Cadence's eyes widened as she listened to a firsthand opinion about the cause of the Irish Potato Famine. She had always had a keen interest in history, and now, listening to him describe it as an eye-witness was fascinating beyond description.
"One day, in 1846, my best friend Kian O'Braonain and I were returning from a trip to a neighboring village. In an attempt to find some food to take home to our wives, we came across a ghastly scene. A pair of Vampires had captured three little girls and were about to feed on them. The girls were screaming, clearly terrified at the sight of the monstrous beasts before them. Well, Kian and I couldn't simply stand by and watch, so we did our best to fight off the bloodsuckers. Just the act of rushing the Vampires was enough to make each of us begin the Transformation process. Unlike me, however, he was of Hunter stock. While we were not able to kill either of the Vampires, we did rescue the girls and took them safely home."
Cadence took a deep sigh of relief. "Oh, thank God," she whispered.
"They were killed the next day in retaliation," he added, and Cadence's face fell. "Well, I say killed. They were actually claimed by the Vampires. They appeared a few days later in their own village, Resurrected, thirsty, and unyielding in their quest for blood. So, by saving them, we actually damned them. "
Cadence slowly nodded her head. How could he possibly be angry at himself for attempting to save three little girls from the clutches of pure evil? Anyone with a conscience would have done the same.
"As you know, once the Transformation process had been set in motion, there is nothing one can do to stop it. Over the course of the next few months, Kian and I underwent the excruciating act of following our inner path to immortality, if you will. At first, we went on about our daily routine, ignoring the pain and struggling to maintain normalcy. We said nothing to our wives, though I suspected Aislyn knew. His wife, Shannon, seemed slightly more ignorant of the situation. And all the while, we kept one eye peeled for the Vampires that had gotten away. Though they would not be able to cause me any harm, they could certainly annihilate Kian if they caught him off guard and unarmed. It was enough trouble trying to farm diseased land and take care of our small families without living in fear of Vampires, but now we had a taste of how the rest of the villagers lived each day of their lives.
"It wasn't until I was almost completely Transformed that Kian approached me one morning with fear in his voice. His wife was acting strange. He couldn't quite explain it. She seemed ill. At first, he had thought, perhaps, she was pregnant. But then he feared she'd come down with some disease, possibly some illness caused by eating the rotten potatoes. I watched Shannon deteriorate, secretly thankful that Aislyn seemed to be herself. Then, one day I found my own wife doubled over in the garden. Terrified that she had also taken ill, I begged her to go to bed at once while I fetched the medicine woman from the village. She laughed at me. She wasn't sick, she explained..."
"She was pregnant?" Cadence asked, her eyes wide, her hands covering her mouth even as the words spilled out.
Aaron nodded, the faraway look clouding his eyes even more so. It took him a moment and a few deep breaths before he continued. "But Shannon wasn't pregnant. In fact, it soon became quite evident exactly what was ailing Shannon. One night, Kian caught her sneaking back in at around 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning, wiping a red liquid from her mouth. He knew then what had to be done."
Another audible gasp escaped Cadence's lips as she shifted on the sofa.
"Except, he couldn't do it himself. How could he? He begged me to do it for him, knowing that, as long as he continued to let Shannon feed off of the villagers, our friends and neighbors, he could never truly call himself a Vampire Hunter. Of course, I declined. I'd never destroyed anything, never taken a life. How could I kill my best friend's wife? After days of endless pleading, I finally gave in. He procured a silver-tipped wooden stake from somewhere; I never asked where it came from, and one evening as she slept, I snuck into their bedroom and shoved the stake into her heart. She let out a gut-wrenching scream, the first Vampire yell I'd ever heard, and then faded away to a pile of ashes. I turned to face Kian who was standing at the door, and with tears in his eyes, he told me to get out. I was confused at first, but it didn't take me long to understand. Taking the stake, I left, knowing we would never speak again."
"Oh my gosh," Cadence whispered. "He never forgave you for killing his wife? Even though he'd asked you to?"
Aaron simply nodded, and from his silence, Cadence could tell there was more to the story. After another long pause, he continued. "It was another week or so before I began to realize that Aislyn was acting peculiar..."
"No!" Cadence gasped.
"I was in denial at first, of course. She grew more and more ill with each passing day, it seemed. Her skin paled, she weakened. It took more and more effort for her to even get out of bed each day until she finally stopped getting up. I checked everywhere for marks--I couldn't find anything. No bite marks on her neck, no scratches that I could find anywhere. I continued to use that as an excuse--a reason why she couldn't possibly be turning. I called in the medicine woman from the village. She had no explanation, so I called in another and another. Anyone who might possibly tell me what was wrong or find a cure, I sought them out. No one could tell me anything. Then, one day, I walked in to find her completely lifeless. I was devastated. I went outside and screamed at God, cursing His name, wishing it had been me instead. Not only had He taken my wife, but our unborn child as well. But then, a few hours into my emotional outburst, He seemed to hear me and answer my prayers. Hearing a noise from the house, I turned to see my pregnant wife standing in the doorway, a smile on her face. She seemed to have returned from the dead.”
