Chapter 2 – Camping
The bed was so nice and comfortable. Slowly opening my eyes, the room was still very dark. The curtains over the windows were very thick and they blocked out any form of light. The only light in the room was the clock and it was displaying 2:15 pm. I slept all night into the early afternoon. My feet touched the floor and my legs protested from my weight. My body was weak. I went over to the balcony doors and opened the curtains. I was blinded by bright sunlight so much, that my eyes stung. The sunlight streamed in; bright, warm and welcoming. Dust motes danced in the bright light. Once my eyes were adjusted, I opened the door. The smell of the trees permeated the air. I could almost smell the sunlight as it beamed down on the mountain range.
The forest was close by and I could collect some samples; so it wouldn't be a complete waste of daylight. Changing into my sweater from dinner and pair of jeans, then strapping on my hiking boots, I walked out into the Carpathian air. There was a thin layer of cloud drifting by, blocking out the sun for a few moments. The sunlight was stopped from hitting my eyes by my sunglasses.
Putting in my earphones, music began to play as I walked. I followed a long trail leading into the trees, away from the inn. Walking for thirty minutes, the sounds of construction buzzed through the trees, over my music. Getting closer to the sounds of construction, there were several men working on a magnificent house. The high windows caught the sunlight and a veranda wrapped around the entire first floor. The glorious structure stood near some cliffs. There was a high, steel gate going around the house. The bars were thicker than my arm. One of the construction workers glanced up from some plans as I approached the site.
"Hello," he greeted in heavily-accented English. I bowed my head, "Who lives here?" The last word of my question dragged out in awe. The worker looked over to the house, "The family name is Dubrinsky; some big-shot around here. The house was burned down by some madman named Romanov. He thought the owner of the house killed his father or something like that. We're just putting the finishing touches on the house, so the furniture can be moved it." My attention was drawn back to the house.
It was three stories high, with an Old World design to it, mixed in with modern architecture; it seemed strangely inviting. This house competed with the Cullen's. Esme would love it. Looking at the high windows as they caught the sunlight, I wanted to go inside, as if I belonged there. Another construction worker started yelling to the one that spoke to me, "Excuse me, Miss." He went back to work and I got back to my hike. How could someone burn down a gorgeous house like that? This person must have been crazy.
Not far from the construction site, there was a patch of land with exposed soil. At least I didn't have to go that far. Kneeling on the exposed land, I took out my trowel and a small Petri dish. The small shovel dug into the earth that was very loose. Possibly the locals digging here to collect the soil themselves. What is that? My body stood up quickly, looking around. I was alone. Had a construction worker drifted closer?
Looking around, I surveyed the trees, searching for anyone else. There was no one. My eyes were then locked with the eyes of a large black wolf. Its frame was heavy with muscles, with its black fur ruffled from the forest. I've seen wolves the size of horses, that would have taken this one easily, but I was friends with them. This wolf just stared with silver, intense eyes. It huffed for a moment, making my breath stop in my throat. Moving slowly, I picked up my backpack and backed away. The wolf pulled its muzzle back, showing sharp teeth. I continued to back away slowly from the loose earth. Feeling steady grass underneath my boots, the wolf lifted its head, as it still watched me. Not wanting to startle it, I continued with my slow pace, back up the path. The wolf's eyes watched me as I walked away. Moving at a quicker pace, I went past the construction site of the beautiful house. I looked back every few steps, feeling the wolf's stare, but it wasn't there.
My nerves felt like livewires until I saw the smoking chimney of the inn. My heart still raced as I half ran through the front door. Sweat dripped down my brow from my quick sprint from my quick escape. Mrs. Galvenstein sat behind the front desk. She looked up as I walked in, "Ms. Swan." Her cheery voice helped. "Hi, Mrs. Galvenstein." I looked back to see if the wolf had come out of the forest. "I have a question." She looked up from her work, "Of course." "Do wolves run around here?" She nodded, "Yes. The Dubrinsky family had a pack of wolves as pets about ten years ago. A few still live close by. I noticed you went up the path. That was their old house. So beautiful, but poor Rudy went mad after his parents died. It took some time, but they are finally rebuilding it." I exhaled slowly, listening to her voice. It was relaxing. How could a family own wolves as pets? "I didn't realize they came out in the day or were that big?"
My teeth nervously chewed on my fingertips. "You just saw one?" I nodded, fear still present in my eyes. Mrs. Galvenstein walked around the front desk, "Come with me. You look a bit shook up." She guided me to the dining room and had me sit at one of the empty tables. "I'll be right back," and she bustled off to the kitchen. It was silly of me to be afraid. I've faced vampires that wanted to drain my blood, a group of men who saw me as an easy target and larger, massive wolves that were thought to be the killer of hikers. One single wolf shouldn't be shaking me up. I've faced the world of the supernatural and survived.
But this wolf seemed very different. Its gaze was too smart; almost human-like. It reminded me of the first time I saw Jacob in his wolf form. His large black eye stared right at me, trying to convey the message to run. This wolf looked at me as though I was threatening his home. Well, this was its home. Now, I was skeptical in going camping tomorrow, with the thought of running into other wolves. But I had to. My experiment was important to prove my thesis; the Carpathian soil can help many suffering from ailments.
A mug of herbal tea was placed in front of me, "Drink this. It should help. It's made from the herbs in the forest." Mrs. Galvenstein must have grandchildren, to be such a nurturing woman. The tea was good, with a slight bitter aftertaste. Warmth flowed through me, calming my frazzled nerves. "Thank you." She stood by the glass doors, "It's strange you saw a wolf during the day. They usually only come out at night." She looked upward, "Well, maybe he wanted to get an early start. It's getting dark."
Looking out the glass doors, I noticed the sun was gone, hidden behind thick gray clouds. The sky darkened quickly in this place. Thinking about it, there was a different feel to the air as I made my way back to the inn. Colder and less welcoming. Finishing my tea and telling Mrs. Galvenstein that I was skipping dinner, I wanted to head to my room. "No, you won't miss dinner. I'll have my nephew bring it to your room." Not wanting to protest, I smiled at the insistent innkeeper, "Thank you, Mrs Galvenstein. The beef stew was delicious last night. If you're offering it again, I'll have that." She pushed my chair back under the table, "I'll make some just for you."
I opened the door to my room. It was very warm and my bed was made, with a sprig of mint on my pillow. My bag slid down my arm to the floor and I went to take off my boots. I felt silly, but I checked the balcony doors, making sure I didn't see the wolf. I could still feel his eyes on me. Shaking off the suspicious feeling, I began to examine my samples. Damn wolf. If he didn't show up, I could have collected more. I took out my travel microscope to get a closer look at the grains of soil. The sample was fascinating, very different from the ones back home. My pen scrawled across my notebook. Seeing this bit of information, I was excited again about camping. I wanted to go out further into the mountains and collect better samples.
There was a knock at my door, but I ignored it. The desk was covered a plastic sheet and grains of dirt. There was a second knock and it caught my attention, "Coming." Taking off my plastic gloves, I went to answer the door. I opened the door to the visitor, "My aunt asked me to bring this for you." My eyes widened a bit, "It's you." The eager young man from Romania stood at my door. He finally looked at me and took one step back, "Hello." I huffed, "You're Mrs. Galvenstein's nephew?" He nodded once, "Yes, my name is Bryan. My aunt said your name is Isabella." I grimaced at my full name, "Please, call me Bella." I glanced at the tray and there was a silver covering, with steam billowing out of the small opening.
I took the tray from him, "Would you like to come in?" His pale green eyes lit up for a moment, "Yes, thank you." Finding good samples put me in a good mood. I didn't have time for company. I was barely scratching the surface of my work. Bryan's eager attitude changed as he saw the clumps of dirt on the desk, "What are you doing?" Embarrassed, I explained the mess. "You're some kind of a scientist?" I shrugged, "I guess you can say that." He snapped his fingers, "You did say you came to study the soil." I nodded, "Good memory."
I inhaled a quick breath and caught a scent of the food. My appetite suddenly lurched. I wanted to eat badly, so Bryan had to go. He looked at me after looking over my samples, "Well, since we're both in town, I know of a club with great music. Maybe we could go tomorrow night? It's a bit of a drive. This place doesn't know good music. The drive would take about an hour to Bucharest." Bryan looked at me with the same eager stare, reminiscent of a puppy. Going on a date was so not on the agenda for me.
I sunk into my desk chair, biting my lip, "I won't be here. Please don't think I'm not trying to blow you off, it's just I'm going camping tomorrow. I have to leave early to find my campsite." His confident face changed to concern, "You're going camping by yourself?" His voice dropped an octave. I nodded tentatively, "Yes, I need different samples to finish my work." Bryan crossed the room to stand in front of me, "Take garlic with you." My eyebrows shot up, "Excuse me?" His voice dropped another level, "Remember what I told you before you got on your train?" My eyes dropped for a brief second, "Oh, about vampires? I thought you didn't take it seriously?" I thought he was telling me that just to scare me.
His green eyes hardened, "I laugh it off, but its better to be safe than sorry. I didn't mention that I have relatives that hunt them." My eyebrow arched, "You're serious? You were laughing about it." I asked in a skeptical voice, making his response harden. He kneeled, making his eyes the same level as mine, "Yes, I laughed, but it doesn't make it any less true." His mind became clearer, once he got past my silly questions. How can she be so naïve? These vampires would tear her apart, or worse, make her into one of them. I don't want her to fall prey to them.
My mouth fell open, but I snapped it back shut. If there were actual vampire hunters, I sincerely doubted they had any success. Edward told me it was difficult enough for one vampire to kill another, so it was beyond impossible for a human to achieve a kill. My stomach growled silently, so I indulged Bryan and his superstitions, "Ok, I will. It's better to be safe than sorry."
Bryan exhaled, not buying into my response, "Just be careful, Bella. Things aren't right out there." Well, he had a point about that. On my way back to the inn, things felt off, but that could be because I was caught by a huge wolf. The wolf's eyes were at the forefront of my mind. There was something about those eyes I couldn't ignore. Bryan moved to look out the balcony doors and crinkled his eyes. I look at the tray of food. I had to eat something. Bryan stared at the glass, "Is that an owl?" My head turned to see what he was talking about. The night snuck in quickly, blackening the skies. How could he even tell there was anything out there?
Right there, looking into the glass was a large silver and black owl. Its large eyes watched us quietly. I stepped out the door into the cold for a better look. I've never saw an owl in actual life. I didn't realize they were such large birds. "Oh my gosh." The owl stared at me with deep, black eyes. I found myself staring right back at the great bird. The bird didn't move one inch as it looked at me. The owl continued to search my face as it stared. Suddenly, there was a screeching cry from another owl flying overhead in the night sky. The owl on the railing unfolded its wings, flapping them, making a gust of wind hit me as the black and silver owl took flight. It joined the other one, flying towards the mountains.
I watched the pair fly away in the distance, losing their sight against the sky. I found myself gazing after them, though they were long gone. This place was wonderful. I wouldn't mind staying here for a while, as long as I didn't see that wolf again.
I turned back to my room and Bryan was gone, leaving the front door half open. Stepping back inside, I closed the balcony door, then my room door. Why did Bryan leave without saying anything? I didn't dwell on the thought. I had to get ready for tomorrow. The heat of the stew hit my stomach, pushing away the hunger pains. Taking more bites, I tossed my samples. I've collect the basic information I needed. My dinner was gone within seconds and I felt full and warmer. After a shower, I went to bed early for tomorrow. I think I was forming a love affair with this bed. Once tucked into the sheets, I dreaded the coming hours when I would have to get out of it.
My backpack was packed with everything I would need for the next two days. A tent, extra clothes, horrible dehydrated food, several bottles of fresh water, my laptop, travel telescope and a solar charger were all packed. The pack was heavy, but all my traveling strengthened me to handle the heavy burden.
Before leaving, I wrote a quick note to Bryan, ensuring him that I took his advice on the garlic and hopes that I didn't offend him last night. The note waited on the front desk of the inn with his name on it. No one was in the town as I followed another trail into the forest. I wasn't going up the other one, afraid I was going to run into that wolf again. If I saw it again, this trip was over and I was going to leave this place. Walking into the trees, I felt kind of bad for disregarding something Bryan took very seriously. It seemed very silly to carry garlic, when I knew it did nothing. The vampires he was thinking about came straight out of Bram Stoker's story of the count that lost his beloved wife. It was sad, but the legends, as I knew them, were false. Real vampires were out there and they were the reason I took down my mental blocks.
I could hear the sleepy thoughts of the villagers. The sun was just coming over the buildings as I walked up the path. The forest was waking up with the rising sun. Birds were singing and dew covered all the plant life. The lush green plant life was coming closer together as I hiked deeper into the trees. The tree trunks were getting thicker and wider, while the canopy above was blocking out the sun. The sunlight shining through the leaves was leaving the ground a beautiful shade of green. Twigs and leaves crunched under my boots. According to my map, I was about another three miles from my campsite. Beads of sweat were forming on my forehead and temples, but I kept going.
After almost an hour, there was a break in the trees, revealing a circle of land; my campsite. Taking off my backpack, my body slumped down to the ground, gasping for air. There were breaks in the canopy, letting in rays of warm, gentle light. It warmed my face from the cool air. The wet grass rustled in my ears and the smell of it was so sweet. I could lay here for the rest of the day, but I couldn't. I groaned to myself going do the mental list of things I came here to do. Gathering my strength, I went for my backpack and set up camp.
The first thing was to get my solar charger ready. I placed the panels directly in the sunlight and plugged in my laptop. The tent was next and pretty easy. The circle flew into the air and the tent took shape. Ruffling through my pack, the wraps of the dehydrated food crinkled, "Ugh, but it's all I have." Why didn't I take a bagel from the kitchen before I left?
After choking down dehydrated eggs and toast, I drank a whole bottle of water. Once the taste was out of my mouth, I got to work. Samples of soils were examined under my microscope. The findings were fascinating and I was right. Coming out here, away from the heavy traffic of people, the properties were even stronger. My notebook was filling up with my notes from the day's findings. Going against everything I knew about first aid, there was an experiment I wanted to try.
Taking out my pen knife and bracing myself, I cut into the palm of my left hand. I gritted my teeth as the blade broke the skin. Breathing through my mouth, not wanting to smell the blood, I put a layer of dirt on my palm and wrapped it in a tight bandage. This was reckless and stupid, but Edward wasn't here to stop me.
Now, all I had to do was wait and see if the experiment was a success or a failure. I took out my camera and started taking pictures. It was so beautiful out here. Hiking further up the mountain, there was the perfect scene. The sun was in the distance, lighting up the whole valley. The lush green grass was rolling over the hills and melted into the stone bases of the mountains. The slops were steep, disappearing into the low fogs. I gasped taking in everything. A light wind ruffled my hair. Take away the sunny skies, it felt like I was back in Forks.
I laughed to myself, thinking about the first time I went to Forks. 'It's too green,' was my first thought. Well, it was too green here, but this time, I could appreciate it now. I settled on the ground and just looked out to the stretch of land in front of me. It was picturesque. Looking out to the mountainous ranges, my mind began to think about the Cullens. My head shook slowly; trying to dispel the wonderings of where they were.
Not just Edward, but where was Carlisle practicing his passion of medicine? Where was Esme planning her next redecoration project? What visions were Alice having, what cars were Rosalie fixing and when was Emmett and Jasper planning their next chess tournament? I still missed them all so much. Looking up, the sun was getting higher, climbing upward. The valley was getting warmer. Taking advantage of the sunlight on my solar charger, I wrote emails to Renee, Charlie, Jacob, Angela and Mike. Renee emailed me immediately, asking if we could talk online.
'Sorry, Mom, not until I get back to the inn tomorrow night. Time got away from me and I have to use what's left of the battery to write about my finding. Talk to you soon.'
The sun was rolled across the sky, while I worked. Exhaustion from the hike was catching up with me. No, I couldn't sleep now. I shook my head stubbornly, trying to fight off sleep. I pulled my microscope to me to further study my samples. A yawn escaped from my lips; long and drawn out and my eyelids were getting heavier. Ok, a short nap couldn't hurt. My sleeping bag wasn't as comfortable as my bed at the inn, but I had to deal. I missed the bed already.
The light was getting dim as I woke up. I climbed out of my sleeping bag and got out of the tent. The canopy above covered my campsite. Leaning down, I took up my lantern. There wasn't much else for me to do. Mercifully, my laptop was fully charged. Maybe watching a movie would help pass the time. My dinner was delicious dehydrated chicken with mashed potatoes. Fortunately, I brought some snack bars for dessert.
The movie played while I wrote in my diary, letting me talk about today. Outside, the wind pushed against the tent walls. I was trying to not let my imagination get the best of me. My mind was on full alert listening for anyone or anything. It was unlikely that anyone, at least, any human would be out here at this time of night. But it wasn't humans I was worried about.
Shaking my head, I went back to my diary, trying to keep my mind occupied. The voices of the actors made me feel like others were with me. The wind howled again, making me nervous. "There is nothing out there, there is nothing out there," I told myself. Being a coward, I slinked back into my sleeping bag, as a false sense of safety.
False or not, it made me feel better. I shut off my laptop and kept my lantern on a low setting. Closing my eyes, I tried to shut my mind off, so that I could get back to sleep. Before going to sleep, I unbandaged my left hand. There was a thin pink line across my palm. The Carpathian soil helped heal my hand. This was going to be a great discovery.
Sleep evaded me now, as my excitement overflowed. My finger trailed over the pink line. It was a little sore, but it was clear the wound was healing quickly. Taking more soil from my Petri dish, I put in on my hand and rewrapped it. I wanted to see if it would be completely healed by morning.
