Title: Solstice
Author: marjorie16
Fandom: Twilight
Summary: This is a story mid New Moon. Edward leaves Bella. Bella befriends Jacob. The werewolves kill Laurent BUT Victoria gets passed the werewolves and bites Bella. What will Edward do when he finds out? What will happen to Bella? And Jacob, what will the best friend do?

* Third person POV

.....

CHAPTER 1

Bella opened her eyes. The pain was gone. For a second, that was all she could comprehend. And then, there was pain again. This time it centered at her throat. She was burning again. Burning with thirst.

Three days ago, she knew what she was becoming. What she is now. She is a vampire. That was obvious. Her burning thirst and super clear vision indicated that. The room she was in was dark and small. The darkness didn't bother her, actually. But the pain in her throat was.

Very, very much.

She stood up from where she had been lying for three days. She glanced around and found that there was no door or windows. A surge of panic slashed through her. Where was she? Claustrophobia kicked in. Too bad she didn't need oxygen anymore. She would have surely preferred dosing off this instant than living the nightmare she was apparently in. She couldn't escape.

Suddenly she remembered one of the perks of being an immortal: Super strength. She marched towards the nearest wall and punched it. The wall was made of cement but it stood no chance against her iron strength. Freedom at last. She carved away the shards of cement left from her blow.

She expected fresh air and light to peer through the huge hole she had created, but there was none. There was just soil. Mountains of soil was on the other side. Realization donned.

She was buried.

Whoever it was who left her here, he did not intend for her to die. He intended for her to suffer. To be eternally thirsty. To be eternally alone. Who had done this to her? The thought caused her genuine fear. More now because she could not clearly remember anything. As she flipped through her human memories, she could not exactly remember what happened to her. The memories were blurred. Somewhat like looking through a glass window when it rains. Although she could not make sense of the dark figures, she remembered, quite vividly, the feeling. It was a feeling of loss. Of desperate longing, too. She knows she's forgetting something crucial. Something... someone.

And then, there was that feeling of fear again. She knew that she had been in constant fear before her transformation. Suddenly, images of blood-crazed eyes surfaced in her mind. Five dark figures leaned over her. She was lying helplessly on a table. She tried to move but she was strapped to the table like a fly stuck on a web. Very slowly, the dark figures moved towards her. One by one, at different points in her body, they bit her, savoring the flavor of her blood. She screamed. The pain was incomprehensible.

"Stop" a high female voice commanded.

It was just a soft whisper but it rang with complete authority. She now felt numb. Like somebody had injected morphine in her system. She could not move. She could not feel anything. The predators had stopped feasting on her. And then, she was feeling pain again, a burning one. She convulsed violently. Another figure loomed over her. She could not clearly see the face. Just the fire-red color of her hair.

"There, there Bella. I'll suck the venom out. Just like I did yesterday. Just like what I'll do tomorrow. And the day after that. And the next day. And the next day" amusement colored her voice.

"Please...please stop"

"Don't worry. Your room is almost done."

There was pain again.

Bella was so mortified by the memory she had relived. The past did not seem pleasant. She would not dig deeper. At least she knew something now. She was tortured again and again. And now, tortured still. Locked up in a room. No doors. No windows. No sunshine. No moonlight. Just her and her burning appetite. Alone in the darkness.

* * *

"You've got some nerve showing your face here!" Charlie swan exclaimed.

Edward Cullen had had enough of his facade. He wanted Bella. He needed her. These past seven months seemed like an eternity. An empty existence. He knew right from the beginning that he could not stay away for long. But he had to try. he had to keep her safe. Now he had given up. Desire overpowered his logical thinking. He came back.

Unfortunately, she wasn't in her house this Saturday morning nor anywhere around Forks. So, he went to Charlie at the police station.

"Where is she?" he asked politely. He knew he didn't really have to hear the answer out loud. Surely, Charlie would be thinking of it. And he would hear it.

She's not with him?

"I've looked around Forks. She isn't anywhere. Is she with Renee?"

This punk is screwing with me. I know damned well that she's with him. He's making this all up.

"Sir, please. I need to talk to her" the desperation in his voice was undoubtable.

Confusion was clear on Chief Swan's face now. Something was wrong. Edward thought.

Something was very, very wrong.

"You seriously don't know where she is?" Charlie asked.

"No, I don't. What's going on here?"

She ran away

What? She ran away? Edward could not believe this.

"It was late March. I woke up and she wasn't in her room. I assumed she went to school early. When I came back, she was gone."

Both men couldn't move. Edward relived the scene in Charlie's memory. He was looking down trying to process the information. Horrified when he noticed that she hadn't even packed any clothes with her.

She didn't run away. She was kidnapped. He was sure of it. He had been two months late to save her.

"Figured she was with you" Charlie whispered. "There was a note."

Edward looked up. "A note?"

He saw the letter in Charlie's memory. "Can't take it anymore. Goodbye. Love you, B"

"I'll find her, sir"

* * *

He had never ran faster in his life. He ran towards Bella's house. Earlier, he had just been looking for her. Now, he was smelling for her.

He went to her bedroom. It looked just like Charlie's memory from the day Bella disappeared. It had been untouched.

Her bedroom was as messy as ever. But it now had a distinct smell.

Victoria.