If you wake at Midnight, and hear a horse's feet,
Don't go drawing back the blind, or looking in the street,
Them that asks no questions isn't told a lie,
Watch the wall my darling, while the Gentlemen go by!

A Smuggler's Song
By Rudyard Kipling

I watched as the woman and children walked drearily on. I was at the head of the column, ridding on my horse. We had finally reached Houston; it had taken a day for the woman and children to prepare for this journey. It was dark, and I only had the torches at the gate with which to watch the passers-by. Dusk had fallen long ago on our trip, travelling had not been easy. It was a large amount of people travelling a day's journey and the people weren't men. It wasn't easy for them and we had to have a few stops on the way.

I was wearing my uniform, a Major's uniform. I was the youngest major in Texas and it was my duty to see these people to safety. It had been a hot day and the night was humid. Not a single person could show their joy at getting to their destination. They were all too tired, I was the only one who had a horse and that was only because of my position in the army. I wanted to get back moving, to do something but I was bound to make sure that everyone was safely situated. I watched as the people found places to rest, while still more poured in.

My horse was sweating, it had been a long journey for the horse, perhaps longer, since I had galloped back and forth, keeping everything in order. I patted the horse's neck, which was drooping down. When everyone is safe, I'll get a fresh horse and then go back to Galveston, keep an eye out for stragglers. I decided, I hadn't eaten since breakfast and wasn't really hungry or tired, we all were used to this, in the army. There wasn't time to rest or eat in times of trouble. Like this. Finally, the last person came in; I watched as they found a safe place and settled down. I dismounted and walked carefully to the stables. I nodded to those who said thank you their tones where grateful.

Soon, I came to the stables; I got a fresh horse and set back off to Galveston. The ground was barren and rocky. The sky was clear, the stars shone bright, as did the moon. I was used to the movements of the horse, it was always rough outside. I spotted three figures just as I was about one mile outside the city. Stragglers. I thought to myself. I made my way towards them; they were three women, all walking on foot. I dismounted to offer them my aid immediately. But as the moonlight lit them up, I knew that they weren't stragglers.

These three women were exceptionally beautiful, if they had been part of party, I would have remembered them. They were young enough to be called girls. They had pale skin, almost white; it glowed in the darkness like marble. The little black haired girl had Mexican features, yet she was as pale as porcelain in the dim moonlight. The tallest girl had fair blonde hair and her skin was as white as snow. The other was even blonder and her skin took on the same tone as the tallest girl.

"He's speechless," said the tall girl, her voice like wind chimes, so lovely and delicate. I saw the other blonde girl learn towards me with half closed eyes, inhaling.

"Mmm" I heard her sigh. "Lovely."

The youngest one, the Mexican one, put her hand on the girl's arm and spoke quickly, in a soft musical tone, which seemed to be intended as sharp.

"Concentrate, Nettie" the youngest said. I knew that this girl was in charge, if it had been a military group, I would have said she out ranked them. I always know people's relations with others.

"He looks right- young, strong, an officer..." The Mexican girl paused, and I tried to speak, but I was unsuccessful. "And there's something more..." she continued. "Do you sense it? He's... compelling."

"Oh yes." the girl called Nettie agreed, quickly, again leaning towards me.

"Patience." I heard the Mexican caution Nettie. "I want to keep this one."

I saw Nettie frown, she was annoyed. The taller blonde one then spoke;

"You'd better do it, Maria, if he's important to you. I kill them twice as often as keep them." she said.

"Yes, I'll do it." The one called Maria agreed. "I really do like this one. Take Nettie away, will you? I don't want to have to protect my back while I'm trying to focus."

I could feel the hair on the back of my neck standing up, even though I did not understand what these beautiful girls were talking about. Deep down, my instincts told me that something was wrong, that the girl had meant it when she had talked of killing me. But I had been taught well and my judgement won, I had never been taught to fear woman, only to protect them.

"Let's hunt," The one called Nettie agreed her voice enthusiastic. She reached for the tall girl's hand and the two ran off. They looked like ghosts with their white dresses bellowing out behind them and their pale complexion. They moved faster than the eye can see. I turned my attention back to Maria, who bore a curious expression on her face as she watched me.

Suddenly, I felt as if ghosts and other such superstitions were real. It was possible that they could exist. It was a weird feeling to feel come upon you.

"What is your name, soldier?" I heard the one called Maria ask me.

"Major Jasper Whitlock, Ma'am," I said, although it came out as a stammer. I couldn't be impolite to a woman, even if she was a ghost.

"I truly hope you survive, Jasper," she told me in her gentle voice. "I have a good feeling about you." Maria took a step closer to me and inclined her head as if she were going to kiss me. I still stood frozen in my place, even though everything inside me was saying "Run!"

She came closer and put her lips to my neck. I felt a sharp prick and blood flowed over my neck, warm, and her teeth sank in deeper. They delved deeper into my throat and then the pain started. It felt like I was being tortured by a red hot iron. The pain or fire spread down the rest of my body. It was more pain than I could cope with. I had never known so much pain in my entire life. I thought I was prepared to take on as much pain as possible but this was more. I screamed in pain but I had no idea if my voice worked. It was too much. My surroundings died. I was no longer aware of anything around me. Only this burning pain as if I were on fire. I screamed to my captor to put it out. But she appeared deaf to my cries. She was no ghost but a devil. Yet still the pain went on, searing along my veins. I stopped shouting. It was doing nothing. I tried to put my effort to a more convenient action, like trying to figure out where I was.

However I could concentrate on nothing more but the pain that infected my body and burned it to a crisp. I only just managed to focus on the sounds that went around me. They three girls were talking.

"Well done, Maria." said the one whose voice matched the tall girl's. "You managed well with this one. I don't think it will be much longer for him."

"Have you found any that might be good?" asked Maria.

"We feed on the last humans we saw. They weren't what you were after. Are you sure we need to be so fussy?" asked Nettie, her voice was soft but seemed to be a little harsh.

"We need to take care and consider everything. We want a strong and powerful army. Not those who can't fight and have no powers." Maria argued.

"How do you know if powers are true? We haven't see any, have we Lucy." Nettie said.

"There have only been tales." Lucy said.

"But I'm sure you have heard of Aro! He can know your every thought just by having contact with you." Maria said.

"The Volturi are powerful. How do we know that isn't a rumour spread around to keep us in order?" asked Lucy.

"Don't you have better things to do at the moment?" asked Nettie.

"Like explaining to our soldier what is happening? It's been two days and he hasn't screamed for ten hours." Lucy added.

Ten Hours? Two days of pain only? It seemed like years that I had been in pain and months of keeping my mouth shut. I couldn't believe how short the time was. I would have believed they were lying.

"Fine, then." Maria said. "But just wait until you see how amazing our army will be. We will never go thirsty." I heard a chair scrapped across stone, followed by two others. One pair of footsteps walked towards me. The other two walked away until I could no longer hear them. The first pair of footsteps stopped and I heard the sound of somebody sitting.

"Jasper, you are probable confused. But this sort of thing is happening all over the south. My race, vampires, are fighting a war under the noses of humans. It is a war for blood. To have such a large territory that we can drink every night. You must know some rules about the life that you are moving into. We cannot kill humans conspicuously. If we do, the vampire version of a royal family come and kill you, they are called the Volturi. When you complete the change you will feel a burning in your throat. Do not worry about this. It is called the 'thirst' and we all suffer from it. The thirst will flare up when you are near humans, even stronger if blooding is flowing out of their veins," Maria paused; her voice was full of pleasure as she spoke about the blood. As if the mental image she fed me awakened her desire. After what had happened that night I was ready to believe her. These girls seemed to only tell the truth. But the truth they told seemed tainted, unreal and sinister. "I have chosen you to be part of my army; you will soon complete the metamorphosis into a vampire. You will be strong, fast, and almighty. You have already had experience as a soldier. I will teach you techniques that will be more useful. When and where to use your teeth, how to fight against the odds in teeth to teeth conflicts." she continued.

I now had a name for her and the other two, vampires. That was what they were. No angels or ghosts, something that folklore said was much more terrible. Then Maria had spoken of me becoming one and more fights to come. I wondered whether the fighting of humans provoked these vampires or could it be the other way around. These questions I guessed I may find the answer. Yet the pain still seared onwards. Slowly, it left the outer regions of my body. I realised that my hearing had vastly improved. Outside I could hear horses going past, people on foot. Further away, I don't know how far, a battle ragged. A one with gunshots. I wondered whether I would have been in that. Would I have died if I wasn't becoming a vampire? But then, wasn't a vampire dead? I turned over the possibilities that it was my destiny to die. One, as a human to be forever silenced. The second as a vampire, to be moving, thinking, feeling but not living, never going forwards. I knew the former option was the best. To have died with honour on the open fields, not to a woman and then fight other battles.

But I still lived. I had never been in a battle and maybe this would offer me the excitement that had first encouraged me to join up in the army, even if I was too young. The pain was now coming to the heart, which was still beating. I could hear it clearly. It was picking up pace as if it were racing time, which it was. It seemed to take off like a hawk. The pain was unbearable. I cried out, unable to keep the quietness I had maintained for who knew how long. There was a sound of footsteps moving a lot quicker than a humans but I could make each step out. I could tell that there were three of them. The vampires. They had come to be ready to greet me when this pain ceased. At least I presumed it would cease. I couldn't help but wither in pain, trying to put out the fire. My heart ran so fast it no longer beat, it held as on constant sound. Then nothing. Silence.

I opened my eyes. I could now move under my own control. I could see each dust moat that floated around in the sky, like they were moving in some sort of slowed jig. I breathed in and the jig suddenly speeds. The air plunged into my lungs but I didn't need it. The only reason I breathed appeared to be because of the scents that hit the roof of my mouth. Sweet scents from the girls, the vampires. The whole house smelt of dust. It hadn't been in use for ages. It was wooden and falling down in places. It was night outside. I could smell the honeysuckle and hear the insects buzzing, a night's chorus. My throat seemed to still be on fire. I wanted to quench it. I knew this to be called the 'thirst.' from what Maria had told me. Nettie and Lucy both had blood red eyes; I remember their eyes being black when we first met. Maria's had stayed the same black colour, like cold opals. The thirst in my throat burned. It felt hot and dry, like the midday out on the plains. It wasn't a pleasant feeling.

"You are awake." Maria said, she seemed happy, pleased with herself. I felt the emotions rolling off her. I was always good at sensing how others were feeling but this was different. Instead of sensing I was feeling. It was a strange sensation, to feel what others were feeling. I tried to swallow, to stiffen the burn in my throat but the action didn't work.

"He's thirsty." Nettie said.

"Maria, why don't you take him out and get him accustomed to this life. You should feed soon, anyway. We will lie low around here." Lucy said.

"That sounds like a good plan." Maria said, looking over to her two fellow vampires. "Come, Jasper." she said, heading towards the door. I followed, automatically. She was in charge and I knew that I currently was outranked by all three. They would have no problems disposing of me. We walked out into the humid night. The water seemed to condense of our skin. I could now see that it was. I wondered why but the question was answered when Maria took my hand and led me swiftly out of the town, moving at a speed that would make humans think us as ghosts. He hand was colder than everything else. But it felt warm to me. Everything else was hotter than usual. So I knew that vampires had cold skin. Maria led me far away from the town into the middle of an open plain.

"Jasper, you will automatically know how to hunt and basic fighting moves. I will teach you how to be a fighter better than any newborn. We shall hunt tonight so that you can be distracted from your thirst, although it will remain it won't be so strong." Maria said. "We will go to the next town and drink." Maria said. She then started running, I followed, the power felt amazing, godlike. We arrived in the next town in a few minutes. A journey that would have taken a few hours by foot. Maria silently slipped into the town. She was looking up at the windows. They were all open. She paused outside one, tensing, and then she leaped up and landed silently on the windowsill. She gave a nod of the head telling me to follow her. She slipped in. I made the leap. It was easy but I still had to keep the silence which required some concentration. I then followed Maria in. I could see a man sleeping in the bed. Maria had dumped a woman's body on the floor. I realised that the woman had been knocked out. No blood was spilled. I wanted to protest for the woman's life to fight for it as I had been taught. However I was sure that this was not the way my life would lead. I would have to kill woman and children before the end.

"I'll take my share away. I don't want a fight on my hands. Just bite and suck the blood up." Maria said and then she took the unconscious body away. Now that I was no longer concentrating on her the smell of the human's blood hit me. It smelt so good; I could imagine thousands of different ways to get at the blood, to savour the warm, sweet taste as it poured down my throat. The quenching solution to my parched throat. My throat flared up and it was too painful to stay. I moved without thinking towards the sleeping body. I was by the bed, the man was still. I leaned in, quickly, faster than I had run. My lips hit the warm flesh of the human's; I could feel the blood pulsing as if it was aware of the danger. In that split second I could almost taste the blood. Then I sank my teeth in without thinking. I drank heavily. The blood was so sweet and flavoursome. It flowed quickly and smoothly from the man into my parched throat. It felt good and the burning in my throat seemed to die down, to quieten. I felt as if my body was trembling in delight at this wonderful taste, the sensation of drinking blood. It was the best thing I had ever tasted in my whole life. I could have closed my eyes in delight at the taste, the texture. Although it brought me pleasure it also brought me disgust. I didn't know I could love the taste of another man's life so much. It seemed to barely take any time at all. The corpse was soon finished, no more blood to be had and the fire had turned to embers.

I looked over to the doorway. I heard Maria coming up. She watched me and looked into my eyes, hers had become blood red. "It's good, isn't it?" she asked. I didn't move but the look in my face told her all she needed to know. The fact that my throat was better, that the blood had given me such enjoyment. "We all feel like this. It is the only way we can live. We all have to fight so we can feed otherwise the fire will get us. That is why you are now one of us. We... I need you. So we can quench the fire that forever burns." she told me. I knew that I wanted more blood, even if my throat was no longer dry. I understood why we had to fight. It made sense after what I had felt. The lust for blood was the only reason we existed. It was the core of us. We lived off it, but in the end it brought us the fight that Maria kept talking about.

"Shall we leave?" asked Maria. I wondered why she asked that. She was obviously the one who was in charge. Why should my opinion mater to her. Maria shifted. "We shall, then." she said.

She leaped out the window, her dress billowing as the wind rushed by her. She landed, silent as a ghost. I followed. Maria turned to look at the house. She struck a match and threw it into the lower window that was open. She watched as it wooden building quickly caught fire.

"Fire!" she shouted, then she ran away quickly, before any human could see her and I followed, keeping the same pace as her but remaining just behind her. It took a second or two for us to get out of the town and we were soon speeding across the plain. The air rushed past, giving an exhilarating feeling I hadn't noticed while the thirst had burned at my throat. Maria stopped by a stream, which barely flowed. It was the dry season and the streams usually dried up and the rivers became the new streams. She bent down to study the ground. "Good chance that they will come back later." she muttered to herself. She stood up, quickly.

"I'm going to take you back." she told me, and then she ran away from the stream and back to the town which held the house where I had been turned. We silently entered the sleeping town and then moved into the house.

"You're back early." Nettie said, looking into my eyes. I saw Lucy's eyes flicker to mine as well. I wondered why they did this.

"I saw prospects of getting more for our army." Maria said.

"More soldiers?" asked Lucy.

"Leaving the battle field. I saw their tracks. I think they will come back for the injured." Maria told them.

"We'll look after this one." Nettie promised.

"He'll be fine on his own." Lucy added.

Maria gave a nod and then left. I turned to look back at the two I had been left with.

"We shall take you to your quarters." Lucy said. She walked out another door and into what must be the basement.

"You are to stay here until we come for you, understood, Jasper?" Nettie asked. I guessed that Maria had told then my name.

"Yes, Ma'am." I said. The two left, closing the door behind them. I was left alone. There was no light but I could see everything clearly, even without the help of the moon. The whole place was almost empty. A table had been shoved to the side and a cloth draped over it. Three chairs were positioned around it. I guessed that it would be pulled out when Maria, Nettie and Lucy wanted a conference, to discuss tactics. There were beams that held the celling up. The floor was made of stone. I noticed how the place wasn't made for comfort. But as a soldier this wasn't too bad. To have a roof to sleep under was something that we didn't get. We usually had to camp out. There was a mirror at one side of the room. I walked over to it, wondering whether I would be able to see the reason why they kept on looking at my eyes. I then caught sight of my reflection.

The person who looked out from the mirror didn't look like me. He had pale skin, which looked like alabaster. He had the same hair as me and the same sort of features but it was more... handsome. I struggled with that word. It was something that we soldiers never thought about, nor applied to ourselves. But the thing that drew my attention most was the eyes. They had become blood red. They shone with an almost sinister look. I blinked and so did my reflection. The eye colour remained. I understood why Maria's eyes had changed when we had hunted, why Nettie and Lucy had different coloured eyes after they hunted. The blood made vampire eyes turn red. As the thirst grew the eyes darkened. I turned away from my reflection. It brought nothing. I turned back to remember the last night I had been human. It was weird, though. The memory was foggy, like I was trying to see with mud in my eyes and ears. As I concentrated it grew clearer and logged in my mind. The human memories were harder to remember than ever. But the memories of the fire and everything else after that was so clear. When I thought about it, it was like it was happening again. This new life was different from what I was used to. I then heard the door open. It was Maria, I could smell her scent. She was carrying a person, no, two people who were in pain. I wondered whether they were becoming vampires, like me. I almost winced as I thought about what they would be going through. I remained still, listening to the pleading cried of the two men to put out their fire. To kill them. I knew that they would be confused. Like how I had been they wouldn't understand as they entered this new life. I looked around the room again and notice another door. I walked over to it and another scent hit me. It was more vampires. Male, six of them. It was surprising to be able to know so much just from the scent that flowed under the small gap from the door way.

Then I heard footsteps from the other door. Maria was coming down the stairs. I turned and watched as the door opened and Maria walked in. She silently walked over to me. "We are to begin some of your training. First, I will teach you to be invisible to the humans. Then some battle skills. Then you will be able to meet the other six I have already found." Maria told me. I waited for her next words. "Right now, you are constantly moving faster than humans would. You must learn to be able to speak, walk, and run slow when around humans. But never get too close. Only go out at dusk with one of us. This way they won't notice you." she told me. I noticed her voice had slowed. I guessed this was what she meant by speaking slower, like a human. "Do you understand?" she asked.

"Yes, Ma'am." I said, making sure that I kept my voice slower so it matched the speed that she talked at.

"Just call me Maria." she said. I didn't know what she was getting at. She was in charge. She should have a title. I nodded.

"I'm trying to get you used to speaking in like a human. If you are walking out at dusk and they hear you say 'Yes Ma'am' you will draw more attention to yourself. You must refrain you politeness for when we are in a safe place, like this." she told me.

"Yes, Maria. I understand." I said. It felt strange speaking so slow but I knew I would get used to it.

"Good, Jasper. How are you?" she asked.

"Fine, thank you. And you?" I asked, playing along with her.

"I'm very well, Jasper." she said, remaining at human speed. "Very good. Whenever speaking, please keep at this pace as practise." she told me. "Now we move onto walking." she said, she took my arm and started to walk as slow as a human. I froze for a split second then followed he example.

"You are very good at this, Jasper." Maria said. "Some take a lot longer. But running will be harder. Try this."

Maria ran over to the other side, leaving me. He pace was slow as if she was walking at normal vampire speed. I tried, but I got across quicker than I should have. Maria looked at me.

"That was too fast." she said. "Show me again." I again ran across, trying to keep slow. It wasn't very easy and took several attempts before I perfected it. I could sense that the sun was now up. The screaming from upstairs still continued. I managed to ignore it. I found it almost as difficult as running like a human. With my new senses, it was harder to concentrate. Maria seemed happy about how well I had been doing.

"I'm going to teach you some fighting techniques." she told me. We spent the rest of the day going over fighting moves, how to dodge attacks, how to be as fast as lightning. How to keep my concentration on the fight. With all the detail coming so strong and clear when you were moving at such speeds it was a bit hard to remain focused. But not too hard to master in less than a day.

"Well done. I'm going to introduce you to the others who I will refer as your brothers." Maria said, opening the door which contained the six other male vampires. "I will be back tomorrow." Maria said. "Stay there until then."

I walked in and Maria closed the door behind me. I could see six others, sitting or standing around. Some leant against the walls, casually. Others sat in corners tracing patterns into the floor. A pair were arguing and I could see eyes flickering towards them. I wasn't sure what to do. As I stepped further into the room all eyes flickered towards me. I let myself feel calm. I always noticed that when I let myself be calm others would often follow. Most eyes turned away, the only two pairs that remained were from the two who had been fighting. I could sense a lot of anger coming from them. One stepped towards me menacingly. I noticed in the corner of the room a small pile of ash. I blinked. I hadn't smelt it earlier but now that I directed my sense of smell towards it I could tell that it had once been a vampire.

"So, we have another new comer." said the first. The second walked towards me.

"Shall we see how long he can last?" asked the second. All eyes had turned back to me. These two were extremely angry and a fight was unavoidable. The first ran at me, I quickly stepped aside, putting my foot out. He tripped and whacked into the wall, which crumbled, but not all the way through. The second leapt at me, I instinctively ducked, then grabbed the body as it flew past me. I push it into the floor. By this time, the first had recovered. He now was walking around, more careful. He had seen how strong I was. The second was just recovering. Then, the first flew at me. I again stepped out of his path, but grabbed his arm with such force that it tore off. I was left with an arm in my hands. I tossed it over to one side. The second was up now and both ran in unison towards me. As they came from opposite directions, I grabbed their heads as they ran past and leapt up. I then flipped forwards and their heads came for. I landed and turned to look at them. The bodies had fallen to the ground. I could feel the heads trying to get back to the rest of its body. I could see the arm I had pulled off moving towards the body with one arm. One of the vampires who had watched picked up the arm and set it on fire with a match.

"Put the heads with the body." he ordered. I dropped the two heads and watched as he set the bodies and heads alight. The fire smelt nice, like vampires. Sweet. I watched as the flames licked at the air, making the warm room go hotter and hotter still. I knew the scent would be flowing around the house. Any vampire would be able to smell it. I hoped what I had done wasn't bad.

I moved to the side, like the others. I watched them warily. In case they attacked me, like the two others. No one else moved but I could sense the tension around me. It was a very strong tension. I waited during the rest of the night and now the day. The screams from upstairs had died hours ago. Now I could hear three footsteps coming down the stairs. Two, the louder and faster ones stopped in the other room. I guessed these must be two new vampires. The last pair stopped at the door and opened it. Maria looked across the room. She saw the large pile of ash in the middle.

"Who did this?" she asked. All eyes turned towards me. I stood up. It was my fault and I was prepared to face the punishments. He looked at me. I felt pride coming from her. She was also impressed but ever so slightly annoyed.

"Well done, Jasper." she told me. "Follow me." She stood and I walked towards her. When I reached her and turned and lead me back into the other room. She closed the door. I could see the two other new vampires. They had red eyes and hung about nervously. Both had dark brown hair. I didn't recognise them, although they wore uniform. "Newborns." she whispered to me. I had heard her use that word before. It seemed that all new vampires were called newborns.

Maria led me up the stairs. I saw Lucy gliding past. She stopped when she saw us.

"So, has your soldier turned out to be a good choice?" she asked, her eyes widening in surprise.

"He destroyed two of the strongest." Maria said.

"You can't be happy that you have to replace them." Lucy said, as if I wasn't there.

"But Jasper has proven to be a strong soldier." Maria said thoughtfully.

"So is he getting rewarded?" asked Lucy.

"Yes. We were just leaving." Maria said. She then turned and led me to the door. She leaned against the wall.

"Jasper, are you up for another drink?" she asked me, casually. I knew she was talking about blood. My throat flared up at the thought. I wanted more blood. It had been only a day since I had last drunk. I didn't know how long we could last without blood but I did know I wanted more. I could remember seeing some of the vampires with darker eyes. I guessed our eyes darkened the longer we had gone without blood. But because the thirst had been mentioned it was now there. I hadn't noticed it earlier. It had just been a dull ember. It wasn't fair that just the mention could set it off.

"Yes, Maria:" I said, remembering not to refer to her as Ma'am because there were some people walking out in the late night.

"Do you think you can manage by yourself?" Maria asked. "Just make sure that no other human sees you drink."

"I can do that." I told her. Even if the thirst wasn't as bad as it had been I would be willing to do anything to drink again. As a human came by close, I could smell their blood, which continued to play with the fire in my throat.

"I'll meet you back here, Jasper." Maria told me. "You can hunt in this area."

Maria then walked off. I turned and headed in the opposite direction. I smelt the humans, looking for one I could lure away. Then, I smelt one turn into an alley. I followed, being as inconspicuous as possible, like what Maria had taught me. Being nothing more than a shadow in a shadow. The person was a beggar. They had no home other than a few blankets in an alley that had no doors or windows. It was perfect. I moved towards my prey. When I was within a meter I pounced, moving like lightning towards my hapless prey. The beggar didn't have time to scream as my teeth easily sliced into his neck. I drank the blood, quickly, allowing the great pleasure was through me, like waves on a beach. I shivered in delight, I didn't know if the taste could ever become old. It was just too fresh and taste for anyone to get bored of it. I closed my eyes, it was so good, and it made me feel like I was relaxing and getting excited at the same time. The human soon had now blood left in him. I knew I had to clear away the evidence. I quickly dug a shallow grave with my bare hands and put the body in it. It took no time to cover the body back up and smooth the ground. No one would be able to tell that the human's body lay just under a few meters of earth and sand.

I looked around, sniffing the air. No humans were passing by the entrance to the alley that I was in. I walked along the shadows and to the edge. Peering around I could see that not a soul was in sight. I stepped out into the night wondering where Maria was. I guessed I should wait for her. I leaned against the wall by which we had spoken by only a few minutes ago. Her scent was heavy around the area. Mine also lingered around. It was weird, being able to smell what I smelled like and to be able to recognise it. I kept an eye out for any humans and for Maria. But it was simpler just to use my nose. I could scent anything coming towards me. A human passed and didn't even glance in my direction. I had smelt them coming and a dull ache came into my throat. I felt full from all that I had drunk. I guessed that I wasn't so thirsty which was why my throat didn't set alight. Then I caught the smell of Maria. She was coming towards me at the pace of a human.

Turning, to look in her direction, I saw Maria heading straight to towards me. Her eyes were brighter than they had been earlier. I knew she had hunted too, like me. Her eyes rested on mine. Lingering for just a split second. I knew she was checking that I had feasted upon a human. After all that seemed to be the reward for beating the two vampires who were now nothing more than ashes in the basement that was now my home. It wasn't a bad reward. It was the best reward I felt. Nothing but human blood could satisfy me. It was blood that we all craved. Even Maria.

"Jasper." she said. "I have a little proposition for you." she smiled, showing pure white teeth, even though she had just drunken human blood. "If you continue to be so good at staying alive and destroying other vampires then I may promote you. But do understand that I do want a large enough army so we can feast as much as we like." she told me.

"I understand, Maria." I replied, I could tell she was being truthful. I remembered how I had tried to get higher in the army and managed it. Even though I was new. It had been so good.

"For now, you will return back to the rest of your brothers. You are currently all equal." she told me. I gave her a curt nod to show I understood.

"Good." Maria smiled and she turned around and led the way back into the house that was her home and held my new quarters. Wordlessly, I followed her. Back into the place that held where I must stay. Inside the house, and down the stairs, I kept a meter behind Maria. She was going to check on the new vampires that she had turned. As she opened the first door, she motioned for me to go through.

Swiftly, I walked past the newborns, my head down. I opened the door to my shared quarters and went in. Eyes turned in my direction, some bright but not nearly as bright as mine, others dark. The owners of the dark eyes gave off a longing emotion, as if they wished it had been them instead of me who had the chance to go and drink the blood. However, as I concentrated on the emotions around me, I realised that they all did. I was not the first nor last to crave blood more than anything else the world had to offer me. It was the one thing we all shared at this moment in time. A craving so powerful that we killed for it. Killing was the only way to satisfy the pain, the burn, the lust for what we had lost. The liquid life, that flowed in the veins of the living.

Thank you for reading. I do not own the Twilight Saga and this story is based off Stephanie Meyer's description of Jasper's history. I hope you have enjoyed it, more will hopefully be put up at a later date.