Chapter 1: Begin Again
The street was deserted, dark and foreboding. Lamps cast pools of yellow light on the sidewalk, only making the shadows deeper. I shivered, but not with the cold. Behind me, I thought I heard a sound and spun to face behind me. Nothing was there. I pulled my coat tighter around me and speed my steps up. I was beginning to feel a case of de javu. This was beginning to fell eerily like that night in Port Angeles. Only this time, there would be no Edward to rescue me.
Edward. The name made me flinch, though I hated myself for it. It had been two years. Two whole years! Surely I should be over it by now. But in my heart, I knew that wasn't true. I'd loved Edward with all my heart and more and I would never, ever stop loving him. But he wasn't coming back. So I needed to make a life for myself. I was reasonably happy now. I had my best friend Jake to lean on, along with my school friends. My life wasn't that bad.
Jake had glued me together, bound the shattered pieces of my heart together. But the glue was like a coat of varnish on a globe. To was so thin, so fragile that it could break from the merest touch. But it was growing stronger. I could feel myself healing every moment I spent with Jacob. Edward might have been my water, my air but Jake was my sun.
Now, up ahead I could see the corner. My car was parked us around it. I sighed with relief. I'd been a fool to be reminded of Port Angeles. Nothing bad had happened and it wouldn't happen now. Those were the most erroneous words I have ever thought. And I would find out why in the nest five seconds.
I was only meters from the corner. The only thing between me and the bend was an alleyway. I wasn't nervous about passing it. I had reassured myself several times over that it was only in movies that maniacs jumped out of dark alleys. It wasn't as tough it actually happened. Of course, it happened.
Before I knew what was happening, a very large, very cold hand had clamped itself over my mouth and someone was dragging me into the alley. I tried to fight, tried to scream but my attempts were futile. The arms that held me were as hard as steel. I heard a voice behind me whisper, 'I'm sorry.' Then sharp teeth plunged into my neck.
I was on fire. Everything was burning. I had fire for blood and it was scorching my entire body. In my whole life, I'd never felt pain such as this. James snapping my leg had been nothing to this. No, this was much worse. It had started in my neck, where I'd been bitten. Then it had traveled through my body, the flames licking at my flesh. But worst of all was my heart. The pain was incredible there. I could hear that small muscle, the thing that all humans depend on to live, beating faster than it ever should. I hadn't known that it was possible to feel such agony, that someone could be alive, conscious and still feel this.
Some part of me knew I was screaming, crying out for death. I knew that I was thrashing and kicking, that I must look like I'd been possessed by a devil. But I'd didn't care, couldn't care. All I wanted was for the pain to stop, for this all to go away. My throat was raw now but that didn't stop me. Surely someone would kill me if I just screamed loud enough. Of course, some part of me knew that it wouldn't help. Rosalie had told me herself. But it didn't matter anymore. Only the pain mattered now.
After a while, I was surprised to discover that I was capable of coherent thought. I could place the pain to the side and actually think. By now, I had, of course, figured out what I was becoming. How ironic that I was going to get the dream that I had once wanted to dearly but now would do anything to avoid fulfilled. It filled me with anger, along with bitter resentment for whoever had done this to me. Why couldn't they have simply killed, me drained me of blood. Was it really necessary to change me, to force me to live like this? Why couldn't I just live normal life? Why did I have to be surrounded by vampires and werewolves? My life would have been so much simpler if I had remained blissfully unaware that any of this was possible.
A little while after this, or maybe a long time, I began to realize that I could hear what was going on around me, though I could not open my eyes. Once or twice I hear footsteps, heavy, those of a mans. But one thing in particular stayed in my head, the sound of a TV bulletin:
On news tonight – a 19 year old Isabella Swan goes missing on the streets of Seattle, feared dead. We ask anyone who may know of her whereabouts to come forward. Later we will be…
Then the TV was turned off, leaving me to deal with this news. Of course, it wasn't exactly unexpected. Of course everybody would think she was dead. But thinking about it wasn't the same as actually knowing it. She wondered what Charlie must be thinking, what Jake was. How had they reacted when they heard this news?
Sometime after this, something changed. The pain was beginning to fade from my fingertips and toes. Slowly but surely it was leaving. Unfortunately, the fire in my throat wasn't leaving and I knew that it never would. The other bad thing? My heart was getting hotter. It was beating faster and faster, the pain flaring in my chest till I thought I would scream. And the heat was only increasing. My poor heart was beating harder but it wouldn't last forever. Eventually it would stop, as would the pain. And I could hear it now. The beats were slowing now, the fire surging. I could count the beats. One. Two. Three. Nothing. I waited but the next beat but it never came. There was no sound, nothing even of breathing, for I had no need to breath anymore. I opened my eyes.
The ceiling above me was white plaster; patterns swirled on its surface. The light in room was dim yet I could see perfectly. For a second I simply lay on the bed, which was surprisingly comfortable. Then all my anger came flooding back, filling my body and turning my vision red. In a single fluid movement I was crouching on the bed, my crimson gaze fixed on a figure who was watching me intently.
A snarl came ripping out of my throat, shocking me. Who knew I could sound so feral? But then, I reasoned, I was now the ultimate hunter, a creature designed solely to kill. Which happened to be what I intended to do now. This…man had just ruined my life and now I was going end his. With another snarl, I leap, flying trough the air to land in front of the vampire. Before he could even move, I grabbed him by the throat with one hand and pinned him to the wall, murder in my eyes.
He was good looking, even for a vampire, though less handsome than Edward. His eyes were a dull red and his skin, like all of our kind, was snow white. His hair was dark brown, like chocolate and his was at least six feet tall. Not that any of this mattered. As I used by newborn strength to hold him against the wall, I began to speak, my words fast and vicious. "You idiotic, stupid leech, do you have any idea what you have done? I have spent the last two years trying to forget about vampires. I could deal with having a shape shifter for a best friend but now you have ruined everything. I had a life but now I have nothing! You turned me in a filthy bloodsucking leech! So give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you right now." It was hilarious, seeing the realisation enter his eyes when he began to understand what I was saying, that I knew what he was, that I knew what had happened.
Then, a small noise alerted me to the fact he was trying to speak and a relaxed my hold every so slightly, allowing him to speak. "I was protecting you." Those four words sent a shook running through me and in disbelief I let him go, trying to grasp what he was saying. Had he just said he was protecting me? "Pardon me?" Obviously, he could hear my disbelief because he hurried to explain. "A woman, Victoria I think her name is, has been hunting you. She meant to kill you tonight but I changed you before it could happen. I'm sorry but I couldn't let you be killed. You are too kind a soul to be murdered." I was numb, my eyes blank. Victoria! What the hell was she up to? As comprehension dawned, horror crept onto my face and I lifted my eyes to meet the vampire's.
"I nearly killed you." Guilt was setting in now and my eyes showed my dismay. "I nearly killed you when you hadn't even done anything." I stared at the floor, eyes tracing the minuscule patterns on the wood. I heard footsteps and then the man was beside me, wrapping his arms around me and slowly I began to relax as he spoke. "I don't blame you. I was furious when I was changed. By the way, the name is Daniel and you're Isabella Swan." At the mention of my name I pulled away, looking at Daniel. "It's Bella, not Isabella!" Now that I was calmer, I was amazed at my voice. It was as musical as Alice's or Rosalie's and in some ways that scared me.
Suddenly, I was aware that Daniel was gazing at me with a strange expression. "What?" I asked defensively. "…Bella, how do you know about vampires?" His voice was curious and I didn't have the heart to ignore the question. So I decided to act as though it were nothing. "Well, seeing as my ex is a vampire, I was bound to find out." When his eyes widened at this knowledge, I sighed before launching into a full explanation. I told him about moving to Forks, about discovering Edward's secret and the chain of events that had followed. Finally, I told him about my birthday and how he had left me. It was the first time I'd told anyone the full story and if I'd been human, I'd have been crying. But now, I would never cry again.
I was barely aware of Daniel, of his soothing words as he rocked me. All I could do was sob tearlessly as I sat on the floor, every bit of sorrow I had felt since I moved to Forks crashing down on me. I had lost so much and now I had lost even more. I would never see my family again, nor my human friends. I was too different, too dangerous for them to ever see me. Even Jake, my best friend, would probably reject me, for I had become what was in his eyes a monster, a bloodsucking leech that it was his job to kill. There was no way we could ever be friends, not when wolves and vampires were destined to loathe each other. And for me, that was probably the hardest part. For Jacob had pieced me back together after Edward and I had no idea how I could ever cope with my broken heart if I never saw him again.