95So, here is the first chapter of the rewrite. I hope you all enjoy it, both new and old readers. I'm just getting back into Twilight, and this is just something I'm writing to pass the time, so there won't be regular updates. Still, I hope you enjoy it more than the previous version which was written while I was a young and inexperienced writer.
A rhythmic thumping sounded in my ears as I pushed my body to run as fast as I could. The fear was pushing me, urging me to go faster. My lungs were working overtime, burning from overexertion, but there was no way I could take a breath. Something told me that if I took even a second's break, everything would be over for me. Whatever was chasing me wasn't going to pause for me to calm my racing heart, so I had to keep going despite the pain blooming in my chest.
Maniacal laughter sounded behind me, making my heart pound even louder in my ears. The voice was too close for comfort. At this rate, it'd catch up to me in no time. I'd have laughed if I knew it wouldn't waste valuable air. What a great introduction to Forks, I thought sarcastically.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to William R. Fairchild International Airport. Local time is 2:33 pm and the temperature is 68 degrees." The pilot went through his normal speech as the plane came to a smooth landing. I hardly paid it any attention, having heard it enough times before. It didn't take much longer before the Seat Belt sign turned off, and we were allowed to deplane.
Grabbing my carry on bag, I hurried to get in the growing line of people shuffling down the aisle. Thankfully, there wasn't much shoving. The rain falling around me wasn't a surprise just a mild annoyance; it'd take some time to get used to. Phoenix didn't have nearly as much rain as this side of Washington did. A small smile came to my face as I thought of how Bella would react to the weather. She loved the heat and the sun, and Forks was severely lacking in both of those. I had a feeling she'd have a much harder time adapting to the weather than I would.
When I got to the terminal, I began looking around for my father. He said he'd be waiting for me when my plane landed. Sure enough, he was standing not too far from the baggage reclaim area, decked out in full police gear. Charlie was the chief of police in Forks, a tiny town with a little over 3,000 residents, a place where everyone knew everything about everyone. I could already imagine how awkward it was going to be for Bella and me, the new girls in town, when we started school. It didn't help that we'd be starting school in the middle of the year.
Charlie spotted me, and we embraced in an awkward hug that lasted two seconds, at the most. Neither of us was the type to show much affection, so it was fine with both of us. "Good to see you, Addie," he greeted while grabbing the bag out of my hands. I let him and shot him a quick smile.
"You too, Dad." We grabbed the remainder of my bags from the carousel and walked out the doors. The cruiser was parked near the entrance. I followed Charlie towards it, throwing my bags into the back seat before sliding in the front, much to my chagrin. I held in a sigh as we got on the road. Nothing slowed down traffic like a cop.
The beginning of the ride was spent in silence, neither of us knowing how to break the ice. Only when we got halfway to Forks did he speak. "So… your car got here yesterday," he glanced at me from the corner of his eye, "That's a fine piece of machinery," he commented. I found myself smiling brightly at that. My Dodge Viper was my pride and joy. I'd saved up every penny I got for years before I had enough to buy her, with a little help from mom and Phil. I was glad to hear she'd made it with no problems.
"Yeah, she is. I can't wait to drive her again." Because I can't stand to be driven around in a police car every day. I kept that little comment to myself. His lips twitched upwards in a brief smile at my enthusiasm.
He cleared his throat before asking, "Bells is supposed to be here in three days, right?" I nodded. She was supposed to come with me today, but she couldn't bring herself to leave just then. Not wanting to prolong the inevitable, I chose to go ahead and take the flight.
"I should be back from my meeting by then. I hate to leave you when you just got here, Addie, but I've got to handle something in Seattle. I hope you don't mind being alone for the time being?" He glanced at me with a crease between his brow. I waved a hand dismissively. Being alone was something I'd gotten used to. Bella and I were constantly left alone when mom and Phil left on trips, so this would be nothing new.
"I'll be fine, Dad. I like being alone anyway; it gives me time to think."
He still looked unsure. "I could send someone to check on you. You remember Billy Black from the reservation, don't you?" I wracked my brain, vaguely remembering a Native American man bringing his kids over to play with Bella and I, and I nodded. "He's in a wheelchair now, but I could ask him to check in a few times to make sure you're alright," he offered.
Almost instantly, I shook my head. "Thanks, but no thanks. I think I'll be able to survive a few days by myself, Dad." Billy was like a complete stranger to me now. I hadn't seen him in years, and I wouldn't feel completely comfortable with him just popping up without Charlie being there.
He nodded, and we were once again enveloped in silence. At least it wasn't as awkward this time around. We stayed quiet for the remainder of the drive to my old/new home for the next hour or two.
Charlie dropped me off at the house, leaving shortly after giving me a brief rundown of where things were. The house was exactly how I remembered it. The cabinets were still that terrible yellow from Renee's attempt at brightening up the place and there were pictures lining the walls of Bella and me at different stages in our lives. Despite how cringey looking at them was, I wasn't uncomfortable enough to ask Charlie to take them down.
My room hadn't changed much either. The only differences had been my bed, which was replaced with a full, and a new desk with an ancient looking computer sitting atop it. That's going to be a blast to use. Looking around my old/new room, I could feel tears threatening to fall from my eyes. Blinking them away, I took a deep breath and decided to unpack my few items to try and make my room more like my own.
Within the span of an hour, all my clothes were hanging neatly in my closet and all my little knick knacks were placed around the room. It wasn't much, but it made me feel a bit more comfortable. Normally, the silence didn't bother me, but I was feeling a bit unnerved in the empty house. Maybe a walk would ease the remainder of my nerves. Standing from the edge of my bed, I grabbed my biggest coat and walked out the back door, making sure to lock it behind me before setting off on the path behind the house.
A feeling of peace settled over me the further I walked. Focusing on the sounds around me, I forgot my worries. The leaves crinkling beneath my heavy boots, birds chirping in the distance, leaves shuffling in the breeze, and the smell of it all had a smile coming to my face. This was one thing I found myself enjoying about Forks. Phoenix didn't have the same natural charm that this place seemed to. I could see myself taking many more walks as I was here.
I was so lost in my own thoughts that I almost missed the way that everything went eerily quiet. Slowing to a stop, I took a moment to look around. The only thing I could see were trees surrounding me on all sides. I'd walked a pretty far distance from the house, I noticed. A small amount of fear built in my chest, and I knew it was best to start making my way back home before something happened.
Just as I was about to take a step in the direction of the house, a loud, snapping sound made me freeze in my tracks. It had come from the direction I was just about to go in. The growl that followed the sound had the fear in my chest doubling. Something was out there, and it was blocking my path to safety. There wasn't much else I could do besides run in the opposite direction with all I had.
That was what led me to these current events, running for my life from something that was most definitely trying to kill me. Panic was beginning to take hold of me as I realized I was running even deeper into the forest, away from any civilization. Something told me that whoever was chasing me knew this, and my heart got caught in my throat.
Just as I was debating turning back towards a populated area, something hit me hard, sending me flying towards a tree. On instinct, I threw out a hand to try and brace myself. Bad idea. I heard the sickening snap before I felt it. An agonized scream left my throat as my body collided painfully with the tree and then the ground. There was no doubt in my mind that my arm had broken from the impact, and tears fell from my eyes at the immense pain.
A sadistic chuckling made my head snap in that direction. I'd momentarily forgotten something had been chasing me. Confusion and fear clouded my mind as I saw a beautiful man staring down at me. His blond hair was messily pulled back into a ponytail and his clothes looked incredibly worn and tattered, but those weren't the features that really stood out to me. What really stood out were his striking blood-red eyes. There was nothing human about those eyes, and I found myself cowering from their unwavering gaze.
He tilted his head as he spoke. "Well, look at what we have here. What is a little thing like you doing this far out in the forest?" His tone was playful as if he thought this was all some kind of game for him. My lips were pressed in a firm line as I pressed myself as close as I could to the tree. I didn't know what he was, but I knew that he could kill me if he wanted to, and I couldn't force myself to speak, even if I wanted to. He chuckled again, making me shiver. "That's alright, don't answer. It doesn't matter in the end." Faster than I could blink, he was crouching beside me with his hand on my leg. There was another snap and a scream tore its way out of my throat. It took me a second to realized he'd broken my leg with just a single hand. It didn't even look like he'd put in much effort to do it either!
Tears were leaking from my eyes in a steady stream as I tried to back away from him. He only laughed at my futile attempt at escape before snatching my wrist and squeezing. Yet another scream was torn from me, making my throat feel raw. Through my tears, I could see him smiling. It was obvious he was enjoying seeing me in pain. As he put a hand on my other leg, I squirmed. "No, no! Please, no more! Let me go!" I pleaded, trying to push his hand off of me. It was like trying to move a ton of bricks. No matter how hard I pushed, his hand stayed firmly in place, completely unphased. What is he?
His smile widened as he slowly added pressure to my leg, unphased by my pleading. Yet another snap and more pain as he broke my other leg, ruining any chance of escape. "This was fun and all, but I've got places to be. Sorry to cut our play time short." Before I knew it, his face was at my neck and his teeth were sinking into my skin. The initial pain of his teeth sinking in was nothing compared to the burning that followed. The loudest scream yet left me as the burning began to spread throughout me. I wanted to struggle, to push him away and run for my life, but everything hurt too much.
I could literally feel the blood being drained from my body at a steady pace, giving me an idea of what I was dealing with. A vampire, an actual vampire was sucking my blood. I wouldn't have believed it had it not been happening to me right now. It was too unbelievable, yet here I was. I couldn't help but wonder how he wasn't burning to a crisp right now. It was day time, yet he seemed to be completely unaffected. I guess the myths about them weren't accurate.
Black spots started to cloud my vision as any fight I had left was drained from me. I could only sit limply in his hold as he slowly killed me. My mind went to my family. How would Charlie feel when he came back and I wasn't there? Would he search for me? I was sure he would. I wonder how he'd feel when he came across my body. How would he think I died? I'm sure a vampire wouldn't be the first thing to cross his mind. Would he blame himself for my death? I hoped he didn't. This was all my fault.
And what about Bella? How would she feel about my death? Hopefully, she wouldn't be too sad. She'd probably go back to Phoenix when she found out. I'm sure she wouldn't want to stay in the same town that her sister died in. I hoped she'd at least stay with Charlie for a little bit to console him.
My musings were cut short as he teeth suddenly unlatched from my neck. There was a burst of wind that made my hair blow around me, and then silence. He was gone, I was sure of it. The overwhelming fear had gone, leaving me with the normal amount. I only had a second of relief. While my blood was no longer being drained, the burning hadn't stopped. If anything, it had gotten worse. Had I had more energy, I would have screamed, but the most I could do was let out a whimper as a fire burned through my veins. Death couldn't be this painful… could it?