I had never imagined the path to damnation to be easy. Nor did I expect the catalyst for my path to be so beautiful. However, the journey was every bit as painful as I had expected, and what I had become, caused terror in the heart that no longer beat in my chest.

The pain was gone. I slowly opened my eyes, expecting to find Victoria with me. When I realized I was alone, I laughed mockingly to myself. Of course she was gone. Why did I think I was anyone special to her? I rolled off the bed I was laying in, and walked to a mirror. I studied the reflection that stared back at me. Though I knew I was looking at my face, I felt as if I was staring at a stranger. My hair was still the same dark brown, however my eyes were now a deep crimson instead of blue, and the skin of my chest was pale and hard. I knew people found me attractive. I was not vain, yet I knew people would now find me beautiful. I snorted at the thought because being beautiful seemed somehow silly. I walked back to the bed and laid down again. I didn't know what I should be doing. I really did expect Victoria to be here to explain things to me. I hated to admit it, even to myself, but I was terrified of what I had become. Hoping she would come back for me, I decided to gather my thoughts together and try to remember anything she might have said to explain her departure.

Damn! It was cold! I quickly walked down the street, rubbing my hands together to warm them. There was an open mic night at the O'Connelly's, and I was going to meet my friends there. As I walked, I noticed I was approaching 2 teenage girls who were giving me the "eye" and flashing smiles their mothers' would definitely disapprove of.

"Hi!" they said in unison.

I politely nodded and said "Hello".

"Hey, where are you going?" one of them asked.

I stopped, smiled, and told them I was going to meet with some friends. By the look in their eyes, it was obvious that they wanted an invitation to tag along. They were pretty girls, however, they were definitely jail bait for my friends and I since we were all 23.

"Well, you two have a good night" I said and I rushed off before they could reply.

I was almost at O'Connelly's when another feminine voice called out to me.

"Hey there handsome"

I turned towards the voice, and I stopped walking. The woman had wild red hair, and in the darkness her eyes appeared black. She had an aura of intrigue about her that I immediately found attractive.

"Hi", I replied, lamely.

"You look like you could use some company"

The line was cheesy. The kind of thing a prostitute might say. However, she did not look like a prostitute, and for some reason, being in her company seemed much more entertaining than hanging out with my friends at O'Connelly's.

She stood in an alley, the streetlight only illuminating half of her profile. She was such a small thing compared to me, though all women, and most men actually, were small compared to my 6 foot 5 inch, 250 pound frame. I walked over to where she stood, with an easy smile so as not to intimidate her with my size. I knew my smile would bring out my deep dimples, and usually the sight of my smile would immediately put people at ease.

"Sure, what did you have in mind?"

"Let go over to my place and have a little party."

We walked to a hotel that was far from the city lights. I didn't know why I was going with her. I never picked up strangers, not even at bars or clubs. It wasn't that I was hard up for a woman either. Women were always drawn to me physically and they enjoyed my down to earth humor, and the fact that I was more mature than other 23 year old guys. Also, the women I was involved with intimately were women that I had known for at least a few days. However, there was just something about this woman that I found irresistible. She had a room at the hotel and she invited me in. I took a seat on the end of the bed, looking at her expectantly. She pursed her lips as if she was not sure what she should do next.

"What's your name?" I asked to break the ice.

"Victoria" She said, right before she attacked me.

Moving too fast for me to understand what was happening, she straddled me, and was ripping my jacket and shirt off. I realized she wasn't wearing any clothes and wondered how did she manage to undress herself without me noticing. My body responded quickly. I grabbed her hips, and I forced her body to grind against mine. I distantly felt the cold, hard, smoothness of her skin. I moved my head to try to capture her lips, but she dodged me. Instead, she leaned over me, pushing my shoulders back, so that I was lying down on the bed. I tried to roll over with her to reverse our positions, but she was a lot stronger than I thought she would be.

"Not yet. Don't you want to know who I am? What I want?" she murmured in my ear.

She wanted to talk? Right now? I could barely breathe and she wanted to talk?!

I sighed. "So, tell me. Who are you and what do you want?"

"Like I said, my name is Victoria. I'm in hurry to get back to Forks, so I can't explain everything to you right now. I need your help, but in order for you to be of any use to me I need you to be like me . . . a vampire."

Before I could register her words, she bit me hard on my neck. I was in such shock and pain that at first I just laid there. Then my survival instincts took over and I was using all of my strength to push her off me. As strong as I was, she was stronger. I was going to die. I felt my attempts at escape grow slower and slower, and my eyes drifted shut for what I thought was the last time.

I don't know how long I laid there on the bed in that hotel, but so far, Victoria had not returned. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Big mistake. I smelled sweat, urine, stale tobacco smoke, sex, and . . .blood. It was the blood that had me rushing out of the room to find its source. It was night but I found that I could see perfectly. In the darkness I located the source of the blood. It was a dog. I grimaced but the thirst soon became unbearable, and I attacked.

I sat on a fallen log somewhere deep in the woods that was located behind the motel. I stared off into space thinking about what I had done. Killing the dog and drinking its blood was bad enough. Killing the human man who was with the dog was unforgivable. I was a monster.

The revulsion I felt after killing the human was more than I could bear. I ran blindly into the woods without bothering to wait for Victoria to explain. I couldn't risk waiting in the hotel room. I didn't want to kill anymore innocent humans. However, the taste of the man's blood on my lips still lingered, and the craving for more was almost overwhelming. I don't know where I found the restraint to not hunt for more.

I must have sat for hours, but it could have been days. Time no longer meant anything to me. I wanted to go back to the hotel room to see if Victoria was looking for me, but the thought of being near humans deterred me. Yet, I couldn't stay where I sat. I supposed that eventually I was going to have to find a shirt since Victoria destroyed the one I was wearing. It wasn't a priority since I could not feel the cold anymore, but it didn't seem right running around the forest shirtless. Suddenly I recalled something Victoria had said right before she bit me. She mentioned something about being in a hurry to get back to Forks. I had never been to Forks, but I knew it was a small town about 140 miles south of Seattle. I felt better now that I knew where Victoria might be. I would go to Forks.