Chapter Five: Chorus

As I stared out at the sea, I found New Orleans in the distance. The wind whipped my hair around my face wildly and I breathed the ocean air in so deeply, I could almost feel it in my dead heart. My skin sparkled faintly in the dying light. The glinting caught the corner of my eye, and I could not even pretend I was human. The wind was strong and maybe even cold to warmer skin but to me, it was almost as warm as standing next to an open fire. There was no life here, not that evening. A hurricane was coming. I could feel the stirring in the air, and the water rising into the atmosphere. It would not hit New Orleans, or anywhere close. Perhaps, somewhere down south. I could not really tell. It was far too early. The hurricane itself could take weeks, maybe even months to form into a perilous monster.

I doubt it was the early formation of a hurricane that was keeping people away from the beach. I think the total was three people that had died here now. Carlisle was certain that there was a nomad vampire wandering the streets of Biloxi. We were sure it was not Edward, as his self control was absolutely flawless. I could almost see flecks of gold in his eyes now, merely weeks after his change. I wondered how he could it. I was not going to ask him, as we had not spoken since that un-fateful night. Edward and I had gotten off to a bad start. I wondered if it was always going to damage our friendship, maybe more. I was going to have to confront him eventually. However, an irrational intimidation had fallen over me whenever I even tried to speak to him. There was no need for me to feel afraid though. I was much older than him.

Carlisle had sent me to the beach that evening, hoping I could talk to the stranger. If there was one thing Carlisle knew so well about nomads, it was that they could not resist conversation with another like themselves. They were lonely creatures who craved social company. He or she would not attack me. They were not newborn, as the whole town would be dead if they were. No, this vampire was well controlled but could have been more inconspicuous. Carlisle was hoping that a little conversation would urge him or her to move on. We could not stay here if the wanderer continued to kill. It was only a matter of time until Edward's self control snapped, after all.

"Good evening."

The voice did not surprise me. I had heard the footfalls and the deep breathing long before. The voice was male, and of course, lovely. He must have caught my scent and ran here. The way he breathed so slowly, so deeply did surprise me. He must have been a tracker. They all breathed like that. Tracking was something that came instinctually to vampires, though some were better than others. I could tell Edward was not going to be a brilliant tracker. Carlisle and I were mediocre but this man standing behind me, tracking was his passion. His very breathing told me so.

I turned around slowly, with a friendly smile on my lips. The vampire was as lovely as his voice. His face had a sort of acquired look to it – it was either lovely or plain. His ruby tinged black eyes met mine in a friendly gaze. He seemed nice enough. It was hard to believe someone as kind and exquisite as this man before could go around killing innocent bystanders strolling down a beach. However, it was up to the vampire to what he wanted to do with his life. If he wanted to live from human blood then I was not going to hold that against him. However, there was something in me, a wanting somewhere deep, that wanted to be him. I wanted to run free and drink the elixir my heart yearned for. I wanted to see the world and taste each savory and sweet blood over and over again. But I could not. Carlisle would be so disappointed.

"Hello," I replied, my voice equally as friendly as his. "How are you?"

He shrugged a little and gazed out at the ocean. I turned back and watched for the a few seconds as the sun was swallowed by the horizon. At that exact moment, both mine and the strangers' skin stopped glittering. The night time was our time. While God with his holy light tried to expose us, Satan gave us the night to roam free and do what we were created to do.

"Thirsty," he replied, a little bitterness curdling with the friendliness of his tone. "And you?"

I turned around again, and looked up into his eyes. He met my gaze and saw the brown-black of my eyes. When red eyes were fading, they ranged from ruby, to dark red, to reddish brown and finally to black. Golden eyes however, ranged from golden, to yellow ochre, to brown before settling on black. Right now, mine were brown. I liked my eyes being brown, despite the ache in my throat. My eyes were milk chocolate brown when I was human. I felt a little closer to my human self when my eyes were brown.

"The same," I murmured.

"Ah, you waste your existence on animals. I would not call what you do existing, more surviving in my opinion. Open yourself to finer things. This life is a song; you do not simply want to hear the first verse over and over. Human blood gives you reason to continue on. It lets you live the whole song, not just the first verse. Move onto the chorus, my dear."

His eyes were so passionate as how he compared this life to a song. He was right. Animal blood did not satisfy me. I did not look forward to feeding again and again, which just seemed to emphasize how repetitive things really were. Perhaps if I lived from human blood, I would not notice the repetitiveness. I would look forward to feeding, think of more thrilling ways to feed and be able to enjoy life, like a song.

I yearned to take this stranger's hand and let him take me to the chorus. My hand offered itself and he took it. We were running, far and fast. We headed away from the sea, sticking to shadows. I did not know where we were going. I do not think I was thinking logically. I was overwhelmed with the thought of drinking human blood. Oh, how I could imagine that succulent liquid running down my throat like the world's most expensive and exotic wine. I could imagine drinking it greedily like it was water and I had been out in the desert for years. The saltiness, the sweetness, the tang, the flavor, the very texture of it excited me to the core.

We were in a brightly lit building, with florescent white lights that hurt my eyes. The stranger pulled me forward, like he knew exactly where he was going. He turned left, and right, down almost endless corridors and the rich aroma of insanity perverted the air. This must have been the Biloxi Asylum. Why were we here? Each man and woman here was under constant supervision. They had papers; proof that they were here and proof that there was no way that they could get out. People would get scared and then curious. The Volturi would then kill us, as we made humans so aware of something supernatural.

He took me to the unit of dark cells. There were four in the dimly lit corridor, which contrasted sharply with the brightly lit hall just behind the set of white doors the stranger and I had just walked through. There were two doors on each wall and each exactly opposite each other. The walls were white and the doors too were white. Once someone was placed inside a dark cell, they never saw the light of day again. They were not supervised, because they simply could not be. The cells were too dark. No one went in, in fear that the lunatic inside would kill them in a split second if they were caught unaware. Food was pushed through a little cat flap kind of thing at the bottom of the door, and perhaps that was the only time when these poor prisoners saw a glimpse of the light.

"I must show her to you," he whispered. "You will be surprised by her current state, Isabella. But, I will let you taste her as she is so beautiful…"

I watched the tracker inhale the air, following the scent he recognized as 'her'. Who was he talking of? A vampire could not have a human to drink from every now and again. One bite, one sip and then if they had the strength to back away, the humans blood would become quickly tainted with venom making it impossible to drink. The venom kept the blood alive and the blood kept the heart alive. The human could simply not be harmed during the conversion. Perhaps this wanderer planned to change this human. Or perhaps, he wanted me to taste her while he sucked the life from her very veins.

"How do you know my name?" I asked him, curious.

He shrugged passively. "That is irrelevant. However, my name is James."

I nodded once and he opened the door. I was not going to pry, in fear that it would give him reason to attack. The lock broke as the door was forced opened. He walked in with me at his heels. Once the heavy door was closed again, I could see how horrible the cell was. Darkness merely tainted the color of matter to my eyes; it did not affect my vision in the slightest. Sitting, trembling in the corner was a very little girl, littler than me. The aroma that tainted the air was the loveliest I had ever inhaled, even better if the air was not stale and smelt of human filth. My gift no longer protected me. The sound of this little lunatic's blood sung out for me, yearning to be free from her veins. Why did she smell so delicious? My experience in the tasting of human blood was not excellent. Human blood smelt the same to me, no matter where or when. But this little human, she smelt so mouthwatering. I could feel the bloodlust flair somewhere in a deep primal side of me.

"Why does she smell so lovely?" I asked James in hushed whispers. The little girl had her face buried in her knees; she had yet to notice our presence in her cell.

"Have you ever heard of a gifted human?" he asked me, his eyes not leaving the lunatic.

I shook my head. "Are you saying that this human has a power only the supernatural should possess?" I asked, astounded.

He nodded with a smirk playing on his lips. "She is clairvoyant. Mary can see things that are going to happen. That is why she smells so positively appetizing. I have tasted her blood by cutting her flesh and tasting the blood that smothers my fingers whenever I do so."

My lips parted lightly, shaping in a little 'o'. "How can you, human blood drinker, have such control?"

He shrugged. "Tis not normal, I shall admit to you. However, you have yet to take a look at my little girl."

I watched the little girl as he spoke. She was so thin, her hair greasy and as black as midnight. It stuck up wildly, like it was growing back after having it shaved off. I felt a little relief in that thought. Her hair was not overly long, which meant that she had not been in here all her life. I could not see her face but her limbs twitched every so often. My mouth parted, finding it hard to remember my own name as I glanced around the room. Moldy food and human excrement covered the entire cell. The toilet was blocked and filled with brown water, while the bedding in the corner was infested with lice and fleas. No human ought to have lived in a hell like this.

James held his hand out pointedly at the girl. He raised his voice from a whisper to full volume, so the girl could hear. "Mary, how are you feeling?"

The little girl's head shot up at the voice. Her silver eyes seemed so out of place, darting endlessly for the source of the voice. Her lips were parted, but somehow, her gaze seemed detached from the situation. Almost like she was not looking for James, but looking at something else. Scrutinizing it endlessly until she could figure out what it was she saw. I guessed this was what James meant. Mary could see the future and she saw something there and then.

"James," her voice was hoarse but very high in pitch, almost shrill to my overly sensitive ears. "Where are you?"

"What you must know about little Mary," James said to me, still speaking at full volume, "is that she is very much blind. All she can see is the future, which is a great deal of a blur to her. The tension migraines drove her into insanity. Isn't that right, Mary?"

Mary nodded exuberantly, her spiky hair bobbing as she did so. Her eyes continued to move blindly around the room. "Isabella," she murmured, her voice contemplating. "I know of you. I saw you coming. I keep seeing you. I want to tell you something. Come closer."

My eyes darted to James, seeking his permission to approach his human. He nodded once, a smug smile tugging the corners of his lips. I walked towards Mary and sat next to her. She felt my presence by her side and she pressed her lips against my ear. She whispered things to me, words that did not make sense. Almost, like she was speaking backwards to me. But she repeated what she said over and over. I realized she was doing this so James would not understand. He would give up trying to listen in a few moments. My eyes widened at her words that suddenly made sense. The words themselves were mangled into gibberish but I understood so well.

"Bite me."

Suddenly, she pulled away and leaned her little head against James' shoulder, who had sat down by her other side whilst she was speaking to me. He stroked her spiky hair possessively but I could see something in his eyes. Something I had not seen in tainted red eyes before, maybe other than my own when I was new. I saw love there. James was either in love with this blind little human or he was in love with her beautiful blood. He pressed his lips against her greasy hair, unfazed by her lack of sanity. I suppose a vampire like James who was probably as old as Carlisle had probably lived in the sewers at one stage. The sanitation of sewers had very much improved in the last two hundred years, but I suppose little Mary was very clean compared to a sewer back then.

Her neck was exposed to me. I could do it. I had the strength, of course. I had the restraint, even if this human was special. James had his nose pressed against her wrist, inhaling the intoxication that resonated from it. He seemed under a trance, smelling her blood. Before I knew it, his fingernail had scratched the surface of her wrist and blood had risen to the surface. I felt the animal inside me come to life at the sight of blood, but I restrained him. I was thirsty, but not for this girl's blood. This little girl wanted to become a vampire so she would not have to spend the rest of her days in this dark little cell.

The blood from her wrist smothered his fingers but Mary leaned into his touch. She liked his fingers probing the wound she had just made. Her eyes however, were not on James. They were still moving around the room, still analyzing the future before her. I wondered what it felt like, to have a body in the past and eyes in the future. I could not imagine it at all. My eyes took the fragile girl in. Her cheeks were gaunt and her eyes were so wide, it looked like it hurt. Her features were petite, and she must not have even been five feet tall. Her body was thin in the extreme with small, almost pixie-like features. Her eyebrows were long, delicate even. Perhaps the result of having them shaved off and now they were growing back. However, my eyes were for the massive bulge where her stomach should have been. Her legs, arms and head had hidden it before. But now, I could clearly see it and my inhalation must have been obvious.

James smiled at my notice and quickly licked his fingers. He said, "I said you would be surprised, and I was correct. Little Mary here is pregnant with my baby. Is that not wonderful? T'will be my forth now." His voice sounded something similar to a proud father's voice when he was talking of his wife carrying his baby. I knew enough of half breeds to understand that this was his forth baby, but they had not all come from Mary. A woman could only ever carry one half human vampire child because death waited in the shadows for any lady who carried one of those creatures within her womb. How could James do this to her? Especially since the girl lived in a hell hole! It just did not seem right. And he sat there drinking the blood that her child so desperately needed. And Carlisle said I was selfish…

James sucked every drop of the blood off his fingers before catching the blood dripping from her wrist. He then held her wrist out to me. "Taste her. Believe me, she is beautiful," he suggested pleasantly. My lips remained still as I ran my little finger over her wound. Mary still seemed out of it, like two vampires feasting on her blood was not worth her attention. I brought it to my mouth and unintentionally smiled at the taste. It was so lovely, so sweet yet bitter. The tang was just right. Mary's blood was absolutely beautiful, even better that Edward's.

I heard James chuckle at my smile before shuffling quickly to get onto his knees. He pressed his bloody fingers against my lips, covering them in blood. And then before I knew it, his lips were on mine. We fought for the blood that covered my lips, licking and sucking greedily, both wanting that sweet essence that was little Mary's blood. I pulled on his tattered shirt, bringing myself to my knees. He roughly brought Mary's wrist to my hair and wiped it there, soaking random hairs on my head with blood. A drop rolled from my scalp and down the centre of my forehead. James could play out his wildest of fantasies with me. I was a stranger, not someone he would have to look at every day. I was also a vampire. He could not be so rough if I was human, and it was certainly obvious that James had slept with Mary. The last thing was that I shared his bloodlust. I shared his thirst, I shared his hunger and craved beautiful blood just like he.

He kissed my hair, but I use the word loosely. He licked and sucked at each hair, trying to taste every little drop of blood that saturated it. My teeth were so near his neck. I bit down hard, and he awarded me with a snarl. I laughed, but he did not find it as funny. The animal had taken control of him. He ripped my clothes from both mine and his bodies, before plunging deep inside me until I hissed in pain. His face was buried in my hair, and I continued to lick the tears of blood my scalp cried when they dripped onto my lips. With each thrust, I felt myself being driven into a frenzy. I could feel my skin crack and my bones rattle. While Mary just lay there, her wrist finally scabbing over. Her eyes were closed, like she was sleeping. Now was the time, whilst James was preoccupied.

I reached over and grabbed her scabbed wrist. I bit down, careful not to bite out a chunk of her skin. As I retracted my teeth from her skin, she did not even flinch. The venom ought to have been burning her, even now. But her eyes did not flutter and she continued to breathe evenly, just like she was asleep.

A/n: Okay, I'm insanely sorry for the delay with these chapters. 'Second Chances' was recently accepted on Twilighted, and because I have been trying to get this on there since 2008, I'm pretty overjoyed, I'll admit. So, up to Chapter 10 is written.

Unfortunately, only reviews will convince me to keep updating this on fanfiction . net :(