Sarah POV

I followed Edward out the back door of the house and across the lawn. There were clouds overhead, and there wasn't much light filtering through, but I could see perfectly in the dim lit morning. Edward started running when we reached the tree line. I followed him, surprised yet again by my speed. I started giggling, loving the feeling I got when I ran, with the wind blowing my hair back and the coolness on my face.

We ran for about ten more minutes when Edward came to a stop and turned around. I quietly looked down at my feet.

"Okay, Sarah. I want you to open your senses to the wild. I want you to find an animal to feed on. Take a deep breath." Edward told me.

I closed my eyes and drew in a deep breath through my nose. Edward must have stopped here because there was prey nearby, I realized. I smelled an almost-musty scent coming from some kind of animal nearby. It smelled bad, like smelling dirt. I wrinkled my nose in disgust.

"It does smell bad, but it's the best we've got." Edward told me. "It's a deer, Sarah. You'll have to make the most out of it."

I was about to go after the deer when a slightly sweeter smell assaulted my senses.

"What's that?" I asked Edward, already moving towards the new smell.

I heard Edward take a sniff behind me. "It's a bear." He answered.

"Can I hunt a bear?" I asked, not really caring what his answer was. The bear smelled good, certainly better than the deer did.

"Yes, you can." Edward said with a chuckle, probably hearing my thoughts. I smiled at his response, and instinctually sunk into a crouch. I silently made my way through the forest, following the bear's scent.

I came into a small clearing and saw the bear standing quietly in the middle. I was about to lunge for the pulsing warmth under the fur on the bear's neck when it lifted its head up and looked in my direction. I froze, standing there looking at the bear. The bear didn't move either.

I heard Edward come up behind me, but I didn't take my eyes off the bear. "You froze it, Sarah." He said cautiously.

I had frozen the bear? I could freeze animals too? Was I able to look at anything without it freezing? I realized with a shock what this meant; if I couldn't learn to control my powers, I couldn't look at or touch any living thing ever again. What did that mean for me? Would I go insane from the lack of contact with people?

"Sarah?" Edward asked, hearing the terror in my thoughts. I didn't take my eyes off of the still-frozen bear. "You'll find a way to control it, Sarah. It won't be like this forever." Edward reassured me.

"Feed. You need it, Sarah." Edward reminded me. The dryness in my throat was now front-and-center in my mind. I mindlessly started walking towards the bear, the blood pumping through its veins drawing me to them like a beacon.

I reached the bear, my eyes not leaving it's for a second. I pondered what to do briefly before the throbbing in its neck distracted me again. I gently leaned towards the bear, my eyes not moving until I bit into the bear's neck and hungrily sucked all the blood out of its body while the bear put up a weak fight.

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I finished the bear off and slowly stood up. The bear had made me feel full, but the burn in my neck had only decreased a little.

"It's only because you're young." Edward replied to my thoughts. I whipped around to face him, forgetting that he had even been here in the whole of my meal. I suddenly remembered my ability, and looked down at my bare feet.

I gasped, realizing that most of me was covered in the bear's blood. My clothes had already been tattered by the car accident, but the fight with the bear had completely ruined my clothes. I wasn't even wearing shoes, which was weird, but maybe someone had taken them off during the change. I felt embarrassed standing like this out in the open.

"It's okay." Edward said. "There's a first for everything." I smiled sheepishly at him, still embarrassed.

Suddenly the clouds overhead opened up and a brilliant sun shone down on the small clearing that we were in. A flash of blinding light filled my eyes. I winced away from it.

"I see Carlisle didn't tell you everything about vampires during the change." Edward said. "Open your eyes, Sarah."

I opened my eyes again and the light again shone brightly in them. Only when I tried to figure out where the lights were coming from did I realize that the lights came from me.

I gasped, examining my sparkling skin closer. It looked like tiny sparkling jewels almost, embedded in my skin. I looked over to Edward, who was still standing at the edge of the meadow, still under the cover of the trees. With my glance in his direction, he stepped out into the sunlight. Edward sparkled like me; his skin was all jewels too.

I stayed in the clearing admiring my sparkling skin until the sun went down. When the light finally faded, realization of how long we'd been gone hit me.

"Have we been out here all day?" I asked Edward, shocked.

"Yes." He answered with a small laugh. "I think you deserved a break, though. You've been through a lot in the past three days."

I realized I had been through a lot in the last three days. I had been in a life-changing car accident, learned about the existence of vampires, became a vampire, and discovered that I had the ability to freeze someone just by looking them in the eye or touching them. That thought led me back to my parents. I wondered what they were doing about my disappearance. Were they looking for me? Were they in pain because I was gone? I had promised myself I would support them no matter what.

"Ready to go?" Edward said, suddenly pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah" I replied as we made our way out of the clearing and back through the forest towards the house. Edward made no move to start running, so I walked next him at the same pace. He must have known I had a lot on my mind, and needed time to think it out.

I had just begun to think about how I could help my family when Edward jumped in.

"We can find a way to help your family, Sarah. Give them money or help or whatever they need."

I looked up at him, shocked. They would help my family? They would really do that?

"Yes. You care about them a lot, Sarah. If you want, we can leave enough money to do more than get by on." Edward answered.

We walked in silence for a few minutes until a hope suddenly arose in me.

"Will I be able to see them – you know, get the money. See them be happy with the gift?" The idea of watching my parents be so happy was a wonderful idea to me. It would make my day to see them happier than they had been in years. I wonder how they would spend the money. They should definitely buy a new car, that was for sure. Maybe they could get my sister that doll that she wanted, or my brother the toy truck he had asked for. Or even better, both.

I looked up at Edward, expecting him to be smiling too, but his face fell. "Sarah, I don't think that would be a good idea. You're still young, for one. You could hurt them." I realized that he was right. I could easily kill my parents. "Sarah, I'm afraid we'll have to move soon."

I stopped. "What?"

Edward stopped beside me. "We've already stayed too long here. People are starting to notice that we don't age. Plus, with you being new and all, it would be best if we kept you away from people until you can control your thirst."

We both started walking again, but in silence. Edward was right, it was best that I be kept away from humans until I wasn't so new.

We got within thirty feet of the tree line across the yard from the house when Edward made me stop.

"Wait here." He whispered to me.

"Why?" I whispered back.

"The police are here. They're interviewing Carlisle about your disappearance.