Disclaimer:
I do not own anything, all the characters belong to Stephenie Meyer
Carlisle POV
It was just approaching dusk. The end of another long hard day of searching, another beautiful day. It had been perfect, with not a cloud in the sky. I could see the sun setting behind the buildings, it made the dirty, disease filled street look almost magical.
The streets were nearly deserted. Some how word had gotten out about what was going to happen here tonight. I was running down the dark streets with my friends and colleagues all around me. I could hear our feet pounding, loudly on the cold stone floor, as we ran to the vampires lair racing against the rapidly falling sun to get there in time. Our greatest allie and right now, our biggest enemy.
After months of searching, after all my father's criticism I had finally found a real coven of vampires, the un-dead. Lurking in the sewers, coming out only at night to hunt. Not some stange old lady or a mad man, but a real coven of vampires! My father hadn't believed me of course, but then I hadn't expected him to.
" Why can't you do your duty!?"
" Why do you see monstors where there are none?" I retorted yelling at him "I have found some vampires and I will prove it to you!" I swore storming down the isle towards the door.
" Fine go on your fools errand, but don't come running to me when it all fails!" he called after me.
The memory floated across time as I thought about my last "conversation" with my father. We had never seen eye to eye with this particular subject. Where he saw monsters, I saw poor lost souls, in need of love and help. I would prove him wrong, even if it killed me, I would make him proud of me. We had had heated arguments before, however this one seemed more final. I put those thoughts aside though. I had to focus on the task ahead of me. It was going to be a very long night.
We waited with our pitchforks and torches for one of them to emerge. Crouched in the darkness, nervously waiting. I looked around me while I waited and caught the eye of one of the villagers, who had had a relative claimed by a vampire. He was called em.. Richard. He smiled at me, anger and bloodlust written across his features. He looked like a monster. I managed to suppress the shudder that was threating to errupt and smiled tightly back at him. Was this really neccessary? Couldn't we all live in peace somehow? No! I answered myself. Not while they hunted us like animals. But ...what did that make us? Were we really any better? I shook myself, trying to banish these disturbing thoughts. But I couldn't help but listen to those nagging doubts in the back of my mind, eating away at me. Then one of them emerged, mercifully distracting me.
He looked surprisingly young, but his blood, red eyes seemed ancient. He looked extremely pale and fragile, but I knew he wasn't. His dull blonde hair was matted and filled with filth, his clothes no more than rags of cloth. He sniffed the air experimentally and seemed satisfied and I could just hear him say in a surprisingly cultured, soft voice " Its safe". The wind changed direction and he stiffened and looked directly at us, then bolted down the streets. Faster then I would of thought possible.
Seeing this I jumped up all doubts and worries forgotten and the others followed. We ran after him waving our tourches and pitchforks madly, screaming, me leading the pack. I was too caught up in the rush to be afraid, to even comtemplate the fact that we might fail and die. The atmosphere was electric; I could feel it in the air around us; it was almost tangible. I thought there is no way we could fail. What with God on our side. We would rid the world of these abominations.
Suddenly he turned and attacked . I only saw for a second his face, it was vicious , he was a predator. His red eyes were wild and his mouth pulled back exposing his horrible sharp, glistening, white teeth. Then I could feel his cold, hard nails and teeth digging into my flesh. I whimpered pathetically and feebly tried to throw him off me, but he was too strong.
Then as suddenly as he came , he was gone with the wind. All I was left with was fire. It burned me. I screamed in agony as I lay in the dark , cold street bleeding profusely waiting to die. The pain became greater and greater till I could bare it no more and as the darkness began to engulfed me; I thought what had I done wrong? I knew nothing but the pain.