Immortals

Chapter 17

The morning air was crisp … cold to anyone still living. Those running through the thick, evergreen forest didn’t care about that though. They weren’t bothered by such things, since their skin was already abnormally chilled.

One hiss turned into two, which in turn caused two of their party to attack one another. As they rolled around on the ground, ripping and tearing at one another, their newborn brethren continued without them. No one was there to lead them. They were on their own. One after another, they launched themselves from the half-rotted trunk of a downed tree and jumped over a wide stream. Their blood-red eyes were full of anger and hatred as they pelted toward their destination.

Behind them, the two who had been fighting had gotten to their feet and began circling each other. Snarls left their mouths as they lunged and dodged. One had his ear ripped off while the other had a pair of crescent moon bite marks on his cheek. Neither knew why they were fighting, and neither cared. Aggression overpowered their common sense, dimming their instincts to stay alive. As such, they each crouched down, ready to pounce. As they did, they didn’t expect someone to grab the backs of their heads and slam their faces together. The ear-piercing sound of metal twisting rang out over the quiet forest. Deer scattered and birds left their perches, scared off by the violent sound.

Both Newborns reared back, crying out in pain as they opened the mouths of their disfigured faces. Their noses had been torn off, and both of their foreheads had been caved in. Even though they were vampires, they weren’t spared the sensation of being dazed. Each stumbled around before they felt their legs being ripped off. Before they knew it, their bodies were piled on top of each other and set alight. The man formerly known as Daniel screamed as he crawled away from the flames inhumanly fast, using his arms to pull himself. It was of little use though. Soon enough, the only things left of him were a pile of ash and a cloud of purple smoke.

The small army of Newborns didn’t even notice the absence of two of their numbers, not that they would have cared anyway. They were too focused on their goal, forgetting about everything else. As another member joined their ranks, they never looked back or registered the distinct scent of the only non-vampire amongst them. One surely noticed when someone kicked her foot, causing her to trip and slide face-first into a pile of mud. Putting her hands underneath herself, she tried to push herself to her feet, but a thundering stomp caused her head to shatter like a crystal vase that had been dropped on a stone floor. Harry didn’t bother burning her. It would be years before she would be able to pull herself back together, such was her state. The Cullens or the wolves would find her remains and burn them long before then. Smiling, he felt as if he had done his duty.

Harry didn’t really want to step in and help them too much. He really didn’t like mucking around in other Aspects’ business, but since he was now tied to Rosalie through a child, he had a right to. He guessed that one or two of them would pretend to be affronted. In reality, they would just be looking for a few future favors. He had done the same thing many times in the past. Even so, he didn’t want to make it too easy for them. Already they had the numbers and firepower on their side. Taking out a few of them would just make things a little easier. He suddenly disappeared and reappeared in the clearing where the fight was to take place.

As he did, the Newborn army suddenly burst from the treeline and ran directly for the Cullens. They and the Denalis rushed forward, colliding with the wave of red-eyed vampires. Jasper, being the most battle-hardened, was the first to attack. His first punch took the head off of a Newborn with a single strike. Soon, the sounds of metal tearing filled the clearing.

Harry actually smiled as he watched Alice fight. Using her powers was a major advantage, though Emmett would call it cheating. Taking on two Newborns at the same time, she danced and ducked around punches and twirled around kicks. At one point, she ducked a punch coming from behind, and Harry laughed when the punch hit the opposite Newborn. She took the opportunity to jump on the back of the stunned vamp and tear its head off.

When the flood of wolves joined in, it wasn’t even close to a fair fight. Not really caring about any of the wolves, Harry didn’t pay much attention to them. The only one that he watched was Leah. From what he could gather by the way she fought, he could see that she was a bit erratic and hotheaded. Perhaps she was just trying to prove a point that as the only woman in the pack, she was just as much of a warrior as the men were, Harry thought. She was by far the smallest of the wolves, but she was also the fastest. He watched as she sank her teeth into one of the vamps and bit down hard. The sound of stone cracking as the vamp’s leg was crushed tore through the air followed by his tortured scream. She was shaking his body violently, trying to tear off the leg, and never noticed the sneaky vamp coming from behind. As it lunged, Harry appeared right in its path. He pulled his arm back and swung. The collision between his fist and the vampire’s chest was so loud that everyone in the clearing actually cried out and covered their ears. The vampire exploded into a cloud of dust and a few fluttering scraps of torn cloth.

Everyone was stunned for a second. Even Leah and the vamp whose leg was in her mouth were looking at him silently. “Oh, sorry,” Harry apologized. “Let me give you a hand,” Harry said, wanting to be gentlemanly. He grabbed the vampire by the arms and started pulling. Leah snapped out of it and began pulling as well.

“NO!” Ernie the vampire screamed in panic as he felt the flesh of his belly tearing. Only a second later, his two halves were tossed aside while everyone else finished the fight.

Immortals

Victoria snarled viciously as she and Edward circled each other. It was difficult keeping one eye on him and the other on her ultimate target … Bella Swan. So far, her plan was working perfectly. The army that she had created was out there doing its thing. Whether they killed any of the Cullens or not wasn’t something she cared about. The Newborns were expendable. They were simply there to get her and Bella alone. The only hiccup was that Edward had stuck around to protect the little bitch, and of course, their guard dog was annoying.

“Victoria! Help!” she heard Riley cry out as the wolf snapped at him and pushed him back. The wolf was smaller than the others that usually chased her off. ‘He must be one of the young ones,’ she thought as she turned her back on the idiot that was under the delusion that she actually cared about him. Even if she wanted to help him, she had her hands full at the moment. Edward struck hard and fast, grabbing her by the shoulders and pushing her hard enough that the ground was being torn as she dug her heels in. She fought back, trying hard not to be spun so that her neck was exposed. If he got a hold of her head, it would be the end of her, she obviously knew. The sudden yelp of a dog being hurt filled her ears just before Riley slammed into the side of Edward, throwing him off of her momentarily. For once, she was glad to see him. Knowing that she may never get another opportunity, she ran forward in a blur and grabbed his very frightened-looking girlfriend. This was the bitch that caused her mate to be killed. Finally, she would have her revenge, and if by some miracle she survived this whole ordeal, she would go after the Cullens next. Her mouth watered and her teeth practically dripped with venom as she held the shaking girl tightly. Victoria saw abject fear in her eyes as she opened her mouth and leaned in. At that moment, Victoria felt pleased that her goal had been accomplished.

As her lips brushed Bella’s slim neck, Victoria breathed in deeply, savoring her delicious smell. Biting down as hard as possible, Victoria’s eyes widened as her teeth shattered, and she reared back. She screamed as pieces of her broken teeth fell from her mouth. She looked at Bella with wide, confused eyes. As she did, Bella somehow morphed into the shape of a very tall and handsome young man who was smiling happily. Even as the sounds of snapping and howling and Riley’s screams of pain were going off behind her, she just couldn’t comprehend what had happened.

“Sorry, babe! But you’re not my type,” the man cheekily said as he smirked. Victoria was just about to growl in anger when he lashed out. His hand hit her square in the chest, sending her tumbling back. Before she could get her footing, she was grabbed around the neck by Edward. Victoria screamed in anger as she thrashed around, trying desperately to get loose. She sent the man one last look of pure anger and hatred before her head was twisted from her body.

Once the kid named Seth had finished tearing up the other male vampire, they had themselves a quick bonfire before going back to the clearing. As they did, everyone watched as two Harrys walked up to each other. “Good job!” they said in complete sync and high-fived. When their hands clapped, a bright flash of light left everyone temporarily blinded. When they blinked the spots from their eyes, there was only one Harry standing there. “I told you it would work,” he chuckled at Edward who was still worked up from finally getting his hands on the vampire who had been threatening Bella all this time. Harry noticed Alice tense up.

“What’s wrong?” Carlisle asked, noticing her behavior as well.

“The Volturi … They’ll be here in a few minutes,” she told them, which made all of them tense.

“I’ll handle them. Everyone go home and stay there for the next hour or so,” Harry said. Everyone quickly said their goodbyes and ran off to the Cullen house or back to La Push.

Immortals

Jane smirked alongside her twin brother, Alec. Accompanying them both was Felix, and the tracker, Demetri. When she was asked to visit the area and take care of any of the problems that they might find, she was of course ecstatic to do so. It had been a while since she had any real kind of action.

Since the Volturi had met with Victoria and had given her army a time limit to accomplish their goals, she knew that Aro was hoping that some of these Newborns would thin the Cullen herd, so to speak. In her opinion, Aro was afraid of the growing power of the Cullens and wanted several of their members as his own. She wouldn’t lie to herself. This annoyed her. She should have been more than enough for Aro, but alas, he was known to be a greedy man when it came to hoarding power. Jane wanted to come and flex her powers to show the Cullens why the Volturi were the ones to be feared. Demetri had tracked the Cullens to a certain area of the forest before he suddenly stopped short. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

“The Cullens have moved,” he said.

“So keep tracking them,” she glared, annoyed at being kept waiting. She noticed the strained look on his face.

“I can’t!” he cried out before she felt the air around her turn cold. It wasn’t just cold for a human, but for her as well. For the first time since she was turned, she actually began shivering. Looking to her side, she could see that her companions were equally flummoxed.

“What’s happening?” her brother asked, sounding terrified. All around them, the forest was going dark … too dark. It was unnatural. Suddenly, a clicking or rattling sound was coming from every direction. All of them turned their heads from side to side, wildly looking for the cause.

Demetri jumped as he felt something move beneath his feet. Looking down to see what was going on was the last thing they saw him do. Jane screamed as a shadow burst from the soil, punctured his chest, and pulled the screaming man into the ground. They watched his arms and legs bend painfully in the wrong directions as he was sucked into the hole. Once he was swallowed, the sound of rattling stopped, but it remained dark.

Alec was panicking. Unused to being afraid, he didn’t know how to behave. “SHOW YOURSELF!” he screamed, looking around. “SHOW YOUR…”

Jane screamed as a shadowman erupted from the ground and ripped off her brother’s lower jaw. Alec wailed in pain as Felix ran as fast as possible. Jane desperately tried to use her powers on him, but it was no use. She was suddenly grabbed and flung against a tree. The tree shattered into a million slivers as her back hit the trunk. Falling face down, she looked up just in time to see her brother’s arms and legs being ripped off. Not knowing what to do, she turned tail like Felix and ran as fast as her legs would carry her. The last she heard from her brother was his muffled cries as he too was sucked into the ground.

Harry smiled as the other two ran off. He chose to take out the boy and the tracker. Both were important members of the Volturi and would hinder them greatly. If they were smart they would take it as a sign to avoid the Cullens and the area in general. If they weren’t, Harry would have fun dealing with them. As the forest around him brightened and warmed to its normal temperature, he noticed a petite girl hiding behind a tree, trembling violently. Walking over to her, she squeaked in fright and backed up.

“D-Don’t hurt me … Please!” she begged, still shaking.

“What’s your name?”

She looked up into his eyes, and if she could, she would have blushed. The man in front of her was very handsome. She finally came to her senses and answered him.

“Bree Tanner,” she said quickly.

She didn’t act like the other Newborns. She was much calmer and didn’t seem like a mindless killing machine. She looked young … maybe fifteen or sixteen. Harry didn’t have it in his heart to kill the young girl. Instead, he held out his hand only for her to instantly take it. As she held onto it tightly, he said, “I’ll take you somewhere safe.”

Bree believed him for some strange reason. She felt safe. Looking up at him, she stepped closer so that she was right up against him. He smiled down at her before both disappeared.