This one really isn't as good as the rest. Sorry.

It wasn't hard matching his pace. But every time I almost caught up to him, he would go just a little faster.

'He's right behind me. Good. I'll speed up now.'

Dr. Cullen began to move at a jogging pace and I matched his speed. Gradually, he went faster and faster. We were running now. Running. Faster. Faster, faster, faster. And soon we were running faster than I thought would be possible without collapsing of exhaustion, yet I wasn't tired at all.

And still he kept running.

He kept pushing the speed. I was sure he'd stop at an even speed and stop accelerating at some point, but he didn't. The trees flew by in a rapid blur. In all my short life, never had I even been in a vehicle that had moved at this speed. I didn't feel my feet touch the ground as I came up on the doctor's heels. We were not running anymore. We were flying. Whizzing, if you will.

And he continued to gain speed.

'There's a clearing up ahead. We'll stop there.'

And suddenly he stopped. As soon as he was no longer moving, I halted.

We were in a small clearing, the moon shining down on us with ample light. The ground was hard and covered with leaves, yet Doctor Cullen walked across the leaves without making a sound. He sat on a fallen tree trunk on the opposite end of the small clearing we were in. I did not move.

"Now, Edward, I'm sure you have quite a few questions to ask about what has happened. And…" he trailed off.

'How am I going to tell this to him without him thinking we're both crazy?'

"Don't worry about if you'll seem crazy, Doctor. Just tell me."

He looked shocked, astounded. 'How was he to know I thought he'd think we were crazy?'

"Tell me from the beginning, Doctor," I demanded.

He sighed. "You have a right to know, and I plan to tell you everything."

'I still don't know where to begin. I already knew vampires existed when it happened to me, and I had a hard time accepting it. How will he–'

"What is with the vampires??" I blurted angrily. I hadn't intended to say it out loud, but it had just come out. Now he'd think I was the crazy one.

He stared at me, bewildered.

'I never mentioned vampires. How could he know?'

I was positive now that I was hearing what Dr. Cullen was thinking. It seemed to fit into the situation too well.

He regained his composure. "Since you seem to know, I'll tell you right out–"

But I didn't bother to listen. I already knew what he was going to say. I listened to his thoughts.

'He's a vampire now.' That part still had me confused. 'He'll have to come with me. I hope that he'll accept all this.'

"Doctor," I said. I still didn't understand the whole 'He's a vampire' thing. I had always been very strongly under the impression that vampires were fantasy. Fairy tales. Not real. "What are you talking about? I could have sworn I was going to hell, and all of a sudden I'm alive and not even sick anymore and…" but I stopped.

'He…doesn't…know…But then why did he mention vampires? If he knew, he'd understand why he'd thought he was in hell but clearly he doesn't know.'

I was getting angry now. I wasn't sure if I was dead or alive, awake or dreaming, crazy or sane, in heaven or hell…I wasn't even sure if I was human. There were just two things I was sure of – I no longer had the influenza, and I had an insuppressible urge to drink blood.

"Edward…" he said matter-of-factly. "Do you or do you not know what a vampire is?"

"Well of course I know what a vampire is! Everyone does!" I shouted at him.

He stared blankly at the ground, pondering.

'He really doesn't believe in vampires, does he?'

"But do you think they are real?"

This was a question I'd hoped to avoid. Are they real? I'd thought not. But perhaps they really were…if it were possible for me to hear not only what I was thinking but also what the doctor was thinking as well, then I suppose that anything was possible.

I shook my head. "I have no idea." I stared him down with a cold, hard death glare filled with as much venom as I could put into it. "Are they?"

Dr. Cullen looked back up at me.

'Well, they are. I'll explain what one is first.'

He started talking. He said that vampires were born of a bite of another vampire and could run quickly and lift unbelievable amounts of weight. He said that vampires lived for eternity and died in very minimal ways.

That was what he said.

His thoughts matched that. Except that his thoughts clearly stated that both he and I were vampires. His thoughts said that vampires were exquisitely gorgeous – he decided he'd let me figure that one out by myself.

But he also said and thought that vampires needed to drink blood to survive.