Scary Stories of La Push

"LA PUSH?" I PAUSED AS ERIC CHATTED WITH ME IN TRIG.

The oily-haired boy nodded almost animatedly. "We're all going this weekend since it's supposed to be good weather."

Oh, right. I recalled seeing something on the TV last night. A beaming weatherman predicted clear skies and sunshine. Forks' usual sixties and below would be sixties and above, with hardly any clouds.

Supposedly.

I guess Forks had its moments of warm weather. It was rare, but not impossible. My teeth gnawed at the inside of my lip as I debated answering Eric or not. It would be a good idea to accept the invitation for a little while, and if I got Anais to go with me, it probably wouldn't suck as bad.

"Doesn't sound like a bad idea."

"So, you'll go?" He held his breath with anticipation.

I placed my Trig notebook in front of me, sparing him a glance. "Sure, why not."

"Great to hear!" He grinned widely. "We're all meeting up at Newton's sports store." My Trig buddy beamed, looking quite satisfied by my approval, shuffling off to his seat across the class when the bell rang.

"Hey, girlie!" Anais, despite her hoarse voice, greeted me energetically as we met at the cafeteria's entrance.

"Hey, you," I smiled. "Feeling better?"

Her cold put her out of commission for a few days. Today was her first day back, and she looked absolutely horridly puffy in the face. If she were any paler, she'd resemble a dead squid with unwashed hair that was forced back into an extremely messy bun. Her recovery was slow and painful. The first day or two of getting the cold, I wasn't allowed to visit, and I quote, "due to the bacteria being liable to infect me too." Though, I would've been fine.

A smiled peeled her lips apart. "I still feel like shit, but it's better than getting pneumonia."

I agreed with her. Pneumonia would be a bitch to develop. Maybe I shouldn't invite her, going out and about to La Push would only strain her body and probably make her cold worse. Our elbows linked and we made our way to the lunch line.

Today's menu: Polish sausage on a large hot dog bun with sauerkraut, or the salad bar.

"You can have my sauerkraut, Ana," I grabbed a tray and got my food.

"I won't be having any sauerkraut today; sour foods have been kicking my ass since I got this stupid cold."

"Does that mean I won't be able to invite you to come with me to La Push?"

"La Push? Is that the beach on the reservation?" She pursed her lips.

"I was hesitant to ask since you're still recovering from your cold and all," I admitted. "I figured you probably would want to rest this weekend and catch up on your homework."

She nodded. "I mean, I need to get my work done, but I don't want to pass up a sunny day. If you help me, I know I won't fall behind."

"So, you want to spend the night at my house?" I asked as we moved up in line, ready to pay for our lunch.

"Yes, Ma'am," Anais grinned awkwardly. "Sounds like a date."

I laughed lightly. "Just promise me if you feel dizzy or anything while we're there, we'll leave immediately."

"Pssh!" She waved me off. "I'll be fine. A bottle of DayQuil and I'll be as good as new."

Finally, we're able to pay for our food and head for our table. It was occupied by Mike and his posse, excitedly chatting about this weekend.

"Hello, Bella!" Anais greeted lightly, spotting her come from the salad bar.

"You sound lovely."

"Meh," my friend shrugged. "I'll bounce back soon enough, my pretty."

I rolled my eyes at her terrible attempt to sound like the Wicked Witch of the West and focused on our table. I just so happened to catch Lauren leaning toward Mike, her icy eyes flickering between the three of us while she whispered something to him. The Newton boy's face twisted, if it were of anger or another emotion, I wasn't sure.

We took our seats, and Lauren didn't say anything to us during the whole lunch period.

"Where did you say the meeting spot was, again?" Anais' voice statically echoed from the speaker of my phone.

"Uh," I sat on my bed, dressing up in elastic and hiking-approved pants. "The Newton's store."

"Oh, okay. Are we going to meet there, or at La Push?"

I tugged the waistband over my hips, doing a little wiggle to make sure they'd stay there and pulled on an undershirt over my sports bra.

"We'll meet at the store first," I answered, grabbing my short-sleeved pale blue Evanescence tee. It swallowed my torso, loosely covering me like a sheet. "I think I'm more curious as to who else is coming. To see who I can avoid and whatnot. You can bring your car."

"I mean, duh," Anais sardonically spoke. "There's no way I'll be allowed in someone else's car sounding like this."

"Don't forget to bring your homework," I reminded her. "We can finish it tonight, yeah?"

"Already done, my peach."

"Good," I nodded to no one in particular, grabbing for my shoes, only to find they weren't there. "What the?"

The running shoes I'd laid by my nightstand weren't there. I glared at the empty space. Where the heck were they?

"What's wrong?"

"Oh, my running shoes grew legs." I huffed, sliding off my bed, and peering underneath it. "Aha! You thought you could hide from me."

Reaching under the bed, I grabbed my shoes by the laces, pulling them out into the open. I must've kicked them under at some point or another. I get back on my bed and slide on my shoes, lacing them up to a comfortable tightness.

"I might just stay on the beach," Anais coughed out. "Hiking doesn't sound all that appealing."

"Are you sure you want to go?" I asked for what felt like the one-millionth time. "You don't have to go if you don't feel well."

"I'll be fine," she responded perkily, the sound of shuffling about caused a bit of static to our call. "I already took the Dayquil, so no backing out now."

I sighed and put on a light jacket. "I'll meet you at the sports store, okay?"

"Drive safe!"

"Will do," I grabbed my phone from my nightstand. "And you drive safe too."

"Always."

I ended the call and stuffed my phone into my pocket. Would a jacket be too warm? It was nice outside, for sure, but I hadn't been out just yet. Light invaded my usually dark room, lighting up my dark floorboards to a pretty chestnut color. My walls were aglow, lightened by the bright rays of the sun. I felt the warmth emit though I was in the shadows. Nearly blinded, I blink the stinging away. It didn't bother me much, there had to be at least a couple of stray clouds in the sky.

"Hey, you ready?" My door creaked open; Bella poked her head through as I slipped on my wrist brace.

"Uh, yeah. Give me a minute to put my hair up."

"I'll be out in the truck when you're done."

I follow her out of my room, but instead of heading downstairs with her, I beeline for the bathroom, in search of one sacred item: the hair tie. A braid would suffice my needs or a bun. Or a regular old ponytail. Either way, my hair would be out of the way.

After a minute, I found a tie, and briskly braided my hair, tying the ends with the elastic band. I cast one last look at myself in the mirror and leave the bathroom, flicking the light off.

By the time we pulled into the Newtons' Olympic Outfitters parking lot, the morning sun peaked in the bright blue sky. No cloud was in sight, much to my dismay. I didn't dislike the sun; it was more of a reminder of Pheonix. Of mom. I spotted Anais' car a couple of spaces down from a Suburban and Tyler's Sentra. A group gathered at the front of the Suburban. I recognized a few faces, some good, some...less good.

Mike's face lit up like a Christmas tree on a dark night, elated as we got out of our truck and headed toward them. His excitement melted into confusion seeing the both of us together, though I feel like his reaction will be forever bamboozled when he sees us side by side. It was amusing to a point but then annoying.

"You came," he called, delight returning once shaking off his shock. "I said it'd be sunny, didn't I?"

"I told you I'd come, didn't I?" Bella said as if reminding him.

His baby blues flickered to me, his smile not as beaming as the one he gave my sister.

"Eric invited me." I explained.

"Alright, cool," he nodded. "We're just waiting for Lee and Samantha...unless you invited someone?"

Mike looked more toward Bella than me. I half-expected this. He didn't quite expect me to be here too. His crush on my sister was obvious, and a bit obnoxious. He yearned to be by her side, unconditionally. He had some of...well, to me, it seemed more like obsessive puppy love. Even after a month, going on two months of her being here.

"Nope." Bella responded.

Liar, I wanted to out her, but what good would it do? I'd be a hypocrite, and I try not to be one. Like her, I also tried inviting a Cullen. With our luck, they rejected our offers.

"Will you ride in my car? It's that or Lee's mom's minivan."

I could laugh. This boy was trying too hard. Maybe I found it a little depressing he had this enormous adoration for her, yet she didn't see his advances, nor does she recuperate them. I suspected that was the reason he was trying so hard. Unfortunately for him, Edward was the only boy on her mind. Romantic or not, the Cullen was all Bella's been thinking about.

"I'll be riding with Anais, so..." I shoot finger guns at Bella and Mike, backing away from them. "Good luck, kids."

"Faye!" Anais rolled her window down when I approached Lorelei.

"Good morning, Ana." I smiled at her, walking to the window. "How're you feeling? Woozy, or anything like that?"

She makes a face. "I told you I'm fine, but I'll feel even better when I make sandcastles."

"Did you bring the buckets and molds?" I grinned childishly, excitement warming my chest.

"Of course, I did!" She rolled her eyes, grinning with me. "Our forces are beyond that of a mere sandcastle builder - also I brought a lunchbox with me, leftover fried chicken with some juice and water."

"Your dad made fried chicken?" My mouth began to water.

"It wasn't easy to convince him, but yes," Anais nodded and then waggled her eyebrows. "Breaded with buttermilk and cornflakes."

"Oh, stop it," I pretended to wipe the drool from my mouth. "I'm salivating here."

She laughed when a voice called from the Suburban.

"Are you guys coming or what?" It was Mike. Everyone had piled into their vehicles, only waiting on my friend and me.

"Yes! We're coming!" I called back, almost sharply, and turned back to Anais. "Let's go."

"Well, get in and buckle up!"

Anais had her car smelling like fresh peppermint and pine. A tree-shaped air freshener dangled from the neck of the rear-view mirror. I was quick to put my seatbelt on and we were off, following behind the Sentra and Suburban. We listened to Paramore and other popular pop-punk CDs while we drove through the long highways splitting the immensely thick and superabundant forests, even catching short and long glimpses of the Quillayute River snaking a couple of times beneath the bridges. The sun reflected off the water like a thousand diamonds, bright and near-blinding.

Dad and I have been returning tourists to the La Push beaches for some time over the years as goes for Anais and her father. Most of the scenery would've bored returning hikers to the bone, but this land's scape took my breath away every visit.

The water was dark and murky, despite the sunlight reflecting off the rippling surfaces while the waves pushed and pulled to and from the shores. Islands peaked from the metallic harbors with sheer side cliffs, reaching craggy summits, and crowned austere soaring firs. As I remembered, the beach only had a thin border of actual sand at the water's edge, after which it grew into thousands, if not millions of large, smooth stones that seemed gray from afar, but actually were every color known to man. The tide line was strewn with these huge pieces of driftwood, against the bleached bone-white in the salt waves, some clustered together near the edge of non-tropical jungle fringe, some lying solitary, just out of reach of the waves.

I paused as a brisk wind carried the salty smell of the sea. My body responded to its tranquil embrace. And just for a moment, I closed my eyes so I could hear the ambient sounds of nature. Its raw orchestra of winds, water, and voices of its wildlife. I liked my rock n' roll, but nothing could hold a candle to nature's creation.

"Ready to make a grand castle?" Anais was beside me, holding a fishnet bag with a rolled-up blanket under her arm, and the lunchbox in her hand.

"You know it." I cast a grin toward her, and we followed after the group led by Mike himself.

The beach had a ring of purposely placed driftwood logs for parties like ours, and previous parties before us. A fire circle had already been placed, filled with burnt chunks of old wood and ashes.

"Here is good," Anais strayed a bit away from me, still close to the group. "Hey, Faye, c'mon!"

The sand softly crunched under the soles of my shoes when I made my way toward my friend as she laid the blanket down and dumped the molds and buckets onto it. Some molds were starfish, some were seashells, some clams, and some crabs. The larger bucket she brought with her had the shape of an old medieval castle.

"'Kay, Faye," she hummed while she observed the sand before us. "Let us make history."

"History?" I smiled, finding her tone amusing.

"Yes," she said seriously and sniffed loudly. "We must create the most impenetrable fortress anyone has ever seen."

"Can this impenetrable fortress be built while I'm barefoot?" I questioned, not wanting my shoes to be filled with grains of sand.

She twirled around dramatically. "Why, it'll make it more impenetrable."

I lowered myself onto the thinly woven blanket and unlaced my shoes, taking them off. I set them beside me and then look over toward the group. Most were gone, which I had assumed they'd gone hiking. I didn't see Bella near the girls that seemingly stayed behind. Had she gone with the others? I hoped she was alright, and that forest didn't disagree with her presence and tried to subtly passionate her with tree roots or slippery patches of grass or mud that looks like dry dirt.

My socks came off, freeing my toes and exposing the skin to the cool air. I wadded them together and stuffed them into my left shoe.

The sand was incredibly goosebump-inducing. Unlike the sun, which was warm and comforting, the sand remained chilling and frosty, like it had not comprehended the sun's light yet. Moisten grains wedged between my toes, though it didn't bother me much as did it if it were dry. About a foot or two away from the blanket, we began to build a small mound of sand with little mounds around it as evenly as we could make them.

"I proclaim this land of sand and water Anais Ingrid Fletcher Ville!" My pink-haired friend tossed the castle-shaped bucket toward the blanket, the mound we'd bunched up together an awkward shape with an odd number and square-shaped stubs.

"You're naming a castle after you? What about me? I did half the work." I pointed to the half-a-dozen seashell and starfish-shaped lumps of multi-colored sand around the awkward sandcastle.

"Oh...uh...what's your middle name again?" She pursed her lips as she leaned back to think.

"Elizabeth."

"Damn, this is a hard one," she sucked in a breath and rubbed her temples. "Uh, okay. How about this? Swan and Fletcher Inc."

I raised an eyebrow, holding back a grin. "Swan and Fletcher Inc. sounds more like a company than a kingdom."

"Maybe we're the company of sandcastle makers. We make the castles for the sand people."

A snort escaped me and then a laugh. I clutched my stomach and fell back onto the sand, tears streaking into my hairline and grazing my helixes.

"Hey! Don't laugh at the sand people!" Her response only made me crack up more. I couldn't breathe as the laughter refused to be contained. "Faye!"

I sucked in a big breath to try and calm myself.

"You're so mean!"

"Ah," I cleared my throat and sat back up. "Sorry, Sand People."

Anais glared at me. I supposed the Dayquil kicked her today. She sounded better than she did during the week, though I bet she'd be feeling it tonight. I wiped the rest of my face dry and looked at her with a grin.

"You're lucky I love you or I wouldn't be giving you any of that fried chicken Dad made last night."

"I love you, too, Ana!" I blew her a kiss and carefully got to my feet, patting out my clothes and hair of sand. "How about we go over and enjoy the fire? We can eat while we're at it."

She shrugged, "I guess so." Reaching for me, I grabbed her hands, which were nearly as chilled as mine, and pulled her up with all my might.

I began to help pat the sand from her jeans when I peered over toward the circle of logs, a few new faces approached our group. With their long black hair and copper skin, I recognized them from the reservation. I was about to question why they were here, but then I had to remind myself that, technically, we were on their land.

"I'm good now, thank you." Anais waddled over the sandcastle and toward the blanket to grab her socks and shoes.

I do the same and collect our molds and bucket, returning them to their fishnet bag while she fanned the sand off the blanket and rolled it up once again. She hadn't put her shoes or socks on yet, so I assumed she wanted to sit someplace with no sand to clean her feet. Sand in socks was not a comfortable thing to endure.

"Hello." We were greeted as we approached the driftwood circle. The tallest boy nodded at us, the one who spoke to us.

"Hello," Anais claimed an empty log, setting down her things. "We're not in trouble, are we?"

The boy grinned. "Not at all."

"Hey, Faye." Another voice called to me, a younger one, but not much younger. I search for the owner of the voice, feeling a bit frantic though. "Over here."

My eyes settled on the seemingly youngest of the boys. "Jacob?"

It'd been some time since I'd seen the boy. Given I don't usually go onto the reservation often, I hadn't seen him in, maybe about two or three years. He hadn't changed much, still boyish with that round chin of his. His glossy obsidian hair was held back by a rubber band, much to my discomfort.

"Long time, no see."

"Clearly," I say and shuffled toward him. "You're looking lively."

"So are you," he replied, glancing toward Anais. "Can't say much of your friend though."

"I reckon I'll drug her with Nightquil when we get back into town," I sat next to him, placing my shoes on the space beside me and fishnet bag at my feet. "How's Billy, and your sisters?"

"Well, Rachel went off to Washington State," he scratched his chin. "And Rebecca married a surfer and is living in Hawaii now."

Wowzers. College and marriage. That must've been a big step for the twins. College was no easy task, then again, I doubt marriage was a walk in the park.

"And Billy?"

"He's doing pretty well."

"Hey, Faye?" Anais called for me.

"Duty calls," I jokingly say to Jacob and get up with my shoes and fishnet bag. "Are you feeling okay? Do we need to go?"

My friend shook her head, and the lunchbox she packed on her lap and open. "No, I just wanted to know if you want water or apple juice."

"I'll take the water, please." She handed me the bottled water. "Are you hungry?" I sat beside her.

Her face screwed up some and she shrugged again. "I don't think I'm hungry, but I need to eat anyway. I packed some fruit roll-ups." She dug out shiny packages of snacks.

"Oh, gimme!" I hurry to snatch one from her fingers, already tasting the bitter yet sweet taste materializing on my taste buds.

"Okay, relax, I have more." She tossed the third one back into the lunch box and unwrapped hers to munch on.

"Mm! So good, thank you, Ana."

"Yeah, yeah."

I sipped on my water for a little bit, enjoying the misty sea breeze and the sun's warmth shining down on my shoulders and scalp. Warm weather had its perks, I had to admit. I supposed borderline warm was better than blistering heat. Not too hot, nor too cold.

The fruit roll-up was bittersweet on my tastebuds, deliciously so. I wiggle on the log, munching happily, enjoying how this moment of tranquility and quiet. Without the gaggle of geese known as high school boys, it did feel like a moment's peace. The girls from school, or those who had decided to not go hiking with the others, were across from us, a pretty blueish-red flame flickering in the fire pit. The pretty flames licked the sea-salted driftwood logs, raising a couple of inches taller than the stacked wood, dancing with mesmerizing grace.

I force myself to focus on something besides the spellbinding fire, only to spot Bella and the group of rowdy fellow teenagers breaking through the tree line. To my surprise, she seemed unscathed from the hike. I was certain she would've had a scrape or two. Her jeans were free of dirt and grass stains. Kudos to her, those trails were notorious for roots sticking out into the paths.

As they got closer to the log circle, Bella noticed the newcomers, studying each one of them briefly before she shuffled toward Anais and me.

"Have fun out there?" I grinned teasingly.

She didn't want to answer that question, plopping next to me. "It was fine, I guess."

"Water?" I snagged a cooled bottle from Anais' lunch bag and offered it to my sister.

"Thanks."

"You're Faye's sister," Jacob perked up. "Isabella Swan?"

I saw the visible grimace on Bella's face. It was like he had said the most offensive thing to her without realizing it. I held back my grin and focused on Anais' form. She sipped on her apple juice, nearly nodding off, not that she seemed to notice. The hour and a half spent at La Push must've drained her. That cold of hers probably was more extensive than she led on before when she continuously tried to reassure me, she was fine enough to tag along on this trip.

"Bella," my attention is grabbed by Lauren's envy-tinged tone and icy blue eyes nearly matched the blue-stained flames as she gazed over at us, or at my sister, who seemed to have been conversing with Jacob. "I was mentioning to Tyler that it was a shame that none of the Cullens weren't able to come around. I'm not sure anyone thought to invite them." Though her expression seemed concerned, I knew it was a facade.

It wasn't a surprise to me that Bella tried to invite Edward. He had rejected her offer to tag along, just as Zain did to me. Butthurt was me when he said he already had plans with his family, camping up at Goat Rock, though it seemed more worrisome about it. That area was more or less nearly infested with bears and other predatory wildlife.

"You mean Dr. Carlisle Cullen's family?" Sam, the tallest of the boys, perked up.

"Yes," Lauren turned toward Sam, slowly drawing her eyes from Bella and me to him. "Do you know them?"

Seemingly, without missing a beat, Sam stated in a tone that made his words sound factual, "The Cullens don't come here."

Maybe it was the way he had said it that made my stomach twist and knot, or maybe it was his expression. Nonetheless, he shut the topic down fairly quickly and looked off toward the tree line edging around the beach.

The Cullens don't come here, his words echoed repeatedly in my mind. He was implying they weren't allowed; forbidden. I dropped my attention to the water in my hands. Did he mean the entirety of the Cullen family or certain individuals? It was a strange saying, that's for sure, and I didn't think La Push prohibited people so discriminately. Or was it about discrimination? Asking would be too strenuous.

I glanced at Anais, biting my inner lip. She silently snoozed, sitting upright, but slumped. Maybe bringing her here was too much excitement for her body. That wasn't a maybe, it was too much for her. Why did I try to convince her? I hope I didn't worsen her condition by dragging her out here with me.

Lauren had been distracted by Tyler and a CD player. She wasn't about to ask any more pervasive questions. And Bella seemed still. Too still. She carefully contemplated Sam's words, unsure what to make of them. I did have to admit, what he said gave me weird vibes. Though, as soon as that topic was dead, Sam went on with his friends, chatting up with our group as if he hadn't created a tense sensation in the atmosphere.

"So," Jacob's voice awkwardly split the breeze, capturing our attention. "Is Forks driving you crazy yet?"

Oh. He wasn't talking to me. I sipped my water again as Bella answered her snarky answer, her feelings were an understatement. Or whatever. But then I witnessed something completely unexpected from her; she dropped her eyelids, as if seductively.

"Do you want to walk on the beach with me?" Her voice honeyed with a tone I hadn't ever heard her use, but it was clear she was trying to flirt with Jacob. Her goal, I didn't know, but her sudden behavior made me uneasy for the young boy.

"Can I come with you?" I hurried to ask when Jacob jumped to his feet.

"What about your friend?"

I twisted toward Anais. She sniffed while she wiped her nose; she was awake now and gulping her apple juice. My hand reaches for her and lightly swats her arm. She looked at me mid-gulp.

"Wanna go on a walk?" I nodded toward Bella and Jacob.

She finished her drink, swallowing, and then smacking her lips, "Sure. I'm dozing off anyway."

As we walked down the shore, clouds began to slowly accumulate across the blue sky, ultimately casting a shadow over the beach and its waters. Somehow, the shadow dropped the temperature, turning the warmth into cool. My skin seemed to yearn for the sun's warmth.

"Hey, Faye, look!" Anais came waddling toward me, carefully shuffling over the bigger rocks, clutching something in her hands. It was a pretty amber rock, with bits of what looked like obsidian laced within the dampened gold as if it were static.

My lovesick heart fluttered, reminded of Zain's beautiful golden eyes and ebony hair. "Whoa."

"I also found this purple one!" She revealed a jagged stone in her left palm. It was pretty with a dark brown swirl, smooth with round edges. "You think they'll mind if we steal a couple of souvenirs?"

I shrugged. "Probably has happened before. I'm sure no one will mind."

With a sly smile, she slipped the rocks into her jacket pocket, and we continued along the beach, a couple of feet behind my sister and Jacob. I watched her saunter closer to him, probably thinking he wouldn't notice it. Her behavior was suspicious, I tried giving her the benefit of the doubt, despite her acting weird.

At first, I heard them talking about his age and then something about Forks. The waves and wind seemed to cloud my hearing, and I only heard bits and pieces of the conversation.

And then finally, I managed to hear the topic of the Cullens. About Sam, and why they weren't allowed on the reservation.

"Oops," Jacob seemed embarrassed as he cast a glance at Bella. "I'm not supposed to say anything."

"I won't tell anyone," Bella huskily savored. "I'm just curious."

After a moment, the boy finally spoke, deepening his tone to be ominous, "Do you like scary stories?"

Maybe they forgot Anais and I were behind them, though that was probably a good thing. I wouldn't be witnessing the stories preserved only for the Native tribes around La Push. I myself was curious about the secrets this land had.

"I love them." Bella seemed too enthusiastic about that.

We paused our stroll and Jacob stepped toward a half-buried driftwood tree, its branches spread out as if its real identity were a sand spider. For a short hot minute, my skin prickled. Spiders creeped me out, and the branches resembled spider legs so creepily.

"If I tell you, you can't say anything to anyone else." Jacob glanced back at Anais and me.

"We promise," Anais brought her hand up and crossed her heart. "You can tell us without the consequences being on your tail."

Jacob stayed silent, processing my friend's words. "Do you know any of our old stories, about where we came from - the Quileutes, I mean?"

I knew some of thhistoriesry concerning the Quileutes, mostly just we, as settlers forced the Natives to live on reservations.

"Not really."

"Well, there's lota of legends, some of them supposedly dating back to the Flood - the ancient Quileutes tied their canoes to the tops of the tallest trees on the mountain to survive like Noah and the Ark." He spoke proudly of history. "Another legend claims that we descended from wolves - that the wolves are our brothers still. It's against tribal law to kill them. Then there are the stories about the cold ones."

"The cold ones?" That certainly piqued our interest.

"Yeah. There are stories of the cold ones as old as the wolf legends, and some much more 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."

"Wow. Your great-grandfather?"

"He was a tribal elder, like my father," he continued the story. "You see, the cold ones are the natural enemies of the wolf - well, not the wolf, per se, but the wolves that turn into men, like our ancestors. You would call them werewolves."

"Wait, werewolves have enemies?" That was a bit confusing.

"Only one."

As patiently as I could, I waited for Jacob to speak more about the cold ones. My mind was overloaded with information, I felt like I couldn't think straight. I knew the Quileute stories would be extraordinary, but I hadn't given thought to how extraordinary they would be.

"So, you see," he finally continued. "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, my great-grandfather made a truce with them; if they promised to stay off Quileute lands, we wouldn't expose them to the pale faces."

"If they weren't dangerous, they why...?" Bella tried to understand the stories told to us.

"There's always a risk for humans to be around the cold ones, even if they're civilized like this clan was. You never know when they might be too hungry to resist." Jacob added a menacing tone to his voice, as if to make the story more ominous.

"What do you mean by "civilized"?" I spoke up, curious.

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

"So, how do these stories involve the Cullens? Are they like the cold ones your great-grandfather met?" Bella spoke this time.

"No," Jacob paused dramatically. "They are the same ones."

I wanted to laugh, but I couldn't cough a giggle. Implying that the Cullens are the cold ones, the same cold ones that his great-grandfather encountered, it just seemed too insane to believe. I don't mean to belittle the legend of the Quileute, but the stories are far-fetched.

Jacob, seemingly pleased by our expressions, smiled as he further buried us in the legend of the cold ones. "There are more of them now, a new female, and two new males, but the rest are the same. In my great-grandfather's time, they already knew of the leader, Carlisle. He'd been here and gone before your people had even settled."

"And what are they?" Anais asked before either Bella or I could ask. "What are the cold ones, exactly?"

He smiled darkly.

"Blood drinkers," he darkened his tone. "Your people would call them vampires."

Vampires? The Quileute legends claim Carlisle Cullen and his family are...vampires? The blood-drinking, immortal beings? Like Dracula? The Brom Stroker Dracula, with the crazy long cape and oversized canine fangs? That kind of vampire? I knew Carlisle, maybe not personally, he didn't seem like a bad person. He was the best doctor anyone could possibly ask for. He was nothing but a kind man. Surely, the legends were wrong, maybe Carlisle's ancestor was a hunter caught hunting wildlife to survive. It wasn't weird for people to hunt deer and such for food.

Though, it probably was possible, and then again, it wasn't.

Conflicted, I try to shake the theory board creating outrageous conspiracies inside my head. It was too weird.

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

"Don't worry, we won't give you away."

"I guess I just violated the treaty." He laughed.

"I'll take it to the grave." Bella promised, though her promise was morbid.

"Seriously, though, don't say anything to your dad. 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."

That was extensive and very extra of these guys.

"We won't," Bella assured him. "Of course not."

"So, do you think we're a bunch of superstitious natives or what?" Jacob joked.

"Not at all."

"Yeah," I agreed with my sister. "You're a very good storyteller."

"And as much as I would like to hear more, I kind of want to crash," Anais poked my side. "Mind if we leave?"

I looked at my friend, and then at Bella. "Will you be okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Go on ahead."

With that, we made our way toward the driftwood circle to collect our things. By the looks of things, everyone else was beginning to pack things up as well.

"So, how do we want to do this?" I asked, scooping up the fishnet bag of molds and bucket while Anais grabbed her lunch box and blanket. "Should I drive, or do you think you can pull through?"

She straightened, pursing her lips as she contemplated her state of condition. "Meh, I think I'll be fine to drive."

"Are you wanting to sleep when we get to my house, or did you want to start on that mountain of homework?"

She visibly cringed. "I should try to work on some, but I want to procrastinate!"

"You can't procrastinate. I want to graduate with you, Ana."

"Okay, fine, um, food and then homework?"

"I think we can whip something up for you." I said teasingly as we began to trek back up toward our rides.

The sky swirled a grayish hue now, seemingly ready to ruin a warm day. Not that it was a bad thing, but I knew the sunshine wouldn't last very long. It was nice today; I'll give the weather that. By the time we got to Anais' car, it'd already begun to sprinkle, much to my surprise, but not very big surprise. We put our stuff in the back of the car and loaded ourselves into the front.

I thought today would've ended in disaster, but it turned out better than expected.

"Okay, you ready?" Anais buckled herself up and started the car.

"Yep."

"Good." And then we rolled out, making our way toward the highway and away from La Push beach, the events on our minds a glue mouse trap.

I couldn't speak for Anais, but La Push's secrets were very deep indeed.