Chapter one: A strange meeting
B Pov
I shivered in my dark jacket in the cool September night air as I crouched low enough to survey the street below but also be ready to leap down on a vampire at any second. I pulled my silver dagger closer to my side, the blood red ruby and engraved blade shone in the bright streetlamp. Swan. This was a special dagger that killed both hallow vamps (short for Halloween, the ones who rule the world, the ones that the humans only know about) and indo vamps (short for indestructible) but with two very different effects. For a hallow vamp it was like a stake to the heart, killing them almost instantly. But for indo vamps it turned every part of them it touched into ash.
But I didn't want to get lost in memories of how I had come to get my prized weapon so I looked away from it, down into the street below. While I was lost in my thoughts, there had been movement. Almost as if the darkness its self were stirring inside. And then, Victoria emerged. A vampire that was almost feline like in the way she moved. She had flaming red hair that swayed slightly, giving her the appearance that her head was on fire. Her crimson eyes scanned the disserted street hungrily, searching for a lone human she could prey on. No such luck for her though.
The humans had gotten smarter. After the vampires had taken over they had begun staying indoors at night, surveying people carefully but relaxing once they realized that the people around them weren't hallows. But they didn't know there was another kind, one that walked among them undetected. I remembered my very fist encounter with vampires. I was seven years old and my family had just been slaughtered before my eyes.
A blur of colors, an unnatural breeze. Bright red, splattering everywhere. Screams, cries, moans and laughter. I watched everything as fear, adrenaline and rage coursed through my veins, burning me from the inside. Renee and Charlie were pale and motionless, blood splattered against their skin and cloths, both lying in a pool of each other's blood and their eyes glassy and unseeing.
Two pairs of eyes watched me in the darkness, but somehow my eyes saw them. Two vampires; both completely different. The first was a woman, obviously a hallow from the small canine like fangs that seemed to be illuminated by the lightening that flashed outside the window. She had blond hair with one stripe of violet, her eyes the color of fresh blood. She smiled at me menacingly, more of her teeth showing as she did so.
The second I couldn't ever forget but couldn't actually remember. That night had been so horrible that my seven year old mind repressed the memory of him. I knew he too was inhumanly beautiful and frozen in his youth, his own red eyes forever burning into my mind. He didn't smile or move toward me in any way, he stood quietly surveying the scene like an observer with his arms folded across his chest. Fear and rage at what they'd done to my family were fighting for dominance inside my chest, where my heart was beating like the thunder from outside.
I was shaking as much as the house shook with the force of the storm outside. But one look at the calmness of this vampire and the fierce hunger of the other, and rage settled its self into my heart. My mind went numb, and I only reacted in pure instinct.
"Aww, what's the matter little girl? Are you too afraid to play with me?" The female taunted. Moving slowly, as not to cause her to notice, I snapped off one of the legs from a chair in the dining room. I made sure the sound was muffled, much too quiet for her to take notice in. I hid it behind my back, feeling the splintered wood beneath my fingers and waiting for the right moment to plunge it through her heart.
I don't know why I did it or what made me do it, my body just reacted to some buried instinct. My mind had almost completely shut down, too mesmerized by the glowing red orbs of the other vampire who was still watching quietly. It infuriated me that he didn't even try to join in, and also didn't try to stop this female from killing me. She sank to her knees, joining me on the floor and scooted closer. Her face was full of mock sympathy.
"Aww, you're hurting my feelings, little girl." I stared blankly back at her. "I said, I want to play!" she laughed and was at my side the next instant. The other vampire's eyes flashed for a moment, startling me. She leaned closer to me, her face inches from my throat when she took a deep breath.
"Oh, you smell so good it should be illegal!" she taunted. She turned to the other vampire then. "Come on, you can share with me. You'll want a taste of this one." She looked happy then, happy that he was in my house with her- about to finish me off. When he didn't say anything she turned back to me with a shrug of her shoulders. "More for me then." I looked back at the boy slowly, watching to see if he made any move toward me.
Very slowly I saw him nod at me. I was frozen to the spot. Fear and confusion was threatening to consume my already clouded thoughts but I tried to force them back. The woman leaned in closer taking a few more deep breaths. This was it, I was going to die. Any moment now she was about to sink her pearly fangs into my skin and tear me apart like a wild animal, drinking my blood like she had with my parents- making it slow.
Flash! I don't know what made me do it at that moment, the moment that strike lightening touched ground in the front yard. I just know that something that had been holding back the stake in fear snapped and I was plunging the piece of wood deep into her chest. I didn't dare stop, I push harder. A scream. Loud and piercing. At first I thought it had been the vampire's but I realized later that it was mine. My own scream of rage.
The two of us fell backward, almost in slow motion, and onto the hard floor. The blood was becoming a river, surrounding us. Her expression was a mask of surprise, confusion, fear and anger. She cried out hoarsely, her body growing paler.
"Help me!" she cried. The other vampire didn't move, he watched as he had from the beginning, in the shadows. His cold eyes bore into mine but I forced myself to tear away from his gaze. The woman's face was more furious, fighting against the stake that I was still pushing farther into her chest. A new me was waking up, and a new strength kept her from pushing me off and pulling the stake out of her chest before it reached her heart. Lightening, thunder. The fury outside didn't even compare to mine. Renee and Charlie's faces flashed before my eyes, their faces splattered with blood and their eyes glassy and unseeing.
"You killed them!" I screeched. "YOU KILLED THEM!" I screamed louder.
"Damn it, I said help me!" she said, squirming under the wood. Still, the boy sat coolly unfazed.
"Make sure you get her heart or she'll just heal herself," he said quietly. And then he turned, and was swallowed by the darkness. I pushed one last time and sighed as I felt the vampire stop moving.
I watched Victoria searching in vein.
"Looks like you're out of luck. Everyone's gotten smarter than you've given them credit for," I whispered to myself.
I watched as her inhumanly beautiful face twisted in frustration at not finding any prey tonight. She must have been searching all night for someone. With one last scan of the street, she turned back toward the forest she had come out of and was swallowed by the darkness. I leapt into the next tree, following her as she ran through the forest.
One vampire, and Victoria at the very least. She would have been very easy to take care of alone but I knew she was part of the coven that I'd been looking for since Saturday. She'd lead me to their hide out and then I'd be able to take them all out at once, in one strike. The night air rushed past me, but I could see well enough through the darkness. The two of us seemed to be running for so long that I was beginning to wonder when we'd get there, so I let my mind wander to thoughts about my new school. Lillian Hartford Academy, my own person hell until I graduated. All thanks to Vivian Smith. A very good friend of mine but one who worried too much.
"Bella you know you can't just be a vampire hunter for your entire life."
"And why not? I'm good at it and last time I checked, it was a bad thing that vampires ruled the world."
"Bella you're an amazing vampire hunter. One day you're going to rid the world of all filthy vampires, but then what? You won't have anything to do. That's why I want you to do more with you life, I've enrolled you into Lillian Academy."
"Excuse me? Didn't you even think to actually ask me first?"
"Just listen to me. At least do this until you graduate, for me," she said pulling the begging face out. I sighed, already beginning to waver. I just couldn't say no to that girl.
"I guess I've got to go pack then," I said after a while.
"Thanks, B! You won't regret this, I promise!"
Victoria stopped suddenly. I sank into a crouch on one of the branches of an ancient oak. The bark was smooth under my fingers, so I clung on tightly- hoping I wouldn't slip. Victoria opened the door to a small cabin and stepped inside. It looked like it only have four or five small rooms, and the whole thing was made of wood. Good. I listened closely to the vampires inside, hearing every word and knowing who'd spoken.
"Catch anything good, Victoria?" Laurent asked absently, a vampire with dark skin and the same glowing red orbs.
"No! No one was even out! Three weeks straight with not even a taste. When did humans get so smart?!"
"They've put two and two together obviously. They know the vampires hunt at night for convenience, so naturally they avoid going out."
"If this keeps up we might have to start hunting in broad daylight!" Victoria laughed sarcastically.
"We might if things keep going as they are." I heard the shuffle of cards and imagined Laurent playing cards by himself.
"Where's James?" Victoria's voice was almost unfitting for the feline appearance she had. It sounded too normal.
"In the back but he said not to disturb him." There was a soft hiss of frustration, I imagined it was Victoria.
"Have you heard about the reward?" Laurent asked suddenly.
"What reward? How much?"
"500 grand for a girl who likes to go after vampires. She goes by the name of Swan apparently. I've heard she carves Swan into her victims."
"That's just ridiculous gossip! A human girl, fighting against vampires? Yeah right. And then carving Swan into their skin. Well if they were dead they'd be ash so she couldn't carve anything into ash."
"She carves her name into the other kind of vampires, I don't know what she does for our kind."
"It's still ridiculous."
"So you wouldn't take the reward?"
"What if we just kill some human girl and say it's Swan? Would we get the money?"
"Probably not. They'd have to identify her somehow."
"Oh well. Too bad, we could have used some more dough."
I jumped down from my branch then, hearing quiet enough. I pulled my bag off my shoulder and pulled out a tin of gasoline, beginning to pour the foul smelling liquid all over the cabin and even around it. Moving as silently as a ghost, I sealed the doors and windows, making sure they couldn't get out before I pulled a silver lighter from my pocket. I flicked the switch and led the flame toward the wooden frame of the house.
At once there was a small explosion of fire. It leapt up like a wild animal, the flames beginning to rapidly lick at the cabin. I watched the vampires from beside a window. Their faces registered shock when they began to smell the suffocating smoke. A third vampire, James, rushed out of one of the back rooms.
"There's a girl!" he cried and threw himself at the door. It didn't budge, instead he was thrown back into the opposite wall with the force he put into trying to break down the door.
"Who are you?!" Victoria screeched at me. I smiled pleasantly, watching as the flames ate away at the cabin, the flames getting ever closer to the vampires.
"My name is Isabella Swan. And I am about to erase three more vampires from the world," I said clearly so they could hear me.
I felt the blood of the Swan women flow through me, giving me strength. I felt the ancient time flow, almost as if my fingers were grazing it. It stretched out in every direction from me, not a physical thing but a powerful feeling. I knew that when these vampires looked at my eyes they would see my family radiated back at them. Elizabeth, Diana, Violet, and me. We would all look out of my eyes like windows and freeze the vampires to the spot.
The next day
Last night's hunt had been filled with glory. I felt like I was bathing in light and power that stretched toward the heavens. I remembered the way they had burst through the doors finally and I defeated them one by one, Swan carved into a nearby tree trunk. I was very proud of my work, and very proud to have my dagger. It was made from solidified poison that was so powerful it ate away at whatever vampire skin it came into contact with.
With my ipod in hand, I walked through the front doors of Lillian Academy like I was a queen. But I quickly put it away when I reached the front office. Sitting behind a desk with an expression that clearly said she hated to be here, was a woman with short curly hair, styled in a bob. Her electric blue eyes watched me as I entered the office, her blood red nails tapping the counter annoyingly.
"Hi, I'm here to pick up my schedule." She rolled her eyes.
"Name?" she asked in a cold voice.
"Elizabeth Marigold."
"Ok, yeah here you are." She clicked a few buttons before the printer whirled to life and she handedme a piece of paper.
"Thank you."
"Have a nice day!" she called after me in fake welcome. I sighed and began making my way toward my locker, wondering about how I'd ever be able to find my classes. Just as I had shut my locker door, I nearly jumped back in surprise.
In front of me was a small pixie like girl. She had short inky black hair, and golden eyes that seemed to dance in excitement. A vampire, I noticed with wonder. But a vegetarian.
"Hi, I'm Alice Cullen!" She introduced herself happily. Cullen, the name stirred something deep inside my mind. But it was too distant to grasp. I turned my full attention to the vampire who was holding her hand out for me to shake. I shook it quickly but dropped it almost instantly afterward. I was still standing in a ready position, ready to fight to the death in the hall full of humans. But she didn't make any threatening move toward me.
Maybe she's just being nice, I thought. Yeah and maybe Santa Clause is just invisible. But still, I couldn't help but to relax around her. She didn't seem to mean me any harm.
"Elizabeth Marigold. I'm new here."
"That's pretty obvious, it's nice to meet you!"
"It's nice to meet you too Alice." I had surprised myself by actually meaning it. Somehow she reminded me of Vivian.
"So where'd you transfer from?"
"Oh just Brendan High back in Arizona."
"Wow, long way from home!" she laughed. I couldn't help but laugh as well.
"Hey Alice?"
"Yeah?"
"You wouldn't happen to be walking past the AP history class would you?" She laughed again.
"I have first period AP history too, I'll take you. Then you can meet Jasper."
"Jasper?"
"He's my boyfriend," Alice explained.
"Oh."
"Come on, we'd better get going before the bell rings." I followed her as she led me away from the lockers and down the hall. Everyone turned to watch her as she walked proudly, her skin glittering faintly (but only enough for me to notice) giving her a natural shine. She almost looked like a model strutting down the catwalk. I hadn't noticed all the whispers or stares that weren't only directed at Alice because I had begun to feel a prickle in my senses that meant someone was watching me. I turned in what felt like slow motion, my eyes scanning the hallway behind me only briefly before I was met with a pair of glowing honey colored orbs.
Across the hall stood a fallen angel, I was sure of it for about half a second. He was lean and boyish looking with untidy bronze hair that looked almost as if he'd just rolled out of bed. But somehow, it was attractive. His skin was pale, almost like marble. And he was staring at me, locking my gaze with his. His eyes had caught mine and refused to let me go, making me feel like I was drowning in them. A vampire, my mind told me numbly. I stared at him for what felt like only moments, not noticing that someone beside him was calling him. I would have normally noticed that this person too, appeared to be a vampire.
It was only when Alice began pulling me back down the hall that I noticed she had been calling my name. I looked at Alice's excited face for half a second before I looked over my shoulder at where the boy had been but he was gone. I faced Alice again reluctantly and quickly saw that she was laughing quietly to herself.
"That was my brother, Edward. I'm sorry about him."
"Edward, huh?"
"Yep!" she said quickly and then seemed to decide on changing the subject. "Let me see your schedule." I handed it to her, blushing slightly when I realized I had wrinkled it when I had been gripping it a moment ago. She moved over to the nearest wall and began smoothing it out before running a long pale finger down the list of classes.
"Ok you have first period with me and Jasper, then second period Latin with Emmet, third period biology with Emmet and Rosalie and then fourth period music with Edward."
"Alice, are you finding me chaperones for all my classes?" She flashed me a dazzling smile.
"Of course, since you're new here you won't know where any of the classes are!"
The two of us started down the steadily emptying hall again, making our way toward first period. She must have noticed my thoughtful silence and decided to bring up the subject I was most curious about.
"Sorry about Edward. He tends to act kind of mysterious sometimes," she said. But she didn't need to. All he'd done was capture my attention and send my mind whirling, but I didn't have a reason to kill him. He was a vegetarian, probably from the same coven as Alice.
"Mysterious isn't the word I'd use," I muttered to myself, fully aware that Alice could hear every word and was smirking to herself.
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Oh for the love of- God that was long! It took forever! I was rewriting this when all of a sudden the computer freezes up before I had it saved and deleted all my awesome work! I got a little too excited on the first chapter so I had to fix it. I couldn't remember everything I wrote so I'm sorry if it still sucks. Anyway please review, I'm being sapped of motivation at the moment.
-V