Tomorrow's Dead: The Julia Poe Vampire Chronicles (11 page)

The vampire crept closer, and Poe dropped him with kneecap shots.  He cursed painfully. 
Poe had shot him in a similar manner four years ago.  The girl had a thing about popping
knee caps.  Sainvire had the gift of quick healing, but he would be down for a few
minutes.  “Sorry, vampire with the heart of a revolutionary, but I’m not done yet. 
Poe fired at two heads and watched them drop dead on the stage.  The fear in the air
translated into another crashing wave of screams.

“Satisfied yet?  Two more and your wish will come true.  After this, you Tunics can
pick on the ODs, then after that vampires in general.  Then after that, the humans
will cap your asses for being vampires and their unwanted executioners.”

Since there was nobody left to get in her way, Poe blasted the human’s face and shot
the reactionary vampire in the head and heart.  “And that, ladies and gentlemen, is
how you judge, destroy, and execute the evil in this world from this day forth.” 
Poe stared with fire at Perla who still stood nursing her shock.  As she walked down
the steps to take Penny from Percy’s arms, she looked Michelle over with contempt. 
She climbed the steps once more to go backstage, passing the anguished and fearful
faces of her friends.

O
NLY
T-D
OC
WAS
ALLOWED
in her room.  Penny needed medical attention.  Poe watched in silence as he bandaged
Penny’s ribs with care.  She was trying hard not to lose it.  The full realization
of what she’d done sickened her.  She was an immoral sociopath, and everyone found
out that night.  Morales pounded Aspirin into powder and applied it to the dog’s tongue. 
The man was still wearing his snazzy suit, and there she was, sitting on the carpet
with her clothes splayed in all directions.

“Two ribs are broken and a few more bruised.  Penny’s lucky Sainvire caught her or
she would’ve been more severely injured.  Give her more smashed up pain relievers
every four hours.  It’s better to let her sleep on the floor.  That way there will
be less jostling around.  I brought a bag of food from Habib, so you can stay here
if you don’t feel like going downstairs.”

“I shouldn’t have been asked to come here.  Sainvire should’ve left me alone,” she
said, her voice breaking. 

Morales sat by Poe on the edge of the bed and embraced her.  “Darling, what you’ve
done tonight you will feel guilty about for the rest of your life.  But set that aside
for a moment. You’ve changed a lot of minds.  What you did will prod Downtown in the
right direction.”

“What the hell have I done but murder five people and a vampire, execution-style? 
Sure I was mad about Penny, but Sally got on my nerves.  I listened to my impulse
to kill just to prove a point.  I haven’t killed all that much lately, Sam.  I feel
sick.”

“I know.  I feel for you, but you must see this as something positive.  When you left
the meeting, your proposed council of nine was voted on and so was the release of
leeches in jail.  They are to be indentured to ex-cattle for ten years.  When their
time is up they can be given their own home and a chance for a new life.  Michelle
came up with that one, actually.”

“You guys continued the meeting after I left?  That’s kinda sick.  And I shot Sainvire,
too!”

“The bodies on stage represented the anger out there.  Knowing they were executed
to tone down vengeance for blood and opened people’s eyes.  No more theatrics.  Who
could actually do what you’ve done without throwing up their dinner?  Your words about
unstoppable hatred skipping to a new group made sense.  As for shooting Sainvire,
it only proves that you aren’t his puppet.  You’re independent from Downtown politics. 
And what you said about San Diego shits trying to assassinate you scared the rocks
out of a lot of people.  Everyone, including ODs, is on board to be battle ready. 
Though they might not admit it, most creatures prefer this new society over any other
in our little world.”

“You don’t hate me, right?” asked Poe in a small voice.  “Even though I’m a monster.”

“You’re my little Poe.  Of course I don’t hate you.  Without you on this earth, life
would be awfully boring.  Besides, you need to spend more time with your goddaughter.”

“I’m thinking about leaving tomorrow.”

“You promised you’d stay for two months.  Just my opinion, but you should keep your
word.”  Morales’ wise gaze made her nod. 

After Morales left, Poe organized her room and ate Tupperware food.  She flossed,
brushed her teeth, and showered.  She needed to wash away her repugnant failings and
clean her mind.  The look of fear from those leeches tore at her brain no matter what
she did.  Instead of being stuck in Sainvire’s hotel, she wished she was in Catalina
watching bison munching on grass.  She didn’t dare leave her room because she expected
blame in people’s eyes.

“I’m sorry.  Forgive me,” she said to the ceiling.  She’d killed a lot of different
creatures before, but this incident was undoubtedly the worst.

She woke up in a pool of sweat after dreaming about shooting majestic bison in the
head.  Drinking a glass of water and placing medicine in Penny’s mouth, the killer
decided she needed to see Maclemar.  He lived three doors down on the same floor. 
Sainvire was a machinating S.O.B.

The hallway smelled of sulfur and old carpet, and the odor made her nose itch.  Tip-toeing
to Maclemar’s door, Poe knocked loudly because her friend was a heavy sleeper.  She
pounded on the door for over a minute, reddening in the half-lit hallway in fear of
being discovered by a disgruntled neighbor.  When she was about to give up, Maclemar
opened the door with just his boxers and heavy-lidded eyes.

“Poe!” he said with surprise.  At once he was awake.  “Come in, sharren.  Come in.”

Without hesitation, Poe stepped inside.  The girl was wearing a plain black t-shirt
and faded pajama pants.  Wordlessly she slid into Maclemar’s queen-size bed and covered
herself with blankets.  Maclemar sighed and followed Poe to bed.  He embraced her
shivering body while she burrowed her face into his chest.

“Oh, love.  I’m so sorry,” he said quietly in his Welsh accent.  “I shouldn’t have
brought you here.  I feel responsible.”

Poe sniffed.  Tears began to trickle down her cheeks onto Maclemar’s chest.  “Don’t
blame yourself, James.  It was me.  I’m a bad seed.  I killed those poor leeches to
prove a point.  A stupid point I forgot already.  And then there’s Penny.  I keep
thinking she’s going to die anytime and leave me alone.  When Sally kicked her I thought
she killed my dog.”

“Morales said Penny’s alright.  Don’t fret now.”  He kissed her forehead. 

“Penny’s the only one who’d really die for me and stay at my side no matter what.”

Maclemar tightened his embrace.  “You’re wrong about that, my girl.  I’d die for you
and stay at your side forever if you ask me to.”

Poe wept, sobbing into the arms of a friend who’d proven his loyalty to her over and
over again.  Perhaps she was a needy person now that Penny was old and weak, but the
thought of spending her life with Maclemar didn’t seem bad.  He was a decent man with
many skills and a heart as immense as the London Eye. 

She wiped her face and blew her nose with tissue Maclemar handed her when her eyes
couldn’t eek out any more tears.  Hoarsely she asked him, “Can I stay with you for
two weeks until I leave this place for the last time?”

Maclemar kissed her small nose.  “It would be my pleasure.  I promise not to take
advantage either.”  Poe clung to the man she used to refer to as Caveman, sometimes
running her hands on his body to feel the scars vampires had given him. 
We’re similar in so many ways
, she thought. 
My body is bullet-ridden and scarred like a 90-year-old Muay Thai warrior.

“Would you leave Downtown for me?” she asked timidly, sounding unsure.

“I would if I could live on your island with you.”

“What about your students?”

“There are plenty of ex-cattle who can take my place,” he sighed.  “Listen, Poe. 
I like these people, but I can live without them.  But you.  I’d do anything for you.”

Poe kissed him tentatively on the mouth.  “We can live together, but I won’t be able
to sleep with you for a long while.  Trench has broken me in a lot of ways.”

“Sweetheart, you don’t have to explain.  I’ll wait until you’re ready.  And if it
never happens, then I’ll be a happy man living with you just the same.”

She woke up the next morning in the warm embrace of James Maclemar.  He’d been studying
her face like a Rembrandt painting.  “You’re staring at my scar, aren’t you?” she
accused.

“Nope.  I’m imagining living the rest of my life with you, and it makes me want to
hum the tune from
The Bridge Over the River Kwai
.”

“Hey.  That’s a good movie.  William Holden was a looker,” she said, smiling up at
Maclemar.  “I have a big collection of movies in my old underground bunker.  Maybe
we could take those and a few DVD players with us.”

“Whatever you want, my sweet.  I’ll haul them for you to Mars.  No problem.”

Poe’s eyes narrowed.  Sainvire would never think to put her at the top of his agenda. 
The vampire used her like a cheap politician sporting around his movie star hand wavers
to pander to wide-eyed voters.  She wasn’t going to allow Kaleb Sainvire to use her
again.  She was done with vampire politics.  She was ready for happiness with James
Maclemar and to ensure the rest of Penny’s days were loving. 

***

Poe spent the next few days avoiding Kaleb Sainvire, and she kept her distance from
just about everyone else.  Percy had amassed a closet full of skateboards, and the
girl had let her borrow a Vision Skateboards model.  She needed wheels to do some
investigating, and a skateboard would do.  Her brother had been a champion skater,
and Poe had dabbled in riding a board when she lived in West L.A. and Catalina Island. 

Downtown had imprisoned her most of her life and had been a source of pain and suffering,
but downhilling and flying over dazzling urban architecture sobered her hate.  The
city had potential, and she was willing to do what she could until her two weeks were
up.  She was going to make her own choices, however, and to hell with Sainvire’s maneuvering. 

Since her attack at the park, Poe had been trying to figure out where the vampires
had materialized from.  Their arrival just didn’t make sense.  Poe hopped off the
deck in front of a red corrugated metal structure in the heart of the warehouse district. 
The district used to be the most perilous part of town where human trafficking, murder,
and blood gambling occurred, not to mention the plump rats that had multiplied exponentially. 
In recent months Sainvire brought in a citywide vector control to exterminate vermin,
and he’d succeeded in eradicating a good number of the rat population.

Poe knocked on the warehouse door holding a Mark Gonzales deck under her arm.  An
Ancient covered in dark blankets beckoned her to come inside quickly.  She and her
companion were vulnerable to sunlight.

“Hi.  You’re Stanza, right?” asked Poe as the woman flung the blanket to a yellow
couch that had the pattern of
The Kiss
by Gustav Klimt.  Their home was lovely.  It was filled with antique Persian rugs,
hip high vases, leafy indoor plants that brought warmth in the home, lots of mismatched
chintzes, and a divan that added bohemian flavor.

“Yes.  And you’re Julia Poe.”  The slow moving Ancient indicated a sofa for her to
sit on.  “That’s Kilbur over there.  You can call him my longtime companion, I suppose.” 
The vampire’s skin was near alabaster with maps of varicose veins on her face, neck,
and arms.  Poe gasped inwardly.  If Sainvire chose to live as long as these Ancients,
Poe would be completely turned off.

“Hi, Kilbur,” she said.  She shook the creature’s icy hand which looked extra long
for the curling yellow nails on the tip of his fingers.  The Ancient could crush her
hand like a stack of wafer cookies.  “Sorry to disturb you both.  I just have a couple
of questions.  Then I’ll leave you alone.”

“Miss Poe,” said Kilbur.  “No one ever visits us.  Though we are Ancients, we are
not truly dead.  We enjoy company more than you think.  Isn’t that right, Stanza?”

Kilbur had only wisps of brown hair left on his skull, and his lady wore a long red
wig that brought out the frightening red in her eyes.  “Absolutely.  We used to be
very social, but both humans and vampires steered away from us.  I suppose the alternative
to dying would be to live and look like us.”

“That’s too bad.  Nothing wrong with multiculturalism.  Or multivampirism.  That’s
what I always say.  Your kind is always needed in a growing society since you’ve experienced
history firsthand.  Well since you’re the last Ancients Downtown, I was curious about
your fealty to the group trying to glue this town back together.”

“Sainvire cleaned the city.  Humans are trying to reform into something stronger. 
I am for a cosmopolitan city for it makes for a better society.  I want Downtown to
succeed because the alternative has the appeal of a wet dog.  I remember how filthy
Downtown was with those uncouth rats in charge.”

Poe wasn’t sure if Kilbur was talking literally about rats or about the Vampire Council,
but she kept quiet.

“Yes.  I agree with Kilbur,” said Stanza.  “Some sort of order laced with humanity
is the path we must take.  Plasmacore has changed our world.  It has made most of
us stronger.  Our desire for human blood lessens as we imbibe the life juice that
is Plasmacore.  Because of the miracle food, we are more nimble as if our old bones
were oiled for better performance.  Kilbur and I hope one day to enjoy the warmth
of the sun.”

“Would you protect Downtown against outside aggressors?” asked Poe, drumming her fingers
on her board on her lap.