User blog:EdwardJacobBella/Vampires, Shape-shifters and Amusement Parks - Chapter 5

Chapter Five The Truth about Robert

The next morning, Kristen was in her room, on her laptop doing some research on the Quileute Legends. She typed in “Quileute Legends” on her favourite search engine. Looked down the list of websites and clicked on one for books on them. When it came up, she clicked on the shop she wanted “Thunderbird and Whale”. She clicked on “Map” and got a street map showing where it was. It was in Port Angeles. Quickly she wrote down the address, put it in her pocket, turned the laptop off, picked up her rucksack and left for school.

It was a beautiful sunny day. Everyone was in T-shirts. At lunch time Kristen, Justin, Christian, Michael, Anna and Gregory ate outside on the benches. All through lunch, Kristen looked for Robert, but there was no sign of him or his family. “He’s not here” said Anna. She had been staying on the bench soaking in the sun. Kristen looked at her. “Whenever the weather’s nice, the Simons disappear” said Anna. “What, do they just ditch?” asked Kristen. “No, Dr. And Mrs. Simon yank them out for, like, hiking and camping and stuff. I tried that on my parents. Not even close” replied Anna. Just then Christian came up, they looked at her. “Guys, I’m going to the dance with Justin. I just asked him. I took control” said Christian. “I told you that would happen” said Kristen hugging her. “Are you sure you have to go out of town?” asked Christian when she pulled away. “Oh, yeah, it’s a little family thing” replied Kristen. “Ok, we should go shopping in Port Angeles before all the good dresses get cleaned out” said Anna. The school bell rang for the end of lunch. Everyone started collecting their bags and going to class. Anna and Christian stood up and Kristen remembered something Anna said. “Port Angeles? You mind if I come?” she asked. “Yeah, I need your opinion” replied Christian. Kristen smiled, picked up her rucksack and went with them to class.

Straight after school Kristen, Christian and Anna dumped their school stuff at home and went to Port Angeles. They went to one dress shop. Kristen sat against the window, reading a book while Christian and Anna picked out dresses. “I like this one” said Anna picking up a light pink one with thin shoulder straps. “That’s cool” said Christian. Anna slipped the hanger over her head and the dress was one-shoulder. “But, like, I don’t know about the one-shoulder thing” she said. “I like this one” said Christian holding up a sea blue one with thin straps, while wearing a lavender one with lots of thin straps. “Yeah, I like the beading, and you wouldn’t need jewellery” said Anna. “Anna, what do you think? Lavender?” asked Christian. Anna came out of the dressing room wearing a dark pink one and white elbow length gloves with silver around the edge. “Is that good? Is that my colour?” she asked. “I like it” replied Christian. They stood in front of a mirror. “I liked that dusty rose one, too. Ok, I like this one. It makes my boobs look good” said Anna. Just then four boys walked past and looked in the shop. “Hey” called one and knocked on the window. “Right” said Anna as she, Christian and Kristen looked at them. “Nice” he said and walked away. The last one knocked on the window close to where Kristen was sitting. “Oh, God” said Christian looking at Anna. “That is uncomfortable” said Anna. “That’s disgusting” said Kristen looking back at her book when the last one had walked away. “Kristen, what do you think?” asked Anna as she and Christian looked at her. Kristen looked up at them. “Yes?” asked Anna. “That looks great” replied Kristen. Anna got a little annoyed. “You said that about, like, the last five dresses, though” she said. “I thought they were all pretty good” said Kristen. “You’re not really into this, are you?” asked Christian. “I actually really just want to go to this bookstore. I’ll meet you guys at the restaurant?” asked Kristen. “Are you sure?” asked Anna as Kristen put her book away and picked up her bag and coat. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll see you in a minute” replied Kristen. “Ok” said Anna. “Ok” said Christian. As she left, Christian looked at the price tag and gasped while Anna turned back to the mirror. “She’s right, though. This looks awesome” said Anna.

Kristen found the shop and went in. The book was in stock, so she brought it. “There you go” said the bookkeeper handing it over as Kristen handed the money over. Kristen the book in her bag and turned to leave. “Have a good night” called the bookkeeper as Kristen opened the door. “Thankyou” Kristen called back. Once outside, Kristen paused for a moment picking the right direction. It was dark when Kristen reached downtown Port Angeles. She looked around her and then straight ahead. As she approached an alleyway, two figures walked past at the other end. Kristen stopped as they stopped and looked down the alleyway at her. They started to walk towards her, calmly Kristen turned and walked back the way she had come. She looked over her shoulder and saw the figures were coming towards her. Kristen turned right and went that way, the figures followed her. “Saw you in the dress store” said one. “Hey, where you running to?” asked the other. Kristen began to wonder where the other two were. They were in a parking lot and the only two boys were in front of her walking towards her. “There she is” said one in front. Kristen realized she wasn’t been followed, but herded. “What’s up?” asked another one. “That’s my girl” replied one from behind her. As they came closer, Kristen saw cans of beer and realized they were drinking and most likely drunk. “How you guys doing?” asked one in front. “Look who we just found” replied one from behind. One tossed a can of beer to one and he caught it. They crowded around Kristen, trapping her. “What’s up girl? Hey... Where you going?” asked one. “Where are you going?” asked another one. “Come get a drink with us” said another one. “Yeah, you should hang out with us” said the last one. “Come on” said the first one. “It’s fun” said the second one. Kristen tried to back away feeling every scared. “What’s the problem?” asked the third one. “She doesn’t like that, man” replied the fourth one. “You pretty” said one from behind and pushed her forward. “Don’t touch me” said Kristen in a loud voice. “Cute” said one in front of her. “Really, no. Seriously, you should” said the other one from behind, grabbing her and forcing her around. “Don’t touch me” Kristen said much louder and kneed him right where it hurt. He groaned and crouched down. Kristen moved quickly away from him. Suddenly a silver Volvo torn from around the corner and raced towards them. The engine rived as it came forward. Kristen pulled away from the others who had grabbed her. Everyone moved away as the car stopped inches away from hitting them. Kristen gasped as she moved a little farther back and stood frozen in place. The boys were moving even farther back. The driver’s door open and Robert got out. “Get in the car” he ordered. Kristen walked quickly to the car and got in while Robert walked straight up to the boys. “That was a very dangerous maneuver” said one. He stopped and froze in horror. Robert was glaring so darkly at him and growling deeply. He looked and sounded very frightening. The boys backed away in horror. Kristen starred in horror from the passenger side. She could only the back of Robert. She had no idea why they were backing away. Eventually he turned and went to the car. As he got in, he starred at them and Kristen looked at him. He sent the car towards them, forcing them to turn and run away shouting. The tires screeched as the car reversed and drove away at a fast speed. Robert out onto the main road, a horn blaring. Kristen was still feeling scared, Robert was driving like a manic. “I should go back there and rip those guys’ heads off” said Robert angrily. “No, you shouldn’t” said Kristen loudly to control her panic. “You don’t know the vile, repulsive things they were thinking” said Robert still angrily. “And you do?” asked Kristen a little confused. “It’s not hard to guess” replied Robert calming down a little. Kristen looked out the windscreen. “Can you talk about something else? Distract me so I won’t turn around” said Robert, his voice raising. Kristen turned back to look at him. “You should put your seatbelt on” she said, noticing he wasn’t wearing it. Robert laughed. “You should put your seatbelt on” he said, noticing Kristen wasn’t wearing her either. Robert drove faster into town.

He drove her to the restaurant where she was supposed to met Christian and Anna. When they got there, Christian and Anna were coming out. “I thought the salad was pretty good” said Anna. Kristen went up to them. “Hey, you guys, I’m sorry. I just...” she said. “Where were you? We left you messages” said Christian. “Yeah, we waited, but we were, like, staving, so we...” said Anna. The chat broke off, as Robert came and stood next to Kristen. Kristen turned and looked at him. “I’m sorry I kept Kristen from dinner. We just sort of ran into each other and got talking” said Robert. Kristen looked at Christian and Anna. They were having trouble keeping a straight face. “Yeah” said Christian. “No. No. We totally understand. I mean, that happens, right?” said Anna. “Yeah, we were...” said Christian. “We were, yeah, we were leaving. So...” said Anna. “Let’s get this...” said Christian. They walked past and Anna turned to Kristen. “Kristen, if you wanna...” she started. Robert stepped in front of them towards the restaurant. The girls looked at him. “I think I should make sure Kristen gets something to eat. If you’d like” said Robert. Christian, Anna and Kristen starred at him. “I’ll drive you home myself” he added. “That’s so thoughtful” said Christian, looking at Kristen. “It’s really thoughtful. Yeah” said Anna, still looking at Robert. They looked at Kristen. “Yeah. I should eat something” she said. “Yeah” said Christian. Kristen went towards Robert. “Ok, so we’ll see you tomorrow” said Anna. “Ok, yeah” said Kristen, looking at them. “See ya” said Christian. “Ok” said Kristen before turning to Robert. As they walked towards the restaurant, they looked at each other. Christian and Anna looked at each other, giggled and went to their car.

Their waitress was named Katie. She was twenty years old with shoulder length black hair and bright blue eyes. “All right, one mushroom ravioli” she said, putting a plate in front of Kristen. “Thanks” said Kristen. “Yeah, no problem” said Katie. She turned to Robert. “So are you sure there isn’t anything I can get you?” she asked, smiling. “No. No, thankyou” replied Robert. “Let me know” said Katie before walking away. Kristen looked at her and sighed softly, before looking away. For a moment neither of them spoke. “You’re really not gonna eat?” asked Kristen, picking up a fork. She looked down. “No, I’m on a special diet” replied Robert. Kristen looked up quickly. “You gotta give me some answers” she said. Robert just looked at her. “Yes, no. To get to the other side. (Kristen looked away for a second). 1.77245...” he said. “I don’t want to know what the square root of pi is” Kristen interrupted. “You knew that?” asked Robert. “How did you know where I was?” asked Kristen keeping calm. “I didn’t” replied Robert. That was not the answer Kristen was looking for and she felt angry. “All right” she said and went to get to her feet. “What? Don’t leave. I...” begged Robert. Kristen was already half way up, she looked at him for a moment and sat back down. “Did you follow me?” asked Kristen. Robert was looking down. “I... (He looked up into her eyes). I feel very protective of you” he replied. Kristen looked away for a second. “So you followed me” she said. “I was trying to keep a distance unless you needed my help, and then I heard what those low-lifes were thinking” replied Robert. “Wait. You say you heard what they thinking?” asked Kristen confused. Robert looked away and laughed softly. “So what, you... You read minds?” asked Kristen even more confused. Robert’s eyes flicked up to Kristen’s eyes. “I can read every mind in this room. Apart from yours. There’s money, sex, money, sex, cat. (Kristen had been looking around the room as he said this and looked back at him). And then you, nothing. It’s very frustrating” replied Robert. Kristen felt very uncomfortable that he couldn’t read her mind. “Is there something wrong with me?” she asked. Robert found this very funny, he smiled and looked away from a second. “See, I tell you I can read minds, and you think there’s something wrong with you” he said. Kristen gave him a weird look and looked down for a second. When she looked up, he was upset about something. He exhaled and looked down. “What is it?” asked Kristen in a comforting voice. When he looked up, his face was serious. “I don’t have the strength to stay away from you anymore” he replied. Kristen felt very confused about him staying away from her. “Then don’t” she said after a moment. They just stared into each other’s eyes.

It had been raining while they had been in the restaurant. Robert drove Kristen home. All the way into Forks, Kristen couldn’t take her eyes off Robert. While they were driving Robert had the car heater on full power. “Ok, I think I’m warm enough now” said Kristen. She reached forward to turn it off, but Robert stopped her. Their fingers touched and Kristen’s hand flinched back. She gasped and looked at him. Robert shot her a quick look, she was still looking at him with her mouth hanging open. “Your hand is so cold” said Kristen. Robert didn’t reposed, but his hands gripped the steering wheel very tightly. Finally, Kristen looked out the windscreen. For a long time, they drove in silence. Suddenly, there was flashing red and blue lights up ahead. Kristen felt uneasy as they came up to the police station. Every cruiser there had their lights on and there was an ambulance parked up. “Whoa! What is going on? My dad’s still here. Can you pull in?” asked Kristen. As they pulled up, they saw a black Mercedes S55 AMG right at the end of the line. “That’s my father’s car on the end. What is he doing here?” asked Robert aloud. They got out of the car just as Dr. Simon came out of the police station. “Peter, what’s going on?” asked Robert. Kristen was a little bit surprised that he called him by his first name. “Ned Franks was found in a boat out near his place. I just examined the body” replied Peter. Shock ran through both Robert and Kristen. “He died?” asked Kristen. Peter nodded sadly. “How?” asked Kristen. “Animal attack” replied Peter. Robert looked seriously at Peter. “Was it the same one that got that security guard down in Mason?” asked Kristen. “Most likely” replied Peter looking down for a second. “Well, it’s getting closer to town, then” said Kristen. “Kristen, you should go inside. Ned was your father’s friend” said Peter, stepping towards her. “Ok” said Kristen and walked towards the entrance. Once up the steps, she turned and saw both Peter and Robert were looking at her. “I’ll see you later” she said to Robert. She turned and walked towards the doors. Peter had turned and looked at Robert (who was still looking at Kristen). As Kristen walked in, Peter walked to his car, Robert looked after him and went to his car.

 Kristen found Billy sitting at his desk, staring into space. She walked up to him and bent down to talk to him. Billy looked up at her. “Hey” said Kristen. “Hey” said Billy and looked away. For a few seconds no one spoke. “Dad, I’m really sorry” said Kristen looking at him. “I’ve known him going on 30 years” said Billy not looking at Kristen. Kristen put a hand on his shoulder. Billy lifted his hand and held on to Kristen’s. There was a pause. “Don’t worry, we’re gonna find this thing. (He let go of Kristen’s hand and looked at her). Meantime, I want you to carry this with you” said Billy. He had reached into a drawer and held up a small can of pepper spray. Kristen looked down at it and made a face. “I don’t know if you...” started Kristen. “It will give your old man some peace of mind” Billy interrupted. “Ok” said Kristen and took it from him. It was quiet for a few seconds. “Let’s go home” said Billy. They both stood up, Billy pulled on his jacket and they walked out.

As Kristen walked out the police station towards Billy’s cruiser, two ambulance men were wheeling a stretcher towards the ambulance. Covered up and strapped on it was Ned’s body. Ned’s feet were sticking out at the end. As she stopped to let them go first, Kristen thought about something and flashbacks popped into her head. She froze as they came to her. The first was Robert’s strange black eyes on the day she met him. The next was him and his family not eating or drinking anything at lunch. The last was Robert’s ice-cold hands gripping the wheel on the ride back from Port Angeles. Once the ambulance men had passed, Kristen looked quickly back over her shoulder to see Billy was coming up behind her. He caught up and they walked to the cruiser.

Later alone in her room, Kristen turned on her laptop and put the book of Quileute Legends out of her bag. She sat down at her little desk and flicked through the book. She stopped on a page at had the side of a strange head with a black eye. Under the picture was a sentence. Two words jumped out at her. “Cold One” she said. It made no sense. She closed the book and typed “The Cold One” on her favourite search engine. When all the searches came up, Kristen clicked on one that took onto a website. There was a big picture of a strange creature that looked human with pointed fangs eating humans. Kristen felt a little uneasy. It was called the Demon of the Night. The page was showing what people believed this creature did in the Pacific Northwest. She clicked on Egypt. The Egyptians called it “The Immortal Drink”. An ancient Egypt showed two people with goblets of blood. She clicked on India and the Indians called it “Scourge of the Ganges”. The pictured showed a horrible creature with claws and fangs. She clicked on Peru and had a process called “The Demon’s Dismemberment”. The pictured showed four men ripping a fifth to pieces over a fire. Kristen felt even more uneasy now. She read through a paragraph, certain words jumped out at her and more flashbacks came to her. She was feeling very frightened now. The first one was “undead”. The second one was “speed”, a flashback of Robert getting to Kristen moments before Gregory’s van would have hit her flashed before her eyes. The third one was “strength”, a flashback of Robert stopping the van with his hand flashed up, she could even hear the echoing boom. The fourth one was “cold-skinned”, a flashback of Robert’s ice-cold hand touching hers appeared. The fifth one was “Immortal”. The sixth one was “drank blood”. The seventh and final one was “vampire”.

Kristen laying on a sofa somewhere and Robert was leaning over her. At once he lifted her up slightly and brought his lips to her throat. Kristen had closed her eyes. When he pulled away, Kristen’s blood was around his mouth. Kristen flinched and opened her eyes. It had all been a dream. She was lying in bed and it had been hours after reaching the Cold Ones. As she lay there, she started thinking. She now knew what Robert was and tomorrow she was going to confront him.