CHAPTER 2- STILL BELLA'S POV

I was astounded. He stared at me waiting. I didn't want to anger him, so I said, "I'm not allowed to talk to strangers." Okay, that was dumb.

"Mouthy, eh?" he said, scowling. "Do you know that girl?" he repeated. I didn't respond. I just stared up at him like a bumbling idiot.

"Answer me, girl!"

"Yes, I do!" I choked out.

He looked around to make sure no one was listening. "Do you know what she is?"

I was taken by surprise. I'd never expected him to ask me that. "Yes." I squeaked.

"Do you know what I am?"

"I think so," I whispered.

"EXCUSE ME! THE MALL WILL BE CLOSING IN A MINUTE! PLEASE PAY AND LEAVE," the sales lady yelled. I practically jumped out of my shoes.

"Come with me," the man said. Shoot.

He grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the store.

"Wait, I still have the dress!" I called.

He grabbed it out of my hand and put it on a rack. Then, he dragged me through the spinning doors and down the hall. Making sure no one was watching, he ran as fast as Edward had in the forest, stopping whenever a shop light was still on or when a person came into view.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked bleakly. I looked across the hall to the store Alice was in. She was nowhere to be seen. Probably in the changing room, I thought. I wished that Alice wouldn't come to find me. This man seemed too dangerous.

"You'll see," he snarled.

My sight was blurry and I was feeling dizzy. I hoped that he would stop running soon. It was even worse when he stopped because of an unclosed store and then picked up again. My stomach churned every time.

Finally, he stopped for good and put me down, though he still held onto my arm to make sure I didn't make a run for it. A useless motion, since I was so dizzy I probably couldn't even walk straight. As my vision came back to me, I saw that we were in front of a closed up store. It had huge metal poles in front of it, locking it up, and behind that a black wall with a door.

The man quickly double-checked to make sure no one was there, and then pulled apart two of the metal poles wide enough for a person to fit through with his bear hands. Wow, I thought nervously. He's really strong.

He grabbed me and pushed me through the hole he had just made. Then, he came through himself and pushed the metal pieces back so that it looked like it was undisturbed. He opened the black door, grabbed me and pulled me in with him, and gently closed the door.

With the door shut and no light shining through, it was pitch black. The only thing I could see was the slight shimmer of the man's red eyes. I shuddered.

After a moment, the man hit a light switch and the bright lights switched on. I shielded my face from the sudden change in brightness.

"What is your name?" the man inquired in his rough tone.

"B-b-b-Bella." I stammered.

"Ahh, how pretty," he murmured, taking my hand and rubbing it across his face and under his nose. He sighed in delight.

"Who are you?" I breathed. My eyes had adjusted and I could see that we were in some sort of department store.

"My name is James," the man whispered harshly.

"I didn't ask you for your name."

James scowled. "I think you already know who I am. I'm the same as your little friend, who is probably worried sick looking for you right now. The mall is practically closed by now. And now it is mine turn to ask you a question. Why were you with that girl?"

I tried to be brave. "That's my business."

"I insist that you tell me now or else I will crush your arm!" Enunciating every word, he grabbed my arm and grasped it tightly. I winced in pain.

"Okay, okay! She's my friend, that's all! She took me shopping for the prom!"

He let go of my arm. "Hmm… a vampire friends with a human. Strange. Makes you much more tempting."

That was the first time either of us had said "vampire" out loud. It put a weird reality to the fact that I was face to face with a vampire that probably wasn't as caring as the Cullen's.

"Why are you at the mall?" I asked hesitantly.

"I was hungry, so I decided to look for something… worth my while. Then I found you, friends with a vampire, not to mention the fact that you smell so wonderful…" his voice trailed off as he sniffed my hair, sighing. "And thus you are here. Now, shall we get started? Or did you want to sit around all day talking about how I'm going to kill you?"

And with that, he leaped up and pushed me across the floor into a clothing rack. All the hangers and clothes piled up on me. They covered my mouth and nose and I couldn't breath. I felt the hangers poking into my sides and cutting me. I struggled to uncover myself, but there was a lot of weight on me, and my arms were stuck underneath me. I used all my might and finally got my arms free and started uncovering myself. When I was free, I tried to stand, but my legs buckled and I fell to my knees.

I heard a vicious laugh and I looked up to see James zooming towards me. I shrieked and covered my head, in a pointless attempt to protect myself. He through me again and I slid across the floor into a group of mannequins that shuddered and fell in all directions like oversized bowling pins, shattering as they hit the ground. I tucked myself into a ball and covered my head so the pottery wouldn't hit me. When all the clay was settled on the ground, James came back and pulled me through the shards so that I was lying on my back in the center of the store. James crouched over me and sniffed hard. He sighed longingly.

I raised my head and saw that I was covered in freshly bleeding scratches and scrapes. James was eyeing them longingly. One by one, James touched his finger to the fresh blood and licked it off his finger. I screeched when he pressed down too hard, and he grabbed my wrist tightly and roared, "Shhhhh! Someone might still be in the mall! If you scream one more time, I'll snap your wrist in a second!" And to demonstrate, he put more pressure on my hand and I couldn't help giving a tiny wail. He growled and squeezed even tighter. I didn't think that was possible without breaking me yet, but it was. It did hurt, though, and it was very challenging to stifle a scream.

By now, I was shaking uncontrollably. Any moment James could strike and kill me in one swift movement. I tried to stay calm, but that was like trying to not be swept up in tornado.

Almost every part of me was stinging now, especially my right hand – the hand he was still grasping. All of a sudden, I heard the sound of scratching metal and the slamming of a door. I looked up and saw the Cullen family standing at the door. All my hopes vanished and I was left in despair. I wished Edward could read my mind so I could tell him to leave! I wasn't sure how dangerous this vampire was, and I didn't want to take any chances, especially with Edward or the others.

The Cullen's ran towards me, furious and aghast expressions on their faces, but James was too quick. As fast as lightning, he lifted my head up so that our noses were almost touching, put his ice-cold lips to my neck, and dug his teeth into my flesh.