Chapter 10- Forsaken
1930
Edward had more or less moved on from the incident and for the next few months, he had traveled throughout Europe. He had seen many things he never had the chance to see, visited monuments and observed different cultures. He had returned to his hunting routine and his existence was becoming partially bearable even though he knew that it would get old once he had seen every country, read every book and explored every culture. For now however, Edward was making the most of his eternity.
He swam through the tall waves to arrive at the coast of Ireland. He then climbed up a towering cliff to see an open field leading to a small fishing town. The sun was hidden behind the clouds and he heard the chattering of the townspeople as he walked at a human pace. He was soaking wet, but he payed no attention to curious human thoughts when they saw him. He smelled the stench of the sea food sitting in boxes along the coast and felt the breeze of the ocean.
He walked for a few more hours, down dirt roads and farther away from the coast until it was night and he spotted in the distance a sign that said "Town of Bray." He entered the small, fairly isolated place and walked down the dark empty street. He turned into an alleyway, the smell of the garbage and smoke was evident. The trickling of water after the rain had fallen could be heard. The pavement was wet and slick. Edward walked through and leaned against the concrete wall, closing his eyes for a moment, letting his mind drift away.
He opened his eyes when he heard the thoughts of a man around the corner of the alleyway. The man was thinking intently of another man who was heading his way. Edward climbed up the alley wall, onto the roof and silently ran to where the man was, looking down at him from the building. The man was wearing dirty, baggy clothing and was holding a knife behind his back. He was planning to kill the man and steal his money and whatever valuables he could.
Edward jumped off the building and the man stumbled back, startled. Edward grabbed the man and in a flash, was on the roof with him before the future victim had even turned the corner to face his death. The man with the knife tried to get away but Edward grabbed him by his collar and prepared to sink his teeth into his neck, ignoring the man's begging.
Edward knew that he was doing the right thing by getting rid of a future murderer. As he bit the man's artery he heard his dying thoughts. He was thinking of his wife and children who were already so hungry and with barely any money, how would they manage without him? The man was only stealing for his family's sake.
Edward panicked midway through his drinking; he now wanted more than anything to spare this human's life but it was too late. The man's eyes went blank and his body limp. Edward fell to his knees as if he had been punched in the gut. He stifled a scream that would cause attention and instead it came out a fumbled grunt.
Edward was the cause of this father's death. How could he ever justify the killing of a man with intentions as pure as his? He thought of Carlisle's words before he left, "Edward, no human is all good or all bad. It is impossible to judge who deserves to die and who does not."
Edward looked up from the roof at the half-moon in the sky; feeling like God was looking down at him with indifference, not caring that Edward has already had enough of living, or simply punishing him with eternal life because he knows that Edward is ready to die. Either way, Edward had just become what he had set out to destroy and he would never escape the torment of his actions, this alone was enough to turn his unbeating heart to a weightless pile of dust.