A/N: I do not own the Twilight universe nor any of the Cullens or Denali clan with the exception of Jesse Macgillivray. The rest of the characters are my own creation. I hope you enjoy this!
Prologue
What do you do when your driving goal, the thing you've worked for to the exclusion of everything else, is gone? How do you pick up the pieces and move on? Revenge is sweet, but they never tell you how you feel after you've taken it.
Chapter One
It was a strange feeling. She had spent nearly a century keeping tabs on one person. Plotting. Planning. Revising. When Amanda had contacted her she knew that the time was finally right. Amanda was no longer looking over her shoulder, wondering if retribution was about to find her. Had she really been that stupid? Maybe it had just been the fact she was slowly descending into madness. In the end it hadn't mattered. The beautiful sound of her teeth on Amanda's neck had been worth every day of the wait.
Kelli Masterson stood in front of the mirror in a small bathroom in a cheap motel. Images of the fight still floated in front of her eyes, as if she were dreaming while awake. She shook herself both mentally and physically to rid herself of the unwanted memories. It had been three weeks since she had torn Amanda's head off, and she wasn't ready to admit to herself that she had nothing left to live for.
Pushing away from the sink, she stalked out of the room and quickly dressed. The jeans were black and emphasized her long, long legs. A light blue cashmere sweater was soft against the marble of her skin. She pulled on a pair of Converse low top sneakers to complete the look. Her honey gold hair fell in soft waves about her shoulders and half way down her back. Slipping on a pair of dark glasses that covered half her face, she took a look in the mirror and nodded to herself.
Kelli quickly gathered the rest of her things and tossed them into her carry all. Grabbing her car keys, she left the room key on the desk and headed out into the cloudy day. She was in Spokane, Washington. The truth was, she didn't feel like going back to her apartment in Binghamton, New York. As nice as it was to be able to move about the city during the day, the clouds were not something she was looking forward to going back to.
Throwing her bag in the back and tossing her phone on the passenger seat, she got behind the wheel of her 1970 Barracuda. When she had bought it, it was in terrible shape, and Kelli had spent hours restoring it to it's original beauty. She glanced at the phone, and decided against making the call. Jade could wait. Never mind that she had been calling constantly since before Kelli had killed Amanda.
Putting the car in gear and pulling out, she smiled as she listened to the rumble of the engine. While restoring the car, she had made a few upgrades, of course. The engine she had chosen was powerful, and made a wonderful purring as she drove. When she was out of the state of Washington, she finally picked up the phone and dialed the number from memory.
Jade picked up immediately. "Kelli, where the hell have you been for the last month?! You haven't answered my phone calls, my text messages, nothing! I thought Amanda figured you out, and killed you."
Kelli sighed. Jade was young, and she had to remember to practice patience sometimes. "Jade, I'm fine. Amanda is dead. Life will go on. I called to let you know that I'm fine, I'm alive, and I'm not coming home."
"Wait, what? You're not coming home? Have you lost your bloody mind?" Jade exclaimed, and Kelli had to pull the phone away from her ear.
"Look, Jade, I have some things I have to take care of. Be on the lookout, I'm not sure the fallout from this won't come after you. Once Chelsea gets wind of what happened to her sister, I'm sure she's going to come after me with a vengeance, and that could include killing one of mine."
Jade was Kelli's... well she didn't know exactly what. Sister she supposed, though they weren't blood related. Not like Jessica had been. Kelli had met Jade about twenty years ago, and they had bonded over their losses. Jade had lost a sister as well, though not in quite the same way. Jade had been bitten by a vampire, mauled really. She still hadn't been able to figure out why the vampire didn't finish her. Jade's sister had found her, and somehow dragged her home. She had watched as her sister transformed, screaming in pain. And when Jade awoke into her new life, she had smelled the sweetest blood, and drank it.
It had been about a year later when Kelli had run into her, feeding very publicly. For some reason, Kelli hadn't killed her when Jade attacked, and the two had become like sisters. Kelli had explained the secret to her, making her understand why she had to stay out of sight when feeding and when it was sunny out.
"Kelli, are you still there?" Jade asked.
Mentally shaking herself again, Kelli cursed herself. "Yes, I'm still here, sorry. Just, stay on alert. I'm heading south. I need beaches and sunshine to kill this dark mood."
Kelli could almost hear the frown in Jade's voice. "Kelli...."
"I'll find a country place to rent, some place with no neighbors for miles, and a nice pool," she replied.
"Whatever. Take care, and stay in touch." Jade pleaded.
"Yeah, yeah, I will. You be careful. Talk to you soon," Kelli hung up before Jade could reply.
Turning her attention back to the road ahead, she put the pedal down. Florida sounded like a great place to set up shop.
~***~
Driving cross country was always a chore. Even when you drove way over the speed limit, and avoided the cops like the plague it was tedious. And it was made worse for Kelli because the only companion she had was her thoughts.
What are you going to do with your life now, Kelli? Your whole reason for living has been eliminated. You saved the day, and the other girl got the guy. They rode off into the sunset. Where does that leave you?
Kelli tried to ignore the voice in her head saying these things. She turned the stereo on, turning up the music to ear drum shattering. She sang along with the songs that came on. But still, that voice was nagging her.
You really think running away by yourself is going to cure these dark moods of yours? At least if you had Jade with you, she could keep you from destroying yourself.
She pulled the car over after that particular thought. She was somewhere in the middle of the country. Texas maybe. She wasn't sure. Parking at a convenience store, she decided to go hunting. That should satiate her hunger and her mind.
Letting her senses take over, she stalked her prey. The man was ridiculously easy to track. Seeing a woman behind him, the fool didn't even have the decency to be alarmed. When he crossed the opening to a dark alley, she was on him, yanking him into the shadows and throwing him against the wall before sinking her teeth into his neck.
When she had finished with her meal, she left him in a dumpster and walked, human paced, back to her car. The unhelpful thoughts were being kept at bay at the moment by the purring of the satiated beast. Sliding into the drivers seat of her car, she started the engine and pulled out. Getting back on the highway, she turned on the radio again, leaned back in the seat, and let the pounding rock beats guide the car. By morning she would be in Florida.
She would have to find a place to stay out of the sun until twilight. Once the shadows lengthened, she would be able to set up in a motel, and coordinate a plan to find a place in the country. A place she could be herself, and not worry about discovery. Maybe she would take up online classes. She really would like to work in a garage, but if she wanted to stay in Florida, that was probably out of the question.
Right now, her life was uncertain. She hoped that soon, a new path would be illuminated for her.
