Chapter 1

Journal of Carlisle Cullen.

Columbus, Ohio.

Aug 5th, 1911

From beginning to the end…

My very first journal in the 20th Century.

I have seen many wonders in my life. Both as a mortal and as a vampire. Of all Gods creatures, it's the mortals that fascinate me the for the most part. I have seen them create the most brilliant and inspiring inventions. Both good for humanity and the most heart wrenchingly destructive.

I remember hearing the news of Christian Huygens, who had developed new methods for grinding and polishing glass for telescope lenses in 1654. With his new, powerful telescopes, he identified Saturn's rings and discovered Titan, the largest moon of Saturn in 1655. I was eight years old, and when I asked my father about going to see this telescope, I got a sever beating. My father, stood over my crying, bruised prone form, and preached to me that this invention was a blasphemous invention of Satan, and forbid me never to speak of it again. I guess in his mind, the only time you should ever search for God, is never in the galactic heavens, but in the Good Book.

Then of course when I was 23, I was attacked by a vampire and left in the streets to bleed out and die. Instead, I became a vampire. With the upheaval of the church seeking out and destroying potential witches, werewolves and vampires, I knew that my father would not hesitate by throwing me on the bonfire with the rest of the poor unfortunate souls that were condemned wrongfully. I fled London, and endured the ungodly pain of the transformation alone. I can't exactly remember where it was. All I could think of was the acidic like torture I felt for two solid days and nights.

At first, I believed I was some kind of horrible satanic monster that my father always preached about. The thirst for human blood was too overwhelming, that when I even heard a human I would flee as quickly as I could.

I even tried to kill myself. So many times, in so many ways, and failed in each attempt. My body would just heal, no matter the damage I did to it. No knife could pierce my skin. No fall high enough could pull my body apart.

One night, with the thirst almost raging out of control, I came across a herd of deer. There must have been at least a dozen. All ranging from a few days old, to full size six point bucks…I caught and drank from them all. It was an insightful experience. I didn't have to be a monster.

Mind, the temptation for human blood is always there. Like a monkey on your back, that you just can't really ignore. But I wanted to become a doctor, so I've committed myself to resist that forbidden fruit.

Soon, my father died, and I lived my new life.

The years followed quickly, and more inventions were…invented. Sorry for the lack of a more appropriate intellectual words, but sometimes words fail me. Like the first time I took down and drank from a deer…words just failed me. But, it defiantly was an eye opener to what I could be, and not what was expected of me and my kind.

There is a part of my new life that I would take as a lesson in Vampiric life. After swimming the English Channel to Europe, I spent a small time with the Volturi, in Italy. Unable to sway any of the elder vampires not to feed on humans, and my God did they feed brutally. They would gather homeless, mentally insane and plague victims and herd them like cattle…or like sheep into their midst, promising them a place to sleep, medical attention, and something to eat. Unfortunately, THEY were something to eat.

I'll never forget the screams. If I could sleep, and dream…I'm pretty sure I would have nightmares for the rest of my days.

With no choice, and too much compassion for the human race, I left the Volturi and vowed never to return.

They didn't stop me.

I don't know why. Maybe, it because I didn't have an extraordinary power for them to exploit? Or maybe it was my compassion, which they thought was a weakness. Through the halls of the catacombs, I've heard whispers of how weak I was toward the humans. That I was nothing more than an embarrassment to the Vampire race.

By the 1700's, the Bifocals, the Battery, the cotton gin, day lights savings time, and of course one that my father would very much appreciate…the Guillotine.

I've seen only two unfortunate heads roll away from that monstrosity: French King Louis XVI and his extravagant wife, Queen Marie Antoinette. They were beheaded on January 21, 1793. It was a cold day, and there were people there by the hundreds, cheering and shouting…it was a sad pitiful sight. Queen Marie was very beautiful…almost as bone white as me. She had class.

It still amazes me that the Guillotine is still in use…

Of course in 1879, when Thomas Edison of the new world in the United States, created the filament bulb that could burn for 1500 hours. What an invention. No longer do I have to worry about candle wax or holes burned into the pages in my medical books because other doctors had to read by candle light. Then of course there was the metric system, and the continuous fight between many countries on how something as simple as water, weight, and dry goods should be measured. It was so intense; you would swear a war would have broken out over it. Such an asinine thing.

Well, as much as I wish to write more, the dawn is coming and I need to get ready for work…I'll continue this later.

Carlisle Cullen.