Marianne Swan used to have a fascination with the fragile nature of mortality until it was her own life on the line. Marianne is not scared of much in this world, with one key exception: the name Edward Cullen. She reunites with her father - chief o...
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When we got back to the house, I notice several stacks of newspapers on the dining room's table.
"What's with all the news paper?"
"Over the past few months there have been patterns of people going missing in Seattle. It's not headlines yet, but we're keeping an eye on the situation," Alice informs me.
"This is just the past three months, over thirty missing people," Esme, who has now come down stairs, gestures to the spread on the table.
"And we're afraid it may drawn the attention of the Volturi," Jasper states.
"Do you think this is Victoria?"
Alice frowns, "I haven't seen her involved in any of these killings. I'm watching her decisions closely. But it has to be a vampire behind this."
That evening we spend hours pouring over missing people's alerts trying to find connections between the people and why they may have been targeted. We end up with more questions than answers. The disappearances seem not only completely random in when they occur, but there is no link between the people being abducted - age, gender, education... nothing.
"Do we think these people are dead or...?" I ask.
Carlisle, who joined us after his hospital shift, responds, "We'd expect reports of dumped bodies or at the very least remnants of human remains. So it's possible they could have been moved out of the area; or they could be forming an army."
"Of vampires?"
"Similar to my introduction to vampirism, someone may be collecting newborns for their brute strength. The numbers are there, but it wouldn't make sense as to why. No motivation. There is no competition for hunting territory up here. We'll have to monitor closely before the Volturi catch wind of this."
"Who's not to say they are behind it?"
"What?" Carlisle seems perplexed by the idea.
"I mean you said it yourself when talking about your time with them: they think our way of hunting animals is odd. Plus, you have Alice and Edward which Aro covets. It makes a little bit of sense, more so than whatever we just spend hours doing."
Carlisle shakes his head, "They wouldn't risk exposure like that. I've heard tales of how they wipe out covens, they don't need an army of newborns to do it."
"And I've been watching Aro's decisions, I would have seen something," Alice chimes in.
~ ~ ~
Two days later, in the early hours of the morning, the entire family set out where Alice had seen Victoria come through.
Alice was flipping through visions, different decisions Victoria was making on the spot that would bring her near us.
Esme and Carlisle stood together looking out into the forest. Behind them was Jasper and me, fingers barely touching; Rosalie and Emmett were next to us, and Edward was stood defensively near Alice.
