"Because Shikki had asthma! He made that shit look like he went room to room killing--"
"forty five people…" adds Ubayd.
"With cocaine."
Mama sighs heavy, "The white boy is kind of smart…"
The only thing I can think of is… this all the family I got. Wait--I'm dead? "I'm dead?"
I hear Ubayd release a breath, "Yes and no. That would be Aleigha's fault."
"The gangsta basically has ties to hell and heaven." says Simisola. "I don't know how to say it."
"He sold his soul." says mama. "Aleigha loves his daughter but everyone says he started the voodoo thing because their memory is twisted."
"Who started it?"
"The girl was left alone in her room too much. Her mama didn't tell a soul. People looked at her like a psychic."
"That's fiction…" But they exist. I can't add anything to the conversation. "Before the spell. We were an average family. I loved your father very much… then they took him from me." Mama states. "What happened to daddy?"
"I had you in the bathtub. I went out to get a towel and when I went back to get you, they busted down the door and shot daddy at the table. Our mother is Muslim, Mokiri, you're half Arab and Moroccan." explains Simisola. "Nothings coming to you?"
Her face darkens, I hear them and I won't argue but I'm empty. I look at my sister, my mother, and I shrug.
"I hate that bitch!" My brother punches a hole in the wall and screams. "What did they do to you!" I can't look her with eyes. Simisola lowers herself to the floor and takes her mother into a hug.
My mother… but my mind is blank. What do I do? It's like touching her would be poison. "Her name was… Leneke…"
"HER NAME IS FUCKING KEANDRA!" my mother wails. "Allah la hudud lilshaytan!"
"Mama, you'll wear out your voice…" Simisola pats mama's back. "Akhadhuu miniy zawji, wahayati, wamadha faealt!"
I'm a horrible daughter. "Please… say you can turn." I look towards my brother sitting on the floor. "Mokiri… what happened to Tala?"
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.
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Roaches. Roaches. Roaches. This is a clean fucking house. I come home, it's roach by the damn door--fuck it. I bought the damn thing home.
Where the fuck is it?
P E R S O N
"If I open one of these damn door and you fucking made a pillow move. Ima suffocate yo ass."
Roaches. Flies. Beetles. Whatever the fuck got wings. "Are you looking for me?" I pick her disembodied voice.
"Well the bug stray missing so yeah…"
She claws my the side of arm through the wall. "Find me."
"HOLD!" the blood stops with the word printed on my arm. "SPEAK!"
The side of the wall light up, the word marks the paint. "Here." the house tells me. "SHOW!"
The walls disappear. I can see into every room. "Clever." she vanishes and shows up, clawing my face. "BITCH!"
"Weak. Your father would do better, if I didn't eat him." she giggles. "Shoot me."
I turn the blades into whips. Corrie mutters to herself, I hate fairies. The carpet wrinkles. I whip the ground and the magic dismisses. I target the walls, slashing across the plaster. "Lockdown."
"Weak!" as she floats backwards, a set of bars blocks her. I slash the whips across her body. I hope her soul begs. "Soul?" she smirks. "I DON'T HAVE ONE!" Flies swarm out her mouth. I whistle, a gust of wind pushes them back. Corrie is pinned to the bars.
I slash the whips across her body. "Not in my damn house!"
Corrie screams, her skin breaks and dark smoke leaks through the wounds. I wrap one of the whips across her leg and drag her off the bars.
All she can do is hiss at me. I dismiss the weapons and pummel her into the floor. Corrie fritters into blackness.
"I know roaches have nine lives!"
"BITCH!" she scorns. I look, I see nothing and I turn my back the other way. A spear pieces me. I feel nothing… what was that. "I hate this house…"
"Then fucking leave!"
"You leave…" I can't move, my head is hot and it's only until I drop that I see my own two feet. The shadow gets to the floor and grins bloody teeth at me. "do you like to look at yourself?"
I can't move…
"Bitch ass nigga…" the shadow points a gun at my head. "I'm not a roach, you are…" the gun goes off. It burns.
"Finally…"
"Obayifo…"
"Huh?"
Corrie is stunned. Guns float through the walls. They go off, it's fireworks in the hallway. "Get a new body bitch!" my soul hovers.
"YOU GET A NEW FUCKING FAMILY." the shadow merges with the floor. Spikes shoot up from the ground to the ceiling.
This is my fault for not doing spring cleaning! I'm taking turns, right, right, left, right, left, left--I hit a wall. The apartment shifts. I'm above a pool.
"OOO!" Corrie coos. "I've had a bad like this!"
"Oh my god what the fuck do you want!"
"I want nothing. But she wants to get fucking high!"
The water beneath explodes.
P E R S O N
It shapes into a human. "What the fuck!"
"I'm not done, MARCH!"
"March? It's actually August…"
I know that's not what she meant. The door to the pool breaks.
Where the fuck did all these rats come from?
On two legs?
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Amalaric Studies
Black Market Knowhow
How to Bootleg
The black market is beneficial to vampires. In this day in age. Vampires need to eat to stave off the effects of anemia.(Nutrition Recognition) When vampires do not eat. We do not only become malnourished during 'Blood Outs', the slang term, but we get sick.
During 'Blood Outs' vampires give off normal symptoms of anemia. Showing pallor, fatigue, mental confusion, heavy breathing and muscle weakness.
To counter this the black market has created it's own source of synthetic blood.
Byte Toe is a synthetic blood made with 15 mgs of sugar, 21 mg of chicken blood, and placentas. To get Byte Toe, the black market keeps control of supply by giving out calling cards. The calling cards cost fifteen dollars when from the right dealer.
Crooked dealers will price Byte Tow, or BT at ludicrous prices. BT is regularly 15$ but some have been bought through Brain Society, listing it at 250-600 dollars.
People that sell BT at more than 15 are said to be Stalkers trying to draw blood from vamps. BTs are useful for vampires outside the realm and able to sustain a family of four for two months.
The CONs of BTs is the minimum amount of iron. Though the addition of chicken blood was present in the Chinese Cultural Revelation. Large consumption isn't advised.
In pseudo blood sold by stalkers. Buyers note the chicken blood is not cooked before mixing.
Out of a population of 7000. Around 36% of vamps in the realm do not consume chicken blood. The mirror adds chicken blood to their daily diet to keep away from humans.
As chicken blood is regarded as a soul food addition. Much like regular black market standards it should be taken by the tea spoon.
Buying one teaspoon of chicken blood cost twenty five cents. Chicken blood sold at in 50 once blood pack cost
0.301 x 25 - 6. 02 / 25c
50 ounces = 300 teaspoons / 15.05$
Irregular prices for blood packs are 60 to 75 dollars.