Hunter

I'm back! It's been a while, but I've had to work out what exactly I would do with this chapter. See I sort of visualize what's going to happen later on, but sometimes I skip over parts and that can lead to problems. I've had plenty of school-free time to think it over though, and I think I may have something.

I'm not going to spend a lot of time on the Missing Months as I often think of them. I'll write a few journal entries instead to explain what's been going on.

And no, Ruby and Bella will not be having the same relationship that Sam and Ruby did on Supernatural.

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Renée Colt: Journal Excerpt, January 30th, 2010

Something's coming.

When I got back from Lexington, Ellen offered to let me stay the night. I must've looked worse than I thought.

I accepted. Phil likes her, and she likes him, even though I could tell she really made him work while I was gone. By the time I got back, he was helping Jo repair and clean some guns. Ellen would only let someone near those things if she trusted him.

I sat at one of the tables and ordered a sandwich. What I really wanted was a straight shot of whisky, but I didn't want to push my luck. Ellen was already giving me the stink eye.

After a while, business started picking up. The Roadhouse's clientele aren't like regular folks. They come in with scarred flesh, missing fingers, and all of them have this look on their face, like they're just trying to make it through this hour, this day, this life, and then they'll finally rest.

They come in alone or in groups of two and three, rarely more. Hunting is a solitary profession.

All of them look at me real quick, and then look away even quicker. They know who I am. They know what Bella did. They know, and they're scared of me.

I'm not tall or imposing, or even particularly mean-looking, but these guys are smart enough to see beneath the surface. They know what happens to Hunters when we start to lose it, and they know what'll happen if I decide I want to take out every bit of my pain on them.

They wouldn't stand a chance.

One more person walked in, but this time when he spotted me he didn't look away. He marched over to me like he was worried I'd get up and run if he didn't hurry. I recognized him immediately, and nodded for him to sit down.

Gordon Walker; the guy who shot his sister in cold blood after she was turned into a werewolf, sat down across from me.

Walker's a good Hunter, like Hannibal Lecter was a good psychiatrist. I wondered what he was doing all the way out here. He tends to avoid the crowds. People are almost as scared of him as they are of me.

The whites of his eyes seemed brighter than usual against his dark skin and nearly black irises. Despite his reputation, I always thought he was pretty handsome. Bella didn't like him though. She said he gave off the impression that he would kill you as soon as look at you. Looking at him then, I could see what she meant.

"Fancy meeting you here," I said, breaking the silence.

"I figured you'd be interested in some information about the demon that nearly killed you."

Another thing I like about Walker, he always gets straight to the point.

I leaned closer to him, balancing on my arms. "What kind of info we talkin' about?"

"The bad kind," he murmured, his eyes never leaving mine. "I was working a case down in New Mexico a few weeks ago. It was just a regular demon exorcism. Everything was going fine, until I heard it mention something about a war."

My eyebrows lifted in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"I mean…that all this demon activity we're seeing lately is just the beginning. The demon told me that their leader, Azazel, is targeting Hunters and trying to open a Devil's Gate."

I looked around quickly, efficiently noting that no one was close enough to listen to us. "You mean a doorway to hell? Is that what you're saying?"

"Yeah, exactly."

I leaned back and exhaled loudly. "Just when I thought things might start settling down," I mumbled to myself. "So this Azazel guy, he's the one who tried to kill me?"

"I'm positive. All this extra demon activity started up right after you got out of the hospital. I think your attack was just the first strike."

With that, he stood up and slid a piece of paper over to me. "Call me if you get any more information. This is too big for any one Hunter to handle." He started to turn around, but then stopped. "And I'm sorry about Bella. She was a good Hunter."

With that, he was gone, and I was alone again.

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Azazel's POV

No! No! No! No! No!

Damn her! Damn her to the deepest pit of hell! The girl was supposed to be brought to me!

Ah, but I can wait. There are so many others waiting for me. Bella can have a few months of freedom. Perhaps, given enough time, that fury she feels now will help her grow stronger.

Go ahead. Run and hide, Bella. I'll always find you.

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Bella's POV

I backed away in shock, then I snarled at her. "Get the hell away from me!"

Ruby blinked, and her eyes turned back to normal. "Relax, kid, I'm not gonna hurt you."

"You're a demon!" I replied, still snarling.

She rolled her eyes at me. "Don't be such a racist."

I glanced around, seeing the dead Hunters on the ground again. "Why did you help me?"

She smirked, placing her hands on her hips. That knife of hers was still in her hand. "Not all demons are the same, Bella. Some of us just want to do our own thing and not be bothered by Hunters, or even other demons. Me, I decided you're worth keeping around."

"How generous of you," I spat back.

"Temper, temper," she mocked.

I glanced back down at Kubrick and Creedy. No doubt someone - or something - would come looking for them soon. I looked back up at Ruby and glared. "And why exactly did you risk fighting two demons at once just to help me? What do you want from me?"

She laughed. "Mercy me, you really are insistent."

I crossed my arms. "I'm waiting."

Ruby closed her eyes and sighed, losing her smile. She gave me a tired look. "I know what it's like to be human, Bella."

I stiffened in response. "What do you mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean. You were in hell. You saw what was happening to the others. You knew it would happen to you someday."

"I don't know what you're talking about." My voice wavered. I felt a familiar chillness creeping into my bones.

"Do you want to get down? Say the word. Take the knife. You won't last much longer if this goes on." Alastair's voice hissed in my mind. I felt weak suddenly, dizzy, like I would collapse if I didn't grab onto something to steady myself. I fought against the feeling with every ounce of stubbornness I possessed, and slowly the feeling dwindled.

"Don't play stupid with me. Alastair put in a lot of effort to make you one of us."

I flinched and looked away upon hearing that name. Why did she have to bring it up? I could still feel his rotting lips and slug-like tongue pressing against my face as he dug a blade into my ribs and twisted-

No. Now was not the time to think about him. That was the past. I was free. I was out. That monster was still trapped in hell where he belonged. I forced myself to focus on the matter at hand.

I crossed my arms in front of my chest as I replied smugly, "And yet here I am, still human."

"I wish I could say the same about me."

I looked carefully at her, only this time it was Ruby who looked away. She seemed almost…wistful.

"I was human once, same as you," she began, startling me. "I sold my soul for power, and got more than I bargained for." She sighed, and as I stared at her, I realized how…human she seemed.

"But I'm nothing compared to you," she continued.

"What?" I interjected, startled.

Ruby smirked. "That's right. You can take the girl outta hell, but you can't take hell outta the girl. All that time you spent down there gave you a major boost." She tilted her head to the side. "Of course, if you'd spent a little more time practising and a little less time moping around, you'd already know that."

"Gimme a break!" I snarled. I threw my hands down to my sides and clenched my fists. "In case you haven't heard, my mother's dead! I think I'm entitled to a little moping."

She still had that stupid smirk on her face. "Maybe, but that's not the reason you haven't used those delightful little gifts you've been blessed with." She took a step towards me and pointed her finger at my chest.

"You're scared. You've taken on werewolves, poltergeists, demons…you even sold you soul and spent four months in hell." She paused, and I found I couldn't say a word.

"You faced all that with a grin and a sarcastic gibe, but what's up in here," she pointed to my forehead, "that scares you. Out of all the horrible things in this world, you're afraid of what's inside of you." She dropped her arm and put her hand on her hip. "But you don't have to be."

My eyes snapped up to hers. "What do you mean by that?"

She rolled her eyes and spun around, sauntering off.

"Hey!" I yelled, sprinting to catch up with her until I was walking next to her. I grabbed her shoulder recklessly, forgetting for a moment that she was a demon, not some stubborn teenaged girl. "What is your-" My sentence broke off as she wrapped her hand around my throat and slammed me against a tree. My hands went up, instinctively grabbing onto her arm. Internally, I berated myself for my own stupidity. I'd let my guard down.

Stupid, stupid!

No way in hell was I letting this blond bitch get the best of me. I kicked her, my heel jabbing her solar plexus. She released me, bowing down and hugging her stomach. I readied myself for a kick to her face, hoping it would incapacitate her long enough for me to get away.

Suddenly, I flew backwards, landing on my back. She'd used some sort of telekinetic push, I reasoned, even as I struggled to breathe. She'd knocked the wind out of me.

Ruby laughed breathily. "You're better than I thought. I guess Renée did train you well." She stood up straight and grinned at me, but I managed to get back on my feet.

I grinned at her nastily. "You're damn right, she did! You're going to have to do a lot better than that."

"Okay," she said evenly, and then she raised her hand and sent me flying again, only this time I didn't end up on the ground.

I was up against a tree, suspended about a foot in the air. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but I found that I couldn't move a muscle, and what was worse…

There was a tree branch directly behind my neck, a sharp one by the feel of it. My head was arched forward as far as it could go, but it wouldn't take too much effort to shove it back, and then I could kiss my life goodbye.

"Dammit!" I growled.

Ruby sauntered over until she was directly beneath me. She sighed wearily, sounding almost disappointed. "I guess you're not as powerful as I thought. Oh well, it's not like you're the only one." She lifted her hand until it was directly in front of my forehead.

My eyes widened. I felt a headache starting.

Ruby smirked. "Too bad, kid. I'll see you in hell."

I felt the pressure on my neck start to build, but it was nothing compared to the pressure in my head. I shut my eyes and let it flow, not trying to push it back like I usually did. My eyes snapped open again, just in time to see Ruby go soaring backwards into another tree. I slid down to the ground and rubbed my neck instinctively. It was scratched up, but not bleeding too badly.

I snapped my head up, ready to give this smoke-bitch the beating of her life, or whatever the equivalent of life was for a demon. Instead I froze, dumbstruck, unable to bring up any anger as I saw just how much damage I'd done.

The tree, the one I'd sent that hell spawn flying into, now featured a rather prominent crack, exposing its light brown innards. An assortment of bugs crawled out, scurrying around in a panic. The tree now leaned at a precarious angle. I felt sure that during Fork's next good storm it would come crashing down.

"You see?" Ruby yelled, laughing giddily, startling me out of my daze. She stood up and dusted herself off, still laughing as we surveyed the damage I'd caused.

"Wow," she murmured, taking it all in. "You're really something, you know that? I've never seen anything like this."

My fury finally broke through my shock. "What was that all about?" I yelled, indicating widely around to the tree where I'd nearly been impaled. "First you say you wanna help me, and then you try to kill me! What is your game?"

"I did help you," she replied, looking smug. "I just showed you what you're capable of when you really need to be. Those powers of yours are a gift, not a curse. You just need to learn how to control them, and then nothing could stop you."

"Stop me from what? What do you think I want to do?"

"Nothing could stop you from getting revenge on that yellow eyed son of a bitch, Azazel."

I froze again, didn't even breathe, and then I spoke very slowly and softly, "What do you know about Azazel?"

She grinned. "A lot more than you, apparently. Had any strange dreams lately, Bella?" I could almost feel her arrogance. Were all demons this irritating? I wasn't sure. Most of my interactions with demons involved Hunting them down and exorcizing them. They were generally more pissed than smug when they did talk to me.

I clenched my teeth together, but nodded once. My hands balled into fists, and my whole body tensed up.

Ruby sauntered closer to me, her eyes flashing black again. "I thought so. From what I've heard, it's part of his M.O. That's method of operation."

"I know what it means!" I snapped. "What I want to know is why he's doing it."

Ruby seemed almost disappointed. "You mean you haven't figured it out yet. Come on, Bella, didn't you read anything about this in your mother's journals?"

"I wouldn't know. I haven't read them."

She frowned, and for the first time she almost sounded angry. "What do you mean, you haven't read them? You've had them for months. You mean you haven't taken any time away from hanging around with those fangless bloodsuckers to try to figure out what your mother knew about the demon that got her killed?" She snorted derisively. "I can't believe you. Some great Hunter, you are."

I was too distracted to take offence. My mind was on more important things than my pride. Were all the clues really in my mother's journals? Had Renée found something and never told me? Why would she do that? We were a team!

At least, we used to be a team.

I hung my head, trying to push back the tears. Had my mom really lost so much faith in me that she didn't even tell me what she'd learned about the bastard who tried to kill her?

"Stop moping!" Ruby ordered. She grunted with annoyance. "Humans, you're just so emotional. It makes me sick. Why don't you stop feeling sorry for yourself and go do something about it!"

I snapped my head up and glared at her. "And what exactly should I do? My mother is dead! My boyfriend just left me! I'm being hunted down by demons! Not to mention I still have to deal with my freaky mind powers! I don't see what my options are except to…to…" I trailed off.

"To leave?" Ruby finished, smirking. "Get back up on the horse? Stop hiding out in this stupid little town and actually do your job?" She shook her head. "Come on, Bella. You're a Hunter. You were born to be a Hunter. You can't tell me you don't miss it. I saw how you reacted when those demons ganged up on you. It was like you'd been waiting a long time for that moment, and when it happened, you felt like you could breathe again."

Ruby stepped closer to me, still smirking, but now she held her hands out in front of her, palms up, as a sign of peace. Her knife was safely tucked away in its holster.

"Do you understand why I'm trying to say? It's time for you to do what you do best. You have work to do. Your world is in danger, and you have to help it, before it's too late."

"Why do you care?" I asked, even as I realized that she was right. I was done being a coward. Screw Renée. Screw Forks. And screw Edward! I had to be stronger. Whatever was coming for me, when the time came, I had to be ready to fight. I couldn't help anyone if I stayed in this washed up town. There were people out there who needed my help.

"I told you," Ruby replied. "I remember what it's like to be human. I only wish someone like you had been there to save me. Even if the best I can do is to help you make life miserable for a few demons, it'll be worth it."

I nodded my head, solemn, but determined. I had a purpose now. Maybe that's what I'd been missing. Maybe that was why I always felt so guilty and weak. Renée hadn't just exiled me, she'd stripped me of everything that made me who I was, and all that remained of me was some miserable, pathetic, worthless girl. Edward was too protective. I couldn't be myself around him, not without starting a fight. I loved him, I always would, but he made me weak.

"We have a deal," I said, sticking my hand out for Ruby to shake. She clasped it tightly, and I felt the familiar coldness of death on my skin. I ignored it. "I've been out of it for a while. I can't make any promises that I'll be able to Hunt like a used to."

Ruby smirked and let go of my hand. "I'm not looking for promises. I'm just looking for that fire in your eyes. Now, what do you say we kill some evil sons of bitches and we raise a little hell?"

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Geez, in the middle of writing this chapter, I went and gave myself a second degree burn on my foot. It's almost healed now, but man did it huuuuuurt! I've spent the past few weeks looking up how to treat it, and by now I think I know as much about burns as a doctor. Maybe I should go into medicine or something. I hurt myself often enough that I've had plenty of practice changing bandages.

A lot has changed since I started writing this chapter. I moved to London for college, which I love by the way. It's so much better than high school. The only downside is that my bus ride is about an hour long on a bad day. Still, once I get through with my assignments, I have a lot of free time to write. I think I've finally gotten back into the swing of things. This chapter was hard to write, but the next one will be better. Bella is not going to break down completely like she did in New Moon, but she is damaged. She's just going to take out her pain on evil monsters like the badass she is, instead of wasting away in her room.

All I know is, I can't wait until I get to the Volterra scene.

Adieu, my faithful readers.