Tomorrow's Dead: The Julia Poe Vampire Chronicles, page 6
“I was waiting for you,” she said. Poe noticed the girl’s short pants and scratched her head. “Got any plans tomorrow, Percy?” The girl shook her head. “Tomorrow I’m taking you to the fashion district and we’ll get you some clothes, alright?”
“Alright, Poe. You with us, Michelle?”
“Can’t. I’m head of security now. I’ll get you a car, though.”
“Thanks, but I think I’m going to need a truck.”
“You serious?” asked a puzzled Michelle.
“Very. Read somewhere that clothes makes people feel better about themselves. Saw a lot of oversized clothes on really thin people today.”
Sainvire walked toward the three. “Can I talk to you before you head to the cafeteria?”
“Sure.” She turned to her friends, “Meet you guys there.” They passed Maclemar, and she frowned at his wink. They walked to the offices behind the halls. Separate bathroom aside, Sainvire’s office was one of the smallest and most private.
“You know what you’ve done, right?” he asked. He didn’t sit down, and Poe leaned on an antique redwood desk. She’d forgotten how tall the vampire was. He practically loomed over her.
“No. What?” Poe was suddenly confused and nervous.
“You just had a parade full of ex-cattle, Old Dead, and custodians talk to you and even follow you to the hotel.” Sainvire smiled. “We’ve been trying to have a discussion with these separate groups but have failed. And look at you, going to the beer halls of both humans and vampires.”
“You’ve been spying on me,” accused Poe, tilting her head up and narrowing her eyes.
“I’d never let my one love face danger alone,” said Sainvire. His gray eyes looked silver.
“Don’t get too excited. I hardly did anything. But I’m committed to making a change.” Her heart pounded. How she missed the vampire’s intelligent and compassionate eyes and angled features. She had the urge to run her fingers through his thick black hair but stopped herself. Instead Poe smiled and stood on tiptoes. “Can I kiss you, Kaleb?”
“Please do,” he said quietly. The two softly locked lips. Both were still uncertain about their directions in life.
“I wish we could sleep together again just because we’ve only made love once,” uttered Poe in a pained voice. Her overture surprised herself.
“Three times,” he corrected. “In one day. Four years ago.”
Poe burst out laughing at the memory. Sainvire walked her to the cafeteria and joined her for dinner. He drank a tumbler full of the clear liquid known as Plasmacore, and for the first time in a long time he enjoyed the company of his friends.
Before the week was out, Poe had organized clothes drives, enlisted former seamstresses and tailors to open boutiques and clothes alteration shops, recruited men and women to start beauty salons, and convinced a vampire and human to start a pub together. The latter was by far the easiest to convince since Bob Chang, a vampire, and Faith Hurt, a human, were best of friends. They called their new establishment Glowdown. The farmers helped them set up the bar while ex-cattle and vampires touched up an old German pub on Main Street. By Friday, three clothes shops, four beauty salons, two barbershops, and a pub had been cleaned and opened for business on Main and Spring Streets.
One of Poe’s proudest moments was opening wig fitting facilities for she and Percy had discovered two warehouses full of pretty hair that was sure to boost ex-cattle egos. A number of ex-slaves had suffered hair loss, a cause of depression and tattered self-esteem among other things.
By the following week people with a lot of time on their hands had approached Poe to secure jobs to cure their boredom and sense of alienation. Poe set up interviews with Morales for those interested in learning counseling or healing arts. Surprisingly over 50 applicants came forward. Maclemar welcomed candidates interested in working with children. Many women who’d been impregnated while drugged and had their babies taken away volunteered as nurses and child care providers. With the eager help of human and vampire volunteers, Maclemar had more time on his hands for his core responsibilities.
Willing vamps and stronger ex-cattle who showed promise were taken in by Michelle’s team for physical training to become Downtown security. For the older folks who still had lucid minds, Sainvire invited their help in planning political strategies and teaching the older children games with a special emphasis on chess.
Poe, on her part, began teaching Jeet Kune Do and Muay Thai to those interested in muscle development and bone strengthening therapy. By the third week her class had become so popular that she moved it outdoors to Pershing Square with almost 100 humans and a spattering of day vamps attending.
For those unable to leave their beds, Poe arranged for Sainvire’s vampires to read to them and help them with bathing. She also made delivering food to the elderly much easier by putting Meals on Wheels into operation. Habib and his large staff packed three meals of fresh food for the debilitated. She preferred ODs for this job so they could see their lasting damage and perhaps volunteer to serve their former victims on an ongoing basis.
Poe didn’t set out to be a reformer. She planned activities and programs because she thought the community would be stronger if everyone worked together. She had the knack for convincing people and vampires to try something they normally would never do. “If you don’t like it, you can kick me. I won’t kick you back,” she’d say. Her ability to remember every face and name like a gamemaster served her well. In all, she’d met over 600 Downtown residents by her fifth week in the city.
If she weren’t a household name before, Julia Poe was now unforgettable in her superstar achievements. She was well regarded because of her sincerity and ability to listen. Her martial arts classes drew a hundred people, but her audience was double that. She taught with strong will, and it showed with every kick and punch which lessened the fears of ex-victims.
In short, Julia Poe became an icon whether she wanted the tag or not.
CHAPTER 5
THE LAST THURSDAY OF the month was an important community event held at the Biltmore’s grand ballroom. Poe was expected to give the recommendations she had promised, and her nerves were jangled. She never thought of herself as a public speaker, and she could never forget she had once stuttered. She spent most of the morning trying to mentally sort her plans. Percy looped her arm around Poe’s elbow while they walked to the park for martial arts lessons. The two had been inseparable. Penny and Chops trailed behind them, both creatures swaying their behinds like a couple of drunken women.
Percy had become like a little sister to Poe. She’d never loved anyone like she did Percy in the five weeks she’d been in the city. Not even Piper’s cute baby antics could steal her heart away from the little girl with sorrowful eyes. She was resolved to ask the girl to live with her on Catalina. The prospect of having a friend in the isolated island heartened her.
The students were already situated in their rows of 12 while the observers sat on benches and fences. She knew she’d never get used to the spectacle of teaching. She motioned for the Judo Club as they used to call themselves in Gilroy and approved of their black outfits and red waist sashes to differentiate themselves from the crowd. Five older men, ex-boxers, coaches, and athletes participated from the club, helping Poe with teaching basic defense stances to the near-impossible number of students.
“Morning, class,” she said loudly to accommodate the hard of hearing. She removed her coat and shoulder holster and tossed them on the grass. The machete lay glistening on the ground. She slipped off her wrist knives and flung them on her coat. The class was divided into five groups to make it easier to hear and be seen. “It’s a beautiful sunny California day! Let’s do our 10-minute warm up. Percy and the Judo Club, do your thing.”
Poe was dressed in a black t-shirt and black Adidas jogging pants. The scars on her arms and face showed clearer in the daylight. She bent down to double-knot her Converse, an old tick she could never get rid of, and was startled when people began to scream and scramble away from the green.
An enormous Paul Bunyan standing at six-foot-eight pushed the crowd of students out of his way. She’d never seen the muscular bearded man with fuming eyes before, and her nose twitched. His red flannel shirt made Poe wonder whether the man had an axe behind his back.
“How can I help you, mister?” Poe asked as he finally reached her. Her neck ached already from looking up at the man.
“All this karate bullshit and stories about you kicking vampire ass and humans bigger than you makes me real angry. Well here I am. Do your worse so I can show what a fraud you are. You’re nothing but Sainvire’s bitch.”
Poe’s nostrils flared. Fuck me sideways, she thought, trying to curb her filth mouth at least out loud. The big dummy disparaged her in front of her class, and she had no choice but to fight. “You’re a dick, and I’m gonna kick your head in. I’m nobody’s stooge, and truth be told, I don’t even want to get embroiled in Downtown politics.”
A dirty fighter, Poe rained a volley of punches into Bunyan’s kidneys until the old calluses on her fists began boiling. She kicked him in the groin three times. Not a sound escaped from his lips. Her eyes traveled to his and discovered his serene countenance. The man was a halfdead who hadn’t quite turned into a vampire but arrived at some vampiric powers.
“You’re a halfdead!” Poe cried. “Foul.”
“Go on. Beat me up. I won’t touch you. I want to show these folks here that you’re no superhero.”
Poe sighed and began slugging the man as viciously as she could, even punching him in the neck and kicking him without reservation on his sides. The halfdead clutched at his throat but didn’t alter his quiet stance.
“You tired yet, girl? Can you see she’s only a puny human? She’s a propaganda piece doctored by Sainvire. See how weak Julia Poe is,” he said in a deep voice. That was when she noticed a tiny white cross on the man’s sleeve. He was a Tunic.
The audience cringed and yelled at Poe to give up before the halfdead unleashed his punishment. The reaction angered Poe even more.
“With Jeet Kune Do, you can do anything. Even the dirtiest tricks,” shouted Poe and jumped on the halfdead’s back. An arm wrapped around the man’s neck as if to choke, and the giant man laughed.
“What? You’re gonna choke me to death? You want a piggy ride, vampire killer?”
“Actually,” said Poe breathing heavily. “I’m interested in your nose. With her index finger and middle finger, she invaded his nostrils and yanked back until the flesh ripped up to his eyelids. The big man finally cried out and shook Poe from his back. The girl broke her fall by rolling on the grass. Part of his face was still in her hand. She tossed it to the crowd who stepped back as if the bubonic plague exploded from a rotten rodent.
The halfdead was on his knees and covering his face with his hand. He could feel the shell of his nose, and he cursed like an Alaskan fisherman. He stood up and lunged at her but she slipped through his legs. She kicked the back of his knees until the man fell on the grass. Poe approached him and said out loud. “Whatever you need to survive, do it,” she lectured as if still in teaching mode. Without batting an eyelash, Poe brought her Converse to the back of Bunyan’s head over and over again until his neck cracked and his head exploded.
“Class dismissed,” Poe said, facing the shocked students. She bent down and slid knives on her wrists in case there were more of them.
“What the—” said an instructor named John Kang. “Look out, Poe!”
Three flying vampires wearing ski masks descended on the lawn. From what she could tell, two men and a woman came to disrupt her already scattershot class.
“Class is not quite over. Go home, Julia Poe, or we’ll kill you. You are weakening Downtown,” the woman with a grim voice said.
Déjà vu, thought Poe. Only this time the vamps were carrying pistols aimed at her. “If you’re going to kill me then you could at least show your face, lady,” Poe said harshly.
“I would but we’re instructed not to,” answered the woman wearing faded blue jeans.
Poe flicked her eyes on her guns and the machete. The visitors were five feet away, but they seemed farther because of their agile flying. She had two knives at her disposal, and she was hoping to down two of them long enough to retrieve her other weapons. “Well I’m not leaving. I still have three more weeks, so why don’t you start killing me already?”
“Sure. My pleasure.”
Percy’s heavy breathing behind her snapped Poe out of her own anger. “Hold up. There’s a kid behind me.” Poe turned to look at Percy. “Go sit by John Kang. I don’t want you getting hurt.” The crowd stayed to watch. “Okay, go,” said Poe.
The three vampires looked at each other holding their guns, apparently not used to fighting anyone. Poe didn’t wait for them to make up their minds. She unsheathed the knife at her left and let it fly to the woman’s heart. The vampire quietly tumbled to the ground clutching her chest. Poe hurled her other wrist knife at the taller of the two male vampires. She grunted when the knife hit the man’s throat. She quickly rolled on the ground and picked up her machete. The last vampire fired four shots at Poe but missed emphatically as she zig zagged and kept low. As the vampire launched into the sky, Poe sprung and took hold of the creature’s leg.
“Not so fast, assbrick!” The vampire was no Sainvire. He couldn’t carry passengers or fight. She lifted her machete and began hacking away at the man’s hip. He screamed at the burning pain the garlic oil brought on. Poe’s feet touched grass as the vampire sank lower to the ground. Once he was down Poe kicked his leg from under him and pushed his chest to the ground. Forgetting her audience, Poe brought her malformed weapon down on the vampire’s neck. Sounds of quick inhalation and disgust filled the air.
Poe quickly leapt to the other vamp she’d hurt with a knife to the throat. She straddled him as she removed his hood and extracted the knife just below his Adam’s apple. “Percy, get their masks off will you?” The vampire underneath her legs was coughing violently.
“Any of you recognize these vamps?” asked Poe.
The bolder humans crept closer to the bodies and shook their heads. Even Percy shook her head. “I’ve never seen them before.”
“You think they’re Tunics?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
Within minutes, Michelle’s red Hummer followed by Jeep Wranglers thundered down the street. They skidded to a stop in front of the crowded park, nearly extinguishing a shaken woman. Sainvire’s spy must’ve run for help.
She asked Michelle the same question. “They’re dressed like nerds, and they’re cadaverous. They’re probably Tunics. I’ll bring throat boy over to City Hall and maybe interrogate him somehow. Make him write out his statement.” She smirked at her humor. “By the way, five leeches were arrested along with Syrus about an hour ago. He’s the Flesh Tailor among his many names, according to the Tunics. He liked to stitch cattle together and burn them with chemicals. Hope they all get what they deserve.”
Poe glowered at her friend. “You’re head of security. How can you say that about your prisoner?”
“Hey, they’re leeches. Leeches rape, remember? Half the kids at the nursery are their spawn. They friggin’ raped me, too,” Michelle said matter-of-factly. “I disagree with Sainvire on this matter. I think they all ought to be executed instead of feeding them good quality food the rest of their days.”
Poe gritted her teeth. “You have anything to do with them getting taken?”
Michelle looked at Poe with disgust. “I’m security. I’m no turncoat for nobody. If I’d seen the culprits, I would’ve capped their asses. You’re my friend, so I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear accusation in your voice.”
The muscular young woman motioned for the bodies to be lifted onto a Jeep and boarded her own Hummer.
Poe realized she was shaking.
***
“Get back into position,” ordered Poe. She wouldn’t take no for an answer. “We’re going to have our lesson today or bust.” Slowly the humans formed lines. Poe turned to John Kang, the leader of the Judo Club. “I’m gonna take off. Can you teach this class today?”
“Sure. No problem, Poe.”
“Everyone. John Kang and the Judo Club will run through grappling techniques. I got somewhere to go, but I want you all to pay attention. Strengthen your body. These folks,” Poe nodded at John Kang, “are great teachers. If you stick with them, you’ll get your strength and confidence back.”
Poe turned her back to the class. She quickly donned her shoulder holster and coat and began jogging away from the park.
“Poe. I’m going with you,” said Percy, running alongside the vampire killer.
“Probably not a good idea. I’m talking to vamps with deadly attitude.”
“Don’t care,” Percy said. She was looking up at Poe with determination.
“Fine, kid,” Poe smiled then looked behind her shoulder. Penny and Chops were running right behind them. “Keep an eye on the animals, alright?”
“Okay.”
They reached the Alexandria in a couple minutes. That was one thing she loved about Downtown – nearly every corner could be walked if you knew the grid. “Alright, Percy. You need to stay out here.” Poe weighed the machete in her right hand. “No,” said Percy. “I’m coming along.” With her chin in the air, Percy marched inside the Down and Out followed by animals.
“Damn kid,” cursed Poe. The bar windows had been tarred to keep sunlight from crisping standard-issue vampires. The billiard tables were occupied by skinny, malnourished folks who moved with unnatural speed. Poe and Percy watched similarly emaciated vampires casually puncture the skulls of three humans sitting on bar stools. The undead stared at Poe while they bit their tongues. Like motor oil, blood leaked from their mouths and dripped in the holes to the humans’ brains. The humans fell on the ground a few seconds later and suffered grotesque convulsions. First stage of becoming a vampire, thought Poe. Good luck with that.
