Bloodhearts

Chapter eleven: Backwards.

A tired and worn out Jack opens the door. He narrows his eyes at the sight of us. 

Cory moves to say something, but Jack's eyes suddenly go wide and he hauls us inside, before Cory gets to say anything. Jack makes sure to lock the door and close the blinds before turning to look at us properly. I make sure to stay in the background.

"What on earth are you doing here?!" he demands trying to be stern, but worry floods his voice instead. "Don't you know the General is looking for you?"

"There's something we have to do," Cory answers. I'm sure he's aware of the gun in his father's back pocket just like I am. He keeps it there for protection. And he knows how to use it. 

Jack looks all of us over and does a double take when he sees me. His eyes narrow again as he tries to determine what he's seeing. His hand lands on his gun and his eyes turn hard. 

"What is going on, Cory?" he questions. "Who is this?" Jack points the gun at my head, ready to defend himself. But like everybody else, Jack is too curious to see if I really am what he thinks I am.

I step forward and let the hood fall. 

At this point Jack's eyes are wide enough to pop out of his head. Pinch him and he would scream. 

"James?" he mumbles and tries to get a hold of himself and we give him the time to process. The gun goes down when he looks up at us and he's frowning. "So it's true. They found you. But you can't be here!"

"We know Spencer told General Alden that James is infected," Cory begins, but his father interrupts him with a panicked expression. The gun is still corked.

"He's dead, Cory. Look at him," Jack points out and I do everything I can to look alive and human. "The dead doesn't belong here."

"No, dad. He's not - he's getting better. Sadie has proof. She's been examining him throughout the last week."

"It's true, sir," Sadie says encouragingly.

Jack doesn't look convinced. Suspicion is written all over his face. Sadie tries to explain her findings and how I'm showing signs of aliveness. We leave out the fact that I seem to be getting weaker at the moment. 

Jack doesn't put his gun down. "Even if his heart still beats, he's one of them."

Sadie lowers her head a little. "Mr. McDean, we may not know where this leads," she says. "But it seems like he's changing, like he's becoming more alive with every single day that passes."

Jack doesn't look convinced. "Bullshit," he says.

"He's not a lost cause!" Cory yells. The vein in his neck is pulsing and I know he's losing it. "Why do you think he's here with us? Because he wants to change, because he is changing! Why are you choosing not to see that? How can you pretend you can't see how different he is?" 

Cory wants to take a step forward, but I put my hand on his shoulder, silently telling him to let me handle this. Jack's face drains of color. I can't tell if this makes him want to kill me or if he's simply scared shitless.

"Don't h-have to trust me," I tell him and he actually flinches when hearing my voice. "T-trust Cory. W-want to show we c-can be s-saved." 

We try to explain it all to him. Meanwhile he hardly speaks, but when we finish, he gets up and puts his gun on the table. Without a word he goes into the kitchen and brings out two packages of crackers, some cereal, and some water from his tank.

His eyes follow me. He needs to make sure that I'm not an imposter. He does not say anything else. Only stares. Sadie examines me again, this time not hiding her worry from Cory and myself. Jack comes over to watch.