A/N:Hey!Thanks so much for raising the review bar to 20!I'm super-sorry for the long wait!But after I came back from camp, I lost my inspiration for awhile and it was a real-hard struggle writing this chapter since it has like uber-important information in it and I didn't have my usual inspiration with me.But I did it!I finished writing this chapter!LOL Anyway,the next chapter will be in the future,approximately 4 years from now,when Elizabeth is 12 years old.And the mystery is still pretty mysterious, despite this chapter,so keep reading!Remember to review,okay?Bye! - MissMei92

THE TALE OF ELIZABETH CULLEN

Her arm was bleeding venom. Vampire venom! I looked up into Colin's eyes in horror. He had a grim expression stuck all over his pale face. He reached out his hand to me, as if offering me to take it. I did. I was frightened by everything so much that taking his hand was sort of calming for me. And the next thing I knew, we weren't in the classroom anymore. We were in a sunny, bright bedroom, on a queen-sized bed.

Colin sprang from the room instantaneously and suddenly came back with a tall, slim woman behind him.He called her 'mom'. She had a grave look on as she saw Seraphina and I. She looked expectingly at Colin for a reasonable answer, who then whispered into her ear something about metamorphosis and awakening. I stared at him, shocked beyond belief yet again, due to all the craziness I'd been through today.

A massive headache or rather a migraine suddenly assaulted me and I winced unhappily, bringing my hand to my head. I never complained about pain. I always kept it in. Colin noticed and was by my side, trying to help but obviously he didn't know how to. Which was cute enough to make me smile on the inside.

"Are you okay?" He tried to massage my head as I lay down against the soft pillows on the bed. It was so strange, and a bit mean. That I was feeling so happy that he was taking care of me while my best friend lay opposite, obviously needing it way more than me.

I smiled back at his action."Thank you, Colin." I closed my eyes and the pain subsided.

He was relieved to hear this but then his sole focus shifted back to Seraphina. She wasn't bleeding venom anymore.

His mom had stopped the flow of liquid with a white towel but Seraphina looked quite dazed still. She was staring up at the ceiling, completely blank and expressionless. I flicked a worried glance at Colin's direction.

"Is she alright?" He asked his mom. She looked at him, nodding slightly, but not saying anything.

She retreated from the room and came back a minute later with an ice pack. She placed it on Seraphina's once-bleeding arm, counting softly for 5 seconds. When she took the ice-pack away, Seraphina started gasping and breathing at an accelerated pace, before shooting up quickly, her eyes wide. Her breathing eventually slowed and she merely said, "I'm complete."

I looked at her in amazement. Colin's mother led Seraphina from the room slowly, grabbing a cellphone from her jeans pocket, dialing quickly. The door closed and I was alone. With Colin. He was staring intently at me, but I wasn't self-conscious at all. I returned his gaze and we sat there quietly for a long, long time, not once breaking eye contact with each other.

He exhaled a deep breath. I broke the gaze and stood up. I walked to the window and stared out at nothing. He joined my side, and softly said,"Do you want to know now?"

I replied. "Yes, I do." I walked back towards the bed and collapsed onto it, closing my eyes. "Tell me everything. I won't interrupt again."

He sat down on the side of the bed lightly and I heard a sad sigh. I kept my eyes closed, enjoying the comfortable bed. Or was it just him I liked?

"As I told you before, I'm not a pure vampire or a true human. I'm a mixture. But I'm not just part human and part vampire. I'm also a part of something else. Something different." I opened my eyes.

"I have the DNA of an alien life-form in me. They called it a 'Vipera'. Because it resembled a viper snake." I sat up, my gaze straight at him.

"The alien was a lone creature. It came to our planet just to die. And it did. But it's DNA was still alive. It was buried deep in the underground core of the earth. But a way to it's lair was found when an old hot spring dried up and a deep hole in the ground was revealed." I let him continue.

"Some wary traveler went down it and discovered the dead alien. This traveler also happened to be a scientist, who specialized in astronomical research. Of course, he was amazed at the finding of an alien but he was also scared. He kept the secret until he couldn't hold it in any longer. He confided in another scientist. This scientist also happened to work for the S.D.C. And the..." I cut in, although I'd promised not to.

"What does S.D.C. stand for, exactly...?" I asked him innocently, hoping he wouldn't be mad. He wasn't.

"The Supernatural Destruction Committee." I gaped at his blunt answer.

"They were established long ago by an old enemy of the Volturi. Their name has changed many times through the years, but their purpose is still the same. To annihilate vampires and werewolves alike." He remained solidly frozen, waiting for my outburst. But I had none. He seemed surprised.

"The enemy of the Volturi who was the original founder of the S.D.C., hated the trio:Aro, Marcus and Caius. He had been changed by accident by them. He was an unfinished meal, in other words. He underwent the 3 days of change, but in his girlfriend's home, who had been the one to rescue him. Sadly when he woke up, he sucked her and her family dry." I stayed perfectly still on the bed. I had heard of the Volturi. My parents had told me about them.

"He was furiously mad with himself for doing what he'd done. For killing her and her family. He fled to the woods nearby and learned to survive on animals the way your uncle did." I shot a sharp look at him. What did he mean? What about my uncle?

"You don't know? Your uncle Carlisle...?" He trailed off when he saw my bewildered look. I had never heard about that before. What was he talking about?

"Never mind...later, he learned who the Volturi were and grew to hate and detest them with all of his will and might. Because of what he had become. A monster. He spent many, many years plotting revenge. A way to destroy them. But it was all merely thoughts and for several centuries, he spent nothing but agonizing over it." I lay back down on the bed, shutting my eyes.

"Sometime in the late 1400's, he decided to take out all of his vengeful rage on those of his kind. He started tracking and killing vampire after vampire but it was a slow process. When the right century rolled around, he turned it into an organization. A deadly, mafia-like one. But he was impatient. Because after all those centuries, he had still not fulfilled his goal. His goal of destroying the Volturi." I listened.

"The Volturi were too powerful. Because of their guard. He had no way of even getting anywhere close to them. He turned to science for help but their experiments failed miserably. Until the astronomer told the one of the S.D.C. scientists about the alien's existence." He stood up and paced slowly.

"They excavated the alien secretly and had it's DNA tested. The alien's DNA was powerful. It would be beneficial to their research. To their task of creating a genetically-enhanced marvel. One which would be stronger than the Volturi guard." He sat back down on the bed, and squeezed my hand.

"And so the H.V.V. project was started. They toiled for 10 years, before they even came close to making a proper balanced hybrid. The early ones were said to be badly disfigured and didn't survive at all. When they reached the 200th batch, only then did the hybrid start to become more decent." I shifted and sat next to him, my eyes still closed, in silence.

"There were so many characteristics to modify. They had to use countless amounts of venom harvests from him. Most failed batches after the 200th point were usually completely destroyed, with one hybrid exception. This exception would be placed in the care of an employee for observation. But most of them had short lifespans and never made it past their 6th birthday." I felt the need to interrupt once again.

"Then...Seraphina..." I whispered quietly, unsure. I was scared. Who wouldn't be?

"Seraphina will be alright. I pricked her arm to see if she'd finished the process, because the skin of a hybrid is incredibly sensitive when they've just completed the metamorphosis. It only grows harder like a real vampire's skin later." I turned my head to shoot a quizzical glance at him.

"Which batch is Seraphina from? If she's already 8, does that mean...?" I trailed off, not knowing how to phrase the question. But he got the gist of what I wanted.

"Her batch had no flaws, besides the fact that they aged normally and had slightly poorer hearing and eyesight than the perfect hybrid had been intended to have. She's the exception copy for her batch. She'll live a normal life, aside from her vampire powers and capabilities." There was a melancholy edge in his voice.

"My batch was nearly perfect. But still imperfect...because we aged at the same rate of any normal human baby. We'd take years to fully grow to the right age for fighting. And eventually we'd get old too. So we were deemed useless. And thrown aside for destruction." His voice was bitter and angry. I held onto his hand tighter.

"The batch created after mine was the perfect one. The perfect hybrid they'd wanted to create. Seraphina's batch was the batch before mine." He fell back against the bouncy bed's surface.

"What about me then? Which batch am I?" He suddenly jerked upright again and took my wrist. He pulled out a small, circular flashlight and shined it's infrared glow on my wrist. There was a code on my wrist. He dropped the flashlight. It made an ear-splitting noise as it crashed to the floor.

"Colin?" I asked fearfully. The code he'd just seen had shocked him so much that it made me anxious. What was wrong with my code?

"Your...code..." He stopped speaking, rose in a flash and bolted for the door at vampire speed. He came back instantly, holding a beaten up and battered plastic file with him. He flipped it open and searched at a frantic pace for something. He found it. He took a deep breath.

"Elizabeth. Your code...it's not possible." His voice dropped, as did his head. I looked at him, puzzled over his statement.

"What about my code? What's wrong with it? Tell me Colin, please." I begged. I had to know.

"Your batch is stated to have been...completely destroyed. There is no exception copy. But here you are." He fumbled with the file and flipped more of the clear plastic pages. His words made no sense to me.

"If my batch isn't suppose to exist...why am I here?" I said in a tiny voice. A quivering voice.

"There is no information about your batch. All the records were destroyed too. All the reports, the tests...everything. They don't even say why. It's as though they don't want to acknowledge it at all. Which is abnormal, considering you seem perfectly normal...especially since you've survived this long. Even those who had short lifespans...some even as short as a few months...their batches had an exception copy. But your batch has none. You're not suppose to exist." He finished in a dead voice. I hugged myself tighter.

"So...what does that mean...what am I?" I asked, not expecting an answer.

"I don't know too." He sighed.

We just sat there for a long, long time. Until I thought of a question to ask him. "Do you think my parents know? But I mean...they're..." I took a deep breath, deliberating to see if I could trust Colin with my family's secret. Well, he had told me alot already...and he did say something about uncle Carlisle. So maybe it was okay to tell him."...vampires." I unfurled myself from my fetal position and looked at him.

"I know. I don't understand how they could have found you. There's no way they were employees at the S.D.C. either. Only the founder is a vampire. Which makes you a big mystery." He said it in such a depressive monotone.

Wait. Something clicked in my mind. "How do you know about my family? And what about the chatroom?" I narrowed my gaze at him. He had still alot more to explain.

He didn't seem unnerved by my demand for information. He smiled. "I know because of my powers. I have a super-sensitive sense of smell. I could smell the vampire scent all over you when I walked into that class this morning. Same goes for the chatroom. I hacked into the system using my powers and gave myself a fake name." He looked at me, a slight glint of amusement in his eyes. He laughed at my dissatisfied expression, whereby I also crossed my arms angrily at him. Which made him laugh even more. I glared at him.

"Okay...why were you at the chatroom talking nonsense to me? How and why you do that?" I felt I had to be way more specific.

"I have telepathy and telekinesis as powers. I can control technology and break even the toughest encryption ever. Plus, I can read someone's mind by just coming into close contact with them, say through the Internet." He grew all smug at this.

"Then why were you pretending to be in my class and say crazy things about...you know who...?" I didn't bother to elaborate. He knew very well what I was talking about and it wasn't the least bit funny.

"Because I guessed that was your fear. You were afraid that someone knew about how you felt about...Kyle." He became quiet.

"But it obviously wasn't your greatest fear. You didn't awaken, not the way Seraphina did when I taunted her about dolls." I looked at him, with a accusatory look.

"Why did you do that?" I clutched the bedspread in a fistful, unfolding my arms.

"Because I was...stupid." He looked ashamed. His voice was filled with remorse.

"I should have waited. Should have thought better. But I figured it was what I was supposed to do. I was just so excited. To meet someone else like me. Two others like me." He caught my wandering gaze.

"How did you know we were like you?" I asked gently.

"You both had a special sensor in your mind. Only other hybrids can detect each other through the sensor. This sensor also activates when a strong enough emotion is present. When the sensor activates, the body starts to morph into it's true form, shedding it's human disguise. When that happens the blood changes into venom and the abilities we have become fully-developed. Usually the emotions of fear and anger, when combined, are enough to activate the sensor."

"Which is why when I used Seraphina's only weakness, she totally cracked. The weakness is the ultimate fear implanted into the mind of the hybrid. It's something vague and inherently the last thing any normal person would suspect. Such as an intense dislike of dolls. Serpahina hates them but she doesn't know why. It's just hardwired into her. Only an S.D.C. associate or another hybrid could ever access this fear and activate the sensor. Only they would know just what to say." I shuddered. I remembered the conversation I had between Seraphina that fateful day.

"Then why wasn't I activated too?" I questioned. The mystery around Seraphina was lightening but it was just darkening even more for me.

"I don't know. I couldn't really read your mind. So I tried Seraphina's and I managed to pick up something about a crush but it was rather vague since even hybrids can guard what's important inside their minds from other hybrids. So I had to question her up-front just to be sure about it. I couldn't even break into your mind, and that was surprising me the most." I sighed. What made me so different from everyone else. Well, I don't know...everything?

"So I tried it but you didn't seem that agitated at all. And you definitely didn't react the way Seraphina had. So I knew I'd been wrong. It may have been a fear but only a mild one." He hung his head, not wanting to meet my gaze any second longer.

"So I can't be activated because I have my implanted weakness is unknown since all the records concerning me were destroyed, my mind is unreadable...yet again, and I'm not even suppose to exist? Just great." I sounded way more sarcastic than I'd wanted to be.

"Yep, pretty much." He laughed.

"Are Seraphina's parents...employees too?" I just felt like asking.

"Yeah, they are. My mom's calling them now. They're probably going to come pick her up soon." He got up and closed the open window in the room.

"So...she knew about it already?"

"Yep. Her parents told her when she was six." I felt a slight feeling of deja vu when he mentioned that, remembering the secret I learned about when I was six from my family.

"Umm...question. What did you mean about my uncle Carlisle just now? Something about animals? And how do you even know my uncle?" I threw a mumbled question at him.

"Your uncle's a vampire, right? Well, did your family ever tell you how they learned that they could survive on animal blood instead of human blood? It's not like someone else taught them. They're the only ones of their type in existence, after all, besides our school's office clerk. Your uncle Carlisle was the one who first learned how. And I know him because he used to hang with the Volturi...for awhile. Which makes him sort of an enemy of the S.D.C. too." He choked a bit on that last part. I gulped. I understood exactly what he meant.

"Does that mean that my family is in danger...from the hybrids?" I squeezed the bed even more tightly. He tensed up as well.

"Yes...perhaps. But it's not likely as long as your family stays far away from Volterra and the Volturi." He tried to sound hopeful. I nodded upon hearing that. The last time my family had any contact with them was before I was adopted, nearly 10 years ago. But then I remembered a small titbit of info I'd overheard lately in their secret conversations. About how the Volturi were planning a check-up on them soon. I shivered. I hoped that wasn't going to compromise my family's safety.

But that was just some empty speculation they had been talking about. It couldn't possibly come true. Not now, for that matter. I relaxed a bit, having talked myself into some sort of logical explanation.

"Colin, should I ask my parents about...this?" I wasn't sure what to do about all the newfound information I'd just received. It was rather mind-boggling. He shook his head.

"It wouldn't be wise. I think your parents don't have any clue about who you really are. And I'm not sure about how you managed to escape the destruction and who actually rescued you. But I suggest that you don't tell them, for now." He tried to smile reassuringly. I guessed that it worked a bit, since I smiled back too. I suddenly felt thirsty.

"Colin, can I have a cup of water? I haven't eaten or drunk anything since breakfast." I mumbled, remembering how I'd skipped lunch to have that doomed conversation with him. He suddenly looked unhappy. With himself.

"Of course! I'm so sorry. Where are my manners?" He said, half to himself actually. He took me by the hand again and we left the bedroom. We walked down a bright corridor which had a dozen open windows, sunlight streaming in from the afternoon sun. Outside the windows, I saw a lush, green garden with a huge array of flowers littered everywhere, decorating the pretty lawn. The sight was so nice that I kept my eyes on it the whole time we walked down the corridor. We reached a winding staircase which led into a sun-splashed kitchen, painted in orange and earthen tones.

I sat down at the wooden dining table and toyed with a massive flower bouquet in the center of the it. Colin poured me a cup of orange juice and started toasting some wholemeal bread. I was about to say that I was allergic but decided not to. I could take it today. I was far too hungry. As I sipped the cup of sweet orange juice gratefully, I realized that now...I had two life-threatening secrets to keep. And neither one could be shared with the other.

P.S. - If you are confused about anything or you think I've missed something,message or review and I'll be sure to fix it in the next chapter.Thanx!