Chapter 2: Awake

I don't know how long it had been since I had a single coherent thought. I really couldn't say I could remember when didn't feel like ripping my own body to shreds. I don't actually know when the fire was put out fully, though I am sure there mustn't be much of me left. I do know that when I did start to feel something, I felt everything, when I tried to focus on sound; I heard things that aught not be possible. I did know from the various sounds, scents and feel of things that I must be dreaming. I quickly tried to wake myself, in doing so I invited an onslaught of visual stimuli that I could comprehend fully, even though I shouldn't be. I closed my eyes tight…….Wake up bella…. My internal voice was screaming at me, only to be matched by and external voice imitating my own wishes. Who else is with me? Where am I? Why don't I remember anything? Wait, I do remember something……

"Bella"

Wait, I don't know that voice, and it is not in my head…….open your eyes Bella!

"Bella, we just want to help you, will you let us?"

My senses were immediately thrown into protective mode, my eyes shot open and I recoiled from the sounds, from the voice. I found myself in a defensive crouch, my back to the corner of the room and let the onslaught of images take over my senses. I was face to face with the most beautiful creatures I have ever encountered, save for the inhumanly beautiful being that attacked me which I did not see at present. Who are they? Why have they cornered me? How do I get out?

"Bella, I am Alice" I look directly at the pixie like tiny girl. Her eyes bore into my own as if she were trying to communicate through my mind. My gaze shifted to her left and I saw an equally beautiful man, wavy blond hair and a pensive look across his face. He had what appeared to be scars all over his immaculate face and arms and no doubt with that many visible I am sure more were hidden. So sad, what happened to him?

"I'm ……"I tried to speak, but what came out of what I assumed was my own vocal chords was an unfamiliar melody. "I am Bella, I think. Who are you? Am I Dead?"

She looked sheepishly at the floor and muttered something so quickly that if I had not possessed the senses I currently had I would not have heard her. "We are vampires, while our bodies are in fact dead we are immortal, and you now are one of us." She waited for my response, and aside from my mouth being in a state of permanent shock, I had no response. Impossible, there are no such creatures; this is one of my craziest dreams yet. Alice looked up at me and her eyes glazed over and when she regained visual stimuli she started jumping up and down and bouncing around the room and took me quite off guard so I got low again and was preparing to pounce on the little thing when I was smacked into hard and pinned against the wall. i tried to make sense of the moment, and went into fight mode, there was a mammoth beast of a man on me and it looked like he was using all of his strength and then some to keep me in one place. A guttural feral growl from the pit of my stomach let loose and I froze. What the heck was that?

I looked at the people in the room, all of their pale beautiful faces, golden eyes and perfect stature. I didn't know where to go from here, there is a larger than life man pinning me to the ground, I growl at people and my voice is unearthly. I needed some sort of sense in this weird dream. "Can someone please tell me happened?"

"Well Bella, what do you actually remember?" Alice was completely still right now, I am sure so I wouldn't freak out on her again.

"I remember my name, my mom and………OH." Oh my gosh, what did Phil do to me this time? How did he find me? I thought I was safe!

"Safe from what" the small girl wondered. I didn't realize I had said it out loud.

I didn't know if I could trust these beings, they could be working for Phil, no doubt about it, I am sure they were. What do I say to secure my own safety in this mess? "Is this a laboratory, or some sort of science research lab? Who runs it? How could Charlie turn me over?" I started sobbing at this point, it was more of a painful thing actually, there was no release of tears, my eyes stung and burned and upon noticing my eyes burning I toke note of another burn, "May I have some water please?" I hope I am allowed a drink, this burning will indeed make me go crazy!

"Well first off, we are certainly not a science lab, or research facility of any sort, although Carlisle wouldn't be apposed to such an idea, and Charlie does not know where you are at all right now." She seemed to flinch on the last bit of info.

"Where is he? Can I see him please?"

"No Bella, I don't think you understand, you are in fact a vampire, and you must now learn to embrace our world, I am so sorry this life was thrust upon you in such a violent manner, but I know for a fact this will work out for the best and we are going to be the best of friends, you just need to trust us. I suppose we don't deserve your trust yet, maybe you can just listen for a bit. If you feel that what we say is true then we would welcome you into our family with open arms, but you have to accept our lifestyle, and, well I am getting ahead of myself, please, we just want to help you the best we can Bella."

"Help me, from what? You can help me by taking me home so Charlie doesn't have a canary trying to find me, how long have I been gone?"

"Please believe me when I tell you that you can not go back to Charlie. Not today, not ever. We are so sorry."

"Why are you sorry Alice, did you do this to me? I seem to remember only one thing and it involves a beautiful man licking my head wound and then sticking his sharp……teeth……into my…….neck…..OH MY FRICK, your serious, I am a vampire now, I was bitten by a, one of you, and now I am a vampire!"

I started to panic and I had no idea how to process this information. All of a sudden I felt caged, trapped. My sense of needing to leave was overpowering my curiosity about my current situation; I looked frantically around the room for an exit. Perfect, a window. Before anyone could process my movements I bolted and flew quite literally out of the window. I some how managed to bring the ground slowly to my feet, and that is exactly the order it felt like. I ran as fast as I could and did not look back. I must have been flying, how is this possible, I expected trip and fall at some point very soon. This is not happening.

I noticed the rain droplets one by one as the made contact with the leaves on the trees and the rocks and each blade of grass. I noticed the twigs and sticks and trees as they moved pass me without a second glance. I could smell every dirt particle and various types of leaves, bugs, river, rocks, and what is that?? I took a deep inhale and was drawn almost hypnotically to the creature moving ahead of me. I did not take notice of his cries, or his ridiculous attempts to get me off of him. I finished with ease and as the last drop of blood was sucked out of this man I dropped him. What did I do? "Bella?" I turned quickly and was knocked back by an even sweeter scent, I held my breath because I was looking directly in the eyes that were my own. Charlie.

"Dad, Please stay back, I don't know……I……didn't know……help me……please"

"Bells" he was tearing up, and fell to his knees in front of me, never taking his eyes off of me. I had just killed the leading deputy in the search for me. Well, I guess he found me.

"Dad…….I……" I Couldn't concentrate any more, his scent was billowing freely and no amount of holding my breath was going to help me now, the frenzy took over my mind and I lunged forward only to be knocked back once again by the enormous man thing once again.

I fought him this time, hard, clawing, pushing, kicking, I realized I was hanging on to his hand, and that that hand was no longer attached to his arm. I quickly regained control, and dropped his hand to the ground.

By this time Charlie was taken quickly out of the area. I didn't get to say goodbye. I couldn't believe this was happening. I am the nightmare that I was trying to run from, I am the monster that creeps in at night and steals the innocence of others. I just wanted to be normal, and happy and have a chance at a life without fear, now I cause the fear.

"I am so, so sorry, I am not trying to be a monster……." Whispering was all I could muster at this point, but I knew he could here me.

"Hey, don't worry, Rosie takes my hand off and holds it hostage when ever she thinks i spend to much time on halo. It goes right back on, look, no harm."

I watched in awe as the man's hand fused flawlessly with his arm again, muscle to muscle as the black stuff oozed around to seal it off. Amazing, we really are immortal. But at what price?

"I'm Emmett, Sorry I have to keep taking you out today, you may as well know my name for the next time!"

"Thank you, I think?" I had no idea what else to say, he did stop me from attacking his pixie friend, and my own father, I suppose a thank you is as a good a response as any.

"Emmett, are you babysitting me? Why do you care?"

"I care because my dumb ass brooding brother didn't stay to clean up the mess that he made, no offense"

I decided to let that little comment slide, I assumed the brother figure is the one who bit me, I will ask about that later.

"So you help each other?" We started to walk back the way I ran from, I just followed, what other choice to I have anymore.

"Yeah, we are kind of a family, an unconventional family, but we really wouldn't survive in our way of life if we didn't stick close and care for each other. We don't eat people we eat animals Bella." I looked at the ground in shame and if I was still capable I would have blushed deeply for my offense.

I felt sick to my stomach as I processed the fact that I took a human life, with no effort at all. It was terrifying. If these people have a better way, then I am all for the knowledge.

"Don't feel ashamed Bella, you had no idea what you were capable of, but know that you are more than capable of taking out this entire town, so lets get back to the house and you can meet Carlisle."

"Who is Carlisle, how many of you are there?"

"There is me and my wife Rosalie, Alice and her husband Jasper, Carlisle and his wife Esme, they are for all intensive purposes our parental figures, and then there is Edward.

I gasped "Edward." That is the name, that is the brother, he is the one who hypnotized me. The black eyes.

"Where did he go?"

"When he bit you, in a moment of pure spaz and weakness that non of us can fully understand yet, he bolted."

I wonder why. Am I so terrible to be around, he didn't even know me. I know I am not as enchanting to look at as Alice, I have yet to meet the other two ladies, but something tells me I will not measure up. I must be something of an ogre if he couldn't even stay long enough to see if he killed me. We were almost to the house but I didn't want to go in. I don't want to meet more vampires, and hear their stories, and be a burden to babysit. I wasn't any better off right now than when I was Phil's test subject, Except I could certainly do something about Phil now couldn't I? I heard the voices inside the house as we approached,

"He is not coming back anytime soon, he made a huge mistake and he will beat himself up for it for eternity now"

"You don't know that rose!"

"As long as the newbie vamp is here he will not be coming back to be constantly reminded of his own weakness, his big mistake!"

I didn't need to see who was speaking to know that they were speaking the truth. Whatever had happened had seriously put a wedge in their family and I didn't need to stick around to make things worse. I patted Emmett on the shoulder "Thank you Emmett, sorry for being the source of your families strife……let them know that Edward can come back without anything to remind him of his mistake." I winced on the last word, but the truth often hurts.

I turned and before Emmet could reach out and grab me I was gone. I don't know how I got here, at the edge of the cliff but now was a good a time as any to test out my vampire weaknesses. How well can I swim, we shall see. I reached the edge, looked down to the crashing angry gray and white waves below. They looked how I felt, jumbled, dark, spinning out of control, I closed my eyes and jumped, soared and free fell. It was beautiful, I was free. So I swam in freedom for as long and as far as I could.