• What were they? I wondered as we were hunting. They weren't human and they weren't vampire.
    "Edward...don't," I said.
    "I'll be back. I'm just going to figure out what they are," Edward replied running away.
    "Mommy, where's daddy going?" Renesmee asked.
    "He's going to see what those children are doing here in the forest," I replied.
    Renesmee nodded and I watched Edward in astonishment as he nocked one of the children to the ground. He was laughing. Why did he do that? Now he stood and stared at the littlest child in puzzlement. He nodded at her and then he was at my side again.
    "What do you think you were doing?" I ordered.
    "They're human, but they're not," Edward explained.
    Huh? What did he mean?
    Seeing my puzzled expression Edward replied, "The littlest child can read minds like I can. We were able to communicate that way. She said they were 98% human and 2% bird. Mutants. I knew something was off about them. They're blood smelled different."
    "Should we offer help?" I asked.
    "Yes. The little girl said they were always on the run and needed a place to stay for a little while," Edward replied.
    I looked over at the kids. There were three older ones and they were looking around for whatever had attacked the boy Edward nocked down.
    "Does this mean I get someone my age to play with?" Renesmee asked.
    "I think so sweetie. Just let mommy and daddy do all the talking," I replied.
    We all joined hands and walked over to the children. The three eldest stood up as if ready to attack us if necessary.
    "What do you want?" the eldest girl snarled.
    "We want to help," I replied.
    They looked us over. They probably thought we were just some mutants like us. They would have no idea that we were vampires.
    "What are you?' the girl asked.
    "Max, their vampires," the littlest girl told her.
    The girl named Max backed away and glared at us.
    "Vampires? You mean, blood sucking creatures? Don't touch us!" Max said.
    "We won't. We're good vampires. We only hunt animals. We can offer you help. Our family has a home nearby and we can get you all you need," Edward replied.
    "How am I to believe that?" Max saked.
    One of the older boy whispered in her ear and Max nodded.
    "We will go with you as long as you can offer us protection," Max replied.
    "We can. You can explain what for when we get to our place," Edward said.
    "Can I play with you?" Renesmee asked the littlest girl.
    "Yes, we can play dress up...can't we Max?" the girl said.
    "As long as you are safe," Max replied.
    Renesmee went next to the girl and they hugged each other. Good, Renesmee now had a friend to play with. But, the girl Max eyed us suspiciously and so did the other children.
    "Shall we lead you there?" Edward asked.
    "Yes, yes. Let us gather up our things," Max replied.
    Once each of the children carried some of the items in their hands we all headed to our home. I knew Esme would be estatic about this but I was unsure about Rosalie. Would she like the children? They were partially human so probably not. We'd have to get more info out of them when they were at our home and comfortable. Esme always made sure our guests were comfortable.