A/N: Hi All! I can't believe the response my story has gotten so far, and it's only been up for a few hours! I never thought I'd have 500 people read my writing! It means a lot to me, so thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed, followed or favourited my story.
Disclaimed: Twilight is still not mine. *Returns furiously to spell book to see what else can be done*.
Chapter 4
I noticed the water around me grow progressively colder as I moved northwards. I must have been swimming for almost a day now, but I felt as energetic as when I'd first entered the water. This must be a feature of my new vampiric state. I'll never be tired again! But…. I'll never be tired again. I'd always enjoyed waking up on lazy Sunday mornings while the sun streamed through my window, lazily reading books and napping intermittently. Ah well. It was a pale shadow in comparison to my new family-killing bloodthirsty nature. I had had a lot of time to think- also I never noticed how fast my brain worked before. I felt like I'd done more thinking in the last twelve hours than I had in my whole life. I had mused over the philosophical tenets I'd read about in books, but they seemed weak and fruitless in my new state. I knew I had to atone, and makeup for the lives I'd taken. I had no idea how to do that though, given that I couldn't apparently be within the vicinity of any humans. A puzzle which kept my mind occupied, even as I fed on various sea creatures on my journey north. I turned eastward, moving back towards land, and reached land within a couple of hours. As I walked tentatively on the fresh untouched snow I kept my senses as alert as possible for signs of humans in the vicinity. It didn't stop me from noticing that the cold snow against my bare wet feet felt like a soft warm brush. So I couldn't feel cold now. Or I was cold now? Either my new state and skin prevented me from feeling outside weather forces, or my body temperature had been lowered so much that I was now the same temperature as snow. So many things infuriated me about my new state, so many things I didn't know. I wished so dearly I'd read more fantasy novels while I'd been alive. One thing I had realized over the past day is that I was unmistakably dead. There was no heartbeat in my stony chest. No blood ran through my veins. I guess I'd never realized that my skin had been pink before, but it was now plain in comparison to my alabaster complexion.
I think I'm in Canada? I can't risk looking for human towns, so I just have to take my best guess. I strained my brain for memories of geography lessons, but came up short. Well, it was cold and desolate, which is just what I was looking for. I wandered around. This was…. Dull. I guess it would be too much to hope, to stay entertained, and certainly more than I deserved, but there was only so much you could do in the snow.
At that a childish thought came to me and I started building a snow fort. As I worked methodically I noticed my brute strength. While I had needed significant force on our trip to the snow a couple years back, pushing my hands together to create snowballs which I had laughingly tossed at my mother (a painful thought), this was as easy as moving water. It did not take too long for me to create a rudimentary snow…box. House? Well, I could just stand inside it. Looking around at the hard snow walls I let a giggle pass my lips at the childish fun of it all. I was immediately disgusted with myself, having fun a mere few hours after brutally murdering my family.
What the hell was I doing? I angrily demolished my snow structure, letting it topple around me, burying me. I lay there, my eyes shut, waiting for blackness to swallow me.
It didn't however. I merely lay there until the burn in my throat turned unbearable, and I knew I had to foray into the ocean once again for a gross sea meal. As I brushed the snow off of me I noticed a smell coming from inland. It wasn't the delectable smell I recall from ren- humans. I stopped myself. Just think of it as human, it hurts less. Than human smell. It was better than shark though (and a hell of a lot better than seal). I ran tentatively towards the smell, my muscles tensed, ready to hurl myself towards the sea in case it was a human. I kept my eyes strained and finally saw it- a bear! I let my senses take over, running towards the bear and killing it instantly. As I drank I mused that this was a tad better. Not tasty by a long shot, but it went someway towards dulling the ache in my poor throat.
And so it went, for the next few weeks. I wandered morosely around the snow capped land, stopping only to place a dent in the local bear population. I had only my thoughts to bother me, and bother me they did. I decided to venture further inland. I hadn't seen a human in my time here and thought perhaps I would be safe moving further inland. I started running, moving slightly away from the coast as I did so. Artic wilderness slowly began to give way to sparse forest, and then dense green trees. I stopped. This was enough change, and I didn't want to risk anything.
A few days after that I had just finished feeding (moose this time. Oh, Canada) when I heard another noise. I could still go for some blood, and so I allowed the now familiar feeling to wash over me, giving into my hunting senses. This wasn't the same though. I had expected the smell something tasty (ish at least), but instead smelled… flowers? That was weird, because I definitely heard an animal. Why would it smell so lovely? I let my curiosity get the better of me. I was dying of boredom and self-flagellation, and I longed for something new, something different. I walked at a human pace. It was strange to me, how quickly I had become accustomed to thinking of myself as non-human. All part of the gig I supposed. I was musing over this when I came upon the source of the scent, saw it from a couple kilometres away. Humans! I turned and fled, moving faster than I had since waking up this way. As I ran however I noticed that they were following me! How!? Incredulous, I redoubled my efforts, straining to move faster away, away.
I had almost made it to the ocean when I was blindsided. A large force rammed into me from the side, momentarily sending my sprawling. As soon as I had lost my balance however I flipped, moving into a defensive stance. I faced my attacker.
It was a human. But it didn't smell delectable, and I felt no urge to attack. It was the most beautiful human I'd ever seen. Long blond hair framed an achingly perfect face, unmarred alabaster skin. Her perfect proportions brought an ache to my heart; such beauty was unnatural. Her topaz eyes got my attention, seeming even more unnatural somehow in this perfect face. The goddess opened her mouth and spoke.
"Hello". Such a banal term coming from one so gorgeous, it was almost comical.
"What's your name?". Her eyes looked kind, pitying, as they surveyed me. I tensed my muscles, not ready to let me guard down. She waited almost a full second before speaking again, undeterred by my silence.
"My name is Kate".