Hello to all of my loyal readers and reviewers. This chapter has some pretty big stuff going on so please let me know what you think! If you like the story pass it on to your friends.

Thanks to my beta Melolabel, check out "Tapas at Twilight", it's on my fav's page.

Thanks to Stephenie Meyer, I'ver really twisted around some of your characters!

MPOV

Trying to keep my eyes open was like lifting an anchor with one hand. The flesh on my cheek was ripped open and I could feel the blood pooling around my mouth and nose. My head was spinning so much I couldn't tell which direction was up or down. The wood of the deck was pressing so hard against my face I didn't know if I was on the ship or the ship was on top of me. I could feel my body had changed back into human form and every part hurt. I don't think I had a single bone left unbroken. Darkness and stars swirled behind my eyelids and it felt so good to just let them slowly close. But through the stars and blackness I caught a glimpse of Bella reaching out for me and I fought to remain awake.

As I tried to flutter to consciousness I thought how unexpected it felt; to know that you were going to die. I had never contemplated death. I really hadn't had the time or inclination. But lying here now, I knew it was the right place to be. I didn't want to be here. I wanted to be with Bella in some secluded paradise, safe and alone. But I also knew that I had saved her, at least for a while. I could only hope that Edward Cullen was half the man everyone else thought he was. He was the only one who would be able to help her now. Bella, sweet Bella, my Bella. I'm sorry I couldn't do more to save you.

I began to feel those now familiar sensations from within my body. I didn't know how to control what was happening to me, but I knew that I couldn't burst into a wolf again, I would die. Not only was there heat and trembling coming from inside of me, but there was heat all around me as well. I thought about just letting the transformation happen, I would either die that way or by the fire raging all around me. As I began to relax and let the change happen, it was her voice that called to my mind. Remember who you are Michael.

Spurred on by my wild imaginings I mustered all of my strength and new found (if short lived) conviction, I reached out my arm, grabbed around the edge of the railing and tried to pull my body over. My only hope of survival was to sight the other ship and try to signal them. I reached up and the pain immediately seared through me from my skin to my broken bones. As my neck wrenched painfully around I couldn't see the ship. But I did see flames and the blurry form of one the pirates hobbling towards me.

He only had one arm and it was holding something. The closer he got I could see that he was carrying his other arm. I felt bile and blood rise in my throat. I didn't know what he was going to do, but I didn't really care, it couldn't be worse than what was happening now. The fight was seeping out of me as quickly as my blood was and I could keep my eyes open no longer. Darkness surrounded me for a time but slowly the scene transformed into a deep wood.

I found myself walking through a beautiful ancient forest with Bella. She was beautiful, dressed in white linen, fresh and clean. The sun was shining down on us and we were so happy. She was a perfect paper flower, just like the first time I saw her on the docks. Our eyes connected for the briefest of moments before her face crumpled in sadness. Suddenly a sharp pain jolted me back into the present.

The man was kicking me in the ribs. No, not a man, he was a devil, a legend, a dark tale, come to life in front of me. He was a Vampire; an evil demon that fed on humans. I could only assume he had come for his final meal. I rolled my head back as much as I could and was reminded of the rising temperature all around me. I saw tongues of fire licking up all of the sails. Ash and embers were raining down, swirling in the gusts of air. I felt something land on my eye and the pain was immediate. My breath was already gone from the kick and I didn't have the strength to cough or find it. In a haze I saw the demon lean over me. He was adjusting his shoulder and I could vaguely make out the jagged edges of where his flesh had knit itself back together.

"James! This whole ship is on fire and he left. If he thinks I can be trifled with he will find out how poorly he has misjudged me. Stay or go you are dead. I am leaving." Then in an unbelievably swift and smooth motion he leaped directly over me onto the railing and dove silently into the water. I could'nt even begin to imagine what his plan was. He seemed as dead as I was about to be.

In a moment of shear instinct, my lungs pulled in one racking, hot, smoky, breath. I could feel my body sliding as the ship began to list to port. I was crumpled against the rail and saw ropes uncoiling themselves as they were almost completely sideways. The slap of cold water on my bare body was painful and relieving at the same time. The cold began to numb me quickly and I welcomed it. I crawled into my mind for a safe place to hide from the pain. I tucked my chin into my shoulder to wait for the end. I could only close my eyes and hope for death to find me quickly.

Though my conscience had surrendered, my body rebelled. I could feel my arm flopping around desperately trying to find something to hold onto. My wrist was surely broken but instinct was taking over again. A rope slid past my arm and my hand grabbed on. I could sense the mass of the ship falling past me. Suddenly the rope was dragging me down with the ship, I had to let go. Even though I knew it was dragging me down my mind couldn't force my hand to release the rope. A solid mass came floating up at me from somewhere on the ship. The corner hit my chest and pain burst as I felt more bones crack in my chest. After a time the numbing of the cold water had lessened. Why am I not dead yet? I tried to retreat further into that safe place in my mind but an unseen force was tearing me from that spot. The numbness had spread throughout my whole body and darkness wrapped around my mind, the end was finally coming.

More pain. Something was pulling me from the icy cold water. I could barely hear any more.

"…Aro…this was floating….trunk.."
"Jane…Interesting…a were…wasn't expecting.."
"Aro…must we keep him?"
"Caius his connection with one of the passengers is strong, very strong."
"I can follow…. that to James and Victoria…"
"…we must turn him Marcus…"
"Aro…never been done…not possible"

Why had they pulled me out of the water? It was so fitting for the sea to be my grave.

"Jane…fading…wake him up…gently"

Suddenly a jolt ripped through my body. All of the muscles in my back contracted and they arched. I felt the broken bones in my spine collapse under the intense pull of my muscles. Water speweed from my lungs and I pulled in a breath. The pain was unbearable. More intense than I thought a person could feel. But I'm not a person am I? Perhaps monsters feel more pain.

"Even the Dog can't heal from these wounds. He can lead us to James."
"You are right Aro…this will be the easiest turn ever…smells so bad…I wish I could stop before I've even started…"

Were they laughing?. I couldn't tell how many were around me or where I was.

"…You first Master…"
"Not in another thousand years…you now. He only has seconds left…"

Seconds left until what? What is going to happen now. Why can't I just find that dark corner and stay in it?
Sharp knives cut into my body from several points all at once; my arms and legs, my neck and chest, even my hands and feet. Were these crazy people stabbing me all over my body? What was happening?

"…This tastes disgusting…" Tastes? They were biting me? Were they eating me? Had the vampire come back to finish me off?

They stopped and soft warmth began to creep from my skin to my core. The welcoming iciness of the ocean was fading away and every injury throbbed as wave after wave of liquid fire tore through my veins. There was no longer strength in my body or air in my lungs to scream. The heat felt like boiling tar wrapping around my body. Every organ was an explosion of pain inside of me. My bones were broken and the jagged edges were slicing through the meat of my flesh, dragging across every nerve.

After biting me they must have set me on fire. Why would they burn me? Why would they pull me from the water to inflict this torture? I tried to retreat to that corner of my mind, but there was no door that I could open that didn't lead directly into the flames engulfing me entirely. Suddenly it was so clear. I was already dead. I was in Hell. I hadn't ever pictured what hell would be. Perhaps this is the fate of all monsters. I hoped that it would be the fate of the monsters that had Bella. I was now in an eternal round of engulfing flames.
I stopped trying to flee from the flames. I could only accept them. The panic that had been consuming me melted away and an icy hardness was replacing it. I could endure this. Death was worth any cost to have saved Bella, even for just a moment, her life was so precious, every moment a gift.

I don't suppose Hell is measured in days and nights. I had no way of telling how long I had been in the flames. It seemed like they were less intense though. Perhaps I wasn't alone here, or I had gone insane, I was beginning to hear voices.

"…strange.."
"Why is he lying there so still….not normal…"
"…it's only…2 days…"

I recognized these voices from before. I assume that the torturers were also in my own private Hell. Was I getting used to this or were the flames receding? I could feel a cool burst pushing from the core of my being to the edges. The flames danced over my skin and in an instant they were gone.
I was immediately overwhelmed by a cacophony of sound. The water, birds, people, the breeze in a sail, ropes sliding on wood. I was pretty sure I could hear fish beneath me.

"Oh look at that, his skin is so pale and burnt red at the same time, scrumptious!"
"Jane, focus please. I think it's time that our newborn wakes up. Since his strength will be unknown to us, I suggest you prepare yourself."
"Yes Aro, you should go below deck, it will be safer."
"Heidi is already bringing up a man for the newborn to feed on."

Why would a newborn feed on a man? I was aware that they were talking about me, but I couldn't understand what they were talking about. I realized that I wasn't in pain. None at all. I began to concentrate on my body from the tips of my toes to my fingers. All of the pain was washed away. I felt stronger than I thought possible! I could smell everything, there was a sweet bouquet of scents swirling around from the people around me, salt in the ocean, fungus in the sails and wood, the foul smell of people below decks, fresh water, and meat. The meat smelled so good, I understood that what was so appealing, no more than appealing, compelling, was the blood in the meat; it was a compelling smell, pulling me out of my mind. As I began to re-inhabit my body I could feel a steely strength in every joint. I was fully aware of my self now, pulled from Hell to this new state of being.

My eyes flew open and I jumped up. I saw two women and knew they were like James and the other vampire I fought. Between them was a man, he looked defeated, almost mournful. He smelled awful. I whipped my head around and saw two more men on the other side of me, they were like the women. They were looking at me with a twinge of apprehension and fear. How could they fear me? I could still smell the meat from earlier and the pull of it was overwhelming. I leapt past them and was shocked by how high and far I jumped. When I landed I ran below decks and pushed through boxes and barrels and crates. It was two more levels and several hallways but I found the meat storage. It was covered in maggots but I didn't care. I ripped into it with both hands. It tasted so good. I was tearing it off in huge chunks and couldn't shove it into my throat fast enough. I was beginning to feel satiated and I was suddenly aware of the presence of someone behind me. I jumped over the crate and landed in a defensive crouch so quickly I was astonished by the speed of the action. I let out a feral snarl as the man behind me reached out and grabbed my arm. His hands were papery light and he looked so frail. But his grasp felt like a steel shackle.

"Do not be afraid Michael Newton. No one here is going to hurt you. You must be very confused about what is going on. I'm not exactly knowledgeable either though. You are the first of your kind and I don't know what to expect. We'll have to help each other with finding that out. You didn't know you were a werewolf until just a few days ago and now you have a whole new, life, to find out about. You were almost dead, your heart only had a few beats left, but we need you. We need you to find Bella."

How did he know my name and Bella's? I didn't know, but if he wanted to find Bella, I was going to do all I could to help him. The burning hunger inside of me for the bloody meat began to calm.

"Heidi, put the human away and fetch some clothing for Michael."

When he said this I became acutely aware that I was entirely naked. I looked down and I didn't recognize any part of myself. My skin was a pale ashy shade of the reddish brown it usually was. I was always strong but my muscles were large and tight, almost bursting through my skin. I couldn't find any of my scars. I knew I should have broken bones and a rope burn through my hands but there was no sign of any previous injuries.

One of the women from the deck came over to where we were and threw a pile of clothes at me. I quickly crouched down behind the barrels of meat I had ripped open.

"Oh please, don't be so ridiculous." She rolled her eyes and walked away quickly. I noticed that she wasn't dressed like a woman, she was in tight pants and tall boots, her billowy tunic was cinched with a belt tightly around her waist. Her hair was long and unruly in several braids with small bits of beads and string wrapped in it.

I quickly shrugged into the clothing at my feet. As I pulled the tunic on I saw that my hands were covered in the blood and meat. I looked up to the man who was still patiently standing there.

"Michael, come walk with me and I will explain all that I can." He clasped his hands behind his back strolling along the deck of the large vessel. He turned and looked me up and down, a slight wrinkle of his nose seemed to indicate he did not like how something smelled. I was still covered in the rancid meat, but all I could smell was the sweet scent wafting from him. The ancient one cleared his throat and looked me squarely in the eye. "Michael, you are now a vampire, and there are a few things you will need help with. I am also very interested in what you were just eating," he raised a curious eyebrow in my direction as if I had some great insight as to why I had just devoured rancid meat. He sighed and continued on "we have a very long conversation ahead of us." He looked at me with such intensity my eyes were glued to his. "This is the most excitement I've had in centuries Michael. I thought this was going to be another tiresome fight with another renegade Vampire. You are a most welcome surprise, most welcome."

I was grateful that my physical pain was gone. I was so lost that when the ancient man continued along the deck I followed. I didn't know what was ahead but I couldn't think to do anything else. The confusion was settled in so deeply, my mind needed relief just as intensely as my body had from the pain.

Did you guys see that coming? Let me know what you think! In the next chapter we'll get a look at what's going on with Bella and Edward.

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