Fated

Chapter 9

We have been at Alice's house so long it's dark when we leave. Edward and I are exchanging stories from our past years and chatting about college when his cell rings. He takes a peek at the number. "It's the station. I have to get it."

"Officer Cullen." I can only hear Edward's side of the conversation. "I'm close to that area now. I'll call Alice and have her meet me there." Edward ends the conversation and looks at me. "That was my captain. He wants me to check out a mutilated animal. Two teenagers found it in the woods. I'll take you home and then fly back here."

"Can I go with you, Please?"

"You sure? It could be gory?"

"I'm positive. Gore doesn't bother me."

"Okay." He takes out his cell phone and dials Alice's number. "Captain called about a mutilated animal in the woods off of Pine Drive, about ΒΌ mile from Locust St. I'm bringing Bella." He ends his conversation.

"Alice will meet us there."

We pull into a small parking area along Pine Drive. Next to our car, there is a walking path that leads into the woods. Alice is waiting for us at the beginning of the trail. She looks happy and full of energy, as always. I just left her not that long ago and I'm happy to see her again already. I get out of the car and race up to greet her again.

"I brought a flashlight for you Bella, so you can see. " Alice hands it to me.

"Thanks, Alice. That is so thoughtful of you."

Edward takes the lead walking down the path.

Alice wraps her arm around mine. "Come on." We follow behind Edward.

We make our way down the darkened path, Alice and Edward looking to either side of the path, searching where I'm unable to see. I'm excited to be out here on a job with them. After walking about a quarter mile, both Edward and Alice stick their noses up into the air at the same time. They sniff and then turn their heads toward the left of the path. I'm amazed at their tracking abilities. I feel lucky to be able to observe such formidable creatures in action.

"This way," Edward says as he takes the lead. We walk through leaves and old branches and twigs, working our way through the woods until we come across a dead animal lying on the ground. I hold the flashlight on it to get a better look. It's a dead deer. Edward bends down and turns it's head towards the right and checks it's neck. "Two fang marks. It's a vampire."

"But isn't that what vampires are supposed to do?" I say.

"Not kill them. Just drink some blood and leave them with enough to still walk and be alert. There are too many vampires in New York, if they all killed animals each time they fed, it would be noticeable something was going on and people would panic. The special department Alice and I work for, enforce such vampire rules and when the rules are broken, we find the vampires responsible." I get goosebumps from hearing Edward speak so ominously.

"Over here." We hear Alice yell from about 50 feet further through the woods. Edward sniffs the air again and begins walking as I follow behind. We find Alice standing over the corpse of a man.

"Vampire?" Edward asks.

"Yes, but it's more than that." Alice bends down and pulls the corpse's shirt up exposing his chest. Claw marks are covering his chest. Clawed into his chest is an S inside a circle.

"What does that mean?" I ask.

"It's a vampire coven. That S and circle are their insignia. They refuse to abide by vampire law and do what they want. They torture their victims leaving their insignia behind to tease us with their victory. Edward and I were just given the case this week to track them down and eliminate them. We were informed they moved to New York about a month ago." Alice's voice is icy.

Alice takes a picture of the clawed insignia on her cell phone as Edward leans in close to the corpse and sniffs. "There's no blood left to track." He says to Alice and then faces me.

"If there was blood left in the body and it was a fresh kill, we could try to track the blood while it is still in the vampire's body."

"You can't track vampires by their smell?" I ask Edward.

"Not now. It's been here too long. Probably for two days. Their scent is gone." Edward searches the ground. "There's no marks from a body dropping to the ground. They probably attacked him here as opposed to grabbing him from somewhere else and bringing him here." Edward stops and bends down. He stands up holding two old fashioned single wooden matchsticks. One with a burnt match head and the other an unlit green match head. Alice walks over to take a closer look.

"They look like fireplace matchsticks," I say.

Alice takes the unlit one from Edward's hand and turns it around in her hand. "Fireplace matchsticks are longer. These are just old fashioned wooden matchsticks. Some people prefer them, especially for lighting cigars." Alice holds out the matchstick for me to inspect.

I reach out to take the matchstick from Alice's hand. When I touch it, my vision suddenly goes blurry. I get a sharp pain over my eyes, causing me to rest a hand over my closed eyes. A vision begins to build in my head. I see a man walking through a dimly lit bar. He is wearing an old, worn down, leather jacket and jeans. He sits down at the bar and orders a drink. I cannot hear what he is saying. My vision is fuzzy so I don't see the details of his face. The man pulls a small wooden box out of his jacket pocket and pulls out of it, a matchstick with a green head. He pulls a cigar out of the same pocket and lights it with the matchstick. I see on his finger an odd symbol tattooed on his finger. It looks like half a circle resting on top of a line.

Edward grasps my arm, knocking me out of my vision. "Bella, are you alright?"

I look up at him. "I saw something when I touched the matchstick.

"What do you mean..."

"I know what she means. Bella, describe what you saw." I relay what I saw to Edward and Alice. "Is there anything else you can remember? Can you see the name of the bar?" Alice questions me.

"No." I shake my head. "I'm sorry. I've got a full-blown migraine. I think I need to go home and rest."

Alice places a comforting hand on my back. "Of course you do. Getting visions is hard work. You did well. Go home and rest and drink plenty of water. If you have Chamomile tea, that helps." Alice says as she hugs me.

"I'll stay and call this in if you want to take Bella home," Alice says to Edward.

"Thanks, Alice," Edward says before he scoops me up into his arms and carries me back to the car. We remain silent the rest of the ride home while I keep my eyes closed and lean my seat back to rest. When we pull up to my place, Edward quietly opens my car door, scoops me up into his arms once again and carries me inside. Patty greets us as Edward carries me to the couch, telling Patty I have a migraine and to take good care of me, he kisses me gently on the forehead, says goodnight, and leaves.