Gah! I'm nervous about posting this! First, thank you to my beta TheTinyDancer! She has long put up with me - I can't thank her enough, she is amazing! Second, thank you to Project Team Beta for lending me Lost in a musical daydream and LoveLeVampyre – I loved the feedback and corrections!

Lastly, I own nothing Twilight – Ms. Meyer does!

Chapter One

Bloodlust

It was pitch black. I couldn't see my own hand as I held it out to guide me. Teetering forward a little more into the house, I hovered in what I thought was a doorway.

"Zoe?" I called out quietly. "Zo Zo?"

There was no answer. I frowned.

"Zoe, come out now," I said with a bit more authority. A pool of light spilled into the room as a second door was pushed open, illuminating the horror scene before me. I gasped, my breaths ragged.

Sprawled on the ground were two bodies, or at least what was left of them. They were scarcely identifiable as humans; their remains had been brutally attacked, hacked and bitten. It was gruesome, like a horror film. Bile rose to my throat.

My eyes cast from the bloodbath to across the room, toward the second doorway opposite me. Biting my lip furiously, so as not to make the horrified sound that was about to escape my lips, I tried to compose myself.

"It's all right, sweetheart," I cooed.

My little sister cast her eyes down, her fists curled in balls at her side.

"It was an accident," she whispered.

"I know," I said. "I'll take care of it. Don't worry." We played the same song and dance every time; it was a well rehearsed routine. "Go wait outside, okay? I'll try and be quick; then we can get you washed up."

The beam of light cast over the room disappeared as the second door closed again. Before I could blink, my sister was at my side. I could feel her warm hands over mine, the sticky wetness of the blood from her dripping fingers squelching into my own.

"I'm sorry," her tiny voice whispered from the darkness.

"I know," I replied. "Get back in the car. I will fix this."

The warmth left my hand, and within seconds I heard the front door slam. Once alone, I took a breath for myself.

It's okay, I told myself. This will be the last time…

Wiping my bloody hand down my pants, I stretched out my other and felt along the wall. I flipped on the switch and lit up the hallway. It was a dingy place, not much of a home. I could smell the must and dampness, but it barely covered the smell that was waiting for me in the living room.

After pacing the small hallway for a few minutes, I took another breath and headed back outside into the stiff, cold air.

As soon as I stepped out onto the porch, I vomited violently. My throat was on fire by the time I had finished. Once the nausea had subsided, I straightened up, wiping my mouth.

As I sidestepped the mess, I heard the car door open.

"Stay inside," I ordered, then softened my tone. "Please."

It wasn't her fault. It really wasn't.

The cold air stung my face as I walked down the porch steps. I could feel Zoe's eyes on me as I opened the trunk of the car, but ignored her stare as I lifted out the can of gasoline with a firm grip.

X-x-X

The smoke was noticeable through the forest by the time we reached our cabin. Once we were inside, I could hear the blare of the fire trucks wailing in the distance. Before long there would be a report of two dead bodies, but we'd be long gone before they could identify the remains.

"Bella?" Zoe murmured as I tucked her into her bed. All traces of what had happened earlier had been washed off from her long soak in the bath.

Zoe resembled me so much. It was like looking into a mirror, except a much younger version; snow white skin, with dark hair tumbling down her back. The only difference was that her eyes were a few shades lighter than mine, and she had a pinch of rose in her cheeks, unlike me.

And unlike me, she had a strong bloodlust that she was unable to control, even though she was still half human.

"Hmm?" I smiled as I tucked strands of her hair off her face and behind her ears.

"Do you think God's real?" Zoe's bright eyes were tinged with sadness.

"I'm not sure, sweetheart. Try to get some sleep; we're back on the road again tomorrow at first light."

"I don't think God's real," Zoe said. "He wouldn't have made me like this if he was."

"Don't say that, Zo," I whispered. My heart felt like lead. For the hundredth time, I wished I could take her pain away.

"I'm a bad person," she said quietly before she turned her back to me and went still.

Leaning into to her, my lips brushed her warm cheek.

"You're my sister and I don't care what you are or what you have done. I love you and nothing will change that." Pulling back I sighed softly. "Good night, sweetheart. I'll see you in the morning."

With no reply, I got off the bed and tiptoed across the small room. Leaving the bedside lamp on, I closed the door half way just as I heard Zoe reply.

"I love you, too," she whispered. "To the moon and back!"

Smiling a little, I crept down the hall and sank to the floor outside the bedroom next to Zoe's. Pulling my knees close to my chest, I lay my head against them and closed my eyes. My smile was fading fast as the nights events played out through my head over and over. While I was cleaning up after her I was genuinely fine, but all my worries swarmed back into my mind.

It was all spiraling out of control. They weren't her first kills, and it probably wouldn't be her last. It was entirely my fault; that much I knew. I hadn't realized Zoe was stealing the blood supply that I had managed to obtain. We had a deal: three a day with each meal. She was allowed more if she asked me first. Of course I wouldn't have deprived her of the blood that she craved so badly.

A donated supply was far better than an unwilling one.

When I realized there were no blood bags left, it was too late. Two more deaths were on my conscience as a result of my utter lack of attention to keep an eye on my sister.

The guilt swarming inside me was getting too much. I needed to take better care of the situation.

We needed more blood.

-x-x-

When I checked on Zoe after an hour, she was sound asleep. I kissed her forehead and tucked her favorite stuffed elephant, Rory, into her chest before quietly leaving her room. I grabbed my car keys and crept out of the cabin.

It was a cloudless night, the stars so bright and beautiful that I couldn't help the smile that stretched across my face. The prettiest sight, for me, was the night sky. It was a bonus if the moon was full. That night, though, it was only half crescent, but still as beautiful, like a spotlight over the log cabin.

The night creatures were quieter than usual, but I suspected the fire a few miles through the forest was the explanation for that.

With that as a reminder, I sighed as I unlocked the car. I didn't like to leave Zoe, but I needed to do this on my own.

When we arrived at the cabin over a week ago, I mapped out the hospital in case of emergencies like this, so I knew I wouldn't have to drive far. My only problem was that it was a small town, which meant a smaller hospital and a bigger chance of being noticed. It would have been easier for Zoe, who was smaller and much faster, to help, but there was no way I was going to risk having her anywhere near a hospital.

As I opened the car door, something felt wrong. An uneasy feeling crept through me like ice cold water tricking down my back. Something was watching me from the trees. I could feel unseen eyes on my back.

I was too scared to turn around. I could feel my pulse beating in my neck. Run, I was dead. Do nothing, I was dead. I was defenseless.

"Humans aren't normally that perceptive," a soothing voice said. I didn't dare move. My heart rocketed.

"I've never quite been a normal human," I whispered. My voice was steadier than I'd anticipated. She wasn't the first vampire to creep up on me. Silent as they may be, I seemed to develop a sixth sense when they were around.

The woman behind me was closer now. She laughed. She was genuinely amused.

"Oh, I can see that." A pale reflection shone in the car window. With the brightness of the moon, I could see her eyes glaring at me.

A shiver ran through me as we locked gazes.

A haunting memory from the past burned my brain, but I didn't lose composure. They fed on fear.

"What is she?" the woman asked. Her curiosity was clear as a bell.

"I think you can work it out," I said, my voice hardening.

"Oh, yes," she agreed. "I watched from afar as the thirst for blood overcame her. Yet…her heart beats."

Her voice went up an octave higher and there was a moment of silence before she voiced the answer to the riddle she'd been intrigued by, as though she hadn't known all along.

"Half vampire…half human."

"Excellent observation skills," I said sarcastically. It was stupid, but I always did have trouble biting my tongue.

The woman laughed. The sound tinkered out into the still night.

"She isn't your daughter, or you'd probably be dead. Sister, perhaps?"

I didn't answer, pressing my lips together defiantly.

"Sister it is then. How old is she?" the vampire went on while I remained silent."Age is just a number, I suppose. What a curious creature. Who would have thought…a hybrid vampire?"

"You're not taking her!" My fear wasn't that Zoe's nature would be suspected by humans, but by the vampires. They only had to kill me, the mere human, and she would be alone; free for the taking.

"I don't intend to," the woman said. "I was simply passing through when I saw your beautiful little sister suck the life out of those hunters. My curiosity got the better of me."

"Well, now you know what she is, you can leave."

"Calm down, little human. I just thought you would like this gift before I moved on." A cool hand touched my shoulder and I flinched as if it was made of electricity.

The hand left my shoulder instantly, and by my feet the woman placed a blue cooler. "Blood bags."

My heart was in my throat as I processed what she was saying.

"Why?"

I couldn't manage a fuller sentence. The scarlet eyes met mine in the window once more.

"Think of it as a kind gesture," she said sweetly.

"Bullshit," I spat, finding my voice again in anger. "If you want to kill me then go ahead. But my sister will never go with you. Ever! And I certainly don't need your help!"

Before I could pick up the cooler to shove it back in her face, my body was slammed into the hood of the car. The vampire pressed into me with a firm grip over my neck.

"Don't be ungrateful, you little bitch," she snarled at me. All the sweetness had disappeared from her voice in an instant. I didn't have time to be scared as she pushed her weight into me. Her demon eyes narrowed with a calculating look. This must be how victims felt before they had their life sucked out of them.

"Who is her father?" she asked, her voice low and fierce.

"I don't know," I stammered. The hold over my neck tightened. The pain was almost unbearable and my lungs were on fire at the lack of air.

"I…don't…know!" My eyes watered as I tried to pry her off me to no avail. My senses were dulling as her hold tightened. I felt like a mouse getting crushed by a boa constrictor.

Seeming to know that she was going to kill me before I could answer, the woman's grip loosened. Gasping for breath, I tried to struggle away from her. Letting me up even more, I massaged my neck. There was no point in running. I knew how fast those things could run. I would be dead in five seconds flat.

"You must know!"

Something caught the woman's attention. Her head tilted towards the trees as if someone had called her name. Her gaze returned to mine, all the anger spilled away from her face. She nodded to the blood.

"My parting gift," she said before she trailed off into the trees. I watched as the quiver of her red hair disappeared into the darkness.

A/N - Zoe is not going to age like the hybrid vampires do in the book. I am sorry for changing it, but my way works better for the story. I will let you guys know what I've changed later on in future chapters.

Also, Victoria will pop-up again, which is why she appeared seemingly random here.

Comments/feedback is much appreciated :-)

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