Jack the Stripper
Page 5
“Did you find May’s killer?” Jack had to know.
Jim turned his eyes on Jack, and once again his skin prickled. The necromancer’s eyes were like two pits of darkness set in parchment. “Not I. May. She found her own killer. A vampire. She put a stake through its heart and eliminated it. That’s how I understood that I could create zombies to find their own killers. Human police are useless against mutants.”
“They have been getting bolder,” said Dee. “And some have become serial killers.”
“That’s why I was so careful making Jack, and why I was so pleased he had such strength.”
Jack suddenly realized what he’d said. “May found her own killer? You made your own daughter into a zombie?” Horror warred with fascination.
The man smiled. “You’d like to meet her, wouldn’t you?”
Jack couldn’t deny it. He nodded.
“May, would you come out here please?”
Jack saw the door open, and if he had a heart, it would have been pounding a hole in his chest. May stepped out. She was exquisite. A porcelain doll with chin-length black hair like a silk waterfall. Her hands were so small, Jack marveled. And her skin was flawless. She raised her eyes timidly and smiled at everyone in turn. She didn’t look like a zombie. She looked like a young woman. Her skin and eyes glowed. Her cheeks were faintly pink and there was no way Jack would ever guess she was undead.
“Wow.” Dee breathed.
“Hello, May,” said Mamie Hoya. She gave the young woman a sharp look. “Do you obey your father?”
“Oh no.” There was laughter in her voice. The sound tickled Jack’s neck and made his knees feel weak. “My father gave me complete freedom. I don’t have to obey him unless I want to.”
Jack wanted to ask a thousand questions, but they all got stuck in his throat at once. The only thing that popped out was, “Does your arm fall off too?”
Dee turned and gaped at him, Mamie Hoya gave a strangled cough, and May smiled beatifically. “My arms are fine.” She batted her eyelashes. “I have a slight weakness in my left ankle.”
“It’s nothing,” said her father. He got up and kissed his daughter’s cheek. May is a zombie, but she’s so well made you can’t tell she’s not human. The same applies to you, Jack. You are perfectly made.”
“Why do I have such a weakness, if you’re so powerful, couldn’t you make my arm better?”
“It’s because the evil has to have a place to leave.” The necromancer spoke seriously, and Jack listened. “Everyone has a mixture of good and evil within them. But a living body has a soul, and this always tips the balance towards good. My daughter will tell you that vampires are evil because they have no defects that permits evil to leave them. Perhaps this is true. In any case, even if a zombie has a soul, I always leave a defect so that the evil will leave.”
“It leaves by way of my arm?” Jack frowned.
“Not exactly. But necromancy is a very powerful magic and calls up both strong evil and strong good. Trapping the evil inside your body would create a monster. Believe me, I know what I’m doing. You are flawless, my magic is strong. You don’t have to worry about anything except your arm. You will stay strong and healthy.”
“I have a book,” Jack said, taking it from his pocket and holding it up.
Mr. Ling-Li looked at the book and nodded. “Very good, and now you have a purpose. Jack, I’m going to give you just one command. Find the Heart Taker and stop him.”
The words echoed weirdly in Jack’s mind. He’d been given an order. It was suddenly imperative to find the Heart Taker and stop him. “Yes, Master,” he found himself saying.
“No, I’m not your master.” Mr. Ling-Li shook his head. “I free you to make your own decisions. Do you have a place to stay? I have prepared a room for you.”
“That’s very kind, but I have a place already.” Jack was suddenly glad of Brianna’s invitation. When Mr. Ling-Li had spoken the words that freed him, he’d felt something snap inside him, just as if a rubber band had been pulled tight and broken somewhere in the vicinity of his missing heart. He didn’t like the feeling that someone had such power over him. He looked at May, but she just stared shyly at the floor.
“Where are you staying?” she asked, her eyelashes fluttering a bit.
Jack shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “I’m, um, staying with an old friend.”
May looked disappointed. “Very well. If you insist. Would you mind leaving your phone number and address so we can get in touch with you?”
Jack wrote everything on a paper and handed it to Mr. Ling-Li. May smiled at him.
“Thank you, Jack. If you have any problems, call me on my private line.” He gave Jack a card. There was no name on it. Just a phone number.
Jack tucked it in his pocket with the handbook. His second life had just begun.
Chapter Seven
Jack the Stripper
They got back in the train and rattled back uptown. First Mamie Hoy got off at her station, Flag Street, and then it was Dee’s turn at Union Square in midtown. Jack’s stop was the next-to-last on the line at Docker's Station. He got out and was relieved to find he remembered the area. There was a short walk up the hill to the red brick apartment building where Brianna lived.
It was dark and the streetlights were lit, shining on the puddles in the road. Cars went by, splashing noisily. He hunched his shoulders in the light jacket, wishing he had something warmer. He stopped for a minute on the front steps and looked back down the hill. He stood there, in the light rain, thinking that he had nothing left. He had nothing but the coat on his back and the key in his hand. He clutched it tighter. There was a fine line between being free of everything and destitute. Thanks to Brianna, he had a place to stay. He put it in the door, turned the lock, and went up the three flights of stairs to her apartment.
What would you do if you had a chance to start all over again? Jack sat in Brianna’s apartment and thought about that. The book about the care of his new zombie body was open on his lap, but he stared at it unseeingly. He had a new life now. And a purpose. Find the Heart Taker.
Dee was waiting for him to show up at the club. They didn’t have much time before the show, just four days. Dee seemed confident that he could learn the steps and how to strip. In the meantime, Jack wanted to take stock of his options. With his memories more or less intact, he could think things over more clearly.
His parents had both died in a car crash, so he didn’t have the agony of deciding whether or not to contact them. He had some friends he vaguely remembered, but he wasn’t sure he could call them up and say, “Hey, I’m back!” without scaring them to death. And although he would have liked to continue his studies, he couldn’t see anyone hiring a zombie. No, the only job he had to look forward to was in Dee’s club. He got a warm, fuzzy feeling when he thought of Dee helping him. How lucky that he found a friend the first day of his new life! And Brianna, who let him stay in her apartment. He didn’t know too many people who would have done that. And Mamie Hoya too—and Mr. Ling-Li … and May.
He couldn’t get May out of his head. He looked at the card that he’d stuck in between the pages of the journal. Would she answer the phone?
Just as he thought about telephoning May, the phone rang. He hesitated, and then picked it up. It was Brianna.
“How did it go?” she asked. “Did you meet the person who made you? Was he a ... a nice person?”
“Great. The man who made me, Jim Ling-Li, is a good guy, Mamie Hoya told me I could trust him.”
“Why did he make you into a zombie, Jack?”
“He made me to catch the Heart Taker.”
She gave a little gasp. “Wow. That’s incredible.” There was a pause. “I’ve been hired as a bodyguard tonight for some political rally, so I’ll be home late. Don’t wait up for me. There’s food in the fridge and you can sleep wherever you want. Help yourself to towels and don’t worry about anything. You’re welcome to stay as long as you like.”
“You’re welcome. Look, I know this is hard for you, and you must feel terribly alone.”
“I feel much better now. Mr. Ling-Li made another zombie. She was made to catch mutants too.”
There was another silence. “A girl zombie?”
“Yes. She’s amazing.”
This time the silence lasted a little longer. “Great. That’s really nice. I have to go now.”
“I’m going to Dee’s place to rehearse in a few minutes. I just stopped by here to take a shower and all. I hope you don’t mind, I really appreciate it.”
“It’s fine. Mi casa es su casa, or my home is your home if you like. If you need some clothes, I might have some things that would fit you in the hall closet. There are some jackets I was saving to give to the Salvation Army, and there might even be a pair of pants your size. And Jack, I’m glad you’re feeling better.” She sounded sincere.
Jack felt the first smile he’d been able to manage stretch his mouth. “Thanks Brianna. Thank you so much.”
****
That night, in Dee’s club, Jack met the other people working there. Suki was the Rastafarian bartender with long dreadlocks decorated with green, red, and black beads. Davinia and Chloe worked there as waitresses. Chloe was a tall, thin blond woman and Davinia was short, brunette, and stout. Both were very nice and had beautiful, patient smiles. Marty, the deejay, looked more like a college professor with wire-rimmed glasses, pale skin, and a sharply receding hairline. Arnaud, the bouncer looked just like a bouncer though—with huge, bulging muscles and straw-blond hair in a marine-type buzz cut. None of them showed the slightest sign that they suspected he was a zombie.
He’d put lots of deodorant on. Jack was worried about zombie smell. After reading a chapter in his book that told the story of a zombie who let himself go, Jack was still feeling a little queasy.
Dee introduced him to everyone and then led Jack to the dressing room. “I found a costume. It’s perfect. And Marty is getting the music ready. He’s got some great ideas. Now, I don’t want you to do too much. Leave them drooling for more, that’s my motto. You’ll strip down to a pumpkin colored string on the first act, which will be to the Monster Mash. And then you’ll do the full Monty for the second act to the music ‘Superstition.’”
“Sounds great, thank you.” Jack liked Dee’s enthusiasm. He took the first costume and put it on. The pants had snaps all down the inside so he could whip them off. The gee-string had orange sequins and there was a jack-o’-lantern mask. Jack put the mask on and felt something shift inside. He was different, all of a sudden, with the mask. He strutted a couple steps and wiggled his hips.
Dee watched him with one eyebrow raised. “You sure you’ve never done this before?” he asked.
Jack grinned. Hidden behind the mask he felt powerful and mysterious. Marty hit the music and Dee waved him to the stage. “You’ll enter here. Someone will pull the curtain aside after I introduce you. I want you to walk out like you’re a monster. Stiff legs, jerky movements. Then get into the music and dance. You can dance, right?”
Jack nodded. Behind the mask, he could do anything.
“Great. Dance. Then bare your chest. Remember what I said about the cuffs. Whenever you feel ready, rip off the pants. Then strut your stuff until the music ends. We’ll kill the lights, and I want you to come back here as quickly as possible. Marty will play some more music; then you’ll go back on for your grand finale. All right? Ready for a try?”
Jack was ready. Marty hit the lights and the music, Dee held the curtain back, and Jack did his best monster imitation. He staggered around, and pulled his shirt open. He undid his cuffs, and then took his shirt off slowly.
Chloe and Davinia, sitting in as the audience, clapped and squealed excitedly.
Then he really got into it. He whipped his pants off. He danced to the music. Wow, he was hot. Jack the stripper. Yeah. The music stopped, the lights dimmed, and he ducked backstage to the dressing room. “How was I?” he asked. He hoped he hadn’t looked too amateurish. He really wanted to be a hit.
Dee beamed. “You were terrific. Here’s your second outfit. It’s a little more tricky. A vampire costume. The cape might be a pain, so get rid of it early on. The rest is classic—white shirt, black snap pants, and a red satin G-string.”
“I thought of a name for myself. How about, Jack the Stripper?” Jack tried to sound modest. He was secretly thrilled to have found a talent as a male stripper. Chloe and Davinia’s cheers had done wonders for his self-esteem.
Dee clapped him on the shoulder. “That is terrific!”
His arm dropped off.
This is not happening, thought Jack, picking up his arm and sticking it back in place. Dee looked a little green. “There must be something we can do to keep that in place,” he said.
Jack grimaced. “I’ll look in the zombie diary tonight. I’m sorry. Really.”
“Hey, don’t worry. We can’t all be perfect.” Dee still didn’t look too happy. But he gave Jack a reassuring smile. “Hey, don’t look so tragic. Jack the Stripper is a terrific idea. I’ll print up the poster tonight and send the ads out first thing tomorrow morning.”
The rest of the practice went well. Mindful of his arm, Jack didn’t dance very energetically, but Chloe and Davinia didn’t mind. When he whipped his G-sting off in the grand finale Suki, still behind the bar, dropped a glass, and Davinia fell off her chair. Chloe put her hands to her face and said. “Holy colossal cucumber, Batman.”
Dee was ecstatic.
Jack helped clean up the set and put the clothes away. Dee showed him where everything went. Then they went out for a bite to eat.
Jack had his book with him and studied it carefully. The chapter on nutrition was a long one. Zombies had to eat a balanced diet. Lots of purifying greens and fruit, seafood, and high quality protein were recommended, and he should eat as little fat, sugar, and processed food as possible. Absolutely no sodas, vinegar, chocolate, cheese, or candy. As for alcohol, an occasional beer or malt whiskey was all right. Red wine was fine, but not white wine, and nix the champagne.
Jack ordered a vegetarian platter and a glass of red wine. He listened while Dee spoke about his plans for the club, but he was only half listening. Dee was leaning forward, gesturing with his fork, when Jack saw the fly. It flew in and hovered over Jack’s bread-roll. Without really thinking, Jack reached over and plucked the fly out of mid-air. Everything slowed down. Even Dee’s words became drawn out and thick, like gravy poured over biscuits. The fly flew so slowly that Jack could see the individual wing-beats. He took it gently between his thumb and forefinger, meaning to toss it out the window, when time snapped back to normal and he realized what he’d done.
Dee stared at him, his mouth hanging open.
Jack frowned, tossed the fly out the window, and said, “You better shut your mouth, you’ll catch flies.”
“I can’t believe you just did that.” Dee shook his head. “Your hand was a blur.”
“I’m sure there is a perfectly good explanation.” Jack didn’t want to dwell on it. It made him feel like a monster again, and he’d just started feeling like he was almost normal.
“I think you better ask Mr. Ling-Li about that.”
Jack thought about that and nodded. And maybe May would answer the phone.
It was getting late. The last train would leave soon. Jack went to Union Square. He wasn’t tired. He’d been lying in a coffin for nearly a year—why should he be tired? Instead, energy coursed through him. He felt incredibly alive. The night air was cool and fresh after the day’s rain. The downtown lights blinked and flashed. Union Square hummed with activity.
Jack wandered down to the train station and studied the map, familiarizing himself with the city once more. It was built on a river, and on one side was all low, flat land, where the trailer park, industrial park, and Nativ
e American reservation were located. On the other side of the river was the old section of town, downtown, the docks, and then the land rose steadily towards a high bluff where the city sprawled into a huge, residential area.
Two trains served the city. The A line ran from the reservation on the west to the easternmost stop—the industrial park. It passed by Brianna’s stop, Docker’s station, then it went underground to Union Station, then to Flag street when it popped above ground again and ran all the way to the city morgue, past the huge trailer park; and then on to the industrial park. The other line, the B line, ran from the industrial park on the south, across the river to Union Station, then through the downtown area towards the residential areas behind the bluff on the north.
A whistle startled Jack and he sprinted to catch his train. As the door slid shut he sat on the hard, plastic seat and pulled the journal out of his jacket pocket. He wanted to find out as much about his new life as possible.
****
Brianna finished her job and went back to her apartment. It was late, but Jack hadn’t returned. She made up his bed on the couch and then took a long shower. She was so tired she didn’t turn on her television or read. She just lay down in her bed, and tried not to think about zombies. How could Jack be a zombie? He looked so alive! What was going to happen when they found themselves alone together? She sat up and groped around for the light. She could not ever imagine making love to a dead guy. There was just no way.
She got a pen and paper out of her night-table drawer and started to jot down a list. Her shrink had told her to do this when things got overwhelming. She divided the paper into two halves. On the left side she wrote; “Good things” and on the right sides she wrote “Bad things”. She bit the end of the pen and wrote, “Jack’s Back” on the left side. Then on the right she wrote, “But he’s a zombie.”
Her list, when she finished, looked like this:
Good things