Last night I listened to the Linkin Park CD over and over again until I fell asleep. I dreamed I was in La Push, I recognized the green light of the forest. I could hear the waves crashing and I knew that if I could find the ocean I would see the sun. I tried to follow the sound but Jacob Black was there, he was pulling me back to the darkest part of the forest.
“Jacob? What’s wrong?” I asked him. His face looked terrified. He yanked me with all his strength as I resisted. I didn’t want to go in the darkness.
“Run Bella, you have to run.” he whispered to me, frightened.
“This way, Bella!” Mike called out of the trees but I couldn’t see him.
“Why?” I asked. I was desperate to see the sun but Jacob wouldn’t let go. But then he yelped and let go of me, shaking and falling to the forest floor. He twitched on the ground as I watched in horror. I screamed for him and then he was gone. In his place was a red brown wolf with black eyes. The wolf pointed toward the shore, low growls coming from between his exposed fangs. From behind me I could hear Mike crying out “Bella, run!” I didn’t turn. I saw a light shining from the beach toward me. Then Edward stepped out from the trees, his skin faintly glowing. His eyes were a dangerous black. He held up a hand and beckoned me to come to him. The wolf suddenly growled. I took a step toward Edward and he smiled, his teeth were sharp and pointed.
“Trust me.” he purred.
When I took another step, the wolf launched himself to the space between me and the vampire. The wolf’s fangs aimed for the jugular and I screamed. I woke up in that moment. I knocked the CD player off the bed side table. The light was on and I was fully dressed, shoes and all. I knew I couldn’t go back to bed. It was 5:30am so I took a shower to finish waking up. I didn’t know if Charlie was asleep or had left already but my suspicions were confirmed when I looked out the window and saw that the cruiser was gone. I did something I never do: make the bed. It looked nice and tidy. I grabbed a bowl of cereal while the modem dialed. I chewed each bite slowly. When I got back from the kitchen after washing my bowl and spoon, I picked up the CD player from the floor and placed it on the center of my little table. I put away the head phones and turned on last night’s CD. I lowered the volume to the point that it was background noise. I decided to look up the word vampire in a search engine. There was a lot to sift through; movies, TV shows, RPGs, underground metal, gothic merchandise, etc. Eventually I found a promising site: Vampires A-Z. Two quotes greet the user on the home page:
Throughout the shadowy world of ghosts and demons there is no figure so terrible, no figure so dreaded and abhorred, yet dight with such fearful fascination, as the vampire, who is himself neither ghost nor demon, but yet who partakes the dark natures and possesses the mysterious and terrible qualities of both.
-Rev. Montague Summers
If there is in this world a well-attested account, it is that of vampires. Nothing is lacking: official reports, affidavits of well-known people, of surgeons, of priests, of magistrates; the judicial proof is most complete. And with all that, who is there who believes in vampires?
- Rousseau
I browsed the alphabetized lists and read the descriptions carefully. I tried to look for anything familiar or plausible. Only three entries really caught my attention: the Varacolaci, Nelapsi, and the Stregoni Benici.
Varacolaci
Area from/Nationality: Romanian Vampire that ranks among the most powerful of all the undead. It is said to have the ability to cause both lunar and solar eclipses. They may appear as pale humans with dry skin. They can travel on an astral thread, the midnight spinning, traveling as far as need as long as the thread remains unbroken.
Nelapsi
Area from/nationality: Slovak
Vampire, which can cause serious harm to the living. The Nelapsi is said to be able to massacre entire villages in a single visit. It also has the ability to kill with a single glance.
Stregoni Benefici
An Italian vampire, said to be on the side of goodness, and a mortal enemy of all evil vampires.
I felt a relief that among the hundreds of entries, one claimed the existence of good vampires. But there were few entries that matched even one factor of my observations and Jacob’s description. And then there was the popular belief that vampires couldn’t come out in the daytime or they burn to a crisp. I feel aggravated. I’m sitting in my room researching vampires. Forks really is driving me insane.