The Walkers (Twilight Fan Fiction)

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen

“Can I ask you something?” I asked tentatively, and when Shiloh didn’t contest, I took her silence as her agreement. “What do you need me to do?”

She turned to me, and although her expression was vacant, there was a curiosity in the way she moved her head. “There is nothing I require from you at this moment.”

“That’s not what I mean.” I shook my head and tried again. “Let’s say, hypothetically, that I was to commit one hundred percent to training. What would you need me to do?”

“This is a precarious situation,” Shiloh remarked, and she rose from her seated position. “You are human and therefore, unable to fully commit to our proper training methods. That being said, were I to modify the ancient ways, there is a possibility that you could still reach your potential. However, I will not do so without a full commitment, which means the forfeiting of all your human ties.”

I nodded. “You mean school and work?”

Her gaze sharpened. “As well as your human relationships.”

I felt my expression change, and with good reason. Hearing the story of Shiloh and the massacre of her younglings had overwhelmed me, and I had momentarily disregarded my obligations to my family. As I considered the ramifications of abandoning them, I realized how potentially bad that could be. After all, Renee had Phil, but Charlie had no one. Just thinking of him made me cringe in emotional pain. We had just reconnected on the phone, and the distance that I had forced between us, both literal and physical, was starting to dissipate. I was even considering visiting him after I graduated. Could I really sever connections with my family in the blink of an eye? Could I vanish from their lives forever?

Shiloh was watching me with passive curiosity. “Family is important to humans, is it not?”

I hunched forward and stared at the floor. “I didn’t realize how important they were until recently. I’m sorry for being so difficult, Shiloh, but I can’t just can’t up and abandon them.”

There was a slight pressure on my shoulder, and I looked up to find Shiloh staring down at me, her hand on me. “I will not pretend that I understand what you are feeling. I recognized that plucking you from humanity would cause potentially hazardous outcomes. Therefore, you may retain your ties to your family as long as they do not interfere with your training.”

I smiled, relieved. “Thank you.”

“Please bear in mind that should you decide to join us,” Shiloh added, “this will no longer be an option. You will be mandated to sever.”

“I understand,” I answered, nodding profusely. “Thank you, Shiloh.”

She inclined her head slightly. “The question remains: do you wish to commit to our training?”

The idea of walking away from my education felt taboo, but there was also a sense of relief tied to it. There would be no more tests, no more gym classes, and no more mindless, repetitive homework problems. I would be free to focus my energies on other tasks, ones that required brawn instead of brains. Could I do it? Could I walk away from something that had been my safety blanket for so long?

Shiloh turned away from me. “Perhaps we should discuss this at another time.”

“No,” I insisted, rising from the couch immediately. “That’s not necessary. I know what I need to do. It just feels strange to me. I’ve always been a relatively perfect student. It’s one of the few consistencies in my life. Walking away from my education is…well, it’s hard.”

“You will still be a student, Bella,” Shiloh said as she approached me. “Instead of studying the laws and culture of humans, you will be learning our ways and methods. In addition, Declan has agreed to keep your absences unnoticed.”