Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight though it would be much more fun if I did :)

Edited and re-posted: 1/18/10

Chapter 1: Lost and Found

Watching the river below she stood in perfect stillness. It was something she had never seen before, at least not with these new eyes. The river was a roaring torrent, a flood on her consciousness. The small traveling group had been able to hear it, pressing, rushing against its banks for miles before they reached it. Now that she was here, it was like a roar in her ears and she welcomed the new sound as she drank in the view. A thought crossed her mind, maybe she could jump down to that river, she wasn't sure how far these new strengths could take her. Would she make it? Then again, as the breeze blew a waft of the blood boiling beneath her captors skin, she was awfully hungry and they would make the perfect snack.

A hand touched her shoulder and she winced in typical slave fashion. She knew she wanted to jump, but it would have to wait until they were dead. They were moving her back, and she let them, showing no outside emotion. Hooding her eyes carefully she watched as they argued in Spanish, a language they believed she wouldn't understand.

"She would have jumped, run away!" the man, whom she had learned was named Jorge, said to the other four. Then came the leader, she hadn't learned his name yet, the other men never used it, it was always Leader or Master, depending on their rank in the group.

"She would not jump, it would be death for this little one to jump." and he leered at her as he spoke. She knew if she ever had the chance of getting any older, if they didn't want to make a profit off of her, that he would love to take advantage of the captivity. She wouldn't ever change though. She was frozen in time and these foolish men had yet to find out what that meant for them. They would know tonight, it had been convenient to stay with them as they moved to more unpopulated areas. Tonight was the night to play games with these ignorant men and drop this awful slave act. She was thirsty and it had been an ever present thirst since that night a little over a week ago. This would be her first feast and she could already feel the blood pulsing through their veins.

Night fell quickly, as the days were growing shorter, and she settled down to wait for the men to all fall asleep. There would be one man watching over them until the moon rose to the highest point in the sky. She would get him first, let his companion and replacement find him. Listening silently she could hear their breathing, they had fallen asleep unaware of what would befall them. Being shackled to a tree didn't matter much to her now, they had underestimated what she could do. With a quick yank she was free of her chains but she didn't move. She coughed quietly to get the camp guards attention. He looked at her with eyes full of contempt, before looking at his companions and leader fast asleep. An idea seemed to form in his head and his contempt turned to a lecherous smile. He stood slowly and walked towards her, checking again to make sure the others were asleep. Squatting down in front of her he whispered softly "I got you all to myself." and he licked his lips, looking at her as though she were some helpless child.

Before he knew what had happened she had moved them behind the tree and he was laying in a heap at her feet. As his blood pooled on the ground, soaked up by the dry dirt to feed the ever thirsty plants, she squatted down and, with red rimmed iris's glowing into the dark, latched her sharp teeth to his throat.

Edward had been tracking the scent for days, wondering how her scent stayed so perfectly preserved in the changing wilderness around him. Yet, even though her scent was preserved, the smell of the humans that dragged her along in chains almost masked that smell. They were disgusting creatures, this particular group of humans and their human trafficking practices. Unfortunately they had chosen the wrong woman to sell. They would be in for a most unpleasant experience once they hit the river. His thoughts turned abruptly to how they had gotten into this predicament in the first place. He had lost her, the day she had come out of the transformation.

How he managed to lose her still had him kicking himself. It was beyond idiotic and he still had no clue as to why she allowed herself to be kidnapped in the first place. She was definitely stronger than them.

As he thought about how it had come to be that he had lost the only human he had ever turned to these traffickers the guilt began to creep up on him. It ate slowly at his resolve to kill and feed off these men, even though they had taken her from him. No one EVER took her from him without consequence. At that thought his heart hardened again and he continued his pursuit of the scum that were dragging his only love in chains as if she were a piece of meat. It wouldn't take very long to catch up to them, humans moved so very slowly.

As twilight fell Edward found the river and stopped, knowing he would do nothing until the men were asleep. There was no need to have the unnecessary risk of one trying to escape. Not that there would ever come a day when a mere human could escape him. A bitter laugh escaped his lips. He was a monster, he knew, and he was created to hunt these fragil humans. They had never had a chance, if he wanted them dead they would be.

When it had grown dark Edward followed the river for a time and then headed towards the men's campsite. The shadows enveloped him as he entered the forest.

Edward. He could almost hear her sigh as she probed out for him, silently calling his name. Edward froze, the shock of the voice he had just hear rooting him to the spot. He shouldn't be able to hear that voice in his head, unless the transformation changed something within her that drastically.

Bella? Can I really hear her? He tried to think thing through quickly but none of it really mattered if he didn't get to her soon. And then her thoughts called out mournfully to the darkness again.

I couldn't stop... I was so thirsty and they were so close, so feeble as they slept...

Those soft, mourning words pushed him into a frantic pace, trying to reach her, to take away that guilt he understood all too well. He was alerted to her sobs as he found her laying burrowed in a pile of leaves under a lagre birch tree.

"Oh Bella..." he sighed as he pulled her into his lap, holding her as though she were a small child. He kissed her forehead and gently brushed the leaves out of her hair. She shuddered against him as sobs racked her small frame. He lifted her chin up to look into her no doubt terrified eyes but she refused to open them for him.

Holding her tightly Edward rose fluidly and moved through the former campsite, full of empty corpses now. Bella had committed the same act he had been contemplating only an hour before. The five men and their leader were scattered throughout and even outside the ring of trees.

It was a sight he knew Bella would not want to look upon. He could imagine the guilt that would be flooding through her now that it was all over. He had experienced that crushing feeling too many times, no matter what motive he had to kill it never went over well with his conscious.

He was quick to pass through the gruesome scene though and he was soon flying as he ran, jumping the river, and heading to the safest place he could think of...

I know it's short but we're just getting started :) Hope you like this so far!

Reviews?? Yes please! hehe