The Reincarnated Life of Theresa and Joshua Hardwick
Now Mary-Ann and Cody Parker
1972

MPOV

Cody and I had always been together. Well, seeing as we were fraternal twins, it doesn’t help with that fact. But it was strange. I keep having these flashbacks in the middle of the day, or when I sleep. They were like glimpses of another life of someone else. I mentioned it to Cody and he said he was having the same kind of problem. I wonder…

My thoughts were interrupted.

It was happening again. The memory sweep.

There was a young girl. I seemed unable to look away from her brown eyes. This was normal so far. I usually saw her when this happened. She looked sad. She was walking with a red cloak through these trees, letting her hand touch every trunk, as if trying to make it all last. From my perspective, it seemed as if I was crouched behind a tree, looking at her.

I felt myself step back, making a twig snap. I froze. But the girl seemed to not notice. I sighed in relief, closing my eyes and turned around.

“Sneaking around isn’t good for someone like you, is it?” a voice said from above me. I went rigid. I looked up. There she was… the red-cloaked girl. But I couldn’t see her face. But her eyes. Her red eyes from the dark void of her hood… as bloody as her cloak. I shook in fear. She seemed so menacing.

“Get away from her!” I heard a voice say from behind her. My eyes widened. I could hear myself yelling for that person to get away. I saw behind the red mass of cloth in front of me and saw Cody there. He was scared, that was easy to see, but he was standing his ground. The girl turned to look at him.

“Very well then. I guess I have no choice.”

Then I felt a great force push me against the tree with greedy lips pressing against my own.

“Theresa!”

It ended there. I gasped and the sweat poured down my face. I felt a light pressure on my shoulder. I looked up.

There he was. Cody. My fraternal twin.

“Are you alright, sis?” he asked. There was just such affection in his voice, and sincere concern. This was a bond that could never be severed. Not even if scary women with red capes came, there would nothing stopping us from protecting and standing up for each other. It was just the way it was going to be.

But I still couldn’t help feeling weird though.

But I smiled and answered his question.

“Now that you’re here.”

The Reincarnated Life of Gordon Kape
Now Gregory Reynolds
2007

GPOV

I was running. The cold air was biting through my coat and making my arms freeze. It was so cold.

I could feel an arm pull on my sleeve and turn me around. What was odd was that I could not try to pull away. I didn’t want to. I didn’t need to.

I turned to look into the eyes of a demon. Crimson pupils stared back out at me from a black depth. I froze myself. The wind blew.

“Don’t worry, it’ll all be over soon,” a soothing sensational voice coaxed me. I felt better. Somewhat. But why was I calm. I could feel my death approaching rapidly. Why was I so cold?

Soft luscious lips were pressed up against mine. It felt so soft and warm. But then I felt strange. My energy, my willpower was draining. It hurt. I beat against the back of the figure, giving me a kiss of death.

Please stop! Please stop! Mercy! But the draining didn’t stop. And then, it all faded.

I woke up with a jolt. Realizing it was a dream, I cursed. Again and again. It happened more frequent now.

I could hear the hustle and bustle outside. New York didn’t seem to agree with me. I was all about open air and wind. Not a confined and small space with noisy air conditioning. Such was my apartment in New York.

“Gregory! Get downstairs and ready for school!” my mother called from down the hall.

I sighed. And so began another day of my life.

I would have to talk to someone about this. This just seemed a little too weird for my liking.

When I got up and headed toward the kitchen. But as I was shuffling, I stopped. Another flashback.

“I dare you! C’mon, Gordy. Don’t be a wuss. Just go ask.” The voice was taunting. I could feel pride swelling within me. I was going to prove I was not a sissy. It was quite simple really. There wasn’t any harm to it. It was just who it was.

“Cullen’s gonna eat him alive!” I heard someone snicker from behind me. That only made me angry. I was a man. I could prove it, even with a stupid enough question like this.

Hesitantly, I started walking. I got the feeling I was walking toward my doom. But still, I slowly made my way forward.

“Can I help you?” a velvety manly voice asked me. I blanched for a sec, I know I did.

“Err… yeah. Can-can I borrow a pencil?” I ask.

There was deep chuckling. A white, large hand was holding an HB2 pencil in his hand, perfectly sharpened.

“Would this do?”

I was breathing heavily. The memories kept coming back.

Then the aroma of bacon and eggs filled my senses, and instantly, my worries of the moment were forgotten.

The Reincarnated Life of Jessica Stanley
Now Penelope Harper
2007

PPOV

I felt strange today. It was quite usual though. I was always feeling exposed though. Out of place.

I always asked my mom, Jocelyn Harper, if I was adopted. She always finds that strange that I ask every so often. Even though we share similar features and habits; even though she has proof of my birth certificate and numerous pictures of my childhood, I always felt that we weren’t even related. It was as if I only just met her.

“Penny, we need to go…” my mom was telling me, gently shaking my shoulder. I looked up at her and smiled, awaken from my lost state.

“Okay, I’ll just be a second,” I say.

She nods, and then heads for the front door. I sat dejectedly on the couch and sighed. It was just another day…

“Stupid boys…probably won’t even live up to their promise. Why do I do this? The Hooded Lady doesn’t even exist. But no, Jessica Stanley has to go out and be eaten by the freaking scary lady. Way to go, Jess.”

Again. Whenever I sit and concentrate I always hear these snippets of myself talking. But I could swear I never said these things before. I felt disoriented, and swayed. I was always so dizzy.

I stood up, hearing my mother’s car horn honking from outside. I walked out the door and down the porch steps.

What was happening…?

And who was this hooded lady?

EPOV

I held Bella in my arms as we all walked through the forest, toward the house. She weighed nothing, like a porcelain doll perhaps. Lifeless, and yet beautiful, even though burned and scared. Her head, dirtied and ashen, was resting against my chest, her eyes closed as if in slumber. Her face was welted almost, caked with blood. Her cloak was completely burned away, as was her clothes. Only a few limp rags were left. I pulled my coat closer around her.

My family kept giving me glances. And I could hear their thoughts interrupting my own.

Poor Edward…

He’s so alone now.

What am I going to do? I didn’t see it happen…I…I could have done something to stop it. I know I could have. You’re such an idiot Alice! Why did you screw that up?

“Alice, calm down,” I commanded through a cold voice. “It wasn’t your fault…It wasn’t.”

Then I looked away. I could feel everybody stare at me. It felt like I was drowning I guess. There was a heavy pressure weighing me down, making It difficult to walk even straight. I staggered. I didn’t know what was happening. The ground was suddenly coming closer toward me and my arms tightened around Bella.

A hand gripped my arm and held me up, my air coming out from my nose making the dirt brush away from the leaves on the ground. Bella was no longer in my arms I noticed.

“Edward…Edward, you need to talk to me!” I heard Rosalie shout at me. I blinked. I couldn’t see anything anymore. The world seemed like a painting then, and water was splashed onto it, making everything blur and fall. I couldn’t smell anything anymore either. I couldn’t feel anything.

And through my drowning vision I saw red. I saw scarlet red. A hooded figure stood above me. Slowly, I stretched my arm out, trying to touch them.

But I couldn’t reach the person. Why couldn’t I? I tried again, but again in vain.

“Edward. Look at me,” a voice was telling me. It was like chimes ringing in my head.

“Alice…?”

“Edward…” a distant familiar called. I didn’t know where it came from. It wasn’t said in my head like a thought would usually barge in. It was around me. Enveloping me with its very sound. I didn’t know how else to explain it. The voice was like a warm blanket.

“Edward!”

I suddenly snapped from my distant thoughts and jerked forward. Which…might not have been such a good idea as my face slammed against Emmett’s forehead.

SMACK!

It sounded as if two cement walls were suddenly slammed together. I held my head from the pain. Curse this stupid inhuman hard skin…

I held my nose and looked around me. Everything was pristine and clear as I looked at the faces surrounding me. Esme had a sad look in her eyes, her eyebrows taking on a worried concerned expression. Rosalie was scowling, looking annoyed and Emmett was holding his head, cursing and swearing.

Jasper was standing with his arms around Alice, who had her eyes in that weird vision state.

Focusing, I invaded into her mind and picked up her vision.

Many black clad figures were walking around our house, appearing out of nowhere. A man with slicked back blonde hair and gray eyes was pacing back and forth. He and everybody else were wearing clothes better fit for a century or two back.

Then the vision changed to a meadow, where the black clad figures were surrounding something in the center. It was snowing heavily. Then images and voices accompanied the vision.

Red.

“Hello…”

A smile played on pink lips.

A pale white hand out stretched.

And then a haunting laughter that I could remember like any day echoed.

“They’re already there,” Alice told me. I nodded. I noticed that Carlisle had Bella in his arms, held bridal style. He head fell limp though.

And as if she was a newborn infant, I stood up and looked at my father with pleading eyes.

“Please…can I hold her again?”

My voice surprised me, as it was weak and shallow. Carlisle didn’t say anything as he walked toward me and held her out carefully. Taking her into my arms, I rested her head onto my shoulder.

“Edward…I want you to live.”

But why couldn’t you live as well, Bella my love? I know you could have saved yourself. Why save the people that intended to kill you, who feared you for your entire life? Why couldn’t you just stay alive and run away with me? We didn’t need all the sorrow here. We could have gone to where we could have been happy.

Why? Why couldn’t I just die and go to you?

“Live…live…” her fading voice was in my mind all the time. She told me sternly to stay alive. “Promise…” And I promised her. Why? Why did I?

I started to walk forward, Jasper, Alice and Esme bringing up the rear as Emmett, Rosalie and Carlisle led the way towards our house, as we were expecting visitors.

I wasn’t surprised at their appearance. It was how many were there that frightened me. There must have been more than a hundred gathered round our home. Some were even on the roof, lazing about.

The blonde man I had seen before, looked up from where he was sitting on our porch steps and walked briskly towards me. I held the body in my hands tighter.

“Edward Cullen I presume?” he asked in his native accent, English. “I had better cut to the chase then. The dead woman you are holding is, and always will be a part of the witching community. Therefore, seeing as she has already bound her soul over to our way of live centuries ago, we will conduct a funeral in her honor. You will be allowed to attend. But no more than that. You have already corrupted her life by being in it.”

Parts of me wanted to hand Bella over to Carlisle and tear this man’s throat out, possibly suck him dry. I wanted to pummel him into the ground. How dare he say that?

But those were only small parts. The other parts, which was saner, was telling me that no matter what this man said, it did not matter. Bella was dead. There was nothing more I could do to change that.

Sighing sadly, I handed over the love of my life into the blonde man’s hands.

“I, Frederic, Chairman and Executive will commence a ceremony in Isabella Marie Swan’s honor. Please, everyone come with me.”

He then evaporated like all the others around our mansion. Winifred, who had disappeared hours ago, sowed up at our side and signaled for us to follow her. We eventually made it to the meadow in the middle of the forest.

I have no clue as to why they did it there. They could have done it anywhere else. At a cemetery, in another country for all I would know. But they did it here.

A rectangular hole was dug up in the ground already in the center of the field and a clear glass container was beside it. I pushed my way through the crowd of witches and warlocks and finally got a closer look. The others in my family stayed some ways back.

Frederic, the man who had Bella, was now placing her gently and slowly into the coffin like glass box.

Then he stood back and looked down to the emotionless figure inside. I swear I could have seen a look of regret pass his face for a fleeting moment. But then it was gone.

“Everyone gather round!” The audience surrounding the coffin and dug out grave stood at attention. “Today, a tragic incident has befallen us all. Our dear companion and sister has given her life for a better cause. To protect those of whom she loved, of whom she cared about. Humans tried to take her life away, and even in her state of weakness, she protected them all from an impending death. She saved her home. She saved her life even. But even though she did not succeed in capturing the Black Delilah, she is still a hero.”

“You may or may not recall the life of this witch. When she was young and inexperienced as she was a new witch, she had fallen in love with a certain mortal, Caleb White. And even though heburned at the stake for being accused of witchcraft, she still suffered a worse fate.”

His face seemed impassive as he continued. His gray eyes were like the storm above us, as the clouds gathered together and snowflakes began to fall.

“She was alone. She ran away and never spoke to us for a long time. Until recently. As we called our last Council a few days ago, she appeared. Who would have though that the beautiful creature before us, who used to be abundant and filled with precious youth that beamed out of her very smiles, would become a victim to the Delilah. A cruel spirit that brings out the worse of people.”

“It is now, on this day that we will bow our heads in silence. It is a time to remember. A time to hope. For every act of love, there is a reward. Let us hope, that in the after life, Isabella Marie Swan may receive hers.”

Then he fell silent, as we all did. Everyone closed their eyes. Except for me. My own topaz eyes were trained on Bella’s unmoving body. I wanted every moment of seeing her face to last before I would never see it again.

The snow fell onto my eyelashes, and then melted. A trail of water streamed down from under my eye. It was as if I was actually crying, which at the moment, was the one thing I desired to do.

I wanted to cry. Like that little girl was telling her brother that one day while I was waiting at the bus stop.

“The rain is angel tears. Someone very very good died and the angels are crying because they are very sad. Who do you think died, Gordy?”

“I don’t know. But I’m sure they were someone really nice,” Gordon Kape told his younger sister, as he leaned against the bus stop wall. Puddles formed on the ground. Then the scheduled bus coming to pick up our class came and we all formed a line in the rain. The little girl ran back to her parents.

Everything was fine then. I didn’t have love. I didn’t need it. But now, thinking back on it, I really did. Bella provided me with a swelling feeling in my gut every time I looked at her. I realized eventually that it was love. Love.

It was really such a simple word. It was only a word. But that word had power to break people. I can see why poets wrote tragedies such as these. Even though I laughed and found them pointless, I can finally realize how much missing someone this much actually hurt.

“Goodbye…” I whispered.

Frederic and another witch, a woman who was wearing a black veil over her face raised their hands slightly and Bella’s coffin slowly lowered into the ground. My heart sunk deeper and deeper as she did.

They covered the hole with dirt and then created a dirt mound that sprouted an evergreen tree when Frederic waved his hands over it.

“Take care, Bella,” he told the tree and then turned around, walking toward me.

“I am sorry. We did not know what was happening until later. We would have come and stopped if we could. But, now everyone of us must protect ourselves as the Black Delilah is still out there.”

“I had a question about that,” I said before he turned to leave. “What will you do with Winifred?”

The said woman turned around and glared a nasty look at me. Her blue eyes gleamed and then she disappeared.

Frederic sighed. “The Council will decide a suitable punishment. But she may receive only a few years of probation for it being an accident. But, as for her fate, even I do not know at the moment.”

He turned and walked away as the others did, disappearing into thin air. leaving me only with my family and the tree in the center of the meadow as a reminder of Bella herself.

My shoulders slumped. The snow continued to fall down and began to cover the many footprints left by all those who were there. A hand patted my shoulder and a cold hand ruffled my hair.

“So sorry, Edward.”

I’m going to miss her so much…She really was a darling thing. It’s like I lost another child…

Edward…he’s so lonely in this cruel world.

Everyone left me alone to my thoughts, leaving only me in the meadow. I walked up to the evergreen tree. It stood there, as if it had been there for years. It was almost as tall as me. But I know it would grow eventually with time.

I laughed at the irony of the creature of nature. An evergreen would always be green. Just like how I would always love her. But then I realized why Bella would want to save this forest.

It grew and changed. The leaves would change different colors and the animals would die and live.

Where there was death in a forest, there was life.

“Figuring it out already. My Edward, you’re a keen one.”

My body froze. Did I just-

“That tree is real nice. Don’t you think so, Edward?”

Yes, I did. I guess I was that insane that I was already hearing her voice. But I know that was impossible, because she was buried deep within the ground. There was no way I-

“Why do you look confused? I’m right here, aren’t I?” she asked playfully, humor adding to her voice. I spun my head around to look down into her smiling face.

“B-Bella?” I sputtered out. She giggled.

She was as she was before the fire. Her hair was long and cascading down over her shoulders. Her deep chocolate orbs were attentive as she took in my own appearance. Her flawless smooth skin crinkled as she smiled widely.

“Hello…” she said, her voice trailing off. Or so it seemed. My surroundings were snuffed out sort of, as if someone blew out a candle. My reaction was instant.

I suddenly grabbed her and pulled her to my chest. I could hear the breath in her lungs was suddenly knockedout, as she was rigid. But I didn’t care, because soon her arms wrapped around my shoulders and it felt so warm. She was so warm.

Against my chest, I could feel her heart beating rapidly. I smiled. It was possibly one of the best feelings in the world. To feel a heartbeat.

“But…how are you…?” I heard myself ask, my nose buried in her hair. She smelt so good…

“Alive?” Bella finished for me. Her nose was buried in my neck, fingers playing with my hair. “It’s rather complicated.”

I pulled back from her to stare at her eyes, holding her small hands in mine. The swelling feeling was there again in my stomach. “As long as you’re not going anywhere, we have all the time in the world.”

Her face positively shone brightly. The snow fell into her hair and dissolved. The white wonderland around us was ignored as the wonder for each of us was in front of each other.

“That sounds absolutely lovely when you say that, you know?”

Her red cloak billowed out in the wind as a sudden draft blew straight into my back and into her face. Snowflakes caught in her eyelashes and loose hair strands.

She outstretched a pale hand up to my face, stroking over my eyelids and lips. Then she lowered it again and pulled me after her.

“Come on. I’d rather not stay near my grave. It’s too depressing for my liking,” she said, in an amused way and started to march off in a random direction.

“Don’t you’d think it would be faster if I just carried you?” I asked, not needing an answer before I scooped her up in my arms and ran as fast as I could.

“Edward!” she yelled out and turned her head into my shoulder, holding on for dear life. I chuckled at her reaction.

I ran out of Forks that I was sure of. Across streets and through other small logging towns before I reached the border. It was then that I started to feel a little winded.

“Here good?” I asked, placing her wobbly self onto the ground, supporting her just in case she fell.

She tumbled around for a bit before she stood herself straight and looked around at our surroundings. Now all there was were evergreen trees, as we happened to go into a deciduous forest.

“Now, tell me, how is this possible?” I asked her, crossing my arms. She turned to look at me again and sighed. She planted herself on the ground, sitting cross-legged. I followed suit.

“Well…it was strange. I remember dying. Really, it is a scary thing to actually feel life leave you. It’s only a strong fear. I kept thinking about, what would happen? What would happen to a witch’s soul after all this? And would you hold out your promise?”

“As I can see for yourself, you did, even if you didn’t expect it to carry out a meager promise like that for such a short time. As to why I am alive and here…well, even I do not have all the answers.”

She took a deep breath as she closed her eyes. “It then was dark. It was pitch. There was no tunnel of light or reaching, grabbing hands waiting to drag me into the depths of hell, where I deserve to go.” I wanted to protest to that, but she carried on anyways. “But then, suddenly, I remember laying on a road. And when I came to myself, I realized I was back to the night when I visited Caleb for the last time.”

I never heard about this before. And I never got around to asking about the young man who died.

“I could see myself sneaking out of my mother and sister’s house and running down the very road I always walked along to get to Caleb’s. I then saw myself waiting in front of the platform, Caleb standing there. I looked so hopeless. And then I lost it whenever I relived the moment of him burning to death. I had to drag my own self away from him to prevent myself from the pitiful state I was in.”

“But then it was all over. And everything was calm and quiet as I was in the middle of a white world. It was bright. And the blank walls and ceiling stretched for who knows how long. My sister was there. And then so was my mother. And my friend, Elizabeth, who was my teacher in the witching arts; I her apprentice. She died a long while ago. Her death to this day is unexplained.”

“But then I saw Caleb there. Oh Edward, how he looked so much like you. He had the same nose and lips. The bronze hair of yours was the same as well. He even has, or well had, the same voice as you. I wonder why…”

I wonder why indeed.

“But, I heard before I officially ‘died’, Cecelia said that with love, you can change time. With love, you can make anything happen. The impossible is possible. The improbable certain. She said I was performing the greatest act of love I could give by putting everyone before me and dying for them. And for that, there is always reward. I wasn’t so sure exactly what she meant by that. Like, I have sinned time and time again by simply being who I am. Why should I have the privilege in which I deserve to live again? But honestly, I didn’t care. Because that meant seeing you again, and everyone else.”

She fell silent after that, letting her head fall limp as her hands already were in her lap.

Taking in what she said, I contemplated. What did this mean? How did I know for sure that she was living and breathing? That this was just another illusion of some sort?

“Prove it,” I said, staring at her. Her face fell into a confused frown as she looked up at me.

“Huh?”

“Prove that you are real.”

“Edward…I am walking and talking, breathing proof. What more do you need?” she asked, confused as ever.

I smiled. “This.”

And then before she knew what I was doing, I placed my lips onto hers. At first she was frozen, as she was to the hug, probably because I caught her off guard. But then she went weak, and I silently relished in her reaction. It was nice to know that I had that effect on her as she did to me.

Bella ran her hands through my hair, gripping it tightly as I wrapped my arms around her small waist and pulled her closer towards me.

When we came up for air, her forehead leaned against mine, breathing heavily onto my face. She smelt heavenly…

“Is that proof enough?” she whispered, before planting her lips against mine again.

“Mmm,” I hummed out, as if thinking hard. “I still need a little convincing.”

She laughed. “You are just a greedy man, Edward Cullen.”

“I would have to agree to that. Because here on out, I am never sharing you with anyone else.”

Bella held my face between hers, making me look into her eyes. She leaned forward, shutting them close, and kissed me on the forehead.

“You better not.”

BPOV

I am still not quite sure what I did to deserve this.

I looked over at the man beside me, as he was looking up at the screens above us. We were currently in the airport, waiting for our plane to land so that we could board it.

Carlisle and Emmett drove everyone in the Cullen family, and myself, to the airport in Port Angeles. We were heading off to New York. I had a long time of work ahead of me.

After me and Edward had came back to the Cullen house five months prior to our current situation, Alice basically pounced on me and dry sobbed. Emmett picked me and threw me around like a doll, which at the moment I was as everyone piled out of the house at lightning speed.

I had to make a protective spell around myself from anyone throwing me around. It wasn’t until Jasper sent out his calm waves that I decided to let the shield fall.

After being enveloped in hugs and kisses on the cheeks by all the family member, and definitely after explaining how I was even alive for them to do that in the first place did everyone settle down.

As everyone went back to school, I stayed behind.

My illusion of Charlie had vanished but I didn’t send out a spell strong enough for everyone in the town to forget about him, which had people wondering where the town’s great police chief vanished. I let them worry about that on their own.

And not only had the chief at the station disappeared, but so had his ‘daughter’, the new student at Forks High. Everyone was wondering where she went, especially Mike Newton and Angela Weber. It took everything within Edward’s will power, and Alice’s, Jasper’s, Emmett’s and Rosalie’s will power to not kill the poor kid. I myself had a very strong dislike for the boy, but I learned to just let it go, unlike a certain named vampires.

The media was all over Forks as people had told the news station that there was a large forest fire, only to find no evidence of one ever occurring. The only thing that proved this theory correct was satellite images of the fire being there and then suddenly snuffed out.

Forks was dubbed the ‘freak town’. It made great for tourist attractions. Scientists and mythologists and alien believing freaks had never come up with a real answer to it. The only ones who knew really what had occurred that night was myself. And possibly a few others.

But even though this was not so troubling, there was news about several unexplained witch-hunts that left many of my kind dead in odd and mysterious ways. Like the witch that was found burnt to death in 1904. She just happened to be my former teacher, Elizabeth Hetherington. But not only had there been rumors of these deaths, there was also one about a certain Black Delilah and a few reincarnated individuals.

Even though I used to be unable to leave the forest for long periods of time before, as it became my Haunt, I was now able to move about freely. Haunts were the places that a witch occupied; almost binding a soul there should the witch die. So stories of hearing ghosts in the attic or anywhere could possibly be true.

But with my newly gained freedom of traveling, I decided that I must go and see of some of these disturbing rumors were true. The most common place that this was happening in was New York. So that is where we all were heading for now.

I was nervous as to what wonders I would find in the Big Apple, as I was not as accustomed to the new technology and culture. I had never really been to a human city before anyways. So this was going to be an interesting experience for all.

The plan was to go live in New York and find the reincarnates and see what was happening to them. Some witches living there in the metropolis overheard that they were frequently seeing the doctor.

If I could find these people, perhaps I could help track down the Black Delilah, as I hear that the people being affected like this were mostly people I sucked the life out of before. It must link to my former possessor. So that was my strategy. Along the way, I could possibly even find clues leading to the mysterious deaths of the witches.

It was my responsibility. I had to do something.

“You okay?” I heard Edward ask from beside me. I smiled up at him.

I was more nerve-wracked than anything. This invention of the plan, which allowed man to fly high in the clouds, was quite odd. Even though there were stories about witches flying on broomsticks, there was no thing of the sort. I’ve never really flown before in my life.

“Well…I guess. It’s a first for everything.” I tried to be optimistic about it, but being informed of people dying and crashing on these modes of transportation was disconcerting. Emmett of course, got smacked after he told me them, obviously trying to scare, which in all honest truth he succeeded in doing.

“Yes. I can see that. New clothes, new job, new family, a new life altogether, don’t you think?” Edward asked, smiling down at me.

I had changed my clothes. It was sort of desperately needed. The buzz of the Hooded Lady and her red cloak was spreading across the state and I had to make some desperate changes to my wardrobe. Luckily, the fashion expert in the house, which just happened to be Alice Cullen herself, provided me with the necessary updates. I think she enjoyed the prospect of me being a human doll all those months ago when I first came to the Cullen’s house. She definitely had her fun with me as a human guinea pig.

“Yes…a new life.”

I looked up at the screen above me, as the other people in the airport frequently did as well and saw that our plane had loaded onto the loading dock.

“Well, let’s go Bella. The world awaits,” Jasper said from behind me as he slung a arms around my shoulder as he laughed. Edward smiled. Jasper saw his petite raven-haired wife stalk off to look at the gift store and he blanched. What havoc would she wreck here?

“Uh, excuse me Bella. But my wife is on the move.”

And then the honey-blonde was off.

Edward tugged on my hand as Carlisle and Esme were already walking toward the ticket lady.

“Ready?” he asked me.

I thought through that question. Did he mean ready to go on the plane? Ready to live through an entirely new experience? Ready to see the world? Ready to leave Forks and everything of my past, the Haunt, memories of Caleb himself, behind?

“Only if you can be there with me,” I finally decided in answering, considering safer.

He stopped and leaned his head down, beaming brightly. His crooked smile stole the breath in my lungs. He brushed his lips gently against mine.

“Always.”

“Come on you two l! The plane is going to leave your sorry behinds here and you’ll never get your chance to rid the world of evil!” Emmett shouted across the waiting lounge, where other impatient travelers raised an eyebrow.

I turned to Edward, lips pursed. “Couldn’t we have just left him here?”

Edward shrugged. “We could have. But what would be the point? He’s like our little sheep almost. He would follow us even if we bound and gagged him, leaving him on a train set for Peru. He would find us anyways.”

I laughed as he worded it that way.

“Come on. Time’s not going to stop for us.”

I picked up my bag and walked toward the ticket lady, Edward following right behind me.

As I handed my ticket over to her, I suddenly felt…different. I felt like as I let go of that ticket, I was wiping a slate clean.

I could start over.

And this time, my favorite vampire would be there with me.

What challenged lay ahead of us this time? Well…I guess only time would tell. And as long as the others were there, I was ready for anything.

The title of the sequel is "The Screaming Mask" and the the first chapter will be up possibly next week (and the summary will be in my profile) or a few more than that because I’m going to try and write more than one chapter at a time so I’m prepared to post it the next day. That, and I’m writing ‘The Narutrix’ and another story for my friend. Also there is homework and yada yada.

I hope that this is not confusing, as this story sort of was for even myself at the beginning.

I would like to thank anyone and everyone who even considered reading this story. I am so happy at the amount of reviews and hits I received for this. The last time I checked on the hits it was at 12023, with forty-one favorites and sixty-three alerts!!

Thank you soooo much. I am entirely in your debt! XD

You will get a wide range of different character inputs, especially those mentioned at that beginning of the chapter, but mostly it will be Bella and Edward telling it. After the sequel, there will be no more of the Bleeding Cloak. But I’m not making that official. It all entirely depends on you guys.

So please review, telling me to stop this madness or to go into a deep dark corner never to return, or say ‘hi’ or ‘you’re alive still?’ or something of the sort.

So, from yours truly and sincerely,

Freak a Geek

EDIT: I have decided that once I am finished the sequel, I will rewrite the chapters so that the grammar mistakes are fixed up and that it is more understandable. Someone suggested that I put a little refresher before a chapter, so people remember what happened before because the plot changes drastically. So, I'll take any tips for the future! But yes. That is all.