What's happening...? Where am i...? The pain... so much pain...
I couldn't help the screams escaping me as i lay on... a hospital bed, i think? From what i could tell, i seemed to be in some sort of library, a study maybe. The catalogue of books in this room would be enough to leave me in awe any other day, but the agonising fire seeping through every cell of my body refused to be ignored.
I didn't understand what had happened, i couldn't make heads or tails of it. I remember pulling over when the truck got a flat, then another car pulling up. I remembered seeing a petite girl, then... things got patchy. Rushing backwards through the trees... something bronze... a sharp pain in my neck... i had started to black out, then the pain woke me back up. I could've sworn that same girl picked me up and ran faster than my eyes could follow, but how was that possible? Nothing was adding up and i couldn't understand how I'd ended up here, writhing in pain on a hospital bed in a house I'd never been in before. Had i been kidnapped to be tortured? I'd never been great with physical pain, but this was beyond anything I'd ever experienced before.
I could occasionally make out voices around me, sometimes unknown faces would appear too, but i wasn't sure if they were real or if i was imaging things. I tried closing my eyes and focusing on my laboured breathing, but it never lasted long before the pain brought another round of screaming, my eyes snapping back open. I tried focusing on what was around me instead, desperately wanting a distraction from the pain, but nothing seemed to work. It could have been hours or days, i had no way of knowing; i couldn't see a clock and the only window in the room seemed to have been shuttered closed, blocking out any light or witnesses to my torture.
During one of my quieter moments, i felt a gentle pressure against my hand, startling my eyes open as i looked in that direction. I felt a new panic as i realised someone was actually there; was this my captor coming to tell me there was no hope of escape? I forced myself to focus on them, to commit their appearance to memory, and was surprised at what i saw. He was young, maybe in his mid 20s, pale, blonde and very handsome, though his body seemed almost frozen in tension. But what threw me the most was his expression; a kind smile and gentle, caring eyes held mine as i stared at him, dumbfounded into temporary silence as he opened his mouth to speak.
"Hello, my name is Carlisle."
His voice was as gentle as his expression, like a concerned father checking to see if his unwell daughter was doing ok. It took me off guard; surely someone like that wouldn't put another through such torture?
"May i ask your name?"
His calming demeanour didn't seem to be an act; it felt like he wanted to talk to me, maybe help me if he could. I found i wanted to respond to him.
"...Isa...bella..." My voice was raw; i guess screaming for hours can do that.
He smiled a little more, i guess pleased to have gotten a response. I blinked in surprise as another face appeared next to him, looking just as worried as Carlisle. Instinctively, i felt myself panic slightly as i recognised the petite girl now in view, though her eyes looked so worried and upset i found myself wondering why.
"...Al...ice...?" Her name came back to me as i focused on my hazy memories. She responded with a small, relieved smile before she nodded, then started speaking so quickly i struggled to keep up.
"Isabella, i am so, so sorry about this. If I'd seen this would happen, i wouldn't have stopped and you wouldn't be... i'll make it up to you somehow, i promise! It's my fault for not seeing-"
Carlisle raised his free hand and she abruptly stopped, her expression upset again though she sounded sincere with whatever she was apologising for. She seemed to be silently pleading with me for something, but i didn't understand what. I could feel my brief control starting to slip again, each short breath of pain increasing in volume and intensity as time continued. Carlisle seemed to notice this and focused back to me, an apology within his sympathetic gaze.
"What... happened...?" I stuttered my question as my hands tensed into fists, trying to fight through the increasing fire that kept finding new places to burn.
Alice turned her face away from mine, as if she was unable to look at me. Carlisle patted her shoulder, though kept his focus on me as his expression became serious.
"This may be confusing to hear or understand, Isabella, but you are in the process of becoming a vampire."
I stared blankly at him, waiting for the punchline to his poor joke. A vampire? How ridiculous! Is this how he was going to explain the torture being inflicted on me? I shook my head in response, not able to absorb that as he continued.
"I'm sorry to say this, but it's true. You were bitten earlier this evening and thus began the transformation. The burning you feel is the venom moving through your body, your skin will gradually harden, become cooler, and... and your heart will eventually stop."
I continued shaking my head, his words refusing to sink in. There's no way this could be true! How was he calmly sitting there, apparently without a heartbeat, telling me this was going to be what happened to me? I looked back to them both, my mind trying to pick a sarcastic response, when i saw both of their nervous, yet serious faces, trying to get me to believe this story. As another wave of fire started, my teeth clenched together hard as i stared back at them.
"...Lying... untrue..." I shoved the words through my teeth, my breathing escalating in fear as well as pain.
Alice moved closer to me, her hand now replacing Carlisle's as her doe-like eyes looked into mine with great sadness. I felt my resolve shake at the sight; my skeptical mind told me this was a sick joke, but another part began quietly linking pieces together. The unexplained speed, a force keeping me from moving before... i felt my other hand move up to my neck, where i remembered the pain starting from. I felt some kind of bump i couldn't place, but what made me freeze was that it felt slightly cooler, harder than it should be. My eyes looked to Alice's hand holding mine and it felt similar; cold and hard, more solid like stone. I could feel a new kind of panic rising within me, unable to hide the noises of my pain and fear as my breathing bordered towards hysterical.
"I know it's a lot to take in Isabella, but we'll be there for you through this, as much as you want us to be... or not, it's your decision. I will sit here with you for every minute if you want me to."
I couldn't answer through my building hysteria, barely able to understand her words. My hands tensed into tight fists, Alice moving her hand to cover the outside as she tried to comfort me through the anguish.
"How... long...?" It was all i could ask as i felt tears beginning to escape, terrified of the answer as i saw Alice and Carlisle exchange a glance, before Carlisle turned back to face me with the same, sadly serious expression.
"Three days."
This time, my agonised cries echoing around the room weren't purely from the all-consuming fire roaring through me.