Disclaimer: All recognizable characters and plot devices are the sole property of the illustrious Stephenie Meyer, whom I can only imitate. This fan fiction is for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement intended.


What I'm reading: Home again, by Pup-of-power, is a Paul imprint story. Pup's been hounding (yes, yes, hounding, hah hah) me to pimp her story for her ever since I told her I would, so this goes out to you Pup! Pup creates a very unique OC/imprintee, Ellison Rae, who will steal your heart from chapter one. Pup's amazing descriptions will blow your mind, and her writing style is incredibly mature and well-developed. This story is just starting out, but please do go check it out--you won't regret it! Don't forget to leave some review love!


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Chapter Eight

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That evening, after dinner, I borrowed the car and drove the thirty-five minutes up to Forks. I dropped off some of my Olympic Wolf fliers at the diner before stopping at Newton's Olympic Outfitters. Stepping inside the store just before it closed, I spotted a blond woman behind the counter, ringing up a last-minute purchase for a hiker. She looked very . . . un-rugged. Her outfit was a skintight, super-short floral dress and her highlighted hair was twisted up into a fancy bun on top of her head. As she stepped around the counter, I noticed she had spiky high heels on. What was someone like her doing working in a store like this?

"We're about to close, dear. Is there anything I can help you find?"

"Oh, no, actually, I wanted to see if I could speak to a manager about possibly leaving some fliers here on the counter."

"Well, you're in luck. My husband owns this store, so I can help you. What kind of fliers exactly?"

Oh; that explained it--she didn't work here because she had a hidden love of camping and hiking hiding under her designer self. She was here because her husband owned the store. Makes total sense. Now that I was sure she wasn't some wacko who couldn't find a job that fit her lifestyle, I explained, "I'm doing a project for school, in my Quileute Culture class at QTC. I have to find a 'unique way' to educate the public about a topic I've researched. I made up these fliers about the Olympic wolf and wondered if I could leave some on your counter here."

"Ah. I guess that would be all right." She looked at me doubtfully, but smiled, her shiny red lips parting to reveal some lipstick on her unnaturally white teeth.

I placed a stack of yellow fliers on the counter, muttered, "Thanks so much. Have a nice evening," and hightailed it out of there.

On the drive home through the darkening gloom, a flash of grey through the trees rushing past my window. I peered into the forest, but didn't see anything. Must have been some sort of animal, getting ready for a night of hunting or sleeping, depending on whether it was nocturnal or not. Or else my eyes were playing tricks one m, which was entirely possible. This day had been a long, strange one. Crazy drama at school, that whole Embry-Call-walking-me-home thing, Mrs. Newton's being so obviously out of place in her husband's store. I needed my bed and nice soft pillow!

A few minutes later, I caught sight of the grey patch again from the corner of my eye. I looked. Nothing.

Then I heard a wolf howl. I started, hands clenching tighter on the steering wheel. It sounded so close! Maybe it was an Olympic wolf! I felt a little thrill of excitement vie for dominance with the fear running rampant within me. I sped up and pulled into the driveway. I hurried into the house, slamming the door behind me. That wolf better stay away! I was fascinated with the wolves, sure, but I sure as hell didn't feel like meeting any face-to-face just now.

"I'm home!" I called.

"No one cares!" Came the call back from Lila.

I stopped off at Brady's room on the way to mine. Sticking my head inside, I noted he was already curled up under the covers of his bed, facing his window.

"Brady? Are you sleep already? It's barely eight-thirty!"

"No, I'm awake." He rolled over. His face held a sad look. He was still pretty upset from the stand-off in the school cafeteria today at lunch. He needs a distraction.

"Okay, well, I was thinking, we should go hiking tomorrow. Make up for last time, you know when you ditched me to go--oh, uh, never mind that."

Brady's face crumpled a little when I reminded him of the party he'd enjoyed with Collin. Great going, Anna!

I rushed on, "It really is beautiful out in the forest, I can attest to that. What do you say? Just you and me and great outdoors!" I infused as much enthusiasm into my voice as possible, trying to cheer him up.

"Yeah, I guess that would be fun." He half-heartily agreed.

"Okay, well, I'll see you in the morning."

He groaned. "Noooo. I wanna sleep in!"

"Okay," I said, sighing. "I guess we could go after lunch. That gives you plenty of time to sleep in. I may sleep in too, actually. I'll see you at lunch, then, all right?"

"Right. Goodnight, sis."

"'Night, kid."

I prepared for bed, thinking back on my weird day. Mocha brown eyes and a shy smile starred in my dreams.

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After lunch the next day, Brady and I gathered our backpacks, making sure we packed water and the leftover granola bars from last Saturday. I laced up my hiking boots and threw a flashlight in my bag, just in case we were out late. Both of us took our rain jackets as protection against the promised rain.

I looked at Brady. He was slowly folding his jacket into his bag.

I asked, "Aren't you going to wear it?"

"No, I feel hot."

I put a hand to his forehead.

"Brady! You're burning up with a fever! Maybe we should stay home today."

"No," he shook his head. "I feel fine. I'm just a little overheated. I'll be okay once we get out in the cool air of the woods."

"Okay, if you're sure. I'll bring some aspirin just in case." I really didn't want to push him too hard; yesterday had been awful for him.

Finally, we started out on our hike, heading towards the southeast part of the reservation. I was hoping to hike long enough that we'd cross over the boundaries into the bit of the Olympic National Park that hugged the coast.

We engaged in playful banter while we walked along the faint trail.

I told him about my encounter with Embry Call the day before. Brady agreed that Embry's behavior was odd. He told me about some tribal masks he was carving in woodworking class and I made him promise to make me something.

We hiked for two and a half hours before stopping to take a break. The sky was overcast, but the clouds held back their rain for now. The forest floor felt spongy under my feet, and my nose twitched at the mesmerizing musky smell of the tree moss. I sat on an overturned tree, its roots sticking into the air like gnarly fingers. Pulling out a couple bottles of water, I handed one to Brady, who, I noticed, was shaking slightly.

"Brady," I started, concerned. "Are you sure you're feeling okay? Maybe we should head back now."

"No, just give me that aspirin now. I'll be okay."

"But, Brady, you're shaking!"

He snapped at me, "I'm all right! Jeez, I think I know my own body, Anna! Let's go!" Brady stalked off, leaving to hurry to catch up to his too-long strides.

Brady had never yelled at me before. I couldn't remember a time when he'd ever gotten angry, either. He was acting very strangely.

We hiked in silence for another half hour before Brady's voice whispered, "I'm sorry for yelling. I don't know what came over me. I just feel . . . strange. Not really sick, just weird."

"I forgive you, kid. I really do think we should turn around, though. I mean, we were going to in a little bit anyway, and, if you're feeling weird, it would be better to get home before it gets too dark."

Brady agreed and we started back home. After hiking for only a short while, though, the skies opened and it started to pour. Not rain. Pour.

"Anna! Over here!" Brady gestured towards a half-fallen tree on the side of the trail, its branches sweeping to the ground in a small canopy. I hurried over and Brady and I huddled together under the leaves, hoping the rain would ease up.

It didn't.

It rained heavy, can't-see-three-feet-in-front-of-you rain for the next two hours without pause. Our shelter kept most of the rain from hitting us, but the damp feeling crept in as the branches started leaking, being overloaded with rainwater from above. I was beginning to get worried. It would get dark soon, but we were still at least two hours away from home, deep in the forest, away from any roads. Our cell phones wouldn't work out here. We had a flashlight, but I wasn't confident that the batteries would last long enough. Plus, if it didn't stop raining, we'd have to spend the night under this tree, because if we couldn't see anything now, we certainly wouldn't be able to see anything in the middle of the night.

Brady shivered beside me, his fever getting higher with each passing minute.

"I don't feel so good, Anna," he moaned.

I wrapped my jacket around his body to help stop his shivering. "I'm sorry, Brady. I'm sorry about this. Don't worry, everything will be okay." I murmured, trying to soothe him.

As the daylight waned and the night fell, I clung to my miserable brother and let myself be lulled to sleep by the sound of pouring rain.

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I awoke alone, startled from my sleep by a loud wolf's howl. I pushed myself up from the rough branch on which I'd been laying my head. The rain had stopped, but it was very dark. The moon, hidden by thick clouds, glowed dimly above the tree tops.

"Brady?" I squinted my eyes and peered out of the little shelter that had protected us from most of the rain. "Brady, where are you?"

I struggled to my feet. My legs had fallen asleep from crouching in one position for so long. Now the pins and needles ran down my legs as I shook them to return the feeling to normal. I staggered forward, lurching out of the shelter.

With the light of the moon, I recognized Brady's back about ten yards in front of me, bowed as he knelt in the soggy grass. He was retching, his whole body convulsing as he heaved.

"Brady! Are you okay?" I started forward.

"No, stay back!" His voice sounded angry under the hoarse whisper.

"What--" I started, concerned. "What do you mean? Let me help you!" He must be really sick! Why, oh why did I insist on going hiking today?

"No, just stay there, please. Don't come any closer. I don't know what's wrong with me, but I don't want to hurt you."

Now I was confused. "Hurt me? You're the one who's hurting. Here, let me get you some water." I turned back to the shelter and fumbled with my bag, searching for another bottle of water. As my fingers closed around the cool container, another howl sounded nearby.

I dropped the bag and turned to look in Brady's direction.