Hey....quick note to anyone I met in the Harry Potter section who now thinks I've lost my mind: Take a quick peek at my profile. Then come back and read this fic. You'll see that I'm still just as sane as I was when I wrote "Voldemort's Hairbrush." Erm...wait....
So....anyways....yes, I did take a radically different approach to this story than Stephenie Meyer took to hers. I didn't like her version of vampires, so I used a more traditional one. Please don't tell me I did it wrong; my personal definition of fanfiction is "Fixing what the author broke."
Saturday, November 23, 1943
Bella Swan sang along with the radio as she scrubbed the floor. It was her turn to do the cleaning while Alice went and got the groceries, and as much as she hated scrubbing, she couldn't feel too resentful. Next week Alice would be the one on her hands and knees while Bella was out getting groceries and chatting with the store clerks. For now, she was content to scrub the floor and sing along with Bing Crosby.
Knock knock knock.
Bella stopped mid-note and looked up from the floor she was scrubbing. Had she locked Alice out again? No, the door was unlocked. One of the girls from work, maybe?
Knock knock knock.
She stood, wiped her hands on her apron, and turned down the volume on the radio. She removed the rag from her dark hair, set her apron on the table and opened the door wide. Two Army officers stood in the doorway, one with a chaplain's insignia on his uniform. Her heart dropped.
"Can...can I help you?"
The chaplain didn't offer his hand. "Are you Alice Cullen?"
Bella shook her head. "No, I'm Bella Swan. Alice is my roommate. She should be back any minute, though. She was out getting groceries." She looked past them to see if Alice had returned, then back at the two officers. "Do you...want me to tell her you came by?"
The younger one seemed to look past her, focusing on the picture of her and Edward on the mantle. He glanced at the chaplain, who exhaled. "Why don't you sit down, Miss Swan."
"Why? What is it?" She looked from the chaplain to the young officer, and the truth hit her. "Is it Edward? What happened to Edward?"
The young officer gestured to the sofa. "You'll need to sit down."
Bella obeyed, glad the sofa wasn't more than a few steps away. Her legs were shaking so badly she could only sink onto the cushions, then gesture for them to sit on the nearby kitchen chairs. She clasped her hands in her lap, then waited. The chaplain was silent for a long moment, gazing at his lap, then he looked up.
"Miss Swan, I'm sorry to tell you this, but...Private Cullen is dead."
The news hit Bella like a blow to her stomach. "Wh...what?"
"We don't know much of how it happened," the younger one said quietly. "Apparently, there was a skirmish near a suspicious-looking outpost. He and several others were killed."
Bella couldn't speak for a moment. Edward was dead? "When?" she said hoarsely.
"Just...just a few days ago. We got a wire from his captain this morning."
"And...he's dead?"
"Yes. I'm so sorry."
She couldn't speak past the knot in her throat. Tears sprang to her eyes, and she raised a trembling hand to wipe them away. Her cries turned to sobs, and she couldn't seem to stop. The younger officer handed her a handkerchief. When her tears subsided, she blew her nose and wiped at her smeared mascara, then handed it back.
"Keep it," he said, shaking his head.
She swallowed, then started crying again. The young officer came and put his arm around her, and she cried into his shoulder. No one said a word.
The door opened, making everyone jump. Alice Cullen stood framed in the doorway.
"Bella? What's going on? I saw the cars out front and--" She stopped, seeing the officers and Bella's tear-streaked face. The bag of groceries fell to the floor. "Is it Edward? What happened to Edward?"
The officers didn't answer. Bella's face said it all.
Bella and Alice took a bus to Ohio for Edward's memorial service several days later. Bella sat in a pew between Alice and her own parents, fiddling with her handkerchief. Had anyone asked her, she couldn't have said what the pastor's speech was about. Whenever she looked up, it was at the photographs on the altar--Edward as a child, Edward with his siblings, Edward with her, Edward with his parents, Edward in his Army uniform. His entire life in black and white, ending at twenty-one.
Bella twisted her handkerchief, then untwisted it and dabbed at her eyes. Edward Cullen was dead.
One day after they returned to Stockton, Bella was reading the newspaper when there was a knock at the door. She and Alice exchanged worried glances.
"I'll get it," Bella said, standing. The younger officer from the other day stood in the doorway. A basket hung on one arm, its contents covered by a cloth napkin.
"Hi," he said, smiling sheepishly. "I take it you remember me?"
Bella nodded. "What happened?"
He laughed. "Oh, nothing, don't worry. I just saw how...upset you were the other day. Took it pretty hard, huh?"
"He was my fiancee."
His eyes were sympathetic. "I understand. I lost a couple friends while I was stationed over there, and I know how hard it is. I just wanted to make sure you're doing okay."
"I'll be fine."
He was quiet for a long moment. "Oh!" he said suddenly, as if remembering the basket. "I, uh, I know you probably don't feel much like cooking right now, so I brought you some fried chicken." He held the basket out to her.
"You made that for us?" Alice said.
"Not really. I mean, I can cook, but not like that. Bought it at the diner down the block, but at least you won't have to cook anything."
"Oh! Thanks, uh...what's your name? I, uh, didn't catch it the other day."
"It's Jacob," he said, shaking her hand. "Jacob Black. If you ever need anything, I'm just over there." He pointed toward the shipyard, where she and Alice worked. "Just past the shipyard."
Bella managed a small but genuine smile. "Thanks."
He smiled in return. "Yeah." Bella watched him turn and walk down the stairs and down the sidewalk, wait for a bus, and ride it out of sight.
For the next week or two, friends dropped by almost every day, bringing cassaroles and sometimes a dessert. And in the months that followed, it seemed Bella couldn't go anywhere without running into Jacob Black. She stopped to chat with him at the grocery store. He waved at her from across the street as his giant Huskie pulled him along the frozen sidewalk. And when Christmas came, he was one of many people who sent them a card.
By February, Bella began to look forward to seeing him. He was easy to talk to, listening when she wanted to talk, only mentioning Edward when she did. She found out that he had been stationed in Europe for a while. When she asked what he was doing back in the States, he shook his head.
"Classified."
"So...you can't tell me?"
"Nope."
He never said more than that. It was the one topic they never discussed; everything else was examined in detail. One topic in particular always held their interest: the war.
"Hitler's up to something over there," Jacob said when Bella asked what he thought of the dictator.
"You mean like world domination?" Bella said lightly.
"Well, yeah, he said so himself, remember? But I think there's something else--something we've got to stop."
Bella sensed he wanted to add more, but she didn't press him. She figured she might not want to know.
For the next year, Bella and Alice followed the news almost religiously. They read the newspaper from cover to cover and listened to the news in the evenings. By December, the Allies seemed to be nearing victory.
Two weeks before Christmas, Bella returned from work in a good mood. Alice was out doing some shopping, which gave Bella time to wrap the gifts she had purchaced. Wrapping gifts was one of Bella's favorite parts of Christmas shopping. There wasn't much wrapping paper to spare, so the gifts she gave her friends and family would be wrapped in news of recent Allied victories.
She let herself into the apartment, dropped her purse and baggy coveralls in the corner by the door, then went into her bedroom and took the gifts out from under her bed. As always, she felt a familiar pang of sorrow. Edward wouldn't be getting a present this year.
Pushing Edward out of her mind, Bella grabbed the sweater she had knitted for her mother and began wrapping it. The soft rustle of newsprint, the way the gifts slowly disappeared beneath the paper, cheered her. She turned on the radio and spun the dial to a station that played Christmas carols, singing along as she continued her task.
The loud knock at the door made her jump, tearing the paper. She breathed deep, letting it out in a laugh, then set her wrapping aside and crossed to the door. Bella swung the door wide--and gasped.
"Edward!"
He smiled. "Hey, Bella."
She was breathing fast, her heart hammering. "Is...is that really you?"
"Yeah," he said. "It's really me."
Bella stood there, looking at him. His eyes were darker than she remembered, his skin as pale as the snow that covered Stockton. She moved closer, wrapping her arms around him, burying her face in his shoulder. Her tears fell quietly, soaking his uniform.
"I've missed you so much!"
"I've....missed you too," he said, returning her embrace. She lifted her chin and kissed his lips, then pulled away a moment later. His lips were as cold as the wind that howled outside. The February before he shipped out, when he kissed her in a snowstorm, his lips had been warm.
"Edward? Are...are you okay?"
"Better than ever."
"Are you sure? You're not sick or something?"
He laughed softly. "I doubt I'll ever get sick again, Bella."
He kissed her again, cutting off her reply. He kissed her lips, her cheek, her forehead, her neck, giving her chills all over. He kissed her neck again, then pulled back slightly. She felt his teeth brush her skin before she pushed him away, then stumbled back, heart racing.
"You were going to bite me. Why were you going to bite me?"
He looked hurt. "I...I just want to be with you, Bella. Forever."
Something about the way he said forever made her uneasy. "I think you need to leave."
"I just got here! I came all the way from France to see you, Bella. I'm not leaving just because you're nervous."
"Get out, Edward. Now, or I'm calling the police." She felt bad saying it, but she couldn't recall ever feeling so terrified.
He took a step toward her, smiling again. "I doubt the police could stop me."
Bella ducked around him and darted into the kitchen. Before he got within two feet of her, she hit him in the head with a frying pan from the stove. He stumbled back, tripped over the table, and lay sprawled on his back. Bella ran past him, out the door, and down the stairs, jumping into the snow when she was four steps from the ground. She got her balance and glanced back just in time to see him at the top of the metal steps.
Fighting panic, she bolted. Snow soaked through her stockings and the wind cut through her dress, but she didn't stop. She ran for several blocks until she reached her friend Ruth's house. Ruth answered after a moment of Bella's frantic pounding on the door.
"Bella! What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost!"
She swallowed, trying to catch her breath. "Get your kids and get out of here, Ruth. I need to use your phone." She pushed past her into the house and made a beeline for the telephone.
"What's going on, Bella?" Ruth asked as she dialed the operator and asked for Jacob Black.
"I-I don't know," she said. "Edward--he's back and I think he's trying to kill me."
"What? But you told us he was dead!"
"Just get out, Ruth! Get your kids and--"
"Hello?"
"Jake? It's Bella." She was relieved to hear Ruth calling for her kids.
"Bella? What's wrong?"
She swallowed. "It's...it's Edward. He came back." She pushed ahead before he could respond, unsure of how much time she had. "He came to my apartment and said he wanted us to be together forever--his skin was really cold, so I asked him if something was wrong, and he tried to bite my neck and--"
"Is he still chasing you?"
"Yeah, I--Oh no, he's here!"
"Where?"
"Backyard." Her heart was racing again. She opened a nearby drawer and pulled out a butcher knife.
"Are you still in your neighborhood?"
"I'm at Ruth Harper's."
"Okay, try and keep him in that area. I'm on my way."
Replacing the phone on the reciever, Bella slowly edged her way along the counter, past the refrigerator, and toward the front door. Bella switched the knife to her right hand, her left hand on the doorknob.
The back door swung open. Edward strode toward her, eyes hard, but she didn't move. She wouldn't lead him out into the street until she had to. Not with all the little kids in Ruth's neighborhood.
"You left."
"You tried to kill me."
He stroked her hair. His hand was like ice. "Just once. Then you'll never have to die again."
She let him kiss her then, keeping her hands behind her back. He kissed her long and hard, but she didn't move. Her heart pounded as she steeled herself for what she had to do.
He pulled away and looked into her eyes. Before he could open his mouth, she brought the knife up and around and plunged it into his shoulder. At the same moment, she twisted the knob and ran out into the street. Police sirens wailed nearby, and she jogged toward the sound. Several houses away, she stopped and turned around.
Edward stood several yards away. He had pulled the knife out of his shoulder, leaving a gaping, bloodless wound.
The sirens got closer. She ran to the sidewalk and watched as they sped toward him, stopping a few feet away from him. The closest car turned on its headlights. Edward held up his hand to sheild his eyes. Two officers jumped out of another car, held him down and cuffed his hands behind his back.
"Bella! You're okay?"
She whirled around at the sound of Jacob's voice. Swallowing, she nodded. "I'm...I'm fine."
He grabbed her wrist and spun her around. "Don't look."
"Don't look at what?"
"Just...don't look, okay?"
A moment later, she heard Edward cry out as if in pain, then a sound like falling water. She turned around. One of the officers held a wooden stake. Where Edward had stood, only a small pile of dust remained.
"They....they killed him?"
"He was already dead, Bella." His mouth tipped at the look she gave him. "Come with me. I'll explain everything."
He led her to a diner and chose a booth near the back. She sipped at the hot chocolate he ordered for her, grateful for the warmth of the diner and the warmth of the drink. Her feet were frozen, her stockings soaked through, and the rest of her felt cold and miserable. She listened as Jacob told her what he knew.
"So he was a vampire?" she asked when Jacob finished.
"If he wasn't, he looked an awful lot like one."
"You mean like Dracula?"
"Something like that."
Bella set her half-finished mug on the table. "Wow."
"You don't believe me?"
"No...I mean yes. Yes, I do. That's just it. I...I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't just seen it. And even if I'd have believed you before, I never would've thought it'd happen to Edward." Tears stung her eyes, but she pushed them back. Jacob took her hand.
"Hey, it's okay. Go ahead and cry if you want." He smiled sadly. "I'd cry too, if it was somebody I knew."
Hot tears fell down her frozen cheeks, but she brushed them away. "I'm...I'll be okay."
"You sure?"
She nodded. "Yeah. It's just...all this time, I thought he was dead. Then he comes back and tries to kill me."
"He was dead, Bella."
She just looked at him. "Really?"
"Well, a vampire is just a reanimated corpse, so yeah." He looked up at her, his eyes gentle. "The Edward you knew is gone. That was just an imposter."
Bella nodded, oddly comforted. Edward hadn't tried to kill her. Edward Cullen was dead.
Alice returned half an hour later. Bella filled her in on the details while the police searched and cleaned their apartment, and Jacob added what he knew. They cried and held each other for a while, trying to make sense of all the events.
When the police finally left, they returned just long enough to pack a few things and check into the small hotel downtown. Bella didn't think she could stand to sleep at the scene of the crime that night, and Alice didn't feel much different.
Gradually, things returned to normal. The Allies continued to win, and Jacob brought them reports of vampire activity as he got them. They walked his Huskie through her neighborhood as Jacob told her the latest news.
"Is this why you came back to the States?" Bella asked. "To get away from the vampires?"
Jacob laughed. "The Army said they needed me here. Said if there were any more incidents, I was supposed to come up with a way to teach our boys about the danger."
"Sounds...hard."
He grinned. "Turns out that if you replace 'vampire' with 'super soldier,' a lot more people listen to you."
She laughed, then turned serious again. "So why'd they want Edward? Do you know?"
"Well....the best I can figure is they wanted to see how well they could control their enemies." He exhaled at the puzzled look on her face. "See, when a vampire bites a human, that human turns into a vampire."
"I knew that."
"Yeah. Well, the new vampire sort of becomes the first one's slave. Does whatever they say. I think they wanted Edward because....well, he's American."
"They wanted to see if they could turn an American into a Nazi."
"Exactly."
Bella shook her head, fighting tears. "That's terrible."
"Yeah. It really is. And you know what the worst part is? A lot of them are still out there."
"I thought we were winning?"
"We are, but they're smarter than that, Bella. When Germany surrenders, they won't stick around. They'll run off and hide wherever they can, and nobody'll ever find them because they don't want to be found. And then there'll be even more vampires, and...." He trailed off, too angry to continue. Bella was beginning to clench her fists, too.
"I wish I could find them. Put a stake through their hearts--human or vampire."
Jacob stopped abruptly and whirled to face her. "Why don't you?"
Bella laughed. "You mean grab a wooden stake, head off to Germany and have at it? I don't think anyone would take me seriously--even if I spoke German."
"Why? Because they're vampires or because you're a girl?"
She paused, thinking that over. "Both, I guess."
"Nobody would've taken a woman welder seriously before the war, either. But here you are, one of the best in Stockton. I know your boss," he said when she laughed. "You're good at what you do."
"I can't do it anymore," she said. "The men'll want their jobs back."
"All the more reason for you to find a new job."
"Like vampire hunter?"
He shrugged. "Why not? We need one of those, and I think you'd be good at it. You're one of the only people who recognized a vampire without ever having seen one before. And it's not like you don't have a reason to travel the world, killing vampires."
Bella looked at the sidewalk. As crazy as it sounded, the life of a vampire hunter appealed to her. Maybe she'd even find the one that turned Edward in the first place. She smiled up at Jacob.
"I'm game if you are."
"Is that an invite?"
"You know more about them than I do."
"You're the one with the vendetta."
She smiled. "It's the perfect combination, don't you think?"
Jacob grinned. "Yeah. It really is."
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