BACK TO DECEMBER, jacob black

chapter one | the frantic call

     KATERI CALL NEVER CONSIDERED VISITING La Push ever again. Well, that would've been a lie if her cousin would graduate, if her aunt needed her, or just because she was waiting for the day a phone call would break out, giving her a reason to return. But until it did, she never firmly stepped off the Makah Reservation.

     Neah Bay was a small town, possibly the same size as La Push if not even smaller, surrounded by the coast of the Pacific Ocean and Strait of Juan de Fuca waters and lakeshores that often led with canoes carrying fish and other things for the small town to survive. Makah was mostly known for its shipments of food and supplies that would last the community a winter that was usually rough and harsh on her people. Though, like Kateri, she was used to the harsh cold winds and the tide pools that often would brush up against the docks when people often would catch whales or sea otters. It wasn't uncommon not to see anyone standing with poles out or even sailing out to sea, hoping for something.

     Makah was home. It held a peaceful atmosphere filled with history that could rival LaPush, though the latter held much more than her own home did. Makah was her home, born and raised as she reveled in the beauty of the sea waters and forest trees surrounding her, and the closest city to them was, unfortunately, wasn't even remotely close to Seattle or Forks down southwest of them. However, Kateri knew that even Forks would've been much closer to Neah Bay than any other city if it wasn't for the forests around them.

     The sound of the bell rang in the small school. Neah Bay High wasn't much to look at, and it was small enough that roughly perhaps only a couple hundred were only present. It was strange, considering for a small population, the school was just as big as the tribal center.

     Kateri stood at her locker, placing her things away. She wasn't known for being the popular kid. She often ran lone wolf when she wanted to be. She wasn't big on crowds, though it stemmed from having a small family. The Call family wasn't well known, but the same could be said for La Push. Her father and aunt Tiffany were siblings, born and raised in the Makah reservation in Neah Bay, though somehow the turnaround happened when her older cousin Embry came about. Although he lived in La Push, rumors still sparked around Neah Bay, especially since she and her dad would be out and about.

     Neah Bay was not a big city like Seattle. Here, rumors sparked and flew around the reservation like teen gossip news. Things don't tend to stay quiet for long. It was how she knew that Embry didn't have a father in his life, only her own. She knew it bothered her family and by extension to her.

     She slammed the locker doors shut and whispers picked up again. She hoped it wasn't the rumors of her family once again, though it seemed to be around the rain from the sounds. She opened the double doors from the small school and out into the drizzle of rain that she knew would turn into a downpour eventually. She sighed softly as she gathered her long black hair and began to braid in a traditional Indigenous braid she knew her mother taught her when she was younger. Tying her hair at the bottom, she pulled up the hood of her jacket and began her trek home.

     In the small community, places are usually within walking distance, and hearing the ocean waves daily as usual. Kateri loved walking distances. The sounds of water soothed her thoughts from spiraling and the heartache she seemed to feel. Though somehow, something felt different. She couldn't pinpoint what made the day different. Somehow she had been feeling off, like something prickling in the fog-dense air, with trinkets of rain beginning to grow heavier. It was odd and eerily as she approached the door of the cabin she, her father, and her grandfather lived in.

     It wasn't your typical cabin. Once you open the front door, it is big, open, and spacious with the living room upon first glance. Sitting in an old rocking chair with a table beside it sat her grandfather. Koa Call took pride in his family, and on the Makah reservation, he became one of the tribal elders. Kateri adored him, as he helped raise her after her mother's death when she was six years old, the same age as Jacob when his mother died. The story she discovered was that her mother and Sarah Black had been traveling to the store while she and Jacob had been playing with dolls ( something Jacob swore he'd keep until his canoe was sent off when it came time ), and when the Chief of Forks came to the door that night. It changed.