Thanks so much for the reviews! Here's the long-awaited chapter that I really hope you like, most of the dialogue is from Twilight.



1. New World


MY MOTHER WALKED WITH ME TO THE OUTER WALLS OF THE SANCTUARY. The place that served as my home ever since I was born.

The sanctuary held only one climate -- spring. Always sunny weather, green grass and wildflowers with a crystal clear blue sky. This was what I was accustomed to.

I was wearing my favorite shirt -- sleeveless, white eyelet lace with a carry-on item, a simple parka.

The entrance (and exit) of the sanctuary opened up to a small town called Forks within the state of Washington. It exists under a near-constant cover of clouds and is the rainiest place in all of the United States of America. It was in this town that my father, Charlie Swan, was captivated by the most unique being on the planet -- my mother, Renee. And by 'unique' I mean she was one of the last remaining angels left.

Angels are a sacred race that have lived on this world since the dawn of time, of course, that's what Renee told me. We're special beings that are now becoming extinct. The last of our kind were hunted down long ago by the fallen angels -- the good that have went bad, those with black wings of death.

There monsters in human form, they have no souls, cold black eyes with absolutely no life in them, and they are said to resemble . . . well, almost like zombies.

Except without the eating-your-brains and creepy skin peeling part.

After Renee found out she was the last angel, she gave up her angelic powers to make a sanctuary to house me and herself away from harm.

But that also meant leaving the rest of the world behind, along with Charlie. I was always awed by her selfless act . . . how she gave up so much, and then raising me too.

"Bella," my mom said to me -- the last of a thousand times -- before we reached our destination. "You don't have to do this."
My mom looks like me, except with short hair and laugh lines. I felt a spasm of panic as I stared at her wide, childlike eyes. How could I leave my loving, erratic, hare-brained mother to fend for herself? Of course she had plenty to do here in the sanctuary, what with it made to fit an angel in every way, but still . . .

"I want to go," I told her, and I knew she knew it. She's known for years now of my yearning for the real world. Especially after reading so many novels, making me want to live in their world even more . . .

"Tell Charlie I said hi." And so much more, judging by her longing look.

"I will."

"I'll see you soon," she insisted. "You can come home whenever you want -- I'll come right back as soon as you need me."

"Don't worry about me," I urged. "It'll be great. I love you, Mom."

She hugged me tightly for a minute as we stood before the grand entrance, and then I went through it, and she was gone.

Charlie was waiting for me on the other side.

He gave me an awkward, one-armed hug since it's been a few years since we've seen each other. I've only been outside the sanctuary twice in my life.

The first was when I was born, and the other was when I was only fourteen years old; I bonded with Charlie faster than I thought I would. We had a lot in common, I got to spend the whole summer with him, learning some of the things of the world.

"It's good to see you, Bells," he said, taking my very few bags as we walked to his police cruiser. "You've grown, how's Renee?" he asked, trying to be subtle but I could tell he missed mom as much as she missed him.

"Mom's fine. It's good to see you, too, Dad." I wasn't allowed to call him Charlie to his face.

I shuddered once when we reached the car. Nothing attracted attention more than a cop with red and blue lights in traffic. Charlie was the Police Chief to the good people of Forks.

Once we were strapped in, he drove to the small white house I stayed in a couple of years ago.

"I bought you something," he spoke casually as we neared the house. "A little homecoming present."

"Ch-Dad, you know I don't like presents." I protested.

He cracked a smile. "Well, I have a feeling you're going to like this one."

And he turned down the familiar street and I saw a second vehicle sitting in the Swans' residence driveway.

It was a very old Chevy truck with a faded red color, with big, rounded fenders and a bulbous cab. To my intense surprise, I loved it. I didn't know if it would run, but I could see myself in it. Plus, it was one of those solid iron affairs that never gets damaged -- the kind you see at the scene of an accident, pain unscratched, surrounded by the pieces of the foreign car it had destroyed.

"Wow, Dad, I love it! Thanks!" I told him graciously, knowing my day tomorrow would be less dreadful now.

"I'm glad you like it," Charlie said gruffly, embarrassed by my thanks.

It took only one trip to get all my stuff upstairs. I got the west bedroom that faced out over the front yard. The room was familiar; it had been belonged to me since I was born. The newest items were the bed and an old computer. The rocking chair from my baby days was still in the corner.

One of the best things about Charlie is he doesn't hover, a near impossible feat for my mother. I always wondered how they fell in love . . . opposites as they were.

"An invisible tie Bella . . ." My mother tried explaining. "Something so strong that it brings two people together, something very crucial to us angels, and something precious to humans. It's finding your other half, your soulmate, you'll understand someday Bella."

I gazed out my bedroom window as I remembered Renee's words . . . And how much of a connection she has with Charlie.

She has such high hopes for me, hoping I'll find my 'soulmate' . . . and further the line of angels. You see, no matter what, the pure blood of an angel is so strong that it will always make the offspring have more angel within them.

Their were only a handful of pure-blooded angels left. But now only Renee and I were left. Pure-blooded angels held more . . . gifts than average angels, or any being for that matter.

Abilities to communicate with everything living around them . . . to heal the impossible, to perform miracles beyond human capability, and so much more that I don't even understand yet. And it was all through the blood . . .



So there you have it! Like it? Hate it? Plz review!!!:D