Midnight sun (sequel)

BALANCING

I had a few hours to kill before Bella and Charlie went to bed and I could safely creep in through Bella's window. I decided to go find Alice. Though I dreaded seeing her visions of
Saturday, I also wanted to be prepared for the worst.

Jessica, and therefore, Mike (and probably the rest of the lunch gang as well) knew that Bella would be spending the day with me. It wasn't necessary that they know where we were going just knowing we were together was enough insurance for Bella's safety. Should Bella not return, my entire family would be in danger from the townspeople, then the authorities, and eventually through too much publicity our vampire law enforcers, the Volturi. Ofcourse, the worst possible consequence for me, if things went badly, would be her death. Were I to hurt Bella, I would wish for my own swift death. Still, I could not endanger my family.

Yes, I'll take a walk with you, she thought before I had asked the question.

We walked around the house toward the Sol Duc River that separated our home from the deep forest adjacent to Olympic National Park. I leaped across the river with no fanfare, not
feeling particularly joyful. Alice's indistinct visions had rattled me. In an effort to improve my mood, Alice bunny-hopped over the river, grabbed a tree branch with one hand and cart- wheeled around it, landing adroitly by my side. She grinned.

"Sorry, Alice. I'm in a filthy mood. Billy and Jacob Black from the Quileute tribe are visiting Bella's father tonight."

And that's significant why? she inquired.

"You weren't with us back then, but Billy is the grandson of Ephraim Black, the former chief. Billy wants to warn Bella's father to keep her away from me. And he's right, ofcourse she should stay away from me, especially considering your vision."

Alice blanked out for a moment while she tried to clarify Bella's immediate future.

Edward, I still see Bella in danger in the meadow, but the danger doesn't feel imminent now. It comes later, I think. She paused again, her eyes empty, before returning to the present.
I'm eighty percent sure that Bella won't die on Saturday.

"Eighty percent, Alice? That's just great. Thanks a lot." My words oozed sarcasm.

"Well, that's better than it looked earlier in the week, Edward! Your confidence must have had an off day," she said, flashing me an impish smile. "Anyway, it looks like you're strong enough not to commit any grave (ha! ha!) errors on Saturday."

"That's not funny, Alice! Don't even JOKE about that!" I yelled. I snarled too, for good measure.

"Oh, Edward, you need to lighten up. All this worrying will just make you more prone to accidents. Anyway, I don't see you hurting Bella on purpose anymore."

"Well, thank God for small favors!" I snapped. "Alice, what do you mean about danger in the meadow? Obviously, I'm a danger to Bella, but is there something else?"

I don't know, Edward. Look...see what I mean?

The picture in Alice's mind had Bella standing on the edge of the familiar clearing, gazing toward the forest on the other side, her body trembling uncontrollably. A figure had stepped out of the trees and was moving toward her. The image was fuzzy... was it me? All I knew for sure was that Bella was utterly terrified. As the figure got closer, it, Bella, and the meadow itself, suddenly faded to black.

This image is sometime in the future, Edward. I don't know when exactly. As you can see, even though Bella seems extremely fearful, nothing happens. The picture just goes black. Sort of like a dream.

"Could that be because she" I could barely think the word; my body froze in place "dies, Alice?" I couldn't look at her, or move, or breathe.

No, Edward. That's not how it works. I've never seen this kind of, umm, blackness before. A death is just another image, but this scene ends in no image at all. It's baffling. I don't know. Maybe you should take her someplace else. It doesn't seem like a real threat, but it is very
strange...