A monkey hooted overhead as Edward made his way through the dense undergrowth
A monkey hooted overhead as Edward made his way through the dense undergrowth. To his ears, the monkey sounded almost mocking as it jumped from tree-to-tree. But what did he; Edward Cullen care? He was on a mission to save his love, not worry about the imagined ravings of a monkey.
With slow, deliberate steps, he used his thick mountain boots to crush the plants and bushes in his path. It was a lot harder than it seemed, and Edward was a city boy at that. If it were possible, he would have had multiple bruises, cuts, blisters, and a broken toe. But again, he was Edward Cullen! He could not be defeated by the simplicity of falling into a lake and having his genuine Armani suit ruined and having to go to a "Pwn Shop" and exchange parts of it for beige shorts, mountain boots and a dark blue shirt.
No way, no way, he thought reassuringly, it's just a jungle for goodness sake. I'll get out of here and find Victoria sure enough. I've got to, in any case. Bella's life hangs in the balance. I've got to find and kill Victoria. I've just got to make sure Bella will be safe from her.
With new resolve, Edward pushed on into the jungle, his senses heightening. Victoria's trail was still here, and like the 'master tracker' he was, he kept to it. He ran his hands along the dew-covered vines and ferns, feeling for any trace of disturbance a hunted vampire might have made.
But the trail, Edward thought to himself, analyzing, was becoming different. He had noticed it a few miles after he had left Bogotá. The trail was becoming more unpredictable, almost a going around in circles type of thing. Victoria was smart, that he couldn't deny, but this new escape plan of hers wasn't making much sense. Come close, then run, come close, then run. That had always been her style, but she had never strayed far from Forks. But now she was on an entirely different continent. What on earth could she be doing all the way in Brazil?
Was she gaining reinforcements? Edward thought suddenly, catching his breath. Sure it was just Victoria and James and Laurent that had come to Forks, but maybe they had connections to other vampire clans. Like Carlisle with Tanya and the others, maybe Victoria had vampire friends down here.
His thoughts were interrupted by a mango being thrown in his face.
The monkey – that was still following him and hooting loudly – was now shaking tree branches and calling out. Challenging him.
The mango was slightly rotten, so of course it exploded and covered him in juice as soon as it made contact.
Edward stood still for a moment, his body naturally freezing in shock. Slowly, he reached his hand up and pulled the mango skin from his face, leaving trails of fruit behind. Trying to calm his breathing, he threw the mango skin to the ground. Blinking slowly and taking deep breaths, he finally managed to look down at himself and see the damage.
His shirt was completely splattered in mango juice and his hair was filled with pieces of the fruit. The juices on his face were also dripping onto his shirt, staining it.
The monkey was still howling and hooting from its safe position up in the canopy. Edward slowly looked up into the trees and glared at the monkey with his golden eyes.
"You ass," he hissed darkly.
Within moments, Edward was up the tree and tearing through the branches, trying to strangle the monkey.
X.X.X.X
Before Edward stepped into the clearing, he peered through the bushes at the scene. It was a native village of some sort. There were wooden and straw huts built on raised platforms. From what he could sense, there were people inside them, but not many, and they were all sleeping.
Directly in front of him, there was a large fire pit with tree logs placed in a wide circle around it. The huts were positioned in a semi-circle around the pit. Having pulled up a chair, an old woman was sitting right next to the fire, a bowl of herbs in her hands. She looked ancient, her body being rail-thin and her bones disturbingly apparent. Her skin was wrinkly and dry and her face was sunken in.
Edward threw the monkey carcass he held in his left hand to the ground before stepping out into the field. The cool, crisp air of 9 AM hit his face and for a moment he relaxed. Casually, he wiped a spatter of blood off his lips and jogged over to the fire pit.
This didn't look as cool as he'd intended since he was wearing the bulkiest mountain shoes ever. But he made due.
As he approached, the old woman looked up at him and her details became clearer. She was even skinnier and more sickly-looking close up. She was wearing a colorful assortment of garments, the gold and deep purples sparkling in the rising sun. She had on a golden headdress with rubies encrusted upon it.
Her bone thin hands grabbed a fist full of herbs and threw them into the dying fire as she watched him. Seeing no chair, Edward settled down on his haunches next to the woman.
"Say what 'cher need?" the woman asked suddenly, her voice coated in a thick accent
"Are you the Headwoman of this village?" Edward asked, completely serious.
"Heedwomon? HAR!" she suddenly began to cackle loudly. "I wish, ya 'er? Naw, mey boy, Oi be tha medicine womon." She said medicine like Med-ee-s-IGN."
Edward, with his unnatural amount of patience and politeness, simply nodded. "So, the medicine woman it is. Well, ma'am, I've a question to ask of you," Edward looked deeply in the fire, which had about four embers in it.
The woman reached into the thick layers of her silks and pulled out a pipe. Unlit, she put the long piece of wood in her mouth and began to chew on the end. "Oi, so what'cha wont?" she asked impatiently, giving him the evil-eye.
"I'm searching for a woman, you see—"
"No mannas! I don't evin know yer name, son."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Edward leaned back and extended his hand to the woman, "my name's Edward."
The medicine woman grumbled and glared at his hand.
"Well, then," Edward, slightly offended, pulled his hand back.
"Moi name be Lamya," the woman grumbled, unhappy at something.
"A pleasant name,"
"Like yer moma, boy. Noi den, get back ta yer story,"
Ignoring the ill-placed comment about his mother, Edward pressed on. "I'm searching for a woman named Victoria."
"Mmhmm. So yer here ta find yerself a laydee?" The woman asked suspiciously, biting harder on the pipe.
"Not here of course, but I was wondering if a woman or anyone has come by here.
"HARHARHAR, I WISH, YA 'HER?" the woman suddenly laughed. "ain't nuthin 'ere but ova-eaga boys and silly girls. But still, "the woman suddenly spit something black into the fire," ain't any laydee noimed VicTORia come round 'ere."
"Are you sure?" Edward began to explain Victoria in fine detail.
"ARARAR, sounds loik a foine one dere! Ya sure she ain't gone off and left ya, eh?" Lamya threw more herbs into the fire.
"She was never with me. The thing is," Edward looked into the fire, his expression grim, "she's dangerous, and a threat to everyone I know. The fact of the matter is that I have to find her. I have to put a stop to her."
Lamya suddenly reached out and slapped Edward on his back and cackled. Since he half wasn't paying attention and half didn't care, Edward nearly fell into the fire pit. He would have fallen, too, if he hadn't thrown his hands out to his side and flailed his arms in a windmill motion for a good thirty seconds.
"I still 'on't know no womon named VicTOORee that come round 'ere. Foin name dere, really."
Edward steadied himself. "I see. Is there another village nearby?"
Lamya suddenly grabbed the end of her pipe and bit down on the end in her mouth. She suddenly snapped the wooden pipe in half, splinters flying up into the air. She angrily threw the piece she held in her hand to the ground and spit the other piece out. Lamya stood up quickly and glared down at Edward with her rage-filled black eyes.
"MOI VILLAGE AIN'T GOO' ENOUGH FOR YA?" she screamed, twisting her mouth up into a snarl.
Edward stared at her, wide-eyed and astonished. "Of course it is, why would you—"
"I ANSA YA QUESTIONS, OND YOU 'AVE DA NERVE TA GA TA SOME ODA VILLAGE? JUS' CUZ I DUN'T 'AVE YA ANSAS?"
"No, no, you misunderstand," Edward said, standing up, "I just figured that Victoria might have gone through some other vill—"
Lamya suddenly threw her basket at his face.
With his cat-like reflexes, Edward dodged the basket by dramatically turning to the side. Faintly, he wondered why he couldn't have done the same with the mango.
"I autta slap joo," the woman whispered, disgusted, before turning and walking off.
Edward didn't even try to make sense of what had happened.