Hey One and All!

Ok, I know, it's been a horribly long time... I'm soooo soooo sorry.

To make up for it, here's the next chapter. I hope it answers some questions.

Thanks to all those who have stuck through this whole story. You guys are amazing :)

Standard Disclaimer Applies...

I had always loved running. Something about the feel of the wind whipping through my hair, my muscles flexing as they propelled me through the forest, my blood pumping through my veins. It felt like nothing else on earth, to just let go and run; no worries, no fears. Just the wind in my face and the ground under my feet. It was freedom.

This time it wasn't.

The running was essentially the same. The wind tossed my hair in its ponytail, my muscles strained, and my heart pumped the blood my body needed to work.

Yet this was different.

There was no freedom to it.

My head pounded as I tried to take in everything in my surroundings. Looking to see if I could see anything or anyone was only a small part of it. I watched the leaves, the path, fallen branches; anything that was out of place. Even watching for Chris's footprints to make sure he was still running ahead of me.

And that was just trying to take in what I saw.

My hearing has never quite been as good as that of the rest of my families, but its pretty close. I could hear everything happening around me, from a squirrel eating an acorn just across the path to a bird feeding its young in a nest almost forty feet away.

But while my hearing was good, my sense of smell was better. My senses were flaring from the adrenaline, so what I couldn't see or hear, I could still smell. The twins would pass almost silently, but their distinct smell told me how close they had been. I could even guess how long ago Chris had passed from the strength of his scent on the trail.

It was almost overwhelming and slight disorienting.

As the hours slowly slipped by, it was becoming a little easier. So much didn't change that once I had seen and acknowledged it, I only had to note subtle changes.

I began letting my mind wander around 1:30. Four and a half hours of seeing the same scenery would make anyone go a little loopy.

So many questions sprung to mind all at once. 'What the hell was going on?' being the major one, followed closely by 'Where the hell is my family?', 'Who is trying to kill the pack?', and 'My legs are starting to hurt like hell'. Ok, so the last one isn't really a question, but it did cross my mind a couple of times.

After running another lap in which my mind was doing 360's, I finally got myself focused on the most pertinent question.

What the hell is going on here?

Even then, that question was absurdly loaded. There was one too many aspects to it for my liking.

Ok genius, start with the basics. And for goodness sake, pull yourself together.

Well, I figured the basics took me back to my Eng Lit class; who, what, where, when, and why.

The fact that I'm reverting to high school English class should tell you how loopy you really are Ness…

The first of these questions wasn't even easily answered. Who did want the pack kill? Granted, I think that covered the 'what' question too.

Focus Nessie… one at a time.

Sometimes arguing with myself was a pain…

I guess there were only a few different options on who it could be, so I started there.

Vampires was the first answer that came to mind. That, however, simply led straight back to the question 'who?'. There were many different vampire groups out there.

The Volturi for one. They were definitely interested in the pack when they first met seven years ago. And Alice usually keeps an eye on them. But would one of them send her a warning? I couldn't imagine so.

Then again, it could be a set up.

The Romanian vampires were another option. They were a bunch of back biting, scheming, sinister, old men that would like nothing better than finding a way to return to power. Then again, there were other vampires that might just want the territory. We even knew a few that would attack just for the fun of it.

There was also the idea that it could be actual werewolves who wanted to see what this pack was all about. That was not one of the ideas I liked at all, seeing as we knew nothing about fighting them. There was also a full moon this weekend that worried me, making them a viable threat. But that led to the question of how would Alice have seen one of them? She knew nothing of them so she wouldn't be able to see them at all.

There are more questions and unknowns than an episode of Jeopardy.

That led to the last possibility. Humans. Ya, definitely not the most likely situation, but still a possibility. At least Alice was still able to See them.

Out of the three, humans were best option, tactically speaking. Both the others were bad, considering all the variables, let alone any possible combinations.

Great Ness, that still doesn't answer anything.

As for the 'What?' question, the only way to answer that was to know the who. Well shit. That's a big help.

Ok, actually, the same goes for the when and why. We still had no idea what the hell was going on. Hopefully Alice and my family might be able to shed some light on the issue. Whenever they decide to make an appearance.

At least there is one question I can answer honestly. Where. We know its going to happen on the Reservation.

At least we're not totally in the dark.

And yet, the thought of it being at La Push was even more intimidating than all the other unknowns put together. These were my friends, my family. I didn't want anything to happen to them. I couldn't let anything happen to them. Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, my aunts and uncles, Chris and Brooklynn, Seth, Embry, Quil, all their imprints… Jacob.

Even the thought of anything happening to him scared me half to death. Jacob was my best friend, my life. Thinking about what might happen to Jacob was scaring me more than I could possibly understand. I had never admitted it to anyone. I'm not even sure I have absolutely actually admitted it to myself.

Not like people haven't noticed. Basically everyone except Jacob.

I loved him.

Ok, I know I've admitted that before, out loud even. But I think it is more than that. I'm starting to think I'm in love with him. The whole stomach twisting, skin tingling, heart racing feeling I get just looking at him. How I longed for his smile, his touch. Even the jealousy that takes over when I even think of someone else even talking to him drives me mad. I was finally coming to a conclusion I still didn't quite understand.

I was falling in love with my best friend.

Sometime during my whole revelation process I must have stopped running. I took a quick look around at my surroundings, trying to figure out where I was and why I had stopped. I was on the south side of the Reservation, furthest away from everyone else.

My instincts took over, knowing something wasn't right. My senses flew over my surroundings, taking it all in. I had stopped for a reason, and it wasn't my revelation about Jacob (who I was going to talk to about this as soon as we got out of this mess).

Chris was still on the north side of the Res, so were the Twins. But I could still sense something close by.

I took another deep breath.

Vampires; three of them.

None of which I recognized.

All heading my way.

Fast.

I took my cell out of my pocket quickly, thumbing the redial button as I pulled my sword from its sheath with my other hand. I let it ring twice before hanging up and shoving it back in my pocket.

Taking a running start I leaped up into the nearest tree, pulling myself out of the incoming line of sight.

They were coming in fast.

Well, at least I now know the 'who'.

There you go! Hope you like it!

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