**Life After Death - EPOV**
**STORY NOW ON INDEFINITE HIATUS** This is the story of Edward's life after transformation/pre Bella, from his POV. I sort of wrote it for myself at first, as an exercise, but then I decided to share it. It may be a little boring. There isn't really much action yet, it's mostly Carlisle explaining things to him and helping him with his new life. I hope you enjoy it! Please let me know what you think! **all characters property of the wonderful Stephenie Meyer**
Posts are on pages 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 17, 19 and 20 with pages 2 and 3 containing 2 posts. (Thanks, Lestat for reminding me to add this little guide!)
Thud… thud… thud. Silence.
The relief I felt once the fire had finally ceased didn’t last. I opened my eyes, and the world was not as I remembered.
I could see, hear and feel everything around me… It was frightening, but I couldn’t help but feel fascinated. I looked around the room. I could see each brushstroke in the painting across from me… I could hear the sound of burrowing outside… termites, I assumed, as I could also smell the woody scent of sawdust… and I could feel every stitch of fabric in the sheet that I lay on. I didn’t recognize my surroundings, and before I could think about what I was doing, I leapt out of my bed and across the room at a speed that didn’t seem possible. I spun around and was automatically in a crouch. What was happening?
There was a man sitting next to the bed I had been lying in less than a second ago. I recognized him. This had been my doctor at the hospital, I was sure of it. I watched him carefully. I could hear him saying “I’m sorry, I’m so, so sorry. I cannot believe I did this.” But he wasn’t moving his lips…
And then all of a sudden the doctor was gone and I was looking at a younger man, standing across the room from me. He had very pale skin… and bronze hair… He looked like me, but different, too. I flinched when I saw his bright red eyes. His features were more chiseled and defined than mine were, and he looked more muscular…
“What is happening? What did you do to me?” I said in a whisper. Upon hearing my own voice, I cocked my head in confusion. It did not sound like my own.
“Edward, I know that this is very confusing, but please, you must listen,” he said aloud. And then, without moving his lips, he added, I need to get him outside… he must be in a terrible thirst.
Then it happened again, something took over my body and it acted without my mind telling it to. My throat burst into wild flames and I threw myself out the door and directly toward the moist, beating sound I could hear nearby. I could sense the man following me, but I wasn’t able to turn away. I ran toward the sound faster than lightening. I needed something, anything, to quench this fire in my throat. I took hold of the first thing I reached. Not even realizing what it was, or what I was doing, I buried my teeth into its neck and bled it dry. I threw it aside and did it again and again, until I felt like my body couldn’t hold anything more. The taste in my mouth was terrible, but at least my throat had quieted.
All the while, the man stood back, watching me. Once I had finished, I realized that there were dead animals all around me. I was too shocked to speak. I looked at the man pleadingly for some kind of explanation. Never in my wildest dreams was I prepared for what he said next.
“Edward, my name is Dr. Carlisle Cullen, and I need to explain what has happened to you. Do you remember being in the hospital?” He asked in a slow, wavering voice.
I nodded, unable to speak.
“Both you and your parents had been brought to the hospital to die. Pardon me for being so blunt, but it is true. You were all infected with the Influenza, and there was nothing that could medically be done to help any of you. You already knew that your father had passed away, and soon after, your mother died as well. I check-”
“My mother is dead?” I interrupted, horrified. I gasped, even more horrified when I saw my mother’s pale, drawn face in my mind. Had I seen her before she died, and didn’t remember? Where did this image come from?
Carlisle looked confused by my actions. “I am afraid so, Edward. The Influenza is a horrible illness. Very few have been able to survive it. I checked on the two of you as often as I could, and the last time I saw your mother alive, she looked at me as if she knew what I was, that I was something… else, and begged me to save you. I knew it was most likely the fever speaking, but she looked at me with such clarity in that moment, that I could not believe her to be delusional. I told her that I would do whatever I could. She had used up all of her strength, and she dropped into unconsciousness and passed quickly,” he said, looking at me with pity in his eyes.
He walked slowly toward me with his hands up. I let him approach, unable to move. He placed his hand on my shoulder before speaking.
“I am so very sorry for your loss, Edward. Please try to take comfort in the fact that she did pass quickly. She loved you very, very much. I could see it in her eyes,” he said, before continuing his story.
“I looked at you in the bed next to her. You were so close to death, Edward. In a mere hour or two, it would have been too late. I took care of your mother, and then I covered you with a sheet and wheeled you to the back entrance. The hospital was in utter chaos with so many patients, so I knew that your absence would not be noticed. I carried you here, to my home and tried to make you as comfortable as possible, before beginning the process.”
“The… process?” I choked out. This was utterly ludicrous! If I had been so close to death, how was I not dead, as my parents were?
“Yes. I know this is going to be hard to hear, and I apologize again, but I believe that it is very important that you understand. The process began when I administered venom into your body. Over the course of three days, the venom took over your system in a very painful transformation. I know that it was torturous. I am very sorry for that, but as of yet I have heard of no way to lessen the pain. At the end of the third day, your human heart stopped beating and the transformation was complete.”
I winced sharply when he reminded me of my transformation, as he called it. That was something I never wanted to remember, but doubted I would ever forget. His entire explanation was insane, but one phrase stood out to me. “Human heart?” I asked.
“Yes, Edward. This will be very shocking, so please, brace yourself. It was the only way that I could fulfill my promise to your mother and save you.” He waited until I nodded again. This entire story sounded like the plot of a horror novel. What was going to come out of his mouth next?
“You are now a vampire.”
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Connie Salters on -
Lestat . . . thanks for your reply . . . except . . . since Esme doesn't really know Edward, HOW would she be "in love" with him??? That's the part that had me a little confused . . .
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Permalink Reply by Connie Salters on
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OOOOHHHH . . . now I understand!!!! NOT that they were in love with Edward, but that they were in love with EACH OTHER!!!! DUH . . . WHEW, glad you cleared that up for me . . . again, DUH!!!! (How sad for Edward as the "third party"!!!!)
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Permalink Reply by Vanquish on -
Thanks for the explanation, Lestat! You got it just right. And thanks for the compliment Connie! You are always so animated with your posts, haha!
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Permalink Reply by Tami on -
Great to have yo back Vanquish!
Here is the first thing I thought was funny:
***Carnivores were most definitely preferable, but it was hardly practical to keep a pack of Grizzly Bears on the farm.
Then this next part I like because you have Esme having to get over her 'shock' of drinking blood and then you show Edward being now unsure of where he fits in their lives:
***Once her thirst was quenched, and she had gotten past the initial shock of what she had just done, Carlisle asked her to accompany us to the house so that he may explain everything to her. She agreed, her thoughts indicating that she was happy to simply be in his presence. As the three of us returned to the house, I hung behind them a bit, feeling unsure of my place.
I like this next part because it shows Esme as a strong person to leave a brutal situation:
***“I wanted so much to have a family of my own, but I couldn’t bear to see my children treated the same way he had treated me.” She shivered and I winced as she remembered one particularly bad encounter with her husband. The encounter that had made up her mind to leave him.
The entire last paragraph was very profound. Here you very eloquently state how Edward must have been feeling when Esme came into their 'family':
***I thought for a long time about what Esme’s arrival would mean. Carlisle had never mentioned her to me before - for reasons I could understand - and I had never even given a thought to the expansion of our little “family”. I felt like the odd man out. Not that I ever really felt as if I belonged in this life, but this was even worse. It was not that I did not like Esme. I could tell that she was a genuinely kind and selfless woman, but this would completely change Carlisle’s and my dynamic. Two people in love with a third, rather depressed stick-in-the-mud trailing along behind them. Ahhh, this was going to be a very long eternity.
Simply beautiful...
Thanks for a great chapter and hope you keep getting to feeling better!
Tami -
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Permalink Reply by Vanquish on
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Thanks Tami!! That means a lot to me, and it was nice to hear certain passages that you especially liked! I am so glad you all like this story!
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Permalink Reply by ella jade on -
a very long eternity indeed!
VANQUISH! I MISSED YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
you really are doing a very good job in capturing Edward's voice. i love it.
this is sad. but i love it.
it helps understand more about Carlisle and Esme.
can't wait for more! i hope your cured. =p -
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Permalink Reply by Jo on -
OMG i was so excited when I saw that you had wrote more. It was amazing as all of your writing. Please post more soon. I feel so bad for Esme, but i guess things to work out in the long run.
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Permalink Reply by Twilightfever on -
I glad you posted and that your feeling better. Great chapter feel bad for Edward though now feeling like a third wheel. : (
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Permalink Reply by Erica on -
I was so glad to see your email, Vanquish! I've missed your posts!
I really loved this one - the beginning of Edward's life as a third, then fifth, then seventh wheel... I could really feel his sadness, his isolation.
Excellent job! -
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Permalink Reply by Michele on -
Beautiful yet again. I love seeing your interpretation of their story. Poor Edward, already thinking of himself as a third wheel.
I'm sorry to hear you were under the weather. Hope you're feeling better.
Looking forward to more! -
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Permalink Reply by liesss on -
wowww that was such a good chapter!
its deffinatly been worth the wait!
i was reading some of your earlier chapters, and i realised that youve actually done alot of research for this story!
i came across afew interviews with stephanie meyer.. and originally i thought you had made a few things up just to fill in the gaps.. but you hadnt! that makes me even more impressed and amazed at how fantastic you are! -
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Permalink Reply by Jessica Marie on -
I was brought to this particular fanfic by another; Actors Hooked on Fan Fiction, by Erica. I loved her stories and thought that since she was referencing your story in one of hers it would be worthwhile. I was right. Your story is absolutely wonderful. You have an amazing writing ability and a true connection to Edward's character. Too often I start a fanfic and get disgruntled because I could never see the characters doing the things they were. You not only stayed true to Edward, you also write incredibly. I am thoroughly impressed and anxiously awaiting the next installment. Thank you for sharing your talent.
PS. Your other story, The Wedding, was also astounding. ^.^ I look forward to see what you write next. -
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