Blood 4 Life

by M. Lorrox

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “No problem. What are you selling here today?”

  Minnie speaks up proudly. “Cheese and soap.”

  “Wonderful.” He bends down toward Minnie and grins. “Now be careful. Don’t mix the two up!”

  Minnie looks at him, puzzled. Of course we won’t mix them up. The soap is in colored wrapping, and the cheese is in the clear ones.

  Sadie responds to the man for her, chuckling. “Very true; we’ll be careful.”

  The man smiles and stands upright. “Let me know if you need anything. Good luck today.”

  “Thanks.”

  Inside, Sadie and Minnie make their way to their usual spot toward the center, away from the windows. The warehouse is large and open with tall ceilings. One wall has windows high in the air, allowing a pool of light to cross and fall on the opposite wall and floor. Sadie leads Minnie toward the wall with the windows high above where there’s the least light reaching the floor.

  At their table, chairs are already set up. Sadie spreads out a thin white tablecloth, and Minnie helps set up their display. Cheese samples and toothpicks are arranged in rows, and soap samples are laid on top of the stacks of soap. They set the cash box on the side, and they set a pad of paper and a pencil in the middle. It’s Minnie’s job to tally all the sales and track the inventory.

  Sadie makes columns across the top of the paper of all the products they brought with them, and another one for the money they start with. “Minnie, let’s fill this out. How many clove soap do we have?”

  Minnie is disinterested. “Mommy, can I go smell the flowers?” Her favorite stand at the farmers’ market is Mr. Locke’s fresh flowers. “I know the way to Mr. Locke’s. I’ll go the long way…”

  Minnie knows that she cannot go near the pools of light that sometimes fall in the afternoons near Mr. Locke’s stand. She and Sadie always take “the long way,” a route that avoids the areas that later in the day will be dangerous to them.

  Sadie looks up from the pad and toward where Mr. Locke sets up. He’s not there. Hmm, he’s usually one of the first ones here… “He’s not here yet, honey.” Sadie looks across to where the other florist sets up. “And North Farms is still setting up.” She motions to the pad and looks at Minnie. “Help me fill this out, and we’ll go explore a bit before we open up.”

  “Alright.”

  Minnie begins counting the soap.

  Whoa. Eddy is frozen near the targets, looking at the two people approaching—mostly at the girl. He walks back toward his friends, then motions with his chin toward the people walking over. “Who are they?”

  All the kids except Jess turn around. “That’s got to be my cousins, Craig and Bill.”

  Eddy remembers Jess telling stories of her older cousins who lived on the other side of the mountains in Tennessee. Apparently they had graduated from school a few years ago. When they were seniors, they both decided to go out for the school’s football team, the Tartans. They were inexperienced but fearless and rough. Jess tells stories of how they would make all sorts of crazy and surprising plays, and how they’d gather tons of penalties. The coach didn’t seem to mind; they were winning, and together the team took the state championship.

  Eddy squints back at Jess and shakes his head. “Mmm, nope.”

  She turns around, puzzled. “Oh, that’s Craig, and…a friend of his, I guess.”

  I wonder what kind of friend. Eddy is mesmerized by her; he’s never seen someone so…alternative? Different? Sexy?

  The girl is older than Eddy and his group of friends; she looks like she’s in her late teens, maybe even twenty. She’s certainly younger than Craig, but she walks with dignity next to him. She has long, wavy, red hair dyed a darker red, a fair complexion, dark red lipstick that matches her hair, and tight-fitting clothes. She has on a pair of black leggings and a loose purple embroidered skirt that covers only two-thirds of her hips; her right leg leads the open area, with the longest part of the skirt blown back gracefully by her left calf as she walks. She has on a sleeveless gray shirt with a scalloped, low-swooping collar, and on her right arm—the same side of her body that has the opening of her skirt exposing her leggings—she wears a long, fingerless black leather glove. It starts behind her knuckles and goes up past her elbow. It has tiny golden metal studs on it and features fashionably tattered edges.

  On her other side, she wears a smallish brown leather bag near her waist, like a holster, and there’s a large knife lashed to the side. One of the bag’s straps hugs her waist while the other passes across her chest and over her shoulder. The bag and the straps have some brass studs and rings on them. On that same side, on her wrist, she wears a beaded bracelet.

  The pair is now much closer, and Craig half waves to Jess and Joe. “Hey, guys. Having fun?”

  Joe walks over to greet him with their customary fist bump. “Sure. What are you doing here?”

  -Bump- “Jess didn’t tell you?”

  Jess cuts in abruptly, “I wanted it to be a surprise. Who’s your friend?”

  “I’m Sophia. You’re Jess, right?” Without waiting for a response, she looks toward Joe. “And you’re…?”

  “Joe. Jess’s brother.”

  “Gotcha. Nice to meet ya. And your friends?” She points at the rest of the group with her hand in the shape of a pistol.

  June answers first. “I’m June, this is Eddy, and that’s Tomo.”

  “Cool. I’ll probably forget your names.”

  Craig laughs. “Yeah, she probably will. Sophia is traveling through to Atlanta and poppin’ zombies along the way. She’s a hell of a shot. Thought you might like to meet a real killer.”

  Eddy is still staring at her. Sophia notices and looks him dead in the eye. They have the same eyes, and they think the same thing: Vampire.

  She winks at him.

  Jess asks, “Wait, I thought you were bringing Bill? And we were going, to—”

  “Still are. Bill is setting things up for us.”

  “Oh okay. Hey, do you have any water or anything? I’m real thirsty.”

  Craig is wearing a backpack with a hydration pack in it. He pulls the little hose away from its retainer on the chest strap. “Here.”

  “Sweet.” Jess walks over and takes a few long sips. “Thanks.” She glances at Sophia, who half smiles and half looks bored.

  Eddy asks what he and a few others had been wondering. “What are you guys up to later?”

  Craig looks around at the rest of the group. “Jess, Joe, and us—” he motions to Sophia, “—are all going to go do some other target practice, up on the ridge.” He looks over the group’s shoulders at the archery targets. “Any of you good?”

  Tomas opens his mouth to respond, but Jess clears her throat in a way that makes him pause.

  “Hold on, she’s coming too?” She scowls at Sophia.

  Craig laughs. “Chill, cuz. Sophia’s cool. Me and Bill almost blew her away when we first stumbled on her in our barn…thought she was Z.”

  Sophia laughs, and Eddy notices how white her teeth are.

  Jess isn’t laughing. “What were you doing in their barn?”

  Sophia recovers and shrugs. “I’m hitchhiking my way down south, and I needed a place to stay. They had good fences and a sizable farm, so I went looking for shelter. That li’l barn near the pond was just too cute to not investigate.”

  Jess folds her arms. “The pink one with the giant pig in it?”

  Sophia nods. “Yeah! That’s the one, I—”

  “Me and my dad built that barn, and Gertrude is our pig.”

  Craig takes a step in front of Sophia. “Jess, what’s the problem? Just chill. Sophia’s cool. She’s been helping us all week, and Gertie is just as fat and happy-go-lucky as usual.”

  Sophia pokes her head out from behind Craig’s big shoulders. “You and your dad built that barn? It’s so cute! I love it! And Gertrude is a very nice pig. It’s nice to meet you, by the way. I’ve heard great things from your co
usins.”

  Jess unfolds her arms. “Alright… Good to meet you.” She turns and looks away.

  Tomas steps toward Jess, then turns to Craig. “So, uh, to answer your question…about being good, um, I’m pretty awful, actually, but June and Eddy are real pros. They usually always get bull’s-eyes.”

  Craig steps to Jess’s side and leans his arm on her shoulder. “That right?” He looks over to the “real pros” as a devilish grin creeps across his lips. “Ever shoot a moving target?”

  June glances at Eddy. He’s nodding. She shakes her head.

  Eddy adds, “I go archery hunting with my dad. Deer in the fall, and turkeys in the spring.”

  Craig grins widely. “Bag any gobblers this season?”

  “No, umm, we didn’t go—not with the zombies and all—but we got a buck and a doe in the fall.”

  “Nice.” Craig glances quickly over to Sophia, then to Eddy and June. “Ever shoot a gun?”

  This time they both answer, “No.”

  Craig shrugs. “Oh well. Let me know when you grow up.”

  Jess elbows him in the ribs, and he winces. “Be nice… And you know, as this is apparently turning into a more-the-merrier kind of thing, what do you say we invite them along?”

  Craig thinks for a moment. “Nah, I bet they’re not that good. They’ll probably just waste bullets or pansy out on us.”

  Eddy clears his throat. “Yeah, I’m certainly the biggest of pansies.”

  June turns to him and furrows her brow. What are you playing at?

  Craig takes his arm from Jess’s shoulder. “I call ’em like I see ’em.”

  Eddy shrugs and tries to look nonchalant.

  Sophia smiles. This could be fun. “You know, Craig, Jess’s right. It might be fun if more came along.” She winks at Eddy in a way that everyone can see. “I bet this Eddy cat isn’t half-bad.”

  “Unlikely.” Craig smiles at Eddy.

  Eddy smiles back. “I bet I’m a better shot than you.”

  Craig puts on a face of charmed surprise; it’s not every day a goth-looking pip-squeak teenager stands up and challenges him. “Really? Wow, that’ll be the day.” He motions to the targets behind them. “How’ve you been hitting today?”

  “Just shot once. Bull’s-eye.”

  Craig wastes no time. “Which target?”

  “The first one, but we just started.”

  Craig sighs. “Mmm-hmm.”

  Sophia raises her eyebrows to Eddy. “Show us whatcha got.”

  Eddy walks over toward the arrows, sighing loudly. “Pick a number between one and six.”

  Everyone is confused. Glances shoot back and forth between them.

  Craig eventually speaks up. “Five.”

  “Which target?”

  Craig snuffs. “How ’bout the farthest one.”

  “Okay. Five arrows arranged like on a set of dice, on the farthest target.”

  Everyone smiles.

  Craig nods and folds his arms in front of his chest. I think I like this kid.

  Eddy feels for the wind and looks for signs of it, but it’s quite minimal. He decides to start in the center, and shoot around it. He takes aim; his first is a bull’s-eye, just to the left of dead center. The next is the top-left, two rings out. The next the top-right, two rings out, and then the bottom-right and the bottom-left, both two rings out.

  The friends applaud and cheer for his achievement. Eddy has the biggest grin on his face as he struts over to June. He puts his arm around her shoulder, and then looks at Craig and Sophia.

  Alright, this guy’s cool. “Nice, dude! You are good.” Craig leans over and whispers into Sophia’s ear, “What do you think, could we use him tomorrow?”

  Sophia, still looking at Eddy, answers, “Definitely.”

  “What do you think, Jess, want to bring these guys along to the ridge?”

  “Yeah. I suggested it, remember? And like I said, the more the merrier. But only if they want to.”

  Craig looks at the other kids with intensity in his eyes and a sharp smile. “What do you say? Wanna go wreck some zombies?”

  June sighs. She hears her father’s voice in her mind, and she agrees with what it’s saying. “That’s a careless idea. You can all go become zombie snacks, but there’s no reason that we—” she motions to her friends, “—should go out looking for trouble.”

  Craig laughs. “Trouble is everywhere. You don’t have to look for it.”

  Jess shoots Craig a dirty look. She may be standoffish at times, but she cares about her friends and doesn’t like them to be made fun of.

  Craig sees her frustration, and his smile fades. “Listen, there are more and more zombies coming our way from the west, every day, and tomorrow a bunch of us are setting up a patrol to take their numbers down. So, today we’re gonna blow off steam… Pop some zombies from the ridge. No biggie. You’re welcome to come, and, well, the experience could save your life. Think about it.”

  Craig walks over and grabs a bow. “Joey, let’s say you and me play a game of horse. Loser has to clean the guns later.”

  To Joe, getting to clean the guns would be a prize. “You’re on!” He grabs another bow, and they set up to play.

  Sophia makes a motion to get Jess’s attention. “You know, he’s right. The experience could actually save your life.”

  Jess rolls her eyes. “No shit. I’ve shot zombies with the guys a dozen times before, and I’m better off for it. I’m going.”

  “Oh. Sorry.” Sophia bites at her bottom lip. She looks at Eddy, then June and Tomas. “What about y’all? Ya wanna come along?” She looks immediately to Eddy and leans her head toward him. “I’d like for you to come.”

  Eddy, unsure of her intentions, hopes at least that nobody else considers the possible double meaning in her phrase—which, of course, June notices. Eddy glances at her quickly. Her eyes are wide.

  June smacks her lips when she opens them to speak. “I don’t think so; it sounds like a bad idea to me.”

  Tomas, chipper as can be, chimes in. “Sorry, I can’t. I’m getting picked up in about a half hour. It’s my mom’s birthday.”

  “Oh, that’s cool.” Sophia looks at Eddy.

  Eddy is looking at her, and he watches her pupils dilate as they adjust to the shade he’s standing in. He forgets for a second that he’s supposed to answer. Oh, right! “Uh, I dunno.”

  June looks at Eddy. “You don’t have to prove yourself or anything. You already showed them that you’re a crack shot.”

  All Eddy hears is “prove yourself,” and all he can think about is his dad. Scenes Eddy has imagined hundreds of times—of Charlie, a Knight of the Order, in battles and duels—flash once more through his mind.

  “Eddy?”

  He looks at June. You don’t understand. You don’t even really know me, or anything about being a vampire, or being the son of a vampire knight, or about honor and duty and the tradition of becoming a squire.

  He looks into Sophia’s green eyes. She probably gets it, or she would if she knew who Dad was… I do need to prove myself. He takes a deep breath. “I’m in.”

  Sophia smiles and nods.

  June walks over to Tomas. She looks at the ground and speaks quickly. “Tomo, can I get a ride home?”

  Tomas is happy to help her get home, even though it’s not very convenient to where he lives. “I’m sure my brother can drop you off, and if not, you’ll just have to come to the party.” He smiles at her.

  June does not return it. “Thanks.”

  At the farmers’ market, Sadie and Minnie have made a lot of sales. After each, Minnie tallies up the number of the items sold and marks it down on the list. She also tallies up the purchase prices to calculate the total bill. All items they’re selling are priced in whole dollar increments, and the woman waiting to pay is buying four items.

  The woman is smiling as Sadie helps Minnie with the calculation.

  “We’re up to thirteen dollars so far. How much is the last item?”r />
  Minnie looks at the packaged soap. “Three dollars.” Minnie places it in the bag with the other items the woman is buying, then she holds up a hand to count the additions. Start at thirteen, then fourteen, fifteen, sixteen. Minnie looks up at the woman. “That’ll be sixteen dollars, please.”

  “Very good!” The woman leans down and smiles at her. “Here’s a twenty.”

  Sadie takes the twenty-dollar bill and opens the cash box. She angles it in front of Minnie. “How many more does it take to go from sixteen to twenty?”

  Minnie reaches her hand in the box to where the ones are. She pulls them out one at a time. “Seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty.” She counts the bills in her hand and then hands the bills to the shopper. “Four dollars is your change.”

  The woman takes the bills and the bag of items. “Thank you very much.”

  Sadie smiles at the woman. “Have a good week, Ms. Tawny.”

  She nods as she walks away.

  Sadie turns her attention to Minnie. “Very good job, dear! And look, we’re almost sold out today!”

  Indeed, there are only a couple items left on the table, and their cash box is almost full. Sadie glances around and notices that Mr. Locke’s table is still empty. She shakes her head.

  Minnie pulls on Sadie’s sleeve. “Mommy, what is that?”

  Sadie looks down. “Hmm? Oh, nothing. I was just looking for somebody.”

  “No, I mean that sound, outside.”

  Sadie listens. It’s faint, but she can hear it too. It sounds like metal screeching and… Zombies! “Time to go, honey. You stay close to me now.”

  -Pop, pop, pop- Shots are fired outside.

  The people inside start to panic. Sadie grabs Minnie’s hand while she pulls on her shoulder bag. She reaches in and roots around, looking for something. Where is it? Ah. Okay. “Let’s go, Minnie. We’re going to leave all this here.”

  “What about the money?”

  “It’s fine; I’ll get it later. C’mon.” Sadie starts to lead Minnie toward the door, where people are already crowding, when all of a sudden the people begin screaming. The people start to run away from the door as gray arms reach in, pulling and grabbing. There are more gunshots. More screaming.