《6 the short second life of bree tanner布里·坦纳第二次短暂生命》第19章

illed　so　deeply　into　all　of　us　the　threat　of　burning；　of　a　
Page　80
return　of　that　hideous　pain　we’d　all　experienced　once。　That　was　the　reason　we　could　stop　ourselves。　Selfpreservation；　the　only　instinct　stronger　than　thirst。 So　the　threat　kept　us　together。　There　were　other　hiding　places；　like　Diego’s　cave；　but　who　else　thought　about　that　kind　of　thing？　We　had　a　place　to　go；　a　base；　so　we　went　to　it。　Clear　heads　were　not　a　vampire　specialty。　Or；　at　least；　they　weren’t　the　specialty　of　young　vampires。　Riley　was　clearheaded。　Diego　was　more　clearheaded　than　I　was。　Those　cloaked　vampires　were　terrifyingly　focused。　I　shuddered。　So　the　routine　wouldn’t　control　us　forever。　What　would　they　do　when　we　were　older；　clearer？　It　struck　me　that　nobody　was　older　than　Riley。　Everyone　here　was　new。　She　needed　a　bunch　of　us　now　for　this　mystery　enemy。　But　what　about　afterward？ I　had　a　strong　feeling　that　I　didn’t　want　to　be　around　for　that　part。　And　I　suddenly　realized　something　stupendously　obvious。　It　was　the　solution　that　had　tickled　the　edges　of　my　understanding　before；　when　I　was　tracking　the　vampire　herd　to　this　place　with　Diego。 I　didn’t　have　to　be　around　for　that　part。　I　didn’t　have　to　be　around　for　one　more　night。 I　was　a　statue　again　as　I　thought　over　this　stunning　idea。 If　Diego　and　I　hadn’t　known　where　the　gang　was　most　likely　headed；　would　we　ever　have　found　them？　Probably　not。　And　that　was　a　big　group　leaving　a　wide　trail。　What　if　it　were　a　single　vampire；　one　who　could　leap　up　onto　the　land；　maybe　into　a　tree；　without　leaving　a　trail　at　the　edge　of　the　water…。　Just　one；　or　maybe　two　vampires　who　could　swim　as　far　out　to　sea　as　
Page　81
they　wanted…　Who　could　return　to　land　anywhere…　Canada；　California；　Chile；　China… You　would　never　be　able　to　find　those　two　vampires。　They　would　be　gone。　Disappeared　like　they’d　gone　up　in　smoke。 We　didn’t　have　to　e　back　the　other　night！　We　shouldn’t　have！　Why　hadn’t　I　thought　of　it　then？ But…　would　Diego　have　agreed？　I　was　abruptly　not　so　sure　of　myself。　Was　Diego　more　loyal　to　Riley　after　all？　Would　he　have　felt　it　was　his　responsibility　to　stand　by　Riley？　He’d　known　Riley　a　lot　longer he’d　really　only　known　me　a　day。　Was　he　closer　to　Riley　than　he　was　to　me？ I　pondered　that；　frowning。 Well；　I　would　find　out　as　soon　as　we　had　a　minute　alone。　And　then　maybe；　if　our　secret　club　really　meant　something；　it　wouldn’t　matter　what　our　creator　had　planned　for　us。　We　could　disappear；　and　Riley　would　have　to　make　do　with　nieen　vampires；　or　make　some　new　ones　quick。　Either　way；　not　our　problem。 I　couldn’t　wait　to　tell　Diego　my　plan。　My　gut　instinct　was　that　he　would　feel　the　same。　Hopefully。 Suddenly；　I　wondered　if　this　was　what　had　really　happened　to　Shelly　and　Steve　and　the　other　kids　who　had　disappeared。　I　knew　they　hadn’t　burned　in　the　sun。　Had　Riley　only　claimed　he’d　seen　their　ashes　as　another　way　to　keep　the　rest　of　us　afraid　and　dependent　on　him？　Returning　home　to　him　every　dawn？　Maybe　Shelly　and　Steve　had　just　set　off　on　their　own。　No　more　Raoul。　No　enemies　or　armies　threatening　their　immediate　future。　
Page　82
Maybe　that’s　what　Riley　had　meant　by　lost　to　the　sun。　Runaways。　In　which　case；　he’d　be　happy　that　Diego　hadn’t　bailed；　right？ If　only　Diego　and　I　had　taken　off！　We　could　be　free；　too；　like　Shelly　and　Steve。　No　rules；　no　fear　of　the　sunrise。 Again；　I　imagined　the　whole　horde　of　us　on　the　loose　without　a　curfew。　I　could　see　Diego　and　me　moving　like　ninjas　through　the　shade。　But　I　could　also　see　Raoul；　Kevin；　and　the　rest；　sparkling　discoball　monsters　in　the　center　of　a　busy　downtown　street；　the　bodies　piling　up；　the　screaming；　the　helicopters　whirring；　the　soft；　helpless　cops　with　their　dinky　little　bullets　that　wouldn’t　make　a　dent；　the　cameras；　the　panic　that　would　spread　so　fast　as　the　pictures　bounced　swiftly　around　the　globe。 Vampires　wouldn’t　be　a　secret　for　very　long。　Even　Raoul　couldn’t　kill　people　fast　enough　to　keep　the　story　from　spreading。 There　was　a　chain　of　logic　here；　and　I　tried　to　grasp　it　before　I　could　be　distracted　again。 One；　humans　didn’t　know　about　vampires。　Two；　Riley　encouraged　us　to　be　inconspicuous；　not　to　attract　the　notice　of　humans　and　educate　them　otherwise。　Three；　Diego　and　I　had　decided　that　all　vampires　must　be　following　that　guideline；　or　else　the　world　would　know　about　us。　Four；　they　must　have　a　reason　for　doing　so；　and　it　wasn’t　the　little　popguns　of　the　human　police　that　motivated　them。　Yeah；　the　reason　must　be　pretty　important　to　make　all　vampires　hide　all　day　long　in　stuffy　basements。　Maybe　reason　enough　to　make　Riley　and　our　creator　lie　to　us；　terrify　us　about　the　burning　sun。　Maybe　it　was　a　
Page　83
reason　Riley　would　explain　to　Diego；　and　since　it　was　so　important　and　he　was　so　responsible；　Diego　would　promise　to　keep　the　secret　and　they　would　be　cool　with　that。　Sure　they　would。　But　what　if　what　actually　happened　to　Shelly　and　Steve　was　that　they’d　discovered　the　shiny　skin　thing　and　not　run？　What　if　they’d　gone　to　Riley？ And；　crap；　there　went　the　next　step　in　my　logical　path。　The　chain　dissolved　and　I　started　panicking　about　Diego　again。 As　I　stressed；　I　realized　that　I’d　been　thinking　things　through　for　a　while。　I　could　feel　dawn　ing　on。　No　more　than　an　hour　away。　So　where　was　Diego？　Where　was　Riley？ As　I　thought　this；　the　door　opened　and　Raoul　leaped　down　the　stairs；　laughing　with　his　buddies。　I　hunched　down；　leaning　closer　to　Fred。　Raoul　didn’t　notice　us。　He　looked　at　the　crispy　fried　vampire　in　the　center　of　the　floor　and　laughed　harder。　His　eyes　were　brilliant　red。 On　the　nights　Raoul　went　hunting；　he　never　came　home　till　he　had　to。　He　would　keep　feeding　as　long　as　he　could。　So　dawn　must　have　been　even　closer　than　I’d　thought。 Riley　must　have　demanded　that　Diego　prove　his　words。　That　was　the　only　explanation。　And　they　were　waiting　for　the　dawn。　Only…　that　would　mean　that　Riley　didn’t　know　the　truth；　that　our　creator　was　lying　to　him；　too。　Or　did　it？　My　thoughts　twisted　up　again。 Kristie　showed　up　minutes　later　with　three　of　her　gang。　She　reacted　indifferently　to　the　pile　of　ashes。　I　did　a　quick　head　count　as　two　more　hunters　hurried　through　the　door。　Twenty　vampir