Zombies Unleashed (The Vampire from Hell Part 6) (4 page)

A Good Time (Satan)

***

“
Satan wants us to constantly focus on everything that is wrong with us and look at how far we still have to go.
” ~ Joyce Meyer

***

I ended the call and smiled to myself. 
That was easy
.
  Oh yes, my oldest daughter had no idea what I was prepared to do to stop her wedding.  I had only begun.

Walking along the sidewalks of downtown San Francisco, amid the people, I felt embraced in their love and warmth.  Their hustle.  Their bustle.  Their adorable mundane lives.  Work.  Work.  Work.  My children had things on their minds.  These people would serve me and become my slaves.  Why had not I thought of it before?  Growing my army here on Earth with these stupid sheep-minded creatures.  A real grassroots political movement like no other.  I simply needed to give them a reason to follow me, a very good reason.  The rest would take care of itself.

I noticed a small group of people, standing near one corner of Union Square.  As I crossed the street, a flapping noise above me caught my attention.  That could not be what I thought I saw.  I decided to investigate more.  As I climbed the steps to the popular gathering area, I could not believe what I was looking at. I moved to the center of the area to get the full view, turning around in a circle several times.  On each corner of the park were these massive posters depicting my oldest daughter’s face.  The posters hung on steel poles that were probably twelve feet high.

As I maneuvered through the crowd and got close enough to see everything on the poster, I read the slogan covering the bottom of the image.  ‘She may be a daughter of Satan, and a vampire. But she’s on our side.  Join the fight today.’  Rayea’s expression was pleasing and confident, a small smile appeared to cling to the corner of her mouth, her eyes were caring, passionate, yet strong.  Her vampire fangs were not visible at all.  In the corner of the poster was a book, tilted slightly to the right and hanging near her head, but off to the side.  The title of the book was clearly visible.  It said, ‘The Vampire from Hell Returns.’  Underneath the book image were the words, ‘Now Available.’

The fucking cunt.  She wrote another book.  How?  How was that possible?  And she’s broadcasting it with these massive posters?  Who markets like this?

“Amazing, don’t you think?”  A lovely young teenage girl spoke to me.  Shiny black shoes, white socks, innocent ivory legs, red shorts, and a red shirt beneath a black and white checkered Hello Kitty hoodie.  The cat creature held a strawberry and sarcastically stared back at me.  The girl’s long blonde hair and light green eyes gleamed under the immense park and streetlights.  The posters continued to flutter in the evening wind.  Just as she was about to turn away, I grabbed the teenager’s hand and pulled her into my arms.  Bending down and holding her close, I whispered to her.  “Why do you want to be evil?  Everyone knows vampires are evil.”

“Oh, that’s where you’re wrong, Mister.  She’s on our side.  She’s one of the good guys.  You ask anybody.”

“Go find your mother before I eat you,” I replied, hissing at her.

Horrified, she ran off into the crowd.  “Mommy, mommy.  Monster.  Monster!”

I’m sure it’s a fad
, I thought as I watched her flee. 
Who reads nowadays anyways?

***

When I strolled in the Red Skull Bar & Restaurant on Grant Street, my mood had slightly improved.  From the back of the place, Nathan waved to me.

Before I could get to the guys’ table, Max stopped me.  “I don’t want you in here.  None of you.  Get out.”

“Hi Max.  Good to see you too.  I am meeting some friends.  We won’t cause any trouble.  We’re only some guys out for a good time.  You understand.”

Max growled at me under his breath. His eyes flashed gold.  “Shapeshifting dog shit.  Get out of my way.”

I didn’t pay attention to G’s friend, Max as he scurried away.  I knew where he was going and who he was about to call.  G.  It would not be long before he sent his compatriots over to speak with me.  I’d have to be ready.

“Luc, sit down,” Nathan called out.

Grabbing a chair and plopping down with the crew, I looked around at the few rounds of beer bottles already consumed, the cigarettes snuffed out, and a few joints crushed into the ashtrays.

I picked up the crinkled paper of the burnt out joint.  “When did this become legal?”

“It’s not,” T cackled behind me as he returned to the table with more beer.  Nathan, T, and the remainder of the group seemed to be wasted.  It could work to my advantage.  For the moment, I decided to play along.  It would not do for me to peak too early along with my friends.

Suddenly Nathan piped up, holding his beer as if it was a teacher’s yardstick.  “I believe it is legal, you moron.  Medical marijuana has been legal in California since the mid ‘90s.”

The others nodded as T lowered his head, a rosy red flush covering his cheeks.

“Keep your mouth shut if you don’t know what you’re talking about,” Nathan added T’s way.

Someone has to be Nathan’s bitch,
I thought to myself.  Finally, I interrupted their discussion.  “I saw some new advertisements on the way in.  Have anyone of you read this Vampire from Hell book?”

T announced that they did, every night.  An absurd confession, I surmised.  It seemed they loved the comical story of a vampire girl fighting against her father, Satan.

“Clearly it’s not real,” Nathan announced as he extinguished his cigarette.  “We aren’t idiots, Luc.”

I saw the red flush of his cheeks and realized Nathan was embarrassed at T’s comments. 
How cute
, I thought.

“Sure,” I said.  “I would not think that.  But I thought I would ask.  When I walked by Union Square, I saw some new posters about it.  Looks like there is another book coming out.”

“Oh!  That’s right,” T squealed.  “I’ve been meaning to buy that.  I have to wait until this Friday though.  I hate being poor.”

“If you had a job, T, you wouldn’t be poor,” Nathan scolded the younger boy.  Both of them had to be 25 or 30 at most.  Wasting their lives away smoking dope and playing video games.  I laughed at Nathan’s insult.  “How about I buy us all copies?  I read the first one too.  I’d like to see what happens in this second one.”

Nathan winked at me.  His blood-shot eyes forever cloudy.  “So you like the book too, Luc?  I would not have thought that at all.”

“Really?” I asked.  “Why’s that?”

“Oh, I don’t know.  You look like you’d read westerns or mysteries or something.”

I laughed again.  “I’ve been known to surprise people more than once.  I am into a lot more stuff than I admit.  What is the saying?  Don’t judge a book by its cover?”  I chuckled again, wondering if I had won over my potential minions yet.  “Let’s have a few rounds before we eat, shall we?” I asked.  “I have a surprise to show you.”

Emphatically Nathan and his friends agreed with my suggestion.  It was like herding sheep.  These boys were obedient and loyal as long as I offered them liquor or food. 
Who would have imagined raising an army would be so simple?

“Who would like to try a blood shot,” I asked.

“What the fuck is that,” T lunged at me and knocked over my beer.  He was clearly a possible menu selection for the night if I got bored.  “I’ll show you.  Hold on.  I’ll get us a few shots of vodka, the good stuff.  Who’s in?”

My sheep clapped enthusiastically.  Standing up and smiling down at my children, I adjusted my hard-on as I left the table and went to the bar to place my order.  I had plans for my boys.

Union Square (Rayea)

***

“
For me, relationships are the real action movies. Bombs are exploding every day and the kitchen is Ground Zero.
” ~Michelle Williams

***

As we made our way over to the Red Skull, I noticed a big crowd in Union Square.  “What do you think that is about?” I asked Grace and Lynn.

Grace pointed at the posters.  “That may explain it.”

“Did you guys do that?”  Posters of my face as large as the width of a door waved in the breeze.  I counted four, on each corner of the park, but there could have been more.

Lynn answered my question.  “It was Ashton’s idea.  He has a friend in that big Public Relations firm on Beach Street.  He happens to be a fan and agreed to promote your next book for free.”

“I have a new book coming out?”  I asked forgetting that Lynn still had old notes of mine from earlier journal entries.

Grace and Lynn both grinned back at me.  “You do,” they said at the same time.  I let my broken heart feel the warmth that was radiating in my friends’ faces.  No one had ever been so nice to me, except Blick.  My heart splintered all over again. 
Fuck it
, I thought.  I raced up the steps.
“Let’s go check it out.”

The girls followed me up the steps to the park.  We wandered over to the center where a large statue stood.  Lynn read off the scripture on the marble stone.  “She’s the Goddess of Victory.  That’s pretty cool, huh?”

“Oh, I see it now.  The lady on top of the monument.  That’s really tall,” Grace commented.  She moved closer to me.  “I think we are being watched.”

“What?”  I glanced over at Lynn, who was also backing up to stand near the statue with us.  “What’s going on?”

“I pulled my fangs in when we left the coffee shop.”  Hopefully, my comment was truthful.  I had been so angry I had no idea how long I had walked along the streets, headed towards the park, showing my fangs. 
Did it really matter?

A group of people had gathered around us, waiting for something to happen.  Finally, a young girl stepped forward.  “Are you the Vampire from Hell?”

I knelt down to her level.  “How old are you?”

“Eight.”

I gulped in a breath.  Her mother appeared behind the girl.  “It’s alright,” her mother said.  “She isn’t old enough to read your books, but she wants to be you.”

The crowd laughed.

Lynn handed me one of my books with the new cover on it.  “Sign it,” she whispered.

“Sign it?”

“Yeah.” Lynn motioned to the little girl, and then made a writing gesture.  “Sign it.”

“Do you have a pen, Rayea?” Grace asked, leaning forward slightly.

“I may have something better,” I said, smiling at the little girl.  “Do you mind if I sign it in fire?”

“Cool,” she exclaimed.

Taking the book in my left hand, I flipped open the back cover and pointed the long nail of my index finger over the paper.  “What’s your name, sweetie?”

“Stephanie, but I’m nice.  Not like your sister.  Why did you name her Stephanie?”

“Should I rename that character?” I asked the little girl as I scratched her name and a short good wishes salutation on the paper.  Then I pressed the palm of my hand against the paper.  Feeling the heat from my body rush out of my hand, the paper glowed and glittered, but it did not ignite.  I sighed with relief.  Finally, a few ashes settled and disappeared as the autograph came forth on the paper.  It looked like it had been embossed.

Immediately, Grace and Lynn bounced over to a bookstore called Borders, across from Union Square.  They bought a stack of my books and I signed them, handing them out as I spoke and tried to remain an obedient vampire.  The thirst was fighting its way back into my brain.

“Can I get a picture with you?”

An unfamiliar voice surfaced behind me.  Grace growled under her breath.  “Nathan,” she hissed.

“How nice to see you, Grace?  You are looking well.”

I glanced over at Lynn who was busy collecting money for the remaining books I had finished signing.

“Oh wait, I have a picture.  You can sign it instead.”  He thrust a crumpled up 5 x 7 glossy photo at me.

“Rayea, don’t.”  Grace’s voice had every sense of warning etched in it.

In response to her concern, my fangs tried to force their way forward.

Taking the photo from Nathan, I looked at the image on the paper.  A woman naked and tied up, hands and feet bound behind her back and buttocks, a gag in her mouth, her body bruised and beaten, her face clean and untouched.  Her long curly brown hair had been pulled back.  An expression of ghastly horror covered her face.  I knew the person I was looking at in the picture.  The green and black snake tattoo on the outside of her upper right arm was one Stephanie had gotten before her journey into bloodletting, when she had been completely human.

“Grace knows the good times we have in the evening.  This evening has been superb.  We’d love you to pay us a visit.  I’m sure Stephanie would love to see you.”

Nathan rattled on as Grace and Lynn gathered around me, staring at the photo in disbelief.  I heard Grace’s thoughts. 
How could that be her?

A million questions and possible answers raced through my head as I gazed calmly at Nathan.  I sensed his disbelief.  He didn’t think I was a vampire at all, that I had made up all of my tall-tales. 
Indeed, indeed
, I thought to myself.

Quickly I handed the photo of Stephanie in bondage to Lynn.  She snatched it from me and shoved it in her jeans pocket.

“We’ll relieve you of this for the time being,” I said to Nathan, ignoring his grimace.

Grace telepathically shared with me more questions and advice about not harming Nathan.  Even as my thirst returned and I debated making a scene amid the crowd of people wandering around Union Square, I knew the best course of action.  Fear.  Fear always worked with these non-believers.

With my vampire speed, I snagged Nathan by both hands, pulling him to me in a wicked embrace.  I glared at him, knowing my eyes radiated the green glow of death they tended to do when I was pissed off and ready to go in for the kill.

After trying to wiggle out of my grasp for a few moments, he calmed as he looked into my eyes.  My few inches of height helped to my advantage.  He stood frozen.

“People are watching and filming this,” I heard Lynn say.

I shifted gears and returned to
Happy Rayea
.  Speaking loudly so the crowd could hear, I said, “Kidnapped my sister, Stephanie, have you?  Why my friend what possessed you to do that?  Of course, I’ll pay you a visit.  I’m looking forward to meeting your friends and family.”

I dropped Nathan’s hands, watching him stumble and nearly fall down in front of the three of us.  When he regained his balance and stood, I smiled at him.  My fangs clearly were visible for the world to see.  “Run along now.  Run along.”

Nathan fled my presence in horror.  I thought of Jeremy and the few others bystanders I had frightened nearly to death when I revealed myself.  It always took my breath away, even for a few seconds. 
Why did Nathan have Stephanie?  Was that truly her in the photo?

As I heard Lynn begin to clap and smile, making a big deal about how awesome that ‘enactment’ was, I glanced over at her.

“Oh yes, that’s from Rayea’s new book.  We just love to see her in action, don’t we?”  She continued clapping loudly.  “Bravo.  Bravo.  Bravo.”

The crowd responded and cheered.

“What are you doing?” I whispered.

“Saving our asses,” Lynn declared.  “We need to go.”

Grace latched on to my arm.  “Put your fangs away and smile!”

As the girls led me toward one of the exits, I wondered again what had just happened. 
Blick breaking up with me over the phone.  Adoring fans wanting my autograph.  Displaying my fangs in public and not getting bashed for it.  Stephanie being kidnapped by that waste of space who had already harmed Grace.  My life was fucked up.  Truly fucked.

“How can this night get any worse?” I asked.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lynn and Grace exchanged looks at one another.  I blocked any thought that Grace may send my way.  I didn’t want to hear it.  I already knew.

Z.o.m.b.i.e.s.