Arthur didn't hesitate for even a single split second more as he jumped, not backward but directly out of the rooftop, his hands quickly latched onto the brick wall as he continued doing small leaps until he fell onto the ground below.
The thought hadn't occurred to him at the start, had it been the stress of a vampire running towards him or something else and so he had chosen to hide in an apartment, however, that wasn't the best choice.
No the best choice to hide from a vampire was to simply head into the area with as many people as possible. In this case, it would be a shopping mall or a plaza in the middle of the city. The vampire wouldn't be able to attack or he would risk the humans seeing it. If it was in an apartment with just a few humans, they could always just kill them all. However, if he killed a thousand people in a plaza? That would do more bad than good, not to mention all the security cameras around, it would be a nightmare.
Of course in a regular case, the vampire would simply wait until night or when the target left the populated area and then eliminate them, but in this case, Arthur had backing. All he had to do was wait until Alice and the Cullens arrived and he would be safe.
Running down the street, and making sure that there were always people around him, Arthur rushed back towards the plaza, his speed was close to superhuman levels, even faster than an Olympic runner however he didn't have to hide. It would surprise the onlookers however it still didn't look like something out of a movie, simply surprising, not shocking.
Looking left and right, Arthur went from street to street, always choosing the best lit-up streets and the ones with the most people in them.
It took him around four minutes of constant running, his heart beating a mile a minute, goosebumps all over his body for him to finally arrive at the center plaza.
Looking there, he saw her. The yellow Porsche and Alice standing right next to it with a grim expression that quickly changed as soon as she saw him into one of pure relief.
"Thank god, you're safe. I couldn't see where you were, It was as if my gift suddenly started malfunctioning." Alice said quickly as she instantly engulfed him in a hug, her voice had been calm however her hands were clearly shaking.
"I'm fine however the vampire is likely still following after me," Arthur replied swiftly as he continued looking around them at each alley and street, inspecting each passerby for the man's face.
"How did you end up with him chasing you?" Alice asked as she broke off the hug, her voice serious as she herself started looking around.
"I have no idea, I managed to smell a possible vegetarian vampire that I thought was Edward however it turns out it was someone else and the man seemed to instantly lock onto me the moment I started locating him. Likely a supernatural gift of some sort similar to your future sight." Arthur replied, still tense, and for once, in actual emotional turmoil.
He had never felt like this before, It was like his body was burning up. Back when he had lived alone in that half-broken house, hunting wildlife for survival, he had faced many predators and been in harrowing situations however his body had always been preserved, and his mind had always maintained absolute calm even in the face of danger, as if knowing that he had never actually been in danger, that nothing normal could pose a harm to him, not even a bear.
And yet now when faced with this vampire, he felt like his body was telling him to run constantly, like it knew on pure instinct that it stood no chance against the man.
Arthur's pupils dilated, his breath growing faster yet deeper at the same time, and his skin starting to slightly shine with sweat, he felt heated all over like a well-oiled machine starting to work overtime. His perception changed, it was like time was starting to slow down before his eyes, the movements of each and every passerby around him starting to slow. He started seeing more details, like the flutter of wings from a butterfly tens of meters away, the direction of the wind, the heat, the way the leaves ruffled, and in which direction they did.
His sense of hearing, smell, touch, and even taste were similarly elevated to the extreme, he felt like he could practically taste the air itself.
Alice who was next to him quickly noticed the oddity.
"Arthur? What's wrong? Are you alright?" She asked quickly, her voice tinged with slight fear and panic as she looked at her mate.
"I'm fine… in fact, I don't think I've ever felt better," Arthur replied, his voice confused, not bland or emotionless, actually confused.
He could hear his own heartbeat, it was going a mile a minute and it felt so loud even in the clamor of the plaza around them.
His eyes finally locked onto a figure hidden by the shadow of two buildings in a small alley, it was looking directly at him and Alice.
Those same amber almost golden eyes were fixed onto Arthur, that same pale almost chalky skin.
"Over there," Arthur spoke quickly towards Alice as he kept the man in his sight, never once looking away, not even blinking as he stared at him.
"A… another one that doesn't drink human blood? Then why is he after you?" Alice asked confusedly however her posture was already screaming that she was ready to fight at any second as she walked in front of Arthur.
"Much more loyal to those Volturi guys, He knows that I know about them, and as a human, that's a death sentence to me. That's what the problem is." Arthur replied his hands clenched.
"You shouldn't have been able to notice me at all. You're human yet you can hear me even from there, can sense me from hundreds of meters away, at this point, im starting to actually think that you can't even be classified as a human anymore. However, rules are rules." The man spoke in that deep baritone voice.
Arthur usually wouldn't have been able to hear the man, especially not when he was so far away and speaking in such a low deep voice however at this moment, he heard him clear as day as if he was right in front of him.
Alice released a hiss, her amber eyes turning completely black, and feral as she stared at the man in pure rage.
"Try it." She spoke, her voice sounding more animalistic than human.
'How did it turn from us hunting Bella and Edward for this, to me getting hunted for the exact same reason almost.' Arthur thought to himself as he released a sigh, trying to gather himself however his body wasn't responding, no matter what he tried he couldn't regain his calm, it was like he was burning up from the inside, the senses only kept getting more and more heightened, at this point Arthur almost felt like he could sense the blood rushing inside his own veins.
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Here's the chapter for the day. The one for REBSB coming out in a bit.
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WhiteAuthor