Meetings
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Twilight, except my own. I also do not own anything from the movie. So please don't sue!
Charlie and Lyn made amends. Lyn finished reading the Quileute book that Bella left at Charlie's house, and she's starting to get suspicious.
Chapter 4
We've been staying with the Cullens longer than dad told me. Today made it a week and two days that we'd been staying with Bella and her family. Actually, I was starting to get used to it. After the argument with Charlie, he called in and told them that he was going to stay out for a few more days. He and I spent more time together; went to Port Angeles for dinner one night and to a movie the next. The couple sunny days that Forks got, Charlie and I were hanging outside playing catch or I was just lounging around on the lawn. I noticed that the Cullens weren't home; neither was Bella. Charlie told me that Esme and Carlisle liked to take them up to the mountain to hike, but I had theories of my own. I didn't say anything to Charlie; I didn't want him to think I was crazy.
After dinner was done, dad went to watch a Mariner's game on the flatscreen and I went upstairs to my room. I pulled the book out from underneath my pillow and flipped through it lazily. Eventually I got bored of flipping through the book that I'd re-read twice already and stuck it back under the pillow. I grabbed my laptop, turning it on and checking my emails; seeing none I signed out and played pinball. I stuck my headphones into the audio jack and I brought up the media player. I began listening to the Kid Rock CD that I had ripped to my player and began playing my game again.
I heard a knock on my door so I paused my game and the song that was playing. I got to my feet and I went to the door, opening it. Emmett stood in front of the door, with his hand raised like he was going to knock again. "Hey! What're you doing?" he greeted. I laughed, I'd gotten used to Emmett's outgoing-ness. "Wanna play video games with us?"
"Sure." I answered. I went to my laptop and exited out of everything and closed the lid. I walked out of the room, shutting the door behind me, and followed Emmett downstairs. When I got into the living room, it looked an arcade. Charlie and Carlisle were setting up another flatscreen a little bit farther from the first one; I recognized it as dad's flatscreen. Jasper and Edward were carrying a couple game systems into the room while Alice, Bella, and Rosalie carried the system accessories, cords, and adapters. I laughed and looked at Emmett, "You guys really take gaming to a whole new level. Don't you?"
He laughed at the awe in my voice. "Actually, the only people who actually game are me, Jasper, Alice, and Bella." I saw Rosalie frown at him and then he added, "And Rose, too."
Jasper laughed on his way past us. "The only reason Carlisle and Charlie are setting up Charlie's flatscreen is so we can play games and they can still watch CNN." I followed Emmett and the others to the TV. Charlie and Carlisle had gotten the flatscreen mounted to the wall finally and Carlisle plugged the power cord into the multi-outlet that was plugged into the wall. Charlie and Carlisle let us take over then, as they walked over to the couch in front of the other flatscreen and put it on the news.
"Um… does anyone know how to hook these adapters into the TV?" Bella asked. I laughed and walked over to where she was kneeling and setting down the adapters. I grabbed one of the adapters and looked up between the wall and the bottom half of the flatscreen; noticing the part where I could plug the adapter in, I did so and looked at the others. "Which game system does this go to?" Edward pointed to the brand new Nintendo Wii by my feet. I plugged the other part of the adapter into the Wii and then finished plugging it up.
I turned the TV to channel 3 and then turned the system on. Emmett grabbed a game and put it in. When the game loaded, everyone except Emmett and I groaned in protest at his choice; Wii Sports. I grabbed a game controller and I looked at Emmett with a look of challenge on my face. "I'll play first." Emmett grabbed the second controller and smirked. The others sat to where they could see the game. Emmett told me to choose a sport, so I chose tennis. "Unless you're too afraid…" I joked. We picked our teams and the game began.
I served the ball and watched my side of the screen. Emmett hid it back to me, and I knocked it back to him with a little bit of speed. He swung and his racket missed the ball, and I got the first points. I laughed and he huffed angrily. We began again, and pretty soon we both had a hardcore game of tennis going on. I caught a few surprised expressions from Bella, Edward, and Jasper; he must beat them at this when they play. Well, he had another thing coming to him.
I won the first set and we were in the middle of our second. The others had taken their sides with either Emmett or me. The cheering that Bella and the others were doing caused Charlie, Carlisle, and Esme to come and investigate. They, just like the others, were surprised that I was beating Emmett. By the time we were finished with the second set, which Emmett won, I was sweating like a pig. Rosalie held out a bottle of water to me and I took it, thanking her quietly, and drank half of the bottle. I capped it and Esme took it from me, telling me to get back to the game. Emmett served the ball, sending it at me with some speed to it. I waited for the right moment to smack it right back, sending it toward him with more speed than when he sent it to me. Near the end of the set, Emmett and I were tied and glaring at each other before he served it. This would make all the difference; we were tied one to one, and this match would decide who won. For five minutes we sent the ball back and forth to one another, until I got tired of childish games and when I sent it back to him; I jerked the controller, and the ball went flying to the opposite side of the court where neither of his people were and it hit the ground. I won!
I looked at Emmett, smirking at him, and noticed the pissed off look. "Don't feel bad, Emmett." I told him. Everyone in the room laughed and I put a hand on his back; for a moment I was stunned, but I didn't let anything betray me. "I've been playing tennis for a long time. Next time you want a challenge, you know where to find me!" I took my hand from his back and turned around, tossing the controller to Jasper. I walked out of the living room and went back to my room. As I walked out of the large room, I noticed that everyone was wearing a look of shock on their faces; like they couldn't believe I had touched him.
I entered the room, shutting the door behind me. I turned on the light and went to the bed, laying down on it. Now that I was by myself, I let my thoughts drift back to what happened downstairs. Emmett had felt like ice; even though he was wearing a shirt, it felt like his body was radiating the cold through his clothes. Something in my brain clicked while I thought about that. It was something I had read in the book. I rolled over, putting my hand underneath the pillow and pulling out the book. I flipped it open to the page with the picture of the odd-looking skull and let my eyes skim through the words until I found what I was looking for. While this part of the book told about the creature dubbed 'The Cold One', it gave descriptions about them. I read through the information on the page, and finally found what I was looking for. It said that they were pale, cold-skinned, had super-human strength, were immortal, and drank blood.
A knock on the door drew me from my internal reverie, and I slid the book under the book quickly. I called for whoever it was to come in, and dad walked inside. "Hey. Are you okay?" I smiled and laughed.
"Yes, I'm fine. Just reveling in my recent victory, that's all." I answered, making him laugh. "I was thinking of turning in for the night, actually." He nodded his head and turned around, leaving the room. Once he was out of the room, I went back to what I had been thinking about. A mythical creature like a Cold One couldn't exist… could it? I remembered something my step-father used to tell me, that parents had been telling their children for generations: don't ever judge a book by its cover. My step-father was also a very superstitious person, believing in every kind of myth and creature. Odds are that he would believe in this creature, and he would tell me to be careful.
Living with my step-father for so long made me into a superstitious person, too. I believe in every "stupid" superstition there is. My step-father told me every chance he got that I was special; that I was different from other people. I didn't understand what he meant, and I still don't understand what he means. I'd just have to find out for myself if what I'd read about was true.
A couple days later, Emmett and I were finally on talking terms again. After breakfast, I followed Alice into the room with all the computer screens. Rosalie, not seeing me as a threat anymore, told me to start calling her Rose like everybody else. She was sitting in the room as Alice and I walked in, and touched one of the screens. They all turned on, and I saw that every screen had something to do with fashion and clothes. Alice sat down in the biggest leather chair, and started to press different patterns on the screen in front of her. Rose got up and went to stand behind Alice, watching her. We sat there for two hours, and I noticed that Rose was the one calling the shots for the choices; unless Alice made a vague comment, and then she seemed okay with it.
I looked out the doorway, seeing Emmett and Jasper playing their complex game of chess with the eight boards. I excused myself from the room and walked outside; it was cloudy out like every other day and I looked around the giant lawn. I saw the forests near the edge of the house and I went toward them. I stopped and looked behind me, back toward the house. I shrugged it off and turned back around and began into the forest. I kept walking, admiring the scenery, until I heard a branch snap somewhere off to the left of me. I stopped in my tracks and looked around me, having a sense of déjà vu. Another branch snapped, this time closer to where I was standing. I tried calming myself down, but the panic was already setting in. I was facing the way that I'd come from, hearing footsteps. I turned and ran, unwillingly giving in to my fear.
I heard footsteps like whoever was following me was right behind me. I was so stunned and panicky that I didn't notice the two boulders that were spaced too far apart. Right when I was on the edge, I noticed the gap and I tried to catch myself; but it was too late. I lost my footing and I slid down, grabbing onto a giant branch that was sticking out of the side of one of the boulders. I right leg ached and I dared a glance down at it; there was blood flowing from a giant gash on it. The footsteps that had been following me had stopped, and I didn't hear anything. "Help…" I called quietly. I saw a bird fly by overhead and I called out again.
*~Bella's POV~*
I sat in the living room with Edward, Carlisle, Esme, and Charlie. We were currently watching the news and listening to the story that news anchor was telling; apparently there was someone abducting teenage girls in the Seattle area, and the police were asking for help in finding the culprit. Commercials began playing, signifying a break, and Alice came running into the living room.
"Something's happened." She told us. As soon as that sentence left her mouth, Emmett, Jasper, and Rose came into the room. We all got to our feet, even Charlie.
Esme looked concerned. "What's wrong, Alice?" she asked.
"Lyn…" she said, causing us all to tense. "She's hurt." As soon as those words left her mouth, all of us in the room caught the scent of blood in the air. Charlie looked at Alice, only being human and asked her, "What happened?!"
My ears, and I'm pretty sure everyone elses, picked up the soft cry that the wind carried. "Help…" I ran off and into the woods with Edward on my heels. I was aware of the others following, except for Carlisle and Esme who were probably staying with Charlie to keep him composed.
The others and I ran as if we were going to Edward and I's cottage. We heard the cries more now, assuming we were approaching Lyn. "Help me!"
*~Lyn's POV~*
I kept hold of the branch, my arms aching; the pain in my leg was getting worse since I was thrashing around so much. Tears streamed down my face. "Help me!" I cried desperately. I heard leaves crunching and a branch snap. "Anybody!? I'm down here!" I heard talking approaching me, and then someone else called out.
"Lyn, where are you!?" the tears spilled down my cheeks faster as I cried in relief. "Lyn, you gotta help us out here! Tell us where you are!"
As I stopped moving, my right leg hit a jagged piece of the boulder and I cried out in pain. "God… HELP ME NOW!!" I cried. I saw a bunch of heads peek out from the top of the boulder as I looked up.
I saw a stunned expression on Bella's face. "Hold on, Lyn!" a couple minutes passed while I waited. I saw a shadow and I turned to see Jacob standing there on the other side. "Jake, Lyn's stuck down there!" I saw him look down and spot me. I looked up to Bella and the others who were standing on my side. A moment passed until I realized that Jacob was climbing down the boulder to me; it was like watching an episode of an extreme sports show. He got down to me and looked me over.
"Are you okay?" he asked me. The tears wouldn't stop as I shook my head. He climbed up on the branch that I was holding on to. It was quite sturdy and it didn't budge as he climbed on top of it. I watched as Jacob balanced himself on the branch and then grabbed both of my arms, pulling me up to him. "Wrap your arms around me and whatever y0u do, don't let go!" he instructed me. I clung to Jacob for dear life and he carefully turned to face the boulder. He put his hands into holes on the side of the boulder, like they were there for rock climbing. He looked down and put his foot in another hole, and began climbing his way up to the top.
We were almost to the top when one of his feet slipped out of one of the holes. His hands tightened in the holes they were in, but his body swayed toward the boulder, making my injured leg smash the boulder. "AHH!! OW!!" Jacob muttered apologies and stuck his foot back into the hole he missed. "Scum-sucking, puss spewing hell! I'm gonna kill you when we get up there!" He kept climbing until Jasper and Edward were able to pull me away from Jacob and lay me on the boulder.
Jacob got to the top with us and sat down. "Be careful." He told them. "She cut her leg open, and her hands too." Bella was by my side in an instant. As I was sitting there, being checked over by Edward and Jasper, I snuck a look at their faces. I saw that their eyes were no longer the golden brown color that they usually were; they were more of a black with red around the edges. It was then that I knew the truth; the book that I'd read was true, the stories told within the pages was true.
I noticed the others standing there, waiting for Edward and Jasper's assessment. Jasper had ripped two pieces off of his sweater and wrapped them around my hands, while Edward was making a tourniquet to cut off the blood flow in my leg. As Edward was tightening the tourniquet, I said the truth I now knew. "You're vampires!"
Lyn got her confirmation that the Cold Ones do exist. How will the Cullens and Charlie react to her finding out? Will Renesemee make an appearance? Find out in the next chapter! Reviews are welcome!