Chapter 6
After Bella arrives she leads Edward and the rest of the guests out into the mist and around the back of the hotel. Here the grass is unkempt, and reaches almost to Edward's waist. He can hear the guests talking from his spot behind Rosalie and Royce at the back of the small group. Being silent and observant, he notices the slight commotion from the family of three in the middle of the group. The father grabs hold of his wife, and Edward watches her try to hide the pain of his grip. Then his son is there, whispering violently and attempting to wrench his father's grip from his tiny mother's arm. The father stalks forward, leaving the mother to kiss her son's forehead and discretely wipe the tears collecting in her eyes.
Edward averts his gaze.
Behind the hotel the grass eventually gives way to sand, and an undeveloped stretch of beach and grey sea open up before them. There is only the sound of the waves against the shore and the occasional caw of a gull to break the gathering silence; until Bella speaks.
"Gather round!" she calls. "Let me tell you a little about this place I call home. Many years ago this was a prosperous town, a beautiful seaside resort. But then women and children began to vanish into the sea, never to be seen again. Their spirits, however, were restless and they never truly left this place. They drove out the occupants of the town, for it to be left to wrack and ruin. Their ghosts still haunt this place, vengeful and restless, so please, don't go into the water.
"I'll leave you now to explore, lunch shall be a picnic in a few hours, and then I'll take you on a little tour. Get to know one another." She smiles brightly before taking her leave of the guests.
Left to their own devices the rabble of guests splits, with Rosalie and Royce heading south along the beach towards far off cliffs, and the mother and son head to the rock pools while the father tries to dial out on his phone. A couple made up of a blonde haired woman and her dark haired companion head with Emmett towards the northern side of the beach. Leaving Edward with a man and a woman, stood at a rather awkward distance apart.
Figuring there's no need to be standing in silence, he walks up to them to introduce himself. He learns that the man is named Carlisle, and he was the one who found James and Victoria that morning, while the woman is Esme, who came at Victoria's insistence.
"Why are you still here?" Edward asks, "Why haven't you gone with them?"
"We were going to," Carlisle insists, "but the landlady pressed that the police didn't need us and that their parents were informed. There was nothing we could have done."
Edward nods, thought he doesn't fully understand. Had something happened to his friends he wouldn't hesitate to stay with them. He would want to know why they had died.
"I wanted to leave," Esme breaks in. Her brown eyes are wide behind thick black framed glasses. "But I couldn't call a taxi, and Carl convinced me to stay."
From the way her eyes light when she looks at Carlisle, Edward imagines that it didn't take a lot of convincing.
Smiling politely, Edward leaves the pair and heads towards the mother and son by the rock pools. Thankfully the father is nowhere to be found.
The small dark haired woman jumps as Edward greets them, and the boy, gangly in his adolescence, stands to defend her. Raising his hands in peace Edward keeps his distance from the boy's mother. It's obvious that he's very protective of her.
"Hello," he begins, "I'm Edward."
The petite woman smiles as she places a small hand upon her son's shoulder. "Alice," she replies, smiling, "and this is Peter."
"It's nice to meet you," Edward says, attempting to catch the boy's eyes. "I just thought I'd come and introduce myself."
Peter ignores him and takes his mother's hand, leading her away from the strange man.
"So, how did you end up here?" Edward asks, following the pair as they scour the rock pools.
"An invite just popped through the door. Jasper, my husband, said it must have been one of the competitions I entered. I couldn't remember though." Alice smiles brightly as she watches her son, before turning again to Edward. "What about you?"
"My sister and her husband brought me."
"Are you enjoying yourself?"
Edward shrugs. "It's not so bad, though the deaths have me worried. Frankly, I think it's all a little unorganised."
"Yes, just leaving us to wander along the beach. Though I suppose it's only the first day, and with everything that's been going on."
"That is true, so why not just cancel it? What—" Edward stops abruptly and Alice's eyes widen as a hand clamps itself upon his shoulder. He is turned and comes face-to-face with Jasper, the moustachioed husband he had seen grabbing Alice earlier.
"What do you think you're doing?" he snarls, spittle flying in his rage.
Edward steps back. He's never been able to deal with confrontation, and attempts to soothe his racing heart. He won't let this brute know he has him scared.
"We were just talking," Alice speaks before Edward can formulate a response. She clutches on to her husband's arm but is batted away like an errant fly.
Edward backs away hands raised, yet Jasper pursues him. He has never been in a fight, except with his sister when they were younger. The stones are slippery under his feet, and he knows that it's only a matter of time before the maniacal Jasper catches up to him.
Yet then there is Bella, standing between the two men. Neither had seen her approach, it is as though she has materialised out of the mist itself.
"What's going on?" she asks. Her voice is like ice, colder than the air around them.
Jasper doesn't look afraid of her, and for the first time neither is Edward.
"He was talking to my wife," Jasper spits, disbelief hanging on his every word. Edward wonders what it must be like inside his mind, to be so paranoid and controlling.
"I see, and is she allowed to speak to no one but you?"
It appears that Jasper has no answer as he silent fumes to himself. He seems to be weighing something up in his mind, and when he reaches to push Bella out of the way, Edward realises that Jasper isn't going to give up on his pursuit.
However, Bella's hand comes down upon Jasper's wrist as his hand wraps around her arm. There is no force in her grip and her gaze is unwavering, but Jasper drops to his knees seething in agony. Alice moves as though to go to his side, but is stopped by Peter.
Blowing wind whipped hair from her face; Bella leans in to speak in Jasper's ear. Her voice is quiet, deadly and meant only for his ears.
"Used to being a big man, beating up little women. Look at you now, brought to your knees. I'd watch yourself; humans can only take so much pain before they snap." She squeezes her grip until he shouts out in pain. Then he is released.
After stumbling to his feet, he stalks off down the beach, leaving his family to follow clumsily behind him. Peter looks to Bella as he passes, one of curiosity and awe, Bella smiles once the boy has gone, aware of the seed she has planted.
"Thank you," Edward says, slightly embarrassed that such a tiny woman was able to defend both her and him, when he could do nothing but retreat.
"Think nothing of it; I can't stand men like that."
Her gaze is distant, as though looking backwards into her memories, and for the first time Edward thinks she looks just like any other beautiful woman. Then her neck twitches, her large eyes blink and she turns a tooth filled smile his way, and the frightful shivers are back up Edward's spine.
"Come on," Bella says, smiling brightly, "lunch is ready."
Bella leads the way over to a group of dishevelled wooden picnic tables and Edward finally notices what she is wearing. She is adorned in a knee length black, lace dress, with long sleeves and bare legs. She looks young, and Edward realises that he can't put a finger on her age. At times she is like a child, at others strangely ageless.
From a box on the table she pulls polystyrene boxes and passes one to each guest. Within are butter and cheese smothered jacket potatoes, everyone digs in with gusto, having not realised how hungry they were.
"Nice walk?" Edward asks as he sidles up to his sister and Royce.
Royce grunts in response before sending a deathly look in Emmett's direction. Edward's eyebrows rise in question to his sister, but she only shakes her head. He can now see that her blue eyes are bloodshot, her face splotchy and red from her tears. He's never been able to deal with his sister crying, it causes a horrible ache to form in his gut, but no matter how much he wants to comfort her, he knows she wouldn't allow it.
No one is speaking as they eat, though half the guests aren't even doing that. Bella looks around the group; smiling as they discomfort is almost palpable in the air around them. She knows that this group will give her the best weekend yet. As her eyes pass across everyone, she sees a man and a woman, she doesn't remember their names but she knows they arrived separate. The man whispers something in the woman's ear, causing her to giggle quietly. Bella decides that they'll be next.
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