Chapter 8: Strange Occurrences
Disclaimer: S. Meyer owns Twilight.
At three thirty P.M., Bella flew through my door, anxious to see that I was all right. She sailed straight into my arms. Her hands were roaming over me everywhere—well almost everywhere—in her attempt to make sure I was still in working order. Now don't get me wrong—I was NOT complaining! But ... why did she always underestimate my ability to protect myself? I mean she did notice my biceps, right? Not only that—I had the whole pack to back me up. I had to admit though; it was kinda sweet that she worried about me. She had three vamps on her trail and she was worried about me. Can you beat that? She loves me; she really, really loves me.
I almost laughed at her inability to articulate a coherent sentence. She would stutter and stop and run her hands over my face. She'd look in my eyes and choke out, "Jacob, are you sure ... You're all right aren't you? What are we ... Oh God, Jake ... I don't know ..." I finally put her out of her misery by covering her mouth with my own. That made more sense—to me anyway. It also gave her something else to think about. We were locked in a tight embrace as I eased us both over to the couch.
"Bells, calm down. Everything's gonna be fine. The prison is sending out men to help in the search. Cisco and his cronies will be back behind bars faster than I can phase. You're such a worrywart. It's an insult to the pack. Don't you trust us?"
"But, Jacob," she protested. I silenced her with another kiss. "But ..." (kiss). "What about ...?" (kiss).
At last, Bella surrendered, and clasped her hands behind my neck, responding to me. I pulled away first this time. "Okay, Bells, you allright now?" She nodded, a little embarrassed. "Then let's go—I have a job to do. Wanna help me in the garage?"
She gave me a pouty look and answered, "Oh crap, is the Rabbit in trouble again?"
"Hell no, I'm earning extra money. This is someone else's car I'm repairing. I'm saving up for College."
I walked her to the garage and set to work. We were chatting away. Bella was my instrument handler, and light holder. The work went faster since I didn't have to keep removing my head from the engine to get the supplies I needed. Bella had been assisting me in the garage enough times to know which tools to grab when I asked for them. It was almost like being in a surgical suite, except the patient was a piece of metal stretched over four wheels.
Bella was sitting behind me on the old wooden crate quietly watching me work, and enjoying the view no doubt. She looked out the garage door and said, "Holy Cow, Jake, this is really weird. It's snowing."
I lifted my head and nodded. There were little flakes coming down softly, like feathers.
"Jeez, I don't believe it. It can't be that cold outside."
I stood up and walked through the door. That was odd ... it seemed like the snow was falling in our yard and nowhere else. I walked a little further and instantly smelled the scent of burning pine needles. I ran toward the smell and grabbed the hose on my way. Sure enough, the big pine tree on the side of the house was ablaze. Tiny embers were starting to smoke on the roof of our home, and a couple of the nearby trees were also starting to go up in flames.
"Bells!" I yelled. "Go call Sam and tell him to get the pack here now and bring shovels." I drenched the roof with the hose first, then against the furthest trees trying to make a fire break.
The pack was here in two minutes flat, flinging dirt onto the trees, and ground cover.
Bella looked at the flames licking about the trees and shrubs in horror. "What can I do to help, Jake?"
"Go get Billy and wheel him out the back door ..." I locked eyes with her. "Just in case ..."
She ran in and had Billy wheeled out into the yard quickly.
We had the fire contained in about twenty minutes, but I shuddered to think what could have happened if we hadn't been out in the garage. My home would literally have been toast.
"What the hell happened?" Paul asked.
"Damned if I know. Bells and I were working in the garage and the next thing I knew, ashes were falling out of the sky. I ran with the hose and there was the big pine going up in smoke before my eyes."
I never saw Paul so concerned before. "Man, you are one lucky devil. You could've lost your house, maybe even your dad."
That comment was really sobering. There was no horse play—no joking—this was nothing to joke about.
"Thanks, guys!" I yelled as the group started gathering up the shovels and burlap sacks. I gazed at the blackened tree trunks. The ground had remaining ribbons of gray smoke curling upward. My heart was trying to slow down, but I could still hear it thumping wildly in my chest. Nothing scarier than a wildfire. I admit it ... man, we were lucky.
Quil and Embry took Billy back to the house and Bella was back at my side. I rubbed her shoulder and pulled her closer to me. "You okay?"
"I am now." Her words were calm, but her heart and lungs were working every bit as hard as mine.
Embry came out of the house first. "What the hell? Little kids with matches? Leftover firecrackers? Crap, now we have to be on the lookout for arsonists too? Even the pack has its limits. I don't know about you, Jake, but I can't take much more of this." He peered over at Bella and muttered, "Sorry, Bella."
Quil came out of the house and he and Embry left together.
I held Bella's hand tightly in my own and began to think. How in the holy hell did that fire start? There was no lightning, I didn't hear any kids playing nearby—it was too early for grilling—it definitely wasn't the vampire three—so how ...?
I tried not to look at her, she was freaked enough already. This actually shook me up a lot too, and I didn't want Bella to see her pillar of strength crumbling before her eyes.
I decided to walk her back to the Taj Mahal—our safe haven—hoping it would settle our nerves. We returned to the task at hand, sliding into a rhythm, until I asked for my socket wrench.
"Where did you put it, Jake? I can't find it."
Shrugging, I offered, "Same place I always put it—in the black toolbox next to my tin of drill bits."
"It's not there, I looked twice."
"Damn, I bet Embry has it. He's always borrowing my tools and forgetting to return them. I've got an extra in the kitchen junk drawer. You know which one I mean, right?"
"Sure, sure," she answered.
"Honey, could you get it for me please?"
Bella sprang up off the crate. She snuck a kiss to the back of my neck, making me shiver. Then she murmured, "Coming right up, Sunny."
I craned my neck around and watched her wiggle her hips all the way to the house. I almost banged by head on the hood of the car as I swung my head back to the engine.
She entered the garage with the tool in her hand and placed it into my awaiting palm.
The work went on for another hour and Bella finally begged off—homework and supper preparations as usual. She kissed me goodbye, and left me with my arms elbow-deep in auto parts, and my head bent under the hood.
I retrieved my head from the jaws of the vehicle after a few minutes, and wiped my hands on a nearby rag. I reached over to the pegboard to get my needle nosed pliers. It wasn't there. Damn that Embry; I was starting to get a little annoyed. I wanted to get this job done. I just threw up my hands and decided to call it quits for tonight. My stomach was grumbling anyway—time to put work aside and put some food in my mouth. Yeah!
Lucky for me, Sue had brought over supper last night, so all I had to do was reheat the leftovers.
Billy and I finished eating, and I washed and dried the dishes. As I was putting away the plates and utensils, I decided to go over to Embry's and borrow my tools back. No telling how many he had sitting around his house.
I looked out the window—the earlier drizzle had turned into rain—it was pouring out. Damn, I'd have to take the Rabbit.
Sprinting to the driveway, I jumped into the car. I put the key in the ignition, but it wouldn't turn over. Greeaaat! One more thing on my to do list. I was in no mood right now; it would have to wait till tomorrow. Didn't really want to go anywhere anyhow!
The phone was sitting on the coffee table, so I picked it up and called Embry. "Hey buddy, I need my socket wrench back—and my pliers."
"I don't have them, Jake. Maybe Quil?"
"Huh, are you sure?"
"Yeah man, I've got your air compressor and your set of Allen wrenches—that's all."
"Jeez, I guess I better give Quil a buzz then." I ended the call; by now I was beyond irritated.
Just then, Billy said something to me, and I looked his way for a moment. The next thing I knew, I heard glass shattering and a soft thud. I ran outside as a car went whizzing by. I whipped around the corner of the house near the burnt pine tree, trying to see if I could get the make of the vehicle but the downpour made it impossible even for my wolf-vision.
Dropping my head in defeat, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. It was a metal oblong case glinting on the ground. It was nearly buried in mud and ash. I uncovered the shiny object—a chrome cigarette lighter. I brought it inside with me and threw it on the kitchen counter. Well, that explained the mysterious fire this afternoon.
I surveyed the damage in the living room. There were shards of glass all over the couch, coffee table and the floor. The picture window in the front of the house was practically non existent, and the rain was steadily coming through, pelting the glass-strewn flooring.
Billy got out a plastic tablecloth and helped me seal across the opening with duct tape— so much for our nice paint job! Then I had to get our ancient vacuum cleaner out of retirement to get rid of all the glass. When I removed one of the couch pillows to clean under it, I found the cause of the shattered window—my socket wrench.
This was no coincidence. I rushed into the kitchen and grabbed the lighter. Running it under the faucet, I rubbed off the caked mud. My worst suspicions were confirmed. The mud had concealed two letters—the initials—F.A.
Billy wheeled up next to me and muttered, is there something you want to tell me, Son?"
"Hey, Charlie, I hope the SeaTac posse is nearby 'cuz I've had a close encounter with Cisco myself. Yeah. That's right; he's here in La Push. He's made his miserable presence known. There are trees outside my house that look like charcoal briquettes, a broken picture window and missing work tools.
I know it's him Charlie, I found his cigarette lighter. It's got his initials on it. I don't know when he'll strike again, but I'm sure of it. He'll be back. To quote Curro: 'He's one mean hombre'.''
Charlie and the posse arrived at my doorstep when the rain eased up. Curro was with them, and he and I clapped each other on the back—glad to see each other. They also had two dogs with them to help in the tracking.
We all went out to the garage and the dogs sniffed around picking up the scent. I was so used to tourists being around La Push, that I hadn't paid much attention to any unusual odors myself, although I was a little distracted with the scent of strawberries, if you get my drift.
One of the dogs was messing with the tarp covering the motorcycles; I went to pull the tarp back in position. That's when I noticed it—two flat tires—each one sliced in a half-moon shape. Sonovabit** ... Fortunately, Bella's bike was untouched—I think. Damn, he knew how to push my buttons! I ran out of the Taj and lifted the hood of my Rabbit. There was an empty spot where the battery should be. Now I was really pissed. That was my baby. I felt like I had been violated.
Charlie walked up behind me just then, shaking his head. He looked none too happy either. "I don't mind telling you ... it's going to be rough tracking theses guys. The rain's not helping, and the trail ends suddenly outside your garage. You said they had a car? We're going to need more help than I thought. Can you get the boys here to be on the lookout for any suspicious vehicles hanging around?"
"You got it, Charlie. I can't afford any more incidents."
"Okay, we're going to call it a night. "Curro!" he yelled, "You still want to see Leah?"
Curro came barreling out of the garage nearly knocking Charlie down.
"That was a dumb question," Charlie muttered.
I sighed, exasperated, as I watched the cruiser pull away toward the Clearwaters'.
A/N: C'mon guys, give me and Jake a break. Reviews, we need reviews. One liners, one word—something—anything! We're begging on our knees.
