The Beginning of the End: Orientation

By Starlitsoul (Star)

Rating: T for very mild language, vampire changing, and other things that might pop up later on.

Ah, fanfiction is a wonderful thing, isn't it? This is my first fanfic, really, so I'm hoping it's all right. It started with being quite a different story – actually one I'm writing on my own, but it kind of spiraled into the Twilight universe without me noticing! Anyway, after reading Twilight fanfics for two hours before actually starting to type it up, I suppose it's to be expected. In my opinion, the title stinks, but titles always give me trouble anyway. ;

I might be putting the chapters up rather erratically. The first one just wanted to be written, so I still have to outline the rest! Please be patient if the next chapter isn't up for a couple of weeks – I get fairly busy around this time of year.

I believe I've caught all the spelling and grammar mistakes in here, but if I haven't, please let me know – I'm usually a stickler for that kind of thing! I also hope I kept everyone in character … -sweatdrop- And made it long enough... yeah, I'll stop rambling now.

Also… one more thing – are there six million of these around here? I know I've seen a thousand "Edward never comes back and Bella gets changed" fics, but I don't think I've seen an "entirely new character gets dumped into the vampire world" fic. If there is one, I meant no harm in the writing of this, and if you've written one and posted it, I didn't mean to take your idea.

Disclaimer: I'm most certainly not Stephenie Meyer, although she's my idol, and no money is being made from this – except for the ads that are probably on the FF. net page.

Now that I don't think I'll be sued over copyright infringement, reviews and constructive criticism would be very helpful.

The first thing in my mind was pain.

The second: Why am I not dead?

My brain, much as I wanted it to shut down and let me die, whirred. The last thing I remembered was my mom's car tires hitting a patch of ice… I sat up with a gasp.

Hands, strong and insistent, pushed me back to the bed – I assumed that's what it was – and a voice murmured, "Sleep, child." I fell back into the oblivion of the excruciating sensations wracking my body…

The next time I surfaced from the burning agony, I heard a woman's voice. "Carlisle, how is she? Was it this painful for you all, listening to me?"

The voice was lost as I felt my nose crack under an unseen blow, before re-molding into something that felt quite alien…

The third time I awoke, a shadow – human and female in shape, although only about five feet tall – smiled, flashing bright teeth. "Calm down. There are only a few more hours."

I didn't trust the shadow for a moment, but as I felt my feet contract, I lost the will to endure in silence and screamed for the first time of many during those few hours...

When the pain suddenly cut off, I tried to sit up again. I lay tangled in an ivory comforter; closer inspection revealed numerous rents in the fabric. The man sitting in the corner glanced up, and I gasped. His eyes were an unsettling shade of dark burgundy-gold against his blonde hair.

"Calm down," he murmured soothingly. I stiffened.

"You can't expect me to 'calm down' when I have no clue where I am, where my parents are… Is this some sort of preparatory ritual for entrance into whatever afterlife there is?"

He sighed. "No."

"Am I in hell? There sure was enough pain getting here. You people really need to do something about the transition process. I mean, I can understand the burning-in-hell-for-eternity part, but really, can't I have a few pain-free minutes if I died in some horribly awful way?"

"You aren't in hell, and I can't do much about the pain. We tried to give you morphine."

"Where am I, then?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps I should explain. But first…" He left the room, and entered again not ten seconds later – trailing seven other people. Two blonde women, who looked to be in their early twenties, a bronze-haired boy, a brown-haired man, and two girls with dark hair – one with short, one with long, and one other blonde man, younger than the first.

None of them could have possibly been over thirty, and several looked like they couldn't be over twenty.

All had the unnervingly golden eyes.

All were strangely pale, regardless of the hair color they possessed.

All were absolutely stunning.

"What's your name?" the man who had awoken me asked.

"What does it matter?" I snapped. He sighed.

"Edward?" The bronze-haired boy stepped forward and gently grasped my chin between long white fingers – fingers no paler than the others here.

He forced me to look at him, and I froze. "Why won't you tell us?" he murmured gently. "We won't hurt you."

"You already have. Whatever this is, I want out. Let me die." His eyes shadowed instantly, becoming harder. He stepped back, and the brown-haired woman embraced him gently, laying her head onto his shoulder.

One of the women, the one who looked oldest, stepped forward. "Can't you please tell us?" A wave of security washed over me.

"I'm Courtney."

The first blonde man smiled. His face, already handsome, became absolutely beautiful.

"Thank you. Courtney, do you believe in the supernatural?"

"What, like ghosts?"

"No. Like vampires."

I snorted. "No."

The other blonde woman, possibly the most beautiful of the breathtaking group, raised an eyebrow. "Start believing."

"What?"

"Start at the beginning, Rosalie!" chirped the small black-haired girl.

"Actually, I will, Alice." The man eyed the girl – Alice – before turning to me…

Twenty minutes later, I sat in a state of total disbelief. "But… vampires don't exist!"

The blonde man that hadn't spoken yet, although I'd heard the little black-haired girl, Alice, refer to him as Jasper, snorted. It was a quiet snort, but I heard it all the same.

I didn't let this deter me. "Vampires are repelled by the sign of the cross, and they don't show up in mirrors, and they're burned by the sun…"

The brunette girl, who also hadn't spoken but instead leaned into the one named Edward, offering support, burst into laughter. Eight heads turned toward the sound.

"Bella, what's so funny?" the other man that hadn't spoken, the muscular one, asked. His voice sounded as though he was teasing her – at a time like this!

"I was just… remembering…" she choked out through giggles, "the first time Edward brought me to your house in Forks… and the cross on the wall!"

He smiled too, as did Carlisle.

I stopped. "Further proof you all aren't vampires. There was a cross on the wall!" The one who had teased the girl currently laughing – Was the name I'd heard Bella? —smiled.

"Accept it, kid." He handed me a small mirror, but before I could do anything, a burning ache at the back of my throat made itself known with a vengeance.

"Carlisle! She…" Jasper warned, but Carlisle had already answered.

"Courtney?"

"Yes?" I rasped.

"Come with me."

Too overcome by the flaming, dry pain to do anything else, I followed the three that left the room meekly.

As the three of them and I exited the house by way of an intricately carved oak door, I gasped. Woods surrounded the house, quite large from what I'd seen of it, on three sides. A snow-capped mountain rose, tall and imposing above the trees, barely visible through the thick, misty rain. A brook ran alongside the house, perhaps fifteen or twenty feet wide. I turned to look to my right, and saw a short path that led to a rocky beach and a cold-looking stretch of ocean.

It was beautiful, and I could care less, because a wonderfully warm and delicious scent filled the air. Something in me whispered, dangerously seductive, Go and run. Feast. Gorge. They'll never notice you're gone… see how the girl and the boy look the other way; they won't think a bit of it…Eat. Drink. Be satiated.

I gave into the voice, and suddenly my body was not my own. I could feel myself flying through the trees, towards the source of the mouthwatering smell. Dimly, I realized that the blonde man… what was his name again? Carter? Carson? was rapidly gaining on me, calling out a name, but I was too far gone in my search for the source of the fragrance.

A sack of rocks collided with me, oddly human-shaped. I looked up, startled for a moment out of my scent-induced daze, to see the dark-haired, muscular man pinning me down.

"What are you doing? Let me go!" I shoved him off – something I never would have expected to be able to do.

Carlisle, that was the other's name. He arrived, trailing the fair-haired girl. All three held me down as I struggled against them, kicking and twisting, trying to get closer to the aroma, to revel in it...

"Good," panted Carlisle as a blur dashed away from us, leaving the front door of the house gaping open. "Jasper will get him away from here."

I battled on, until the scent began to disperse. It lingered, taunting me. I had no way of knowing if hours had passed, or merely seconds.

"Where is he, Jasper?" I couldn't tell who spoke. I sprang to my feet, aware that the simple action was much quicker than before the accident, after realizing I was no longer held down.

"He's back at a campsite about a hundred miles from here, very suddenly sound asleep. He'll think the run was a dream…"

Now that the tantalizingly sweet scent was gone from the air, I inhaled, feeling a rich bouquet of perfumes invade my suddenly sensitive nose. Everything from the smell of pine sap to the salty brine of the ocean showed up in the air.

"Whatwas that?" I wheezed.

The one called Jasper's eyes warred with pity and understanding. "A human."