I'm back! Shocker, I know. Okay, so I know this story is going to be questioned. A lot. So I'm just gonna fill you in on a couple things now.
It kinda sorta takes place in Twilight. Bella never found out that Edward was a vampire. In fact, he never even said a word to her, because she disappeared from Forks before even got back from Alaska. Yes, I know her diet is not something that Stephanie ever even mentioned. Please, do not question me, or my motives, on it. It will only be mentioned a couple times in the story, and that's a bit later on. and this isn't going to be a very long story, although depending on how well you guys react to it, there might be a sister story to it when I'm done. Okay?
One more thing...
NOW YOU DON'T HAVE TO KILL ME STEPHANIE!
Death. It's something that nobody can hide from. No matter who you are, death will find you in the end. And he's always lurking in the shadows, waiting, waiting for the perfect moment. Spending so much time in a place that reeks of death, a place where you can always feel his presence, you get used to it. Sensing that he's near you doesn't send your body into overdrive like it used to. It hardly affects you anymore. After being around death for so long, you begin to think yourself invincible.
And that's always when he reaches out, and claims you as his.
I took one last drag on the puncture wounds in the neck before letting the body fall. I closed my eyes, savoring the feeling of the burning cocktail rushing through my veins, strengthening me, giving me a rush. After a moment, I sighed and opened my eyes, gazing down at the lifeless body at my feet.
You knew him, my mind whispered to me, you knew him.
And I did know him. He was brought in around the same time I was. He helped to train, he helped to lead us in battle. He was older. He was skilled. He was a good fighter. And now he's dead.
"His name was Jonathan." I said quietly, pulling my eyes away from the lifeless body, and focusing them on Daniel's face.
"Belle, you know I couldn't care less about their names. To me, they are all just faceless, nameless soldiers." Daniel said, appearing suddenly by my side. I had gone back to staring at the lifeless body, and, in hopes to recapture my attention, Daniel wrapped his arms around my waist and started kissing my neck. "But I find it so sweet that you care, that you bother to learn their names."
"What do you think it's like?" I asked him suddenly. He stopped his kisses, and put his chin on my shoulder.
"What do I think what's like?" He asked.
"That." I nudged the body with my foot. "What do you think it's like to be drained of everything inside of you? To be trapped in your own body, with no strength, no escape?"
"I think it's death. They die because they have nothing to fuel them. Simple as that."
"But what if your wrong? What if you get trapped in your body, unable to move? It would be horrible! I would rather die than have that happen to me." I said, turning around in Daniel's arms.
He gave me a quick kiss on the lips. "Well, unless you want to sit here, and observe them, I suggest that you get ride of these bodies."
I sighed, and pulled out of his arms. Daniel knew that I couldn't stand to be around my kills, human or vampire, anymore than he could, and that this was a sure fire way to get me to get rid of the bodies. I bent down, and heaved my kill up over one shoulder with ease. Then, I quickly move to were Daniel had left his, and heaved it up over my other shoulder.
"Hurry back." Daniel said before disappearing up the steps of the large, old house we inhabited. I sighed again, and went out through the back screen door.
I quickly made my way down the crumbling stone steps that led up to our house, and down the yellowed grass to where I could see the large bonfire burning in the distance. In the air, I could detect a bit of tension, something I could usually feel before a battle. But the battle was over, and the fire was being fed with those who weren't worth keeping, friend or foe, and the dead. I pushed the thought of tension from my mind, however, dismissing it as an after affect from the fight.
As I reached things surrounding the large fire, things quieted down, and everyone seemed to still their movements. Even though my eyes were focused on the fire, I could tell they were staring at me. They always do, when I'm alone. When Daniel's around, they wouldn't dare.
I reached the fire, and took the burdens from my shoulders, flinging them into the fire. I watched as the fire first caught their clothing then quickly moved onto their skin and hair, reducing them to ashes. I turned back around then, and looked at all the soldiers who were watching me. Upon seeing that I was watching them, they went back to work, tearing apart those who were to burn, and talking in muted voices. As I started to make my way back up the hill from the clearing to where the old house was, I heard somebody mention the tension in the air. They could feel it too.
I reached the top of the hill, and was standing at the bottom of the stone steps when I turned around, looking out over the large clearing below me. Some of the louder voices carried up to me, along with the screams of those being dismantled, and the metallic screeches as their parts were torn from them. Behind me, I could hear Daniel pacing in the house, no doubt waiting for me to return to him.
As the seconds went by, the thought of the tension in the air grew stronger. No matter how hard I tried to push it from my mind, it kept coming back, stronger. Those below me were now discussing it too. They could feel it growing, as it always did before a battle. Some discussed another army coming one that their leaders didn't see. Others quickly dismissed this, saying that Daniel never missed anything, or anyone. Deciding that I should probably tell Daniel about this, I turned, and started back towards the house.
When I entered the house through the rickety back door, the smell of candles instantly reached my nose. I inhaled the scent, then made my way towards the entrance room, and up the large, curved staircase. When I reached the top, I could see Daniel pacing through a half open door at the other end of the staircase. I made towards it.
"Daniel," I said as I pushed the door the rest of the way open, and entered the room, "Are you okay?"
"Can you feel it?" He asked me, turning to face me. "Can you feel it in the air?"
"The tension, yeah and the-"
"The others can feel it too, I know. I've been able to feel it ever since you walked out." He said, starting his pacing again. "But what does it mean?"
"I don't know, but they're worrying, the others. They fear that we don't know what's coming. They doubt us." I said, walking over to the window, and gazing out at what I could see of the small town from this window.
"And they should! We don't know what's coming! So why shouldn't they fear?" He yelled suddenly, turning on me. I turned around, surprised by his sudden outburst at me.
"Because, Daniel! They should be able to trust that we will lead them-"
"That we lead them? You don't lead them. They are mine, my minions, to do whatever I want." Daniel hissed, advancing on me. I back up so that I was pressed up against the cracked window, my hands hopelessly searching for something I could use against him. He froze, his face just inches from mine. His eyes become unfocused, signaling that something else had caught his attention. Automatically, I started searching for whatever it was that had pulled his attention away from me, but found nothing but silence.
In an instant, he was gone, heading out of the room, and down the steps. "It's too quiet. Something's coming."
I followed him out of the room, down the stairs, and out the back door. When I reached him, he was standing where I had been just seconds before, looking at the crowd. Everybody was gazing out at the horizon, and I realized that Daniel was right. Somebody was coming.
It didn't seem like something to worry about, though. From what I could see, it was only three figures, two of them small, even smaller than myself. I tried to see more, but I couldn't. All I could see was three dark figures, coming towards us from a mist.
Nothing to worry about, I told myself, you have many more who are willing to fight them. They shall be overcome easily. Too easily.
As I watched, they stopped at the other end of the clearing. The mist continued to creep forward from them, though, approaching us. Some of those below us, especially those in the front of the fire, closest to the figures, started to back away slowly. But before they could get far, they froze. I felt Daniel himself stiffen next to me for an instant and looked at him.
"Go! Run!" He suddenly shouted. It was too late, though. Most of the soldiers had already frozen. But the few who weren't started scrambling up the hill towards us, desperate to get away from the mist. As they came towards us, so did the cloak figures. I watched as the smallest one pulled it's hand out from under it's cloak, a small golden thing in it's hand. Flames suddenly leapt from it, devouring those who were frozen, and closest. The other small one started into the mist, unaffected by it, and started to quickly tear our army apart, tossing the parts into the large bonfire we had made.
I suddenly felt a hand on my arms, tugging at it. "Belle, come." Daniel said, his voice urgent. "We need to get away from here!"
I didn't listen to him, though, and stayed where I was as he and the handful of others who had gotten away started for the town. The mist had reached the top of the hill, and wrapped itself around me. Suddenly scared, I started backing away, out of as the others had not been able to, and started after Daniel and the others.
I caught up to them, and Daniel reached out and took my hand. We lead the five others out of the town, and into the open lands that surrounded it. Even though there was no sign of the cloaked figures, we didn't stop running, or even slow down. Nobody said anything, not even to ask where we were going, so we ran the night in silence.
Finally, when I could just barely see the bit of coloring on the horizon that signaled the coming of dawn, Daniel veered off track, and started for the large city than we had been running along the edge of. We slowed, running at a human pace as not to attract attention, through the city. Despite how early - or late, depending on how you looked at it - it was, the city was alive. A few people walked along the sidewalks, giving us strange looks as we passed, and cars filled the streets.
Daniel led us to what seemed to be the older part of the city, were factories were, and an old power plant. It was to the power plant that he led us, easily breaking the old rusted lock on the door, and pulled open the also rusted door. When I entered, I saw that the downstairs part of the plant was mostly empty, a few old machines here and there, but that was it. There was an old staircase on the opposite side of the room, and several doors leading off to other rooms. Dirt, and glass littered the floor from the broken windows. Graffiti covered some of the walls, and a couple of the machines. It was very easy to tell that this place hadn't been in use for awhile.
"We can stay here for now. I doubt that they will come looking for us during the day, in fear of catching attention. If we ourselves wouldn't catch attention, I would suggest that we spend the days running and the nights hiding." Daniel said, looking at us all.
"Yeah, we'll catch attention by bursting into flame." Muttered one of the others. My head snapped to him, and I could tell that he was young. I could also tell that he was one of the ones that we had taken into our own army from the one we had just fought with from the way he talked. His accent was slightly French, New Orleans if I wasn't mistaken. Nobody from our army that we made ourselves was from anywhere but here. That is, anyone except me.
A couple of the others snickered at the young ones ignorance, while the others, including Daniel, just sighed and rolled their eyes. One of the ones who had been snickering spoke up. "What, do you think we're like those film 'monsters'? The ones that sleep in coffins, and burn in the sun?"
"Yeah, and die from a stake in the heart?" Said another who had been snickering. I knew none of their names.
"Yeah…" Said the outsider, a little hesitantly. "That's what we were taught. To fear the sun, and crucifixes."
The two who had been snickering at him before burst out laughing, clearly finding this hilarious. I decided to speak up. " The only things we need to fear is the fire, and others of our kind. The sun does nothing, but makes our skin glitter, which will capture the attention of mortals. And that, of course is against the rules. To reveal yourself to a mortal human is forbidden."
"And what about garlic? And mirrors? And photographs, and keyholes? Are any of those myths true?" The vampire asked.
I shook my head. "None." He nodded, and slumped against one of the walls. I turned to Daniel. "Who were they? Those cloaked vampires? They were of our kind, weren't they?"
"Yes, they are of our kind." Daniel replied, walking over to me. "They are the guards of the oldest of us. They are the guards of our rulers."
"Rulers?" One of the others asked, one of the ones who had been quiet up to then. "Since when does anybody rule over us?"
"Since several thousand years ago." Daniel replied, fixing his eyes on the vampire while wrapping his arm around my waist.
"So why did they come after us?" I asked him, leaning my head on his shoulder.
"Because they think that we are a threat to the rules. That we will expose the secret." Daniel replied. "They hear of an army growing to big, too strong, and they set out to destroy us. That's how all of the old, and powerful armies are ended."
"And how do you know all of this?" Asked one of the ones who had been snickering before.
"Because I've been through it before. I was in one of those armies that got destroyed. Only I was lucky: I got away."
The others seemed to accept this and slinked off to be on their own, or talk to one other in different corners of the factory. Daniel and I stayed where we were, his arm around me, and my head on his shoulder.
"Now what?" I asked after a couple of minutes.
"Now, we wait."
I don't know when I will update again, so don't hold your breath waiting for me. Please, please, review!