“How much time you think we got?”
“Dunno, Michelle. Maybe half an hour?”
“All I know is I can’t run anymore this night,”
said an exhausted Maclemar. “My last stumble back there did me in.”
“Then we’d best find us some more guns and a better shooting position, right quick,” said Poe, rising to her feet after petting Penny affectionately. The decade-old dog had followed her through hell and back. “I love you, Pen. And don’t you forget it.”
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A volley of bullets besieged the ground the moment they crossed the fence surrounding the farm grounds.
“Whoa! Whoa, fuckers! Quit firin’ on one of your own!” yelled Michelle who remained on her feet while Maclemar and Poe dove on the ground for cover. “Stop shooting, assknocks!
“Michelle?” asked a voice from one of the rafters.
“Yeah, motherfucker, it’s me! And I’ve got Poe and the Welshman with me, too.”
“Hold your fire!” ordered the voice.
Before Poe could haul herself off the ground, Sainvire’s size 12 Pumas landed in front of her. With uncharacteristic brusqueness he pulled Poe to her feet.
“What the hell are you doing here, Poe?” he furiously asked. His fingers dug hard into her arm.
Penny growled her disapproval.
“I’m, I’m here to protect Megan,” she answered with confusion.
“The hell you are! You’re supposed to be taking care of Piper!”
Maclemar stepped forward looking equally dangerous. “Sainvire, take your hands off her.”
As if realizing the heavy pressure of his hand on Poe’s flesh, Sainvire let go and took a step back. He ignored Maclemar who positioned himself protectively to the girl’s right. Sainvire said, “You’ve just complicated an already glum situation, Julia Poe.
Not only have you left Megan’s child unprotected, you have also brought more problems for us. There are only eight available seats in the helicopter. Now we have to worry about three more bodies.”
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“That’s assuming the bird will fly,” Maclemar commented. “You know Rufus doesn’t know shite, don’t you?”
“Painfully. Escape plan or no, we have eleven against a hundred well equipped vampires with bulldozers. The odds are pretty bad any which way we turn.”
Maclemar remained quiet in contemplation. He broke his silence with, “I don’t know anything about helicopters, but I’m pretty good with engines. I’ll see what I can do.”
Sainvire nodded. “Thank you, Maclemar.”
“Don’t thank me yet. If I get the bird running, I expect these two girls to get a spot inside.”
“I can’t promise that,” Sainvire said direly.
“Then I won’t even bother.”
“Don’t be a fucking idiot, Maclemar. This is no time to bargain,” pronounced Poe. “I don’t want a place that’s not rightly mine. Besides, I have Penny to think about. So you better go help Rufus fix that helicopter. Now!”
Maclemar opened his mouth to protest, but Poe’s determined face dissuaded him from even trying.
“Right ya are, sweets,” he said then walked toward the barn.
“Michelle, Ed can supply you with better firepower.”
“Yessir. I know when I’m not wanted,” she said and walked away. She yelled, “Ed, where the hell are you? I need me some guns!”
Poe and Sainvire glared at each other in stifling quiet until the young woman tore off her night vision gear. Wiping the sweat from her face with her sleeve, Poe locked in her death stare.
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“I aim on staying here. No matter what,” she said. “So don’t worry about me taking up space in your precious helicopter.”
“Don’t make me sound like a monster,” he sighed. “Those seats are reserved for those brave enough to sit it out while Megan recuperates.”
Poe nodded. “I know. But I still don’t appreciate you thwacking me on the head and choosing for me.”
“Sorry about that, Poe,” Sainvire apologized. He glanced briefly at the bright moon. “I’m sorry about a lot of things.”
“Me, too.”
“Maclemar’s a good man,” he began. “He seems to deeply care for you.”
“So what are you trying to say?”
“He’ll make you happy.”
Poe wiped the sweat from the tip of her nose.
“Gee, thanks for the blessing, you goddamn vampire.
Do me a favor and don’t tell me who I’m going to be happy living life with. Now take me to Megan.”
She trailed him. He said, “I’m only thinking practical, Poe. There’s no one else I’d rather be with, but my responsibility is immense, and there’s no end in sight.”
“Just zip it, mister. I don’t want you anymore.
I’m totally over you, so don’t even flatter yourself.
I’m into warm-blooded creatures now.”
Sainvire stopped walking and grabbed the front of her shirt. His eyes were angry-silver in the moonlight. “I gave up a lot of things when I took up this dead-end cause. I’ve eaten about as much shit as I can swallow with a smile on my face, but if you think giving you up to a man that breathes is an easy feat, then I can strangle you right now. I want to fly 227
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us as far away from here as possible and live our own life so badly I can taste it. But I know that you’ll never let me. Just like I know I need to finish this through.” He let go of her shirt. “So don’t poke fun of my efforts. They cost me dearly.”
Poe’s throat hurt. He’d thought about absconding with her and leaving all the mess behind. He truly cared for her, and the realization made her want to weep. Instead she swallowed her pride and quietly said, “Since I’m probably gonna die tonight, I need to say mahal kita.”
“Mahal kita din, ” he said, catching her off guard.
“Don’t be so surprised, Poe. My best friend’s Filipino after all.”
“So I keep forgetting.”
“Just don’t forget what counts the most no matter what happens.”
“I won’t.”
The sound of a bulldozer cutting through the perimeter barriers of old farm equipment and rusty automobiles rang.
“You can find Megan in the first floor near the kitchen,” he said while taking her hand. “I’ve got to delay the shock troops a little while longer to give Maclemar and Rufus some more time. I love you, Poe. If I don’t see you again, I pray you’ll have a long and happy life.”
He bent down to kiss her forehead and touched her lips with his thumb. He took to the sky before she could say anything back.
With a tortured heart Poe trudged on to the farmhouse. There really wasn’t enough time to cry.
Not when the end was so near. “You stay out here, Pen,” she said. She bent down and hugged the dog.
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Joseph opened the door for Poe. His youthful face furrowed with grief. The vampire had been watching them from the kitchen window.
“I told Kaleb it was a bad idea to bash you over the head,” he said quietly. “I knew you’d pull a dumb stunt like this.” He motioned for her to sit down while he poured her a glass of goat’s milk intended for his child. “How’s my Piper?”
“The babe’s got Megan’s lungs,” Poe said before taking a sip of the milk. “She was crying something fierce when I got off the bus. I’m sorry for leaving her, Joseph. I was kinda thinking more about Megan, I suppose, because I haven’t bonded with your kid yet.”
“You better plan on bonding with her quick since you’re her godmother.”
“Yeah, I heard. I will when this thing’s over with.”
“You’re a good friend to Megan and me. I appreciate your effort.” He nodded, and his ponytail bobbed. “I’m sorry it’s gonna get you and your friends killed.”
“Hey. I knew my days were numbered when I was eight,” Poe said with a laugh. “I’m surprised I’ve lived this long. Anyways, the bus was heading away from Trench’s people. That’s a big plus.”
Wordlessly Joseph stood up and lifted Poe to her feet. He smiled with sad eyes. The vampire who couldn’t excrete tears encompassed her in an embrace which lasted a lifetime. "She’s dying, Poe,” he whispered in her ear. “I can smell death on her.”
Poe bit her lower lip until the pain made her forget the selfish urge to cry. “She’ll be okay. She’s strong.”
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“Infection has set in, and we don’t have working antibiotics.” He placed his hands on her shoulders and looked into her wide, fearful eyes. “I asked permission to turn her, but she refused. She doesn’t want to live as a dead even for the sake of seeing our child grow up.”
Like drowning alone in a dark lake, Poe struggled to keep afloat. There was nothing worse than witnessing the grief of friends. The process of turning someone into a vampire involved puncturing a hole through the cranium and spitting black dead blood in the brain. No wonder her friend was against it.
“Joseph, I’m so sorry. I feel so useless,” she said.
She pointed at the firepower surrounding her hip belt alone. “These goddamned weapons are useless, and they’re all I know in life.”
“Convince her, Poe,” Joseph said tiredly. “Tell her she can’t just leave us. This life is hell enough.
But with her in it, it wouldn’t be so bad.”
She patted his back. He was the closest thing to a brother she had in this whacked world. Joseph even shared the same name as her fallen older brother.
Megan’s room was next door to the kitchen. With a trembling hand she touched the door handle.
Megan lay on a twin bed surrounded by kerosene lamps. Her cream complexion was pasty with a greenish hue. Her bluish lips and her matted red hair like clumpy seaweed gave her the look of a dying mermaid. Poe inhaled and exhaled dragon-style enough to flush the sadness from her system.
“Megan,” she said softly from on the edge of the bed. She took her friend’s cold hand. “It’s me, Poe.
I’ve come to tell you about Piper.”
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Blue-veined eyelids fluttered open. Her jewel eyes rested on Poe’s face.
“Hey there.”
“Hey yourself. You want me to put on Freaks and Geeks for you?”
“My favorite show.”
“Yup. I see a box set over there. And I think I saw a laptop in the kitchen.”
“Thanks, but I’d rather talk to you,” Megan said with a cough, and she winced at the pain her cut stomach evoked. “How come you’re here? Where’s Piper?”
“She’s safe with Morales. What a voice box that girl has!”
“You’ll watch over her for me?”
“Of course. I’m her godmother for crying out loud.”
Megan smiled and closed her eyes for a moment.
Then with slow deliberation, she captured her friend’s brown eyes trying so hard to be brave. “Poe, I will not be turned into a vampire. I would hate you, Kaleb, and my Joseph for it. Maybe I’d even take it out on Piper.”
“But you can’t just leave us.”
“Sure I can. It’ll hurt for a while, but it’ll eventually get better.” She faced the window where an outline of the moon was visible beneath the thin calico curtains. “They’re almost here, Poe. Can you do me a favor?”
Poe sobbed. She clutched Megan’s hand with both of hers. “Anything, Megan. Anything.”
Megan smiled wanly, extricating her hand and patting Poe’s disheveled ponytailed hair.
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“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you with your hair down, Poe. I bet you’d look mighty pretty.”
“Sorry. I’m sweaty. I had to run wearing this to get back here,” she explained. She held her night vision helmet.
“My amazing Poe. Such a good friend.”
“What can I do for you?” Poe asked. She wiped tears from her face.
“You can lend me one of your pistols and leave the room.” Megan’s hand stopped playing with Poe’s hair.
“Jesus, you can’t ask that of me.”
“You said anything.”
“Not that. Never that!” she yelled. She got on her feet and backed out. “Joseph would never forgive me!”
Before Megan could utter another word, Poe exited the room. Once the door closed she sat on the floor and covered her ears. Her eyes and nose oozed.
“She asked for your gun?” Joseph queried. He was suddenly sitting on the floor beside her.
“Uh huh,” Poe answered miserably. She took the tissue he handed her and blew her nose.
“She asked for mine, too,” he said grimly. “I guess she has the right to die the way she wants.
Especially with those bastard lions at the gates.”
Determination etched on his chiseled face. He stood up and pulled a .22 from his back pocket. “Say your goodbyes, Poe. Then go outside. We don’t have much time.”
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CHAPTER 10
A SINGLE SHOT WAS all it took.
Poe heard it as she ran blindly toward the barn.
The helmet bobbed unused against her legs. All she could think of were Maclemar’s reliable arms enveloping her. He was the only solace left for her in such dark times.
With only the moon for illumination, Poe did not see the two vampire scouts that dogged her every step. Penny made a throaty warning noise, but Poe didn’t pay attention. Finding the girl’s tears apropos, the taller of the two reached out and yanked Poe’s hair. Her run ended. Chuckling quietly, the vampire clamped his gloved hand over Poe’s mouth. Penny clamped down on the intruder’s boot but took a kick for her troubles.
“That’s right, little girl. Cry away. The big bad wolf’s here,” he whispered in her ear.
The vampire, half-a-head taller than Poe, bared his fangs that sharpened as she stared up at them. He licked his lips slowly for show. On impulse Poe jumped as high as she could, ramming his chin shut with her head until the vampire’s fangs pierced his own tongue.
Quickly she kicked at the howling vampire’s shin and buried a wrist knife in his neck. The shorter vampire, not expecting retaliation from such a small 233
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person, was taken aback to Poe’s advantage. Before he could extract a menacing 9mm Tanfoglio Force from his hip holster, Poe beat him to the draw. Two shots squarely in the face felled him to the ground next to his writhing buddy. Poe removed her knife from the tall vampire’s throat and resheathed it at her wrist. With her foot she felt for the body armor on his person. The only safe place to aim for was the face.
“Nobody kicks my dog!” she gritted. “C’mon, Pen.”
She looked around the farm for another intruder.
“There’s nothing like violence to stop a girl’s tears,” she pronounced angrily and picked up the Tanfoglio packing 16 rounds. “They’re here!” she shouted as loudly as she could. She wiped the snot dripping from her face with her sleeve. “The motherfuckers are here!”
She plopped on her helmet and ran to the helicopter she could hear revving. At least the propellers are turning, thought Poe.
“Get inside! They’re here!” Poe hollered over the din of the engine and propellers. The dent-studded helicopter, formerly used as a Medevac, looked like rock monsters had chewed and spit it out.
“Whoa there, Sharren,” Maclemar said as he wiped his oily hands on his jeans. “This thing won’t hover. The engine is running too lean. It loses compression after just a few feet in the air.”
“Shit. There’s no time for that. What can you do?”
“We think it’s the piston. It’s burnt around the edges,” he said. He climbed the second ladder to join a harried Rufus. “We’re replacing it now, so keep the enemy from shooti
ng at this baby.”
“Where’s Michelle?”
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“Up that tree yonder,” said Ed, the smallest of Sainvire’s fighters. He appeared from behind and startled Poe. He tossed semi-automatics and ArmaLites on the ground. “I killed six scouts just now.”
“Can I have one of these ArmaLite things?”
“Help yourself, Poe,” the man said. He added, “I recommend the barn roof if you’re going to spot us.
I’ll take the rear.”
“Right,” said Poe, shouldering a long-range semi-automatic rifle and climbing the gutter to the roof. “Stay there, Pen. I’ll get you once this is over.”
The dog’s eyes apprehensively followed her ascent to the roof. Once settled on a spot Poe organized her weapons by size. Then she waited.
She noticed movement by the trailers. She blinked several times until she was certain at what she was seeing. “It’s Maple carrying Perla,” she said aloud. “I thought they would’ve left by now. And two jerkweeds are right at her heels.”
She took off her helmet and put the rifle in front of her. With relief she found night scopes attached to the firearm. Bad elements began firing in the rear, catching Maple in the back. Good thing she’s immune to garlic bullets.
“C’mon, focus,” she urged herself and followed the little green people. She fired, taking one of them down. The second green blur ducked behind a tree.
The respite gave Maple a fighting chance to reach the back of the barn. Never taking her sight off the figure behind the tree, Poe waited patiently. The moment he peeked out, she squeezed the trigger. She hit the invader in the face.
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“The head’s the only target,” she repeated with conviction. A tad louder she asked behind her shoulder, “You okay, Maple?”
“Yes. So is Perla. Thanks to you,” answered the middle-aged vampire with bludgeon arms. She tucked a drug-induced Perla into the rear of the helicopter. “Is this the only firepower we’ve got left?” she asked Ed.
“’Fraid so,” he answered.
“How’s it going, Maclemar?” asked Maple who kneeled on the ground to pick up some weapons. The vest she was wearing had deflected the bullets.
“Alright. So far. I think the new piston will get this flying machine off the ground,” he answered.
Dead Surround - The Julia Poe Vampire Chronicles Page 20
