The pack surrounded Edward tightly as they sprinted through the dark, damp woods. He knew they would protect him for the moment. They needed to gather as much information as possible, as well as to finalize their strategy, before he faced the creature.
He led them to the site of the attack, where the wolves sniffed about carefully. Edward listened to their thoughts.
Paul inhaled deeply all around the truck …can hardly pick up anything through the leech's stench, except for human blood… Bella's blood. Smells a little like you, too, Jacob.
Jacob whuffed. What'd you expect? I was with her all afternoon and evening!
Sam's nose moved slowly along the embankment where Edward had been thrown. Sickly sweet…nothing more. There's too much of your trace here. The large, black wolf's bright amber eyes moved to Edward.
Edward examined the scene, too. Like the wolves, he had trouble discerning any distinctive scents aside from the pungent canine odor and the perfume of Bella's blood. He forced himself to walk to the truck, to place his hand over the dent where the monster had thrown Bella. This was how it had dislocated her shoulder. He could see the outline of her body in the cracked paint and damaged metal. His jaw clenched in silent fury.
Forcing himself to remain calm, Edward leaned in to take a slow, deep breath. Again he caught the noisome, musky odor of the wolves and the flowery aroma that was so uniquely Bella. But there was nothing even remotely resembling the scent imparted by his own kind. He nearly growled in frustration.
The wolves had gathered together at the side of the road. Edward attended to their thoughts again.
Sam mused, We should try to get it into an enclosed space—at least somewhere without 360 degree exposure. If we can box it in…
Jacob agreed immediately. Yeah. It'll be much easier to fight it if we can all come at it at once and block its escape route.
"That's a good idea," Edward said. "But given its strength, it's going to be hard to find anything that can contain it."
What about stone? Sam asked.
Edward nearly scoffed. He could dig through rock with a little effort, so the creature could surely do the same. However, he realized that there were probably no other good options. If the stone were thick enough, it would buy them some time.
"The base of the cliff at the north end of First Beach," he said quickly. "I can lead it into one of the caves. The stone walls won't contain it indefinitely; I'm sure it can dig through them. But that will take time and some effort."
That's a remote spot, too, Sam confirmed. That's good. It won't put any of our people in danger, and it's far enough from town that the creature shouldn't be put off by our scent.
"Stay at least a mile behind me," Edward instructed as he reached into his pocket for Sam's phone. He activated it then strapped it high up on the wolf's front leg. He quickly punched in the number on the phone he'd been given then hit the receive button on Sam's phone. "Okay, we should be all set now."
We'll come as soon as the creature's found you, Sam reassured him.
Edward nodded. "I know."
Then he darted off into the blackness, steeling himself to face the fierce attacker and stop it before it could hurt anyone else.
Author's Note: I continue to have difficulties with posting and the site in general. Since it seems few people are reading the story, I will likely discontinue posting updates. If there is sufficient interest, I will consider continuing despite the challenges. If you don't see a new chapter within the next few days and you want to finish this story, please contact me through the link on my author page and I will gladly tell you where you can find the entire story.
