"Knowledge of what is does not open the door directly to what should be.'
Albert Einstein
"Storm's comin' Sam," Momma said as I stepped into the kitchen; as if the gale-force winds weren't enough to inform me that yes, the storm was coming. "We already started relocating the beach-fronters, but we're a few beds short. Most those folks are too old to kip on a couch." She gave me a pointed look and I gave into the silent question with little more than a sigh.
"Red!" I hollered, ducking my Momma's head when she made to smack me upside it. "Get your butt out here, you're staying at my place."
Stepping out of my old room with a hesitant look, she slipped her feet into her shoes. "Really?" she asked, brow furrowed and scrutinizing.
"Yep," I nodded. "A bad storm is coming in and we're moving all the people who live on the lakefront and cliffs to safer houses 'til it passes. You're gonna crash at my place, but mind it'll be cramped. Some of the boys are going to be staying too."
Grabbing what I came for - the emergency power-outage kits Momma had made up - I kissed her cheek and held the door open for Red. "Let's get you settled in the cabin, and I'll be back in a few hours. You can crash in my room tonight, I'll take the couch. Half the pack will end up there later anyway. They're stationed across the Rez in wolf form, for emergency, as of yet."
"Better than a cell," Red snorted.
"Something like that."
"Wait," she stopped on my momma's back porch. "What are you doing?"
I hefted up the box full of Ziploc bags of candles and matches. "Storm shouldn't last more than a day, but the power on the Rez isn't the best and it almost always goes out."
"I could...help you," Red offered, awkwardly. "I don't want to sit around on my ass while you're out there, helping and shit." She scuffed her shoe against the wooden planks of the porch and gave me a half smile.
Laughing at her awkward plea, I nodded. I wanted her to want to help me. To help the Rez. She might not have known it, but her desire to help was mostly born of her desire to belong, and that? That didn't have anything to do with the imprint. That was just human nature. She liked it here, and it was all her; it thrilled me.
"Sure, that would be awesome. Actually, Sue Clearwater brought by a bunch of baked stuff left over from the diner, and Mr. White, that's Paul's dad, loaded my truck up with some of his canned stuff. I was going to hand that out as well; it'll be faster with both of us."
"So," she said, after a short minute. "The Rez is really all about the community. I mean, I know you've told me as much, but I've never seen anything like that. It's one thing to know it in theory, but another to actually witness it. Be a part of it, sometimes." Like at the Council meeting, with my father.
Nodding, I explained. "Well, the tribe has always been community-orientated. It's a cultural thing really. But it goes beyond that, I think, with each generation. There are so few of us and so little money, that a lot of what's done on the Rez is based on the barter system. One man might fix another's roof, and in return that man will fix his window. And those skills we know, we share too. Everyone on the Rez takes turns with the younger generations. I didn't teach myself how to build houses, that was taught to me. And I taught it to the boys, so they can work for me as student-learners, through the Rez school. What I teach them, they'll teach someone else. It doesn't hurt that they can earn money while doing it either. "
"Who's the girl?" Old Ms. Ateara said, pointing to Red with her pipe as we unpacked the last of the kits onto her ancient kitchen table.
"This is Bella Swan," I explained, as Red fished out the last jar of canned peaches, setting it gingerly on the table. The old lady knew, of course. Everyone on the Rez knew Red by now. Old Ms. Ateara was just a busy-body old nag. "Charlie Swan's daughter."
"Renee Swan's daughter you mean," Old Mrs. Ateara said, biting on her pipe with old, yellow teeth. "Charlie ain't had so little a finger, as much a hand, in raising his child."
Silencing Red with a look, lest she insult the fucking Eldest of Elders, I answered as Old Mrs. Ateara expected. "Quileko hochatiako, wali'tacha'a ko basi." She is to me, what you were to him, I said carefully, praying she would understand.
"Ah," the only imprint of the previous generation of wolves said, looking at Red with new compassion on her weathered face. "Ichat. Lucky girl," she intoned. Love.
I very nearly snorted.
"If that's all, Mrs. Ateara," I said, in English for the benefit of a very disgruntled looking Red. Old Mrs. Ateara blew a smoke ring at me, gnarled hand waving us off.
"Be gone then, and watch for the descent, child! It is not always the bottom of a hill we should fear most, but rather the walk back up."
Ignoring her rather vague parting comment, I bowed my head, nudging Red toward the door. "A lot of the older members of the Rez believe themselves to be clairvoyant. Mostly they're just old," I explained quietly, as we made our way to the truck.
It was coming down hard as we left Old Quil's mother's house, where once lived the very last of the previous wolves. The wind was already howling, tearing through the trees, when Red asked, "What did you say to her? Why didn't you just speak English?"
"That was Mrs. Ateara, Quill's great-grandma. She's the oldest and most respected member of our tribe, and she grew up speaking our native tongue. As she taught me, it's a sign of respect to speak it."
"Oh," Red replied, obviously not entirely pleased with my non-answer. I'd have been disappointed if she was. "What does...itcha, was that it? What does that mean?"
"Ichat, like eye-chot," I corrected, carefully. "Look it up."
Bitch-face number forty-seven did not fail in explaining her displeasure in my non-answer, but I was in too good a mood to let it bother me. It seemed to lack much of its old heat anyway.
"Jerk," she said lightly, rolling her eyes at me. "I think...this is going to sound weird, but do you remember summer festival?"
"Um...yes," I replied, tightly. Of course I remembered the festival, well, most of it. I did not particularly care for the reference in relevance to Old Mrs. Ateara though. It made me uncomfortable.
She tapped her fingers against the plastic of the door panel. "When I drank that funny tea I saw...I..."
"You saw something?" I asked sharply, feeling my hands clench on the steering wheel. "Red?"
"I saw her," Red said carefully, forehead wrinkled up as she thought. "Except that I'd never seen her before and she was...she was my age. Younger maybe. But I know it was her. And she was...she was with a wolf. She...she gave me an apple." She shook her head, mouth pulling up into a forced smile. "That sounds crazy huh? Like you said...I mean...it just sounds crazy, right?"
"No," I said, somewhat breathlessly. "I mean...I...I don't know what I mean, but it doesn't sound so crazy, Red."
She tapped her fingernails against the door panel again. "Apples are a symbol for knowledge," she murmured absently. "I felt like she was trying to tell me something."
"Whatever it is," I told her carefully, unclenching my hands on the wheel, color bleeding back into my previously white knuckles. "You'll know when you're ready to know."
Halfway home, my phone rang, shrill in the comfortable silence of the cab. "Sam? Harry...I think he's had a heart attack. We were getting ready to leave to your mother's house, when he just...collapsed. I don't know what to do! Leah said the roads from La Push, there's no away an ambulance could get here! It's too late to leave, we'll have to stay and I-"
"I'm on my way," I cut in quickly. "I just have to swing by the house, but I'm on my way. Is he breathing?"
"Yes, but it's labored," she explained, panic in her pretty voice. "He's barely conscious."
"What's wrong? That sounded like Sue Clearwater," Red asked sharply, swiveling in her seat. "I thought they were coming to your mom's house. Is everything okay? The girls-"
"They didn't make it to Momma's house. Sue thinks Harry had a heart attack. He's breathing, but it's labored. I'm gonna run you home, and get back there to see what I can do."
"Sam, the storm is practically on top of us! You'll never make it! Just take me with you," she argued at once, shaking her head. "Most heart attack victims succumb within the first hour. We need to get there now."
"What the hell do you know about it?" I asked, hesitating. I wanted her safe, not on top of a fucking cliff during a storm. While the Clearwater's home wasn't nearly as close to the edge as some of the older homes on the Rez, it wasn't far either.
Glaring indignantly, Red replied sharply. "Probably more than you. I studied basic medical training before I moved to Forks. We need to get there now; we don't have time to waste."
Reluctantly, I agreed, turning sharply down the Clearwater's road, already flooding with rainwater. Tree branches torn from their trunks lay scattered across the ground. I swore in both Quileute and English, pulling to the side of the road. "Come on, we're gonna have to walk. We'll take the trail, it's shorter."
Taking her hand without permission, I tugged her along. "You stay by me, do you understand? You stay right with me. This trail goes along the cliffs. The wind's heavy, but the trees should shield most of it where we'll walk," I bellowed over the sound of the wind and rain, tugging her close to me. Suddenly Old Mrs. Ateara's words echoed back to me, her talk of hills and falling, and I found myself clinging to Red like the wind would blow her away.
Red followed, drenched within seconds. Her hair clung to her face and I pulled her close as she stumbled her way beside me up the narrow path through the sparse woods that surrounded the Clearwater house. Their lights were on, shining in the rapidly darkening night. Wind caught the screen door, slamming it against the house with a resounding crack, and tearing it half off its hinges.
"Sam!" Leah called out from the porch, flash light shining dimly. She was clinging to the porch rail, as the wind pressed against her, a firm reminder for me to tighten my hold on Red. "Hurry! He's...he's not breathing, and he started foaming at the mouth. We don't know what to do-"
Pushing past me, Red rushed forward, taking the stairs of the porch two at a time. I followed swiftly behind as she peeled off her soaked jacket and threw it at me. "I need aspirin, a towel, and a glass of water," she barked out, dropping to her knees before Henry, where he lay on the living room floor. "Go!"
Sue sprinted to the kitchen, and Leah the bathroom, as Red pressed her fingers to Henry's pulse. "His hearts stopped."Without pause, she ripped his shirt open, buttons scattering across the faded blue carpet. Palm over fist, she pounded against his chest, shoulders hunched as she put her slight weight into it. I could hear her, counting beneath her breath, and at fifteen pumps, she pressed his mouth to his, pinching his nose and blowing twice.
"Sam! Get your ass over here, I need your help. I'm not strong enough for this part, he's too big," she said quickly, grabbing my hand and tugging me down. She pressed the heel of my palm a few inches beneath his sternum, folding my other hand over.
"I don't know what I'm doing!" I said in the closest thing to a panic I would allow.
"Fifteen reps, you're going to press down fast and sharp. Put some weight into it, but don't crush him. Crack a few ribs, don't break them."
And that was all she said, pushing my hand down to get me going. I did as I was ordered, falling into an easy rhythm. Fifteen reps, two puffs, repeat.
The motion was repeated, and repeated again. Leah returned with the aspirin and Red was quick to instruct her. "Crush two, we'll need them when he's breathing again. Sue, bring me that towel, we're gonna," puff, puff,"need it- shit. Yeah, that happens, don't panic." She snatched the towel from Sue's hand, quickly wiping the vomit off Harry's chin. Without a wince, she stuck her fingers into his mouth, clearing away chunks of puke. Another wipe of his face, and she ordered me to continue.
Puffing once more, she gasped as Harry coughed, sucking in a deep breath practically straight out of her mouth. His skin was gray, and lips nearly blue, but he was breathing. "Bella?" Harry croaked, eyes fluttering. "Wha-"
"Shh. Don't try to talk. You've had a heart attack, Mr. Clearwater. We need to get you upright, now, but you're going to be okay. You're going to be a little sore, I think Sam broke a few of your ribs, but that's normal with CPR. Just hold on, alright? You've made it past the hard part. I need you to open your mouth a bit. This is going to taste gross, but your tongue is going to be swollen, so you can't talk or swallow quite yet."
Bella was soaked in sweat and rain, as she tipped the crushed aspirin beneath his tongue, hooking an arm beneath his back. "Sam, help me get him up. He needs to sit semi-upright, like with pillows, or something."
"Oh Bella," Sue breathed, crushing her into a hug. "If you hadn't, if he'd..."
"Shh," Red hushed, patting her awkwardly on the shoulder. "It's okay. That was the hard part. He's tough, he'll be alright. Why don't you run ahead and get the bed set up, and maybe stuff to clean him up. He uh...well. He won't want to wake up like he is. He'll probably be a little embarrassed."
Red was most likely talking about the fact that Harry had shit himself. It was about as delicate as I had ever seen her, awkward though she was, and Sue was grateful.
"Here, you look dead on your feet. I'll help Sam take him upstairs. They're too narrow for him to carry on his own, and you look like you could fall over, Swan. You uh...probably want to like rinse your mouth out and get cleaned up," Leah said, shouldering Bella's small part of Harry's burden. She was barely holding on to the heavy man, though I held most of the bulk in a careful cradle. Gratefully, she relinquished Harry, shoulders sagging.
"Yeah, alright. Alright," she said, looking as if the night had finally caught up with her.
"Let me get him settled, and I'll be right back down, okay?" I said, as Leah led Harry's legs up the narrow staircase easily with her added wolf-strength. The man was clearly coming to, and everyone in the room was too eager to see him settled before he was really aware. "You did real good, Red."
She gave me a tired smile, before sagging into Henry's tipsy Laz-E-Boy recliner.
Ten minutes I came back down stairs, frowning. "Leah?" I called out, finding her in the currently blacked-out kitchen. The power had finally taken a hit, leaving everyone but me stumbling about the house in total darkness. "Where the hell is Red?"
"Oh, she said she was running to the truck? Something about some kit your mom put together. She left like two minutes ago."
"The fu..." I felt myself go cold. "Leah we parked by the road. We had to walk up the trail here; the driveway was a freaking mess. She-"
With wide eyes, Leah gasped. "Shit, Sam. I didn't know. She made it sound like she was just running outside, I thought-"
Lightning cracked too close, melting into the ominous cracking-split that always preempted a tree falling. The whole frightening sound was topped off by an ear splitting scream that had me racing out the door and down the path, phasing with long-earned ease. I watched with the wolfs eyes as Red fell back, jumping out of the way of the falling tree, and tumbling off the edge of the crumbling fucking cliff, taking my heart with her.
It was surreal, like a slow-motion film in black and white on silent. I felt myself moving, but it was as if the whole world had come to stand still. The sound of the pack echoed in my mind, as they no doubt raced their way through La Push to my aid, but I was already racing after her. I made it to the edge of the cliff in time to see her still falling, jumping as the white-cresting waves swallowed her down like the devils own mouth.
As it would happen, we were not alone in the waters. A flash of violent orange-red tore through the churning blue and suddenly, drowning was the least of our worries. Clinging tight to Red, I couldn't phase, fighting instead one-handed and alone.
Nothing felt so good as Red's frozen little body crushed against mine as I hauled her to shore. Even as I laid her against the cold wet sand, I breathed into her mouth, as she had Harry's, pumping her chest with careful pressure until she gasped, throwing up mouthfuls of sea water down my chest.
"Oh Red," I breathed, dropping head onto her chest. "You scared the shit outta me."
"Sam?" she croaked back, voice torn with salt water. I felt her fingers, weak and trembling, curl through my salt-stiff hair, tugging lightly.
"What's in your hand?" Jacob asked, raising his voice over the crashing waves. He was ass-naked and looking almost as terrified as I felt. "Sam! What's in your hands!"
"She's out there," I gasped and growled, lifting the long wet, red locks dangling from my hands, a bit of scalp hanging from one end. "She came up behind me just as I grabbed Red. She managed to grab my shoulder, but you guys must have scared her off, because as soon as you hit the water, she scattered."
"Victoria," Red murmured, as I pulled her into my arms. "It is Victoria."
"It's the nomad from last year, yeah?" Jared asked, looking back to the waters. "Maybe a few of us should stay back, watch the shore. I can."
"Me too," Paul offered, a familiar glint in his eye. When it came to vampires, Paul was always ready.
"We'll need someone in wolf form closer to the Rez to relay any messages," I offered, suddenly conscious of our collective nudity. Thank fuck it was dark; it was kind of hard to miss eight half naked giants and a half-drowned girl. "Quil, park your furry ass outside my mother's house. You can kick back in the shed, catch some sleep but stay in wolf-form. I need to get Red settled and then-"
"And then nothing, Sam," Embry cut in, shaking his head at me. "You're half-dead on your feet, and you're fucked up. Look at your arm. The leech grabbed you? You're skin's hanging off your bones," he said, nodding at my shoulder. I knew the flesh was more or less rent from the bone, and the shoulder had been pulled right out of the socket. To top it off, it was my bad shoulder, the only reason the bitch had got a hold of it, still in the long process of healing from its previous damage. I was pretty sure if I looked at it I would puke or pass out like a total pussy, so I didn't. The pain was nearly unbearable, but adrenalin kept me upright. "Get Red settled, get cleaned up, and leave this mess to us. You can't do everything."
"But-"
"Embry and I will take care of it," Jacob cut in. "But right now, we all need to seek some fucking shelter. Tomorrow, we'll do a run through, and see what needs to be done."
"I should be out there, helping-"
"Shit Sam," Jacob said, as the pack ushered me forward, Red curled in my arms. "Give it a fucking break. Take a goddamn day off. You think you're gonna get shit done tomorrow worrying about your Red? You're not. We got this, okay? You don't have to do everything your goddamn self. We're a pack. We want her safe