Forks, Washington
Ten years ago

Something was going on, I just didn't quite grasp what. The TV screen flickered scenes of people with strange tattoos marking their faces, necks and hands. Police and army men surrounded them like they were crooks—worse, terrorists—but amongst them were kids and babies, kids who looked like me, like my sisters. They looked harmless. Like us. Like my family.

Dogs snarled and snapped at the end of their chained leads. I'd never seen an animal behave so viciously without being provoked. Somehow what I was watching on the news, felt like something out of a movie. But I knew better. The Fox News logo shone from the bottom right hand the right hand corner.

"Jacob?" Mom called from the kitchen behind me. "Why don't you play with your sisters in your room, honey?"

"What's happening, Mom?" I murmured, but my question hung unanswered as the screen went blank. Mom had turned the power off.

"I don't want you watching shows like these, Jacob—you're too young. Go on, play in your room."

"But—"

"No buts. Go."

Sighing, I did as she said and shut the door behind me. I turned in time to see outside my window in the fading light of the moon outside a small shadowy figure I saw move into the shed. I smiled. It was probably Embry trying to play hide-and-seek from his parents again.

From my nightstand I grabbed my flashlight before easing open my window. I ducked down low so my sisters couldn't tell on me to Mom or Dad. Droplets of water fell from the clouds gathering overhead, landing softly on my shoulders. I ran to the shed, leaving the door cracked behind me as the clouds burst, sending down pouring rain. Once inside, I flicked on the flashlight.

"Embry?" I whispered, shining the light over every nook and cranny. "Emb? It's me."

The only hint of life was of the rain pattering against the steel roof. "Quil?" I murmured after a moment.

Movement caught my eye as I captured it in the tip of the flashlight. Blue eyes stared back at me. A dark marking stretched across the side of his face, reaching for more dark lines that ran the length his neck. Four more spots darkened his skin on the other side of his face. He shivered, hiding in the cramped space behind my Father's work bench.

"You're one of them," I murmured, setting the flashlight down and reaching for the picnic blanket sitting on the shelf next to me. "Don't be scared. It's safe here."

I stepped forward while unfolding the picnic blanket and wrapped it around his shivering body. A small soft smile pulled at the corners of his mouth.

The sound of the shed-door groaning open pulled my attention behind me where I found the same image as I'd witnessed on TV—dogs snarling and snapping at the end of their chain leads and men surrounding us. The only addition was the guns they held, pointed at the boy behind me.

I glanced at the boy who had escaped the violence of his ship's crash as we backed up against the shed window. Looking up, I recognise one face in particular—my father's best friend—Charlie.

"Don't hurt him Charlie," I cried, stepping forward.

"Move, Jake."

I shook my head, backing us up further before I'm pulled to the side of my Father and gathered up. I scream out, knowing what they were going to do. "Leave him alone!" Tears streaked my cheeks as my hands hammered against my Father's back as his hold tightened. I gasped, seeing a blue flash shoot from the gun. The flash hit the boy in the chest. He fell back.

"No!"

My eyes flashed open as I gasped awake. The morning sun lighting my room. My heart raced within my ribcage and my lungs heaved for air. Every night, since that night, almost ten years ago, that same dream has haunted me. You'd think I'd be used to it by now…

Sighing, I hesitantly threw my legs over the edge of the mattress and stood. I collected my V-neck shirt and jeans from where I'd left them on the floor and threw them on. I was not a fan of clothes and even as a baby Mom hadn't been able to keep them on me. I smirked at the thought. I'd often gotten in trouble at tribal-school for stripping. In my mind, o-natural was better than being restricted in tight clothing.

Upon opening my bedroom door, I heard an extra voice in the kitchen as well as the morning news playing across the room. Like this day hadn't started bad enough, I thought as I padded into the kitchen. My eyes skipped over Charlie drinking coffee at the kitchen table.

"Morning son," Dad greeted. "Milk is already out."

"Morning Jake," Charlie said with a smile around the mug's rim.

"Morning Dad," I murmured, taking a plate from the cupboard and the cereal from the shelf above the fridge.

"Ready for your first day as a sophomore, Jake?" he adds before I have a chance to ignore him completely like I usually did.

"Nope. Home-school sucked so why should going to Forks High be better?" Really it was no secret to anyone in this household that I couldn't wait to break free of home-school and become a normal teen. After almost eight years in the hospital with a rare disease, then locked up in the house for another two, for me normality wasn't over-rated.

For a moment the kitchen went silent. The only sound was the TV. Protesters had set up outside my soon-to-be school and were fighting against the police and security as camera's swept over the large crowd. Something about the Atrians hit the headlines. I focused on it, trying to calm my now shaking hands. I catch a brief sentence, "The Atrian Seven will be attending Forks High later this morning."

Charlie snaps me out of my wonder before excitement even had a chance to hit. "C'mon Jake," he sighed. "You can't keep holding this grudge against me. It's almost been ten years—you didn't even know the kid."

"Can and will." With a spoon in hand, I slowly mixed the cereal grains with the milk before shooting Charlie an evil eye. "But, why'd you have to kill him? He was a harmless kid…"

"Jacob," Dad scolded.

"What? I'm not doing anything!" The shaking of my hands increased. I couldn't stop them. "I'm not hungry anymore..."

I stood and set my bowl in the sink a little harder than necessary before stalking into my room and slamming the door behind me. My hands shook harder as I tried to calm down—for some reason it was just so hard—this wasn't me. I didn't have bursts of anger or shake, or skip breakfast for that matter.

I grabbed my black and maroon jacket from the end of the bed and zipped it up before shouldering my backpack.

"Jacob, come here for a minute please," Dad called as soon as my bedroom door squeaked open. But I ignored him and went straight to the door where I found Charlie's wallet laying on the side table.

A smirk curved my mouth as I glanced around the corner to the kitchen. Charlie and Dad couldn't see me. I quickly grabbed the wallet and shuffled through the cards before finding the sector key-card. I slipped it into my jeans back pocket before heading out.

Apparently rolling up to school in a shiny black 2010 Camaro was attention grabbing for the impressed looks I got before parking beneath a tree. I thought that by 2024 classic cars would be the norm for teens. But I guess I was wrong. I had build my baby while being stuck at home and I was proud to admit I was a self-taught mechanic.

I left the engine idling while letting the windscreen wipers swiping the window of the drizzling rain as I checked my bag one last time. I threw it over my shoulder and pulled the hood of my jacket over my head.

My eyes glanced left and right of my surroundings, suddenly wishing Embry or my cousin Quil attended the same school. I'd be lying if I didn't say I wasn't nervous, and with the addition of the Red Hawk protesters outside the school along with a news crew, I couldn't say I was even close to being at ease let alone comfortable. The Red Hawks' reputation had grown since the Atrians had crashed landed on earth. They were basically the Atrians haters-humans who couldn't accept they had to share their land-or world-with another race.

I kept my head down and eyes on my feet as I entered the building. Upon lifting my head, the reality of my dreams coming true hit. I was in high school! After a lifetime of tribal rules and health conditions, I was finally free. A smile pulled across my mouth. I hadn't felt much like smiling in years.

Lockers lined the cream painted walls. Almost everything else was either white tiled or painted, creating a crisp and clean affect. At the entrance was a small desk with a sign that said, "Welcome" and a woman sitting behind paused in the halls talking like the protesters outside were completely normal.

"Can I help you?" A woman at the front desk offered with a kind smile.

"My schedule, please? It's Jacob Black."

"Sure." She leaned to the side while opening a filing cabinet and handed over a page. My eyes glanced over it.

"Thanks."

Upon finding my locker, I typed in the passcode and tapped enter like I would on my phone. The locker-door popped open and I placed my bag inside as security dressed in blue caught my attention while dragging open the school doors. Within seconds, students lined the hall. They must be here, I thought as the army stood inside the entrance.

A silver bus pulled up and the Red Hawk protesters crowded it before the police pushed them back and created barricades. Police waved the Atrians forward from their seats in the back of the bus. The first two stepped off. A guy and a girl. He had his arm wrapped protectively around her, keeping her close to his side as they made their way forward. One of the armed men stepped forward lining the Atrians up in front of the school. Five others followed.

Whisperings and murmurs passed around me, as were looks of disapproval and amazement, but I didn't see what the big deal was. They weren't that much different from us.

My eyes went to the guy still closely holding his sister. He reminded me of Rachel and me and how protective I was with her. His fringe was cut into a V in the centre of his forehead. He wore simple clothes: a white shirt, jumper and jeans.

"Whoa," I murmured, seeing the markings that darkened the side of his face and lined down his neck as he turned his head towards his sister. My mind flashed back to that night almost ten years ago. The markings, they were the same. I shook my head in confusion. But it was impossible. I had seen him fall and his eyes close. I even remembered watching, waiting for his chest to rise or fall. But then, maybe it wasn't so impossible after all.