Vampires Never Get Old - Zoraida Cordova Page 0,57
die. As if she could. But she didn’t make eye contact with anyone, she didn’t linger anywhere long enough to reveal her desperation. An hour went by. Then two. The crowds of people dwindled to nothing. Jude was left with only the cataract moon, a murky smear in the sky.
She heard the man long before she saw him, so much more desperate than she. Though she could have sidestepped him easily, she didn’t bother. He showed her his knife, a sad little thing, and demanded her money.
“I don’t have any,” she said.
His eyes got a hungry look that she had seen before. “You got something.” He tried to drag her off the path to take what he could. He didn’t appreciate her loud bray of laughter, the flick of her wrist that sent the knife flying.
“I’m going to hurt you for that,” he growled. And charged.
She grabbed him by the sweatshirt, spun him around and around until he squealed in queasy protest. Then she pulled him in close, let him see the shiny daggers of her teeth, let him smell the desiccation on her breath.
“If you want,” she said. “I can give you something to scream about.”
He did not want.
She thrust him away, left him panting on the pavement. He was no special kind of beast. And neither was she. She ended up in the same place she’d begun: the zoo. She scaled the outer fence and then coded into Lolo’s indoor enclosure. Lolo was sleeping in the man-made cave in the corner. Jude crawled inside and snuggled against Lolo’s chest, her big bear heart ticking off the minutes till dawn.
* * *
When did the Florida Keys disappear?
How do augments work?
How long can the human body survive without water?
How much blood loss is too much blood loss?
Play whale songs.
Morning came, and with it two water trucks.
“We were promised five trucks,” Jude said.
“Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth,” said Diwata.
“What does that even mean?”
“Means that you should go to the Raptor House. Raul needs help with Peaches. Something about her wing.”
Peaches the snowy owl had a bit of an attitude. Which was putting it nicely. Peaches would take out your eyes if you weren’t careful. Raul wasn’t careful. Raul—skinny Raul, brown skin gray with fear or just neglect—was running around the raptor enclosure, swearing, as Peaches flapped brokenly after him.
“Get out of there, Raul,” Jude said. “I’ll do it.”
“Thanks,” said Raul, ducking out of the habitat. “She almost took a chunk out of my face.”
Inside the raptor cage, Jude answered the bird’s cries of PAIN, PAIN, PAIN with “Shhh, shhhhh. Calm down, you silly monster.” Peaches let Jude pick her up, examine the bent wing. She had no idea how the bird could have injured it. Jude remembered the golden boy telling her about the caladrius, a white bird that would eat the sickness out of a person and then fly away, healing that person and also itself.
Peaches tucked her head under Jude’s arm. Jude said, “Poor girl. What kind of sickness did you eat?”
“Whole world’s sick,” said Raul, watching through the mesh. “What’s that got to do with a broken wing?”
“World’s broken, too,” Jude said.
“Same thing.”
Behind Raul, two party organizers appeared. “Hey! Hold up the bird so we can get some photos!”
“She’s not a turkey and this isn’t Thanksgiving,” Jude said, cradling Peaches closer.
“Oh. She’s hurt.” It was the dark-haired, coppery-skinned guy, who looked much younger than Jude had thought he was.
“So?” said the white guy next to him. He had his finger on the side of his neck where his computer implant connected with the piece in his ear and the lens in his eye. So, augmented then. And another jackass. “Shit. These pictures aren’t coming out.” He pressed the side of his neck again. “Shit.”
“Come on, man. Leave her alone,” said the coppery-skinned guy. His eyes were large and dark and wet. “Sorry to bother you, miss.”
“Miss?” said his friend, incredulous. “Jesus, Sanjay. She’s knee-deep in bird poop.”
“Hello, Sanjay,” Jude said, and smiled.
He should have been scared, everybody was scared. But Sanjay didn’t seem scared. He said, “Maybe we’ll catch you later?”
“Maybe,” Jude said. Her voice sounded strange, even to her.
* * *
Launch Photos.
Should I bring my umbrella?
Tell me the story of Judith.
Play my dance mix.
Text Brett I’m on my way.
Later, Jude found herself back at Buckingham Fountain, perched on the back of a stone dragon, as if it could fly her to a place where she made sense to herself, where she could scare people