1I'm sorry it's taking so long between each chapter. I'm starting from scratch as a writer so it's a learning process for me as I go.

I would like to give a shout out to Project Team Beta on Twilighted for their love and support. Jmeyer has the patience of a saint!

Please, pretty please...review here and if you are a member of Twilighted, PLEASE review once this story is published on that site. I am currently waiting for it to be validated there. I decided to go ahead and publish it here for my loving friends on FF!

All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc., are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Chapter 2

"And today September 11, 2001, the invisible shield which protected us from all the evil things that went on in other places around the globe was gone. War had come to New York City. And nobody even saw it coming." ~ Brendan Chellis, North Tower survivor

7:30 am

Edward

"Flight 175 is now boarding for JFK International Airport in New York..."Thefaceless voice announced over the intercom, "...and thank you for flying United Airlines."

Finally. I bent down to pickup my laptop, and stopped to see people shuffling toward the entryway. I waited a few minutes before getting in line. The flight attendant's eyes lit up as she stretched out her hand to receive my pass, her hand grazing my skin. With an expression of confusion, she instinctively jerked hand back. She stared at my pale skin with surprise. I knew I had to do something before she would say anything. I casually exhaled my breath to flow into her face; she instantly relaxed and motioned me forward.

I had been a vampire for almost one hundred years. In 1918, Chicago was hit with Spanish influenza. My human parents and I were among the unfortunate victims. It came upon us so fast that we didn't make it out of the house to go to the hospital. We were trapped in our home, with no one to take care of us. The housekeeper, cook and butler were already dead. Both of my parents passed away within days of becoming ill. I was left alone on the verge of death; I slipped in and out of consciousness for several days. When awake for brief moments, I screamed for help until I could no longer speak. I felt my body raging with fever, the droplets of sweat pouring down my face. My system started to shut down and total delirium took over. On my final night, I sensed an unknown presence in the room. I struggled to whisper, "Help me," but nothing came out. Defeated, I waited for death to arrive. As I took my last few breaths I saw, through blurred vision, a figure. I then felt a cold, gentle hand brush away my hair on the side of my neck. As if to whisper in my ear, they leaned over me. Within seconds, life as I knew it was over.

Time was one of the things I hated most about my existence, yet it was one of the many constants to my kind. Nearly all vampires had learned to exist for no other purpose than to satisfy their own selfish wants and desires. We acquired lavish possessions that had no use other than to be owned. Most vampires enjoyed this way of life; being carefree, traveling the world, being superior to humans. The money, houses, and cars-- it was all at our disposal. They were things to fill the emptiness we all felt inside. The void was never-ending.

I found my seat and settled in for the short flight. I closed my eyes pretending to take a nap, and sitting as close to the window as I could without looking utterly peculiar. As I ran the latest melody I created in my head, my cell phone rang. I looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Alice. I was in no mood to hear her little voice telling me about all the wonderful shopping she accomplished so far while in New York. So, I turned off my phone, closed my eyes again and concentrated on my lovely melody.

I heard a sharp intake of breath as my melody ended. I looked up and saw an attractive woman walk toward me with a sly cat grin. I had seen this look before and I knew what was coming. I quickly retrieved my iPod from my pocket and placed the earphones in my ears. When she sat down, I knew she would do everything to get my attention. Sure enough, she "accidentally" dropped her cell phone on the floor. Bending over to retrieve it, I noticed her thong peeking out of her low-rise jeans. With phone in hand, she leaned back in her chair. I then felt the tip of her high heels graze my leg as she crossing and uncrossing them. While she tried to use all her moves, I continued to look straight ahead with my earphones on. She couldn't talk to me if I couldn't hear her. Oh, she tried to get my attention with waving her hand as if to say "hi", but I just ignored her. After many attempts she gave up and looked around to see whom else she could possibly attract. She stood up, sauntered down the aisle, and sat next to a man in a business suit. I couldn't help but grin as she walked away. I once again closed my eyes. Humans are so dense.

Although I had no reason to hurry, I still grew impatient. Humans only increased my irritation with their crying children and tiresome ways. Once again, I pondered the idea of how humans had managed to survive so long with their prominent physical and mental weaknesses. Vampires were far superior.

With all the humans I've encountered over the years, their actions were always the same. No matter how much a person had in regard to possessions or money, there was never enough. Greed was dirty, and humans immersed themselves in it. With the history of all their past wars, one might think that they would learn their lesson. What were the sayings? "Learn from others' mistakes. Don't let history repeat itself." Did people take hold of the opportunity with each generation to change the world and make it a better place to live? No. They made the same mistakes over and over again. It left me with nothing but contempt for them.

I felt a sudden jolt and opened my eyes in time to see a rather large man squeeze himself into the seat next to mine. I could tell he didn't want to sit next to me, but all the seats were taken. Usually whenever an unlucky passenger walked to sit next to me, they took a slight step back and looked around. Their human instincts screamed for them to get away, but they shook their head thinking it was just their imaginations. This man was a perfect example as he tried to sit as far away as he could to avoid contact.

After waiting almost forty-five minutes for the plane to take off, it finally started to move toward the airstrip. The man next to me took a piece of gum out of his jacket and shoved it into his mouth. His chewing quickly turned into smacking in my ear, I felt as though I would come unglued. I cleared my throat to get his attention; it didn't work. Maybe I should shove that gum down your throat to make you choke on it. I cleared my throat for the second time, this time a bit louder and with a slight growl. He finally looked at me and I stared back menacingly at him. The man's eyes widened, his face turned ashen. He quickly swallowed his gum with a big gulp, gave a weak smile, and looked straight ahead without moving another inch.

7:30 am

Bella

Angela and I arrived a few minutes early to work, so we decided to hang out outside of the building. It was the prettiest day we had seen in a long time. Most days were gray and dull. Today the sky was blue and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Who would have expected this in September in New York City?

Taking a quick look at the sky one last time, I walked with Angela into the South Tower of the World Trade Centers. I would have given anything to be able to play hooky and spend the whole day outside, but that wasn't going to happen.

Men with their ties and women in their high heels crowded into the elevator as Angela and I squeezed in. We both worked on the 83th floor so it took awhile to get there. I casually pinned a curl that was hanging in my face and placed it behind my ear as I waited.

As she often did when we went out together, Angela gave me a little nudge with her elbow along with a longing sideways glance at the hot guy next to her. I peeked at the guy through the hair that was hiding my face. He was hot! I laughed to myself as I saw Angela wiggle her eyebrows up and down and licked her lips. She could be so bad sometimes!

The elevator doors opened as Angela and I pressed our way out of the elevator and into the hallway. With my usual grace, I walked to my desk on the north side of the floor. I often felt lucky to be seated near the windows and not stuck in a small gray cube with no view. I placed my purse in the top drawer of my desk and parked myself in my chair. The top of my desk was pretty simple; a small framed photo of my family, a Dilbert comics calendar, a desktop computer, and other essential office items.

I stared at the photo sitting next to my coffee cup. It was taken when I was first born, when my parents were still together. While my mother was practically like a child to me, Charlie was someone I barely knew. My parents were living in a small town in Washington when I was born. Soon after my arrival, Renee left Charlie and moved us to Arizona. When I was young, I would go visit him every summer. I started to see him less and less the older I got.

I never really got an explanation on why my parents split up. I could only assume the opposites attract notion didn't apply to them. I don't think Charlie ever got over my mom. On the rare occasions I would visit him over the years, he never once changed anything in the house. Photos from their wedding and the three of us as a "family" still stood on the fireplace mantel after 21 years of collecting dust. It was such a sad place to visit.

Angela and I worked for Newton & Scott Accounting Firm as file clerks. Mike Newton, the owner's son, was my boss. Mike was nothing special- brown hair, brown eye, and pudgy in the middle- but he wasn't lacking in the self-esteem department. He flirted with anything in high heels. For whatever reason beyond my comprehension, girls actually fell for his slimy comments. The only thing I could think of, when they looked at him, was the wealth and opportunity, not looks and personality. I loathed how Mike was constantly coming-on to me, but I felt I could handle him.

Mike's assistant, Jessica, was a total bitch. Unfortunately for me, she and Mike were both my bosses. It seemed like her goal in life was to take every possible opportunity to make my life miserable. In fact, Jessica and Mike were secretly dating. Well, it wasn't exactly a secret since everyone knew about it, but everyone kept up the facade. Every time Mike flirted with me in front of Jessica, she slammed her desks drawers or the phone. Most of the time, I recoiled at the thought of what she might do or say when Mike left my desk. Once in a while, I smiled with the knowledge that it got under her skin and there was nothing she could do about it.

Angela's boss, Victoria Scott, was Mike Senior's business partner. Working for Victoria was like working with an ice princess. Victoria was a beautiful woman with her long wavy hair as red as a fire engine truck. Her bright green eyes were covered in long thick lashes that fluttered when she would want her way with a man. That worked 99.9% of the time. On the other hand, it was a totally different situation if you were a woman. Oh, Victoria could be sweet as pie when telling you to do something, but double cross her and your butt would soon be out the door. How Angela managed to work for her was beyond me.

Victoria's assistant, Lauren, was best friends with Jessica and just as snobby. They took every break, bathroom run, and lunch together. They spent hours gossiping to each other through email. You knew they were talking about you when they both looked up from their monitors and stared daggers at you at the same time.

With a sigh, I reached over and turned on my computer. As I typed in my password, I caught sight of Mike walking toward my desk.

"Good morning, Isabella," Mike said as he leaned over my desk. Mike took every opportunity to get as close as possible to me. Once, I could almost swear that I heard him trying to inhale my scent. Gross!

Even though everyone in the office called me Bella, Mike insisted on calling me Isabella. "It sounds more intriguing," he always said. It gave me the creeps.

"Hi, Mike," Icalmly replied as I tried to look busy.

"Have you completed the Ferguson Report from Monday?" he asked, as he leaned further in until he was practically breathing down my neck.

"No, but I will finish it before lunch," I replied as I stood up and subtly began backing away from him. Giving him a slight smile, I swiftly walked to the fax machine room on the west side of the floor.

"Ok…well, don't keep me waiting too long!" he yelled across the room.

I felt my face turned red from embarrassment.

Why does he have to do that in front of everyone?

When finished, I had to walk past Jessica's desk in order to get back to my own desk. I pretended to review the paperwork in my hand as I walked by, praying she wouldn't say anything. God didn't feel like answering my prayer at that moment.

"Hey, Bella. Mike wants these filed ASAP this morning," Jessica said nastily as she pointed at the huge stack of folders lying on the floor. I knew that I had until Friday to complete that task, but I didn't have the ability to argue with her.

"Okay, Jessica. I'll get right on it," I said, with a completely fake smile on my face. I knew if I didn't give her the reaction she wanted, it would make her even more furious. Two can play that game.

Jessica huffed and puffed and went back to work.

When I handed Angela Victoria's mail, I winked at her and she giggled. No matter how unpleasant my other coworkers were to me, Angela always made my day less dreary. I strolled to my desk humming a tune. Today may not be such a bad day after all.

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A/N: I don't know why there is a section of a sentence on here that is bold. I can't get it off my document. Please ignore it!

Now I will constantly check my email for the next few days for comments and reviews. Every time I get an email stating I have a new review, I get excited and nervous. It's like opening a Christmas present. I can't help it!