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Chapter One: Reborn

Edward kissed my forehead, and then he was gone. Gone from the place he had stood moments ago, and gone from my life.

As I began to picture my life without Edward, everything inside me crumbled, and I ran. I ran in the direction Edward had gone, because I knew in order for me to survive I had to find him. I knew it was probably useless, though. Edward could run faster than the speed of light, and I could only run at a slow human pace. But I had to try.

Of course, my human clumsiness caught up with me a second later as I tripped over a tree root and fell to the ground. I only had myself to blame for my fall, because I been too focused on Edward and not the ground I had been running on.

When I hit the ground I went numb, because I knew then that it was truly over; there was no way I could catch up to him. I let the numbness wash over me as I stared blankly at the tree in front of me. Numbness was better than the searing pain that was threatening to take over my heart. I don't know how long I lay in that spot, and I didn't really care. I did, however, care when my numbness was interrupted.

"Well, well, well…what do we have here?" a high pitched voice asked.

I knew the person was waiting for me to respond, but I didn't even move my head to see who it was because I didn't care.

"You know, it's rude not to look at someone when they are talking to you," said the high pitched voice, and I could tell that whoever it was, they were angered by my rudeness.

"Sorry," I mumbled, still looking at the tree and not the person I was talking to.

"Your rudeness wouldn't have anything to do with your precious Edward, would it?" the voice asked, effectively pulling me out of my personal black hole. I glanced up to look at the owner of the high pitched voice for the first time, and gasped when I saw who it was. Standing there in all her fiery glory was James's mate, Victoria.

"Good to see you again, Bella," Victoria snapped, and I couldn't help but think that it was anything but good to see her again.

"What are you doing here?" I managed to choke out as fear overtook me. Not knowing what to do, I forced myself to stand and face her.

"Why I am here to kill you, of course," Victoria said, like it was no big deal.

"What?" I asked because it was the only thing my fear-clouded brain could come up with.

"Well, your Edward killed my mate James, so I thought it was only fair to return the favor," Victoria said while glaring at me.

"Edward's gone," I said, as if it would have an effect on her sick plan.

"Where did he go?" Victoria asked, and I could tell she was disappointed he wouldn't be here to witness my death.

"I don't know. He said I wasn't good for him anymore, and he left," I responded quickly as the pain in my heart flared.

"You're hurting pretty bad right now, aren't you? I can see it in your face," Victoria said. It was clear from the smile growing on her face that my pain amused her.

"Yes," I said quietly.

"Hmm, that's good. I can use that," Victoria said with an evil glint in her eye.

"What?" I asked, wondering how she could use my pain.

"I am not going to kill you, after all," Victoria announced.

"You're not?" I asked.

"No, because if I killed you, that would take away all of your pain and heartache. I don't want to do that, so I am going to change you instead," Victoria explained as she stepped towards me.

"Why would you change me?" I asked as I took a step backwards.

"I am changing you so that you can live forever without Edward, just as I have to live forever without James," Victoria said, and I had to admit it sounded like a good plan. It did have one big flaw, however, that she obviously didn't see. The flaw was simple; there was always a chance that I could see Edward again, because he wasn't dead like James was. I didn't find it necessary to share this with Victoria because I was afraid if I did she would kill me.

Victoria must have noticed that I was distracted, because all of a sudden she was behind me grabbing my hair and pulling my head back. I didn't even try to fight as her lips lowered to my neck, because I knew it would be useless. I screamed as she bit into my neck, dropped me on the ground, and ran.

I felt the venom spread through my body, and I tried to hold back my screams from the fire-like pain.

Later, I don't how much later, but I heard voices calling my name, and I knew I had to hide because there was no way I could explain the pain I was in. I shoved myself behind some nearby tress and hoped it was enough cover, because I was in too much pain to move any farther. Eventually the voices faded away, and the woods were silent except for a few whimpers from me every now and then.

The burning acid continued to work through my body, attacking each nerve and muscle with a vengeance. I had no concept anymore of time or of my surroundings. All that existed was the pain.

When the pain in my arms and legs started to fade, I was relieved. The relief was short-lived, however, once I became acutely aware of the increasing pain in my chest. After a minute the only pain I had was in my chest, and it was so severe that I had to put my hand over my mouth to keep from screaming. My heartbeat raced frantically, and the pain built until finally my heart gave one last thump, then stopped.

Once I was sure that the pain was gone, I sat up and looked at the world for the first time through eyes that now belonged to a vampire.

AN: Thanks to my beta fnmom68! REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW PLEASE :)