Twilight: One Foot in Front of the Other

Old Acquaintance

                                                                                          Old Acquaintance





For the second night in a roll, Shan woke, but not from any nightmare. Though it was nice not to wake from a nightmare, it still was not a peaceful way to wake. Something had wakened her. She lay very still trying to figure out what. She could hear the family in the living room. They were laughing and having a nice time. The cool breeze coming in the open window felt good. It smelled of fresh rain. Even the sounds of night were calm. Nevertheless, something had woke her. She contracted on keeping her breathing steady as if she were still sleeping. Yes, there in the corner, someone was using the shadows to hide. Shan was on her feet.


“Relax,  little rat,” she hissed


“What do you want,” asked Shan cautiously


“Just have something to give you.” Her voice harsh and crackling


“Are you okay?” asks Shan remembering how lovely her voice had once sounded


“Do you want it or not,” she hissed


“Why don’t you come out of the Shadows?” Shan was curious, it was not like this cold blood to lurk around in dark shadows. She gasped as the woman stepped out in to the moon light. Where there was once beauty, now was.. “Scares on a vampire?” thought Shan “what happened to you?” whispered Shan


“Do you want it or not” she hissed again in her raspy voice


“I guess, what it is?” asked Shan


“This” smiled Trish reaching out her hand and lunging at Shan


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“Does she have these dreams every night,” Asked Carlisle hearing Shan’s heart suddenly racing


“Every night.” spat Emmet “and she won’t sleep any more tonight.”


“Some are worst than others,” chimed in Kate


“Carlisle are you sure that there is nothing you can do to help her sleep,” Sighed Carmen getting up to go to Shandalynn’s room, “She cannot keep going this way."


“Shandalynn!” growled Eleazar heading for the front door as he heard the sound of her truck come to life.


“Where is she going?” asked Carlisle close on his heels


“She is running because of that dam dream,” hissed Eleazar dialing his phone


“Give me some air,” pleaded Shan on the other end “you said as long as I answered” her voice soft.   


“Come home, talk to us” Eleazar was trying so hard to be soft but not succeeding as the line went dead


“She’ll come back when she calms down” reassured Carlisle laying his hand on his friends shoulder


“And when will that be, today, tomorrow, next week” growled Eleazar going back into the house


“Shouldn’t we follow her?” Emmet asked Tanya gritting his teeth


"It won't do you any good, even if she doesn’t lose you. She won’t talk when she is in one of her moods…” trailed off Kate as Emmet took off at a dead run


He made it to the road just in time to see her turn and head towards the mountains. Felling the begging of the rain on his face, he cursed and ran after, following the sound of her truck.


Shan floored her truck knowing she had only a very short time to find some place to hide. It wouldn’t take long before the pain would consume her. Before all she would want, is to die. Even so, questions flooded in to her like a raging river “Why, why did you do it Trish, Why?” Trish was strange even for a cold blood. She always had a wild look, mixed in with her beauty.  However, she was far from beautiful now “such old looking scares, why hadn’t they healed?”  Her face now defiantly matched her personality. A personality consumed of hate, it had been her hatred of men that kept her in that cell next to Shan for all those months. She wanted nothing more than to kill Derrick and Ramsey, but in the end, she was forced to except defeat and escape. Ramsey took her escape hard, he was furious, not because he lost her, but because of something, she had taken.  He sent Derrick after her, and almost killed him when he came back empty handed. Shan had always wondered what it was that she took. The pain was beginning to feel like hot irons being thrust into her. She had to hurry!


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“Was it really a cold blood?” Asked Eleazar as he and Carlisle came in the front door


“Yes, I have never seen anything like it before. If you even breathed on her, she crumbled into a fine dust. Until now I thought that the only way to kill us was reaping us apart and burning,” answered Carlisle shaking his head “the Volturi are trying to cover it up, they even burned her remains before leaving”


“Do they know who or what killed her?” asked Esme


“No, they are just as puzzled as I am,” replied Carlisle shaking his head “I had a hard time examining her. I can’t even explain those scares all over her face. They looked to be old”


“Do you know how long she had been dead?” asked Eleazar


“No way to tell.” sighed Carlisle


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“Dam it, where did you go” cursed Emmet. He lost her when the sound of the truck had been drowned out by the rainstorm.  He never had been good at tracking. Even the scent was lost. “You couldn’t have gone far. You were not that far in head of me,” he continued to growl under his breath. He stopped to smell the air for what seemed like the hundredth time, and to listen for her, but still nothing.  It was going on the second day, and dawn was beginning to break. He had already ran into five cold bloods, they all were scared. Something about a cold blood being found dead. Strange for them to be so scared, even stranger if what they had said about her was true. He wished the cell phones worked up here, Carlisle would know what was going on. He had to find her, and fast before someone else did. There were just too many leaving Denali for his liking. Too many that had taken an interest in her.  He knew from watching her and Tanya fight that she could handle herself rather well, but still she seemed to be very hesitant to do so. “Strange her reaction to that bear.” He still wondered why “had it been for Eleazar’s benefit?” He was going to have to remember to ask her, and hope she would answer. “Why she just can’t answer a question,” growled Emmet


“I am surprised to find you up here. You look like your searching for something,” came the sly hiss


“What do you want, Jeab,” growled Emmet


“Just thought I would lend a hand, as I said it seems you are searching for something. Where is that pretty Half-breed, o, sorry, I mean mixed blood. I thought you two were inseparable,” asked Jeab while glancing around


“Shandalynn, is back at the house. I am hunting, now go away,” growled Emmet


“I’m surprised you left her little side, what with all the fuss over that dead girl,” his tone was sly


“Is there something else you want, like perhaps my fist,” growled Emmet aching to punch him


“There you go again, I am just trying to be friendly. O well guess I will be on my way since you are merely hunting,” smiled Jeab walking away “hunting indeed, what are you doing up here? You think me the fool.”


“Dam it Shan, where are you!!!” though Emmet as he turned heading for high ground hoping to get a better scent and view, “ the last thing I need is him skulking around ” muttered Emmet. “Eleazar is right your running off is downright annoying.”


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“It has been two days. I’m worried, something is wrong, or she would answer her phone,” sighed Carmen


“I have looked everywhere.” Hissed Eleazar in aggravation “I couldn’t finder her before, and now with the truck. She could be anywhere.”


“Well maybe the girls had better luck than we did,” said Jasper as he and Edward came through the door.


“There is a lot of moment out there, with everybody leaving any trace of the trail is just to trampled,” said Edward “Sorry Carmen, we did try.”


“I know you did. Thank you.” Smiled Carmen


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  Jeab had followed Emmet for about two hours, but by the time Jeab had realized that Emmet had circled around behind him, it had been too late. A booming Crack! Echoed though the canyon as he went sailing though the air. “So it is my fist that you want,” growled Emmet landing a hard hit to Jeab’s jaw “I told you to go!”


“I told you I just want to help,” laughed Jeab “Or are you still staying with that “I am only hunting story,”


“What else would I be doing,” growled Emmet lunging toward Jeab. Jeab spun away but not completely, Emmet drove his fist into Jeab’s gut sending him sailing though the air once again.


“O I don’t know, perhaps looking for that sweet little mixed blood of yours.” Laughed Jeab very amused “I might have over heard that hot little sister of yours say she was in pain.”


The last thing Jeab saw was Emmet’s eyes blazing mad. Emmet lunged, grabbed him up by the shirt, and sent him over the side of the cliff into a hundred foot waterfall. He didn’t have time for this. He had to find Shan. “Why are you in pain? Where are you?”


<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<“That girl is so stubborn.” Spat Eleazar  in aggravation as he watched the girls come in the door shaking their heads.


“Daughter like father,” hissed Tanya throwing herself into a chair “she is nowhere to be found. I am going to kick her tiny little ass when I see her.”


“I liked to see that,” said Kate but just could not make herself grin.


“Sorry Carmen, we have looked everywhere,” sighed Alice giving her a hug


“Do you still see pain?” whispered Kate


“Yes,” was her only reply as she buried herself into Jaspers Arms?


“You never said you had a vision,” huffed Eleazar


“She only sees pain,” whispered Kate


“She did not want to worry you any more than you are already,” explained Jasper rubbing Alice’s back


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Night was in full swing, the moon seemed to play pick–a-boo with the remaining clouds, as a yellow dodge truck made its way, slipping and sliding down the mountain. Grinding gears as he hit the pavement Emmet clicked on the headlights, and made a call.


“Emmet found Shan. He is on his way back now,” Esme’s voice was quite, and full of concern. As she closed her phone, “He says she’s sick”


“Not again, she almost died the last time,” sighed Carmen


“Sick how?” asked Carlisle


“He didn’t say,” answered Esme


“If it is like the last time than it acts like the need to feed,” commented Eleazar starting to pacing


“Feed?” questioned Esme eyes wide


“But, she’s not a cold blood,” responded a confused Carlisle


“I know but, it is like she hasn’t feed in months,” replied Eleazar “Her stomach twists in on its self, vomiting blood and her eyes...” he trailed off


“Are you telling me that her eyes go black like ours?”Carlisle couldn’t believe what they were telling him


“Actually they go the prettiest green,” smiled Carmen remembering, “The sicker she gets the more they almost glow”


“Don’t look at them if your male,” continued Eleazar looking at Carlisle “she’ll put you in a seductive trance.”


“Seductive …” began Carlisle “You, said she almost died the last time? When was this?”


“Just a few days before Emmet arrived, it lasted three days.,” answered Eleazar


“She seemed fine when we got here?” Questioned Carlisle


“She heals fast” smiled Carmen “At least she did once it was over any ways”


Carlisle had the door open as soon as the truck had slide to a stop.


“She’s been bitten,” growled Emmet as Carlisle opens the truck door


“Bitten!” Carmen hissed