The Hunt
Authors note: This takes place during Shayla's first week of being a newborn, I think.
Shayla's POV
It was one of those rare sunny days again. Emmett, Jasper and Edward had hunted the
previous weekend so they were all inside doing whatever they did while Carlisle had a hospital shift and wouldn't be back until nightfall.
However, Esme, Rosalie and Alice needed to hunt. In addition to that, Alice wanted to see me hunt for herself after Jasper boasted about my
abilities to the rest of the family. Then, Esme absolutely insisted
on taking me hunting with the girls.
I suspected they just wanted to see if Jasper was telling the truth.
A while later, Esme and I managed to track down a small herd of deer. I ran ahead of her and immediately went for the biggest one -- the more
blood, the better.
I felt the buck's back break with a loud CRACK as I launched myself onto it; clutching at its small antlers. The creature was young, but still very large. It gave a final, strangled cry as it collapsed onto the ground. I quickly snap its neck in a swift motion before drinking
from it.
"Nice work Shayla." Esme congratulated me as she walked over from her own deer's carcass. She was notably cleaner me. "Jasper was right, you
are a natural."
"Thanks… I think." I reply as I smell another scent. I take off into the forest towards a black bear a few yards away. I hear Esme chuckle from
behind me as she follows me at a safe distance.
The scent leads me to a rocky area where the black bear snoozes on a log. Rosalie is running towards it as well as she emerges from the woods.
However, I'm faster than she is.
I launch myself at it and break its neck just as she runs in for the kill. She gives a furious snarl at me. "That one was mine!" She hisses as I
drink from it.
"You snooze, you lose." I growl back as I drink from it. Rosalie snarls again as Alice appears to comfort her.
Esme comes up from behind me and murmurs in
my ear. "Rosalie has trouble sharing her food. Sometimes it's better if you stay out of her way."
I nod in response as I rise up from the dead
bear's carcass; my hands are stained with blood. Esme was
scolding Rosalie as quietly as she could but I could hear it as
easily as though they were standing right beside me.
"Rosalie, she is a newborn. Give her a chance." Esme whispered to Rosalie.
Rosalie gave a growl. "Yeah, yeah, I know." She was still fuming; I could tell.
I stood up, wondering what to do when the wind suddenly blew in our
direction. Then, the most alluring scent I
had ever smelled in my life reached my nostrils. It was better than deer, better than mountain lion, and even better then grizzly!
My throat started to burn like mad and the venom begins to build up in my mouth. I swallow the excess of it and take off before the others have
even realised what was going on. Alice cries out but I ignore her with my mind set on getting to the scent.
I run flat out through the woods and I skid to a stop on a trail. A hiker is hiking up the sloping landscape with his back to me. A silver knife is attached to
his belt as his only defence, but I knew that it would do no harm to me. I give a throaty growl and
crouch down, debating on whether to bite him or snap his neck first. I decide to bite him first, it'll be
much quicker and I can get the delicious blood faster.
I start to run, but a strong hand grabs one of my
arms and tugs me back. The other hand clamps itself over my
mouth to silence my muffled protests. Another set of hands assists with holding me back as they tug me into the undergrowth. I give a stifled snarl at them as
I'm dragged into the bushes.
"Did he see Alice?" A voice whispers to another as I lay on my back; the hands no longer holding me down.
"No," the voice sounded certain, "his back was turned the entire time."
"That was a close one." Esme's pale face sparkling slightly in the patches of sunlight filtering in through the trees comes into my view.
"Are you okay Shayla?"
"Yes, I think so." I mumble as I sit up, and brush the leaves from my hair. I'm struggling to remember what I was doing on the ground in the first place. Then I remember as I scramble up to check where the scent had gone.
He's gone. The after-stench lingers but he is too far away for me to attack without being held back. I groan with frustration as Alice, Esme and Rosalie
remain silent behind me.
"We're vegetarians remember?" Rosalie reminds me as she places a hand on my shoulder. I shrug it off.
"Yeah, I know. Sorry." I mumble to my embarrassment. I didn't have to be sorry. He was the prey and I was the predator.
"Don't be." Esme reaches out to hug me but pulls her hand back. I run out of the bushes and back onto the trail. I stare down it for a while, my
nostrils flaring at the smell of the human. Esme, Rosalie and Alice watch me uneasily.
I snort with laughter at the thought of their over-protectiveness before spinning on my heel and running back towards home.
