Columbus, Ohio was a revelation to me. I had never before seen such a large city, or so many cars. Each time we had moved, Carlisle had always found us a home near the wilderness. He done this so we would be close to plenty of game, but the isolation also helped us be able to relax when we were home; one tended to receive less uninvited guests when he was far enough away from town.
It had taken me four days to reach the city. I had never before traveled on my own, and it hadn't occurred to me to even look at a highway map. I had lost my way several times and had grudgingly stopped to hunt once, settling for the greasy blood of a black bear. I could barely choke it down, knowing I would soon taste something sweeter, but I was determined that my first kill would be the man responsible for ruining Esme's human life.
I walked now through the streets of Columbus in the grey light of dawn. I looked up at the sky, smiling at the endless stretch of storm clouds. At least I would be free today to begin my search. Now that I was finally acting on my instincts, I found my self-control returning and I was able to walk near the people who were just coming out to begin their work day; they weren't my prey. In fact, their blood hardly tempted me at all. I didn't understand it, but I was grateful.
But how was I going to find Charles? The only information I had about his location was the name of this city. There were only a few times when Esme had thought about Charles in my presence. The first time was only hours after she had awoken. Esme had been frantic with thirst, and we took her hunting immediately. After a while, she had finally calmed down and the three of us were walking back toward the house. Carlisle felt it best that I should be up front with her about my ability, and after he had finished explaining it, Esme turned to me in wonder.
"You mean you can hear anything I'm thinking? All the time?"
"As long as I'm within about a three-mile radius, yes. But I will do my best to respect your privacy; everyone has thoughts they wish to keep to themselves, after all." I hadn't intended to say it quite that way, and of course Esme wasn't skilled at controlling her thoughts like Carlisle was. Her mind was immediately filled with the dark memories of her human husband. Images flashed in sequence in my mind, and I stopped walking, frozen to the spot in anger as I realized what I was seeing. I watched Charles yelling at her on their wedding night, telling her how stupid she was; the images quickly progressed to show a slightly older Charles, now back from the Great War, his face blurred with drunkenness as he beat her.
Esme spun around, realizing what I had seen, her face haunted. Edward, please, don't say anything. Please, I just want to forget about him. I nodded, forcing my hands to unclench and my feet to continue walking. Carlisle hadn't noticed our exchange.
In later months, as Esme and Carlisle married and drew closer, she finally told him everything. He was livid, and for a moment, I thought my peaceable father was actually going to go out and kill Charles himself. But Esme begged him not to intervene; she repeated again her desire to simply forget about him. Carlisle agreed, but he immediately began the process of moving us to another state; that was how we had ended up in Montana. After that time, it was rare for me to catch a glimpse of Charles in Esme's thoughts. She had been fortunate to lose many of those memories during her transformation, and her new life with Carlisle brought her so much joy that Charles Evenson had never come up in conversation again. Out of respect for Esme, neither Carlisle nor I ever investigated what had become of her former husband.
But now, I regretted having obeyed Esme's wishes. I truly had no idea if Charles was still in Columbus, or even still alive at all. I spent the next ten hours wandering the busiest streets of the city, listening to the minds around me in the hope of overhearing his name. Finally it occurred to me to visit the post office. I decided to pose as Sydney Evenson, a distant relative of Charles', looking him up after years of estrangement. As I searched for the post office, I amused myself by creating a whole back story to go with the name I had created. I idly wondered if this was how other "normal vampires" conducted their hunts; it was certainly a change of pace from stalking sleepy herds of elk.
It was already dark by the time I reached the post office, and there was a "closed" sign hanging over the thick glass window in the door. I slammed my fist against the glass in frustration. But I had forgotten my strength, and the glass splintered out in a starburst pattern. I nervously looked around to see if anyone had noticed, but I was alone; the post office was in the business section of town and all the stores were closed already. I stared at the splintered glass for a moment, wondering what Carlisle would think. What would he say if he knew his son was committing his first breaking and entering? I shook my head. I was not Carlisle's son… not anymore. I reached up and, with one flick of my index finger, shattered the window entirely. I reached down through the hole and unlocked the doorknob from the inside. The door opened easily and the glass shards crunched under my shoes as I entered the dark room.
I crossed immediately to the large file cabinet on the far wall, and began rifling through it until I found a directory of residents in Columbus and its suburbs. I flipped through to the end of the "E" section and found what I was looking for: Charles Evenson, onetime resident of Columbus, had changed his address two years ago when he moved to Kettering. I carefully replaced the file and closed the cabinet. I couldn't prevent the police from discovering my handiwork with the door, but there was no need for them to know why someone had broken in. In fact, I supposed it would be wise to throw them off the trail entirely. I looked around the room. If I were a normal burglar, what would I steal? Money, of course. I found the cash register and smashed it open with the back of my hand. I pulled what paper money I could out of the twisted metal and pocketed it. I did need money, I reasoned, if I was ever going to wear anything other than the shirt I had on my back. In my haste to escape Carlisle and Esme, it hadn't even occurred to me to retrieve my wallet. I knocked over a few lamps and stacks of paper for good measure, and walked out into the night.
.
.
.
The address in Kettering was a small, lonely house just on the outskirts of town, hidden from the main road by copse of elm trees and a long driveway. As I began walking up the driveway, I could hear signs of a struggle. A familiar male voice rang out, shouting expletives. I focused my ability until I could "watch" the scene unfolding from Charles' mind. He had just thrown a young woman across the room, knocking her unconscious. He was thinking how worthless she was, just like Esme…
I recoiled in horror as pictures of my mother's terrified, bleeding face rolled across his mind. This man was truly a monster! I roared in anger and raced up the driveway, smashing through the picture window and landing on my feet in the living room. Charles' thoughts were coming from above me as he registered surprise with the sound of breaking glass. Of all the times for a break-in! I can't call the cops or they'll see her. I'll just have to take care of this myself. In his mind I saw him quietly open his nightstand drawer and take out a revolver.
As I ran up the stairs I saw Charles just coming out of his bedroom, gun in hand. He held it steady; in his thoughts I saw the previous times he had used it.
"Alright, who sent you? Was it Mario?" he sneered as he raised the gun level with my head. His mind raced with fears over his gambling debts, and the men he had already killed to escape payment.
When I had been searching for Charles earlier today, I had relished the thought of tormenting him, drawing out his death in the torture that he had inflicted on Esme. But now I was only filled with disgust with the creature before me, and I just couldn't allow him to live another moment. His eyes widened as I flew at him with unnatural speed, and my fist crashed into his temple, breaking his neck instantly. I caught him as he fell, and, lowering my bared teeth to his throat, I let the ecstasy take me.