A:N/ Hi everyone. I'm sorry you've been waiting so long for this chapter. My computer died and I lost a lot of material, including parts of this story. However, finally, I've recovered most of it. I planned on completing the story in this chapter, but it's thirty pages already and you've waited long enough. Therefore, I'm going to post part one of the final chapter and then complete the second half. It is almost finished, so I PROMISE you will not have to wait long for the final. Probably next week. Thank you all for your patience. You're all amazing.
Chapter 50: We are the Remnants (part one)
BELLA
Cold licked at my face and seeped through my clothes as I walked down the hill to the cookhouse. The heat I'd absorbed from our wigwam's fire pit was gone already. My thick winter jacket and boots were just not equal to the task of preserving my body heat that was being leached out of me with every breath forming puffs of white vapour in front of my face.
I shuddered and pulled my coat closer around my body. Today felt like the coldest since the snow first began to fall a little over two months ago.
Edward was still sleeping, trying to get over the cold that had been plaguing him, as well as many others, for the last two weeks. However, I had to go out because we'd used up all the food that I'd kept in the wigwam and he needed to have something nutritious.
Even though our fire needed to be continually stoked against the frigid temperatures outside, they were quite effective shelters against the cold. So, on these cold winter days, most people stayed home, huddled in their huts.
As a result, all of us were starved for sunlight with only our fire pit for light. We'd realized once the winter really began that the lack of windows in our wigwams was a big problem. Fire gave far less illumination than the weakest of electric light bulbs. We could still see clearly, but colors were muted and you had to squint if you wanted to read anything. But we still kept busy. Even though we couldn't start building cabins until the spring, we didn't have to wait to start building furniture. Embry and Emmett had built a long table for the cookhouse along with benches if people wanted to have family dinners there. On his own, Edward tried his hand at building chairs and a small table. The first chair he built collapsed under his weight, but after that he built two sturdy ones that he was incredibly proud of.
After trying and failing at building furniture, I decided to work on small things that required more whittling than hammering. I'd built a checker board, blocks for Clara, and a ridiculous game of Jenga which didn't quite work because not all the blocks were completely even. Edward said that it added an element of luck along with strategy to the game as the blocks perched precariously on top of each other.
I didn't expect to find anyone in the cookhouse. Most people were sick or caring for the sick. It was strange, but nearly all the men of our colony had caught colds, but not many of the women. Carlisle said it was because women had stronger immune systems than men, something to do with our x chromosomes. However, I guessed that it was because behind our backs many of the them had decided to give up the most nutritious foods allotted to them to the rest of us, especially Esme, Angela, Alice and the children. Edward often tried to pull the excuse that he wasn't hungry or that he'd eaten earlier to try to get me to eat more food than him.
We weren't going to run out of food before the end of winter, but we didn't have a lot of nutritious foods left that Angela who was breast feeding and Esme who was four months pregnant could eat. A lot of our foraged plants were fine in moderation, but not recommended for pregnant women. So, the rest of us ate those foods, saving the rest for them. It was hard for Esme to keep food down on the best of days, so everyone was very careful about the meals that we made for her.
I still managed to trick Edward into eating some of the nutrient rich food by making soup with vegetables that melded into the broth. That's what I planned on making today.
Reaching the cook house in the center of our community, I pushed the tarp aside and was surprised to find Alice sitting next to the fire, cutting up artichokes.
"Fancy meeting you here," I said, happily because I hadn't seen her in days.
"Clara's in a wretched mood, so I left her with Jasper. All she wants is to go outside, but when we bundle her up and take her outside, she cries," she said, shaking her head, and slicing at the roots viciously.
"How's Jasper feeling?" I asked curiously.
He'd been one of the first to come down with the cold, but had insisted on ignoring it until he was practically bed-ridden.
"Better," Alice said with a small smile. "He insisted on getting up ridiculously early this morning to go fishing. Now that Peter is sick, Jasper's adamant that he has to go out rain or shine, or like today in the freezing cold."
Peter and Jasper had realized quite soon after settling on the island that they loved fishing. It seemed like they were always itching to get their reels and tackle to get out on the water. Part of it was because they had more patience than the rest of us, but I was also pretty sure it was because they both relished in the peace and quiet.
"Here's some of the pine oil that I rubbed on Jasper's chest to clear up his congestion," Alice said, offering me a small jar. "It's mixed with pine nut oil, so it goes on smoothly. You can also put some pine needles in a pot over the fire and use it as aromatherapy."
I opened the jar and took a whiff which caused my eyes to water at the strong scent of pine.
"Thanks. Edward just can't seem to get over this cold. I came down here to make him some soup."
Alice patted the seat next to her.
"I'm doing the same thing. Jasper brought back some salmon, so I thought I'd cut up some artichokes and use some of the wild onions. We can make a big batch together," she said with a smile.
I hadn't quite acquired the taste for artichokes yet, but I was working on it. We had a lot of Jerusalem artichoke plants growing wild on the island and we harvested a lot before winter set in. The root of the plant was actually one of the most nutritious things we had. They were chalk full of vitamins and minerals.
Fish, wild onions, artichokes, carrots, arrowhead root, dried mushrooms and some of the spices that we'd scavenged before coming to the island were added, making it quite a hodge-podge, but in the end it tasted quite good.
I hoped that it would be filling because we were all getting a little too skinny. I could practically trace every one of Edward's ribs. He'd been skinny to begin with, but always had a layer of muscle that filled him out. Now, being housebound with a limited supply of food, he was losing some of that.
Because Esme and Angela couldn't eat a lot of what we put in the stew, I made them fish cakes that were light on the fish and more on potatoes, wild onions, and other vegetables that were good for them.
So, on the way home, we stopped by Esme and Carlisle's first.
Esme was in bed when we entered with Chris curled up by her side.
Carlisle was sitting in a chair close to the fire, trying to read in the meagre amount of light coming from the smoke hole and the fire pit.
"We come bearing food," Alice said, cheerily.
"Aren't you sweet…" Esme said, sitting up in bed with a tired smile.
Carlisle cleared off their small table, so I could put down the container of food.
"Morning, Esme," Alice said, leaning over the bed and giving her a kiss on the cheek.
"How are you?" I asked.
She looked quite pale although it was hard to tell in the gloom of the wigwam.
"I feel pregnant," Esme said with a weak grin.
Carlisle stood up and stretched with a smile on his face.
"It's good to see you, ladies," he said. "I heard Jasper up bright and early this morning. He must be feeling better."
"You can't keep a good man down," Alice said with a grin. "He takes his job very seriously."
"Hey. I'm not complaining," I said. "He can fish as much as he wants."
I dished out a fish cake for Esme. We made more, but I wanted to make sure that she could keep it down before giving her more.
Once I gave her the plate, I gave one to Chris and then offered one to Carlisle.
Carlisle tried to refuse, but Esme was having none of that.
"You need to eat, Carlisle. Don't pull the 'I'm not hungry, Esme.'"
With a sigh, Carlisle took the plate I was offering him reluctantly. However, the minute he took a bite of the cake, he began to wolf it down.
Carlisle gestured for me to take his seat near the fire, but then once he'd finished his plate he didn't seem to know what to do with himself.
"Why don't you take Chris and go for a walk, sweetheart," Esme said. "The girls will stay with me until you get back. Won't you girls?"
"I can stay," Alice said. "Bella, you should take the other care package to Angela and then get back to Edward."
"Are you sure, Es?" Carlisle asked anxiously.
"Go see, Jasper. He's not sick anymore and he's home with Clara," Alice suggested because she knew that Carlisle was trying his hardest to keep away from people who could get him sick.
"Okay. We won't be gone long," Carlisle said, going over to Esme and kissing her on the cheek. "Let's go, Chris."
"I want to stay with you," Chris said, not moving from his place nestled up against Esme.
Chris had barely left her all winter. For a child who used to not like being touched, he'd become quite affectionate with Esme.
"You have to get some fresh air, Chris," Esme said with a smile.
"No," he said with a frown.
"Plus, you need to blow the stink off you," she said, ruffling his hair.
Chris giggled and then reluctantly got off the bed and started to pull on his winter clothes.
"Take your time, boys. I'm fine," Esme said to them.
With one last kiss to her temple, Carlisle left with Chris.
"They've barely left my side since winter started," Esme said with a deep sigh. "I'm sure Carlisle is going stir crazy, but he never says anything."
"He just wants to take care of you," Alice responded.
"I know, but there's nothing that he can do. There's nothing anyone can do," she said and suddenly her tone changed. Gone was the gentle smile. Instead there was sadness in her eyes with a tinge of fear.
"This pregnancy is taking a lot out of me. All I want to do is sleep and when I'm awake I feel weak. What happens if I die? What happens if the baby dies?" Esme said, fearfully. "We'll turn into zombies. I know Carlisle thinks about it. That's why he never leaves my side."
"You know that's not the reason, Esme," I said, not able to admit that it was a concern. "Any of our husbands would be the same way. He just wants to take care of you."
"Childbirth was the number one cause of death for women before modern medicine. Now, childbirth isn't just dangerous for us, but our loved ones too," she said, but then heaved a big sigh of resignation. "I know. I know. I'm just scared."
We fell silent for a moment before Alice spoke.
"Have you seen Emmett and Rosalie recently?"
Esme's eyes brightened.
"Oh my, yes… They dropped by yesterday. Emmett was in quite a tizzy over his haircut."
We realized a couple of weeks after we'd settled on the island that one of the things we forgot to bring were scissors. It was surprising how many things were made easier by the invention of scissors… like haircuts.
Rose had tried to cut Emmett's hair with one of their serrated knives. It was a disaster. It looked like he'd been attacked by a lawn mower, but she refused to admit how bad it was.
We all laughed at that. I had a feeling that the men of our colony where going to be sporting pony tails in the future if we didn't get a pair of scissors from the Sea Wolves.
Before the food got cold, I decided to leave and go see Angela.
Ben and Angela's place was a big contrast to Esme and Carlisle's. Before I even knocked, I could hear the bustling sounds of life coming from inside.
It was Isaac that threw open the tarp to let me in.
"Hi Bella!" he practically shouted.
"Hey, Isaac," I responded. "Is Angela here?"
"Well, yeah. Where else would she be? Nate's so boring. He just cries and sleeps, so Ange can't do anything fun," he said with a scowl.
"Isaac, let Bella come in and shut the tarp. You're letting the cold in," Ben said from inside the darkened room.
With a huff, Isaac stepped out of the way and let me in.
Ben and Angela had done a lot to make their home comfortable. In order to accommodate for the three of them plus the baby, Embry had built bunk beds. Angela and Ben were sleeping on the bottom while Isaac was sleeping on the top. It wasn't ideal, but it was all they could do until Spring when we'd build our cabins. I couldn't imagine sharing a small space with a nine-year-old and a newborn. They'd hung blankets from the frames of their bed and from the ceiling to give each of them privacy and probably to keep the heat in when they were sleeping. But they really needed the privacy of their own rooms.
"Angela, can I go visit Max and Austin?" Isaac asked.
"No, Isaac. We talked about this. Masen and Lily are sick and Leah has more than enough to deal with."
That was an interesting development. Sometime during the cold winter months, Masen and Leah had grown closer and were now a couple. They didn't make sense to me at first, but once I saw them together I realized they complemented each other well. Leah always seemed so harsh to me, ready to lash out. However, Masen who was a very kind and gentle man, seemed to have softened her. Her harshness had turned to fierce devotion to him and the children.
They were both attractive people, so losing them from the dating pool had broken some people's hearts. Gianna who had set her sights on Masen was furious, while Jack was crestfallen over Leah.
"Chris and Carlisle are visiting Jasper. Jasper and Clara aren't sick, so I'm sure Chris would love the company," I said.
"Can I go?" Isaac asked Angela.
"If Jasper and Carlisle say it's okay, then sure, bud," Angela said, reaching out and patting his cheek. "Maybe you and Chris can play outside. You both need some fresh air and sunlight. Just make sure you dress warmly."
Alice and Jasper's wigwam was directly across the clearing from Angela and Ben's so Isaac didn't have far to go.
"You need to put on your mittens too, Isaac," Ben said. "It just started snowing."
Isaac brightened at that.
"Maybe we'll get enough for a snowball fight," he said with a grin as he yanked on his hat and then mitts.
Once Isaac had thrown open the tarp and gone, Angela and Ben let out deep sighs of relief that made me laugh.
"Don't laugh or I'll sick that little ball of energy on you and Edward. You try living with him and being up all night with a crying infant," Angela said with a scowl before breaking into a grin. "I love my little brother, but if he says once more 'I'm bored. What do you wanna do? I might just have to send him packing."
"I've brought food," I said with a smile.
"That's awesome," Ben said with a sigh. "I've been dreading having to go down to the cookhouse to make something. I promise I'll return the favor next time."
I placed the covered plate on the table and dished out some for the both of them.
"There's enough for Isaac when he gets home. Fish cakes warm up well," I said.
Ben picked up Nathaniel and cradled him in his arms so Angela could eat.
"Why don't I hold him while you eat, Ben," I said, reaching out for the baby.
Ben quickly handed the baby off to me and grabbed the plate of food.
"You're a life saver, Bella. I promise I'll return the favor," he said with his mouth full.
However, I didn't answer because I was too busy looking at the newest member of our community.
Already, I could see that some of Ben's Asian heritage was making itself known. Nate had Ben's straight jet black hair that was right now standing straight up from static electricity like a little halo.
I traced one finger down the side of his baby soft cheek and then let him grab onto my finger. It amazed me how something so fragile could have such a strong grip.
Looking at Nate, I suddenly pictured holding a baby of my own with Edward's bronze hair and green eyes. I'd never seriously thought about having one of my own before, but holding Angela's son filled me surprisingly full of longing.
"He's got quite a head of hair on him," I said, shaking myself out of my thoughts.
"It's just like Ben's. I have to give him a haircut once a month because it grows so fast," Angela said with a laugh. "Although he might choose to grow it out now after the trauma of Emmett's haircut."
We laughed for a while before falling into a comfortable silence.
"I just came from visiting Carlisle and Esme," I said.
Ben and Angela grew still at my words. Everyone in the community knew that Esme's pregnancy wasn't easy and that Carlisle was beyond scared.
"How is she?" Angela said, putting down her empty plate and reaching for Nathaniel who had begun to fuss.
"They're having a hard time. She's sick a lot and Chris and Carlisle can't hide their worry."
"That's to be expected. We were lucky that Angela had such an easy pregnancy. I would have been a mess just like Carlisle if she'd been in Esme's position," Ben said.
"I know, but her worries run deeper than that. She's worried that she'll die and then turn or that the baby will," I said. "I don't know how to help her with that fear."
None of us knew what to say. Her worries were real and we couldn't just dismiss her fears. Childbirth was dangerous.
"We need to visit them more… distract them. Because everyone's been sick, I haven't had the chance to see the others much. I've just been so preoccupied with Ange and Nate that I haven't been able to think of anything else, but I should have at least checked on them," Ben said, guiltily.
"Ben, you can't feel that way. You're a new dad. No one expects you to be making house calls," I responded.
"She's right, sweetheart. You try to carry too much on your shoulders," Angela said.
Ben leaned over and kissed her forehead before resting it there for a second as they looked down at their baby who had begun to nurse.
"I think I better be going," I said, standing up and stretching. "I've got to get back to Edward. He's still feeling rotten so I made him some stew."
"Thanks for the food and the visit," Angela said, looking up at me with a smile.
"No problem. I needed to get out of the house and I wanted to see your little man," I said as I buttoned my coat.
"I'll drop by again in a few days," I said, before leaving.
It had begun to snow quite heavily outside which was stirring Chris and Isaac and also Austin and Max who'd joined them into a frenzy as they tried to make snowballs out of the fluff.
"Bella! Come play!" Isaac called out, but I waved them off.
I went back to the cookhouse and grabbed the container of stew that I'd sat near the fire to keep warm. Then, pulling my hat down to cover my ears, I trekked back up the hill to home.
When I stepped inside, I found that Edward was out of bed and standing over the bucket of water that we kept close to the fire for washing.
"You must be feeling better," I said as I stamped the snow off my boots and pulled off my hat, coat, and mittens.
"Marginally…" he croaked. "God... What I wouldn't give to have actual Kleenex instead of a snot-rag that I have to rinse and dry."
"Edward…" I whined in disgust, but he raised a hand to stop me.
"I know… I know… I'll wash and change the water in the bucket when I'm done."
"You could put in a request for Kleenex with the Sea Wolves. Emmett is still saying he's going to ask them to get us scissors."
"Not likely," he said with a laugh but it soon turned into a deep rattling cough.
"I've brought food," I said, stepping around him so that I could put the pot of stew on one of the flat rocks around our fire pit.
Our fire burned in a stone-lined pit at one end of our hut. Our bed that was built out from the wall was close to the fire, but not close enough for us to be burnt by any stray embers. Aside from that, we had a small table and chairs. However, that was all the space we had and sometimes it felt like we were constantly in each other's ways.
Still, our home was quite cozy. We'd removed enough branches from the roof to leave a smoke-hole, but not enough for very much rain or snow to get in. When our fire was burning hot, it was sometimes too warm inside, but it was better than the freezing temperatures outside.
"Let me clean up before we eat," he said.
After washing his snot-rag, he grabbed the bucket and took it outside to clean it.
A few minutes later, he returned shivering from the contrast of heat to cold.
"It's snowing pretty hard out there," he said.
I grunted in annoyance. The snow was beautiful for the first few weeks we had it, but now it just meant that we were more housebound than usual.
"Look on the bright side," he said with his crooked grin that hadn't made an appearance for a while. "We don't have to walk down to the lake to get fresh water. There's enough snow out there to fill our buckets.
He placed the bucket close to the fire and then held his hands out to the flames to warm up.
Maneuvering around him, I ladled out bowls of stew for both him and myself and placed them on our small table.
We ate in comfortable silence, staring into the flames of the fire.
We watched the fire like we used to watch television. They weren't so different really. Flames moved by curling and swaying, talked by popping and crackling, and the burning wood showed a passage of time.
"I can't wait for Spring. I want to get working on our cabin right away," Edward said hoarsely. "I've been looking at the book I brought with us about the pioneers and I think that if we put our bed in the loft, we'd have enough room to have a small kitchen and sitting area downstairs."
I nodded, excited about the prospect of spring.
"I can't wait to start growing our own food again. Foraging is all well and good, but I want to eat regular food again. Maybe I'll even plant some of the flower seeds too," I said with a sigh. "We just need to make it through the next couple of months."
"Once I'm feeling better I think I'm going to make the children some sleds. We've got quite a good hill starting from our place down to the lake. We could use that tarp that Embry ripped." Edward mumbled past a mouthful of food.
"For the kids?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. "I'm sure you're not interested in using it yourself."
"Well, I'll have to make sure it's safe," he said with a grin.
By firelight Edward's eyes turned from their brilliant green to almost black, but I could still see that spark in his eye.
I loved seeing that spark. Since settling on the island, I'd seen it in many people's eyes. It was a look that didn't contain fear of the unknown. It was the look of people who were simply enjoying life.
"I'm sure the others would like to try too," I said. "Although I don't see how Emmett would fit on one."
"He'll make it work," Edward said. "Did you see anyone while you were out?"
I told him about seeing Alice and visiting Carlisle and Esme, and Ben and Angela.
He fell silent for a while as we finished up our meal.
"Do you want to have kids?" he asked, suddenly.
I was shocked for a moment, not understanding how he'd read my thoughts from earlier.
"I don't mean right now," he said, giving more explanation. "In the future, would you want to risk everything that comes with pregnancy to have children?"
We'd never talked about this since we found out that Ben and Angela were having a baby. At that time, Edward had been dead set against having children in this world. However, things were different now.
"If we stay safe here on the island, then yeah…" I said, trying to gauge whether he felt the same way.
He nodded, brow furrowed, but didn't say anything.
"What do you want?" I asked. "Do you want kids some day?"
"I just… I don't know…" he said, staring off into space. "I would love to have a child that is a part of you and me, but pregnancy is just so dangerous. I can't lose you, Bella."
I reached across the table and took his hand, squeezing tightly.
"I'm not going anywhere, Edward," I said, softly.
"You can't know that…" he said. "Plus, even safe on the island, we'd still be bringing a child into a world where we're all infected with the death virus. Is that fair of us to do that to a child?"
I didn't know what to say about that. It was a decision that everyone in the new world would have to face. It was the reality of the world that death didn't mean the same as it did in the past.
"Life is about risk. It doesn't mean that it isn't worth it," I said, quietly.
Seeing that he'd upset me, Edward reached across the table and took my hand so he could pull me over to straddle his lap.
"I'm sorry I brought it up," he said, nuzzling into my cheek. "Esme's difficulties just scare me. I know that both Alice and Angela had easy pregnancies, but I can't imagine putting you through that."
I rested my head on his shoulder and wrapped my arms around him.
"But imagine the reward at the end…" I said, softly. Again, I pictured a child with Edward's bronze hair and green eyes, but this time as a toddler looking up at us as he held onto Edward's and my hands.
Edward didn't respond. He only held me tighter.
Winter continued at a maddeningly slow pace, but it wasn't without its bright moments—the gigantic snowball fight that included almost everyone in the colony, the days of downhill sliding, the endless games of poker in the cookhouse. We began doing classes again like we did at Elmherst. It was partly to keep ourselves busy, but it was more because we felt it was important for the children to be educated. It was true that the old world had ended, but it didn't mean that reading, math, and other things weren't essential skills. The children also needed to learn how to fight. It was a difficult decision. It felt like we were tainting their innocence by teaching them about weapons and the dangers of the dead, but we knew that the world surrounding our island was a dangerous place. The children needed to know how to defend themselves. We started by teaching them how to shoot at targets with bows and arrows that Jasper had made for them because the kids saw it as something fun to learn. Only Chris seemed to understand that it wasn't a game.
Esme's pregnancy advanced steadily as well. There were no scares during the dark winter months and with the days starting to lengthen again and the days warming slightly. She would some times make her way to the cookhouse for games night.
It wasn't until early March when things had started to thaw that something changed in our colony that threw everything into chaos.
Early one morning, I was wrenched out of my sleep to the sound of yelling.
"Help! We need help!"
Edward burst out of bed and rushed to the door, not even taking the time to throw on his coat over his thermal pyjamas.
I was a little slower, pulling on clothes, so by the time I'd made it out of our hut and down the hill, everyone was outside looking confused, trying to decipher what Peter was trying to get out through his panting breaths.
Words like capsized… Jasper… others… and hypothermia were enough for everyone to mobilize.
It took us about ten minutes to make it to the beach.
As we quickly slipped and slid down the steep hill leading to the beach, I saw Jasper on the beach, hair and clothing dripping wet leaning over a semi-conscious man.
He was chafing the man's arms and hands trying to keep the blood circulating through them while the man struggled to sit up.
Without much discussion, Emmett stripped off his coat while Edward and Masen quickly and efficiently removed the man's gloves and coat.
Emmett's coat dwarfed the man, giving him good coverage. Edward took off his own gloves and shoved the man's hands into them. There wasn't much that could be done about his pants, boots, and socks until we got home.
The man was barely conscious. However, he was fighting to say something, but it was garbled by his slurred speech.
"Mmm aaat….mmmaaattt" he slurred.
When none of us understood, the man started to struggle.
"Maaaaa Maaaillddddaaa" he tried again.
He kept looking out towards the water as he said this and it gave me an awful thought.
"Did you see anyone else in the water with him, Jasper?" I asked.
The man started violently nodding.
"Maaaailllddda…" he groaned.
"I didn't see anyone," Jasper said, hoarsely. His whole body was shuddering in his water-logged clothes.
Suddenly, I saw more people at the top of the hill, coming towards the shore carrying blankets and clothing.
Carlisle was one of the first to reach us.
"We need to get them inside before hypothermia sets in," he fired out orders. "Jasper take your clothes off and put these on."
News must have gotten to the others that Jasper had been the one to jump in the water, so they had clothes for him.
When Masen and Edward began to lift the man off the ground to carry him up the cliff, he started to fight as much as he could.
"NNnnnn….. nnnnn…. Maaailllda…" he moaned, but he'd stopped struggling.
His face was extremely white, the only signs of life were the purplish tint to his lips and his laboured breaths, both ominous signs.
"We're going to look for your partner," Emmett said. "If they're alive, we'll find them. But you've got to go with them."
And with that, the man was taken away by Edward and Masen.
"We need to take the boat out," Emmett said with a frown on his face. "If there is a survivor, we need to help them. If they're dead, we need to deal with them. We can't have the body washing up on shore and then turning."
My heart jumped in my chest at the thought.
"Bella, come with us. We need the extra set of eyes." Emmett ordered.
Peter and Emmett dragged the boat down to the water and I followed them.
As fast as we could, Emmett and Peter fought their way past the breakers so we could head out in the direction where Peter indicated they'd found the capsized boat.
It wasn't hard to find the boat which had clearly run into one of the jagged rocks that surrounded our island.
It wasn't a large boat, probably only used for fishing. I scanned the area, following the direction the waves would push a floating body which happened to be in the direction of our island.
The water was so choppy that it was hard to see anything besides murky waves that splashed and rocked the boat. I carefully searched the area looking for anything that stood out, but it seemed like there was nothing but water and the small spikes of hidden rock peaking out. However, as Emmett and Peter turned the boat I caught sight of something. It just looked like an outcropping of rock at first, but then I saw it move.
"Over there," I pointed.
Quickly, Emmett and Peter propelled the boat forward until we were almost on top of the floating body.
"Be careful," I said as Emmett and Peter dragged the body out of the water and half onto the side of the boat.
The body was of a girl no more than thirteen or fourteen.
"Check for a pulse, Bella," Emmett grunted as Peter and he held the water-logged girl out of the water but not risking bringing her into the boat yet.
I pressed my fingers into the girl's freezing cold neck and at first felt nothing.
She was completely devoid of color and looked to have been in the water for quite some time.
I pushed my fingers harder against her carotid artery and fell still, praying that I would feel something.
It was faint, but I finally felt that the girl had a pulse. However, she wasn't breathing.
"Her heart's beating," I gasped. "Pull her in."
Together Peter and Emmett heaved the girl into the boat and I immediately began giving her first aid that I'd learned in high school. After lying her on the bottom of the boat, I tilted her head back and began pushing my own breath into the girl's lungs praying that it would revive her while the guys rowed to shore. I worried that it wouldn't be enough with the hypothermia but it was all I could do.
When we'd almost reached the shore, the girl suddenly jerked and began coughing up great gushes of water. I turned her onto her side so she wouldn't choke on it and waited for the coughing fit to subside.
"Are you okay?" I asked the girl who was looking around her in a daze.
I helped her to sit up, but she still didn't seem to notice that we were even talking to her.
When we arrived at the shore and Emmett lifted her out of the boat, but the motion seemed to be too much for her and her eyes rolled back into her head and she went limp.
"Carlisle!" I shouted, but there was no need. He was already at the water's edge waiting for us.
He went through the steps of checking her breathing and pulse while Rosalie wrapped her in blankets. The girl woke up once during the ordeal, but immediately fell unconscious again.
"We need to get her inside," Carlisle said.
It was a frantic rush back to the colony. Every second counted for this girl's survival.
When we got back, Embry ushered us into his hut where he'd already placed the man on a pallet close to the fire.
When the man saw us come in with the young girl, he tried to sit up but was too weak.
Katie stripped off her bed for Emmett to put the girl down.
"You need to get her out of the remaining wet clothes," Carlisle said. "Jane is probably closest to her size. Go and see if she has any clothes that would fit her."
Katie hurried out of the hut.
"You need to cover her head too," the man next to the fire interrupted. "Her head and chest need to be protected from too big a temperature shift."
I pulled off my hat and carefully pulled it down over the girl's head.
Katie returned quickly and we redressed the girl who had woken up at being jostled and began to cry.
"Maddie," the man called out, again struggling to sit up. "It's okay. Just take it easy. I'm here."
His voice seemed to soothe her, so she let us help her.
Carlisle checked her for frostbite.
Her hands were quite red and she had a great deal of numbness in her right hand.
She'd been in the water longer than the man, so there was a good chance she could have some damage.
Carlisle wrapped her hands with wet clothes soaked in a pot of hot water by the fireplace.
Then he turned to the man who was now alert and shivering by the fire.
He looked to be in his early forties with hair going grey at the temples, but still the physique of a healthy well-fed man. He was clearly from one of the colonies in the area.
As Carlisle looked him over for frost bite, the man asked, "Will Maddie be okay?"
"We need to watch her carefully for the next eight hours. I'm not going to lie to you. There are many complications that can arise from near drowning. How long were the both of you in the water?" Carlisle asked.
The man was reticent about sharing information with us about who and where he came from, but he explained that he'd taken the girl out fishing at dawn. They'd caught a few fish, but when the wind had picked up it pushed them off course into our area.
"We didn't mean to breach your territory," he said, seriously. "I was trying to get us turned around when we ran into a rock. The goddam thing tore the bottom right out of our boat and threw Maddie overboard. I tried to get to her, but I couldn't see her. I could hear her calling for me, but I couldn't see her because the waves were too high. Then, I couldn't hear her anymore. That was when your people found me."
We did what we could for the two of them.
It was touch-and-go with the girl all night. Throughout the night her breathing was labored and twice she vomited up what seemed like copious amounts of water. Carlisle never left her side, doing what he could with the limited supplies that we had.
Once she seemed to be out of the worst of it, Carlisle wanted to check in with Esme.
"She's not out of the woods yet," Carlisle said, taking me aside. "She needs to be watched. When salt or fresh water are taken into the lungs, it washes out the surfactant which is a thin coating that bathes the inside of the lungs. The loss of surfactant can create breathing problems, including pulmonary edema and acute respiratory distress syndrome."
This was said quietly because Carlisle didn't want to worry Matilda, but it was clear that the man was listening to every word being said.
"She seems settled now, but I'll be back soon and I'll bring some of the medicine that Jack and I made," he said, putting his hand on my shoulder before leaving the hut.
Embry and Katie had gone to the cookhouse to make something to eat for all of us, so for the time being it was just me, Edward, and the strangers.
In the quiet, the man ignored us, looking around the hut in curiosity. I'm sure that he was in a lot of pain if Edward's brief bout of hypothermia was anything to go by, but beyond a few winces and a clenching of his jaw he didn't show any other signs.
"It must be nice to have a doctor living with you," he said.
With those words, I was instantly on guard. We'd been acting on automatic to save the lives of two people in danger, but now I realized that we'd brought two strangers in our midst that now knew we had a doctor living amongst us.
"What's your name?" Edward asked the man.
From his tone, I knew that Edward had made the same realization as I had.
"John," the man said, his eyes fixed on Edward, probably sensing the sudden tension in the room and looking at the most dangerous of the two of us.
"I'm surprised that you even tried to help us," John said, scrutinizing us too. "That doesn't happen these days. Outsiders are not to be trusted."
"So, you're saying we shouldn't trust you?" Edward asked, sharply.
The man didn't react to his tone.
"I'm just saying that people alive today need to protect what's theirs from predators."
"We know how to protect ourselves," Edward said, sharply. "Best to remember that."
"I didn't say that I was the threat. I'm just taking a measure of the people who rescued Maddie and myself," he said, but his tone didn't comfort me.
Edward's whole body was coiled tight and I wasn't sure what he was about to do.
We'd just saved this man and now we had to consider what we were going to do with the two of them because they could be a danger to our colony.
When Katie and Embry returned, Edward stood up.
"I'm going out for a few minutes. Embry, can I talk to you?" Edward asked, nodding towards the door.
With a look of concern, Embry followed him.
With a huff of a laugh, the man laid his head back onto the rolled-up blanket that he was using as a pillow.
"I don't think I made a good impression on your man," he said to me.
"I don't think you were trying to," I responded sharply.
He just closed his eyes and didn't say anything else.
Embry returned with a serious look on his face and his gun resting in its holster on his hip. None of us had been armed since we'd settled on the island, so it was a testament to how serious the situation we were now dealing with was.
John's eyes glanced at the weapon, but didn't acknowledge it beyond that.
Carlisle returned soon after that. I could tell by his tense posture that he'd been informed about the situation we'd now put ourselves in. However, he still went about boiling water over the fire, so he could steep some herbal medicine.
Once it was done, he went over to the girl.
"What are you doing?" the man asked in alarm. "Shouldn't you let her sleep?"
"I need to check her vitals and see if she's aware of her surroundings. If she was without oxygen too long, there could be brain damage. I also need to listen to her lungs to make sure that they are clear," Carlisle said, firmly. Gone was the calm gentle tone that I'm sure he'd used with family of patients. Carlisle knew that these people were a threat just as much as I did.
The man backed down at that, but remained tense.
Gently, Carlisle woke the girl and helped her to sit up.
The girl looked around groggily.
For a moment, she looked dazed and not aware of her surroundings. However, when Carlisle pried one of her eyelids up and held his small flashlight in front of her face to see how her pupils reacted, she suddenly startled into awareness.
"What?! Who are you?!"
"Maddie. It's okay. I'm here," John said, staggering to his feet and joining her on the edge of the bed. He was there to comfort her, but I could also tell that he was there for protection as well.
"John? What's going on?" she asked, looking at the man with wild eyes.
"Our boat capsized. These people rescued us," John said, soothingly, but there was also a warning in his eyes that she picked up on immediately.
"Young lady," Carlisle said. "Do you what your full name is?"
The girl looked at John who nodded before saying anything.
"Mathilda Ann Stevens."
"When were you born, Mathilda?" Carlisle asked the usual follow up question.
"March 3rd 2003," she said quickly.
Carlisle looked at John who nodded in confirmation that her answer was correct.
"What are your parents' names?"
"Don't answer that Maddie," the man said.
"What is the last thing you remember?" Carlisle asked, ignoring John's comment and moved on to the next question.
"I remember having supper at my mom's-" Maddie began, but was cut off by John again.
"So, you don't remember this morning?" John asked, his brow furrowing with concern.
Maddie looked panicked at the concern in his voice.
"No… no… I can't remember anything ..." she said, fear filling her eyes.
"It's okay, Maddie," John said, rubbing her back. "It's okay."
"It's normal to have a small amount of memory loss when something like this has happened," Carlisle said, soothingly. "Now, I need to listen to your chest to make sure that there isn't any fluid build up."
He reached into his doctor's bag which he'd brought with him and hauled out a stethoscope.
Maddie was resistant at first, but with John's approval she eventually relented.
After examining her, Carlisle said, "I can hear fluid in your lungs, but your breathing is not being affected very much by it. I've made up some herbal medicine that might help to clear up some of it, but it will take a couple of days before I'll be sure."
Both John and I looked at Carlisle in alarm.
"Carlisle… I don't think-"
"We can't stay here-"
"Do you want her to get better?" Carlisle asked sharply. "If you do, she can't be put through the trauma of being jostled around and taken out into frigid temperatures."
John fell silent, but I could tell that he wasn't done arguing.
Carlisle poured some of the tea that he'd steeped over the fire into a cup and offered it to the girl.
This interaction began our days of heated discussions amongst ourselves about what to do with the outsiders.
A few people said that we should return them to wherever they came from, but the rest of us rejected that proposal almost immediately. They knew where we lived. They knew we had a doctor. It was just too risky.
"Why don't we take them back to the mainland?" Katie suggested. "It would give them a fighting chance, but far away from our home."
"John still knows where we live, so if he made it back to his colony he could tell them," Jane responded.
One idea that was brought up by Jasper and Jane that we all recoiled from was that we needed to get rid of them for the good of our community.
"To really be safe, we can't let them go," Jasper said, firmly. "They could bring others."
"So, let me get this straight. You think we should kill them because they may give away our location?" Masen asked horrified.
Masen had never seen this side of Jasper. They were friends, but Masen had only gotten to know him after he'd recovered from the dark days.
"You don't know about the kinds of people who are out there, Masen. We've dealt with them. Survivors have killed more of my friends than the dead…" Jasper said.
Masen looked sickened.
"Jasper, the girl's only thirteen…" Emmett said in a pained voice.
"Even thirteen-year old's in this world can be dangerous," Leah said.
Masen spun towards her.
"You can't be supporting this. It's cold-blooded murder."
Leah shook her head.
"Maybe we can keep the girl…" she said.
"She's not a pet!" Emmett snapped. "We can't just keep her against her will,"
"There has to be an alternative. We can't just kill people who haven't threatened us. It's just… We can't be those kinds of people… get them before they get us," Edward said, getting up from the bench in the cookhouse where we'd gathered. "I'm going to take over guard duty from Embry."
Silently, I followed Edward out of the cookhouse.
Half way there, Edward stopped walking and turned to me.
"I don't want to be that person anymore. I don't want to kill," he said, running his hand viciously through his hair. "Only a few days ago, we were talking about having children and now we're talking about killing people. I can't be both. I can't be a father as well as a murderer."
I grabbed his hand and held it tightly in mine.
"We'll figure it out. There has to be an alternative," I said.
Edward didn't say anything, but after a few seconds we began walking again.
Embry was leaning on the wall outside of the hut.
"How's everything?" I asked, quietly because I didn't want to attract the attention of the others inside.
"They're getting restless. They haven't been out of the wigwam besides to the outhouse for the last two days," he said, somberly. "What are we going to do?"
"I don't know…" Edward responded, resting his hand on Embry's shoulder. "Why don't you go get something to eat and Bella and I will take over."
Embry nodded and left.
Both of us ducked into the wigwam to check on John and Maddie.
Maddie was sleeping. She'd mostly recovered, but still slept a lot.
John was sitting at the table next to the fire, staring into the flames.
When we stepped inside, he immediately stood, tension showing in every muscle of his body.
Warily, he looked at us, probably checking to see if we had any weapons in our hands.
It was clear that he'd picked up on the fact that their lives were in danger.
"Have you decided what you're going to do with us yet?" he asked sharply but quietly, not wanting to wake up Maddie.
"It's obvious that you're not just going to release us," he said. "If you were, we wouldn't be prisoners right now."
Instead of lying to him, Edward asked, "What would you do in our place? You told us that people need to protect what's theirs from potential predators. So, would you just let one of us go if we wandered into your territory?"
John locked eyes with Edward, clenching his jaw in frustration.
"Do you think a thirteen-year-old girl is dangerous? You must be a weak group if a little girl frightens you," he retorted.
"Maybe she's not, but we don't know what group you and she came from. You could be part of a group who has survived by taking from others," Edward said.
"So, you think us crashing our boat was a ploy to scope out your home?" John asked, angrily.
"No. I know that was an accident, but that doesn't mean that you won't take advantage of the information now that you have it."
I watched them silently.
"I wouldn't… We wouldn't…" John said, a look of defiance in his eyes. "We have everything we need already. We don't need what your colony has. If you let us go, I promise we won't return."
"How can we believe you? You haven't even told us where you're from," I said.
Turning to me, John said grimly, "I can't tell you where we're from for the exact same reason that you aren't letting us go."
"Well, I guess we're at an impasse then," I said.
That night John and Maddie tried to escape.
It was a foolish endeavor because we were on an island and they had no idea where our boat was, but John was desperate enough to try.
However, when the two of them were caught trying to find their way through the woods towards the ocean, John gave up without a fight because he knew it was hopeless.
The tension that filled the colony was reaching a fevered pitch as people began choosing sides.
Edward and Jasper fought a lot, each on opposite sides of the argument.
"You don't need to be a part of it, Edward," Jasper said.
"You know that's not what I'm saying. I'm not against it because I don't want to get my hands dirty. I'm against it because it's wrong to hurt people who haven't raised a finger to hurt us!" Edward snapped.
"There has to be another way," Masen said.
"Yeah?" Jasper asked. "Well, I'm waiting for suggestions."
The next time Edward and I were on guard duty, the defiance had left John and there was more desperation.
At one point during our guard rotation, Rose dropped by to deliver food. When Maddie needed to go to the washroom, it was Rose who agreed to take her.
The minute she was out of the wigwam, John began speaking.
"I have an option for you to consider. I know that you need to protect your home. I get that. That's why I'm a risk, but Maddie? Maddie has no memory of the morning of the accident. She woke up here, so she has no idea where she is. She's no threat to you. If you blindfold her and take her to a group called the Sea Wolves, they can get her back to our people. They won't give away your location because that would be breaking the contract that you'll make with them."
"What about you?" Edward asked.
"It doesn't matter what happens to me. Maddie is the one that matters. If she lives, I'm fine with whatever else happens."
That night we discussed John's solution and most of us agreed that it was a good one.
"What about John?" Jasper asked and I saw Edward's jaw clench.
"We could tell him that he has to stay here with us," Carlisle said. "He's strong and intelligent. He has medical knowledge. He could be a good addition to our colony."
During Carlisle's visits to the prisoners, John would ask him questions about the local plants that he was using and different natural treatments for illnesses. He also shared some medical knowledge that he'd picked up during the past five years. It was clear that John wasn't a trained doctor, but he'd learned a lot since the world fell apart.
"He's not going to go for that," Jasper scoffed.
"If he knows that the alternative is death, I'm pretty sure he'll choose to live," Masen responded, heatedly.
"He's already told us that if Maddie is allowed to return to their people, he will accept whatever we decide for him," I said.
"We could never trust him," Jasper said.
"Jasper, we can't just make life and death decisions based on what somebody may or may not do. It's not right," Masen said.
Ben, who had been listening to all sides of the argument finally spoke.
"We'll tell John his options. If he chooses the option to stay, we'll watch him. If he tries to escape, well… he's chosen his own fate."
Even though Jasper didn't believe that it would work, he finally accepted the groups consensus that this was our solution.
When the decision was brought to John, he quickly agreed.
"As long as Maddie gets back to our people, I'll stay with you."
It was almost the end of the month, so we decided that our best option was to contact the Sea Wolves. They could take Maddie directly from our island to wherever she came from.
John told us that the Sea Wolves knew him and that he would explain everything to them when they got here. He also told us that his people would pay the Sea Wolves for Maddie's return, so we wouldn't need to barter.
Just like clockwork, the Sea Wolves came to shore when they saw their sign on the beach.
The Sea Wolf named Ian who had brought us to the island was the one to disembark.
The minute he saw John, he looked confused.
"John? What are you doing here? Did something happen on M-"
John cut him off before he could finish what he was going to say.
"Ian, we have a little bit of an issue that we need your help to solve."
After that John explained what we needed for the Sea Wolves to do and despite his reservations Ian agreed.
"I don't like this, John and I don't think N… your leader is going to like this either," Ian said with a frown.
"I've written a letter explaining it all to her. But it's important that you don't tell her where I am. That's the agreement that I made with these people and it's part of the contract that you need to agree to. Maddie's going to be blindfolded and taken onto the boat and you're only allowed to take off the blindfold once you're far enough out to sea that you can't see the island. Do you understand?"
"Yeah…. Yeah… I get it. I won't tell her," Ian said, gruffly. "So, am I taking Maddie now?"
"She's in the woods. We'll bring her down now," John said with a deep inhale as he steeled himself.
Maddie did not go quietly. She clung to John all the way to the beach, sobbing.
"Maddie… Maddie… You need to go back to your mom. She's worried about you," John said, gently.
"What about you?" she whimpered. "Why can't you come too?"
Tears were leaking out from under her blindfold and John wiped them away.
"I made an agreement with these people that I'd stay with them," he said. "I'll be fine, honey. They're good people."
"Nooo… no… NO!" she started to struggle in earnest at that point.
I couldn't stand watching the grief and fear pouring off the girl and I saw that many of the others from our group were feeling the same. Some even had tears in their eyes.
"Honey, you have to go," John said, trying to sound comforting but his voice cracked on the last word.
"You promised, John. You promised after Dad died that you wouldn't leave me," Maddie cried as they approached the water's edge.
"I know… I know…" he said, but continued to push her forward.
When John had to pry Maddie's hands off him so that Ian could grab her, Edward broke.
"We can't do this," he said to the rest of us. "We can't separate them. I know it's dangerous, but I don't want to do this to a family. We need to let him go too."
The rest of our group was silent for a moment.
"Edward-" Jasper started.
"I KNOW… I know… It's dangerous. We're putting our lives in a stranger's hands, but I can't live with myself if we do this… Who else is with me?" Edward asked, looking around at the rest of us.
I only hesitated a moment before joining him.
"He's right. We need to risk it. We can't keep a man away from his family for the rest of his life."
A few of the others nodded.
John stared at us in shock before a look of determination filled his eyes and he left Maddie's side to approach us.
"I promise you that my people will not invade your territory. I won't allow it and I'm the right hand of our leader. You helped Maddie and me when most people in this new world would have just left us to die. Now, you're offering us our freedom. I'm in your debt."
Jasper looked concerned and a few that supported him looked reticent, but everyone turned to Ben.
Ben stared intently at John and then at the rest of us.
"We're going to let them go. I don't want violence to be the center of our lives anymore," he said. "But, we'll fight to the death to protect this place, John. Even though we're letting you go, it doesn't mean that we're weak or defenseless."
"I know that," John responded, reaching his hand out to Ben. "It's a gesture of good faith and I won't forget it."
Then, John turned to Edward.
"Thank you," he said, shaking Edward's hand as well.
Once the decision was made, John helped Maddie onto the boat and then climbed up after her.
We stood on the shore in silence as the boat pulled away and disappeared into the distance. For better or worse, the decision was made and we'd have to live with the consequences.
It was late spring by the time it was our turn to build our cabin.
Preparing to build actually took longer than building itself. It took a while to find the right trees with straight trunks that would make good logs for building. Once the logs were cut to the right length, notches had to be cut at each end where the logs would fit together at the corners of the building.
I didn't understand the whole construction at first because I was used to seeing people build with lumber that had been measured and smoothed flat. Embry explained to me that this kind of building was a lot like a jigsaw puzzle that needed interlocking pieces to hold together.
All four walls were built up one log at a time by laying them on top of each other. The heaviest wood was used for the first row of logs resting on the foundation. The logs were arranged on the ground beforehand to find the best match for its neighbour above and below. Doing this on the ground also made notching the logs for the corner joints much easier. Log walls derived their structural strength from their interlocking corners, so this was a crucial part of the process.
I walked up the hill towards our construction site, bringing with me a mason jar full of mint tea and a few acorn bars which were Edward's favorite.
While the whole community was involved in the building of each other's homes, everyone else was taking a break to get out of the heat during the hottest part of the day. However, Edward had wanted to keep going. Building our home was all he could think about. I'd wake up sometimes in the middle of the night to find him hunched over a notepad, jotting down things that he wanted to include in our home. Now, that it was finally our turn to build our home, he was always at the building site.
Edward didn't hear me approach. He was too busy sawing at a large log, the muscles in his back straining with each back and forth movement.
At the sight, a fire began to burn in the pit of my stomach and my skin tingled with the need to touch him. There was something so sexy about seeing him work up a sweat to build a home for us.
"Working hard?" I asked, my voice slightly strained.
Edward jumped with a curse and the saw blade slipped off the wood.
"Holy god, Bella. Give a guy some warning. I could have cut off a finger," he said, standing up and turning to me.
When he saw that I'd brought food, the scowl dropped off his face.
"I forgive you," he said with a grin, taking the tea from me.
I couldn't help but stare entranced as he gulped down the drink and dragged the back of his arm across his mouth.
"Thanks, babe," he said, leaning down to kiss me on the lips.
His lips tasted salty and he smelled of sweat, but it didn't bother me. It just turned me on more.
When I pushed up on my toes to kiss him again, I leaned into it a little more bracing my hands on his chest.
He pulled away smiling.
"Well that was a welcome interruption, but I should…" he suddenly trailed off, picking up something in the look I was giving him.
"Are you okay?" he asked me.
"I'm fine," I said, not able to control myself from looking him up and down hungrily.
"Good," he said, relieved. None of us had gotten over the instinct yet that anything out of the ordinary meant danger.
"But… you want to make me feel even better?" I asked, stepping further into his space.
Edward just stared at me for a minute before realization took over his face.
"I—wait—really?" he asked, looking around to see if there was anyone nearby.
It was the middle of the day and the community was still bustling with activity. Not the best time to sneak off by ourselves, but I couldn't help it.
"Really," I murmured, leaning in so that my nose trailed along his neck.
A tremor rippled through him as I breathed him in and when I pulled away, he looked around nervously.
"Where?"
Our wigwam had been torn down in order to make room for the cabin, so we'd been sleeping in the cookhouse.
"Follow me…" I said, grabbing him by his belt and pulling him along behind me.
A few days later, I brought supper to Edward and Emmett who were working hard on the house.
I was surprised by how much they'd been able to get done since it was only the second day that they'd been working on it.
They'd already laid the floor which was made from split logs and were about shoulder height on the construction of the wall.
I smiled as I watched Edward work. His face was scarlet with effort as the two of them reached the proper position with a log and in concert, hoisted it to shoulder height.
Emmett directed Edward's movements with jerks of the head and one-word commands, as they maneuvered the heavy chunk of wood into the notches of the crosspieces.
The cabins that we'd built so far were about eight feet tall, but Edward wanted ours to be taller because he wanted our bedroom to be in a loft to maximize space.
Edward caught my eye as he looked down to ask Emmett for some nails. The smile that lit up his heated face, warmed me as I smiled back.
"What do you think, babe?" he said, gesturing at the beginnings of our home. "Ours is going to be the best!"
Emmett grunted and said, "Think again. I've got some great ideas for my house."
I stepped past the stacked logs and handed Edward a bottle of water.
"It looks great," I said, happily.
Edward leaned down and kissed me on the lips, lingering for a moment.
It was only the sound of a throat being cleared that pulled us apart.
"Did you bring anything for me or was this just a booty call?"
"Not this time," I said, stepping back with a grin before offering the snacks to Emmett. "I can't make any promises for later, though."
"Well, give me a little warning if the mood strikes you and I'll make myself scarce. I don't want to be scarred for life again," he said with a frown of disgust.
Emmett had caught us having sex a few days ago in the lean-to where we were keeping the logs for our home protected from the rain.
Without our wigwam, we really had nowhere else place private to go, but the lean-to. However, none of that had been on my mind when I dragged Edward away from the construction site, my hands already working on his belt. All I could think about was getting him naked as quickly as possible.
Looking up at Edward, I saw that he was grinning down at me with a glint in his eye that told me that he wouldn't be against a late afternoon booty call.
"Come on, lover boy," Emmett grunted. "Let's get back to work."
Shoving the last of his snack in his mouth, Edward kissed me on the cheek and rejoined Emmett.
I smiled and walked over to where the building supplies were.
Picking up the plans for our home, I couldn't help marveling at the design that Emmett and Edward had created.
A stone fireplace was going to be built at one end of our home and the rest would be one open space with a table and chairs for eating or playing games at one end of the cabin. Next to the dining table and fireplace, we would have shelves where we could keep our dishes and other household goods. At the other end of the cabin would be our workspace. There would be a place for doing any odd jobs like carpentry on rainy days. Edward also wanted to create a living room area where we could lounge in the evening, but I wasn't sure how any couch built out of wood would be comfortable enough for that. We couldn't use the pallet we brought with us on the couch because we would be using it for our bed in the loft.
However, Edward was confident that he'd figure it out so I left it to him.
I'd been spending most of my time doing spring planting as well as teaching the kids how to read. With guidance from Angela who had been an elementary school teacher but too busy with Nate to do it herself, I wrote out easy texts using a piece of charcoal and pieces of bark until the kid's reading was strong enough to move onto one of the books that we'd brought with us. Chris already knew how to read, but Max, Austin, and Lily had never had the opportunity. However, it was amazing how quickly they picked it up.
Esme would some times help me when it was warm enough for her to be outside. Now, that she was living in a cabin and able to go outside for fresh air, her color was better. She'd stopped throwing up about a month ago which Carlisle thought of as a good sign because she was gaining weight as she should.
With a great sigh, I looked down the hill towards the lake and marvelled at the way our community was coming together.
A few weeks later Rose, Alice, Katie, Embry, Emmett, and I were searching for mussels and collecting crabs to cook for supper on the edge of the island, when we noticed a ship in the distance and the sound of a motor.
We'd been on guard ever since we'd released John and Maddie. We'd built a wigwam at the top of the cliff and people took turns staying there for a few days on lookout. It wasn't a great situation, but it was our only choice. We had to live with our decisions and the repercussions that came with it.
From above we heard the shrieking whistle from Peter who was alerting us to the approaching boat.
Quickly, we scrambled up the cliff to where we kept our weapons.
"Go tell the others," Emmett said to Rose as he handed out rifles to the rest of us.
"Stay hidden," he said to us. "Don't fire until they get close enough. We can't afford to waste the bullets."
It was the same boat that had been used by the Sea Wolves to bring us here, but this wasn't the end of the month and they were not supposed to approach our shore unless we asked.
As they got closer a smaller boat which had been tied to the side was released and only two people on it ventured forward.
As it got closer, I recognized Ian and surprisingly Seth.
"It's Seth," Katie said.
"Don't let your guard down," Emmett said, quietly. "We don't know what's going on."
Leaving us hiding in the forest edge, Emmett ventured down to the beach to wait for Seth and Ian to arrive.
Once Ian had dropped the anchor, both of them disembarked and joined Emmett on the shore. I couldn't hear what was being said, but Emmett looked troubled by whatever it was.
It wasn't long before I could hear a loud commotion coming through the woods.
A large group of our people burst from the trees and rushed to the shore with weapons drawn.
Those of us hidden in the trees followed them down to the beach.
With a cry, Leah threw her arms around her brother, holding him tight.
"Hey sis," he said in a choked voice. "I've missed you."
She pulled away from him, cupping his face in her hands.
"Are you okay? Have they been treating you okay?" she asked him.
"I'm okay, sis. More than ok," he said with a grin.
Soon though, the family reunion was interrupted with more pressing concerns.
"The man you rescued named John sent me to talk to you. The Sea Wolves told him that you'd only trust someone from your own colony," Seth said.
"What's going on?" I asked.
"John comes from McManus island, one of the largest colonies in the area. To thank you for rescuing him and his step-daughter, John wants to bring you some supplies and introduce you to his wife and their colony's leader, Nadia."
None of us said anything at first.
"Do you know much about them?" Ben asked.
"I've been part of the team that has brought supplies to them. They're usually a pretty closed off group, so it's a big deal that they want to do this," Seth said.
Ben was frowning in focus, lips pursed in thought.
Just like the rest of us, he was working through what Seth said in his head.
"We don't need supplies," Jane said. "I don't think we should risk it."
"They're pretty set up, Jane. I don't think you should be too hasty about it," Seth said. "They have a pretty big farm."
"I don't feel comfortable having them on our island," Leah said.
"They knew that you'd say that, so John suggested that we ferry you to a boat further out in the water to meet. Then, neither group would have to step foot on each other's island," Seth explained firmly.
Seth had grown up since last, we'd seen him. Not only was he taller and broader in the shoulders, but there was a confidence in the way he held himself that hadn't been in the young man who had left us.
"What's the Sea Wolves stake in all of this?" Ben asked Ian.
"Nadia and John are paying us quite well for our service," Ian said. "Benito has known them for a long time and he has never had a problem with them. You could really benefit from being friends with them."
"We need time to talk about this," Ben said. "When you return at the end of the month, we'll have our answer."
"That's fair," Ian said. "It's the twenty-seventh today, so we'll be back on the thirty-first."
Ben nodded and shook his hand.
"Can you stay for a couple of days, Seth?" Leah asked him.
"Sorry, sis. That's not part of the bargain. I have to get back to work. I'll be home before you know it. Make sure you have the biggest cabin set aside for me," he said with a grin.
Leah hugged him and then let him go.
Once their boat sped away, the rest of us returned to the colony to discuss our options.
Over the next couple of days, the main focus was what would be the risks of meeting other colonists.
Edward pointed out that if John and his people were a threat, they'd have just attacked. They wouldn't be going through all of these steps to set up a meeting away from our respective islands.
Some of the colonists felt that it wasn't worth the risk, but others felt that meeting other colonies could be good for our future.
In the end the decision was made that Ben, Peter, Edward and I would meet them and assess the situation. McManus island was our nearest neighbour, so we couldn't afford not to.