I was intrigued by Edward and Bella's conversation about how vampires first came about. This is the story I came up with, following along with Stephanie Meyer's more religious based approach to the tale. I try to follow the account of Genesis as much as is possible and I hope I will be forgiven for any changes I make. I am trying to remain as faithful as I can while still allowing myself creative license.

I am not sure how long I will continue the tale or if I want any of the Twilight characters to appear, but who knows. We shall see how devoted I become to writing the story.

But here we go. Enjoy!

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A Companion

The moon was shining brightly and the air was cool, not that he could feel any differences in temperature. He had been watching the girl, what was her name? Ah yes, Adina. How fitting for such a small woman. She certainly was beautiful, even to a fallen one such as him; perhaps even more so because of her obvious innocence and purity. What is more desirable than what has been lost and can never be regained? He had been watching her for months on end. Of course he had to be careful about it. If anyone should begin to suspect what he was, he would have to move on. He had no real animosity towards these pitiful beings, in their mundane lives, working to achieve goals that would eventually end in nothing. He was even a little jealous of the simplicity of it. They at least had hope. What could he claim? His life stretched forth before him in countless days with no end in sight. And if the end did come, could he suppose there was anything afterwards? For these creatures, maybe, but for him? Who could give an answer here on this planet? There was One who could certainly put the question to rest, but it was beyond his power to ask and he was sure there would be no reply if it was him that was asking. There was a time when he could have asked such questions. Not that he would have thought to do so or even known there would be a time when that knowledge would have helped. Regardless, his fate was set and how could he place another in the same, possibly hopeless, situation.

"There she is," he breathed.

He closed his eyes in ecstasy; even looking at her was complete bliss. Hurriedly opening them again, he watched as she moved about the room, moving in and out of his limited view through the doorway. As he watched her move gracefully around the small room he felt the faint whisperings of hope. If he could only have a companion to put an end to his solitary existence, feeding off the life of others, maybe then he would be less of a monster. He thought of his attempts to escape his fate and shuddered, rethinking his idea. Could he possibly condemn another to share his life? Especially one such as this? This gentle creature who had done nothing to deserve to become a monster.

He shook off the disconcerting questions. She was all alone in the house. He had watched the others leave earlier. They would be back soon though, it was getting late. Out of lonely desperation, he made his decision…

After three days of excruciating fire and pain the young woman was finally able to form coherent thoughts. The only clear idea she had been able to process for the past three days was that she wanted to die. She recalled screaming incessantly, not that it had helped in the least. Vague memories that she had barely been conscious of while the pain had taken control of her body slowly began to come into sharper focus. The man had appeared out of nowhere. One moment she had been sure nobody had been in the room and the next he had been right beside her. At first she had been too surprised to react and all she could do was to stare in openmouthed surprise. And after the first glance, she was even more shocked. Instead of being dark-skinned and tan from the sun, he was instead very pale. It looked like he had never seen the sun in all his life but she could also see that he was extremely beautiful. She had tried to scream for help as his hands closed around her but he had made sure no sound could escape her lips. He seemed exceptionally strong for he had no trouble carrying her. She was not extremely heavy, but she was a fully grown woman nonetheless. It was also apparent that he was being very gentle with her, for though she was very securely restrained and could not move, he was in no way physically harming her. She could hear what sounded like rushing wind all around and then dead silence. And into that silence a beautiful voice spoke.

"I am sorry."

And the pain had begun. It started in her neck, flames licking through her veins. The fire in her neck was quickly followed by points near her wrists and ankles. Her mind automatically tried to reject the pain, a pain more intense than she had ever known. She wanted to pass out, as she had as a young girl when she fell and broke her arm, but she was denied the even the release of nothingness. Instead of blacking out, she felt the pain intensify even more. As the fire spread, she could feel a scream building inside her.

What was happening? How had this happened? Why…?

A shriek tore from her throat, lasting a lifetime. Or was it just a moment? Her existence became wrapped with the fire. There was nothing before and there was nothing to come. Just an endless fiery hell that had no escape. Maybe that was it. Maybe she had died and gone to hell. That was not supposed to happen! She had served God all her life, followed all the teachings of her father, a priest. She could not have gone to hell. But what other explanation did she have? Cast into the lake of fire and brimstone to burn for all eternity…that's certainly what this felt like. Her screaming continued at the horror of what she faced.

After a life age, she became aware of a change. She had been screaming for so long that she knew her throat should feel completely raw, but had not feel anything beyond the fire that consumed her. The change began in her extremities, first in her fingers and toes and spreading in towards her center. The pain was still there in its entirety, but focused in different areas. Like a fire burning through wood and leaving a ring of ashes around it, she could feel a coolness spreading in towards her heart. But, as with the coals left in the center of the fire as it dies, her chest became even hotter than the flames that had seared through her before. Ever so slowly did the fire retreat, concentrating in her heart. She was aware of her surroundings now, realizing that this could not be her eternal judgment. Even as she began to hope, she continued to scream for death through the pain. Nothing had ever, nor could ever equal the intensity of the flaming inferno in her heart. Her heart was pounding in a frenzied beat, speeding up until she thought it would burst.

Finally the fire had ceased except for a last remaining burn in the back of her throat. She slowly opened her eyes to find the man with a tortured look on his face.

"I am sorry."Again the words in that beautiful voice, that continued to retain its musical quality despite the anguished tone.

"Who are you?"

She studied his face in the long pause, seeing the desperation, longing, and another expression that she could not seem to identify playing across his features.

"You can call me Ethan."