I walked down the damp steps, out onto the sidewalk, where I pulled my coat tighter around me. It was a dark night that late in December. I was leaving the OUG library, walking a little less than two blocks back to my apartment. I was living in my own, had been for 3 years, ever since I moved to Seattle.

After getting accepted to the University of Washington, I left my Dad and Forks to venture out on my own.

I was Christmas shopping earlier that day, which took way longer than it should have. I needed something for Jake. Mom was so easy to shop for, and I had Phil covered with something sports related, but always got stuck for what to get Jake.

I had spent a majority of the day wandering around shops, I didn't get to the library until almost 5 p.m., needing to do some major studying for a psych test. Which was the reason I found myself walking across Parrington Lawn at 10 o'clock at night. It was a shortcut back to the Russell Hall apartments.

The path lights were flickering as I walked through the trees. Parrington Lawn was on the North West side of campus, it was a slightly wooded park with pathways cutting across. An unthreatening place in most respects, though walking alone at night made the scene feel much more sinister.

I was just about half way across when I heard someone behind me walking, the heel of their shoe echoed off the trees each time they stepped. I tried to ignore the rise in my heart rate, pulling my coat tighter and picking up my pace. As I began to speed up, so did the sound of the heel hit the pavement behind me.

I reached into my bag to pull out my keys, hoping the 5-year-old mace would still work. I could see my apartment building just ahead, I sighed in relief. I was just about to put away my mace, when suddenly my world went black.

As I came to, everything came spinning back into my vision. My head pounded and my body ached everywhere. I took a moment to take in my surroundings. I was on a bed; my coat and sweater had been removed and I lay in just my tank top. My arms and legs bound to a grime covered mattress that was soaked in a wetness, I really and truly did not want to know the origin of.

My heart was pounding and my head was bleeding. The world spun once again as I tried to get my bearings.

I closed my eyes hard and counted to five. My pulse reaching a concerning rate. I begged myself not to slip into an uncontrollable panic. If I could manage to stay calm, I may think of a way out of this.

Opening my eyes again I blinked up at a harsh, industrial light hanging just to the side of the bed on the left. Turning my gaze to my right, I saw a concrete wall. My bed was pushed up against it, I could just put my fingertips on it from where my hands were strapped down. The wall was freezing cold and slightly damp.

Glancing around the room I saw it was entirely empty except for a metal door that was closed. The one fluorescent light above cast dark shadows in the corners of the room, that I strained my eyes to see in.

I was praying for a way out. Looking down to try and see what was binding me to the bed I saw the shining glint of handcuffs. I sighed in relief, Charlie had taught me years ago how to slip out of these should the need ever arise.

I began to wiggle my fist back and forth. The cuffs making of horrible scraping sound on the rusty metal bed frame.

I cringed, hoping like hell no one heard. I stopped for a moment to listen for noises before trying to slip the cuffs. I had managed to get my right hand free before I heard a chuckle from the dark corner of the room.

I shot up from my position laying down, my heart went into overdrive.

"Careful not to get too excited, I'd hate for the party to end before it even starts." I heard a voice from the corner of the room, though no one had stepped forward to claim it as theirs.

I was desperately trying to free my left hand from the cuffs, my feet were still strapped down but if he came near me at least I had my hands. He wouldn't be able to hold me down and do anything to me, unless there was someone else in the room that I couldn't see.

That thought brought on an entirely new wave of imagined horrors and a terrible rise in my panic level.

"Tsk tsk Bella," the man said stepping out of the shadow allowing me to get a view of his face for the first time.

Rather than turn away I stared hard at the man in front of me. Memorizing his features, he had long blond hair, almost as long as mine. It was loosely tied at the nap of his neck with an elastic. His skin looked almost translucently pale in the harsh lighting, paler than my own, which was saying something.

As he got closer, his features became clearer, his sculpted jaw line sticking out roughly from his skin. HIs thin lips were stretched into a tight flat line across his face. Reaching his eyes, I finally noticed their stark color.

Bright red.

He must have been wearing contacts or something, his eyes almost looked fake.

Oh geez, some satanic worshipping cult probably kidnapped me, performing a sacrifice on a virgin, so they wouldn't have to pay taxes or something.

He took another step towards me making me wish the room was bigger.

My left hand was still secured in the cuff attached to the bed, I wiggled my hand in vain, hoping to slip it without causing too much noise. It was clear this man was, and had been watching me, seeing as he knew not only my name but my nickname.

I was desperately trying not to think about the fact that my feet were still attached to the bed so there was no way I was getting out with him in the room. He had to leave at some point in time to eat or go to the bathroom. Discuss the virgin's sacrifice and whatnot.

I just had to distract him before he did whatever it was he wanted to do to me alone in this room.

"How long have you been following me?" I asked hoping my voice didn't shake too horribly.

"What makes you think you've been followed?" he asked seeming genuinely interested in my response.

"You know my name for one thing." I deadpanned.

"Well I could have gotten that off your ID, we do have all of your belongings. Or hey, maybe a read your mind," he said with a twisted smile leaning towards me.

"The name on my ID is Isabella. You called me Bella," I countered.

"Very good," he said looking more pleased that I wanted him to. "So how long do you think we've been following you?" he asked, letting me know there was at least one other person in on this.

"That I can't tell you, but you've been planning this for a while. You've got a windowless room with a bed that I'm guessing is secluded with how quiet it's been. I know Seattle well, not a lot of places like this out of the way. That is...unless we're in the Industrial District?" I asked finally figuring out where they must have taken me, though how they got me from Northeast Seattle to the Industrial District I had no idea. I didn't even know how long I had been here.

"I'm guessing it's the West side too, right off Harbor Island," I said slightly smug.

"You're more intelligent than I thought you'd be. You'll make a very powerful being one day. The process takes about three days," he said flashing a sickening smile my way.

"What's your name?" I blurted out, ruefully trying to buy myself more time. Though more time in this situation didn't seem like an inviting get together.

I had no idea what 'process' he was referring to but I really didn't want him to be thinking about that.

He seemed taken aback for a flash of a second before composing himself.

"James," smiled down at me; suddenly his eyes flashed to the door, pausing for a moment on it. He snapped his head back to face me and faster than I could blink he was right in front of me, causing me jump, just enough to pull my left hand free.

Instantly, he was kneeling on the bed, and right in my face. His red eyes reflecting my terrified expression.

I balled up my fist just like Charlie and Jake had taught me, and punched James square in the jaw with everything I had. My fist connected and I froze, hearing a horrendous cracking sound in not only my knuckles but the back of my hand and in my arm.

I made a pathetic whimpering sound, the feeling in my right hand absolute agony. I pulled away from him cradling my hand against my chest, pressing my back against the cold, wet wall behind me.

I bit the inside of my cheek to stop from crying out, biting so hard I could taste the blood.

"I'm afraid we're going to have to speed this up." He snarled down at me, is nostrils flaring as he took in a deep breath. His bright red eyes gone completely, spare for a slight ring around his huge black pupils.

He reached out and grabbed the hand clutched to my chest jerking me towards him. I slammed into his rock-hard body, my hand crushed between us. I let out a gruesome snarling noise, like that of a wounded animal, pulling away from him.

He reached his hand around to wrench the hair away from my neck by the root. Surely pulling a good chunk of it out in the process. I ground my teeth together trying the think of anything but the pain, I feebly attempted to push against him but his frame was as solid as a wall. And the arm around me didn't even budge no matter how much weight I put against it.

He waits there, my head pulled to the side by the root of my hair, just waiting. He was holding his breath, his eyes towards the door waiting.

A sickening smirk slid onto his face, pulling his lip up to reveal gleaming porcelain teeth. Without warning he attached his mouth to my neck, and bit.

I felt a pain that was unlike anything I'd ever felt. I had broken several bones and had countless fractures but none of it compared to the agonizing sting of his bite. I felt the burning pain of it in my neck, starting at the skin but sinking lower through my muscle right down to the bone.

I tried to hold my scream for as long as I could, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of knowing he'd caused it, but once the burning started to move down my spine and up to the back of my head; I let out a scream, making a sound I had never heard from myself. Starting high pitched but going deeper than I thought possible before being cut off completely as the burning reached my throat causing it to clench shut.

I would do anything to feel the pain of my crushed arm over this pain. Anything to not feel this agony that wouldn't stop creeping over my body.

Suddenly, the pressure on my neck was gone, a great burst of wind passed by my face blowing my hair back. I could feel the spots where he had taken the hair out with his merciless grip.

I felt myself collide with something solid, though I didn't feel anything break. I decided now was as good a time as any to open my eyes.

Blinking up, I saw a woman with long blonde hair looking down at me. I jumped, was this who James was working with?

"It's ok Bella, we're here to help. I'm going to help you, I promise everything will be ok," her voice got softer, my world slowly slipping to black. I had the briefest thoughts, that should could be an angel, which was odd seeing as I wasn't an overly religious person. Though, there was no way we were in heaven, the vicious fire that scorched my body told me that much.

I couldn't move, couldn't keep my eyes open. I had to hope I could trust this woman, she did get me away from James who seemed me be having a great time chewing on my neck.

As my world grew darker, the torment grew stronger. The burn had reached up to my nose, and all the way down to by breasts.

I felt a sharp hit in my left side and then air around my face again, I forced my eyes back open just in time to see James sprinting towards me.

I closed my eyes and thought of Charlie, I would finally get to see him again.