Zombies Unleashed (The Vampire from Hell Part 6) (3 page)

Work before Family (Satan)

***

“
There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.
” ~ Colin Powell

***

For some reason it took the guys forever to answer the door.  Like any upstanding businessman trying to keep his customers happy, I waited patiently in front of Nathan’s apartment with my merchandise.  Someone would let me in eventually.

When the door flew open, the one they called T almost yanked my arm out of its socket as he dragged me across the threshold.  I never invited myself in.  I found it rude to do so and bad for business.  Looking ever so much the human, I prided myself on keeping my manners in check.  My bright white t-shirt hiding under a navy blue blazer with sparkling silver buttons, neatly pressed and deathly straight dark blue jeans, and a pair of polished black cowboy boots gave me the appearance of a genuine good ole boy.  I was straight as an arrow and happy to serve any of my customers a bottle of my wine.  For a price, of course.

“Luc, Luc, hello.  Come on in.  We were busy.  Sorry about that.  Just cleaning up some stuff.  Put the case right down there if you like.  What do I owe you?”

“The usual is fine.”  After placing the case of wine on the scratched up dining table, I ran my hand through my wavy brown hair, hoping the recent gusts of winds around Market Street had not disrupted my pristine hairdo.

T, who was Nathan’s number one goon, appeared unusually nervous.  His hands shook as he handed me the cash.  I pretended not to notice the blood smears on the hardwood floor or the smell of the sex still clinging in the air.  They had been fucking on my daughter again.  Obviously, I did not approve.  Stephanie was my baby, my sticky sweet sensation, my one and only.  But before I went off on my devoted customers, I had to remind myself why I was here after all.  For now, I left it alone.  The greater plan, as the one they call J would say, must prevail.

As I had been doing for about eight months, I ignored the fact that some street punks had my youngest daughter.  I had found her again and she was relatively safe.  When the time was right, I’d save her.  Selling my product was my number one priority these days.  Work before family, as they say.  I knew where my daughters were and that was all that mattered.  I had work to do before bringing them back into the fold.  One step at a time.  We’d be back together and a family again very soon.  For now, work had to come first.

Besides business was booming.  Oh yes, business was better than ever.  Thanks to my main distributor, Nathan, I had customers in every neighborhood in San Francisco.  Starting small was a good idea.  It gave my Devilish Beasts wine the street credibility it needed.  Many wine distributors from Napa Valley had snubbed their noses at my wine when I had first approached them.  Obviously, I wanted to find as many distributors as soon as I could so I could expand my market to the rest of the United States, Europe, and so on.   Unfortunately, it wasn’t working out like that.  The name alone turned some people off.  They thought it was a joke.  For now, I had to settle on peddling my cases of Devilish Beasts door to door and stocking bottles with a few trendy restaurants the younger crowd frequented.  Being a drug dealer as well, Nathan has some lovely connections with the common folk.

“Luc, you wanna glass?”

I nodded as T broke open the first bottle of wine.  I had become fond of my rag team group of misfits.  Certainly they didn’t know who I was, but I offered my advice when the opportunity presented itself.  Nathan, the leader, appeared to have the makings of a suitable servant if he followed his path into darkness.  I was only too happy to help by supplying him with as much wine as he could drink.  The savage rage swirling in the red contents of each bottle would eventually turn each one of them into raving maniacs, zombies I had heard the condition called before.  It was all part of my plan, and I was ready to get the ball rolling.

My only concern?  The level of potency was not quite there yet.  My bottled savage rage didn’t change someone into a zombie the minute the liquid hit their lips.  I had heard of a few stories where it had worked right off, but I had not seen the effects I had been hoping for.  However, I was not worried.  I planned to keep working at it.  Enhance the recipe.  Improve the production lines.  Increase the demand by hand feeding the liquor to punks like this Nathan and his friends.  Then I would sit back and see what happens.

As I made myself comfortable on a worn-out faded navy blue beanbag, trying to balance my plastic cup I had been served the wine in, I observed my host and his friends.  Nathan and five of his friends played video games on the big screen TV.  The group was all dressed in black sleeveless T-shirts, green camouflage pants, and black army boots.  It seemed to be their unofficial uniform because they rarely wore anything else.

Nathan glanced over at me and waved.  “Luc, my dude.”

I held my cup to him in salute.  “Nathan, always a pleasure.  Who is winning?”

His cloudy blood-shot eyes squinted at me a few times in confusion as his pale gaunt face twisted up in disapproval.  Someone handed him a joint.  After he took a hit from it and blew out the smoke, he replied, “Fuck man.  Me of course.”

I laughed and nodded again at him.  The little punk who thought he ruled the world.  I admired his confidence.  He had no idea the plans I had for him.  No idea at all.  I allowed him to have his moment in the sun, saving my daughter as he did.  He enjoyed his treasure and thought he would be able to sell her for a high price on the internet once he found a buyer.  Unfortunately his posts about ‘For Sale - Sexy, Submissive Slave Girl’ on a popular human trafficking website had gone unanswered.  The owner of that website was a customer of mine as well.

Deciding I needed to get the party started or at least on its way, I excused myself to the kitchen area which was a small nook on the right side of the large open space living room.  I opened up another bottle of wine.  After pouring a splash of the liquid into one plastic cup, I found a small kitchen knife, sliced open my index finger and let several drops of my blood fall into it.  Swirling the contents around, I stared into the cup.  A large shot of blood wine for my adorable human friends. 
Let’s see what this does.

I had learned that part of these nightly rituals involved getting high, so no one objected when I forced the cup of my blood wine into their toking rotation.  Obediently each one of them took a drag on the joint and passed it to the next.  They did the same with the cup of wine as well, drinking down a gulp of the liquid and handing it to the next person.  Now the night would get interesting.

“Who is hungry?”

The guys whirled their heads around at me, instantly leaving the attention of the video game.

“I’m buying,” I added, knowing that would secure their cooperation.

““Fuck yeah,” they yelped in unison.

I heard their game controllers dropped to the floor as I headed for the door.  Patiently, I waited in silence while they gathered their things.  Brainless humans on the verge of becoming savage zombies.  The irony made my chest sizzle with delight inside.

Grabbing his keys and mangy leather coat, Nathan rushed by me and slapped me on the back of the shoulder.  “You rock, Luc.”

T chimed in behind us.  “Bitching, dude.  Bitching.”

Remembering one critical task I had to do, I motioned to the group.  “I’ll meet you at there.  I need to make this call.”

Haling down a taxi, Nathan shouted back at me.  “The Red Skull?”

I nodded.  “Where else?” I asked, popping open my phone and dialing my oldest daughter’s number.

Blick’s Call (Rayea)

***

“
Family is supposed to be our safe haven. Very often, it's the place where we find the deepest heartache.
”
~ Iyanla Vanzant

***

Our shopping trip lasted about two hours.  We had our zombie gear in hand and decided to pop in a late hour coffee shop and change.  It was Lynn’s suggestion, but I didn’t object.  I had been a royal cunt earlier that evening, so I decided to find my happy feet, as Grace reminded me, and get with the program.

Before ordering anything, Grace introduced us to Sasha, the server who she had befriended because she frequented this particular store so often.  A few other workers waved hello and asked Grace if she wanted the usual.

“What do you usually get?” I whispered to Grace, standing not too far from her as I attempted to understand the menu, hanging on the wall above the counter.  Every coffee drink description seemed to have a ‘café’ or ‘mocha’ at the beginning.

Lynn piped in.  “Grace will order about a half a dozen of espressos, if my memory serves right.  Am I wrong on that, Grace?” she asked.

“Nope,” Grace replied.  “I am going through an espresso phase right now.  What can I say?”

I stuck my hand in my mouth.  “Gross.”  The only liquid I could stomach was green tea, not coffee.  But I did confess I liked the smell of it.  I found that an odd notion I had yet to explore.  More pressing matters were at hand.

“Three espressos for each of us, Sasha.  Please.  We’ll be in the bathroom.”

Before I could object to the coffee order Grace had announced we would have, Lynn giggled and pushed past me, headed to the back of the coffee shop.

“We’ll be right back,” Lynn added.  She held up her right hand to Sasha, gesturing politely as she shuffled our shopping bags in her left hand.  Whirling around faster than I expected to see a human do, Lynn sang out to me.  “Dress up time, ladies!”

Grace pulled me by the elbow, holding down a chuckle as best she could.  I started laughing because it was ridiculous.  I could not help myself.  Being back with my friends was Heaven, and knowing Blick was returning soon only helped lighten my mood.  “No makeup, though.  Okay?”

“Agreed,” they both chimed in.

Grace added, “You’ve got to try at least one shot of espresso.  Okay?  Don’t make me beg.”

I rolled my eyes at Grace as we maneuvered slowly through the crowded sitting area.

Out of the corner of my eye, I glanced at a nearby table.  A large group of people huddled around a few computers as they sipped from glasses.  Glasses, not coffee mugs or cups.  My heart sank. 
Don’t think it.  Just don’t,
I reminded myself.

Grace heard my thought.  She latched on to my elbow again.  “What?” she whispered out of the corner of her mouth.  We both stood as still as statues, watching Lynn struggle with the door and bags.  Neither one of us helped.  Finally, Grace regained her wits and swung the bathroom door open against the wall.  The hinges screamed out and I heard a crack against the wood as the metal door slammed into the wall.

I sent a thought to Grace, so we would not alarm Lynn. 
“When did a coffee shop start serving alcohol?  I know that was wine I saw in their glasses.”

“It’s an afterhour’s thing,”
she replied telepathically. 
“Some stores serve wine and beer after 8 pm.  Chill.  It’s probably not the same wine Steve had.”

“But if it is,”
I mentally lashed back. 
“And these people are stammering zombies when we walk out of the bathroom, I’ll have my proof, right?”

“Agreed,” Grace whispered as she shoved me into the bathroom with Lynn.

After we had changed into our black t-shirts, matching jeans and boots, Lynn talked Grace into wearing makeup for the occasion.  What occasion that was, I didn’t ask.  I was laughing at both of them.  The heavy application made Grace’s eyes looked like she had a raccoon mask on.  “Don’t you think that’s too much?” I asked as I finished lacing up my boots and looking around for my gas mask and sword.  “Do we really need these tonight?”  I held up my gas mask and my twenty-inch samurai sword.  Pulling out the blade to examine the sharpness, I realized it was fake.  “This isn’t even real?”

“Of course it’s not, silly,” Lynn laughed.  She motioned to Grace to look at her artistry in the mirror.  Grace gave Lynn a fist bump, meaning she had done an excellent job.  Both turned to me as if I was the next one to be painted on.

“Did you expect us to be able to buy real ones?” Grace asked, smirking at me.

“I guess I did,” I mumbled.  “At least the gas masks are real.”  I forced a smile on my face.

My phone rang and I dropped the sword.  It hit the ground and the clatter of the plastic made me flinch.  The blood thirst was sneaking its way into my brain again.  I gritted my teeth as I answered the phone.

“Rayea?”  Blick’s deep voice reached out to me.  Instantly my body relaxed.

“Hey, how are you?  You guys back already?”

“That is why I am calling.  I have been detained.  I am not coming back.”

The serious tone in his voice sounded odd.  All our calls while he was away had been far more compassionate and caring.  We joked.  We laughed.  We would talk for hours sometimes.  Even the early hour in the evening seemed unusual.  Why was he calling me this early?

“What do you mean?” I asked.  “You aren’t coming back?  Not right away, right?  You don’t mean ‘never coming back,’ do you?”

My head swirled with uncertainty and confusion as the blood thirst forced its way into the front of my thoughts.  My fangs flashed out and I wanted to scream into the phone.

Both Lynn and Grace drew near me and motioned for me to sit down on the closed seat of the bathroom toilet.  I waved my hand at them, suddenly very annoyed at everything around me.

“Blick, are you there?”  I hoped my voice sounded strong, yet polite.  “What are you talking about?”

And that’s when he laid it on me.  His words reached out across the phone lines and cratered me in the face.

“I think we need to cancel the wedding.  It is not going to work, you know?  We are just too different.  I hope you understand.  I want to move on and focus on my work.  I know you will understand.  Be happy and prosper.”

The line went dead.

As I sank to the ground, Lynn and Grace rushed in to comfort me.  I could not speak.  I had no idea what had just occurred.  I was in shock.  Tears streamed down my face and their images blurred before me.  I felt Grace’s fingers touch my temple.  She read my thoughts and I didn’t resist.  I didn’t want to repeat the totally foreign words Blick had used to break up with me. 
Who does that?
I thought. 
Be happy and prosper?  What the fuck?

“Help me get her up,” Grace said to Lynn.  “We need to get out of here.”

I stared at them blindly, not worried that my mouth hung open and my fangs were gleaming for the world to see.  I wanted to die.

“I need a drink.”  I sprang back to life and jumped up on my feet.  Looking in the bathroom mirror, I smiled at myself.  “Tequila anyone?”

Quickly Grace blocked my exit from the bathroom.  Blockading the door she said, “Rayea, let’s be smart here.  I suggest we go home, okay?  You can’t go out in public looking like this.”

“Like what?” I yelled back at her.  I knew what she meant.  I shouldn’t walk out of the coffee shop and stroll along the night streets, showing off my vampire teeth with the world.

“We’ll call Blick again, okay?  When we get home.  We’ll call him.  I’m sure he didn’t mean any of that.”

I heard Lynn scream as I lifted Grace up by the throat and pounded her head and shoulders a few times against the metal door.  “Say his name again and I’ll end you.”

I didn’t look at Grace as I let her go.  She dropped to the floor and moved away from the door.  I whirled around and motioned to Lynn to pick up her belongings so we could leave the small bathroom.  The door easily broke free from its hinges as I ripped it from blocking our path.  Crunching the center of it into a mangled accordion shape, I leaned it against the nearest corner. 
That poor door didn’t see that coming,
I thought to myself and stared at it for a few moments, hoping I could cure my wrath of anger with a pint of liquor.  I had to take my anger out on something other than my friends.  They had never seen me like this.  I had never been like this.  Being hungry for blood certainly did not help my state of being.  I had no idea what I could do next and going home to the place where Blick and I lived was not an option.  My plan was to find the nearest bar and drink myself into oblivion.  It was that or massacre everyone sitting in the coffee shop.

“I know where Max’s new bar is.  It’s close by.  We’ll go there,” Grace offered.

I nodded to her and telepathically sent her a slew of apologies for my actions.

She leaned in close to me while Lynn finished frantically packing her makeup kit, finally standing erect and ready to leave.

“We’ll get through this,” Grace said.

Lynn added, “We’ve got your back, right?”

I smiled at both of them.  The anguish I felt had tore open my soul.  I had no idea why Blick wanted to end our engagement.  It had to be a mistake, as Grace had said.  It had to be.  I decided to let it be for now, try not to kill anyone tonight, and figure out a plan in the morning.