1646, chapter 1
Heavy rain battered the cobblestones and thick clouds covered the moon as we set out. The party consisted of myself, Carlisle Cullen, and a handful of men from the church, with a riled up mob in tow. I had succeeded my father in his duties, but unlike him I was not so quick to dole out judgment. Where he had seen evil in every corner, I had been less enthusiastic to burn witches and slay demons but through diligent, perhaps foolhardy, work I had found that there were indeed such things lurking beneath the streets of London. I had learned where these beasts usually emerged, and had planned accordingly. We would block off the alley and corner them. That was our mission this night; to put an end to these abominations, these vampires.
The cold, damp air of the autumn night bit straight through any and all garments, and the rain made it all the worse. I could hear the torches crackle behind me as we marched down the street, towards the alleyway from where I expected the vampires to emerge. As I turned the final corner I could see the silhouette of a man in the street. Just as quickly as I had seen it, I could hear it hissing a few muffled words in to the alley, perhaps a warning to its kin. Then it turned and ran. I gave chase through the empty streets and some of the clergymen followed closely behind. Quite unexpectedly the vampire turned on the spot. For a split second I could see the outline of a mans face in the barely present moonlight and just as I noticed the the fire from the torches reflected in the jet-black eyes, he lunged at my throat. I fell backwards, hitting the back of my head on the hard cobblestones. As I scrambled under the creatures immense strength I could feel a sharp pain shooting through my body as the vampire sunk its teeth in to my shoulder. In my flailing fall it must have missed my throat, sparing my life. The other members of the party were not far behind however and so the beast leaped off of me, striking at the men who followed. With a single fierce blow the first man fell limp to the ground and the second succumbed to the beasts strong hands with a snap of the neck. A third unfortunate soul was knocked of his feet and, in a display of incredible strength, the silhouette of the vampire grabbed him by the ankle and shot off down the street. My mind was racing, the pain from both the bite and the blow to my head almost overwhelming me. "I can't return to father like this." I thought to myself. I knew all too well what he would do with anything, or anyone, infected by evil. I had seen it first hand many a time. With an instinct of self-preservation I crawled off in the commotion as the mob ran past, chasing the beast and his snatched victim. I found my way in to a cellar, and there I hid.
Three days I spent in that dirty cellar, hiding myself under sacks of molding potatoes. The pain was tremendous and I had to devote all my concentration and willpower to not scream out in agony. By nightfall on the third day, however, the pain eased. At first I was relieved to no longer see pain induced flashes before my waking eyes, but that relief was short lived. As I looked down on my hands I could see that they were now incredibly pale, and as vivid images from my encounter with the vampire flashed before my eyes I realized what I had become.