Tomorrow's Dead: The Julia Poe Vampire Chronicles, page 5
“Oh my. Forgive me, ambassador. I almost destroyed the mariachi-slash-slacker outfit that would save the City of Angels today,” grinned Joseph. “By the way, Kaleb thinks I ought to come with you just in case the Tunics hold you down, puncture your head, and spit blood in your brain to make you an instant vampire.”
“They wouldn’t dare because if I do turn vamp, I’d annihilate them all. Plus I’d probably have awesome dead powers like flight, superhearing, and sun-immunity for starters.”
“You’ve thought about this before, haven’t you?”
“Not to be conceited, but yes,” said Poe in all seriousness. “I’m such a fear-inducing human, so they say, that naturally I’d have more super abilities than even Sainvire.”
Morales sat down next to Poe and placed Piper on her lap. He didn’t know whether his friend was pulling his leg. Poe had never been known for her sense of humor.
“You think so? In my professional opinion you’d be a Picasso vampire mess.”
Poe gave him an ugly face and took a deep breath. She said crossly with a half-smile, “Maybe. But I did sound like a dick. Most likely I’d end up being a halfdead or something.”
“Listen to our Poe, Joe,” said Morales. “She can keep her trigger-finger off her gun and join in a joke. Our girl’s growing up.”
Poe pursed her lips and concentrated on the heavy child on her lap. She decided to change the subject. “She kinda looks like Megan because of the red hair, but the resemblance stops at that. This kid looks like a mixture of the two of you. Weird looking.”
Both Joseph and Morales pinched her sides until her eyes watered. “Okay, okay. I was just kidding. She’s a good looking baby. My goddaughter. The baby I’m supposed to protect. Sorry I haven’t been around, Piper.”
“But bless it, now you’re here,” said Morales. His teeth were brighter than she’d remembered. The handsome ex-realtor turned bombmaker, mechanic, and doctor draped his arm about her shoulders.
“For two months.”
“That’s something at least.”
Poe didn’t take up Joseph’s offer to accompany her. She was strapped with two .45 Colts in her shoulder holster, wrist knives which she could still throw with precision, and a machete slung on her waist. She was feeling pretty confident like a pirate. She vowed to clean the mess for Percy, Piper, and especially Sainvire so he could finally abscond with her.
A green Jeep Wrangler pulled up in front of the well guarded hotel where Poe stood waiting in her dark coat. She’d been watching day vamps concentrate on protecting the building from possible intruders. Penny was waiting patiently by her side. The day was grim and cold, and suddenly she lost her poise. A man with the boniest face she’d ever seen, almost like a Revenent, opened the back door for her. These Tunic vamps look really dead and horribly nasty to the eye. They must’ve been turned on their sick bed.
The car braked at the Alexandria Hotel which was ridiculously close to the Biltmore. Poe let herself out. The hotel, festooned with terra cotta griffins, had once been impressive, but time and abandonment gave the place a dank, blighted look. The driver escorted her to the bar on the ground floor that used to be known as the Down and Out. Inside were a bevy of sallow-faced vamps looking wearily at Poe. She sat at the bar and accepted a flat orange soda from an androgynous bartender. Like I’m gonna drink poison. As an extra courtesy, they placed a bowl of water for Penny.
Three ex-cattle and three vampires joined her at the bar counter. Apparently they knew of her for two vamps licked their lips like lizards, and one of them said, “You’re next, sweet thing.”
Like a dream, Poe watched as the vampires punctured holes in the humans’ skulls using primitive tools – a Phillips-head screwdriver, a siding scraper, and a ball point pen. The vampires who didn’t look too healthy themselves bit their tongues with their incisors that grew over an inch and spit their blood in the head holes they had formed. Poe wanted to throw up.
“You next, sexy?” said the bigger of the three vampires. “We need you in our group.”
“Fuck off,” said Poe. She stared at the emaciated ex-cattle writhing on the floor as they transmuted into vampires. “I’ll never become a vampire!” She turned her gaze at the interesting billiard tables and pinball machines.
As if the three vampires had one mind, they pinned Poe down where she sat and laughed. “We’ll take it into our own hands then,” said the vampire called Larry. The bartender held up his hand and said, “I want no part in this, man. Perla’s not going to be happy.”
“You snooze you lose,” said the vampire holding her left arm in a vise. Even with her JKD moves she was too entangled to move. I knew I should’ve sat in the booth! Penny tried biting ankles but the vampires didn’t seem to feel anything.
The third vampire not touching her person chose the siding scraper from the medieval set of tools. He was about to tap her skull with the bloody instrument when Poe went limp, limp enough that even the two vampires had a hard time holding her up. She tugged at her left arm, flicked her wrist knife, and aimed at the vampires’ thighs and kneecaps, harming all three of them enough to let her go. She got to her feet and slashed their faces like she was the wind herself. When she hurt one, she hurt them all the same way, slicing off noses, ears, and lacerating cheeks. Her captors covered their faces with their arms and begged for no more.
Perla was 15 minutes late. When she entered the Down and Out, she witnessed Poe’s wrath. The leader of the Tunics screamed her anger, stopping the vampires and Poe in their tracks. Only the soon-to-be-former-humans struggling on the filthy tile floor broke the silence.
“What’s the meaning of this?” she seethed.
“She started slashing us, ma’am,” said Larry. He held what was left of his nose.
“These three tried to turn me into a bloodsucker,” Poe said with viperous tongue.
“Get out!” said Perla. The three, including their spawn, left the bar. She turned to her friend. “I’m sorry, Poe. I was in the warehouse district rooting out a sadistic vampire called Syrus. He raped and mangled women for fun.
“Did you get him?”
“No.”
“Your den is disgusting. I shouldn’t have been asked to see you here.”
“My people are good. I’m sorry those three had minds of their own.”
“It’s good to have minds of your own. I think that’s what you’re forgetting. Are you commanding some kind of cult?”
“I’m not a cult leader, Poe.”
“Then you sure have gross people making poison Kool-Aid for you.” Despite her anger at nearly getting turned, Poe stood up and hugged her middle-aged friend who looked more like a soccer mom than a vampire with revenge on her mind. “Last time I saw you was in a trailer in Gilroy,” said Poe. “Maple faithfully dressed you in your favorite pajamas.” The vampire was in love with pajama patterns. “I picked you some apples.”
“Thanks, Poe, but I don’t remember since I was attacked by a vampire and I lost a year of my life.” Perla sounded bitter.
“Yeah. Sorry about that. At least our side won.”
Perla laughed. “Criminals and rapists are running around free. Leeches are protected by prison bars because Sainvire is too bleeding-heart to approve capital punishment. Blood sucking vampires still live their privileged lives. That’s not winning, Poe.”
“At least it’s better than before. The blood farms are gone. Kids are going to school. Vampires are only drinking Plasmacore. Things might not be perfect, but at least it’s improving. Give it time. It’s only been a year and a half.”
“You really are a cheerleader for Sainvire, aren’t you?” jeered Perla. “You haven’t been here. You don’t have any idea.”
Suddenly defensive, Poe shifted in her seat. “You’ve known me a long time, Perla. I don’t do anything lightly, so I don’t appreciate you calling me a cheerleader. You’re the one with an army of dumbass cheerleaders like the heftiest ex-cattle I’ve ever seen behind you.”
Perla turned her head to see Sally glaring at Poe. “Sally, go away.”
“She and one of your goons tried to off me. She probably starved dogs to eat me and my friends. I assume it was on your order.”
“I never wanted you hurt, Poe,” said Perla sincerely. “I just didn’t want you to leave the island. Sally and Bette went too far.”
“Yeah. You never know about bitter ex-cattle. You never know if they’re following your vengeful example or acting on their own. No matter. They’re your cheer squad, and whatever they do reflects on you.” Poe stared hard at Perla. “I love you, Perla. You and Maple taught me many things, and you’ve protected me from harm. I’ll always think of your wisdom and brainpower. You’re the goddess creator of Plasmacore. The vampire I see before me confuses me. As a scientist and preserver of life, I can hardly believe you’ve become the Gestapo, wanting to hunt down everyone for incineration. I won’t be a part of it.”
Perla looked whiter than her bloodless face. “Do not compare me to a Nazi, little girl! I only want to clean up this city and erase nightmares for the good people enslaved in their prime.”
“Like the Nazis.”
“If you say that again, Poe, I’ll—” Perla ran a hand through her short salt and pepper hair.
“You’ll what?”
“You’re family to me, Poe. I would never hurt you.”
Poe nodded. She knew Perla’s statement as truth. “What do you want from me?”
Perla held Poe’s calloused warm hand. “I want you to join us. We need someone charismatic like you.”
“You want to turn me into a vampire? Are you kidding? You want me to join these walking skeletons who tried to do away with me five minutes ago?”
“You’d be a potent undead, Poe. You’re the most powerful human I’ve ever met, and as a vampire you’ll be unstoppable. Have they told you about the San Diego undead? They want to crush our city because it’s inciting havoc in San Diego and other realms. San Francisco is also wary of us and won’t stand for a fledgling democracy. We need to unite our own people and defend ourselves against slavers.”
“Maybe you should start by giving everyone a second chance. Maybe that’ll unite the city.”
“How naive you are, Poe. It’s not easy to forgive criminals. We’ve got to crush them and start over with a clean slate. We need a trial.” She squeezed Poe’s hand a little too hard. Perla didn’t know her own vampiric strength. “You’d be a first-rate leader for the Tunics and a powerful dead.”
Poe glanced down at Penny whose tail had stopped wagging a long time ago. “I want to grow old and die a human death, Perla. I don’t want to turn for you or anyone so I can be a Downtown dictator.”
“So you’re siding with Sainvire?” asked Perla with disgust.
“Nope. I plan on doing research on my own, and I’ll see what improvements I can recommend at the next town meeting. I hear there’s a session in a few weeks.” Poe whistled to get her dog’s attention and stood up. “Don’t worry, Perla. I still think highly of you despite the fact that your girl Sally tried to kill me and torture poor dogs. I’ll have a fair analysis come next meeting. No need to call the driver. I’ll have a look around my old haunts on my own, thanks.”
***
Downtown was a difficult monster. The streets were clean and orderly, traffic flowed smoothly, and crews were slowly restoring damaged buildings like Sainvire’s old headquarters at the Los Angeles Central Library, which had been bombed four years back. Julia Poe walked Spring Street and eyed the lofts that were now occupied by ex-cattle awake from a decade-long stupor. Those staring from the windows waved timidly at her and Penny. Apparently her wanted poster face that had been plastered all over the city turned her into one of the most recognizable faces on planet Earth.
Poe waved back, her cheeks dimpling. She beckoned some people to come down to the street and speak to her.
“How do you like your place?” she asked a toothless woman of uncertain age. “I like it. It’s so spacious. I feel like I’m ripping somebody off.”
Poe smiled. “Whatever luxury you get, you deserve. How can the city help you more?”
“T-Doc’s been training some stronger ex-cattle and vamps to give Shiatsu massage. I get worked on twice a week. I think it’s the best thing to come out of this tragedy, and I believe Dr. Morales is a fine soul.”
“He’s got vision,” piped a 40ish man with cataract eyes. “He cures the body and heals the spirit. Getting a massage, even from a trained vampire, is alright by me. It’s their turn to kiss our butts.”
Most of the people had positive things to say about Morales and his holistic approach to health. T-Doc had taken up psychological counseling and had been training volunteers to help traumatized humans. Some despised all vampires with the exception of Sainvire and Joseph. Their presence provided confidence and protection to the unhinged.
“What about the Tunics?” Poe asked a bartender at a local bar. Folks had begun brewing beer and distilling spirits again. “What’s the word?”
“Well, Ms. Poe, that’s a conundrum of a question,” said the man who resembled Mr. Burns from The Simpsons as he wiped the bar.
“Please call me Poe or Julia,” she said. Poe pretended to take a sip of beer. She hated the taste of alcohol. “What’s the conundrum?”
“We like vampires who want the human population to bounce back, the ones who helped free us. The Tunics don’t fit. They hate vampires, but they want to be vampires, so-called knightly vampires. They want revenge, and they want to protect humans. They sound like lunatics. Imagine turning yourself into a vampire just to have power for vengeance or to restore your weak body. Walking skeletons protecting my fat ass does something to my liver.”
“Yeah, but they swear to protect humans first,” said a pretty woman who had aged before her time. “San Diego vamps are after us and are bent to destroy Downtown. Then there’s San Francisco. We need the Tunics.” Only Maple had mentioned the San Diego threat to Poe. She was surprised the imminent danger was common knowledge. Apparently a kamikaze pilot from San Diego had flown a Cessna filled with explosives with the aim to destroy the Downtown hub. Fortunately an informant notified Joseph, and he alerted Sainvire. Flying dead intercepted the aircraft, directed it east toward San Bernardino, and let it exact its damage there.
Poe went to two more human pubs and three vampire bars and was surprised at the welcome she received. She’d never spoken to so many people and vampires in all her life.
“Of course we’re afraid of the Tunics,” a bearded OD said. “They look like the grave, and they’re paranoid. We harvested blood because that was our main food source. There’s nothing sexy about blood. It’s just food. If you ask most vampires they’d say they prefer to drink Plasmacore because it protects them from the sun. And our humanity never left some of us. We have eyes. We didn’t like to see human cattle connected to transfusion tubes.”
“Then why didn’t you do anything?” asked Poe who had always been curious about the lack of revolt from city vampires.
“We were afraid of the Council and the master vampires we worked under. Simple as that. If you ask questions, you lose your head.”
“So you’d do differently if the San Diego folks try to enslave the human race again?”
“With Sainvire at the helm, I’d back him up. But unfortunately we’re now considered Old Dead, and the Tunics want to off us.”
Leeches and Old Dead, thought Poe. What a dilemma.
Poe and Penny walked to City Hall where Michelle’s team imprisoned the human leeches. To her surprise, a large crowd had started to form, following Poe’s every move. She pumped some them with questions to get the lay of the land.
Tunic guards blocked her way into the 27-story white building. “I’m here to see the prisoners,” said Poe, already assuming a diplomatic role of sorts.
“I’m sorry, Ms. Poe, but I can’t let you in,” said a female vamp with an inordinate amount of facial hair.
“Who’s in charge?”
“We’re not supposed to let you in,” said the Tunic.
“That’s not what I asked,” said Poe. Someone from the crowd yelled, “The Tunics are in charge during the day and Sainvire’s people at night.”
Poe nodded and pushed her way inside the metal door. The hairy vamp tried to stop her, but Poe’s unique voice halted her. “You touch me, I’ll cut off your head. Now show me to the lock-up.”
The Tunic nodded to her male counterpart, and he beckoned Poe to follow him down the hall to the holding area. The prisoners looked ill fed and miserable. Medieval chains and wrist braces had been drilled on the walls. Fresh and old blood adorned the white cells. At least two prisoners hung just high enough for their toes to touch the ground by fetters from the ceiling. From what she saw, the leeches were roughed up during the day and patched up at night. Poe knew they were the dirtiest kind of human beings. They had raped, tortured, and only their consciences knew what else.
“Hiya, fellas,” said Poe cheerily. “I’m Julia Poe, and I’d like to know how you’re enjoying this establishment.
***
The crowd, people and vampires alike, stayed with Poe until she reached the Biltmore Hotel. She turned to the different factions of the Downtown community and said, “Nice to spend the afternoon with all of you. If you have any ideas about improving your city, let me or Sainvire know, alright?” When the hordes didn’t move from their positions, Poe’s nose twitched. She was tired of her entourage.
“Go home now and eat something,” she ordered. At once the crowd dispersed.
Poe heard clapping as she and her dog entered the building. Maclemar was leaning against a portico with his arms folded and a grin on his face. Sainvire stood next to him, trying not to smile but failing entirely. Several humans and vampires milled around the lobby area but Michelle was the first to shatter the silence with her whooping.
“Poe! One day and you’ve got a marching band behind you,” said the sexy femme fatale.
Poe motioned for Percy to come to her. She laid a loving hand on the girl’s shoulder. “Wanna have dinner with me? I’m super hungry.”
