6 the short second life of bree tanner布里·坦纳第二次短暂生命-第1部分

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The　Short　Second　Life　Of　Bree　Tanner　
By：Stephenie　Meyer　





Copyright　Introduction　Begin　Reading　Acknowledgments　
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　　　Copyright　Copyright　（C）　2010　by　Stephenie　Meyer　All　rights　reserved。　Except　as　permitted　under　the　　　。S。　Copyright　Act　of　1976；　no　part　of　this　publication　may　be　reproduced；　distributed；　or　transmitted　in　any　form　or　by　any　means；　or　stored　in　a　database　or　retrieval　system；　without　the　prior　written　permission　of　the　publisher。　Little；　Brown　and　pany　Hachette　Book　Group　237　Park　Avenue；　New　York；　NY　10017　Visit　our　website　at　。HachetteBookGroup。　。lbteens。　Little；　Brown　and　pany　is　a　division　of　Hachette　Book　Group；　Inc。　The　Little；　Brown　name　and　logo　are　trademarks　of　Hachette　Book　Group；　Inc。　First　eBook　Edition：　June　2010　The　characters　and　events　portrayed　in　this　book　are　fictitious。　
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Any　similarity　to　real　persons；　living　or　dead；　is　coincidental　and　not　intended　by　the　author。　ISBN：　9780316127684　
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For　Asya　Muchnick　and　Meghan　Hibbett　
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　　　INTRODUCTION　No　two　writers　go　about　things　in　exactly　the　same　way。　We　all　are　inspired　and　motivated　in　different　ways；　we　have　our　own　reasons　why　some　characters　stay　with　us　while　others　disappear　into　a　backlog　of　neglected　files。　Personally；　Ive　never　figured　out　why　some　of　my　characters　take　on　strong　lives　of　their　own；　but　Im　always　happy　when　they　do。　Those　characters　are　the　most　effortless　to　write；　and　so　their　stories　are　usually　the　ones　that　get　finished。　　Bree　is　one　of　those　characters；　and　she　s　the　chief　reason　why　this　story　is　now　in　your　hands；　rather　than　lost　in　the　maze　of　forgotten　folders　inside　my　puter。　（The　two　other　reasons　are　named　Diego　and　Fred。）　I　started　thinking　about　Bree　while　I　was　editing　Eclipse。　Editing；　not　writing—when　I　was　writing　the　first　draft　of　Eclipse；　I　had　firstpersonperspective　blinders　on；　anything　that　Bella　couldn　t　see　or　hear　or　feel　or　taste　or　touch　was　irrelevant。　That　story　was　her　experience　only。　　The　next　step　in　the　editing　process　was　to　step　away　from　Bella　and　see　how　the　story　flowed。　My　editor；　Rebecca　Davis；　was　a　huge　part　of　that　process；　and　she　had　a　lot　of　questions　for　me　about　the　things　Bella　didn　t　know　and　how　we　could　make　the　right　parts　of　that　story　clearer。　Because　Bree　is　the　only　newborn　Bella　sees；　Bree　s　was　the　perspective　that　I　first　gravitated　toward　as　I　considered　what　was　going　on　behind　the　scenes。　I　started　thinking　about　living　in　the　basement　with　the　newborns　and　hunting　traditional　vampirestyle。　I　imagined　
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the　world　as　Bree　understood　it。　And　it　was　easy　to　do　that。　From　the　start　Bree　was　very　clear　as　a　character；　and　some　of　her　friends　also　sprang　to　life　effortlessly。　This　is　the　way　it　usually　works　for　me：　I　try　to　write　a　short　synopsis　of　what　is　happening　in　some　other　part　of　the　story；　and　I　end　up　jotting　down　dialogue。　In　this　case；　instead　of　a　synopsis；　I　found　myself　writing　a　day　in　Bree　s　life。　　Writing　Bree　was　the　first　time　Id　stepped　into　the　shoes　of　a　narrator　who　was　a　“real”　vampire—a　hunter；　a　monster。　I　got　to　look　through　her　red　eyes　at　us　humans；　suddenly　we　were　pathetic　and　weak；　easy　prey；　of　no　importance　whatsoever　except　as　a　tasty　snack。　I　felt　what　it　was　like　to　be　alone　while　surrounded　by　enemies；　always　on　guard；　never　sure　of　anything　except　that　her　life　was　always　in　danger。　I　got　to　submerge　myself　in　a　totally　different　breed　of　vampires：　newborns。　The　newborn　life　was　something　I　hadn　t　ever　gotten　to　explore—even　when　Bella　finally　became　a　vampire。　Bella　was　never　a　newborn　like　Bree　was　a　newborn。　It　was　exciting　and　dark　and；　ultimately；　tragic。　The　closer　I　got　to　the　inevitable　end；　the　more　I　wished　Id　concluded　Eclipse　just　slightly　differently。　　I　wonder　how　you　will　feel　about　Bree。　She　s　such　a　small；　seemingly　trivial　character　in　Eclipse。　She　lives　for　only　five　minutes　of　Bella　s　perspective。　And　yet　her　story　is　so　important　to　an　understanding　of　the　novel。　When　you　read　the　Eclipse　scene　in　which　Bella　stares　at　Bree；　assessing　her　as　a　possible　future；　did　you　ever　think　about　what　has　brought　Bree　to　that　point　in　time？　As　Bree　glares　back；　did　you　wonder　what　
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Bella　and　the　Cullens　look　like　to　her？　Probably　not。　But　even　if　you　did；　Ill　bet　you　never　guessed　her　secrets。　　I　hope　you　end　up　caring　about　Bree　as　much　as　I　do；　though　that　s　kind　of　a　cruel　wish。　You　know　this：　it　doesn　t　end　well　for　her。　But　at　least　you　will　know　the　whole　story。　And　that　no　perspective　is　ever　really　trivial。　Enjoy；　Stephenie　
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THE　NEWSPAPER　HEADLINE　GLARED　AT　ME　FROM　a　little　metal　vending　machine：　SEATTLE　UNDER　SIEGE　　　DEATH　TOLL　RISES　AGAIN。　I　hadn’t　seen　this　one　yet。　Some　paperboy　must　have　just　restocked　the　machine。　Lucky　for　him；　he　was　nowhere　around　now。　　Great。　Riley　was　going　to　blow　a　gasket。　I　would　make　sure　I　wasn’t　within　reach　when　he　saw　this　paper。　Let　him　rip　somebody　else’s　arm　off。　　I　stood　in　the　shadow　behind　the　corner　of　a　shabby　three　story　building；　trying　to　be　inconspicuous　while　I　waited　for　someone　to　make　a　decision。　Not　wanting　to　meet　anyone’s　eyes；　I　stared　at　the　wall　beside　me　instead。　The　ground　floor　of　the　building　housed　a　record　shop　that　had　long　since　closed；　the　windows；　lost　to　weather　or　street　violence；　were　filled　in　with　plywood。　Over　the　top　were　apartments　　empty；　I　guessed；　since　the　normal　sounds　of　sleeping　humans　were　absent。　I　wasn’t　surprised　　　the　place　looked　like　it　would　collapse　in　a　stiff　wind。　The　buildings　on　the　other　side　of　the　dark；　narrow　street　were　just　as　wrecked。　　The　normal　scene　for　a　night　out　on　the　town。　　I　didn’t　want　to　speak　up　and　draw　attention；　but　I　wished　somebody　would　decide　something。　I　was　really　thirsty；　and　I　didn’t　care　much　whether　we　went　right　or　left　or　over　the　roof。　I　just　wanted　to　find　some　unlucky　people　who　wouldn’t　even　have　enough　time　to　think　wrong　place；　wrong　time。　　Unfortunately　tonight　Riley’d　sent　me　out　with　two　of　the　most　useless　vampires　in　existence。　Riley　never　seemed　to　care　who　he　sent　out　in　hunting　groups。　Or　particularly　bugged　
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when　sending　out　the　wrong　people　together　meant　fewer　people　ing　home。　Tonight　I　was　stuck　with　Kevin　and　some　blond　kid　whose　name　I　didn’t　know。　They　both　belonged　to　Raoul’s　gang；　so　it　went　without　saying　that　they　were　stupid。　And　dangerous。　But　right　now；　mostly　stupid。　　Instead　of　picking　a　direction　for　our　hunt；　suddenly　they　were　in　the　middle　of　an　argument　over　whose　favorite　superhero　would　be　a　better　hunter。　The　nameless　blond　was　demonstrating　his　case　for　SpiderMan　now；　skittering　up　the　brick　wall　of　the　alley　while　humming　the　cartoon　theme　song。　I　sighed　in　frustration。　Were　we　ever　going　to　hunt？　　A　little　flicker　of　movement　to　my　left　caught　my　eye。　It　was　the　other　one　Riley　had　sent　out　in　this　hunting　group；　Diego。　I　didn’t　know　much　about　him；　just　that　he　was　older　than　most　of　the　others。　Riley’s　righthand　man　was　the　word。　That　didn’t　make　me　like　him　any　more　than　the　other　morons。　　Diego　was　looking　at　me。　He　must　have　heard　the　sigh。　I　looked　away。　　Keep　your　head　down　and　your　mouth　shutthat　was　the　way　to　stay　alive　in　Riley’s　crowd。　　“SpiderMan　is　such　a　whiny　loser；”　Kevin　called　up　to　the　blond　kid。　“I’ll　show　you　how　a　real　superhero　hunts。”　He　grinned　wide。　His　teeth　flashed　in　the　glare　of　a　streetlight。　　Kevin　jumped　into　the　middle　of　the　street　just　as　the　lights　from　a　car　swung　around　to　illuminate　the　cracked　pavement　with　a　bluewhite　gleam。　He　flexed　his　arms　back；　then　pulled　them　slowly　together　like　a　pro　wrestler　showing　off。　The　car　came　on；　probably　expecting　him　to　get　the　hell　out　of　the　way　
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like　a　normal　person　would。　Like　he　should。　　“Hulk　mad！”　Kevin　bellowed。　“Hulk…　SMASH！”　　He　leaped　forward　to　meet　the　car　before　it　could　brake；　grabbed　its　front　bumper；　and　flipped　it　over　his　head　so　that　it　struck　the　pavement　upside　down　with　a　squeal　of　bending　metal　and　shattering　glass。　Inside；　a　woman　started　screaming。　　“Oh　man；”　Diego　said；　shaking　his　head。　He　was　pretty；　with　dark；　dense；　curly　hair；　big；　wide　eyes；　and　really　full　lips；　but　then；　who　wasn’t　pretty？　Even　Kevin　and　the　rest　of　Raoul’s　morons　were　pretty。　“Kevin；　we’re　supposed　to　be　laying　low。　Riley　said　”　　“Riley　said！”　Kevin　mimicked　in　a　harsh　soprano。　“Get　a　spine；　Diego。　Riley’s　not　here。”　　Kevin　sprang　over　the　upsidedown　Honda　and　punched　out　the　driver’s　side　window；　which　had　somehow　stayed　intact　up　to　that　point。　He　fished　through　the　shattered　glass　and　the　deflating　air　bag　for　the　driver。　　I　turned　my　back　and　held　my　breath；　trying　my　hardest　to　hold　on　to　the　ability　to　think。　　I　couldn’t　watch　Kevin　feed。　I　was　too　thirsty　for　that；　and　I　really　didn’t　want　to　pick　a　fight　with　him。　I　so　did　not　need　to　be　on　Raoul’s　hit　list。　　The　blond　kid　didn’t　have　the　same　issues。　He　pushed　off　from　the　bricks　overhead　and　landed　lightly　behind　me。　I　heard　him　and　Kevin　snarling　at　each　other；　and　then　a　wet　tearing　sound　as　the　woman’s　screams　cut　off。　Probably　them　ripping　her　in　half。　　I　tried　not　to　think　about　it。　But　I　could　feel　the　heat　and　hear　
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the　dripping　behind　me；　and　it　made　my　throat　burn　so　bad　even　though　I　wasn’t　breathing。　　“I’m　outta　here；”　I　heard　Diego　mutter。　　He　ducked　into　a　crevice　between　the　dark　buildings；　and　I　followed　right　on　his　heels。　If　I　didn’t　get　away　from　here　fast；　I’d　be　squabbling　with　Raoul’s　goons　over　a　body　that　couldn’t　have　had　much　blood　left　in　it　by　now　anyway。　And　then　maybe　I’d　be　the　one　who　didn’t　e　home。　　Ugh；　but　my　throat　burned！　I　clamped　my　teeth　together　to　keep　from　screaming　in　pain。　　Diego　darted　through　a　trashfilled　side　alley；　and　thenwhen　he　hit　the　dead　end　　up　the　wall。　I　dug　my　fingers　into　the　crevices　between　the　bricks　and　hauled　myself　up　after　him。　　On　the　rooftop；　Diego　took　off；　leaping　lightly　across　the　other　roofs　toward　the　lights　shimmering　off　the　sound。　I　stayed　close。　I　was　younger　than　he　was；　and　therefore　strongerit　was　a　good　thing　we　younger　ones　were　strongest；　or　we　wouldn’t　have　lived　through　our　first　week　in　Riley’s　house。　I　could　have　passed