I wanted to fall asleep the rest of the way. Did you know that this section of the world was personally named Juballinstones other names Jubelee, Jubalin, Saint Joy and Crack Town. Literally they sell it at Perfumery: Crack and Daily Drugs. What do they sell over there. Definitely drugs, I'm just trying to make myself laugh.
When we get there, we get off the bus and they hand us our new spanking ID cards. What happened in slavery should be left behind but I know damn well you had to have a permit at some point. I need an ID card.
"When you get inside the building, you will go through the metal dictators. The detector are set for staff and daywalkers."
The moment she said Daywalkers, I was like lord have mercy on blade. "Nah, fuck that nigga too." Curtis says through his soul. "Don't you know that shit came from Van Helsing." stresses Curtis.
"Blade is black!"
"Nigga! He kill vamps and you think he a freedom fighter?"
I don't know what to say.
I get handed my ID
Former: Magna Carta Biblio
Current: Deidre Hopkins
SPN: Berry Dug
Who the fuck is Berry? What is SPN? "Your DOHRCC card is temporary until your full card has been issued. Your SPN, Speculative Name. Meaning we believe you are using the body of another." Seville announces.
This is my body. Who is Berry? Who is Unwin?
WHO? Who has been inside of me?
Whatever happened to my body is a temple and my body stays at home--my body stays at home…
I'm a vampire, there's no one else here but me. Who's Berry?
We go through the metal detectors, nothing goes off. "The first place we go to in the house is the dining room. You will eat! You have to eat!" Just like the plantation it's much, much wider inside. It actually has the same space of a museum. I see vampires, black, white, Hispanic and other walking about. Sweeping the floor. I can't talk to anyone.
"Don't bother…" I hear Curtis. "They shy…"
We're guided to the dining hall and I witness a black vampire walking in a cook's outfit. We meet eyes and she gently smiles at me. I furrow. I know she can't show her teeth.
We get ready to sit down and unlike the Plantation, they don't have zombies but conscious drunks serve us. The drunks put our plates down, it's made out of gold. He takes the top off for me. I'm thinking how his eyes are a solid pink and I want to ask what they feed him. "Food. People." he reads me. "I ate a vampire last week. He didn't make the liquor and another one tried to run. Being a drunk is good. I used to eat myself; bite my wrist just to stay alive but then they took me to church." he chortles. "I have never felt better. I'm eatin' good, I can't go outside still because I'm black as hell. But I get what I want if I pay attention. And the hospital set up this, 'deal'. Nigga's practically selling they souls to another. Watch ya self nigga. I went my whole life not making enemies."
"What's your name?"
"My name? It's Jasper Hair, my nigga. You know what else?" I'm afraid to know. "eating vampires kills ya spirit. But I'm immortal…"
He takes the cover off my plate, my eyes widen. They served us a slice of apple pie, french fries, pig's heart, chicken liver, and chitlins with ketchup. "Eat up fam." his voice his deep. One of the female maids comes and takes my headgear off. I clamp my jaws, and message my cheeks. "Lord have mercy…" Curtis drools. He searches the infinite table for Rank. "Rank! Nigga eat!"
"They put soul food on the plate?"
"This is the first plate of the day. You get your second after you live." explains Jasper. "You could be like me. Eating whole soul food plates. Chicken innards, and even the insides of man himself. His name was Brian. Shit make ya soul tingle. Ya dick long. All that good shit. Hell, massa even let me have a bitch."
Curtis picks up fries and chicken liver with his hands and brings everything to his mouth. The first thing I want is pie but I eat the the chitlins with the fries. Why give us so much food? Why give us little back at the plantation? My eyes get hot, I rub my neck as I eat my liver. I smack on the pig's heart. Curtis's reaches over at my plate and knocks the fries off. I grab his arm and break it with my single hold. He screeches as his wings pop out his back.
"Mind yo business!" My voice is demonic. I grab his plate away from him. What is wrong with him?
What about me?
My head turns to a vamp leaping on the table, he sweeps off all the plates at the far end and chokes his fist around a watcher's neck. He claims his veins in his throat. His head bobbing back and forth. Another vampire squeezes his leg, licking from the ankle to the thigh. His nails are embedded, drawing blood. One more in front of the vamps eyes stabs him in the face and pins him to the table.
He scratches his back until his spine his revealed. "NECK!" the vampire pulls up his spine. Curtis looks at me with eyes wide and pink, drool drips from his lips. "I got passion…"
No the hell you don't.
He reaches over the table. Climbing to the top, he jumps on me, snapping his jaws. "CURTIS!" I put my forearm in front of my face. His teeth gnaw at me. I push his chest with my hand.
I get the idea to turn my arm to the side thinking it'll make him let go. He lets go, and goes for my face. My eyes are hot again. I thrust my thumb in his eyes.
He screams and starts attacking my face wildly. He nicks my cheek. My throat is warm. My mind telling me to harm this nigga. I put my fist in his mouth, my finger scratching at his tongue; digging deeper down his throat. Curtis tries to bite my hand. I rip out his tongue from the back of his mouth. He gurgles, I push him off me. A vampire hits me with a chair, I turn around, seizing his throat and chomping on his shoulder.
I pin him to the floor. Rip off his shirt. My neck is burning. "BOW!" They scream, I cover their mouth. "RIP!"
A line cuts down their torso, open him up like a present and pull out his innards.
I'm hungry…
.
.
.
I woke up full of energy. I saw a beige ceiling with a fan. It was spinning and a cool air was hitting me.
I sat up with ease. I'm not starving like at the plantation. I feel rejuvenated.
I swing my legs over the bed to see Dexter. "Dex!" I'm happy. He was gone for a really long time. He had baptism.
He looks at me, he's very pouty this morning. "What's wrong?" I ask. A simple question, he could he's sad. He's just thinking. "Go to the mirror." he tells me. I squint my eyes. That's weird, why give me attitude?
"What I do?" I bring into question. "Nigga you don't see anything wrong with me?" he hisses. "Look at my skin, my eyes," he gestures to the parts of his body. "What color was you before you came?"
"I'm light skin."
"Oh, thank god for making the next nigga the color of the fuckin' sun--"
"Nigga!"
"LOOK AT YOU!" he hops off the bed. "MAGNA!"
I take a glimpse at my skin. I've never been so brown. I have dark veins. They're swollen and my arms are aching.
My mouth feels weird.
"WE DRUNK NIGGA!" he thunders. "AND YOU ATE CURTIS!"
"No I didn't…" he lunges at me. "YES YOU DID!"
"WELL WHAT THE FUCK YOU WANT ME TO DO?" my eyes are hot. "Shit, nigga I was starving!"
"I know!" he slaps me across the face before backing away. "I ate that table!" he beats his fist in his palm. "I ate people at that table. I ate a child!"
I straighten in bed before I get up and move to the mirror. My body is sore. There's a mirror next to a barred window.
I am fucked up.
I have scratches across my chest and stomach. I've been stabbed, something large put a hole in my left bicep. I pull my pants down to see the top of dick. At least that's there. I look at my left hand, I'm missing my pinky and ring finger. I got a cut across my nose and eye. There's a scar so deep in my mouth it reaches my cheek.
One of my eyes is bloodshot. I'm dark hell as. I look like chocolate! As I turn around, I shutter at the number of holes in my back.
What the fuck did I do?
"Vampires can heal. You wanna know something fucked up?" voices Dexter. He's sitting on the bed with his head bowed. "I heard from a nigga, Jasper. That we have to eat for three days. So…" he stares at me. "You ready to fight?"
"How you gon ask me that?"
"Shit, it was at least 1400 of us. Guess of much left?"
"Half."
"You like math? Ms. Simpson said about 738."
"You lyin'" I cautioned. "He ain't lying…" I know that voice. Urick is closer to the door which is locked. "I grabbed Alaia and Max with no hesitation. They gone."
"We just left the fucking--"
"It doesn't matter!"
"They got us in a house. Eating each other. We about to be drunk off eating US; eating ourselves and somebody else!"
"Thank God I'm near the door. I heard niggas talking about a church session." states Urick. He sniffles, "I ain't… proud… but like I'm confused.
"I wanna leave…" Dexter sways his head. I look at the both of them. "Is just us?" I ask.
"We woke up later than everybody. They might be at church." says Urick.
I hear wailing outside. I go to the window and look through the bars. Vamps are crawling on the ground, their skin is cracking under a bright lamp.
My eyes start to burn. Dexter waltzes over and whisks me away from the window. "Stop it!"
"What's outside?"
"Nigga what color was you before?"
"I'm light skin."
"Well fuck me dry…" Dexter shoves me toward the bed. "What the hell!"
"Go to bed!" he asserted with his teeth clenched. "If we sleep we ain't gotta go outside!"
I pretended to be narcoleptic.