Angela opened her eyes to a world she had never seen before. A purple ground spread along as far as she could see, until it faded into a distant black shadow that surrounded her. The sky burned through each colour of the rainbow, and some colours she had never seen before.
"Help!" Angela cried, frightened. A sudden echoing of laughter boomed softly across the place, and a strange music began to play, a tune she had heard somewhere before. She wandered over trying to find the source as the music grew louder.
Angela, in wonderland… How do you get to wonderland…
The lyrics scared her, where was she?
Angela swung around to find a broken record player slowly spinning. There was no speaker, yet Angela knew it to be the source of the music. She ran her hand over the spinning disc, but pulled it back straight away. The machine began to melt away to nothing, and the silence returned, even more unnerving than it had been before.
A cry from above alerted her, as a speeding figure dived down, just missing her head. The thing stopped just above her, as the scene changed, and she found herself in a yellow meadow filled with flowers and twin suns beaming down on her forehead.
"Where am I? What is this place?" she asked the thing. It looked almost like an owl, but distorted and of a strange, green tinge.
"Angela." IT said her name, and the voice she recognised to be Ben's and Xavier's combined. She tried to speak but something stopped her.
"The world you used to know is no more. You have been removed out of existence by a force we have never imagined could come to be. You have been placed here until the world resets itself, if the world resets itself. I suggest you spend your time wisely. This place is designed to sort out your heart's fears, desires, loves."
The owl creature paused here, as if expecting a comment. When she made no move to speak, Angela saw sadness in its large eyes.
"Remember, things here are not always what they appear to be. But nothing can actually harm you. If ever it is too much, blow on this…"
A whistle appeared in her hand and before she could respond the owl burst into flames, diving through the ground and dividing the Earth. Angela's screams were silent as she fell down the pit, her thoughts lingered on the owl. Who would do this to me? She thought, as colours burst and faded around her, and she began her journey through wonderland.
Angela landed in a heap in the middle of a brightly coloured forest. The leaves of the trees surrounding her seemed to glow and change colours as each second passed.
Suddenly, she heard a rustling behind her, and as she turned around she glimpsed a streak of black fly across the rainbow coloured sky.
"Hello!" replied a voice that sounded very familiar. With an enthusiastic smile, Angela called "Ben? Ben!?" As she ran closer to where she had heard the voice, Angela threw herself to the ground as a loud, "Boom!" resounded through wonderland, shaking leaves off the trees, which fell in sparkling faerie dust around her.
Terrified, Angela slowly looked up, and she was face to face with a sunflower. This was no ordinary sunflower, and Angela reeled back in shock.
"Ben! What happened to you?" Ben's face was set in the middle of the flower, golden sun-yellow petals and a green stalk and leaves made up the rest of his body. On his nose sat a pair of glasses, and in two stalk – like hands held a comic book.
"What do you mean, what happened to me? What happened to you, that is the question"
Angela shook her head in confusion. "This is not happening…"
Xavier knew where to go next. He continued down the pathways in Forks, until he found himself on Ben Cheney's doorstep. In the distance, sirens wailed. Xavier did not care about the discovery of the old woman's body. There was no way her murder could be traced back to him. Xavier kicked open Ben's door, sending it crashing into the wall beside it.
"Ben!" he bellowed, face filled with rage. Ben, who was upstairs reading comic books, froze at Xavier's exclamation. He slid his glasses off and placed them on his side table, and got up from his sofa and crept to the door. Xavier was not trying to be quiet, he smashed open doors and crashed windows in his furied hunt for Ben.
Ben's eyes widened, as he heard Xavier's heavy footsteps down the hall. The door burst open before Ben had a chance to hide from this maniac.
"You!" Xavier yelled, hoisting Ben up with ease and pushing him into the wall. Ben flinched with pain.
"What do you want?!" Ben managed to say, before he was pushed roughly to the ground. Xavier grabbed him while he was scrambling to the door.
"Angela, where is she?" Xavier growled.
Ben replied, "Not you, too… Who is this Angela?"
Xavier paused, "You mean you don't know who she is?"
Ben shook his head, feeling dizzy.
"You liar!" he snarled, "Who DOES remember her, other than me?!"
Xavier's teeth were threateningly close to Ben's neck.
Ben was breathless and winded by Xavier's punch to his stomach. Surrounded by the delicious scent of Ben's blood, Xavier's teeth made contact with Ben's neck. In a swift movement, Xavier shoved Ben's body across the room, and sped out of the house.
Ben, weak, dizzy, and burning up, reached for his phone.
"Hello?... I need an ambulance" Ben gasped with pain and collapsed in a writhing heap.
Ben was transported to the Forks Hospital in less than an hour. Screaming and writhing in pain, he needed to be strapped down. The Doctors didn't know what to do with him, so they wheeled Ben into an observation room. The doctor outside stood looking through a window into the room. He turned to his assistant, "I think we've found one"
"Poor guy"
"Excuse me?" asked Hannah at the reception of Forks hospital, "Do you know where room 11 is?"
The receptionist studied Hannah carefully through her thick rimmed glasses.
"Sure" she said finally, "just down the corridor, and turn left"
Hannah nodded and smiled slightly. She began to walk down the hall, the lights flickering irregularly.
"Hi, Aunt Nell", Hannah started. Her aunt looked gaunt and pale. She smiled in reply. Her aunt had undergone heart surgery two days before. "Have you-"
Hannah's voice was interrupted by collective screaming down the hall. It sounded like chairs were being thrown and hospital beds upturned. Hannah motioned for her aunt to keep quiet, and Hannah crept to the door, peering out.
Bodies lay strewn across the clean white floors now splattered with red. She gasped in horror. A figure was stooped over the body of a small child, and it slowly stood and turned to face her.
It was a man – of indescribable age, very pale with dark circles under dark, deep purple eyes. He had wispy golden hair. When his eyes connected with Hannah's, she shuddered. He looked full of despair.
Ben recognised the girl near him, and knew he couldn't kill her… and yet, his lust for blood was too strong. Struggling with himself, he bellowed "run!"
Hannah paused, too terrified to move. Was it possible that this hateful creature did not want to kill, but rather had to?
"Run, Hannah!"
At the sound of her name, she ran into her aunt's room, and tried to shut the door. Ben pushed against it, sending her flying across the room. Hannah's aunt was the last person alive apart from Hannah herself. Ben leant over her terrified form, and before he bit her aunt, said "I'm so sorry".
All went black.
Bella looked down at the sleeping Jacob sprawled across their bed, and was filled with confusion. What was happening to her? She thought marrying Jacob was what she had wanted, but not even four days into her marriage and she was already having doubts. It was 4:02am and she couldn't sleep, but her husband, he looked so carefree and happy. Bella wished she could feel that way, but instead she got up silently and dressed, looking back at the sleeping Jacob before leaving to find answers.
Even as she walked across the dark, empty streets, she could feel her mind changing, twisting into something dark and strange. It scared her. Slowly her memories were slipping, clouding over into things she knew couldn't have happened, but she had lost the line between reality and imagination.
Bella headed towards the forest; she had once found it peaceful there. She trekked uphill through the thick trees, struggling to find the path in the little light available. She continued to climb as the world slowly lit up around her until she found herself on the top of the cliff.
Waves crashed onto the rocks below and she watched them, too distracted to notice the figure approaching her. He reached out for her, and she let out a small shriek in surprise.
"Seth! You scared me half to death!" she yelled, and he grinned back at her.
"Stop that!" she snapped, and was surprised to find tears forming in her eyes.
"Bella, what's wrong?" he questioned, kindly. Bella couldn't find her voice, drowned in the sobs rising from deep inside her chest and hindering her breathing ability. She started to hyperventilate and her face turned ghostly pale. Seth, scared for her, led Bella back through the forest to his house. When they arrived he made them both tea, and she sat with him as he prattled on about patrol, school and general comments while she calmed down. Eventually he turned silent, waiting for her to speak.
"Seth, I want to thank you. You've always been nice to me, even after the horrible things I did."
"Bella, you and Jacob, you're like family to me. And I don't like to see you unhappy."
"I just, I just don't understand what's happening to me, or why. I feel… like I'm losing myself, slipping away to this great, suffocating force. I'm so frightened, and stressed, and, and I just don't… understand." She struggled to explain.
"I think I know what to do. Wait here." He said, leaving her quietly to his room. He returned one minute later and led her outside. Gathering stones, he created a circle with them, then drew a cross in the centre with a stick.
"Sit." He instructed, pointing to the circle's centre. Bella looked at him, disbelief filling her eyes, but she did as he said.
"Bella, I know this seems stupid, but I'm going to take you on a vision quest. You need to find yourself again and I think this will help you. Here" he handed her a lit pipe and informed her to breathe into it deeply. Instantly Bella's head clouded over and she felt relaxed and calm.
"Close your eyes, Bella" And she did.
"Beneath you represents the circle of life and its four directions. West for rest and reflection, North patience and purity, East energy and emotions and South discipline and direction. Look and feel, and you will see the centre of the universe."
The wind rushed around her, and Bella reached out with her mind to feel what surrounded her. Her eyes were closed, but she could see shapes and colours beginning to form in her mind.
"What do you see?" Seth's voice was distant, and she struggled to answer him.
"There's, there's something coming. It looks like some type of insect, I, I think it's a mantis."
"True and yet false" the creature said in a surprisingly feminine voice, simultaneously with Seth's reply: "The mantis, that's strange. They represent the female warrior, and have the power to manipulate time and move between moments. I think."
"The boy is smart. We are more alike than you know, it seems." the creature whispered.
"Follow it with your mind Bella, for it shall be your spirit guide" Seth instructed her.
The mantis led her along a stone corridor, leading to an archway illuminated by light shining within.
"What's in there?" she asked it.
"Chaos" she replied in a cruel voice before disappearing, leaving Bella alone in the corridor. Curiosity overwhelmed her and she stepped through the arch.
Seth stood in his garden anxiously; Bella had been unresponsive for nearly an hour now and he was starting to get worried. Suddenly she started to scream, pain filled cries wringing out across the yard.
"I take it back! I take it back I take it back I tack it back!" tears filled her eyes and sobs erupted through her chest. "I didn't mean it! Angela, Angela I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
Seth was scared at the anguish in her voice. "Bella! Bella, it's OK. You're all right." He moved to help her but she jumped up, flinching away from him.
"I have to go" she said, her chest still heaving with repressed sobs, and she ran away from the house as fast as her disoriented self could take.
Oh God! she thought, What have I done?
"Bella, come back" he ran after her.
"I need to see my father. Where is he?" she called back to him.
"Bella, your father…"
"What?" She stopped and waited for him to catch up.
"Bella, Charlie's been dead for two years. Car accident. He and a woman named Nell Webber collided when a deer ran out on the road. She's had heart problems ever since , and he was… killed instantly. Bella, don't you remember?"
She wiped away the tears forming in her eyes. "What about the Cullens? Where are they?"
"Still at the house in the woods"
She took off in that direction leaving Seth startled and confused behind her.
What did she see? he thought
