Twilight (Twilight, #1)

by Stephenie Meyer

“I’m Laurent, these are Victoria and James.”

“We’re headed north, in fact, but we were curious to see who was in the neighborhood. We haven’t run into any company in a long time.”

My hair ruffled with the light breeze, Edward stiffened, and the second male, James, suddenly whipped his head around, scrutinizing me, his nostrils flaring.

“You brought a snack?”

“And, of course, we will not harm the human girl. We won’t hunt in your range, as I said.”

This whole time I’d been rooted in place, terrified into absolute immobility.

And we were headed south, away from Forks. “Where are we going?” I asked. No one answered. No one even looked at me.

“He’s a tracker, Alice, did you see that? He’s a tracker!”

I saw his mind. Tracking is his passion, his obsession—and he wants her, Alice—her, specifically. He begins the hunt tonight.”

His plan was already set before the words were out of Laurent’s mouth.”

Once he commits to a hunt, he’s unshakable. We’d have to kill him.”

“And the female. She’s with him. If it turns into a fight, the leader will go with them, too.”

“I don’t see him attacking. He’ll try to wait for us to leave her alone.”

“Yes. Something’s brought him back to the room with the VCR, but it’s light now.”

“That’s my mother’s house.”

The words were like a life vest, holding my head above the flood.

I walked to my room and shut the door, slammed it really, so I could be free to go to pieces privately.

Your mother, she mouthed.

It was the sound of panic.

“Be very careful not to say anything until I tell you to.” The voice I heard now was as unfamiliar as it was unexpected.

“Now, I don’t need to hurt your mother, so please do exactly as I say, and she’ll be fine.”

“This worked out rather better than I expected. I was prepared to wait, but your mother arrived ahead of schedule. It’s easier this way, isn’t it? Less suspense, less anxiety for you.”

For I had no choices now but one: to go to the mirrored room and die.

And then I carefully sealed away my heart.

People are harder. I only see the course they’re on while they’re on it. Once they change their minds—make a new decision, no matter how small—the whole future shifts.”

There was no point in indulging in more terror, more anxiety.

So involved was I in my escapist daydreams, I lost all track of the seconds racing by.

punctured my fantasy, letting all the colors run out of my lovely delusions.

I’d never been more alone in my entire life.

a symbol of fear instead of sanctuary.

The memories were better than any reality I would see today.

Terror seized me so strongly that I was literally trapped by it.

There she was, on the TV screen, tousling my hair in relief. It was Thanksgiving, and I was twelve.

He was standing very still by the back exit, so still I hadn’t noticed him at first. In his hand was a remote control.

The irises were nearly black, just a hint of ruby around the edges. Thirsty.

It’s amazing—some of you seem to have no sense of your own self-interest at all.”

“When Victoria couldn’t get to your father, I had her find out more about you.

Humans can be very predictable; they like to be somewhere familiar, somewhere safe.

I usually get a feeling about the prey that I’m hunting, a sixth sense, if you will.

And then it was simply a matter of the bluff.

I felt a curl of nausea in the pit of my stomach as he spoke.

It happened once, oh, ages ago. The one and only time my prey escaped me.

When the old one knew I was after his little friend, he stole her from the asylum where he worked—I

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 ...

A crushing blow struck my chest—I felt myself flying backward, and then heard the crunch as my head bashed into the mirrors.

I heard the sickening snap before I felt it.

I heard, as if from underwater, the final growl of the hunter.

“He bit her.” Carlisle’s voice was no longer calm, it was appalled.

“See if you can suck the venom back out. The wound is fairly clean.”