Solstice (A Jasper Hale/ Twilight novel)

Chapter Three: Tracker

Alice's Point of View:

I've been out hunting all day, alone, trying to get away from all the mutts constantly crowding our house. It's not so much that I mind them, or their smell, but their presence blocks almost all of my visions, and is making checking in on Bella exceedingly difficult.

Putting more distance between myself and the wolves seems to help, though it's still not as clear as my visions used to be. I wouldn't feel the need to keep checking up on Bella, but she had acted so oddly when she left. It was extremely sudden too, as if she had remembered something she had forgotten to do.

The reasoning behind her sudden departure was strange as well, saying she had to go meet a friend, and that it was urgent. She wouldn't allow any of us to come with her, saying it might frighten this friend of hers, and then she just took off.

Bella had been heading due north when she took off, but she could be anywhere by now. The flashes of her location that I latch onto are fleeting; images of trees, small towns, roads, but nothing to use as a marker for where she's headed. She had promised it would only take her a day, maybe less, to do whatever it was she needed to, but I still worry.

I fold my legs neatly underneath myself, brushing any visible dirt off of my clothes and huffing. This used to be so much easier.

Out of the blue though, a vision comes to me. It's definitely Bella, but she's sitting on a couch with a vampire I've never seen before. Her eyes are gold, just like the rest of my family, and I can tell from the way she interacts with Bella that they've known each other before. They bicker back and forth like sisters, something Bella would be too shy to do with anyone unless she had known them for a long period of time.

I can see in the background that there are two large, open windows, so it must be secluded; sunlight streams into the room at random intervals, something that couldn't happen if there were any chance of humans seeing them.

The vision changes then, shifting to their arrival back here in Forks. The girl seems nervous, but must really trust Bella because she walks up and greets the rest of the family.

When I try to see what happens next though, the vision cuts off. "Damn wolves." I mutter under my breath, and begin running back to the house. I must have made it past the Canadian border I had traveled so far.

Ember's Point of View:

Bella and I set off immediately, heading due west while at the same time keeping to the forests. We skirt around the edges of cities we come across, knowing it will still be faster than having to keep a human pace while going straight through. Neither of us have reason to pause, having both recently fed; another perk of being a vampire.

Despite our inhuman speeds though, it still takes a significant amount of time to go from northern Ontario to Washington. Running soon becomes boring and repetitive, until I feel a feather-light tap on my shoulder.

"You're it." Bella calls, speeding ahead of me.

"Hey!" I call after her, racing to catch up.

She keeps glancing over her shoulder, but I spring up into the trees, jumping from branch to branch. It feels extremely different from running, using more upper body strength than I was before. Despite my increased speed as a vampire, the branches that support my weight are still the same. If I were to jump to one that is too thin to support me, I would go crashing down to the forest floor. It wouldn't hurt me in the slightest, but would make catching up to Bella that much harder.

Despite the fact that she wouldn't be considered a newborn vampire anymore, some of the strength that comes with being newly turned still lingers in her veins. Over time I've learned that flight is generally the best option for me when faced with an opponent, mainly because of my need to stay under the radar of the Volturi. But as fast as I've trained myself to be, I'm still struggling to keep up with Bella.