I am terribly sorry for my prolonged lack of updating. Circumstances have had it that I haven't been able to write up this chapter, but I managed. As reward for your patience, I have decided to extend the story. An idea struck me when I was scrubbing the bath tub (yes, crazy but it happened), and it was perfect to make the story last a little longer. I will update sooner and thank you sooo much for putting up with me. Review after you finish reading please!! If you do, I will send you a teaser of the next chapter.

I do not own Twilight.

P.S.- Sorry for any errors in this chapter. I will try to correct them as soon as possible.

JPOV

The pain that I endured lasted for what seemed to be an eternity. I heard nothing but my own agonized screams throughout the entire ordeal, twisting and writhing ceaselessly as spasms of intense, concentrated pain shot through me. I had no sense of time, nor the will to notice my surroundings as the all consuming nightmare continued.

Though I was out of my wits in pain, I heard a far away woice whisper, "He will make a great addition to the army."

--

I awoke from my agony to the darkness of a small, decrepit room. It was in shambles, obviously abandoned and disused for decades. The windows were boarded up, dust coating every tangible surface as I sat up on a creaky, rusted bed on the corner of the otherwise bare room. I thought it momentarily odd that though no light filtered through the cracks of the boarded windows, I could perfectly see my surroundings, poor as they were.

I managed to get up, feeling... odd. It was a difficult sentiment to place, but I noted that my body was more rigid and hardened than it had been before. My senses seemed to be more accute than they had ever been, and when I tried to grip the metal railing of the rusted bed it crumbled in my fist, a blatant indication of my superior power.

None of the new pieces of information making any sense whatsoever, I wearily walked to the only door, tentatively taking hold of the knob, careful to not break it. As I managed to do the task and in the process open the door, I felt a pair of eyes trained on me. I released my hold on the door knob and looked up to see the face of the young girl that had bitten me. Yes... Maria.

She was beautiful, as I vaugely recalled her to be, and had an angelic smile on her face. At the same moment that she smiled, I felt a wave of happiness rush through me, in the process making my lips curve upwards.

She was sitting on an old, ripped armchair, holding a book in her hand. There were no traces of anyone else, meaning that she had been here all alone waiting for me, I guessed.

"I see that you have awoken, Jasper. I am sure that you are wondering what has happened to you." She said, her voice floating towards me like wind chimes in the summer breeze. I nodded, confusion swirling through me. Just as my haze of misinformation set upon me, she frowned and had the same expression on her features.

"I see... well rather feel that you have an ability, Jasper." She murmured quietly, her brow creasing as my confusion increased at her comment.

"Come, I will tell you what you wish to know. Then, we must go feed you." She said, stretching out her tiny arm, beconing me to her. I went.

Once I was settled on the sofa across from her, she began to speak.

"Though humans believe that we are mythical creatures that only exist in lore and fiction, our very presence in this room contradicts those beliefs. I am not entirely sure of how much... knowledge you have garnered about our kind, but it is nothing compared to what we truly are." She paused here, adding drama to her narration.

"We are the creatures of the night, the hunters of blood. We are the cold ones, as some call us. We are vampires." She said, looking me in the eye as the sincerity of her eyes and emotions washed over me.

"Vampires?" I heard myself ask in an impossibly melodious voice, astonishment etched deep in that single word.

"Yes. I bit you, and the venom I injected transformed you. That was the agonizing three days you just endured." She said, no hint of regret in her voice or emotions.

"So that means that I... I have to... drink... blood?" I asked shakily, trying to wrap my mind around teh very repulsive concept.

"Yes. I am sure that you feel a burning sensation in the back of your throat at this precise moment, do you not?" She bitingly remarked, sarcasm dripping out of her last comment, as if I were a fool for not telling her about it earlier.

It was then that I paused to assess my state. Once I stopped my mind long enough, a sharp sensation of fire erupted in the back of my throat. It was like a thirst that had gone on too long. It was slowly frustrating me, as the more that I was aware of it, the more it burned.

Maria seemed to notice my discomfort, as she stood up and came to stand infront of me.

"You must feed. I can feel the thrist and I myself have just fed. The explanations can come later, I'm afraid. Come, I must teach you your first lesson about being a vampire." With that pronouncement she gracefully glided to a door I had not noticed, opening it and exposing a dark, moonless sky as I followed her out of the dingy room towards my fist meal as a vampire.

--

We stealthily made our way through the small town miles away from the little house Maria had left me in. It was shocking how fast I could run now, a blur of speed as we made our way to my meal. I was getting used to my new abilities now, as we hid in the shadows of rundown homes.

I could smell everything; the scent of a fire cackling, food cooking, and most tempting of all; human blood. The smells, though diluted, were swirling in the air, the closely packed houses making it impossible to not note the humans residing in them. Maria motioned for me to follow her, and we walked too faster than humanly possible towards what seemed to be the saloon in town.

I could hear from a distance away the loud music, laughing and talking of the people in the small building. The smell of alcohol permeated heavily from it.

"We must wait for the nest person to come out. You will run to them and pull them into the shadows. After that, simply bite and enjoy." She instructed me with a coldness that made me flinch. I waited to do as she told me.

It was not long before a young man walked out of the saloon. He was tall and lanky, not older than seventeen. He was tan, and wore what appeared to be an army uniform.

Before I could notice much, the scent of his blood overwhelmed me. It was like cinammon, inviting and delicious. It filled my senses, blocking out everything else. I completely forgot Maria's instructions as I charged forth, wanting nothing more than to sink my teeth into his flesh.

I ran to him, too quickly for him to see. I yanked him over to a dark alley as he noticed something was going on. I felt his rising panic, but could not think more of it. I swiftly clamped my teeth down on his neck, relishing in the taste of the blood that began to flow out of the puncture. I drank deeply, ignoring the screams that were trying to make their way out of the young boy's throat, the fear and mind numbing panic that he felt as I fed off his supple blood.

He was paralyzed by fear when I fist bit him, and slowly tried to fight me off to only find himself immobile. He was gasping for breath now, and I heard his heartbeat slowly winding down, becoming quieter and quieter as I continued my assault on his life sustaining liquid. The rich delectable taste of the boy's blood was satisfying, and I drank every last, delicious drop of it until I could no longer hear his heart beat.

The fog that had fallen upon me at the first whiff of his blood cleared as I held the deathly pale body of the young man in my arms, his face set in a horrified grimance as his mouth opened in an unheard scream. I could no longer bear to look into his face and dropped him to the ground, remorse and haterd towards what I had become settling themselves into my conscience. He was an innocent by passer, harming no one. He did not deserve to die, especially in the manner that he did; as my first meal in my newly found monstrous existance.

As these thoughts swirled through my raging mind, Maria must have disposed of his body because when I managed to snap myself from my guilt I saw no evidence of the monstrosity that had previously transpired.

"Do not torment yourself. It was necessary for him to die. I think it must have been worse for you because of your power." She ordered, like a genereal.

"What do you mean, my power?" I asked, though I had a vauge idea of what it was she was talking about.

"You seem to be an empath. You can feel emotions, and as I have first handedly experienced, also seem to affect them." She explained patiently as she began to run towards the dirt road leading out of the tiny town that would forever hant me.

I followed her, afraid of who I might kill if I was left alone, powerless to stop myself from the...bloodlust. We continued to run, helpin me clear my head and gather my thoughts for the interrogation I intended to perform upon my guide.

We reached the gloomy sanctuary of the shackle, for it was little more than that. Once we settled down, Maria sensed, or rather felt, my curiosity and prompted me with a look to begin my inquiry.

"Why did you transform me?" I asked point blank. It was the one question that nagged at me in the back of my head.

"You seemed quite promising. You were very...charismatic, even in our brief encounter. Not to mention that you had military experience, and that only gives you the upper hand for the wars waging at this very moment." She said cautiously, gauging my reactions as she explained herself to me.

"Wars...?" I trailed off questioningly, sure she was speaking of something much more obscure than the Civil War.

"No human knows of this, but secretly there are vampiric wars throughout the South and Mexico. Covens of vampires battle eachother for dominance of territory for feeding. And you seemed to be a good choice to aid my cause." Maria offered, a hint of pride in her voice.

"You are not alone, I assume." I stated, sure of this bit of information.

"You are correct. I have others with me, but I thought it wise that I alone stayed with you throughout your transformation. There is Nettie and Lucy, my left and right hands so to say, and the others that have also been newly transformed, like you." She proclaimed unabashed, looking me directly in the eye as if I would challenge otherwise.

I was about to ask another question when I saw an image other than Maria's angelic face cloud my vision. I did ot know what this was, but in the image I could see a blurry look of a young man that looked uncannily like me, and that of a young lady smiling at him as they walked through a park. They were talking queitly, transfixed with one another when I heard what I assumed to be me call what I could see of the lovely young lady, "Bella."

The image did not last longer than that, but it's bleary oddness haunted me as I once again saw Maria look at me in confusion. I felt...happy as I watched the memory replay, a lightness and content rushing through my system as Bella spoke, though I could not discern what she was speaking of. She had a pale, lovely heart shaped face and neatly pinned mahogany brown hair, and shining, vivid brown eyes. Though the name was only an echo of a whisper through my mind, it rung through my ears as it did the forst time I heard it. I knew this girl. I had something to do with Bella, and I could only assume that it was something close to a courtship from the blissful expressions we both had on our faces.

Maria began to speak to me, her eyes growing more and more weary as I tried to call forth any other memories of my previous life that might have been lurking in the shadows of my mind. None came at the moment, but I knew that Bella, whoever she was, was someone I had truly loved. And she was someone I could not afford to let go, even after what I had become.