Title: Predator
Rating: PG-13 due to blood reference
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.
Characters: The Cullen Family (Including Bella)
Summary: Bella's first day as a vampire, getting used to the power, hunting, etc.
"Bella!" Alice Embraced me tightly, "It's good to have you back."
I was shocked at how suddenly fragile she felt beneath my embrace. The rest of the family, with the exception of Rosalie, who was not present, fell in line behind Alice to welcome me back.
"Lets get the show on the road before those werewolf things show up." Emmett clapped after the greetings had been exchanged.
"Werewolf things?" I raised my eyebrows.
"You know what I meant."
I turned to follow them all out the doors, but hesitated to take one final sweep of the house I had been able to call home for only one short week. Esme noted my hesitation and laid a gentle hand on my shoulder encouragingly.
"We'll come back one day, don't worry."
I knew she was right, but I was also aware of the fact that our return wouldn't take place until at least 100 years from that point. 100 years was the standard precaution, or so had been explained to me. After 100 years the coast should be clear of werewolves and any other human who may recognize me. I let my eyes wander across the large living area. The house seemed so empty, even though all of the furniture was still there.
"Bella?" Edwards silken voice snapped me back to reality. I blinked and looked around. While I was surveying the room, everyone else had left, leaving Edward and I alone.
"Are you alright?"
"Yes. I'm fine." I nodded. "Lets go."
He gave my hand a gentle squeeze and led me out the door. As I slid into the back seat of Alice's flashy yellow convertible, I saw Rosalie's blonde hair blowing in the wind as she sped off with Emmett and Jasper in her flashy red convertible.
"She'll come around." Edward assured me as he followed my gaze.
I didn't respond. Alice sped off in a cloud of dust as soon as Edward and I were safely secured in our seats. Edward put his arm around me and kissed my forehead lightly. The lack of my rapid heartbeat was something that I realized would take a lot of getting used to. His hand elevated to my face and he began rubbing comforting circled on my cheek with his thumb.
"Do I look different?" I realized that I hadn't seen myself since three days previously.
"You're still as beautiful as ever." He assured me.
"Are my eyes really red?" I hoped he would say no.
"Yes, but don't worry. It is normal for a newborn. As soon as all of the human blood has left your body, they will lighten considerably in shade."
"Will they be the same color as yours?"
"Eventually."
"Speaking of eyes," Alice piped up from the front seat. "You both look like you could use a hunt."
She was right. Edwards eyes were dark black, and I could feel my own thirst tugging on the edge of my consciousness. It was like being addicted to a drug before you even try it. I craved it, but I was afraid of that first time. Afraid of the consequences, or afraid of getting carried away or not doing something properly. Realization and understanding flooded me as it was now much easier to comprehend Edwards heroin metaphor that he had once used as a tool to my insight.
"The Ridge, Edward?" Alice asked.
"Yes, The Ridge would be a good place to get her started." Edward replied.
I had no idea what "The Ridge" was, but I knew it had to do with hunting. I wondered momentarily how many times Edward had been at The Ridge when he had left me to go hunting.
The rest of the ride was an overall silent one. I enjoyed the ability of being able to snuggle up to Edward without my heart doing all manners of flips and dangerous maneuvers without my consent. The 100 miles per hour that the car was traveling at no longer bothered me. In only 40 minutes we were well outside of Forks and approaching the state line. Alice abruptly pulled the car off of the highway onto a hidden dirt road. The road twisted and turned into the woods and eventually became more of a discreet trail meant to be taken on foot or with bikes.
"Don't leave her, Edward. You know what could happen." Alice warned as she shifted the car into park and removed the keys.
He nodded. "Stay within earshot, just in case."
She was gone in an instant.
"Edward, what-"
"We just need to make sure we stay close to you in case you smell a human." He answered my question before I had spoken it. "Your firsst experience with resistance is going to be rough. You'll need help."
"You mean, I'll need restraint." I muttered.
"Yes, Bella," he read my fear, "Don't worry about it, please. It is only natural." He stiffened suddenly. "There! Do you smell that?"
I sniffed the air cautiously. "Deer." I confirmed. "Four of them, 2 miles from here.. Two bucks, one 9 years old and the other 2 years old. One doe that's 5 years old, and a 2 week old fawn. They're one mile west of here heading north going 17 miles per hour."
Edwards mouth fell open in pure astonishment.
"What?" I insisted.
"Bella……….. Bella, can you really sense all of that with just your nose?"
"Can't you?" I was shocked that Edward would miss facts that obvious.
"No, Bella. I could smell deer, and I could generate a general direction and distance, but the rest was impossible for me to distinguish.
"Oh." I bit my lip.
"Bella, you're a natural tracker."
"Isn't that what…. James?"
"Yes. James was a tracker also."
I thought for a moment.
"I guess that makes sense." I justified, "I always had a bizarre sense of smell as a human."
He nodded.
"But…." I continued, "James was….well…… James was evil! I don't want to-"
He banished my panic with a wave of his hand. "No, Bella." He soothed, "James was evil because he chose to be. He chose to use his talents to hunt humans. All this means is that its all the more important for us to keep you clean of human blood now."
I nodded again, fearing that my voice would betray my fear.
"We can worry about this later." He shook his head. "Right now, we need to focus on getting some food in you."
I took his hand as he offered it and began at a slow sprint. I was used to speed, I had been a passenger on Edward's back many times, but I had never imagined how it would be on my own two feet. I winced reflexively, half-expecting to trip and fall with each step. I was still not accustomed to the inhuman grace and poise that I was suddenly in possession of. He smiled knowingly at me as we increased our speed. I made a nuancial adjustment to our direction, reacting to the new sense within me. Edward followed suit. As we flew at an exhilarating speed through the trees, I found myself subconsciously calculating my pending attack. The larger buck was the fastest, but I was not doubting my own speed. I could catch him. He was the younger buck too, so his blood would be more fresh and youthful. I was shocked to realize how outside of myself I was. I had completely given myself over to instinct and my body was responsive to a different part of my brain that had not been present before. It didn't take long before the prey were mere feet in front of us. Edward squeezed my hand in encouragement and set off towards the large looking doe . I was aware of its deceiving body mass as being mostly comprised of excess fat, considering she had just given birth to her fawn two weeks earlier, a fact that Edward was obviously not attuned to. I turned my attention to the young buck dodging clumsily through the trees in front of me. Pleased at how easily the hunt was coming to me, I sprang lithely forward and landed in a cat-like position on the bucks back. He ran faster in a futile attempt to escape me. I turned to throw a glance at Edward just in time to see his strong hands sharply twist the head of his foe in an unnatural circle. I heard the sickening crunch of bones cracking with an intense audio reception that proved to be another of the upgrades to my already present senses. I followed his example and managed to snap the bucks neck with an unnerving ease. Its legs buckled beneath it and I aprang off of its back gracefully as it crumpled to a dead mass of fur in front of me.
No longer needing to look to Edward for example, I let the instinct within me take over. I felt the warm blood slide easily down my throat as my thirst decreased generously. When the deer had been drained entirely of blood, I began to feel sick. I had anticipated feeling ill at some point or another, considering my low tolerance for blood as a human, but the cause of this sickness was not my bodies reaction to the blood, but rather my conscience reacting to it. I felt disgusted with myself. I curled my knees up to my chest and emitted a tearless sob as I stared at the lifeless mass in front of me whose life I had just heartlessly stolen to supplement my own existence.
"It's always hard the first time." Edwards arms wrapped around me and lifted me up. "It gets easier." He promised as he began walking with me cradled to his chest.
"I can run." I insisted. I didn't intend for the direction to be taken in a hurtful way, I was just wager to put as much distance between myself and the dead buck as possible, and I knew that we would be faster if we were both running. He set me down without argument and started running with me. I gave myself over to the speed and found myself struggling to let Edward keep up with me. I realized with a start that I was capable of running faster than Edward.
Alice was waiting for us patiently in the car "How did it go?" She asked eagerly as Edward and I slid into the back seat. As if she didn't already know, I thought.
"Fine." I replied.
"Edward, you still look hungry." She observed.
"Probably because his doe gave birth to a fawn 13 days ago and looked a lot bigger than what she was when she really was comprised of 41 more fat than blood." I stated casually.
Alice displayed the same reaction as Edward had.
"Why to people keep looking at me like that?" I responded to her seemingly unattached jaw.
"She's a natural tracker." Edward supplied conversationally.
"Obviously." Alice gasped.
"You guys act as if it is such a big deal. It can't be that uncommon. James was a tracker." I pointed out.
"Yes, Bella, James was a tracker," Edward agreed, "but James was not nearly as talented as you. I know that, I have the insight. Plus, Carlisle- the oldest of us all- had never encountered a real tracker before James. Trackers are rare."
"Oh." I absorbed his words slowly. "Great, so I'm an abnormal human and an abnormal vampire? I'm going to be a freak no matter what!" I threw my hands in the air in exasperation. Edward chuckled and tousled my hair playfully.
"You're not a freak, Bella. You're just unique."
"Pfft." I scowled. "I'm a freak."
"Even if that were true, I still love you." He whispered.
"Good. You're stuck with me."