Tomorrow's Dead: The Julia Poe Vampire Chronicles (7 page)

“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.”

“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.