chapter 4 the white demon

Slowly but surely, the days passed on into weeks, which passed on into months. Soon, Bella had survived the first two months of her new school. For the most part, it passed gradually, without much event or excitement. Soon, Bella had formed a routine. Wake up just as Charlie left for his duties, wish him a good day, and head off to school, which would pass without effort, and then come home again, do her homework and eat dinner. Edythe seemed to still be content with not speaking to her, as did she. The initial awkwardness of the silence slowly faded as her routine became solid. Not only that, but Edythe would have days where she wouldn't even show up to school. Again, this became less and less strange as the days went on. During the school hours, she came to know the group a bit better, though she never quite felt as one of them. Even so, she enjoyed listening to their back and forth conversations and bickering. Every once and a while, she would be invited to join them on the weekends. They did everything from shopping at Port Angeles to having bon fires at the beach. Once or twice, Mike or Tyler brought along a small bag of marijuana, and though she never joined in, she didn't try to appose their use of it. She just hoped Charlie never found out. He never did, much to her relief. When she wasn't out with the group, she and Julie spent their weekends together, the girl finally gaining her permit. Bella still felt a bit uneasy at the prospect of her driving her, however. Even so, she had yet to get in an accident. She and Carrie spoke every night, as they had agreed to do before she left. She called her, or she her. Either way, they spoke to one another as much as they could at night. Though towards the later part of the two months, Carrie seemed to have less and less time for it. Though she still made an effort for her. Something she was overjoyed with. Bella also made time to call her mother, but she didn't want to bother her too much, as she heard the happiness in her voice each time she called.

Tuesday was predicted to be the last day before the winter snow fall. Bella had never visited Forks in the winter time – whenever she and Charlie had their Christmases together, he would always come down to Phoenix. Bella was interested as to just what the snow would be like. Though at the same time, she was a bit worried that her clothes wouldn't be warm enough. Snow clothes weren't exactly the best seller for Arizona. That afternoon, Charlie had come home early, though still kept his radio on at home, just in case. That evening foreshadowed an easy end of the day, if not somewhat boring. Bella felt the need to stretch her legs. It was still daylight out when she announced she'd be going for a walk. Charlie looked up from the television.

"Alright," he said, "but don't stay out too late."

"Sure." After placing a kiss to the top of his head, Bella pulled on a jacket and stepped outside, heading into the woods. The smell of pine and the sound of the evening bird filled her senses. As she went up the green filled trail, she let the wind play with the ends of her pony tail, giving her icy kisses on her face and neck. She walked slowly, letting the atmosphere of the forest engulf her. It reminded her of one of her favorite books, Snow Falling on Cedars – coincidently, it also took place in Washington. Or at least near it. Thinking about the novel, she had a craving for strawberries. She smiled to herself and leaned against the green tinted tree, moss tickling the back of her neck. The entire forest seemed to watch her much like when she and Julie visited James Island. Though the forest had a much less menacing feeling to it. When she was young, visiting her father during the summer, the forest would be her favorite place to be. She loved crawling through hallow logs and playing near the rocky shore of the creeks that ran through the woods. She had always been allured by large, quiet areas of land. One of the reason she adored the deserts in Arizona. It was large enough to be its own creature, alive with so much beauty and life. The forest had that same entity, just in a different manor. She slipped down to sit at the base of the large tree, her hand resting on the soft moss that iced it over. Her head rested back against the firm bark, sighing through her nose. She began to let her mind wander. Where it went, she didn't mind. It traveled from one place to the other, thinking about memories, about school, about Carrie and Julie and her new friends... about Charlie and Renee... about Phoenix... about Forks... about Edythe...

Before she knew it, she had drifted off to sleep.

When she woke up, it was dusk, the sun nearly set behind the large mountain. She looked down at her phone to see two things: One, that it was nearing eight o'clock, and two, that Charlie had called a couple of times. She called him back, getting to her feet. He answered, seeming slightly relieved that she called.

"Sorry," she explained. "I fell asleep... I'm heading home now."

"Good," he said on the other line. "It's meatloaf for dinner. So hurry before it gets cold."

"Right. I'll see you in a bit, Dad." After hanging up, she rubbed her eyes and started to walk the way she came. Unfortunately, despite how well she actually knew the forest, the set sun caused the vibrant woods to grow dark, much like the first night she was there. She tried to get her eyes used to the night, keeping her hands in front of her slightly, lest she run into a tree. However, the more she walked, the more used to the dark her eyes became. It was a shame that her improved vision still didn't make up for the fact that she couldn't quite remember where she was. She nibbled on her lip. Did she take a left turn at the fallen tree... or a right? She tried going left, when she realized that she didn't pass a large boulder on her way there, and so she turned around and headed the other way – only to realize that all it did was take her to a stream. Perhaps she didn't turn at all? She went back to the log and huffed, trying to remember where to go. That's when she heard a faint rustling beside her.

Turning, her eyes fell upon a figure that moved into the moonlight. She stayed where she was, smiling. A delicate doe had just made its way into a small clearing, just twenty feet from her. She considered taking a picture with her phone, but realized that with the dark, it would be impossible to see. So instead, she just stood there, watching fondly as the animal fed off of a small fern, its large ears flickering now and again. Suddenly, it lifted its head up and looked to her, ears pointed in her direction. She stayed where she was, not wanting to scare it away. It was such a beautiful thing, looking almost ghost like in the thick haze of the moon. Slowly, she held out a hand, even though the thing was a good ways away from her. It just stood there, staring at her with its huge, brown orbs of eyes. She put her hand back down when the doe finally tore its gaze from her. It turned and started heading out of the clearing. Bella figured this would be a good time to do the same.

That is, until she saw something so disturbing, she could not look away.

Just as she was about to turn and head home, something collided with the creature, dragging it to the ground. Bella watched in horror as the thing made terrible slurping noises, a beast like growling emanating from it. At first, Bella had no clue what it was. In the moonlight, its skin illuminated almost a pure white, reflecting the silver mist above. As she watched whatever it was, shots of red flew from where the doe's neck would be, raining down beside the two figures. Bella felt nauseous as the stench of blood came to her senses. Finally, the horrid sounds ended, as well as the projectile blood. That's when the attacker stood up straight, its back to Bella's eyes.

Bella realized that this killer was in fact a person. A girl, to be specific. She had brown, almost auburn hair that was long and wavey atop her head. Her body was lean and slender, some of her bones obvious through her skin. She was also naked. Bella didn't know what to do or think. But after a moment or two, she slowly began to back away. And as her luck would have it, the moment she moved backwards, a twig snapped beneath her heal. Her breath caught in her throat, and she covered her mouth with both hands. However, there was no use trying to save herself. That one, faint snap had caused the girl to perk up, turning her head slightly in her direction. She trembled in fear, as slowly, the girl turned her head. There, glaring at her, stood Edythe Cullen.

Shimmering crimson stained her lips, dribbling down her front. Her eyes, which at first had been dark and faded away, were now a bright, almost neon gold color, burning into her own chocolate irises. Her lips were parted, revealing white fangs, now stained with pink. She could hear her breath. It growled, much like her voice usually did, rattling as her chest moved up and down. Her face warped into a leer, her features contorting horribly. She hissed, her teeth even more noticeable now. Without a second thought, Bella turn and started running.

She didn't know where she was going, but she didn't care. She ran as fast as she could, her legs burning and her heart pounding in her ears. She needed to get away. She had to get away. Back home, where she would be safe. Back to her father, who would protect her. Back home, where she could lock her door and window. Over her eyes, the vision of the deer being pounced upon ran over and over her eyes, like a looped piece of film. Would she be her next victim? She ran even harder, trying to get her voice to call out for help. But it didn't want to work at the moment. Suddenly, she came to a halt.

In a flash too quick for her to comprehend, Edythe moved in front of her, her eyes burning brightly. Blood still caked her face, strings and splatter marks on her otherwise pure white chest. Bella backed up hurriedly, her back hitting a tree. She whimpered, clutching her arms close to her. She couldn't look away. Edythe inched forward, her eyes absolutely livid. Bella trembled horribly, thoughts of her death flying through her mind. She would be killed. She knew she would be killed. She saw her. She'd have no choice but to kill her. How she was able to stay standing was a complete mystery. She saw her hand raise. Shutting her eyes tightly, she expected to feel that hand on her throat or arm. But instead, it slammed right beside her head. Bella could feel splinters brushing past her cheek. Slowly, her eyes opened. Edythe's fuming face was mere inches away from her.

"If you tell anyone about this..." she said, her voice barely a whisper, "...you will die in a very, very tragic accident. Do I make myself clear?"

Bella stared at her, her mouth opening and closing like a fish's. Her voice currently was not working. So instead, her head bobbed up and down slowly, almost as though someone was pulling it by a string. Edythe gave one last sneer before pulling away. Turning, she raced out of the forest, gone by the time one milla-second had passed. Bella's legs finally gave out below her, and she fell to her knees, shaking uncontrollably. Her hands grabbed her own arms tightly, her uneasy breath steam in the cold air. As she stared off into the distance, the first, feather like flakes of snow began to fall.