"Can you believe he gave me a D?" Bella exclaimed. "Even Jonas Haz, who everyone knows has mashed potatoes for brains, got a B! He didn't even read the stupid play!"

Rosalie smirked. "Maybe you shouldn't have written an essay defending Juliet."

"You're lucky he didn't send you to the guidance counselor's office," Edward said. "He was rather disturbed by the contents of your essay."

"He asked us to write about how Romeo and Juliet made us feel and I did," Bella said. "How can my opinion be wrong?"

"He was right to be concerned," Edward said. "Next time you should skip the part about going cliff-diving after a breakup."

Bella debated launching herself across the table. They were supposed to be a team! She defended him when the math teacher accused him of cheating on the exam. Why couldn't he return the favor for her?

"That won't end well," Alice said. "The table will break and I'll end up with meatloaf in my hair."

"Fine," Bella said. She crumpled up her ink-stain essay and hurled it across the room. They all started laughing when it hit Jonas Haz on the head.

"Hey!" who threw that!" Jonas said as he rubbed the back of his head.

Aside from Bella's essay, things were going well for the Olympic Coven. The Volturi had been quiet for years and no one in town suspected anything odd about the Cullens. Renesmee's growth had slowed to the point that she would be able to attend high school with them after their next move. It was nice to have normal teenage worries like grades and homework.

"Hey Alice," Emmett said. "Is there any chance of a storm tonight? I bet Jonas would appreciate it if Bella stopped using his head for pitching practice."

"I'll check." Alice paused and got a far off look in her eyes. "I don't see anything."

Emmett shrugged. "No big deal. It's not like we're crunched for time. How about next month?"

Alice continued staring off into space.

"Hello, earth to Alice!" Emmett snapped his fingers in front of Alice's face. "Can you hear me?"

Alice looked like she was going to cry.

"What's wrong Alice?" Jasper asked. "Are you okay?"

"I can't see anything," Alice said. "I can't see us, the weather, or what they're serving for lunch tomorrow. It's all blank!"

"Isn't Jacob coming this weekend?" Edward asked Bella. "His presence does tend to mess with Alice's visions."

Bella shook her head. "No, he's still covering for Sam."

Emily had her baby earlier that week. Jacob missed Nessie, but he would never ask Sam to leave Emily alone in the hospital.

"Guys," I don't feel so well," Emmett said.

Even for a vampire, Emmett looked pale.

"Stop screwing around." Rosalie snapped. This isn't funny!"

"Alice!" Jasper shouted. "What's wrong with your hand!"

Bella's eyes widened. Alice's hand was disintegrating like sand in the wind.

"Edward, what's going on!" Bella cried. "Is this some type of Volturi attack!"

Edward opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. His tongue had vanished.

Bella wrapped her shield around the table, but it was too late. Emmett, Edward, and Alice disappeared leaving being nothing but piles of ash.

Bella looked around the cafeteria. Half of the student body had been reduced to dust.

"Come on," Bella shouted to Rosalie and Jasper. "We have to get out of here!"

"Where did he go?" Rosalie whimpered, staring at a pile of ash that had once been her husband.

Bella grabbed Rosalie and dragged her towards the exit. "We have to get out of here!"

Rosalie dug in her heels and tried to peel Bella's fingers off her wrist.

"But...But... we can't just leave them!"

Bella didn't want to leave Edward's remains behind, but she didn't have a choice. Whatever happened to her family could take them next. Renesmee couldn't lose both of her parents in one day.

"We have to get out of here," Bella repeated. "They're gone, but we're still alive. We have to get home. Maybe Carlisle will know what's going on."

Rosalie went slack and allowed Bella to lead her out into the hallway. It was a blizzard of ash and screaming students.

"Where's Jasper?" Rosalie asked when they made it out into the parking lot.

Bella cursed and raced back to the cafeteria. She found Jasper underneath the table in the fetal position. He was sucking his thumb and rocking back and forth. Bella grabbed his arm and pulled him out. His face and hands were covered in his wife's ashes.

"Come on Jasper, we have to leave now," Bella said.

"I can't," he whispered. "Not without Alice."

Bella didn't have time to argue with Jasper. She picked him up and carried him out of the school bridal style.

They made it home a few minutes later. Bella entered the house and laid Jasper down on the couch. He hadn't said a single word since they left the school. Much to Bella's relief, she found Esme and Renesmee waiting in the kitchen.

Renesmee swooped Bella up in a bone-crushing hug. "Mom!" she cried. "Grandpa is gone!" She pointed to a pile of ash in Carlisle's favorite chair. "We were talking and he just exploded!"

"Where are Emmett, Alice, Jasper, and Edward?" Esme asked.

"Jasper is in the living room. The others are gone.

"It's not just our family," Rosalie said. "It looks like half the town is missing! We passed at least a dozen car accidents on the way here!"

Although she couldn't shed tears, Renesmee looked ready to cry. "What about Grandpa Charlie and Jake? What if they're gone too!"

Bella placed a comforting hand on her daughter's shoulder. "They're hundreds of miles away. Whatever's happening here couldn't be happening there too."

Unfortunately, Bella was wrong. By the end of the day, they learned that Jacob, Charlie, and half of the world population had vanished. Jasper, being an empath, was crushed under the emotional weight of a mourning planet. He didn't speak or move for weeks. The only thing that kept him alive was Esme bringing him bowls of warm deer blood. She had lost her husband, but she wouldn't let her son starve to death on her watch.

Bella joined Jasper on the couch for a few days. She'd been promised eternity with her family only to have it ripped away by a psychotic alien. She didn't know how she'd go on without Edward, but she had to pull herself together.. With a little help from Rosaline and Esme, Bella got up, went hunting, and took a shower. It wasn't easy or fun, but it was necessary. Renesmee had already lost half her family. She couldn't lose her mother too.