Chapter One

I was naked. I was covered in blood. I was burning.

There were bodies. So many bodies around me, littering the corridor of darkness I was crouched in. An alley, my mind supplied.

One of the bodies twitched, and my mouth latched onto his throat before I had the chance to think. I sucked the last of his life from him, his blood soothing that forever present burning. It had been years since I'd been on a bender like this. I don't even remember what started it.

The last thing I remembered was being in a bar, entertaining two men with Edward.

Edward…

Where was he? Normally, he would be here indulging with me. Where was here, exactly?

I kicked the bodies around until I found a woman. I took her clothes and tried to figure out how to put them on myself. There were so little of them… Holes in places that should not have holes.

Once everything was in place, or at least, was not falling off me, I took a jacket from one of the men. Even with the coat, these clothes left me feeling over exposed.

There was nothing to be done about the bodies, I had no other way to cover my tracks, than to rip them apart, hiding my bite marks.

Exiting the alley, my senses were assaulted. The lights, the sounds, the smells. It was too much. So many lights. They were everywhere, so bright after the darkness of the alley. All of them flashing, each saying something different. What were they? God, the smells were horrendous. With the smell of fresh blood from the massacre in the alley gone, I could now smell the thousands of bodies that had walked past this spot. Sweat, sex, urine. All burning my sensitive nose. There was a screech, but not from a person. It was so loud, reverberating through my head, coming from so many of these bizarre metal boxes. They remind me of the horseless carriages, but sleeker, louder, yet quieter.

Something clearly wasn't right. It didn't take a vampire to figure that out. I had to find Edward. He would know what had happened.

I looked at the towering buildings looming over me, blaring lights and sounds from a million holes. I had to get away from here.

I ran, becoming nothing more than a gust of wind to the hordes of people.

When the lights and the sounds died away, I slowed.

I didn't know what to do. It was not a thing I was familiar with, nor did I enjoy it. I needed to find Edward. He would explain everything to me. He would help me. Like always. We had been together for almost ten years. We'd been stalking the same prey, both so absorbed in the hunt that we hadn't been aware of the others presence until the time to strike.

He bared his teeth to me, pinning me to the wall. The stunned young man behind him, too stupid to run. A growl ripped from deep in his chest. "He's mine," he declared. "Leave before I kill you too."

I had just smirked and dared him to try, but I was content to share if he was. Turned out that he had been as lonely as me. We teamed up, prowling the nights together. Edward always picked out the targets, it seemed to be his favourite part. I always got to decide how to take them down. That had been mine. We'd travelled the cities together… The last I remembered was Chicago.

That's where I'd start, I decided. I'd try to find his scent there. A hard task, but not impossible. Tracking came easily for me, more easy than hiding did for Edward. I only hoped he was hiding, though I could not think of a reason why, but I also could not let myself ponder the alternative. Something awful could not have befallen him. It was not possible.

First, I had to find out where I was.

I kept running, not wishing to return to that dreadful place I awoke to. I followed the hard gray surface, so different from the road of my memories. Eventually it lead me to a small building, with strange metal boxes in front of it. Each had a hose attached to it. My curious mind wanted me to explore the bizarre thing more, but the practical side made me leave it and enter the building with the light spilling through the glass wall. I was met with shelves stacked with meaningless things to me. I headed to the beating heart, and found a young boy, that looked like he was having trouble with his face. All red and blotchy.

"Good evening," he started in a voice that did not disguise his boredom. "What the…" he exclaimed as he caught sight of my no doubt blood covered face and bright red eyes. I flew to him, only the short counter between us. I grasped his face and forced him to look me in the eye.

"You do not see any blood on me, nor do I seem at all strange to you." I felt my eyes burn as I used my gift, his own had a glazed look. "Where is the powder room?"

He pointed to a door in the corner of the small space. "What is the date?" I asked next.

"29th of August, 2012," he answered, confirming my suspicions. Of course I had never considered just how much time had passed. A couple of decades maximum… Not to be in the new millennium.

Why hadn't Edward come to find me?

I let the boy go, and his face relaxed to boredom.

I tidied herself up using the basin and the mirror, carefully not letting myself feel anything. Or think. Neither would lead to good places.

Looking presentable, but still unnervingly unclothed-I fervently hoped that this was not the style of the times, for I feared I would not adapt to it-I left the small, dirty space.

I smiled at the boy behind the counter, he smiled back looking a little dazed. No need to use my power this time. "Where are we?" I asked sweetly.

"S-Seattle," he replied.

I left the establishment.

Of course I would wind up on the other side of the country from where I want to be. It would be almost a days run if I were to take the most direct route. Of course, in 90 years, a lot of things were sure to have changed-Like another of those horrible cities that I'd first awoken it. I would prefer to avoid those.

As I ran, I pondered the chances that I would catch his scent. I still remembered it, a vampire never forgets them, like honey and wine his was. If he was still there, I had no doubt that I would find him, but of course, after 90 years I was sure he would've moved on by now. But, for lack of another option, I pushed forward with the hope that Chicago was not much bigger than I remembered.

I would not let myself think of what I would do if he was dead. He could not be dead, he was a survivor. There was another scenario I feared equally as much. That he had returned to his 'family.' He had rarely talked of them during our time together, but from what he told me, I knew it would be a bad thing for us. They curbed him, made him live off of animal blood, reining him in from all that he was. I saw protection when I thought of their numbers, but he saw love, and that would make him weak. Love had no place with vampires. Sex and fondness, you were lucky if you found both in the same person. With Edward, I had fondness, though I'd made it no secret I'd wanted the other. But I did not press him, for I was so thankful that I was no longer alone.

"Why?" He screamed at me, his body vibrating with anger.

I took a step back from him, dropping the lifeless body to the ground. "I'm sorry, Edward," I whispered. "I'm sorry."

He didn't seem to have heard. His eyes were blazing, a crimson fire. "Why did you kill her? She was innocent. So, so pure." He looked like he might explode, or run.

I sank to the ground, my knees landing in the girls still warm blood flooding out from her limp body. "I-I'm sorry… I didn't mean to… You know I didn't-Please, don't leave me…" I begged, my eyes stinging as they tried to produce tears that were never going to come. "Just please… don't leave me alone…"

His eyes softened, and his hands unclenched. He knelt down beside me, his hand softly stroking my hair. "It's okay… I'm not going to leave you. Promise me you'll let me choose from now on, and I'll never leave you."

"I promise, Edward. I promise."

I ran. I ran into the day and into the next night, hoping my memory was keeping me on course. So much had changed. There was no space to breathe, no space for anything but buildings and long straight roads for the fast vehicles.

Once I had the city in my sites, I knew it would be pointless to enter. He was not there. I don't know how I knew, but I trusted my gut that he hadn't been here for a very long time. I wasn't going to waste my time searching hopelessly.

I decided to visit Garrett. He would have an idea of where Edward is, he made it a point of his to know the whereabouts of certain vampires. I was sure Edward would be one of those. Edward and I had met him almost 4 years ago-Well, 94 now.

He lived in a small cabin in some woods in what used to be the middle of nowhere, but was now the outskirts of the sprawling city. I was sure that he would not have moved, he was the type to enjoy a challenge, but not change. He loved to travel and loved adventures, but as far as I know he always came back to the cabin. At least, I was counting on that.

I ran through the small towns where there used to be forest, until I caught his scent. Well, I was sure it was his scent, it smelt a little different. A little more rustic, perhaps.

It led me through a circuitous route into, and around a forest. Dead in the centre was the cabin I remembered.

Garrett was standing out front, clearly expecting me. I stopped dead in surprise. There was a blonde female vampire beside him, but that was not what made me stop.

It was the bright gold colour of their eyes.