Chapter 95: Confronting Shadows
[1 week later.]
Stepping into the movie theater, I saw the movie was already under way.
Taking off my hat, I took a seat at the back of the large theater.
The movie was 'Frankenstein's bride'.
The movie had only been out for about a week and seemed to be a hit.
I wouldn't know, because surprisingly, I wasn't much for movies anymore like I might have once been.
My guess was the over five thousand years I went without it.
Looking around, I looked for the one I had come to find.
Like a hawk, it only took me a few seconds to hone in on my query.
Seated by the main aisle, I saw the tall skinny figure of Edward Cullen.
He seemed captivated by the movie, but I knew he had more on his mind than just the movie.
I had followed him from his apartment in Brooklyn to Manhattan where we currently sit.
Stretching my back, I tried to get comfortable in the small chairs, wishing I had bought some popcorn on the way in.
The movie went on for about thirty minutes, before a woman stood from her seat, probably on her way to the washroom.
As she walked by, a tall skinny man also stood, following after her.
I smirked as I watched Edward.
All the way, Edward watched the man move, clearly reading his thoughts, knowing what his sinister plan was.
As the man walked out of the theater, Edward was hot in his tracks, following after him.
With leisure, I stood from my seat, adjusting my new suit and over coat.
Dusting off my hat, I put it on.
'Times are starting to get interesting!' I thought to myself as I followed Edward.
Walking through the ornate halls of the high end theater, I could hear as Edward struck the man.
The slightest gasp escaped the man's lungs as Edward drank from him.
Turning a corner in the wall, I saw as Edward separated from the man's neck.
Making sure to walk as softly as possible, I managed to get about five feet behind Edward, before he managed to sense my presence.
With the speed of a vampire, he turned in panic to see me standing there.
His eyes were wide as he stared into my blue eyes.
But as he stared, his eyes only grew wider and wider.
"It's good to finally meet ya kid." I said cheerily as I gave him a wide smile.
Edward didn't say anything, but instead, took on a look of concentration.
"I would stop trying to read my mind before you hurt yourself." I said with a chuckle.
"It won't work."
Reaching up, I grabbed my handkerchief from my inner jacket pocket and held it out.
"Here, you have something on your face." I said, gesturing at my lip with my free hand.
Edward stared at the handkerchief for a moment, before slowly taking it from my grip.
Wiping the blood from his mouth, he handed it back.
I shook my head.
"Keep it. I have spares." I said with a smile as I patted my chest where I actually had two others.
Confusedly, Edward shoved the handkerchief into his overcoats pocket.
During all of this, Edward had never removed his eyes from mine.
"You won't be able to read my mind. Just give it a rest, huh." I said, looking away from him and down at the dead body.
"What do you normally do now?" I asked.
"Just leave them where they fall or~" I asked, looking back at Edward who still looked mildly confused.
"Uh…" he said, unable to continue.
"I'll take that as a leave them as they fall." I said cheekily, before looking around.
"We should get a move on. Last thing we want is for one of the movies to end and people find us standing over a dead body." I said, walking past Edward and down the stairs.
As I went down the steps, Edward stood still, in what I can only call shock.
Reaching the last step, I heard Edward start to follow.
Stopping, I reached into another of my pockets and pulled out a fifty dollar bill while I waited for Edward.
Stopping next to me, I could feel Edward's gaze.
Looking over at him, I raised a brow.
"What?" I asked, but before giving him time to speak, I started to move again, following the delicious smell that filled the large concession area that filled most of the bottom entrance floor.
Walking with purpose, I made my way to the register area where a teen stood.
Slapping the fifty dollar bill on the counter, I look up at the surprised cashier.
"I'll take your largest popcorn, three milk duds, 2 Red hots, 1 black licorice, and all the three musketeers you have…OH! And all of the KitKats." I said, pointing out each item as I said their name.
To the kids' credit, he managed to grab what I wanted in order and without falling behind.
As he rang everything up on the large metal register, I snapped my fingers together.
"I nearly forgot. Also add two Coca-Colas while you're at it." I said.
Grabbing all of my goodies from the counter, I shoved them in all of my pockets.
"And here is your change sir. $40.52."
I looked up at the teen's hand which was holding the change as I grabbed the two glass bottles of soda from the counter.
"It's all yours, Marlin." I said, looking down at his gold name tag.
Giving the teen a smile, I walked towards the front door, Edward still following.
Twisting off the caps of both bottles, I handed one to Edward.
"Here, have this." I said.
He looked down at it, confused, but still took it anyway.
Taking a sip of the sweet beverage, I let out a sound of satisfaction.
"ohh! That's some good shit." I said, using my free hand to dig into my pocket, pulling out a box of musketeers.
"Who are you?" Edward asked, not needing to look as he moved around a group of people walking by.
"I'm Adam. Nice to finally meet you, Edward." I said, not looking at him as I opened the small candy box with the three small bars of chocolate.
Edward came to a complete halt.
"How do you know my name?" He asked, rather aggressively as I picked up the sound of his bottle starting to crack with his pent up rage.
"Whoa, there! Don't waste a good drink." I said, snatching the full bottle from Edward cold grip, replacing it with my empty one.
"And to answer your question, I know your name because Carlisle told it to me." I said, continuing my walk east towards the docks of Manhattan.
"You know Carlisle?" Edward asked.
"Longer than you have." I said whimsically as I took a sip of the new soda.
"I'm sorry?" Edward asked questioningly.
I looked at him.
"About what?" I asked.
"What you just said." He said, as we walked to the otherwise of a road.
"that I've know Carlisle longer then you?" I asked, playing dumb.
"Yes!" Edward said, getting annoyed.
"What about it?" I asked, walking into a dark alley.
As we stepped in, I heard as Edward's anger finally bubbled to the surface, causing him to crush the glass bottle under his grip.
"Enough!" Edward said, grabbing me by the shoulder with a grip that would have broken every bone of a normal human.
"Who are you, really!" He snapped.
I stayed facing away from him, and downed my soda in one go.
Finishing it off, I tossed it to the side to crash against the alleys wall.
"You know the issue with drinking human blood?" I asked Edward.
He didn't say anything.
"It clouds your mind and judgement. makes you impulsive and quick to anger."
Then, before Edward had time to understand what was happening, I broke from his grip and circled around behind him, grabbing the caller of his shirt and jacket like a dog before I jumped upwards between the two buildings.
Grabbing onto the ledge of one of the buildings with my free hand, I used it to toss us up ten feet over the building where I dropped Edward to the building.
Landing on the hard stone of the building, I turned to look at the city around us, keeping an eye on the crouched figure of Edward from the corner of my eye.
"H-How did you do that!" Edward yelled, standing to his feet.
I looked at him with a shrug.
"don't know. Just been able to as long as I can remember." I said with a chuckle, turning back to look over the city.
"And how long would that be?" He asked, seeming to get his emotions back under control, even if just slightly.
I didn't look at him as I spoke.
"Nearly 6 thousand years."
I could sense Edward's body go dead still.
"Your a vampire?" He asked, confused and alarmed.
I looked at him like he was stuiped.
"You can hear my hearts beat and the warmth emitting from me."
"Then what are you?" He asked, seeming ready to run at any minute.
I shrugged again.
"Depends on who you ask." I said with a chuckle.
"To some I'm the ancestor to all humans. The great progenitor. While to others, like
myself, I'm just some unlucky basted dropped head first into this world with immortality and abilities I couldn't understand."
Edward must be just like his movie self, because he connected the dots a lot quicker then anyone I had met before.
"Adam…ancestor to all humans…" he said to himself, as if I wasn't there.
Then, I saw it. The moment he understood who I was.
I turned to face him, as he slowly took a step backwards.
"No!" Edward said, his eyes ablaze with a sea of emotions.
Confusion, rage, surprise, disgust, sadness, then one that surprised me.
Hope.
"You can't be." Edward said, vulnerability seeming to wash over him.
I turned my head slightly to the side.
"Dose that scare you?" I asked, seeming to catch him off guard with the question.
I smiled as I saw the slightest twitch of his right brow.
"I thought so." I said.
"Stop it!" He shouted.
"You can't be," he repeated, voice trembling, yet there was an undercurrent of something stronger—defiance.
I stepped closer, my gaze unwavering.
"Why is that so hard to believe? You've seen more impossible things in your short life than most humans can imagine."
Edward snarled, his lips pulling back to reveal his teeth.
"Don't patronize me. You're just another monster with a fancy story. Nothing more."
A chuckle escaped my lips, not out of amusement but out of a deep-rooted understanding.
"You're not wrong. But you, Edward, should know better than anyone that not all monsters are created equal."
"Don't," he snapped, taking a step back. "Don't talk to me like you know me. You don't know anything about me or what I've been through."
I tilted my head, my expression softening just a fraction.
"I know more than you think. Carlisle talked about you, He cares about you deeply."
"Carlisle doesn't understand," Edward spat, the words thick with bitterness.
"He believes in fairytales. He thinks we can live without blood, without giving in to what we are. But we're not human anymore. We're predators."
"And what about Esme?" I countered, my voice firm but gentle.
"Does she believe in fairytales too? Or does she just believe in you?"
Edward flinched at my words, a shadow passing over his face.
"She's too kind for her own good."
I nodded slowly.
"She is. And she deserves better than to see you like this, lost and alone."
His eyes blazed with anger.
"I'm not lost. I know exactly what I'm doing."
"Do you?" I asked, the question hanging heavy between us.
"Do you really know, or are you just running from the guilt, the shame of what you've become and done?"
Edward's fists clenched, the sound of his knuckles cracking echoing in the night.
"You think you can just waltz in here and fix me? That you can make everything right with a few pretty words?"
I stood my ground, my eyes never leaving his.
"No, Edward. I don't think I can fix you. But I'm not here to fix you. I'm here to remind you of who you could be. Of what you left behind."
A bitter laugh tore from his throat.
"And what's that? A life of pretending? Of lying to ourselves that we can be something we're not?"
I took a step closer, my voice dropping to a near whisper.
"No, Edward. A life of hope. A life where you don't have to be alone. A life where you can still find redemption."
He shook his head, the defiance in his eyes wavering.
"Redemption? For monsters like us? You really are delusional."
"Maybe," I conceded. "But I've seen enough in my time to know that redemption isn't about what we are or have done. It's about what we choose to be and do moving on in life."
Edward looked away, his shoulders slumping just a fraction.
"And what if I can't choose? What if this is all I'm meant to be?"
I sighed, the weight of millennia pressing down on my own shoulders.
"That's a decision only you can make, Edward. But running from it won't make it any easier."
He looked back at me, his eyes haunted. "And what if I don't want to go back? What if I can't face them?"
"Then you'll keep running," I said simply, "and you'll never find peace."
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I've gone over it dozens of times and still don't know if this chapter is good or not.
So please leave a comment and tell me your thoughts
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