AnnaBella's POV
I looked back once before stepping into the surrounding forest in Fork s ,Washington.
The old legends had it that once you went too deep into the forest there was no return because of vampires that lived there .
"One look into their red eyes" , my uncle Charlie said , curling his hands into claws and shaking and scowling like a demon." and you ll never return, you will be at their beck and call!" I rolled my eyes . "Oh my God !" , I screamed, feigning horror at the story ,grabbing my chest . Laurie and Gina , my friends from school screamed like banshees and would hardly go to sleep that night . That was when I was twelve and I had heard the story so many times by then , I knew it wasn t true .
Still, I felt the hairs on my neck raise a little as I trudged deeper into the woods and away from Charlie's . Now at seventeen , I had come to visit him for the summer. My dad , his brother. Mason Swan decided to let me stay for the summer . I hated living in Phoenix, Arizona . It was always sweltering hot with hardly a cool breeze to be found . After much pleading , he relented . He had never mentioned the stories .
Bella Swan- now Bella Black, my namesake and aunt, lived on the reservation in La Push with her Indian husband Jacob Black. I was staying in her old room for the duration. Once when Bella was seventeen , Charlie said she went missing in the forest . She was returned late one night by Sam Uley ,one of the young Indian boys from the Reservation ." She wasn t the same person for a long time" , Charlie told me . Finally she moved on with Jacob, her childhood friend who had been there for her through the ordeal.
He never got any answers from Bella except that her boyfriend had broken up with her leaving her devastated . He had left it at that .
The green canopy overhead barely let the sun peek through making the surrounding area darker than it really was . Fear skittered across my heart . I hate the way scary stories seem to come to life in situations like this. The inclines were steep here , much steeper than I expected . I stopped , pulled a bottle of water out of my backpack and started to drink .
A savage , growling scream pierced the air , almost causing me to choke . As the scream died out , the high pitched wail of a wounded animal sounded for a fraction of a second and then silence . I dropped the water bottle on the ground and ran .
Oh God , what if the stories were true ! Stumbling aimlessly through the green maze , I slipped and skidded down the mountain on slick pine needles . Finally finding my feet again , I recognized some of the fallen trees and foliage I had passed on my way up . I was close to the house now . I stopped to gather some oxygen into my burning lungs . It was only then I realized, in my panic , I had dropped my bag . Shit !
Edward s POV
Carlisle and I entered the forest , finding a herd of elk .We silently settled , Carlisle on one tree branch and I on the other, on opposite sides of the herd . They shifted and mewled a little, sensing the danger . Carlisle nodded and we both dove at once into the middle of them. Carlisle jumped on the back of a buck ,causing the animal to scream with a terror that rang throughout the forest , angled his head around to the underside of the creature s neck and sunk his teeth deep into the pulsing jugular. I did the same with my doe . The haunting silence followed .
We both sat back against tree trunks facing each other and letting our stomachs settle. Suddenly, out of nowhere , I smelled the unmistakable scent of human blood . I jumped to my feet letting my senses feel through the air like tentacles . The scent smelled of freesia and vanilla . That small whiff of ambrosia triggered a memory within me .In another time and place , though the smell made it feel like it was only yesterday , I remembered Bella .
Carlisle smelled it too.
In a flash he was beside me holding onto my shoulders ." Edward , you mustn 't." My heart still ached for the girl I left behind . I often wondered how her life had gone since I left, besides marrying Jacob. Since then , even though I remained in the body of a seventeen year old boy , I had somehow matured ." That aroma , Carlisle" , I spun facing him ," It smells like Bella . It may be Bella" , I pleaded. My body shook with the overpowering need to run down the mountain .
Carlisle shook his head . "Edward , it isn t Bella , Jacob would never let her come this far alone . If it was her , you would smell Jacob s werewolf stench along with hers." My heart sank knowing he was right ." Let s go home son" , he said ,tenderness lacing his voice . With that I sighed heavily as we blurred into the maze of forest toward home .
I paced in my room . I was soon going to wear a hole in the gold carpet that covered my floor . I could have cared less , that smell had me captivated as it had all those years ago . I wanted to keep mulling it over in my mind . My throat burned and my heart ached at the memory . I sat down on the bed holding my head in my hands in frustration . In the distance I could hear the animated voice of Alice . Jasper was with her . His tone was one of confusion mingled with curiosity . I let my hearing wander to the tree line ." Do you know who it may belong to Alice?" Jasper questioned." Have you seen anything ?" " No" , Alice replied , "Nothing Jazz." They reached the top step of the front porch opening the door . My head felt like it was going to explode when that scent hit my nostrils.
AnnaBella s POV
I couldn t tell Charlie what happened today . He would be upset and my bag was lying on the ground somewhere in the forest of Forks,Washington . It had a change of clothes in it , my digital camera which was a prized possession , an I pod and my diary . God forbid if someone found my diary and read it ! There was nothing incriminating in it , but it was own personal thoughts and well, it was personal . This made me antsy . A soon as daylight came and Charlie headed to work , I would gather my courage and go find my bag . I had to.
The cruiser eased into the front drive . Moments later Charlie opened the door , hung his gun belt on the wooden rack by the door and flopped down on the couch clicking the TV to the sports channel . I sat in the opposite chair munching a piece of pepperoni pizza a crowd cheered, sounding like a million watts of static . "So , how was your day kid?" , Charlie asked , lifting the footrest on the couch ." Um , ok , I guess" , I answered . "What'd you do all day ?" I was at a loss . Um, I ate breakfast and went into the forbidden woods where I heard screaming and gnashing of teeth ? Sure I could tell him that and get sent back to Phoenix tomorrow morning on the first flight out . I decided on the watered down version." I went into the woods today for a short hike ." His eyes popped wide . "You did what!" , he yelled , slightly raising from his seat. "Calm down" , I frowned, "I only went a few feet to see what some of the greenery looked like around here."
He grunted . "That s what Bella did too and then they found her about a mile and a half in the woods curled into a ball. Don t go in there AnnaBella . I haven t felt right about those woods since then . I don' t want you getting hurt . Besides even if you went for miles and all went well , Mason would have my hide if he found out . I ll take you to the library and get you a card Saturday if you want . The library would be much safer than the forest" . I rolled my eyes but only said," Ok" . I didn t want to blow my cover . I had to have my bag back . I trudged upstairs to get ready for bed.
"Goodnight Charlie" , I yelled from the top of the stairs a few minutes later .
He walked around the corner from the kitchen where he had been cooking himself dinner : Billy Black' s famous fish fry recipe . I could smell the fishy odor from here . "Goodnight kid", he mumbled through a mouthful of fish.
I sat in Bella 's room wondering what it was that I had heard . Were the things Charlie talked about real? No, I decided , they were just like any other fairytale that was told in books . There were no such things as vampires or the tooth fairy or boogey men . I walked over to the window and looked out into the moonlit sky . A howl roared in the distance . I started at the sound , pulled the curtains tightly closed after making sure the window was locked and jumped into bed . I left the bedside lamp on the rest of the night.
Edward s POV
I raced down the stairs . Jasper held a yellow book bag in his hand . Bella had a yellow book bag in high school. My mouth watered with venom that pooled in my mouth . That scent on that bag , her bag. "Where did you get this?" , I screamed at Jasper as I yanked the bag from his hands. Jasper looked taken aback . "Me and Alice", we found it in the woods about twenty miles south of here. Carlisle and Esme flashed into the room . "What 's all this yelling about ?" , Esme walked to me . "Edward , what s wrong?" , Carlisle' s tone was serious .
"It was her Carlisle !" , I yelled ,shaking the bag in their direction .
" Bella?" Alice countered . "That s not Bella' s Edward" , she said sniffing toward the bag . "It has her scent on it , but there' s more of a vanilla flavor to it ."
" Edward", Jasper said with finality ," it s not Bella 's , we found a diary ,a digital camera and a change of clothes. The scent on them is definitely not Bella 's".
"And" , Alice interjected , "Bella never kept a diary".
Esme shook her head ," Who' s could it be then?"
Carlisle held out his hands. "Everyone needs to calm down . Let s examine the contents of the bag" , he shrugged , "then maybe we can determine who it belongs to . Whoever dropped it must have been in a hurry . It wouldn t have just been left ,not with things like that in it ."
Light dawned in my perplexed mind .
"Carlisle , remember that scent in the woods earlier today? . That has to be it . "This bag belongs to whoever was out there ".
You' re probably right Edward." , Carlisle said as he started toward the large mohogany table in the dining room . Everyone followed.