CHAPTER 4
RESCUE

I quickly and quietly went to my room to answer the text message. I opened my phone, and pressed, 'view now' 'Hey Seth. I'm bored and still don't really know anyone here yet. Wanna do something?' My first reaction was to reply yes, but then I remember, alpha's orders. So all I wrote back, "Sorry, can't busy today. If my plans change, I'll call you.' In a way, I felt rude for replying like that. But then I thought how come I care so much about this girl? I've known her for less then a week and still, I wanted to see her badly.

Besides, why wasn't I allowed to be with her anyway? Adelaide wasn't a threat in any way. But Sam and the others didn't even want me thinking about her. I couldn't take it anymore!

11:15 at night, I really couldn't take it. I tossed for a while before giving up. Everyone one was asleep. So I got out my phone. The light from the screen was blinding at first, but I dialed the number. Five rings. "Hello." The groggy voice on the other end said. "It's me, Seth." I said to Adelaide. "Why are you calling at 11:20 at night?" she said sound tried and confused. "I don't know couldn't sleep." I said being as simple as possible. "And…"

Now I didn't know what to say. "Wanna meet where, you know, where we always meet?" I said. As soon as I said it, I knew how weird and strange it sounded. And she just woke up; Adelaide would probably think she was hearing stuff. Then she asked me what I just said and it would sound twice as worse.

But she didn't. "Alright, I guess. I'll be there in ten minutes. Just let me wake up a little first." She answered. What? Maybe I was the one hearing things. But I said all right and hung up. I quickly got on shorts over my boxers and a sweatshirt and as silently as I could sneak out of the house without anyone having to wake up.

I was there before her for once. I sat on the log in silence, jiggling my leg from being nervous. Then she finally came three minutes later. She was wearing the grey hoodie from the other day, blue sweatpants she must of put on because they were the first thing she touched, and she had her hair up in a ponytail to hide her major bed head. "Hey." She said. "Hey."

"Why did you want to see me so late?" She asked. I was surprised she didn't say something like, "Couldn't get to sleep without seeing me first?" She must've been tried. "I don't know. I'm sorry I woke you tough." I replied. "It's fine, I was only asleep for like ten minutes before you called." She said before sitting down.

I looked behind her, and noticed that you could see a tiny bit of the ocean behind us. The grey water glimmered under the full moon. Adelaide looked over to see what I was looking at. "Wow, that's really pretty." She said with the tiniest smile on her face. "Yeah." Was all I was able to come up with. "I love how anything looks when there's a full moon." She stated still staring at the ocean. "Yeah, especially water." I said.

For the next few minutes, all we did was look at the water. Before I thought of something to say. "Can I ask you a question?" I asked. Adelaide finally stopped looking at the water to turn her head towards me. "What?"

Just then, I thought if how stupid what I was about to say would sound. But I said it anyway. "How'd you get your name?" I asked her. "I know, it's really old-fashioned." She paused. She got a strange look on her face. As if she was never told what the meaning of her name was. "I think it was my great-grandmother's name or something. I can't remember." She said and I didn't ask her any more questions about her name. "You know your named after the evil Egyptian god Seth?" She asked me. "Huh?" I had no idea what she was talking about. Who was Seth?

"He tricked his brother Orsis into going in a coffin then drowned it in the Nile River before cutting it up and hiding it all over the desert." Adelaide explained. "How do you know all this?" I asked her. "Just learned about it today." She answered. "What school do you go to?"

There it was. That same look she had before. "To tell you the truth, I'm home-schooled." She told me. "Oh, hey that's not so bad. I actually go to a special school where kids from my tribe go to." I reassured her, letting her know being home-schooled wasn't that bad. "Oh well I guess that's worse then home-school." Adelaide's face lit up a little. Then I remembered the pack. I couldn't get in trouble for telling her about school, but I could get in trouble for being with Adelaide right now.

But we were having a good conversation, so I set it aside. "The only problem with home-school is it's hard to meet people." She said in a hush voice. "Well, you've met someone, haven't you?" I told her. Then, we both looked into each other's eyes. I wonder if Adelaide felt the same thing I did when we did. "I guess." She answered she smiled as she said that. I checked the clock on my phone for the time.

Midnight. Adelaide looked at the screen as well. "It's pretty late, I guess I should go back to bed." She said. "Yeah I guess I should too."

We both got up from the log and just as we were about leave, we did something. As I acknowledged it, I was shocked and excited. We hugged each other. It was only for five seconds, but that wasn't long enough. For me at least. "See ya soon." I said. "Yeah, see ya." She replied before turning around to walk her way home. I stayed until I couldn't hear her footsteps. Then I turned around and slowly walked home.

I couldn't get in through the front door, so jumped onto the small back porch, and then climbed up the shingles and into my opened bedroom window. You can do that kind of stuff when you're a shape-shifter. I checked the alarm clock next to my bed. 12:28, and this time, I had a whole lot of a better time falling asleep.

The next day, I was up around 11:00. Everyone else already had breakfast and dressed. Charlie already left for work. Mom was folding laundry, and Leah was watching TV. Since I didn't wear the clothes last night for too long, I put them back on. I wasn't really in the mood to go trough my drawer to find something to wear.

As I was halfway through a bowl of soggy cereal, the phone rang and I was the only one willing to answer it. " 'Ello?" I greeted. "It's Jake, Seth." The person on the other end said. "Oh, hey."

"Well first of all, sorry 'bout squealing on you the other day. That was wrong."
"It's fine, I got over it."
"Well, anyway, Quil and me are taking Claire out to the ocean because Quil says she wants to look for seashells. You and Leah can come if you want." Jake offered. "Hang on." I said. I put the phone on the table and went into the living room. Leah was sitting on the couch staring at the screen although she looked bored out of her mind.

"Who is it?" Leah asked without looking at the screen. "Jake, he wants to know if you want to go to the shore with us." I explained to her. "Who's us?" She asked. "Jake, Quil, Claire, and me."

"Alright. She said turning the TV off. "I went back to the phone, and told Jake yes. "Okay, we'll all be there in 10 minutes." He said and then we both hung up. Leah told Ma where we were going and then we both left. "Why does Quil have to bring Claire everywhere he goes?" Leah asked. "Because, she's his soul mate." I said stating the obvious. "I just think he's crazy, no other girl wants him so he imprints on a baby."

"Hey, don't insult until you imprint on someone."

"Looks who's talking. Who are you gonna imprint on Seth? That skank you gave the skateboard to?" Then something bubbled up inside of me. I nearly changed form and lashed out on Leah, but I kept my cool and just ran it off. I could hear Leah calling me from behind. "Don't be so immature, Seth!" But I didn't listen. And I didn't stop running until I was at the beach. The only one there was Jake.

"Thought you said Leah was coming." He said once I stopped running. "I'm here, Seth just had a little hissy fit." Leah came jogging up behind us and hit me in the back as she said my name. "Relax, Leah." Jake said.

Just then, I could hear the screeches of a three-year-old, and no doubt it was Claire. That little girl may be small, but she screams as loud as a banshee. Quil was behind her, pretending she was too fast for him and his was out of breath. But once she was five feet away from us, giggling so hard I was surprised she wasn't out of breath, Quil sped up and grabbed her and she screamed. She squirmed but she couldn't stop Quil from holding her by her stomach.
I couldn't help but let out a smile. Its kind of cute how they play together and neither one get bored. He finally put her down as he got to us. "Hey." He greeted and Claire grabbed me but the ankle since I was the closet. "Hi Set!" She yelped. "Hi, Claire. You happy to be at the beach today?" I asked her. "Yep, yep, yep! Qwil find me pity shelbs! Pity, pity shelbs for my rawm. My rawm will hab pity shelbs awl ober the place! Ya hear me, Unca Jay?"

"I hear ya, kid." Ever since Jake imprinted on Nessie, he doesn't mind Quil imprinting on Claire as much. Leah however feels to same way as she always did. But she'll still put on a fake smile in front of Claire and act like the world is perfect and everyone plays all day, which is how Claire sees to world. "Well, you better start looking for shells, then." She said. "Yep, yep! C'mon Qwil." So we walked along the shore, whenever waves rolled in, Qwil would search the sand for shells, and if Claire approved, he put it into Claire's pink bucket.

Jake, Leah and I just walked along with them. Sometimes, Claire would order us to look. So we'd pick up the first shell we see. Soon, Claire started playing her little game. She'd say she saw a shell, someone would pick one up; she'd shake her head. Pick another one up; she'd shake her head no again. Then it would get to the point when you had at least six shells and she said she wanted all of them.

At some point, I could hear a faint noise over the waves. Then, Claire started pointing and shouted, "Look! Look, gawl swimbing!" We looked over and we could see someone far out in the waves. They were waving their arm and yelling. Quil picked up Claire and we all ran closer to get a better look. When we stopped, Jake pulled out his cell phone. I squinted to get a better look. It was a teenage girl, a teenage girl with brown hair. Adelaide!

I suddenly panicked. I got off my shoes and socks, and shirt and took my phone out of my pocket. "Seth! Are you crazy? The current is too strong!" Leah grabbed my arm trying to stop me. " What am I suppose to do? I gotta help her!" I shouted. Without another word, I dived into the chilling water with everyone else, even Claire shouting at me. I swam as fast as I could. As I got closer, I could make out what she was saying. "Help! I have a cramp! Help! Please help me!" "I'm coming." I said of the roar of the waves. "Seth! Help!" She recognized my voice. I finally got to her, and she grabbed me, taking us both under.

I was able to get back up along with her. "You have to calm down, or we'll both drown." I told her. "Okay." She said. Then I was able to get her on my back. I've learned on survival shows on TV that when the current is strong, you swim parallel from the shore until it's safe. "What are doing?" She asked. "I have to swim parallel until it's okay. Just relax." Thankfully, I'm a pretty good swimmer or who knows what could have happened to us. I soon swam pretty far away from where the others we standing, but they ran along with me.

Then a strong wave crashed over us, taking us both under. I grabbed Adelaide as fast as I could, so she wouldn't get out of my reach, then came back up. Getting her on my back again, I went back to swimming parallel. I was soon yards away from where I first dived in. Adelaide seemed heavier and my arms and legs were like lead. But I couldn't give up, the current was starting to feel weaker. After nearly five minutes but what seemed like hours, it was safe for me to swim back to shore.

"I'm going back to shore now," I informed her. She replied with a tried "Okay". Soon, I could touch the ocean floor again, and she got off my back. We dragged ourselves onto the sand. Jake, Leah, Quil and Claire were waiting for us. I tried to get my breath back as Adelaide coughed and coughed. "You guys okay?' Leah asked. I was worried Jacob might recognize Adelaide, but they were all to freaked out I guess. "I'm fine." I spoke for myself. "I called 911, they're sending help." Jake told me. I started rubbing Adelaide on her back, hopping that would stop her coughing.

"Did Set just help gawl Qwil?" Claire asked, trying to take everything that just happened in. "Yes, Claire, he did." Quil said looking down at me. I was still breathing deeply and my throat killed like it does when it's sore only ten times worse, but I was breathing at a more steady pace now. "Good joba, Set!" Claire said. "Thanks." I said between big breaths.

Then, we could hear sirens roar, and soon, an ambulance parked on the sand, and paramedics came running towards us. Adelaide wasn't coughing as much anymore, but now she started to cry. "Is this the person who was drowning?" One of the paramedics asked. "Yes. I was able to get her out." I told them. "What's your name, honey?" The paramedic asked. "Adelaide Johnston." She obediently replied. "Alright, try to stop crying, we'll take you to the hospital." The other paramedic said. They took out a fold up gurney that had to be carried by two people since the rolling kind couldn't move in the sand. Adelaide slowly got on, still sobbing and they strapped her on so she wouldn't fall.
"Can I please come with her?" I asked. "All right. The rest of you can come as well." The second paramedic said. I was surprised he said yes. Claire had a million questions to ask but no one answered. I walked along beside Adelaide, trying to shush her crying. As we got into the ambulance, Adelaide was placed on another gurney. Jake and I sat in back with her and the first paramedic while the others sat up front with the second paramedic. We all were able to fit in surprisingly.

On the way into the hospital, Adelaide got tried and fell asleep. She finally looked at peace, he hair spread out like seaweed on the black pillow part of the gurney, her arms at her side. "What could happen to her?" I asked.

"Well, she may have swallowed too much salt water and if she did, she could get dehydrated." The paramedic explained. I looked over at Jake. His expression was blank. It was hard to guess what he might have been thinking. Then I looked down at Adelaide. The paramedic already hooked an IV on her, so we knew she was still breathing. The beeping noise was just as annoying as it is on TV.

We finally pulled into the hospital Adelaide woke up. They carried her off to the E.R. and the rest of us sat in the waiting room. It was silent, even for once Claire was quiet. After five minutes, Quil and Jake couldn't take it anymore. So they called Emily to bring them back home. As she got there, I was the one who explained everything.

"You really save her from drowning?" She asked me. "Yeah, basically." By know the shock wore off of what I did for me, but I guess that wasn't the same for everyone else. "Well, congrats, I'll make you all the waffles you can eat sometime." She said. "Thanks, but I don't want any special treatment." I told her. "I'm still making them for you anyway." She said before leaving with Jake and Quil, who had Claire sleeping in his arms.

Leah sat back down next to me, she had just finished calling Ma telling her what happened. "Mom said she'd pick us up." Leah informed me. "I want to stay until I can see her. Just to see if she's okay." I said. "Alright, I'll tell her." Leah said taking out her phone to call Ma. I was surprised by how obedient she was about that. Was everyone going to treat me like a hero now? Plenty of people saved someone from drowning.

I waited a half an hour, before taking out my phone. I went through the address book, and called Edward. "Edward, it's Seth. I'm calling because I don't have Carlisle's number and I was wondering if I could take to him." I said after he said hello. "Sure, he has the day off." Edward explained. Before I knew it, I could hear Carlisle's voice on the other end. "Hello? Seth?"

"Yeah. Well, I kind of just saved someone from drowning, and I was wondering if she could die from dehydration." I said to him. "Well, that can happen from drinking salt water. The hospital will mainly give her regular water and keep her on an IV. They'll also keep her warm so she won't get hypothermia." Carlisle said in his doctor voice. "Okay, thanks. That's all I really wanted to know." I said before saying goodbye.

Ten more minutes passed before a doctor finally came out. "Well, how is she?" I asked my voice shaky. "She was quite dehydrated. From all that salt water she swallowed. All we really had to do was give her some water and put her on an IV, but she's 100% better now. You are the rescuer, right?" He said. "Yes." I sighed. "Well I assure you Adelaide's foster parents will appreciate it."

"Foster parents?" Leah asked. "Yes, I'm afraid she lives with temporary foster parents. But I know them pretty well and they are kind people. Her foster brother is actually coming to bring her home."

Adelaide never told me she lived with foster parents. Another wave of shock came. I sat back down in the cold chair; the vinyl cushion did not make it any softer. But now it felt like I was sitting on sharp rocks. Just then, a boy about Leah's age came walking down the hall. "Are you Dr. Sullivan?" He asked coming up to us. "Yes." "I'm Ryan Larson, Adelaide's foster brother." He introduced himself. "I'll go tell her you're here." Dr. Sullivan said leaving, his white jacket flying behind him.

"You the one who got her out of the current?" He looked down at me. He was tan, and had brown wavy hair with eyes to match. "Yeah, I'm Seth Clearwater."

"I can't thank you enough for saving her. I've always been close with my foster siblings." He said. "You have other foster siblings?" Leah asked standing up next to him. "Only two others. But I have lived with other foster families, so has Adelaide." Ryan explained looking into Leah's eyes. "Oh well, this may sound stupid, but are you Native American?" She asked him. "Yeah. Why you ask?"

"We are too. We're from the quilette tribe." Leah said. What was going on here? Leah never asked this way before. "Oh, cool. Ryan said. Just then, Dr. Sullivan came back out.

"She's ready, but she'd like to talk to you, um Seth. Alone" He said pointing to me. He the lead me to where she was, leaving Ryan and Leah to flirt. Dr. Sullivan opened the curtain. Adelaide was in clothes, they were crisp and dry. I wondered how the hospital dried them so fast. He hair was limp and a little frizzy but that was easy to ignore. She was paler, she looked as frightened as she did on the first day we met. I walked in before Dr. Sullivan closed the curtain for us.

There was a long brief moment of silence between us. Adelaide looked down at her shoes. "Hey." I finally said. "Hey." She replied silent as a mouse. I took a breath, the silence was killing both of us, but we didn't know what to say. "I'd like to thank you, but I don't think that can be enough. You saved my life." She finally said, looking up at me. Her eyes made her look like she was bout to cry.

"It's okay, you don't have to thank me." I reassured her. "I guess not, but I have to repay you, somehow, but I can't." She said. A tear now ran down her face. "No, you don't." I said.

"I guess the doctor told you about me, being in a foster home." She slowly said it was almost didn't sound like what she said. "It's nothing to be ashamed of." I said. "Yes it is, Seth. It's embarrassing. You have no idea what it's like, meeting your new parents and siblings then leaving." She stood up now. I could somehow feel that she wasn't angry at me though. "Alright. Sometime you can tell me about it." I said. "No, no. It's going to be impossible to even be near you now." She said. "Why?" I asked. But she didn't answer. She walked out closing the curtain behind herself, leaving me alone.

Hey everyone, most of you probably know I wrote this over a year ago and I have it all finished, but should I continue putting the chapters up? Please review, add to favorites/story alerts and what not :p Thanks :)