Chapter 3: Fishing

Bree swung herself towards the lake, hearing protesting yells behind her. They became more distant as she dove towards the water's surface. It broke, letting her join the underwater world once again.

The mud in her clothes and body washed off as she swam like an otter. She pushed her body smoothly through the liquid, feeling its silky brush against her skin.

Occasionally, it swirled around her, trying to sway her from her course. The girl wanted to swim as deep into the lake as possible. It would make finding her harder if the yellow eyes followed her. Her best bet would be to stay under the surface for as long as she was able to and then travel safely away from the coven's territory. She doubted they would have the patience to wait for her to resurface.

The longer she dived, the more she realised how much duller her senses were. They felt like they were full of cotton. Her eyesight was worse and blurrier. She couldn't see as far away as she had hoped. Her smell was almost completely gone, leaving her to smell occasional weak, musty odours as they pushed themselves into her nostrils. Her hearing was the only one that was not affected too badly. In fact, she heard even further than before, or at least she thought she did. She heard movements all around her—the lake creatures swimming and munching on something, the plants bending along with the water.

The young teen saw a small cave in front of her. It was decorated with alga, projecting it from outside eyes.

She listened to the sounds of the cave, wondering if she could hide in it until it was her time to leave. It could be a perfect place for her to spend some time. The cave looked small enough to not steal much attention but big enough to be in. Her eyes gazed at it for a few seconds before she propelled herself towards it.

The cave was mostly silent. She couldn't hear any creatures moving in it, making her feel more confident. She didn't want to steal anyone's home.

Her body squished inside of it, letting her finally see what the mysterious place looked like. The stone walls were full of plankton. She imagined they must have felt quite slimy. The floor itself was quite clean, only having a small patch of moss close to the entrance and a few small rocks in the left corner. If she had been younger, she would have thought it to be a mermaid's nest.

She amused the idea by imagining how the creature would sleep on the floor and laugh at her visiting fish friends' jokes.

She would love to be a mermaid. She had never understood why Ariel had wanted to leave Atlantis and live in the human world. Everything was so much more complicated here than in the fictional underwater kingdom. If she had been Ariel, she would have never even been interested in humans. They were boring creatures that slept, ate, went to work, and repeated everything again the next day. How had she survived as a human? How had she not died of boredom?

The girl's brown hair floated around her as time went by. It ticked slowly, making her convinced it was torturing her. How was she supposed to stay here in the cave for multiple hours? She was already bored to death. All of the fish were too scared of her to come close to the cave, and she had nothing else to do but be alone with her own thoughts.

Her throat started to blaze harder. She had not fed for a day now and desperately needed some blood. Only the thought of it made her venom gather in her mouth. Its thick but sweet taste was starting to become a little too familiar to her.

Bree decided that she couldn't spend her time in the cave anymore. She needed to get out. She had lost her sense of time in the cave, having no idea what time it was. It felt like she was sitting in a limbo, waiting until it was her time to run again.

Her legs pushed her light body out of the dark, stony hole. She made sure to control her strength so she would not accidentally push herself too far from the cave's entrance. She wanted to stay close to it in case she had to hide.

Her eyes widened as she spotted a trout. It swam casually in the water, not seeming to care about the vampire looking at it. A bunch of small bubbles came from the girl's mouth as she accidentally opened it out of surprise.

She could see a red substance hovering around the sea creature. Was the trout hurt? Did it not care about her because of that, or was the lake telling her to drink from the fish? Her crimson eyes narrowed. Should she taste it? The creature's blood's smell was not as appealing as humans. It smelled more like a rotten egg.

Fire ignited in her throat. It wouldn't be the end of the world if she were to taste the fish, right? She prepared herself to attack the fish and sprung towards it. Her hands took the slithery fish between them, her teeth sinking into it hungrily.

She almost gagged as the blood flooded into her mouth. The taste was absolutely disgusting. She had never tasted anything so bad before.

Her mouth withdrew from her prey. She closed her eyes, trying to forget the horrible, rotten taste of the fish. It lingered in her tongue, refusing to leave.

The young teen threw the dead sea creature away, letting it sink to the bottom of the lake. She heard a soft thump as it hit the sand-filled floor. She was glad the trout was now gone from her sight. She never wanted to see it again. The taste had truly traumatised her. She hoped no poor soul would have to eat it. How did humans enjoy its meat? She bet it tasted similar to its blood—rotten and disgusting.

Her appetite was gone. The fish had caused the fire in her throat to shrink. It had surprised her. She had not expected the bad-tasting trout to destroy her hunger so unexpectedly. She didn't know how long it would keep it away before her appetite would come rushing back, demanding to get more blood. She just needed to hope it would keep it away a bit longer so she could concentrate on her plan.

The thunderstorm had stopped, leaving the dark lake's surface serene. It was like the storm had never even existed and had been just a hallucination, a trick of the mind.

Bree's body froze as she heard someone speak on the shore. She had come to investigate whether it would be safe for her to leave the lake or not. The latter seemed to turn out to be the case.

"Bree bee, come here. I have some blood- some yummy human blood," a booming, luring voice called. It belonged to a male. She was sure it was the hulking-looking boy. "Bree bee."

A sound of heels started echoing on the shore. They became louder and quicker until they stopped.

"What in the name of God are you doing, Emmett?!" a completely new feminine voice asked. It sounded pissed. The girl did not remember hearing it before. It has to have belonged either to the human or to the angel, like a vampire she saw in the clearing.

"I'm fishing her, Rose! Can't men fish in peace anymore?"

"No."

"C'mon babe. You need to calm down. The newborn will eventually go crazy from her thirst and come back up! It should be easy to catch her by then," the hulk-like boy reasoned. He sounded convinced by his own thought process, leaving the young teen beneath the water's surface feeling anxious. It gripped her stomach, worsening the more she thought about the boy's words. Would she lose herself to the bloodlust soon?

"I know. I'm just on the edge because of the Volturi. They will blame us if the newborn draws the attention of humans. She already killed an innocent man. Who knows who she will sink her teeth into next? We need to catch her for the sake of our family's safety," the feminine voice sighed. It sounded tired. "I'm worried that you will get hurt."

The hulk-like vampire's voice softened. "I won't, I promise. We will catch the girl and finally end all of this."

"And maybe we can also have some alone time after. Just us and the trees," the voice continued more cheekily.

"I would love that," the feminine voice answered passionately.

Bree heard multiple clicks. They sounded like two plates rubbing against each other. The noises made her withdraw back towards her cave. She felt like she was imposing herself on a situation that was not meant to be heard by anyone else except the two vampires on the lake's shore.

She swam silently through the water, only to stop after fifteen metres. She heard an odd sound. It sounded like something was breaking. Something stoney. Like a rock or a cave. A cave? Her eyes widened as she tilted her head. Was something in her cave? She didn't know if she should go find out what it was. The sound repeated itself, this time more loudly. It made her perk up. Her curiosity getting too unbearable, she started heading closer to the sound.

The water around her radiated with tension as she moved closer to the peculiar sound. It turned louder the closer she came, making her anxiety rise like a balloon. Her limbs became more shaky, slowing her down. They weighted her, trying to warn her about the direction she was going. It was not a smart choice to follow the sound; the girl knew that but wanted to still find out what it was. Her curiosity was too strong, lingering inside of her, waiting for her to sate her thirst.

The teen arrived at her destination. It had turned quiet. Not even a single sound could be heard from the location. It was like everything would have stopped moving. Her eyes scanned the spot, trying to figure out what had happened. She could not see any noteworthy reasons why.

Fear filled her. She was sure there had to be a reason for the sound. It couldn't have appeared out of nowhere. Or could it? Could a real mermaid live in the cave, eat, and sleep there? It could have found out that someone had intruded on its home and was now angry, looking for revenge, and desiring to kill its vampire visitor. Mermaids were ruthless creatures in some cultures' legends. What if this was the case in real life too? The legends always came from somewhere. Shudders went down her body. She didn't want to get eaten by a mermaid. She had survived too long to be a lunch for sushi. Resolution came to her mind. If the mermaid attacked her, she could drain it in return. She should still be faster than it, even when under water.

Hands locked her from behind, startling the young girl. Her mouth opened, flooding it with lake water. She had tried to scream but failed miserably, leaving her to feel dumb.

Bree's head swung towards her attacker. The creature's grip tightened as she tried to push herself out of its arms. She was convinced it was the mermaid. She could almost feel its wet tail behind her.

To her dismay, her crimson eyes met golden ones. It was the leader of the yellow eyes. He looked displeased at her, unsettling her with his face. The man's blond hair flowed at ease around him, seeming content in its position. His expression was firm as his eyes stared calmly at her.

He started to swim upward. The water let him carry her easily through the silky caressing material until they reached the surface. Their heads broke the tranquil water as they came into contact with air.

The girl trashed in his strong arms, trying to bite him in panic. She was glad she was not a human because if she had been, she would have fainted from the strong emotion. It shredded her piece by piece, making her unsure if she would survive the sheer power of it. She had never felt such a strong, gut-wrenching feeling in her whole vampire existence. Her body shook like a leaf. She had to break free from the amber-eyed leader's grasp, or else she would die.

New hands stopped her before her teeth were able to strike into the man's pale skin. "Bree! You need to calm down!"

She turned towards her new raven-haired attacker, attempting to hiss, but instead a bunch of water ended up coming from her lungs. It spilled back to the lake where it belonged, happy to be released from the prison inside of her.

"Let's get her on the shore," the blond man said. "Alice, Jasper, can you help me with her?" He tightened his hold on the teen, increasing her trashes.

"Let go of me," Bree growled. Her head pumped hard against the vampire behind her, creating a thump. It echoed in the lake as the water carried it further. Her gaze was full of terror.

"Carlisle, if it's not going to calm down, I will shred it to pieces and carry the pieces to our house," the southern-accented boy hissed. He appeared next to the pixie-looking vampire.

"Jasper Whitlock! What did we talk about tearing our sister apart? You are not doing it, and that's final," the short-haired girl exclaimed. She stared dismayingly at the scary boy next to her.

He raised his eyebrows. "I'm just telling the most easiest way to move her." He stated nonchalantly.

"Son, we are only hurting her if it's absolutely necessary. I'm sure we will find a better way to get her to cooperate with us," the leader scolded his coven member.

Bree was astounded. She had not expected the older-looking blond to call the boy his son. She stopped to ponder why, on earth, he would say so. They were just a coven, not a family. Only humans had the latter. It was not possible for vampires to form families. They were too violent to develop relationships like that. Her old coven had basically ripped itself apart, and there wouldn't even have been a chance for them to call each other family. Everyone had stood up only for themselves, and those who had not were usually dead in a matter of hours.

"With due respect, Carlisle, your way does not seem to be working very well," the southern-accented vampire said. "Maybe it's time to consider mine before our time runs out."

The leader sighed, looking suddenly tired. "It will work. You need to have faith, Jasper."

Bree started getting frustrated. The vampires were talking about her, like she wasn't right next to them. They had to know she was able to hear everything they were saying. The situation maddened her, pushing a growl from deep within her lungs. It trembled her body, shaking it vigorously.

Her growl made all three sets of eyes redirect back towards her, their varying reactions flashing in their irises. The raven-haired girl looked at her quietly. She didn't seem fazed by her sudden, animalistic sound. It almost seemed like she had expected it. The scarred boy next to her showed his teeth warningly at her, telling her that he was not going to hesitate to hurt her if she were to do anything brash. It made the girl hunch harder against her capturer, the leader of the coven.

He watched her curiously, with a hint of pity playing in his eyes. "Let's get you back to the shore."

"No," Bree protested. She tried hitting the man with her free elbow.

"Stop resisting. This is your last warning," the southern boy warned as he stopped her hand from colliding with the man behind her.

The wind picked up, throwing their wet hairs around like a baseball. The three vampires dragged her along, leaving the teen no other chance than to obey their wishes. She felt like a ragdoll. Regardless, she tried to figure out ways to get out of their grip. Maybe if she could-.

"It's not going to work. You are just going to waste your time." The raven-haired girl chimed as they swam. Her gaze turned towards Bree meaningfully. "You won't be able to escape from us again."

Terror flared in the newborn. This was it. She was going to die. Her life had finally come to its end. She hoped Diego would welcome her wherever she went in the afterlife. Perhaps she could see her mother again, hug her, and tell her how she wished she could have grown up under her care instead of her father's. There was also the possibility of her just stopping to exist. It was also a plausible theory of what might happen after death. A tad bit scarier, but logical. Everything would simply stop, like she would have never even been conscious in the first place.

She felt herself calm down. Whichever option the humans believed was true, she would be fine. None of them seemed bad except the rebirth. She didn't want to wake up as a worm. Her panic hopped back into her. She definitely didn't want to be the unsettling creature.

"Alice, go get Esme, Emmett, and Rose. We will need their help holding Bree down," the southern vampire instructed. His voice woke the young girl from her abyss. She looked frantically at the yellow eyes that had carried her to the small shore. It hardly had any sand and was instead caked in dirt.

The pixie in question nodded and disappeared in a flash.

"Bree, you don't need to be frightened." The leader frowned as she tried yet again to break free. "We only want to help you."

"Let me go," the teenager pleaded. She hoped to change the coven's mind about killing her.

"I'm sorry, but we cannot do that. I understand that you would rather leave, but that would pose a danger to humans and vampires alike." The blond vampire answered back. His arms were steady around her, preventing her from moving.

The wind carried new scents into the air as multiple sounds of footsteps appeared from a distance. They tapped on the ground, nearing the trio's location. The sounds made the already terror-ridden girl more nervous. Even her dark hair tried to escape from her waiting fate as the wind urged it to fly. She needed to say her goodbyes to the earth in her mind. She wanted to thank it for getting to live in it. It had been terrible but, in some ways, a pleasant experience.

"Aww man! You managed to fish the newborn before me?! I was planning on making bait for my fishing rod!" The hulk-like boy's voice boomed loudly as his form appeared from a distance. He stopped in front of Bree, looking crestfallen.

The southern boy raised his eyebrows in answer, rolling his amber eyes. "Good thing that we caught Bree before you then."

"You don't need to be so grumpy. I know you would have wanted to try fishing her! Just admit it, man!"

"I doubt I would have," the scarred vampire said, unimpressed by his coven member's idea.

Bree eyed the two anxiously. She kept her mouth shut, not wanting to divert their attention to her. She was more than happy to stay silent in the leader's arms as long as no one paid attention to her. It wasn't even that bad when she thought about it. She felt oddly safe.

"Hey kid, you would have at least wanted to get fished with a fishing rod, right?" the muscular boy asked. He looked at her with a playful look, undoubtedly trying to make her more relaxed. It did not, however, work. The vampire's words made her feel more on edge. How could he talk so casually to her when his coven was going to kill her?

She growled.

"Wow, feisty!" the boy stated. His dimples popped on his face as he laughed, seeming entertained by her reaction.

"Emmett!" A blond girl hissed. She had appeared along with the pixie and the caramel-haired vampire. They all stood still, looking curiously at Bree.

"I was just trying to lift the serious atmosphere," the boy defended himself. His pale palms flew to the air in defeat as he tried smiling at the blond.

The girl didn't look particularly happy. She opened her mouth in dismay. "Leave Bree alone. She is clearly scared, and you are certainly not helping her mood."

Bree looked at the two vampires. Her eyes jumped tensely between their faces, trying to figure out why the other one would have bothered to defend her. An uncomfortable burn flooded her as she felt her throat remind her of its existence. It roared inside of her, demanding something to satisfy its never-ending thirst. Her hand hit her throat, trying to squish the fire away. It was unsuccessful, only inviting a whimper out of it.

"Perhaps we should go hunting before going back to the house," the leader suggested. It caused the young teen's body to feel calmer. She would get to drink from a human before dying. She was grateful for the opportunity to quench her thirst for the last time.

A/N: I forgot to mention in the first author's note that this story can also be found in Ao3. It's further along there (only by five chapters though), so I will be posting here every other day until this site catches up with the story on Ao3. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!