Hunter
Hey, guys!
Xavier2163 - Don't worry, I'll explain Bella's visions as well as I can, although it will take a lot of chapters before I reveal the truth behind them.
Nagozualdean - I'm going to keep to the Twilight storyline for a little while, with a few key differences. Also, my own little details about Bella's destiny differ from the canon Supernatural, so don't depend too much on that storyline either.
7HockeyStarVampireObsessed7 - The Drop Zone is a ride where you climb up a tower, (a really tall tower), and once you reach the top, you fall towards the ground at 9.8 meters (32.2 feet) per second for about 2.5 seconds until the breaks kick in. During this ride, it is nearly impossible to keep yourself from imagining what would happen if said breaks fail. It's awesome!
Well, here's chapter eleven.
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Edward's POV
"So, you guys are vampires, huh?"
For a second, I couldn't believe she said that.
From the moment she'd called, I knew something was wrong. The way she spoke to Carlisle - rushed and distracted, and then overly enthusiastic when she asked to speak with me - was a dead giveaway. Bella always sounded cool and collected in any situation.
But I'd never imagined that she'd guessed.
I suppose I expected her to be afraid. Rather stupid of me. Bella wasn't afraid of anything, even when she should have been.
I looked at her, not answering, but not denying it either. Bella took this as confirmation and smirked. She gazed out the windshield and tightened her hands on the steering wheel. "I can't believe it," she whispered.
My sentiments exactly.
"Why not?" I asked, honestly curious. "You seem to believe in everything else."
She blinked and her smirk vanished. "That's because I've seen everything else. Nobody's even mentioned the word vampire for over three-hundred years, and the woman who did is considered a total nut job."
I remembered our earlier conversation about the supernatural, where Bella told me exactly why she wouldn't tell anyone about me. Everyone would just think she was a nut job. A fitting description.
Bella frowned suddenly. I watched the wrinkles grow on her forehead and between her eyebrows. "What's wrong?" I asked, as if this was a completely normal conversation.
She looked over at me for just a second. "It's nothing…I'm just wondering…" She drifted off. I nodded my head and she continued.
"How old are you?"
I looked out my window, wondering if I should tell her. Certainly even she had her limits in how much she could take.
"Seventeen."
"Yeah, and I'm gonna be fifty-eight in September."
I smiled, still avoiding her gaze, which I sensed was now drilling into the back of my head. "I was seventeen when I became like this." I indicated to my body with one hand, and revulsion and shame welled up inside of me. "That was in the year 1918."
I glanced over quickly too see how she handled that. Her expression was blank. "Holy Mother of Christ," she said without emotion. And then suddenly, she doubled over laughing. This continued for a few more seconds and then she wiped her eyes. "Oh, man, I can't believe I called Jo a pedophile for thinking you were hot!"
I blinked at her, stunned once again. Out of all the reactions…
"Alright," she began, laying back against her seat and intertwining her fingers together in front of her. "Let me see if I've got this all figured out…"
"You and your family are vampires?"
"Check."
"And you're a hundred and nine?"
"I am. Alice is about the same age, we think. Rosalie and Emmett are a little younger. They're only ninety-five."
Bella's eyes widened a little, but she nodded her head. "Ninety-five…wow."
I gave her a small smile. "Esme is a hundred and fifteen, just a little older than me. You'd like her, everyone does. Jasper is quite a bit older than me, but he's still new to our…diet."
She nodded again, and started to look more relaxed. "And Carlisle?" she asked.
I wondered how much I should say, then decided just to plunge ahead. I was quite sure she could take it. "Carlisle is the eldest. He's the one who changed me."
"Really?" She sat up straighter. "Why? I mean, does that happen a lot?" She looked off to the side, as if uncomfortable.
I suddenly remembered what she'd told me about the vampire from Seattle, Alexander. The thought that she had been seconds away from becoming a monster was infuriating. I clenched my fists in response. "No, not too often. Carlisle had been alone for a very long time. When he found me, I was dying of Spanish Influenza. My mother made him promise that he would do everything in his power to save me before she died."
Sympathy welled up in her eyes, and then, strangely, guilt as well. She looked down. "How long is a very long time?"
I smiled bitterly. "Carlisle is three-hundred and seventy, give or take. They didn't keep track of dates very well back in the 1600's."
"Of course not," she agreed, sounding shocked and stern at the same time. "They had to worry about the plague and all that. No time to remember how old your kids are."
I looked at her carefully, hoping that she was okay. She stared at her hands with wide eyes, obviously deep in thought.
"So," she started, "I know that you're immortal. Your family feeds on animals. You're very fast and strong."
I wondered how she knew those last traits, but of course Alexander hadn't worried about keeping his secret when they met. Who knew what he'd shown her.
"You're eyes turn black when you're hungry, I think." She looked up at me quickly, and I nodded. She looked back down. "There's just a couple more things I'm not too sure about."
I sighed. "Go ahead."
"Can you read minds?"
It was my turn to be surprised. No one had ever come close to figuring it out, let alone someone who only knew me for a month. Then again, Bella was very perceptive.
"I can, but the rest of my family can't."
She looked at me sharply. "Okay then, what number am I thinking of?"
I smiled at her. "Well, I can't read your mind."
Her eyes widened again. "Really?"
"Yes," I said. "It's quite frustrating actually. You're the first person I've ever met who I can't hear."
"Oh," she said, looking down angrily. "Wonderful. I guess that makes me a freak."
I laughed. "I tell you I can read minds, and you think there's something wrong with you?"
She smiled a little. "Oh, there are quite a few things wrong with me, Edward." She tilted her head back and stared up at the roof of the car. "Maybe it's some sort of learned thing. In comic books and stuff, whenever some guy can read minds, the other characters come up with ways of hiding their thoughts. You know, like picturing a brick wall."
"Children of the Damned," I said, recognizing the reference. "Not a bad example, I suppose. And you're sort of right. Alice has found a few ways of blocking me out over the years, but it's different in your case. She has to do it consciously, and it takes a lot of effort. You seem to be doing it automatically."
"Demons can read minds," she said suddenly. There was a dazed, haunted look on her face. "But one of them told me that mine was locked up tight, and that all my thoughts were hidden." She smiled bitterly. "For all the good it did me."
I didn't know what to say. I'd never seen her look so vulnerable before. With her head tilted back like that…her pulse visible in the crevices of her throat…the blood rushing…
I opened the car door and ran toward a tree as quickly as I could. The air outside was clean, but I knew that she would follow me soon.
I was right.
"Wow! You are fast!" She exclaimed, and then she saw my expression. "What's the matter?"
I inhaled another breath and caught just a hint of her scent. It was almost enough to make me pounce on her then and there, but I restrained myself.
"I'm sorry…it's just…" I looked helplessly at her, unable to form the words.
Her mouth dropped open and she stepped back looking flustered. "Oh, jeez, I forgot. In her journal, my ancestor wrote that you guys are crazy-sensitive to smells. Mostly to the smell of blood. Is that it?"
I nodded solemnly. "Most of the time, we can control ourselves, but with you…you have the most desirable scent I've ever come across."
"Huh," she grunted, blank-faced. "That's kinda creepy, but I'm just gonna take it as a compliment and move on with my life." She gave me a reassuring smile, and I felt myself regain control.
"Don't worry, I won't hurt you."
She rolled her eyes and smirked. "Course not. I'm Bella Colt. You'd have to be pretty tough to kill me." She paused a second, and then looked up. There was a momentary break in the clouds, and the sun shone down on us.
I retreated further into the shadows, aware that now was not a good time to surprise her. She caught the movement and gave me a suspicious look.
"So…what's the deal with the sun? Do you get roasted alive, or turn to stone?"
I gave her a crooked smile. Perhaps her ancestors didn't know everything about us. "No, not even close. The sun doesn't hurt us, but we can't go out in it. Not where anyone can see us, that is."
Curiosity lit up in her eyes. "Can you show me? I promise not to freak out." She held her entwined hands in front of her chest in a pleading gesture.
I looked up at the sunrays, hesitated for just a moment, and then closed my eyes and stepped out of the shadows. I didn't want to see her face when she saw how different I truly was.
Her reaction caught me off guard. I opened my eyes and saw her hand pressed over her mouth in a futile attempt to stifle her laughter. The surprise on my face set her off and she doubled over again, holding her stomach with one hand.
"Go-o-od, I'm sorry, Superman! It's just…you built up all that suspense…I was kind of expecting you to look like Nosferatu or something!" She wiped her eyes and straightened up. "Oh, thanks, I needed that. Sparkly vampires. God, no wonder you guys are so hard to kill. Any Hunter who came across you would probably die laughing."
I looked down at my hands, saw the light reflecting off them, and smiled self-consciously. "Maybe, it is somewhat anti-climactic, especially considering all the lore about us."
Her smile widened again, and she looked up. "I just pictured Emmett covered in glitter! I would pay money to see that for real."
I laughed, the sun vanished behind another cloud, and a new thought struck me.
"Bella," I began cautiously, "how did you know that Waylon was in danger?"
Her smile vanished instantly. I heard her heart stutter and then start to pound. Her hands balled into fists and she held them tensely at her sides. Very slowly, she tilted her head forward to look at me.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath through her nose. "I'll tell you, but you have to promise not to tell anyone."
It was a strange reversal of roles. Shouldn't I be saying this to her?
"I promise."
"Then let's go to your house. I hope Alice wasn't kidding about making lunch. I'm starving."
I blinked at her. "Are you sure you want to go to a house full of vampires?"
She rolled her eyes. "Don't worry about me, Superman. Besides, I want to meet Esme. You said I would like her."
I smiled. "I did, didn't I?" I thought for a moment, weighing the odds of how much danger my family posed to her versus how easily I could talk her out of going.
Not much of a choice there.
"Do you want directions, or should I drive?"
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For the most part, we rode in a silence only broken by me telling her where to go. As we neared the house, my family members' thoughts grew louder. I winced a little, missing the silence of the forest with Bella at my side.
"This is it," I said as we approached the three-storey building.
"Dude…" Bella whispered. She parked the car and climbed out. "This place is epic!"
Is that her? Esme thought.
I guess they've arrived. Carlisle's thoughts were wry with amusement.
Yes! This is gonna be awesome! Emmett, of course.
Great. Rosalie seemed less than enthused.
Alice must have told everyone that Bella knew.
I listened more carefully, and found that Alice and Jasper were hunting. Preparing for our arrival. I was relieved. It wasn't that I didn't trust Jasper. I trusted him with my life. I just couldn't trust him with Bella's just yet.
We'll be there in a few minutes! Alice called out.
Bella looked around, studying her surroundings intently. I realized that she was scoping the place out, like some sort of spy. It was somewhat disconcerting.
"Let's go inside," I offered. She smiled and raced to the door. I got there first and opened it for her. She raised her eyebrow at me, but didn't comment.
Once inside, she studied the entrance room with that intense gaze. I stood by the door and watched. Her reconnaissance was quick and would unlikely be noticed by anyone not paying attention. I wondered if she did this all the time, or if she felt threatened.
"This is really epic," she repeated.
"Esme designed it herself," I told her. "She's pleased that you like it."
She spun around. "How-" She rolled her eyes up to the ceiling and tapped her temple with one finger. "Right. Mind-reading. Forgot."
I laughed. It was so easy to be myself around her. Her nonchalant acceptance of everything was refreshing.
"Shut up," she said, smiling at me. "Where's the food? I haven't eaten anything since yesterday, and that was just some roasted marshmallows."
"Everyone's upstairs, except Alice and Jasper, but they'll be here soon."
I heard my family conversing as they cooked the meal. It smelled entirely inedible to me, but Bella inhaled deeply and smiled. "That smells good. Too bad you can't eat it."
"I'm sure I can live with that," I replied, my nose wrinkling. "Honestly, human food stinks."
"Well suck it up, buttercup, 'cause I'm hungry," she said. I laughed again, and this time Emmett joined in.
We reached the second floor and I led her to the kitchen's entranceway. Along the way, she continued checking each room we passed, and I doubted she was simply admiring the furniture.
Esme greeted us with an eager smile. "Bella, we're making Italiano for you."
I saw Bella size her up and smiled back. "Great! And you must be Esme." She held out her hand. Esme grasped it carefully in greeting. "Edward said I would like you, and if that tastes half as good as it smells, I'll have to agree with him."
Esme laughed and gave me a quick glance. She's beautiful, Edward.
I nodded in response. Bella caught it, of course. "Are you two talking about me?"
Esme's smile turned repentant, even as her thoughts raced as to how she'd noticed.
Bella rolled her eyes. "Don't believe a thing. I keep a sock in my pants." Then she nodded at Carlisle and Emmett. "How's it hanging, Doc?"
Carlisle smiled reflexively. "Just fine, Bella. And yourself?"
"Couldn't be better."
"You've given us an excuse to use the kitchen for the first time," he said as he scraped the contents of his frying pan onto a plate.
She shrugged. "I'm always willing to mooch off the neighbours."
Esme gently took her arm. "Come, have a seat." She led her to the island in the middle of the kitchen and pulled out the stool. I held back, observing the interaction.
It was so odd, having someone know about us, and yet show no fear whatsoever.
Carlisle set the plate of food down in front of her. He then handed her a fork and knife.
"Thanks," she said, and then took a bite. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she moaned. "Dude, this is the best thing I've eaten since…forever."
Carlisle smiled. "Thank you for the compliment."
Bella took another bite and spoke again. "It sucks that you guys can cook like this, but you can't eat it. It's like giving Clint Eastwood a .44 Magnum, but having no bad guys to shoot."
I heard Alice's thoughts grow closer. "Alice and Jasper are coming," I informed everyone.
Bella's shoulders sank a little, and she put her fork down. "Great, time for The Big Reveal. Remember, you promised not to tell anyone."
"Tell anyone what?" It was the first time Rosalie had spoken, and her tone was just as acidic as her thoughts. Bella was unfazed, though.
"What? You thought you were the only ones with secrets?" she asked pointedly.
Rosalie rolled her eyes. "We already know about you and your Hunter friends."
Bella snickered in response. "I'm not worried about that. Can you imagine trying to convince a reasonable human being that there are people who dedicate their lives to tracking down and killing a bunch of mythical creatures? Trust me, people a very good at not believing what's right in front of them. For instance…"
She leaned back farther on the stool and began twirling her knife in between her fingers. "A couple years ago, Renée and I were working a case in Toledo, Ohio. This guy - Steven Shoemaker, I think his name was - he ends up in the morgue after his eyes basically liquidate and his skull fills up with blood."
Esme looked horrified, and her thoughts weren't much better. "That must have been awful."
Bella shrugged. "Par for the course. But, seriously, guess what the great coroner claimed the cause of death was."
"What?" Carlisle asked.
"A stroke."
Rosalie blinked. "A stroke? You're joking, right?"
She shook her head. "Nope. Dead serious."
"So, what was it really?" Emmett asked.
Bella grinned at him. "Bloody Mary. You know, the old urban legend? Say her name three times in front of a mirror and she comes out and kills you. Well, only if you have a secret, and someone ends up dead because of it. Mr Shoemaker's wife died mysteriously after a pill-overdose. We figured Mary sensed his guilt and decided he needed to be punished. Vengeful spirits generally aren't that picky about who they kill. We did some research and found out that a woman named Mary Washington had been murdered a few years before. She tried to write the name of her killer in blood on the surface of a mirror. We tracked the mirror down, summoned Mary, and then smashed it before she could liquefy our brains."
"I thought you said it only went after people who were guilty of murder," Emmett said, surprising everyone with his insight.
"Not exactly," Bella explained. "Mary's victims all had secrets which had to do with someone's death. Mr Shoemaker had a secret affair, which led to his wife's suicide. Another girl accidentally ran over a kid and didn't stop to help. Another broke up with her boyfriend and, when he told her that he was going to kill himself, she told him to go ahead."
"And you and your mom?"
Bella took another bite of her lunch. "Plenty of people have died because we haven't told them about what's out there. All Mary needed was to know that we had a secret, and that people had died because of it. Honestly, I don't think there's a Hunter alive who hasn't had that happen. Colts especially. We're kinda cursed that way."
Alice and Jasper chose this moment to appear. They climbed in through the window, stepping off a nearby tree to reach it.
"Hi, Bella!" Alice called cheerfully.
Bella gave them a little wave. "Hey, Twinkle-Toes, Harpo."
"Harpo?" Emmett repeated, sniggering. He looked at Jasper and his memories of The Marx Brothers came rushing back. "Man! You do look kinda like Harpo! I never noticed before."
"It's the hair," Bella told him.
Alice giggled and grabbed Jasper's arm, embracing him lovingly. "I've always kind of thought that too. All cute and curly." She reached up and twirled a strand of Jasper's hair around her finger. He smiled at her in response.
Alice suddenly slapped a hand over her mouth. "Oh, Edward, have you told her about Jasper and me yet?"
You know, our abilities?
"No, not yet," I replied, wondering what she was up to. She was hiding her thoughts again.
"Told me what about them?" Bella inquired, taking another bite of her lunch.
I ran a hand through my hair and looked at Carlisle for support. He nodded encouragingly at me.
"Well, I told you that I could read minds, but I'm not the only one with an extra…gift in my family."
She nodded and kept eating. "Go on."
I decided to play it safe. "Carlisle is very compassionate, and a skilled doctor."
"Yeah, 370 years of practice probably doesn't hurt when you're trying to get through med school," she replied, smiling.
I smiled back. "He's also exceptionally good at self-control. Most of us don't yet have the strength to be around blood without…" I trailed off.
She nodded. "Going postal, got it," she finished, still completely at ease.
"Esme is very loving," I continued, looking at my adoptive mother shyly as she smiled.
"Okaaay, getting a little chick-flicky," Bella murmured.
"I'm strong," Emmett piped up, leaning over and flexing his muscles for her to see. "Toughest vamp in the States, that we know of."
She laughed in response. "I don't doubt you there, Magnus." She explained before we could ask. "Magnus Ver Magnusson is an Icelandic Strongman and power lifter. He won the title of World's Strongest Man four times."
Emmett grinned widely at the compliment. "Cool!"
Rosalie didn't seem too pleased about it, though. "I've been called the most beautiful vampire in the world," she boasted. Then she smiled menacingly. "I'm good at killing too."
Once again, Bella was unfazed. "Oh…join the club. Killing's what I do best." She turned to Jasper suddenly. "Hey, if you don't mind my asking, how old are you?"
Jasper smiled slowly, trying to keep his thoughts from drifting to places he didn't want to go. "Let's just say I fought for the South. We lost."
Bella threw her head back and laughed. "Oh, you did not just quote Near Dark!"
Jasper's smile widened. "Yes, ma'am, I believe I did." Even I had to admit, it was pretty funny.
Bella calmed herself down and grinned at him. "So, aside from your sense of humour, what's your special talent?"
He looked down and shifted uncomfortably. "I can sense and control emotions, although I usually don't manipulate people unless I have to."
Bella was silent for a moment. "Awesome," she finally said. "And you, Twinkle-Toes?"
Alice smiled conspiratorially. "I have visions."
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Ooooooooo! Major cliffy! I can't wait to start writing Bella's reaction to that bombshell. Expect a lot more in terms of explanations next chapter. Finally, I'm going to tell you what happened with Bella and her Deal With The Devil! Muwahahahahaha!
I will eagerly await your reviews.