The Never-ending New Moon
Summary: What if Bella Swan died in New Moon during her jump off the cliff at First Beach? Another soul takes over her body and must repeat the events in New Moon over and over and over, until she gets it right and saves Edward and survives in the process.
A/N: This is not a Mary-sue, the soul that took over Bella's role in NM doesn't have any super powers – in fact she doesn't even know much about the Twilight Saga!
Warning: Deviated from canon for obvious reasons. Expect violence and gore, some cussing, and people dying left and right.
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Chapter One
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It was the breaking point for Bella Swan, who has been enduring the loss of her love, Edward Cullen, ever since he left her in the woods.
Months had passed, and yet the hole in her heart remains empty, a huge yawning gap that eats away all her joy and takes away what little peace she could find in her dreams. There was no escaping from the pain, even if her friend, Jacob Black was there to numb it sometimes. The Edward who whispers in her mind during her dangerous pursuits was her only reprieve from the hollowness of her day-to-day apathetic life.
Bella finally gave in to another attempt to hear Edward's voice and quench the agonized burning in her chest by diving off the cliff at La Push's Beach. Jacob dragged her from the ocean to save her, but she wasn't breathing. He thumped her hard on her back to dislodge the water in her lungs, but having no proper knowledge of first aid and a loss of control of his werewolf strength in his panic caused more harm than good.
The possibility of Bella surviving that was not impossible, but in this instance, she didn't make it.
Thus begins our story.
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"Breathe, Bella! C'mon!" A young, male voice begged.
Black spots bloomed across my vision, getting wider and wider, blocking out the light. There was pain everywhere, most centered on my back and my lungs.
A rock smacked into my back, right between my shoulder blades, and I could feel liquid of some sort choking its way out of my lungs. The rock was relentless, striking me again, only this time, I noticed the rock wasn't cold; it was hot on my skin.
My head whirled; black spots covered everything as I tried to make sense of what was happening. What was the last thing I remember doing before everything got so confusing?
I was swimming in the ocean, on a vacation in the Maldives, to try and take a break from all the shit that was going on in my life. It was early in the morning and there was hardly anyone at the beach. Something got hold of my legs, dragging me below the surface of the sea. I panicked, and…is someone saving me now?
"Bella?" The same voice asked again, his voice still tense, but not as panicky as before. "Bells, honey, can you hear me?"
Who's Bella? The contents of my head swished and rolled sickeningly, and all I could see was darkness.
"How long has she been unconscious?" someone else asked.
"I don't know." Welcome to the club, I thought. Getting increasingly frustrated, I tried to speak, only to find that the breath that I took to do so was agony, air burning in and out of the passageways of my lungs.
"She's breathing. She'll come around. We should get her out of the cold, though. I don't like the color she's turning…" Yet another unknown male voice participated in the conversation, only this person sounds older than the other two from before.
"You think it's okay to move her?" Yes, good idea guys, I'm kinda freezing here and would appreciate being moved to some place warmer please.
"She didn't hurt her back or anything when she fell?" Fell? I don't remember falling…
I tried to open my eyes. It was like lifting elephants and took tremendous effort, but I eventually made it. I could see dark, purple clouds, flinging the freezing rain down at me. Strange, it wasn't raining when I went swimming.
"What's going on?" I croaked.
A guy with dark eyes and skin came into my view and blocked out the sky. "Oh! Bella! Are you okay? Can you hear me? Do you hurt anywhere?"
Huh? Why does he keep calling out for Bella?
"Who's Bella?" I asked, as my curiosity about this 'Bella' increased, overriding my discomfort of the cold.
"What? Bella, what are you talking about? You are Bella of course!"
"She must have hit her head during the fall." Someone muttered in the background.
Did I hit my head? I don't remember. "I don't remember falling…" I wondered out-loud.
"That's because you jumped, not fell! Why would you jump, Bella? Didn't you notice it's turning a hurricane out here? Couldn't you have waited for me?"
What the hell! "Hey buddy, I didn't jump alright! I was swimming and my legs must have cramped or maybe something in the water dragged me in, but I didn't jump so don't go accusing me of something I didn't do! And stop calling me Bella!"
The guy gave me a strange, worried look. "I think we need to take you to the hospital, you must have hit your head…"
Did I? I don't feel any pain there, but I suppose a check up at the hospital wouldn't hurt, since I'm not feeling too hot at the moment.
"Yeah, good idea. Oh, thanks for saving me." I supposed I should at least try to be civil to the person who saved me.
"No problem Bells!" Again, that name…what in the world is going on? My head was still rolling and I suddenly felt nauseous. Black spots danced across my eyes and once again darkness took over my sight.
I must have fainted and brought to the hospital, for the next thing I saw when I came into consciousness was a doctor looking down at me.
"How are you feeling, young lady?" Young lady? I haven't been called that in years! Should I be flattered or worried?
"My throat hurts and my back feels bruised. Where am I?"
"You are at Forks Hospital. We have done a scan, an x-ray and a thorough check-up for you. You should stay overnight for observation but everything looks fine." With a kindly smile, the doctor walked out of the room, off to his other duties I presume.
Forks Hospital, what a weird name. Well I guess there are worse things you can name a medical facility. The sound of heavy footsteps rushing into the room broke me out of my musings.
"Bella! Are you okay? What were you thinking about, diving off a cliff of all things!"
I stared at the stranger, who looked worried, concerned and angry all at the same time. He had brown hair and eyes, a mustache and looked to be in his late thirties wearing a police uniform; I suppose he's a cop then.
"Look officer, I don't know why everyone has been calling me Bella, but that's not my name alright? Again, like I told the guy who saved me, I didn't jump or dive off anything."
If he was looking worried before, it's nothing compared to how he looks like now. His eyes grew wide and mumbled franticly about getting the doctor, before dashing out.
What is it with men running out on me? That was one of the mess that brought me to the Maldives, and something I had no desire to spend time dwelling on. With a sigh, I stumbled to the bathroom, feeling the need to answer the call of nature.
I took a cursory glance at the mirror while washing my hands, and got the shock of my life. The girl in the reflection looked nothing like me. First of all, the face was that of a teenager, something I haven't been for over a decade. Second, I didn't have haunted brown eyes with dark circles underneath, nor do I have long mahogany brown hair, and my skin is definitely not a pale sickly white.
I touched the cool surface of the mirror to ascertain that it was indeed my reflection and not some trick. Okay, it seems to be a normal mirror. What the hell is going on? I felt like I was in an episode of 'Twilight Zone'. Maybe I was dreaming, yeah that could be it. I pinched my arm and tried to wake myself up, but all I could feel was pain, and that was it. I didn't 'wake up' or anything.
I had no idea what to do next. For once in my life, I had no plans, no well thought out ways to achieve my goals, nothing. I'm a pretty organized person, and this unexpected, unexplainable situation that I'm in is freaking me out.
"Bella? Are you in there? The doctor is here to see you." The cop was knocking on the bathroom door. Shit. Shit. What am I suppose to do now? Will they be able to answer my questions? No harm trying I guess.
When I spoke with the people crowding in the hospital room, and there were quite a few of them – the doctor, the cop, the guy who saved me and another young boy with similar dark russet skin and black hair – they thought I'd lost my memories, as I couldn't even recognize that my name is Bella.
I began asking a series of questions without really answering any of theirs. I found out that I was in a small town named Forks, located in northwest of the Washington State. And as I was given more information about who I was supposed to be, something nagged at the back of my mind incessantly.
Why did all this sound so familiar? Forks. Bella Swan. Charlie Swan. Jacob Black. Think, think!
Digging deep into my memory bank, snips and bits of conversations I had with one of my best friend, Cynthia, came to mind. I remembered her chattering on and on about a fictional story, something called the Twilight Saga… about a teenage love story involving vampires and werewolves with the main character named…BELLA SWAN!
Oh my God…no…it can't be…More information flooded into my mind, trying to piece together the bits I have into a more coherent picture.
I remembered Cynthia telling me that Edward is a vampire, along with some of his family members...there were seven of them, I think? Jacob Black is a werewolf, and he has pack brothers, teenagers who are as hot as he is that can shift into werewolves. And looking at my savior, Jacob, I agree that he's definitely cute. Not that I'm interested or anything, he's too young for me!
There were some dangers that Bella faced but her supernatural friends helped out and she survived. Not having read any of the books or seen any of the movies of the Twilight Saga, there wasn't much else I could recall from the conversations with Cynthia.
Most of the time when she went 'Twilight-crazy' and started raving about her gorgeous vampires, I sort of tuned out and pretended to listen. I wasn't really interested in the supernatural genre even if they were in the guise of fiction; there were other mental pursuits I prefer to engage in.
Not wanting to come to the conclusion that I've somehow been sucked into a fictional world, I decided to gather more information that night, and sneaked to make phone calls to Cynthia. I couldn't get hold of her, as apparently it was a wrong number.
Getting desperate, I rang up anyone I could to prove that I wasn't losing my sanity – my ex-husband, my boss, co-workers and some other friends. None of them were reachable; it was as if they never existed.
The next few days passed in a haze of confusion and shock, as I tried to come to terms that I've become a body snatcher, taken over the body of one fictional character Bella Swan, and now living her life in a mystical love story filled with dangerous creatures such as vampires and werewolves.
Even if I was in another dimension, and all the people I know didn't exist here, I still didn't want to believe that there were werewolves and vampires around. Sure, the names I've learnt here were the same as those in the Twilight Saga, but they could just be a coincidence.
My fragile hope was shattered when Jacob came to visit and spoke about being busy 'patrolling' and how hard Sam was driving the 'pack' sometimes, and blurted out that it may be a good thing I've lost my memories as I could then forget about that rotten 'leech'. When I asked more about the 'leech', he refused to elaborate further.
Slowly, though reluctantly, my practical side took over and shook me out of the funk I was in. I need to survive, and if possible, figure out a way to get home. With this goal in mind, I feigned a lost of memory, as I reckoned that it's better to pretend to be this Bella Swan rather than being committed to a mental institution or being studied by scientists by telling them the truth; that my name is Phoebe Winsfield, a thirty-year-old software programmer who's taking a vacation in the Maldives, went swimming and somehow got dragged into the world of Twilight and possessed the body of their beloved Bella.
After the doctor examined me for the umpteen times and could find nothing wrong with me other than my amnesia supposedly induced by the trauma of the fall into the ocean, I was discharged.
I was picked up from the hospital by Charlie Swan, father to Bella Swan. On the drive back to the Swan's residence, I pondered what happened to the actual Bella. Is she lurking somewhere in this body, resting perhaps? Or has her soul actually been dislodged when she jumped off the cliff into the ocean? I called out her name in my mind a few times, but there was no answer.
Like there wasn't any answer as to why I was put into this teenager's body in a fictional world. Being eighteen again could be a good thing, I suppose. A younger, healthier body, and at an age where anything is possible, a fresh start as well as an escape from the mess that my real life has been recently.
No, I must not forget that this life comes with its own problems. The large glaring one would be the mystical, blood sucking creature; a vampire. Or vampires. I may not know much about this world, but I know generally vampires are dangerous predators. And haven't Cynthia mentioned that Bella Swan has really nice-smelling blood?
Shit. I don't suppose the usual garlic and holy water would work against the bloodsuckers of this world? Wait a minute; I remember the enemies of vampires are werewolves! Oh that's a relief, I know of at least one werewolf who seemed to be concerned enough about my safety to protect me. I'm going to be sticking like glue to Jacob Black.
Charlie stopped the cruiser on the street in front of a cozy looking, small two-bedroom house. He led me to my bedroom, since I don't remember where it was, and left me his work number at the police station.
"Call me if you don't feel well or anything, Bells. I've got to get back to the station now, but I'll be back in the evening…so ah…I'll see you then." With an awkward wave he went downstairs, and the sound of the main door closing followed.
The room I was in faced out over the front yard. I took in the deco and furnishing of my bedroom - the wooden floor, the pale blue walls, the peaked ceiling, the yellow lace curtains around the window and the rocking chair in the corner.
I glanced at the desk that held a second-hand computer, with the phone line for the modem stapled along the floor to the nearest phone jack, and I frowned at the outdated equipment. This is going to take some getting used to, I haven't been using such an old model of computer and I suspect, dial-up access to the Internet in years.
Before I could explore further, someone came into the room and called out, "Bella?"
Unnaturally still and white, with large black eyes intent on my face, my visitor waited perfectly motionless for my reply. She was beautiful beyond imagination. The hairs on the back of my neck stood as the silence stretched. I knew that whoever this person is, she's dangerous.
"Bella?" The stranger repeated, her tone a mingling of relief and confusion.
"Sorry, am I supposed to know you? I have amnesia, I can't remember much." I better get that out, since she looks like she knows me, or the body I'm occupying.
"Amnesia? What happened? I didn't see that…" She trailed off in uncertainty. "You don't remember me? No, wait, I can see you don't…how about our family, do you recall anything about us?"
Family? I observed the figure before me closer. Unnaturally white skin, black eyes, the feeling of being the presence of a predator…shit! She's a vampire! Is she going to eat me?
No…she doesn't seem to have that intention, her gaze is one of puzzlement, not hunger. Oh, she mentioned 'our family'. I thought vampires go by 'coven'?
"Who are you?"
"You really have amnesia."
"Yeah, so mind telling me your name and what you're doing in my house?"
"I'm Alice, Alice Cullen…Wait, what's that awful wet dog smell?" Alice scrunched up her perfect nose, showing her distaste.
A crash downstairs interrupted our conversation. Someone stomped up and rushed into my room. Oh! It's Jacob Black!
His face was filled with rage as he glared at Alice, and growled. "Leech, what are you doing here!" He rushed and stood protectively in front of me, trembling in anger. Suddenly, without any warning, he burst into a huge mass of fur, and I was shoved against the wall.
"A werewolf?"
Alice and Jacob jumped into the air almost simultaneously, and collided into the wall where the window was. Faster than I could see, that section of wall collapsed as they crashed out and down into the front yard.
Alice…she introduced herself as Alice Cullen. She must be the 'sister' of Edward Cullen, the love of Bella Swan. Aren't the Cullens the 'good' vampires? Shit, I don't think it would be good if Jacob kills Alice…better stop this fight and clarify things.
"Stop Jacob, she's Alice Cullen!"
Jacob paused briefly to look at me, and Alice took the chance to escape. I groaned at the sight of the gaping hole in my bedroom wall. How am I going to explain this to Charlie?
As things went, I didn't even get a chance to speak to Charlie, as I tripped on my way down, rolled to the bottom of the stairs and broke my neck in the fall. Ouch.
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"Breathe, Bella! C'mon!" A young, male voice begged.
Black spots bloomed across my vision, getting wider and wider, blocking out the light. There was pain everywhere, most centered on my back and my lungs.
A rock smacked into my back, right between my shoulder blades, and I could water choking its way out of my lungs. The rock was relentless, striking me again, only this time, I noticed the rock wasn't cold; it was a hand, hot on my skin as it thumped my back continuously.
My head whirled; black spots covered everything as I tried to make sense of what was happening. What was the last thing I remember?
Jacob turned into a werewolf, fought Alice as they crashed out through the wall of my bedroom. I went downstairs…tripped and fell…and there was a lot of pain and then…and then what?
"Bella?" The same voice asked again, his voice still tense, but not as panicky as before. "Bells, honey, can you hear me?"
I tried to speak, only to find that the breathe that I took to do so was agony, air burning in and out of the passageways of my lungs. As I struggled to escape the darkness and get my senses working, the conversation out there continued.
"How long has she been unconscious?" someone else asked.
"I don't know."
"She's breathing. She'll come around. We should get her out of the cold, though. I don't like the color she's turning…"
"You think it's okay to move her?" All right, I'm getting a serious case of déjà vu here, why does all this sound so familiar?
Finally, I managed to open my eyes and cleared my throat in great discomfort.
Jacob's face hovered above me. "Oh!" He gasped, relief washing over his features. His eyes were wet from the rain. Wait…it's raining again?
"Oh, Bella! Are you okay? Can you hear me? Do you hurt anywhere?"
"What's going on?" I stuttered out, my lips quivering from the cold.
"I saved you from drowning in the ocean. Why did you jump, Bella? Didn't you notice that it's turning into a hurricane out here? Couldn't you have waited for me?" Anger filled his tone as the relief faded.
"Jumped?" I wondered out loud. I didn't jump; I fell down the stairs! As I took stock of my surroundings, I noticed I was laying on the beach, near the ocean and the rain was pouring down heavily.
"Wasn't I at home? Where's Alice?"
"Who's Alice?" Jacob asked curiously.
Oh…oh! I know why all this seemed so familiar now, it happened before! When I first entered this crazy world of vampires and werewolves! What the hell, what's going on?
"Bella? Bella, did you hear me?"
"Oh, sorry Jacob! I'm just kind of confused at the moment. And I'm feeling really cold, can we get out of the rain?"
"Let's get you out of here, then." Jacob said. He slid his arms under me and lifted me without effort – like picking up an empty box. His chest was bare and warm; he hunched his shoulders to keep rain off me. I rested my head on his arm and close my eyes, as I tried to figure what the situation I'm in.
"You got her?" I heard someone ask.
"Yeah. I'll take it from here. Get back to the hospital; I'll join you later. Thanks Sam."
"Hospital?" I couldn't help the question that escaped from my lips.
"It's Harry Clearwater, he had a heart attack this morning."
"Harry?" Who's Harry Clearwater? Another werewolf?
"Hmm? Harry is Charlie's friend, his fishing buddy. Didn't you know that?" Jacob gave me a strange look as he asked this.
"Sorry, I think my brain's not working, I just feel so tired…" It's true, I'm getting really tired trying to figure out things…everything is so weird.
At that moment the rain stopped. I hadn't realized Jacob had taken me into a house…good, shelter from the rain and away from the cold is a good thing. I was dumped onto a short couch.
"You can stay here. I mean it – right here. I'll get you some dry clothes."
I let my eyes adjust to the dark room while Jacob banged around somewhere else in the house. Before I could observe much, he came back. That was fast. But I suppose he'll have to be to keep up with vampires.
"These will be huge on you, but it's the best I've got." He threw a pile of gray cotton at me. "I'll, er, step outside so you can change."
As soon as he shut the door, I quickly got out of the wet clothes and into the oversized T-shirt and drawstring bottoms. I called out and let Jacob know that it's safe to enter the room now that I've changed.
He came back and sat on the floor next to me, his back against the couch, looking as exhausted as I felt. Feeling a little sorry for him, I suggested he take a nap.
He leaned his head on the cushion next to mine and yawned. "Guess I could rest for a minute…" His eyes closed, and in less than a minute, he began snoring softly. I smiled at his cute sleeping face as his slot, deep breathing, the only sound in the room acted like a lullaby, eventually putting me to sleep.
I didn't dream. Or if I did, I couldn't remember anything from it. When I woke, it was with a thirst and a need for the bathroom. Jacob was still asleep; he'd slumped down to the floor and still snoring. The house was darker now than before, it was black outside the window.
I was stiff, but managed to get up without much problem. I found the small bathroom easily, took care of business efficiently and got a drink from the tap.
As I nursed the glass of water in my hands, leaning against the sink, I thought about what to do next. Running through what happened from the moment Jacob saved me from drowning to where I am now, I realized with horror that not only was I stuck in a fictional character's body, in a fictional world filled with dangerous supernatural creatures, I also seem to be repeating the certain events.
This bears further investigation, and as there's still a lot I don't know about this world, I decided the best excuse would still be the trauma-induced memory loss thing if someone asks me something I should remember but don't.
My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a car squelching through the mud on the road outside. I heard it stop in front of the house, and doors started opening and closing. I went back to the room where Jacob was in and saw the light being flicked on.
Blinking at the sudden brightness, I missed the entrance of whoever that just came into the room.
"Sorry, did we wake you?" My eyes slowly adjusted to the light and focused on the man who just spoke. He was a middle-aged, dark skin, man sitting on a wheel chair, who shared similar features as Jacob. His expression was filled with grief, something that Jacob noticed as he hurried to the man and took one of his hands. He murmured. "Dad…"
Another man, a younger one, was pushing the chair that the elder one was in, further into the room.
"Harry's gone." The young man stated forlornly.
"I'm so sorry…" I whispered. Though I didn't know Harry personally, I understood he's well loved by the others in the room.
"It's gonna be hard all around."
I recalled that Harry was Charlie's friend. I wondered if he knew about his friend…? "Where's Charlie?"
"Your dad is still at the hospital with Sue. There are a lot of…arrangements to be made." Jacob's dad answered sadly.
"I'd better get back there," The young man, who was standing behind Jacob's dad, mumbled and ducked hastily out of the house.
Jacob's dad pulled his hand away from his son, and then he rolled himself through the kitchen and into a bedroom, which I presume to be his. Jacob stared after him for a minute, and then came to sit down next to where I was standing. I joined him on the floor. He put his face in his hands, and his back radiated grief. I patted him on his shoulder, not sure what I should say to console him.
After a long moment, he caught my hand and held it to his face. Wow, his face's really warm, like someone with a high fever.
"How are you feeling? Are you okay? I probably should have taken you to a doctor or something." He sighed.
"Don't worry about me, what about you?" If he caught a fever from the rain while saving me, I would feel really bad.
"I'm fine." His eyes were rimmed in red. He doesn't look fine.
"You don't look good." I placed my hand on his forehead. "Are you running a fever?"
He gave me an odd look. "Bella, werewolves have a higher body temperature than normal and we are immune to sickness, didn't I tell you this before?"
"Oh, yeah, I remember now…" I moved my eyes down to look at the floor. I'd never been a good liar.
"You've been weird since I dragged you out from the ocean. You sure you're okay?"
"I just need some rest I guess…it's been a long day." I deflected, hopefully he wouldn't insist taking me to the hospital, I'm not keen to go through all those tests and check-up again.
"I'll go get your truck and then take you home so you can get some rest. You probably ought to be there when Charlie gets back."
"Right."
Jacob took me home in Bella's, or I suppose, it's mine now, truck. He was attentive and gentle towards me, and I really appreciated his concern. What a nice friend he was, I thought.
"How are you going to get home later after sending me back?" I asked.
"I'm not going home. We still haven't caught the blood-sucker, remember?" What blood-sucker? Or rather, which one?
"Which one are you talking about?"
He glanced at me and frowned. "The red-haired one, you told me her name was…Victoria?"
"Oh yes, now I remember…" Yeah like real…I don't know who this Victoria is, but I gathered if the werewolves were trying to catch her, she must be a dangerous, human-blood sucking vampire.
It didn't take Jacob before we reach the Swan's residence. He stopped the truck in front of the dark house, cutting the engine so it was suddenly silent. I was surprised when he threw his arm around me, crushing me against his warm chest.
It felt toasty and nice. I didn't know that Jacob was such an affectionate person. Or maybe he was this way only to Bella.
"Sorry. I know you don't feel exactly the way I do, Bells. I swear I don't mind. I'm just so glad you're okay that I could sing – and that's something no one wants to hear. " He laughed throatily in my ear.
Oh. Oh! That's why he's being so touchy-feely with me; he has a crush on Bella! How sweet! However, even if I could, I wouldn't return his feelings…he's just a boy to me, even though he's so much taller and bigger than me, his mentality must be still that of a teenager.
I was thinking a way to reject Jacob without hurting his feelings when he stiffen and sniffed at the air that was coming in through the gap in the truck's window. He opened the door, and storm-cooled air blew through the cab of the truck.
"OH!" The breath whooshed out of Jacob like someone had punched him in the gut. "Holy crap!"
Slamming the door, his hands shook as he twisted the keys in the ignition. He revved the engine too fast; it sputtered and faltered.
"What's wrong?"
"Vampire," he spit out.
"How do you know?" I looked out of the truck, trying to see if there was a vampire out there.
"Because I can smell it! Dammit!"
Jacob's eyes were wild, raking the dark street. He barely seemed aware of the tremors that were rolling through his body. "Phase or get her out of here?" He hissed at himself.
I recalled the fight he has with Alice, how they crashed out of the wall of the Swan's house as if it was paper, and shivered. If a vampire was out there, I doubt the truck would provide much protection and I had no desire to be stuck in a hunk of metal when the blood-sucker crash into it.
"Out, then you can 'phase'. The truck's not gonna provide much resistance against a vampire."
He thought about my suggestion for a moment, then nodded.
"Yeah, I could probably get backup after I phased too." Oh? He can do that? Perhaps through telepathy of some sort when he's in werewolf form?
We got out of the car as he growled at the Swan's front door. "There's a vampire in your house. I can't phase here, your neighbors might be able to see. We'll circle to the backdoor near the woods then I'll phase."
We made our way to the back silently. Suddenly, the door slammed open and a white figure flashed into the backyard. I recognized the small-pixie like vampire.
"Alice Cullen…" I whispered.
Jacob, who was shaking violently, stopped to stare at me. "Cullen? This vampire's a Cullen, you sure?"
"Yeah, she is."
"This changes things, I have to tell Sam right away. We can't be caught on their territory." He snarled at Alice before running towards the woods and in a huge leap, phased into a werewolf.
Alice was gaping at me. I think she was surprised by the appearance of a werewolf in the backyard of the Swan's house.
"Bella, what…exactly is that thing?"
"That's not a thing, he's Jacob Black, my friend. He's sort of a werewolf. The Quileutes turn into wolves when there are vampires around. You don't know that?"
She gawked at me for a moment, and then recovered herself, blinking rapidly. "Well, I guess that explains the smell," she muttered. "But does it explain what I didn't see?" She frowned, her porcelain forehead creasing.
"The smell?"
"You smell awful," she said absently, still frowning.
I could feel my hackles rising. It has been a long, exhausting day, and this female leech has the nerve to complain about my smell?
"Anyway, care to tell me why you are hanging out with a werewolf? Edward was right – you're a magnet for danger. Weren't you supposed to be staying out of trouble?"
"If I weren't hanging with this werewolf, I would've been dead! Jacob was the one who saved me from drowning in the ocean, and are you sure you, a vampire, want to be pointing fingers at werewolf being a danger?"
I was trembling in anger, pissed that she was breaking into my house uninvited, and now trying to make me answer to her as to who I'm hanging out with. How is it any of her concern anyway? She's been nothing but rude from the first time I've met her. If all the Cullens were like her, I'm must say I'm not impressed.
Suddenly, I recalled the red-haired vampire that Jacob mentioned when we were in the truck. "And not only did Jacob saved me from drowning, he's also chasing off some red-haired vampire, Victoria, off this area!"
"Victoria?" Alice hissed, her expression turning a little scary. I nodded cautiously.
"Tell me everything – start from the beginning."
"I wish I could, Alice, but I've lost most of my memories when I fell into the sea…must have hit my head or something…" I mumbled, as she gave me an incredulous look.
"Amnesia?"
"Probably?" I shrugged, not wanting to go into details as I really wasn't all that skilled in lying.
"You have to go to the hospital for a thorough check-up. I…I need to hunt, so I can't go with you."
"You go on ahead, I'll be fine." I evaded, not wanting to visit the hospital again. She scrutinized my expression before nodding, then taking off into the woods.
The phone rang, and I stumbled into the house, slipping on the wet grass a few times before reach the kitchen where the phone was.
"Hello?"
"Bella! Are you okay? Is the leech still there?"
"Jacob! I'm fine, don't worry, she's gone."
"Good. How about the other Cullens, are they back as well?"
"I don't know, Alice didn't say anything, so I guess not?"
Jacob soon hung up after telling me that Sam needs him to be patrolling. He promised to drop by later as the Swan's house is part of the area he'll be patrolling. I felt more assured with that information.
My stomach growled with hunger, and I went into the kitchen to make some dinner. I'd better make a portion for Charlie as well; he may be hungry when he's back from the hospital.
There was plenty of fish in the refrigerator, so I made a baked fish with potatoes, and a side of salad. I hurried through dinner, wanting to take a shower after eating to get rid of the sticky feeling of brine, seawater and sand off my skin.
The shower was refreshing, and I felt much better when I left the bathroom and went into my room. I jumped in fright when I was taken by surprise by the sight of Alice sitting on my bed. Upon closer observation, she looked less crabby and her eyes were liquid butterscotch. She smiled and pattered the space next to her.
I struggled internally for a moment, wondering if it was such a good idea to sit next to a vampire with my neck within close proximity. Then I recalled the speed she had, and figured if she wanted to eat me, it didn't matter if I was near to her or not.
I sat down next to her stiffly. "Bella, didn't you go to the hospital?"
"Not today, I'll go tomorrow. I'm really tired now."
"No, you may have a concussion, amnesia is not something to be taken lightly. Come on, I'll drive you to the hospital now, myself."
Sighing, I followed her downstairs, and nearly fell to my death for the second time. Fortunately, Alice's vampire-reflexes saved me. She put her cold arms around me and carried me to the car, grinning as she did so.
"Still as clumsy as ever, Bella."
"Yeah yeah." I couldn't even deny that; this body has a serious imbalance issue.
Alice drove me to the local Forks hospital in a black, Mercedes S55 AMG. Compared to my truck, the drive was smooth and quiet, fast too. Again, the same doctor went through a series of tests with me before coming to the same conclusion as before – I have a trauma-induced partial memory loss problem that will take time to slowly recover as there wasn't much on the medical side they could do.
NM-NM-NM-NM
"Breathe, Bella! C'mon!" A young, male voice begged.
Black spots bloomed across my vision, getting wider and wider, blocking out the light. There was pain everywhere, most centered on my back and my lungs.
A rock smacked into my back, right between my shoulder blades, and I could water choking its way out of my lungs. The rock was relentless, striking me again, only this time, I noticed the rock wasn't cold; it was a hand, hot on my skin as it thumped my back continuously.
My head whirled and I recalled everything that happened before. Shit. Shit.
This is the third time I've been saved by Jacob from the ocean, back to what I dubbed as the 'respawn' point. It seems like everytime I died, or did something wrong, I would be back to the start and have to repeat everything again.
What did I do wrongly the last time? I don't remember dying...
I was discharged from the hospital, went home, Jacob came to visit me while Charlie was out at Harry's funeral. My werewolf friend was really mad that Alice was still sticking around, and answered my phone, blurted a short reply to the person on the other end…then Alice rushed in, and asked what Jacob said to the person over the phone.
Long story short, apparently the person who called was none other than yours truly, Edward Cullen, who thought that Charlie was going to my funeral, thought that his beloved human was dead and in a over-dramatic fashion decided to off himself by going to the Volturi in Italy, the sorta vampire government, to ask for death.
I was not impressed. Seriously? If his assumption was correct, he couldn't even come to pay his respects to his love before going off on a suicide trip? And this guy is supposed to be a hundred year old vampire? Oh, I've gathered more information about this world now, as Alice was quite happy to fill in the blanks for me when she believed I really suffered from memory loss.
So what happened after that? Things got a little fuzzy, but I remember Alice suggesting a way to save her brother, though the probability of it succeeding was low. I was to go with Alice to Italy, into the heart of the vampire city, and show Edward that I'm still alive, hoping to stop his suicidal stunt in time.
Being the logical, practical person I am, having no particular positive feelings towards Edward Cullen, I refused. Alice didn't force me to change my decision, but it was with great disappointment and grief as she left my house. Jacob was pleased with my refusal and after a short conversation; he left the house too, to report to Sam about Alice leaving Forks.
I had a quiet evening and went to bed early…and when I woke up, I ended up back here, on First Beach, saved by Jacob for the third time since I've been sucked into this world.
Does that mean I was supposed to go with Alice to Italy to save Edward? Am I going to be stuck in this endless loop until I managed to save that angst-filled, dramatic vampire lover?
Shit. The odds really don't look good for an ordinary human like me. How long before I lose my sanity?
NM-NM-NM-NM
Preview of Chapter Two:
I was frozen in horror as I faced the room full of predators, certain that this would yet be another loop that I wouldn't survive in. Where one may see the beauty of these immortal faces, all I could see were monsters with evil red eyes and hungry smiles.
Idly, I wondered in my back of my mind how long it will take me to die from blood loss if one of these Volturi vampires gave in to their impulse to eat me. I hope it wouldn't be too painful…
An angelic looking, young teenager vampire smirked at me maliciously. Her crimson irises shone as she continued to send me vibes of terror.
"Jane, dear one, you've returned!" The vampire who was staring at me turned to the man, no, not man, to the male vampire who was addressing her.
The male wore pitch-black, long robes, and his long jet-black hair were as silky, a stark contrast against his translucently white, papery textured skin. His eyes were red, the same as the others around him, but the color was clouded, milky; I briefly wondered if his vision was affected by the haze.