A/N: Hello folks. Sorry I missed last week's update. I was out of town. Anyway, on to the chapter. Please let me know what you think!
Thank you lovely reviewers. And thank you Voluptuous Vamp and Remylebeauishot for acting as betas.
Garrett was running through the woods, his dirty blond hair falling into his eyes. He ran faster than he could ever remember running before, and he had an excellent memory.
He had felt the intensity of battle many times before, both as a human and as a vampire. He may have preferred to fight, but he had been forced to run for his life numerous times. This immediacy was completely new to him.
There was a force pulling him that would never allow him to stop, even if he had the ability to get tired.
With all his vampire senses, he had the ability to process a lot at once. Nonetheless, he couldn't break his focus. Since the second he sensed her danger, his mind had not left Bella.
Until that point he wasn't sure he'd even used her name. His mind usually referred to her as the girl, or the human. At that moment, however, it was like a broken record in his head. It set the timing of his feet. Bella- Bella, Bella-Bella, Bella-Bella.
He still had a fair distance to cover, but he was making good time and the trail was still very fresh. He would make it. He had to make it.
Momentarily, he considered the poor luck she seemed to have. It was almost as if she attracted vampires.
As he ran, he couldn't help but remember the last time she faced one down.
Running through the forests of Washington, Garrett smiled. He liked the area because he always loved the rain and there seemed to be a lot of it here. It had been many years since he'd been up to this area of the country though.
He never had any routes planned. He just let his feet lead him where they may. And today they wanted to be here.
Fresh from a feed, he was just enjoying the run and the feel of the air as it sped past him.
A vampire's scent caught his attention, and pulled Garrett to a stop. He could also smell a human, but the trail was a bit older. His feet pulled him toward the trail, even before realized he was following it.
He was interested, but he also wasn't stupid enough to interrupt a feeding.
Garrett shook his head at the memory. He continued to run and tried to focus on the path in front of him. Images of that day continued to flood his mind, however.
He followed the trail, just to see what was happening. A curious creature, he always found himself interested when he came across another vampire. There was more to it this time though; he just didn't want to admit it.
The conversation started to become audible.
"Bella, how nice to see you."
So the vampire and the human knew each other. How odd.
After a pause, a female voice responded. "How nice to see you too, Laurent. I know the Cullens, especially Carlisle, will be happy that you have come to visit us."
Carlisle's pet? How strange. Carlisle didn't seem the type. His interest was definitely piqued.
He also found himself drawn to the woman's voice; it was lovely. Even as it wavered slightly, it rang melodically in his ears.
Thinking of her voice and all the times she used it to argue with him made his feet move even faster.
Garrett tried to convince himself to walk away, and he even succeeded for a while. It wasn't his place to intervene. Besides, they seemed to know each other.
Nonetheless, he couldn't stop thinking about her voice.
He wanted to turn back. It would be rude not to. Carlisle Cullen deserved his thanks, and it seemed the girl was with him.
So Garrett approached the voices again, and noticed a definite change in tone of the conversation. "The Cullens will avenge me. They love me, and they won't forget this. You will regret this." She sounded angry and upset, but not really scared. How could a human facing a vampire not be scared?
This seemed like the perfect opportunity to repay his debt.
And even as he attacked the other vampire, his eyes caught sight of her. She was beautiful, but that's not the only thing that caught his attention.
She was obviously injured, but she tried to look big and threatening. Those brown eyes caught his, and he saw a gleam of hope in them.
Was she standing her ground and putting on a brave front with this new vampire?
He knew he had to get there.
As he made his way, he continued to think about the way she went on to stand toe-to-toe with wolves on his behalf.
The way she, even as a human, challenged him.
The way she changed his solitary lifestyle and made a place for herself.
It had only been two and a half weeks since that day in the clearing, but everything was already different. He couldn't remember what things were like before she came along.
He didn't understand any of it. He didn't even comprehend the route his mind was taking. All he knew was that everything rested on him getting there, and fast.
Garrett stopped dead in his tracks as another vampire's scent assaulted his senses.
Two vampires.
He wasn't far from Bella but the scents of the vampires crossed and both led away from the trailer.
A good fight was something Garrett was used to. Normally his course of action would be to seek out these vampires, but instead he found himself running straight towards where he left Bella in the trailer.
He knew something was strange. Why would they come this far just to turn around? It didn't make sense. He could only hope that maybe they didn't get close enough to smell Bella.
He didn't have to run much longer, though, because they decided to find him. It looked like he was going to get a fight after all. It was two-on-one, but he could handle it.
Footsteps approached him from behind. They were not as stealthy as most vampires, though. Garrett turned before the girl could come close to reaching him. A blonde vampire stood in front of him, red eyes glowing. She was a young thing.
She made a move to approach him, and that was all the motivation Garrett needed. Before he could touch her, though, another one was on his back. She was slightly stealthier, but Garrett had still heard her coming.
He spun around quickly so that he could be face-to-face with his assailant. She was strong; her feminine hands held tight around his torso, and he was unable to break her hold. Newborn strength.
He brought his teeth down into the flesh on her arm, eliciting a twisted scream from the girl behind him. She immediately let go to nurse her wound.
As she did so, the blond vampire decided to finally make her move. She charged towards Garrett, but as she reached out, he dodged and grabbed hold of her legs. In one swift motion, she was on the ground, and Garrett was on top of her.
Not wanting to find out if she was also a newborn and could therefore throw him off, he reached down and twisted her head cleanly off.
The fight was one-on-one.
The other female vampire, a slightly taller brunette, was ready to fight again. Her shock was over, and she was angry. Physically, she was older than the blond, but still so young.
She ran right at him and Garrett dodged her arms. Instead of coming up with an offensive strategy, though, she just continued to charge.
This was going to be easier than he thought. He grabbed her by the arm and jumped behind her, twisting. The sound of tearing metal filled the air as the girl reached up for her arm. The rest was simple. Her head was twisted off in a matter of a second.
Garrett kneeled down and began to tear the bodies into pieces, when he heard a loud scream. He felt his dead heart drop into his stomach. He stopped what he was doing and left the pieces to be burned later.
In a heartbeat, Garrett was running towards the trailer. He was angry that he let himself get distracted. He didn't consider there could be more vampires.
As he got closer to the trailer, he heard a male voice. "Well you do smell delectable, don't you? Such a shame."
Bella's voice responded. "He'll be back. You'll see."
Garrett felt his dead heart jump at her voice. She was still alive. And she was putting up a fight. Of course she was. Good girl.
Garrett swung open the trailer door and saw a male vampire hovered over Bella on the bed. He didn't even flinch at Garrett's entrance. He was too focused on Bella.
Immediately he ripped the vampire off of her, tossing him out the open door.
The vampire, a teenage male with long red hair, put up a slightly better fight than the girls. He was back on his feet right away, the two vampires circling each other.
Each made a few moves, all dodged by the other. Garrett sidestepped an attack on his chest and spun around and dug his teeth into the male's neck. He was rewarded with a screeching scream.
This vampire was still no match.
As the vampire reached up for his neck, Garrett twisted his head off and onto the ground. In less than a second, both arms followed.
He looked up to the door. He regained his composure and couldn't believe he had acted that way in front of the girl.
Instead of hiding, Bella was in the doorway fiddling with something in her fingers. Matches.
He was amazed at her yet again. Instead of hiding in disgust, she was ready to help finish it off. She knew exactly what to do.
Seeing that she was in control of the fire, he ran back to grab the other pieces. It wasn't far, and he made sure he was really fast.
The fire was just being lit as he returned with the other two vampires.
The last piece was thrown in the fire, and Bella sat down on the grass. Garrett moved to join her but he suddenly found he had to get out of there.
Garrett didn't understand what was going on. This was completely new for him. His problems with technology aside, Garrett's vampire senses allowed him to easily grasp situations.
He was suddenly being confronted by many things, all of which confused him. He felt overwhelmed and clear his head. He just needed to run.
He felt like complete shit for causing this. He had to have brought this on. She was obviously a danger magnet, but they probably smelled his trail and followed it.
The vampires were also confusing him. They seemed to be newborns, based on their strength and fighting style, yet they were organized.
But what he really couldn't get off his mind was Bella. No one had ever made him feel that way before. He didn't even really understand what he was feeling.
He may have been a lone creature as of late, but he had had girlfriends in his human life. There was even a serious one that he probably would have asked to marry him had he not died in the war. Likewise, he had enjoyed the company of vampire women from time to time. This was something completely different though.
He enjoyed the girl's company, and he was constantly surprised by it. However it wasn't until she was in danger that the intensity hit him. He couldn't think of anything else. His entire world rested on her survival.
Once it was over and he could temporarily relax, he couldn't believe his previous thoughts. He was a vampire. A nomad. He didn't need anyone, especially a lowly human, unless of course it was for food.
Garrett shook his head, hopelessly trying to clear it and continued to run. He had to get away from here.
