Chapter 50

Roman arrives back at the house while Hilton and Bill are still there. He sits down and an awkward silence falls on of them. Alice breaks the silence and asks where Roman had gone. He glances over at Hilton before telling them that he had gone to visit Phillip's apartment, and stipulates that he's gone into hiding. Bill asks Hilton if he still doesn't believe him and he doesn't understand why he wants him to believe him so badly. Hilton thanks Roman for saving him, and Roman simply nods. The awkward silence gets unbearable and Alice breaks it again. She tells the 2 men that since they are all her ex-boyfriends they should get along. She turns to Roman and tells him since he's her most recent ex-boyfriend she likes him that most and the other 2 should stop treating him like a monster. Alice notices that Bill is leaning on Hilton and tells him that he has Jacqueline and should quell any romantic feeling he has for Hilton and this makes the two men spring apart.

Bill chastises Alice for making a joke at a time like this. She tells them that she's not worried because Roman has promised to save Jacqueline already. Hilton tells them that the abductors will probably call the next day to give them instructions and he will need Roman's help. Roman tells him he'll help him as much as he can. Alice is more scared of how Jacqueline is feeling, and is certain she's scared.

Phillip shows up with wine and set the table in front of Jacqueline before removing her blindfold and untying her. He added that she doesn't look surprised to see him. Jacqueline tells him that since she figured out his secret it wasn't hard to guess that he was behind it. Phillip tells her that he's always liked her arrogant attitude. She questions him as to why he has comes, and he promises to tell her after they have a drink. So she gulps down the glass of wine. Phillip explains that the following day he will be getting the ransom and they won't be seeing each other anymore. Since they had a relationship he felt like he needed to say goodbye. He had planned everything differently, and how he would sacrifice himself to save her before taking the money with him to his new life. Sadly her friends discovered his secret and now he needs to change plans.

He reveals to her that he is uncertain if it's because he's getting older or because he's gotten so use to his current life, but not being with people leaves him feeling lonely. He tells her that he's used many names over the years, that he's forgotten most of them. He reveals that the one that he can still remember because he's used it the most since his mother gave it to him more than 100 years ago is Lucas.

Alice asks Roman if he remembers everything. He admits that he does, and it's not pleasant it's better that he remembers rather than forget. Alice asks if Lucas was a bad kid growing up, and he admits that he wasn't. He tells her how he gave the photo of Lucas and his mother to his mother who asked him a favour. She asks Roman to take care of Lucas after she dies. shortly there after she dies and they morn.

As he places the photo of the son and mother pair in a box, with his jade plaque, Lucas storms in and crashes to the ground with a sever knife wound to his abdomen. Lucas mother's words replay in his ears as he picks up a glass of water. He bites his tongue and drops some blood into the water before feeding it to Lucas. Lucad freaks out when he looks down and he is completely healed, and asks him what type of monster he is. Roman assures him that soon he will be leaving so he must remember to live

Roman, said that he would have made a different decision had he known that it would doom him to show pity to the boy. A while later Boss nick, the man who ran the store, comes to see Roman to tell him that Lucas hasn't shown up for work in a while and if he doesn't show up the following day he will have to look for a replacement. He also said to Roman that there are rumors that Lucas has been returning home drunk almost every night. Roman goes looking for the boy because he still cares, and finds him drunk outside a bar.

Roman confronts Lucas and asks him when did he become a drunk, Lucas lashes out at him telling him it's none of his business. Roman pushes him, and then kicks him, while telling him that he didn't save his life so he can ruin it. Lucas cries to him and tells him that he believed him when he said there was nothing they could do to save his mother, but obviously there was. Roman tells him that he has his own principles to adhere to, like not messing with nature. Lucas blames it on the fact that he can't die, and Roman tells him that it's not always a good thing.

Lucas starts begging Roman to turn him into the same thing that he is. He tells him that he will do anything he says just to be like him, and be able to live forever. Roman asks him what would he do if he asks him to kill someone. After a short pause Lucas says that he will do it. Roman pushes him to the ground and tells him that he can't believe that would be his answer. He then tells him to leave his sights because if he sees him again he will kill him. After 100 years of living with humans that the greed of a human's heart is still a sharp knife for him, and he really must learn to hide.

After an unspecified amount of time, a worker from the shop comes in search of Roman telling him that Lucas has turned crazy. He was muttering the night before say how he could bring his mother back and dug up her grave, and brought it to the docks. Roman runs to the doctor and when he finds Lucas he asks him where his mother's remains are. He points to in a cold storage and then lock him in there. Again with the internal monologue, that before he notices, Lucas heart was consumed with with desire. After a while Lucas comes in to talk with Roman. He said that he should be surprised that he knows his weakness but he tells him that he told him himself. He always wanted to take Roman to see the snow in his hometown but Roman would never go because he was scared of the cold. Lucas told him not to blame him after his death because he brought it on himself, and then he cuts his throat.

Alice was shocked that Lucas returned Roman's kindness by slitting his throat and said that he shouldn't have saved him. Roman tells her that the Lucas that he first met, the Lucas that slit his throat, and the Lucas that she knows are all different people. Roman tells her that by living a certain way, changes who you are as a person. Alice agrees with him because had they not met Roman would still be a dormant body, and had he not fallen in love with her he would have left already. Roman reminds her that he has been lying in a coffin for years and he doesn't knows what Lucas has been up to.

Lucas asks if Jacqueline isn't curious about his statement. He tells her that he's not there to hurt her, just to talk, so she can ask whatever questions she wants. Jacqueline pours herself another glass of wine before chugging it. She asks if he has really been alive for 100 years. He confirms that he had, but he said that it's no wonder that she's confused since Alice never told her that her boyfriend has been alive for over 500. Jacqueline ask if they will never grow old, he shakes his head and tells her that Roman won't because he's selfish and narrow minded person so he won't share the ability. Lucas tells her that he drains Roman's blood 100 years ago and has been using it to stay young while Roman has been passed around museums. He said that the blood should have lasted him for 200 years but lately he's been needing it more and more. If he doesn't take the blood right away be starts reverting back into an old man, and there are no symptoms before the occurrence. He's been running out, so he wanted to get Roman out of storage to see if he could figure something out. He hadn't planned on his transport vehicle crashing into her unlucky girlfriend and reviving him. Jacqueline warns him that Alice is so unlucky that it throws people off guard a lot of the time.

Jacqueline admits that she doesn't understand something, if Lucas has lived such a long important life, Roman's blood is losing it's effectiveness, then it might be God's way of warning him to stop. She admits that if she was him at this point she would just let it go. He tells her that someone born with a silver spoon in her mouth wouldn't understand. He asks her why did she get born with everything given to her while other children have to starve. He then asks why Roman gets to live while he has to die. Lucas tells her that his life has been hard trying to stay in the shadows living like a rat. She reminds him that he chose that life. She gets up and Lucas moves and she tells him to calm down because it's not like she can hurt him.



She goes to get her purse and pulls out a deck of Tarot cards. She asks him if she could read his fortune. He tells her that he doesn't believe in fortunes, he only believes in himself. She tells him that it couldn't hurt, so he picks a card and tells her to take as much time as she likes to read it, before he leave. He tells her goodbye and it was a pleasure to meet her. She turns over the card and couldn't tell what the card was, it almost looked like birth but sometimes those cards can be misleading.

Alice gets a call from Jacqueline's mother asking her for some company the next day. Roman tells her to go and keep her company. Alice tells Roman that she'll leave the next day to him to get Jacqueline's back, and she's going to bed. As she gets to the door she stops and calls to him. She tells him that she'll keep that bedroom for him forever and the goes inside.

Hilton's team is in place when Alice father gets the call. The abductor tells him to get into his car and drive and he will call him again later. The call was over to quickly be traced. They prepare to follow Jacqueline's father, his car, as well has his clothing had trackers being placed in them. They leave while Alice is taking care of Jacqueline's mother.

Right as Hilton gets out of the house Bill tells him that he doesn't wasn't to go with him, and he tells him absolutely not because he's not trained. Bill grabs him by his arm and gives him that look that tells Hilton he's going, and he caves telling him he can go in the communication van. The team goes out, and everyone follows the car, the police on the ground and Roman from the rooftops.

Jacqueline's mother thanks Alice for being with her, and she tells her not to worry about it. Jacqueline's mother tells her that she'll go and get Alice a glass of water, While she walks away she looks and Alice sadly sense she's about to do something bad.

Jacqueline gets directed to go to an abandoned storefront and change clothes, which he did and when he switched clothes he remembered to take the tracker. Jacqueline's father's van suddenly turns left and speeds up, and their suddenly worried that they lose him since the car get outside of their receiving range. When they finally turn they find that the van had stopped moving.

Bill tells Hilton that he believes they were tricked and Hilton stops the car abruptly. He tells the communication van to track the tracker under the name monster in the woods. He also instructs someone to send someone to check the store where Jacqueline's father entered, and is just coming to after being knocked out. They speed up and stop the truck to find another driver who turns out just be a hired driver.

The driver from the van arrives and his boss tells him that he did a good job, and now they didn't have to trade the hostage for the money. They tell them to check the money when the car door suddenly closes. They are all confused and don't understand what happened. Roman calls them from behind next to Jacqueline. He proceeds to beat them up nicely.

The communication van tells them that Monster in the forest tracking had stopped moving, and he tells them that that's where the abductors are going to be.

When Roman comes back after beating up the bad guys, she hands him back her phone telling him that she called her mom and told her that she is fine. Alice was in the bathroom so she couldn't talk with her. Roman said that he doesn't seem surprised and asked if Alice had told her. Jacqueline tells him that it wasn't Alice but actually Phillip. She believes that he didn't think that she would survive so he told her everything. She also added that after hearing his story that she can live without doubts. Jacqueline believes that Alice would bug him until he saved her. Roman agrees that Alice is really nice to her friends. Jacqueline asks Roman that if he's lived for 500 years how can he put up with Alice nonsense. This simply triggers Roman into thinking about all the times that he had with Alice , and Jacqueline asks if he has duct tape at home.