Carlisle's POV
After our uneasy truce, Edward retreated to his room and I paced the length of my office several times over. I consciously kept an ear out for any sound from Edward. I was hopeful that he was merely doing the same thing I was, reviewing the events of the last few days and wondering about the future. I knew his intentions were good, but he was a newborn. I couldn't expect him to be able to honour those intentions just yet. Although I did hear sounds coming from his room throughout the night, I resisted the urge to visit him. He was letting out his aggressions and I let him be, even though I would have to explain the state of the room to my housekeeper sooner rather than later. As morning dawned brightly, I had let my guard down slightly. He had made it through his first night with humans in fairly close quarters, close quarters for vampires at least. I was proud of him. Just as I was about to head down the hallway to congratulate him, I heard a tortured scream, then silence. I sprinted out of my office and almost ripped the door to Edward's room off its hinges. I entered the room, my eyes warily registering the emptiness of it. Fearing that he had been unable to fight his urges and gone in search of human blood, I called out to his name as I frantically searched every corner and finally found him cowering behind the closet door, his hands clapped over his ears, his eyes rolling in their sockets, his body quivering.
"Edward, what's the matter?"
"How many people are downstairs? I can't smell anyone! Where are they all?"
"There's no one downstairs, Edward. What is wrong?"
"I can hear everyone! So many people! I can hear their thoughts! I can hear them all! I'm going mad!" he screamed.
I knelt down beside him and pulled him close to me. I centered my thoughts solely on him and silently sent him a question.
"Can you hear me, Edward?"
There was no response, except a slight nod, which may have occurred from the extreme shaking of his body.
"Edward, listen to me!"
I shook his shoulders gently to get his attention, then a bit more forcefully when he didn't respond.
"Edward, focus on my voice! Try to listen to only me."
Slowly, his eyes focused and his shaking stopped. He stared blankly at me.
"Can you hear me Edward?"
Edward nodded briefly, then his eyes twitched and closed.
"Only me, Edward. Focus on my voice."
Slowly, his eyes opened again and focused on my face.
"Good, listen to me, try to ignore the other voices, just listen to me."
He nodded again.
"Try to pick out one or two of the other voices, tell me what you hear."
I waited while he listened to the thoughts running through his mind. I had never considered the possibility that he could read people other than myself, Edward had never mentioned hearing anyone else, but it had only been a few days. Maybe his power needed time to work fully. How many could he read?
"I hear…someone is wondering where the doctor is, the patient needs him badly."
"You can hear a nurse at the hospital?" The hospital was almost a mile away from the house.
"I can read…she must be a nurse…Mrs. Oldfield…she's thinking about medication now…how much to give the patient."
He was hearing the thoughts of a woman a mile away from him. A woman he didn't know. Which meant that, from what he said about being able to hearing everyone, he must be hearing the thoughts of any person within that radius at the very least. Which must be maddening to him. I didn't even know how to advise him to handle it, this was a problem I had never dealt with in our kind. Edward was proving to be a very special vampire.
"I don't know what to say." I confessed, out loud. "You are very special. I've known of our kind possessing certain…talents…but never anything like this."
"Talent?" Edward spat in disgust. "This is not a talent!" It's a nightmare!"
I truly didn't know what to say. I couldn't imagine hearing so many voices in my head. Suddenly, Edward broke free from my grasp and dashed across the room. He smashed his head against the wall, over and over, roaring in frustration when nothing happened to stop the commotion running through his brain. I hurried to his side and embraced him tightly.
"Edward, we will work to make this tolerable for you, please stop." My arms held him firmly, but still he fought to end to the voices in his head.
"Son, please." I begged him. "Please stop this, I can't bear to see you like this." It took another plea, silent this time, before Edward began to quiet in my arms.
"Can you please talk to me like that some more." Edward asked, his voice muffled in the folds of my suit jacket.
"Like this?" I asked, silently.
"Yes." He nodded into my shoulder. "I can concentrate on listening for your voice. It drowns out the others, somewhat."
"I will do whatever it takes to make this more bearable for you, son."
I continued to hold Edward until his body stopped quaking. I silently sent him calming words, encouraged that he never once tried to escape my grasp.
"Will you tell me your story now?" Edward asked, quietly.
"Of course. Let's go sit in the study." I kept my arm about his waist, guiding him to the study, sending him silent thoughts of encouragement the whole while.
Edward settled into a chair cautiously, making sure he didn't damage the furniture even as he battled his frayed nerves. I decided to relate my story silently, hoping that would continue to calm him.
"I was born in London, England in the 1600's, the year doesn't really matter, I'm not even sure I remember the date anymore. My mother died giving birth to me. My father was an Anglican pastor who was trying to rid London of demons. He killed many innocent people, Edward, but he believed he was doing the right thing. My father grew ill, and passed his mission on to me. Even as a human, I abhorred hurting people. I didn't want to kill someone merely on a whim, because of something that proved them different from others. That doesn't make a person a demon. But, as luck would have it, the group I was with did stumble across a coven that dwelled under the London streets. We waiting for night , to ambush the demons but they were faster and stronger than we were. Two of my group were killed, as I was trying to escape, one of them dragged me away and attacked me. I knew that I would be killed if I were found. Anyone infected by the demons were burned to death. I hid in a nearby cellar hoping that anyone searching for me would give up after finding the bodies of my fellow hunters. The pain, as you know, was unbearable. I stayed silent and endured the agony, not wanting to alert anyone to my location. As the pain subsided and became an unquenchable thirst, I realized what I had become. I was horrified to realize that I was now a demon, destined to travel the night, attacking strangers for their life source - their blood."
Edward listened carefully, his eyes wide. "You were an unwilling victim?" he asked quietly.
"Very much so."
"Where were you…where did he…bite you?"
"My throat, it was quite brutal and left a scar, even though most venom transfer sites heal cleanly. This ancient had no need to be careful with me."
"You keep your neck covered."
"I feel quite vulnerable with my neck exposed, even after all this time. And, of course, I need to keep the scar covered. I imagine it would raise a few questions." . I hooked my fingers over my collar and pulled it down. Edward leaned forward and studied the scar. He looked at me questioningly, then gently ran his fingers over the ruined tissue of my throat. He sat back and his fingers traced over his transfer point, now completely healed. "Please carry on."
"As the realization of what I had become set in, the angrier I became. I climbed the highest mountain range and flung myself off the top in an attempt to kill myself. Of course, nothing happened other than perhaps a few crushed rocks where my body landed. Then, I threw myself into the ocean and let myself sink to the bottom of the sea. Time and time again, using all methods imaginable, I tried to end my life, to my dismay, nothing could harm me now.
Edward's face twisted in pain as my thoughts played out in his head. I didn't know if he could see what was happening as I thought, but I'm sure he could create graphic enough images from what I was telling him.
"I kept hidden by day and by night travelled to remote, less inhabited areas. I had decided to starve myself to death. Vampires survive on blood and I refused to partake of human blood. I didn't know how long it would take, but I decided that eventually starvation would rid the world of the demon I had become. Months and months passed. I became crazy with the thirst and extremely weak, but I still refused to submit to my urges. I merely hoped the end was near. One night, as I hid in the shadows, a herd of deer passed nearby. The smell of their blood was so delicious it nearly caused me to faint. Without thinking, I attacked the herd and drained them of their blood. As it filled me, I realized that it was satisfying my bloodlust and energizing me. My strength was returning, my sense of being, was returning. I drank some more and became elated at the knowledge that I could survive on the blood of animals. I could be this….this creature and not harm humans. Animals could provide me with sustenance now just as they had when I had been human."
"And you have never tasted human blood?" Edward marvelled.
"Just yours, and that was only enough to change you." I admitted.
"Killing animals doesn't bother you?"
"I am a peaceful person, but I ate animals as a human, this isn't that different."
"There must be more to your story." Edward urged.
"There is, much more. But we have all the time in the world."
"I would very much like to hear more."
"I can tell by your eyes that you need to get out to hunt again. I will tell you more as I drive us to the forest."
