My sister peered at me very intently today. Her eyes were coal black from thirst, but that wasn't the problem.
She's coming soon, I read her mind.
"Who," I said softly, though I had no need to ask. Delving into her subconscious now, I saw her vision as accurately as she had. I shuddered. What I saw was impossible. I would not do that-no amount of thirst could make me-
"You're not always right, Alice," I said more for my assurance than for hers.
"I know. I hope…" She searched for the right words. In her mind, I searched for them too, but no diction, only a common gesture could physically say what could not verbally be voiced.
Alice threw her arms around me and urgently whispered, " Do be careful."
"It's okay, Alice. Nothing like that is going to happen. You have my word.
"Now," I said switching to a lighter note, "time to go gorge ourselves."
She cheered up at that, clapping her hands together rapidly and bolted of retrieve Jasper.
I put on a smile and headed downstairs.
Carlisle was there, waiting with Esme. He looked at me peculiarly. I knew what he was thinking almost instantly, and was somewhat disappointed in my self. I thought I hid my emotions better than that, but apparently the uneasy feelings regarding my encounter with Alice still lingered on my façade.
Esme and Carlisle were both worried about me.
"I'm fine," I assured brightening. I took Esme's cold hands in my own and kissed her lightly on her cheeks.
"Now, now, let's not make your father jealous," she laughed, hugging me in return.
My family's big for our kind. With seven in all we had to take two cars. Esme, Rosalie, and Alice in one, Carlisle, Emmett, Jasper, and myself in the other.
Emmett was giddy as always, not concerned at all about the game he would be hunting. Or the size of their teeth. He, as we all did, had no reason to be. Going up against a four hundred plus, highly agitated grizzly was just not something you worry about when you're immortal. Being a vampire definitely had its advantages. Our speed, agility, and strength would aid us in our other wise dangerous endeavor
"Carlisle, step it up a notch, will you."
I looked at the speedometer. Carlisle was only going ninety.
Relax, Emmett, we'll be there soon enough."
"Should have let Edward drive," I heard him mumble.
I glanced at Carlisle who'd taken no offense, and kept his speed firmly at ninety.
When we finally reached our destination Emmett was the first to bolt out of the car. The rest of us weren't far behind him. Jasper was instantly at Alice's side and they raced of into the woods together. Emmett and Rosalie would do the same, as would Carlisle and Esme. They might occasionally hunt hundreds of yards apart, but they would still be together. I would be the only one hunting alone. It didn't bother me. In fact I preferred it that way. Esme though was sympathetic.
I sped off into the woods not wanting to be burdened by thoughts at the moment. There was no need to feel sorry for me so there was no need for her worrying. Not having a companion like the others had didn't bother me. I'd gone without one all of my unnaturally long life, and there was no doubt in my mind that it would stay that way.
We all have our preferences of prey. Emmett loves grizzlies-especially when they're angry. He would go to extremely great length s to tick one off if need be. Though he was willing to share with Rosalie, she herself preferred deer. As did Jasper. Alice liked rabbits, though they didn't yield much blood, and jasper would bring her some form of larger prey.
My tastes leaned towards mountain lion.
Finding a trail wasn't difficult. We vampires have an acute sense of smell. Though I sometimes have difficulty tracing a prey if it's on to me and knows it's being hunted.
I'd originally been hunting two lions, but one was female and had cubs. I let her go and decided to track the other. A male who made it extremely easy by marking his territory every twenty yards or so. When the trail stopped abruptly, I sniffed the air curious as to where the cat had gone. I looked up towards the trees. Bingo.
I jumped twenty feet up into an adjacent tree. The move brought me with in threee yards of beautiful beast.
The lion warned me with a snarl. I hissed back, crouching as best I could in a tree, mu muscels as tense as the wild cat's, though not from fear. There was nothing this beast could do to me and everything i could do to it. I only had one thing in mind though.
The lion hissed one final time, and I lunged at it, covering the distance between us in less than a second. I crashed into it, wrapping my arms around him, crushing. We began to fall to the ground and the lion was dead before we hit it.
The next day at school was just like any other. Boring. Except there was some new chatter going on in a lot of students' heads about an Isabella Swan, daughter of cheif Swan. Carlisle was familiar with him but not with her.
"I didn't know Cheif Swan had a family," I said one night. "I thought it was just him."
"It is," Carlisle responded, though i could see his thoughts already. "His wife left with the child twelve years ago."
It was nearly a month and a half before I actually saw her in person. I was sitting in the corner of the cafeteria with my brothers and sisters and five plates of untouched food, scanning the crowd of minds when i heard my name. It was in the head of the Jassica girl, a babbling gossip. Her accomplice and new friend, Isabella Swan, had wanted to know who i was. Who we were.
I turned my attention to her and heard...nothing.
It was then that I looked up to Jessica, then to her.Even more quickly, I looked away-but I kept listening. Jessica was talking about us now, explaining us to her.
I tried to read Isabella's mind again and was presented with the same result. I looked up again. They were still staring at us.
I turned my head, peering at nothing in particular, and said, "Keep looking away." My lips barely moved but, Emmett and had no problem hearing me. "Don't look, but the girl on the other side of the cafeteria, sitting next to Jessica. Isabella Swan...I can't...I can't hear her. I can't read her mind"