A/N: My avatar is the young Peruvian girl that was mentioned in this chapter.

MOVING FORWARD

While I was on the plane, I decided to make a phone call. I picked up the telephone, followed the payment directions, and waited for her to answer.

It had been far too long since I had made contact - I hoped they wouldn't be mad.

"Edward! I have been waiting on the phone to ring for precisely one hundred and seventy two seconds! Where have you been? I see flashes of different things for you, but I can't make out what you're doing. It's all so odd to be partially in the know, but not fully. Why didn't you call from your cell phone? Oh, right… You're on a plane. Where are you going? What have you been doing? Hello? Edward?" Alice was more than happy to talk to me.

"I was just waiting for you to finish or for the world to end." I was able to put on a mask of happiness for once. I felt that what I was doing was right, and I was even slightly happy to know that I could be with Bella in a way- by keeping her safe.

"Oh." She seemed embarrassed. "Could you answer my questions now instead of making me feel awkward?"

"If you insist." I paused for effect. She seemed to be getting nervous, as I could hear her hitting something like a nail polish bottle against her hand faster and faster in the background. "I've been tracking Victoria. I figured that it was the only way to stay in connection with Bella - in a way. I'm currently on a plane to Brazil. I've been following several leads, and my sources tell me that she's on her way to the Rio de Janiero airport."

"I see."

"Do you?" I was asking if she had had a vision.

"I'm not so sure about what you find, as I'm not so attuned with Victoria, but I don't see you finding her. I'm sorry, Edward."

"You have no idea what you're talking about. I've come close to catching her once, and next time, I won't fail. I won't stop at anything. I will find her."

"It's up to you what the future entails. Keep your determination." She was not confident in what she said at all. In fact, she was so nervous, I heard the nail polish bottle explode. In her hand. She shouldn't have bought all of those glass bottles that was foolish, especially because of our stone-like hands.

I had to assure her, though. "I will. Do you mind if I speak to Esme?"

"No problem. Excuse me for a moment. Take care of yourself, okay? I don't want my favorite brother to be hurt."

"Alright, Alice. No need to worry. I'll watch out for myself."

Within a few moments, I could hear a shuffling sound in the background, then a familiar voice came on the line. "Hello, Edward?"

Her voice was so worried. I should have called earlier. "Esme."

"Edward! Where have you been? I've been worried about you! Thank you, by the way, for checking in. If you didn't do that, I think I would have gone crazy," Esme said.

"You're welcome. If you want to hear details, ask Alice. I am not at liberty to repeat myself several times for everyone. Just know that I'm safe and that I'm living. Tell Carlisle that I'm trying my best."

"Okay, Edward. It was nice talking to you." She seemed saddened by my lack of enthusiasm.

"Goodbye for now." At that, I hung up.

Within hours, I was at the Rio De Janiero airport. My Portuguese wasn't very good, so I settled for speaking Spanish to the locals when I had to. I spent most of my time, though, searching through people's heads for a match for Victoria. Once I found one. I sighed. I felt like I was on a wild goose chase.

How many planes can a woman go on before she loses control? Especially a female vampire who nourishes herself through human blood instead of animal blood.

I went to buy a plane ticket to my next destination - Lima, Peru.

This flight was almost too easy - it took me to Lima in almost an hour. When I got off the plane, I searched minds for the fiery red hair that I had come to recognize in people's heads. Of course, when people here saw her, they would remember. They were all a dark tan color with black hair, and Victoria was a pale white with long red hair. They would also remember me, obviously, because I was a couple of feet taller than the average Peruvian and I also had the same skin tone.

She was making this too easy.

As I walked through the airport while searching people's minds, I found an inkling of hope. Someone had seen Victoria climb onto a bus to Arequipa - a city in the mountains. At least I had a city, now. The downside, though, was that she would be in the mountains, and it would be much harder to find her.

Months passed. The nights were starting to mold together. I had been tracking Victoria for quite some time now. I only gauged time by how long I had to stay indoors before I began the hunt again. I was having no luck picking up a trail, but I was certain that Victoria was near.

I had developed a new philosophy over the past few months, and it was to keep moving forward. If I gave up, what kind of position would that put me in? One where I would have to stay miserable forever, not knowing if my Bella was safe. Instead of giving in to the pain, I would try to ignore it as much as possible at night. I would keep going to ensure my love's safety.

I had followed Victoria into the Andes mountains of Peru. Hunting had become especially difficult, as the only livestock around were sheep and alpaca. To find herds of them that were not being shepherded was much more difficult.

About every two weeks, I would go in search of them. Most of the herds were marked somehow - maybe the owner would brand them, or they would have pink spray paint on their wool. Others were more difficult.

I had a problem with taking these animals because they were their way of life. The wool provided clothing, and their offspring provided food. At times, I could even see people's belongings being lugged by the animals. I couldn't take them away. I moved forward, though.

I found it especially awkward when I had to hunt without giving in to instinct. I had to keep my control when I was extremely thirsty, as if I didn't think that keeping my control around Bella was enough. Keeping my control when I was hunting for food - a time when I was used to losing control - was almost unbearable. When I found a lone alpaca or sheep, though, they would not suffice. I felt famished. Hence, I had to be much more careful when I was around humans.

At one point, I was in the main square of Arequipa, and I happened upon a young girl. She asked me if I could help her feed the birds. It was all I could do not to take her in the square full of people. Her blood reminded me of Bella's, and I hadn't even had a sheep or alpaca in a while. She held out a bag of seed toward me and turned toward the gray birds. I put the bloodlust out of my mind, and took a moment to actually look at the girl as a human being. The young girl was so beautiful. She had a look of innocence across her face, and I felt like a monster for even thinking about killing her. She was wearing a blue and pink sweater and a floral skirt. I imagined that she was cold since we were in the mountains at night.

I offered her an alpaca wool hat that I had purchased, but she refused. She asked me to help her with the birds once more. I decided that I could spare a few moments with this girl, as she reminded me of Bella so much. I took some of the seed and held out my hand. One of the birds jumped over to me and started pecking seeds from my palm.

The little girl looked up to me and smiled. She said, "Feliz dia de Santa Isabella." Isabella. Of course I would run into a holiday with a saint's name tacked onto it, but Santa Isabella? Who was this Santa Isabella?

I turned toward the girl. "Que es Santa Isabella?"

The girl replied, "Santa Isabella nos ayuda cuando estamos enfermas." Of course. Isabella helped the sick. My Isabella was never sick, but she couldn't help but get hurt wherever she went. Remembering all of her clumsiness made me smile. I chuckled.

The little girl looked at me with a puzzled stare, but then she went back to feeding the birds, as did I. We talked about her home outside of town and also the three volcanoes that surrounded the town. She said that only a few years ago, one of them smoked. The other two had not done anything in hundreds of years. This girl was very intelligent for her young age. It reminded me of a young, tan, black haired Bella.

I was about to ask her more questions when her parents beckoned her. I crouched down to say goodbye, and she came up and kissed my cheek. If I had a daughter, I think I would want her to be like that.

I turned away, filled with a new motivation. Being reminded of Bella in a happy light made me have the will to keep moving. I had to kill Victoria, if only for Bella's safety as well as my new friend's.