After Dawn Broke

Chapter Seven: Unconscious

The last thing I remembered was quietly walking through the damp woods with my grandparents, Bella and Edward, while listening intently for something appetizing to sink my teeth into.

I may only be a small percentage of vampire, but blood is still extremely appealing. One strange thing about me is that I always preferred the taste of animal blood instead of human blood. I've never met anyone with the same preferences.

After walking and listening for quite some time, I remember the aroma of deer filling my nostrils. Nothing else was clear, but I had heard a voice in my head. Then everything went black.

What had the voice said? Was it just my thoughts, or had someone been communicating with me? I knew my shield had been down. I always leave it down when hunting in case of an emergency. Had someone been warning me about the horrid darkness?

I looked around and examined my whereabouts. I seemed to be in a hospital bed, but in a familiar place. Not a hospital. Li was in his work uniform; he is the chief doctor of Forks Hospital. He looked straight at me and asked if I was okay.

"Yeah, I think so... What... happened? I don't remember anything..." I replied dizzily. I tried to sit up, but his firm hand restricted my movement. I figured it was for the best because I did have a headache, and I felt sick.

Li glanced across the room to where I could barely make out the figure of a familiar young man in a white button-up shirt looking out a window. I was pretty sure it was Grandpa Edward, and Li confirmed my thoughts. "Edward, care to explain?"

It wasn't a question. He wanted Grandpa to explain to me what had happened. "Grandpa, what happened?" I questioned.

Why couldn't I remember? Grandpa stared at me with his topaz eyes. Apparently he had been able to hunt, but I was pretty sure I had not because I did not have the usual sloshy feeling of animal blood in my stomach. "Would you like me to describe in words... or show you... through my thoughts?"

I pondered this for a few seconds. "Is it really something I'd like to see?" I wondered aloud.

"It certainly is graphic," Grandpa Edward pointed out as he flashed over to my side and gently caressed the side of my face. I wasn't really sure what he was doing until I lifted my own hand and felt a bandage wrapped around the side of my face.

"What...." I wailed on the verge of hyperventilating.

I was so confused, and all I desired in that very moment were my parents. I began to think of all those times that I had let my teenager-ish emotions get in the way, and I had wanted my parents to leave me alone. Oh, the irony... How could I have been so rude to them all those times? They were just trying to make sure I was making the right choices in life, like all parents should. Now, when I needed them most, they weren't here. I had definitely learned a lesson. Never take your parents for granted, because you never know how long you could have left with them. All I could hope for now is that I would be reunited with them, and soon.

"Taylor... you are not the only one. I know of many others your age who are a hundred times more disrespectful to their parents. It'll be okay. You will be reunited, if it's the last thing I do," he vowed in determination.

"How can you be so sure?" I whispered uncertainly. I wanted to believe him, but what if he was wrong? It would just hurt me worse.

Li spoke up from across the room, "A lot happened while you were... unconscious." What could that mean? I had forgotten he was still in the room with Grandpa and me.

I felt an unnatural but gentle breeze blow past me all of the sudden. Grandma Bella came and sat on the side of my hospital bed next to Grandpa Edward. "Oh! Taylor is awake!" she exclaimed in a perfect singsong voice.

She leaned over and gave me a small hug, careful not to squeeze too hard like last time. "How are you feeling?" she asked worriedly as she felt my forehead for fever. "You're burning up!"

The touch of her icy vampire hand was very refreshening against my feverish skin. Like the feeling you get after jumping into a cool swimming pool after sweating in the blistering summer sun. Grandma seemed to sense my relief, so she kept her hand pressed against my clammy forehead.

After a few silent minutes, she dropped her hand and reached for mine. She picked it up lightly and placed it against her perfectly smooth cheek. It reminded me of what she usually does ever time she sees my mom. (Did they explain what happened to you?) she frowned slightly as she thought it.

I looked around to see Grandpa and Li staring at us. Li seemed extremely curious, as he does in most situations. Grandpa seemed all-knowing, as he could hear our conversation. I looked back into Grandma's eyes, which were a liquid golden, and I answered her. (No, I never even heard the plan.)

She grabbed Grandpa Edward's hand with her free hand and held it tightly. So tightly that her grip would have easily shattered any human's hand. "She needs to know," Grandma surmised as she stared at him.