Disclaimer: Of course, I own nothing but my own words. The characters belong to Ms. Meyer and a very small number of the words do, too.
1949
Chapter 6
"What possible reason can there be for me to go to the dining car?" Jasper glared at the human girl.
He was wearing one of the two suits she had insisted he buy yesterday. Wasn't appropriate clothing enough?
"You need to appear human. The porters will notice if you don't eat at least one meal. You did not sit for lunch, and now dinner, too? Many people skip breakfast, but not if they did not eat dinner the night before."
"How can it matter if the porters notice? They will never see me again."
"To be honest, that does not sound like you. Every irritating detail you have pulled out of me over the last few days because you don't want to miss anything or make a mistake. And here you are refusing to pretend to eat dinner even though it will draw attention to us with the group of people most able to get information about us on this train."
The human was right. How very annoying. There was no reason to compromise himself because he did not want to eat human food. What he had not told Bella was that he was a little thirsty, too, and preferred to avoid other humans as much as possible. The dining car would be full of tasty people. Maybe the taste and smell of human food would help drown out the smell of humans.
"Fine!" he snarled and stood up, towering over Bella. "But, little girl, if I kill someone it is on your head."
Bella huffed.
XXXXXX
Within 10 minutes, he had ground the majority of the food into dust, but he had still had to swallow some of it and drink the vile liquid. The human seemed to like what she was eating.
"Slow down!"
He lifted an eyebrow at her, not sure what she meant.
"Humans don't usually eat that fast. Act as if you are enjoying the meal, or at least the company."
"I'm not."
Bella looked stunned. Her feelings were suddenly of deep mortification and an intense pain, a feeling that had been lurking through her when she had told him of the vampire Edward. "I was only trying to make sure no one thought we were unusual. I did not mean that you had to actually enjoy my company. I see no reason why you should."
He sighed. He would have to explain.
"Miss Swan, I was not remarkin' on your company, but rather the experience of being in this dining car. I am more thirsty than I should be and these circumstances are makin' it difficult. I don't like bein' told what to do all the time, but I also know that you know more than I do. I have followed your lead on clothes, transportation and now feedin'."
Jasper sent her a wave of respect to go along with his words.
"Oh." The human looked ashamed of her outburst, but her feelings were of relief, not shame. They changed to concern. "Do you need to leave? I shouldn't have made you come. You're right, it would be my fault if you killed someone. I insisted you come. I'm sorry, Major."
Jasper was exasperated. Bella was a woman most of the time, but occasionally she lapsed into behaving like a young child.
"My actions are your responsibility only if you deliberately give me false or incomplete information or advice. You advice was good and your reasonin' sound. I would not have come if I could not handle the smell of the humans. The animal blood doesn't seem to last like human blood does. I need to hunt again soon or I'll start craving humans."
"We should not have taken the train after all. I thought you would last longer since you had just hunted. Now that I think about it, Edward would go hunting once a week. He only went for a big hunt once a month or so, but he would leave me alone at night to hunt at least once a week."
"Well, it might have changed our minds about traveling by train, but you were right that I could not have carried you for three days straight. I mean, I could have, but I'm not sure you would have lasted so well. And it was difficult getting out of the city. We should think seriously about running once we arrive in Chicago. It's less than a whole day. If I can find a way, I will have some blood on the train. I don't see how, but maybe there are some animals in baggage."
Bella was nonplussed by this. Jasper liked nonplussed. He had always felt that it was surprise and shock, but not strong enough to bother him.
She recovered herself. "Well, then I suppose the bus is totally out. It's too bad neither of us can drive."
XXXXXX
Jasper and Bella had found the beds laid out when they returned to their accommodations. The sleeper car had been much more expensive, but privacy seemed important in their case. Space for Jasper to be away from humans, and defense for Bella just in case another vampire was insane enough to travel by train.
Jasper had decided that he could act as though he wasn't tired. Surely there were other passengers who did not sleep immediately? He wandered slowly through several cars, absently flicking his lighter.
He remembered when, only just over 10 years ago, a few years before Peter and Charlotte ran away, someone had brought a lighter to the camp. It was immediately the hottest commodity Jasper had ever seen. He still had his tinderbox. It was the same one he had brought from home when he had left to be a soldier. He had thought of selling it along with some of the other things he and Peter had used to purchase the house, but it was the only thing he had that he knew came from his own home rather than being part of his equipment as a soldier.
A lighter meant that he did not have to carry a bag with him wherever he went. It just slipped into his pocket, and instant protection. He should get one for the human if she did not already carry one. While she could not rip a vampire apart, she could set one on fire once he had done so. He wondered how she would do in such an emergency.
"Sir, there's no smoking here, sir. The smoking lounge is open for another half hour, but some gentlemen smoke outside in between the cars, if they don't mind the movement and the noise." Jasper looked at the porter, one he had not seen before, and thanked him. Was this something you tipped for? He needed his human guide here to tell him.
XXXXXX
Jasper enjoyed the wind of the train. It breezed through human scents in the small towns they passed through so that the scents were unnoticeable. The speed of the wind reminded Jasper of a gentle run through the forest and helped him feel relaxed. There were only a handful of times he had run slowly; he had rarely had the luxury. The noisy repetition and rocking of the train was also calming.
He had thought of many things and nothing at all over the last hour or so as he stood here behind the caboose. He had thought of the shopping and arguing about transport that had taken two days of time in Philadelphia. To be fair to the human, she had been quick about the shopping, but the arguing had been tedious. He was still surprised that she had won most of the arguments, but he put it down to his lack of knowledge of humans, particularly modern humans. He would never have thought of traveling any other way than by foot.
When he was growing up in Texas, people could travel by foot, horse, or wagon. There were not even any carriages in some parts of Texas, and they weren't built for lengthy travel. He had never been on a train before, never thought he would be on one. He had watched the development of technology like this through newspapers at first, then more recently in person. When the railroads came to Texas after the War of Northern Aggression, people had said it was Yankee carpetbaggers coming to control what they hadn't defeated.
Peter had had a grand old time with the telephone when he first got his hands on one. He would act as if he was going to place a call, but divert the operator by asking her questions. Jasper had lost when he put money down that Peter couldn't keep an operator distracted for more than 10 minutes. Peter had had a conversation with her for over half an hour and then hung up without placing a call. Peter hadn't won the bet, though. Char had. She thought Peter would keep the operator on the line for 2 hours. He couldn't do that.
Maybe they should get a telephone in the Montana house. Many people had them nowadays, or shared a line with their neighbors. It would be handy in a situation like this one if they could call each other every now and then. Not that there would be any other situation like this, ever. Jasper hoped.
He still wasn't sure what should happen to Bella. She was smart, though, and he suspected that he, Peter and Char could stand to be updated by a modern person. Bella couldn't drive, but she had used a telephone and a shower, studied science in school, and knew how to pay for food in a diner and clothes in a department store. He thought maybe they should all learn to drive, if Peter hadn't already in the last year. Maybe Pete shouldn't learn to drive. No telling what he'd get up to.
Jasper stepped back as the train brushed past a low-hanging tree. He saw a deer feeding next to it. Suddenly, he leaned out and looked back at the train. Only a few windows were lit and he would need to worry about all the dark ones since the people inside them would be able to see outside. How quick could he be? He glanced at the woods near the track again. No way but to find out.
Jasper leapt off of the train.