The Prophecy Of The Half Blood Chapter 1- Sally Jennings

Disclaimer: I own nothing, the original creator is the very talented Stephanie Meyer. I do however, own these two perticular characters (Sally and the Vampire) :)

PROLOGUE

Sally Jennings was a smart woman. Her intellect, which brought her scholarly accolades and the occasional grant, was often to blame for her uncertainty with men. It convinced her that deep down inside no man would ever want marry an amputee no matter how beautiful she was. Sally Jennings was slight, only five feet four. High cheekbones and long brown hair framed her light blue eyes. Her face bore a single freckle, a beauty mark, under her right eye. Unfortunately, good looks did little to convince her that she was to be desirable. When she looked in the mirror, all she saw was her imperfections. One quality made itself known more than any others, it was the unmistakable metal crutch she used for a leg.

Two summers ago, Sally had been given a grant by the University of Melbourne to study the effects of deforestation on the indigenous species in the Ecuadorian forests. Her colleagues thought it was best that she pass the project to someone with more experience; preferably male. Someone who would be better suited to the harsh environment, the rugged lifestyle, and the dangerous trek. When they said that the forests of Ecuador were too precarious, what they were really saying was that Sally Jennings was not capable. This sentiment drove dull icicles down her spine and provoked an intense desire to prove them wrong. "No I told you so's," she had promised herself. And with that she set off for Equador.

On the second night at camp her assistant Manuel had introduced her to the assembly of rowdy loggers. They had a tendency to chant loudly and frighten the wildlife. Her high school Spanish did little in helping her understand their dialect so she just politely smiled and laughed when they laughed, nodding her head as if she understood them. Her hut, equipped with everything the University of Melbourne could spare, was Spartan but sufficient.

She slept in a hammock and cooked for herself making weekly trips into town for supplies. The first few weeks had been very productive. She had spent them cataloguing the different species in the area. During the fourth week she noticed something very unusual while observing the social interaction of a group of birds. One bird was markedly different from the rest. Curious, she focused the lens of her camera. What she previously thought was just one, turned out to be two olive-backed forest robins, a species of bird previously thought only to inhabit the forests of Gabon.

"Got it." Her camera snapped a shot. "Thank you very much," she said as she switched the mode from camera to video.

This was what she had been waiting for. Here was her moment of exoneration. No one was going to believe this, a completely unexpected find. This would go a long way toward holding off the "I told you so's." It also possibly get her the promotion she had been waiting for.

Sally never heard the tree fall. Her only recollection was of a jarring impact and a dull twinge of what should have been unbearable pain running through her right leg. Later, she would be told that her camera had been shattered to pieces, and with it all hopes of being the strong, capable Sally Jennings she had so hoped to be.

Forks, Washington was a far cry from the forest of Ecuador. More importantly it was even farther from Australia and the "I told you so's" which weren't really "I told you so's," but rather "I'm so sorry Sally. So very very sorry." As she made her way up the mountain, her VW bug slowed slightly when she noticed that the road ahead narrowed and changed from pavement to asphalt.

Sally scratched her prosthetic leg reflexively. The doctors had told her that sometimes amputees felt sensations in the amputated limb. "Phantom leg syndrome," they had called it. The name sounded silly to her at the time, like a ghost attached to your body. But now, two years later, she had become quite used to it. Her prosthetic leg was cumbersome and she hated the way her pants clung around the narrow metal bar that now replaced her shin. When in public she was always very conscious of how she stood or walked, not wanting the bar to show. Eventually, she hoped to be able to afford one of the fancy ones that actually looked like a leg instead of a crutch.

END OF PROLOGUE

CHAPTER 1 - Sally Jennings

Thick trees with long branches arched overhead as she drove up the mountain path. Overlapping each other they engulfed her car and blocked out the setting sun. The landscape was denser than anything she'd ever seen. Tree upon tree, clustered together, thick and wide forming an impenetrable wall of vegetation. This part of her journey home was her least favorite. It made her feel claustrophobic and always triggered a sense of impending doom- the kind relegated to children who ask their parents to check the closet before they turn out the light.

Sally sought therapy after her accident and found healing and control in a type of hyper vigilance; an uber-preparedness that thought of every contingency and every plan, A through Z. Fortunately, this trait caused her to see the huge wolf like creature from the corner of her eye a split second before impact. Unfortunately, the prosthetic leg did not carry the same dexterity as her real one. Too late to slam on her breaks, she jerked the wheel to the right missing the creature by inches. The monster paused and looked back inquisitively. Her engine thudded to a screeching halt. She turned the key and heard the engine turn over, screeching loudly. Nothing. It wouldn't start. "That's just perfect," she said.

The beast ran at the car. Sally shut her eyes and braced herself for an attack. Moments passed and still not a sound. Tentatively she opened one eye, then the other. She could see the moisture from the creature's breath expanding, then contracting on her window. The animal peered in and examined her from head to toe. Even though she knew it was just a projection of her own subconscious desires, she swore she could see a look of concern on its face. Was it a friendly monster, like in children's books? She told herself to get a grip. Their eyes made contact for a brief moment and she saw concern and understanding again. She shook that hallucination from her mind, and looked down at her prosthetic leg. As her fingers slowly made their way to her camera, she knew that escape was not an option. If she were going to die, she thought, at least there would be a record. Suddenly, she was moving sideways as the beast pressed its massive form against the side of the car, moving it out of the middle of the road. This is it, she feared.

Letting out a soft whine, the creature regarded her slowly. Satisfied, it turned and walked toward the forest, it's tail wagging from side to side. Sally stared in wonderment, reaching for her camera only to realize that her tense fingers had broken the lens right off. Should I stay stranded in the car, or fix this darn lens and hope to get a shot? Never being one to miss an opportunity, Sally chose the latter. As always, she carried a spare lens.

Alert, Sally jumped from her car just as the thing was disappearing into the thick brush where only dimness followed. Tightening the harness that attached her prosthetic leg to her real one, a sharp familiar pain drifted up her thigh. She breathed in, tied her sweater around her waist and set out in the direction where the creature disappeared. The ground was littered with huge paw prints interspersed with those that were unmistakably human. That's strange, she thought.

Not more than a month ago her realtor had shown her a piece of land almost five miles away from this very spot. Impulsively, she purchased her dream house on that land. Sally had come to Forks, Washington looking for a change in scenery; she certainly got what she asked for. I wanted an adventure, just not one where my life was at stake. Again.

Sally quickly snapped a few shots to document the trail and moved on. Her experience told her that wolves hunt in packs. The multitude of paw prints on the trail confirmed her fears. They followed a circular pattern indicating that they regularly patrolled the area.This was a bad idea. Better get going before the big guy comes back with his brothers.

While she stood up, Sally put her hand on a branch to support her weight. The branch cracked, echoing off the surrounding mountains. She gulped. Every twig that broke underfoot sounded like a firecracker in the silence. Her car was only about two hundred feet away. She made a run for it. Rocketing down the decline, her pant leg got caught on one of the branches, sending her tumbling down the hill. Sally shot her arms forward to break her fall. She heard the crack, and a rush of pain shot through her shoulder. "Ow…Oh, my…. Oh, my…GOSH! That hurt!"

Her arm was dislocated. She writhed in pain on the ground for a few moments before composing herself. In order to get up she needed to roll over to her other leg. When she turned she found herself face to face with a dead man. She screamed and then tightly cupped her mouth with her hand. At the same time her nerves coiled tight, and Sally shuddered. The dead man's face was unlike the face of one other corpse she had been asked to identify after he had been murdered- her father.

This man's eyes were rolled so far back in his head that she could not see the thinnest crescent of green. His eyes also seemed to swell forward as though pressure within the skull might force them from their sockets. A putrid smell of rotting flesh filled Sally's nostril's. Blood had dried on the ground beside the man's face.

She leaned in closer and saw two tiny puncture wounds on his neck. He looked drawn too, as if life were a juice that had been sucked out of him. A chill ran down her spine. Looking for footprints in the silt, but seeing none, her eyes darted around the forest. Sally didn't dare call out for help in the event that it attracted the wrong attention.

heart seemed to freeze solid, but she found herself moving. She pulled herself up and limped toward her car. Panic was setting in. The car wasn't more than 80 feet away now. A light rustling of branches sounded from behind her. Whirling around, she saw nothing. A tree branch snapped above her head, making her eyes dart towards the sky, straining to see to the top of the tree. Again, nothing. A bleak silence descended on the forest. The birds no longer chirped; the trees were still. All that was living seemed to momentarily abandon Sally Jennings.

Suddenly, a cacophony of voices bounced off the trees and filled her ears, the voices came from all directions. "Over here. Over here. Over here. Over here." The voices taunted.

"Who's There?" Sally demanded. Abruptly, the chattering voices became one.

Her heart knocked, knocked, and the sound of it echoed through her as though she were in an empty house.

"Hello," the stranger spoke from behind her. Sally screamed.

Before she could turn around a hand clamped tightly around her mouth.

"Shhhh." The voice said. It took Sally a moment to realize that the person standing in front of her now was certainly no rapist looking to harm her, it was a woman. She had marble white skin, smooth as silk. Her silver blond hair hung to both sides of her chin and was parted down the center. Her eyes were splashed with specks of gold giving her an ethereal quality. No belongings occupied her hand's or back; no backpack, no purse, nothing. Her mouth twisted into a smile as she fixed in on Sally's dislocated arm. "I've always wanted to do this," she said licking her lips, with a delighted smile.

Before she knew what was happening, the woman jerked Sally's arm back into to place sending hot daggers down to her fingers. The pain was unbearable. Sally screamed in agony. The woman's hand again, found Sally's mouth, and silenced her.

After her screams of pain transformed to punctuated whimpers, the woman's hand still continued to linger at Sally's mouth. The stranger's eyes darted around the forest. Sally wanted to speak, but more than anything, she wanted to live. One thing was certain, this woman scared Sally more than the beast. Finally, the woman's hand dropped from Sally's mouth. Her touch was cold. Sally shivered."What do you want?" Sally asked.

The woman made no response, but her eyes never left Sally's. She pressed, "Listen, there has been a murder. A man was killed back there, by a very large, very dangerous animal. We have to get out of here, now."

This information amused the stranger. The woman lightly giggled and then quickly composed her smile into that of concern. The woman spoke thoughtfully, "Oh my. A creature. . . dangerous you say?"

Sally assumed that the woman did not hear the part about there being a murder. "Yes, and we have to get OUT OF HERE." She pronounced the words perfectly, hoping to catch the woman's attention. Sally went to pull on the woman's hand to pull her along out of the forest. The woman quickly snatched her hand away.

"You said that the creature was…dangerous yes?" The woman said curtly.

The stranger wore a warm smile. She studied Sally's prosthetic limb and smiled, causing Sally to shift uncomfortably.

Sally paused as the woman took a step closer, sniffing the air, sniffing her. "My, my, Ausie's smell wonderful. Vanilla perfume, it is absolutely delectable, dear." The woman showed no concern for the danger near by, and made no attempts to flee the area. Instead, she abruptly squatted down wrapping her arms around her knees comfortably. "Now, what are ya doing out in the woods this late?" This is just great, Sally thought, frustrated.

"Um, I had an accident." Sally gestured back toward her car.

"Awe, are you okay? No broken bones? No twisted metal?" The woman gestured toward Sally's thigh, and let out a brief giggle.

"I'm fine," sally said wishing she were back in her car. "Do you have a phone?"

"A phone…" The answer was ambiguous; the woman furrowed her brow in deep thought and began to rock back and forth. "A phone, a phone, phone, phone, phone…Nope! Nope, none of those here!"

She smiled like a child who had just answered her kindergarten teacher correctly. Sally clutched her camera tightly. "That's fine, I'll just wait inside my car. I suggest you do the same. Thanks anyway."

The stranger continued to rock though now she also began shaking her head. Slowly, Sally began to walk away, keeping one eye peeled back where the woman squatted.

"Afraid not," the stranger said barely above a whisper as she jumped up to her feet. She tiptoed halfway over to where Sally stood and then stopped. The stranger smiled that warm smile. Sally didn't think it could get any wider. She was wrong.

"Excuse me?" Sally challenged. "I'm leaving, and I suggest you do the same."

"And why would I do that?" the stranger said in a sing- song fashion as she closed the remaining distance between the two of them. "Especially when there's so much fun to be had."

Removing the camera from around her neck Sally grasped the strap wielding it like a mace above her head. "Stay where you are. Don't take another step." Sally swung the camera around for show.

"But my dear, I'm everywhere." And just like that the stranger vanished.

Sally heard the wind blow through the trees. She heard the crickets chirp and an owl hoot. But she never heard the stranger appear behind her. This time, unlike the tree that took her leg, she felt every bit of the excruciating pain that swarmed over her body.

Authors Note: Ok, so that was my first chapter! Please e-mail me if you have any suggestions :)

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This chapter was revised and edited by my wonderful grandmother! Thank you Nama!