Hide & Seek

. . . and then one day, at the beginning of December, she rushed away from her breakfast and to her KeyTouch that she hadn't turned on in weeks.

Mom had an idea.

I watched from the counter, still spooning cereal into my mouth as I watched her from across the house. Her fingers tapped quickly over the smooth panel, her eyes fixed on the words as they came out faster and faster. And then the phone rang.

"Can you get that for me, sweetie?!" she called, but her eyes never left the screen. I sighed, but fear gripped my belly in a sudden flourish. Who would be on the other line? My finger pushed on the button glowing on the counter, and a small sleek handheld phone disconnected from the marble. I picked it up, and placed it against my ear.

"Hello?" I answered, trying to keep my voice from cracking.

"Hello, Copper, how are you doing today?"

My throat suddenly went dry. "Hi, Nessie."

"I thought we already went through our greetings?" I could particularly hear the smile and tilt of her head as she spoke. I gulped, wetting my lips as I pushed my bowl away. I suddenly didn't feel so well.

"I'm doing fine, Nessie. How are you?"

There was a giggle, and a gruff chuckle to follow my words. "We're doing fine, Copper. Would you like us to give you a ride to school, today?"

I went silent. The only noise I could hear was another bell-like laugh and mom typing on her KeyTouch. "You're going to give me a ride to school?" I asked, unsure if I had heard them correctly or not. There was another chuckle.

"Well, more like kidnap you for the day," she started, and before I could protest, she spoke up. "Now come on, Copper, we're already outside!" The other line went dead, and I stared at the phone in my hand. They were already outside . . . ?

Quietly, I stood from the counter and my sock cladded feet padded quietly against the tile. I peeked out the front door, only to stare in awe at the 2112 Careen TopSpeed. Those babies wouldn't be out for another two years . . . he had to be a concept car, or something. Nessie sat in the driver's seat, with Jacob hanging out the window, leaning across her lap. He was smiling happily, his long black hair pulled back out of his face.

They were waving for me to hurry up.

Go with Nessie ( who happened to be a vampire ) on a shopping trip, or go to school and completely ignore the fact that a family full of vampires was living in my backyard.

Well, if it meant free clothes . . .

"I'm going to school, mom!" I called, rushing to pull on my snow boots, and wrap a thick scarf around my head and neck. All I got in return was a familiar hum of a busy mother not hearing a word I said. I sighed. She always got into these moods whenever she got caught up in her book. "See you when I get home," I mumbled, not even knowing why I wasted the breath to.

I grabbed my keys, my bag, and ran out the door. Mom would be fine alone as long as she stayed in the house.

Nessie opened the door for me, and I slid inside.



Josephine Acres sat at her desk, eyes flying across the screen on the wall as she read every word she wrote, writing more as they finally connected with her fingers. How long had she been sitting there? An hour? two? four? the whole day? She didn't know, but she was getting her book written, and that meant that she might actually move sooner than she thought.

Copper hadn't really been having a good time here, so maybe it was for the best?

When the scene that she had envisioned ran out and no more ink could be typed, Josephine sat back and popped her neck. The muscles in her back were tense and hurt; the position she had been hunched over in hurt after awhile.

She stood, bending her back to pop the tense tendons into a comfortable position. Her knuckles were twisted, a satisfied crack coming from them also. Finding it noon, but not hungry or any ideas in her head, Josephine always found it best to take a walk when she hit writer's block. Maybe then she could get the blood flowing through her body and the ideas coming.

Afterall, she had yet to explore the small bits of the woods behind her house that she told herself she would look at one day.

Josephine didn't bother with a jacket, but simply slipped her snow boots on over her feet. She opened the door, shivered at the cold wind, but relaxed into warmth at the sound of the snow crunching beneath her feet.

The trees blocked the once-in-a-blue-moon appearance of the sun, but they kept the warmth inside the dense piece of forest. Josephine walked through it with caution, not knowing what exactly was under the piles of snow under her feet.

Soon, after maybe fifteen, thirty minutes - maybe even an hour! - Josephine came across a wide, yet shallow, frozen stream.

"It's not safe to be out here, miss," spoke a deep southern voice. Josephine spun in surprise, her hand reaching up to clench her chest.

"Dear lord, you gave me a fright!" she scolded the young man, stepping back once she realized how close he had been. How in the world had she not heard him?

"I apologize, ma'am, didn't mean to cause a scare." His butterscotch eyes were soft, but his standing position was that of uniformity.

"It's alright," she spoke, watching her breath as it froze in the air. "What are you doing so far out here?" she asked, placing her arms around her body.

"I should be asking you the same thing," he shot back, but not harshly. Just . . . hurriedly.

Josephine frowned, pursing her lips. "I own the house over in the direction," she answered, pointing in the direction of the house that the man knew all to well. "What are you doing on my land?"

The man chuckled, flicking a few blonde locks from his eyes. "I apologize, I'm just exploring. I believe I got lost."

Josephine almost took what he said as the truth. She felt the motion of trust war, her cold toes and fingers. That was odd . . .

"Jasper!" called a voice from across the stream. Josephine turned, again, in surprise, this time slipping in the snow. She put out her hands to catch herself, and the thin ice broke, cutting along the length of her arm. Josephine hissed and cried out at the cold and the cut. The cold numbed the pain, make it to were she couldn't even feel her fingers as they curled and bent.

There was a monster like hiss that caused Josephine to look up, and she found the sweet young man that she had been talking to, crouched just a few feet away with dark - almost red - eyes.

"Jasper, no!" The man lunged, and Josephine closed her eyes . . .



Nessie was pulling me through the forest with ease. Her dark auburn curls bounced around her head with every step she took. It was only then that I noticed how fast we were going. The trees were only a blur of green and brown, but it was mostly black since we were in the forest at night. I couldn't see anything, not even my hand if it was right in front of my face.

She was saying something, too fast for me to understand.

"Nessie! What's going on?!" She only continued to yell something over and over again.

"We broke the treaty!"

Treaty? What treaty?

"They're after us! Jake is trying to block them off for right now so I can get you somewhere safe!" She yelled someones name, but it was just a gurgle of sound. It sounded a lot like 'Bella' . . . "Your mom is going to be okay, Copper!"

Mom? What happened to mom? What the bloody hell is going on!?

"Nessie, what's going on!? What treaty, who's Jacob trying to block off?!"

It was just another blur of words. Something came flying from the side. I only noticed it because of the glinting brown eyes it had, the dark color of its fur made the perfect camouflage for this late night.

It blocked Nessie from getting to me again. I had been slammed onto the ground when it attacked.

Wait... I knew those eyes... those were-!

It growled in my face before stepping between Nessie and I. I laid there, laying in shock. I couldn't breath. My dream had come true. This was happening. The same thing that had happened to Tobi had happened to Mom. If only I was there!

"You can't harm me, alpha! I'm an imprint - it's your more absolute rule!"

The wolf - more like a hairy horse - growled again, but still stayed between us. She stepped forward, her hand reached out. It snapped at it with its giant jaws. Nessie frowned.

"I have a power! Just let me show you what I want!"

It stayed quiet, its chest rumbling with silent growls as Nessie grew closer. She touched the wolf's fur, her fingers touching warm skin. There was a moment of silence and the growl stopped. The tense, protective posture changed to relaxed and the wolf sat much like a dog would do when waiting for its master.

"Now you know," Nessie said, stepping back. The wolf nodded. Nessie turned to me. "Go with Artemis, Copper. He'll take you to Emmaleigha. You'll be safe there."

"But I want to go with you, Ness!" I yelled, but she didn't hear me. She had long disappeared from her spot in the snow and back in the direction I had been pulled. It was only me and the wold - Artemis. This monster was Artemis.

He gave me the equivalent of a scoff and nodded his head over his shoulder, telling me to hop on. I gulped, closed my eyes, and prayed to a nonexistent god. I walked over. My head barely came to his shoulder. He dropped to his stomach, allowing me to throw a leg over his back and grip the fur on his neck.

"Okay . . ." I breathed out before taking in another one. "Giddy up, wolfy," I tried to joke. Soon, I had my face buried in the warmth of his coat to block out the cold.

And even sooner, I was asleep . . .