Ethan stood next to the dead body of the bear and placed his hand gently on the bear's head, beginning to suck out the soul of the dead animal.
- It is already dead. Why did the soul still remain in the body? Shouldn't it just disappear? - Ethan thought, considering that the last animals he had sucked the soul out of were still alive. - Maybe they have a while before they fade away. It wouldn't make sense for the souls to stay on earth even after the bodies had rotted away. They would need to go somewhere... -
The bear's body slowly rotted away, while Ethan felt that delicious energy entering his arms, like a refreshing draft.
Umb approached Ethan, cautiously, trying to catch some energy with him.
Ethan pulled the cat onto his lap and guided part of its soul into the shadow cat's small body, which shivered at the sensation of the energy.
After a few seconds, the bear's body was completely gone, leaving only the large bones of an adult grizzly bear.
Ethan stood up and covered the bear's bones with some leaves from the ground, hiding the bones.
"Thank you!" Ethan said, looking at the bear bones as he put his backpack on his back to leave. He was grateful for the animal's sacrifice and began to feel less guilty about it, since he hadn't just killed for pleasure.
Ethan and Umb started walking out of the reserve, not caring what was around them. It was very dark, but not something Ethan could cope with, since he had just sucked up enough energy for a few days.
Suddenly, Ethan begins to feel a strange sensation, as if they are being watched.
He just stops walking, leaving everything quiet, causing Umb to look at him confused.
"I've seen you! Come out!" Ethan said firmly, loudly, as he already began to focus on the shadow flame.
"Hi, Ethan!". Alice comes out from among the trees, embarrassed.
Ethan looks back, lowering his guard and becoming a little more relaxed.
"Alice! You need to stop watching me from afar!". Ethan said neutrally, "You can come over here and talk to me. I'm not the one who bites here!". He added, laughing.
"Sorry! You seemed focused... I didn't mean to bother you!". She said, approaching with a shy smile. "What are you doing here... Oh, your eyes...". Alice said, looking at Ethan.
"Oh, yeah... They change color when I'm training!". Ethan said, bending down so that Umb could get into his backpack.
"It's the same color as vampires who drink human blood!". Alice said, trying to look into Ethan's eyes. "Better not let my family see it. They'll think you're one of them!". She added.
"The color of your eyes takes how long to change? After you stop drinking human blood...". Ethan asked, looking for an excuse.
"Instantly! And if we go more than two weeks without drinking any kind of blood, our eyes turn black!". She said, staring at Ethan.
"But you don't die?" Ethan asked, as they walked out of the reservation.
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"Technically, I'm already dead, but basically I'm going to go crazy until I get blood again, animal or not!". Alice said.
"So you lose your sanity... Interesting.". Ethan said, remembering how he looked when he first started hunting his first prey.
"You want to know something funny?". Alice said, giving little jumps.
"What?" Ethan said, watching her excitedly.
"Did you know that vampires don't have to blink?". Alice said, smiling.
"Really? Like, ever?" Ethan asked, surprised.
"Yes, not even breathe! We do that just to look more human, but we're dead. That's not important anymore!". Alice said, excitedly.
"I thought saying you're dead would shake you up...". Ethan said vaguely.
"It bothered me at first, but after so many years, I've learned to cope. I can discover so many new things... Every year something very different comes up. It doesn't even shake me up anymore!". Alice said, unconcerned.
"I'm glad you think so, at least you don't... Alice?". Before Ethan could finish his speech, Alice began to focus, with a strange expression on her face.
She was serious, looking at a fixed point, and with each passing second, the serious expression began to turn out to be a worried expression.
"Bella! Bella is in danger!". Alice said, wide-eyed.
"What? What are you talking about?" Ethan said, confused, trying to hear Bella's voice through the forest, thinking Alice would have heard her.
"She's going to be surrounded by some guys in Port Angeles! I need to warn Edward, but he's not home!". Alice said, trembling.
It was then that Ethan remembered exactly what was going to happen. Bella had gone to look for information in a bookstore in Port Angeles about the vampires, as shown in the movie, and some guys would surround her with bad intentions.
"Alice, you have a car, don't you? We'll drive there while you text Edward. We need to run!" Ethan said.
"Come with me!" Alice said, running towards her house.
Ethan ran after her, standing side by side with Alice. They came to a huge house next to the reservation. It was three stories high and all wood, but still looked modern.
Ethan stopped in front of the house, distracted from his main objective, impressed with how big the house was. He had no idea it was so big.
"Come on Ethan!" Alice said, getting into a yellow Porsche 911 Turbo.
Ethan hurried into the car, placing his backpack between his legs.
"Send a message to Edward! Tell him I had a vision about Bella! Let him know she's in Port Angeles!" Alice said, starting to increase speed.
Ethan opened his backpack, looking for his cell phone. Umb stuck his head out of the backpack, confused at what they were doing.
"Did you pack another shadow animal?" Alice asked, confused, trying to look at Umb as she drove.
"Get out of there, Umb!". Ethan said, pushing Umb to the side, so he could look for his cell phone. "Actually, it's Umb! He evolves!". Ethan said, as Umb climbed up on his lap.
"He evolves?" Alice said loudly, impressed.
Umb jumped on the dashboard of the car, unconcerned about speed, laying down in front of Alice's vision.
"Umb, you're like the wind, but you're not invisible yet!". Alice said, gently pushing the shadow cat aside with her hand.
"I sent it! Now just hope he doesn't kill me after that!". Ethan said, anxious about the situation.
"Did he reply?" Alice asked.
"It sent an 'ok' only." Ethan said, looking at his cell phone and pulling Umb off the dashboard of the car so that Alice could increase speed without worry.
After a few minutes, they began to arrive in Port Angeles. Ethan began to concentrate to be able to hear if Bella's voice was nearby, trying to track her.
"Can you tell exactly where she is?". Ethan asked, concerned.
"Not very well, I just remember a dark alley and a sign written 'Worthington' I think, but I can't tell exactly where it is!".
Ethan began to concentrate as hard as he could, trying to track where Bella was. His eyes began to glow a stronger red.
"Ethan? Are you okay?" Alice asked, looking into his eyes.
"To the car!" Ethan said, seriously.
Alice braked the car instantly, confused by him.
Ethan opened the door and ran into town, disappearing from Alice's view.
He was beginning to lose his sanity, feeling his blood boil. It was as if every time Ethan was after something, his sense of predator kicked in, and he started to go insane.
Ethan entered the town, running as if he were chasing prey.
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