Newborn

Chapter 2: Riley

BPOV:

We did not speak as we looked over the books. After I was done getting my collection I walked around towards a back second with accessories and picked up three backpacks. They were the kind you'd expect to find somewhere in a store selling clothes or school supplies, not in a bookstore of sorts. I nodded to myself and slipped my books in a plain dark blue bag and walked back to Bree who was looking around for Diego. I smiled and walked froward just as she noticed him at a little cafe table. He was sitting, reading the back of one of his new CD's. I winced at the reminder but shook it away and walked towards Bree and handed over a gray backpack.

"To carry your books, we'll go find some plastic bags latter to keep them safe." Bree nodded and looked at the table and Diego with a haunted look in her eyes and I followed her gaze and sighed. It was like a scene out of a dream, a memory. Deja Vu you could say, and I knew what she was remembering. The last time she had sat at a table, across from someone it had been Riley and me. I had noticed the girl first, she sparked my interest, I was unsure why, maybe I saw myself in the homeless girl running from a bad home life. I hadn't run from home but I had run from my memories, from the memory of him. She had been so trusting, to trusting, though I had not spoken that day, her blood had smelled to good and I did not wish to loose control. I had left them at one point to hunt and it had turned out to be for the best as latter when we went to our creator with Bree she had not been home and one of us had to turn her ourselves. Riley had been hesitant and I had almost instantly agreed to do it.

"Don't think about it so much," I muttered, looking at her from my peripheral. She sighed and we walked over to the cafe table together. I sat beside Diego and she sat across from him. I thought of moving to the side a bit as to not bring back bitter memories but she smiled at me slightly and shook her head, it was almost unnoticeable.

"So how come I never notice you around the house?" Diego asked abruptly. "Where do you hide?" Bree laughed and grimaced at the same time but I could not scold or reprimand Diego for asking, I wondered where she went to stay out of the view of the others as well. I think I had a hunch but I wanted to hear her say it, if I was right it was very impressive that she could handle it.

"I usually kick it behind wherever Freaky Fred is hanging out." I smiled, I had been right.

"Seriously? How do you stand that?" he asked, his nose wrinkled in disgust. I chuckled and moved a chunk of hair behind my ear.

"It's not that bad Diego. Though I guess it is impressive," I declared. Diego rolled his eyes and looked me in the eyes, his were a slightly darker red showing he was nearing the end of his first year mark.

Says you, he doesn't affect you most the time thanks to your shield." I smiled, so true.

"Shield?" Bree asked. I looked at her and then sighed, great, another thing the newborns were not really supposed to know about, gifted vampires.

"Uh..yeah. You see some vampires have extra gifts – mine is a mental shield, powers that work with the mind don't work on me. Like Fred's, he makes you disgusted to be near him, that's all in the mind so it doesn't work on me unless I drop my shield either on purpose or on accident," I told her. She seemed shocked but I figured the truth was best in this situation.

"Wow," Bree murmured.

"Yeah, its one reason why Bells here is one of his favorites. Fred as well," Diego said, as if he was reveling the secret his mother did not want his father to know. I rolled my eyes but wondered how he knew this.

"Really, how do you know this?" Bree asked, curiosity laced her voice. Diego grinned and leaned forward, onto his elbows.

"I heard him on the phone with her." My eyes snapped over to him and I shivered slightly, as did Bree, though hers was more noticeable.

"I know," he whispered.

"You should keep this to yourself Diego, you can't be to sure who to trust these days," I said, looking from the table to his eyes. He didn't say or do anything for a few moments, but I saw a struggle in his eyes before he nodded solemnly.

"Do you have a gift?" Bree asked Diego. I smirked and snorted.

"No, I'm simply Diego." Bree smiled and I hid my own.

"But I did hear him talk about Raoul," Diego said, the corner of his mouth twisting down.

"What skill does Raul have? Super-stupidity?" Diego snorted and I burst into laughter. It took me a minute to control myself again and then I waved at the two to continue as I composed myself.

"Definitely that. But Riley thinks he's got some kind of magnetism – people are drawn to him, they follow him." I smirked, I never noticed. The power must work through the mind, which meant his power was as worthless as a kitten against me.

"Only the mentally challenged."

"Yeah, Riley mentioned that. Didn't seem to be effective on the" - he broke out a decent impression of Riley's voice- "tamer kids."

"Tame?"

"I inferred that he meant people like us, who are able to think occasionally."

"Tame, yeah and Riley is a sparkly fairy princess," I blurted out. Bree and Diego turned to me and looked at me like I was crazy before bursting into laughter and I cracked up behind them. We all gained out composure.

"That was random," Bree said. I shrugged and snuck a glance at Diego's CD, It was a Nirvana CD I smiled one of the rare bands I could listen to without pain, Edward never seemed to like much music between the 70's and the 90's.

"I did get the feeling though that Riley needed Raoul to lead – like something was coming, is coming." I hissed softly as not to scare Bree or Diego – more so Bree then Diego – and ran a hand through my hair. I knew what was coming, at least I thought I did. I couldn't be sure who the yellow eyes was but from what Riley and our creator had told me – I had been in her presence before, heard her voice but I was always blindfolded when I was near her. I did know more then the others but I had been educated before I was turned, I did not remember a lot but I remembered enough.

"Scary," Bree breathed.

"Very," I replied.

I listened silently as Bree and Diego started a conversation around our creator and Riley and our reason for being. I eventually tuned them out as I pulled out my lighter, kicked my jean covered legs up onto the cafe table after scooting back and started flipping the zippo open and closed. I saw Bree look weary at my actions but their conversation had long since been filtered out as I thought of what I knew, what I remembered.

I knew my name was Isabella Swan, I was born on September 13th between the years 1986-1897 and that was either 18 or 19 when turned. I remembered my parents, but only a blurry image of a man with my colored hair and chocolate brown eyes – I did not know if they were like mine or not. I also had no relocation of his name. I remember my mother being like me in appearance, but even she was blurry in my memories. I think she had short lighter brown hair, chestnut/blond maybe? I think she had wide blue eyes, maybe that was what I had as well, something did not fit with that image thought so I quickly moved on to what else I remembered. I remembered moving to Forks, a place I detested, and then finding Edward. I vaguely remembered a dark skinned boy, younger then me I think. I remember finding out Edward was a vampire and I remembered our love for each other.

Everything in between meeting his family and my birthday last year was blurry. I remembered a blond vampire, pain, his family – Alice, Jasper and him were the clearest – and a feline like redhead with a bubblegum voice. I remembered pain, I remember a hospital as blurry as it was and I recalled the pain of him leaving. Until I met Riley in Seattle is the last clear memory I have. I remember him taking me, a woman biting me, a familiar woman but I never saw her and then I awoke, hungry and scared, with little memory. All I remembered now had taken me months to gather, to retain.

"..ut of time. Better head back before we turn into crispies." I heard Diego say and I looked at them from my daze. I noticed what Diego was referring to and grimaced. The dawn was about to break, sure we had a hour maybe less before the sun became a problem..at least before the other two believed it would become a problem. One of my clearest memories of Edward was him sparkling in the sun, but I had no idea to know if it was like this for all vampires or if it was simply his gift.

"Ashes, ashes, we all fall down," Bree sang under her breath. I chuckled and stopped flicking my lighter, stuffed it in my front pocket as Diego chuckled. I followed both of their examples and got to my feet, my black leather ankle boots clanking against the marble floor.

"Rough way to go," I mumbled as I looked to the sky, making sure we still had all the time we'd need to get back to the house. We all made our way out, making a pit stop at the target next door for big zip-lock bags, both Bree and I double bagged our books and secured them in the backpacks from the strange book/music store. We ran across rooftops until we were close to the sound and then we dived right in under the noses of two nightwatchmen – it was good news for them we were not there to feed. I trailed behind Diego and Bree, content to give them space, no need to stay to close. I had a good feeling about those two, and I was one to always trust my instincts. It was my instincts that told me not to trust anyone, especially Riley, but I was beginning to trust Bree and Diego – though mostly Bree – Diego was to loyal to Riley for me to be completely comfortable around.

I chuckled as I realized the two ahead of me were racing, though I did not think Bree realized it was a race until latter and she was whipping Diego's butt, but it was to be expected, she was months younger then him. I briefly wondered if Bree had a gift, a power? I shook my head as we reached the island in the secluded area of our new house. It was located on a mountain side somewhere in the cascades. Of course the owner was no longer living, we of course took care of every owner in every house we resided in.

We took turns gripping the sandstone cliff side and flipping and jumping up and landing on our feet with little noise. I saw Bree had frozen and I noticed way immediately, one; the sun was catching up with us fast, and two; the house was demolished. The roof was caved in on itself and there was no way we would be getting inside in time or safely. I looked to Diego and sighed, rubbing my temples I wondered if vampires could get headaches.

"Maybe burrow under the roof?" Bree whispered. "Would that be safe enough or..." she began going into hysterics. I felt pity for the girl, this was my doing, and though I was unsure if the tales Riley told us of our death in sunlight, thanks to my one memory of Edward in the sun, I could not risk it simply being his gift and not something we could all do.

"Calm," I said, putting a hand calmly on her shoulder. She flinched softly but did not pull away.

"Yeah, don't freak out Bree," Diego said, sounding to calm even to me. Did he know? Had Riley something we did not know? I had hunches but I could not go off hunches and risk turning into a pile of ashes. "I know a place, C'mon." He did a very graceful back-flip off the bluff edge. I looked to Bree and shrugged, smiling.

"Follow the leader," I said, and did a graceful running swan dive off the cliff and into the water bellow. I looked up as I heard Bree splash in after me and I smiled at her and gave her a thumbs up, to my surprise she returned the gesture as we turned to follow Diego into what I hoped was safety. I was a bit weary as we entered a cave like cavern, it was a while before I realized we were actually swiming up. It seemed like forever before one by one we each surfaced in a little cave with a round pool which led to the larger water, it was dimply lit insdie and I hoped that would be enough to avoid the sun. It was not large but because neither Bree nor I were giant people we were able to all fit comforatably.