Epilogue

BPOV

After watching that first batch of humans I chowed down on come back as mindless Zed Heads, I vowed never to attack another human. Of course, this was way harder than any of us had ever imagined, and I was solely responsible for starting small epidemics in Iceland, Norway and Poland. After that, the Cullen's kept me as far away from civilization as possible. I couldn't be around humans without attacking them for nearly five years. Carlisle suspected my lack of control was a result of being infected by a zombie prior to being infected by a vampire, and that little bit of virus has caused the fundamental change.

We were lucky to get out of North America when we did. The US government, in collaboration with Canada decided to drop a nuke in Washington, which affected the entire west coast. Unfortunately, it did not have the desired effect of eradicating the zombies. Instead, along with the environmental problems that stretched all the way to Japan and back, it also created mutant zombies; zombies so horrible and hideous that I can't even describe them without wanting to vomit.

Carlisle and Esme stayed in New York for a little while, but the rioting and the Marshall Law made it too difficult to stay there, not to mention the rumours that other countries would be bombing North America to prevent the spread of zombies to their own countries. They didn't even bother with a boat; they just jumped in and swam to Europe.

After my slip up in Poland, I discovered another fun-slash-horrible thing about making zombies. Completely by accident, I learned that I had the ability to control them. I had slipped up, and killed three people hiking near our cabin in the forest. As I watched them rise, I slapped my hand against my forehead at my stupidity. Then I watched in amazement, as the three zombies did exactly the same thing. And when my jaw dropped open, so did theirs.

"Holy shit!" I yelled. And then I smelled the horrible stench of two of the Zed's dropping loads in their pants, while the other one stood their staring vacantly at me.

When Emmett and Edward showed up to catch me, I showed them what I had discovered and the two of them laughed so hard they couldn't even stand up. I glared at them in anger, and the three zombies immediately attacked Emmett. He screamed like a girl and smashed their heads in.

Somehow, word got out about my little talent and the Voltouri came knocking at the door. With the exception of Angela and Seth, who were living apart from us, we were all taken into custody and locked into vamp-proof cells in the basement of Volterra Castle for a few days before Aro graced us with his presence.

"Which one of you can raise the dead?" he asked, although I was quite certain he already knew.

"M…me," I whispered. "Please don't hurt the others. It's not their fault!" I begged and I ran to the bars of the cell and fell onto my knees. "Please let them go!"

Carlisle stood and walked over to where I stood and put his hand on my shoulder.

"No, if anyone is to blame, it is I, Aro. I inadvertently created the epidemic which plagues the Americas. Please, it is not her fault."

Well, Aro was none to please to discover that his good friend Carlisle was responsible for the vampires' food supply being contaminated. He motioned to the guards to grab the two of us and we were summoned into the same chamber where I had stood with Edward and Alice those years ago. We heard the cries of our family from the cells, begging to me brought with us, but their cries went unanswered.

So Carlisle and I stood, awaiting our trial. First, Aro wanted proof that I was able to control the zombies, and produced two humans for me to demonstrate with.

"Oh, please no!" I cried. I had no control over what was about to happen to these poor souls, and I devoured them within moments.

When they began to rise as Zeds, Aro demanded I do something extravagant, to show that any of their movements were not coincidence. I thought for a moment and made them dance the Macarena. The room was divided on whether or not they thought this was amusing, but the three people who mattered did not.

Caius sat back on his throne. "How can we know that you will not raise armies of the dead to wipe out our race? We know how you feel about our kind."

I stared at him like he had two heads. "Well that would be stupid! We try not to eat humans because we value their lives. It would be counter-productive to infect them all with an incurable plague," I said with a little more attitude than was necessary. I saw Carlisle wince beside me.

Caius flew from his chair and smacked me across the face. I crumpled to the floor in a heap. "Watch your mouth, Zombie Queen!" He raised his hand to me to strike again.

"Enough, Caius," Aro said as he walked over to me to help me off the floor. But once I stood, he would not let go. I realized he was trying to read my mind.

"I see you have maintained your previous gift," he said letting me go. "I cannot tell if you are truthful."

Carlisle offered his hand instead and he took it.

"Hmmm. I believe you must be truthful, for Carlisle would not stand for a liar amongst his coven." He walked back to the others and they stood in silent deliberation. I nearly chewed off my bottom lip, waiting to hear if I would be destroyed. Carlisle wrapped his arms around me as we waited.

"We have decided," Aro said walking back towards us. "We will let you live. But you are forbidden to feast on humans. Should we discover that you slipped and created another abomination, you will be destroyed." Relief washed over me.

"As for you, my dear Carlisle," he said, turning to his old friend. "I am greatly disappointed. You have unleashed this wicked beast, and for that, you must be punished. But I will not destroy you. Your skills will be invaluable in helping eradicate this scourge from the earth. You are to remain here until you find the answers you seek, no matter how long it takes. You will be provided with the equipment you will require and living quarters for you and your mate."

Carlisle breathed a sigh of relief. He was grateful to his old friend for his lenience, even if it meant years of servitude. Unfortunately, this meant that our family would be separated for a while, as I was not yet ready to live this near humans and I knew that Alice and Jasper would not want to live so near the Voltouri.

So for the next several years, Edward, Alice, Jasper and I lived in the wilds of Sibera, while Carlisle, Esme and Rose and Emmett lived in Italy. We lost contact with Angela and Seth for a number of years while they worked on their own issues of trying to maintain an inter-species relationship.

Our wedding was delayed for quite some time. At first, I refused to get married until my thirst was under control, but when that time came, we both decided to wait until we could be together as a family, since Carlisle was not allowed to travel as part of his punishment. It was only 10 years later that we were finally able to tie the knot. Due to Alice's meddling, it was a grand affair, with guests ranging from the Voltouri to Carlisle's friend Allister, a vampire hermit. Seth walked me down the aisle as homage to my Forks roots and we all wept over the loss of my Dad, Jake, and of the Quileute clan, who so bravely helped us when we were in need.

Seth and Angela eventually were able to work things out. The imprinting instinct is stronger than any of us could have imagined, and they somehow manage to tolerate each other's scents and the desire to kill each other. It's unfortunate that Seth's family line will never be passed down through Angela, but they are considering having a surrogate mother with Seth's wolf genes in order to keep the family tree alive.

Rosalie has adapted to her new skill quite well and she and Seth often go out in their wolf forms for runs. She understands Seth's need for a pack and is willing to tolerate his stench. She puts up a big fuss about it to us, but secretly, I think she also feels the need to run with another wolf.

Carlisle did eventually discover a cure for the zombie virus, with my help. Because of my need to be away from humans, and Carlisle's need of my venom, we often shipped samples of it to him. When I was finally able to tolerate humans, we often went to Italy to help him with his experiments.

Epidemics still pop up every now and again, mostly in small, poor villages, where the people stumble upon the corpses of long forgotten zombies. But the humans, equipped with a better understanding of the virus works, are now able to control those situations. Western US and Canada will be a long time in recovering from the nuclear blast and the damage it caused, but for the most part, the world has moved on.