The Vampire in the Basement By michellephants.pdf

The Vampire in the Basement By michellephants

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4887478/1/

Alice POV

I mentally prepared myself for another dull day of school.

The boys were taking the day off to hunt but, as I had been hunting more often

to accompany Jasper, I was already well fed. It came down to a decision between

the lesser of two evils: another tedious day hunting with the boys or another

tedious day in school with the girls.

I hadn't seen Bella since before the weekend, so I opted to skip the hunting trip

and go to school. I could already see that she would agree to a shopping trip with

me after class and that even Rosalie would join us. A day out with the girls

seemed like an excellent way to break the monotony. The life of a vampire posing

as a human had few perks, and my friendship with Bella was at forefront of

those.

I pulled into the parking lot of Forks High and quickly looked at how my day

would go. It would be typical, boring, and event-free, naturally. Bella would fall

and Mike would help right her, much to her irritation. I smiled and shook my

head. Crazy kids.

Rosalie and I got out of the car and headed to our first period classes. I got Mr.

Mason's room and took my seat, still several minutes early. English was the most

boring of the boring, and I contemplated ditching briefly until I remembered my

plans with Bella. They wouldn't be realized if I didn't get a chance to pitch them

to her.

She walked in shortly after and took a seat next to me.

"Not hunting today?"

"Nope," I replied. "Girls day out. No boys allowed." I stuck my tongue out at her.

Like she'd really want the company of a (gasp) boy, anyway. Bella was many

things, but it was a well known fact that she did not approve of the Forks High

School male population.

"Oooh, fun. What are we doing?" I have to give her credit, she looked genuinely

excited.

"Uh, shopping?" I offered. Of course we were shopping. What else would we be

doing?

She chuckled, "Okay. But we have to hit the bookstore also, okay?"

I didn't have to be psychic for me to know that would be her condition. Bella and

bookstores were like Rosalie and cars. It was inexplicable but endearing.

"Naturally," I giggled.

Mr. Mason walks in, frustrated with the chatter of the overly energetic students.

I raised my finger to my mouth, shushing her. She straightened up and looked

straight ahead, winking at me. The vision disappeared.

"How was everyone's weekend?" He asked as he walked in.

By third period I was ready to leave. An hour ago I had begun getting random

flashes about the hunting trip. I couldn't make out what exactly was going on, it

seemed like whatever was happening was changing, quickly. After the seventh

different decision was made in as many minutes, my frustration grew

monumentally. I wanted to call Carlisle.

The visions weren't particularly jarring, but the lack of precision was scaring me.

I saw Carlisle walking into the house, light-eyed and happy.

I saw Carlisle walking into the house covered in blood.

I saw Carlisle screaming at Esme to get upstairs.

I saw him running his hands through the river.

I saw him warily approaching a man, laying on the ground.

I saw him answering the front door.

The decisions were changing so rapidly that I couldn't get a clear read on

anything. I tried to look into Jasper and Emmett's futures, but was met by the

same infuriating roadblock.

I pulled my hair, frustrated.

"I need to use the restroom," I grumbled, as I walked from the classroom.

I headed straight for my car, opening my cell and texting Rose and Bella.

Something came up, I'll be back to pick you guys up later. –Alice

I drove straight home and quickly appraised the house. Nothing seemed out of

place. I was teetering on whether or not to go find the boys when I got my first

real glimpse of what the future held.

"Carlisle!" Jasper shouts, his volume a result of the panic. Together, they walk

toward a heap of flesh partially obscured by the brush. The stop several feet

away from the body.

"Is he dead?" Emmett asks as he approaches them.

"It doesn't look like he's breathing from here.."

"No, no it doesn't."

"Should we call the police or something...?" Emmett again. Freaking' Emmett.

"I don't know..." replies Jasper. Carlisle remains silent.

I tried to look further into the future, hoping that I'd be able to make something

of this.

Carlisle POV

I was pulled from my reverie by Jasper hollering my name. Why so loudly? I

approached him cautiously, knowing something wasn't right. There was no reason

for the shouting.

As I made my way to him, I followed his gaze. He was staring intently on what

looked like a human body. The boy was naked and completely still, without an

ounce of color to his skin. He was dead. I could see that he wasn't breathing and

I couldn't make out any heartbeat. I followed Jasper as he took a few tentative

steps forward, but we both stopped short. What to do?

I heard Emmett approaching us slowly, "Is he dead?" he asked honestly. I shook

my head to myself. If Emmett used what he knew he was capable of he would

already know the answer to that, but of course, he spoke without even a shadow

of a thought.

"It doesn't look like he's breathing from here," Jasper told Emmett.

"No, no it doesn't," I added quietly. This boy was so much further than dead. I

couldn't see his face or the front of his body at all, but judging by his back, he

very well may have starved to death.

"Should we call the police or something?" Emmett again. If the situation wasn't

as dire as it was, I might have laughed. Only Emmett would think we should call

the police. Only Emmett.

"I don't know..." Jasper replied. I guess not only Emmett. I sighed and shook my

head. The best I could think to do was move his body closer to civilization and

hope he'd be found and identified before animals consumed him. That hardly

seemed fair to him.

I stepped forward, gesturing the boys to stay back. Something about this

situation wasn't sitting right with me. I had no reason to be wary of a decrepit

human body, but I was cautious still. It only took one step.

I felt my phone buzzing in my pocket and let my head fall, hoping beyond hope

that this was Alice telling me why I was so damned nervous all of the sudden. I

knew she liked to keep an eye on Jasper, it wasn't an unreasonable idea that she

had already seen this turn of events.

Alice. I sighed and took a step back toward Jasper and Emmett. I opened the

phone when I reached them.

"What is it?" I urged, still edgy.

"He's not dead, Carlisle..."

"Of course he's dead, Alice. He's not breathing, his heart is…" I trailed off, deeply

inhaling.

He didn't smell like a human should. Maybe this was the source of my unease? He

smelled... empty. There were vague traces of some foreign chemicals radiating

from him, but I couldn't smell blood.. at all. I shook my head, trying to make

sense of it. What is he?

"Carlisle, he's dead... obviously. But only in the sense that you and I are dead..."

"No, Alice. If he were one of us I'd be able to find it in his scent. There's no blood

in his system whatsoever..." I inhaled again, trying to pick up anything else from

him.

"Venom?" she asked, likely already knowing what my answer would be.

The smell of our venom is faint. It's supposed to be our greatest weapon,

virtually undetectable to our prey. But I guess if I concentrated on deciphering

each individual scent, there were traces of venom there.

"So he's... one of us?"

"Yes," she answered. "I can't see what led him here, but I can see what you will

do. I think it's right. But your future is changing pretty regularly, still. So I can't

be positive."

"What do I do?" I whispered. "Bring him home?" I knew that he couldn't die from

whatever was going on inside of him, but I had never seen a vampire this messed

up in all of my years.

"Yes, but Carlisle," she answered, "he won't make it easy for you. I don't know

what his intentions are, but I can see he doesn't go with you without a fight. He's

not very strong, so it shouldn't be difficult to get him to succumb, but be cautious

when you guys approach him. He's going to growl and he's going to bite. He'll do

whatever he can to get away. You will be stronger. Between the three of you, you

will get him back to the house."

"And then...?" I urged. Having him in the house didn't seem like the most brilliant

plan, but I guess leaving him out here to starve for the next century would be too

cruel.

"Then... I don't know. You haven't decided yet. When I know, you'll know," she

said softly, contemplative. "I'd tell you to be careful, but I know you've got things

under control for now." I could hear the smile in her voice.

"Thank you, Alice."

"Oh, and Carlisle?"

"Yes?"

"…. Be careful." I smiled and assured her I would. "Not just with yourselves,

though. Be careful with him."

And then, in true Alice fashion, she hung up.

During the trek home, a pattern was established. I was carrying the vampire in

my arms, Jasper staying on my heels doing everything in his power to keep the

boy calm. I still hadn't gotten a good look at him and had done virtually zero

assessment of his injuries, as we had decided immediately that the quicker we

got him the house the better.

As soon as I had taken my first step toward him a low rumbling emanated from

his chest. It was weak and it was labored, but it was still a sign for me to

approach cautiously.

I looked back at Jasper questioningly.

"Fear," he said simply. "That's all I'm getting. Just fear."

I shook my head. I think I'd have preferred anger or hatred over fear. Fear made

me the bad guy, and him the victim. I didn't like the idea of causing him any

discomfort when he was already so fragile, but I knew leaving him wasn't an

option. And getting him to the house would, without a doubt, be uncomfortable

for him.

"Try to get him under control, son," I whispered, willing the gods to comply and

help me with this task.

I felt a wave of calm rush over me and immediately the growling changed. It

didn't cease altogether, but it became more hopeless. It was pleading rather than

warning. Begging me to step back.

I squared my shoulders and closed the gap between us quickly and quietly. His

fear overrode Jasper's calm and he began growling viciously and thrashing under

my touch. That was when the 'quickest route possible' decision was officially

made. I lifted him into my arms and began running. He was struggling and

growling but too weak to fight me. I had just fed and he hadn't fed in years, and

I was clearly going to win if it came down to a match.

We ran the miles back to the house quickly. We would make it a half mile or so

and he would lose any calming effect Jasper was attempting to throw at him

again. Jasper would then close the gap between us and touch him, throwing him

into frenzy before nearly knocking him out with emotion.

I could tell this was all having an extreme effect on Jasper. This boy's pain was,

to an extent, Jasper's pain. It wasn't as if Jasper could actually feel the pain, but

he felt the nature of it.

We made it to the house several minutes later, and Alice opened the door while I

rushed the body inside.

"The basement," was all Alice said.

I had considered it as an option earlier; I guess she saw it was as good a choice

as any. It was only temporary, until we could figure out the next move. He

wouldn't be able to hurt anyone in the basement. He wouldn't be able to hurt

himself in the basement.

I bee-lined for the door that led down the stairs; the struggling, screaming body

never once relaxing. When we reached the last step I briefly contemplated what

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