PART IV
Noah is what I could only describe as a colleague. We get along well enough, better than Jane and I anyway. He was born in London in thirteen-forty-two and lived until he was twenty-six. At the age of twenty-six he was attacked by a horde of vampires rampaging through the streets and left him for dead. He changed, of course and went on to live a further three-hundred-and-twelve years which was cut 'short' by one of the very vampires that contributed to his change. We have both been serving since the beginning of time, our busiest time ever being the great flood. In the thirteen-hundreds, Noah found himself more and more in London. Helping those central to his human life move on to the holy kingdom, or even to hell if that is what they chose. It was torture for him to constantly bear witness to his beloved family. To witness his mistakes, his triumphs. Jane and Alec have also been on the receiving end of this, they still are in fact. Their vampiric existence lasted far longer than Noah's. They don't speak about it, but I know they even watch themselves from the sanctuary of the walls of Volterra.
I myself have refrained from such torment… until recently that is. I found myself in Charlie's house recently, in La Push and even at the old ballet studio in Phoenix. It comes no surprise to me that my time in Forks increases ten-fold. Instead of maybe ten visits a year, I'm expecting my workload to increase to all of the fatalities in Forks. Regardless, I look upon the occurrence as bittersweet. I will undoubtedly be forced to bear witness to my mistakes, my triumphs and worse of all; the uselessness of it all.
"Are you here to see me again, Bella?"
I smile at the sweet child, "of course Agnus. You did tell Jane that you wish to see me, did you not?"
"Yes, I sensed her close by so I thought I would get her to pass on the message. I didn't actually think she would tell you though."
I chuckle, "she may seem bitter, but she is soft on the inside."
"Yes… soft and squishy like lava."
I look around the hospital and note nothing has changed since I was here last, the new renovations still firmly in place. "So what can I do for you kiddo?"
"Oh… nothing. I just like our talks."
I purse my lips, "well, in that case I have good news. You will be seeing a lot more of me soon."
She beams brightly, "yay," her hands clap together loudly. "But why is that? what's happening?"
I sigh heavily, "my human self lived in this time… and I'm about to move to Forks. Incidentally, that also means I will be here a lot more to bear witness to my old life… some sort of sick joke."
"Oh! I had no idea you were human once… but I thought you have always been what you are."
I smile at her, "I have always done what I do, since the beginning of time. But… it's complicated."
"I'm old too Bella, I understand more than you think."
"I know you do sweetheart. Okay, you see, I was once like Dr. Cullen. You know he is different, don't you?"
She nods, "he can see me all the time, but I don't know why."
"Well, it's because he is technically dead. He is a vampire, you see."
Her eyes light up with the new information, "oh! So you were once a vampire too?"
I nod, "yes, and it seems that those who were vampires are stuck with quite the conundrum in the afterlife. While I didn't sell my soul to Satan for immortality, God couldn't exactly let me in either. So… I serve my time like other vampires who have passed on."
"That is so sad. Are you sad Bella? to be stuck forever?"
"Of course not Agnus, I'm helping people. Dying is scary, as you well know."
"I wish you were here when I died, Bella. I don't like Jane, she is nasty."
"But, you're okay now." She nods solemnly, "so are you here for a patient this time?"
"No, I am needed close by soon, so I still have a little time to talk with you."
"Come find Dr. Cullen with me then, let's mess with him."
"Agnus, I'm not sure if that is a good idea. My human self will move here soon and she looks just like me, we can't interfere with a humans course and him seeing me may interfere. It's bad enough he has already seen me before."
"Then let's give you a fake name, a relative maybe."
"You take too much enjoyment out of mischief, Agnus."
"And you don't take enough, Bella. Now come, a relative's name."
I purse my lips, but her pleading eyes are just too much to resist, "fine, my nan Maree, she even looked like me… in her younger years."
She beams, takes my hand and pulls me down the hall. "This is going to be great," she halts her strides and stops suddenly. "Is he allowed to know about us or is that against some rules or something?"
"They usually advise against telling werewolves and vampires stuff or letting them see us, because they usually get violent and lash out… humans usually die unnecessarily. But Dr. Cullen is different, he is much more placid… it'll be fine."
She jerks me along again and pulls us through the closed door labelled Dr. Cullen. His gaze is fixated on some papers, so she rushes us to the seats in front of his desk silently and orders me to sit in a hasty manner. Taking a cue from her, I make myself look bored as though I have been sitting here for a while.
"A-hem," Agnus prompts when she decides she has waited too long for him to notice our presence.
To his credit, he manages to contain any surprise he may have felt and kept his expression decidedly neutral. "Ladies?" He greets, but also questions.
"Hi Dr. Cullen," she beams. "you remember my friend Maree, don't you?"
"Maree? you introduced her as Bella last time, Agnus."
"Did I, how silly of me, her name is definitely Maree." He stares blankly for a time, his gaze shifting between us. Whatever he may be assuming about us, he is composing himself rather well. I know for a fact he can hear no heart beats from either of us, and I also know we have no scent. "I need help Doc," Agnus pleads. "I've been coffin so much my throat hurts and I have this awful ache in my fang teeth after eating some garlic." Dr. Cullen stares blankly at the child, likely trying to think of a response that won't incriminate himself. Before he has a chance to respond though, she continues, "then, a bat attacked me and bit me! I think I may have rabies." He continues to appraise her, " so I had steak for breakfast… it really sucked." Apparently unable to contain herself, she bursts out with an insane-sounding cackle.
"I'm not related to her," I tell him.
"I—" he doesn't seem able to form a response.
"We won't cause you any trouble Dr. Cullen," I offer. "Come Agnus, you've had your fun, now go haunt some unsuspecting patients. Bye Dr. Cullen."
