The Crash: Book Two - Heart on Fire

Chapter Thirteen: Knock, Knock

Alice

"I see a red door, and I want it painted black. No colors anymore, I want them to turn black."

- Rolling Stones (Paint it Black)

Friday, September 16, 2005

The drive was oddly calm, despite the fact we were racing home to prepare for a conflict we couldn't anticipate. My visions gave less than nothing to build off of. We were barely a foot inside the house when Emmett started.

"We need to be proactive, go back and find their scents. Follow them and take them down before they cause more problems." He was oddly calm, but a tap of his foot betrayed his eagerness to fight.

"That isn't the answer, we cannot kill them when they've done nothing wrong." Carlisle argued.

"Nothing wrong?! They are going after Angela like she's a juice box. You cannot mean we should let them have her. I thought you vowed to protect her?" Bella spit out with a level of anger that was bordering on hostile.

"It isn't a matter of protection." Carlisle said vehemently.

"We can just hurt them then." Emmett said with a small snarl, his anger coming out again, revealing that he was still sitting on the edge even after letting off steam.

"I'm with Emmett and Bella, they aren't worth sparing, not when our sister is in danger!" Rose practically shouted with anger and frustration, and Bella moved over to comfort her. Rose froze for a second, but then melted to her touch. I hadn't realized they were so close already, and it was a bit alarming but I ignored the impulse to look into their future because it could take me out of the conversation.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but Rose is right. Angela is a part of our family, why can't we just track them down like dogs and put them down?" Emmett repeated this time being more explicit in his goals without the need to hide behind euphemisms anymore.

"We cannot betray our values, hunting them goes against everything we believe in." Carlisle argued to a room that was starting to turn against him.

"That's everything you believe in, not me. I cannot just sit around while you argue the merits of morality when my best friend, no my sister's life is on the line." Bella said with more passion and determination than I had ever seen from her before.

"We are going to stand with her, protect her with our lives." Esme tried to give her the right kind of reassurance, but it clearly fell on deaf ears.

"As long as we don't hurt our enemies? What do you think is going to happen, they'll get bored and go away." Emmett spit out.

"That's what we have to hope for." Carlisle said, looking down with obvious conflict. Holding true to himself was forcing us into a very dangerous and unpredictable situation. And I couldn't see anything, except that I knew Angela was going to survive

"That's dangerously naïve Carlisle." Rose said coldly, while gripping Bella's hand tightly.

"Enough, I'm done with this." Bella shouted and left without another word, pulling away from Rose and running out of the house without another word.

"I'll watch over her." Rosalie said following Bella a second later.

"Okay, we need a plan, Edward, Emmett take the first shift. Alice, Esme, will you spell them in a few hours?" Carlisle asked as more of a demand than a request. He looked frustrated and defeated, but resigned to the truth of the situation.

"I can't." I said, shaking my head.

"Why not?" Esme reached out towards me, but I flinched away.

"If I suddenly have a vision out there, they could get by me easily. It isn't safe." I said feeling defeated, and turned towards my room at a run. I had put Angela's life in danger, twice, and I couldn't let myself fail her again.