Dusk Till Dawn

Story Time

"Do you know any of our old stories?" Jade asked.

"No, not really," I admitted.

"Well, there are lots of legends, but there's one that claims that we descended from wolves— and that the wolves are still our brothers. It's against tribal law to kill them.

"Then there are the stories about the cold ones." Her voice dropped a little lower.

"The cold ones?" I asked, my voice filled with interest.

"Yeah, there are stories of the cold ones as old as the wolf legends, and some pretty recent. According to legend, my own great-grandfather knew some of them. He was the one who made the treaty that kept them off our land." She rolled her eyes.

"Your great-grandfather?" I encouraged.

"He was a tribal elder, like my dad. You see, the cold ones are the natural enemies of the wolf— well, not the wolf, really, but the wolves that turn into men, like our ancestors. You would call them werewolves."

"Werewolves have enemies?"
"Only one."

I stared at her earnestly, hoping to disguise my impatience as admiration.

Jade continued. "So, the cold ones are traditionally our enemies. But this pack that came to our territory during my great-grandfather's time was different. They didn't hunt the way others of their kind did— they weren't supposed to be dangerous  to the tribe. So pops made a truce with them. If they would promise to stay off our lands, we wouldn't expose them to the pale-faces." Jade's shoulder nudged mine.

"If they weren't dangerous, then...?" I tried to understand, struggling not to let her see how seriously I was considering her ghost story.

"There's always a risk for humans to be around the cold ones, even if they're civilized. You never know when they might get too hungry to resist." She deliberately worked a thick edge of menace into her tone.

"What do you mean, 'civilized'?"

"They claimed that they didn't hunt humans. They supposedly were somehow able to prey on animals instead."

I tried to keep my voice casual. "So how does it fit in with the Cullens? Are they like the cold ones your grandfather met?"

"No." She paused dramatically. "They're the same ones."

Jade must've thought the expression on my face was fear inspired by his story. She smiled, a light laugh escaping her, and continued.

"There are a few more of them now, a new male and female, but the rest are the same."

"And what are they?" I finally asked. "What are the cold ones?"

"Blood drinkers," she replied in a chilling tone, smiling darkly. "They're more commonly known as vampires."

I stared out at the rough surf after she answered, not sure what my face was exposing.

"You have goose bumps," she laughed delightedly.

"You're a good storyteller," I complimented her, still staring into the waves.

"Pretty crazy stuff, though, isn't it? No wonder my dad doesn't want us to talk about it to anyone."

I couldn't control my expression enough to look at her yet. "Don't worry, I won't give you away."

"Seriously, though, don't say anything to Charlie. He was pretty mad at my dad when he heard that some of us weren't going to the hospital since Dr. Cullen started working there."

"Of course not."

"So do you think we're all just superstitious or what?" She asked in a playful tone, but with a hint of worry. I still hadn't looked away from the ocean.

I turned and smiled at her as normally as I could.

"No. I think you're very good at telling scary stories, though."

And then the sound of the beach rocks clattering against each other warned us that someone was approaching. Our heads snapped up at the same time to see Mike about fifty yards away, walking toward us.

"There you are, Bella," Mike called in relief, waving his arms over his head. "We're starting to pack up, it looks like it's going to rain soon."

We all looked up at the glowering sky. It certainly did look like rain.

"Okay." I jumped up. "I'm coming."

"It was really nice to see you again," Jade said.

"It really was. Next time Charlie comes down to see Billy, I'll come, too," I promised. "And thanks."

I pulled up my hood as we tramped across the rocks toward the parking lot. A few drops were beginning to fall, making black spots on the stones where they landed, loading everything back in. I crawled into the backseat by Angela and Tyler. Angela just stared out the window at the escalating storm, and Lauren twisted around in the middle seat to occupy Tyler's attention, so I could simply lay my head back on the seat and close my eyes and try very hard not to think.

*

I told Charlie I had a lot of homework to do, and that I didn't want anything to eat. There was a game on that he was excited about, so he wasn't aware of anything unusual in my face or tone.

Once in my room, I locked the door. I placed my headphones that were laying on top of my desk, over my ears and put on a calming playlist before plugging in my phone to charge; I was hoping the soft music would calm my racing thoughts.

I closed my eyes, but the light still intruded, so I added a pillow over the top half of my face.
I concentrated very carefully on the music, trying to make words of the singer's low mumbling. By the third time the playlist cycled through, I knew all the words to the choruses, at least. I'd have to thank Angela for sending me the playlist.

And it worked. The soft tunes and almost hypnotizing words made it impossible for me to think— which was the whole purpose of the exercise. I listened to the music again and again, until I was mumbling along to all the songs, until, finally, I fell asleep.

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I need y'all to be so fr, does Pedro Pascal have a bad history. I need to know before I decide to like this man

Bye!