"Hey, Em," Edward greeted as he appeared on the couch suddenly. Damn kid was too fast. "What are you thinking about?"

"You know what I'm thinking," I said, eyes flitting over to my 'brother'.

"It's always polite to ask."

"Well, just about when I died," I shrugged, not trying to understand his weirdness. There wasn't a lot about him that I did understand, but I was cool with that.

He chuckled, since he probably heard that.

"I'm not so complicated," Edward said nonchalantly. "Why are you thinking of that? Bear season isn't for a few months."

"Dunno, really, just thought of it," I said flatly. Well, it might have been 'cuz of that 'when animals go wild' show or whatever the hell it was called. I'd been watching a dude get mauled by a reindeer, which brought me back to the last few moments of my own human life.

I remember like it was yesterday…

"Here we go," Edward rolled his eyes, preparing himself for a mental barrage as I yet again replayed the event in my head.

"Emmett McCarty, you get your little arse back here!"

Mama was the only one in the world who would call me 'little'. No one else even thought the word when they looked at me.

"What'd I do?" I said, wondering truly. I had left Eiric alone, even though he was basically being a douche and wouldn't let me use his knife. I had to walk through the woods today. He knew mine was broken since I had stabbed that favorite wood-carving of his…ah.

"You forgot your supper!"

I ran back and grabbed the outstretched sack that she was holding, giving her a peck on the cheek quickly.

"Thanks mama," I said, grinning at her sheepishly. She poked one of my dimples, which I hated, but allowed.

"Promise you'll be home for dinner," she said sternly. It wasn't a question.

"I promise, mama," I said, rolling my eyes. "Now I gotta go, I'll be late for work."

"Alright, darlin'. Be safe!"

I flexed my muscles as a joke to her as she waved from the front door. What could take me on? Marcus and León were already walking into the forest ahead of me, so I had to run to catch up.

When I got there, they teased me mercilessly about my less-than-manly exchange with mama, even though they do the same damn thing.

It was a long walk through the woods to the track we were working on today. Each day, it naturally got farther, since each day we laid more track. Pretty soon we'd have to start taking the horses, 'cuz a walk that long back towards home feels about ten times longer when you've been swinging that huge-ass mallet all day. With all the money we'd gained though, with all three of us working plus dad, it wouldn't be a problem for us to get another horse to take over the plowing. That was why we were excited today. A new horse was always fun to pick out, even if it was meant for work. We were going to the Gellerts' farm tomorrow to get one.

Marcus was a bit more thrilled about the horses though because he didn't like walking through the woods on foot. He was a bit skinnier than León and I, despite the fact that he was older than me even. He got creeped out at night when we could hear the animals moving but not see them with the tiny lanterns we were allowed. I didn't blame him, really, but we usually had our hunting knives with us. Except me, today, but they still had theirs. León was a fucking ninja with a blade…

We walked all the way, pushing and shoving each other playfully to see who would trip first. The mornings were always better for travel, since the sun was just rising and would shine through the trees to give us the perfect light. After about an hour we could already see the first work-post by the tracks, which meant we were close. The trees thinned and eventually stopped showing up altogether as we emerged from the woods.

When we finally got to where the other guys were crowded, and after numerous hand-shakes and how-do-you-do's, we were told to get to work. Yeah, the work sucked and all, and the pay was crappy, but it was life. It was simple, and we had fun.

It somehow didn't feel like that though under the blistering heat.

"Jesus fucking Christ," I said, wiping the sweat off my brow. "I hate you, you bastard."

I glared at the sun, which retorted by nearly blinding me.

Giant heavy mallet? Sure. Heavy metal tracks to lay? Whatever. Sun? Fucking horrible. That son of a bitch needed to die.

Ha ha. 'Sun' of a bitch. Get it?

So anyway, after we worked for like a million hours, lunch came. Mama had packed me a sweet-cake, which we didn't get much of. She had no doubt made it herself and slipped it in when I wasn't looking. It made me smile, despite the other dudes around me. She still treated me like a little kid. No way in hell I would admit I liked it.

"Oi, what's up?"

"Oh, hey Seamus," I said, looking over as he sat next to me. I'd be lying if I said that, sometimes, when Edward's coppery strands shone in the sun like crazy, I didn't think of Seamus. It was sorta creepy, the resemblance…

I broke the sweet-cake in half and handed one over to him.

"Oh, no, tha's okay, mate," he started, looking ashamed.

"No man, take it," I said, brandishing it. A few crumbs fell off as I did. I knew that Seamus' family was pretty much dirt poor, and he barely had anything to eat as it was. His lunch was always a bit punier than mine, and I knew that working with such little fuel had to be shit. I figured he needed a few luxuries here and there like the rest of us.

He hesitantly took it, but nodded gratefully and grinned back at me.

"You up for the pub later?" he asked through a mouth full of cake. I shook my head.

"Can't, man, gotta get some sleep today," I said regretfully.

"But that Sheila from yesterday…"

"Yeah, I know, but we gotta wake up early to get some horses and stuff," I said. I pouted slightly. She had been pretty hot…and drunk…

"Hey, did you see Briggins today?" Seamus cut the subject short suddenly, seeming to remember the incident from earlier. Briggins, who was an idiot, had dropped a metal track due to his weak state and left the other four guys holding it to do the rest of the work.

We both laughed at Briggins' expense. Not two days ago had he called us narrowbacks.

But then the supervising guy came out and yelled for us to go back to work, so we all packed up our unfinished food and returned to our tasks. I had a slightly better time, now that the sun was beginning to hide behind the sparse clouds that dared approach it. The labor I could handle, the heat I hated with intensity.

And after about a million more hours, it was time to go home. Seamus was still trying to coax me to go drinking with him, and it was killing me to have to refuse. That golden nectar was calling to me so badly…

"Oi, Emmett, you comin'?" León's voice boomed from the edge of the forest. I waved him on.

"Yeah, I'll be after you, jus' go on ahead," I shouted back.

"So you sure you don' wanna go with me?" Seamus teased, knowing it was hard for me to resist. "She's been beggin' to give it out, mate. Only a matter of time…"

He elbowed me suggestively and I grimaced back. The potential of getting laid and drunk simultaneously was alluring, but I promised mama I'd be home for dinner…

"I'm sure," I sighed, dying a little inside.

He chuckled, gave me a bro hug, and we parted ways for the night. He told me we'd do it tomorrow instead. He didn't know that he'd never see me again.

"McCarthy!"

I sighed again, wondering what the hell it was now.

"Yessir?" I said in the most respectful tone I could muster. It was the supervisor guy. No one really bothered to know his name 'cuz he was a dick.

"Forgot your lantern, boy."

"Oh, thanks," I said. I was a bit surprised. He usually yelled at us and we ignored him out of habit. I never thought he'd actually have the decency to try and save me some grief. I would have had to stumble blindly through the tree roots, being unable to see and all…

"Go on, git," he said through his tobacco. I grimaced slightly. He was gross looking and weird, but since he had just basically saved my life, I decided to be courteous. I was a man, I could handle it.

It was difficult, but I waved goodbye in a pleasant manner.

I entered the thick forest, lighting my little lantern and hurrying forward to try and catch my brothers. Those jerks better not have gone too far ahead of me…

"Oi, León!" I shouted through the trees, running. My lantern swung lazily as I did so, the light flickering along the floor to light my path. "Marcus!"

My voice reverberated through the trees, with no other one to respond to it. I suddenly realized how fucking retarded I was to have told them to go on without me.

"Whatever," I breathed, seething at myself and my dumb-ass brothers as well. I trotted along, trying to keep an even pace. My back ached from the hard day of work, but I kept up a healthy jog nonetheless.

It was about an hour-and-a-half to home, so I would be there before dinner at least. Even if I got tired, which was less the case each day as I became stronger from working on the tracks, mama would make everyone wait till I got there to eat. No one said it, but I think I was mama's favorite…

I made an 'oof' noise as I jumped from a boulder I had climbed over as a shortcut. It would have been a bitch to go around. My lantern rattled in protest at the sudden movement.

"León!" I tried again, seeing if they were ahead of me. They must have been anxious to get home too, however, because I still heard no response. I cupped a hand around my mouth to throw my voice further. "MARCUS!"

I stilled, but no one heard me. I moved on, grumbling under my breath. The darkness of the sky was a bit heavier now, but the lantern fought valiantly.

But then I heard a snapped twig, which definitely wasn't from my own footsteps. I looked around, wondering if my brothers were being dicks. Trying to scare the shit out of me was something they would do.

However, none of them were very good at imitating feral growls quite like that, which made my heart skip a beat or two. I raised the lantern, dreading what I would find.

It was a long while of hesitation and quick breathing on my part. No more noises were made by the creature, though. I turned almost completely in a circle, trying to figure if I was going to have to run like shit or if I could sneak away.

But then, of course, a gigantic grizzly stepped through the trees towards me. I thought it was huge and intimidating already, but it decided that it needed to stand on its hind legs as well, which made it about a thousand times bigger. And grizzlier.

I tried to look as big as I could too, which is what dad said to do if one of us ever encountered a bear. I didn't remember what he said to do about a grizzly, though. He would probably say "Run like hell, son. Run like hell."

So I turned and booked it.

It felt like I ran forever, and I could still hear the bastard practically right behind me. As my tired legs tried to carry me as fast as they could, I saw the bolder again and immediately hated my life. I jumped, trying to clear it.

It had actually worked, and I heard the bear get caught up as it climbed the rock clumsily, yet furiously. Why was he so fucking pissed? I felt my feet connect with ground again, and actually managed not to fucking die from the impact as my body followed to the ground. The lantern, however, didn't make it.

Jesus, this was the fucking worst day of my life.

I heard the glass crack and the oil leak out. A small fire glowed on the foliage where the lantern-remains lay, giving me enough light to see my impending doom approach me. He had conquered the rock, the furry bastard.

I knew I had to run blindly through the forest now in order to escape getting killed. This was going to be an awesome story to tell later, but right now I was so pissed off it wasn't even funny.

Well, it was a little funny. Everything was to me.

I pushed on the ground to hurry my ass up and get out of the bear's path. My hands grasped leaves and pine needles as leverage to stand. But when I shouted in pain and looked down at myself, I realized I was less okay from that jump than I realized. My fucking leg was broken.

Okay, it wasn't funny anymore.

"Shit!" I said, punching the ground in pain and anger. My only other alternative was to confront him, since I knew I couldn't drag myself fast enough to escape a ravenous and severely pissed-off grizzly bear. Even I wasn't that arrogant.

He sounded like he was right behind me again.

I turned over onto my back, feeling my broken leg protest like a bitch, and frantically reached inside my vest pocket. For my knife.

Which wasn't there.

I had a glimpse of him snarling in front of me, raising a paw with claws drawn out. They were really long and sharp.

But I didn't give him the satisfaction. I wouldn't scream, or cry, or beg for my life to an animal that wouldn't understand any of these anyway. I just stared at my cruel fate, right in the face, as he brought down a gigantic paw on me.

The force would have knocked the wind out of my lungs if I didn't feel the slicing of the claws do that already. I couldn't even yell in pain, my chest was too wounded to let me breathe. Warm blood, my own, gushed onto my hands as I instinctively held the gashes that riddled me already, and just from one blow. I knew trying to stem the flow wouldn't save me, even if I miraculously didn't have a broken leg anymore and somehow managed to run away.

But what almost killed me wasn't the second strike on my body, or the increased river of blood flowing from me. It was the suffocating scent that emanated from the excited bear. He smelled horrible, and from the rattling breaths I could take, I felt like I was drowning in that rotten air. I don't know if the stench came from his mouth or his unclean body, but it was terrible.

And then, a third strike, which managed to actually move my body backward a few feet from the force of it. He ran forward, not giving me any time to recover before he raised again to cut into me.

But something, and I had no idea what the hell it was, flew at the bear and stopped it from hitting me a fourth time. There was a roar, and then a human-like shriek of rage, followed by loud crunching and gurgling sounds. Then silence.

I lay there, unable to concentrate much on what the hell was going on. I looked down at my chest, and couldn't even tell where the wounds were due to the amount of blood. My face had miraculously been untouched, however, which allowed me my limited vision in the half-darkness at least. Though, seeing my own bloody demise so clearly before me, I wasn't sure I wanted that luxury anymore…

I couldn't do anything but breathe shallowly. It was sure to end soon, but I wished it would hurry the fuck up so I could stop being in so much pain. It hurt so bad…

I felt guilty when I realized that I was breaking my promise to mama. I guess I wouldn't be home for dinner after all.

I heard some shuffling from between the trees where the bear had disappeared to, and a woman appeared suddenly right over me. The girl was completely untouched by dirt or grime, which was uncommon for most people around here even at church. She was more beautiful than anyone I had ever seen. She looked like…

An angel.

I don't know why, but I felt like I needed to protect her somehow. She was clearly unaware of the current dangers that surrounded her, and I was still confused about what had just happened anyways. She needed to get out. There was no saving me, of course, because I was a long ways from home, plus I doubted there was any doctor that good around here anyways. But if I could do one useful thing right now, it would be to warn her.

"Run," I managed to choke out, though I have no idea how I did it. "There's…a bear…"

As her eyes found my wounds, she looked at me weird. Almost like…well, almost like the grizzly had not moments ago. Like she was going to suddenly claw me to death now and eat me. But her expression, when she looked into my eyes, changed. Her face seemed even more angelic now, with a softened look and sympathy in her eyes. I couldn't help but smile at her, though probably weakly in my state, of course.

She looked like she was going to cry.

But then, I saw her lean down to me, and miraculously I was lifted up. I thought I was flying or dead finally, but when we started moving through the trees, I realized she was carrying me.

She was carrying me?

We passed several blood-flecked trees now, and they grew steadily more red. That is, until I saw the huge carcass of the bear. It looked…thinner and more flat than it had moments ago. Not to mention its chest was mangled beyond belief.

I could vaguely register us picking up speed as my will to live waned. Fuck it, I had no idea what was going on, and the blood loss was probably making me hallucinate anyways. Maybe she was taking me to heaven, an angel sent to collect me…

"Hold on," she whispered to me, looking down into my eyes again. My broken leg dangled painfully and my body felt like it was on fire, but I couldn't help but feel calm. Her eyes were an amber color, like maple syrup or Ale. They were soft and comforting as she looked at me, and as we moved, her golden hair flowed behind her in long waves.

She was so beautiful.

"So yeah, that's it," I said, leaning back against the couch comfortably. "Three days of wracking pain later and I was like this."

"Yes," Edward said. He leaned back too, staring at the television.

"And Rosalie has been with me ever since," I said proudly. I loved my wife.

"I know," Ed said flatly, still not looking at me. The sun outside the window beside us shined brightly like it had the day my heart stopped beating. It caused his unnatural coppery hair to flare under the light. "I've seen it a thousand times, Em."

"Alright Seamus," I said, smirking.