Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story Chapter 13~14

Chapter 13To-Do arguing of the Fashionably DoomedWhen you k right come to the future is grim, in that respect is no hire for speed. Tommy decided to walk to the fiscal district. He shuffled along with the hang-dog sapidity of the cosmic whollyy fucked.He walked by Chinatown, maculationted three of the Wongs buying lottery tickets at a liquor store, and headed up to the room to get his typewriter and clothes earlier they re moody. His spirits lifted a little when he climbed sp engender the narrow stairway for the last age, barely Madame Natashas words came back to dump on him again I dont see a woman in your near future.It had been unrivaled of the reasons he had come to San Francisco to find a young woman. Someone who would see him as an artist. Not a equal the girls back home, who power saw him as a bookish freak. It was all deviate of the plan live in the City, write stories, tactile property at the bridge, ride cable cars, eat Rice-A-Roni, and redeem a girl friend some(prenominal)one he could tell his thoughts to, preferably afterwards hours of god standardised sex. He wasnt seeing for perfection, rightful(prenominal) mortal who make him face secure copious to be insecure slightly. But not now. Now he was doomed.He looked up at the skyline and realized that he had navigated wrong, arriving in the financial district, s perpetuallyal blocks from the Pyramid. He zigzagged from block to block, avoiding eye contact with the men and women in business suits, who avoided eye contact in turn by checking their watches any a couple of(prenominal) paces. Sure, he thought, they can check their watches. They deliver a future.He arrived at the foot of the Pyramid a little breathless, his arms a get upg from carrying his belongings. He sat on a concrete judicial system at the edge of a fountain and watched passel for a while.They were all so determined. They had smudges to go, people to see. Their hair was perfect. They smelled vera cious. They wore nice garb. He looked at his own irresolute leather sneakers. Fucked.Someone sat everywherepower contiguous to him on the bench and he avoided face up, view that it would however be some other somebody who would make him feel inferior. He was staring at a vilification on the concrete by his feet when a Boston terrier appe bed on the spot and blew a jet stream of dog snot on his pant leg.Bummer, thats rude, the Emperor said. Cant you see that our friend is sulking?Tommy looked up into the face of the Emperor. Your Highness. Hello. The man had the groundlessest eyebrows Tommy had ever seen, as if both antiquated porcupines were perched on his brow.The Emperor tilted his crown, a fedora made of panels cut from beer cans and laced together with yellow-bellied yarn. Did you get the job?Yes, they hired me that day. Thanks for the tip.Its honest process, the Emperor said. theres a certain grace in that. Not handle this tragedy.What tragedy?These short s ouls. These poor pathetic souls. The Emperor gestured toward the passersby.I dont downstairsstand, Tommy said.Their time has passed and they dont know what to do. They were told what they cherished and they believed it. They can only keep their dream alive by beingness with others wish well themselves who leave mirror their illusions.They strike genuinely nice shoes, Tommy said.They extradite to look right or their peers will turn on them like starving dogs. They atomic number 18 the fallen gods. The new gods atomic number 18 producers, creators, doers. The new gods are the chinless techno-children who would rather eat white sugar and watch science-fiction films than give care ab pop what shoes they wear. And these poor souls desperately beat back document around hoping that a mystical message will appear to save them from the new, awkward, superb gods and their silicon-chip reality. Some of them will survive, of course, but most will fall. Uncreative forecasting is do better by elevator cars. Poor souls, you can more or less find away them sweating.Tommy looked at the well-dressed stream of business people, so at the Emperors tattered oercoat, past at his own sneakers, thus at the Emperor again. For some reason, he felt better than he had a fewer minutes before. You really worry ab divulge these people, dont you?It is my lot.An attractive woman in a gray suit and heels appro twinged the Emperor and handed him a five-dollar bill. She wore a silk camisole under her jacket and Tommy could make out the top of her lace bra when she hang over. He was mesmerized.Your Highness, she said, theres a Chinese chicken salad on special at the Cafe Suisse today. I think Bummer and Lazarus would love it.Lazarus wagged his tail. Bummer yapped at the mention of his name. very(prenominal) thoughtful of you, my child. The men will enjoy it.Have a good day, she said, and walked away. Tommy watched her calves as she went. two men who were passing by, embr oiled in an personal line of credit about prices and earnings, stopped their conversation and nodded to the Emperor.Go with deity, the Emperor said. He cancelled back to Tommy. Are you still looking for a domicile, or besides a woman now?I dont understand.You wear your loneliness like a badge.Tommy felt as if his ego had just taken a right to the jaw. Actually, I met a girl and Im going to rent us a place this afternoon.My mistake, the Emperor said. I misread you.No, you didnt. Im fucked.Pardon?A fortune-teller told me that there was no woman in my future.Madame Natasha?How did you know?You mustnt give excessively much credence to Madame Natashas predictions. Hes dying and it darkens his vision. The plague.Im sorry, Tommy said. In fact, he felt relieved, thus guilty for the reason behind it. He had no right to feel sorry for himself. The Emperor had nothing except his dogs, yet his sympathy was all directed toward his fellowman. Im scum, Tommy thought. He said, Your Highness, I fork over a little bills now, if you needThe Emperor held up the bill the woman had given him. We wealthy person all that we need, my son. He s likewised and tugged on the ropes that held Bummer and Lazarus. And I should be off before the men revolt from hunger.Me, to a fault, I guess. Tommy stood and made as if to shake hands, thence bowed instead. Thanks for the company.The Emperor winked, spun on one heel, and started to lead his army away, then stopped and turned back. And, son, dont touch anything with an edge while youre in the building? Scissors, permitter free-spokeners, anything.Why? Tommy asked.Its the shape of the building, a pyramid. Theyd rather people not know about it, but they bugger off a full-time employee who just goes around dulling the letter openers.Youre kidding.Safety first, the Emperor said.Thanks.Tommy took a trench breath and steeled himself for his assault on the Pyramid. As he walked out of the cheerfulness and under the massive concrete buttr esses, he could feel a dispirit through his flannel shirt, as if the concrete had stored the damp cold of the wickedness fog and was radiating it like a refrigerator coil. He was thrill by the time he reached the information desk. A harbor eyeball him suspiciously.Can I help you?Im looking for the Transamerica personnel department.The guard made a face as if Tommy had been dipped in sewage. Do you have an appointment?Yes. Tommy waved Jodys radicals under the guards nose.The guard picked up a yell and was punching numbers when a moment guard came up behind him and took the receiver. Hes fine, the second guard said. Send him up.But Hes a friend of the Emperor.The first guard hung up the phone and said, Twenty-first floor, sir. He pointed to the elevators.Tommy took an elevator to the twenty-first floor, then followed the signs until he found the right department. An officious-looking older woman told him to have a seat in the reception room, she would be right with him. Then she took expectant pains to act as if he had been sucked off the planet.Tommy sat on a sorry leather sofa that sighed with his weight, chose a magazine from the black stone coffee tabulate, and waited. During the next hour he read a household-hints column (Coffee grounds in that cat box will satiate your house with the delightful aroma of brewing espresso every time kitty heeds the call) an article on computer junkies (Bruce has been off the blow for six months now, but he says he takes life one byte at a time) and a review of the new musical Jonestown (Andrew Lloyd Webbers variate of the Kool-Aid jingle is at once chilling and evocative. Donny Osmond is brilliant as Jim Jones.) He borrowed some whiteout from the officious-looking woman and touched up the finish on his sneakers, then dried-out them under a halogen reading light that looked like a robots arm holding the sun. When he started pulling cologne sampling cards out of GQ and rubbing them on his socks, the woman told him he could go on in.He picked up his shoes and walked into the office in his stocking feet. another(prenominal) officious-looking woman, who looked remarkably like the first officious-looking woman, down to the little chain on her reading glasses, had him sit down across from her while she looked at Jodys papers and ignored him.She consulted a computer screen, tapped on a few keys, then waited while the computer did something. Tommy put his shoes on and waited. She didnt look up.He cleared his throat. She tapped on the keys. He reached down, loose his grasp, and took out his portable typewriter. She didnt look up. She tapped and looked at the screen.He clear the typewriter case, trilled a piece of paper in the machine, and tapped on a few keys.She looked up. He tapped a few more keys. What are you doing? she asked. Tommy tapped. He didnt look up.The woman raised her voice. I said, what are you doing?Tommy kept typing and looked up. Pardon me, I was ignoring you. What did you s ay?What are you doing? She repeated.Its a note. Let me read it for you. Couldnt anyone else see that they were all slaves of Satan? I had to cleanse the world of their evil. I am the hand of God. Why else would warrantor have let me into the building with an assault rifle in my suitcase? I am a divine instrument. Tommy paused and looked up. Thats all I have so far, but Ill guess I end it with an apology to my mom. What do you think?She grinningd as if hiding gas pains and handed him an envelope. This is Jodys concluding paycheck. Give her our best. And you have a nice day now, young man.You too, Tommy said. He gathered up his stuff and left the office whistling.Fashionable embodiment looked to Tommy an awful lot like a light industrial study two- and three-story buildings with steel roll-up approachs and steel-framed windows. The bottom floors housed ethnic restaurants, underground dance clubs, auto-repair shops, and the occasional foundry. Tommy paused exterior of one to wa tch two long-haired men pouring bronzy into a mold.Artists, Tommy thought. He had never seen a real artist, and although these clapperclaws looked more like bikers, he lacked to talk to them. He took a tentative step through the inletsillway.Hi, he said.The men were wrestling with a huge ladle, the two of them gripping the long metal handle with asbestos gloves. One looked up. Out he said.Tommy said, Okay, I can see you big cats are busy. Bye. He stood on the sidewalk and checked his map. He was supposed to meet the rental agent somewhere around here. He looked up and down the street. Except for a guy passed out on the corner, the street was empty. Tommy was thinking about waking the guy up and asking him if this was, indeed, the fashionable part of SOMA, when a green jeep pulled up beside him and skidded to a stop. The driver, a woman in her forties with wild gray hair, rolled down the window.Mr. overindulge? She said.Tommy nodded.Im Alicia DeVries. Let me park and Ill bet oken you the loft.She backed the Jeep into a spot that seemed too short for it by six inches, rill the wheels up over the curb, then she jumped out, dragging after her a purse roughly the size of it of Tommys suitcase. She wore sandals, a dashiki, and multicolored Guatemalan cotton pants. There were chopsticks stuck here and there in her hair, as if she were brisk at any minute to deal with an emergency stir-fry.She looked at Tommys suitcase. You look like youre ready to move in today. This way.She breezed by Tommy to a sack door beside the foundry. Tommy could smell the patchouli in her wake.She said, This area is just like Soho was twenty years ago. Youre lucky to have a shot at one of these lofts now, before they go co-op and start selling for a million dollars.She open the door and started up the locomote. This place has incredible energy, she said, without looking back. Id love to live here myself, except the markets down right now and Id have to sell my place in the Heig hts.Tommy dragged his suitcase up the steps after her.Do you paint, Mr. Flood?Im a writer.Oh, a writer I do a little writing myself. Id like to write a book myself some weekend, if I can find the time. Something about womanish circumcision, I think. Maybe something about marriage. But whats the difference, right? She stopped at a landing at the top of the stairs and unlocked another fire door.Here it is. She threw the door open and gestured for Tommy to enter. A nice work area and a bedroom in the back. There are two sculptors that work downstairs and a painter next door. A writer would really round the building out. Whats your take on female circumcision, Mr. Flood?Tommy was still about three topics behind her, so he stood on the landing while his brain caught up. People like Alicia were the reason God made decaf. I think everyone should have a hobby, he said, pickings a shot in the dark.Alicia jammed like an overheated machine gun. She seemed to look at him for the first time, an d did not seem to like what she saw. You are aware that well need a significant security deposit, if your application is certain?Okay, Tommy said. He entered the loft, leaving her standing on the landing.The loft was roughly the size of a handball court. It had an island kitchen in the middle, and windows ran along one fence in from floor to ceiling. There was an old rug, a futon, and a low plastic coffee table in the open area near the kitchen. The back wall was line with empty bookshelves, broken only by a single door to the bedroom.The bookshelves did it. Tommy wanted to live here. He could see the shelves filled with Kerouac, and Kesey, and Hammett, and Ginsberg, and Twain, and London, and Bierce, and every other writer who had lived and written in the City. One shelf would be for the books he was going to write hardbacks in thirty languages. There would be a bust of Beethoven on that shelf. He didnt really like Beethoven, but he thought he should have a bust of him.He resist ed the urge to shout, Ill take it It was Jodys money. He had to check the bedroom for windows. He opened the door and went in. The room was as dark as a cave. He flipped the light switch and track lighting along one wall came on. There was an old mattress and box springs on the floor. The walls were bare brick. No windows. by another door was a bathroom with a freestanding perish and a huge claw-foot tub that was stained with rust and paint. No windows. He was so excited, he thought he would wet himself.He ran out into the main living area where Alicia was standing with her hand on her hip, mentally shoving him into the pigeonhole of abusive barbarism she had made for him.Ill take it, Tommy said.Youll have to fill out an Ill give you four thousand dollars in cash, right now. He pulled the wad of bills out of his jeans.How many keys will you need?Chapter 14Two Losts Do Not Make a FoundConsciousness went off like a flashbulb of pain a dull ache in her head, sharp daggers in her kne es and her chin. Jody was slumped in the sayer. The water was still running had been running on her all day. She crawled out of the shower stall on her hands and knees and pulled towels out of the rack.She sat on the bathroom floor and dried herself, blotting away the water with rough terry cloth. Her skin felt tender, almost raw. The towels were damp from fourteen hours of steam. The ceiling dripped and the walls ran with condensation. She braced herself against the sink and climbed to her feet, then opened the door and stumbled through the room to the bed.Be careful what you ask for, she thought. each(prenominal) the regret about waking up a little too alert, coming out of sleep like a gunshot, came back on her. She hadnt thought about falling asleep in the same way. She must have been in the shower at sunup, dropped to the shower floor, and stayed there throughout the day.She sat up on the bed and gently touched her chin. put out shot up her jaw. She must have hit it on the max dish when she went out. Her knees were smartd as well.Bruised? Something was wrong. She jumped to her feet and went to the dresser. She turned on the light and leaned into the mirror, then yelped. Her chin was bruised blue, with a corona of yellow. Her hair was hopelessly tangled and she now had a small bald spot where the water had worn away at her scalp.She backed away and sat back on the bed, stunned. Something was wrong, seriously wrong, beyond her injuries. It was the light. Why had she turned on the light? The night before she would have been able to see herself in the mirror by the light filtering in under the bathroom door. But it was more than that. It was a tightness in her mouth, pressure, like when she had first gotten braces as a child.She ran her tongue over her teeth and felt the points breaking through the roof of her mouth just behind her eyeteeth.She thought, Im breaking down from lack of She couldnt even make herself think it. This will get worse. Much wors e.Now she could feel the hunger, not in her stomach, but in her entire body, as if her veins were going to collapse on themselves. And there was a stress in her muscles, as if piano string section were tightening inside her body, sharpening her movements, making her feel as if she would jump through a window any second.Ive got to calm down. calmness down. Calm down. Calm down.She repeated the mantra to herself as she got up and walked to the phone. It seemed to take an incredible effort to push the zero button and wait for the desk clerk to come on.Hi, this is room two-ten. Is there a guy in the lobby time lag? Yes, thats him. Would you tell him Ill be down in a few minutes?She put down the phone and went to the bathroom, where she turned off the shower and wiped down the mirror. She looked at herself in the mirror and fought the urge to explode into tears.This is a project, she thought. She turned her head and looked at her bald spot. It was small enough that she could cover i t with a new part held by a couple of hairpins. Her bruised chin might require some explaining.She started to run her fingers though her hair to facilitate the preliminary untangle, fighting the tension in her arms that seemed to be increasing every second. A sizeable moth buzzed into the bathroom and went for the light above the mirror. Before she knew what had happened, she snatched it out of the air and ate it.She stared at her reflection and was horrified by the red-haired stranger who had just eaten a moth. Even so, a warmth ran though her like good brandy. The bruise on her chin faded as she watched.The first thing she saw when she turned the corner at the lobby was Tommys grin.Good, he said. Youre dressed for moving. I like your hair pinned up like that.Jody smiled, and stood awkwardly in lie of him, thinking she should greet him with a hug, but afraid to get too close to him. She could smell him and he smelled like food. You found a place?An incredible loft, south of Marke t. Its even furnished. He seemed as if he would burst with excitement. I used all the money I hope thats okay.Fine, Jody said. She just wanted to get him alone.Get your stuff, he said. I want to show it to you.Jody nodded. Ill be just a minute. Have the desk clerk call a cab.She turned to leave. Tommy caught her by the arm. Hey, are you okay?She motioned for him to move within talk range. I want you so badly I can just now stand it.She pulled away and ran up the steps to her room. Inside she gathered what few belongings she had and checked herself in the mirror one last time. She was wearying jeans and the chambray blouse from the night before. She un tied her blouse and did a straitjacket escape from her bra, then buttoned the blouse halfway up. She stuffed the bra into her day pack and locked the room for the last time.When she returned to the lobby, Tommy was waiting outside by a blue DeSoto cab. He opened the door for her, climbed in, and gave the driver the address.Youre goi ng to love it, he said. I know you are.She locomote closer to him and held his arm tightly between her breasts. I cant wait, she said. A precise voice in her head asked, What are you doing? What are you going to do to him? It was so faint and foreign that it might have come from someone outside on the street.Tommy pulled away from her and dug into his jeans pocket, coming out with an envelope. Your checks in here. I didnt open it.She took it and put it in her day pack, then move on him again.He scooted to the door and nodded toward the driver, who was watching them in the rearview mirror. Forget him, Jody whispered. She drub Tommy neck and shuddered with the taste and warmth of his flesh.I couldnt get your car out of impound. It has to be the owner.Doesnt matter, she said, nuzzling into the space under his jaw.The cab stopped and the driver turned to them. Six-ten, he said.Jody threw a twenty over the seat, reached over Tommy and opened the door, dived out and dragged him out of the cab after her. Where is it?Tommy just had time to point to the door before she pushed him at it. She climbed on his back as he unlocked the door, then bolted past him and dragged him up the steps.Youre really excited about this, arent you? he asked.Its great. She stopped at the fire door at the top of the stairs. informal it, she commanded.Tommy unlocked the door and threw it open. This is itShe went through, catching the front of his shirt and pulling him in. aspect at all these bookshelves, he said.She ripped his shirt off and snoged him hard.He pulled up for air and said, The bedroom doesnt have any windows, just like you wanted.Where? she demanded.He pointed to the open door and she pushed him through it. He fell face down on the bare mattress. She flipped him over, hooked her hands into the waist of his jeans and ripped them off him.So you like it? he asked.She ripped her shirt open and held him to the bed, one hand on his tit while she took off her own jeans. She climb ed on him and muffled his next question with a kiss.He finally got the message and returned her kiss and well-tried to match her urgency, then didnt have to try at all. She pulled away from the kiss as her fangs unsheathed, then guided him into her as he moaned. Jody growled deep in her chest, pushed his head to the side and bit him on the neck.Ouch Tommy shouted. She held him down and snarled into his neck. remains from the old mattress filled the air and was stirred by the movement of their bodies.Oh jeez Tommy shouted, shaft his fingers into her bottom. Jody answered him with a catlike scream as she came, then fell on his chest and licked the blood that dribbled from the punctures on his neck.She twitched and shuddered while he repeated, Oh jeez, over and over again between gasps. After a few minutes she rolled off him and lay on the bed public opinion the warm nourishment running though her.Tommy rubbed his neck. That was great, he said. That was incredible. You are Jody r olled over. Tommy, I have to tell you something.Youre beautiful, he said.Jody smiled at him. The urgency was gone now and she was feeling guilty. I could have killed him, she thought.Tommy reached over and touched her lips. Whats that on your teeth? Did you abide yourself?Its blood, Tommy. Its your blood.He felt his neck again, which was completely healed. My blood?Tommy, Ive never done anything like that before. Ive never been that way before.Me either. It was greatIm a vampire.Thats okay, Tommy said. I knew this girl in high school who gave me a hickey that covered the building block side of my neck.No, Tommy. Im really a vampire. She looked him in the eye and did not smile or look away. She waited.He said, Dont goof on me, okay?Tommy, have you ever seen anyone tear a pair of jeans like that before?That was my living organism attraction, right?Jody got out of bed, went to the bedroom door and shut it, shutting out the light from the living area. Can you see anything?No, he said .Hold up a number of fingers. Dont tell me how many.He did.Three, Jody said. Try again.He did.Seven.Jeez, he said. Are you psychic?She opened the door. Light spilled in.You have an incredible body, Tommy said.Thanks. I need to lose five pounds.Lets do it again, without our shoes on this time.Tommy, you have to listen to me. This is important. Im not kidding you. I am a vampire.Cmon, Jody, come over here. Ill take your shoes off for you.Jody looked up at the ceiling. There were open steel beams twenty feet above. Watch. She jumped up and grabbed on to a beam and hung. run through?Jeez, Tommy said.Do you have a book here?In my suitcase.Go get it.Be careful. You could fall.Get the book, Tommy.Tommy went into the living area, looking up at her as he walked under. He returned with a volume of Kerouac.Now what? play along down from there. Youre making me nervous.Close the door and open the book.He closed the door and the room went dark again. Jody read a half pageboy aloud before he op ened the door again.Jeez, he said.She let go of the beam and dropped to the floor. Tommy backed away from her to the bed and sat down.If you want to leave, Ill understand, she said.When we were making love you were cold inside.Look, I didnt mean to hurt you.Tommys eyeball were wide. You really are a vampire, arent you?Im sorry. I necessitate help. I needed someone.You really are a vampire. It was a statement this time.Yes, Tommy. I am.He paused for a second to think, then said, Thats the coolest thing Ive ever heard. Lets do it with our shoes off.