Blood.
The reason why I stand right now is because of blood. Human blood.
And that girl is now the main reason of my existence. Her scent was the most delectable one that I have smelled in my three centuries of worth. She was worth everything. She was worth killing.
I followed the trail of the human girl's scent who was with her partner, Edward. She was in a truck, while another member of the vampire clan was behind them.
Mind over matter, I thought to myself. I could not replace the scent which I could taste at the back of my throat. The burning fire continued to consume me; the thirst as powerful as ever.
I met Victoria a few kilometers later, happy with my new mission.
"Hmm." Victoria hummed in the dark. "Shall we go after her?"
"Of course we should. We wouldn't want our meal to perish, do we?" I replied. As much as I wanted to talk to her, all I wanted to do right now was to hunt that human girl.
"Her name is Bella, darling." Victoria whispered as she kissed my throat.
"That doesn't matter to me now," I hissed. "All I want to do now is to hunt her." I added.
"Shall we go then?" She asked. Yes, we should.
I need not to reply because I simply separated with Victoria. We had our plans straight and we were to follow whichever object held Bella's scent.
I ran and ran until I could finally smell again the delectable scent. I followed it and never fled from that trail. I was following a silver car, which had the strongest impact on me.
Yes, she was definitely there.
I ran closer and closer to the car until I could see inside where she would be sitting. If she was sitting near the window, I could easily break the door and reach for her. If she was in the front seat, it was even more perfect.
I growled as I realized that that Bella was with her mate, Edward. I knew that she would never leave him and so it left me no other choice but to plan more violence towards the human's death. I growled again as I realized that Edward can read minds.
I slowed my speed and trailed behind them almost a kilometer away. I was careful not to have my motives read.
The time grew on me and I was almost impatient. We were hundreds of kilometers away from Forks now and I could barely stand the scent in that car.
Vancouver. That's where we are.
I could not take this anymore. I have to kill her—right now. The fire in my throat raged on and on and I could not feel anything anymore but the thirst.
I sped up and reached the car in no time at all. I did not care if Edward heard my motives. That would not matter when Bella was out of his reach. I would pull her out, grasp her tightly and bite her. I would feel the sweet, hot flow of blood in my mouth. That would happen soon—Very, very soon.
I was at the left side of the silver car and I could now clearly see everyone inside it. Yes, there was Edward. There was a blonde male and a dark-haired man inside but Bella wasn't.
Where was she then?!
Edward looked in my direction and saw me. He was clearly not surprised to see me. He grimaced, even, when he saw the frustration flat on my face. I struck the car door and ran the opposite direction.
When I was far enough from Edward to hear me, I thought of everything. I was to return to Forks, searching for all the evidence of Bella's address. Maybe I could trick her. I would isolate her. Since Edward—the strongest protector of Bella—was not there , all her other protectors were weak. They would not stand a chance against me.
Yes, that would be a great plan.
As I reached Forks, a spark of intelligence hit me. Her school would be a good place to find her old address. It also hit me that proceeding to Bella's home and murdering her father—so that Bella would return home, making her an easy kill—would not be such a good idea. As much as it appealed to me, I had to disagree with myself. The other members of the clan would be standing guard there.
The devil in me laughed towards that little plan of success and I rejoiced with him. Soon, the blood of Bella would be in my system, satisfying my being.
Forks High School. That was where I could find her. I've seen Victoria on her way to the school as I happened to arrive at Forks.
"Victoria, search the records. Quickly." I commanded her.
"No problem." She replied and went inside the school.
A blonde vampire was following Victoria. Maybe that blonde was still trying to find a loophole.
I ran as fast as I could to the forest and back to the meadow where I had met my meal. Hmm. The trail was still fresh. I stayed there for a moment, waiting for Victoria. She would know I went here.
After a few minutes, she came back with a paper in one hand and a smile on her face. That was it. A piece of evidence.
"I love you," I murmured. I kissed her tenderly with all the lust and thirst I felt for that human. I took the paper in Victoria's hand and scanned it.
"I hope that's enough." She told me.
"It's more than enough. Shall I see you soon?" I asked her, a sparkle of interest in her eyes.
"Yes. Good bye. Come back to me, alright?"
"I will." I kissed her on the forehead and left.
I was to fly to this Phoenix. I would search for Bella there. Surely, she must be in the comforts of her own home, hiding and thinking of the fear I brought upon her. What a silly human. She was too predictable.
"One ticket to Phoenix, Arizona." I told the woman at the airport. I was already here at the nearest airport.
"That'd be $150. Rush ticket, you see." She told me. She was staring at me. Probably because of my red eyes? She should be scared.
"I'll take it." I said. I handed her the amount and grabbed the ticket from her hand. "Here."
Minutes later, I was seated in the first class. I was careful not to sit near any human. I want to reserve my thirst for dearest Bella. I snickered.
The hours tick-tocked its way towards Phoenix. It was either the time itself or my impatience. As the plane landed, I did not hesitate in giving way towards the other passengers. I pushed myself outside, holding my breath. I received a few moans from my sudden rudeness but I simply stared at them with the thirst I had; it was enough to give them the notion to stay away from me.
I started following the directions on the streets of Phoenix. The population was far too big for anyone to notice my speed. I was grateful for the weather today. It didn't seem sunny.
Although I couldn't smell Bella's scent, the fire in my throat rocketed me back and forth. It was as if someone punched me. I could not recover from the damage she punctured on me. Now, because of that, she must pay. She tempted me, so I am to get her now.
I arrived at Bella's home and analyzed the address on the paper and on the engraved letters of the mailbox. Yes, I was here. I didn't want to enter the door. It would be too obvious, it was stupid too.
When I went through one of the windows, the fire raged through my entire being; it was as if I was being transformed from human to vampire. The devil in me snickered some more—he found my restraint humorous.
"I would satisfy your snickerings, little devil." I mumbled to myself as I continued to find Bella in her vast house.
Drat. She wasn't here. Where else could she possibly be? She was smarter than I gave her credit for. As I was in the living room, there was a message on the phone waiting. It was from Bella.
I smiled until it reached my ears. I pressed 'play'.
"Mom," Bella said. "it's me. Listen, I need you to do something. It's important. As soon as you get this message, call me at this number." She paused, giving out the number. "Please don't go anywhere until you talk to me. Don't worry, I'm okay, but I have to talk to you right away, no matter how late you get this call all right? I love you, Mom. Bye."
It was Bella then. She wasn't home. Her mother isn't either but Bella assumed she was.
As I searched around the house and thought about another plan, I stumbled onto a pile of video tapes. I grabbed one of them and read the title. Bella's ballet recital.
I placed the video tape in the player and watched it. Whoever made this video was foolish for my taste. Starting from their home, the person was able to film it until they got to the ballet studio which was not too far away. I was able to watch until the end of ballet recital. I snickered.
And then, kismet hit me like a meteor shot from hell rather than heaven. I would act as if I kidnapped Bella's mother and call the number that Bella gave. What proof do I have that I kidnapped Bella's mother? Well, I could just let Bella hear her mother's terrified voice when she was searching for Bella after the ballet recital.
"Bella? Bella?" Bella's mother echoed in the videotape. Yes, this would be perfect.
Suddenly, kismet hit me again, this time fiercer, like a train. More plans flooded my head. Bella must meet me at the ballet studio, bringing no one, if she would not like her dear mother hurt. Excellent.
The phone call was made yesterday so probably now was the best time to call Bella. I dialed the phone number and made the voice of Bella's mother ready for playing.
"Hello?" A small, high-pitched voice answered. Not Bella.
I played the tape, "Bella? Bella?" the fake voice said.
"No, she's right here." There was a moment of silence and I gave myself the chance to rewind the tape. "Hello?" It was Bella's voice now.
"Bella? Bella?" The fake voice said again. My smile widened with disbelief at Bella's lack of intelligence.
"Calm down, Mom," Bella said soothingly. "Everything is fine, okay? Just give me a minute and I'll explain everything, I promise." She paused for a while, probably wondering why no one is replying.
"Mom?" She called out. No response. Oh well, I guess I better intervene.
"Be very careful not to say anything until I tell you to." I said at a low volume. "Now, I don't need to hurt your mother, so please do exactly as I say, and she'll be fine." I paused and listened to her muted reactions. "That's very good," I congratulated her. How good an actress she is. "Now repeat after me, and do try to sound natural. Please say, 'No, Mom, stay where you are.'"
She said as instructed and I carried on. "I can see this is going to be difficult." I told her in a friendly tone. "Why don't you walk into another room now so your face doesn't ruin everything? There's no reason for your mother to suffer. As you're walking, please say, 'Mom, please listen to me.' Say it now."
"Mom, please listen to me," She pleaded.
"There now, are you alone? Just answer yes or no."
"Yes."
"But they can still hear you, I'm sure."
"Yes."
"All right then," I agreed. "say, 'Mom, trust me.'" I suggested.
"Mom, trust me." She followed pursuit.
"This worked out rather better than I expected. I was prepared to wait, but your mother arrived ahead of schedule. It's easier this way, isn't it? Less suspense, less anxiety for you." I told her, making up all the possible stories I could manage. "Now I want you to listen very carefully. I'm going to need you to get away from your friends; do you think you can do that? Answer yes or no."
"No." She responded. Was she a coward? No, I hope not. That would be bad for my stage.
"I'm sorry to hear that. I was hoping you would be a little more creative than that. Do you think you could get away from them if your mother's life depended on it? Answer yes or no."
There was a long pause on the other line. I could feel she was considering it. "Yes." Not a coward after all.
"That's better. I'm sure it won't be easy, but if I get the slightest hint that you have any company, well, that would be very bad for your mother," I told her. "You must know enough about us by now to realize how quickly I would know if you tried to bring anyone alone with you. And how little time I would need to deal with your mother if that was the case. Do you understand? Answer yes or no."
"Yes."
"Very good, Bella. Now this is what you have to do. I want you to go to your mother's house. Next to the phone there will be a number. Call it, and I'll tell you where to go from there." I already knew where I would ask her to go to. It wasn't needed but I wanted to make things more complicated.
"Can you do that? Answer yes or no." I asked her once again.
"Yes."
"Before noon, please, Bella. I haven't got all day," I told her politely.
"Where's Phil?" She asked.
"Ah, be careful now, Bella. Wait until I ask you to speak, please." I interrupted. She was utterly stubborn.
"It's important, now, that you don't make your friends suspicious when you go
back to them. Tell them that your mother called, and that you talked her out of
coming home for the time being. Now repeat after me, 'Thank you, Mom.' Say it
now." I asked of her once again.
"Thank you, Mom."
"Say, 'I love you, Mom, I'll see you soon.' Say it now."
"I love you, Mom. I'll see you soon," she said.
"Goodbye, Bella. I look forward to seeing you again." And I hung up.
I wasted no time at all and took the video tape from the VHS player and ran out the door, leaving the number for Bella to refer to. I ran towards the ballet studio. When I reached the ballet studio, it had a lot of wood hammered into the door. I removed it with my hands and entered.
I tried to find a small closet where I could play the video tape without having Bella to find out about the trap. I've found a VHS player and tested it. It was working well.
After a few minutes, everything was set. Bella's mother's voice was set to be played when she entered.
Ah, Bella has been obeying rules. She didn't bring anyone with her. She only brought with her the fear that she was about to face. I hope she realizes that her mother was never really in danger. She was set up.
Bella called about a minute ago. Worry covering her tone. I gave her the instructions as to where she was to go.
"Bella? Bella?" I played as she entered the studio. She sprinted to the sound and opened the door which enclosed the player. "Bella, you scared me! Don't you ever do that to me again!"
She finally realized it. She was cornered. Her mother was not here. She never was. It was just me and Bella. I lusted for her blood as the scent entered my nose. It was as powerful as ever.
"Sorry about that, Bella, but isn't it better that your mother didn't really have to
be involved in all this."
"Yes," Bella answered
"You don't sound angry that I tricked you." I mentioned. It was different, really. For her to react that way.
"I'm not."
The rest of what happened passed by in no time. Because of my blood lust, I barely noticed my conversation with Bella. All I remembered was unveiling to her the plan I've worked on with Victoria.
"When Victoria couldn't get to your father, I had her find out more about you.
There was no sense in running all over the planet chasing you down when I
could comfortably wait for you in a place of my choosing. So, after I talked to
Victoria, I decided to come to Phoenix to pay your mother a visit. I'd heard you
say you were going home. At first, I never dreamed you meant it. But then I
wondered. Humans can be very predictable; they like to be somewhere familiar,
somewhere safe. And wouldn't it be the perfect ploy, to go to the last place you
should be when you're hiding — the place that you said you'd be.
"But of course I wasn't sure, it was just a hunch. I usually. . ." Again, another time-passer. Recalling all the moments that I was barely aware of were useless. I had to take action now.
The next I recalled was nothing special either. I had mentioned to Bella that I would leave a letter for Edward . . . Then a little dark-haired pixie girl who had a stronger and more delicious scent than Bella's. . . Then finally, she made her attempt to escape.
It was silly really.
When she tried to escape, it was finally her time for punishment. I kicked her in the chest causing her to move backwards and hit a wall. Yes, fresh blood oozed from her new wound over her head. More fire in my throat. Mind over matter. . .
"That's a very nice effect," I said as I examined the shattered glass. "I thought this room would be visually dramatic for my little film. That's why I picked this place to meet you. It's perfect, isn't it?" She ignored me and crawled towards the other exit; as if she could surpass me with her speed.
That was when it hit me. The thought became force as I crushed her leg, hearing the bones crack. Bella let out an agonized scream, it pierced my ears with all the sensitivity it had.
"Would you like to rethink your last request?" I asked her, disregarding her screaming. She screamed some more and I said, "Wouldn't you rather have Edward try to find me?"
"No!" she croaked. "No, Edward, don't—" I kicked her towards the mirrors, the glass shattering into a million pieces.
Bella's head bled from the glass that cut it. Her blood oozed from her head onto the floor. The scent was ever oh so sweet that I can barely control myself from drinking it. It was driving me mad. I wanted to rip into her throat out now.
Her consciousness was slipping away. Her eyes were starting to close. I smiled to myself, completely satisfied. Now all I had to do was deliver this message to Edward. It would be a nice gift.
Bella never regained consciousness and I took this as an advantage to finally get what I want.
I drew myself closer to Bella, examining her unconscious human body. I held her wrist, now wet with blood, and bit into it—letting the venom spread. I tasted the blood on her skin and on the punctured wound that wept its way towards the surface.
Blood. The only reason for my existence. Bella served as the highlight of my life. Correction, Bella's blood.
As I was enjoying myself, I heard a loud growl; one that could only be made by another of our kind.
No. How did he know?!
Edward stood in front of me, crouched readily to attack me. I didn't care, though. He was alone. I could finish him off. I continued to tease him by drinking more of Bella's blood and poisoning it with venom. It teased him in such a way that made Bella tempting to him; he could never resist this. It also teased him because it caused his anger to flare some more. I didn't want a weak kill.
It agitated him some more because the next thing I knew, I flew all the way to the other side of the studio. He yanked me from the mass of broken glass and threw me into the air but I regained equilibrium quickly.
My thirst didn't matter anymore because it seemed that anger was the only thing flooding me. Anger for Edward, anger for the fact that he was here and anger for the newcomers.
Four new vampires joined the studio, the pixie-haired girl being one of them. The father-figure hovered over Edward, stopping him, and saying, "Son, remember who you are. Bella needs you."
Suddenly, two male vampires—one brawny and one lean—hovered over me, pulling me away from Edward. The brawny one held me in his iron grip. I tried to stir but it did me no use.
"Alice!" the lean vampire shouted.
"Carlisle. . ." Alice said. She was losing control. I was too. The frenzy of Bella's blood was driving me mad. I wanted more.
"Go Alice!" Carlisle, the father figure, instructed. "Edward, Bella needs you." He told Edward.
The next I knew, there was fire. Not the fire in my throat, it was less intense. The lean vampire made the fire. It all dawned on me, all of a sudden. But before I was given the moment to realize it, I couldn't feel my legs anymore. Along with it went my arms, my abdomen, my thighs and even my head. They all felt disconnected.
Unconsciousness was seeping into me. I was disconnected. I was in the fire. I was dead. This is my ending.
Oh Victoria, my poor Victoria. I remembered her. How was she to live now? She was going to be all alone. . .
"Victoria…" I said, still feeling my lips.
My last word, and then I was dead. Blackness surfaced, replacing the fire and the snickering vampires. This is the end, my end.
AN: Okay. That was really long! :P But I hope you enjoyed it. Did you? Oh, I hope you did. I'm sorry if it was too long. It is a stand-alone. Review please. Tell me what you think. I had to open up that Twilight e-book of mine to write this all. :P :)
I think I'm going to do more one-shots.