Chapter 15

Sons of Thunder

The sound of River's peaceful sleep pulsed throughout the living room by the time Raven calmed herself down enough to come out of her bedroom. He lay spread out on the couch in a deep dead to the world slumber.

Abby hummed cheerfully at the kitchen table, sorting through a tin-can full of old papers. "What are these?" Raven asked, picking up a small pile of pictures.

"They're the pictures of your father and the letters I gave to River. Thank goodness he brought them with him." Abby patiently sifted through the envelopes. "I know it's here somewhere."

Raven flipped through the pictures. "Wow, Dad looks exactly like River."

"He does, exactly. I'll make copies of those for you and have some blown-up to hang around the house for me. As soon as I saw your brother, memories of Reed came flooding back. It reminded me of something I needed to check out. It's got to be in here somewhere."

Abby retrieved an old yellowing piece of paper from a torn and wrinkled envelope. "Yes, found it!" She studied the document. "I knew it! Look at this." She handed the paper to Raven, wearing a satisfied smirk.

It was Reed's family tree. Raven scanned the document. "I didn't know Grandpa Jim was a Blackfoot Indian. I always thought he was from the same tribe as Grandma Happy?"

"Your Grandma belonged to a tribe that settled up north, close to Canada. Your Grandpa's tribe settled in Montana. I think. He passed away when Reed was a teenager, so I never met him. See the very first name on your Grandpa's side?"

"My great, great, great Grandma was named Little Raven?"

"You're named after her. Now look at the small print below her name."

Raven gasped. "She was Quileute?"

Abby nodded. "I knew that tribe sounded familiar when we first moved here, but I never gave it much thought until now. Until you got close to Jacob."

Abby enlightened Raven with what she knew of Little Raven. "She had shiny, pitch black hair like the feathers on a raven, and she was very pleasing to look at. One day, a man from a neighboring tribe spotted her and fell in love at first sight. He took several valuable gifts to her father for her in return. Her father didn't like the man, so he refused to bargain. Several weeks later they raided the camp and took her away. It happened during a migration of the man's tribe, so her own people never found her again. The man loved her very much and tried to have patience with her, waiting for her to love him back. Yet, she refused him time after time. One night he became angry and attacked her. Two young girls from the village took pity on her and helped her escape. They gave her some provisions and a horse and led her far away from the camp. They tried to point her toward her home, but they were all so young and really didn't know the way. The horse wouldn't stay with her, because she was a stranger to him. He threw her off. There went all provisions, gone with the horse.

"She wandered lost in the mountains for several days. A Blackfoot hunting party found her near death, starving, bruised, and battered. They took her back to their village where she fell madly in love with the young, handsome warrior who found her. They adopted her into the tribe, and she remained with them for the rest of her days."

Raven gulped. "That's some story, Mom."

"Your dad told me that story the day you were born. I remember wanting you to hear it exactly the way he told it to me. It was an interesting story. It's amazing to me how I allowed myself to forget so much." Abby sighed. "Little Raven..."

She poured a small gold medallion out from the bottom of the can and ran her fingers over it. "When I gave this to River for safekeeping, I told him I wanted you to have it someday when you grew older."

"What is it?" Raven asked, reaching for the medallion.

"It's a Saint Christopher medal, the patron saint of travelers. Your dad wasn't Catholic, but he loved that medal. I gave it to him shortly after we married, the first time he had to leave me." Abby's eyes began to tear. "We held it together, between the palms of our hands the day he passed away."

A lump swelled in Raven's throat. She took a few seconds to let it go away before asking Abby a question that often occupied her mind. "Mom, you knew he was dying, didn't you?"

"Yes, we knew when he wasn't responding to the treatments."

"So, he knew he wouldn't be around when I was growing up, and that I was too little to remember him. Why didn't he leave me something? Anything, a videotape, a tape recording, or a letter at least?"

Abby cast her eyes away. "I was only four months pregnant with you when he got sick. All those years between River and you, and I never got pregnant. Then when I did, we found out he was sick. He didn't want to die. He struggled with knowing he might not be around for you and River. I think if he prepared for his death like that, to him it would have been like he was giving up, as if he was admitting defeat." She tilted Raven's chin up. "Reed loved you with all his heart. You were his little Raven. 'My little Raven.' He said it just like that every time he held you in his arms."

Raven gave Abby a small smile of understanding and changed the subject before tears fell. "What about River's name?"

Abby chuckled with a thought-filled expression. "Reed just named him that because it went well with the last name Myles. River Myles. He would say it was because I traveled many river miles just to find you." Her eyes gleamed brightly at the memory.

"Mom, I hope you're not too disappointed you haven't been able to spend much time with River, because Leah's been here." Raven cocked her eyebrow curiously.

"I don't mind. Leah's exquisite, and I have good feelings about her. He seems to like her, and that makes me happy to see. I don't quite understand it, but I have this feeling to let them be." Abby's expression turned serious. "Now what about you and Jacob?"

The question caught Raven off guard, and she frowned unable to disguise her worries.

"I went down to your room to check on you the other night, and you were crying." Raven knew she wouldn't let her get away without an explanation.

"It had something to do with another girl. Her name is Renee or something," Raven answered grimly.

Abby softly laughed. "There's no other girl. I can see he loves you. And I know you love him."

Raven felt her face redden. "It's more complicated than that, Mom."

Abby sighed. "It always seems like it is, but things will work themselves out," she said, giving Raven a warm smile of assurance. "Trust me, I know about these things."

Raven grinned. "Now you sound like Jacob."

Jacob, Leah, Quil, and Embry met up with Sam and the rest of Sam's pack in the woods by the beach. The anxious vibe among the wolves felt as thick as the blackened clouds hovering over the ocean. Jacob informed Sam that Seth was on his way to the site they took Brady from but had yet to reach the destination.

They said no attempts to follow him, so we'll see what they have in mind once Seth gets there. He's almost there.

Does he see anything yet? Sam barked impatiently.

Here it goes, four bloodsuckers. One is leading the way and three are staying behind. Seth says he's traveling northeast.

I wonder how long the vampires will stay behind? Sam thought.

Seth is running full speed now. As soon as he spots a marker easy to describe, he'll focus on it. Otherwise, it may be necessary to track him by scent, but it didn't work with Brady, so we better not count on it working now. I think we should hang back as much as possible for the pretense. Or, until we know for certain it's safe to follow. There's no way to tell if the bloodsuckers will stay there all night or leave within the hour. It's best we be extra cautious for now.

You're right, Jacob, if we must track by scent, it'll lead us right past those vampires. Jared and Paul are overly anxious, though, and don't want to wait anywhere near twenty-four hours. I still feel Brady is much closer than they want us to know.

Jacob, Leah interrupted, I know the place he sees. Seth and I have been through there before. He's on his way to the Cascade Mountains. Harry used to take us camping up there all the time. Sam's been there, too, with me. Leah also thought how it no longer hurt to remember her and Sam together in that way.

Sam. Seth is on his way to the Cascade Mountains. Leah says you've been through there.

I remember. It's along the Skagit River. I wonder how far north they'll be traveling.

Seth ran for hours, with not much but the woods to see, then he spotted a sign.

Jacob, there's a town up here. The sign says Newhalem.

Jacob informed Sam.

Leah's right. She and I went through that town once, looking for somewhere to stay. It's a company town. All the people who live there are employees of some hydroelectric project plant, owned by some company called something Lights, Sam recalled.

That's weird. Bloodsuckers? The entire town? Jacob wondered.

I don't think so, but I'm not sure. Maybe Seth is just passing through. Well, we know how to follow without using his scent now. That's something, Sam thought. We could at least go another direction, avoiding the three vampires who stayed behind.

Jacob concentrated on what Seth was seeing.

Newhalem is only five, six hours away by car, Leah said. We'll just have to see how far north the leech is taking him. Wait a minute... It looks like he's doubling back. Not on his way to the town but somewhere near the town.

Jacob, guys, we are doubling back, in a circle, Seth confirmed, maybe they're trying to confuse the scent?

They backtracked several miles in the direction they just came from. We're about fifteen, twenty miles southwest of the town now. There's an abandoned industrial type building. I can see it in the the distance. I'm sure that's where we're going, because they must be holding the girls in some building, right?

Jacob passed the information to Sam.

Paul and Jared can barely contain themselves. Let's run now. Since we know where we're going, we can take a different path, Sam insisted.

We're ready. You and Leah show us the way. Only make sure we don't get too close. We need to give Seth enough time to collect the information needed, and then we need time to figure out how to use it to our advantage.

They organized for the pursuit. Both packs set out for Newhalem with Sam and Leah running out front, flanked by Jacob and Jared. The storm moved closer, and the wind picked up. Everyone wondered just how the tempest would affect the night.

Okay, Sam, quiet down your pack. Seth's there.

Raven woke late during the night, to the sweet sound of a singing guitar. She crept upstairs and found River sitting up by himself in the dimly lit living room. "Sorry, didn't mean to wake you. I couldn't sleep anymore. I found this downstairs. I'm glad you hung on to it."

"I still try to play it." Whenever I was lonesome for you. "I never really caught on to it that well."

River put the guitar down and rested his chin in the palm of his hand, staring at Raven. "So, you knew about this, huh, little sis?"

"I just found out myself. Did Leah show you?" Raven whispered.

"I wanted her to. She said it was up to me. I had two drinks, though, and she was afraid it would freak me out, so I let her off the hook. Besides, even without seeing, I know everything she told me is true. I can't explain how I know. I just do. It's incredible. She's incredible, and incredibly beautiful." River uttered, appearing stunned. "Everything feels so surreal right now. It's weird."

"Earlier you mentioned you weren't planning on reenlisting. Did you tell Mom?"

"Not yet. I thought I'd let her know about it as soon as I got here. But things took a turn in another direction, and I didn't have time."

"Is it because of Leah?"

"No. I had already started the separation process a few weeks before my last mission. It was a hard decision to make. I spent my life following in Dad's footsteps. It's been great, and it made me feel so close to him. But now, I'm getting nearer to the age he was when he passed away. It's strange to think where his footsteps end, mine will continue without him. I want to be on my own path when I'm at that age. I think Dad would want me to be on my path, too. "

It was hard for Raven to listen to River talk about Reed like he knew him when she didn't have a memory of her own to recall.

"I love what I do, and I love the people I work with, but I just had the hunch I needed to be somewhere else. Then you called." River laughed. "I always knew this was a strange world. I saw some crazy things, but I never knew how weird things really were until I got here."

"Umm hmm." Raven nodded.

"You know what's hilarious, though?" River said as if he was about to tell Raven a secret.

"What?" Raven leaned closer.

"I told none of my girlfriends when I was about to go on a dangerous mission. Its all classified, but I often wondered if some married guys told their wives. Not about the mission, but a least if it would be dangerous." River grinned amused at himself and shook his head in disbelief. "And look at me now, sitting here like one of those wives, feeling helpless and worried. I've got to tell you; it doesn't feel too good. I mean, I just met the girl of my dreams and just like that, I'm at risk of losing her. You don't know how badly I wish I could have gone along."

"Not me. It's scary enough to think about what's really out there," Raven paused thoughtfully for a second, "I'm glad to know Jacob and the rest of them are here to keep people safe."

Abby trekked down the hallway and sat down on the sofa chair, smiling at both of her children sitting together again after all these years.

"Sorry to wake you, Mom," River said.

"Oh, no, the sound of your two voices talking together is music to my ears." Raven's heart skipped, and she shot a worried glance at River, wondering how much Abby heard.

"What had you two whispering so secretively, anyway?"

"Well, Mom, it looks like I'm home to stay. That is if you and Raven have room for me around here," River announced, giving Raven a sly smirk.

Abby clasped her hands together, overjoyed. "You don't know how much you just made my day." She beamed, getting up from the sofa chair and giving River another big hug. "You don't have to leave us from here on out?"

"I do, but only for a few weeks to finish the discharge process, and then I'll be home free," River explained, adding, "You know what? I might even settle down and get married, too!" He said this as if what he'd announced was nothing out of the ordinary.

"River!" Abby blurted. Raven chuckled, feeling as flabbergasted as Abby looked. "You only just met Leah yesterday. Don't you think you should give yourself some time to get to know her? Give her some time to get to know you?" Abby recommended, giving River a glower of insistence.

"Ah, Mom, I will. What do you guys think I'm some crazy love-struck wuss?" River laughed. "Even if I am, I wouldn't want her to know it."

"It's my turn now. I got something to tell you two," Abby announced with a sly smirk of her own. "I'm buying a house in La Push.

Raven sat up straight in shock, bellowing, "What house, Mom? What are you talking about?"

"Mike told me I could keep this one as long as I pay for it myself. So... now I'm going to sell it. You know Ella Walker? She's one of the elderly people I take care of in La Push. She and her family think it's time she moves in with them. Ella has a nice three bedroom, two-bath house, and she wants me to take it, offering me a deal. Besides, we don't need this big house anymore. We never did, and it'll be easier for me to afford," Abby explained.

After giving it some thought, Raven realized how happy she was with the idea.

"I like Ella. She reminds me of your Grandma Happy. She's so full of wisdom," Abby continued. "And, Raven, if you want to finish school here in Forks you can. I think it's time we get you the car Mike would never allow you to have. I want you to live the normal life of a teenager you could never live before."

Abby stood up and walked into the kitchen looking pleased with her intentions. "And you know what else? I'm going to sign up for nursing classes at the community college. I always wanted to be an RN."

Raven and River smiled at each other, delighted over Abby's newfound independence.

"So, are you going to be ready to shoot some hoops with me sometime today?" River sighed standing up and stretching. "I hope you can still play."

Jacob internally repeated everything Seth saw. It's an old abandoned industrial building with several other smaller buildings and sheds surrounding the main one. Four vampires are standing outside the main entrance, different vampires than the ones who stayed behind at the pick-up site. The main entrance is facing south. Seth is going into the building. Two more vampires are in the hallway. Seth's going to the main area of the building. It's on the east side. Six more vampires are in the main area room.

It's Brady. He's in a rod-iron cage. He looks sick. Seth says the cage is beat up and loose. He thinks it's from Brady slamming it. That's most likely the reason they're keeping Brady drugged. He thinks it looks weak.

The packs continued to run lightning fast, plowing through the thicket like thunder, as they trampled every foot of vegetation in their path, in route to the industrial building.

Jacob could feel a concentration of restless impatience coming from Leah, Embry, and Quil combined with his craving to sink his teeth into several bloodsuckers, an abundantly powerful feeling. He understood Sam's urgency to get moving. Not only was Sam sharing the anxiousness and impatience of all the other wolves, he shared Paul and Jared's desperate and unyielding necessity to retrieve the centers of their universes, their reasons for living.

Entrance points and exit points, Sam reminded.

Windows at roughly twenty feet to twenty-five feet apart, maybe less, high up the wall on the east side. Seth spotted several smaller buildings and sheds outside, also on the east side. He thinks someone could use the smaller sheds and buildings to jump up to the main one and come in through the windows. They're big enough for us.

They're taking him to see the girls. Same side of the building, right next door to the room Brady's being held in. It's just your basic locked door. Someone could hit it, and it'll pop right open. It's the girls. He heard Sam command his pack to keep silent at the thoughts of Kim and Rachel. They're fine, but look terrified. There is a table, two chairs, bed mattresses on the floor. Looks like they have food and blankets. It has the same wide windows on the east wall. It looks like we got our entrance points, Sam. They won't let Seth stay in the room any longer.

Jacob, tell Seth to convince the vampires to stop drugging Brady now! Sam insisted.

Seth disappeared by the time Jacob could finish his thought. Seth had to phase to talk to the vampires. We won't know anything until he gets back.

"He's sick, and you need to stop drugging him. The deal is that everyone be well," Seth told the vampire.

The vampire laughed. "And you need to realize you are in no position to make demands."

"Look, I don't like it either, but the fact is... We're all on the same side here, unless you don't want to be? I could just let my brothers and the Romanians know you don't really want our help, in which case, you're holding our family for nothing."

The vampire groaned. "The mutt's been trying to escape ever since he arrived. Get him to stop, and we'll see if we can forget about drugging him."

Seth took way too long. Jacob, Leah, Embry and Quil grew uneasy.

Reeking bloodsucker didn't like it but he's considering it, Seth thought out of nowhere. If Brady stops trying to escape.

You had me worried, Seth. Jacob let out a heavy sniff, relaying to Sam, the bloodsucker said he'd agree if Seth convinced Brady to stop trying to escape.

Did he talk to Brady? Sam wondered.

Hold on he's showing me what happened. The bloodsucker is standing beside Seth to be sure of what he's telling Brady. Brady looks awful. Seth told Brady not to worry because he's there now.

"Brady, buddy, it's me Seth. You're sick, dude. They said all you need to do is quit trying to get out of the cage, and they'll stop drugging you. Don't worry. Sam, Jacob, and the rest of the guys are all going to Italy in a few days to destroy the Volturi. Before they even get back, we can all go home. I'll be here, too, with you, Rachel, and Kim. I won't try to escape. There's no point when we'll all be going home soon, anyway," Seth said with a comforting tone. "We're looking forward to seeing that awful Volturi destroyed."

Brady's barely conscious, but he's whimpering like he understands.

As soon as I can hear Brady, I'll make sure he lies quiet until the attack. They need not know how quickly we heal, Sam determined.

Seth says he hasn't seen any other vampires yet, besides the sixteen already counted. They're taking him somewhere else. It's a cafeteria. It's a huge walk-in freezer. A broken freezer?

What the hell? Jacob growled deep in his chest as the feelings of danger and uncertainty took hold of him. Seth? Seth? Wait a minute, Sam... He's gone...