I'm standing there, in the middle of the forest. I know it's close, it has to be. I close my eyes and inhale deeply. And there it is. My heart skips a beat as my eyes open wide and within a second I'm running. Fast. I am very fast.
My family and I like to have races. And I usually end up in second place. My father always wins. He is the fastest one in my entire family. My mother often gets third. She's fast, but not nearly as fast as my father and I.
I'm getting closer. I'm running so fast most people would be surprised I haven't hit anything yet. But I'm not. Running in these woods is almost second nature to me. And there it is. I see the flash of brown through the trees out of the corner of my eye. I stop abruptly. I can see now exactly what I've been hunting. It's a baby, a baby deer.
I decide to stop running and walk quietly towards my prey. I do not want the animal to know it's being hunted when it dies. I always imagines that if I die I would not want my mind to be focusing on that. I would want my final thoughts to be on something a lot more peaceful. Like perhaps how wonderful the flowers or how beautiful the water looks when it ripples across the rocks in the stream. Yes, I do believe that is a kinder way to die. Happy, not scared. Calm, not stressed. My Uncle Emmet always makes fun of me for caring about how the animal feels when I'm the one killing it. I suppose he is kind of right but my father says it shows how good of a person I am. I guess he is right too.
I made the decision to wait until the fawn walks over towards the rose bush. That would be nice for something so beautiful to be the final thing you see during your lifetime. So I stand there watching at a considerable distance. Far enough so the fawn won't notice me. But close enough that I could prance at a moment's notice. I enjoy this, hunting. I've gotten a lot better at it. And I also feel a lot better now that I feel the way I do about killing. It is about three minutes before the deer stops grazing and makes its way towards the rose bush. I change my stance, crouching so I am ready to attack. The fawn bends her head down to look at the bush. And then I jump.
I land right next to the fawn and my sharp teeth lightly graze her neck. I've had so much practice I know how to kill quickly so it is easier for my prey. I sink my teeth in and start sucking the animal's bloom. It tastes okay. deer is not one of my favorites by far but it works. Seeing as deer is one of the only animals we have up here and we just went hunting last weekend in the Rockies. That is my absolute favorite place to hunt. I love the variety of prey I can get up there compared to the small town of Forks, Washington where I live.
I slowly start to stand up, wiping the blood off my mouth with the sleeve of my long sleeve dark grey tee. I stare down at the fawn completely drained of life. I wish I didn't have to kill anything, but human food just doesn't satisfy me the way blood does. But I would rather kill animals than have to face the other option. I sigh and turn around only o see a russet brown wolf who is easily twice my size. I am not surprised by his appearance. I could smell him behind me.
"I win" I tell the wolf with a small smirk. He returns my smirk with a small growl and runs off, back into the woods. I walk towards the rose bush and pick one. I hold it in between my thumb and forefinger just to stare at it's beauty.
"Roses, huh?" a voice from behind me asks. I don't even turn around this time, I know who it is.
I sigh again, "Aren't they just beautiful, Jacob?"
"Yeah, they are I guess..." he says quietly, " do you wanna go again? I know I'll win this time!"
I laugh, "Yeah right, I always win!" I like hunting with Jacob. He turns everything into a game. "But no thanks, I'm not hungry anymore.
"fine. I'll just get something at the house." Jacob says. Jacob is my best friend. He always has been. He is basically a part of my family and I love him.
"MY house," I say "you don't live there remember?"
"I might as well, I'm there the time!" Jacob jokes.
I laugh. My relationship with Jacob is special, and I know why. The first time he saw me, when I was only a few hours old, Jacob imprinted on me. That basically means we can't stand to be away from each other. According to Quileute legend, werewolves, like my Jacob, and vampires, like my family and I, are supposed to hate each other. A werewolves sole purpose is to kill vampires and protect their tribe. But, because Jacob imprinted on me, his fellow werewolves can't hurt me. My family and I are even friends with some of the Quileute werewolves.
"Wanna race?" Jacob asks me.
I nod, "One...two...three...GO!". And within a second Jacob phases back into the giant wolf. And I'm running again.