Chapter 6

If I were to say the pain was excruciating, it would be a horrible understatement.

For the first day and a half, the pain was all I could focus on. It never changed unless it got worse, which, because it was so bad, I thought was impossible. I tried not to scream, to beg Demetri and Corin to just kill me, because I knew we would be found out if I did. From what I heard, the Volturi wouldn't take this lightly.

After a while, I could feel my senses getting better. I could hear things I had never been able to before, I was able to clench my fist with effort, and I could also open my eyes, but my vision was strange - warped, almost. Like I was looking at a TV with bad reception. My sight must be changing, too, I thought.

Speaking of thinking, I soon found I could think around the pain, or at least try to focus on something other than the raging fire inside me. Sometimes I counted Demetri's or Corin's breaths. I was never fully distracted from the horrible burning, but at least I kept myself somewhat occupied.

Three days had passed, and I could feel the pain slowly receding from my fingertips and toes. Yes, the pain's leaving! But the fire always seemed to move to my heart. With every bit of pain that left from my arms, my legs, or my face, the burning in my heart got worse.

"Oh!" I gasped, and my heart started beating like a jackhammer.

"She's almost done," Corin said eagerly.

I felt pressure on the inside of my wrist. "The pain will stop soon, love," Demetri murmured to me.

I was panting now. "It...sure...doesn't...feel...like it."

He laughed a little. How could he be so calm? "I know, I know."

As my heart kept galloping towards it's last beat, he kept trying to soothe me, trying to keep me from shrieking with agony. I appreciated him waiting through this long, painful process, never leaving my side.

Suddenly, my heart gave two small thuds, and then it forever stopped.

I was holding my breath, and I could tell Corin and Demetri were, too.

I slowly opened my eyes, and gasped in surprise.

My improved sense of sight was amazing. I could tell it was early morning, and the sun was shining through the leaves of the trees, casting a rainbow of colors, and an eigth color I had no name for. Slowly, I stood up - or at least I thought it was slowly. A sixty-fourth of a second had passed, and I was upright. Corin was leaning up against a tree with an alert expression, obviously on the lookout for any potential danger.

Demetri was at my side, and he put his hand on my shoulder. "I know, it's disorienting at first, but you'll adjust."

I turned to look at him, and he was smiling. Now that I was looking at him with new and improved eyesight, he was even more beautiful than I thought. As a human, I could've been half-blind. Just then, he took my face in his hands and kissed me lightly. That show of affection seemed to have flipped a switch inside of me, and I deepened the kiss. Corin very obviously cleared her throat.

"Hey, love birds, come here! I think I see something."

I pulled away from Demetri and rolled my eyes at Corin. She just laughed.

"Seriously! Come here."

The two of us darted to her side. I looked down the valley she was pointing to, and seen a group of four hikers - humans - nearby. I inhaled deeply, and when I did, I felt a scorching feeling in my throat, and took off running. I could sense Corin and Demetri behind me.

I lunged at the first human I could see and sunk my teeth into his throat. He screamed twice and fell slack in my arms shortly afterwards. I vaguely registered Demetri feeding off what appeared to be the man's wife, but I was too busy with my kill to really notice.

Once we had disposed of the bodies, the shock of what I had just done finally hit me. I leaned on a tree and put my face in my hands. Demetri wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

"What's wrong, dear?" he asked, concerned.

"I just killed innocent people!" I exclaimed.

"That's the way life is for us. It's just the guilt of your first kill, you'll get used to after a while. Humans will mean less and less as the years go by," he assured me.

I sighed. Suddenly, I heard a slight rustling in the trees. I growled menacingly and lowered into a crouch, as did Corin and Demetri.

"We come in peace," said a male voice with an accent I couldn't place.

"We?" Demetri asked in surprise.

"Yes. Me and Vladimir. Demetri, I'm sure you know us."

What the hell?

How's that for an unexpected twist? =D Anyways, I'm not sure what Sophie's special ability should be. I orignally thought telekenesis (moving things with the mind) or clairvoyance (getting a good, bad, or indifferent feeling about a person, place, or object), but idk. Help me out here! And I love reviews -hint hint-