I do not own any of the characters or basic story material presented, all rights belong to Stephanie Meyer.
Well, I'd say this story has as good a start as any. However, to the three of you who were so kind to review, I'd like to take the time to thank you, your reviews were wonderfully encouraging. My many thanks go out to you. And I'd also like to address one issue that seemed to pop up, Edward and Bella's lack of "intimacy" plays a role in this story, so please bear with me. All will be answered in time…
Chapter 2: Hungers
"Dr. Swan? The blood test is back, and I'm afraid it's positive." The intern's stern voice announced.
I sighed, brushing my unruly hair back with a tired hand. "At least tell me it's a different species this time. Please."
Taylor, the newest intern for the aquarium, grimaced. "Sorry Dr. Swan, the test indicated another bout of Anthobothrium. Would you like me to ring Dr. Verden?"
"Yes please, and ask Mishi to fax this report to the vet for me, will you?" I gave the girl a small smile, she was rather frightened of me. I had a bit of a reputation in my office…..
The girl didn't return my smile and whisked out of the room. She couldn't have been more then 19 years old. Still a child in so many ways, and still fearful of her superiors. Most likely she had gotten a job here to pay for shiny baubles or a new boyfriend, heaven knew I had done the same at her age, even if Edward had been standing by my side.
Feeling antsy, I escaped the constriction of my office and took the elevator to the third floor of the aquarium. The designated "Man eater" floor, it was where we housed the pride and joy of the aquarium, Hekili. She was the 27 foot Great White we had found trapped in a gill net three years ago, the Forks aquarium was the first to keep a Great White alive for more then a year, and indeed she flourished. However, she was also the source of my vexations at this current moment. My charge had the unfortunate habit of contracting vicious parasite infestations, this would be her fourth time this year alone.
It was quiet today, hardly a soul had ventured onto the floor to witness the awe-inspiring beauty that was Hekili. Her giant form loomed angelically in the million gallon tank, she also had access to the ocean pen that connected to her tank, but for now she seemed at peace. I took a seat to wait for my fellow scientist, Dr. Verden. We were more like brother and sister then coworkers, John had been with me from the start. Hekili was a monument to our friendship, we had worked with her together to ensure her survival in the newly built tank. And here she was, blossoming with life, three years later.
"So, our girl's come down with another infestation eh? I can't say it doesn't surprise me, Heli was always a delicate little thing." John chuckled.
I stood up and clasped him on the shoulder, smiling sadly at the behemoth swimming idly in the tank. "Yep, the very same species too. I'm beginning to wonder if the salmon fillets are the source of all our troubles. Maybe we should think about switching over to farm-raised, since the wild caught are always riddled with heavy metal toxins."
John walked up to the tank and tapped it lightly, his fiery orange hair shimmering in the dim glow of the tank. He was a tall man, with a deep chest and full beard to complement it. We always joked that he was a lumberjack who hit his head on a fallen tree and turned into a scientist. "That 's playing with fire Bella, you know the director wants to cut feeding costs. But I agree, that wild crud they call fish must be doing something to our little angel."
As if to punish him for such a frilly remark, Hekili drifted over to us and gnashed her mighty jaws twice. The Hammerheads who shared her tank gave her a wide berth. We laughed lightly together. "She's such a drama queen. No wonder the ocean wouldn't take her back. Oh! Before I forget, the board has given us another assignment."
I groaned, we had just returned from a stint in the Arctic circle, observing the feeding habits of Salmon sharks. "You're kidding me! John, I can't keep this up, I have a life to take care of…..and Edward deserves a break. You know how upset he can become."
We plodded back down to the seats provided, quietly watching a male Hammerhead cruise by our viewpoint. John leaned back so that his burly arms rested on another seat. "I'm sorry Bella, really. I know you two need some time together, but I think this is one assignment you simply can't resist." His gray eyes sparked with mischievous energy. I narrowed my eyes, intrigued.
"Do tell." I probed.
His face became positively impish with delight, alerting me to the fact that whatever the assignment was, it was good. "Two words. South. Africa."
"You're joking, I know you are, and that's very cruel of you." My voice was dead flat. If what he said was true, it would mean the fulfillment of one of my childhood dreams. South Africa was home to a very rare behavior in sharks. Breaching, full body breaching. I had lusted after observing such behavior for years.
"No joke. The director wants us to join a tagging expedition, as well as testing out a new seal decoy…..Come on, I'm cruel, but not this cruel. Your dream come true partner." He winked at me and shot me his index finger.
I reeled with excitement, John was right, there was no way I could refuse this trip. None. Well, except one little thing…..Edward.
A small wheeze of discontent escaped me. John noticed it immediately and guessed at its origin. He knew me far too well. "Don't you even dare, Dr. Swan. No way are you skipping this trip because of Nancy-pants back at home." He glared at me.
My eyes rolled away from his, and my posture became defensive. "Don't call him that John, he worries for a reason. A very good reason. Besides, we haven't spent more then a few hours together in the last eight weeks. I should stay home on this one, for Edward."
A gruff sigh escaped my partner. He wasn't letting me off easily. " Bella, the guy needs to give you a little credit. You've been working around Great Whites for over four years, and with other sharks for much longer. Wild or caged, you're safe around them. South Africa is your dream, three weeks away from Ms. Cullen is asking for very little."
I snorted at him, he knew it bothered me when he defaced Edward. "It isn't fair to him. Two months away, and now three more weeks? That's asking far too much."
I felt John's fingers flick me on the head, I slapped his arm jokingly. "What really isn't fair is the fact that you two have been together for ten years and he hasn't had the chum to ask you to marry him. Have you even…well…?"
"That's none of your business. I don't mind waiting anyhow. We're both still young, there's time for marriage." I retorted.
"Ten years and you're still celibate, that's practically a violation of the man-code." He stopped dead when I threw him a look that could curdle milk. John shot me an apologetic look, and continued on. " How can he stop you from doing what you love? If he loves you, he'll let you go to South Africa." He leapt to his feet and walked away, throwing me just one more comment.
"You know Bella, you'll always be in love with the apex predators, no matter what Edward says. They're in your blood."
I glanced towards Hekili, sighing as I watched her swift form drift throughout the tank. Yes, I was in love with apex predators, even the human ones……which was why I would insist upon going to South Africa.
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The small cottage I shared with Edward was right on the tree line between the land and sea. Towering redwoods stood around the back of the house while the front faced the ocean's Cliffside. The small two story building had always seemed to act as a sentinel. Wild roses competed with plump ferns around the doorway, the shingles always dripped with mist and moss. But no animals ever stayed near our home, for obvious reasons. They were smart, they knew a predator lived here.
I set my umbrella in its stand and took in the cluttered atmosphere that was mostly my own fault. Edward had always been a tidy creature, but I often took my work home with me; leaving seal skulls, shark's teeth, carcass photos, and other flotsam from the office. I ran my hand along the smooth frame of one of Edward's favorite paintings, a little-known artist from Tuscany had gifted it to him one year…..but I was stalling now, there was work that needed to be done.
I attempted to clean my clutter from sight, to act as a proper housemate and show some care towards my home, but I was simply too distracted. My mental fog was so great that I didn't realize Edward was home until his chilled arms were hugging my waist. His voice soft in my ear.
"Hello love, I see you got around to tidying up…" He chuckled in amusement.
Heat flooded my face as a hurried blush colored my face. The room was still a mess of my items, I hadn't even made a dent. "Well, do I get points for trying at least?" My voice was overly cautious. And Edward, more aware of my emotions then moon above us, easily picked up on such.
He sighed, a cool breeze drifted past my chin. "What is it now? Another conference call, a meeting in Port Angles, lowering yourself into the water to act as bait…?" His attempt to amuse me failed miserably. I felt guilt corner my every thought, and rightly so!
I leaned my cheek against his chest, listening to the whoosh of air within the cavity, sensing the mute heart hidden within. "Not quite….They….want me to travel to South Africa." I grimaced, "For three weeks." Edward's chest went still along with the rest of his body. I sighed, this was his way of constraining stress.
"I spoke with my director today, and after this trip he's promised me a month of paid vacation. Edward, please, I know this isn't fair, but the aquarium needs this project to get done. It's a rare opportunity." He released his hold on my waist and drifted towards the couch, brushing away a small pile of Bull-shark migratory reports.
"A rare opportunity indeed." His voice was icy, and he held his head to the ceiling, eyes closed.
Mt breath came out in a hurried huff. "It is, truly. Breaching is almost never observed in Great Whites outside of South African waters, and permits to chum and deploy decoys are rare as hen's teeth. Edward, this is a once in a lifetime chance for Forks. I have to go, and afterwards we'll be able to spend so much time together you'll be sick of me within a week."
That got a slight chuckle out of him. He smiled a bit at me, his amber eyes were still stressed though. "As though you could hope to do such a thing. I will never tire of your company." He closed his eyes again, and tilted back into the leather. "It's not the time away that worries me, it's what you'll be observing. Bella, you fail to notice, yet again, just how dangerous your job can be. I can't stand watching you toss your life away to vicious fish. They're almost as sensitive to your blood as I am, and heaven knows you've had your number of close calls with Hekili."
That last part got to me a bit, and my defenses flew up. "I've had more then enough experience with sharks Edward! It's been over ten years since I first took to studying them. Yes, it's true my job has its hazards, but I'm doing what I love, I'm being human. That's what you wanted anyway, isn't it? Well I chose my career, and I fell in love with it." I braced myself against the wall and smiled softly. "Perhaps you should have taken the other offer, before I worked with vicious fish…"
His eyes bored into mine, his mouth set in a sharp line. "There are times when I wish I might have. Your career choice had me so surprised, I had though you were joking in the start."
I ran my hand through my hair, rubbing at a sore spot near the forefront of my scalp. "The joke's over. You had your choice, letting our physical relationship progress, or dealing with me working with sharks. You chose, now suffer the consequences."
He groaned, very theatrically too. Edward was spending far too much time around his new assistant, who very much enjoyed the stage. "Danger, you always seek out danger… So I suppose there's nothing I can say that will convince you to stay away from Africa. Very well, go." He leapt to his feet for a moment, studying me with his eyes. I felt his gaze soften, and a playful light enter into them. "But before you depart from me so swiftly, my little swallow, I'd like to quench some of your need for danger….."
His lips found mine and without breaking his hold on me, his flipped the lights and carried me back towards the couch, his cold hands holding my form closer, and closer still.
A small pinprick stung my back as I was laid on the couch. I felt for the disturbance, and tossed it away. It had been a shark's tooth. The hulking remnant of the long dead Megalodon species. It too had been an apex predator…..all those millennia ago.
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He prefers the night only because of the appearance of the stars. Since his awakening, these ancient nighttime sentinels are some of the only objects to remain the same after so many, many years.
The monster is a man out of his time, and he knows it. Those things most obvious and ordinary to the everyday denizens of Earth, are exotic and irritating to the time-wizened Amun. He has no tolerance for cars, computers or any of the modern day machines. To him, they are signals of a weak race of man, one with no pride and no restriction. Where was the honesty of sweat? The soul of art? Where was the respect he so craved? Not here, surely not here. In this gluttonous city, there is little that interests him, save for the oldest of paintings and buildings.
He is currently out of the city walls, overlooking the new territory on a grassy knoll. The blades bite into his flesh, but their sweet scent calms him, hides his rage for the moment. Greenery was a rare breed when he was growing up in the sands of what is now known as Egypt. He savors the life in this place, caressing the tender grass with the palm of his hand. It should be known that he has also crushed spines, and gutted full grown men with the same hand, but for now, it is a peaceful instrument. Amun's dark, dark, eyes are cast towards the sky once more, they pick up the colors of the universe, the starlight, and the faint glow of a dying galaxy. Blues, purples, greens and blacks combine to paint the sky in his red gaze. A soft breeze hushes over his warm cheeks, it carries with it the scent of cakes baking, the whisper of a lady's perfume, and the reek of his enemy. Hidden within the bowels of this city. Lights blink on and off, cars scream, people shout and laugh. Amun can hear it all, as no mere human should. But Amun is certainly not human, he never had been.
His was a race very much separate from the rest of humanity, despite the same body structure. Oh yes, they had a common ancestor, but so do birds and worms. Predator and prey ultimately are related in the family tree, at some point we are all innocents. But Amun is not innocent, oh no, he is a fearsome predator. And he is here to hunt, not for food, but for prey none the less. And in the city, it is thriving, as it had been for far too long.
The monster rolls to his feet, the motion is catlike. He tilts his head back and draws a deep breath. There, in the sewer lines, lies the path to his targets. They are well hidden, and yet horribly exposed at the same time. He smiles, ready for the hunt, and pads down into the city. His thoughts are calm, steadied.
Run, run, fast as you can, it's time to pay your dues. The Volturi, head of their species? I think not, at least, not for much longer….