My Not So Short 2nd Life Ch1

DISCLAIMER:
         I own nothing, but my ideas. I give full credit to Stephenie Meyer for the characters and the entire saga. I also want to give her my thanks for writing Bree Tanner's story and The Twilight Saga. They are wonderful novels. Had she not written the novel about Bree, I would most likely not have had the inspiration to write about her. So, thank you Stephenie Meyer.
        Enjoy.

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A Second Chance?

         "Now hold up just one damn minute," a burly voice suddenly said.
I opened my eyes to see that the huge vampire with brown hair who had tore Kevin's head off had spoken. I also noticed that the vampire who must have been named Felix was just inches away from me. Jane held her hand up to stop Felix. She didn't seem to want to have stopped him from killing me, but she did and that surprised me.
         "What?" Her dead voice sounded irritated as her eyes hardened.
         "You say that you don't make exceptions and you don't give second chances, but you already have made an exception and you are giving a second chance."
         Jane didn't make any response. She just stared blankly with confusion at the huge vampire. I'll admit, I didn't understand what he meant either.
         "You made Bella an exception when she and my sister, Alice, went to Italy to stop my brother, Edward, from revealing himself to humans on St. Marcus Day. Aro allowed Bella to live just so long as we held true to changing her." He gestured toward the human girl.
         I saw from the corner of my eye the human girl flinch when the huge vampire mentioned about someone named Edward. I guessed that Edward was the redheaded vampire who was also the mind reader because I heard him make a low growl. The human also seemed to blush deep red in the cheeks making the thirst I felt in my throat burn stronger. I tried not think about it because I knew I shouldn't or else I would end up killing this human girl. And if I killed the human girl, the yellow-eyes would kill me. Instead, I tried to refocus my attention on what the huge vampire was saying. None of it was making much sense to me. I still wanted to know more about this. My eyes turned to look over at Jane quickly, but tried not to meet her devil eyes. Her expression was not only irritated, but yet she surprisingly looked like she also wanted to see where the huge vampire was going with this too.
         "And now, today," he continued, "you have given Bella a second chance. We still have not changed her since you last saw her. Yet, you are giving her a second chance by not killing her this time either. You are letting her live."
         So, this mysterious Volturi were letting the human be an exception just so long as the yellow-eyes keep to their word on changing her? But more importantly, she had met these vampires before and the yellow-eyes had promised they would change her when she had met them before. Seriously, what were the yellow-eyes waiting for? Why did they have to change her on whatever the date was that they set it to be like the small black haired vampire said? Why couldn't it be now? What was the hold up?
         As I processed all of this in my head, I suddenly felt a wave of anger. I realized that this mysterious Volturi had made this human an exception before and now were giving her a second chance. This human! It suddenly didn't seem fair to me. Why were they giving this measly human a second chance? She was a human and I was a vampire for crying out loud! Honestly, weren't humans not supposed to know that vampires existed? And even if they did, they'd either find out like I did by becoming one or they were just being killed to substantiate our thirst. When I was human, I never knew vampires existed. They were just myths and scary stories. I found out from being at the wrong place at the wrong time.
         But this didn't make sense. Even after I became a vampire, I was smart. I obeyed Riley's rules. I was back before the sun was up. This of course was before Diego and I found out that we didn't burn in the sun. More like, before I even knew Diego. I didn't even leave a human alive long enough to realize what was happening to them. They had no time to scream. I didn't even do anything wrong. The only person who deserved to have a second chance here was me. I deserved it a lot more than this measly human did. Didn't I?
         The red headed mind reader who I guessed was named Edward, shot me a dark look then.
         Crap, I thought. I had completely forgotten that he could read my thoughts and I was thinking about all of this. I tried to give him an apologetic expression and thought, Sorry.
         The mind reader's expression softened and he gave me a quick nod that told me he understood my reason for my anger.
         Then, clearing his throat, the mind reader spoke up. "Speaking of Aro, aren't Caius, Marcus, and Aro the one's who are the decision makers? The one's who decide on who lives and who dies?"
         Jane stood there in silence. She looked like she was caught off guard. The mind reader smiled a little.
         "Thought so," he said. "Aro, Caius, and Marcus are indeed the decision makers. They are the leaders after all. They should be the one's who decide if Bree should deserve a second chance or not. If you'd like, I'd gladly go take a trip with you back to Volterra and bring Bree along. Then we can have Aro read her thoughts and see that she didn't know what she was doing just as she said. After reading her thoughts, we can have him, Caius, and Marcus make their decision. I say this because I believe that you do not have the right to decide on killing Bree. Like I said, the decision stands with Aro, Caius, and Marcus. Not you. Aro may value you and your gift, but it's not up to you to decide who lives and who dies."
         I couldn't believe what I was hearing. The mind reader was calling Jane out. It was dangerous to say that sort of thing to Jane wasn't it? Especially with that power she had to make you feel like were in pain. That agonizing pain. If I had been her, which I must say, I am grateful not to be, I would have been pissed off at the mind reader for calling me out like that. I would also feel hurt, but more pissed than hurt. Regardless, I would be so pissed and hurt, that I would use that power of hers on him so he would know how I felt. But I am not Jane. I am myself, Bree Tanner. I am not one to hurt people. I hate violence. From my dim memories of my human life, I could still remember my abusive father. I rather not think of that human memory though. It is not something I am too happy about remembering from my vague human memories. Those vague and painful human memories.
         I tried not to think about it and just focus on what was going on now. It still stunned me that the mind reader has said this. Yet, I was also fearful. I was fearful of Jane's response to the mind reader calling her out. Maybe she was going to do what my idea was. Use her power on the mind reader. Make him suffer. I flickered my eyes to Jane quickly. She didn't seem to know how to take what the mind reader had said and respond to it. She kept switching from looking hurt to looking pissed. However, she didn't use her power on him. Not once. Not even for a second. How strange.
         "So, I'll give you two options," the mind reader continued, his voice hard. "Option one: Bree and I will take the trip back to Volterra with you and have Aro see that she was indeed speaking the truth. Then we'll have him, Caius, and Marcus cast their vote on giving her a second chance.
         "Or, you can go with option two: Give Bree a second chance right now. Let her stay here with us and as Carlisle said, we will take full responsibly for her. We will teach her the rules. I'm sure once Bree knows the rules, she won't break them. We will make sure she doesn't.
         "Take your pick. You only get one option."
         I held my breath while waiting for Jane to respond. I was still fearful. I couldn't tell what Jane was thinking now. He expression was looked blank. My eyes flickered back and forth between Jane and the mind reader. During those times I had my eyes on the mind reader, I couldn't help but look at the human girl too. She looked terrified. Something about the terror in her brown eyes that were focussed on the mind reader's face, told me that she didn't want him to go to Volterra. I could hear her pulsing heart beat loudly with nervousness causing more blood to circulate throughout her, though the blood in her face was gone. She was pale as a ghost. Quite frankly, I didn't blame her. I didn't want to go to Volterra either, wherever it was. All I wanted was for Jane to make up her mind.
         Please, I thought. Please pick option two.
         We all waited in silence for Jane to make her decision for another few minutes. It seemed like hours. I really wanted her to hurry up and decide. If she picked option two I would be able to hopefully have enough time to meet up with Fred. I would have to try and convince him to come back with me so he too could learn the rules from the yellow-eyes. I didn't know how much time I had left to get to Fred, if I had any at all, but I still had hope that I would have time. I wanted to get him as soon as possible. If only Jane would hurry up and decide.
         I also wanted her to hurry up in her decision making because the burn in my throat was excruciating. I hadn't been thinking about it before, but now with this dead silence as we all waited for her to decide, I smelled the human girl's scent even more. It didn't help that her heart was pulsing nervously, making the blood rush all over her body except her face. My mind was having trouble thinking straight with the burn in my throat. It made me want her blood. Her sweet blood. I wanted to kill her right now to rid me of this insanity. It smelled so good that it was almost like it was calling to me. Telling me to just kill the girl. The, You know you want it, come and get it call. I tried to swallow, but it didn't help. How could these yellow-eyes stand to be near her? It was maddening.
         Let me at her, a voice growled in my head.
         I knew this voice. This was my voice when I turned into a hunter and I was about to attack my prey.
         No, I thought back. No. You are not going to ruin this. I need to try to control my urge to want her sweet blood. I don't want to hurt her and especially the yellow-eyes. They will kill me if I kill this human girl just for her blood. I just can't. I owe the yellow-eyes so much. After all the kindness they have shown to me. I owe them big. If I can show them that I won't attack on their human girl, then that's one less thing I owe them for such kindness.
         After another minute of insanity past, I suddenly heard a gasp coming from the human girl. My eyes quickly flashed over to the mind reader with concern. What had he read in Jane's mind? I was terrified. However, when I looked over at the mind reader, I was able to relax a little, for the mind reader had a wide grin across his face. A wide, crooked grin. It was a reassuring one too. I exhaled some in relief because it must have been for something good.  I noticed that the short vampire with black hair was also smiling. Why was she smiling? Could she also read minds? She must have some sort of talent like the mind reader to have that sort of smile across her face. I hoped I would find out if I lived past today.
         Jane's annoyed growl less than a moment later interrupted my train of thought. I quickly once again focussed my attention on Jane. Her eyes were hard with fury and her teeth were clenched.
         "Fine," she spat out through her teeth. "Take Bree. Teach her the rules. But if she slips, if she steps a toe out of line and we find out about it...she won't be so lucky as she was today. We won't give her a second chance."
         And with that, Jane, Felix, and the other two dark cloaked vampires left. My eyes continued to stare after them even after they had long disappeared into the shadows for another moment or two. I couldn't be sure if what I had heard from Jane really did happen. It didn't seem real. It was almost like it was too good to be true. Although I couldn't sleep anymore, it felt just like a dream. A very good dream that I wouldn't want to wake up from. Afraid to wake up from to be more exact. Because, if I did wake up from it, I would be dead now. Okay, I mean like dead, dead. Dead as in, ripped into shreds and burned. I was already an undead immortal vampire. I would have been taken care of by Felix if this was just a dream. I hoped it wasn't, but I couldn't be sure. Suddenly, I felt someone's arm on my shoulder making me almost jump.
         "Child?" Carlisle's calm voice spoke. "Child, are you okay?"
         I looked at him in the eyes and nodded my head, but then shook it, then nodded it, and then shook it. "I... I think so. Am I...alive?"
         "You are alive," he said calmly. He looked at me with such compassion.
         My eyes widened. "So, what Jane said wasn't a dream. I really did hear her correctly."
         Carlisle laughed and smiled warmly at me. "Yes, child. We too are all in shock of Jane's decision. It is a lot to take in."
         I smiled back at him and said, "Thank you." Then I turned to look at all the other yellow-eyes and the human girl and said, especially to the mind reader and the huge vampire with brown hair, "Thank you so much. I owe you my life for what you all have done."
         "Of course child," Carlisle said. "You don't owe us a thing as long as you learn the rules of a vampire."
         The huge vampire with brown hair and the mind reader nodded while the short vampire and the woman who I had met with Carlisle smiled sweetly at me. However, Jasper and the blonde girl didn't show any response. Jasper looked more suspicious and the blonde girl just looked plain irritated. As for the human girl, what could I say? She no longer looked at me with fascination. Now she looked at me with terror. More terrified than before though. I guess, she was scared that I would want to attack her and have her sweet blood. I have to give her credit for that one. She had every right to be afraid of me even though I didn't want to harm her. Yes, the hunter inside me still wanted her, but the rest of me fought against it in attempt to control myself. I had to keep control.
         Carlisle turned to face the other yellow-eyes and said, "Edward, I want you to take Bella home. It has been a long day for all of us and I know she could use some rest. I don't want you to take her back to our place because I want Bree to see the place she will be living in. Esme, I want you to explain the rules to Bree once she's settled. Jasper, I'm sure you'd do a great job at explaining them to Bree, but I think what she needs is a more gentle approach this time."
         "What about Jacob?" the human girl demanded. "What's going to happen to him? Is he going to be okay? When can I go see him?"
         "Bella, I will go down to La Push and see if I can give any of my medical assistance to relieve Jacob from the pain he is in," Carlisle said, his voice still calm. "For now I don't want you to go down to see him. You should go home to Charlie."
         The human girl didn't look convinced about what Carlisle was saying. She looked so worried about this Jacob. Who was Jacob? And what did Carlisle mean by medical assistance? Wasn't that sort of thing for a doctor to do? Unless... Was Carlisle a doctor? He must be if he was talking about giving this Jacob medical assistance. There was so much I still didn't know. So many questions I had.
         "But-" the human girl started to protest.
         Carlisle raised his hand to stop her. "Bella, I will do what I can to help Jacob. Edward, please take her home now and keep her there. Wait for me to call before sending her down. I also don't want you to bring Bella back to the house for a few hours. I want Bree to be given the rules first. With Bella there, it might pose as a risk of Bree killing her. I know Bree means well and is trying desperately now not to, but I think she's had enough for one day. She's already had enough temptation to kill Bella now. Once she understands the rules and has gone for a hunt, then we shall see if she can handle having Bella around. Do you understand child?"
         I nodded my head limply up and down like a bobble-head. I didn't want to attack this human girl. Her staying away from me for as long as possible would be best for me. It would help me. Hunting also sounded like a really good idea right about now. The burn was still excruciatingly painful, but I tried not to think about it. Thinking about it only made it worse.
         "Come, Bella," the mind reader said, whispering into the human girl's ear. "Let's get you home."
         The human girl's eyes didn't look up at the mind reader. Instead, they stayed locked on me. She looked so terrified of me. Her face flushed red with her rapidly pulsing blood when my eyes met her. She quickly looked away, hiding her face in the mind reader's chest. The mind reader pulled her along, forcing her feet to move forward. Once they were out of sight, the rest of the yellow-eyes turned to face me.
         "Let us leave this place," Carlisle spoke softly. He looked at me and said, "We will take you back to our home where you can stay as long as you'd like. I will be leaving shortly after we get back to go see if I can offer medical assistance to Jacob. My wife, Esme, will teach you the rules when you feel ready to learn them."
         The woman who must have been named Esme smiled at me and nodded.
         "Umm..." I started to say.
         I didn't know how to tell and ask Carlisle that Fred was waiting for me and that I wanted to find him before it was too late. I wanted to bring him back here so he would learn the rules too. Would Carlisle understand?
         "What is it child?" he asked sweetly.
         I decided to speak quickly, still not knowing how much time I had left to meet up with Fred. "I have a friend waiting for me in Vancouver. He was also a part of the group I was in. He left before the fighting began, but before he left, he offered me to join him. I told him I would, but I first wanted to find my other friend. He told me he'd leave a trail for me and wait for me in Vancouver, but not for long. I agreed to meet up with him once I found my other friend. You see, my other friend was supposed t0 be here. That's what Riley told me. Riley said he would be here helping in the battle of defeating you all. Stupidly, I believed him. I knew Riley had lied to us before-he lied to us about many things-but for some reason I believed him this time. I believed him when he said Diego would be here. But when I got here, I didn't smell Diego's scent or see him anywhere. He wasn't here. He never was here. Riley had lied to me again and I fell for the lie..."
         If I could cry still, I would have been crying right this minute. In fact, I would have been sobbing at this moment. It hurt me a lot more than I thought it would to talk about Diego. He had been my first friend and was the greatest friend I had ever had. With Diego gone, all I had left was Fred. Sure, the yellow-eyes would count for something because of their kindness, but I still didn't know them that well yet. I didn't even know if what they said was true. This made me feel slightly apprehensive. So, Fred was my only true friend I really had left if I wasn't counting the yellow-eyes, which I wasn't yet. I didn't know what I would do if I missed Fred. He was so kind to me despite what everyone thought of him. He wasn't so bad once you got to know him. I just had to find him before it was too late.
         Carlisle and Esme looked at me sympathetically. The short vampire with black hair also looked at me sympathetically. The one named Jasper and the blonde girl gave no response and I couldn't be sure what expression the huge vampire with brown hair was trying to give. I couldn't stand to look at the yellow-eyes anymore. I looked away from them and buried my face in my hands. Even though I knew I probably didn't have much time and needed to finish my story to them to see if they would let me find Fred, I just needed a moment or two. I didn't want the yellow-eyes seeing me coming apart like this about Diego. Too embarrassing.
         I felt someone's arms wrap around me then. Embracing me. Hugging me. Comforting me. Something I hadn't experienced in my life in... I couldn't remember the last time in my life I had ever experienced someone hugging me. I didn't even know how to respond to the hug because of how horrible my life was before any of this. Even before I was a vampire. Back when I was still human. Those dim human memories. Though I didn't know how to respond to this hug, it still meant something to me. It felt... What was the word I was looking for to describe it? I couldn't think of a word good enough to describe how this hug felt. It was definitely different. Good different though.
         "It's okay sweetie," Esme said soothingly. I felt her hand begin to stroke my hair.
         Although I would have liked to have stayed in Esme's arms for a little longer, I couldn't. I had to finish my story and see if they would give me permission to find Fred. I had to give Esme credit though. She knew how to give a good hug because it helped me to get a grip of myself over the loss of Diego that I had been feeling. So, I nodded and carefully broke away from Esme.
         "Anyway, I was wondering if I could go find my friend who is waiting for me and... Even though he's smart and talented, he doesn't know all the rules either. I'm sure he would be able to figure them out on his on, but I think it would be best if he is taught them from someone. Just so he doesn't end up getting mixed up with Jane and the others that were with her. I don't want him to end up like me, but killed instead of given mercy. So, if it's okay with you, I'd like to go find him and bring him back here. Then, maybe you can also teach the rules to him. I know this is out of my say, but perhaps you could also allow him to stay, just as you have graciously allowed me to stay with you. I know taking both him and myself in probably seems like a bit much. I probably shouldn't even be suggesting you taking him in. It is not up to me to suggest that. It is up to you to decide if you are willing to teach him the rules and offer him to stay. And it is also up to him if he wishes to stay. Please don't think I am being selfish, but-"
         "Of course," Carlisle agreed, interrupting me. "We'll gladly teach your friend the rules and offer him to stay with us if he so chooses. We certainly have the room for it. Would you like one of us to come with you to find your friend?"
         "Thank you for the offer, but no. I think it would be best if I went alone."
         Carlisle nodded. "Would you then like one of us to stay here and wait for your return since you do not know how to get to our home yet?"
         "That is very helpful," I said with a grin. "Thank you so much. You have no idea how grateful I am for all that you have done for me."
         "Of course child," Carlisle said, smiling back.
         "After all, you are now a part of our family," Esme said warmly.
         Family</i?>, I thought to myself. She said family.
         I would have been crying again if I still could when Esme said family. It touched my heart hearing her say that word.
         "Alice, would you mind staying here and waiting for Bree to return?" Carlisle asked the short vampire with black hair.
         "No," the little vampire with black hair spoke. "I don't mind at all."
         "Thank you Alice," Carlisle said and turned to me. "I would stay here and wait for you to return Bree, but I think Bella would go berserk if I didn't see if I can offer medical assistance to Jacob."
         "That's fine," I said. "Thank you Alice. I will try to be back soon as possible."
         "Don't hurry back," she said with a small laugh. "Take your time. I'll be fine. I know you have a lot to tell your friend."
         "Okay. Tha-"
         "Don't thank me," she laughed harder. "Save it for later. Go find your friend. You still have time. He'll be waiting when you get there."
         "How... How do you know?" I asked.
         "I'll explain later," she promised. "You just go and find your friend."
         I nodded, trusting her words. Fred was still there and I had plenty of time to find him. I broke into a run in the direction that the vampires that I had been with used to get here. I was now focussed on two things. Getting to Vancouver and finding Fred. I hoped Alice was right on him still being there when I got there. It wasn't something I was willing to take my chances on believing. Sure, it would be great if she was telling the truth because I wanted to see Fred at least one more time. Though, if she wasn't telling the truth, I wouldn't be surprised. It wasn't the first time I believed something and it turned out to be a lie.
         From the moment I turned into a vampire and was a part of Riley's group, I trusted Riley. I trusted what he said was right and true. When it came down on me that almost everything he said was a lie, I didn't know if I could trust anyone. Living with Riley, taught me to be on my guard about who to trust once I started to find out he was lying to all of us. It made me more self-conscience. So, it came of a surprise to me at how truthful Carlisle was to me. Because of that instinct of being uneasy of trusting Carlisle, I had a small part of me that was still looking for the catch.
         The, Ha, you thought what we said was true. Yeah right. You thought wrong. That was just an act. We don't care about you. Good luck on your own kid.
         I didn't like having to feel so guarded about who to trust and who not to, but it was the way things panned out. I blame Riley for it. He shouldn't have lied to us to begin with. Yet, had he not lied to us, would I have been able to find a loving family like Carlisle and Esme? Probably not. So, I also guess I could thank Riley for that. I would thank him when I would make it to Vancouver and find Fred still there. I would thank him when Fred and I would get back and have Esme teach us the rules. Most importantly, I would thank Riley when I would be told by the yellow-eyes that there was no catch. They would tell me that their words they spoke were indeed the truth and I was family. That I could stay with them as long as I felt was right.
         Yet, there was something about how Alice said her words and the look in her yellow-eyes that told me she was right. All that Carlisle and Esme had said to me seemed to be true. So, regardless of having trust issues, there was only one way to find out if they were telling me the truth. I would first have to get to Vancouver and see if Fred was still there. If indeed he was there, then that would be the first step of being able to trust these yellow-eyed vampires. There was only one way to find out.
         Fred, I thought. I'm coming. I'm on my way to Vancouver now. Please still be there. I want to be able to trust these yellow-eyes. I really do. Hope Alice is right. Vancouver, here I come.