Chapter Thirty Eight

Charlie

The seal turned out to be pretty good especially served with the fresh rolls and more hot coffee and our hosts were warm and engaging. The more I saw of Annie the more I liked her although her companion, the driver of the truck, sat a little apart after dinner and said little. He seemed to be watching me although I didn't feel particularly uneasy at this. Later we had a few beers which Annie had brought with her and then retired to bed. There weren't enough bedrooms so the young guy and I had sleeping bags on the floor by the fire. I'd spent enough nights under the stars or under canvas that it didn't bother me in the slightest and for a while I gazed at the flames thinking about my daughter and all that had happened to her as a result of deciding to live with me.

"You look sad Charlie"

It was the first time the young man had addressed me directly and I looked at him startled.

"Sorry. I was just thinking about Bella. Its all my fault you know."

"Really? From what I heard you did you best for her."

"Yeah well my best wasn't good enough was it? I knew about the wolves and the vampires before she came to Forks."

"You knew the wolves a long while before the Cullens turned up and I think you didn't have a very good opinion of them."

"I guess I just thought those with the power to keep humans safe should use it to do so."

"But they are a small group, would you have them kill every vampire?"

"No, only those that threaten humans, not the Cullens. You know when Bella and Garrett crashed the Cullens agreed to help straight away when I knew the Quileutes wouldn't."

"The Cullens do seem to be a little different from the rest. What did you think of their treaty with the pack?"

"I think they kept to it and I think the Quileutes just couldn't stand the idea of the vampires living so close so they hatched a plan to get rid of them with no thought for the innocent human they would sacrifice to make the plan work. My daughter knew nothing about Garrett's true nature until they were trapped in that cave and even then he warned her of his thirst and he made sure she would be safe when the wolves attacked. I think they would have killed her and made it look like a vampire had, in fact I know it. My daughter was destined to die."

"It certainly sounds like you have a grievance but what would you do about it? What do you expect Annie to do?"

"I don't expect her to do anything. I was told she was the only way I could speak to the leader of all guardian tribes, a certain Johnny H. I want him to put things right."

"How? Your daughter is a vampire and even our leader couldn't reverse that."

"No but he could ensure that the tribe responsible for it was punished."

"By punished you mean wiped out?"

"Hell no, there's been too many deaths already. I think he should make them tell him the truth and then punish them. I don't know how, I have no idea how powerful he is. Maybe he should remove the guardians or choose new elders. The lot they have now aren't fit to lead the Quileutes."

"You are a strange man Charlie Swan, your daughter becomes a vampire because of the Quileutes yet you do not demand deaths in revenge."

"I've found death doesn't change anything. Those left behind mourn and then seek revenge themselves just like the Quileutes are doing or so my source in the tribe tells me."

"Oh yes Harry Clearwater. He was very brave standing up to his family and brothers. Or very foolish."

"Probably a bit of both. I don't suppose he'll be very welcome in the village once Sam tells them he was meeting me."

"Sam? That would be Sam Uley? Isn't he the pack Alpha?"

"Yeah, which makes him responsible for the deaths in his pack as much as anyone. It was his idea you know, along with Billy Black and Old Quil I think. The crazy thing is that I thought Billy was my friend, my father never liked the Quileutes, he didn't trust them but he never stopped Billy and I playing together. I guess he was right though."

"I think it would be a terrible tragedy if all trust were lost between the humans who know of the guardians and the guardians themselves. You understand that it would be impossible for such small packs to take on the security of the whole human race?"

"If that's the case what was their excuse for operating so far from their reservation?"

"I have no idea but I assume they have their answer ready for that question. Guardian tribes do not usually commit themselves to helping outsiders."

"Yes I get that and I never expected that, what I did think possible was their ability and willingness to help out when danger threatened close to their homes. Would it be such a crime for say the Quileute pack to come to the aid of the town? Its not as if we have a major invasion of vampires. From what I understand its just nomads usually, one and two, not an army."

"I believe that to be the truth as well. A war between species would be a catastrophe for the human race, especially if the vampires were to win. Imagine no guardians to keep the vampires in check."

"But they don't, at least only on their own terms and from what I can gather its not as if the vampires target the reservation lands."

"True, I think there is a certain amount of understanding between all."

I couldn't help a bitter laugh at that,

"Yeah like the understanding between the Quileutes and the Cullens"

"No, that was a special case I agree. So you would have our leader seek the truth from the Quileutes and punish them if they have acted unethically?"

"Yes that's about it but I want my daughter to be safe and she's with the Cullens so if the guardians decide to hunt them down I guess I'll be at their side doing my best to defend her."

"Why don't you just threaten to tell the authorities about the guardians and vampires?"

"What good would that do? They'd think I'd lost my mind, besides I don't think it would be good to kill off or imprison either race, there are good and bad on both sides."

"You're right there Charlie. Well I guess we should get some sleep. Its been interesting talking to you. Goodnight."

I closed my eyes and soon I heard a soft snoring from my companion, thinking about it talking to him had helped clarify things in my own mind so when and if I got to talk to this Johnny H character I would know exactly what I wanted to say instead of rambling on. It seemed strange to be here in Alaska in the home of the guardians. I wondered what form they took, polar bears, Arctic foxes? Not seals that was for sure! I didn't understand Annie's part in this either, she wasn't the leader of the tribe but she certainly seemed to wield a lot of influence, perhaps she was a wise woman, someone he used to weed out unimportant matters. Tomorrow I would have to ask her if I would be seeing Johnny H or if he'd already made his decision. I knew Bella was safe for now after speaking to her but it worried me being so far away. I couldn't help if anything did happen and I wasn't going to lose my baby without a fight.