Blood Moon

The Burn

Chapter 3 – The Burn

Bella's POV

I felt myself slipping into the void; I was surrounded by complete darkness. I tried to lift my arm up to see if I could see it but it was like there were weights attached to my body. I couldn't move and I felt like I was sinking. It was at that point I realized I was dying. At first, I felt defeated but then I remembered what happened to bring me to this dark place. Jasper, with a feral look on his face just before he latches on to my throat but then it morphs into the dazzling look when he catches me as I fall down the stairs. Those eyes that seem to hide a deep pain yet at the same time show a yearning to be loved and accepted. I can't die. I can't add to Jasper's pain. I won't be another thing that Jasper blames himself for, for the rest of eternity.

I started struggling against the weight that was holding me down. I didn't think I was making any progress until I started to feel a tickle in my extremities. Then the tickling sensation seemed to grow in intensity until it felt like I was on fire. I wanted to scream and thrash to put the fire out but I still couldn't move my limbs. The weight was still holding me down. Where was everybody? Didn't they see that I was on fire?

Wait! Fire...burning...I've felt this before. This is the same burn I experienced when James bit me in Phoenix. I'm changing. I'm going to be a vampire! That is, if Edward doesn't suck the venom out.

Please, Edward, let the change happen. I want to be with you forever. I'm not sure how long I begged but I eventually gave up and assumed that he wasn't going to suck the venom out. I've been burning for longer than I did in Phoenix.

To distract myself from the pain, I thought of Edward. I thought of his beautiful topaz eyes and his sexy, curly honey blonde hair. Wait, blonde hair? Why am I thinking of Jasper? Ok, clear my thoughts. Edward's crooked smile that always makes my heart skip a beat. Bronze hair that I love to run my fingers through. That's better. I don't know where those thoughts of Jasper came from. Alice would kill me if she knew I was lusting after her husband.

Alice. My best friend, my sister. She is probably bouncing around the mall right now buying a bunch of stuff that I don't need but will have to accept now that I am officially a Cullen. I get to be beautiful just like them. No more plain, or clumsy Bella. Though, with my luck, I will end up being the first clumsy vampire! I will no longer need to be protected. I will be an equal.

I lost track of my time as I let my thoughts distract me. Eventually I started to hear things. The sound of the wind, the tick-tock of a clock, the voices of a few people somewhere else in the house, and of course the beautiful voice of the vampire next to me humming my lullaby. Oh Edward, I've missed you. I hope this is over soon. I desperately need to be in your arms.

As if answering my wish, I could feel the fire start to recede from my fingers and toes. Before I could sigh in relief, I noticed that the fire in my chest intensified tenfold. I almost screamed out, but I knew my pain will only intensify the guilt that my brooding vampire will feel, so I held my tongue. Edward, who was holding my hand, must have noticed the increase in my heart rate because he stopped humming, squeezed my hand in reassurance and told me that it wouldn't be much longer. The voices in the house also died away as they heard the telltale signs that my change was almost complete.

At this point, the fire was concentrated entirely in my chest and my heart was beating so fast I thought it was going to fly out of my chest. And then just like that, it stopped.

Silence

Then I opened my eyes and saw the world for what felt like the first time.

Everything was so clear. It was like going from watching analog TV to 4K TV. Colors were sharp and more defined. I could see the tiniest bits of dust motes in the air. When I took a breath, I could smell and taste everything too. Humans are really missing out on everything the world has to offer since their senses can't grasp it all.