Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. No copyright infringement is intended.

As always, huge thanks go to my pre-reader/cheerleader team. Gredelina1, Verseseven, IamTheAlleyCat and Mary-Alice-Brandon-Cullen. Also to Snarkymuch for beta'ing this chapter and listening to all my bitching when the words wouldn't flow. I love you all.

~ Chapter Eight — The Girl ~

Garrett POV

The greatest joy in my life was adventure. Nothing gave me as much pleasure as discovering something new, be it a language, a place, or even a person. I thought nothing would ever dampen my thirst for more, but that was before I met the girl and learned what she had to say.

Our first encounter was brief but intriguing.

I was passing through South America when I crossed the scent path of an unfamiliar vampire. I followed the scent for miles. Eventually, I heard the sounds of someone moving through the trees. They were moving at speeds only attainable by one of my kind. I searched my surroundings for a sign of the vampire, and I caught sight of a pale form racing through the trees ahead of me.

"Hello there," I shouted.

The vampire stalled for a moment, and then, with a squeak of alarm, raced away from me. In the pause. I was able to see the vampire briefly. It was a female with long brown hair.

"There is no need to be afraid," I called after her. "I mean you know harm. I just want to talk."

If possible, the vampire ran even faster. Instinctively, I did the same, but I was not fast enough; soon I lost sight of her.

I could have traced the scent and caught up with her, but caution held me back. She seemed hell bent on evading me. She could have been scared, and a scared vampire was a dangerous vampire.

I had survived as long as I had by avoiding conflict and being amiable when I came across others of my kind. The only exception was a few decades ago when I met with a coven of three in Canada. They seemed pleasant enough at first, but the coven leader—though he pretended not to be—made me distinctly uncomfortable. His fiery haired mate was not much better. They invited me to travel with them, and when I refused they became hostile. My saving grace was Peter and Charlotte, two nomads I had met years before. By chance, they came across us, and I was able to ally myself with them. The fight was avoided, but it took me a long time to feel comfortable alone again.

As much as I enjoyed a good mystery, I chose to ignore the need to know more at that time.

xXx

Try as I might, I couldn't get the girl out of my head. I tried to distract myself with my usual travels, but she was always there, at the back of my mind. I wondered idly why she continued to tease at my thought after such a brief encounter. It was possible that she was my mate, but I didn't think it likely. I had met a legion of other vampires over the years, and none of them had appealed to me; it was unlikely that this girl would.

After a year had passed, the memory of the girl still haunted me, so I decided to go back to the Amazon.

I found my way back to the place our paths had last crossed, but there was no sign of her. Disheartened, I travelled further south. In the Pantanal Wetlands I came across the scents of three vampires, but none of them were the girl. I traced the scents anyway, and I met with three females.

They were wary of me, and it took a week of sitting patiently in the place I deduced to be their lair for them to show themselves to me.

They were the wildest looking vampires I had ever seen, and I had seen many.

"What do you want," the tallest of the three asked by way of a greeting.

"Merely to make your acquaintance," I replied amiably. "My name is Garrett."

"We are Senna, Kachiri, and Zafrina." She gave no sign of which one was which. "And this is our territory."

"I mean no harm," I said. "I will not hunt here. I fed in Mato Grosso only a week ago."

The smallest, who I later learned to be Kachiri, nodded acceptance, and that began my stilted friendship with the Amazon coven.

I stayed with them for weeks, learning all I could about them and their way of life. They didn't ask me much about myself; it seemed they had no interest of things outside of their beloved rainforest.

I asked them if there were any other vampires in the area, but they said they had never met any. I didn't tell them about the girl; some sixth sense warned me against it. They were nice enough, but I never truly relaxed with them. After a month with them, I thanked them for their hospitality and took my leave.

It was on my journey north that, quite by chance, I found the girl again. I was looking to hunt, but I found myself in an area so deep within the forest that humans could not hope to reach it. Disappointed in my poor planning—I really did need to hunt—I allowed instinct to lead me and just ran.

Running through the dense forest, I caught the scent of the girl again. This time much more concentrated than before. I traced it to a rocky area with a large cave and what I first thought to be a campsite, despite the remoteness of the area.

There was a small campfire in a rough circle of stones and clothes draped over rocks as if to dry. There were the remains of a meal of cooked meat on a plate and a battered canteen of water. A fallen tree worked as a bench around the fire. The most bizarre part of the scene was a roughly butchered tapir at the mouth of the cave. Bizarre, because not only had it been butchered to provide—I assumed—the meat on the plate, but it had also been drained by a vampire. There were distinctive marks around the throat that could only have been made by a vampire's teeth.

The whole area was steeped in the scent of the girl. She had been living here for some time, and if the gasping breaths coming from inside the cave were anything to go by, she was still here. The darkness inside the cave was absolute. Despite my enhanced eyesight, I could only make out a vague form crouched on the ground.

"I mean you no harm," I said, approaching the cave mouth. "I am Garrett."

My words were met by a feral snarl. I jumped away from the cave automatically. I went back as far as the log and sat down. I had no need of the rest, but the position was submissive, and I hoped it would ease her fears somewhat. It worked to a fashion. The snarls cut off, but now there was whimpering. The sound tugged at my heart; she sounded so sad.

"You can come out," I said, making my tone soft and soothing. "I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to talk."

The whimpering increased in volume.

"Okay, you don't have to come out," I said. "We can talk like this. What is your name?"

There was no response, but judging by the sounds coming from the cave she was growing more distressed. There was a curious clicking sound that I knew to be vampire flesh against stone.

I was doing no good here, but still I could not bring myself to leave. My sense of adventure was not the issue here but concern for her wellbeing. I sat in silence for hours, hoping she would gain enough confidence to leave her sanctuary, but I was disappointed.

When night fell, I rose to my feet and moved a little closer to the cave, hoping to catch sight of her again to see her reaction to my words.

"I'm leaving now," I said. "But I would like to come back. I think you need help, and I can be the one to help you. You can trust me."

There was no answer.

Sighing heavily, I walked away, keeping my pace slow and steady and my senses alert for any sound that may prelude an attack. As I walked out of the camp, I puzzled over its existence. It looked like somewhere a human would live, but there were no human scents here. It was possible she had come across the cave and killed whoever was living there, but something told me that was not it.

My curiosity piqued. I continued until I was out of hearing range of the cave and scaled a high tree. From this height I had a partial view of the camp, but I would not be visible myself, given the dense foliage of the trees.

I waited for her to show herself, but it was hours later that she came out.

Anything up until then that I had thought was bizarre was immediately cast as ordinary as I watched her.

She came slowly out of the cave mouth and stretched. She actually stretched like a human would after a long night of deep sleep. She picked up the canteen of water and took a long drink. When she immediately spat it out again, I thought she had realized how foul water tasted to a vampire—we could taste the minerals and traces of dirt—but she did it again. I realized she was rinsing her mouth.

She stoked the dying embers and piled wood on, creating a roaring fire; then she held her hands over the flames as if warming them. She went about her camp burying the remains of food on the plate. She used a rough stone to remove more meat from the tapir carcass and then spitted it on a metal spike and held it over the fire.

The realization dawned on me like a bucket of ice water. She thought she was human!

There was no other explanation for her odd behavior. She was behaving like a human on a camping trip.

Had no one ever explained to her what she was? Where was the vampire that had changed her? Did she know nothing?

Questions flocked to my mind, but I had no answers for them. I had never heard of a vampire like this. My sire had left me alone after changing me, but I had worked out who and what I was only days after my change. The raging need for human blood was so intense that I had hunted the first human I happened across.

Her delusion was so ingrained that she was actually drinking water despite the foul taste, and, if what I could see now was any clue, she was preparing to eat human food. The idea turned my stomach.

Now that she was in the open, I was able to see her better. She was as attractive as any of our kind. I now saw her hair had highlights of red in it. Her eyes were the same golden as Carlisle Cullen and his coven.

I was right. She did cook the meat, and then she attempted to eat it. She managed to hold it in her stomach for only a few minutes before the instinct to purge her stomach of the foul substance reared its head. I averted my eyes as she retched and gagged.

Her 'human' needs taken care of, she disappeared back into her cave.

I watched her go and pondered all I had seen. I wanted to help her, but I had no idea how. Did she even need help? She was obviously feeding well enough, as illustrated by the drained tapir. She was not distressed, except when I had been close to her. Disturbed as her mind evidently was, she was in no danger. Loathe as I was to admit it, she would be a lot happier if I left and allowed her to live her life in peace.

With deep sadness, I dropped from my tree and began the trek north.

xXx

I was in New Mexico when I met with Peter and Charlotte. I was relieved to see others of my kind, especially others that were not deranged and convinced that they were human.

After exchanging the usual greetings, we hunted together and then they led me back to the hotel they were staying in. I was initially surprised that they were staying among the humans. They usually led the nomad life like me, but they explained they had friends with them that preferred to live a little more civilized.

"My buddy Jasper and his mate are taking a break from the coven life," he explained. "They used to be part of Carlisle Cullen's coven, but some bad stuff happened, and they needed a break. They said it was just a short vacation when they arrived, but they've been with us a year now and aren't showing any signs of leaving soon."

I had not heard news of my old friend Carlisle for over six decades and didn't know that he had extended his coven.

"Whatever you do, don't ask what happened," Peter cautioned as we made our way up to his room.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not completely without tact, Peter.

"I know that. But believe me, you don't want to know. You ask, and Alice dissolves into hysterics and Jasper starts projecting so much pain it literally drops you."

My blank look of confusion registered, and he continued his explanation. "Jasper is an empath. If he gets carried away, he projects his emotions to the room. It's a handy skill for calming people down, but it's not so good right now."

"Maybe now is not the time for me to be introduced," I said, though I did want to meet them.

"No, they could do with a distraction," Charlotte said. "They can't mourn her forever. Just, whatever you do, don't ask."

Peter flung open the door to their hotel room and called out loudly. "Hi, honey, I'm home."

Sitting together on the bland couch were two vampires. The man, Jasper, was so heavily scarred that I was momentarily taken aback at the sight. How could someone have been so ravaged and survive? His mate, Alice, was the complete opposite. She was beautiful, even by the standards of my kind. Her hair was inky black and her elfin features were flawless.

She smiled at me as I entered, but it was a forced smile. The bad stuff Peter had mentioned was weighing her down like a physical entity.

"Jasper, Alice, this is Garrett," Peter said.

"Pleased to meet you," Alice said softly.

"Likewise."

We exchanged the usual small talk. Alice said she and Jasper were taking time away from their family to visit with Peter and Charlotte. She didn't allude to what had driven her from her home, though she looked sad when she mentioned it.

"So, Garrett, what have you been doing since we saw off those nomads?" Peter asked.

"Travelling as always," I answered. "I have just been to South America." I considered for a moment. It didn't feel right to tell the Amazon coven about the girl, but I wanted to tell someone. "Actually, when I was there, I met someone."

I told them all about the girl, how I had first seen her a year ago but had lost her, and how I found her camp. They reacted with gasps of surprise when I explained how she seemed to believe herself human.

Peter laughed. "So Garrett found himself a crazy vampire."

"But that's so sad," Alice said in a mournful tone. "How can she not know what she is?"

"I don't know. I couldn't ask her anything, as she seemed terrified whenever I went too close, and she didn't talk at all."

"We have to do something," Alice said desperately. "We can't just leave this poor soul living like that."

"Can't we?" Jasper asked. "It sounds like she is happy enough as she is. Maybe it's for the best."

"No, we can't," Alice said firmly. "Tell me exactly where you saw her, Garrett."

I hesitated a moment. It looked like she and Jasper had enough heartache at the moment without adding a crazy vampire to the mix. Besides, I was the one that had found her; it was my responsibility to take care of her, not theirs.

"I'll make you a deal," I said. "I'll go out there and see if I can get through to her. She knows my scent. She may trust me a little now. I've been there twice and haven't hurt her. She may get more scared if she's faced with new people."

"You promise you will go?" she asked.

"I promise. If she won't talk to me, I will track you guys down and you can have a go, but let me try first."

She nodded with satisfaction. "Good."

I settled back in my chair, preparing for a pleasant night of catching up with Peter and Charlotte, but she stared at me with concentration.

"You want me to go now?"

She smiled unabashed. "If you don't mind."

I laughed. "I don't mind."

I got to my feet and made for the door. Peter saw me out.

"I'm sorry about this, Garrett," he said in a whisper. "She's been a little intense since all the drama. Don't feel like you have to go deal with the crazy. Charlotte and I can take a trip south to check in on her if you prefer."

"Nah, I've got it." I clapped him on the shoulder and promised to be in touch soon.

I was almost at the stairs when I heard Jasper speak and Alice's soft reply.

"Why does this matter so much to you?"

"Because it's what she would do."

Wondering who 'she' was and what had happened to her, I prepared myself to make the now familiar trip south.

xXx

I came across the girl's camp late at night. Not much had changed other that the tapir carcass was gone now.

The girl was nowhere in sight, though her scent was fresh in the air. She was probably in her cave again.

I settled myself in a tree and waited. If she followed the same routine every day, and I had no reason to doubt that she did. She would come out of her cave in the morning.

I was right. An hour after the dawn's light lit her camp, she came outside and stretched. Though I was expecting it, it still made me feel distinctly uncomfortable to see her acting so human. It just wasn't right.

Just as she had before, she rinsed her mouth with water from the canteen, but then she paused. Something was missing from the equation. There was no meat or fresh carcass for her to eat. It seemed to trouble her that there was something missing. She sank down onto her knees and looked around the camp with a frown marring her porcelain brow.

"You need to hunt," I said, dropping down from my tree.

She gave a squeak of alarm and ran back for the shelter of her cave.

"No! Don't go! I just want to help," I called after her.

She didn't even pause; she disappeared into the dark cave, leaving me kicking myself for my lack of thought. I shouldn't have sprung myself on her like that. It would have been better if I let her see me before I spoke.

I was at a loss as to what to do next. I needed something to use as an ice-breaker. Then an idea occurred to me. She had been looking for something to cook. Maybe if I brought her something, she would trust me. Or, of course, she could lose it again and hide in her cave for days. But it was worth a try.

I shrugged off my backpack and left it at the edge of her camp. I wanted her to get used to my scent and to leave something as a sign that I would be coming back.

I made my way through the dense trees and tried to find something that would do as a meal for her. I followed the sound of pounding hearts to a small pool not far from her camp. There was a trio of tapirs basking in the water. I jumped forward and caught one. Having no desire to drink its blood—there were limits to my philanthropy—I snapped its neck and slung it over my shoulder.

When I got back to the camp, I saw my bag had been moved. She had been drawn out by curiosity, though she was gone again now. I hoped my gift would help draw her out again.

"I brought you something to eat," I said in a soft tone.

I heard shifting inside the cave. Taking it as a good sign, I stepped back and perched myself on the log.

"I'm not going to hurt you," I said. "I just want to help you."

"Don't need help." Her voice was so quiet I could barely hear her. I took it as a good sign that she was talking at all, though.

"Well you needed food," I said, marveling at the stupidity of the conversation. She needed the food to feed her delusion, not as a source of sustenance.

"It would have come," she said. "It always comes if I wait."

Well, that made no sense, but I was not about to argue the point.

"My name is Garrett," I said, keeping my tone soft. "What's your name?"

She shifted uncomfortably. "Don't remember."

I heard movements and saw her form at the very edge of the cave. She was still in shadow, but I could see her clearer now.

"What do you remember?" I asked. I wanted to know if she remembered anything of her change, if she knew who had changed her and left her like this. It was a despicable thing to do.

"I remember I have to hide," she said cryptically. "If I don't hide he will kill me. He will know you saw me and he will come. He never lies."

This was more than an abandoned newborn. Someone was playing a game with this girl.

"Who will kill you?" My tone was harsher than I intended, but the twisted situation was wearing on me. Someone was playing a game with this girl, a game so perverse it had driven her into madness. Had the human act come from these instructions too, or was it a result of the insanity? "Who told you to hide?"

"Carlisle."

I gasped. "Carlisle Cullen?"

She nodded sadly, averting her eyes.

"It can't be. I know Carlisle. He would never do this to you. He's a good man."

She nodded jerkily. "A good man. So good. A family of good. And I destroyed it."

"What did you do to him?"

I couldn't imagine anything she could have possibly done that would have caused Carlisle to unleash this torment on her.

She raised her head and looked me in the eye. "I killed his mate."

I was wrong.

Thanks for reading. If you would like a teaser of the next chapter let me know in a review or a PM.

Simaril x