"What did you say?" Cadence asked, her head cocked to the side in confusion.
Aaron took another deep breath. "I said that Jack isn't dead. He's a Vampire, Cadence. Jack has gone through the Resurrection process."
Cadence stared down at her shoes, pondering what Aaron had just said. "I'm sorry," she said, looking back at him. "What? How is that possible? Jack died. He was sick. He was in the hospital. The doctors said. . ."
"The doctors didn't know, remember? They had no idea what was wrong with him. And nothing they tried worked. He was infected, Cadence. By Holland. And when his friends and family thought he was dead, he was just going through the Resurrection process. I know it's hard to understand, but you need to believe me." He had turned to face her, hoping he would see the sincerity in his face.
Cadence began to slowly shake her head. "Aaron, that's crazy. Holland didn't bite him. I was there; I would have known if she bit him."
"You're right," he agreed. "She didn't bite him. She stabbed him with her fingernail, a fingernail she had purposely infected with her DNA. And when that DNA got into his bloodstream, it began the Resurrection process. Cadence, the smaller the amount of DNA, the longer the Transformation takes."
Once again, Cadence attempted to comprehend what he was saying. "So you're saying that it wasn't a prank caller. It was Jack calling me. The real Jack. My Jack. And, it wasn't a form of temporary insanity when I thought I saw him at the service. It was really him--or at least whatever he is now. That's what I saw."
"Yes," he said, nodding his head. "It was Jack. You're not going crazy or being pranked. It was really him. Or what's left of him."
"What do you mean?" she asked, snapping her head around sharply.
"Well," Aaron began, "we don't know for sure, but we have a theory that, when a person is Resurrected as a Vampire, their soul actually passes on. A new soul takes their place, usually an evil or demonic one. Not all Vampires choose to go Rogue, but most of them do, unless they are constantly kept in line. So, it just makes sense that whatever makes them behave that way is some sort of new entity, not the former inhabitant of that body."
"But don't they have the same memories, the same interests? They are practically the same person, if you take away the propensity toward evil," Cadence said, looking for clarification.
"Yes, that's true," Aaron agreed with her. "But we aren't exactly sure if that's just the person's mind acting independently of the spirit, or if it's some sort of deceptive practice perpetrated by the new being."
Cadence was feeling both overwhelmed and confused. She took a moment to think about all of this new information and put some puzzle pieces together in her mind. After a few moments of reflection, she asked, "How long have you known about this?"
He could tell by her tone that she was growing increasingly upset. "Honestly…." he began.
She interrupted, "Honesty would be awesome."
Aaron paused for a moment, trying to keep in mind that she was in an emotional position and that her anger was not necessarily intended at him. Not yet anyway. "We had some suspicions since you mentioned he was acting odd at Drew's funeral. We couldn't be sure. I started receiving some reports from other Hunters and Guardians in the Lincoln area, saying they had noticed some Vampire-like behaviors from him. We didn't know for sure, however, until he was placed in the hospital with an abnormal blood infection. That's usually a pretty good indication."
"You've known for that long, and you're just now telling me?" Cadence asked, flabbergasted. "Why didn't you tell me before?"
Despite the overwhelming urge to tell her to calm down, Aaron kept his voice as even as possible, trying not to raise the frustration level of the conversation. "There were several reasons why I didn't tell you, Cadence. For one, we were in the middle of a hunt where you needed your full attention on the job. I also needed confirmation. I tend not to operate on hunches. Also, I was hopeful that Jack would turn himself in for training and tagging, and then, when you found out, it would not be under these circumstances. It would have probably been a joyous occasion, honestly."
"What circumstances?" she asked, her voice taking on an inquisitive tone, on top of the already frustrated and angry one she had been using.
"Cadence," Aaron said slowly and purposefully, "Jack has gone Rogue."
"What? No…."
"Listen, Cadence. He's been seen with another of Holland's creations, Giovani, a well-known Rogue, one Hunters have been pursuing for years. . .."
"Bullshit," Cadence interrupted, not believing anything he was saying. She knew in her heart that Jack was not capable of killing an innocent person."
"It's true. We know that he participated in an attack where seven people were killed, one the epileptic daughter of a known drug dealer who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Cadence. . ."
"I don't believe you!" she said standing. "Just because he was there doesn't mean that he killed anyone.”
"We know how Giovani works, Cadence. That wasn't the only incident either. He would have had to have eaten by now, and all of our victims--all of them--are on the Innocent List."
"All of them?"
"Yes!"
"Even the drug dealer?" Cadence asked, skeptically.
"His status had not been changed, not yet." He stood then, trying to get her to look at him, but she spun away.
"I don't believe it. Jack wouldn't do that. He wouldn't." Cadence could feel hot tears stinging the corners of her eyes.
A crunch in the snow in the clearing a hundred yards or so away from them caught her attention then. She felt a familiar sensation in her stomach, as if dragons were taking flight, and knew there was certainly a Vampire in their presence.
"Is that him?" she asked Aaron, finally looking into his eyes again.
"It is," he confirmed. "Cadence, you can talk to him. But you've got to be careful. You can't trust him."
