Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. If I did, Jake would be with Bella, and Seth with me.
Strawberry: And yes, this is the new, updated version. And I must say, I am proud of it^^
1. Remembrance
When all was said and done, I knew I would remember everything. Down to the minute detail as I stood positioned to attack with my new family. And him right there in front, teeth showing in a smiling malice.
I was lounging in my room, flipping through some book, undecided to read it yet or not. I was wearing a deep purple tank top, and red pajama pants. The setting sun made the exposed light brown skin of mine, turn bronze. I was part native, but from which tribe, I didn't know. My dad doesn't like being native, which I still to this day don't understand why.
My shoulder length brown and golden streaked hair, kept falling into my large gray eyes. It annoyed me. My hair seemed to be untamable, that my mother forces me to get it cut. I loved having it long, and wanted to keep it that way. But busy or not, my mother always some how put enough effort in getting me hair cuts, than getting my sister to stop leading her boyfriends on.
Said sister, Morgana had walked into the room. Put her purse on her side of the room, on her bed, and walked right out without so much as a 'Hi Ash, how are you?'.
I sighed, then closed the book. I loved reading, but tonight I was restless for reasons unknown. I flipped onto my back, arms behind my head, looking up at the white ceiling to my otherwise lavender colored, drawing covered, room. Only one picture was hung up on my ceiling, over my bed. It was a poster of my favorite country singer. Shania Twain. I loved her songs, and knew that at a young age she had to watch over her siblings, after her parents died.
If my first choice career of being a singer didn't work out, then I always had the backup of being a animator, or cartoonist. I loved to sing, alone, in front of my parents, my dog, even people on the street. I had even made some of my own lyrics.
But drawing was second in my heart. I was able to draw realistically cartoonish characters, with a minor flaw. The minor flaw being, that the eyes look like they come from a Manga or Anime. Not that it cared to me. But some companies did, and I knew to work on the eye's.
I looked at the time, and nearly gasped. Almost midnight, and I still haven't reminded dad of drivers ed.
I got up from my purple comforter, and walked out my room that I shared with my sister, walking over and around packed boxes. We were moving. Again. Big surprise. I think this was the third time this school year already?
We lived, at the moment, in a small 3 bedroom, in a ground floor apartment. My room was closest to the kitchen, with the back door. Which was used regularly everyday.
The living room was located a litte down the hall. And was small for a family of three kids, one toddler, and two parents. The bathroom, and three other rooms were located closest to the actual front door.
I peered in, and saw my father on the couch watching a movie. The other couch was preoccupied by my youngest brother, Jonah. He had dark brown hair, and skin as light as mine. His eyes were big, and were dark blue brown. But were so dark, they almost seemed black.
I sat down, and picked him up. He was the quietest, yet hyper active sibling so far. The others were on the border line of being just plain annoying. And he was three!
"Dad, I have Drivers Ed after school." I reminded my dad, Clive Jones.
He was built tough, being a carpenter. His black, peppery hair was curly, that set around the set face of the part native. His eyes were dark brown, and had turned to look at me, smiling.
"Yes, I remember Ashton." He responded, and turned back to watching the movie he had ordered.
I sighed, and with Jonah in my arms, walked back to my room. I sat on the bed, and put him beside me.
"What do you think Jonah? Think he'll forget by the time school starts tomorrow? That he'll get frustrated, and ask 'Why did you tell me the night before?' Without listening to me that I did?" I asked my brother.
He just smiled, and pointed at one of the color pictures that I had drawn on the wall.
"You want me to tell you a story of the picture? Or sing?" I asked him.
He grinned. "La la!"
I smiled, and tickled his tummy, making him laugh. Which was very affectionest, making me laugh.
He tackled me, and we tumbled backwards, and I hit my head on my bedpost. Not that I cared. I just laughed harder, rubbing my now sore head.
I placed him beside me, and started a lullaby. One I heard from the movie 'Flicka'.
(a/n: I do not own this song either)
"Hush a by.
Don't you cry.
Go to sleep little baby.
For when you awake.
You shall have.
All the pretty little ponies."
I hadn't even gotten to the verse, before he fell asleep in the nook of my arm. I smiled, and put my other arm over his sleeping form, and went to sleep myself.
*BWOOSH!*
The sound startled me awake, along with Jonah. Jonah quivered in my arms, and I slowly opened the door to my room. Morgana had already snuck out for the night.
I opened the door a crack, and our father flew past my door.
"Daddy!" With Jonah still in my arms, I raced to see if he was alright.
Jonah was now shaking in my arms, looking behind me. I twisted around, and gasped.
The most amazing, beautiful man I had ever seen walked in. His face was of a perfect angelic smiling statue, and had pale white skin. Fair hair like new straw made the blood red eyes stand out. It took me merely a fraction of a moment to realize that there were two others.
Both beautiful females, the same pale white skin, and both with blood red eyes. The pale blond one had my brother Devon in a head lock. The black haired brunette, had my mother in the same hold. The man stepped once in advance, causing me to turn to the kitchen and try to make it outside with Jonah. I hadn't even taken a step on the tiled floor when the man appeared before us.
"Make this easy on you, and your family. Come with us willingly along with your brother, and your father lives." His voice were like the bells that chimed from the church across the way. The bells I heard had always made me feel safe, but the way he sounded made me scared out of my mind.
I turned away from him, and looked back at my dad. A third female had joined in, and had my dad restrained in her arms. She was a tall red haired female, eyes just as bright as the others.
My dad struggled to no avail, to get out of her clutches. She didn't even look bothered when my dad was actually straining to get her arms from around his neck. My bright gray eyes turned back to the man.
"Dad..." I said uncertain on what was happening.
Who or, what were these people? Creatures? Why did they want my brother and I?
"No! I don't care what you are, but if you hurt my family, I will personally see to it, that you will all be destroyed." My dad's yelling had brought me back to what was happening.
His brown eyes were smoldering. The man glared right back at him.
"It's not your, or her choice anymore Clive Jones. It's your fault to have also put your youngest son in this position. And I will make sure your family will remember nothing of them. We had made a deal. You broke your part. And so, I will take her. Tonight." The man's voice remained calm, making him seem all the more deadly.
"Dad, what is going on? What is he talking about?" I asked, confused on what was happening. I held Jonah closer to me.
"No time to explain Ashton. And I am sorry for what I am about to do."
He must have gave the woman that held my dad a signal. I turned back to my dad and watched in horror, as she twisted his neck so fast, that I hardly knew what happened, I heard the crunch of it snap. I had also heard the screams of my mother and brother yelling for my dad to get up. I knew that I would never have been able to sing. My father was my inspiration. And now he was gone.
Hearing them in pain, but unable to help them, made me unmoving. I felt frozen where I stood with Jonah held very close to me. It was all I remembered before blackness overwhelmed my senses.
I gasped, sitting up in bed and a now familiar room. The bed was simple, with a simple purple blanket, sheets and pillow. There was a dresser, and a T.V that showed three stations, and a lot of static on the others.
My brother's bed/crib, was set across from me. He was just waking up, and rubbed his eyes.
I said and thought nothing about the dream, but got up and grabbed my book bag. I had to work now. It was the only day that they all left, hunting. I moved the dresser, with some difficulty, and grinned as I took the air vent cover out.
I raced over to Jonah, and picked him up. I carried him over to the vent, and got him crawling through it. I had to nudge him a few times to get him going, but he finally did.
It was a tight fit at first for me, but started to widen out. It had been a month and a half since Jonah and I were brought here, for unknown reasons. And I didn't plan for us to stay much longer. Once a week the man and the three woman went out to hunt till dusk.
And I waited till today to make my move. I shivered as my hand landed on a spider web. 'Gross...' I thought as I wiped my hand on my other sleeve.
We continued, and finally saw some light. I smirked, seeing it that the sun was close to rising. I kicked out the vent cover, with some movement difficulty, and sighed feeling the warmth of the sun on me. I didn't take long before I swooped Jonah in my arms, and started running. I saw we were in the middle of a forest, and my eyes widened. 'Not good...' I thought as my heart raced, and I ran.
I heard a yell in the direction of where we had been confined a couple hours or so ago, and made my adrenaline rush as my running kicked up a notch. Who knew they could be so loud? Tree branches nicked at my arms, face, hair and clothing. All the while making sure Jonah didn't get hurt.
It didn't take 'them' long before they caught up and circled us, my back towards a rather large side of a cliff. They seemed a little nervous, which made me confused.
"Get her, before they get a whiff of us!" Snarled the man, and two of the three woman advanced towards us.