Chapter 10

CatPOV

Being an English Lit major, I understand the importance of the written word. There is so much power in a thought that is translated on to paper. You can change minds with the written word. You can touch souls with the written word. You can kill with the written word. With this understanding, I'm going to attempt to convey the pain that I went through.

This wasn't Hell. Hell would be a piece of cake compared to this. The fires of Hell would feel like a warm bath compared to the inferno that ran through my veins. The fire didn't lick my nerves. Its rabid teeth chomped and bit and gnawed until my nerves were begging for death. Get the picture?

My throat was raw from screaming. I tried to writhe and twist in my misery, but something was holding me still. I could hear the whispers of ghosts around me, but I couldn't make out what they were saying. I wouldn't matter. Words wouldn't be able to douse these flames. They didn't have that much power.

All I could do while I was in my misery was think. My mind raced over all my best memories. They were the only comfort in these flames. I thought about Christy and all the times we got into trouble. I wouldn't trade those times for the world. I thought about Brad and his never ending smiles and laughs. I thought about my father who would be so disappointed in me. He held inner strength in the highest regard, and it would kill him to know that I took my own life. I tried to hold back my tears at the thought, but they betrayed me and spilled down my face.

At some point during my stay in the flames, they took on a different feeling. Don't get me wrong, they still held a pain that is incomparable to any other, but they began to feel almost… appropriate. They felt like they were supposed to be there, that they would always be there. It scared me, but also intrigued me. They felt like they were a part of me that I was never aware of, but now they had birthed a new part of my life.

The pain began to wane after an immeasurable amount of time. It slowly started to die in my fingertips, then my fingers. It began to disappear from my toes and feet. The sweet relief spread up my limbs, then moved to my torso. The pain kept drifting and drifting until the fire was contained in my chest.

My heart felt like a jackhammer that was bursting through my chest. I had a fleeting image in my mind of the movie Alien where the baby alien burst out of that guys chest. I could empathize with him. My heart and my breathing increased more and more until I thought I couldn't take it.

Then, they stopped.

I opened my eyes and studied my surroundings. Everything was so clear, so precise. I could see the specks of dust floating through the air. I could see cracks and imperfections along the wall. I could see the individual colors of the sunrays that peaked their way through the curtains.

I was lying on a bed in a large room that was filled to the brim with books. I inhaled deeply, savoring the smell of the books. The smell was sharper than it had ever been before. There were also new smells, like dust and warmth. It was a very odd sensation, and I found myself feeling overwhelmed.

Where am I? I thought.

"You're in our study," a voice said, answering my thoughts.

I turned and was met by the face of the last person I ever thought I would see. "Edward?" I asked cautiously.

"Yes, Catherine." His face looked solemn, as if he were looking at a dead person. Wait…

"How did I get here? How am I alive?" I asked the second question more to myself. My memories were kind of fuzzy. It was almost as if they happened years and years ago instead of just a few days. I faintly remembered leaving the Cullen house in anger, and then purposely running my car into the tree.

"Catherine, there is something we need to tell you. I will need you to stay calm and we will answer all of your questions."

"We?" I asked, looking around. There was no one else in the study.

"Yes, my family and I. I wanted to be the only one here when you woke up so that I could… guess your state of mind."

I looked at him inquisitively, but he ignored me. I made a mental note that I would inquire further about his statement at a later time. I nodded my head as a promise to stay calm.

"You can come in now," he said softly. As I was wondering how anyone could hear him, the door to the study quietly opened. Bella came in with a small smile on her face. I know my face lit up at the sight of her. We were kindred spirits, considering we were both literature nerds. I glanced quickly at Edward, who was looking at Bella disapprovingly.

"Hi, Catherine," Bella said, her sweet voice ringing in my ears with an unfamiliar clarity. "It's nice to see you again, though I wish it were in better circumstances."

"It's nice to see you too, Bella. What's wrong with the circumstances?" As I studied her features, I noticed she had the same solemn look to her face as Edward. The fact that it was taking so long for an explanation was driving me crazy. I was trying desperately to stay calm, however, since it was asked of me.

There was movement next to the door, and I turned my head quickly. Jasper and Alice walked through. Jasper looked at me cautiously while Alice danced around the room. God, she was just the strangest person I have ever met.

I noticed in the corner of my eye that Edward chuckled a little. Can this guy read minds or something?

Carlisle and Esme followed Alice and Jasper through the door. Esme looked like she was filled to the brim with joy, while Carlisle looked at me like I was a science experiment. He studied every minute gesture and move I made. It was really strange.

When Rosalie walked through the door, I felt a surge of anger run through my chest. It felt hot, like my chest was briefly on fire. I controlled it quickly, not wanting to break my promise. It was getting increasingly hard because of the amount of people in the room coupled with the fact that I wasn't getting any answers.

I wasn't prepared for the feelings I felt as Emmett walked into the room. The familiar feelings of anger and betrayal ran through my veins like lava. I didn't ever want to see him again; I had taken drastic measures to make sure that I didn't. And before I knew it, I was breaking my promise.

"Calm down, Catherine," Edward said with a stern voice. I could barely hear him due to the sound of my fury in my ears. It sounded like an explosion. My entire body felt hot, but the area right over my still heart felt like it was ablaze. It hurt, but in the most beautiful and fitting way.

"Get them out of here," Edward said, pointing to the women. "Control yourself!" he screamed at me.

I heard what he said, but I didn't want to control myself. I let the fire run through my body. I checked my hands to see if the skin was melting off; it felt like it should have been. Everything stayed intact.

Suddenly, my body burst into flames.

The family instinctively recoiled from me. There were yells and screams, but I couldn't hear them over the sound of the flames. The fire ran from my body, and started to catch the room around me on fire. I became very scared. I didn't want to die the way that Christy did.

Christy, my mind thought. She would be so mad at me right now. There are people here that I care about and I am putting their lives at risk.

I tried to calm down, but I was too scared. I knew, instinctively, that if I just pulled myself together, then the flames would stop. My emotions, however, were betraying me.

I looked up and saw Edward's and Jasper's horrified faces. Jasper looked at me with deep concentration, but whatever he was doing wasn't working. They were screaming at me to stop and to calm down, but I could do neither.

"Run! I can't stop!" I shouted to them. They turned to the door, but a large flash ran pass them, causing them to pause.

I felt two very large arms wrap themselves around my body. I was shocked as I looked up and saw Emmett's face. The flames surrounded him and I could hear the sizzle of his flesh. The flames did not hurt me, but they were certainly hurting him.

"Emmett, stop! Leave!" I shouted to him.

"No! I'm not leaving you!" he shouted back at me. His face was contorted in agony, but the grip he had around me never waned. My heart swelled with emotion. I took a deep breath and just kept thinking over and over, I don't want to hurt him. I don't want to hurt him.

And just as quickly as they started, the flames extinguished. It was like my body was a vacuum and I sucked all the fire that I produced back into my body. The furniture and flooring were charred, but I managed to leave all the books intact.

Emmett let me go, but not before he let out a low and quick hiss of pain. I felt my heart break at the sound.

The four of us stood in the room, staring at each other. All of us were too stunned to speak. I took a deep breath. I couldn't let the question go unsaid.

"What the hell just happened?"

EmPOV

Holy shit, Catherine was like that fire dude from the Fantastic Four. How fucking cool was that?

I was about to voice my opinion when Catherine spoke. "What the hell just happened?"

"I have no idea, but it was… awesome!" I said, beaming with pride. My little niece was some crazy fire starter.

Catherine looked at me like I just grew another head. "Are you insane? I just caught you and this room on fire. How are you not hurt?"

I waved my hand, a habit I picked up from Catherine. "No worries, Kitty Cat. I'm okay. I mean, it hurt a little. Okay, it hurt a lot. But I'm fine. It'll take a little more than a munchkin on fire to kill me."

Catherine looked at me with hurt in her eyes. "I'm not a munchkin. I'm way taller than Alice. And don't call me Kitty Cat. I hate that name."

"The more you hate a name, the more he calls you it. Trust me," Edward said, rolling his eyes. I smiled. Eddie, Eddie, Eddie, I thought over and over. Edward's jaw tightened as well as his fists.

Jasper walked over to Catherine and roughly grabbed her wrists. He dragged her to a couch that was sitting on the east wall and sat her down. Catherine said nothing, allowing him to hold on to her wrists while he sent her waves of calm.

"What are you doing?" she finally asked.

"I'm making sure you don't try to kill my family again," he said with malice and anger in his voice.

Catherine's eyebrows furrowed. She opened her mouth, but no words came out. Instead, she stared at the ground. Her face contorted like she was about to cry.

"Come on Jasper, she didn't mean it. No one knew what would happen," I said in Catherine's defense. His grip softened slightly.

"How are you doing that?" Catherine asked, still unable to look him in the eye.

"I'm an empath," Jasper explained, his voice still tinged with anger. "I feel other people's feelings and am able to project feelings onto other people."

"So, basically, a power not as cool as yours," I said, taking a seat next to Catherine. I laughed, but no one joined me.

"A power? What do you mean by that?" Catherine asked.

"Well, I think it's best if Carlisle explains everything to you," Edward said. "Carlisle?" he called out softly.

Carlisle walked in the door cautiously. He closed it behind him. As he walked up to Catherine, his eyes roamed all over her like she was the missing link or something.

"How are you feeling, Catherine?" he asked in a soft, patriarchal voice.

"Why ask me when you can apparently ask Jasper?" she said, her voice playful. She was obviously trying to lessen some of the tension in the room.

Carlisle gave a small laugh before he continued. "I'd much rather hear it from you, if that's alright."

"I feel… overwhelmed. Scared. Super guilty. I feel like I'm the worst person in the world because I almost killed you guys. And I burned your study. I'm really, really sorry. I'm so confused as to what is going on. I have so many questions, yet no one is answering them. I'm hoping you will finally give me the answers that I have craving."

Carlisle cleared his throat and took a deep breath. You'd think he'd be used to giving this news by now.

"Catherine, dear, let me be the first to tell you that we are not angry with you about the fire. It was quite surprising, though. We'll need to be extra careful until you learn how to control your power."

Catherine shook her head violently and Jasper's grip on her wrist tightened. "Calm down," he growled.

Catherine closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. She looked at Jasper apologetically then directed her attention back to Carlisle. "You keep saying power. What am I?"

Carlisle knelt down in front of her and put his hand on her knee. "You, as well as myself and everyone in my family, are a vampire."