If you haven't been made aware already, I have not updated this story in some time. The reason being? Well, without going into too much detail, I will simply say that I have written myself into a corner and see no way out. The story was meant to take a focus on Ness and Jacob, but due to my laziness I have lost that focus. To obtain it again would mean pages of filler scenes and poor writing. So, to avoid that horrid fate which you do not deserve, below is an alternate ending I have written. These last few entries will be the final excerpts for this story arc, I do hope it does some justice for you Twilight fans, and if it does not, I am sorry. That being said, enjoy the writing below.

How many years has it been now Mr. Cullen? That you and I have played this game of tag? How many of your kin have fallen prey to me? How many of your friends, who in great desperation, attempted to strike me down? All in the name's sake of the child you bore, of the half breed. I know you travel in light company these days, I know you now walk on your last leg.

You're time is coming Mr. Cullen, it has been so for a long time. You thought you could outlast me, you thought if you fled long enough I would pass away. You know my time runs short, but you greatly underestimated how long I will press on with this rotting corpse. Know this now Mr. Cullen, I will drag myself to the end days of this earth if I have to. I will drag myself into fire and flame if it means seeing the end of you.

You and I have lost too much for our struggle to end this way. Fate calls us to an intimate binding, to something we cannot escape. I close in on you Mr. Cullen, no doubt you hear me coming. I close in on you, to seal the fate of the Cullen bloodline; to bring the half-breed where she need go, and to end your life.

We will meet shortly, and I do pray you will not disappoint me.

With the most sincerity I can offer, your hunter – Dacia Gibbons

Edward walked silently towards a broken building in fog. Trailing behind him were two others, his daughter Ness and Jacob, the last living werewolf. The winter snows were melting in the rain, releasing the thick mist which covered the group from eye sight. Their steps were quiet, a skill which had been learned through years of hiding and fleeing.

It was mid-day, and if it were up to Edward, he would have chosen to wait until nightfall before moving. But that option wasn't in hand, because all three of them were being steadily pursued by hunters.

Edward dug his hand into the deep pocket of his ratted trench coat, he pulled out a small piece of paper, then stopped. "I think this is the way," he said calmly, "but I can't be sure."

Jacob walked over to him and adjusted the hood which rested just above his brow. All three of them were no longer dressed for luxury, but survival. The years of being hunted had shifted their habits and traits. Ignorant romance had fled from the group, and now all that remained was a sober minded hope. It hung lazily in the groups decaying clothes.

"How far behind do you think they are? Two days?" Ness asked placing her nose to the earth and inhaling it deeply, "I'd say two days Dad."

Edward nodded, "Something like that. But let's say a day to be safe."

"It gives us enough time to search the building right?" Jacob asked looking at the piece of paper in Edward's hands, "Or should we wait it out? Try to ambush them?"

Ness shook her head and stood up, "Not enough hands to ambush them. We'd be killed. It's Dacia."

"Damn that man." Edward said blandly. Jacob looked over at him and smiled weakly. They laughed for a moment. "Ok, we search the building. I doubt we'll find him though, but we'll search anyway."

Jacob and Ness nodded, following their father slowly down a makeshift trail. Their bare feet sloshed in the wet mud. Soon they came upon the back of the broken building, the building which according to Edward's information, used to be the hunters main headquarters. Birds fluttered in the bushes as the three passed.

"Jacob," Edward whispered, "check the door up ahead. Let us know if it is clear." Jacob nodded silently in response, shifting into his wolf form.

Long lines of bare skin riddled his fur, signs of radiation wounds. He no longer looked like a proud beast, but resembled a weary scavenger. He quickly paced to the broken door of the complex. As he did Edward pulled out a large pistol which he carried in a side holster on his belt, the same weapon the hunters used against them. Jacob stopped for a moment, sniffing the air, then ran back to Edward.

"Is it clear?" Ness asked him.

Jacob returned to human form, and nodded, "Yes. Completely empty."

"You're sure this time? You're absolutely sure?" Ness replied.

"Yes. I'm absolutely sure." Jacob replied in aggravation.

Ness stared at him for a moment, then looked over to her father, "I don't think he's sure Dad."

"Damnit I'm sure!"

Edward stood up and fixed his coat, "Let's go. It's clear, we'll search it quick and leave."

"We need to leave before nightfall Dad." Ness said, following her father into the building.

"I know." Edward replied calmly, "We'll be out before then."

The building was filled with torn papers, broken computers, and empty vials. Like Edward had thought, what they were searching for wasn't there. Jacob and Ness scavenged the rooms for anything they could use in the wild, they found six plastic bags of corroding blood in an old ice box – to which Edward happily put in his backpack. Then the group left through the front door, following the paper in Edward's hands.

They searched for a man called Lore, the only man who knew how to stop the slowly creeping radiation which was taking over all of their bodies. It was a sickness all three of them carried. Out of the three Ness was holding up the best, though in the past months even she was beginning to show signs of radiation poisoning.

Their veins grew black, their hair grew thin. It frightened them the first year, but after the second and the third, it became old news. When he was still alive, Carlisle had done everything in his power to slow the effects, but even he could not fully cure the poison. He died from it while running away from Hunters, his heart burst after it failed to pump the blackening blood in his system.

The only hoped remained in Lore, the creator of the Hunters. Edward had been searching him out for two years, and had yet to find him. But there was a hope which remained. The paper which he now held in hand carried promise. It was the map of all known hunter facilities, and Edward had just narrowed down his search to one last place. It rested north, a two days hike from where he was now.

"We'll have to speed up our pace to make our final destination in time. If we take too long the hunters may warn them that we're coming." Edward said, he into the darkened eyes of Jacob, "How are you feeling?"

"I can run. It's no problem." Jacob answered, turning back into his wolf form.

"We can take it slow if we need to." Ness said, gently petting Jacob's fur, "Right Dad?"

Edward nodded, "If that's what you need Jacob. I don't want you vomiting up blood because of fatigue. We'll need every bit of strength we have to capture Lore."

"When I say I'm fine I mean it." Jacob growled, "I'm ready to go Edward."

The group was silent for a moment, then Ness spoke, "Do you really think we can get him Dad? Do we have a chance of getting fixed?"

"Maybe… it's hard to say." Edward replied calmly. He looked into his daughters eyes and smiled, the many years on the road had brought them close together. They were more like a family now than ever before. "But that's not going to stop me from trying."

Ness nodded, "Agreed."

Jacob yawned, "Yeah, agreed. Now let's get going before the Hunters catch up with us." With that, the group ran off into the wilderness, too quick for the eye to see.

Mr. Cullen, it has come to my hunting party's direct attention that you have now quickened your pace and head directly for our main layer. What is it you expect to find there? A cure for the radiation which courses through your veins?

Although I hate to be a critic, I must address the poor logic of which you follow. If we had a cure for the disease within our facility, do you not think we would have already used it on ourselves? Perhaps you do not even realize that we, the Hunters, suffer the same fate that you do. Perhaps you do not realize that we hunt you in attempts to find a cure. Has this thought ever crossed your mind? I would assume not Mr. Cullen. Your ability to elude my capture may have increased in these past years, but your ability to reason clearly has not.

It is no matter. We come for you now, and when we meet it will be my great honor to pass these notes along to you. It seems our final encounter will be at my birthplace, strange, as it will be your gravesite.

I look forward to seeing you again Mr. Cullen.

Until then, your Hunter – Dacia Gibbons

"It's a lot bigger than I expected…" Jacob whispered to Edward, who nodded in response. The three now hid in a large scrap pile, a twenty story complex resting North of them. It was night now, and the rain pelted against their faces without remorse.

Ness tried to wring out her black tattered jacket, her attempts to dry it failed. She let out a grunt of aggravation, "It doesn't matter, can we just go inside? I'm sick and tired of being wet and cold all the time."

"You can't even feel the cold." Edward said with a smile, "What does it matter?"

Ness smirked, "Ha ha Dad. I don't know about you, but being homeless on top of everything else we have to deal with isn't exactly the kind of future I had in mind. I'm balding, we can't eat anymore cause it makes us puke up black crap." Ness looked at the facility and clenched her jaw, "I just want this to be over."

"You and I both toots. It'd be nice to get my full fur coat back." Jacob said, "Edward, what do you think the best way in is?"

Edward shook his head, "There isn't really a best way in… the whole place is guarded pretty well." He looked at all the possible entryways. The place was crawling with guards, most of them human. Cameras watched every corner, invisible alarm systems were wired and ready to be tripped. "If we go in, they will know…" They were all silent for a moment. Rain soaked through their clothing completely. Edward could feel his once invincible body aching with pain.

"Well, if the hunting party is after us, wouldn't that mean no one is home?" Ness asked curiously. Edward nodded slowly.

"Perhaps…" He said, "But my guess is a great majority of these guards carry the same firearms Dacia does. I don't want to get into another firefight, I don't think our bodies could handle it…"

Neither Ness nor Jacob disagreed with Edward. They sat for a moment, and doing so gave Edward time to think. He knew that, whether or not Lore awaited them, this would be his family's last attempt to finding a cure. He had watched his daughter at night, she coughed up blood regularly now. It was only a matter of months before she would be unable to move, and her body turned to ash. If they didn't find the cure now, there would be no more hope for his family.

There was a noise which echoed several miles out, it caused the three to raise their heads. "We all heard that, correct?" Jacob asked.

"Yes… it's the hunters. It looks as though they might have found another vampire along their way…" Edward said. He turned to his daughter, "Ness, you're right, there aren't any hunters here, we would have known by now. If there's any time for us to search this base, it's now."

Jacob gave a smirk, and turned into his wolf form. "So, are we just going to barge in there then?" He asked with a smile. Edward turned to him, he had never gotten used to how thin Jacob looked.

Edward smiled, "No, we'll sneak around as best we can. But once we breach the building we'll have to move quickly. We search for any clues that will bring us Lore."

Jacob nodded, "Alright, let's start sneaking then." He smiled weakly before turning to the base and quickly started to move along its outskirts. Edward and Ness followed him, moving as quietly as their feet would allow. The complex was large, but luckily they found the back of the facility was far less guarded than its front. This gave Edward comfort, it didn't take them long before they found an entrance into the facility blind to the cameras.

What guards were patrolling the back grounds and loading docks of the facility were easily avoided by Edward and his family. They pressed lightly against the slushy snow beneath them, eventually reaching a large parking garage attached to the complex's main building. It was dark inside, which led Edward to believe it a perfect place to enter the facility. Upon entering they found themselves suddenly brought to a halt. All three of them began to cough uncontrollably. Edward's eyes widened, he grabbed onto his daughter quickly.

"Dad…" She whispered to him between coughs. "Is this a trap?" Edward didn't answer her, a patrol guard came close to them. Edward quickly pulled Ness behind a car and motioned Jacob to follow.

"Jacob." Edward hissed, looking over the direction of the guard. Jacob gave him a nod between coughs and slowly made his way over to their makeshift hiding spot. His coughing was stronger than the other two. Black blood began to spurt up from his nose and mouth as he limped his way to Edward. The guard turned down an aisle of cars, only feet away from Jacob now. Edward continued to wave to the wolf frantically, and Jacob continued to nod as if nothing was wrong. He let out a final cough, before his shaking legs gave out beneath him.

Ness clenched onto her father, "Dad, he's not going to make it. Let me help him."

Edward looked to his daughter with frightened eyes, then back at the guard, "Quickly!" Ness gave a nod and rushed to Jacob's side. He remained in his wolf form, and smiled faintly. As the guard neared the two of them, his light nearly upon them as Ness pulled Jacob to the car. Edward grabbed onto the wolf's body, and tried to calm the wolf's coughing.

"You need to be quiet Jacob." He said calmly. Jacob looked up at him, attempting to hold back his coughs. Edward could see black liquid tearing from his eyes. Jacob let out another cough, and the guard quickened his pace.

Ness peered over the car, "He's heard us, the guard's coming!"

"I have to cover your mouth Jacob." Edward said to him. Jacob nodded in return, "Will you be able to breathe if I do?" Jacob simply smiled, attempting to hold back his coughs once more. Edward covered his mouth as the guard loomed closer.

Mr. Cullen,

This will be, most likely, the last note I write for you. My party has arrived at our facility, and it seems you have already raised an alarm. I know the man you search for, and I know that you hope he can give you an answer. But you will find, soon enough, that there isn't an answer.

When you do Mr. Cullen, I will be there. You have run from me for so long, I wonder how you look now. I irk with anticipation, knowing that you and I will be reunited in only a few moments. Please, do not disappoint me.

Sincerely, Dacia Gibbons.