Genesis [Emmett Cullen] (2)

[09- Yosemite]

"Let's get away, just the two of us," Emmett announced on Friday afternoon.

"Where do you have in mind?"

"Yosemite."

"Uhmmm, ok. Why?"

"April is when bears come out of hibernation and Yosemite's got a lot of them." I knew I needed to hunt. It wasn't getting to a dangerous place yet, but my eyes were definitely starting to shift from gold to black

"What about school?" Not that I minded ditching school, but it would complicate things, especially since we were seniors.

"It's all been taking care of. We leave today, come back Tuesday night. And it's not like we could even go to school; Alice says it's going to be sunny." I smiled. It still amazed me that Carlisle managed to convince the principal to take us out of school when it was sunny to go 'hiking'. But Carlisle was Carlisle, everyone automatically trusted him.

"So what do you think?" Emmett prompted. I nodded. Actually, going to Yosemite would be perfect. The last couple weeks had been crazy with everything going on with Edward, and I selfishly wanted time alone with Emmett.

After packing a small suitcase and wishing the family goodbye, Emmett and I drove off in my Audi. It would have been much faster to run but since we were going for a while, we needed to bring changes of clothes so taking the car made more sense.

It was a rare treat to be able to use the Audi. It was too ostentatious to drive it to and from school but outside the town limits, were people didn't know us, it was fine.

"You need a faster car," Emmett whinged as we hit highway 101. I rolled my eyes and punched the gas harder. The car lurched forward but not as fast as it use to. He laughed.

"I guess you have a point," I grumbled.

The almost 1000 mile drive took about five hours but I enjoyed every minute of it. It was fascinating to watch the landscape transform from the lush, green environment the Pacific Northwest was famous for, to the ancient giant sequoias in California.

Emmett and I didn't bother booking a hotel room. We were only here for several days and Alice assured us that it would be overcast for almost the entire time.

The first thing on our agenda was hunting. This trip was as much a quick getaway as a hunting excursion. By staying longer when we go on distant hunting trips, we gave the blood time to be taken up by our tissues before we drink again. This way we can become fully saturated with blood, maximizing the amount of time before the thirst becomes intolerable again.

It didn't take us long to find prey, a bear each. After I drained mine, I found Emmett wrestling his food. I sighed and sat down on a convenient boulder. This might take a while.

But Emmett was almost done. He let the bear try to take his head off with another swipe of the paw, laughing as the blow bounced off and sent it staggering back. The bear roared and Emmett roared again through his laughter. Then he launched himself at the animal, who stood a head taller than him on its hind legs, and their bodies fell to the ground tangled up together, taking a mature pine tree down with them. The bear's growls cut off with a gurgle.

Emmett jogged over to where I was waiting for him. His shirt was destroyed, torn and bloodied, sticky with sap and covered in fur. His dark curly hair wasn't in much better shape. I couldn't help but smile when I saw the huge grin on his face.

"That was a strong one. I could almost feel it when it clawed me."

"Maybe we should have gotten a hotel room," I sighed, my eyes trailing over the tears in his button down.