I had gotten home from the crafts store Monday to an empty house. It was spring break, so everyone was off doing their own thing. Eve wouldn't be back for a few hours and my mom had agreed to take part of Carlisle's shift. The Cullen's were out of town or something, Carlisle needed someone to take his shift. But I had a whole week to work on my project and I planned to capitalize on it.

The moment I entered the home, I opened the door for Toby to run around as I worked in the garage. It was time to start the basic planning for my final project, so I needed to start setting the pieces up. I had the glue and grinder ready to start cutting the wood.

This is what consumed my mind and it did a good job at making me forget everything else. I was working for so long that I didn't realize what time it was, but I was soon getting hungry. The growl of my stomach was nothing compared to the sound of a small yelp.

"Toby?" I walked into the house looking for the old dog in question, believing he fell off the couch or something similar. Nothing sinister crossed my mind, until I stepped into the living room. The same tingly feeling began creeping up my skin.

In the back yard is where I found Toby, he was on the ground. I ran up to see he was injured. His side cut up and bleeding. My only thought then was there had to be a wild animal around... but what?

It couldn't be a bear because it wouldn't have ran off, I would have seen and heard it. Maybe it was a smaller rabid animal, but I couldn't see anything.

"Tobs?" he whimpered in pain. "it's okay, I'm gonna take care of you okay?"

Wiping tears from my eyes I ran back inside to grab a few towels, my mom or Eve would be home soon, and they could help me. I just needed to stop the bleeding and get him inside.

After searching the house, I ran back outside, only this time I saw something else... a man. He was rugged looking, blonde hair in a ponytail, barefoot. But it was the way he was standing, that gave it away.

He had Toby in his hands, holding him by his neck. "what do we have here?"

I couldn't think, what do I say? Toby was growling slightly but I could tell it was strained. I said the only thing I could think of, and that was to save Toby... he was the only thing I had left of my dad, the only thing I have left that we did together.

"Please" I whispered but I knew he could hear me. "Please don't hurt Toby"

"that's cute..." he replied with a smirk.

Multiple things happened at once... I heard the snapping of bones and Toby give a final growl. Two an anguished scream rang out through the hills as I fell to the ground, watching my best friend fall dead. And three a blinding pain in my wrist before darkness consumed me.

I woke up much, much later, in a location that I had never been to before and my wrist radiating in pain. Far more pain than it was when I punched that guy. What I'd give to be back in that position rather than this, tape around my mouth, my hands tied behind my back.

Looking around I was in a room, surrounded by mirrors. It was like a house of horrors, everywhere I looked there was a reflection and I didn't enjoy it.

My mind went back to my mom... what was she thinking now? Was she home? Did she find Toby? God, Toby. I couldn't stop the tears; my oldest friend was gone... he was dead and he was killed by a vampire. Was this karma, for allowing Bella to get involved with the Cullens, was this karma for delving into the Cullens.

None of it was logical but Vampires weren't exactly logical.

I didn't remember how I got here or what was going on but the sound of a phone pulled me out of my thoughts.

"Hello Bella" the man answered easily as he sauntered into the room, he glanced at me a sinister smile on his face "that was quick. I'm impressed"

"She's perfectly fine. Don't worry, Bella, I have no quarrel with her. Unless you didn't come alone, of course" he replied, amusedly, looking at me.

I couldn't tell what he was thinking but it wasn't pleasant, at least for me. His gaze was predatory... like the man in Port Angeles.

"Very good. Now, do you know the ballet studio just around the corner from your home?"

Another pause for Bella to answer.

"Well, then, we'll see you soon" he hung up the phone and looked at me.

"now we wait... but don't worry the fun will begin soon" he licked his lips "and boy are we going to have fun"

His finger dragged across my cheek cutting it slightly, he took a large inhale before disappearing completely. Leaving me alone.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

A while past before he returned untying my hands and hauling me to my feet. His cold hand wrapped tightly around my exposed arm, this was so much like the Port Angeles disaster. I wasn't prepared to leave the house, so I was in joggers, socks and a tank top. My socks did little to protect my feet from the cold floor I was forced to walk across.

I heard Bella before I saw her, there was nothing I could do. The grip on my arm was tight, to tight and a single move could result in my arm being broken or worse.

The man turned the VCR off leaving a blue screen. Bella turned around to see us standing by the back exit. Bella and the man stared at each other for a long time before he smiled. I tried to tell Bella to leave with my eyes.

"Sorry about that, Bella, but isn't it better that your mother didn't really have to be involved in all this?"

His voice was courteous, kind. And suddenly it hit me. He used Bella's mom to draw her out... what did that mean for me. Why was I here? then I remembered his gaze and feared there may be more nefarious plans.

"Yes," Bella answered her eyes gazing over towards me.

"You don't sound angry that I tricked you."

"I'm not."

"How odd. You really mean it." His dark eyes assessed her with interest. "I will give your strange coven this much; you humans can be quite interesting. I guess I can see the draw of observing you. It's amazing — some of you seem to have no sense of your own self-interest at all."

His black irises appraised me his free hand gripping my jaw, forcing me to look up. A sinister smile appeared on his lips as he turned back to Bella.

"I suppose you're going to tell me that your boyfriend will avenge you?" he asked, hopefully it seemed to me.

"No, I don't think so. At least, I asked him not to."

"And what was his reply to that?"

"I don't know." Bella replied easily, why wasn't she running? "I left him a letter."

"How romantic, a last letter. And do you think he will honor it?" His voice was just a little harder now, a hint of sarcasm marring his polite tone.

"I hope so."

"Hmmm. Well, our hopes differ then. You see, this was all just a little too easy, too quick. To be quite honest, I'm disappointed. I expected a much greater challenge. And, after all, I only needed a little luck."

I waited in silence. Not that I could say anything.

"When Victoria couldn't get to your father, I had her find out more about you. There was no sense in running all over the planet chasing you down when I could comfortably wait for you in a place of my choosing. So, after I talked to Victoria, I decided to come to Phoenix to pay your mother a visit. I'd heard you say you were going home. At first, I never dreamed you meant it. But then I wondered. Humans can be very predictable; they like to be somewhere familiar, somewhere safe. And wouldn't it be the perfect ploy, to go to the last place you should be when you're hiding — the place that you said you'd be."

He paused "But of course I wasn't sure, it was just a hunch. I usually get a feeling about the prey that I'm hunting, a sixth sense, if you will. I listened to your message when I got to your mother's house, but of course I couldn't be sure where you'd called from. It was very useful to have your number, but you could have been in Antarctica for all I knew, and the game wouldn't work unless you were close by." He paused for a moment as if to see if she was keeping up.

"Then your boyfriend got on a plane to Phoenix. Victoria was monitoring them for me, naturally; in a game with this many players, I couldn't be working alone. And so, they told me what I'd hoped, that you were here after all. I was prepared; I'd already been through your charming home movies. And then it was simply a matter of the bluff. Very easy, you know, not really up to my standards. So, you see, I'm hoping you're wrong about your boyfriend. Edward, isn't it?"

"And Alex?"

He smiled widely as if savoring the moment. "oh, I didn't plan on it originally. A fluke really, you see I was running through the woods and caught the scent of something alluring... far more than you. Sorry." He looked as if he actually meant it "the scent of cedarwood and Mangos, so ripe and sweet. Then I noticed it disappeared, then reappeared. I was intrigued, I almost stopped chasing you, but then I learned that Alexandra's mother was dating your father... well then, I could still win my game and have Alex."

He then tossed me to the ground, my side hitting the cold ground harshly. The glare remained on my face as I used my good hand to remove the tape from my mouth, the only sound echoing was the ripping minute skin cells.

"Would you mind, very much, if I left a little letter of my own for your Edward?"

He took a step back and touched a palm-sized digital video camera balanced carefully on top of the stereo. A small red light indicated that it was already running. He adjusted it a few times, widened the frame. I stared at him in abject disgust. It was one thing to kill us but to record it like a sadist was another thing all together.

"I'm sorry, but I just don't think he'll be able to resist hunting me after he watches this. And I wouldn't want him to miss anything. It was all for him, of course. You're simply a human, who unfortunately was in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and indisputably running with the wrong crowd, I might add."

He stepped towards Bella "Before we begin..."

"I would just like to rub it in, just a little bit. The answer was there all along, and I was so afraid Edward would see that and ruin my fun. It happened once, oh, ages ago. The one and only time my prey escaped me. You see, the vampire who was so stupidly fond of this little victim made the choice that your Edward was too weak to make. When the old one knew I was after his little friend, he stole her from the asylum where he worked — I never will understand the obsession some vampires seem to form with you humans — and as soon as he freed her, he made her safe. She didn't even seem to notice the pain, poor little creature. She'd been stuck in that black hole of a cell for so long. A hundred years earlier and she would have been burned at the stake for her visions. In the nineteen-twenties it was the asylum and the shock treatments. When she opened her eyes, strong with her fresh youth, it was like she'd never seen the sun before. The old vampire made her a strong new vampire, and there was no reason for me to touch her then." He sighed. "I destroyed the old one in vengeance."

I furrowed my brows, confused. This caught the man's attention.

"oh... young Alex doesn't know; don't worry you'll learn everything soon enough. Too bad the Coven didn't consider you in all of this, they left you unguarded, unattended. Alone. They knew Valentina was with Charlie, that I could have tracked her."

My eyes widened. Was my mom in danger? Would she still be alive when I got back? Or my aunt? Would any of my family be alive or were they all dead? Was I going to die?

"Alice," Bella breathed, astonished. Finally saying something.

"And she did smell so delicious. I still regret that I never got to taste... She smelled even better than you do. Sorry — I don't mean to be offensive. You have a very nice smell. Floral, somehow..."

He took another step toward Bella, till he was just inches away. He lifted a lock of her hair and sniffed at it delicately. I began looking through the studio, there had to be a way out, a way we could get to safety. Could we hide or run? probably not but maybe he wanted a show. Maybe I could distract him.

"No," he murmured to himself as he dropped his hand, "I don't understand." He sighed. "Well, I suppose we should get on with it. And then I can call your friends and tell them where to find you, and my little message."

There was pain coming, I could see it in his eyes. It wouldn't be enough for him to win, to feed and go. He looked away slightly. There would be no quick end, I slowly stood up and stood behind Bella. I didn't know how we were going to get out of this, but I had to figure something out.

He stepped back, and began to circle, casually, as if he were trying to get a better view of a statue in a museum. His face was still open and friendly as he decided where to start. He looked at me and I could see a hint of amusement in his eyes. Like I added more to his game.

Then he slumped forward, into a crouch I recognized, this was like what wild animals did when they attack. His pleasant smile slowly widened, grew, till it wasn't a smile at all but a contortion of teeth, exposed and glistening.

Bella grabbed my uninjured arm and bolted forward, as useless as it was I ran with her knowing that we would never make it.

He was in front of us in a flash. I quickly tugged Bella back into me, though it didn't matter because with lightning quick reflexes (far faster than I could see) he kicked or pushed, I wasn't sure, Bella in the chest sending the both of us backwards.

Bella took the blow from the front, and I took the blow from behind. I heard the crunch as my body bashed into the mirrors. The glass buckled, some of the pieces shattering and splintering on the floor beside me.

The adrenaline kicked in and the pain was an afterthought. He walked slowly towards us. My instinct was to protect Bella, to put her behind me, but it was impossible, as she was practically on top of me, pinning me to my spot.

"That's a very nice effect," he said, examining the mess of glass, his voice friendly again. "I thought this room would be visually dramatic for my little film. That's why I picked this place to meet you. It's perfect, isn't it?"

Bella scrambled forward, but she didn't get very far. I heard the sickening snap, and the scream of agony. I looked to the right and found a heavy piece of wood from a mirror. It would be ridiculous and surely wouldn't work but maybe it would surprise him.

"Would you like to rethink your last request?" he asked pleasantly. As I slowly scooted away, he was too focused on Bella to notice I was moving.

"No!" Bella croaked. "No, Edward, don't—"

Before anything else could happen, I heard the splintering sound of wood breaking over something hard. Almost like a wooden bat breaking after hitting a ball. I could see the man pause as if he just realized what happened.

I turned to run knowing he would be following. Except I didn't get far, I felt an exploding pain radiate in my left shoulder before I heard the bone crunching snap. And then it was like he was trying to rip my arm from my body as he both simultaneously threw me and punched me in the ribs.

Over the pain of my shoulder, I felt the sharp rip across my scalp where the glass cut into it. And then the warm wetness began to spread through my hair with alarming speed. I could feel it soaking the shoulder of my shirt, hear it dripping on the wood below.

Through the dizziness I saw something that gave me a sudden, final shred of hope. His eyes, merely intent on Bella before, now burned with an uncontrollable need. The blood — spreading crimson across my white tank top, pooling rapidly on the floor — was driving him mad with thirst.

No matter his original intentions, he couldn't draw this out much longer. And maybe Bella would be alive. Maybe she would be safe. "you just had to ruin everything"

I heard, as if from underwater, the final growl of the hunter. I could see, through the long tunnels my eyes had become, his dark shape coming toward me. With my last effort, my hand instinctively raised to protect my face. My eyes closed, and I drifted. The last sound I heard was the breaking of glass and Bella's scream.

I failed.