Disclaimer: I unfortunately don't own Twilight, Steph has all the rights. . .
Chapter 12: Burning Man
Seth POV
I walked up to the house, surprised at the fact that no one had been out to greet me. I took my time, taking in the fields around me, noting how similar but different the change of scenery was from Washington to Minnesota. There was more farmland here it seemed, and wasn't quite as mossy, whereas home had it growing up the trunks of trees and ended up just about anywhere you stepped, but yet, it had just as much, if not more greenery and forest. There of course were different types of foliage here, but it somehow reminded me of home. They were lucky to find a place so similar in the hurried amount of time that they'd had when relocating.
I puffed up my cheeks as I knocked on the door, finally noticing the lack of noise or heartbeats. My eyebrows pulled together, knocking again, three firm raps on the door, but receiving no reaction, the same as before. Confused, I turned the knob of the door, finding it to be unlocked. I stepped in.
"Hello?" I called, hoping for someone to respond, closing the door behind me. "Guys? I'm here. . ." I trailed off when I saw a pastel piece of stationary on the table. I shuffled forward to retrieve it.
Alice and Jacob,
Shortly after you left, Sarah called, and was in trouble. She lost connection, and we had to go to assist her, we presume that she was attacked by a vampire, perhaps the Volturi, but we had to leave ASAP. Edward made Nessie stay home, she could probably explain furthermore on the subject.
~Carlisle
Who the hell was Sarah?
"Seth?" I heard Alice's wind chime resembling voice sound behind me.
I spun around, to face her, Jake, behind her, gave a curt nod, waving. I wasn't sure how I hadn't heard them come in, but I shrugged it off. Alice half smiled, noticing the paper in my hand. "Oh, this is for y - " she plucked it from my fingers before I could finish. "You guys," I mumbled, watching her face. Jacob peeked over her shoulder at the note, before stalking up towards the stairway. "Something happened to someone. . .? I clarified.
"Thanks, Captain Obvious," she rolled her eyes, nudging my ribs. "I guess that we have to go, you can come if you'd like, we just have to make sure that Nessie's friend is okay, Jake'll probably stay with her, so I guess that you can - "
"Sarah's not the only one that we need to find," Jacob's voiced boomed from upstairs, frantic. We heard his footsteps thudding heavily to the stairs, taking them down four at a time. His eyes were hectic, reminding me much of one time when she was little, and he'd been watching her in La Push and she went wandering off when he wasn't looking. "Nessie's gone."
Alice slammed the sheet on the table. "Dammit!" she screeched. It sounded so bizarre, coming out of her, it made her soprano voice sound out of tune. "Jake where's our phones?" she whirled around the room, checking every drawer that she could find, slamming them harder than necessary when she didn't find what she was looking for.
"Screw that," Jake muttered, darting out the door. We heard a shredding noise, and I knew immediately that he'd phased to find her. I looked to Alice.
She stopped for a second to look at me, her pixie-like features wild, her eyes swimming in all of the things that she was trying to sort out at once. "Go, go find Jake. Try to make sure that he doesn't lose his mind, help him find her, but if you pick up any human scents follow it, Jake already knows what Sarah smells like, and he's gonna be looking for Nessie, anyway. I'm gonna try to get a hold of Carlisle," she spoke quickly.
I nodded, dropping my jacket to the floor where I stood; I had my shirt off by the time I was out the door. I spotted a few large shreds of Jake's pants that he'd been wearing as I phased bolting after the trail that his scent left.
I wasn't sure what was going on right now, but something told me that I was better off with focusing on the information that I'd been provided.
Jake? I called in my head.
What? He replied, snarling, only half focused on the conversation.
Alice said that there was another scent that I should have, could you give it to me? I'm not sure that you'll really be focused on it. . .
Yeah. Sure. Whatever. A strong scent entered my brain, sweet, not quite sweet like a vampire, no, far from it, but sweet enough. It had a certain intensity, it was strong, definite, diverse, almost like mint, but yet it had a soothing background, almost creamy, much like vanilla. The scent was very tangible, almost alluring. (A/N: Food references just seemed like the Seth Clearwater thing to do.)
I let him lead the way following him west. It was a lot of work to keep ourselves hidden, often times having to duck our heads to breeze through corn and wheat fields, I, trying not to leave much damage to the crops behind me, couldn't do much about what Jake had already frantically uprooted from the ground. Thankfully, it was late, so most of the traffic was kept to a minimum, mainly drunks and long distance travelers speeding down the highway, but we still had to remain cautious of night owls, and those who happened to be out and about as we passed by.
Soon enough, we'd run roughly fifty miles, before coming across the Red River, a rare kind of river in the United States that actually flows north, creating much or Minnesota's western border. We were somewhere near Fargo, North Dakota, according to Jake's mind. The scent ended in the river, Jake sitting on his hind legs after running a few miles up the length of the opposite side of it, having lost Renesmee's scent in the water.
Why would she run this far without a trail to guide her? I wondered.
Jake whined. I don't know, it doesn't make any sense.
I felt the echo of his sharp pang of agony. Why would she go alone? Her scent wandered this far, but with nothing leading her to such a random spot, and no one else to guide her. . .
I don't know, I don't wanna think about it.
Which is exactly why you aren't gonna stop. He growled at my comment. Just saying. Just after I thought that, my default ringtone on my cell phone went off in the pocket of my jeans that were tied around my leg.
You brought your phone?
Not intentionally, but I was in a bit of a hurry to undress, no thanks to you. I thought before phasing back, flipping the phone open. "Hello?"
"Seth! Okay, we found Sarah, but no one's found Nessie, how about you guys?" Alice spoke quickly into the phone.
Jacob whined in response, pawing at the dirt in frustration. "No, nothing," I murmured, glancing at Jake with apologetic eyes. He glared at the ground, fuming.
There was a scream in the background of the receiver. "Seth, I gotta go, you guys gotta get home soon, my migraine's gotten worse." Migraine? I looked to Jacob. He huffed, shrugging.
"Okay, see you later," I said.
"Hurry," she replied.
"'Kay," I said before clamping the phone shut. I quickly phased. What was that about a migraine? I thought as we took off back to the Cullen's house.
Jake showed me the memory of he and Alice, about her problem with her visions to help me understand. I nodded as we kicked up our speed.
Jacob POV
We heard screaming within a mile of the house, sounding what seemed almost similar to Sarah's soft voice, becoming more ear piercing as we approached the house. I tried to focus on the sound of the screams as a distraction, but I couldn't seem to shake that Nessie's disappearance didn't add up, besides the fact that I was freaking out of my mind trying to put it together. Seth was right; it made no sense for her to chase after something that wasn't there, let alone do it willingly.
We phased back quickly, rushing to the house. Seth bounded in ahead of me, as I caught sight of my reflection in the window. It was an expression that I'd recognize anywhere, branded into the back of my memory; but the last time that I saw it, it wasn't me who was wearing it. I thought back to Bella's pregnancy, about every time that Edward would be facing away from her, he had the face of a man being burned alive, going every second with an agonizing, unsure worry of how to live on without their other half, the better half.
I didn't know the man in the window, that wasn't me, but if we didn't find her, I wasn't sure that I'd ever see my true self as a reflection again. I'd say that I mirrored it completely, but what Edward had, that was nothing, but this, this face had been burned beyond recognition, as if one touch could cause it to crumble. But the hard part to believe is the fact that I was being burned from the inside out. On the inside, the flames licked a thousand times higher, flared a million times brighter, burned a billion times hotter. It took every scalded ounce of strength that remained in my body to tear my gaze from the curtained window and walk up the porch steps and shuffle inside.
When I was inside, I was met with Edward's expression, that I'd just compared mine to. But the look wasn't of sympathy; it was a challenge. His eyes were burning, but burning with hate and guilt. It took me a moment to realize that the guilt wasn't aimed at me, but at himself.
"What did you do?" I growled, stepping towards him.
"No one did anything," Bella cautioned, stepping in front of me.
I didn't look at her, keeping my gaze locked on her husband. "What did you do?" I repeated, acid dripping thickly through my voice.
He glared daggers at me, seeming as though he barely saw me at all, like I was some sort of apparition sent to haunt his thoughts, even though he'd heard them already.
"Don't make me ask again," I demanded in my alpha voice, knowing that it was useless against him, but it slipped into my tone, hysterics building up in my chest.
He looked down, the familiar expression, the hardening of his eyes, his taut, clenched jaw that told me that he'd be crying if he were human. "My fault," he murmured to himself, raking a hand through his dark bronze hair.
My chest rumbled. "You better start explaining, bloodsucker."
I heard someone snarl in my direction from the kitchen, but I hardly paid them any attention, focusing on Edward's agonized expression. He took a deep breath, finally composing his expression before looking up to me. "She wanted to come with. I said no, thinking that if it was the Volturi, that I didn't want her within a hundred miles of them, and I was right; Sarah's body is practically bathed in their scents. I thought that it would've been safer if - "
"You thought that leaving her alone here is safer?" I sneered, interrupting him. I stalked closer, feeling Bella's icy hands pressing my chest back, but I hardly acknowledged her, giving in to the fact that I wasn't as strong as leeches in human form. "How the hell did you come to that conclusion? You and Bella are bad enough with being stubborn; we all know that she inherited that quality from both of you! You knew that she wouldn't listen!" I exploded, glowering at Edward menacingly, who said nothing in return, scowling at my figure as it was being shoved against.
"Jacob! Enough! Calm down!" Bella yelled in my face, shoving me towards the door.
I shook violently, adrenaline coursing through my veins as I glared daggers down at her. "I. Will. Not. Calm. Down," I snarled, shoving past her as my werewolf instincts began to take over, pushing past her towards her husband once more, inches from him in three large strides, but unable to get any farther before two vampires iron grasps pinned my arms behind my back, hauling me outside. I was still focused on Edward. "This is your fault! That's the one thing that you were right about! You happy? Thanks to you, she's out there somewhere, alone, and we don't know when or if she's coming back! We have no leads; this is your fault!" I snarled, thrashing against Emmett and Jasper's grips, who then sent me sailing through the air outside, phasing before I could crash into the dry gravel, landing on all fours, dirt grinding into my paws as I charged forward, receiving a blow to the chest from Jasper that sent me back again, Emmett already there, waiting for my landing as his arms wrapped around me in his steely grasp; it finally clicking to me that I was going about it all wrong.
I howled, when I heard the snap of one of my front legs as he tightened his grip. "Emmett! Don't hurt him!" Bella screeched from the doorway.
Yeah, nice heads up, Bells. I thought sarcastically. I probably would've rolled my eyes, but the slightest of movements would cause something else to break. I snarled in disappointment at myself at how easily I'd already lost the fight before it could start. I really didn't put up much of a fight to begin with, I was just blowing off steam - sure it was in an unnecessary way, but still. . .
"Jake. . ." Edward called, still in the house. I caught a glimpse of his face through a window, his features momentarily distracted, his mind elsewhere, all but forgetting what we'd just talked about. Okay, talked, is a loose interpretation of the situation, I'll admit.
Suddenly, I felt a change in the air, a shifting, a new bond forming. I stopped my struggles, Emmett dropping me when he thought that I wouldn't do anything, not thinking about the injury that he'd just so kindly given to me, I felt another crunch as my left side hit the ground. I whimpered lightly, trying to stay quiet, Carlisle was quick to rush over to help support the broken parts of my body. I tried to keep quiet to figure out the change. I noticed that Seth wasn't anywhere in sight, carefully turning my giant head to look at Edward, wincing as shards of bone moved around, poking at the skin under my fur.
Carlisle murmured for me to stay still, looking at his son as well. Edward shook his head, looking towards the direction of the stairs, staring at them as he spoke. "Um. . .let's just say that Seth finally met Sarah. . ."
The day before Sarah's transformation had finished, the decision had been made that Jasper, Alice, Charlotte, and Adrian would take her to a secluded area, where they could train her out of her newborn stage, unsure of whether or not that she would have quite the same control as Bella.
But, much to Seth's dismay, he had to stay back, because no one wanted to tempt her with any blood that wasn't an animal, well, she was obviously given the choice to be a vegetarian or traditional vampire, but they assumed that with the imprint, that she'd probably go vegetarian for Seth. Everyone at home was overjoyed about the news, and to be quite honest, they were unsurprised to see that the one wolf who didn't mind vampires, imprinted on one, although, they were kind of disappointed to hear that he wouldn't be coming home as soon as he thought that he would, even if he couldn't be at her side. Through his eyes, the closer he could be, the better, and he stayed here to do just that, even though we wouldn't be here much longer. At least got to see her, well, kind of, anyway, they'd been getting to know each other through Skype and just about every other communication device available, while I on the other hand, was pacing out of my mind in the living room, my left arm in a sling, nearly healed by this point, after Nessie had gone missing six days ago. Carlisle had said that my forearm had a clean break, and should heal fairly fast, but that further up my arm, especially towards my shoulder, it was severely fractured, and he didn't want to risk taking off the sling until it was completely healed. I felt fine now, but Carlisle still insisted that I still don't use it for at minimum, the next two days.
I hadn't been able to go to school; I couldn't act normal enough, not with Nessie still somewhere unknown. The rest went to keep up appearances, but Sarah's cover hardly covered anything. We had one more day until her family would be expecting her home, and she couldn't even be around humans. The story was that Alice had hauled Sarah and Nessie to Minneapolis for an week of shopping, to extend Nessie's birthday, but that story couldn't hold up for long, soon enough we'd have to leave Detroit Lakes nearly as fast as we had come.
I spent nearly every day, waiting anxiously for Renesmee to come walking through that front door, or climb in through the window, hell, she could drive a car through the wall, I didn't care, as long as she came back soon.
We all were still trying to assess what drove her. We knew that if she'd picked up Sarah's trail, that she wouldn't stop until she found what she was looking for, but ran fifty miles without any lead, anything to tell her to head that direction, she merely ran aimlessly, which didn't add up. Normally, if you were searching for a scent, you'd check every possible, whereas she followed a straight line; it didn't make sense.
I was pulled out of though when Edward zipped down the staircase to the kitchen table where Carlisle read the local newspaper. His head lifted to see the alert expression that I knew all too well. "They're here," he murmured, his black irises hardening in fury.
"The Volturi?" Carlisle asked to be sure, his voice calm and level, but concern leaking into it, giving it an unsure edge.
Edward nodded, staring at nothing in particular in concentration. "They're about two miles west, they're coming here," he paused, ignoring the growls that rumbled out from several of us, myself included. "They're hiding something, their thoughts are to distract, not focus," he murmured.
"Duh, dude, they're hiding a lot of things," Emmett called from the yard, approaching the house from having done who knows what.
I snarled at the thought of meeting the Italian leeches again. It brought me pleasure to think of tearing off the rock hard head off of their last leader, being the one who was leading their little hunt. "They want to kill off the Cullens, is what they want," Edward answered an unspoken question.
Blondie nodded in response. "But why would they want that?"
"They feel that we're a threat to their power, which is true, they've lost just about everything, they have no power; but that doesn't mean that we have it, that's just what they think. . . quarter of a mile now. . ." he added, reaching for Bella's hand. She kissed his cheek, curling into his chest. I didn't want to watch, seeing them being so. . . complete, only made me wonder where Nessie was more.
"Hold on a second - we're just gonna sit here and wait? Shouldn't we be preparing or something?" I asked, kind of disgusted that we were just waiting for the period at the end of our death sentence.
"Jake, there isn't anything that we can do. If it comes to a fight, well, then that's inevitable, but if we can possibly talk things out, then we're going to do whatever we can." Carlisle looked to me sincerely, knowing that I'd rather finish them off for good.
"It's time," Edward said, gesturing for us to head outside, all of us ushering ourselves out the door. Seth's face mirrored Carlisle's, not liking the idea of more violence, but wasn't as serious about it, knowing that if someone deserved to die, then that was that. He didn't exactly like it, but went with it, which I could easily see as he passed me, keeping his eyes on his feet.
My eyes scanned the horizon, sunset breaking across the uneven land. Soon enough, a group of ten leeches practically floated to the property, a sly grin on the leader's face as they assumed a V formation, almost as birds would while in flight, but they had something behind them, two of the leeches that I'd noticed before.
Wait - ten? I counted the figures again, some of their faces hidden from eyesight, especially the one that they dragged behind. When we left Washington, there were six who had escaped; right? I counted again and again, finally noticing some unfamiliar faces. Six of them were the same as last time, one of them probably one of the ones that were hidden, because they were lacking a face, but the other four were a mystery as to their identity. Two males and a female for sure, but I still couldn't see the ones that they were concealing. The eight in sight shifted their position so that the two behind were obscured form view completely.
We were outnumbered.
"Caius," Carlisle began, nodding to the leader, who kept his mask.
"Carlisle, friend, it seems as if it were just yesterday that we stood in this very position of hate and fury," he sneered, not bothering with the whole everything-is-just-fine-and-dandy way of speech that Aro used to speak, but still daring to call Carlisle a friend. I swallowed, disgusted.
Carlisle sighed. "You know Caius, I still have full respect for you and your family," he said smoothly, his eyes flickering over their formation, showing that what they had most certainly could not be called a family. "But after what you've put mine through, I have difficulty calling you such a beloved term, such as a friend."
Caius nodded. "Fair enough."
Someone said something else, but I wasn't paying attention when behind Caius, I saw a flicker of a bronze ringlet, someone whipping their head in a different direction, almost a jerky type of motion, the type of someone trying to escape. It was a small thing, but enough for me to finally overcome my state of grieving over Nessie's disappearance, and notice the irregular heartbeat that sounded from the back of their group. It was different, faster, but still a sound that I'd recognize anywhere. I couldn't have been the only one to notice, but I was the only one who did something.
I snarled with rage at the realization, exploding into my wolf before anyone could realize what was going on.
A/N: Hey, I tried to get this up at least a bit faster than last time, but not as soon as I wish I could've . . . because that was like a total FAIL. *originally planned on getting this up last week, but was busy being a retard and didn't* As a fair warning, I'd like to point out that there'll probably be one or two more chapters left in this story, and then the epilogue; I know, it's a very short story, but I kind of screwed myself with Daybreak. . .
Thank you so much for reading, I so appreciate it that you're interested enough to read this far into my writing, when personally, I'd have booked it out of that window back in the first chapter! If you somehow liked it, then . . . you're welcome? If you didn't . . . well, sorry, then.
Also, Potterheads need to check out Cassia4u, seriously, I think I've told you to do that well, about . . . okay, I'm not smart enough to do the math, but I've told you a lot, so if you're a fan of Draco and Astoria fics, and haven't checked her out by now, get your ass over to her profile page, and start reading. And even if that's not your favorite pairing, don't worry, she's got other stuff boggling her mind, so just hang in there, don't worry! Plus Hunger Games fans are really gonna wanna stick with either of us for an interesting co-authored fic, trust me, we've searched, and there's not really any fanfics quite like the one that we've been working on . . . that's all I'm gonna say about that . . .
Quick question, who saw the new Dark Knight movie? *feels tired and random while writing this, but has been way worse . . . *
If you have read this far, you have no social life.
By the way, Seth would be the one to imprint on a girl during her vampire transformation, am I right? :P
Thanks for reading guys!
:D
