I felt as if I was floating in a sea of tar. I felt paralysed. I could feel the snake’s venom coursing through my veins. My eyes were glued shut. The very thought of prising them open struck me as effortful and requiring a strength I did not possess. From my haze of semi-unconsciousness I could hear voices, their bell tones sounding desperate as they argued.
“She’s dying. Please change her to save her life. Please Carlisle.”
“This is not a decision to take lightly, Renesmee.”
“But Dad, she’s my best friend.”
“Let’s put it up to a family vote. Who says yes to turning Ella?”
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
“No,” said Rosalie drily. "I won't condemn her to this life."
“Hell yes.”
“Don’t worry, Ella, you will be okay…”
After what felt like an eternity, I opened my eyes. All of my senses were brighter, clearer and more defined.
I could see the individual feathers on the Northern Hawk Owl, its body a grey blur as it spiralled outside the window.
I could hear the raspy tenor of low voices as loud as if they were being poured out of a speaker.
I could smell slight petrichor denoting rain later on .
I could taste dust from the wood floor.
I could feel the individual soft strands of the stripy blanket that I had been draped in during my everlasting delirium.
I looked around and saw I was in a well maintained bedroom. Its walls seemed to glow as a lamp cast its light across the room. I threw back the covers and sat up on the edge of the bed. I looked down and saw that I was now wearing a beautiful, periwinkle blue dress. It was covered in microscopic white and pink flowers. The bottom of the dress had a massive frill around it. It overflowed over my feet.
I transferred into my wheelchair, which had been left by the bed, awaiting its time to be utilised. I wheeled towards the closed bedroom door. I wondered, “Will my chair be able to fit through here?”
I opened the door and it replied with a long, slow creak. I was relieved to notice that the door was sufficiently wide to fit the wheelchair.
I headed down the pristine white hallway. On the wall was a large mirror. As I looked into the mirror I noticed my eyes. I had always had blue eyes but now the eyes staring back at me were a shocking vivid red!
I continued on and turned into the living room. Renesmee squealed and ran into my arms, embracing me tightly.
“I can’t believe you’re alive! It worked.”
As I shuffled awkwardly from her embrace I noticed we were not the only ones in the room. There was a group of extremely attractive individuals all staring at me intently.
“This is my best friend Ella,” said Renesmee.
A small, woman with dark hair and a tall man with auburn hair stepped towards me.
"Renesmee has told us a lot about you. We're Bella and Edward, her parents. We've made up the spare room for you to use. You are welcome here."
"I hope you like the dress, Ella," said a tiny, short-haired woman who was grinning like an over-excited pixie. She came forward and hugged me enthusiastically. "I'm Alice and I love fashion and books too."
A tall, handsome figure shadowed her footsteps. I later learned his name was Jasper.
"I see you got your wheelchair," said a tall, muscly guy. "I carried it all the way home on my back."
"Hi Ella," said the beautiful blond woman next to him. "I'm Rosalie and this is Emmett."
"This all must be very disorientating for you," said a wise looking man with blond hair, his flaxen hair was cropped short and he was surveying me with caring, amber eyes. He was dressed in a white, doctor's coat.
"I'm Renesmee's grandfather, Carlisle. Do you understand what is happening to you?"
"No," I replied sheepishly.
"Let's sit around the fire and we'll tell you all about it."
A few hours later, I had learnt that I was a newborn vampire. The snake that bit me was a highly venomous Western Rattlesnake. As I was on the brink of death, Carlisle chose to change me from a human into a vampire.
I was shocked. Yesterday I had learned I had nowhere to live and now I had learned that my pulse had stilled forever. I also didn't realise that vampires were real, and that my best friend was half a vampire. She had hidden it from me for a year. Renesmee explained that she couldn't tell anyone about her and her family's existence in fear of risking her family's exposure.
Suddenly I experienced an unexplained, ravenous hunger. It consumed every atom of my concentration.
"You need to feed," said Edward. "We have some animal blood that you can drink."
As soon as I thought of killing an innocent animal and drinking its blood, I was filled with dread.
In a flat voice I said, "I blatantly refuse. I won't harm an animal in order to satiate my growing hunger."
"You'll have to, Ella," said Renesmee earnestly. "It's the only way you can tame your thirst and stay alive."
"I don't care, I'm not doing it," I said forcefully. "I would rather die that sacrifice an innocent sentient creature."
"We have a problem," said Carlisle. "If we can't get Ella to feed, her thirst will drive her insane."
"No!" said Renesmee. "I couldn't bear it if she went insane. We have to do something."
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door...
Soundtrack :
While I was thinking about and writing this chapter, I was listening to:
Wow Ella this is great!! I love this and I can’t wait for the next one to come out! With stories like this, you could become an author!
Great chapter Ella... looking forward to the next one