A.N: Hey everyone, I just wanted to leave a quick note before you guys start "When the Moon Doesn't Rise". This is my first Twilight fanfiction, and although I could never get it to the level of the actual books, I'm hoping it'll be as close as possible. Constructive criticism is always welcome, as are corrections for any mistakes I may make. However, no flamers please; they are about as wanted as a nosebleed, and you will most likely receive one back, in some form or another. They are rude, and I don't have any patience for them. Enjoy the story
Disclaimer: If I were to tell you that I owned Twilight, it would be about as true as if I said my hair is made of Twizzlers and I have a pet giraffe named Geraldina.
When the Moon Doesn't Rise
All I know is that it feels like forever, but no one ever tells you that
Forever feels like home, sitting all alone inside your head
Through Glass, Stone Sour
Say goodbye forever
I'll wait for you in no man's land
Not Going Away, Ozzy Osbourne
I was crouched down, sniffing the wind for a scent, any scent. My eyes narrowed as nothing came. He should be here. It had been a week, longer than he said he would be gone. Perhaps the mortal-lover's snack had been more obstinate than we had expected. She would never out-run James, though. There was nowhere that she could find where he wouldn't be able to find her. Yes, soon he would be back, his face fierce with his victory. Smiling, I settled into a more comfortable position. I wish I could have gone with him; her blood had smelled divine. What I wouldn't have given to feel it coursing into my mouth, warm, fresh, intoxicating. To feel her smooth, soft skin break beneath my teeth, as my lust was fulfilled, and her life ended. Sighing, I tore my thoughts away from the longing; someone had needed to follow the rest of those vegetarian fools, just in case. In the end though, there had been no need. If only I hadn't been quite so far away when her location was discovered; I would be feasting next to James. My thoughts started to stray back to the girl's blood, and I could feel a burning thirst start to surface. I got to my feet, and once more tasted the wind for the scent, but not the same on as before. Smiling, I found what I was looking for. I started forward in a loping stride, then sped up to a graceful jog. Sensing the scent getting stronger, my grin widened, and I fell into a run, feeling my hair whipped back by the wind. This was what I existed for. The power I felt, my superiority to the frail, trembling beings I shared this world with. They were my prey, to be slaughtered at will. I actually found them amusing. The way they stared, especially if I revealed myself in daylight. Some of them actually thought I was an angel. I laughed in derision. An angel of death, perhaps. I grinned again as I started to hear voices laughing in the wind. I sped up, ready to start the hunt.
>
I leaned against a tree, my agitated fingers digging into the bark. It had been another week since my hunt, and James had still not come. I would give him three more days, and if I hadn't as much as scented him coming, I would go and find him. He had probably gotten sidetracked by another delectable human. I rolled my eyes. Of course, he would try to drag out the hunt as long as possible, dropping hints for whomever he was stalking. Just enough to get them frightened, to get them to try to protect themselves, perhaps to run. He enjoyed that almost as much as the reward waiting inside the victims. Yes, three more days and I would find him.
>
I inhaled sharply, taking in hundreds of scents as ignorant humans scattered around me, their pathetic instincts sufficient enough to warn them from approaching me closely, even if they didn't notice. Some looked at me furtively at me, more aware than the others. One obtuse 20-something year old was clueless and moronic enough to leer at me, but his grin faltered when I returned the gaze, unblinking and expressionless. I hated airports. So many different smells mingling together, choking each other and clouding any good ones that might have been appetizing. Of course, that was if you were sufficiently satiated. If you were thirsty, well…it was Hell for a vampire, and deadly for the humans. When thirsty, the smells no longer rolled together and ruined each other. They sharpened each other, so each one stood out with amazing clarity. A buffet of enticing morsels parading themselves before you. I grinned at the thought of a newborn in an airport. The Volturi would, of course, make sure the newborn wasn't around to do it again, but at least the offender would die with enough blood in them to be happy and content when it happened. There had been occasions like this in history; the disbelieving human government had passed them all of as incidents such as shootings; the gullible, trusting mortals had believed it. I sniffed the air again, hungrily. Yes, he had been here. And so had she. I burned angrily at the thought of the coveted, pathetic human girl. If it hadn't been for her, I wouldn't be trying to track down a tracker who had taken the utmost care to hide his trail in case he was followed. James wasn't half-ass, either. I wouldn't have known where to look had we not been in contact before he left. And the only reason I was able to smell him here was because so few vampires ever flew anywhere. Why would we? Running was just as fast, sometimes faster. So a vampire's scent stood out among the humans quite distinctly, as noticeable as if they were standing on a beach in sunny Miami. I caught an especially strong tendril of James' scent and smiled. Following it, I was happy to know I would be seeing him again soon. There were few things that made me happy; James was one of them. He exhilarated me more than the hunt, made me more content than the sweet toxication of blood. I had never told him this, of course. Although we were partners, James had never been one for blatant displays of affection. I wasn't either, for that matter, but with James it was different. In my thoughts, he was always my moon. So beautifully distant, spreading a cold light around all that was near him. Softening the glare of the garish sun, the moon always brought me joy. I breathed in deeply, and started to run in the direction the scent on the wind was guiding in. I didn't care if some random human saw me "disappear"; they would probably just put it off as a reaction from jet lag.
Once I was outside, the smell of my moon filled my head, making me giddy with anticipation. I felt an urge to run more, to hunt, but I suppressed it. James and I would have a chance to hunt together later. Turning, I started to run again, to run to my moon.
>
I stood at the remains of an old building, my mind reeling. James' scent had lead me here, but there was nothing but charred remains. There was no trail leading away from it, either. What had happened? Why would James come to a place like this, and where was he now? I inhaled sharply, trying to coax as much information from the air as possible. There were several vampire scents, and several old human ones, one more recent than the others. I recognized all of them; the coven of weak vampires and their pet, and James'. It was hard to understand what the smells were trying to tell me; a thick blanket of the smell of charcoal muffled what would have been otherwise distinct smells. One of vampires must have been destroyed, that was the only explanation to the burned building. So James had taken one of them down before he had taken flight. That was one less to worry about. Wondering how the others that had not been protecting the girl had known where to go, I walked around the perimeter of the ruins. I must have missed the smell somehow; no doubt James had tried to cover it. I walked around it twice, the glow of the waning moon bathing everything in a cool, silver light. I returned to the front of the building, still not finding anything that would tell me where to go from here. Thinking deeply, I went over everything James had told me before we left. Nothing left me any clues. I thought about what I knew, methodically smelling the air as I mused, just in case a new trace came to me.
And then I understood. I realized why his trail ended here, why the others continued, but his didn't. I realized exactly why the building had been consumed by fire.
I sank unsteadily onto the silver-coated grass, staring at the place where my moon had set, never to rise again. A burning began in my chest, smoldering through my marble skin, spreading across my body. My vision swam, and my hands clenched together. Rage began to boil forth, spilling into my head, piercing my thoughts with clarity like a dagger. I looked at the building for a few more moments, and silently said goodbye. Climbing to my feet, I backed away and started down the street, deadly calm.
>
I stood in the shadows of a tree, on the edge of the forest before a house. Lights poured from it into the night, and voices murmured from unseen rooms. I knew they were in there, both of them. They were two suns who had choked out my moon, setting me forever into bright, piercing, light. I listened as they talked. It had been several months since I had found James' last resting place, and the girl had recently come home from the hospital. I had found out what had happened in the end, the end of my moon. I only wish that James had finished her. It would have been a mate for a mate. I smiled coldly. That would soon be taken care of. I had been listening since I had found their trail to the hospital. I had been planning, leaving nothing out. Soon, I would be able to strike. But first, I needed an ally. Laurent had always been the softest of the three of us, be he would work well as reconnaissance. I glanced once more at the shadows crossing in front of the windows, and then turned to the night.
I hope you guys liked it; I know it didn't exactly resolve, but I didn't want to have a different ending than what Stephenie Meyer decided upon; I just wanted this to be Victoria's view about the events around James' death. Since Eclipse is out, there shouldn't be any feelings of being left hanging. Except for waiting for the fourth book. It comes out fall of 2008, for those of you who didn't know…a whole year…ugh. Anyway, sorry I kinda rambled a bit there, but I'm glad you decided to read "When the Moon Doesn't Rise", and I'd absolutely love it if you left me a review about how you felt about it. Like I said before, criticism is fine, just don't be rude about it. Thanks again
ibelieveinsnorkacks
P.S. (If anyone out there is also interested in Harry Potter fanfictions, I have one going called "What If", if you want to check that out, and also a one-shot Titanic fic.)
