Sorry if this took a while to update. It might not have been long, but it seems like it to me.

And I also apologize for the lack of quality of the last chapter. I guess it did suck as much as I thought it did considering the small amount of reviews. Or it might just be because FanFiction was "experiencing techinical difficulties" and whatnot. That's what it did to me, anyway.

This is the last filler before we go to Forks, so scream to high heavens, "FINALY!". I know I will be.

This chapter is frankly kinda short, so I'm sorry for that. But it won't be nearly as bad as the last one, promise. I will never willingly publish something like that as long as I live.

This chapter is a little weird, though. I do have to admit that. I can't really help it. I guess I'm just drawn to twisted stories. It's the only way to explain it.

Okay, I won't distract you any longer. Ready. Set. READ! *Racing Music* And the winner gets the honor of reviewing! I know you want to!

Eleazar found me in the morning.

I have no idea how long I was lying there, completely exposed to the world, or even what happened while I was lying there. It was like I was in this comatose state, where I couldn't react to things around me. It was terrifying to suddenly resurface and see my brother standing over me, concern covering his features.

"Kate?" he asked, pulling me up. My body didn't have enough energy to even send more than a spark through my body as it's natural defense—he didn't even flinch.

"Kate, what were you doing?" he pressed, helping me along as if I were some invalid human.

"Just watching the storm," I replied simply. I did anything I could to avoid questions.

"Well, let's tell Tanya and Carmen that you were hunting. It seems slightly more believable."

I just nodded, not wanting to argue.

Actually, I didn't want to say anything—I completely put myself in pout mode at top volume, trying to show Eleazar how angry I was with him for waking me up. That was the closest I—and I'm pretty sure any immortal, at that—have ever gotten to unconsciousness. The feeling was rejuvenating. Waking up was disorienting, but I finally felt relaxed for the first time since I took Irina hunting, and I would go through any torture to regain that, just say the time and place and I'm there.

But I looked at Eleazar as he studied me, and realized I must have really upset him and my sisters. If I was going to find tranquility, then I should to it in a way that only affected me, not my family.

"And maybe a quick hunt wouldn't hurt," he mused, looking at my coal black eyes. At the mention of blood, my throat burned in anticipation of a warm elk, maybe a grizzly, or even a wolf . . .

No, no, I can't. I pushed the idea out of my mind.

I was about to protest, but then the scent reached my nose, and there was no way to ignore it now.

The wolves were close.

"Maybe a hunt would help," I said quietly, then quickly lunging for the pack.

"Kate," Eleazar called after me, but I didn't really hear him. This was the first time in months that I have been able to put my mind entirely into the hunt, even before Irina left us I couldn't. I had no reason to. But now that I have let myself go this long without a single hunt, it was easy. I pushed Eleazar's concern and my sisters' worries out of my mind for now as I pursued the wolves, who now noticed a predator close. They stayed close together, knowing the whole "strength in numbers" and whatnot. But all it took was one to think for themselves and wonder "What's the point of listening to them?" before I catch them alone. With my mind clear, my hunting instincts kicked in and I noticed a hundred ways to take a member of the pack down, but all too easy. Besides, if I was going to take one down, the rest were going, too.

I jumped for the one trailing behind, clawing my hands into the skin behind his shoulder blades. I heard him yelp and I slammed my knee into his back, breaking his spine, and his last chance of defense, if he had any at all.

Once I drained the blood of the first wolf, the rest retaliated, facing me and growling.

Okay, I can play that game.

I bared my teeth and hissed as mincingly as I could muster. Well, maybe that's a slight overstatement, but it felt like it at the time. Either way, the wolves lunged for me this time, wanting revenge for me killing their own, not caring how many of them died in the process.

I fended them off easily, breaking vital bones, crushing important organs, anything I could do to keep them away.

I had three more down and drained before Eleazar stepped in.

"Kate, that's enough. You know that you're full," he said, pulling me up again. What made him think I suddenly needed his help?

I turned to glare.

"You know, if I wasn't, I could easily tear you to pieces and burn them right now for interrupting my hunt," I warned, pulling away.

Thanks Eleazar, the wolves are gone now.

"Help me move the carcasses," I growled.

He obliged without complaint.

We moved the drained bodies in silence, an immature, angry silence on my part. I've noticed that I have lately been acting more human, but not in the way to make me forget this damned life. No, it was more a way that I feel like I haven't lived for a hundred some-odd years, but twenty-three, having only that long to mature. It was like those years I spent trying to make myself who I was now was completely unraveled, put in reverse until it was gone completely. The only question was, would I ever be able to get it back?

I didn't let myself answer this question, because I turned all my attention to being angry with Eleazar, which was starting to fade as the silence wore on. I vowed to not be the one to talk first, but to let him feel the heat from my glares I kept throwing at him—well, at least feel the anger that was left. And, to tell you the truth, it wasn't much. But I would let him feel it, regardless.

"Do you care to share with me what you were doing up there, all alone, before I tell Carmen and Tanya a lie about it," he said, breaking the silence, but it only relieved me. The quiet was almost putting more stress on me.

"I just needed to get out of that house. It was getting to be too much." That was a good explanation. It didn't give away what I was doing, but didn't seem like I was hiding something. Perfect.

"It's hard for all of us, too, Kate. We have to stay together to get through it."

Eleazar was always a wise person, but his words took me by surprise. I had never thought of the other's suffering, just my own, and I wondered if that made me a vein person. Not only was I only thinking of myself, but I put more on my family by making them worry. I was a horrible person, all in all. I didn't deserve an immortal life. I only added an eternity of bad things to an already pathetic world.

"Yeah, sure."

He paused a moment. "Do you want to go home now?"

"Yeah, that would be good."

The run home was just as silent, but without the awkwardness that usually followed me. When we reached the house, it looked like no one had lived there for years, but then I saw Carmen come out, and she embraced me tightly. I restrained from shocking here about five feet backwards.

"Where have you been, Kate?" she asked as I wrapped my arms around her.

I looked frantically at Eleazar, hoping for an answer. He didn't give me one.

"I was just hunting. I needed some time to myself." I said, but not as smoothly as I could have. I need to work on that.

Carmen pulled back, pushing out a laugh. It was wrong, forced.

"Kate, you always have time to yourself. It seems like you're always out hunting, but I know that you're right upstairs," she said, holding my arms.

What?

I looked back to the past five months, and realized I didn't talk to my sisters much, even during the time before my closest sister up and left. It was odd, I guess, knowing one sister would never be completely there, especially because she was the closest I had. Irina was most like April, even though my memories of her were faded and yellowed, like an old photograph. The ones of my human sister are the best memories I have, but it's still murky. I can't see her clearly now, but I know that when I look at Irina, I see April, and a hint that I used to be human. Now I may never see that again.

But that was no excuse to neglect the family that was loyal enough to remain, even if one of those family members was as bossy as Tanya.

"I'm sorry about that," I said, looking at my hands as they glittered in the morning sun. "I'm trying to change that." And I am, starting now.

Carmen smiled, something I haven't seen in this household in a while.

By now, Tanya came outside with us.

She froze in the doorway when she saw me.

"Kate!" she exclaimed, throwing herself at me, but not knocking me over. She wasn't that strong.

But the fact that she missed me at all was enough to knock me off my feet.

"Oh, Kate, we were so worried!" she continued, still hugging me. You would think I was gone for years rather than hours.

I reluctantly hugged her back, not wanting to ruin this moment of Tanya not arguing about something.

Eleazar put his arm around Carmen, who was standing behind Tanya. I pulled away from Tanya's embrace and looked back at my family, wanting to remember them like this forever.

I mentally added Irina to the picture, imagining her standing beside me.

The next three months since my incident with the storm passed without much to report, besides the fact that we went up and down the western Canadian coast looking for a sign of Irina. Our efforts came to no avail.

There was a sitcom on the ABC channel that Carmen had started to watch about scientists that were completely and totally the nerdiest people you would meet, but I couldn't get into it. It was Tuesday night while we were watching it that we got a call from Carlisle.

Tanya's little phone buzzed quietly in the kitchen, and she rushed to answer it, knowing only the Cullens called us on it.

I didn't bother to listen to Carlisle's words over Eleazar's loud laughter at some joke I missed.

"Carlisle, Carlisle, slow down. What trouble are you talking about?"

We all froze at those words. We still stared at the TV, but I knew no one in the room was really watching it. We were trying too hard to hear Carlisle's quiet, frantic talking.

"What? Irina?"

I turned my neck to see Tanya stop mid-pace, her face frozen in a mixture of fury, confusion, and disbelief.

"Where are you?"

I waited impatiently for Carlisle's reply.

"We'll be there."

She hung up the phone.

Tanya turned to us, but kept her eyes on the phone in her hands. "Irina saw Bella and the werewolf hunting and jumped to conclusions. That's all he would tell me." She looked up at us. "The Cullens are in trouble, and it's our sister's fault—"

"No, it was not!" I cut in, standing up. How could she blame all this on Irina? Bella had to do something for Irina to suspect anything in the first place!

"Kate, please," Carmen warned me quietly.

"The Vulturi are coming in a month. They need us to help them," Tanya continued.

"Why would they ask us to help them? Do they want us to fight?" I was furious now. Why would Carlisle as such a thing of us?

"Kate, we promised we would help at any cost to protect them, just as they said they would help us—"

"But it's a suicide mission! Does he actually want us to die for him?" I was walking towards Tanya, throwing my hands in the air.

"Not just him, the whole coven. Maybe even ours, if it's true that Irina was involved."

"She left, after all! Why would it matter now? What coven is she really in, anyway?" I was fuming, acting completely unlike me. It was weird to be yelling at Tanya, but I couldn't make myself stop. The words just threw themselves out at her, and then blamed me for their actions.

Tanya turned to glare at me.

"Kate, we are going. If we don't, they may all die."

Whew! I'm proud I got this much done, even if it wasn't much. I have been excedingly hyper these past few days, and I couldn't make myself sit down for any length of time without going crazy and yelling at the top of my lungs compulsively. So, I got brilliant. I turned on iTunes as loud as it would go, moved all the chairs out of the room, and rocked out to *NSYNC at top volume to get the creative juices flowing. And boy howdy, did it work! I actually accomplished something without sitting down! I deserve a cookie. Or better yet, a pie. Ooh, pie sounds good . . .

Now I desperately need to get started on Garrett's chapter. Ugh. His chapter is getting hard. But at least we got rid of Ashley for the time being! =] I'm happy.

I have a challenge for you, my lovely soon-to-be reviewers! If you have any questions about the story at all (that doesn't involve giving away future chapters) then I would be happy to answer them. I think quizzing me would help get more depth in the story, and I would like to develop that before Kate and Garrett meet, which I think they will in the next chapter. So, ask away! I think it truly will help.

Okay, so you've read it, you hate it or love it, so now review it! It's that simple!

=]

[Please, please, please review!]