A/N: You know one thing that's always annoyed me about Twilight and vampire stories in general? Vampires shouldn't be able to smell blood. In order to be able to smell something there should be trace particles of it in the air, and unless somebody's cut themselves blood particles aren't usually drifting around in the air in sufficient quantity to be smelled from a distance. Can a person's skin have a distinct smell that vampires can pick up on? Well, that's a different matter, but since practically all vampire mythology has vampires as being able to smell blood I'm going to stick with that, even though I know it's inaccurate. It's not like vampires are real anyway, so I don't see that it hurts.
Chapter Two – Cat and Mouse
Leaves rustled as the three figures tore through the forest, whipping up turbulent streams of air in their wake and disturbing the peaceful tranquillity of their surroundings. Their feet barely touched the ground, skimming lightly over the leaves and debris that had settled there as they rushed on at an almost incomprehensible speed. Whatever it was they were hunting would barely have chance to see them coming.
Renesmee felt a surge of elation as she flitted through the woodland, neither leading nor being led by the others, simply caught up in the thrill of the hunt. All the troubles that had been preying on her mind – missing Jacob, how she was supposed to settle into a new life here – were fading into insignificance as she turned all her focus onto tracking down this next meal.
The scent of blood filled her nostrils, rich and metallic, with the distinctive underlying smell of pheromones that identified the species – deer, specifically hart, in its prime and full of vitality. It was on the move, running quickly, but the vampires would soon catch up. The smell promised that the meal would be rich and nourishing, and Renesmee was eager to taste it. She didn't need to feed on blood in order to survive, but ordinary food couldn't compare to the complex, richly layered flavours and nutrients offered by the mixture of iron and plasma.
They sped on further, weaving effortlessly in between the conifers in the direction of their prey. They were closing in; Renesmee could sense it. The smell of blood was growing stronger, becoming thicker and more intense, and then…
Unexpectedly, Emmett slowed to a standstill. Taken by surprise, but with more than adequate reflexes to react in time, the other two followed suit and looked at him in confusion, wondering what had prompted him to stop. Emmett cast his gaze around the forest with an expression of deep distaste etched onto his face, seeming confused.
Rosalie scowled at him, irritated that they'd been forced to stop. "Emmett, what are you doing?"
His perplexed frown deepened. "Don't you smell that?"
"Smell what?" Rosalie said with a frustrated glare, but just as the words left her lips she picked up on the scent Emmett was referring to. It had a strong, alkaline smell, like concentrated bleach or kitchen cleaner, but mixed in with that was the scent of haemoglobin and sugar. It smelt disgusting – to vampires, it must be the equivalent of what a rotten piece of meat was like to humans.
The smell was only faint at first, but as the three vampires stood trying to figure out what it was its intensity was increasing. Rosalie could feel it building up on her tongue and she wanted to spit to get the vile taste out of her mouth. "Emmett, what is it?" she snapped, as if expecting him to know the answer.
"I don't know…" he replied, sounding a little apprehensive.
"Where is it?" Renesmee added, noting she was finding it almost impossible to pin down where the stench was coming from.
The three of them turned in circles for a moment as they tried to work out what was going on. It was as if the smell itself was encircling them, vile and rotten like curdled blood shot through with battery acid, and for the first time since becoming vampires Emmett and Rosalie were fighting the urge to be sick.
"Do you think there's a chemical plant or something…?" Renesmee was beginning to suggest, but she didn't have chance to finish the sentence before there came a sudden and intense bombardment of sound cutting through the air around them.
Thunderous repeating bangs – like scores of miniature explosions in rapid succession – pummelled their ears, and a split second later the three of them realised it was machine gunfire. Quickly figuring out which direction the shots were coming from, both Rose and Renesmee darted for cover behind the trees, but Emmett, confident that his vampire skin wouldn't take much damage, stayed put as he tried to make out the source.
He peered through the trees, his razor sharp vision honing in on the shapes in front of him, but before he had chance to identify anything he felt the force of several bullets slam into his upper body. At first he ignored them, expecting the shock to wear off in a matter of seconds, but then suddenly an intense pain flared up at the points of impact. It burned into his skin and Emmett felt his muscles tense up in shock. A moment later he realised he was on fire.
Stunned and perplexed, he froze on the spot, unable to move. Around him he could see a faint orange glow as the trees seemed to catch fire too and he heard Rosalie's voice scream his name.
"Emmett!" Rose darted out from her cover to go to her husband's aid, and just as she did so the hail of bullets stopped. Confused and scared, her head whipped round to try and see what was going on, and she just had chance to register a human shaped silhouette vanish behind a tree trunk before a sharp whistle pierced the air.
Rosalie didn't realise the whistle came from a rocket launcher unleashing its load before it was too late.
A/N: Sorry it was short, but there's little taste of the action to come. Like I said, this is probably going to be a very unorthodox Twilight fic in that it's very light on the romance and heavy on the action. Please let me know what you think! All reviews are appreciated, good, bad or whatever.