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In the forest, close to the house of the chief of police, stood a lone figure.
Eyes closed, breathing, in and out in an almost terrifying steadiness. The figured stood there for what seemed like a minute, but to him felt like hours.
Nathaniel has been coming to this part of the forest for the past week, testing out every abbilatie in his arsenal and to see if he could get some semblance of understanding and control.
At first, it unnerved him how he could run faster than any car to exist, jump higher then any human could ever jump and hear things no man should be able to hear.
For example, Nate was both amused and baffled on how he could hear the old man that lived on the other side of forks complaining about his back pains. It excited him, but it also worried him, especially how easily everything came to him.
It was like riding a bike.
Nate stood there for a moment longer eyes closed, before they opened abruptly, and with a huge gust of wind he was off, running like the silent wind. Eyes moving with speed as he dodged every tree and rock that came upon him. he didn't have a destination in mind, he just kept running, jumping and scaling rivers. He loved it, ever moment of it.
Nate came to a stop atop a hill that had a view of the Olympic national forest. in just a minute he had run over 20 miles in estimate.
As Nathaniel looked out at the forest, the harmonious blend of animal sounds and the gentle splashing of water calmed him down, much like music did.
'Natures music" He though, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.
One week, that's all it took for him to get used to it all. Even though the list of abilities weren't a lot, they were still diverse.
From the three most basic things, super speed, super strength and enhanced senses, to his more interesting abilities like echo location, wind gliding and bat communication, which he found out accidentally when a bat somehow came in to his temporary music studio in his uncles shed.
He shivered when he though of the scenario' it was an odd experience' he though, before he moved on.
On the side, he's also been watching the videos of his father explaining the abilities in depth. which have been mostly useful because it made him discover another thing.
soon he will start to show signs of weakness, then the illness will hit.
After that, it's the insatiable hunger...
FOR BLOOD.
And Nate would be lying if he said he wasn't afraid of the fact that he had to consume blood in order to survive.
Something in his pocket vibrated which stopped his thought process, taking out his phone to see it was Bella calling him, he picked it up.
"Hello" Bella said from the other side.
"Hey bells, what's up" Nate said, a bit confused why she was calling him this time, 'wasn't she supposed to be at school' he though looking at his wrist watch that said 8:06.
"Umm, Im sorry to ask you this but my car doesn't seem to wan't to start up, and school will start any moment now, could you take me" She said, sounding a bit embarrassed.
Nate thought it cute.
"I'll be right there, give me a minute," He said smiling to himself.
"Are you far out, cause if you are.." She said sounding hesitant.
"Naa, just out for a morning stroll, Im right around the corner" He said, looking around the forest scenario while scratching the back of his head.
"O..okay I'll wait then, bye" She said not waiting for him to greet her back before hanging up.
Nate looked at the phone for a moment before shaking his head and getting ready for the run back to the house.
"Well, here we go" He said, and disappeared once again in a gust of wind, not noticing the dark smoke like streaks leaving his body.
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Pulling up the parking lot of forks high school, Nate looked to his cousin so he could maybe ask if she needs a lift back home later but before he could say anything she was getting out of his car,
Stopping on the door Bella looks awkwardly around the amity parking lot before she bent under the hood of the car to look at nate who quirking a brow.
"I'll see you later, thank for the ride" She said, standing there waiting for Nates reply that came out sounding amused.
"Yeah no problem, anything for my baby cousin" He said, smile broadening as he observed bell cheack go red.
"I thought you forgot about that" She said quietly and quickly like it was the biggest secret in the world.
Nate chuckled smoothly before shaking his head and saying"How could I forget," While he kept smiling, only for her to huff and close the car door while waving him offhandedly.
Looking at her leaving figure Nate couldn't help but laugh more, while remembering how that nickname came to be.
It was Thanksgiving in 1991 when the entire Swan family gathered at Nate's family house.
Nate's father, holding the prized clocked turkey, felt a tug on his leg. He looked down to see young Nate with his arms outstretched, clearly indicating he wanted to take the turkey to the dining room.
Michael, witnessing this scene, couldn't help but chuckle. Without hesitation, he handed Nate the turkey plate. With great care and concentration, Nate slowly made his way to the table, under the scrutinizing gazes of his father, mother, uncle, and aunt.
As he placed the turkey down, his mother couldn't help but gush, "Look at my little baby, already so strong!" But Nate was quick to deny it. "I'm not a baby," he retorted, crossing his arms defiantly.
Just then, little Bella entered the room, clutching a black teddy bear. Upon seeing her, Nate pointed his finger and declared, "Bella's younger than me, she's my baby cousin!" This innocent remark had the unintended consequence of making Bella burst into tears.
From that day onward, "baby cousin" became a forbidden term in Bella's presence, but Nate seized every opportunity to use it whenever he wanted to embarrass or annoy her.
Chucling from the memory, Nate thought about his old house that was ways from forks. It was on the outskirts of the small town.
Nates father was fond of his privacy, he didn't know why when he was younger, but now he understood that his father lived outside of town away from prying eyes because of his more illegal test.
While thinking about this fact, Nate thought of the possibility of there being more information on his transformation there and maybe, just maybe there was an answer to the blood drinking.
MAYBE HE COULD FIND A WAY TO PREVENT IT.
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Pulling up to the old Victorian styled mansion that was covered in moss and cracks, Nate was hit with a wave of nostalgia.
Getting out of the car, he surveyed the garden that was once tended by his father. it was odd coming back here after all these years. last time he was here was when he had gotten the news of his fathers demise, it was a memory Nate didn't like to dwell on.
Shaking his head of the unnecessary emotion's Nate wanted to get the things he came for, which he hopefully found and then leave and never turn back.
Going inside the house, first thing Nate saw was the empty hall that greeted him, looking around the dust and web littered hall Nate had flashes of memories of him and his mother playing tag.
Ignoring the memory, Nate went deeper into the house where he new his fathers study was.
Standing in front of the black wooden door, Nate pushed it open to be greeted by the same room he had seen in the videos—the very place where his father had filmed his final documentary.
Walking towards the empty, web-filled room, there wasn't much to see. Where there used to be shelves filled with books and journals, and countless other objects his father had collected over the years, now stood an empty room with a lone wooden desk and chair that looked as though they hadn't been used in years.
Approaching the desk, Nate opened the drawers one by one, searching for anything useful. After finding nothing, he grabbed the desk with such force that it splintered under his hands, and in frustration, he flipped the entire desk.
"UGH, nothing!" he shouted as the old wooden desk flew across the room, breaking into many pieces.
Breathing heavily, Nate glanced at what he had done, only to notice something sticking out from under the broken wood.
Walking towards the broken desk, Nate knelt down and cleared away some of the rubble before finding a simple file.
Running his hand over the file, Nate dusted it off before opening it to find a study plan—a detailed summary of how Michael, Nate's father, and... Steven Clide, would perfect a Miracle serum to counter the major illnesses humans face.
"Steven Clide," Nate said aloud. Who was he? How did he come to work with his father, and why hadn't Nate known about him?
Closing the file, Nate stood there for a moment, sorting through his thoughts. Suddenly, something caught his ear—the sound of heavy breathing outside, sounding animalistic. Then, the smell hit him—a familiar one.
"Ugh, what the hell," he muttered, hurrying out of the house to investigate the source of the sound and smell.
Once outside, Nate scanned the edge of the forest to see if he could spot anything, but there was nothing.
"Weird," he muttered, walking back towards his car and driving away, knowing the perfect place to go if he wanted to find out more about this Steven Clide fellow.
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Walking into the sheriff's station, Nate approached the lady at the desk.
"Excuse me," he said, catching the receptionist's attention.
"Oh, how can I help you?" she responded.
"Is Chief Swan in? My name is Nathaniel Swan, I'm his nephew, and I have something I'd like to talk to him about."
The receptionist seemed surprised, judging by the way she raised her brow.
"One moment, please," she said before picking up the phone and dialing a number.
"The chief is in his office. Walk through this corridor, go left, and the last room on the left is his office," she said, sounding oddly chipper.
Nate nodded slowly, feeling a bit weirded out by her behavior. Shrugging it off, he made his way towards his uncle's office.
Knocking on the door, Nate waited for a moment before hearing a "Come in." He opened the door and stepped in to see his uncle buried under a pile of papers.
"Nate," Charlie said softly.
Seeing the state of his uncle's office, Nate took a seat in one of the chairs.
"Hey, uncle, is this a bad time?" he asked.
"No, not at all. How can I help you? Did something happen? Are you in trouble?" Charlie asked, sounding serious.
Nate shook his head softly. "No, nothing like that. I just wanted to ask if you knew someone," he said, looking at his uncle, who had a curious expression.
"A man named Steven Clide," Nate continued, noticing his uncle's reaction.
"You know him" Nate said as a matter of fact.
Charlie nodded. "Or more like your father knew him. They were lab partners or something. The last Michael told me about him was that they had a falling out," he explained.
"Why are you asking about Steven?" Charlie asked, confused.
Nate, convinced that this Steven person could know something about his situation or even help him, shook his head.
"Oh, it's nothing. I just wanted to get in touch with people who knew my father. I don't remember much of him, so..." Nate said, coming up with an excuse to get his uncle to tell him where Steven was.
Staring at Nate for a moment, Charlie wrote something on his desktop laptop before taking a piece of paper and writing down what Nate now knew was an address.
"You should find him here. Luckily, he never left Forks," Charlie said, handing the paper to Nate, who looked at the address expectantly.
"Thanks, uncle," Nate said, getting up.
"I don't know how talking to this man will help you, but I just want you to know if there is anything bothering you, I'm here for you," Charlie said, making Nate stop in his tracks to look at his uncle and smile.
"I know that," Nate said before leaving.
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Hey, guys! Friendly neighborhood Magicman here. Apologies for the late chapter.
It's been hectic lately, with me training for a marathon and working full-time. Time's been tight, but that's no excuse to stop doing what I enjoy. So, I made this piece for you guys. Hope you enjoy it. I'm going for the mystery-solving route in this arc. Remember, let me cook.
Anyway, the next chapter will be out next week. As always, I would strongly appreciate any constructive criticism.
Also, if you could answer these questions for me, it would help:
What do you think about Nathaniel's character?
How should I continue with the music aspect of his life?
What do you think will happen next?
As always, I'll see you on the next one.
Also if you have any pennies to spare for little Olle me, PayPal me on.
DONATE:paypal.me/Helpauthor03
And I will get a chapter done the same week, so enjoy and see you next time, peace.
