An avid hunter from a young age, it was not uncommon for James to go missing for months and sometimes even a year at a time on extensive hunting trips all over the North American continent. This may have been why no one really noticed when he didn't come back from a hunting trip in Alaska around 2001.

It had started out the way all his other trips had. He got settled in at the cabin he was renting, browsed the local bars, and bragged about his previous exploits to any and all that would listen to him. This time, he made it a point to put extra emphasis on how talented he was at hunting at night, how he had bagged many a deer, elk, and even moose at impressive yards in almost pitch-black conditions. He wanted everyone to know that he would not be shying away from hunting big game, even with the 30 days of darkness quickly coming up on the small town. If he had noticed the woman in the back of the bar paying such close attention to his exaggerations and stories, he might have changed his mind and actually made it home.

After 29 days of battling for his life, it seemed that his bragging in the bar had some truth to it after all. He had managed to outmaneuver and outrun the beast that had been pursuing him the moment the sun set, even managing to score quite a few pointless hits with his trusty rifle. He was only 5 miles from the town and the sun was set to rise in the next 24 hours. With enough ammunition left slow the monster down until he either made it to town or the sun rose, all he could think about was celebrating his survival with copious amounts of alcohol and warm food in the morning. But, just outside the town, the creature caught up with him for the final time. As it barreled towards him through the snow, he threw up his rifle and aimed for the head like he had learned to do and pulled the trigger. The sound of the firing pin clicking uselessly against a frozen shell would be etched into his memory for the rest of eternity.

Almost 20 years later, a completely different man stepped off the midnight train and out into the neon-lit sky of New York. His reasons for returning had not entirely been his own, his sire having her own goals for him in mind. Glancing down at the slip of aged paper in his hand and gingerly rubbing his shoulder, he made his way towards the place he once called home.