice had kept him occupied talking to him.
The way he had just let her close so easily, maybe Alice was right, maybe this boy was the one for her, which made it even more imperative getting him out of here.
Regardless of who he was.
-I'm Carlisle Cullen, what's your name?- The question seemed to catch the boy off guard because he stopped growling, confusion and wariness in his eyes, he seemed to be looking for something in Carlisle's eyes, what? He didn't knew.
But he seemed to not find it because suddenly he stopped glaring, he looked honestly lost, hesitant, scared, so young. Like he didn't knew what to do.
Then he opened his mouth, a croaking sound leaving him before he broke out into a coughing fit, fire rippling across Carlisle's skin, it took him a moment to realize what the feeling was, pain. He was projecting his pain. An empath who could project his own emotions.
Carlisle had never heard of such a thing.
-It's alright, don't speak, it's alright.- Alice was quick to intervene, her hand resting on top of the horrible mess that could barely be called hair.
Carlisle took advantage of the boy's distraction to reach for the steel bar, and mentally apologizing for what he was about to do he yanked out the steel bar, the ragged scream that pierced the air made guilt twist into his chest, but sometimes it was best to get it over with when the patient least expected it, like ripping a bandaid, or setting back a dislocated bone.
Fire burnt his skin and he saw white for a moment, the boy's ragged screams filling the air as he began shaking.
And then he went lax, most likely Carlisle yanking that out of his body had been the last strain, he was unconscious, Alice was quick to catch him, her arms wrapping around him, seemingly not caring about his state.
The Alice Carlisle knew would have rather died than risk ruining her clothes with the blood that began pooling beneath, she didn't seem to mind that much right now.
Maybe, just maybe, this wasn't such a bad idea.