Chapter 50 - Sudden Chaos in the Streets

 

I come out of the elevator onto the first floor of the apartment and see upwards of twenty people standing in the foyer. Twenty-seven people, all my tenants 

 

"What's all this about?" I ask. A portly man comes to the front of the crowd.

 

"Hello, Mr. Riddle. I'm David Melrose from Communes, a company focused on helping people relocate." He hands me a business card.

 

"I assume you're the representative for about seventy percent of my tenants?"

 

"There's more, but they didn't feel the need to be here in person." If only everyone decided the same, their stressed breathing is getting me on edge.

 

"All of them are leaving? What for?"

 

"The city's getting more chaotic day by day, and we're leaving before it gets really bad." One of the tenants says.

 

"Communes is acting as a middle man for the move. All fees for an early end to the contract will be paid to you by us." Mr.Melorse says.

 

"Okay. That's fine. I gotta go, so can you make room?"

 

"Wait, you're just ok with all of us leaving?" A guy asks. 

 

"Hell yeah, I am. I get paid money and I don't have to deal with a bunch of your problems. Even with a 3rd party management company, my dad had trouble dealing with you all, thanks for not causing trouble recently though." 

 

"...you're welcome?"

 

"Don't bother with returning the keys, the locks need to be updated anyway." I finally push my way to freedom and onto the street.

 

Fucking weirdos, they must have thought I would've told them no, so they ganged up together. A bunch of forty-year-olds ganging up on a teen, bitches. 

 

I didn't realize people were moving out of the city like that. It makes sense if you consider that New York already has a lot of underground crime, with super people acting out now, things are gonna get hectic real fast. And if good people start moving out, crime will only be moving in.

 

"Mister?" A black girl of about twelve taps me on the arm. 

 

"Can I help you?" Her braids are grimy and her eyes are baggy. And her smell is...complicated, like a combination of street drugs.

 

"Can you spare some change?"

 

"What's your name, kid?"

 

"Lila."

 

"And your last name?"

 

"..."

 

"Tight-lipped, huh? Here, try not to show too many people." I hand her a hundred dollars from my wallet, and her eyes go slightly wide.

 

"Is this...real?"

 

"As real as reality."

 

"Thank you. Mr." She says before she runs off. I feel her slip something into my pocket as she runs by. Curious.

 

I enter an alleyway and pull out a silver pill-shaped object. I feel a tingling sensation when I put it close to my head, so it must be a tracker running off of radar waves. It's so weak that I can barely tell it's there, but I'm sure Matt could. But who would send a little girl to put a tracker on me, a moderately well-off teenager in Harlem? It wouldn't be someone who knows about my abilities. Yeah, I got nothing. I'll have to stay vigilant, but I can start with that little girl.

 

I check my surroundings once more and turn invisible, leaving the alley to follow the girl's smell. She ran a long way, all the way to the Grand Houses, the projects of Harlem. It's certainly not bad, but it's not good either. The scent of weed surrounds the place for a few blocks, at least for me. They look kinda like drug dealers, but they might just be hood people.

 

The girl heads over to two guys outside one of the project houses. Subtle moans and banter can be heard from inside.

 

"Did you put the tracker on the target?" One of the guys asks her.

 

"Yes, now give me what you promised." She crosses her arms.

 

"Check the signal." The guy turns to his partner. 

 

The partner checks his phone, sends a text, and gets some sort of response. "It's good," He nods.

 

"Here, Rhodes, tell your crack hoe mom I said hi." He hands the girl a clear packet filled with reddish rocks. Maybe some brand of crack? Wait, he said Rhodes, like James Rhodes, War Machine. I'm kinda fuzzy on those comics, but maybe they're related?

 

Lila runs off, and the two guys enter the drug house. I really want to follow her, but one is clearly the bigger threat.

 

I carefully enter the house behind the two guys. There's hardly any light in here, forget about blinds, the windows are covered in boards. All that illuminates the place are a few yellow light bulbs. There are also only a few heartbeats besides these two goons, but I hear more movement than that, more people. Inside the kitchen, I see drug-making equipment along with more of the red drug.

 

The two goons climb a set of stairs up into a second floor, this one noticeably posher than the dank one below, fitted with fine carpet and comfy red chairs. The smell isn't any better, but there is a faint trace of iron in the air.

 

The two knock on a door.

 

"Come in." A brash voice commands. Inside is a pale blond man with a nude woman in his arms.

 

"We had the tracker successfully planted." The main goon says.

 

"Good, good. With his smell and looks, I'm certain he'll be a good offering to the countess. Once she's captured him, I'll earn her support in making a claim for establishing my den. Hurry, give me the phone so I can send her the signal."

 

"Yes, master." The second goon hands him the phone. 

 

The man looks at the phone for a short second. "Maya, I need your help in here!" The pale man calls. 

 

Master, countess, den, iron smell, more people than heartbeats, this place would have to be a vampire's den. And this master of the den should have realized that there is an extra heartbeat in here, and I still have the tracker on me, so he's called back up in front of an unfamiliar situation. Took then a while to put it together though. 

 

These two goons should be thralls then. I zap them, push them aside and lunge for the master. He throws the woman in his arms at me and attacks me when I try to catch her. I establish my footing and catch his clawed hand while catching the woman with my free arm. I throw the woman on the couch and pull the vampire towards me. A female vampire rushes inside and climbs on my back, her nails only causing light scratching on my skin. These vampires are young and weak. Ignoring the one on my back, I start covering the male vampire in silver bands, first his arms, then his throat.

 

"Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!! Take it off, take it off." He screams.

 

I grab the vampire on my back and grab her by the throat, doing the same to her as I did the other. My spidey sense goes off, and I quickly fashion a pistol loaded with silver bullets and point it at the head of the master vampire. Two more vampires come to the room, both packing guns of an unknown fashion.

 

"Don't move or I'll blow his brains out with silver." I hiss.

 

"You're not the day-walker." One of them says.

 

"That I am not, but I am a man with some questions, but I only need one of you for that. So. Who wants to be my pet?"