Nineteen year old Christopher Wilson stepped off of the bus at the Grey Hound station just outside of Forks proper. Chris had been away from his home since he graduated Forks high school two years ago, and was home now for a medical discharge because of an injury he had sustained while over in Iraq. Of course, seeing what Chris had seen while he was there didn't help things either. He hefted his duffle bag onto his shoulder and sighed. He began his trek to the nearest hotel as the rain began to pour. If one were to look closely enough, you could see the slight limp in Chris's step. Chris had dark brown hair, equally dark brown eyes, and an insignificant muscular build. He wore an old camoflauge cold weather jacket with blue jeans, a white t-shirt, and black combat boots. As he walked the darkening road, Chris became suddenly aware that someone was watching him. Glancing over his shoulder, Chris saw no one. Looking down the road, Chris saw a truck broke down on the side of the road. There was a distraught young woman beating on the steering wheel in the driver's seat.
"Um, excuse me, miss? Is there anything I can help you with?" Chris asked aloud as he neared the truck.
The girl looked up suddenly and out the window, "My truck broke down on the way back from Seattle. Can you look and see what the problem is? I'm not a mechanical person at all."
"No problem, though I don't know how much help I'll be either." Chris chuckled as he popped the hood of the old truck. Steam poured out and Chris stumbled backwards.
"Found your problem. It looks like your engine overheated. We'll have to walk to town and call a mechanic." Chris said, his feeling getting worse as each moment passed. Strangely, he felt that it wasn't him being watched, but the girl.
"What's your name? I'm Chris." Chris said, looking around.
"I'm Bella. What are you looking for?" The girl asked uncomfortably.
"Were you...being followed?" Chris asked.
"Not that I'm aware of..." Bella trailed off, looking at Chris in a new light.
"Huh? Oh, heavens no, Bella, I'm not like that. It's just that, I've got a really bad feeling about this situation." Chris said.
"Isabella....finally, I have you right where I want you." A woman's voice purred.
"On no, it's Victoria..." Bella whispered, her eyes going wide. Chris turned around and there was a beautiful woman standing before him, well, beautiful until she knocked the wind out of Chris as she sent him flying ten yards into a tree. Victoria advance on the now helpless Bella, who shrunk back against her truck.
"Oh, I have waited so long for this." Victoria purred. She clamped onto Bella's arms like clamps and opened her mouth wide enough for Chris to see fangs. Chris reached inside his coat and pulled out an M1911 .45 Auto handgun and aimed at Victoria. Pulling the trigger in rapid succession, Chris stood and advanced towards Bella and Victoria. Victoria's body jerked with each hit as she released Bella and dropped to the ground, then rolled into the ditch.
"Are you alright?" Chris weezed, his chest burning, stepping inbetween Bella and Victoria's prone form in the ditch.
"We should get out of here. Come on, town isn't that far away!" Bella shouted as howls echoed up over the tree tops. Chris staggered after Bella as she pulled him in the direction of town. Chris looked back and saw Victoria stand up slowly, but was tackled by multiple dark shapes that shot out of the forest.
"Dear God! What are those things?!" Chris yelled as loud as his burning chest would allow. He could already tell that his stitches had opened up.
"I'll explain later, we just have to get away!" Bella shouted as she ran. She stumbled once, but pressed on until they reached Forks's outskirts. Bella led him to her house where there was a squad car in the driveway.
"Dad, I'm back!" Bella shouted.
"Where were you? What happened?" Charlie asked as he stormed around the corner and stopped short when he saw Bella bent over, trying to catch her breath, and Chris bleeding on the porch.
"We...ugh...we ran across those...whew...those wolves in the woods. The truck overheated, so we ran back. Chris scared them off, didn't you, Chris-oh god! You're bleeding!" Bella said, pulling off her jacket and pressing it to Chris's stomach. He was bleeding from other places, but his stomach was the worst.
"What happened? I didn't see you get hurt like this!" Bella said frantically.
"Bella. Bella! Call 911, I'll take care of Chris. Alright, Chris, you know to tell me if you are getting tired, right?" Charlie said calmly as he helped Chris take off his jacket.
"I've been through worse, sir. The stiches just opened up, that's all." Chris said, removing his blood soaked t-shirt.
"Where did you live that you'd get hurt like this?" Charlie asked incredulously.
"I served a tour in Iraq with the Air Force Security Forces. I joined two years ago after graduating from Forks High. They gave me a medical discharge, due to the extent of my injuries, that's why I'm home early." Chris said, holding a rag to where there were stitches in his upper right arm. The ambulance arrived not too long after that and carted him off to the hospital, where the doctor restitched his wounds and told him to lay off the physical activity. Charlie drove Chris back to Bella's house where Bella was talking with a native american teen.
"Is Chris alright?" Bella asked nervously.
"Yeah, he just tore some stitches. Turns out, he was already hurt and that run didn't do him any good. The doctor told him to lay off the physical activity." Charlie said.
"He was already hurt? What were you doing before we met?" Bella asked.
"I was a soldier. I got a medical discharge, and now I'm here." Chris muttered.
"What's wrong?" Bella asked. The teen behind her was listening intently.
"When I was a soldier, I was significant. People cared what my opinion was, and people cared about my well being. Since I've been discharged, not a single person has helped me out, until you guys, because no one gives a crap about wounded soldiers. Can't use 'em anymore, so just throw 'em away." Chris muttered darkly.
"That may be true outside of Forks, and I am sorry for that, but here, we respect the veterans." Charlie said sadly.
"I'm Jacob Black....where did you fight, if you don't mind my asking?" The teen asked.
"Over in Iraq. We were on patrol, searching for a mortar position when we ran into an ambush. Most of us were green, just out of tech training, so a lot of us got hurt. Had to call in two more squads to bail us out. That time, I came out with only a few scratches. It was when the terrorists infiltrated the base, that was when I really got hurt. You see, I wasn't wearing my protective gear when they came in because I was sleeping. All I remember before the hospital was a door slamming open and guns going off. Next thing I remember, I was wrapped up in bandages in aa hospital bed. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to get some rest." Chris said, sighing as he slumped onto the couch.