"Alice!" Jacob's voice called out to me and I turned my head to him. "What are you doing out here?" He questioned, "I- Was-Just…" I looked back over my shoulder but the tree line was empty. "Everything alright?" He questioned, I looked back at him and nodded, "Yeah i'm fine." I could tell he didn't believe me but he wasn't going to push me.
"How's your memory?" He questioned, "Still blank." I added with a cheery note to my voice that caused him to laugh. "Well we are hoping to fix that." Jacob stated, "Mind if I walk with you?" "Nope." I smiled walking along side him. Jacob was twice my size and I couldn't help but feel like a child in size. "What do they feed you all here, everyone is so huge." I spoke my eye's locked on the sea. "Maybe we aren't huge and you are just short." He teased and I shoved his side.
I was stunned by how it felt it was like hitting a stone wall. Jacob must have noticed my surprise. "You are still weak, you look like you haven't eaten in weeks." "I wonder what happened to me before…" I trailed off, the shape I was in now compared to the pictures in my bag. "Who cares, you won't be in any shape like that again. We won't allow that." Jacob replied trying to cheer me up.
"Why do you guys care so much about me? You don't even know me." I finally questioned, "Emily told you about how we protect the Rez right?" Jacob question and I nodded, "Well you are apart of our Rez now and that means you have our protection as well." It was a stupid answer but I didn't say it.
Jacob walked me down the beach and we kept talking though the questions were never too in detail and never anything I wanted to really ask. I knew they were hiding things from but I wasn't sure how to call them out on it.
Over the course of the next week, I spent most of my time trying to regain my memory with Emily's help. We studied the photo album and anaylized all the journals in my bag but nothing stood out to me except for the lack of photo's of the golden eye'd boy I had seen before. I had a feeling Emily was keeping the photo's from me in her attempt to protect me from something. Embry had stopped in every day like clock work. I constantly asked why he kept stopping in but he would just shrug and say he enjoyed my company.
By week three I had grown comfortable to my life on the rez. I helped Emily bake and cook for the boy's and hung out with them around the beach. I started to feel accepted among them.
"Alice, come on!" Embry spoke bursting into the house, "What's up Embry?" I questioned with a bright smile. "Just come on." Embry's hand reached for mine. His sudden warmth was still a shock to me yet I had grown accustomed to it. I followed him outside toward Seth, Quil and Paul. "So she was the important thing you needed to pick up?" Paul teased and I felt my face burn red.
"She's been needing to get out of the house and see more than just the beach." Embry defended his choice and I could feel his tighten around mine. I looked over at him and touched his arm and he smiled at me.
I walked along side Embry a slight skip in my step that stood out against their determined pace. "Where are we going?" I questioned, "Embry wants to show you one of our favorite past times." Quil spoke over his shoulder. "We think he just want's to show off." Seth added which caused Embry to drop my hand and shove Seth and the two broke out into a play fight that caused me to smile.
I looked at Paul who seemed to be oddly quiet today and I ran up behind him and jumped on his back. "What's got you so down today?" I questioned resting my head on his burning shoulder. "Nothing you need to worry about Shortie." Paul replied, I looked over at him and pouted my lips. "Oh come on Paul." I teased and he shook with laughter before rolling his eye's. "You are annoyingly persistent." "It's a talent." I chuckled. "Paul!" Embry called out an angry undertone to his voice.
Paul gentle shoved me off his pack and I hit the ground standing small compared to two giants. "Dude calm down." Paul spoke playfully as I looked between the two of them confused but I noticed Embry wasn't calming down and I walked over to him and reached out for his hand. "Embry." I spoke softly and he stopped to look at me and the anger faded from his face.
My eye's glossed over for a moment as I saw a flash of Embry jumping over a ledge into a rocky depth below. I took in a sharp gasp, "Alice?" I heard Embry asked concerned his hands clasped on my shoulders. "Alice what's wrong?" He asked his dark eye's staring into my own. "I- nothing let's just walk." I stated.
It was another one of those strange flashes and this one I was certain wasn't a memory. So what was it? maybe I was crazy before I lost my memory. I could tell Embry wanted to push me for answers but decided to leave me be.
We finished our hike in an awkward silence, we finally reached a cliff over looking a rocky shore below. "What are we doing up here?" I asked, "Cliff diving." Seth stated proudly, "Well we are cliff diving, you are watching." He stated, "This is Seth's first time." Quil added. I moved to look over the ledge and looked back at the boys. "That's a really dangerous drop." I spoke concerned.
"Don't worry Alice it's safer than it looks." Embry assure which caused a slight laugh from the others like it was a private joke. "Just watch." Embry took a step back before jumping over the edge and I found my mouth drop as it was a perfect replica of the image I saw earlier. I ran over to the edge and watched Embry's figure disappear in the soapy water beneath.
"Pretty cool huh." Quil asked looking over at me and I nodded, "It's kind of sick." I smiled brightly. "Now stand back none of us want to deal with Embry if you fall over." Seth added and I took a few steps back. "Why do you guys think Embry will worry about me if I fall over?" I asked and the three boys looked between each other before Paul copped out and jumped over the edge with the added flare of a back flip.
One by one the other two followed and then it was just Seth and I. I could tell he was nervous and not sure about jumping so I thought i'd help him out. "Seth you don't have to jump." I spoke softly looking at him, "I can lie and say I got scared and didn't want to be alone." I added and the boy looked at me with bright eye's. "You'd do that…?" He asked and I nodded, "Thank you so much." He beamed. Our joy was momentarily short lived because I notice Seth stiffen and his eye's dart toward the trees.
"Alice get behind me." The younger boy stated and I did as instructed. "My my such a change my dear sweet Alice." A sickly sweet voice rang out as the same blond man dropped out of the trees. "I mean to go from Vampires to Mutts, some people might start talking." The man spoke his red eye's leering past Seth and on to me.
"I don't know what you are talking about!" I replied. The man looked too perfect, the way he stood, the way he moved, the way he held himself. It all sent up red flags that made me want to run. "Oh my, you've lost your memory. Now this just got even more interesting." He took a step toward me and Seth let out a growl. "Stay back." He huffed. "Was I talking to you pup!" The blond man asked. "Alice when I say run you run." Seth stated his usual playfulness gone. "I'm not leaving you." I stated.
"Alice…" Seth retorted. "No by all means let me." The blond lunged toward me and Seth pushed me back with more force than he intended. I stumbled back falling over the side the only thing keeping me up was my grip on the slippery green earth clutched in my hands. I struggled to stay steady. My attention scattered but I was still concerned for the young boy that was with me. "Seth!" I screamed out afraid he might be dead, "Seth!" I cried out again hoping to hear a response but still nothing, most sound being drowned out by the sea crashing into the rocks below.
I felt my strength fading as I slowly lost my grip occasionally. Suddenly I felt a cold hand grip around my wrist, the strength breaking the bone underneath my skin. The sharp sudden pain causing me to scream out in pain. It was the same blond man who yanked me up holding me by my hand as I came face to face with his dark red eye's. "You are such a hard girl to kill Miss. Brandon, it's a shame our game has to end." I struggled under his grip but not even my best effort made him budge.
"Maybe it doesn't have to be, I bet you'll even be more fun just like me." The blond pulled me closer and I felt my whole body go numb in fear. "Let me go!" I huffed as I felt his teeth brush against my skin for a moment. This was it, this was how I was going to die.
I closed my eye's tight expecting the worst, but then once again I felt myself flying through the air. Oh how death was quick and painless. I opened my eye's and saw the world disappearing from sight as I fell to the cold watery grip below. When my body hit the water I felt all the air expel from lung causing me to take a sharp intake of burning salt water. My arms flailed to reach the surface but my wrist screamed out in protest.
I felt myself fall deeper and deeper, my lungs begging for air. My body aching for death and finally I just stopped fighting, my whole body went limp and the world faded from my view. Flashes filled my mind again, like I was dreaming this time they all featured the same golden eye'd boy. A Cullen though I knew not his first name. I saw sadness and grief and anger flood his features. I saw him with blood red eye's instead of gold his clothes tattered and blood dripping from every orifice of his being. I wasn't scared of him though, I wanted to help him. I wanted to make the pain go away. I wanted to save him like I couldn't save myself.
My eye's relaxed open the burning sting of the salt water not even a bother anymore as I saw the cold sea before me, my tomb and then the whole world went back.