Chapter Four
I decided to take her advice and go back to Peter and Charlotte for a while. On the way I met another nomad, one I'd heard of, another fighter although we'd never met, his fights had always been much further north away from Mexico. We decided to travel together for a while, both of us tired of our own company and eager to talk.
"So the great Major Whitlock lives. I heard a rumour Maria had killed you for letting two of her best fighters escape"
"I helped them actually but I survived that misdemeanour Garrett"
"Is she really as vicious a hell cat as her press makes out?"
"Worse".
"Sounds like an interesting woman"
"Well any time you lose the will to live go join her."
Garrett laughed loudly,
"I like you Major. So have you seen many nomads since you branched out alone?"
"No, only two, both female"
"Lucky you."
"Not really. The second was interesting though, Daisy."
"Daisy? Oh yes I remember her, she's a strange one, touched by the devil they say before her transformation. She sees things, things yet to happen. Did she tell your fortune Major?"
"Did she tell you yours?"
"An answer for an answer and as a gentleman I'll go first. She did, I'm not here by chance."
"She saw our meeting?"
She did indeed, she asked me to find you, she was worried Major"
"Worried?"
"She said you looked lost, in need of a friend and I'm offering the hand of friendship if you're willing to take it."
Having a travelling companion who thought about things the way I did was refreshing, Peter had been the only other one. We discussed many things but it always came down to a simple question neither of us could answer, what were we here for? During a war we knew our roles, could play our part, we were both good at what we did best defeating the enemy, but when the enemy was locked up inside you, how could you defeat it? Our other passion the history of warfare gave us an outlet for our tension. Crazy to admit but Garrett and I started reworking famous battles rather in the same way the humans played war games with miniature soldiers and sets of rules, usually proving that Napoleon should have won the battle of Waterloo! We had no need of toys, we could carry a battle in our heads, determine the effectiveness of a certain tactic attack then wait for the other to respond always working out our next move at the same time, a great work out for the mind. Our time together was pleasant and as we traveled I decided not to go back to Peters, it was never wise to retread old ground, things would always have changed. Instead we roamed from city to city and I found with Garrett's company I could bear the horror and guilt of being a man hunter much more easily.
Like all good things though it came to an end, one neither of us had anticipated. One rainy day in Philadelphia we split up to hunt, it wasn't a good idea to have too many humans go missing at once from a particular locality, it caused ripples that the Volturi might pick up on from the center of their web in Italy. We had agreed a meeting place, a cafe down town, just to get out of the rain and be a part of society for a brief time. I was late, I'd had trouble talking myself into killing, although my thirst was torturing me. As I approached the cafe I looked in to see if Garrett had beaten me when I saw a woman sitting with her back to me and I knew she was a vampire, not only that but I was attracted to her in a strange way. Unfortunately my friend had beaten me to it, he sat beside her chatting away, his hand in hers. So my friend had found something we both looked for, the companionship of a female.
As I turned to walk away I heard my name, and looking back saw the two of them standing in the doorway. She skipped over to me a beaming smile on her elfin face.
"Hello Jasper I'm Alice. We were waiting for you"
"Why?"
She looked at Garrett and grimaced,
"I understand you are looking for another way to live, without feeding on humans"
"Yes."
"I know of a coven in a small town in Washington who live a different way, they hunt animals not humans. I'm on my way there and I thought you might be interested in accompanying me, I mean us."
"You're going Garrett?"
"I thought I might give it a try, along with the beautiful Alice."
She beamed at him and leaned close to kiss him on the cheek.
"Garrett I think you and I are going to get along really well. So Jasper?"
I didn't want to be the odd one out again but her tale of animal hunters intrigued me. Anything that could free me from the torment of human prey was worth a try so I agreed to accompany the two of them.
Garrett and I had got along well before Alice appeared but now he was wary of me. Seeing me as a possible rival for her affection. She on the other hand seemed oblivious to the tension, always knowing just when to step in to stop a situation becoming awkward or dangerous. She was serenely confident and it concerned me that she seemed to know what we were going to do before the event, did she have a gift like Daisy's? One day after we just missed a search party out looking for a missing child I confronted her about it and she admitted with a smile that she could see the future.
"They wont find the child, he drowned in the river and his body has been washed away."
"Is your gift like Daisy's?"
She knew who I meant because she shook her head,
"No, Daisy saw more certainly than me, my visions are subjective"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
She took Garrets hand and pulled him close.
"Subjective, I see what will happen dependent on decisions that people make. If someone changes their mind then the future changes. It's a good guide but not fool-proof"
"So you saw us coming?"
"Yes."
"And you saw us accompany you?"
She looked at me with a grin,
"Once you made your mind up yes but it was touch and go for a while. Why weren't you sure Jasper?"
"I've been a third wheel before and it's not comfortable"
"But the lure of the Cullens was too much to resist?"
"Is that their name? The Cullens? Tell me about them."
"OK I like telling stories."
She sank down on the ground and pulling Garrett down beside her proceeded to tell us what she knew.
"The family is headed by a Doctor, Carlisle Cullen, who has only ever hunted animals."
"He's a vampire and a doctor?"
"Yes, he works in hospitals helping humans"
"Why?"
Garrett and I spoke the question together,
"I'm not sure, we can ask him that. Anyway he has a wife Esme who he changed when he found her dying, she's his mate, and a son Edward who he saved from death too. Then there's Rosalie, he found her bleeding to death in the road and changed her and lastly Emmett, who Rosalie found dying from a bear attack, they're mates too."
"So he's the great matchmaker?"
"No Garrett because he changed Rosalie for Edward but they never fell in love."
"And they all live together?"
"Yes in Forks Washington. He's a doctor at the nearby hospital and the others go to school."
"School? As in High School?"
"Yes"
"Why?"
"It gives them an excuse to stay in one place a few years until the kids are too young-looking to stay around any longer."
"It sounds like hell."
"It's a way to get a family Garrett. Some kind of relationship rather than just meeting other nomads and being alone most of the time."
It appealed to me, somewhere I could belong, if only I could find a place in the Cullen family I might find this life easier to cope with, especially if they hunted animals. But would they have me? My reputation worked against me especially with others who might hold human life in higher esteem than I had.