Chapter Thirteen – Newborn (0)

Chapter Thirteen – Newborn

Once Bella realizes that Jasper ’s arms are covered in scars from vampire bites, he tells her his history. He explains that vampires live differently in the south , only coming out at night and fighting each other for control of territories with larger human populations so that they won’t have any competition in feeding.
He tells the story of a young vampire named Benito that began using armies of wild, uncontrolled newborns to dispatch rival covens. These newborns destroyed each other as often as their targets, and had to be replaced. The other covens had to form their own newborn armies to counter Benito. The human population was also drastically reduced during the fighting, and eventually, the Volturi stepped in. The entire Volturi guard came from Italy and annihilated all the vampires found with newborns, virtually emptying the region of vampires for a time. The ones that survived began to stake claims again and the fighting resumed, though on a smaller scale . Newborn armies were again utilized, but with more care and control this time to avoid additional Volturi involvement.
Jasper then tells Bella about becoming a confederate solider in Houston when he was 16 years old by claiming to be 20. Having the ability to sway others around him, and was promoted quickly through the ranks. By the time of the first battle of Galveston, he was made the youngest major in Texas at the age of 20. His orders were to convey the women and children from Galveston to Houston to avoid Union mortar boats. After transporting the first group, he set out on his return journey to Galveston.
It was then he met up with three vampire women: Maria, Nettie, and Lucy , all survivors of recently lost battles. Incapacitated by their beauty and his own sense of propriety, he was unable to run from them . Maria, a petite brunette and their leader, sensed that Jasper was special and turned him rather than kill him. Maria wanted to reclaim her territory, and built a newborn army , putting Jasper in charge of the others. His ability to control the emotions of those around him enabled him to build a large, lethal group of newborns that could work together. They were very successful. Jasper lived this life for decades, training, fighting with, and then disposing of the newborns. As the years wore on, the violence and hate took their toll on him, but Maria had told him that there was no other way.
A newborn named Peter proved so useful that he was put in charge of watching over the others. Peter fell in love with a newborn named Charlotte , and they ran away together when it was time for Charlotte to be culled from the group. Five years later, Peter came back to tell Jasper of a better life with no warring; a life outside of the south. Jasper left Maria for this new life without a second thought, but as he continued to kill for food, his depression grew. Unlike Peter and Charlotte, he could feel the horror and fear of each kill, thanks to his gift , and was reminded of his last night as a human. He left his companions after a while to live on his own. He tried not to feed , but had to eventually, fueling his depression.
Then, in Philadelphia, he entered a diner to get out of the rain and met Alice for the first time. She was waiting on him; she had “ seen ” him. She told him of the Cullens, whom she had also “ seen ”, and the possibility of a life without all the killing . Together, they went to find Carlisle.
After Jasper’s tale , the other’s understood that the killings in Seattle must be from a newborn army. They try to discern a motive behind the building of the army, concluding that they must be the target as they are the closest and largest coven. Building upon what Edward saw in Aro’s mind while in Volterra, he surmises that the Volturi may ultimately be behind the army. Jasper dismisses this idea as being too sloppy for the Volturi, that it must be a first timer . The Cullens decide that Jasper needs to train them to fight the newborns and they begin preparations to go to Seattle and take care of the threat themselves. Bella realizes they are missing something important , but she can’t figure out what it might be. Carlisle calls the Denali clan to request help in dealing with the army, but he is told that Irina and Laurent had a relationship , and the clan refuse to help unless Carlisle gives them leave to destroy the werewolves in retaliation for Laurent’s death. Carlisle refuses. They all realize that if the Cullens fight alone they will win the battle, but not all will survive.