OK, this is something different. Give it a chance and a review! I promise, this story is gonna get sooooo much better. xxxxxxx Oh and by the by, i'm not going to stick too closely to the info of her situation in Eclipse, so don't be too offended. xxxxx

ONE: WHAT I'VE BECOME

I began to regret my decision the minute I had made it. I was just asking for trouble, walking home alone, especially in Seattle. The city I had grown up in, and loved, had become something dangerous, something to be avoided. There were less tourists, deserted streets at night, yet the murder count kept rising. I couldn't pretend I wasn't afraid. I was terrified, that it could be me next.

In the eerie quiet of the street around me, I felt uneasy. My breathing and heart rate increased as my pace quickened. I thought longingly of being at home, in bed, oblivious to the haunting streets. I focussed on taking one step at a time. Terror, a diluted solution in the pit of my stomach, reminded me it was there. I ignored it.

The wind whipped around my face, chilling me with its ice. The only sound was that of my footsteps, the occasional car engine, and indiscernible sounds I didn't pay close attention to. The light in the lamp post ahead was flickering. The windows of the buildings around me were black, empty of life. I took a couple of deep breaths.

My intuition burst into life. I could feel someone watching me. And I instinctively knew I wasn't being paranoid. Despite every impulse screaming at me to run, I stopped dead, listening for a footstep, a breath mixing with the wind, anything. But the silence was as dense as always. Almost impenetrable, unbreakable. Even I was afraid to break it. And the lack of noise was what frightened me the most.

I tensed a second before it happened. Some part of my brain had accepted that I had been a fool to walk home alone, and I would get no less than what I deserved. I had just jumped in to swim with the sharks. I knew I was going to get hurt, but I did it anyway. But I didn't want to die. The terror exploded into something powerful, and very real.

Strong arms grabbed me from behind me, but they were almost too strong… there was no way I could physically resist, no point to a struggle. I couldn't move. The hand around my mouth prevented my scream, but my horrified throat couldn't even summon up any noise.

I couldn't take it in at first, because it didn't fit with the situation at all, but my frozen brain registered a startling fact. The man, the guy who was holding me in an unbreakable restraint… was smelling me. I could feel the curve of his nose trailing along my neck, and I hear him inhaling through it. It was incomprehensible; I closed my eyes and prayed it would all go away.

I should have been prepared for the pain, because this man was going to kill me, for no apparent reason it seemed; I had no money, or anything valuable. But the pain was sudden and absolute; my piercing scream was muffled by his hand, whose hold became tighter, almost suffocating. He had bitten my neck. The world began to spin, as I felt myself becoming light-headed, weaker… I didn't know how he was murdering me, but it was working… energy drained from my body, I could feel my heart, once beating so rapidly out of fear, slow down until it almost stopped. I couldn't breathe…

There was nothing but pain. I was blind, my eyes screwed shut from trying to resist it. I held my whole body frozen in the same position; every time I moved, I screamed with the fresh waves of torture that washed over me. They weren't so bad when I stayed still, but they were enough to keep me screaming. I felt as though I was being attacked by needles. They pierced into every inch of my bones, shredding my flesh on the way.

I couldn't take it. I wanted to die. If this was death, than I didn't deserve this. The pain was so intense and all-consuming, and my brain was driven to insanity by it, tormented by every wave of agony.

But it began to fade, to my disbelief and relief. Every second, the wave wasn't as strong as the previous one, and I could feel a little of my strength returning. My memories slowly began to trickle back to me, forced from my mind as the pain had taken over. I had had no distractions from it. The last memory I had was leaving Karen's house, walking home… then nothing. Blank.

I was lying there, wincing at the small stabs of pain that still attacked, when I realised I could open my eyes. The pain had made me lose all concept of time, and I had become so used to the dark. I opened them slowly, and I was immediately distracted from the minor pains now.

I was in an unfamiliar room, lying on the ground. My horrified eyes took in the bodies all around me… they were all wincing, screaming, grimacing in pain… writhing as the waves washed over them, moaning as they were fiercely attacked by the pain I had only just recovered from. And then I remembered the man who had attacked me. Was he some kind of psycho, who captured his victims and poisoned them, leaving them to suffer? Did he know I would recover from it? What would happen to me now?

"Oh good, you're awake."

I whirled around at the unfamiliar voice, frightened. I registered an extremely good looking guy, who was smiling at me; the last thing I felt like doing. I stared at him, struggling to understand. I didn't feel like myself either, which didn't help. Everything was confusing, and I wished I could sleep, and forget. Or preferable, this being a nightmare, I could wake up.

"Don't be scared," the man said. "I'm not going to hurt you, and I'll explain everything. I'm Riley," he added, extending his hand. I didn't move. I really didn't feel good. My throat was burning, and I had assumed it was from all my screaming. But it had evolved from being uncomfortable to being something I couldn't ignore. I didn't understand what it meant.

Riley appraised me for a moment, before grabbing my arm and pulling me upright. A small squeak of shock escaped me. He was strong, but at least he wasn't like the man who had attacked me. I would never get over the feel of his restraint, the complete helplessness I had felt. I hoped that same guy wasn't here.

"You're alright," Riley assured me, pulling me along. I followed, barely resisting, no light bulbs flashing above my head, no plan of getting away bursting into my mind. I had had the chance already to be killed. Why would they be prolonging my murder? I no longer cared what happened to me. The burning pain I had endured… after that, I could endure anything.

I was shocked as Riley led me out of the dark room, full of writhing, suffering people, into a spacious hall; shiny wooden floor, high ceiling, paintings that looked expensive. And then along into a living room, complete with an expensive looking furniture suite, plasma TV… I was dreaming. I had to be.

"What's your name?" Riley asked me. He looked genuinely curious. I was completely freaked out and petrified, aches and pains all over my body, my throat screaming for something, and my mind clogged with information that I couldn't understand, yet I felt compelled to answer him. There was something about him that made me feel safe, and I wasn't sure whether this was intuition or me acting the deluded fool again.

"Bree," I whispered, unable to project my voice. My throat felt like it had swollen, restricting my voice.

"That's a nice name," he said. I would have smiled at him, but again, I had never felt less like smiling.

"Riley!" A shrill, female voice rang through the room suddenly, and I jumped with fright. A woman strode in, her hair the colour of flames, her expression terrifying.

"Yes, Victoria?" Riley said, springing to his feet immediately, an eager look about his face. Victoria looked me up and down, her expression changing into that of distaste.

"Who's this?" she demanded of Riley.

"Bree," Riley said promptly. "She just woke up."

"Hmm," Victoria said. She stepped closer to Riley and whispered in his ear, but to my complete surprise, I could hear every single word she said. But I didn't pay attention. Everything was too surreal; the unfamiliar faces, unfamiliar world I was in, I didn't even feel like me in this world.

Victoria swept from the room. She intimidated me, and the five seconds she had been in the room, terror of where I was and what had happened had been replaced by my instinctive terror of her. I had already decided not to get in her way.

"Right," Riley said, collapsing on the couch and indicating that I should sit across from him. I did so, sitting down stiffly.

"Is your throat sore?" he asked me suddenly, surprising me. I wasn't sure what to say, so I just nodded. He smiled grimly. "That's because you're craving blood."

"You what?" I said, not sure I heard correctly.

"That's why you're throat is burning you - you're craving blood. Because you're a vampire now." Riley said it all so calmly, in a rehearsed manner, as though he told this story a million times. I wonder how many hadn't believed him, just like me.

"You're crazy," I said, standing up and eyeing the exit. He was right in front of me before I had a chance to move. His expression was determined, yet kind. He grabbed my hand and forced it to rest on my chest, over where my heart should be. I waited to feel the gentle thudding of my heartbeat. He waited, watching my face.

It never came. I had no explanation, other than that my heart wasn't beating. I became frantic. My heart should be beating. I wasn't dead. I was standing here, breathing, living, as far as I knew, and my heart should be beating. I couldn't handle this.

"Bree, calm down," Riley said, his tone reassuring. "This is normal for a vampire. Your heart has stopped beating. Your skin will always be cold. You can't sleep. You will sparkle when you step out into the sun. And you will always crave blood. The sooner you just accept my words as truth, the sooner you can prepare for the battle."

My breathing was shallow as I tried to absorb this. My head was spinning. A part of me was screaming at me to call him a psycho, and try and run away. I mightn't get very far, but at least I attempted it. But another part of me felt the burning in my throat, the coldness of my skin, and missed the absent beating of my heart. Maybe this was real. It was too bizarre to be real, and I couldn't find the reality in this situation, but I had nothing else to believe in.

I nodded, hoping maybe Riley would leave me alone to think about things. Maybe then I could sort out my feelings, and my thoughts.

No such luck, it seemed.

He pulled me into a hug. It was a gesture of affection that seemed so foreign to me here. It surprised me. He was just trying to comfort me, I told myself, but I wondered why he felt he had to. By the looks of it, he had to tell the story to all the rest of those writhing people in that room, and would he hug all of them? I doubted it.

His skin was cold. I remembered what I was wearing. A short black dress, that had been suitable for the party at Karen's. It didn't feel so suitable here. I pulled away, looking down to see how dirty it had become, when I noticed something. My body looked different. I used to be quite curvy, but now I was slender and tall, a completely different shape. I didn't even bother feeling surprised.

"There's loads I need to explain to you," Riley said, and I glanced up. He was watching me. I would have blushed, but I found myself incapable of it.

I nodded, my throat now painfully restricting me from speech. I was accepting now, yet still not quite believing.

"Come on. I'll bring you somewhere you can beautify yourself. Not that that will take long," he said, flashing me a grin. It took me a while before I realised he had been complimenting me. My answering smile was too late; he had already turned around. I followed him down the spacious hall again and he gestured into a bathroom. He saw my smile this time, and returned it.

I locked myself in the small room, expecting to break down into tears. But they never came either. To distract myself, I staggered to the mirror. My reflection shocked me. My whole face had changed. I was beautiful now. I had spent a lot of my life wishing I could look like the girls in the magazines, and now that I did, I would have traded it all to be who I used to be. What I used to be.

There was makeup and perfumes delicately lining the sink. I wondered why Riley had asked me to beautify myself. I layered on the black eyeliner, a look I had always rocked because of my love for rock music, and it made me feel a little like my old self again. I didn't bother with anything else.

I left the bathroom, and Riley was waiting outside it for me. He smiled in appreciation, it seemed, but I barely noticed.

"You look nice," he said. "It's easier when we blend in, easier to catch prey. We're stunning to human eyes, so that helps us a lot."

I nodded again, feeling a little sick. He was referring to people as prey. As though they were no better than cows or chickens, someone no one will miss. I wondered was anyone missing me.

"How long…?" I couldn't finish the sentence. My throat seared with every breath I took, and every word I tried to say. I held my breath, wondering if it would make a difference. I shouldn't have been surprised, when I found I could hold my breath for as long as I wanted without collapsing from lack of oxygen. It helped, a little.

"Three days," Riley answered, guessing my question. This surprised me. The pain had stretched on for what seemed like months. People would be looking for me. My work. My friends and family. If I had had a boyfriend, he'd be looking for me too. But maybe it was better if I stayed away from them for a little while longer. Until I knew what I was.

"My throat hurts," I mouthed, wincing at the foul sensation. Riley grinned at me suddenly, a grin so wicked it sent chills through me.

"Don't worry," he said. "It will be night soon."