Chapter 3 - Story Time

Previously… I jumped in my car and pulled out quickly, skidding on the street as I sped home.

I was much too worried about my brother to notice the silver car closely following me home.

I broke multiple traffic laws as I sped home. I hoped that I wouldn't get pulled over; I needed to get home to Jacob. As I sped into the La Push reservation I finally glanced in my rearview mirrors.

Following me closely was a darkly tinted car. The mirrors were too fogged up to see the make, but the person inside was wayyy to close to my bumper for comfort.

I wasn't sure who they were or why they were following me. Nobody in La Push had that sort of car; I didn't think that anyone in Forks was rich enough to have one like that either.

As I turned into my driveway the car continued to drive by, seeming to slow down only a little bit. The car concerned me, but not as much as the trouble my brother was in.

I walked into the house, not really expecting anyone to be in there. I didn't turn on any lights, preferring to be in the dark while I grabbed the phone, preparing to call around the reservation to see where Jake was.

"What are you, afraid of the LIGHT?" a surly voice scoffed.

I screamed and promptly dropped the phone…on my toe.

As I hopped around my tiny kitchen swearing colorfully, a russet hand flipped the switch next to the sink. Suddenly the room filled with light, bringing with it two of my best friends.

"Embry! Quil! I missed you—where have you been?" I exclaimed gleefully, "We need to hang out again. I know my music and your…girls…have kept us away but we need to get together. Let's, I don't know, go see a movie or something or maybe…"

I would have kept babbling on uselessly if I hadn't seen their somber faces. Suddenly the reason why I was here and not sitting through a mindless hour of biology hit me like a ton of rocks.

"We have something that you need to know," Embry started, "You had better sit down and get comfortable. This is going to take a while."

I dropped my bag where I was and ran to our plaid couch. As I plopped down the questions started to tumble out of my mouth.

"Where's Jake?" I asked quietly, "Why isn't he here? What are you guys doing here? If something bad happened to him you had better just tell me outright, because I am NOT in the mood to play some stupid guessing game about my brother's life."

"Would you just SHUT UP?" Quil growled at me. That was odd; I had never seen Quil do anything except for smile. Something serious must be going on.

"Like Embry was trying to say before you rudely interrupted, we have something you need to know. We can't tell you outright, because you probably wouldn't believe us."

Quil and Embry leaned against our forest green counter, preferring to stand instead of share the couch with me.

"We normally wouldn't tell a sibling this, but seeing as how he is your "guardian" we thought you need to know." I thought I heard Embry snort and mumble something about "Some guardian he's gonna be," but I couldn't be sure. Quill continued on.

"Many years ago, our tribe was formed. We are a small tribe, but immensely powerful. Many outside tribes wanted to arrange marriages with our daughters in order to improve relations and increase safety. Most fathers accepted and married their daughters away."

"Our people have always let their daughters have a say in whom they married, but never a complete decision," Embry continued fluently, as if this speech was rehearsed. "This was not out of unkindness; it was simply the way that things were done."

Quil continued on, "That is, until around 15 years ago. One father wanted differently for his daughter. He sat her down one day and told her that she was going to be able to choose who she wanted to marry. He didn't want to have a son-in-law chosen for his peace-making abilities; he wanted one chosen for reasons of love. His daughter was thrilled and immediately set out to meet the eligible men nearby."

I was enthralled by the story, but couldn't imagine how this applied to Jake. I jumped up and grabbed a monster cookie (YAY carconee!) from the plate next to fridge. I ignored the angry stares being bored into my back as I perched on the edge of the couch, waiting for the story to continue.

"The daughter visited the nearby tribes, meeting every boy and man there. Most were nice, but none quite perfect. The daughter camped out in the woods every night, preferring the company of deer to that of the men in the tribe. One night, as she was fast asleep, a tall, pale man snuck into her camp."

Here both Embry and Quil growled and snapped their teeth. I still didn't understand why they were so into this story, or how this applied to anything. I didn't want to miss my first day of school to sit in my living room and have story time. I hoped that everything would be sorted out in good time.

"Sensing that something was different, the daughter awoke quickly. She looked around but did not see anything. Closing her eyes, the daughter laid back down, assuming nothing was wrong. Suddenly, something hard and ice cold violently lifted her up."

Quil sped up the story now. I was completely and wholly under his storytelling spell.

"She opened her eyes to see a pair of crimson orbs eyeing her hungrily. She opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out. The daughter instinctively knew that this was the end. Whatever this monster was, they fully intended to do away with her life. The daughter closed her eyes and waited for the end. The end never came."

Here Embry picked up, "Very, very slowly the girl felt herself being lowered back down onto the hard earth. She opened her eyes, confused. Standing above her was the most beautiful man she had ever seen. With his black hair and incredibly pale skin, he was like nobody she had ever seen before. His beauty was unimaginable, yet marred by the look of torture on his face. With a look of hunger, love, and conflict raging beneath his tightly curled hair, the man turned to run away.

'Don't leave' the girl quietly said, 'I just want to know what you are'

"The man turned back to her and asked why she wanted to meet a monster," Quil said, "He told her that she should be running away as fast as she could. After much persuasion, the monster told the daughter what he was. He was a vampire."

I guffawed loudly. What were these guys up to? I was sure that they had made some stupid story about Jake up just to get me home and mess with me. Both Embry and Quil looked at me with a confused look on their faces.

"That was a great story. Horrifying, but great," I told them.

"It's not funny," Embry whispered, "The scariest stories are always the ones that are true."

I stared at them with my mouth hanging open.

"Ok, what's the punch line?" I asked. "You can't be serious…no way…"

"Yes way," Quil mockingly replied, "It's true. There are vampires, and they do want to suck your blood. Now, will you let us finish? Good."

Quil continued on, "The daughter reacted much the same way as you did, refusing to believe the strange man. The monster demonstrated his amazing strength, speed and agility for the daughter. The poor girl was terrified, yet somehow drawn to this man. She wanted to spend more time with him."

"The daughter continued to stay in the woods for weeks on end. Her father was terrified and assumed that a bear must have gotten her. He set out to search the woods for his daughter's body. What he found was much worse."

"The father stumbled upon a small grove where he saw his daughter laughing with the pale man. The father had heard the legends before; he immediately recognized the man for what he was," Embry opened the fridge to get a bottle of water before he continued, "His daughter tried to explain that this was the man she had grown to love and who she wanted to marry. She reminded him that he gave her the choice of whom to marry, and this was who she chose."

"The father was unhappy, but did not go back on his word. He allowed the girl to continue living in the woods with the monster. The daughter lived for several months with the vampire. She learned much about his life, and also that her blood smelt much sweeter to him than any other She learned that he usually drank only animal blood and his eyes turned to a beautiful butterscotch when he did. Both the daughter and the monster lived happily with one another, but the father never stopped watching them. He was worried for his daughter's safety, and for good reason."

"The monster tried to overcome the sweet scent of his blood, but the lure of the luscious liquid was too much. Late one night, instinct overcame his senses and he…Fed?

Quil's voice broke as he said the last sentence. It was a horrifying story, made all the more real by the fact that is was true, but I still didn't see the connection it made with Jake.

Embry continued, "As the monster fed on her blood, the father watched from the brush. Feeling anger as he felt caused a great magic to awaken. With a great crack the father exploded into a great wolf. The father charged the vampire, intending on taking his life. The wolf and monster fought bravely, the in the end the monster prevailed."

Quil went on, but in a whisper. I leaned forward to hear what he was saying. "The vampire ran away. He hasn't been seen since. When the tribe discovered what had happened they were devastated. The wife of the father had lost her daughter and husband all in one day; she had two little ones to take care of at home by herself.

In a moment of irrational decision, she wrote a letter to her uncle, begging him to take care of her babies until they grew up. She placed the letter in the crib with her baby, and then took her life."

I gasped involuntarily when I heard this. That was horrible! I couldn't imagine who would do that, so I asked

"Who were these people? Do I know their children?"

Quil looked at Embry as if to ask permission before he answered quietly.

"The father goes by several names. You probably know him as Dad."