It's Either War or Peace

Katie Vereeka's Point of View

I snuck out of the house the next day. Luckily the majority of the Chicago Coven was stull hunting. Rip was doing laundry and the machines were too loud to be able to hear my tiptoeing steps. He didn’t even notice when I closed the door.

Once outside, I started running towards a meadow I saw in a vision last night. Someone was coming to visit me today. Hopefully they will be on time.

It took only two minutes for me to find the meadow. I stood in between the trees and waited. Only five more minutes and then my visitor would arrive. Did she know I was here already? Who knows.

Four minutes…

“C’mon, c’mon, c’mon!” I muttered. Why was she taking so long?

Three minutes…

I started to pace. I hated waiting. Being patient wasn’t my thing. Waiting made the seconds feel like minutes, minutes fell like hours, and hours feel like days.

Two minutes…

My vision of the future grew clearer by the second. She was near.

One minutes…

“Walk faster,” I whispered.

Thirty seconds…

Twigs began to snap and bushes started to rustle. She was close. Very close. Just ten more seconds.

“Ten… Nine… Eight… Seven… Six… Five… Four… Three… Two… One…” I whispered.

A tiny figure appeared on the other side of the tiny meadow. A black, spikey, pixie cut sat atop her head. Her skin sparkled as the sun hit it. From where I was standing I could see her eye color perfectly. Bright, warm butterscotch.

“I knew you would be here,” Alice Cullen said.

“I knew you knew,” I said, walking up to her. “Don’t forget I can see the future too.”

Alice walked and met me halfway. Man, she was short. She had to be at least four foot ten. That’s shorter than me!

All of a sudden, I was wrapped in a tight hug. I jumped back a little, not expecting it. Damn psychic skills.

I’m sorry I put you through all of that,” Alice said quietly.

The anger I had when I was only a day old came back to me. I started shaking. Alice looked up at me, eyes wide. She saw what was going to happen but yet she didn’t move away. Talk about brave.

Suddenly, I screeched angrily. It echoed throughout the meadow. I pushed Alice away from me and she fell to the ground. I immediately tried to attack her but she outstretched her arms and held me up. Damn it. I really wanted to bite that fucking head off.

“You bitch!” I screamed. Alice made no reaction. I struggled in her arms. “You should be sorry! You made me go through all that pain alone! Almost everything was taken away from me!”

Alice pushed me away from her and then sat up. I tried to attack her again. I was out of luck. She grabbed my wrists and held me out arms-length. She looked at me with a stern look on her face.

“Katie, calm down,” she said.

I stopped screeching but the shaking continued. I looked down at the ground. “I can’t.”

Alice pulled me in for a hug. I felt a tiny hand rub my back.

“It’s okay,” Alice whispered. “Your newborn instincts are just taking over.”

I rested my head on Alice’s shoulder. “How long will my ‘newborn instincts’ last?”

“About a year,” Alice said.

I sighed. We sat in silence for a while. Alice’s sparkling skin began to get blinding. Was my skin like that too? On another note, what happened to Alice once her family found out about me? How harsh were they?

“What did your family do when they found out what you did to me?” I asked.

Alice fidgeted in her seat.

“Did they hurt you?”

She flinched. “No…” she said quietly. “Carlisle would never hurt us. He just yelled at me about how I put our family in danger.”

The incident replayed in Alice’s head. She and Carlisle were alone in his office. Carlisle scolded her and Alice and I jumped at his volume back in the present. In the memory, Alice covered her face with her hands. She cried silently, probably hoping Carlisle wouldn’t hear her. Carlisle forced her to look at him. When she took her hands away, her face wasn’t wet. I started to wonder why but then I remembered vampires can’t produce tears. That’s too bad. Tears usually help everything flow out better. The memory ended after Alice stood up while Carlisle was in mid-sentence. She raced out of the room, Carlisle yelling after her. Her whole family stared at her as she raced out of the house.

I looked up at Alice. Her eyes were closed and I could imagine a single tear streaming down her face.

“Did you see anyone trying to get you back home?” I asked.

Alice nodded and looked at me. “Mostly Edward. I ignored the visions though. I didn’t wanna deal with him. He’s Carlisle’s favorite and everyone knows that.”

“Oh Alice. Don’t say that.” I hugged her tighter. “What did Jasper do?”

“He wouldn’t talk to me,” Alice said.

I gave her a confused look. “Why?”

“He’s… He’s not a big fan of newborns. Especially when they’re as young as you,” Alice said.

I frowned. What an asshole.

“I’m scared though,” Alice said. “The demigods are after me. I can’t see ‘em in my future but I know about them because of letter I got. It was signed by one of the Greek gods.”

“Why do you think you can’t see ‘em?” I asked.

“It’s probably just like why I can’t see the werewolves. I was a human so I can see humans. I am a vampire so I could see vampires. But I was never a werewolf so I can’t see werewolves. I was never a demigod so that’s probably why I can’t see ‘em,” Alice explained.

“That’s so scary,” I said.

“I know,” Alice said. She buried her face in the crook of my neck. “They’re gonna kill me.”

I hugged Alice tighter and rubbed her back. Poor girl. I’ve never seen her this frightened before. Well, I should say I’ve never read about her being this frightened.

“Do you wanna see the Chicago Coven?” I asked.

Alice looked at me, eyes pleading. “Can I? Please?”

I nodded. The two of us stood up. I grabbed Alice’s hand and guided her through the way I came. We stayed quiet the whole walk. When we reached the house, two more cars than before sat in the driveway. Everyone was home. I could smell each and every one of their scents. Alice could too. She squeezed my hand.

“What if they don’t like me anymore?” Alice asked.

I raised an eyebrow at her.

“I created a young newborn!” she exclaimed.

I rolled my eyes. “If Rip still likes you then I’m sure everyone else will too.”

“Taylor and Jackson won’t…” Alice murmured.

I stayed silent, not knowing what to say.

I opened the door to the house. Alice stayed behind me. In seconds, four pairs of worried eyes were on me. Taylor and Jackson were able to care less that I was gone.

“Katie Vereeka, where have you been? Renee and I have been worried – Alice.” Rip’s face softened. “What are you doing here?”

Alice peeked over my shoulder. “I – I came to visit.”

“You’re alive,” Taylor said.

We all gave her a confused look.

“We didn’t think you would survive the torture your family probably put you through,” Jackson said. A smirk was on his face.

Alice’s eyes widened.

“You guys are jackasses,” Demi said. She looked at Alice. “Only they thought that. Just ignore them.”

Rip walked up to Alice. He outstretched his arms and Alice went into them reluctantly. Rip picked her up. A smile spread across Alice’s face as she hugged his neck and rested her head on Rip’s shoulder.

“We’re glad you’re okay,” Rip said. He put her down.

“So Alice,” Taylor said. She smirked. “About those demigods.”

Alice flinched and grabbed Rip’s hand and my hand. Her grip was hard.

“Are they gonna kill you or what?” Jackson asked.

Alice didn’t say anything. She stared at them wide-eyed.

“That’s not funny guys,” Joe said.

Taylor ignored him. Her smirk kept Alice’s eyes on her. “Well, I hope they kill you Alice. That will be a sight to see.”

Alice winced. Rip wrapped an arm around her while she buried her face in his chest.

“That’s enough Taylor,” Renee scolded.

Taylor and Jackson laughed.

“You guys are assholes,” I said angrily. I walked over to the two of them. “What if you were in Alice’s situation? How would you feel if someone told you they hoped someone killed you?”

“That’ll never happen,” Jackson said.

I crossed my arms. “How do you know?”

Taylor laughed. “Katie hun, we’re not stupid enough to turn a young teen into a vampire.”

“Alice isn’t stupid!” Demi exclaimed. “She was only trying to save Katie’s life!”

Taylor and Jackson rolled their eyes.

I scowled. “You know what? I really do hope someone kills you both. And I’m not just saying that because of what I asked you earlier.”

“Well don’t get your hopes up too high,” Jackson said.

I slapped both him and Taylor across their faces.

Taylor’s mouth dropped. An angry look spread across her face as she put a hand to her cheek. “Rip!” she yelled. “You so saw that!”

Rip didn’t say anything. Alice was looking at us now.

“You little prick!” Taylor yelled at me.

“Taylor, leave her alone. She’s only a newborn,” Renee said.

“I don’t give a shit!” Taylor yelled.

All of a sudden, hands wrapped around my neck. I was thrown against the wall. I tried to squirm away but Taylor’s strong grip held me in place. Her angry face kind of scared me. If you held something next to it surely that something would burst into flames.

“You’re the one who should die!” Taylor spat. “You ruined this family!”

“Me? How did I do that?” I yelled. I started to kick Taylor. It had no effect on her.

“By just joining!” Taylor yelled.

“That’s not a good reason!” I screamed.

Renee, Demi, and Joe came over and tried to pull Taylor away from me. Jackson sat on the couch, enjoying the show. Rip held Alice in his arms. She looked at Taylor in fear.

“Taylor, let Katie go,” Renee said.

“No!” Taylor screeched. “The bitch needs to die!”

I tried searching through Taylor’s mind. She really did have no reason for wanting me dead. She’s just a bitch who thinks the world revolves around her.

I pulled my legs up and quickly kicked Taylor away from me. She hit the floor hard. As soon as I landed on the floor, I ran towards her. She stood up. We collided together. Our hissing and growling mixed in with each other’s. No one could tell which growl and hiss belonged to which person. Taylor bit my wrist and I started to scream. Joe tried pulling me away.

“No!” I yelled. I pushed him back gently. “I got this.”

Joe followed my instructions. Demi hugged him tightly.

I bit Taylor’s neck. She pulled away from my wrist and screamed. I began to tug, scaring her.

“Rip! She’s trying to tear my head off!” she yelled.

Rip stayed where he was. He knew I wasn’t going to really do what Taylor believed.

The belief stayed in Taylor’s head. “Jackson! Do something!”

Jackson pulled my head away from Taylor. Taylor breathed heavily, trying to calm her nerves. Jackson threw me across the house. My body collided with Renee’s and together we flew into the wall. We made a giant hole. I sat up in Renee’s lap and looked at Taylor. Jackson held her close. Rip and Alice came over and helped Renee and I out of the hole in the wall. Shit. How were we going to fix that?

Alice wrapped an arm around me. “You okay?” she asked.

I nodded.

Jackson, Joe, and Demi held Taylor in place as she tried to come at me again. “Die you fucking bitch!” she screamed. “I want you to die! Get the fuck out of our lives!”

I crossed my arms. “I’ll let you kill me when you actually have a legit reason for wanting me dead.”

Taylor growled. She kept trying to force her way out of everyone’s grip.

“Jackson, take Taylor to your room,” Rip said. He looked angry. I’ve never see him like that. “She needs to clean her act up.”

Jackson nodded and he and Taylor walked up to the second floor.

Renee turned to Alice. “Sorry you had to see that,” she said. “She doesn’t usually do that. I promise.”

Alice shook her head. “It’s fine.”

Rip looked down at me. “You okay?”

I nodded.

“Just ignore her,” Rip said. He wrapped an arm around Renee.

“Will do.” I smiled. “I can’t wait to start.”

Rip, Renee, Joe, Demi, and Alice laughed.

“Would you like to stay with us for a while Alice?” Demi asked.

“Sure. Thank you,” Alice said.

“You can share a room with me,” I said. “C’mon.”

I grabbed Alice’s hand and guided her to my room on the fourth floor. She sat on my couch as I rummaged through my closet.

“We’re gonna have to share clothes,” I said.

“That’s fine,” Alice said.

“Hopefully they’re not that big on you.” I grabbed a pair of skinny jeans and a t-shirt. “Here.” I threw them at Alice.

She caught them without even trying. “Thanks.”

I left the room so she could change. I was able to hear Jackson’s mind even though we were two floors apart. I almost gasped at what he thought. I covered my mouth with my hands.

Alice needs to be dead. She created a fucking monster. Once she’s dead, Katie will be next.

I whimpered and ran back into the room. Alice was done changing and she sat on the couch. I hugged her tightly. The force made her sit back a little.

“Katie? What’s wrong?” she asked frantically.

I hugged her tighter.

“Katie.”

“Nothing,” I said too quickly. I pulled away from the hug.

Alice raised an eyebrow at me. “You sure?”

I nodded.

Alice sighed and turned on the TV. I sat next to her and rested my head on her lap. Boy did I hate lying to her.