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Chapter 13

Carlisle stood talking with Masen on the back porch when Caleb and Delilah arrived home. From the posture of each of them, he could tell that their conversation was of importance, or serious in nature. Immediately he got a chill up his back, particularly when the two of them glanced over at him at the same time.

"What's going on?" Caleb asked them, noting Masen's police uniform

Carlisle turned and looked upward toward the balcony that hung off his bedroom. He knew Esme was inside, and wanted to speak with her before she heard just bits and pieces of the conversation at hand and jumped to conclusions.

Masen looked at his brother, "There have been a few local... attacks."

"Attacks?" Caleb asked.

Delilah looked at him out of the corner of her eye, then refocused on Masen.

"I think we have a problem," Masen told them.

"Have you been at any of the crime scenes personally?" Carlisle asked his eldest son.

He nodded, "I found one of them myself when I was off-duty and called it in. l smelled the blood from miles away and went to see what was wrong."

"So you think it's another vampire?" Caleb asked him, "That's what you're saying?"

"I suspect so," Masen nodded.

"Was there a scent left behind?" Carlisle asked, "Anything?"

He shook his head. "No."

"Nothing?"

Masen shook his head again, "No. Nothing."

"You said the man you found was still alive when you first stumbled across him; said that he was coughing up blood and died a few seconds later."

"Yeah," Masen said, "He was."

"So there should have been a scent if the attack had occurred just a few minutes before." Carlisle said.

"I was afraid he was going to turn when he didn't initially die," Masen told him, "But he choked, or bled out before the venom could even spread. He'd already lost a lot of blood when I got there."

Caleb sighed and felt his throat tighten at the revelation that there was no scent left behind. He was about to comment, but his father went on.

"If there was no scent," Carlisle said, shaking his head, "How can you be sure it was an attack from one of us."

"It was brutal," Masen explained, "Animalistic, but controlled. The bite marks were unmistakable and the way he was..." he made a face, "...torn apart." Carlisle went to say something else, but he jumped back in, "Dad, I know what it is. There have been similar calls in too, several down at South Beach."

Caleb's head sprung up at the words. His heart felt heavy and he repeated the words in his mind as he envisioned the sign that he and Delilah had walked right past on the side of the road the night he'd pushed their attacker into the side of the cliffs. It read, South Beach Keep Right Ahead.

"South Beach?" Carlisle looked to Caleb, "Isn't that where you went?" A part of him began to fear the worst.

"Huh?" he asked. "Oh, yeah. That's where Alice's visions are blocked off from."

"What?" Masen asked. He glanced back to Carlisle.

"Alice has been having her visions blocked, particularly the few times that Caleb and a few of the others have taken trips down to South Beach."

"What were you doing down at South Beach?" his brother asked him.

Caleb felt defensive, but didn't show it. "We went down there with Emmett and Rosalie last week."

Masen looked at Carlisle to confirm the information.

"And you were down there tonight," Carlisle added.

"I just went for a drive," Caleb said. His eyebrows pressed together.

"There's someone roaming around the area," Masen concluded. "I know what it is that's doing this. They're blaming it on bears this time." He shook his head, "It's not."

"I suppose you would have sensed a bear just as well as another one of our kind," Carlisle said. He shook his head, appearing as though he wasn't sure what to make of the situation.

"That's what I don't understand," Masen told him. "Unless my senses are going." A smile formed on his face, but it quickly faded and he remained more stone-like in his expression.

Carlisle glanced at Delilah and studied the color of her eyes without staring. He acknowledged the peaceful, topaz color and the passing thought that she might have slipped up and Caleb was covering for her left his mind.

"How many attacks have their been?" Carlisle asked him.

"I've been watching closely," Masen explained, "I counted three similar stories in the are in the last week."

"Any before?"

He shook his head and shrugged, "I don't know."

Carlisle sighed and looked up again toward the window. He listened closely and could hear Esme singing lightly along with her I-pod.

Caleb felt the guilt beginning to weigh on him and he looked at Delilah. She looked up at him, and he turned to her. "Why don't you go inside with Alex."

Delilah looked at him and cocked her head to the side just slightly.

Carlisle made eye contact with Caleb, then Delilah.

"Okay," she said, then glanced at Masen.

He smiled at her and stepped in to give her a hug. "Nice to see you Delilah."

She smiled, always feeling comfortable about Masen's welcoming, gentle nature, but felt her chest aching because of Caleb's situation. She felt in her bones that he was about to tell the two of them what had happened. "Nice to see you too Masen."

They each smiled at the other and Delilah glanced at Carlisle, then Caleb and wandered in through the back door.

Caleb stood and shifted his eyes between Carlisle and Masen. The two of them stood about eye level with him, but seemed to be towering over him. He had never felt more intimidated by his father and brother.

"I need to talk to you," he said to Carlisle. "Can we talk?"

Carlisle didn't break eye contact and nodded. He looked to Masen.

"I'll go keep an eye on Marshall," he said, leaving the two of the to have a private conversation.

Caleb waved his hand to his father and began to lead him toward the woods. He walked for several minutes, feeling heavy in the feet and heavier in the heart. He didn't know when he was going to stop walking, but he feared the moment when his sneakers would come to a halt in the dry leaves.

Carlisle followed close behind, and saw how stressed and anxiety-ridden in his son was. He placed a hand gently on his back as he began to slow to down his walk.

Caleb sighed and finally turned around, bringing himself to a full halt. "Dad I..." He looked down.

He allowed him a moment to gather his thoughts and breath, but then decided to encourage him to open up and talk. "Son," he said, "You can tell me whatever you need to."

"Yeah..."

Carlisle began to feel tense, but also felt badly. He knew whatever his son was about to tell him was difficult, and he assumed it had to do with his drive, or the area that they suspected Alice couldn't see. "I can help you through whatever it is you're going through."

Could someone's blood have called to him so strongly? Carlisle wondered. Could he have had something to do with Masen's reports?

"Dad," Caleb looked down and decided to just spit it out, "I was attacked tonight."

"What?" he stepped forward just slightly and looked his son up and down, "Are you alright? Who attacked you?"

"I don't know," he said, shaking his head, "But he didn't have a scent. When you and Masen were just talking, I knew I had to tell you."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Carlisle asked. He put a hand on his shoulder, then continued to look at him to make sure he was okay."

"I'm fine," Caleb assured him.

"Who attacked you? Where?"

"I couldn't see the person's face. He had on a hood and pinned me down. I was down at South Beach walking the streets and I went down a road that was kind of closed to be alone for a minute and he ambushed me; threw me into the side of an old building and it collapsed. He then strung gasoline all over me and threw a match."

"What?" he shook his head in disbelief and tried to scream out his next question. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"I didn't want to worry you... and especially not Mom."

"That comes secondary to your safety Caleb. Are you alright?'

"I'm fine."

"How'd you get away?"

"He let me go."

Carlisle looked confused, then put a hand on his head and gave his son a hug. "Caleb..." he shook his head, "Don't... you can't hide something like this. We have to find out who did this... and why."

"I accidentally killed someone there a week ago," he went on, regretfully so, "The night we were down there, Emmett and Rose left and we were taking a walk on the beach. A man came out with a knife and tried to attack us and I shoved him when he grabbed Delilah by the arm."

Carlisle's expression changed, appearing to be shocked as his eyebrows raised. His expression remained soft and understand. Caleb could see that he was trying to take in all of the information at once.

"I didn't mean to," he went on, "It was an accident. I just wanted to get him away from Delilah and I just shoved him. There was a big rock cliff right there and William said he heard a crack. He was bleeding and unconscious and we thought he broke his neck."

Carlisle stared at his son in disbelief.

"I'm sorry." He felt tears in his eyes, but tried to hold them back. "I couldn't tell you. That's why I was checking the papers every morning. I wanted to see if they found him."

Carlisle's mouth hung open slightly and he closed his eyes for a moment, but brought his son back into a hug. The two of them didn't talk for a few minutes, but Carlisle finally managed to ask the question.

"What did you do with his... his body Caleb?"

"William through it in the water down there."

Carlisle closed and opened his eyes, then ran his hands down his face, then through his hair.

"He attacked us," Caleb said, "He came out of nowhere and he charged with a knife. I should have just sidestepped him, or let him stab me but I never thought that a little shove would have killed him. I didn't want to tell you." He put a hand over his eyes. "I don't know what to do."

"Did anyone bite him?"

He shook his head, "No."

Carlisle hugged him again. "We'll figure this out."

"I don't know if this is related to what happened to me tonight."

"I was wondering the same thing. That's why I wanted to know if he was bitten by any of you." He sighed, "We're going to all have to talk about this."

"Everyone's going to be ashamed of me," Caleb told him, shaking his head.

Carlisle shook his head back, "Most of them have..." He didn't finish his sentence. He knew his son hadn't intentionally killed someone, and fully believed that the man had spontaneously attacked them and his first instinct was to protect Delilah. "Let's go back to the house. We have to talk your mother."

over

"No," Caleb said, "Dad please. I don't want to tell Mom."

"We have to," he said, "And she'll understand."

"I don't want her to be upset again."

Carlisle closed his eyes and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I can't lie to her. Not about something like this especially. She'll understand."

"She's going to be upset."

"We'll figure this out together," he assured him, "That's what family is for."

Caleb stared at his father, who gave him another hug before he reluctantly agreed to follow him back to the house.

Caleb's attacker lingered in the woods by the Cullens house. He'd listened to every word of their conversation, and pushed the limits of how close he stood to see how close he could come without being detected. He engrained the conversation in his mind, and it pleased him to know that he held the power of detectability. Not a soul knew he was there, and if anyone else got close enough to his location, he would move with a stealthy, cat-like grace.

The images in his mind were there forever, and he knew he had plenty of information to share. With that, he decided to make his way away from Forks for a time, though knew his job wasn't nearly over in regards to Caleb and the rest of them.