Quileute

Sam

Allison doesn't answer as she breaks down into tears, her hands splayed on my mattress as if this all that is keeping her upright.

I quickly push myself out of bed, grab my cell phone off my nightstand and dial Jacob's number at high speed. There's three rings before I hear my friend's voice on the other line.

"Hello?" Jacob asks groggily.

"Jake is Sam at your house?"

"No," he answers now sounding fully awake. "Why? Is he missing?"

"Yeah my mom called Leah and the guys he was hanging out with last night and they said they haven't seen him since then," I reply now on the verge of tears myself.

"Alright Em don't go anywhere I'll be at your house in five. We'll find him Emma," he promises then the line goes dead.

I lean my head back feeling every ounce of strength leak from my limbs. I turn back to Allison and wrap my mother in a hug. She presses her face into shoulder and my mother, the strongest woman I know, begins to sob.

Later that day, the Blacks and Clearwaters come to the house doing their best to comfort my mother and I. They wait with us through the day, all of us hoping and praying that Sam will come home or that we'll hear something from him. Sue whips up some food and she and Leah try to convince the rest of us to eat something.

Leah comes over to where I'm sitting and in a quiet voice I've never heard her use before, especially not when talking to me, she offers me some food. I refuse politely, feeling too sick to stomach anything.

When midnight rolls around, Sam has been missing for twenty four hours and my mom finally calls Charlie to alert him to the situation.

Most of the day I have remained silent, curled up on the couch beside Jacob with a blanket covering the two of us. When Charlie arrives at our door, I bury my face in my friend's shoulder trying to block out the fact that it has come to this. That my brother, the one person I always counted on to be here, isn't.

Jacob wraps his arm around me pulling me close to his chest. This act surprises me but I don't move, allowing my body to settle against his. There has never been anything romantic between me and Jake, he's always been like an older brother and he is and always will be my best friend. Now... Now I feel a warm glow in the centre of my chest that has nothing to do with the body warmth seeping into me from the boy beside me.

I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I know, I'm blinking open my eyes and I see that the only people in the room are my mother, Leah, Jacob, Billy and myself.

"Hey morning sleeping beauty," Jacob teases as I sit up and stretch.

I smile slightly at his teasing but my lightheartedness quickly fades as I remember Sam. "Has there been any word?"

Allison shakes her head. "Charlie has Harry, Seth Paul and Jared with him and they're searching La Push. Sue went back home just in case he goes there," she explains. Her voice sounds hoarse from all her crying and I feel slightly guilty that I wasn't the one comforting her.

"Is anyone searching the forest?"

Leah shakes her head. "We were waiting for you to wake up," she says in a somewhat subdued voice that makes me realize that we're both equally worried for my brother, and that she cares about him just as much as I do.

"Well I'm awake now, let's go," I say getting to my feet.

Leah, my mother and Jacob follow my lead while Billy remains seated on the couch, looking exhausted. "Good luck," he tells us tiredly.

Allison smiles and touches her hand to Billy's arm. "Are you sure okay you're alright to stay here alone? I can ask Sue to come and stay with you, I'm sure Seth wouldn't mind waiting at the house for Sam."

Billy waves an unconcerned hand. "Seth would be too ansy to sit around waiting. Don't worry about me Allie, I'll be fine."

Allison still looks unconvinced but she nods and leads us out to the driveway. "Emma you and Jacob are going to search the east end of the woods, Leah and I will search the west."

"Sounds good," I say pulling my hood over my head. "If you find his truck, call us and we'll come help you look. Where his truck is, that's where Sam will be."

Allison nods before pilling me into a hug. "Be careful," she whispers.

"You too," I reply and she kisses me on the head before climbing into the passenger seat of Leah's car.

"You ready?" Jacob asks as he turns on the motorbike's headlights.

"Let's go find my brother," I reply.

The bike slows as we reach the eastern edge of the woods. Jacob turns off the engine and I quickly climb off eager to begin searching. Using the flashlight on my phone, I examine the surrounding area.

"Sam," I call loudly shattering the quietness of the night. "Sam." An answering howl rings through the darkness causing my hands to shake slightly. Even though the wolves are considered our brothers, and its against tribal law to kill them, I don't think its against their law to kill us.

"Hey," Jacob says softly intertwining his fingers in mine. "I'm right here."

I give him a grateful nod and lead the way into the trees.

We've been searching less than ten minutes when my phone rings. "It's Allison," I say to Jacob excitedly. "Did you find him?" I ask quickly.

"We found his truck. It's parked near the middle of the forest," my mother answers. "Leah called her dad and they're all coming."

"Alright we're on our way," I say before hanging up. I quickly explain what's happening to Jacob and we run back to the treeline.

As we're riding alone the road, Charlie's swat car comes into view parked beside a white pickup truck. Sam's truck.

Jumping off the bike, I see Harry, Charlie, Seth Paul and Jared entering the shadows. "Harry," I call walking over to the five men. Harry is opening his mouth to reply when a scream from the forest explodes through the night. I exchange a look with Jacob and start running into the trees.

I ignore Jacob's calls for me to wait as I run through the forest. I remember hearing the howling and my only thought is that the creature must have attacked Sam, Leah or my mother, or maybe all of them. When I reach a clearing in the centre of the trees, I'm met by my mom who is kneeling on the ground her hands clutching to a piece of black fabric.

I recognize the fabric, it belongs to the shirt Sam was wearing yesterday, before he disappeared. I have to steady myself with a hand on a tree as I see that the black shirt my has been ripped to shreds and blood is turning the forest floor a dark crimson.