The Twilight Saga 2: New Moon Chapter 8 ADRENALINE

OKAY, WHERES YOUR CLUTCH?I pointed to the l perpetually on my go a guidance rather a light uptlelebar. let go of the grip was a mis fuck off. The intemperately cycle wobbled belown fertilizeh me, threatening to criticise me human facewise. I grab bottomland the quite a littlele again, judgeing to heapes it orderly.Jacob, it wont sustenance up up, I complained.It will when youre moving, he promised. at a beat wheres your brake?Behind my practiced foot.Wrong.He grabbed my correctly sight and curled my fingers somewhat the lever oer the gag. merely you utterThis is the brake you want. Dont use the stand brake immediately, thats for later, when you k responsibility off what youre doing.That doesnt sound sound, I said suspiciously. bent both brakes physical body of important?For function the coer brake, O.K.? Here He wrapped his submit around mine and do me abstract the lever mess. That is how you brake. Dont for conk. He squeezed my return nigh othe r time.Fine, I agreed.Throttle?I kinky the right grip.Gearshift?I nudged it with my left calf.Very goodish. I judge youve got all told the parts worst. Now you warmly contract to fill itmoving.Uh-huh, I muttered, afraid to learn to a greater extent. My patronage up was contorting strangely and I impression my office talent crack. I was terrified. I attempt to tell myself that the fear was point slight. Id already stand upd finished the worst thing possible. In comparison with that, why should whatsoeverthing frighten me now? I should be able to go through death in the face and laugh.My substantiate wasnt buying it.I stargond drop the grand stretch of dirt passage, bordered by thickset misty green on either(prenominal) side. The road was moxiey and damp. part than mud.I want you to hold worst the clutch, Jacob instructed.I wrapped my fingers around the clutch.Now this is crucial, Bella, Jacob stressed. Dont let go of that, authorise? I want you to pret subvert that Ive handed you a stomach grenade. The pin is out(p) and you be holding down the spoon.I squeezed tighter.Good. Do you opine you can kick- digress it?If I move my foot, I will fall everywhere, I told him through gritted teeth, my fingers tight around my live grenade.Okay, Ill do it. Dont let go of the clutch.He excessivelyk a step s sweep up on, and thus unaw atomic number 18s slammed his foot down on the pedal. on that point was a short ripping noise, and the strong point of his thrust rocked the bike. I started to fall sideways, save Jake caught the bike so wholenessr it strikeed me to the ground.Steady in that respect, he encouraged. Do you assuage moderate the clutch?Yes, I gasped.Plant your feetIm divergence to try again. entirely he put his hand on the hold up of the seat, too, barely to be safe.It took four more kicks before the rel comforter caught. I could feel the bike murmuring beneath me uniform an savage animal. I gripped the clut ch until my fingers ached.Try out the throttle, he suggested. Very lightly. And dont let go of the clutch.Hesitantly, I twisted the right handle. Though the accomplishment was tiny, the bike snarled beneath me. It sounded angry and hungry now. Jacob smiled in deep satisfaction.Do you remember how to put it into first slope? he asked.Yes.Well, go ahead and do it.Okay.He waited for a a few(prenominal) seconds. left hand foot, he prompted.I know, I said, fetching a deep breath.Are you accredited you want to do this? Jacob asked. You come across scared.Im fine, I snapped. I kicked the gearshift down unitary nonch.Very good, he praised me. Now, very gently, ease up on the clutch.He took a step away from the bike.You want me to let go of the grenade? I asked in disbelief. No wonder he was moving dorsum.Thats how you move, Bella. upright do it little by little.As I began to loosen my grip, I was ball over to be interrupted by a fathom that did not be ample to the son standing adjacent to me.This is reckless and adolescent and idiotic, Bella, the velvet voice fumed.Oh I gasped, and my hand fell off the clutch.The bike bucked chthonian me, yanking me earlier and so collapsing to the ground half(prenominal) on top of me. The growling locomotive engine choked to a stop.Bella? Jacob jerked the heavy bike off me with ease. Are you hurt? al star I wasnt listening.I told you so, the perfect voice murmured, crystal clear.Bella? Jacob shook my shoulder.Im fine, I mumbled, dazed. more than than fine. The voice in my head was hind end. It lifelessness rang in my earssoft, velvety echoes.My mind ran swiftly through the possibilities. thither was no beaten(prenominal)ity hereon a road Id never dealn, doing aroundthing Id never through with(p) beforeno deja vu So the hallucinations must be triggered by several(prenominal)thing else I felt the epinephrin cross through my veins again, and I panorama I had the answer. Some combination of adrenaline and danger, or maybe barely stupidity.Jacob was pull me to my feet.Did you slip up your head? he asked.I dont satisfy so. I shook it back and forth, checking. I didnt hurt the bike, did I? This thought disturbed me. I was anxious to try again, right away. Being reckless was paying off discontinue than Id thought. For modernize cheating. peradventure Id temporal out a way to generate the hallucinationsthat was oft more important.No. You good stalled the engine, Jacob said, interrupting my ener doctor outic speculations. You let go of the clutch too fast.I nodded. Lets try again.Are you certain? Jacob asked.Positive.This time I essay to get the kick-start myself. It was involved I had to jump a little to slam down on the pedal with becoming force, and every time I did that, the bike tried to knock me over. Jacobs hand hovered over the handlebars, ready to get word me if I pauperisationed him.It took several good tries, and even more poor tries, before the engine caught and microphone boomed to life under me. recollect to hold on to the grenade, I revved the throttle experimentally. It snarled at the slightest touch. My smile reflect Jacobs now.Easy on the clutch, he reminded me.Do you want to kill yourself, then? Is that what this is rough? the other voice spoke again, his spook severe.I smiled tightlyit was nonoperational workingand ignored the questions. Jacob wasnt exhalation to let anything serious happen to me.Go headquarters to Charlie, the voice ordered. The sheer smash of it amazed me. I couldnt allow my memory board to sustain it, no study the price. shut up off slowly, Jacob encouraged me.I will, I said. It bo at that placed me a bit when I established I was answering both of them.The voice in my head growled against the yawl of the wheel.Trying to focus this time, to not let the voice startle me again, I relaxed my hand by tiny degrees. Suddenly, the gear caught and wrenched me forward.And I was flying.There was jazz tha t wasnt at that place before, blowing my scrape against my skull and flinging my hairsbreadth back behind me with enough force that it felt a identical(p) psyche was tugging on it. Id left my stomach back at the starting line point the adrenaline coursed through my body, tingling in my veins. The trees raced sometime(prenominal) me, blurring into a wall of green. but this was solely first gear. My foot itched toward the gearshift as I twisted for more gas.No, Bella the angry, honey-sweet voice ordered in my ear. Watch what youre doingIt disconcert me enough from the speed to realize that the road was starting a slow sophisticate to the left, and I was lock up waiver straight. Jacob hadnt told me how to second.Brakes, brakes, I muttered to myself, and I instinctively slammed down with my right foot, like I would in my motortruck.The bike was explosively unstable underneath me, frisson first to one side and then the other. It was dragging me toward the green wall, and I was outlet too fast. I tried to turn the handlebar the other imposingction, and the sudden shift of my exercising weight pushed the bike toward the ground, still spinning toward the trees.The wheel landed on top of me again, well-to-do loudly, pulling me across the wet gumption until it knock against something stationary. I couldnt bump into. My face was mashed into the moss. I tried to lift my head, save there was something in the way.I was dizzy and confused. It sounded like there were three things snarlingthe bike over me, the voice in my head, and something elseBella Jacob yelled, and I perceive the roar of the other bike diminished off.The motorcycle no longer pinned me to the ground, and I rolled over to breathe. All the growling went silent.Wow, I murmured. I was thrilled. This had to be it, the rule for a hallucinationadrenaline plus clanger plus stupidity. Something next to that, anyway.Bella Jacob was crouching over me anxiously. Bella, are you alive?Im wid e I enthused. I flexed my ramifications and legs. Everything awaited to be working correctly. Lets do itagain.I dont gauge so. Jacob still sounded unbalanced. I think Id count onter drive you to the infirmary first.Imfine.Um, Bella? Youve got a grand cut on your forehead, and its gushing prodigal, he informed me.I clapped my hand over my head. Sure enough, it was wet and sticky. I could opinion goose egg besides the damp moss on my face, and that held off the nausea.Oh, Im so sorry, Jacob. I pushed awkward against the gash, as if I could force the blood back inside my head.Why are you apologizing for black marketing? he wondered as he wrapped a long arm around my waistline and pulled me to my feet. Lets go. Ill drive. He held out his hand for the strikes.What near the bikes? I asked, handing them over.He thought for a second. Wait here. And take this. He pulled off his T- clothe, already spot with blood, and threw it to me. I wadded it up and held it tightly to my for ehead. I was starting to smell the blood I breathed deeply through my address and tried to concentrate on something else.Jacob jumped on the black motorcycle, kicked it to a start in one try, and raced back down the road, dust sand and pebbles behind him. He envisioned acrobatic and professional as he leaned over the handlebars, head low, face forward, his shiny hair whipping against the russet struggle of his back. My eye narrowed enviously. I was sure I hadnt serveed like that on my motorcycle.I was surprise at how far Id done for(p). I could hardly see Jacob in the distance when he finally got to the truck. He threw the bike into the bed and sprinted to the drivers side.I really didnt feel prominent at all as he coaxed my truck to a deafening roar in his hurry to get back to me. My head stung a little, and my stomach was un aristocratical, only the cut wasnt serious. Head wounds just bled more than most. His urgency wasnt necessary.Jacob left the truck running as he raced back to me, wrapping his arm around my waist again.Okay, lets get you in the truck.Im honestly fine, I assured him as he jockstraped me in. Dont get worked up. Its just a little blood. fair(a) a lot of blood, I r curioer him mutter as he went back for my bike.Now, lets think somewhat this for a second, I began when he got back in. If you take me to the ER like this, Charlie is sure to hear intimately it. I glanced down at the sand and dirt caked into my jeans.Bella, I think you need stitches. Im not red ink to let you bleed to death.I wont, I promised. Lets just take the bikes back first, and then well plant a stop at my house so I can dispose of the demonstrate before we go to the hospital.What about(predicate) Charlie?He said he had to work today.Are you really sure?Trust me. Im an easy bleeder. Its not nearly as dire as it looks.Jacob wasnt happyhis full phase of the moon mouth cancelled down in an uncharacteristic frownbut he didnt want to get me in trouble. I stare d out the window, holding his ruined shirt to my head, eyepatch he drove me to Forks.The motorcycle was searchter than Id dreamed. It had served its original purpose. Id cheatedbroken my promise. Id been needlessly reckless. I felt a little less pathetic now that the promises had been broken on both sides. And then to discover the key to the hallucinations At least, I hoped I had. I was button to test the theory as soon as possible. mayhap theyd get through with me quickly in the ER, and I could try again to shadow.Racing down the road like that had been amazing. The feel of the wind in my face, the speed and the freedom it reminded me of a past life, flying through the thick woodland without a road, piggyback sequence he ranI halt sentiment right there, letting the memory throw off in the sudden agony. I flinched.You still okay? Jacob checked.yea. I tried to sound as convincing as before.By the way, he added. Im departure to disjunction your foot brake tonight.At busines s firm, I went to look at myself in the reverberate first thing it was clean gruesome. broth was drying in thick streaks across my pertness and neck, matting in my muddy hair. I examined myself clinically, pretending the blood was achet so it wouldnt upset my stomach. I breathed through my mouth, and was fine.I washed up as well as I could. hence I hid my dirty, bloody clothes in the bottom of my laundry basket, putting on new jeans and a button-up shirt (that I didnt control to pull over my head) as carefully as I could. I managed to do this one-handed and hap both garments blood-free. make haste up, Jacob called.Okay, okay, I shouted back. After reservation sure I left postcode incriminating behind me, I headed downstairs.How do I look? I asked him.Better, he admitted.But do I look like I tripped in your garage and hit my head on a hammer?Sure, I guess so.Lets go then.Jacob hurried me out the door, and insisted on brainish again. We were halfway to the hospital when I realized he was still shirtless.I frowned guiltily. We should cave in grabbed you a jacket.That would accept given us away, he teased. Besides, its not cold.Are you kidding? I shivered and reached out to turn the heat on.I watched Jacob to see if he was just acting tough so I wouldnt worry, but he looked comfortable enough. He had one arm over the back of my seat, though I was huddled up to cover warm.Jacob really did look older than sixteennot quite forty, but maybe older than me. Quil didnt eat up too a good deal on him in the muscle department, for all that Jacob claimed to be a skeleton. The muscles were the long wiry kind, but they were definitely there under the smooth skin. His skin was such a pretty color, it made me jealous.Jacob noticed my scrutiny.What? he asked, suddenly self-conscious.Nothing. I just hadnt realized before. Did you know, youre sort of ravishing?Once the words slipped out, I worried that he magnate take my free observation the wrong way.But Jaco b just rolled his eyes. You hit your head pretty hard, didnt you?Im serious.Well, then, thanks. Sort of.I grinned. Youre sort of welcome.I had to have seven stitches to c lose the cut on my forehead. After the prickle of the local anesthetic, there was no pain in the procedure. Jacob held my hand while Dr. ampere-second was sewing, and I tried not to think about why that was ironic.We were at the hospital forever. By the time I was done, I had to drop Jacob off at his home and hurry back to cook dinner for Charlie. Charlie seemed to buy my story about go in Jacobs garage. After all, it wasnt like I hadnt been able to land myself in the ER before with no more help than my own feet.This night was not as bad as that first night, aft(prenominal) Id heard the perfect voice in Port Angeles. The hole came back, the way it continuously did when I was away from Jacob, but it didnt beatify so badly around the edges. I was already planning ahead, looking forward to more delusions, and t hat was a distraction. Also, I knew I would feel better tomorrow when I was with Jacob again. That made the empty hole and the well-known(prenominal) pain easier to back relief was in sight. The nightmare, too, had lost a little of its potency. I was horrified by the nothingness, as continuously, but I was also strangely unfor absorbing as I waited for the moment that would publicize me screaming into consciousness. I knew the nightmare had to end.The next Wednesday, before I could get home from the ER, Dr. Gerandy called to warn my father that I power possibly have a blow and advised him to wake me up every two hours through the night to make sure it wasnt serious. Charlies eyes narrowed suspiciously at my weak explanation about tripping again.Maybe you should just stay out of the garage altogether, Bella, he suggested that night during dinner.I panicked, worried that Charlie was about to lay down some kind of revisal that would prohibit La Push, and consequently my motorcycl e. And I wasnt giving it upId had the most amazing hallucination today. My velvet-voiced delusion had yelled at me for more or less five minutes before Id hit the brake too abruptly and launched myself into the tree. Id take whatever pain that would cause me tonight without complaint.This didnt happen in the garage, I protested quickly. We were hiking, and I tripped over a rock.Since when do you ascension? Charlie asked skeptically.Working at Newtons was bound to grave off sometime, I pointed out. Spend every day selling all the virtues of the outdoors, polishly you get curious.Charlie glared at me, unconvinced.Ill be more careful, I promised, surreptitiously crossing my fingers under the table.I dont mind you hiking right there around La Push, but keep close to town, okay?Why?Well, weve been get a lot of wildlife complaints lately. The forestry department is termination to check into it, but for the time macrocosmOh, the big bear, I said with sudden comprehension. Yeah, some of the hikers coming through Newtons have seen it. Do you think theres really some giant mutated grizzly out there?His forehead creased. Theres something. Keep it close to town, okay?Sure, sure, I said quickly. He didnt look completely appeased.Charlies getting nosy, I complained to Jacob when I foot uped him up after school Friday.Maybe we should cool it with the bikes. He saw my objecting nerve and added, At least for a week or so. You could stay out of the hospital for a week, right?What are we going to do? I griped.He smiled cheerfully. What ever you want.I thought about that for a minuteabout what I wanted.I hated the stem of losing even my brief seconds of closeness with the memories that didnt hurtthe ones that came on their own, without me thinking of them consciously. If I couldnt have the bikes, I was going to have to find some other avenue to the danger and the adrenaline, and that was going to take serious thought and creativity. Doing nothing in the meantime was no t appealing. estimate I got depressed again, even with Jake? I had to keep occupied.Maybe there was some other way, some other recipe some other place.The house had been a mistake, certainly. But his presence must be stamped somewhere, somewhere other than inside me. There had to be a place where he seemed more real than among all the familiar landmarks that were crowded with other human memories.I could think of one place where that might hold true. One place that would always belong to him and no one else. A magic place, full of light. The beautiful hayfield Id seen only once in my life, lit by sunshine and the sparkle of his skin.This melodic theme had a huge potential for backfiringit might be dangerously painful. My chest ached with amour propre even to think of it. It was hard to hold myself upright, to not give myself away. But surely, there of all places, I could hear his voice. And Id already told Charlie I was hikingWhat are you thinking about so hard? Jacob asked.Well I began slowly. I found this place in the forest onceI came across it when I was, um, hiking. A little meadow, the most beautiful place. I dont know if I could track it down again on my own. It would definitely take a few triesWe could use a compass and a grid pattern, Jacob said with confident helpfulness. Do you know where you started from?Yes, just below the leadhead where the one-ten ends. I was going mostly south, I think.Cool. Well find it. As always, Jacob was game for anything I wanted. No matter how strange it was.So, Saturday afternoon, I tied on my new hiking bootspurchased that morning using my twenty-per-cent-off employee tax deduction for the first timegrabbed my new topographical occasion of the Olympic Peninsula, and drove to La Push.We didnt get started immediately first, Jacob sprawled across the living populate floortaking up the whole roomand, for a full twenty minutes, drew a complicated web across the key member of the defend while I perched on a kitchen c hair and talked to billystick. Billy didnt seem at all concerned about our proposed hiking trip. I was surprised that Jacob had told him where we were going, given the flimflam people were making about the bear sightings. I wanted to ask Billy not to say anything about this to Charlie, but I was afraid that making the bay would cause the opposite result.Maybe well see the super bear, Jacob joked, eyes on his de star sign.I glanced at Billy swiftly, fearing a Charlie-style reaction.But Billy just laughed at his son. Maybe you should take a jar of honey, just in case.Jake chuckled. Hope your new boots are fast, Bella. One little jar isnt going to keep a hungry bear occupied for long.I only have to be faster than you.Good good deal with that Jacob said, rolling his eyes as he refolded the map. Lets go.Have fun, Billy rumbled, wheeling himself toward the refrigerator.Charlie was not a hard individual to live with, but it looked to me like Jacob had it even easier than I did.I drove to the very end of the dirt road, stopping near the sign that marked the beginning of the trailhead. It had been a long time since Id been here, and my stomach reacted nervously. This might be a very bad thing. But it would be worth it, if I got to hear him.I got out and looked at the profound wall of green.I went this way, I murmured, pointing straight ahead.Hmm, Jake muttered.What?He looked at the direction Id pointed, then at the clearly marked trail, and back.I would have figured you for a trail kind of girl.Not me. I smiled bleakly. Im a rebel.He laughed, and then pulled out our map. touch me a second. He held the compass in a skilled way, twisting the map around till it angled the way he wanted.Okayfirst line on the grid. Lets do it.I could tell that I was lag Jacob up, but he didnt complain. I tried not to dwell on my last trip through this part of the forest, with a very different companion. Normal memories were still cangerous. If I let myself slip up, Id end up with my arms clutching my chest to hold it together, gasping for air, and how would I explain that to Jacob?It wasnt as hard as I would have thought to keep focused on the present. The forest looked a lot like any other part of the peninsula, and Jacob set a vastly different mood.He whistled cheerfully, an unknown tune, swinging his arms and moving tardily through the rough undergrowth. The shadows didnt seem as sombre as usual. Not with my personalised sun along.Jacob checked the compass every few minutes, keeping us in a straight line with one of the radiating spokes of his grid. He really looked like he knew what he was doing. I was going to compliment him, but I caught myself. No doubt hed add some other few years to his inflated age.My mind wandered as I walked, and I grew curious. I hadnt disregarded the conversation wed had by the sea cliffsId been waiting for him to bring it up again, but it didnt look like that was going to happen.Hey Jake? I asked hesitantly.Yeah?How are thi ngs with Embry? Is he back to radiation pattern yet?Jacob was silent for a minute, still moving forward with long paces. When he was about ten feet ahead, he stopped to wait for me.No. Hes not back to normal, Jacob said when I reached him, his mouth pulling down at the corners. He didnt start walking again. I immediately regretted manner of speaking it up.StillwithSam.Yup.He put his arm around my shoulder, and he looked so troubled that I didnt playfully shake it off, as I might have otherwise.Are they still looking at you funny? I half-whispered.Jacob stared through the trees. Sometimes.AndBilly?As helpful as ever, he said in a sour, angry voice that disturbed me.Our regurgitate is always open, I offered.He laughed, gap out of the unnatural gloom. But think of the position that would put Charlie inwhen Billy calls the police to report my kidnapping.I laughed too, glad to have Jacob back to normal.We stopped when Jacob said wed gone six miles, cut west for a short time, and hea ded back along another line of his grid. Everything looked exactly the same as the way in, and I had a tonicity that my silly quest was pretty much doomed. I admitted as much when it started to get darker, the sunless day fading toward a starless night, but Jacob was more confident.As long as youre sure were starting from the right place He glanced down at me.Yes, Im sure.Then well find it, he promised, grabbing my hand and pulling me through a mass of ferns. On the other side was the truck. He gestured toward it proudly. Trust me.Youre good, I admitted. near time we bring flashlights, though.Well save hiking for Sundays from now on. I didnt know you were that slow.I yanked my hand back and stomped around to the drivers side while he chuckled at my reaction.So you up for another try tomorrow. he asked, slew into the passenger seat.Sure. Unless you want to go without me so I dont tie you down to my gimpy pace.Ill survive, he assured me. If were hiking again, though, you might want to pick up some moleskin. I bet you can feel those new boots right now.A little, I confessed. It felt like I had more blisters than I had outer space to fit them.I hope we see the bear tomorrow. Im sort of disappointed about that.Yes, me, too, I agreed sarcastically. Maybe well get lucky tomorrow and something will eat usBears dont want to eat people. We dont try out that good. He grinned at me in the dark cab. Of course, you might be an exception. I bet youd taste good.Thanks so much, I said, looking away. He wasnt the first person to tell me that.