It hits me hard in the cab. I can't breathe, my vision is swimming, I'm sweating profusely, and I've had to ask the driver to pull over three times so I could violently vomit on the side of the road. I think I've been moaning, but I honestly can't be sure. And then I'm burning. I'm on fire, burning from the inside out, and I'm gasping, wheezing, and closed-mouth shrieking.

And suddenly, the cab violently pulls over to the side, my door is open and the driver is ushering me out. I can feel him pulling me towards the sidewalk, but my knees buckle from the pain. My mind gives up, and all I see is black.

The mind numbing pain keeps me locked in this dark abyss. I can't say where I am or how long I've been this way. I think I've been whimpering, and screaming, but I can't keep a lock on any rational thought long enough to know for certain. I can feel cold hands on me, all over me, looking for something. My veins are burning, and my back is arching, and I want to die. God let me die. Please kill me.

And then I'm gasping, and sitting up, and my eyes are open.

I'm in a hospital. And there's someone standing next to my bed. And God, the lights are so fucking bright, and there's so much noise, and everyone is screaming, and my mind feels like it's splitting in half, and I'm pulling at my hair and I clench my teeth and I just want it all to,

"STOP!" I've shrieked it out loud, shrill and violent as it tears from my throat.

There's a hand on my back, and suddenly I'm moving. I reach out to attack whomever is touching me, to make it go away, but my hands are behind my back and I'm shoved face-first against a wall.

I feel someone take a deep breathe against my neck, and then a drawled,

"You need to calm down, love, or someone's going to get hurt."

I shove against them, desperate to be free, and flashes of that night race across my vision.

And I don't know where I am, and I don't know what's happening to me, and someone is restraining me, and I can't breathe, and I'm shoving harder, and the screaming starts again.

And then I'm on the floor with my head between my knees, and a cold hand on my neck, while someone whispers,

"Just take a deep breathe darlin', no one here is going to hurt you."

I concentrate on taking deep breathes, but something doesn't feel right. The air grates on my throat as I pull it in and push it out, and my chest isn't moving correctly with my breathes.

I hear a conversation above me, and I suddenly realize I'm surrounded my multiple people in a small, dark room. I'm out from under the consoling hand, and backed into the furthest corner of the closet as soon as I make the revelation. And they're beautiful; in an infuriating and disgusting way. And they all look alike, and they're staring at me. My hands are out in front of me, my hands shaped to form claws to warn them all away. I feel like an animal, and I'm sure I look far worse.

"Careful, sweetheart. We won't hurt you. We know this must be confusing, but we're here to help you," one of the females croons at me.

And I want to scratch at my ears, because her voice sounds like the most annoying bells.

My eyes narrow and I find myself accusing them.

"Who the hell are you, where the hell am I, and what the hell is happening to me? And I swear to all that is mother-fucking holy, someone had best give me a straight answer because I am about to vomit and I don't have time for anything else."

And it's true, because suddenly my stomach is heaving, and there's bile in my throat and I want to die.

The older woman looks somewhat affronted, but turns to the older male to provide me with an answer.

And they proceed to fill my head with stories about vampires, werewolves, transformations, feeding from humans, feeding from animals, sudden emotional upheavals, and having to act normally around humans.

My back hits the wall behind me and I'm sliding down until my butt hits the cool linoleum floor.

"Now Bella, you arrived at Charlie's house in a cab, showing symptoms of the transformation, and your father called an ambulance, afraid you were dying. He doesn't know anything about what you are, only that you are very sick. I am a doctor at this hospital, overlooking your care, and I am going to help you through this. But I need you to want to get better. To choose to feed from animals instead of humans, and to stay away from your father until you can control the urge to feed entirely."

I look up at the man, Carlisle I think, and I can see the honesty and compassion in his eyes. My anger is drained from me, and suddenly I can't do anything but cry. And its like a dam breaking, because I'm sobbing and wailing, and the female vampire is wrapping me in her arms and pulling me close. But I go to wipe my face, and there aren't any tears.

Her hands are on my face, Esme I think she said, and her thumbs wipe gently under my eyes.

"We can't physically cry anymore, sweetheart, but we feel the pain all the same. And it's ok if you need to cry. We're here for you."

And I'm shaking again, a lump in my throat, and an agonized wail rips from my chest as I think about everything I've experienced in the last twenty-four hours. And yes, my life fucking sucks. But she's hugging me, and I grip her like my life depends on it; curling in to her chest and crying for everything I've lost.

And I feel them; the people surrounding me. Carlisle, Edward, Alice and Jasper all staring down at the wreck I've become, and waiting for me to pull myself up. These absolute strangers are suddenly my life-line, and I feel like giving up.

The doctor has signed some form to have me released, but has told my father that I need to stay in the ICU for an indeterminate amount of time. And that I can't have any visitors. How convenient.

They sneak me out the back exit, into a car, and drive me to their home. And I tell them my story in broken whispers, and jagged sobs, and I'm a mess before Carlisle has put the car into park again.

Esme escorts me from the back seat, sits me on her couch, and hands me water. I can't drink it, but the feeling of performing a relatively normal task sets me towards calming down.

Alice sits on the couch next to me, and gently grabs my hand to hold. And I grip onto hers, desperate for some form of comfort.

Carlisle clears his throat, though I don't think he needs to, and begins the questioning.

"Bella, how are the urges? I know how painful it can be to repress the need to feed."

But I'm not quite sure what he's talking about. So I ask for a clarification.

Emmett steps forward, eager to impart his knowledge,

"The horrible burning in your throat; the desire to rip into someone else's and drink until there's nothing left? Or maybe the cravings that consume every thought, and won't subside until you've quenched your thirst?"

"I'm still not sure what you're talking about, because I don't feel any of those things. And I'd rather not rip into anyone's throat, seeing as how my mother and step-father were murdered in that very way!

The anger is sudden, becoming a burning inside of me, and I find myself helplessly shrieking by the end.

But before my tirade can continue, Edwards speaks out in astonishment,

"Wait, wait, wait. You're saying you have all the abilities of a newborn but none of the desire for blood? How does that work? And how in the hell did she hold off the transformation through a flight and partial car ride?"

But I couldn't care less, and suddenly my need to disappear feels urgent. So I'm running, ducking around every member of that fucking family, and I'm headed for the forest bordering the house. Everything is rushing past me, and I'm looking at it all in amazement. I can see every individual leaf on every tree, and every speck of dirt on the forest floor. It all looks so much more beautiful than I ever realized, and I begin to run faster in my giddiness.

And then I feel it. There's something in the forest nearby, running with me. I'm surrounded on either side, and I pick up speed to try and escape whatever it is.

I take a leap to jump over a fallen tree, but I'm hit from behind midair, and flipped onto my back. And there's a fucking werewolf standing over me, snarling and salivating into my face. One paw is crushing my chest, it's nails digging into my skin and ripping through my clothes. Its head suddenly rears back, and my hands reach out to grasp its jaw before it can rip into me.