NEAR MISS
Though I waited until the last minute to leave, my speed was such that the sun was still shining merrily as I neared Port Angeles. With the sun remaining so high over the horizon, it was too bright for me to join the women in town. As much as I would like to drive directly to the department store the girls intended to go to, it was too much of a risk. I couldn't be seen until the sun was fully down.
Alice had been sure the three of them would go to the store first, stay for a while, and then go straight to dinner. Considering there weren't very many places they could wander off to, I wasn't terribly worried about finding them when the time came. I still needed to figure out how to explain my presence in Port Angeles, should I decide to show my face. Maybe I could buy a gift for Alice and pretend that had been my plan all along.
To eliminate the possibility of exposure, I stopped on the outskirts of town to wait out the sunset. There was a handy, disused, gravely turnabout just north of the 101, next to a small, family-owned winery. It made me antsy to be so close, yet unable to see or hear the women in question.
There isn't much trouble to be found here, I reminded myself, though it didn't soothe the anxiety. I turned up my music and thumped the beat on the steering wheel.
At nearly six o'clock the sun finally began its descent to the southwest. It wouldn't be long now until it was properly dark. Through a gap in the trees ahead, I could see dark clouds building, slowly drifting their way ever eastward. They would be over Port Angeles soon, hastening the sunset. I wished they would get a move-on. The sooner I could park the car near 1st Street, the better.
The song switched to a fast-paced psychobilly cover of an 80's favorite. The frantic bass and wailing guitars made me feel more anxious so I skipped ahead until I found a calmer selection by Carl Perkins and sang along.
My thumbs thumped the steering wheel in time with "Gone, gone, gone," creating a soft, hollow noise. I peered at the clouds again and checked the clock. 5:50 pm.
Tomorrow I would be able to return to class and this dreadful waiting would be over. I would ask her to join me for lunch, then bombard her with the hundreds of questions that had been floating around in my skull - especially since that conversation with Peter and Charlotte. There may even be a chance to find out if she'd come up with any more theories about my family.
I didn't want to wait that long. I wanted to see her tonight, though faking a casual run-in might be awkward. Perhaps I should call Alice and invite her to join me for a meal in the same restaurant. It would be fully dark by then, so no glowing vampire problems. Alice and I could pretend to just happen to be in the same place at the same time. I reached for my phone, and even opened the speed dial to call, but then remembered Alice would want to talk to La. The likelihood of Alice enthusiastically describing my obsession with La to the woman herself was almost guaranteed. I cringed imagining it.
"What do you mean you didn't know my brother was watching you sleep?" Ugh.
My phone rang in my hand before I had a chance to replace it in the dock. It was Alice. I hit the green accept circle on the car display and waited for the tell-tale click that signified the connection had gone through.
"No way, Munch-"
"Where is La?!" Alice cut me off frantically.
"What?" I asked stupidly. "What do you mean? She's with-"
"Something has changed."
Without a second thought, I tore out of the gravel turnabout. Tiny rocks banged against the undercarriage as I swerved backward and forwards coming out of a tight turn that pointed me back towards town. I mowed through intersections, plowed through stop signs, and ran several red lights in my haste to get closer.
"What have you seen?" I asked tightly.
"A dark street, she's alone, and extremely nervous."
"Where?" I took a sharp left turn that put me on Lauridsen Boulevard. Cars crawled along at the aggravating pace of careful human drivers. I had to slow down to navigate the congestion and cursed fluently under my breath. The street was otherwise quiet. Few people walked the long sidewalks on either side of the road, but I cracked my window, hoping to catch a glimpse of her scent that I could follow. Some kind of clue to her whereabouts.
"I don't know, I can't see anything I recognize. It looks run down, and sort of industrial. She's walking next to a chain link fence."
I cursed again and hung up on Alice so I could concentrate. The sun was glinting off of my hands where they clenched the steering wheel. Hopefully, anyone who looked over would think it was a glare off my windshield. It wouldn't be too much longer before I could get out and search on foot, but those few extra moments might mean I was too late.
Too late for what, though? I didn't want to think about it.
Of course she went off on her own. How did I not expect something like this? La was a strong-willed, independent person on a trip with a girl she barely tolerated. Of course she took a break when she needed one! She probably hadn't thought twice about it, especially in a dumpy little town like this one. The idea of possible danger probably hadn't even occurred to her.
Thankfully, I was very familiar with most of the streets in and around Port Angeles. Alice had said La seemed to be in an industrial zone, which meant she would have to be on the southwest side of town. I drove through it slowly, alert for any sign that might point in the right direction.
Eventually, I reached 1st Street and knew I had gone too far. At a stoplight waiting to turn back south, I overheard La's name in a familiar voice.
"Do you think La will be looking for us, though?"
It was Angela Webber. She and Jessica Stanley were standing on the corner at Front St and Lincoln, laden with their bags of shopping.
"She'll be fine," Jessica huffed impatiently. "We'll get to the restaurant in plenty of time, even if we go back. Besides, I think she wanted to be alone in that bookstore."
She sounded exasperated with her friend. Not even remotely worried that La might have disappeared. I would remember her disregard later. What an awful friend, but at least this gave me a hint. There were only two bookstores close by and one of them was more of a new-age shop. La would have no interest in that, so I would go straight to the other one.
The light finally turned green allowing me to tear off in the direction of the bookstore. It was located along the friendly face of the welcoming port town close to where the two friends had been standing. Even if she'd walked down here, she should have been safe. There was no reason for her to have ended up in the industrial zone from here.
As I drove I judged the angle of the sun against the buildings. The clouds were closing in fast, and the sun was rapidly sinking, and the remaining light was becoming watery and dim. If I stuck to the shadows along the western side of the street, I might be able to sneak down the block on foot.
When I arrived the shadows had lengthened enough for me to get out of the car. As soon as I approached the store, however, I discovered La had definitely not been on this part of the block. There was no trace of her scent anywhere on the sidewalk and nothing near the bookstore. Jessica must have meant the head shop, though why La would go there was beyond me.
The mystic store was only a couple of blocks away from the waterfront. The street had very few tall buildings and was still bathed in sunshine, so I parked as close to the store as possible. If I was careful and quick I might be able to get close enough to determine if La had been there.
This was immensely dangerous. I could catch the reflection off a car, or - as unlikely as it was - stumble into the sunlight and someone could see me.
Wait, what? Vampires don't fucking stumble. Fuck it. I didn't know how else to look, and this was my best lead. I got out of the car, shoving my hands in my jacket and stepped carefully into the building shadows, and jogged toward the storefront.
I caught just a wisp of La's scent from the door. She must have touched the handle, maybe even gone inside. On first glimpse, the store was empty, but on second look a tiny woman with multitudes of flyaway gray hair was behind the counter. She looked at me hopefully as I opened the door, but there was no trace of La's scent inside so I flitted back through the narrow shadows along the sidewalk to the safety of the car.
The clouds were starting to obscure the sun. Flashes of alternating shadow and sunlight slid across the windshield as I drove back and forth through the streets. I had the window rolled down just a little further, hoping to hear or smell something. As the minutes rolled by with no luck I became more and more frantic. I stopped several more times but only caught her scent once more - further south than she had any right to be. The urgency of Alice's vision was crashing through me. Somewhere close by, La was lost, alone, and scared.
I felt so powerless, locked in my car, unable to get out and look properly with my heightened senses.
When I didn't find anything south, I drove back to the restaurant, hoping she may have found her way back, though I doubted it. She wasn't there and didn't seem to be on any of the routes there from south Port Angeles. I drove even further south and a little west, toward the lumber yards hoping beyond hope for any sign.
The clouds had finally done their job by completely obscuring the sun as I approached the industrial complexes. I was looking for a place to park and leave the GTI when the display lit up with Alice's face again.
"I've got a road!" She said without preamble. "Angel Industrial Boulevard. She's going to pass it in less than a minute, and she's not alone."
"What do you mean?" I growled.
"I mean there are four men, and if you don't get there in time, Emmett…" Alice's voice broke at the end.
"I'll get there," I muttered darkly then hit the gas, pulled the e-brake, and turned the wheel sharply to the left. I knew where Angel Industrial was. If La was down there, it was the perfect opportunity for predators. It was a long road of old receiving warehouses and factories with plenty of dilapidated driveways and dark corners to hide in. Since it was devoid of through traffic there would be no one to hear any screams.
Alice didn't have to say what would happen if I didn't get there in time. I was well aware of what four predatory men would do with one lone woman on a dark road given the chance. I'd known many men of their ilk over the years. I could only hope Alice had gotten a good glimpse of their faces in her vision and was already looking for them.
Fairmont Avenue approached on my left. I only slowed enough to take the 90-degree turn without flipping. I did the same along the next street, panic lending weight to my foot on the gas pedal. Again I slowed only enough to take the turn, my back wheels spun out behind me, and the clutch burned as I forced the shifter into third at sixty miles per hour.
Something was wrong.
There was no one here. No one standing on this street, and no one at the intersection of the next.
The street forced a right turn only a block ahead. To the left was a driveway that led nowhere. I squealed around the corner to the right. My headlights flashed over five people almost frozen in pantomime.
Relief flooded me for less than a fraction of an instant. La was there, and she was alright, but not for long. The four men had her surrounded. They were using their larger bodies to block any hope for escape.
All of them were laughing viciously. One of the men, standing closer than the other three, was already taking a step forward, shirt untucked. He kept gripping his hands in and out of fists with anticipation. This looked like a practiced game to him.
La stood between them, the strap of her purse was wrapped around her hand twice, and clenched in a tight fist. Rather than cower, or try to run, she seemed to be crouched into a fighting position. Her lips were drawn over her teeth in a ferocious hiss.
For a moment I forgot she was still human. In that frozen second, I believed she could take all four of these bags of shit on herself. She showed no fear. I saw her strong and unbreakable with transition - no help required or wanted.
The image dissipated as the lead attacker took another step forward. While he seemed to be taken aback by her lack of fear, he was also eager to receive his perceived reward. There was only a little hesitation in his step, as if he was wondering whether she would be worth the fight he was about to have, but not concerned enough to stop. Lucky for everyone, he wasn't about to find out.
At the sound of my car La jumped into the road. I slammed down on the break and the clutch at the same time, and pulled the e-brake which forced the car into a spin that stopped right beside her. One of the henchmen dove out of the way in a panic.
I pulled the handle on the passenger door, pushed it open, and growled, "Get in."
The leader covered his eyes from the glare of my headlights and reached out a hand as if he would grab her before she could flee, but La didn't hesitate before leaping into the car and slamming the door shut behind her.
Men like this one were exactly the type I spent my days hunting during the fifties and sixties. Some of the things Edward and I saw elicited such a rage in us that the men did not die peacefully. I imagined some of the tortures we were made privy to, searching for the worst of them, imagining the best ways to exact revenge.
This man would never hurt another woman again. He would suffer. I would watch him writhe in agony, drink in his cries for mercy, and let him beg for a death that would not come. He would know the true meaning of fear and regret, and just before he had the opportunity to come to terms with his impending death, I would kill him so he would die without knowing the peace he craved.
It would have to wait, though. As soon as La was in the car I knew I couldn't ask her to sit there and watch as I beat a man within an inch of his life then stuffed him in the trunk for future torture.
What would I tell her? No, you need to wait here while I nearly kill this thing then pack him away for a midnight snack. No, don't get out of the car, and don't worry about it! I promise to not kill you, too.
Somehow, I didn't think that would make a bad situation any better.
I was also fairly certain asking her to wait in the car while I dragged the men around the corner out of sight to gleefully commit murder wouldn't work either. The idea that she would listen to my advice and stay away was laughable. Besides, I didn't want to leave her alone out here, anyway. While it was unlikely there was another shitbag wandering the desolate streets of Port Angeles tonight, it had been unlikely there was even one to begin with. I wasn't taking any chances. Not with La's bloody luck. She would probably find a clutch of the assholes, like falling into a nest of vipers.
Worst yet, it probably wasn't even a good idea for me to run him over. That would likely scare her as much as anything else. I would have to come back for him later.
All of this shot through my mind in less than a second. La wouldn't notice the pause as I hammered my foot down on the gas and took off toward the abandoned driveway I had been waiting in earlier.
It wasn't my greatest idea, but I couldn't resist clipping the leader in the hip on my way out.
The three other men scattered in different directions. One of them flew over the chain link fence on the other side of the road in his haste to be away. The leader was rolling around on the pavement behind us. I hoped I broke his hip. It would be easier to find him when the time came.
If Alice was watching as closely as I thought she might be, and Edward was anywhere near her, he may have seen his face, too. Hopefully, the two of them working together would get me a name I could use to find this guy. In fact, it might be best for me to drop La off with her friends, then circle back and take him out before he had a chance to get away.
This feeling of craving death was something I had put behind me in the sixties. I hadn't felt this need to kill someone since Edward and I returned home. This time, though, as soon as La was safe, I would give in.
La pulled the seatbelt over her shoulder and drove it home securely. The latch made a tiny click that pulled me away from vengeance planning. Images of dancing in bloodshed vanished. I had to be here for La, she was probably suffering from trauma and in shock. I couldn't leave her with that horrible hyena of a woman called Jessica and take off into the night. Not while she needed me.
"Are you okay?" She asked hesitantly into the quiet. The question startled me.
"Am I okay?" You've got to be fucking kidding me. When I looked over at her I realized she had been watching me as I sat there festering in rage. She didn't seem troubled by any of the things that had happened, not the near assault, or the angry getaway driver.
"Yeah, you look…" She let the sentence trail off, but she didn't need to finish it. I could well imagine how I looked. La, on the other hand, seemed perfectly fine. Her brow was slightly pinched, but it was clear the worry was for me, not for herself.
I took her question seriously and thought about my answer before speaking. Was I okay?
No, I'm not. Not even a little bit. I was shaken to my core. Not only had I nearly failed to protect her, but I'd taken off in such a rage that I had injured another human in front of her, then driven like an absolute madman - putting her in danger myself, and gotten so wrapped up in my own feelings that I didn't even bother to check on her. Tonight had been a massive fail so far.
Instead of answering immediately, I pulled into the drive I had used earlier and parked. When we were safely stopped I turned toward her so I could better see for myself she was unharmed.
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah," it sounded like an automatic response. She shuddered a little and her gaze withdrew. I waited silently for her to take brief stock of how she was feeling, as I had, before finishing her answer. "I mean, I am now."
Now that she was away from those men, she meant. I watched her face as she continued to evaluate herself. She looked like she wanted to both cry and scream at the same time. It almost looked like she could use a hug. I would have scooped her up into my lap right then if I thought she would let me but didn't think she would appreciate a cuddle from an ice-cold giant.
"They didn't get a chance to hurt you then?" I clarified.
La shook her head adamantly and shuddered again. "Thanks to your timely arrival. How did you find me?"
Shit. She would go directly for the question I had no interest in answering. Because why wouldn't that be the first thing she wanted to know? I had to deflect, but I wasn't ready with a backup story, and there was no reason I could think of that I would be on that out-of-the-way road unless I was looking for her.
"Let's go find Angela and Jessica," I suggested instead. "They'll be worried." At least Angela would be. I had my doubts about Jessica.
The ride was mostly silent due to my thunderous mood. La seemed perfectly content to let the silence continue. She leaned back in her seat and gazed out the window as we flew past the industrial zone where she had been attacked.
I glanced down the road in question as we passed it but La's attackers seemed to have moved on. Everything in me wanted to stop the car and chase them down before they had the chance to get away, but the only thing in the world I wanted more than one highly justifiable murder, was to be good enough for the woman seated beside me.
"What's wrong?" The whispered words caught me by surprise, again. I should be used to this by now; La never did what I expected.
Being so near, in an enclosed metal cage, made it impossible to get away from her scent. Her words puffed little shots of adrenaline through my body. My mouth flooded with venom like a human's mouth will water at the prospect of a tasty meal.
Coffee, coconuts, wood, and spices. Even if I were human I would love the way she smelled.
I glanced over and found her waiting for an answer patiently. Where should I begin? I didn't want her to know how hard it was for me to abstain from committing murder, no matter how much the victim deserved it.
On the other hand, I had agreed, even sworn to "rule number two: be honest."