A/N: Hi! So it's my first fanfic ever haha and honestly, this idea just came to me early in the morning, and I ended up typing up the whole thing. I'm not entirely sure if I can do this right, but I hope you guys like it. :))
Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. I only own my OCs and the plot.
Warnings: murder scenes, so if you're not really comfy with those, well this is a warning, right? haha
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"It is the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more."
Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter
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"It's not your fault, Carlisle," Esme reached out a hand to hold his shaking ones. But how could it not be his fault? He had been too careless, too arrogant that he could ever hope to overpower them all when they attacked.
He, Rosalie, and Edward had been on a hunt when they came across four other vampires. These vampires were just passing by the Cullens' hunting grounds, drawn in by the lovely scent of hikers' blood. He had tried to reason with them, that these were their grounds, that they had a different diet.
He should have known that hunger - starvation - changed people. Frustrated by his refusal and delay, and hungry for blood, they attacked.
He had engaged one of the vampires in combat. The other vampires went after Rosalie and Edward, but Carlisle was confident that they would be able to delay the others while he finished his one off, and then he would be able to join his 'kids' and help them take down the rest of the vampires.
He didn't take into account that the vampire he was fighting was significantly stronger than him, perhaps due to the consumption of human blood instead of the animal blood he and his coven had opted to drink. He also didn't take into account that Rosalie was still new to this way of life, and that maybe she couldn't defend herself as well yet.
Because of his lapse in judgement, by the time he ripped off the head of his opponent, Edward had let out an angry scream as he charged against the two vampires surrounding him and Rosalie. The fourth vampire, Carlisle noted, was already taken care of, but his eyes blazed with anger when he noticed Rosalie lying on the ground, head covered in blood and barely breathing.
He and Edward made quick work of the two vampires, anger fueling their relentless attacks, before they went back to Rosalie. Carlisle kept her blood from pouring out of the gash behind her head as Edward raced through the woods to get Esme for help, which led them to the present.
Esme had delivered Carlisle's bag of medical tools, worry on her face. Edward had already told her what had happened, and she, like any other mother, because she treated Rosalie as her own daughter, was distraught by the fact that her child was in pain.
"It's not your fault, Carlisle," she reached out a hand to hold his shaking ones. But it was, it was. It was his fault.
Samantha Brookes had everything she could have asked for: a good school, decent grades, a moderately well-off family, and friends who liked her, but she was rather bored with the monotonous routine of waking up to go to school and going home just to do homeworks or review for quizzes before falling asleep and letting the cycle rinse and repeat.
She sighed as she closed her Chemistry textbook. Chemistry was her worst subject and really, she wondered why she even needed to take a subject she wouldn't be using in her future career. The clock beside her read '11:28 PM'.
'Mother would be annoyed that I stayed up "too late" again', she grumbled to herself as she set aside her textbook and placed her laptop on the table in front of her. She signed in to FaceBook, checking her notifications before viewing her messages.
Messages (6) , it read.
She glanced through the messages, shrugging and glossing over the ones from people she wasn't close to before prioritizing the one from her best friend, Liam.
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10:47 PM
SAAAAMMM GUESS WHAT
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10:47 PM
THERE'S THIS NEW VAMPIRE TV SERIES THAT'S PRETTY COOL YOU SHOULD CHECK IT OUT
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10:48 PM
DONT WORRY
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10:48 PM
ITS BETTER THAN TWILIGHT COS THIS IS THE LEGIT KIND OF VAMPIRES AND NOT THE SPARKLY ONES
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11:20 PM
HERES THE LINK
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Sam chuckled, clicking the link and playing through the first episode. After a few minutes, she realized that the show really was better than Twilight. It showed the more realistic side of vampires, that they killed to survive and didn't fall for petty humans and all those cliché romance things.
She ran through two more episodes before she yawned, rubbing her tired eyes gently as she checked the clock once more. '2:13 AM' it read.
She closed her laptop and turned on her nightlight before closing her eyes and walking to her bed. She slipped under the thick, fluffy covers that warmed her from the chill of the night. She shut her eyes and was prepared to let sleep take over before she heard a light thud on top of her.
She opened her eyes immediately, squinting at the ceiling on top her. There was nothing else on top of her room but the room, and they had no attic. She stared at the spot for a few moments, ears prepared to catch another hint of the sound she had heard, before she shrugged. It was probably just a cat.
She shut her eyes again but a creaking sound made her eyelids fly open once more, eyes nervously darting to her door. Their flooring wasn't made of wood - it was made of cement, so the creaking wouldn't have come from there, unless...
She froze and her breath hitched as her eyes shakily made their way to the window next to her bed. Unconsciously, she burrowed herself further into her covers, shakily breathing. She was overreacting, right? She must be, but...
Only the wooden extension of her room's flooring could have made that creaking sound, and that flooring extended from outside of her window to a couple of inches further. It had never made a creaking sound on its own before.
The chilly wind coming from her airconditioning unit became chillier to her, hands clammy in anticipation for the next sound that she was about to hear. There was silence for a few seconds, before she was left to wonder if this was just her imagination working against her, a product of the thrill she had gotten from that series she had just watched. To her horror though, she realized her window was being lifted open; she didn't lock it.
In her defense, there was never any reason to lock her window. Their neighborhood was a safe place with practically no crime rates. Her room was also on the third floor, so there was no point in locking it when no one could have gotten in, nor was there any reason she could think of for anyone wanting to get in from such a height.
Until now.
She tried to shush herself and her breathing. She could feel someone's presence, someone whose light footsteps wandered her room. Selfishly, she hoped the person would go out of her room and just get whatever they needed from downstairs, maybe, as long as they were far, far away from her.
Luck was not on her side today.
The footsteps got closer and closer to her, each step echoing a beat in her heart. The person stopped beside her bed and threw the covers off of her and before she knee it, she heard an ear-piercing noise, a shrill scream that, she found, actually emanated from her. The person, who was clad in black, quickly placed a hand over her mouth before drawing a knife from his/her pocket.
Sam suddenly lost her voice, frozen in terror as she viewed the knife, hovering over her dangerously with its metallic gleam.
"Sam, are you okay?" her older brother, Shaun, asked as he knocked on her door.
Her eyes darted towards the door, a part of her hoping that the door was unlocked and that Shaun would burst in and get rid of whoever this was.
Luck was not on her side today.
Her door was locked. Shaun had tried to open it but couldn't.
Her soon-to-be-murderer chuckled before saying, "Shh, you'll wake the rest of the family, and we can't have that can we?", before plunging the knife between her ribs. She shrieked before blood started clogging up her trachea, and her shriek only alarmed Shaun more.
iLooking back, he really should have just run instead, or gone back to his room where she was sure his door would be locked. He would have been safer. He would have been safer. He would have been safer. He -
"Sam, are you okay?!" Shaun repeated his question, now more alarmed. "Sam?!"
He tried the doorknob again, grumbling before pounding on the door. "Sam!"
But he really should have left just gO GO GO GO ALREADY LEAVE PLEASE LEAVE
Sam's eyes were already closing slowly, vision darkening and head spinning as she opened her mouth to tell her brother to get out and run, but she had no voice, nor did she have any oxygen left.
'2:57 AM', the clock read.
Edward could feel the guilt rolling off like waves from Carlisle, the latter's thoughts swirling with what ifs. He himself was nursing a bruise from the earlier altercation. The vampire he fought really hit hard.
He had been distracted, as well, but he knew Rosalie could handle the one she was fighting. They had just forgotten that there were four vampires, and not three. One played dirty and went from behind Rosalie. Two against one. It was so unfair, and he could hear the lecherous thoughts from one of the vampires. Growling, he attacked faster and when he finally decapitated his opponent, he turned to Rosalie, only to find her on the ground, a bloody wound on her head, and the vampires ganging up on her. It was just like before, how Carlisle had found her as a human, and it was happening again, and he wouldn't allow anyone to harm her.
He released an angry scream before running as fast as he could to Rosalie, shoving the other two aside and snarling at them as he stood by Rosalie's body protectively. He could try fighting two against one.
As he contemplated his strategy, Carlisle had appeared and together, they were able to fight and kill the other two.
"Edward, hurry. Call Esme. Tell her to get my supplies!" Carlisle said with urgency in his voice as he ran over to Rosalie, ripping off a part of his shirt to serve as a makeshift bandage for her head.
Edward had immediately ran to Esme, delivering her a short overview of what had transpired as he helped her collect Carlisle's things before they sped off to the scene.
As Carlisle worked on Rosalie, he gave Esme a more detailed explanation of what had transpired. She had been horrified, tears pooling in her eyes and he could see her thoughts, which ranged from wanting to remurder the two vampires who did this to Rosalie, to worrying about Rosalie.
In the time he took to explain to Esme, Carlisle had finished stitching Rosalie's wound up. "Please transport her back to the house. I'll burn the bodies of these despicable fools first."
With a nod of agreement from both Edward and Esme, Carlisle set off to do just that.
Edward and Esme had brought Rosalie back home, transfering her to the couch and making her comfortable. Esme sat beside Rosalie then, holding the girl's hand. Edward merely stood there, a few inches away from his mother. He and Rosalie never got along much before this. He could always hear her thoughts, wondering why he never fell for her chamrs and wondering why he seemed to be prettier than she was. He wasn't sure if the latter thought was a good thing or not. Regardless, they had gotten into petty squabbles but now, gazing at her, he found himself wanting those squabbles back. He hated seeing her like this when all he knew was the strong woman who would love to tear his ego down at any moment.
Carlisle had come back and apologized endlessly, to him for being too slow, to Esme for worrying her, to Rosalie for her condition. But Edward didn't blame Carlisle.
"It wasn't your fault. It was their choice to act like beasts," Edward sighed. "If anything, it was my fault, too. I didn't notice the other guy until he had already snuck up on her."
It took a while to get Carlisle to admit that he wasn't completely at fault, at least, and they took turns caring for Rosalie and standing guard in case more of those vampires dropped by the house.
Thankfully, none did.
It was already 2:50 in the morning by the time it was Carlisle's turn to care for Rosalie.
He stayed by her side, contemplating the previous day's events and just hoping that she woke up. Vampires typically heal faster, but a wound to the head like Rosalie's would take time to heal. He just hoped she wouldn't end up in a coma. Or else...
"She wouldn't blame you," Edward told him. His 'son' had entered the room, arms crossed and leaning against the doorframe. His lips twitched into a smirk, "If anything, she would blame herself and then rant about how weak she was before demanding proper fighting lessons."
Not the most appropriate time, Carlisle thought, knowing full well that Edward could hear him, because joking around about her condition while she was still unconscious wasn't really, well, appropriate. Still, he understood what Edward was trying to do. He took a deep breath to calm himself and he smiled at the younger male.
At that moment, Rosalie's fingers twitched, and suddenly, he and Edward were beside her.
"Rose?" Carlisle called out. He watched as she started to stretch her legs and move her arms before her eyes opened. She then glanced at him and her eyebrows furrowed, confusion evident on her face. "Rose, are you alright?"
"'Rose'? Who's Rose?" Her question shook him and Edward, as he and the latter gazed at each other in mutual surprise before they turned once more to Rosalie.
"Rose, can you remember anything from yesterday?" Edward asked her.
Her lips pursed as she thought deeply, before she shrugged. "Not really, no..."
Her eyes then swept the room, observing her surroundings as she became more and more confused.
"Who are you? And why am I here?"
At 2:57 AM, Rosalie Hale had been replaced by Samantha Brookes.
A/N: so this chapter features an OC who gets murdered. The murders in these chapter play a part in future chapters, at least from the way I see it right now.
There's also a more temperamental Carlisle. Since this is before Twilight, I assumed he didn't have his heavenly patience yet and was still rather emotional, especially when those close to him are hurt.
There's also an Edward who kind of cares for Rosalie. I mean, you don't just spend time with someone for a long time and not find yourself caring about them at least a little.
But still, if some characters seem OOC for you, please do say so. Constructive criticism is welcomed, though I may have reasons for particular characters' actions here and in the future.