Renewal [Emmett Cullen] (1)

[26- First Hunt]

We walked downstairs to the backyard, the expansive forest in front of us. I looked back up at the house, the rest of the Cullens were smiling at me from the window. I couldn't believe how crisp the world around me was, it was like the fog had lifted and I could finally see everything clearly. Emmett turned to face me, "I'll race you," he said, a smile on his face.

"3, 2, 1, go!"

We took off, darted through the trees to the edge of the river. I went along with him effortlessly. I could feel all of my muscles, almost see the connections as they worked together, will them to do exactly what I needed. For the first time since my accident, I truely felt free. 

I rocketed over, under, and through the thick jade maze at a rate that should have reduced everything around me to a streaky green blur. I could plainly see each tiny leaf on all the small branches of every insignificant shrub that I passed.

The wind of my speed blew my hair and, though I knew it shouldn't, it felt warm against my skin. Just as the rough forest floor shouldn't feel like velvet beneath my bare soles, and the limbs that whipped against my skin shouldn't feel like caressing feathers.

The forest was much more alive than I'd ever known—small creatures whose existence I'd never guessed at teemed in the leaves around me. They all grew silent after we passed, their breath quickening in fear. The animals had a much wiser reaction to our scent than humans seemed to. Certainly, it'd had the opposite effect on me.

I kept waiting to feel winded like after a race, but my breath came effortlessly. I waited for the burn to begin in my muscles, but my strength only seemed to increase as I grew accustomed to my stride. Though he was taller, my strength made up the difference between our strides. I felt so much faster, and soon he was trying to keep up with me. I laughed again, exultant, when he fell behind. My naked feet touched the ground so infrequently now it felt more like flying than running.

"Do you plan to run to Mexico?" Emmett called out. With a sigh, I whirled and skipped lightly to his side, some hundred yards back. I looked at him expectantly. He was smiling, with one eyebrow raised. I could only stare, he was so beautiful.

"Close your eyes. Let your instincts take over," he murmured. I could smell the rich, earthy smell of rot and moss, the resin in the evergreens, the warm, almost nutty aroma of the small rodents cowering beneath the tree roots. And then, reaching out again, the clean smell of the water, which was surprisingly unappealing despite my thirst. I focused toward the water and found the scent that must have gone with the lapping noise and the pounding heart. Another warm smell, rich and tangy, stronger than the others. And yet nearly as unappealing as the brook. I wrinkled my nose. He chuckled.

I let myself drift with the scent, barely aware of my movement as I ghosted down the incline to the narrow meadow where the stream flowed. My body shifted forward automatically into a low crouch as I hesitated at the fern-fringed edge of the trees. I could see a big buck, two dozen antler points crowning his head, at the stream's edge, and the shadow-spotted shapes of the four others heading eastward into forest at a leisurely pace.

I took Emmett's suggestion and with a light bound, I sailed through the air and landed on top of the buck. It whirled, shrieking surprise and defiance underneath me, his eyes bright with fury. Half-crazed with thirst, I ignored the antlers and launched myself at him, knocking us both to the forest floor. It wasn't much of a fight. My teeth unerringly sought his throat, and his instinctive resistance was pitifully feeble against my strength. My jaws locked easily over the precise point where the heat flow concentrated.

The deer's struggles grew more and more feeble, and his screams choked off with a gurgle. The warmth of the blood radiated throughout my whole body, heating even my fingertips and toes. I shoved his carcass off my body in disgust and looked up at Emmett, he was still beaming.

I was still... thirsty. I didn't know how much more I would need to feel satisfied so I fed off some of the smaller deer that had run away. Emmett was digging with what appeared to be his hands, easily breaking through the layers of rock. The mound of dirt beside him growing as the hole did. He calmly collected the carcasses and buried them, patting down the soil and covering it with a layer of dead leaves.

"It's so we don't leave a trace. Do you want to go back?" he asked. I nodded and we raced home.