Easy Going


Things have been going much smoother lately.  It seems like scaring that poor boy was so long ago, it is hard to believe that was the last time I've written.  To catch up on current events, we popped in on the trouble-making boy every now and then, trying to keep the thought fresh in his mind that he needed to keep quiet.  Over the course of the summer, I monitored his thoughts and if it ever seemed like he was starting to get too comfortable, or feel too safe with the idea of telling someone about us, we paid him a surprise visit.  It worked like a charm.

Rosalie and Emmett have been attending Mountain State University, like they planned, and Alice and Jasper are at Marshall University.  Being the loner that I am, decided to take a year off to go do some travelling, but eventually ended up joining Alice and Jasper at Marshall.  People don't really notice us there, as the classes are large, and the campus is diverse.  We are just your typical college students to them, with our faces stuck in books, pale and withdrawn from too much studying, as far as anyone would assume.  Since Alice and my last name is different from Jasper's, people usually assume that Alice and I are brother and sister and she is his girlfriend.  We don't offer the foster story, and people really don't get nosy.  It is nice to be with an older crowd that at is too caught up in themselves to worry about others.  Or at least pretends to be.

Rosalie and Emmett are planning another wedding.  It is going to be a big, gaudy affair in Paris this time.  We will all fly out there, but they have been travelling back and forth to set things up.  I swear Rosalie never gets worn out.  At least this time she has managed to be gracious about the whole thing, and with Alice helping, it has been quite entertaining for the three girls to plan.  We all have a week off in the spring, which is exactly when Rosalie plans on having the wedding.  She wants lots of flowers blooming and tree blossoms for the photographs.  Even Emmett is excited, despite the fact that Alice has picked out a light blue tuxedo with a big, ruffled shirt for him to wear.  It is supposed to match the flowers perfectly, whatever that means.  Girls.

When I'm not busy vocalizing how glad I am that I'm not Emmett in his powder blue suit (which usually lands me in a wrestling match in which Jasper gets involved to referee, because it is such a close match between Emmett's strength and my mind reading), I am usually studying.  I actually get to take classes now that I haven't taken a million times already.  College finally has something to offer me that high school did not.  My favorite classes, of course, are humanities and philosophy.  I love learning how how people think, why perhaps they think why they do, and how they lived the ways they did.  It is incredible when you combine these classes with my innate ability for understanding the human thought process.  When you can read minds, it brings philosophy to a new level.

Homework gives me something to do at night, at the least.  I am usually a favorite among my professors, naturally.  This tends to happen when everyone else in your house has other ways to spend their dusk hours and you are trying to kill time.  My papers are always long, well thought out, and above par.  I go beyond what is expected of me.  In fact, now that I am thinking about it, I just got an idea for tonight's assignment.  I should probably get started.  Who knew- Edward, drowning his sorrows in schoolwork.  I feel like a nerd.  I wonder how long this will last?  If I am lucky I can stretch  it out a decade or so.  Then again my luck never seems to take me far.  Anyway, that is it for now.   Be back when I have more to talk about.

Manipulation


Things are pretty boring these days on the college front.  I have been attending classes, hanging out with Alice and Jasper on campus, and being a regular guy.  It is very weird to be looked at like everyone else.  This is the first time since my creation- since any of our creation actually- that we haven't turned any heads.  People really don't notice us in any odd way.  It is hard to get used to, almost like losing a part of your personality.

The women here are all over me also, but not in the obsessive, girly way the high school group I had to deal with earlier was.  These women are older and more direct, more intense.  I have learned how to get certain things from them, such as if I need access to the library after hours, or a coffee for the professor when I don't have any money on hand.  It surprises me how often a professor will just pick a student out of the front row and order them to leave class to fetch them a coffee or a water.  I stopped sitting in the front row a month or two into the first semester.

Anyway, at first I felt bad for manipulating women like this, and then I started dissecting it further.  I wondered why I was able to do this.  None of the others seem to do it and I wondered if it was a power unique to me.  I didn't want to tell anyone what I was doing, however, as it didn't seem very nice.  I wasn't really forcing anyone to do anything.  I was merely leaning closer to the woman, making sure their heart beat faster and their ability to think started getting fuzzy, and then I asked for what I wanted.  It usually worked.  The first few tries were trials.  Practices.  Then I knew what I was doing.  The women seem more than happy to oblige to my needs.

After a while, my curiosity about the whole thing got the better of me, and I couldn't keep quiet about it any longer.  I finally confided in Carlisle about what I was doing.  I tried to read his thoughts as I was telling him about my adventures, but all I was getting from him was surprise.  Then imagine my shock when he started laughing.  He actually laughed at me.

He said that he was surprised that it took me so long to figure this little trick out.  It was the oldest vampire trick in the book.  Human manipulation.  It sounded horrible when he said it, of course.  Then he really knocked my socks off.  He said the Denali sisters were true professionals at it.  They manipulated men like an art form.  In fact, their exploits with men caused the Denali sisters to grow quite fond of men in general, which gave them a love for the human kind, and in turn, a sense of guilt when they fed on humans- especially the men they found to be so amazing in the first place.  I had heard the short version of that story, but this version was much better.

Carlisle went on to say that there were always times when vampires needed to use a little sense of "charm" to get their way with the humans.  Sometimes, if he had a particularly difficult patient it came in handy.  The trick was to know the difference between when to use it and when to use your conscience.  Carlisle was also surprised that I hadn't discovered this sooner, but after some contemplation on the matter, he figured that my lack of interest in the opposite sex probably distracted me from trying to manipulate them, or ask them for anything.  Therefore I wouldn't have discovered this neat little trick.

The funny thing is that Carlisle is going crazy trying to document all my stories, asking me every detail about every time I've used any form of persuasion on a human.  He finds it truly fascinating to combine the natural ability of vampire persuasion with my extra talent of mind reading.  Surprise surprise.  Anything to give Carlisle something to study I suppose.  Now he has me asking a girl for something silly once a week.  Last week I asked this woman at the cafeteria for a free piece of apple pie.  I don't even eat.  She gave it to me of course, then I had to pretend it was the most delicious thing.  All for Carlisle.  He got such a laugh out of it.  Next week I will be smarter about my choices, but the cafeteria was right there, and the day was almost over.  Oh well.

I guess that's it for now.  I am tired of writing, so I should probably sign off.  I am working on a new song that needs my attention anyway.  Better get back to it.

Typical


Again with the boredom.  I am driving myself crazy here.  College is about the only interesting thing I have going on.  I can't seem to get myself out of this rut.  Even Carlisle's little experiments with the "jedi mind tricks" on people have bored me.  Not that they were that interesting to begin with- for me anyway.

For Carlisle they were like a child with a new toy- they gave him something new to play with, or perhaps a better way to describe it would be when you are a child and you get to go to a friend's house and play with their toys.  Eventually, you realize that you have to give the toy back, it was never really yours, but it was fun while it lasted.  Perhaps even better than playing with your old, boring toys at home.  I was the child at home, and Carlisle was the child visiting, playing with my toys.  I was bored already, but he was having so much fun, I didn't have the heart to tell him to go home.

At any rate, Rosalie and Emmett are counting down the days until their rapidly approaching wedding.  Every flat surface in the house is covered with catalogs and magazines and clippings of brides, flowers, and cakes from various boutiques.  I am trying to avoid Emmett, who wants to pin me down as his best man- again.  It wouldn't be so bad except that I'd have to wear a matching powder blue suit like his.  I think I'll pass that honor on to Jasper this time, and watch the incredible ceremony from the front row.  Besides, someone has to pelt Emmett with rice when they walk down the aisle, and I want to make sure I get some in his mouth when people aren't looking.

Carlisle and Esme have been spending some time off and on in Isle Esme.  They have been renovating their house on the island.  From what I can tell, it is quite beautiful.  They keep trying to get me to go, but the whole "honeymooners" vibe just turns me off the whole idea.  Maybe some day.  I hear the beach is quite amazing.  Something worth checking out since our swimming capabilities are beyond belief considering we don't have to come up for air.

For now, I have been drowning my sorrows in classes, homework and music.  I also got a new car.  It was a 1974 Invader GT.  The body style just looks incredible.  I had to have it.  I sold one of my old cars to make room for it, since Carlisle has limited us each to two cars while we live under his roof.  He says we just don't have the room for it right now.  It is understandable, but frustrating sometimes when I see a car that I really like.  Of course, without Carlisle's rule, I would probably have our entire garage full of cars just myself.

My new song is almost finished, and I am quite pleased with it.  It is a faster paced concerto, which I rarely do, but I like it.  Esme thinks my composing is really coming along well.  I like that she is proud of me.  Other than that, not much else is new.  I am still bored to death in this town.  It is generally the same as any other town.  I am still tired of myself, and tired of being alone.  I am still lacking something in myself, and do not know what it is.  Perhaps it is my humanity, which I will never get back.  Perhaps it is my sanity, which I seem to lose from time to time as well.

Today seems to be one of those days where I feel a little out of sorts.  Not necessarily down, but not happy either.  I suppose there are never really happy days, now that I think about it.  There are bad days, and okay days.  I can't really remember my last happy day.  I guess it doesn't really matter, I traded happy for immortality.  A person has to compromise sometimes, right?

On that note, I suppose I should end things for tonight, before I get downright ugly with myself.  I am getting philosophical.  That is a bad sign.  Time to say goodnight.  So until next time, goodnight.

Simple Problems


Who knew something so simple could cause such a big disaster?  Alice, Jasper and I had all decided to take a couple classes together this semester.  Nothing major, just two fun electives: photography and art.  Alice wanted to take the photography one, and I wanted to take the art.  It is astounding how many electives you need for a college degree.  Almost half of our college credits end up being electives, it is a rather large waste of money when you think about it, a student could take useless class after useless class and then take only a few meaningful classes to really get the education they need.  It must be how the university makes its money.

Anyway, for our art class, we had a field trip to an art museum.  It seemed easy enough.  I am sure all three of us could have identified every piece of art in the entire building.  It wasn't anything new, it was all reproductions of every classic painting, sculpture and pottery work from most major cultures.  All the big names were there, Renoir, Monet, Picasso, Cezanne, Chagall, Gauguin, DaVinci. We were pretending to be awed and inspired the whole way through, of course, and it was harder than you might think.

The best part of the entire trip was lunch hour where we all got to sit on the grass lawn outside for an hour in the middle of the day.  That's when the three of us managed to slip away for the entire hour without being noticed.  We sat on the rented bus and goofed around, out of sight and out of earshot.  It wasn't really necessary, but it was a nice break.  When the break was over, we all had to resume our tour of the museum.

Some touchy feel-y kid decided that just looking at a Greek vase wasn't enough of a good art-learning experience for him.  So he reached out and grabbed it.  The professor tried quickly to stop him, and in her haste, the vase fell to the ground and shattered.  As most people stared at the two in shock, the three of us saw the action in slow motion.  Or perhaps because of our ability to do things with great speed, it just seemed like slow motion.

As the vase fell to the ground and shattered, the professor reached out to grab it.  The student- a tall, lanky kid in his early twenties with an oversized backpack on his back- also bent down to grab it, but saw the professor and instead reached out to grab the professor as the vase shattered.  Although the initial reflex to protect the professor was good, the professor had no smart reflexes, because she flinched at the student's touch and went the opposite direction, sending an elbow in the student's face.  Blood spurted from the boy's nose, all over the front of his shirt and speckling the first few students nearby.

I saw the thoughts before I saw him flinch.  The thought was in my mind at the same time.  Jasper wanted to go for the blood and so did I.  Alice was the one who pulled us both back.  It was a split second of hesitation, of doubt.  In that split second, she grabbed the front of our jackets and pushed us backward out of the room.  No-one else even noticed our movements.  They were all too focused on the commotion of the vase and the bloody nose.  As quickly as we wanted to go for the blood, we were alert again.  Jasper grabbed Alice's hand and bolted for the front door.

Even as I was out of the room I could smell the blood.  I looked around the room and noticed my reflection in a mirror a few feet away from me.  My perfect vampire vision reflected only a few small droplets of the boy's blood on the side of my face.  No human would probably have even seen it.  I could not only see it, but the smell was driving me crazy.  I dived for the nearest bathroom, and threw my face under the faucet.  I dried my face with some paper towels and took a few deep breaths.

Just as I started to get my bearings, the boy with the bloody nose came rushing into the bathroom, holding his nose.  A couple of the other male students were huddled around him, helping him.  They were debating whether he should go to the doctor.  Everything in my world froze at that moment.  I couldn't think.  My only concern at that time was how many people had seen them enter the bathroom.  Could I take all three of them down before they screamed loud enough for others to come running?  Could I get out of the bathroom before I was seen?  Carlisle would be so disappointed in me.

This was the thought that killed it.  Right there.  I was sane again in that moment.  Carlisle.  I ran some more water over my face, and looked at myself in the mirror.  How on earth did Carlisle stand being around so much blood every day?  I could barely handle one person getting a bloody nose.  Good grief.  I dried my face again with more paper towels, threw them in the trash basket and walked out of the bathroom.  Alice was standing a few feet away from the bathroom door.  Her posture was very tense, and her thoughts were questioning.

"I didn't do it."  I answered her thoughts.  She smiled.
"You had me worried for a minute there."  She said.

It was one hell of a day.  I think that I will skip field trips for now on.  They really aren't that spectacular anyway.  That's about it for now.  Emmett and Rosalie are still doing their same old thing at their smaller university on the other side of town, only a week left until the wedding.  Jasper got roped into being the best man.  Glad I got out of that one, considering the tuxedo.  It was his turn anyway.  Carlisle and Esme are back from Isle Esme and ready for the wedding of the century- again.  At least Paris should be pretty.  I guess that's it for now, be back later.

Cérémonie de Paris


Rosalie's Paris wedding was everything she ever could have hoped for and more. Held at the Chateau d’Esclimont in Saint Symphorien, a grand castle on cascading gardens, even my breath was taken away. Which is a lot to say considering I don't technically breathe.

Everything was gorgeous. The flowers were beautiful and covered everything. There were gardens outside for Rosalie's must-have photos, and Alice made sure that the grand hall inside was adorned in plentiful blooms of various sorts. The chairs for the guests were high-backed, red-upholstered fancy looking things, fit for royalty.  They matched the long, sheer, red drapery that hung tied back over the tall, floor length windows that covered the far wall.  There was no doubt that this was the wedding of Rosalie's dreams.  

Aside from the powder blue suits that Rosalie picked out, which matched everything except perhaps the royalty chairs and drapes, yet somehow looked completely pulled together, it was perfect.  I was a little surprised, I have to admit.  How they topped off their last wedding, I am not sure, but then again I suppose this time they have Alice and her great decorating skills on their side.  It was quite humorous to hear Rosalie and Alice arguing with the various wedding planners for the last two months over almost every single detail.  Vetoing the wedding planners' every idea.  Yet everything looks amazing.

The guest list was small, for such an extravagant wedding.  This was a vampire wedding.  Not many people could be allowed to know that we could afford such a big event like this.  Rosalie and Emmett don't mind, of course.  This wedding is purely for Rosalie's entertainment.  It is so she can wear a big, fancy white dress, walk down an aisle covered in flowers, eat an extravagantly decorated cake (or pretend to), etc.  For Rosalie, it was the best of both worlds this time, last time she got a fancy wedding to show off to the town, this time she got a fancier wedding to show off to her vampire friends and family.

She says one of the perks of being married for eternity is that you should get to relive the wedding and "renew your love" for each other every so often.  I see right through that of course.  You couldn't possibly renew their love, it is already as deep as it gets.  She just wants everyone to stare at her in her dress.  Which makes me laugh, of course.  Typical Rose.  I think we all know, but no-one really minds.  Especially Emmett.  That man would walk across fire for her, which says a lot since fire is our worst foe.

Anyway, I got out of being the best man, but I got roped into being an usher instead.  I got to seat every vampire we have ever met- and a few extra friends who came along as "plus ones"- into rows in the grand room.  At least I demanded to wear a black tux instead of blue.  There's a bonus.  Vampires showed up from around the world- most of them from Carlisle's request, of course, but I have met quite a few of them from my travelling experiences too.

It was interesting when I ushered Aro and his wife to their seats, however.  I was careful not to touch Aro.  He was overly friendly, which I have heard that he usually is, under good terms.  He asked me if I have considered his offer, but did not elaborate on which offer or say anything else.  I just stood there for a moment, then took his wife's hand and led them down the aisle to a fairly close row of seats.  It would be in poor taste to give a Volturi leader a poor view of the wedding.

Finally, since he was obviously waiting for an answer, I told him blankly that I was enjoying time with my family, and did not see leaving them to be in my future.  What he said next was rather confusing and upsetting at the same time, but it was his thoughts that rattled me the most.  He said that our futures are subject to change, as I should be very well aware.  Then his thoughts shifted to Alice.

I was absolutely unaware that he realized Alice had joined our family, nor did I expect him to know Alice had a special ability.  Where he had gained this knowledge from, I had no idea, but it disturbed me greatly.  I couldn't just interrupt the wedding to consult with Carlisle about it, and my mind was racing.  I shook my head numbly and walked away.  As I left the row of chairs I placed Aro and his wife in, I heard him tell me that the offer is always open and he will speak with me again soon.  I just kept walking.

It was almost time for the wedding to start.  Emmett was already standing up at the front, nodding his hello's and smiling here and there to people. Jasper was at his side. Rosalie was in back getting ready, and Alice and Esme were helping her.  Carlisle was with Rosalie, ready to walk her down the aisle.  I was up here, ushering with Eleazer, and couldn't even think of abandoning post.  Finally, the music started.  Pachelbel's Canon in D minor.

Rosalie came up the aisle with Carlisle, looking absolutely beautiful.  Alice was behind her in a coordinating bridesmaid dress.  I followed with Esme and led Esme to her seat quietly.  We sat down together in the front row and watched the ceremony together, Carlisle sitting down after kissing Rosalie on the forhead after lifting her veil at the traditional place in the ceremony.  It was all fancy and traditional, and had any French people been there they would have looked at us, with the powder blue suits, the oddly colored eyes, classic traditions and lack of food and thought we were all crazy.  But we all loved it.  A band played during the reception, we all danced, and everyone enjoyed themselves without pretending to be anyone they weren't.  It was very nice.

I got a moment during the reception to find Carlisle and Alice together and tell them about Aro's statement.  They both found it as bothersome as I did.  There wasn't much we could do about it, however.  It was like bidding time, waiting for a predator to pounce.  You know they are up to something, but until you know what, you can't defend yourself.  Alice is going to be on the lookout, but it won't do a lot of good.  In the meantime, we are just going to go about our business in a more cautious nature.  Eleazer suspects that they have another talent seeker of their own, someone who has replaced him.  This would explain how they know about Alice, I suppose.  The Volturi always seems one step ahead.

At any rate, the wedding was incredible, and everyone had a great time.  Now we are just lying in wait.  And waiting is never fun.  So until I have something to write about...I'll be back.

Quiet Worries


Sometimes when things are too quiet, it's bothersome.  Almost irritating.  I can't seem to shake the feeling that something is wrong, but Alice can't foresee any problems.  Carlisle tells me to let it go.  Esme and Jasper are their ever calm, peaceful selves in their own distinct ways.  Emmett is his typical self- joking and rough housing and taking it easy.  Not much upsets him, but if something does, he takes it down physically, not mentally.  Rosalie is too worried about staying on top of her classes to care about much else.  For some reason, she seems really into her college courses this semester, and Emmett followed suit willingly.  I think she is just bored, and it is too soon for another wedding.

It has been almost a year since my last entry in this journal.  It seems like almost yesterday, and yet I cannot believe it has been so long.  I suppose when you are a vampire, time passes quickly, and the days are much the same as the day before.  There is not much to write about.

After glancing over my last entry, I suppose I should catch up on recent events of the last year, although not much has changed.  After the Paris wedding, we spent a few months completely paranoid that we would be receiving a visit from the Volturi.  We never heard anything from anyone, least of all Aro, and were starting to calm down.

Then about six months ago, we received a package in the mail, addressed to Alice and I.  It was a set of black Volturi robes, one for each of us.  Accompanying these were two nicely written letters from Aro, Marcus and Caius together as a group.  The leaders of the Volturi.  The letters were the same.  They wanted to let us know the robes were a gift from them to us, and they wanted to extend an official invitation for us to join them as members of the Volturi.  The offer was good indefinitely.

We have not responded, nor did they respond back.  Aro sent Rosalie and Emmett a nice anniversary card in the mail, but nothing came with it for either Alice or myself.  I do not know whether to be relieved or worried.  It is driving me crazy.  I do not like being pursued in any form, particularly for something I do not agree with, and this feels like a game I cannot win.

Like I said before, Alice sees things in the future to be calm, and Carlisle thinks I am driving myself crazy for no reason.  Carlisle knows Aro better than any of the rest of us, as he spent some time with some fairly peaceful Italian vampires in the early 1700's, and has had a fairly decent relationship with Aro since then.  Of course, Aro- more so than Marcus and Caius- is quite personable when on good terms.  The other two are tolerable.

Alice says we will never be a part of the Volturi, which I should find comforting, but even that brings problems.  The Volturi does not like to be told no, nor do they like to be ignored.  I am worried that they will see this as a slap in the face.  I suppose I will do as Carlisle and the others suggest and just let it go for now.  Sometimes having access to people's thoughts truly is a curse.  I wish I had never seen Aro's thoughts.  Too late now, I suppose.

Other than that, everything else is normal.  Time is passing quickly.  Things are boring.  We are accelerating quickly through college, and it is starting to bore me.  We will be moving on from this town soon, as we have been here almost five years, and five years in one place for a vampire is too long.  We pushed our luck in Hoquiam.  We haven't decided where to go next, but when the semester ends we will definitely be packing up.  We won't be keeping our house here, though.  It isn't like our Forks house, where we felt at home the second we got there and never wanted to leave.  I hope Carlisle was right when he said we would return there one day.  I am eager to go back in a couple of decades or so.

I suppose I should end this for now.  I have been neglecting some things around the house.  I promised Esme I would play her song for her.  I have a paper due in Literature this week.  Jasper and I are supposed to go hunting.  So sitting around sulking isn't going to get me anywhere.  I guess I'll be back.

Saving Irina


Carlisle got a nightmarish call today.  It was from the Denali clan in Alaska.  From the sound of Kate's voice, I could tell before Carlisle was even off the phone that it was bad.  She was panicked and upset.  She sounded like she was crying, although I know that tears don't come out of vampire eyes.  I was worried before Carlisle had even hung up.  I couldn't read his thoughts, they were too jumbled from trying to respond to her mess of conversation.  Finally, he got off the phone and looked across the room at Esme and I.  The others had gone out hunting.

"That was Kate.  Something is wrong in Denali.  Irina had an accident."  He started.  I read it in his thoughts before he even finished telling Esme and I.  Although I was shocked and upset, I listened to his story so he could tell Esme what happened without my interference.

"She was hunting with Kate and Tanya this morning, out in the woods by their home.  They were goofing around with a pair of bears they had cornered, and I guess it had been a while since they last hunted.  Apparently, they let the bears get away with the intention of trapping them again for fun, and when they pursued the bears, they stumbled upon a girl who was on a hiking tour that wandered off and got separated.  The girl had fallen down and broken her ankle, and apparently scraped herself up pretty badly too.  Kate and Tanya were fine about it, they started to offer the girl some help, but Irina-" Carlisle's voice broke.  He took a moment's pause to pull himself together.

"Well, Irina has always been impulsive."  He said by way of explanation.  Esme seemed to understand.
"No!  She didn't hurt the girl?"  Esme asked.
"She bit her, but Kate and Tanya pulled her off.  They need me out there right away.  We were going to be leaving soon anyway, I think we should all go.  I will fly out right away, Esme you can come along.  Edward- you and the others can arrange for the movers to pack and move our things into storage for awhile, and then follow us up there?"
"Of course."  I answered.  That was easy.  We've moved so many times it would be like clockwork.
"Is the girl okay?"  Esme asked.  Always so compassionate.  I smiled at her warmth, it was why we all loved her so much.
"For now, but she lost a lot of blood.  The venom is burning her slowly, since it was a small bite, jagged.  We can't let her turn into a vampire, of course, and people will be searching for her soon, if they aren't already.  I told Kate to suck the venom out.  I think she is going to have Eleazer try, but they are scared.  I need to get there right away."  Carlisle answered.

They packed their bags quickly.  They were out the door and headed for the airport to purchase some last minute airline tickets before the others even returned from their hunting trip.  Alice knew what was going on before she even got home, of course.  They cut their trip short, but still didn't make it in time to say goodbye.

I was on the phone with moving companies when they got home.  Cost isn't an issue when you are orchestrating a move like ours, but privacy is.  Especially when you are doing it at the last minute, you need to have people willing to pack your things quickly, and without snooping.  I was able to call a few places and quickly get a team of movers out here to pack our belongings for us.  We supervised of course.  We put one of us in each room, to "help" speed things along, although really it was so that we knew what was going on and who was seeing what.  Usually we pack our things ourselves and have the movers transport them, but there isn't enough time this time.  Even still, half the house was packed before the moving team got here.

I arranged a large storage unit not far from our house to put everything in, and within twenty four hours, everything was packed and moved to the storage unit.  It is amazing what gets done quickly when you have the cash to spend on it.  We took our luggage and transported ourselves to the airport, without worries that our cars would be safe in the airport parking lot.  Just one more routine we were used to.

The flight to Alaska was long and boring.  It was stuffy on the plane, and being in tight quarters around a bunch of humans was uncomfortable.  I hadn't gotten to go hunting before hand like the others, and needed to badly.  It was unbearable, but I dealt with it.  When we finally landed, I was eager to get to Denali.  Carlisle would need an extra hand with the girl.  As we got to the house, it was obvious that they were waiting to welcome us, just like always.

They had the girl in a special room that they had changed around to make look as similar to a hospital room as possible.  Before we had even gotten there, Carlisle had gotten the venom out of her and casted her ankle. Now she was healing from the venom, and he wasn't quite sure how long that was going to take.  I guess for now we just wait.  Waiting is always the worst part.  So I suppose I better go hunt before I get even more thirsty, especially with an injured human in the house.  The smell of her blood doesn't help.  Be back later.

Saving Heather


We've been in Denali for a few days now.  Carlisle has gotten all of the venom out of the girl's system, or at least he thinks he has, but she has yet to wake up.  She moans in her sleep, and she cries out in pain from time to time, but her eyes refuse to open.  Her heart rate is steady, never slowing.  Carlisle monitors it constantly.  He has brought in the best machines and equipment he could get his hands on considering the time crunch we are under. The girl is in excellent care, and seems to be in excellent health aside from the fact that her ankle is broken and she is asleep.

Carlisle doesn't think she is in a coma, because she is so active in her sleep. It is hard to tell, because he can't give her a CAT scan or MRI.   We obviously can't rush her to the hospital and have limited access to what we need.  He is very worried about her.  To make matters worse, her face has been all over the local news.  As it turns out, the girl is not a girl after all, she is a young woman.  Named Heather Forster, age twenty two.  The bad news just kept getting worse because she also had two small children and a husband, plus because she was so young, her parents and her in-laws were all over every news station along with her husband, pleading for her safe return, orchestrating search parties, and giving interviews.  Of course her husband was suspect number one, which made us feel horrible.

Irina was taking this all pretty badly.  Guilt ridden, she kept herself locked in her room most days and nights since the incident. She even refused to go hunting, so Kate has been giving her pints of animal blood that she collected from a local animal shelter whenever she can get through Irina's door.

It seems very old fashioned, like something straight out of Bram Stoker's Dracula- pints of blood being carried through the house, a girl hooked up to I.V.'s and morphine in a soundproofed bedroom whose face is all over the news, its very disturbing and much too real.  We are all worried that the Volturi will discover the mess at any moment and come bursting through the door.  This would end up in the Denali clan's destruction- at least for Irina for sure- and most likely for anyone else who tried to help her, including us and the girl.

We were in very deep trouble and our situation was getting worse the longer it took for the girl to wake up.  Carlisle's medical expertise was great, but it didn't cover a great deal of patients who slipped into unwakeable unconciousness.  He dealt with E.R. patients, trauma, and your classic doctor's office stuff- check ups, exams, etc.  This was beyond the norm.  I suppose anything dealing with vampire venom and humans was beyond the norm.

Carlisle and I take turns watching the girl.  Aside from Carlisle, I have the most medical knowledge.  I have taken several college courses in that area now, not that I am anywhere close to a degree, but I have a fair interest in the field.  I also watch Carlisle quite a bit, help him whenever necessary and have gotten quite a decent look inside his head.  Of any of us, I am the most qualified to take over for him, and he gets tired.  Not physically, but mentally.

When not in the small medical-style bedroom, things are about as relaxed as can be.  We try and hunt as often as we can.  We play around, get goofy, and keep things light whenever we can.  I am probably the most sullen of them all, but then again, I am the only one who doesn't have another person to lean on.  Tanya is more than happy to remind me of her availability- both physically and emotionally- for me, but I am as uninterested now as I was before.

I suppose that is all for now.  I will be back with an update.  I am hoping things change soon, because things are tense around here.  I am tense.  Anyways, I will be back soon.

Waiting & Waking




Sometimes you spend forever waiting for something, and when it happens, it isn't at all what you wanted it to be. We spent almost two weeks waiting for Heather Forster to wake up from her vampire bite.  Her broken ankle was healing nicely, and the scratches on her leg that had started the entire mess were barely noticeable.

Finally, she woke up.  It wasn't a peaceful, smooth awakening like waking up in the morning from a deep sleep.  It was like waking up from a horrifying nightmare, when someone chases after you and they've almost got you by your shirt collar, or when you're falling off a ten story building and you're about to hit the ground.  It was insanely disturbing.  She sat straight up from her deep sleep and screamed, flailed her arms, kicked her legs, and started breaking into a pure sweat.  It was an instant transformation.

I was on the supervising shift when Heather woke up.  Carlisle was out hunting with Esme and Tanya.  It took me almost forty five minutes to get her to calm down, but I would like to think that the process was speeded up some by the fact that I was able to read her thoughts.  She was considerably scared.  She didn't understand where she was or why.  She was in pain, although she didn't know what had happened, and she remembered vague memories of being attacked and women rushing towards her.

My first thought was relief that she didn't remember the exact attack.  I tried to soothe her and tell her we had found her lost in the woods, and were there to help her.  She was thinking fast, trying to piece together the events of what had happened.  Her thoughts also flickered to her family- her children, her husband, her parents.  She didn't understand why we didn't call the police or the hospital- why we had taken care of her ourselves.  I didn't know how to answer that.  Carlisle was much better at this than I was.

She remembered falling and hurting her ankle, which I explained briefly and demonstrated further with the cast on her leg, and then she flashed back to the bears she saw in the woods just before the women found her.  I explained that the bears had attacked her, and that the women that found her were the women who lived here- we were visiting at the time, and had a Doctor in our midst.  Since we weren't sure how serious her injuries were, we didn't want to move her and were hoping she would wake up soon.

I had Carmen bring her some food as quickly as possible, and Eleazar and Kate pulled all televisions and radios from the house and hid them in the outside shed, covered with a tarp behind some boxes.  We didn't want the woman to realize that we had access to television or news broadcasts and had realized this woman was missing, with a family looking for her.  It would be easier to pretend that we didn't know anything, and were waiting for her to awaken and tell us her story herself.  I felt like a cad doing this to her, prolonging her safe return to her family for even a moment- but at the same time, I knew it was necessary.  We had to keep our secret safe and both her life and ours intact in doing so.

After Carmen fed Heather, she was feeling much better.  Carlisle returned a couple short hours within Heather waking up.  He quickly went to work examining her, checking heart rates and blood pressure, making sure her eyesight and reflexes reacted properly.  He checked everything he could think of and then some.  When he had no excuse to delay her stay any longer, and I felt absolutely sure there was nothing suspicious in her thoughts, we decided it was time to call the police and report her arrival.  Carlisle suggested it to her before he even let her bring it up.  He barely let her get a word in edgewise because he didn't want her to accuse him of keeping her here, or suggest calling the police first.  It was important that we seem as helpful as possible.

Heather was more than grateful for our "help."  Although I didn't feel helpful at all, she was happy to be awake, alive and well.  She kept thinking about how lucky she was to be found by good people who took her in and took good care of her.  What luck.  I wish Irina could have heard her thoughts.  Irina has yet to leave her room, which both serves her right and irritates me at the same time.  She should be out here with the rest of us, cleaning up her mess and fixing her mistake.  She should be helping this poor woman get better, tending to her wounds and feeding her soup and crackers.  Instead, she is sulking in her room like a child who just got yelled at for coloring on the wall.  We all make mistakes, no one blames her, but to make us all bear the burden of what she did and not even face it herself is ridiculous.  I am getting annoyed with it.

At any rate, Carlisle got Heather's contact information, and we gathered around the telephone and called Heather's family.  It isn't exactly convenient for an ambulence to drive up to the Denali house, so we opted against an ambulance and decided to drive Heather to the nearest hospital instead, with her family meeting her there.  It was our job to act concerned, of course.

Heather promised us she wouldn't bombard us with news crews after she was found, either.  We explained that our families have lived here for years, and we didn't want to have a bunch of people stomping around on the property, asking for interviews and ruining the land.  She was very understanding.  In fact, she is a very nice, caring and warm woman.  I suppose like your ideal young mother of two should be.  It makes me feel much better about sitting in that tiny room for the past few days, staring at her sleeping body, waiting endlessly for her to wake up, and wishing this whole thing had never happened.

After she was gone, we all celebrated.  All of us except for Irina, of course.  She has remained in her room all day and night, still.  If she doesn't come out of her room at least to hunt tomorrow, Eleazer says they should cut off her blood supply.  I vote in favor of that.  I think they should at least make her come out and apologize, or explain herself, or something.  She can clean up the imitation medical hospital style bedroom.

I guess I am cranky today.  That means I should end this for now.  Be back later.

Denali's Goodbye


Alice saw it in a vision before it even happened.  For once, we had an ounce of time ahead of the fact to prepare ourselves.  From the very second Heather Forster's family got her safely in their arms, both they and the police started hounding her about who had taken her in.  It didn't take long to convince her that they needed to know- the police needed to question us, after all, and make sure it really was bears that had cornered her in the woods and not anyone dangerous.  If only they knew that we were the dangerous ones.

Perhaps they did know.  It was all too suspicious that we had been adamant about keeping our privacy here.  I'm sure she mentioned our variously different but altogether immense good looks and pale skin.  We were odd, both individually and as a group.  If I were on the outside looking in on the situation, at the very least I would be suspicious.  Unfortunately, I was way too far from Heather or her family- wherever they were- to read her thoughts.  All we had to go on was Alice's vision.

We went with our first impulse regarding the vision.  If she was telling her family and the police about us, then at some point in the very near future, she would lead them to where we were.  It would take them awhile since she had still been under a few drugs when we drove her to the hospital, but depending on her sense of direction and how familiar she was with the land, she could lead her straight to the Denali house.  According to the news broadcasts and what she told us after waking up, she was visiting Alaska on vacation from Wisconsin.  Not being a native to the land was a plus.  On the other hand, the group of hikers she was with could take her back to where she got lost and they could put things together from there to find us.

Either way, we knew what we had to do.  The Denali family had to leave.  At least for a while, until things were safe.  Between the five Denalis and the seven Cullens, it took almost no time at all to pack up everything and move it all into a pair of old trucks from the garage.  We weren't sure how well the trucks were going to run, but at least they held everything.  We tarped them down well, and put a vast array of basic tools in the cab of one truck for Rosalie in case we had any problems.  Any stray belongings that we couldn't fit into the trucks were also stuck into various cars of the Denali's.  By sun down, we were all set to go.

I knew the Denali family was sad to leave, since they have been in their house so long, but it was truly necessary.  At the very least, it got Irina out of her room and doing something.  That was one good thing out of this very bad situation.  Anyways, the Denali family has been in the same house in Alaska for decades.  The nice thing about being in the middle of nowhere is that people don't realize you are there.  They are close enough to a town to use their resources, but not close enough to be seen or heard, noticed or bothered.  No-one comes upon their house often enough to realize that it is the same family living there.  They won't even need to stay away very long, maybe a decade or so, if even that long.

They already have a house set up for themselves in Pittsburg.  It is a big difference from the seclusion they just came from, but at the same time, a big enough city to where no one should notice their oddness.  This cracks me up because we are planning on heading to my parent's house in Chicago for the very same reason.  A big city with enough overcast days to keep us happy.  Of course, we could have picked a place with less sun, but the convenience of a house was there.  It will be nice to go back to the place where I grew up also.  I wonder if I will even remember it.  It has been so long, and my human memories are very fuzzy.  I haven't tried to remember much from my human life in a very long time.

Anyway, we are all heading to our new respective homes now.  We will be checking in with each other and making sure things go smoothly for a while.  Hopefully nothing comes of this ordeal.  The police should go to an empty house and find nothing.  We wiped the house completely clean before we left.  All of us lived long before fingerprinting existed anyways, but better safe than sorry.  We don't want to start a record for ourselves now.  If the Denalis hadn't been so attached to the house we probably would have burned it to the ground.  One can never cover their tracks too well.  Emotion can be inconvenient, but I understand.  I still wish we could return to Forks, Washington already.

Oh well.  I will be back later when we get to Chicago and have more to write about.  For now, I had better take my turn driving before I drive myself crazy with boredom.

Big Cities


We went our separate ways.  In some ways more than others.  The Denali family went to Pittsburg.  We went to Chicago.  Or at least, most of us did.  Once again, Rosalie and Emmett decided to go their own way and take some time away from us.  Only this time they wanted more than just their own house.  They decided to live in a different city altogether.

I suppose I understand.  They wanted to see what it would be like to live just the two of them.  It was hard for me to get used to life without Emmett, however.  Rosalie was not so endearing, and it was easier to push her absence out of my mind.  Emmett's loss was truly sad.  It was like I lost a real brother.  I realized once he was gone that he was my brother, blood be damned.

They didn't go too far, at least.  Headed for Indianapolis, Indiana, Rosalie and Emmett were only a two and a half hour human drive away- vampires could drive that much faster.  While Indianapolis is sunnier than Chicago, it still only gets about 88 totally clear days per year, which is very manageable.  It took very little time for them to set up a nice suburban house.

We went straight for my parent's house in Chicago.  It was a little awkward at first.  I took my original bedroom, and gave Carlisle and Esme my parent's bedroom.  They had offered me the master suite but the idea of sleeping in the room where my parents once slept seemed odd.  I felt much more at ease in my old room, and it wasn't much smaller than the master suite anyway.  The only real difference was that it was lacking bathroom quarters.  My parents were well off in their lives.

My father was a lawyer with a wide range of clients, and was fairly successful.  My mother stayed at home, and therefore we had a close relationship.  Being back in my old home allowed me to go through some of my old things- Carlisle and I had boxed them up and placed them in the attic- and resurface many old memories. I remember my mother, Elizabeth, was worried about me going off to the draft.  The draft was just lowered to the age of 18 a month before we got sick with the Spanish Influenza.

Funny how it got it's name- because most people don't seem to understand, Spain was one of the only countries during that time that didn't censor the news, and didn't hide the effects or mortality rate of the disease- therefore people thought it was worst there.  It wasn't.  People were sick all around us.  People were dying in their homes, hospitals were overwhelmed.  Cemeteries were full, and coffins were of short supply.  People were being buried in shallow graves, often without coffins.  The second wave of the flu struck in 1918 when I was 17, and both my parents died in the hospital, my father first, my mother second.

Carlisle was our doctor, here in Chicago.  Carlisle told me once that he thinks my mother picked up on something, somehow knew he wasn't quite human.  She begged him to save me, to do whatever he had to do to keep me alive.  My mother made Carlisle promise her not to let me die.  Carlisle said that he made the promise both because he couldn't bear all the death around him, and because he was just so lonely himself.  Walking on this earth for so many years, with no partner, no real friend, he just wanted someone by his side.

My mother died that night and he sneaked me out of the hospital immediately afterward to make the change.  The change took several days and was severely painful.  I remember it being nothing compared to the pain of Carlisle explaining to me what had happened to my parents.  We then had to leave the city, leaving everything but a few trinkets and some photos behind.  Later we came back, pretending that I survived the flu and that Carlisle was my uncle so I could claim my families' property and its belongings.

Being back was both painful and relieving at the same time.  While I was going back over the sad and hurtful memories, I was also remembering happy ones, and bringing closure to the things I never really got to say goodbye to before.  Being here was good for me, and I was glad to be back.

For now, I suppose I should go.  I am long overdue for a hunt.  There are some wooded areas around Lake Michigan that I am going to go check out.  Perhaps I will find some deer.  If not I will swim out and catch me some fish, which is a little gross, but challenging, which makes it fun.

Home Again


Being home again is nothing like I expected. I am battling feelings of overwhelming loss, and at the same time, I am flushed with feelings of happiness that I havent felt since I was human. I have been sad and lonely since my time started as a vampire, and I feel as though I will continue feeling this way for the rest of my lonely existence. Yet for some reason, being back in this house, where my family used to live, gives me some small sense of peace.

I have a new family now, a different family. Having them come together, the new and the old, is remarkable and somehow it makes things easier. It doesn't fill the massive hole in my heart, but it certainly helps me to deal with the gaps in my soul. I am able to fill in some of the memories that have faded from my human life, and begin to piece together some of the things that I didn't quite understand before.

I never understood why my mother wanted this life for me. I never understood why she begged Carlisle to save me, when she knew he was something other. He wasn't human, and he thought she knew that, but he went ahead and followed her wishes. I never quite forgave her for that. I understand now, and I realize that she probably didn't see any other choice.

Carlisle probably seemed so angelic to her. Godly, even. An inhuman being, with light hair, amber eyes, and a soft touch. His patience was never ending, and his kindness never faltered. He had inhuman strength and the sickness never touched him no matter how many patients with the flu he treated. She noticed all these things while we laid there. My mother was more than perceptive and smart. She had a way about her, she saw people. She noticed things. Whatever else she noticed about Carlisle, she probably noticed all the goodness in his soul, and wanted that for me.

She never would have guessed that I would become the monster that I am. Trapped in my own skin, hard like granite, unable to die, unable to destroy myself but more than capable of destroying others. She would never have saw that in her own child. I loathe that about myself. Alice says I need to let go of it, that one day I will be proud of myself, and what I have accomplished, but I have yet to see it.

Until then, I have been exploring my house. It is a fairly large house, on large grounds. We have made it a home fairly quickly. Our things came from the movers out of our storage unit in West Virginia, and we unpacked with ease. In fact, unpacking was fairly peaceful without Rosalie telling us what we are doing wrong every minute and a half. There are still two empty rooms despite having Alice and Jasper in a room and a guest room. Not that we will every really have guests.

Esme and Alice have started a garden in the back of the large yard. They planted rose bushes and other flowers along all the fences as well. A house is not a home without flowers. Carlisle started his work at Saint Anthony's Hospital, and Jasper, Alice and I are still deciding if we are going to enroll in college here or high school. Carlisle thinks we should go to high school in case we decide to stay for a few years. Honestly, I vote for college because I am so sick of high school. Alice is in favor of high school because she is sick of moving. I think Jasper is leaning towards high school just because of Alice.

We will see what happens. We have a little time to decide before it becomes a big deal. Rosalie and Emmett are doing the newlywed thing in Indianapolis. They enrolled in college courses again and are laying low, enjoying life.

I suppose that is all I have to write about for now. I will be back soon.

Reliving Life


We've decided to attend high school again.  High school in the Eighties sounds like so fun.  Or not.  It seems as though I am destined to go to high school at least once per decade.  I am hoping that I can go to high school here in Chicago and then continue on to college seamlessly without any problems.  Chicago is my hometown, so perhaps I will feel at home here.  For some reason, nowhere really feels as homely as Washington did, although I wasn't there nearly as long as some of the other places, nor was I really welcomed there like we have been at other places either.

I think perhaps it was the house.  Or maybe just the feeling of the house.  Something there just pulls me to the spot.  Something keeps me tied to the place.  I am not the only one, the entire family feels tied to Forks, tied to Washington.  We are all eager to return. All in due time, I suppose.

At any rate, Chicago has turned out to be fairly interesting so far.  It is like every other town we have been to, only bigger.  It is pretty clean here, which I didn't expect.  For a big town, I didn't think it would be so clean.  People really seem to take care of the city.  People also seem to drive crazy.  People always honk their horns.    It is a good thing I have fast reflexes, because if I am not paying attention for even a moment, and I don't go when the light turns green, someone is blaring their horn at me.  Or if I take too long to turn, another horn.  It is very interesting.  It is a fast paced city, which I didn't remember from my previous time here.  I suppose when you are 18 and facing the draft, you tend to be excited about life and I probably lived life in just as fast of a pace, if there was one.  Then again, life was slower in general in 1918.

I don't mind the fast pace, however.  In fact, I enjoy it.  I revel in it.  It is a nice break from being annoyed by every slow moving driver in my way on the roads, and every slow walker getting in front of me when I am moving through the store.  I can get along and do my business as fast as I like, then when I am alone I can take all the time I like, without worry of being seen or noticed.  Of course, nobody really notices me here anyway.  Another perk of a big city.  Chicago is wonderful.  I should have suggested it a lot sooner.  People in big cities have busy lives and those lives keep them occupied, therefore they don't pay attention to other people.  They pay attention to themselves.  The people who have time for others generally move to the suburbs.

Of course there are residential streets inside the city, and we have a big house on a large plot of land on one of these streets.  Over time, the smaller houses got knocked down and rebuilt into larger, nicer houses.  Some of the bigger houses were restored and are worth a pretty penny, and others were turned into stores and shops.  Mine was kept as is, but when we moved in was quickly cleaned and prettied enough to be made liveable, and now it is easily the nicest house in the neighborhood.

High school is simple.  We are juniors again.  We can't start out too young, because we look too old, so we settle for right in the middle.  The high school is fairly medium sized.  We don't stick out here, but we don't blend in, either.  No-one seems to care either way that we are here.  The three of us all enrolled under the last name of Cullen, since Rosalie and Emmett aren't here, and are going under the guise of foster brothers and sister.  We will see how that goes.  Jasper and Alice are more low key about their relationship than Rosalie and Emmett ever were so I am sure we will be able to pull it off just fine.  I have one class with Alice and one with Jasper, and they have no classes together, but we still have the same lunch period so that will be good.

As far as the home life, I am getting more adjusted to living in the Mason house every day.  It feels good to be there, but at the same time, there is a hole I cannot fill.  I do not think it is the house, but the more that time passes, the bigger the hole gets.  It is indescribable.  It is a void I cannot seem to complete, no matter how many hobbies I gather, cars I collect, songs I compose, or books I read.  I am lost and do not know what to look for.  It makes things worse that Emmett is not around, because he was always good for a laugh or at least a good show of macho manliness.  He made for a fun distraction.  Jasper is nice to be around, but is mellow and low key, relaxing and therefore does not distract me fully from the gap in my soul.  Alice is fun to spend time around, as she is always so high-strung and full of life- as though she were overdosed on coffee- and that helps.  And of course Esme is the motherly, soothing one and Carlisle the one I go to for advice and friendship.  I suppose I have everything I need in a family- even without my annoying yet endearing sister Rosalie and rambunctious, over-energized brother Emmett.  Yet still I feel this emptiness.

Anyway,  I think I should go find Esme in the kitchen.  She is tinkering with some human recipes, smelling the house up with some unique yet appealing smells.  Food smells so good yet tastes so disgusting.  Esme loves when I help her in the kitchen, the ultimate American family.  It keeps her busy to cook, gives her something to do.  Then she lovingly wraps the food in little boxes and donates it to local shelters.  Saint Esme, perhaps that is what we should call her.  I guess I will go help.  I am bored anyway.

Appreciation


We've been spicing things up here in Chicago. It has definitely been interesting. School, boring as always, is perhaps the only catergory of my life that I haven't bothered. The last thing I need is another group of teenage girls following me around for a year.

I have gotten a new car. It is a 1979 Camaro, which although it isn't brand new, sparkles in the sun. I like it, it brings a sense of familiarity and it drives like a demon on wheels. Just what I needed to bring a new flavor to things. Jasper teases me because it's a few years old, but then again, who isn't around here?

Of course it is nothing compared to Carlisle's big purchase recently. Carlisle bought a brand new 1982 Catalina sailboat, solid white in color. It is completely gorgeous, and of course he named it "Barca Di Esme," Italian for Esme's Boat. Now he has a boat and an island named after his beloved. It can only make one smile.

We take the sailboat out often, sometimes for days, just enjoying the vastness of Lake Michigan. It is a lot smoother than the ocean, which is nice, and easy to navigate. We can easily traverse from landmass to landmass- Illinois to Wisconsin to Michigan and back. If we really want to take the time we could travel up to Ontario somewhere. My sailboating skills are a little rusty, but Carlisle sails like he never stepped off the boat. Jasper is catching on quickly, as though he is a natural, and Alice is getting there.

Carlisle prefers not to let Esme help sail the boat, so she looks like Marilyn Monroe lounging on the boat with a scarf over her hair and an old fashioned swim suit on, just relaxing in the wind. She loves it, and who could blame her? It is her chance to be queen for a day- or two or three- instead of tending to house and home and family of five. Even though we don't eat we still create laundry and dirty the bathrooms, etc. Esme refuses to give us chores more complex than taking out the trash and keeping our rooms clean. Typical mom.

The nice thing about the sailboat though is that it has a cassette player in it. This allows us to play music, but unfortunately there isn't a wide selection of music on cassette tapes yet. Although eighties music is bearable, seventies music was horrible, and I can't hardly stand listening to it. I have a few Elvis cassette tapes, some Coltraine, and a few other jazz and blues players, but as far as getting classical onto a cassette it is rare. There is a new musical style out that seems to be catching on, so we will see how that goes.

Other than that, not much else is new. Rosalie and Emmett are going to come home over during their college's Thanksgiving break. Emmett has gotten the idea that we should go hunting for wild turkeys this Thanksgiving. He thinks it will be hilarious to catch Turkeys. I think it might be fun for a gag. Only Emmett would come up with an idea like that. Rosalie is excited, she has a whole new wardrobe to show off to Alice, and vice versa, so it will be a fashion show for the two of them. They will only stay for a few days but it will be nice for everyone to be back together.

I suppose that is all that is going on. I guess I should go see if Esme needs a hand around the house, now that I've written all that, I feel a little guilty about all the stuff she really does do around the house. I bet she could use some extra help now and then. I will return later.

Sail Into Danger


Thanksgiving came faster than I expected. Emmett and Rosalie came up to visit us like promised, which didn't exactly go as planned.

We decided to take the sailboat out for a few days and relax on the lake. We settled into dock in Michigan for a while, and happened upon a small area called Benton Harbor. It was a nice area, with decent beaches and a small town atmosphere. What we didn't expect to find was that we weren't the only vampires in the area.

We noticed their scent not long after getting off the boat. We were wandering down a street of little shops, and had stopped in at a little place so Alice could get a scarf she noticed from the window. Their scent was faint in the street, but strong in the store. They were no longer there, but had been there recently. We could tell that there were more than two or three of them, but their exact number was hard to tell. Alice couldn't get much of a read off of them considering she had no idea what to look for.

We purchased the scarf, then went back out onto the street, partially looking for the vampires, and partially wondering if we wanted to find them. After all, we didn't know how civil they would be. We got our answer right away. They found us about twenty minutes after we left the store, as we were perusing the different shops on the street.

We were still debating whether or not we should actively search for the new vampires- probably why Alice couldn't see them, because we couldn't make up our minds- when four well dressed strangers approached us. Equally paired, they looked as though they were going to a fancy dinner. The men were wearing business suits and shirts with no ties, open buttons at the top. The women were wearing nice outfits as well, one in a black dress cut just above her knees, the other in black slacks and a sleeveless black top. They looked very out of place, one couple looked Hispanic and the other Caucasian, both with fine jewelry and wristwatches, shoes and purses of very expensive labels. Things that could not have been purchased in a small town. And of course they both had the blood red eyes of a vampire.

All four vampires smiled wide, friendly smiles when they saw us. It was a gesture meant to be taken as warm and welcoming, but I was not fooled. They did not know about my gift, of course. I saw through them, and could read their thoughts. They were not from this city, and assumed that we were. They could tell instantly from our eyes that we did not eat meat, and therefore assumed they would be stronger than us. A foolish mistake, but at the same time, it meant they were willing to battle. What they wanted to fight for, I did not quite understand.

"Hello, friends." Carlisle said., looking at me for reassurance. I gave him none.
The one appearing to be the leader nodded in response, the Hispanic man in the darker suit.
"Are you from here?" I asked them. My point in this question was more to let them know that we were not looking to fight over territory. I already knew the answer, of course.
"No, we assumed you were." Said the nodder.
"No, just passing through on vacation. Seems like a lovely city though." Carlisle stated, looking at me sideways. He was a fast learner.
"You aren't planning on staying then?"
"Only for the evening." Carlisle answered.
"I would have to request that you leave immediately." The leader said. It sounded more like an order than a request.
"I see. You plan on settling here?" Carlisle asked. I shot him a look, knowing it was an unnecessary question. These vampires were looking for a fight, one they were willing to wage on any terms.
"We don't see any reason not to." Was his answer. His expression turned from friendly to cold.
Carlisle smile back at him and nodded.
"I understand. We shall be on our way. If you don't mind, we will gather our belongings together and be gone by nightfall." He told him.
"You have no longer than nightfall." The leader said, and he took his mate's hand and they began strolling down the street again.

We watched them walk down the sidewalk, as though they were just two couples, happily making their way through town. They made no effort to conceal their eyes, which bothered me a little bit. Then I got an insight into the thoughts of the leader, and shuddered.
"It's a trick." I told Carlisle.
"What is?" He asked me gently.
"The leader, I just read his thoughts. And he is not planning on letting us leave peacefully."


TO BE CONTINUED....

Sail into Danger pt 2



Continued....

"The leader, I just read his thoughts. And he is not planning on letting us leave peacefully."
"We should have no trouble if we leave immediately." Carlisle answered promptly.

We quickly headed towards our sailboat at the docks.  It took less than 5 minutes to get there, and we were sure the other vampires were not following us.  We were constantly checking behind us.  When we got to the boats, however, we saw something we were not expecting. "Barca Di Esme" had been burned to the very cinders of its core.  There was no hopes of returning to Chicago on that boat.

There was no possibility that the four vampires we had come across on the street of shops had been able to beat us here to do this.  The boat had been burning long enough to where it's flames had mostly extinguished themselves already.   We had a few ideas- either they had known about us right away, and burned our boat fresh upon our docking, or there were more of them.

As we were thinking this, five more vampires approached us.  Varying in gender and ethnicity, the only thing that seemed consistent about them was their fancy clothing.  It seemed almost as though someone had plucked people off the streets and created their own vampire army.  In fact, as I was thinking it, so were Carlisle, Jasper and Alice.  Jasper shot me a pointed look and thought- as if to say aloud- "do you see what they've done here?"  I understood perfectly what he meant by it.  Vampire armies- especially newborn ones- were extremely hazardous and considered against the rules.

The group of vampires approached us, their bright red eyes flashing in the growing moonlight.  One of them- a tall, thin woman with thick black hair and light pale skin with an olive undertone- spoke to Carlisle as he stepped out in front of the rest of us in a display that he was our leader.
"I believe you've seen your boat."
"I thought we were expected to leave?  What is the meaning of this?"  Carlisle asked.
His voice was cautious but firm.  His face was kind.  His thoughts were panicky but he was trying hard to maintain composure and not show weakness of any kind.  I was right there with him- we were vastly outnumbered.  These five plus those four, and who knows how many more there were elsewhere?

"Our message is clear.  You aren't welcome here.  You shouldn't have come.  Sorry."  She told Carlisle.  Her voice was cold, but her thoughts were much less so.  She was scared.  She had never faced another vampire before, and the color of our eyes scared her.  The other four vampires hadn't explained to her about different types of vampires, and our difference was unnerving to her.  She was worried we would be stronger.  She was also worried that the other four wouldn't come in time and that the numbers wouldn't be enough to save them- the fight wasn't matched up.  There were no more- it was seven against nine.  This was good news- if we struck now.

"Its seven against nine- where are the others?  Do our eyes bother you?  We are stronger than you- we have powers you don't.  You should be worried."  I told her, stepping forward to match Carlisle's level.
The female vampire didn't answer.  She pulled on a strand of her black hair, and ran through the possibilities in her head- should they attack now, or wait for the others?  Should she listen to orders, or abort the plan?  I took full advantage of this and used it to intimidate her further.
"Go ahead.  You can attack now- but we will win.  Even if you wait- we will win.  I can read your mind.  I know what think and what you will do in a fight before you do it.  She-" I pointed at Alice-"can see the future, which is equally handy.  He-" I waved towards Emmett-"has abnormal strength, even for a vampire.  There is more, if you want to hear it.   The point is that no matter what you choose to do, you will lose, despite the numbers on your side."  I smiled at her.

As if to show her my point, I reached out for the closest vampire to me.  It was a short, stocky male in his mid thirties.  He was slightly balding on the sides and looked like the type of businessman who sells vacuums door to door.  He tried to step to the side to avoid me, but I predicted his move, reading his thoughts, and swept him off his feet with a swift kick to the back of his legs.  He got up quickly while I stood there, watching.  He swung a quick punch towards my chest, but again I saw it coming and stepped to the side a split-second too soon.  He fell to the ground with a deafening thud.  Angry, he swung upwards and tried again, grabbing for my throat.  I let him get close to me, then grabbed him in a wrestler's headlock.  I held him there for a moment, letting him squirm, then when he had finally figured out that I would always know what he was going to do as he made the choice to do it, I let him go with a hard shove so that he went flying towards the other vampires.  No one else moved, not even to help him up when he landed by their feet.

The leading female looked from one of us to another.  Even though I had embellished about Emmett's strength, she didn't need to know that, and my ability to read minds and tales of powerful vampires had her worried.
"So you all have powers?  Is that why your eyes are golden?"  She asked, her voice wavering.
"Yes."  Carlisle lied, his voice strong.
She believed him without doubt.  Her plan to attack us was crumbling before her.  The others were wavering too, even without her orders, they weren't planning on attacking us.  She quickly ordered them to stand down.

Just when we started to relax a little, the other four vampires arrived.  Their posture was tense, and their message was clear.  They, at least, were not going to stand down.

TO BE CONTINUED... (again)

Sail into Danger pt 3



Continued....
Just when we started to relax a little, the other four vampires arrived. Their posture was tense, and their message was clear. They, at least, were not going to stand down.

We watched them approach us and they stared at us like we were their mortal enemies.

"Long time no see." Carlisle smiled, "I just bought that boat."

This time the other male vampire spoke: "You come here and lie to my clan about powers! Your powers are few and won't help you much here."

I could tell he was right. He was searching our minds for lies.  His power worked very similar to mine, only instead of reading people's thoughts, he was very much like a lie detector.  He could read when people were lying.  I tried to search his thoughts to see exactly how much he knew: if he knew what we had lied about specifically- or if we had simply stretched the truth about our powers.  To him, that would have come across as a lie, which could work in our favor.  His mind wasn't giving away much, however.  I was lost.

"You have a gift of your own, I see?"  Carlisle asked, still smiling.  His thoughts shifted to Aro, and I could tell Carlisle was trying hard to portray to these people that he was very similar to Aro in manner and style.  If anyone could copy the Volturi's style, it would be their old friend, Carlisle.  He was doing a good job so far.

"Does it matter?  You do not have the gifts you say you do, and we outnumber you here.  Surrender to us and we will let you survive.  Or- face your destruction now."  The leader from before spoke up this time, stepping in front of the first one before he could answer.
"I see."  was Carlisle's answer.  I could tell they were serious.  This was their goal.  Gain and conquer, or destroy all who get in the way.

These vampires didn't know one thing, however.  We had one thing they did not.  Despite powers, despite numbers, we had Jasper.  Jasper quickly took control of the situation.  I heard his thoughts clearly- as they were thought directly so that I could hear them- as if he spoke them to me aloud.
"Edward- I know you hear me- Emmett, Carlisle, Alice and you need to cover the oldest four.  I will handle the newborns.  I will send Alice a vision of this, and you get Carlisle on the same page.  I'll whisper the plan to Emmett, he is closer to me."

The thought was quick, but the plan was simple.  Jasper had extensive training in newborn armies- creating them, training them, and destroying them.  This was his territory.  We just had to handle the older ones.
"Got it."  I head Alice confirm.  She saw Jasper's plan.
We quickly conveyed our plans to Carlisle and Emmett as the other vampires circled closer.  I heard someone shout, "What are we waiting for?  Attack them!"  and we were quickly ambushed.

I had a vampire in my grasp quickly.  He was the leader.  Carlisle was circling a woman vampire nearby, and Emmett and Alice were zeroing in on one of the female vampires as well.
"What are we supposed to do?"  I heard Rosalie shout to Emmett as he told her to leave the newborns to Jasper.
"You and Esme can block that lady over there and rip her head off!"  He pointed to the other female vampire, who had been sneaking along the far wall, trying to avoid the fighting.
"Oh dear!"  Esme replied.
"Got it."  Rosalie cracked her knuckles like a mechanic getting to work, grabbed Esme by the wrist and the two started cornering the vampire.  She had nowhere to go.  Esme looked less nervous the more the got the vampire trapped into the far wall, but Rosalie did the honors of tearing her head from her body.  One down, six to go.

Jasper had destroyed two newborns before we got any of the other three leaders down.  The lie detector was next to go.  He grabbed Carlisle and twisted him into a quick body press against a parked car.  It used to be a very nice, blue Jeep Cherokee Laredo, but now had a very deep dent in the entire right side.  Thinking he had won, and preparing to tear Carlisle limb from limb, Carlisle took advantage of the situation and swing out from underneath the vampire's right arm, flattening the guy even further into the car with his knee and tearing his head off his body before the man could even yell for help.  After that the activity was a flurry.  Emmett was wrestling on the ground with his lady vampire, and Rosalie was running to help.  Jasper was in the process of destroying another newborn, which had lost two arms but was still stumbling towards him with a fury.

My vampire seemed scared to fight, but didn't want to back down either, so he stood there in a defensive pose, waiting for me to attack.  I used the time wisely, waiting to see what his fighting style was.  He planned moves out in his head, which I cataloged for further use, remembering to use them against him later.  He was the leader, and I didn't want to attack him on my own and make a mistake.

After what seemed like forever, he came towards me, and I swung my legs out in a high kick to his chest.  He fell to the ground but was up much more quickly than I expected.  He was much younger than I thought.  This could be a problem.  I saw a flurry of movement behind me and realized Carlisle was behind me.  The other vampire started panicking, realizing he was outnumbered.  By this time it was looking positive.

Then, we were ambushed.  A newborn did something completely unexpected.  She didn't even see it coming herself.  The leader of the newborns, the woman who had already decided she wouldn't attack us, stood up from her hiding place behind the half-smashed Jeep, and threw her hands up.

"Stop!  I cant take all this fighting anymore!"  She yelled.

We all froze in place.  Not because we wanted to, but because we had no choice.  We were stuck.  She had frozen us somehow, and she didn't even seem aware that she had done it.  I caught on right away, and so did Carlisle, Jasper and the leader we were trying to destroy.  No-one else seemed to understand for a moment.  Then, one by one, the remainder of us Cullens and the last newborn understood as well.

"You froze us!"  Shouted the leader vampire.  "Unfreeze me and lets destroy them all!"
"No!"  Carlisle shouted.
She didn't respond.  She didn't unfreeze us.  She stood there, staring in shock at all our frozen bodies, all nine of us, plus her.  She started to understand that she, indeed, had frozen us.  She didn't know whether to unfreeze us or not.  She didn't want any one else to get hurt.  Her thoughts were confused and panicky.
"What's your name?"  Carlisle asked.
"What?"  She was taken aback.
"What's your name?"  He repeated.
"Julia."  She said.
"Well, Julia, we don't like hurting vampires.  In fact, we don't even hunt people.  That is the real reason our eyes are not red.  We don't want this.  Let us go and the only one who needs to be destroyed here is this one-"  I motioned towards the leader- "who is planning to destroy everything that crosses his path anyway.  He is a liability.  The mere fact that he created you is dangerous."  Carlisle told her.   Her thoughts bounced over my words.  She believed him.  She even danced around the idea of not hunting people anymore, but enjoys it too much to stop.
"There are other things to have fun with other than hunting people.  These people have families.  Did you ever think you could find people to love too?"  I told her.  My words left a bitter taste in my mouth, as I was being ironic, talking about love when I had no love of my own.  I did have a family, however.
She contemplated that, then looked at the leader of her clan.
"Don't."  He begged.  Then he unfroze and the shock of his rapid unfreezing left him falling to the ground.
"Shoot."  She said.  She frooze him again and the rest of us unfroze, falling to the ground as he had seconds before.  Standing up, Jasper walked over to the frozen vampire.
"Liar liar pants on fire.  Guess your leading skills didnt get you far today."  He told him, smiling.  Then he grabbed his head and tore it off cleanly.

We gathered all the heads and bodies of the destroyed vampires and burned them in a large pile.  After a few shared apologies and promises to Julia that vampire life is much better than what she has known, we acquired a small sailboat and headed home to Chicago.  We were eager to set foot back in the Mason home and settle down around the fireplace and relax.  We knew we would always have a friend here, but weren't sure if we would ever return.

Giving Thanks


Thanksgiving break wasn't what we expected it to be,  but we learned a few things from it.  Rosalie and Emmett extended their stay a few days and we holed up in the Mason house for a while, just enjoying each other's company.

Odd as it may sound, it was truly nice to have everyone together, and even Rosalie and I got along perfectly for once.  If there was anything close to family and love for vampires, this was it.  Rosalie and Emmett.  Alice and Jasper.  Carlisle and Esme.  It made me wistful for a love of my own, but at the same time it made me simply grateful that I was a part of it all.  I had people who loved me.  I was grateful that I was not that girl, Julia, alone in the world- searching for her place.  She had no family and no-one to love.  The thought made me sad.

Emmett and I went out hunting for turkeys like he had planned to do.  It was very interesting.  Actually, it was down right goofy.  I didn't think there were wild turkeys running around the Illinois area, but he insisted there were.  Sure enough, he took me to a wooded area not far from where we were, and there was a gathering of birds around.  I'd never really seen a live turkey before, but they were interesting looking.  Ranging between twenty to thirty pounds each, and around four feet tall, they looked like they could certainly end up as quite the meal on someone's dining room table- and then some.

I am pretty sure he bought the birds from a local farm ahead of time and placed them there, but he refuses to admit it, and knowing I can read his mind, his thoughts just mock me with things like "ha ha, Edward, you think you're so smart, but you can't read MY mind!"  Its funny.  He knows I'll just ask Rosalie later and she'll totally blow his cover.  She is horrible at keeping mental secrets.  Another reason I avoid reading my families' minds- of course this is all fun and games and doesn't count.  It's like Emmett using his other arm in an arm wrestling match.

Anyway, there we were standing in a small patch of skinny woods, with very little leaves on the trees, and here's a bunch of unsuspecting turkeys pecking their way around some seed on the ground.  Out of  the blue, Emmett lets out a wild monkey-style yell and chases after one of the turkeys, then another, at human speed.  It was hilarious to watch.
"C'mon Ed!"  He called out to me.
It looked like so much fun it was only seconds before I joined in.  We went slowly of course, because what is the fun of catching them right away?  The thing about turkeys, however, is that they don't like to be chased.

Before we knew what was happening, the hunters became the hunted and the turkeys circled around to chase after us instead.  The other turkeys joined their comrades, all making turkey sounds and trying to make it clear they had messed with the wrong birds.  I have to admit, it was engaging.  Probably the most entertaining thing I had done in a while.  These were some aggressive birds!  Just when one tried to bite my backside, I used vampire speed to cut around to the other side of it.  This caught it by surprise, and it cocked its head at me inquisitively.  I grabbed it, quickly drained it of blood before it had any idea what was going on or any chance to fight back or feel pain, and laid it back down on the ground.

Emmett was on the other side of the field.  He had hunted two turkeys and looked satisfied.  By this time, the other turkeys were running away,  realizing that this was a fight they would not win.  Not that it mattered, if we wanted to, we would reach out and grab them.  We were finished anyway.  It certainly made for an interesting hunting experience.  My first and only Thanksgiving turkey.  Not something I planned on repeating, but definitely something to cross off my experience list.

Back home, Carlisle lit a fire in the fireplace again.  We didn't get cold, but it was nice to see.  The house had a grand fireplace in the main living room, and we had couches and chairs placed all around it, and it was very cozy to settle around the fire, talking and relaxing after a long day.  Vampire days tend to get very long.  Time can extend for what seems like forever.  I guess when you live for an eternity, it really is forever.

I took a seat around the fire, and listened to Emmett tell everyone about our Turkey hunting experience.  While we were sitting around the fire, Alice got a vision.  The details weren't very clear, but she could see a woman's hand reaching out and knocking on our front door.  She said that it was twilight when the hand knocked, and that the rest of us were inside the house, not doing anything in particular, except for perhaps Rosalie and Emmett who were packing to leave at the time.  The visitor was also wearing a purple cashmere sweater.

This was helpful- as it meant that our surprise visitor was coming in two days, the day Rosalie and Emmett go home.  We didn't know, however, who it was.  Alice didn't get a bad feeling from her vision, but wanted to know who it was, so she went upstairs to concentrate.  I went upstairs as well to see if I could think of anything or hear anything in the thoughts of people I know, although I am likely too far away for that too work.

I suppose I should put my journal down and get concentrating.  I'd like to know who our visitor is before she comes.  Be back later!

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