Chapter 4: The White Demon
The days passed into weeks, which passed into months. Soon, Meredith had survived the first two months of her new school. For the most part, it passed gradually, without much event or excitement. Soon, Meredith had formed a routine. Wake up just as Thatcher left for his duties, wish him a good day, and head off to school, which would pass without effort, and then come home again, do her homework and eat dinner. Derek seemed to still be content with not speaking to her, as did she. The initial awkwardness of the silence slowly faded as her routine became solid. Not only that, but Derek would have days where he wouldn't even show up to school. Again, this became less and less strange as the days went on. During the school hours, she came to know the group a bit better, though she never quite felt as one of them. Even so, she enjoyed listening to their back and forth conversations and bickering. Every once and a while, she would be invited to join them on the weekends. They did everything from shopping at Port Angeles to having bon fires at the beach. Once or twice, Mike or Tyler brought along a small bag of marijuana, and though she never joined in, she didn't try to oppose their use of it. She just hoped Thatcher never found out. He never did, much to her relief. When she wasn't out with the group, she and Mark spent their weekends together, the boy finally gaining his permit. Meredith still felt a bit uneasy at the prospect of him driving her, however. Even so, he had yet to get in an accident. She and Finn spoke every night, as they had agreed to do before she left. She called him, or he her. Either way, they spoke to one another as much as they could at night. Though towards the later part of the two months, Finn seemed to have less and less time for it.
Tuesday was predicted to be the last day before the winter snow fall. Meredith had never visited Forks in the wintertime – whenever she and Thatcher had their Christmases together, he would always come down to Boston. Meredith was interested as to just what the snow would be like. Though at the same time, she was a bit worried that her clothes wouldn't be warm enough. Snow clothes weren't exactly the best seller in Massachusetts. That evening foreshadowed an easy end of the day, if not somewhat boring. Meredith felt the need to stretch her legs. It was still daylight out when she announced she'd be going for a walk. Thatcher looked up from the television.
"Alright," he said, "but don't stay out too late."
"Sure." After placing a kiss to the top of his head, Meredith pulled on a jacket and stepped outside, heading into the woods. The smell of pine and the sound of the evening bird filled her senses. As she went up the green filled trail, she let the wind play with the ends of her ponytail, giving her icy kisses on her face and neck. She walked slowly, letting the atmosphere of the forest engulf her. It reminded her of one of her favorite books, Snow Falling on Cedars – coincidently, it also took place in Washington. Or at least near it. Thinking about the novel, she had a craving for strawberries. She smiled to herself and leaned against the green tinted tree, moss tickling the back of her neck. The entire forest seemed to watch her much like when she and Mark visited James Island. Though the forest had a much less menacing feeling to it. When she was young, visiting her father during the summer, the forest would be her favorite place to be. She loved crawling through hallow logs and playing near the rocky shore of the creeks that ran through the woods. She had always been allured by large, quiet areas of land. One of the reason she adored the deserts area in Massachusetts. It was large enough to be its own creature, alive with so much beauty and life. The forest had that same entity, just in a different manor. She slipped down to sit at the base of the large tree, her hand resting on the soft moss that iced it over. Her head rested back against the firm bark, sighing through her nose. She began to let her mind wander. Where it went, she didn't mind. It traveled from one place to the other, thinking about memories, about school, about Finn and Mark and her new friends... about Thatcher and Ellis... about Boston... about Forks... about Derek...
Before she knew it, she had drifted off to sleep.
When she woke up, it was dusk, the sun nearly set behind the large mountain. She looked down at her phone to see two things: One, that it was nearing eight o'clock, and two, that Thatcher had called a couple of times. She called him back, getting to her feet. He answered, seeming slightly relieved that she called.
"Sorry," she explained. "I fell asleep... I'm heading home now."
"Good," he said on the other line. "It's meatloaf for dinner. So, hurry before it gets cold."
"Right. I'll see you in a bit, Dad." After hanging up, she rubbed her eyes and started to walk the way she came. Unfortunately, despite how well she actually knew the forest, the set sun caused the vibrant woods to grow dark, much like the first night she was there. She tried to get her eyes used to the night, keeping her hands in front of her slightly. It was a shame that her improved vision still didn't make up for the fact that she couldn't quite remember where she was. She nibbled on her lip. Did she take a left turn at the fallen tree... or a right? She tried going left, when she realized that she didn't pass a large boulder on her way there, and so she turned around and headed the other way – only to realize that all it did was take her to a stream. Perhaps she didn't turn at all? She went back to the log and huffed, trying to remember where to go. That's when she heard a faint rustling beside her.
Turning, her eyes fell upon a figure that moved into the moonlight. She staid where she was, smiling. A delicate doe had just made its way into a small clearing, just twenty feet from her. She considered taking a picture with her phone, but realized that with the dark, it would be impossible to see. So instead, she just stood there, watching fondly as the animal fed off of a small fern, its large ears flickering now and again. Suddenly, it lifted its head up and looked to her, ears pointed in her direction. She staid where she was, not wanting to scare it away. It was such a beautiful thing, looking almost ghost like in the thick haze of the moon. Slowly, she held out a hand, even though the thing was a good ways away from her. It just stood there, staring at her with its huge, brown orbs of eyes. She put her hand back down when the doe finally tore its gaze from her. It turned and started heading out of the clearing. Meredith figured this would be a good time to do the same.
That is, until she saw something so disturbing, she could not look away.
Just as she was about to turn and head home, something collided with the creature, dragging it to the ground. Meredith watched in horror as the thing made terrible slurping noises, a beast like growling emanating from it. At first, Meredith had no clue what it was. In the moonlight, its skin illuminated almost a pure white, reflecting the silver mist above. As she watched whatever it was, shots of red flew from where the doe's neck would be, raining down beside the two figures. Meredith felt nauseous as the stench of blood came to her senses. Finally, the horrid sounds ended, as well as the projectile blood. That's when the attacker stood up straight, its back to Meredith's eyes.
Meredith realized that this killer was in fact a person. A boy, to be specific. He had black-curly hair that was messy. His body was lean and slender, some of his bones obvious through his skin. He was also naked. Meredith didn't know what to do or think. But after a moment or two, she slowly began to back away. As her luck would have it, the moment she moved backwards, a twig snapped beneath her heal. Her breath caught in her throat, and she covered her mouth with both hands. However, there was no use trying to save herself. That one, faint snap had caused the boy to perk up, turning his head slightly in her direction. She trembled in fear, as slowly, the boy turned his head. There, glaring at her, stood Derek Shepherd.
Shimmering crimson stained his lips, dribbling down his front. His eyes, which at first had been dark and faded away, were now a bright, almost neon blue color, burning into her own emerald ones. His lips were parted, revealing white fangs, now stained with pink. She could hear his breath. It growled, much like his voice usually did, rattling as his chest moved up and down. His face warped into a leer, his features contorting horribly. He hissed; his teeth even more noticeable now. Without a second thought, Meredith turned and started running.
She didn't know where she was going, but she didn't care. She ran as fast as she could, her legs burning and her heart pounding in her ears. She needed to get away. She had to get away. Back home, where she would be safe. Back to her father, who would protect her. Back home, where she could lock her door and window. Over her eyes, the vision of the deer being pounced upon ran over and over her eyes, like a looped piece of film. Would she be his next victim? She ran even harder, trying to get her voice to call out for help. But it didn't want to work at the moment. Suddenly, she came to a halt.
In a flash too quick for her to comprehend, Derek moved in front of her, his eyes burning brightly. Blood still caked his face, strings and splatter marks on his otherwise pure white chest. Meredith backed up hurriedly, her back hitting a tree. She whimpered, clutching her arms close to her. She couldn't look away. Derek inched forward; his eyes absolutely livid. Meredith trembled horribly, thoughts of her death flying through her mind. She would be killed. She knew she would be killed. She saw him. He'd have no choice but to kill her. How she was able to stay standing was a complete mystery. She saw his hand raise. Shutting her eyes tightly, she expected to feel that hand on her throat or arm. But instead, it slammed right beside her head. Meredith could feel splinters brushing past her cheek. Slowly, her eyes opened. Derek's fuming face was mere inches away from her.
"If you tell anyone about this..." he said, his voice barely a whisper, "...you will die in a very, verytragic accident. Do I make myself clear?"
Meredith stared at him, her mouth opening and closing like a fish's. Her voice currently was not working. So instead, her head bobbed up and down slowly, almost as though someone was pulling it by a string. Derek gave one last sneer before pulling away. Turning, he raced out of the forest, gone by the time one milla-second had passed. Meredith's legs finally gave out below her, and she fell to her knees, shaking uncontrollably. Her hands grabbed her own arms tightly, her uneasy breath steam in the cold air. As she stared off into the distance, the first, feather like flakes of snow began to fall.
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~ Charlie xoxo
