Worlds Clash

Chapter 3

The coven of yellow-eyes look on helplessly at the young teen as she ambles curiously around the open room downstairs. She touches everything, prodding the couch, feeling the reflective glass of a picture frame, and gaping amazedly in the small mirror hanging from the wall.

At first, when she walked past and caught sight of her reflection, she spooked and skittered away. She waited a few seconds for something to happen, but when nothing did, she slowly slunk forward to examine herself.

After a while, she wanders away to poke at more curious things. She prods the corner of the television set, examining the small buttons in quizzical fascination.

She pushes one of the buttons experimentally, jumping about a foot when it flashes on, and she makes a strange animal like noise like a cat.

The TV blares some sort of hunting show and right then, the hunter fires off a shot. The girl shoots from her defensive crouch, scrambling and slipping over the hardwood floor to find cover behind the couch as another shot is fired off.

Chest heaving, the cat girl digs her nails deep into the soft, strange colored rock she hid behind and peaks around the edge to the hunter in the flat box. Hunters are dangerous to her tribe. Quite a few have been killed by them when they are out hunting, because a well placed bullet is quite affective against a cat. One hits you and you're dead.

The vampires, unconcerned with the human weapons, step into the middle of the room. Rosalie strides over and crouches next to the ridged she-cat.

"It's all right," the yellow-eye says. "It's okay; it's not real. That's called a television and it just shows videos. The hunter isn't really here; he can't hurt you."

Bella shoots her a studying look. After a few seconds, she loosens her claws from the soft rock and peaks over the back of it to the 'television'.

"Emmett, turn it off," Rosalie commands of the biggest vampire. He quickly follows direction, and the screen once again turns black.

"Where are you from?" The doctor asks. "Is there anyone we can call?"

"Call?" Bella asks, hesitant to turn away from the box that doesn't really have a hunter in it. "They won't be able to hear you from here."

More looks are exchanged. "How about you stay here for the night, it's already getting dark," Alice offers.

That cat girl hesitates. She has her cave out in the woods with her things; she should really be going.

But these vampires are so strange and lone vampires are often drawn to others of their kind. Maybe these yellow-eyes know the red-eye that killed Giles.

"Okay," she says.

"Great! I'll show you the room you can stay in," the smallest vampire latches onto the she-cat's arm, ignoring the initial jolt Bella makes at the contact, and tugs her back up the stairs.

She's soon left alone in a large blank room. The door closes and she lets her form fall to the more natural state of half lioness.

Her senses stretch along with her sharpened vision, and she takes in the new details of the room.

Down on the first floor, and unconcerned to her, she is the center of talk, but she doesn't listen in or speculate; she strips of the human garbs, relaxing in her natural skin. The hole in the side of the human home is covered by a clear screen that she fiddles with until it slides out of the way. She then climbs out onto the roof to curl up under the stars.

She wakes to the sound of the door opening, and a gasp. Curious, the cat girl lets her claws retract and hearing dull as the points of her ears become rounded.

Her human hands grip the edge of the roof and she swings into the room she was given.

"What is it?" She asks the vampire call Alice, who gapes at her.

"Where were you? And where are your clothes?!"

The she-cat blinks before pointing to the pile of garbs she had tossed aside last moon. "I was on the roof. I'm sorry; is that not allowed?"

"Er," the yellow-eye shifts uncertainly, unconsciously mimicking a human. "No, it's fine I guess. It's just a little dangerous."

Bella nods. For a human it might be.

"Well, breakfast is ready downstairs if you want to come down."

The cat-girl nods and starts to follow when Alice stops her.

"You should get dressed first though. You really shouldn't walk around naked."

The cat blinks, and nods in understanding. Humans are lewd creatures, so they need to be covered. She is pretending to be human so she needs to be covered.

Alice retreats from the room feeling strangely shaky for a vampire. The family looks up as she enters the kitchen.

"What time is Chief Swan coming over?" She asks as Esme places a platter of food on the table.

"Shouldn't you know already?" Emmett asks confused.

"No," Alice says wearily. "I haven't had a vision since yesterday. It's like they're being blocked."

A stretch of worried silence has everyone stilling. Then Carlisle clears his throat and stands. "He should be here in about a half hour- plenty of time for Bella to eat first. Is she coming down?"

"I am here."

All the vampires turn, startled, to the doorway. Bella enters, hair wild, curious faced, and shirt turned backwards.

No one mentions it.

She finds her old seat at the table and immediately digs into the food in front of her, once again by-passing the utensils.

The seemingly human girl places her grubby hands in her lap once all of her food is gone, and looks up.

"Thank you for the food," she says.

"Bella," Rosalie broaches, pulling out the chair next to the girl and sitting carefully. "Someone is coming here to see you in a few minutes. He's coming to help, okay? He wants to help find your family."

Bella's head tilts in confusion. She knows where her family is; she could find them easily.

"I do not need help finding my family. I need to find someone else."

"Who?" Carlisle asks curiously, drawing closer.

"The one who killed my friend. Have you seen anyone in the past few suns pass through your woods?"

The vampires exchange looks. "Only you," Alice answers. "But Chief Swan can help find your friend's killer, too. It's his job."

The she-cat frowns, ready to decline the offer when there is a knock on the door. She jumps to her feet, scrambling gracefully to the wall to peek around the corner. A shadow shifts in front of the entrance she came through yesterday.

Carlisle quickly goes to it and pulls it open with a polite smile.

"Chief Swan," He takes a human man's hand. "Please come in; thank you so much for coming."

"Of course, Dr. Cullen. Where is she?"

"In the kitchen. This way."

The young girl watches with growing unease as the medicine man leads the human into the eating room. This seems to be getting out of hand; she didn't think the vampires would bring humans into this.

His eyes immediately find her on the edge of the room and he offers a gentle smile.

"Hello, my name is Charlie. What's yours?"

"I am called Bella," the cat responds wearily, but the human keeps his distance. He sits down at the table.

"Would you like to sit down, Bella?"

Looking around and seeing that many of the vampires have left, the disguised girl slowly lowers herself onto a chair.

"How old are you?" The human who is supposed to help catch a vampire asks.

"I am 63 seasons old."

The man's eyes rise in thought. "Almost sixteen then." He shuffles around some papers he brought with him before looking back up at the girl he is certain was kidnapped at a young age. "Where did you come from?" He asks slowly.

Bella points at the wall of windows and to the woods beyond.

"Was there anyone with you?" He leans forward.

She stares at him blankly.


A/N: So I just recently wrote this chapter and I hope you like it. I'll try to write more if I can before college starts. Please let me know what you think.

~Silver~