This one is for you guest reviewer! I can't post two chapters every weekend because of how busy I am, but I hope you enjoy this. Make sure you leave me a little review to let me know how you like the story! Enjoy!


Chapter Eighteen

"John looked back at the scattered remains of his beloved boat floating in the black water. He watched as the waves violently swallowed the pieces and pull them down into their depths. It was in this moment John knew that he was truly lost." I said as I finished the second chapter of the book.

I closed the book and placed my hand on Edward's head that was laying on my lap. We had moved into a more comfortable position where Edward's head ended up in my lap and I was leaning comfortably against soft leaves. His pointed ear twitched as I stroked my fingers through his shaggy bronze hair.

"Why did John leave his family?" Edward asked quietly. He had been completely quiet as I read to him. I had thought he had fallen asleep, but then when I looked down at his open eyes staring at the ocean, I knew he was deep in as he listened to the story.

"To hunt for pearls," I answered. "A pearl is a kind of gemstone. It's mostly used for jewelry."

"But I do not understand why he would leave his family for so long to hunt that kind of thing."

"He did it for money. Pearls are very valuable, and they can bring in a lot of money. Where I'm from, we use money to buy food, clothing, and all sorts of things."

"I liked the part where he spotted the whale," He said as he lifted his head. "It was beautiful. I felt like I could actually see it."

I smiled. "Yeah, it has a lot of nice wording. The author did a great job."

"Can we read more tomorrow when we go back home?"

"Of course," I smiled brightly. "I'm glad that you liked it so much. I thought you had fallen asleep."

"No, but it is time to rest." He said as he looked at the rising moon. "Hop on my back."

I hopped onto his back, and he walked us to the tree where out nest was. He grabbed onto the tree and began to climb. It only took us a moment to get to our nest.

It was simply made, as I figured. He put it together in just an hour. He had used the wood of the boat to make a sturdy floor that was big enough for the two of us. He had pulled down the leaves around us tightly, so we were concealed from all of the elements. The only light we had was from the moon shining in through the small cracks of the lines.

"It will not be as comfortable as home, but it will work for the night," He said as he laid down on the hardwood. He looked up at me and opened his arms. "You can lay on top of me if you would like, that way you will be more comfortable."

"Thank you," I smiled as I crawled onto his chest. "I feel bad. Are you comfortable?"

"I will be fine for the night," He said as he wrapped his arms around me and began purring.

I sighed contently and laid my head down. His purring was even louder now with my ear pressed against the center of his chest. Beyond his purring, I heard his strange heartbeat… scratch that, heart beats. I counted the number of times his hearts seemed to beat, and I discovered that he had two. One was very loud and made a strong steady thumping noise while the other was quieter and had a very melodic beat. What I wouldn't give to be able to x-ray Edward.

His body heat began to warm me. I felt badly that he was laying on the hardwood, but I had to admit that this position was simply heavenly. I could feel myself slipping into a deep sleep.

The sky was red, and the smell of blood filled the air. It was unnaturally quiet. Almost too quiet.

"H-hello?" I called out as I looked around. I was surrounded by large dead trees that seemed as though they were going to topple over at any moment. I couldn't figure out where I was.

I started walking, but when I took a step, sharp pain entered the bottom of my foot. I hissed and looked down to see that I was surrounded by thorns. I couldn't move.

"I-is anyone out t-there," I shivered as a chilling breeze blew passed me.

Suddenly loud screams interrupted the silence. My head sharply turned to the sound. The trees opened up and the sight before me was gut-wrenching.

Females cowered in fear, holding their small children tightly in their arms. Large males with spears kept them cowering. They spoke an unfamiliar language that was filled with terrifying snarls.

My eyes widened as I watched the large males begin to violently stab the women and children.

"Stop!" I cried loudly. "Please stop! This is wrong!"

They didn't hear me. They jabbed their spears until the screaming stopped. I fell to my knees, ignoring the stabbing pain in my knees.

The vision was too much to bear. I cried into my hands and tried to drown out the sound of more screams.

"P-please stop," I whimpered.

"Shh," the wind whispered.

"P-please," I begged. "M-make it s-stop."

"Shh," the wind whispered again. "Bella wake up."

My eyes flew opened but my vision was still blurry. I gasped and jerked up as I looked around. It was very dark except for the small rays of moonlight that poked through the cracks of our nest. Strong arms held me tightly.

"Bella you are just dreaming," Edward whispered softly, his nails gently scratching my back soothingly.

"W-where am I?" I asked in a panic.

"You are near the beach. Do you hear the waves?" He asked.

I quieted my breathing so I could hear the ocean. I sucked in a deep breath and began to calm myself. After a moment, Edward began purring.

Once my heart settled back into a normal rhythm, he stopped purring.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

I let out a soft breath. "I think I just had a horrible… horrible nightmare."

"What did you dream?"

I opened my mouth but all that came out was a whimper. Edward pulled me against him again.

"It is alright. It was just a dream; it is not real." He said as he rubbed his lips against my forehead.

"It was so horrible…"

"If it is staying with you, then you must release it," He said as his tail wrapped around me tightly. He placed his hand on the back of my head. "Go away bad dream."

I chuckled. "Thanks, but I'm not sure if it works like that."

"It will." He said before blowing into my ear, causing me to giggle.

"Okay, stop," I said when he blew into my ear again. "I think I'm okay now."

"It should not come back now," He said very seriously. "If it does however, then it is a message."

"I don't know what kind of message that dream would be. It was horrific."

"Would it help if you told me about it?" He asked.

I took in a shaky breath. "I think I was here. But it wasn't like how it is. The sky was red, and the trees were dead. There was screaming… and blood…" I shuddered. His hands stroked up my back.

"That is the time of the warring families," He said sullenly. "It is the darkest of all of our stories. My father knows this story, but we do not share it with the females."

"Then why am I seeing it?" I said as I tucked my head underneath his chin. "I saw a lot more than just dead trees and a red sky. There were men k-killing—,"

"I know the story," He said as his hand continued to stroke my back. "I know what you saw. This was a time of death and devastation. Before females fell from the sky, we had females of our own. They looked like me, but they had very long colorful tails. Back then we were plentiful. We would have multiple children, instead of just one. We were family, but we had separated across the land. The mountain dwellers lead the first attack. They lived in the forbidden mountains. The females in their family could not withstand the living conditions of the mountains. They lost their minds and turned their backs on the goddess. Our family won the war, but it cost us greatly. All of our women and our children perished in the war."

"Is that when the goddess brought women from the other side to replenish your people?" I asked softly.

"It took many years of worship to win her affection back. There were only a small number of us left when she blessed us with new females. Now we are plentiful again." He brushed his nose against the top of my head.

"I'm glad you won her affections back." I yawned.

He tensed slightly before relaxing. "Does that mean you are happy to be here? You are happier now? I have made you happy?"

I smiled slightly. "I am getting happier. But it's still an adjustment."

I felt his tail begin to wag but it suddenly stopped and wrapped itself around my leg tightly. It made me wonder if he had full control over his tail because sometimes it seemed as though it had a mind of its own but then he seemed to be able to control it. I was beginning to learn what his tail movements meant. Obviously, wagging was happy.

Six Hours Later

It wasn't the noises of the jungle that woke me, nor was it the sunlight that was peeking through the cracks of our nest. It was Edward's hand covering my mouth.

My eyes shot open, and I started to jerk away from him. But his arms tightened around me as he held me tightly in place. My head jerked up to him and after taking one look at his face, I stopped struggling.

His nostrils were wide, and his jaw was clenched tightly. His eyes were glowing red as they were still covered by a shadow. His brows were furrowed as his ears continuously twitched.

He looked over at me and slowly shook his head before covering his lips with his finger. When he took his hand off my mouth, I didn't utter a sound. I stayed pressed against him and tried to hear what he could hear.

It took a moment, but finally through the sounds of the jungle, I could hear the deep inhales of something sniffing the air.

It sounded as if it were right below us. Edward obviously knew what it was, considering how tense he was. The sniffing suddenly stopped, and I could hear the sound of heavy footsteps as whatever it was walked away.

Once the footsteps were gone, Edward gathered me in his arms and began to move so quickly my head spun.

"Edward what's wrong?" I whispered when he roughly jumped to the ground and began running away from the beach.

"We must return home now!" He said in a panicked tone.

"Are we in danger?" I asked as I clung tightly to him.

"Yes." He said in a grave tone.

Edward ran for a very long time. It wasn't until he spotted the trees that signified that we were close to the village. He finally slowed to a brisk walk.

"Edward what was that back there?" I asked as I looked up at him.

"I thought it was my father," He said. "It smelled like my father, but my father doesn't leave the village unless he is hunting."

I shuddered. "So, what was it?"

"The outcast," He said. "He must've wandered down the from the mountains when the goddess brought you here. He can see the sky very clearly from there."

"Why would he venture down? Wouldn't your father kill him?"

"He knows my father won't travel far from the village. The outcast is free to roam the outskirts of the land."

"But you're strong enough to fight him, right? You're the second-best hunter." I said; I was more or less trying to ease my own nerves. Hearing that the outcast was so close to us put me on edge.

"I am not strong enough to beat him. I am not the leader of our people." He spoke a little softer. "I would not have been able to protect you."

I took a deep, shaky breath. "Well… the bright side is we got away and we don't ever have to go to the beach again. We can just stay in the village."

He pressed his lips against my forehead. "I am sorry I put you in danger."

"It's not your fault, please don't—,"

Both of us froze when we heard a strange, hyena-like laugh. Only the laugh was much deeper and more haunting. My eyes widened as an extremely large figure slowly stepped out of the trees.


What. A. Mean. Cliffhanger... I even feel bad! I can't update until next weekend, I need to finish writing the next chapter. I sincerely hope you guys enjoyed this new chapter. Hopefully this cliffhanger won't deter you from continuing to read. Have a wonderful week!