The truck skidding out of control, the two of them forcing it aside—everything happened in a split second.
Bella couldn't turn invisible, but she could pull off a few tricks.
She stirred her psychic energy and quietly blurred herself out of several witnesses' perception.
To those specific students, she simply wasn't there.
"You did not see me."
She dropped a light mental suggestion, then calmly stepped out of the crowd, pretending to be just another bystander who'd run over to watch the commotion.
The Cullens were all attractive—every man handsome, every woman beautiful.
That had nothing to do with becoming a vampire.
It was because you had to be beautiful before you were turned; otherwise no one would bother converting you.
Edward Cullen was the undisputed star among them. The school's resident heartthrob.
Naturally, seeing him almost crushed by a truck drew a wave of screaming girls sprinting over at Olympic speed.
His vampire siblings were collectively speechless.
What are you doing? We're supposed to stay low-profile! A truck comes at you and you DON'T just move away?!
With so many eyes on him, Edward couldn't simply vanish.
He had to let himself be fussed over and escorted to the nurse.
Thankfully, the doctor was his adoptive vampire father.
A bit of acting, a few pretend checkups, and he declared Edward needed only a few days of rest.
The girls finally relaxed.
Then Charlie arrived to question the people involved.
At that speed, the impact should've been fatal—this was bordering on a homicide investigation.
As police chief, and as a father, he had to get answers.
And those two huge hand-shaped dents on the truck?
Terrifying.
Could a human even do that?
Carlisle Cullen launched smoothly into a stream of medical jargon:
"Edward's always been strong. I checked his hemoglobin and alanine aminotransferase levels, and discovered…"
A beautifully delivered cloud of meaningless science-talk.
Charlie, thoroughly confused, ended up accepting the explanation that "the boy is unusually strong and acted on instinct."
As for why there were two handprints on the truck?
Humans have two hands.
Made sense.
—
Night.
The Cullens gathered in their mansion to discuss the incident.
Edward had been stunned at first, but after a century of life, he quickly calmed down.
"She's not one of us. I'm sure of it. Her blood flows normally. Her heartbeat is… unusually strong."
Carlisle nodded for him to continue.
Edward exchanged a glance with Alice.
"She has some kind of barrier ability. My mind-reading can't get through it, and Alice's visions can't lock onto her. Her strength, speed, and reflexes can spike instantly—at levels comparable to ours. And then she used something strange at the end…"
He replayed it carefully in his head.
"She was right next to me—I could even… feel the pull of her blood—but she just walked away as if nothing happened. And everyone around us simply ignored her. It was like she didn't exist. That ability is… bizarre."
Carlisle consulted the other children who'd interacted with Bella, then made his decision.
"I'll speak with Charlie. If he knows about the supernatural, that changes things. After that, we'll decide whether we need to leave."
Moving again would be heartbreaking. Forks was perfect for vampires—rainy, cloudy, sunless.
They didn't want to give it up unless necessary.
But while they didn't want to leave…
Bella did.
After realizing "Death" had marked her as the primary target, she had no choice but to change plans.
She used the name of the Flight 180 Survivor Support Association to request leave from school.
The association had officially sued Universal Airlines for massive compensation, and Bella claimed she wanted to observe and participate.
"This is a rare opportunity. I want to learn how our judicial system functions."
"Very well, Miss Swan. This is meaningful. The school approves."
Bella still didn't understand how "suing for money, houses, and cars" counted as "positive social participation,"
but she got her leave—so whatever.
She told Charlie the same story.
Charlie wanted to accompany her to Phoenix, but Bella refused.
She could travel more freely on her own.
With her abilities, she could avoid most threats; bringing a normal human was just extra burden.
Time was up—she needed a car.
She called Jacob and asked for the old pickup truck he'd originally meant to give her.
It had no real strengths except… durability.
And Jacob, worried sick about her safety, had practically rebuilt the entire thing—new internals, checked every spring and bolt.
Unless Death personally ripped out the engine, the truck would run across the entire continent just fine.
Bella borrowed a thousand dollars from Charlie for the trip.
With two changes of clothes and a bag, she left Forks.
Her plan:
South through Oregon → into California → east to Arizona.
Stay close to the coastline when possible.
If "Death" was some kind of inland spirit, then the ocean—symbol of her pirate-queen ancestor—would weaken him.
But Forks wasn't even behind her for long before danger struck.
A power pole crashed down onto the road ahead.
Bella reacted instantly—one hard press on the gas and she shot through the collapsing wooden mass.
Forty days weren't wasted.
She wanted to test whether she could deal with Death out here, in the wilderness.
If she could kill it solo—perfect.
If not—plan B was Phoenix, and rallying official forces and other supernaturals.
She stopped for gas, food, and… certain personal needs.
Then back on the road.
"Hey! Girl! Come hang out with us!"
A Black man with dirty dreadlocks slapped her window.
Leather jacket, filthy clothes—practically a vagrant.
Bella ignored him completely and sped off.
She'd only gone two kilometers before the rearview mirror showed three figures sprinting after her.
At impossible speed.
The dreadlocked man in front—dirty jacket flapping open—
A pale, murderous-looking white man on his left—
A blonde woman on his right—
All keeping pace with a speeding truck.
Shit! It's THEM!
She hadn't recognized the dreadlocked one at first—she wasn't exactly great at telling Black faces apart.
But now she realized.
These were the three evil vampires who, in the original timeline, passed through Forks.
The last thing she wanted right now was to deal with them.
Not while Death was already gunning for her.
Bella rolled down the window and yelled:
"Get lost! FAR away!"
The vampires froze.
Being noticed was one thing.
But having a human's voice carry clearly across a full kilometer?
As if she were whispering in their ears?
That was not normal.
"How interesting… an unexpectedly sweet little lamb," the dreadlocked vampire purred.
Bella's voice carried back instantly:
"I'm embarrassed for your vampire ancestors! Who the hell turned something as ugly as you?! Take one more step and I'll beat your ass myself!"
The three evil vampires burst into laughter.
They were used to being apex predators.
A running girl in a truck?
Clearly prey.
A girl with supernatural powers?
Even better prey.
They accelerated sharply.
"Keep chasing me and I'll kill you where you stand!" Bella shouted again.
They didn't take it seriously.
Until the blonde woman suddenly screamed:
"Laurent! ABOVE you—watch out!"