Sorry it took so long to update! I was horse riding. And happy week and something after New Year! xP and because, I really missed out on a lot of stuff in the center, I'VE REDONE A LOT OF THE PROLOGUE. GO BACK AND READ THAT NOW… also, stuff like glass tanks for marine life and reptiles are missing. But I have it covered – she doesn't work a lot with marine life, and there aren't many ways a snake can die of non-natural causes. And what is up with all the favorites and alerts and hits, and FOUR reviews. Not that I'm complaining or anything…-cough- And guess what? Dad said he went to school with Carter Burwell, the guy who did Bella's Lullaby…that's sorta cool…: D anyhow, read away!
Endangered: Chapter 1
So, it's been a while since I got the center, and I had adjusted pretty well to my hermit-like existence. I was doing well, and I'd figured out all my routines by now. I go down to Port Angeles every couple weeks to get supplies as required and kept interaction with humans to a bare minimum.
I also had numerous animals to take care of them, most of them were snare victims, and some were just injured animals I had given the benefit of the doubt when I saw them on my early morning walk, which I take after tending to the animals.
I currently had a wide selection of creatures - a rocky mountain goat, a lynx, a now adolescent golden eagle, a belted kingfisher, a pika, and a mountain beaver.
They all had stories too. The mountain goat, Tara, got shot in the thigh, and I picked her up after a mission in Alaska, while I was taking a walk to calm down. The lynx, Nina, is this old gal who's seen it all, and after an in-depth conversation on the uselessness of guys, I couldn't just leave her there, could I? She has run of the center, and is like the mom I never had. The golden eagle, Hunter, was the weaker chick who got pushed out of his nest by his older sister. He had my heart immediately - he was that cute - so I took him home to raise him. He's only been here a couple weeks, and is still covered in down. Barracuda, the belted kingfisher, I found by a small lake, trying to fish with semi-clipped wings. He got away from the humans before they did it all, because the clipper was an amateur, and doing it in the open. His wings are almost grown back now, and I have to help him learn to fly all over again. Finally, there's Teddy, a mountain beaver that got caught in a trap. I had to amputate the lower half of his left foreleg, which is unfortunate. He'll never get released, as the amputation inhibits his movement too much. He's a real comedian.
Anyways, I was currently finishing up feeding my residents. I only had Nina left, and I was already dressed for my normal morning jog, in black sweats, a light green shirt with dark green designs covering it, along with my favorite sneakers. My hair was in its usual high ponytail, my bangs hanging on either side of my face, tucked behind my ears. My iPod was tucked in my back pocket, along with my keys. I had already locked the door.
"Here, kitty kitty!" I teased Nina as I tossed her slab of beef on the ground, in the usual spot a few meters to the right of the steps leading to the porch.
"Shut up!" She replied as she emerged from brush.
"I'll think about it." I smiled at her, and her lips pulled back over her teeth in her own kind of smile.
"Don't think too hard, you might hurt yourself."
I rolled my eyes. "I'm gonna go now." I informed Nina. "Enjoy breakfast girlie!" I called over my shoulder as I jogged off, deciding to go in the opposite direction of the path I normally take.
"Oh, and Bella?"
I stopped jogging and turned to look at Nina. "Yes?"
"Be careful!"
"Aren't I always?" With that, I turned and started up again.
"I just have that feeling. I'm warning you!" She yelled after me.
"Whatever mom!" I called, not turning this time. I heard Nina snort as I entered the forest.
To explain that conversation, Nina had these sorts of premonitions. She can feel when something bad, unforeseen, dangerous or just plain weird is about to happen. She's usually right too. At this place in time though, I wasn't expecting anything too drastic, maybe just a mission; nothing big.
I pulled my iPod out of my pocket, unwrapping the wires for the earphones that were wound tightly wound around the iPod, and sticking the buds in my ears. I then turned the thing on, doing 'shuffle' as I didn't have any preference for what I wanted to listen to at the moment. 'All Fall Down' by OneRepublic came on.
Step out the door,
And it feels like rain,
That's the sound,
That's the sound,
On your window pane
Right on cue, it started raining. Luckily for me, I got my iPod water-proofed. How, I don't know, but it worked. The rest of me wasn't so lucky though, I was quickly getting soaked to the skin. Stupid brain, thinking for once I could go for a jog without a raincoat.
The song continued, and then the chorus came blasting out.
If ever your world starts crashing down,
Whenever your world starts crashing down,
Whenever your world starts crashing down,
That's when you'll find me
I had no idea how true those lyrics were at the time. I just kept jogging, turning to the right. I intended to make a loop back to the center, and I had some sort of built in GPS anyways, so I couldn't really get lost.
After a while, I turned right again, estimating it to be around the right spot for the square path I was running. I stopped dead though, as a few feet in front of me stood a black bear, along with a cub, with their backs to me and oblivious to my approach.
I recognized her as Cookie, a cinnamon colored American Black Bear who I'd run into many times during my jogs. She was a good friend, I talked to her a lot; she was another one of those animals that helped me stand the prerequisite anti-social behavior that came with my job. I mean, face it – humans were naturally gregarious animals, even if complete introverts like me. And I wasn't even human; at least not completely. I hadn't seen my friend since just before hibernation last year, and didn't realize the real reason she was gaining weight so quickly. I guess I knew now.
Cookie whirled around to face me, in a protective stance over the cub, lips pulled back over her teeth. The cream colored cub cowered into her leg. Cookie visibly relaxed when she saw it was just me, but the cub still hid between her legs.
"Jeez, Bella, don't scare me like that!" She scolded. "I thought you were one of them…" Cookie trailed off, obviously shaken just by the thought of whoever they were.
"Sorry." I said sarcastically. I paused for a little, before turning to Cookie thoughtfully. "Hey, who are they?"
She looked at me incredulously. "You seriously don't know who they are?"
"Am I supposed to?"
"What do you think? I'm surprised the other animals haven't come and complained to you."
"Care to share?" I asked. I wanted to know more about this problem, because it obviously affected the entire animal population in the surrounding areas.
"Its bad luck to say it out loud." Cookie shook her head, before nudging the cub forward with her nose. "Oh, and Bella, this is my first cub," The ball of fluff dug his nails into the ground, obviously scared. "Bubba."
The cub didn't make a move, and Cookie nipped him on the neck lightly.
I shook my head. "It's ok, don't worry about it. I can wait till he's older." I didn't mind; besides, the cub was still only about three to four months old, maybe younger.
"No, no, you'll meet Bubba now. You're his godmother – if anything ever happens to me, I want you to take care of him." Cookie was obviously was referring to getting hurt by them.
I gave the bear a skeptical look. "Bears have godmothers?" She simple nodded, and I let out a short laugh.
"Shut up! It's not funny; everyone's doing it now anyways."
"Why is everyone telling me to shut up today?" I muttered.
Cookie snorted. "Maybe because you're having trouble keeping your trap closed," she suggested. I glared at her. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. Now, we're getting off topic. Bella, meet Bubba." She nudged Bubba forward with her paw, none too gently. He rolled forward, as he wasn't expecting the force. He stopped with an 'oomph' right between his mom and me. He picked his head up and looked from his mother to me and back again, looking completely bewildered.
I giggled softly and knelt to the grown, putting my hand out in front of me. He looked to his mother for approval, and she nodded in encouragement. Bubba picked himself up off the ground gingerly, and approached cautiously one step at a time. After a minute or so, he got in sniffing range, and stretched his nose out to snuffle at my hand. His soft wet nose brushed gently against my fingertips, and I giggled. Bubba looked up at me with wide, innocent eyes, and then spoke, "Nice to meet you Miss Bewwa!"
I laughed; Bubba was just too cute, lisp and all. "Just Bella, Bubs." I decided that'd be my nickname for him. He looked at me with gleeful eyes, obviously fond of it. I then looked up at Cookie. "You did good, girl." I complimented. But Cookie was frozen in place, and I had a feeling that bad thing that Nina had predicted was about to happen.
"Cookie?" I called. I didn't get a response from her.
"Mom?" Bubba asked, scared. Again, no reaction.
"Vampires!" Cookie exclaimed suddenly. The whites of her eyes were showing, conveying the terror that she felt. She looked me directly in the eye then, her eyes reducing to their normal size. She sighed, and then, "Bella, it was nice knowing you. Take care of Bubba for me. That's my dying wish. And don't avenge my death." She turned her gaze to Bubba. "I love you, forever and always. Remember that. Be strong now." Tears were welling up in my eyes, threatening to spill over. She was too young to die!
"But momma…" The cub cried, taking a step toward her.
"No buts!" She barked. Bubba jumped. She looked at me again. "Run! NOW!" With that, she turned on us, running in the opposite direction of where we stood. I quickly picked up the frozen ball of fluff that was Cookie's cub, taking one last look behind me. I shouldn't have.
I could see Cookie, laying limp and lifeless in the hands of a bulky, weightlifter like vampire, who was crouched over her body with his teeth sunk into her neck. I gasped, clutching Bubba tightly and hiding his head in my chest before he could see anything. The vampire looked up; his coal black eyes made a stark contrast to his pale skin. He seemed to be fighting the instinct to come and attack me. I grimaced and whipped around, sprinting full speed in the direction that my internal GPS told me to go; I was pretty damn fast when I was scared, I noticed.
Of course, since I have no real co-ordination, I tripped on the last step up to the patio. I twisted my body so that Bubba would land on top of me, and collided with the hard wood floor. It hurt, but I'd live. I quickly got up, moving Bella so I was holding him with one arm, and used the other to pull my key out of my sweats' back pocket, unlocking the door and barging through the door, closing it and stuffing the key into the keyhole, twisting it so that the door was locked. Not that it would be much help against a vampire, or so I've been told.
I leaned my back against the door, closing my eyes and taking deep breaths. Breathe in, breathe out, I chanted over and over in my head.
"That bad?" Nina questioned as I heard her approach me. I opened my eyes to see her looking at me inquisitively, her head tilted up a little to meet my gaze.
"You have no idea." I told her.
"Don't say I never told ya so!"
Ok, you should know what to do now…I hope… Cookies for anyone who does! Well, virtual ones…and not the kind websites put on your computer… Yah, L8er! I'm writing the next chapter right now! HG23