claudia | embry call

seventeen : invisible

Claudia sighed, her amber eyes darting around the room. Victoria was in the other room, blissfully unaware of anything going on in the living room. Claudia checked her small bag again, though it didn't contain much. A change of clothes, in case hers got too bloody while she was out, and a few dead rats. She hated eating rats, and she was excited to finally stop, but that was only if she could get away. Her second month as a vampire was much more manageable than her first. She wasn't starving anymore, she wasn't locked in a basement, and she'd started to experiment with her powers.

It didn't take her long to learn she could make Victoria hear as well as see things, therefore she could practically make herself invisible to the stronger vampire. Her entire plan relied on something she had yet to test-her range. She had only left the cottage once, and she only went a few hundred feet. Luckily though, her small test worked, and she was even able to kill an elk. Now, just a day later, she was ready to make her escape. It was mid morning, Riley wouldn't return until after dark. And if she could keep Victoria distracted for long enough, she could get to the water, and start for Forks once again. Her biggest problem was, she had no idea where she was. She didn't know which way the water was, which way Forks was, or if she was even in Washington. She could've easily been in Canada, Oregon or Idaho, but she didn't care. She was determined, and her determination had to keep her alive.

Claudia moved to the door, getting outside easy enough. She looked around, her skin glinting lightly in the sun. It was nothing like Victoria or Riley's skin, but she still found it pretty nonetheless. With a final glance at the house, she was off. Annoyingly, Claudia wasn't as fast as a normal vampire anymore. But she had yet to get tired, so she didn't think anything of it. She'd even managed to sleep the night before, so she hoped that would be enough. The forest looked and smell the same as she ran, no hints of ocean air around. After two hours, when she was sure she was far enough away, she stopped to drink the rats she'd brought. She knew the blood would give her an energy boost, another result of her experimenting, so she was quick to continue moving.

Finally, around dusk, she began to get tired so she slowed. She figured if she hunted, her energy might get her through the night, so she climbed a tree and began hopping around silently, looking out for anything that could help supplement her. Finally, after almost an hour, she spies a group of elk near a pond, drinking. She dropped to the ground, setting her bag against a tree before slowly moving forward. She'd just barely peaked out of a bush when something slammed into her, sending her flying back-and the elk running. She slammed into a tree, falling to the ground in pain-though she hadn't felt anything break, the blood had worked in making her stronger. She looked up, her eyes easily finding Riley standing in front of her.

"It's too bad." He spoke, a grin coming to her face. "Victoria really had hope for you, little half breed. I can't say I ever thought much of you, but I am glad to have the honor of killing you." Claudia attempted to focus on her powers, to make herself invisible, but Riley charged at her. She jumped out of the way, landing a few feet behind him. He whipped around quickly, lowering into a crouch. "And maybe after I kill you, I go pay that wolf of yours a visit."

"What?" Claudia hissed.

"Your visions, dreams, whatever the hell they are-I've seen him." Riley chuckled lowly. "That boy, the wolf you're so in love with. It's pathetic, really, chasing after a mutt. I'll be sure to tell him how much you dreamt of him before I drain every drop of blood from his body." Claudia was seeing red. She fell to her hands and knees, her body shaking. "What the..." Before she could realize what happened, she had changed. She was taller, nearly as tall as she was when she was standing. She looked down, eyes widening at the sight of two stark white wolf legs. Then, she realized what had happened-what had been happening. The wolf in her had been fighting off the vampire, keeping her alive so she could transform. Be what she was always meant to be, not one of the cold ones. "Holy shit..." Riley's voice brought her out of her thoughts. She looked ahead of her, Riley now looked terrified as he stared at her.

She growled and snapped in his direction, and he shot back. He looked at her for another second before taking off, back towards Victoria. As much as she wanted to chase him, she realized she needed to move. She quickly picked up her bag in her teeth before beginning to run in the opposite direction, following the scent of the elk. It didn't take her long to catch up with them, now drinking at the waters edge. She didn't know if it was a lake or the ocean, but she didn't care. It would confuse her trail enough to where even Victoria would have a hard time following her. She dropped her bag, taking down two elk and letting the rest run off while she ate.

Just as she had finished the first elk and was about to move onto the second, she felt her body shake lightly again, and she was back on her hands and knees. She hungrily licked the blood from her face, before drinking the blood from the other elk. For the first time since turning, she felt full. She looked down, unable to help her laughter when she realized that she was naked, completely covered in blood. It was ridiculous, her life was ridiculous. It was hard to stop laughing as she washed the blood off in the water before taking the extra clothes from her bag and pulling them on. She looked up at the stars, Embry entering her mind once again. This time, when her eyes rolled back, Embry was looking at her

"Em..." She whispered, reaching over. Her hand touched his face, just as warm as it used to be.

"Come home, Claudia." Embry finally spoke. "We're waiting for you."