Twilight

1

 "Are you ready, Kora?" Luca, my twin brother, asked knocking on my new bedroom door.

This house was a lot smaller than our old one, but given the jobs Nicola (dad) & Carla (mom) had, it made sense. We had moved here to Forks as soon as the Christmas vacation for school began. I'd be starting a new life here. I was dreading the idea of having to make new friends. I missed my old ones from the past decades. Keeping a journal and scrapbook really helped me remember plenty. I shrugged the thought to the back of my head, grabbed my backpack and camera, and opened my bedroom door to reveal Luca still standing there.

"Mom and dad are waiting." he grinned. "They're impatient."

"I couldn't find the new camera batteries, that's why I took long." I stated, closing the door behind me.

We packed the truck and passed by our next door neighbors. Charlie, the chief of police and friend of Nicola, promised to check on our house before and after his work. We waved goodbye to him as we headed on our "camping" trip. I was tired of my eyes being black, having been thirsty for human blood. The animal blood just wasn't working anymore for either of us, so we scheduled this hunting trip.

Nicola had found of a place about eight hours away; we wanted to go as far away from Forks as possible. I hated being in a vehicle for longer than three hours, but Carla insisted on actually trying to camp this time. The only thing that kept me in a good mood was the fact that I'd be able to get some good photographs along the road.

~

"We're here." Nicola smiled.

"I don't see why we couldn't just feed on some along the way." Luca blurted.

Carla turned around to face us both. "We're just as hungry as you, Luca, but if we fed along the way, then we'd be traced down. Now, both of you help unpack, and once it hits nightfall, we'll hunt." She grinned.

Nicola and Carla stepped out of the truck as I rolled my eyes. You'd think I'd have matured with 240 years of living on earth, but I stayed true to myself with the help of Luca. We exited the truck and then unloaded everything. Nightfall couldn't have come any sooner. We spotted several people far ahead and began. I jumped from tree to tree with Nicola, as Luca and Carla ran. They were faster on foot, but we jumped farther.

I chose the first pick as I quickly soared off of the tree and gradually made my way. The guy was asleep at the fire, wrapped up in a sleeping bag. His blood smelled so good; I quietly and sluggishly crept towards him. Inhaling the smell, I couldn't help myself any longer. I lunged myself at him, quickly covered his mouth with a cloth and then bit. Oh that sweet taste was so delicious; I couldn't stop myself.

Luca crept near me so I hissed at him. This guy is mine. I never share. Luca laughed and made his way into the tent, but immediately back out. Nicola and Carla had gone off to another sighting. I made my way to the tent, opened it, and it revealed two younger kids, a boy and girl around age 8. I couldn't move from my spot, and Luca turned to me.

"It's okay. Kora, look at me." he demanded, his hands resting on my shoulders.

What have I done? I assumed he was with a wife, not with kids... I'd never been one to want to do that to a parent if I knew I could prevent it. I looked back at the father, mortified with myself. Flashback to when I had done this several years ago replayed in my mind. When I had done that the first time, I physically couldn't get out of bed. I was close to dying from starvation.

"Kora." Luca half-shouted. "Let's go."

I felt myself being taken away and the glimpse of the fire faded in the darkness. We were now back at our own tent. I'm not sure how long it had been, but Luca left and then came back with Nicola and Carla. They were asking me how I felt, but my mind was occupied by replaying the image of the father and the sleeping kids. I heard them talking and Luca left quickly to feed while Carla began packing.

"Please." I grabbed Nicola's hand. "Change the memory."

"You know I won't." he shook his head.

"I am begging you this time, please. I don't want to remember." I whispered.

Nicola bent down next to me, grabbing my hands as we stared into one another's eyes. Carla's voice became louder as I realized she walked closer to us, but then she stopped talking. Her lips were moving, but I couldn't hear her. My eyes felt heavy by the second, and then all I saw was black.

I awoke and it was yet another cloudy day. I exhaled and then froze when I saw someone lying next to me only to realize it was just Carla. I chuckled and my hand reached over to my throat. I wasn't as hungry as yesterday. Images replayed in my head; I fed on a guy who slept outside of his tent and traveled alone. Exiting the tent, I stretched and found Luca already up.

"Ready to go eat colazione (breakfast) without me?" I asked.

Luca glanced up only to reply with, "Would it kill you to just speak in English? You know I don't remember much Italian."

"I don't want to forget where I came from. Besides, I know you remember some words. You always cuss in Italian." I retorted.

"Whatever." He chuckled. "Ready to go?"

We raced on our feet, as I took in the wonderful sight. I forgot to be photographing and figured I'd do it once we were done with breakfast. Luca found his plate quickly, so I continued in my search. Traveling farther away from our camp site, my mouth formed into a smile, spotting my prima colazione. Hiding behind the tree, the guy walked closer. He wore a dark green sweater, a brown vest over, jeans, and some combat boots with a cap. He inched closer and when I got him where I wanted, I "bumped" into him.

"Oh, I am so sorry!" I apologized.

His sudden shock turned into a grin when he looked at me. "It's no problem." He glanced around. "Are you lost?"

"Yeah," I chuckled. "I think I got turned around. My family warned me not to go camping alone." I shrugged.

"Oh." He nodded, looking around again to see if anyone were walking our way. No doubt in my mind that he was a pervert. "Well," he inched closer. "I'm set up right over here. Want to check it out?" he winked.

A brush of wind passed by me and rapidly Luca was by my side. Teeth stained with blood, not even the audacity of cleaning his face up. Then again, I hardly kept clean when feeding.

"What did mom and dad say about playing with your food?" Luca smiled, glancing at me.

I smiled, teeth wide, fangs out. "Toy with it long enough and it'll start running." I turned to my meal. "I like it when they run."

"What is this, some kind of joke?" the guy stuttered.

"It's a joke, alright. And guess what, baby, you're the punchline!" I snickered.

It took the guy a few seconds until he began to run and I shook my head. Why do they bother trying?