Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. All rights belong to Stephanie Meyer. I also disclaim any unintentional plagiarism. I'd Like to thank my friend Sam who again as usually helps me in my writing.
If there were two things I hated more then anything in the world; it was crowded areas and children. So by that logic, how my younger sister Lillianne got me onto a plane without me kicking and screaming, I have no idea. Furthermore, how I agreed to a seat with a little boy behind me; kicking and having a tantrum about being tired or hungry was beyond me.
I never liked flying in the first place, which is highly ironic; if only you knew the story behind that. Truthfully, I just don't like planes and I don't care how safe people say it is to travel. My sister however, she finds it peaceful. You'd never know that she and I were sisters, twins in fact; but we don't look alike apart from the color of our hair. Hers is longer and better kept than mine. Our eyes are different too; her eyes shine like sapphires whereas mine are a warm chocolate color.
She was dressed in her favorite white laced top and jeans, her jacket as her carry-on item. I was dressed in my white sleeveless eyelet lace, with blue jeans. My parka as mine. Instead of remaining in our apartment in Phoenix, where its sunny with seventy degree weather and perfect cloudless blue skies; we were headed to some backwater town in Washington called Forks. Where it's constantly cloaked with gray skies and drenched with rain. We'd been there before, a long time ago when we were younger. I didn't like it because I don't like cold weather, but at this point I guess it the last place anyone would think to look for us.
That's right, my sister and I were on the run. I'm not saying we're runaways or anything, we're too old for that. Were older than the man two rows in front of me, and I mean actually he's balding; but that comes later.
I can't help but laugh at our situation, even though it's all my fault. If I hadn't been so stupid none of this would of happened. Though, with my luck I guess it was bound to happen. I just wish Lillianne and the others hadn't gotten dragged into my mistake. I feel so lost without them, our friends, our family, our pack, clan, whatever you wanna call us. I miss them all.
I know Lillianne misses them as well, she hasn't spoken since this whole thing began. Just the occasional nod or shake of the head. For all we knew, they were dead, or caught. And no matter how hard I tried, we were too. I remember it all so clearly, when this hell began.
It all started three months ago, June 12th to be precise;
It was oddly cold that morning, not that I had minded with the extra warmth in my bed. There had been a storm the previous night and Lillianne had crawled into my bed out of fright. She was always like that when it came to storms. Again; I didn't mind.
I had been sleeping peacefully after a late night of working, when I woke to the sound of loud banging, followed by the shrill voice of our Landlady.
That landlady could be a real witch when she wanted to be, and she always did. I'd struggled out from under the covers and looked at the clock, it had been two-forty eight in the morning. Of course, she couldn't have waited for later time like a normal person.
I was still in my pajamas when I answered the old crow, she was true to custom, the first thing she greeted me with was an angry;
"Why the hell do you always take so long to answer!" It sounded like it should have been a question, but she never asked anything. "I'm here for the rent you owe me."
"I still have a week." I told her. She and I both knew exactly how much time I had to make the payment. She just loved trying to get it early since she knew I made just enough to get by, there was now way I really couldn't afford anything fun if I wanted to keep the apartment.
"I don't care, I want what I'm owed or you're out on your bum!" She screeched, she was always screeching, it was a wonder she still had a voice. Lillianne had made a comment about that once, she imagined how peaceful the world would be if the landlady couldn't speak. Not hearing her would have been a wish come true, but now, I missed the old bat.
Anyway, sighing softly, I left her at the door to go and dig out the small store of cash I kept in the cupboard, for just when she felt like collecting early. The scowl, which she'd had on her face since I opened the door, only deepened when I handed her the wad of cash for rent.
"Fine. You think you're so smart, but I'll have you out if you don't take out your trash every week! I don't know how you can stand that smell! Everyone on this floor complains to me-" The landlady went on and on, even though we both knew that nobody talked to her more than they had to. There wasn't any smell and there were no complaints, she just felt cheated because she didn't get to see me squirm, or beg for more time on the rent. I let her go on until she was satisfied, I could tell because once she was she turned and walked away. No good morning, no goodbye, just; 'Where's my rent!' and whatever else she could complain about.
"Rotten old witch…" I muttered, she snapped her head back. For a moment I thought she might have heard me, luckily she didn't. She then vanished down the hall to go and bother some other poor soul at that ungodly hour of the morning.
I returned to bed, and cuddled back up with Lillianne, she was so warm and in no time I was too. If I was lucky maybe I would've gotten just a few more hours of sleep.
Not a second sooner than when I closed my eyes, I woke up to the sound of someone banging on my door again. This time, the sound had a distinct rhythm to it, there was only one person in the world who knocked like that. Shana. I pulled the covers over my head and hoped she would go away. Just a few more hours of sleep, was that too much to ask for? Apparently so…
"Bella," Lillianne muttered softly, "there's someone at the door…" It was her way of kindly asking me to get up and answer it.
"Don't worry about it, they can come back later." I answered, I felt her nod against my chest and easily return to sleep. I tried to do the same, but after a minute or so I gave up.
"Its open!" I shouted, Lillianne groaned in protest. It had grown silent for a moment before I heard the door open and then close. Rolling over, I propped myself up on my elbows, leaned myself back against my wall and took in the familiar surroundings. Our apartment was rather minuscule, it's just big enough to fit two single beds, a desk, a couple sets of dresser drawers; the walls were smudged with dark spots from candles being lit for when Lillianne read late into the night while I was working night shifts. In the back corner a red dresser sat with a little television on top, angled slightly so that it was in direct view of the bed. It didn't work very well and we only got about 3 different channels on it, not that It really bothered me. Neither of us really liked watching television very much. A second dresser sat inside the closet. It's drawers opened and stuffed messily with clothing and school books. I'm not a very tidy person to begin with, Lillianne constantly scolds me about it since her things were always neatly arranged and put away. Beside the first dresser sat a clustered computer desk stacked with a spare comforter and some old movies I liked to watch. There was a printer, but it no longer worked.
I glanced over at the alarm clock, the bright red numbers flashed three-fourteen A.M.
I groaned. It was too early for my taste, no one else would have been awake, well no one human. I didn't count the Landlady as such.
"Rise and shine Isabella," said an high and peppy voice, "it's another day, get up and face it!" With that almost pleasant thought, I began my morning just like I did everyday, by slipping in to a pair of clean jeans, socks, and then my boots, which had melded to the shape of my feet after years of use. Scrounging around the laundry basket, I found a clean shirt and slipped it on before I joined one of my 'sisters' in what I called the kitchen. It wasn't must of a kitchen, was as big as a closet, with a sink and a counter, also there was a refrigerator. Shana was there waiting.
"Look what I found," she giggled, and I was met with a food basket hovering in front of my face. When the smell of the freshly baked bread wafted through the room I felt the deep rumble in my stomach. If it weren't for Shana, I'm sure Lillianne and I would have starved along time ago. No, I have to take that back, we would have been fine, we'd just still be stealing our food and clothing.
We met Shana, or rather she found us, when I tried to pocket some canned soup as Lillianne and I were passing through Arkansas. She'd offered us a place to stay, introduced us to the rest of the family. Since then we'd always been together.
Looking at Shana, I always thought that she was an absurdly small thing, half my size, with dark red hair that was streaked pink. She usually was very peppy and had this warmth and excitement about her, like a child who overreacts to everything. I know some people would find it annoying, especially with how high her voice gets at times, but I found it soothing.
I thanked her as she twirled over and planted kiss on my cheek, then disappeared to go wake up Lillianne.
The bread was still warm and I'd been starving, so I sliced myself an awkwardly large slice with my pocket knife, buttered it up, then took the biggest bite I could out of it. It hadn't fill my stomach like I had hoped, it was getting to be that time…
"Shana!" I heard Lillianne squeal, though I could hear the giggle through it.
"Rise and Shine Lilli, ooh are those lacey? When did you get to be so kinky?" I remember I could almost feel the blush crept onto my sisters face as she'd noisily denied Shana's insinuations. It was almost four'o'clock then.
The rest of the basket had some cheese, I'd packed that into my bag along with some bread to eat while at work. There was also some crackers, apples, eggs, and milk, all of which went into the fridge. They came in while I was putting my bread away for lunch.
Lillianne had dressed comfortably; a black t-shirt with Tinker Bell on the front and a skirt. Now that I think of it, Shana had been dressed in... barely anything, her shirt showed most of her smooth belly and her skirt showed a lot of her ass. She was as good as naked in those clothes! Aside from that, the both of them had been ready for school, where I got I ready for work. I guess it was weird that I was "18", as far as humans knew, and not in school, but I had "dropped" out when I was "16" and got a job working with my older "sister" Alison.
Shana and Lillianne had continued with the schooling even though it wasn't necessary; Lillianne just liked to be around other people and Shana loved school in general. The two of them grabbed their choice of food bags and chattered about the projects that were due before the year ended. Honestly, nothing was worth repeating high school in my opinion. Lillianne had a light breakfast of a simple cheese sandwich, by the look on her face, I'd say it filled her as much as it did me. I decided at that point that we'd have to do something about it by the end of the week.
Normally, we'd have still been asleep at that time, but Shana didn't come over every day. Even though I remember I was dying to go back to the comfort of bed, the three of us chatted for a good hour before we all piled into the car and I dropped them off at school. I watched as the both of them disappeared into a crowd of friends. I glared at the way the boys eye humped Lillianne. Disgusting. It wasn't as if she liked anyone of them either. She'd stopped and waved me off as usually before I took my leave for work.
It had all seemed like an average day as I drove the fifteen minutes between the school and my job. I worked at a small diner owned by a kind elderly couple. Alison had introduced me to them and helped me get the job there.
When I pulled up I saw Alison setting up through the windows. I parked and watched her for a moment before I climbed out of my car and heading towards the diner. I noticed, however, a figure standing outside the door. I couldn't make out their face, only that they dressed heavily and kept themselves concealed. When I approached they staggered off into the alley, so I'd shrugged it off as nothing, maybe just a drunk since there was a pub not too far from the diner.
"Do my eyes deceive me? Isabella Swan, coming to work…early?" A female voice teased when I walked in, my only response had been to roll my eyes.
Alison was by far one of the three most beautiful women I knew. She was the definition of gorgeous! I mean damn! Her looks alone drew in longing stares from both men and women, along with hateful glares from the latter wherever she went. She was tall, thin, well defined with an almost elegant appearance. She was several inches taller than my 5'6 maybe 5'7, she could even have been as tall as 6'. Her hair was long, though not as long as Lillianne's, but it was a light brunette color that framed her face beautifully. Her eyes took on a light hazelnut shade, speckled with green if under the right light.
I'd kill to look as good as her or to have her body for that matter! It was well shaped, perfect curves in all the right places, with a fair creamy carmel colored skin tone that usually had all the boys drooling. I drooled looking at her and she was my sister.
Okay so none of us are related, except Lillianne and myself, but still, it would have been weird if I'd suddenly said; "Hey, Alison, I have a thing for girls, oh and I'm hot for you, wanna shag?" No doubt she'd have found it little odd. Not that it would have mattered, most of our group are into women, even Lillianne. I think that was the reason we were all a group. Plus she was "married".
"Earth to Miss Swan, you're as bad as the boys, you're especially as bad Shianne," she said, it had been followed by a dazzling smile, her trademark bait for customers.
"Sorry…" I muttered. Her answer had been to shake her head and kiss my forehead. "And its Bella, you know that." She'd winked as she went off into the back, we didn't open for another hour. I decided I would finish, what I had to call a breakfast meal. Normally the food would have been filling, but that time it wasn't. That's not saying it wasn't good or there wasn't enough, it was just because of what I am, it wasn't enough to fill me.
Alison had noticed, I guess I had that look on my face after I ate.
"You know, I can make a call if you're hungry." She'd said softly, I shook my head.
"I'll wait till after Lillianne gets home. I'll be fine." I smiled, the meal had helped, at least a little.
The hour quickly passed, business started as usual. It wasn't any grand. The day progressed as it did everyday. I'd waited the tables as I always did, tending to the same familiar faces I always saw, there was of course new faces too, families on vacation who were merely passing by. That had been one thing I liked about working there, I either met new people or saw old people I knew well enough to know what they wanted without even asking.
That morning was odd, I had I received an unusual amount phone numbers from males, who usually only had eyes for Alison. When I'd asked if they were meant for her they had either said no, or that it was for the both of us.
Aside from the numbers, which I never kept because I had no interest in those men, the other strange thing was the return of that strange figure from before. As the hours went on, I'd served a few of the familiar customers and stopped to chat with them between orders, but every time I looked up I would catch the figure retreating form from the edge of the window. I thought it was really was eerie as the day went on. By the time lunch hour came the only thing I'd found out was that the figure was a woman. Alison and I ate lunch in the back during our lunch break, I'd asked her if she'd ever seen that mystery woman who kept lurking around.
"Don't get involved with her Bella." Was all Alison had said. She'd seemed irritated at the time and said that she'd also see her lurking about. She seemed uneasy. Thinking about it now, after what happened, that might actually have been fear she was showing. The woman's presence didn't seem to bother the owners and they had told Alison that they really couldn't do much unless she came inside and started something.
"It's just weird." I muttered, grimly picking at my lunch. I was starving, I needed to eat fast and the food in front of me hadn't been exactly what I had in mind. "Do you think she's hungry? Maybe she doesn't have any money."
"I don't know Bella. Its not really our place unless she comes in. Don't get involved, don't think about her anymore okay? I'm going to call Sheridan, get you something to eat, okay? You're looking a little sick." Alison said as she picked our plates up. The flash of the woman's jacket caught my vision as I'd agreed to Alison's suggestion. For the first time that day, I had a clear view of her because the hood of her jacket had been pulled down. She had been extremely pale, her cheeks thin and hollow, her hair had been curly and long, a fiery color. To me, she still seemed very beautiful, there was just something about her... a helpless quality.
My cell phone had gone off just as she gave me a weak smile.
"Hello?" I'd torn my gaze from the woman in answering my phone.
"Bella? Can you come get me?" It was Lillianne, her voice had sounded strained. I didn't have to ask to know what was wrong, I had been feeling it myself.
"Yeah, I'll be right there. Wait for me out front." After the phone call I had gone to tell Alison where I was going, but she'd guessed and had my keys ready for me.
I exited out the back, because I knew I would encounter the woman out front otherwise. I mean I had no time for anything aside from getting to Lillianne.
As I was pulled away I noticed a second figure had joined the woman, a blonde male. I hadn't seen much of him though, I'd brushed them off as I rushed back to the school. Lillianne was waiting just like I told her, she looked pretty pale, but I probably looked similar at that point; I doubt either of us would have lasted the week.
"I'm hungry." She'd said meekly as she entered the car. She looked like she hadn't slept in days with the dark circles under her eyes.
"We'll get something to eat now, Alison said she was going to call Sheridan." I'd assured her like I did every few weeks, she hadn't been too thrilled since she and Sheridan didn't really get along, but she had no alternative then.
The ride back to work was short and silent, we'd entered the same way I'd left. I'd thought about Sheridan along the way.
Sheridan, she's the most beautiful one out of the family, Alison is easily second, third would be Shianne. She has a toned, muscular body and a feral quality about her that excited people when she was around. Her skin is beautifully dark while her eyes are an unusual color, a mix of sapphire and violet. Her hair is long, the closest to Lillianne's length, but it's darker. Like Shana's it's streaked, but streaked with blue highlights. If I had to describe her appearance, it would be beautiful and deadly. She just had that look. She was taller than me too, hell she was taller than Alison. Men drooled over her. It helped that she was french also, because she had that accent that wasn't overly thick but it was just...
I was drooling again.
"Miss swan, I do believe you need a bucket." Alison had teased as we came in, motioning Lillianne towards the back as a couple of guys came in. I'd stayed outside to wait on them, as I'd approached the two I heard the typical whispers about Allison's ass.
"Hey, how are you today? Can I get you something to start with? Something to drink?" I was as friendly as I could be. Both had looked up and their faces had turned red faster than the worst sunburn I'd ever seen. There was some stammering and it took them a moment before they could regain themselves to ordered a couple of sodas. I'd left to go get them after they'd given me their numbers. I picked up a few other orders along the way. Lillianne had come out of the back, looking better and energetic by the time I'd gotten back to the counter. She was literally glowing and I'd smiled as she'd offered to take my orders while I ate.
I made my way to the back where my second eldest sister was, talking to Alison. Unlike Alison and Lillianne, I didn't speak french well enough to follow their conversations, so I had no idea what they were saying, although Sheridan smiled when I had approached.
"Bonjour, Isabella." I'd felt my eyes glaze over at her greeting and dazzlingly, bright smile. "'ungry?" I'd nodded.
It's safe to say that our 'family' isn't exactly…normal. Sheridan, is the oldest so she took responsibility of… feeding Lillianne and I. "Well zen, come over 'ere." she'd motioned for me to come over and I'd complied. My cheeks flushed as she'd touched my face, as they always have when she, Alison, or Shianne touched them. Her lips had twitched as if fighting a smile. She'd led me into the kitchenette we had in the back.
I don't remember how long we had been back there, but Alison came in after a while. She was probably wondering what was taking so long and embarrassingly she'd caught me in Sheridan's arms and our lips mashed together. She had nearly kicked us apart before ordering me back to work, at the same time scolding me for letting Lillianne take my tables.
Lillianne hung out for the rest of day as I'd worked, chatting with myself or Alison until it grew dark. More of our regulars had shown up as evening came. Sheridan at some point left to join Shianne at work. They worked in a pub around the corner. Alison and I had been asked to work the night shift, which were usually slow, so it had surprised me when I heard the bell jingle.
It was the woman.
She'd taken a corner table and I had no choice but to go wait on her, since Alison had been dealing with a difficult customer.
It had felt like something was wrong as I'd approached her, in hindsight I should have followed that instinct. I remember that I caught the most delicious smell as I got closer, I couldn't place what it was because it seemed to be an mixture of several scents, maybe that's why I'd kept going closer. She'd Looked up as I approached smiling shyly with folded hands in her lap.
"h-hi…" her smile had been so alluring I hadn't been able talk straight. "C-can I get you something to start with?" She'd looked over the menu and frowned.
"Just some water. Thank you." Her voice was gorgeous. My god I wanted to hear more of it. I remember arching an brow, thinking that she looked like she could use a meal, but just water? I'd nodded and headed back towards the kitchen. Poking my head through the little window I'd told the cook to make the special, which had been some Beef Stew that night, sure it was almost at its throw out time because of the extra that was always made, but it was still better than just water. It hadn't taken long, thanks to the slow orders and I'd delivered it to the table as soon as it came out.
"What is this?" She'd looked puzzled, stopping me as I had turned to leave.
"It's on the house." I shrugged, she'd given me a thankful smile as I left her to her meal.
"From whom? Might I ask?" She asked as I was halfway back to the counter.
"Sorry, it's anonymous…" She'd smiled again.
"Would you mind joining me?" the question had been more of a purr, unfortunately, before my had brain registered what was happening I found myself sitting across from her. "Thank you. What's a pretty young thing like yourself working here for?" She had asked as she stirred her spoon in the stew.
"I need the money."
"You're a little young to be working, don't you go to school?"
"No I don't. My sister does." That was just the beginning of one the many stupid mistakes I'd didn't know I was going to be making. No matter what she asked, I found myself answering before I could think about it.
"The other one, at the counter?" She asked as she nodded her head to where Lillianne had been doing her homework. "What's her name?"
"Lillianne." The answer had been automatic.
"Beautiful, and yours?" She'd been purring again, my god she was enticing.
"I-it's I-Isabella… I-I prefer B-Bella…" I'd been reduced to a stammering idiot! She gave a soft musical laugh.
"It's very nice to meet you Isabella, My name is Victoria." She'd replied.
Victoria and I had talked for an hour or so, mostly about my family and myself. She'd asked me to introduce her to Lillianne, which I'd done as soon as she said it. She had seemed to have the same effect on her as she had on me, only Lillianne wasn't as discreet about it. She'd asked me why I didn't go to school, if Lillianne and I lived close by, how many of us were in the family, anything like that and so on. I'd noticed that she never once touched her food our entire conversation, against my better judgment, I ignored it. Another hour had passed before Alison came and told Victoria we were closing, to which she had gracefully exited. I thought it was weird that she hadn't eaten the meal, but maybe she wasn't as hungry as I had thought.
Lillianne helped as we closed, wiping down the tables and taking away any spare dishes as I counted the money collected of the day. The store owner came in, paid us and then left as if they never existed. Polite all the way though. We sad good night, locked up, and met up with the others just outside. Alison asked if we wanted to join them at the pub for a drink once we were finished, but we declined. I was tired, plus frankly, it was late and Lillianne had school in the morning.
Alison kissed us both, before we watched her leave with Shianne and rest of them. I'd watched them drive out of sight before heading towards my car, where Lillianne had already gotten in. Before I opened the door though, a sound had drawn my attention.
"Get away you freak!" It was Victoria. She was running out of the alleyway as if someone were after her. I don't remember why, but I'd locked the doors and ran to help her, leaving a confused Lillianne in the car. Just as Victoria cleared the alley, I'd jumped into the way even though I had no idea what good it'd do. Shouting some kind of threat as the person came into the light. It'd been a surprise to see that it was the blonde man who I had seen watching the diner earlier that day, but even more of a surprise when he stopped just short of the alley entrance. He'd looked me up and down before turning and running away, as if my being there changed things a great deal. I hadn't thought too much of it then because Victoria was sobbing and shaking, saying how the man had wanted something from her and he'd kept following her when she had left the diner.
She'd thanked me over a dozen times in five minutes, during which Lillianne had come over to see what'd happened. Victoria and Lillianne had a brief chat, before Victoria was back to trying to control her shaking, worried that the man be would back. Of course I'd offered to drive her home, but she wouldn't have it and just asked if we would wait until she calmed down before leaving, which we did. I'd remembered that we had a water bottle in the car, so Lillianne and I'd both gone to get it for her, but she was gone when we returned and had been nowhere in sight. We had both searched around for a while, but couldn't find any trace of her so we could do nothing but go home.
I'd taken the drive home slowly, chatting with Lillianne and hoping that Victoria had gotten a head start home, or that I would catch up with her with any luck. The conversation had mostly been about how Lillianne despised Sheridan, which was funny since I adored her.
"I don't care. Just because she's the oldest she thinks she's in charge. Its infuriating, not to mention she has a smug attitude, she's rude, reckless, she's-"
"She's paying for your schooling," I cut her off, but she continued grumbling.
"Well yes… That's true. But I'll be graduating soon, then what? What'll her excuse be then?"
"You know, they say when two people argue, they're attracted to one another." I teased, she made a gagging sound before she giggled at the idea. That was the last time I'd heard her giggle, because I hit something right after. My head jerked forwards as I hit the dash board. What good was a car if the damn airbags didn't work? Even though my head had been throbbing, my only thought had been to look if Lillianne was okay. She was, sure she had been shaken up, but otherwise she was alright. I got out of the car to inspect the damage I'd no doubt be paying for, for the rest of the year.
It looked like I'd hit an invisible pole, in the middle of the road. The front of my car had been completely totaled around where a pole should have been. Which in ever sense was impossible. I didn't understand. Suddenly, the groaning sound of metal bending and electricity crackling, filled the air as I had moved around to the front of the car. Lillianne's horrified screaming made me panic, from where I could see she thrashing around through the cracked windshield.
"Bella!"she screamed, but the sound had faded as I'd rushed around to her side of the car. I'd tried to chase her but something stopped me, a strong grip around my neck. The last thing I remembered was the sound of something cracking, soulless red eyes with a violent smile as my vision faded.
When I woke up, the first sound I could make had been a groan and a male's voice had greeted me.
"Oh ho, she's awake!" I would have liked to have thought the voice was attractive, but it wasn't. Something about it was eerie, frightening. I had noticed right off that we were in a warehouse and that it hurt just to breathe, but what scared me the most was that Lillianne had been nowhere in sight.
"Don't worry, she's fine." The male voice spoke said again, somehow knowing my worry.
"Well, well, Isabella Swan. Quite the mess you've gotten yourself into." He stepped forward so I could get a clear view of him. He was young, blond hair tied in a pony tail. Ironically, he'd been without a shirt. He looked like he'd been caved out of stone, he'd looked flawless. What had really drawn my attention had been the color of his eyes, they were red, cold and lifeless. We were in trouble.
"W-who are you? Where's my sister?!" I shouted, he smiled walking an full circle around me.
"Names, are they really… relevant?" He asked, receiving no answer he continued. "James. You can call me James, Isabella Swan. You know, it's been a while since I smelled blood as delicious as yours. But, there something different about it… Something special." He had such an innocent face, it was creepy. "The last one … slipped through my fingers… I was young, stupid… I wont make the same mistake. We're going to play a little game. Do you like games Isabella?"
"Games? Are you insane? Where is she!?" The words escaped my mouth before I could stop them. Which was a mistake, because he'd taken his foot and stomp onto my arm. I'd screamed feeling something crack.
"I just think I might be Miss Swan." James smirked. I groaned, my arm throbbing from where he had stomped. I had been pretty sure it was broken.
"Now, let me explain how this works." James crouched down and tilted my head up with two fingers so that I met his eyes. His touch had been so cold, it was almost icy. "See, aside from my mate and myself… there are 7 total of us. I'm sure you'll come to find that out soon enough. Each of us just loves to hunt and humans like you? well, you're the best kind of meat sacks for the hunt."
"W-why us?"
He'd given a disgustingly smug smile and cooed, "Because baby, you were stupid enough to think you could help poor 'defenseless' Victoria." As he's said it, she'd appeared as if on cue, uninjured, unafraid. Basically? She was very predatory. She approached, with Lillianne struggling in her grip, before the two of them shared a deep, lustful kiss.
"Such dimwitted creatures humans are. The second they see a pretty face they'll believe anything she says." She purred.
Humans? What's did she mean by that? What was more, was that they had believed that Lillianne and I were such.
Victoria smiled sweetly as she'd tilted Lillianne's face towards her, pressing her lips to the pulsing point on her neck, she moaned.
"She smells divine James… can't I have a taste?" She purred, the red of her eyes had locked on to mine as she asked.
"Of course my sweet, but wait just one moment." James cooed back. "Tell me, Isabella Swan. What do you think we are?
"Criminally insane." I answered quickly, James threw his head back and laughed, amused with my choice of words.
"Oh ho! Ding, Ding! Wrong answer!" There was a sudden pain in my pinky finger as felt the digit snap. His cold hand clamped over my mouth as I'd screamed. "You my sweet are correct, but sadly not the answer I was looking. Try again." I had to think carefully, because I knew If I'd been wrong I would be hurt, or they'd do something to Lillianne.
"What about you sweetheart? Victoria cooed into Lillianne's neck, who shook her head, too afraid to say anything. "Think about it… pale skin, cold bodies," she inhaled deeply, and moaned again. "With a thirst for the blood pumping in your veins…"
It clicked, like a light switch...
"No…" I whispered, my eyes had widened and I remember my heartbeat had quickened.
"Yes… say it." James said, he kept encouraging as I struggled to believe it.
I'd thought it wasn't possible. It couldn't' have.. shouldn't have. But by that logic we should have either.
"Say it baby." Victoria whispered, "What. Are. We?"
"V...V… Vam-" I stammered, but it had been enough for them.
"Vampires…" James finished the sentence, just the word had made me whimper. I couldn't understand how I could have been so fucking stupid! The pale icy-cold skin, red eyes, no doubt they had no heartbeat. I was so stupid! Vampires! Of course they existed! We existed for gods sake!
They laughed. God it was the most horrifying sound I'd ever heard.
"Ding, Ding! You are correct!" James clapped enthusiastically. "Now that you know what we are. We can begi-"
"James!" Victoria growled, his attention drawn to his mate.
"Oh alright," James sighed, moving away from me. I had painful staggered to my feet. I don't know why I thought I had a chance, but I'd rushed towards Victoria for Lillianne. I'd gotten about three steps before James suddenly appeared before me. He sent me careening backwards into several crates with the back of his stone like hand.
"Bella!" Lillianne screamed and I'd staggered to my feet again. My head was throbbing, I felt the blood rushing to my brain, my vision was blurred, but I remember catching the image of Victoria withdrawing from Lilliannes neck.
Lillianne hit the ground with a sickening thud. Within seconds she'd started to scream.
"That's right sweetheart! Scream! No one for miles will hear you!" James laughed, amused as my sister writhed in agony. She cried out my name repeatedly, but when I tried again to reach her the back of his hand sent me backwards again. I'd lost my breath when I slammed against the ground that time, he was suddenly at my side and his cold hands had forced me to watch Lillianne suffer.
"Victoria…" James warned after a moment, she'd given him a pout before she pressed her mouth back to my sister's neck, and her pain seemed to fade until she stopped screaming.
"Leave her alone! Please!" I'd begged, but it was useless.
"What fun would that be?" James had asked innocently. "The more the merrier. Now you see Isabella… to make things fair. Victoria and I will have to return to the others… so as… we don't have a head start. You have a week, to get as far away as possible. Before we come for you, or the rest of your family who by now, have probably already had this little meeting with their captors. Oh the plus side; if you can evade us for . . . lets say . . . another week. Then I personally will let you go. I can't speak for the others, but we," he motioned between Victoria and himself, "will not hunt either of you. If we catch you, we get to drag you back to our cozy little place, where we will torture you for another week before you get to start over. Deal?"
Deal? Who the fuck would ever had agreed to that? And then it hit me. The others… I'd single handedly endangered my family. When I didn't answer, James had became impatient and he'd bit into my shoulder. I'd screamed. The pain numbed quickly though, like the feeling you'd get when your foot went to sleep, or when your dentist numbed your mouth.
My shoulder tingled and got warmer, then hotter before it began to burn. The burning sensation coursed through my shoulder, spreading down my arm into my fingers. My skin felt like it was on fire, a fire that soon had gone into my bones. It was agonizing. Everything had hurt, even my hair somehow. I screamed and writhed, begging them to make the burning stop. I'd begged them to kill me as I struggled against the ground, it was after what felt like an eternity when someone had taken pity on me. I felt something cold pressing against my shoulder, sucking and eventually the pain slowly stopped.
I remember seeing James and Victoria standing above me, they were smiling as my world faded.
That was how it had started. I'd woken up the next day in blood, sweat, and tears. My arm had been broken, along with my finger, my head throbbed and my shoulder ached. Lillianne had been laid out a few inches from me. She'd had minor bruises and a bite mark on her neck, but after all that had happened, that could be considered lucky.
I don't remember how we managed it, but we made it back to our apartment and packed what we could. I'd tried to contact the rest of our family, but it looked like James had been telling the truth. They were gone. We spent the next three days selling what we didn't need, I'd pulled Lillianne out of school, along with Shana, even though I had no idea where she was. Questions were asked, but I didn't have the answers. So we had to leave before people suspected too much.
The last three months were hellish. It didn't matter how fast we were going or where, they'd always caught us. As if they knew what steps we were going to make before we did. When they caught us, they would torture us, always separately.
Victoria loved to beat and bruise Lillianne, she used things that would leave marks, she'd cut into her just to watch her bleed or try to stop the bleeding. When the wound was nearly healed she would reopen it, or she'd stab her and leave what ever she'd use in the wound for hours or days. She did this so that the injury would remain by the next time they'd catch us.
James loved breaking me with beatings, insults, or worst. He would break something just to hear me scream, he would bite me just for the rush before he'd suck the venom out. He enjoyed hearing me beg and scream as they tortured Lillianne, because I was too weak to stop it. He's broken my arms twice, dislocated my shoulder several times, snapped my wrists more times then I can count, but he never does the legs, I'd be too easy to catch if he did.
And when the week was up they'd let us go to start all over again. Eventually I didn't care what happened to me anymore, but I continued for Lilliannes sake.
She had an idea one day after we had been "released" into an alleyway. We had then rushed to the nearest airport, bought the cheapest plane tickets to anywhere, then we boarded.
That's how I ended up on this plane, heading to Fork's Washington.
We've only been flying for about an hour, maybe less and I was beginning to sweat. I stared silently at the row of seats in front of me and beside me, before I finally looked behind me when I felt my seat being kicked again. There were too many people on this plane, assuming they were people at all. We could no longer trust the people around us. After an four hour flight to Seattle, we got something eat, then boarded the next flight, which was about another hour on an even smaller plane up to a place called Port Angeles, there we took the bus, which had been yet another hour, down to Forks. I'd felt so stiff after all that time sitting, It felt good to stretch once were on our feet again. It was raining when we'd left Port Angeles, and it had increased as we got to Forks. Not a bad omen or anything just unavoidable, the fact we didn't have a place to stay was going to be a problem. What I wouldn't do for a hot shower and a warm bed right about now.
Fork Washington, population of three thousand one hundred and twenty- er twenty-two residents reside in this town. its constantly cloaked with gray skies and drenched with rain. I hate cold and wet weather, anything like that is hell to me. But what choice do I have? We have a week before the game 'resets' again. Soon James and Victoria would come for us. We had a week to worry about that though, the bigger issue right now was the fact we needed a place to stay, but worst we needed to eat.
Just an update: 1/31/2015