In her Twilight series, Stephenie Meyer created a world unlike any other. She owns this world, and I love playing in it.

This story was originally inspired by a spooky little nightmare I had.

My Spooky Nightmare - A Second Chance at Life

Chapter 8 –Night terrors and various visitors

Because of Emmett's discovery of the huge anaconda, the Cullens became even more protective. Jasper remarked encouragingly that it would not be possible for an anaconda of any size to get close to me, as the Cullens would hear its heartbeat and prevent it from getting anywhere close.

That didn't stop Esme from hovering, though. But I had the feeling she wanted to hover.

I called Charlie and Mom as regularly as possible. I had turned 17 shortly after arriving in Brazil, and Renee has been especially upset that I hadn't been home on my birthday. Edward and Emmett spent time coming up with programs to re-route our phone calls so that reporters couldn't trace them. But I was sure there were still people out there that might try to track me down. Call it paranoia, call it three years of being dragged around the country by blood-thirsty monsters, I seldom felt secure.

One night I woke up with the feeling I wasn't alone in my room on the boat. Squinting into the dimly light, I saw a massive anaconda sliding over the window pane and begin making its way across the room. Its oblong topaz eyes were fixed dead on me, and it was reared up, holding its head five feet above the ground as it moved. It looked to be at least two feet around, and its green body had a double row of black oval spots lining its spine. Moving effortlessly toward me, its tongue flicking out to sample the air as it came closer, it quickly reached the foot of the bed and starting to drop its head over me.

I started screaming, and immediately Rose and Carlisle burst through the door. As soon as they hit the door, the snake turned its head and vanished.

"What was it?" said Rose, as she reached out to hold me. "What happened?"

I described the snake, and Carlisle carefully inspected the room. He dutifully looked under the bed and checked the locks on the windows.

"It was just a dream, Isabella. Just a dream," Carlisle pronounced in a calming tone. "See? The windows are all closed. Nothing could have gotten in here, and we would have heard it, remember?"

"What do you hear? I asked.

"Just you, my dear. And your heart is beating very fast. It must have been a terrifying dream, but believe me, a dream is all it was," Carlisle replied.

I was not so sure.

Weeks turned into months, and Christmas rolled around. We knew both my parents' houses were being monitored by the paparazzi, as well as immortals, so I wasn't able to go home for the holidays. Emmett and Edward set up a neutral background behind my chair so I could make calls home on Skype on Christmas Eve, but our time on the phone was limited by how long the Cullens could re-route the calls. It wasn't enough, but at least I felt they were safe. Safer than if I was there.

The living quarters of the research station was almost done. It looked beautiful, built into a hillside. Many trees had been left standing in front of the cliff, so the entrance was still shaded. The building made extensive use of the caves that were in the cliff. Esme's drawings had taken advantage of the honeycomb nature of the natural rocks, running wings of the building deep into the hills. There were wings that held the scientific equipment, microscopes, oscillators (gotta have those for any self-respecting lab!), and rows of refrigerated storage with glass doors and shelving inside.

The living quarters were at the front, with views of the jungle outside. The glass windows were not in place, so their panes were filled with boards until the glass could arrive. The entire front was in glass, or would be when the custom glass, being manufactured at a plant in Germany, finally arrived.

While the work on the construction progressed by the waterfall, I dutifully continued studying the plants and animals in the surrounding area. Sometimes Jasper would join me as I researched my square. He would take a break from his work to come over and sit on the ground next to me. Sometimes he would lie on one side and just watch, other times he would talk a little. He told me he had been changed during the Civil War, but didn't have many human memories.

Instead, he talked about the years he spent wandering. And then after he met the Cullens, he talked about the time he spent in high school, and the hi-jinx Emmett would occasionally be involved in.

But Jasper wasn't the only visitor I had during my days in the field. Several times I saw the shapes of people in the forest, looking at me. One girl in particular seemed to be very interested in being seen, and she occasionally waved to me. They felt familiar somehow. I began to wonder if they were the dolphins. Sometimes I wondered if I was just losing my mind. They always seemed to slip away when the Cullens came to any spot where they could see them. When I asked, the Cullens said all they sensed were the dolphins in the river nearby. I felt it was as if the strangers were playing with the blind spots in the vampires' vision.

But I couldn't shake the image Emmett had given of the boa who had swallowed a dolphin whole. What if it had been one of my shy friends?

A few weeks after my unpleasant night visit, Alice raced up to Carlisle who was laying out the plot for the day's research. She spoke in a low, urgent tone o Carlisle, and whatever she said, it made Esme gasp.

"What's going on? It's about me, isn't it?" I said, as the family quickly gathered.

"Yes, it is. Alice just saw that we will have visitors in the next few weeks. Our kind. But our house will be completed soon, and they should have no problems with the situation. We are clearly far away from other people." He spoke as if he were trying to convince himself, and was failing. Edward's face looked grim, but he quickly composed himself as Emmett elbowed him, gesturing towards me.

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