Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, nor do I own any of it's characters. It all belongs to Stephenie Meyer.

Alone

Chapter 1: Hero

"I need a hero to save me now

I need a hero (save me now)

I need a hero to save my life

A hero will save me (just in time)"

Hero by Skillet

August 16, 1997

Isabella Swan passed through the dark streets of Seattle, Washington, graceful and silent. The only light around was that shining from the moon and the street lamps that had moths and other small insects buzzing around them. There was no one in sight, aside from Isabella herself. Not many humans would be walking around anywhere at such a late hour; it was, after all, just passed 3AM.

But Isabella was no mere human.

Isabella was an inhumanly beautiful, graceful, strong and fast creature with enhanced senses; her eyesight, hearing and sense of smell all beyond that of a human. Beautiful and deadly in a way that no humans could possibly comprehend unless given the truth.

Isabella was a vampire.

She had been born in Rome, Italy in the year 1812 to Charles and Renée Swan. Her life was nothing too spectacular, nothing out of the norm. However, one day only a short couple of months after her seventeenth birthday, Isabella's life turned upside down.

She had been out with her best friend Alessia, simply enjoying life and what nature had to offer. Rome had always been a beautiful place and she absolutely loved living there. She returned home to find that her parents had both been brutally murdered by a creature with piercing red eyes. It should have frightened her when his beady eyes connected with hers. Isabella should have screamed when she saw the blood running down the pale neck of her parents' murderer. But Isabella had never been a normal human. Things that should frighten her, didn't. The one thing that she could not possibly handle was blood. The smell — a mixture of rust and salt — made her nauseous. Between the revolting scent of blood and her uncanny clumsiness, she was the biggest danger to herself. When the exquisitely beautiful man with red eyes saw her, he smiled. Oddly, though, it was not a sadistic, cruel smile as she would have expected. Rather, it was an apologetic smile. For the murder of her parents, or for what he was about to do, she would never know. The man was in front of her in a flash, his short curly red hair flying around his head.

"I'm sorry," he murmured in his melodic voice. Without any further warning, the striking man grasped Isabella by the neck and leaned in. He inhaled and sunk his dangerously sharp teeth into the soft flesh of Isabella's neck. Isabella didn't scream. She didn't even try to. For she somehow knew that it would not benefit her in any way.

The man released her and leaned into her ear, whispering, "you will be a vampire," and then he was gone. Never to be seen or heard from again.

As Isabella passed by a building, an unexpected tug inside of her made her come to a sudden halt. She whipped her head in the direction of the pull, her long, dark hair flowing softly around her in the light breeze. She took a hesitant step toward the pull. She had expected it to possibly grow a little bit stronger. What she didn't expect was for the tug to nearly heave her to the ground with it's newly heightened strength. She hadn't even realized that she was already running toward the tug until she saw a light fly by her at an inhuman speed. She felt the want, the need to follow the pull.

Isabella had had feelings like this before. They were the thing that kept her protected from any danger lurking around. She had helped other vampires, who became her friends, through her feelings. It was how she met two of her closest friends, a pair of young mated vampires named Max and Azria, who she had not seen in years. Isabella often got these feelings, but only when something that would in some way effect her, was occurring. The majority of the time, it meant that she must run or go to someones rescue, if not run away from what her sixth sense somehow knew meant danger to her.

She pushed herself further, allowing her speed to increase as the pull grew stronger and stronger, leading her in the direction of it. What it was, she did not know. She only knew through this tug, this pull, this feeling, that she needed to follow it.

As she grew closer to her unknown destination, the pull continued to grow stronger until she could hardly bare it. She pushed herself even further, to her fullest extent. She was the fastest of all the vampires she had ever met and that was definitely saying something, since some of them were extremely fast, even by vampire standards. But to push herself this far...that must have truly meant something considering she had never in her long, immortal lifetime gone as fast as she was at this moment.

Her inhumanly sharp topaz eyes caught silhouettes in the distance. She could tell, even from the miles away that she was, that they were men. With her outstanding eyesight, she could see that there were four men, probably in their late twenties, perhaps early thirties judging by their builds and heights, even the way they stood tall, rather than slightly haunched. Her eyes could pick up that the four men were in a semi-circle, seeming to be blocking something from leaving, as there was a wall behind whatever the four men were standing in front of.

As she came closer, she saw that there were five small children standing against a brick wall, shivering and looking beyond frightened. There were two little girls and three boys. The girls were both absolutely adorable. One was teeny — both skinny and short compared to the others — with shoulder length black hair and scared dark grey eyes. The other was taller, though not by very much, perhaps a few inches. She had blonde hair that was also a few inches longer than the other girls'. Her eyes were a violet-blue and reflected the same fear that the smaller girls' eyes held. Out of the boys, the biggest one, who was also the tallest out of all five of them, had dark brown hair that looked as if it could use a hair cut and was not fat, though had a larger build. His hazel brown eyes looked protective for such a young boy. Another boy was a little bit shorter with blond hair and icy blue eyes that kept subtly glancing at the girls in an empathetic manner, as if he could not only feel his own fear, but also theirs. The final one had strange coloured hair. It wasn't red, but it wasn't brown. It was a mixture of both, with gold mixed in as well. Bronze, Isabella thought to herself. His emerald green eyes glared at the four men.

The two girls were huddled together, standing a little bit behind the three boys. It was obvious that not even all five of the children could take on one of the men, let alone all four. After all, the children could not have been more than eight-years-old.

Isabella flew like a bullet from a gun, though she was much faster. She was almost to them when she suddenly leaned forward onto her toes and launched herself into the air, flying high. She did a small flip in the air and landed silently in a crouch position, in between both groups. Her back was facing the children and her lips curled into a snarl as she faced the four men. Even the children, who had been facing the direction that she had ran from, wouldn't have been able to spot her before she landed in front of them. She only wore black clothing. A tight fitting black turtle-neck sweater, along with black yoga pants, which were skinny and did not flare at the bottoms, and black heeled, knee-high boots.

Shock was the obvious, dominant emotion on the men's face. As soon as they snapped out of it though, they smiled cruelly in a sick way. Isabella could tell by the look in their eyes that they had lustful feelings toward her. As if she would ever be with any of these disgusting men. Not to mention that she was a vampire and they were humans. She could kill them with her pinky finger. These men were too overcome with the sudden lust they felt toward such an exquisite creature that they had completely ignored her obvious animalistic look, her sudden appearance and silent landing, her crouched position, even her onyx eyes.

Isabella knew what the men were seeing as they gazed at her lustfully. Her waist-length dark chocolate hair with perfect loose curls near the bottom. Her frightening and angry dark onyx eyes that were framed with beautiful long, thick black lashes and her skin...the palest of whites; seemingly silver in the moonlight, stretching over her thin, five foot seven, perfectly curved body. She was quite aware that she was outrageously alluring. She was strikingly beautiful, stunningly gorgeous — even by vampire standards. So to humans, who did not see marvelous people — vampires — like her everyday, she was all the more astounding.

"Well, well, hello there, sugar," one of the men slurred drunkenly, his grotesque breath blowing into Isabella's face. Her nose automatically scrunched up as the unappetizing scent of alcohol wafted toward her.

Isabella hissed in response.

"Oh, I like 'em feisty," another of the men said, eyeing Isabella up and down as if she were a piece of meat that he were to eat for dinner. She internally laughed. If anyone would be eating anyone here, it would be she who would sink her sharp teeth into their delicate flesh and suck all of the red, flowing liquid from their pathetically weak bodies.

Isabella felt a growl build deep in her chest.

"Leave," Isabella's sweet, sultry and captivating voice commanded. It was deep, though not in a manly way, rather in a completely seductive manner. Whether or not she wished for it to sound like that, it would. It sounded as if she were singing. Her voice rang and shimmered like a bell. It was also laced with the Italian accent that she had been born with, though it wasn't nearly as prominent as it had been years before. It had faded with time.

The men obviously did not take her seriously, for they kept their ground.

Another one of the men, one who had not yet spoken, snickered. "What are you going to do about us, little girl?"

Isabella may have looked only seventeen, but she knew that she was much older than that. She could combine the ages of all the men in front of her, plus the children behind her, and she would still be older by years. She was one hundred and eighty-four years old, but they didn't know that.

She felt as a dangerous smirk made its way onto her full, pouty red lips. She did not give the four despicable men another chance. It had been hard enough for her to contain herself to even give them the few moments she did when she told them to leave. It was their own stupidity that would be the cause of their death. Isabella lunged toward the first man, the one closest to her. He was the one that had called her 'sugar'. Isabella did not appreciate pet names. Let alone ones from such horrendous humans. She quickly snapped his neck.

If Isabella had been sadistic enough, she would have bit each of the men and let them wither and squirm in agonizing, fiery pain for three days. But then they would become vampires. They would be free to kill as many humans as they pleased, simply to satisfy their own thirst. They would likely prey on small children, just as they were doing now. The worst part, Isabella thought, was that they would have an eternity to do so.

Instead, though, Isabella grabbed the third man, having killed the second by also snapping his neck after breaking both of his arms. She knocked him to the ground, stepping on his fragile leg, with hardly any pressure. She was sickeningly satisfied when the distinct snap of his femur breaking in half echoed in the alley that they occupied. The final man, the one who had not spoken even one word, was the one that she wanted to torture. Maybe it would seem odd that she would want to kill the silent one in the most ruthless way. But Isabella saw the way that he was lustfully gazing at the girls. He had looked at Isabella that way for a moment when she first landed by them, but then his eyes moved back toward the two small girls that were hiding behind the boys and his eyes filled with a filthy desire. She knew what that meant. He was a rapist. But not just any rapist. A rapist whose main victims were defenseless, innocent young girls. Ones who most likely didn't even know what sex or rape was. There was absolutely no way that Isabella was going to let him get away with a simple flick of her wrist, snapping his neck.

She went to the fourth and final man and she wrapped her pale, thin fingers around his throat, lifting him off the ground with ease. She curled her other hand into a fist and brought it forward, successfully crushing his manhood and pelvis with one blow. A punch that wouldn't so much as damage Isabella, let alone break her bones. Hers weren't made like a humans anymore. They had been strengthened beyond belief during her transformation as the venom took over her body. Isabella then uncurled her fist and, using her extraordinarily sharp finger nails, she easily sliced into the man's skin all along his left arm, followed by his right. Finally, when Isabella could no longer look at the poor excuse for a man — a human being — in front of her, she used her nail to cut deeply into his artery. As his blood gushed out, she dropped his broken body to the cold, hard ground, smiling when she heard his cry of pain.

A moment later, there were only five heartbeats in the alley.

Isabella turned to face the five scared, small children for the first time.

Their small faces held emotions of shock, fear, and awe as they gazed at Isabella. They didn't even look at the four dead bodies behind her, for they were far too entranced by her astounding beauty.

She took a hesitant, graceful step toward them. Her lips curved into a soft smile, not showing her teeth, as she felt her eyes go from the angry onyx they were, to a softer, less frightening shade of ocher.

The children did not even attempt to step back, though it would have been impossible as there was a brick wall behind them.

"Hello," she greeted kindly, her smile still in place. She was only about two steps away from them now.

"Hi," a timid voice replied to her. Her sharp eyes swiftly darted to where the voice came from. It was the smallest one. The little girl with the black hair.

Isabella knelt down in front of her. "What is your name?"

"Mommy says not to talk to strangers."

Isabella gave a soft chuckle. "What were you doing out here, then?"

The little girl frowned. "Mommy and daddy took us camping, but when they were sleeping the scary men came and took us from our tent and brought us here...then you came."

"Oh my, I bet your mother and father are sick with worry right now. May I please know your name, sweetling?"

The small girl hesitantly said, "Mary-Alice, but everyone calls me Mary. I hate it."

"May I call you Alice, then?" Isabella asked sweetly.

Mary-Alice's eyes lit up as she nodded excitedly. "Yes! I would much rather be called Alice."

"Okay, Alice. Would you allow me to know the names of your friends?"

Alice glanced at her friends. They seemed fine with it, so Alice spoke. "This is Rosalie, Emmett, Jasper and Edward."

"Ah, such fitting names. Beautiful people like you have beautiful names," Isabella spoke lovingly.

"You're pretty," said Rosalie quietly.

Isabella looked at her. "You're very beautiful yourself, little Rose." She smiled. "Would you and your friends allow me to escort you back to your parents?"

Rosalie smiled carefully at Isabella as she nodded her head. "Okay."

"What's your name?" the blond boy, Jasper, asked.

Isabella thought for a millisecond before replying. "Marie."

She could not possibly reveal her true identity, for it would surely bring great danger to her. The humans may not be able to do anything to harm her, but other vampires, some members of the Volturi for example, would be ecstatic to tear her head off of her body. Besides, it wasn't as if she was completely lying to these small children, as her middle name was truly Marie.

The biggest one, Emmett, grinned showing off dimples that Isabella immediately adored. "Wait until mom and dad hear about this!"

Isabella's eyes widened for a moment. "Sweetie, you cannot tell anybody about this. Nothing about what happened tonight may be revealed to others. Please, it must stay between the five of you and me. No one else can know, or else it would bring danger to not only me, but yourselves as well."

"But what are we supposed to tell mommy and daddy, then?" Alice asked, her big, innocent grey eyes filling with tears.

Isabella sighed. "You may speak of what happened, but you mustn't tell a soul of what I looked like. If you wish to speak the truth, then please, edit it a little. I did not have long dark hair; it was shoulder-length, straight, sleek blonde. I wore a flowing white dress; not all skin-tight black attire. My eyes were not black, nor were they golden; rather a light, clear blue."

"Are you an angel?" asked the boy who had not yet spoken up. Edward, his name was.

Isabella laughed lightly. "I'm far from it, sweetling."

Alice suddenly gasped. "You are an angel, aren't you?"

"No, I'm afraid I am not, my darling."

"Oh," she frowned. "Can we tell mommy and daddy that you had wings, too?"

Isabella smiled. "Of course. What did my wings look like?"

"They were long and curved and white."

"That is perfect, Alice," Isabella said. "Now we must go."

Quickly, though without using inhuman speed, Isabella pulled each of the children into her arms. Alice and Rosalie were cradled closest to her, one on each arm, with Edward and Jasper beside them, too. Emmett was riding on her back. It was an awkward position, but Isabella could easily pull it off with her strength. It was as it she were carrying nothing but a mere feather.

"Please hold on as tight as you possibly can. I will be going at a very fast speed," warned Isabella.

"As fast as you were before?" Edward asked.

"No, not quite," she chuckled. "Though you may still want to shut your eyes."

All five of them obliged and Isabella took off at a speed that, although was not nearly as fast as she could go, was much faster than a human.

The woods were only a few minutes from the spot that the men had brought the children to, though for her it was only a few short seconds, and she soon picked up the children's scent. She followed it almost to their campsite, when she stopped. All around there were police, detectives, and people hustling about. Isabella saw two people who looked to be only in their early twenties, frantically looking around. One was a man with golden blond hair and sapphire blue eyes, the other was a woman with caramel-auburn waves framing her motherly face and hazel brown eyes. She knew instantly that they would be the children's parents.

She spoke quietly, "You may open your eyes now."

After a few moments, all of the children's eyes were open.

"Speak quietly, please," Isabella said politely. "Your parents are just through those trees and they cannot hear us. Please be very careful next time you go camping and scream as loud as you can if you see strange men — or women — trying to take you somewhere, okay?"

The children nodded obediently, and Alice said, "Okay, Marie."

"Now, remember what I said: you cannot reveal the truth, only bits and pieces of it."

"We know," said Emmett, mocking exasperation. "Blonde hair, blue eyes, white dress and wings..."

He is terribly sarcastic for someone of such a young age, Isabella thought to herself.

Isabella grinned. "Exactly."

Alice hugged Isabella's leg. "Thank you, Marie."

At this, all of the children, except for Edward, gathered around Isabella in a group hug. After she let them go, she turned to Edward.

"No hug?" Isabella asked, feigning hurt and sadness, though she actually did feel slightly hurt.

Edward smiled and walked to her. "I wanted to hug you myself," he said as he lifted his arms for a hug. Isabella crouched down and wrapped her own arms around his small body. "Thank you, Marie, for saving us and bringing us back. You really are an angel."

She chuckled again. "No, I really am not, but thank you for saying I am. It makes me feel better about my existence...about myself." She let go of the small boy, but remained crouched. "Now you five must go, and never speak of the truth."

The children smiled at her gratefully as they waltzed through the trees, toward their parents. Edward stayed behind a moment. He looked around quickly, nervously, then dashed up to Isabella and planted his lips on her cheek. She knew he was blushing just by the scent of his blood growing for prominent. She turned to him and returned the peck on the cheek, causing him to blush even more.

"Now get going, Edward."

And with that, Edward followed the others through the trees and back to his family.

Isabella watched and listened as their parents, who she had heard were called Carlisle and Esme, rejoiced and cried as they hugged their children. She turned around and faced away from them. With one last glance behind her, she took off running away from the town she was in, and back to Seattle. She would go and live in Canada for a few years, possibly even reconnect with Max and Azria before she moved on again.

A/N: Just so you know, Max and Azria...yeah, I took those names from the name of a company. It's called Max Azria (or is it Maxazria?). I don't know why, but when I was writing this, it just popped into my head and I'm like "sure, why not?" so I used it as two names. Anyways, hope you enjoyed the first chapter of the story...I can't actually say when I'll update, because my life gets really hectic, especially with Christmas only a couple days away, then not long after are exams, so I'll be studying for those a lot. And I know that I had the kids use more formal language, but I don't know... I can't really picture them speaking any other way. Like in some stories that I've read, they have the Cullen kids cursing a lot, and I dunno, it just really doesn't suit it to me. Eh, so be it.

I'd also like to add that the title of this story "Alone" has...well, absolutely nothing to do with the story itself. I couldn't for the life of me think of an accurate title, and I was listening to my iPod when a song called Alone came on and I'm just like "good enough." Also, the songs that I'm using for the chapters (like for this one I used Skillet's "Hero") are mostly going to be completely randomly picked songs that likely have nada to do with the chapters...yeah, 'cause I'm cool like that.

One more thing; I would absolutely adore you if you were to give me some suggestions as to where I should take this story. What should happen? How should it happen? Just give me any sorts of ideas or suggestions that you can and I will love you forever.

Merry (almost) Christmas to all!

Please read and review!