DISCLAIMER: I do not own Twilight

Prey

I needed to calm down and think rationally but instead I just kept walking the streets, passing people with their beating hearts, bright neon sideboards desperately seeking for attention, loud cars which lived in their own technical world… And once again I felt like I was on some other planet which didn't even resemble my own world where I died long time ago.

That young man with silver bullets could become a serious issue. He clearly knew who I was and also knew my weakness. And when he said that he has killed thousands of my kind… I hoped he was exaggerating, there's no way he could track down many vampires in one place. Not in big cities. New York is full of loners like me, but we never communicated and even if we had to face each other, we never acknowledged it. It rarely happened though: for fifty years spent in New York I've encountered with other vampires three times. The question was whether that boy decided he alone could massacre all the vampires. I was concerned that I'd have to find help to get rid of that young fool. I didn't want to tie myself to any kind of creature - being by myself and deciding on my own was the life I've chosen long time ago. Now I had my new prey and it's my responsibility to deal with him. If there won't be any young boy with nihilistic thoughts, there won't be any problem. In fact, it looked like he wanted to let me go with that message of him killing vampires. Maybe he was bored as much as I was? That little game he started, thinking he could stand against me. Or perhaps he was motivated by strong feeling of revenge. Either way, I had to find out his intentions. I'd recognize him once I heard his heartbeat.

I lived in a small apartment that barely fit for human habitation: no electricity. Just a huge bed in the middle of an empty room and a bathtub in the darkness of square bathroom with shabby walls. I always left windows open but crimson curtains were always closed. It was dark and cold and featureless. Although the bed and the bath revealed my human habits – all vampires have them, something that reminds us that we all came from human beings. Some vampires were showing off by drowning deeper into humans' life and becoming some sort of clowns with all the money people are so fond of. But I didn't see that as a necessity. What I wanted was just to be clean and wait out days in comfort.
As the dawn broke I covered myself with sheets and waited thinking about silly boy who was so fond of playing games with dangerous minds. I had to find him first. I wondered what his blood tasted like. I remembered his shaky hands and trembling lips and sweat on his forehead and involuntarily licked my lips although I already ate.

But time passed and I didn't find anything about that particular human. It looked like he disappeared, and that wouldn't do any good. I had to eat, too. I felt the way thirst got into my body ripping my throat apart with burning as if it was the Sun. My mouth was dry and I barely could move my tongue – my strength was leaving me. Yet I had to create a plan if I wanted to catch the bastard who wanted to take my life. I wished I haven't waited for so long to get to business, I wish I'd just kill the guy right when we first met but I was so shocked that someone would even dare to go after a vampire…

I waited until midnight. Then, when the streets were full of electric lights but faces were safely hidden in the darkness, I came out of the building. Ringing noise filled my ear which wasn't a good sign. I should have eaten earlier - now I had to fight it otherwise I'd kill the first person I met. I had to put all my strength into running, no time left; I almost couldn't see the road. All I could feel were humans' beating hearts. My teeth hurt from clutching, legs were shaking, yet I was running until it would be safe to stand still, find my victim and capture it without being caught.

Suddenly I heard it – a living being, breathing hard and fast, taking unsteady steps towards me. I stopped. I didn't want to – I wanted to continue running further away, but I could almost taste blood. It was there. My prey was there with its heart beating fast, pushing blood through veins… How could I resist?

"Hey, babe! Wanna have fun?" – My prey spoke behind my back. He was young, a living, breathing boy... Warm with copper liquid running through his body. I shook my head. I wanted him closer. I need it, so the noise in my head would stop and my teeth would stop acing. If I'd have to walk towards him then there would be nothing left of him, just a deformed corpse with his entrails inside out. But then no one of his kind would ever recognize him. I was gracious enough to leave this opportunity to them. But I couldn't even speak like a person anymore; nothing human was left inside me, only animalistic instincts. He stepped closer. "What are you doing here, all alone? It's dangerous for a girl like you..."

I turned around. For a brief moment I saw a knife shining in his hand but then all I could see were blue veins. He stepped closer to me with his sleeves up and I saw marks from needles in the boy's arms when he raised the knife. His veins looked like they were begging to be fed from. I wasn't particularly fond of addicts yet his soul was gone, and his veins were almost glowing in the streetlight. And I couldn't stop myself even if I wanted to. I jumped on the boy, closing my teeth around his arm, letting warm blood flood his shirt. A heart-wrenching cry filled the street as was streaming down my throat. The boy's pulse slowed down and his convulsions almost ceased when I heard someone clapping behind my back. I whirled around never letting go the addict's hand that was still bleeding.

"Bravo!" – That was him, the man whom I saw a week ago. He was wearing a black suit with a tie and white shirt and looked much cleaner than the last time I saw him. He headed to me with his hands in the pockets of his neat black pants. His heart didn't lose its steady calm rhythm. He stopped a meter away from me with a smile playing on his thin lips which made his cheekbones captivatingly sharp. I wasn't mistaken with my definition of him. Indeed, he did look like a vampire. – "Look at the mess you've made." He nodded at the body and his smile became even wider. Unhealthy gloss suddenly appeared in his eyes.

"Who are you?" – My voice still wasn't human enough, it reminded of a cat purring after being fed. I finally let go the hand I've been clutching and it lifelessly fell at my feet. I quickly stood up, so the crazy stalker I've got wouldn't look down at me while I was on my knees.
"I am Edward." – Suddenly my prey had a name. And it got closer shortening the distance between us. The man lazily held out his hand. His fingers were long and reminded of spider legs, reaching to entwine my wrist. His smooth voice was almost hypnotic. – "And I don't have a gun with me so you are free to kill me whenever you decide to."

I ignored his hand and his attempt to talk with me. But somehow I wanted to know more about this strange human Edward before I killed him. The smell of freshly shed blood was still in the air and it intoxicated me. That's why Edward decided to talk to me after I hunt. I was so distracted I didn't even hear his heartbeat before he indicated his presence. I became blind.

"Aren't you afraid of me?" – I looked into his eyes searching for a sign of fear, anxiety, awe... Anything human. But his eyes were somewhat empty, no emotions showed. Just cold determination.
"I admit I am a little fascinated by shade of your eyes." - He leaned a bit so our heads were on the same level. – "But fear? It would offensive to a woman like you."

He didn't move with his face still close to mine. He held my gaze with his empty yet expressive green eyes. I could feel his masculine smell and it excided me more than the sight of blood. But the sight of his blood tempted me to action. I felt my mouth open wide when my got fangs longer and I uttered with great force the last words in Edward's life.

"I am not a woman. I am a vampire. You need to learn the difference."