A/N:
Hey all! Well, it's Thursday, and as I promised last week, this story has a set weekly update schedule, so here I am, updating you with chapter 2!
Title: The Mystery of El Jardín
Author: MarieCarro
Beta: SarcasticBimbo
Genre: Mystery/Adventure/Action/Romance
Rating: NC-17
Summary: A group of college students with clashing personalities wins an all-expenses-paid weeklong vacation at a luxury resort in the Caribbean, thinking it will be spent on the beach in the glorious sunshine. However, after landing it becomes very apparent that all is not as it should when the students find themselves alone on the island with only their pilot and one guide. Or are they..?
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
{CHAPTER 2}
Garrett looked around the vacant lobby, turning his head in every direction, almost as if he was expecting the guests and staff to be hidden in some corner he couldn't see. When the sound of chatter permeated the glass entrance doors, all of us turned, but it only turned out to be the remainder of our own group.
"You guys really missed something at the beach! I saw a winged—" Victoria stopped mid-sentence and froze, as did Emmett, Peter, and Kate behind her, when they were met with the same empty lobby.
"The hotel staff knew we were coming this week, right?" the strawberry blonde girl asked quietly, barely above a whisper, and her expression was filled with worry and uncertainty. "I don't feel good about this."
Peter had quickly recovered from his own shock and scoffed. "What are you complaining about, dweeb?" He carelessly threw himself into one of the plush armchairs. "We have the hotel to ourselves! How sick is that?"
Every kid's dream was to roam around an awesome space without rules or authority, so I could see where Peter was coming from, but peculiarities were adding up and becoming too many to label as coincidental and ignore, so I had to agree with the girl. "I get what you're saying, Peter, but something like this doesn't just happen. You have to agree with that at least."
Peter rolled his eyes and huffed. "Who cares?" he said with a drawn-out moan.
I ignored him and turned to the girl. "What's your name, by the way. I don't think we've met before."
"Oh… I'm Tanya Miller," she said with a timid smile.
"Nice to meet you, Tanya. I'm Bella."
"You're both boring as shit. What's better than a private week at a luxury resort?"
Emmett popped his head behind the bar and let out a victorious cheer. "At least the booze is still here! Who's up for a Mai Tai?" Peter and Rosalie joined him as he happily started mixing the liquors, but the rest of us remained uneasy.
"Check this out," Benji said and picked up a half-drunken wineglass sitting on a table. "It's got fresh lipstick on the rim. As if everyone just suddenly up and left."
"Without their luggage?" Victoria pointed to the scattered, abandoned bags. "Why?"
"I'm more concerned with the fact we've got no internet and no cell service," Rosalie said while looking at her phone. I grabbed my own phone from my pocket to inspect and noticed the screen didn't even say 'Emergency Calls Only.'
"Maybe they don't have any towers here." Peter shrugged and his tone made it obvious he wasn't bothered by it.
"Of course the island has cell phone towers, you colossal buffoon," Alistair said angrily as if the suggestion had personally offended him.
Rosalie crossed her arms and regarded him with an unimpressed expression. "And how would you know that?"
Taken aback by the question, Alistair started stuttering. "I… well, of course, I—" He collected himself and squared his shoulders defiantly. "Perhaps because I'm not a complete imbecile? They were plainly visible in the distance on our approach."
Benji and I placed ourselves to the side of the group to discuss theories on our own.
"So what do you think is happening?"
"Judging from the state of things, perhaps some kind of incident."
"An incident?"
"Yeah," I said. "You know, like a gas leak or an outbreak, or something, and everyone had to leave."
Benji nodded. "Maybe. I guess it's not impossible. It's a volcanic island, after all."
"We should ask Alice." I looked at the group to find the guide, but she wasn't in the lobby. "Er, has anyone seen Alice?"
Everyone stopped with what they were doing and looked around, but she was nowhere to be seen. I headed back outside to search there and found her pacing back and forth nervously. I gestured for the others, and we stood watching her as she continued pacing.
Tanya approached her first. "Alice? Are you okay?" she asked.
Alice turned around to face the group. She was smiling, but it teetered on the edge of looking psychotic. "Oh, me? I'm perfect! I'm sure this is positively nothing to worry about! I bet it's just a fire alarm test… or even a hotel-wide beach picnic!"
Edward leaned on the marble pillar and chuckled humorlessly. "Yeah, or maybe the Care Bears came down from the clouds and took everybody to the Happy-Happy Land!"
Garrett gave him a disapproving glance. "That's not helping, Edward."
"Not helping?" Edward straightened back up and glared at Garrett. "You're the ones sitting around playing story time. How about getting real answers? 'Cause, truth is, I'm not here to help. I'm here to get paid. And right now, ain't nobody here to pay me."
"We'll only get answers if someone around here shows leadership," Garrett said and followed his words up with a disappointed appraisal of Edward. "Looks like you're not up for the task."
Edward took a confrontational step closer to Garrett. "You throw a ball around and you think that qualifies you to talk to me about leadership?"
"Hey, cut that out, both of you," I said and stepped in between them. "We will figure this out, but measuring your dicks is definitely helping."
They spoke over each other as they tried to defend themselves.
"Whoa, hang on, I wasn't—"
"Captain America here's trying to—"
"Don't wanna hear it," I said, not in the mood for excuses. "Shake hands. Then put your heads together so we can solve this." The two men sized each other up before begrudgingly shaking hands. "Better?"
"Yeah. We're good."
"Sure, whatever."
"Great! We've got the power of friendship," Benji said and spun around toward me. "Now what are we supposed to do?"
I was used to Benji looking to me for guidance, but when the rest of the group mimicked him, I was taken aback. "Uh… well, there has to be something that will tell us what happened, right? I say we split up and search the hotel."
Alice clapped her hands together, making me jump. "Oh, wonderful idea, Bella!"
"Hm… maybe I'll find something at the pool," Tanya said, but it sounded as if she was asking for permission, so I gave her an encouraging nod.
"I like the way you think. I'll go with Brain Trust," Edward said and sidled up with Tanya. Alistair silently did the same.
Emmett grinned in Peter's direction. "Yo, Peter, if things were normal, what would we be doing right now?"
"Uh… eating?"
"Exactly. We'll take the restaurant."
"Perfect!" Alice said. "Where do you want to look, Rosalie?"
"Don't care."
"Well… how about we check the ballroom?" Alice tried again in a futile attempt to get a more enthusiastic reaction out of her.
"Still don't care," Rosalie said in the same deadpan tone.
With Alice in the group searching the ballroom, and Kate jumping on the team going to the restaurant with Garrett, my choice was made for me because I couldn't stand either of them. I joined the pool group and then counted us off, but paused when I realized one of us was missing.
"What is it?" Benji asked.
"That girl… the quiet one in the hoodie"—I counted one more time to be sure—"She's gone."
"Maybe you just didn't see her following one of the other groups," Benji said in an attempt to reassure my ever-growing suspicions. "C'mon, the others are waiting."
I knew I hadn't miscounted, but there were more important things we needed to do before thinking about a mysterious girl, so I pushed my worries aside and jogged to catch up with the others.
I stepped into the bright sunshine with my group and gaped at the undoubtedly amazing pool area.
"Wow!" Tanya's chin was almost scraping the ground. "It's like an oasis carved out of the Mesozoic Era!"
"No sign of anyone, though," I said.
"Yeah. So much for the cabana boys," Benji said disappointedly, which caused me to smile at my best friend's silliness.
Edward hopped into a poolside hammock and sighed in content. "Aahh… being stuck here a while might not be so bad."
Alistair narrowed his eyes in annoyance. "After your big fuss, you're just going to lie there and do nothing?"
"Don't trump it 'til you try it, Draco," he said and placed his hands behind his head. "Might find you like the life of leisure."
As much as I wanted to side with Alistair and roll Edward onto the ground, the space next to him looked much too inviting. The area was clearly as empty of people as the rest of the resort, so decided it wouldn't hurt to play for a moment. I joined Edward in the hammock and stretched out next to him. He automatically placed his arm around my shoulder.
"You weren't kidding," I said and smiled. "I could get used to this."
"So could I," he said so softly only I heard him. I shifted to look at him, and his eyes glittered with an unnamed emotion that told me he wasn't referring to "the life of leisure" as he'd called it.
Alistair scoffed and turned away. "Idle fools… Tanya, have you at least found anything of note?"
"Oh yes!" Tanya said and wandered over to the edge of the pool area. Beyond a fence, towering trees marked the beginning of the rainforest. One massive tree had grown completely around the fence, the metal passing straight through the trunk. "This is incredible. See how this tree has wrapped around the metal. How did it grow so fast?"
"It's the soil of the island," Alistair said. "Even the first humans to come here noted its extreme conduciveness to plant growth. That's why it's always been called El Jardín, which is Spanish for The Garden."
Tanya blinked in shock. "Oh… wow…"
In response to her stunned silence, Alistair defensively glowered at her. "If you expect me to apologize for knowing things, I—"
"What? No! I'm impressed," she said and replaced her awed expression with a smile. "I'm glad there's someone else here who I can talk to about stuff like that."
"Oh, I… ahem…" Alistair started stuttering and lowered his eyes, contrite for having jumped to conclusions. "What I, er… mean to say is…" He cleared his throat, and like a light switch, his entire body language changed back into the condescending Alistair. "Don't flatter yourself, Tanya. I sincerely doubt you'd be capable of holding a conversation with me."
"Huh?" Tanya obviously didn't understand his Jekyll and Hyde character switch, but she didn't appear think too much about it because she turned away to search elsewhere, while Alistair kicked at the concrete ground and cursed under his breath.
I shared a look with Edward and Benji. Both of them felt the same secondhand embarrassment I did, and all three of us grimaced at the exchange that had happened in front of us.
We continued searching the area in silence, but we came up empty-handed. There wasn't a single sign that indicated where the hotel guests and staff had gone.
"No luck," I said to the others. "We should regroup with the others. Hopefully, they found something."
Everyone but Tanya headed back to the hotel, and I paused to see what had caught her attention as she was still crouched by the fence. "Tanya?" I called. "You coming?"
She startled. "Oh! Sorry! I'll be right there." She tried to hide it, but I noticed she slipped something under her sweater before she hurried to catch up.
We were the last group to return to the lobby, and as soon as everyone had gathered, voices overlapped to talk about what they'd found.
"Out at the pool, Alistair totally freaked out when Tanya was nice to him," Benji said to Emmett with amusement.
"The ballroom was decked out to the nines for an authentic twenties-themed wedding," Victoria said with a gushing tone. "Even the wine was predating 1924!"
"From the restaurant, we saw something reflecting off the volcano!" Peter said with wide eyes. "At first it was there… and then… not."
"And speaking of the volcano," Garrett joined in. "Alice, isn't Mount Suerte supposed to be dormant?"
"It is. Why do you ask?"
The buzz of everyone talking at once faded into background noise when I noticed Alistair standing off by himself in front of a towering painting of a blond man. I felt bad for him for what had happened earlier, and joined him by the ostentatious frame. I looked closer at the painted man's face and was struck with a sense of familiarity.
"Who is that?" I asked, assuming Alistair would know.
"Hmm?" He turned and peered at me with a dazed stare. I deduced I must've pulled him out of a deep thought. "Oh… it's Carlisle Cullen. CEO of Cullen International and the man who built this hotel."
"Cullen? I think I've seen him before."
Alistair huffed. "Who hasn't? Visionary, genius, and conqueror of every industry…" He sneered up at the portrait of Mr. Cullen, who was portrayed holding a sword with an emerald encrusted hilt. "I still think he looks like a fool." He marched off and bumped straight into Tanya. "Oh, Tanya, I—" he started, but failed to continue. "Just watch where you're going." He brushed past her and her face fell in disappointment.
She sighed and turned to me. "Bella, can we talk a second? You seem like someone I can trust."
"Sure. What is it, Tanya?" I glanced at Alistair's retreating back. "If it's about Alistair, don't take it personally—"
"No, no, it's not that. It's—" Despite her shy personality, her eyes were filled with emotions, and I could read them as clearly as if she'd said them out loud. She wanted to trust me, but she was afraid of being ridiculed. "You know, never mind. Sorry. I should go…"
Before she could leave, I took a gentle hold of her wrist. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," I said to reassure her. "I just want to know that you're okay." The girl didn't have a bad bone in her entire body, and despite knowing her for such a short amount of time, I was already feeling very protective.
"You'd trust me even if I stayed quiet?" she asked, her expression surprised.
"Of course." I smiled. "I believe you're a person who wants to do the right thing, so I know you'll share when you feel ready."
Tanya bit her lip and then pulled out the object she'd hid under her sweater. "I found this out by the pool before we left. It was right by the fence and the bars there were… twisted."
I stared at the object in something akin to horror. "Whoa… that's a huge-ass tooth." It was at least ten inches in length with a slight curvature to it.
"I know. Whatever it came from, it's big," Tanya said and stared at it with unease. "I didn't want to share it because I was afraid it would scare people the way it scared me, but now I'm thinking I should."
"I think so, too. C'mon, I'll do it with you."
We rejoined the group and showed them the frightening tooth.
"No way," Edward shook his head. "There's nothing with teeth that size these days. It has to be a fossil, right?"
Everyone fidgeted, unsure what to make of the find, and no one knew what to say until Garrett changed the subject.
"So after all this, we still have no idea what happened to the guests or the staff?"
The silence remained and stretched since no one had an answer.
"So?" Rosalie asked and looked around. "What do we do now?"
"You go to bed."
I startled since the unfamiliar voice came from behind me, and when I turned, the unreadable mask of the mysteriously quiet girl met me. I wondered where she'd been and if anyone else had noticed her absence.
"Night is falling. You should all get some rest," she continued.
"Leah! There you are! Where have you been?" It felt reassuring that at least the guide had noticed someone was missing, and I was feeling better now that I had a name for the girl.
Leah shifted her impassive eyes to Alice. "Lookin' around. Same as you." She didn't elaborate further.
"Well?" Kate impatiently crossed her arms. "Did you find anything?"
She answered without looking at Kate. "Nothing that matters to you people."
"Shouldn't you let us decide that?" I asked, not appreciating what she was insinuating.
She locked eyes with me. From that one look, I could tell that she didn't trust me for some odd reason. "We've all got secrets." She held my gaze for a moment longer and then vaulted toward the check-in counter and snatched a room key off the wall behind it. "As I said, night is falling. I suggest you get some rest. You're gonna need it." She walked off around the bend and disappeared, leaving the group in confused silence.
Alice was the one to break it as she tried to regain a semblance of authority and control. "Well, it is getting late, and we'll want to be ready to greet everyone when they return from… wherever." She waved everyone over. "Please take the key to your assigned room from behind the desk!"
Rosalie snorted loudly. "Assigned? Ha. Good one." She reached higher up and grabbed an intricately ornate key. "I'm taking a penthouse suite! Hotel's empty, right?"
Unable to stop the others from mimicking Rosalie, Alice gaped as most of the suite keys disappeared.
Edward and I found ourselves reaching for keys at the same time, and he winked at me as we both chose keys to suites as well.
"I knew you were just as bad as the rest of us, Princess," he said, sporting a pleased smirk.
"As if I'm about to let the opportunity of a free suite pass me by," I said, unabashedly giving him a flirty glance as I headed for the elevators.
A surprisingly short ride later, I inserted the key into the door of my chosen room, and it swung open to reveal a lush, welcoming room of jungle green and golden light. I was in complete awe of it and was still taking it all in when a sudden knock caused me to jump and made my heartbeat quicken.
My mind immediately jumped to the hope that it was Edward, and a surge of excitement rushed through me. I made sure to check how I looked in the mirror before I opened the door with bated breath.
"'Sup."
"Benji!" I said, unable to fully mask my disappointment. "Hey."
My best friend smirked in amusement as he strolled inside. "Were you expecting someone else?"
I closed the door and rolled my eyes. "As if you don't already know." He hadn't been far away at any point in time when I'd talked to Edward, except for the control tower earlier in the day.
"Okay, yeah, fine," he consented and laughed. "You've got a thing for the pilot. You always do go for the arrogant type, don't you?"
"What can I say? It's my weakness to find out what lies beneath."
"Uh-huh." He surveyed my room and let out a low whistle. "In the words of the knight from Indiana Jones, you chose wisely. Is it too late to trade?"
I lightly shoved him with my shoulder. "You snooze, you lose."
Benji jumped and belly-flopped onto the bed and sighed with exhaustion. I lay down beside him and ruffled his hair affectionately. "What. A. Day," he said, his voice muffled by the pillows.
"What do you think is going on here?" I asked, and he turned to look at me.
"I know this is only because I watch an unhealthy amount of movies… but remember how I said before we left that I wanted this week to be an adventure? One that will stay with us forever?" I nodded. "Maybe… just maybe the universe is finally listening." He shook his head, laughing at himself. "Though, given my luck with the universe, I'll probably be back in reality, getting bullied again, come morning."
I hated how his bullies had made my BFF so pessimistic because he was otherwise the best kind of person and friend you could ask for. He was loyal to the bone and as supportive as they come, but unfortunately, a few select people couldn't take his lively personality or his way of communicating through movie quotes. A part of me also feared there was some biphobia involved, but I hoped that wasn't the case.
"Well," I said. "I think that sometimes you've gotta find the adventure in the life you're given."
"And you say I'm the silly one." He laughed and grabbed a pillow from the bed to whack me lightly with it.
There was a soft sound of something falling behind the bed, and I crouched down to see what it was. All I found was a folded piece of paper.
"That was under the pillow?" Benji propped himself up on his elbow and looked at the paper as I opened it.
It was obviously old, yellowed by time and with worn edges. The writing on it was written in beautiful looping ink.
"'I must see you one last time before tomorrow. Meet me at our spot in Neptune Cove. Midnight.' Signed F and sealed with a kiss." I gave Benji the letter and pointed at the imprint of lipstick at the bottom.
"Sounds like a steamy rendezvous. Even the name of the cove sounds romantic." With a start, he sat up straight. "Hey, could that be where everyone went?"
"Anything's possible, but I doubt this letter prompted it. It looks years old."
There was more pounding on my door, and I got up to open it and found Peter, Emmett, Garrett, and Rosalie outside.
"What up, what up, what up!" Peter bellowed in his usual obnoxious manner. All four of them were carrying bottles.
"We're heading to the pool to rage," Emmett said and grinned, always excited and looking for an excuse to party.
"I thought we were going to sleep," I said, but I could immediately almost hear Rosalie roll her eyes.
"We've got all the time in the world to sleep later. First night of vacation is set party night," she said.
"Shots up!"
As Emmett began pouring drinks, Benji nudged me and gestured toward the window. I glanced out and saw a few people lounging around the pool and setting up lights.
"Oh, hell yes! I was so hoping this would happen," Benji said happily, but I hesitated.
"I don't know, it's pretty late…"
"C'mon, Bella, please!" Benji pleaded with me, and I knew why. It was unlikely he would join the party unless I did, too, and he really wanted to go. "We promised we would make the most of this trip. You know, find adventure and all of that."
"Yeah, c'mon, Bella," Garrett encouraged as well.
I drew a deep breath and settled on a decision. Mostly for Benji's sake because I didn't want to be the friend who caused him to miss out. "Let's do it," I said and grabbed one of the shot glasses, downing it in one go.
They all cheered and started chanting my name and took their own shots. Together, we headed down to the pool where Tanya and Victoria were in charge of the lights I'd seen from my window.
"Love what you've done with the place," I said, and they thanked me for the compliment.
"We found these in that supply shed by the towels. And Tanya rewired the circuits to make the lights sync with the music!" Victoria was close to bouncing from her excitement.
I was simultaneously surprised, and not, to find Edward stirring up cocktails behind the poolside bar, and I seized the opportunity to continue our flirtatious teasing. I leaned over the smooth wooden surface and grinned. "How'd they rope you into tending the bar? You lose a bet?"
He chuckled. "As if I've ever lost a bet. You should've seen the kinds of drinks these maniacs were pouring. Drax over here just filled his highball glass to the brim with cinnamon whiskey," he said as if it had offended him.
Peter shrugged, unfazed. "What? I call it the Aggro-Pete! That's my go-to."
Edward poured the amber cocktail into a tumbler glass and garnished it with a slice of lemon peel before sliding it down the bar into Peter's hand. "Try that."
Peter had a sip and his eyes immediately widened. "Wha—Whoa! That just blew my mind!"
"It's called a Sazerac. A classic. Consider yourself enlightened." He turned to me with a much more inviting smile.
"Can I get something?" I asked him, intentionally making my voice sound sultry. It was very on-the-nose, but I didn't care because he responded to it.
"I'm gonna be pouring drinks the entire night, aren't I?" he asked rhetorically, but he didn't seem to mind making something for me, at least. "Okay, Princess, what's your poison?"
"Surprise me. Create a new drink inspired by me," I said, and Edward cocked his head to the side.
"Inspired by you, huh? Hm…" He appeared to drink me up with his eyes as he stared intensely for a long moment and then got to mixing.
Soon, I had a fresh, colorful drink before me. I took a sip, and my first reaction was to make a face toward the strength of it. Then the taste slowly morphed into something sweeter, and I couldn't quite pinpoint what the aftertaste was. "Wow… that's intense. Strong and sweet, but with a tangy bite I can't name."
"Yeah, I think that sums you up quite nicely, don't you?" Edward said, and I blinked in surprise when I realized he'd intended for the tastes to correspond with what he saw in me.
His analysis was impressively accurate. "How thoughtful of you. It's nice to know what you think of me."
He leaned onto the bar from his side, forcing us to be very close to each other, but I didn't mind. "You sound surprised I can be thoughtful."
I giggled in delight. "Not at all. I saw through your sarcasm the second I stepped into your cockpit." I took another sip of the drink and Edward's eyes fell to my lips around the straw. "Thanks for the drink, Top Gun." I turned and left the bar, hoping my teasing would prompt him to find me later.
Benji was standing next to the grill where Emmett was grilling deliciously aromatic veggie and shrimp skewers, and I joined them.
"Having a good night?" Benji asked.
I smiled. "So far, so good."
Something caught Benji's eyes past my shoulder. "Seems you've caught someone's eyes, too," he said and nodded for me to turn around. Leah was sitting high on the hill overlooking the party, and she was watching from a distance, framed by the starry sky. She caught my gaze, but this time, she looked away first.
"Who's up for a game of Marco Polo?" Garrett's voice resounded over the pool area, and I looked over at him where he was wading in the water, his muscular frame exposed for everyone to see. He grinned at me as those playing dove into the pool, eager for the game. "Bella? You in or out?"
"Uh…" Kate's eyes were burning holes into the side of my face, and I wasn't in the mood to handle her jealousy. It didn't matter to her I was clearly preferring Edward over Garrett—who was much too perfect, popular, and the quintessential star quarterback for me to find him interesting—because in her mind, I was a threat. "I think I'll go and see if Leah's okay," I said, effectively dodging that disaster.
I walked up the slope to the cliff side where Leah sat, her legs dangling over the sheer edge. At the sound of my approach, she looked back.
"What is it?" she asked, her tone defensive.
"I just thought you might want company. Sorry to have bothered you." I turned back around, but then heard a soft sigh.
"No. Stay." Her hair fell across her face, but it didn't stop her dark eyes from reflecting the shimmering stars overhead.
I sat down beside her, letting my legs hang over the cliff face next to hers. Far below, the ocean rolled against the rocks. "I brought you a blanket," I said. "In case you're cold." I offered it to her, but she recoiled.
"Why?"
I shrugged. "I don't know. To be nice?"
She hesitantly took the blanket and placed it over her shoulders. "Thank you." She gazed up at the sky where countless stars glittered across the dark. "Where I'm from, people don't do things for you without expecting something in return."
"What if what people want in return is to be liked?" I said, but it caused her to click her tongue.
"Isn't that pathetic? How lonely we all are? But at least you're honest about it." We sat together in silence, letting the infinite field of stars engulf us both. When I exhaled, the cold air made my breath into a puff of smoke. "You're freezing, too," Leah observed, and scooted closer to share the blanket, wrapping it around me.
"See," I said, smiling. "You can do something nice expecting nothing in return." I thought my words would have been fine since I said them playfully, but Leah pulled away and stood up, leaving me alone with the blanket.
"I can't do this. The people in my life often end up getting hurt. And I don't mean their feelings."
"Leah, wait—"
"You strike me as a good person. I don't want that to happen to you." She marched off and disappeared into the dark.
I didn't know what to make of what she'd said, so I just stayed on the cliff, my stunned thoughts trying to process what had happened. Eventually, I made my way back down the hill to the party.
"Woo! Let's do this!" Peter climbed onto the nearby gazebo and perched at the edge, readying himself to jump into the pool.
"Peter, that's clearly against the pool regulations!" Alistair complained.
"Oh, yeah? I see nothing that says 'No Badasses Allowed'!" He launched himself in a cannonball and slammed into the water.
A tsunami of water soaked everyone standing by the poolside. Benji sputtered out a mouthful of water, and I laughed at everyone's expressions, my worry for Leah forgotten.
"I'll go grab everyone some towels," I said, and headed past the pool toward the supply shed on the beach. Back there, the overhead lights flickered, and left wide pools of darkness surrounding the shed.
I scooped the towels into my arms when I heard a strange rustling. I paused and peered past the fence, into the dark rainforest. The bright moonlight couldn't penetrate the thick canopy, and I stepped closer and closer to see better.
Out of the black, a sinewy shadow with rippling muscles and glowing eyes appeared. It growled at me and I recoiled with a scream, lost my balance, and fell hard on my back.
"Bella! Are you okay?"
Everyone sprinted over from the party and knelt at my side. They followed my gaze past the fence, into the unlit rainforest.
"Did you see something?" Victoria asked.
"What was it?" Edward looked at me with genuine worry.
I stared into the darkness. The glowing eyes were gone. "I… I have no idea."
A/N:
What was that lurking in the trees? Why does Alistair act the way he does around Tanya? What kind of animal left that tooth behind? What's really going on with Leah? And who has ever had a friend like Peter? Tell me what you think, and Edward will make a drink inspired by you! ;-)
