THE VROL TRILOGY (80 page)

"Sure Max, whatever you need."

Lennie wasn't expecting anything and simply
went inside to assist his friend. Upon entry, Max asked the vampire
couple to help him set up some curtains on a framework he had
created. After about 45 seconds of work it was done. He could have
easily done it himself in a fraction of that time, but he wanted an
excuse to get his friends in first and make it seem legit. Max then
motioned for Jelly to sit down on a chair, which she did with a
curious expression, not knowing what to expect.

"You guys are my good friends, and I always
take care of my friends first," said Max, as he gently pulled the
tracker from Jelly's shoulder and then prompted Lennie to sit in
her place. Once he was finished, he walked them both over to the
bar and showed them what was in their bodies.

"I'd like to hold onto these and analyze your
blood, if you guys don't mind."

"Sure, hun. Whatever you like. I'm just glad
to get that thing outta my body, ya know what I mean?" said
Jelly.

"Well, we're gonna have a great show tonight,
half-price drinks and all," Lennie added.

Jessica and Pandy were very organized with
the crowd, as their reputation preceded them. No one wanted to
upset Dons' girls, except for Marko, who decided he was going to go
and cut in the front of the line. The girls looked at each other
and then back at the rude lycan.

"Um, Marko, you
do
realize that other people were in line first
and have been waiting all morning, right? And that Max is the one
extracting the trackers, and that Max doesn't like you… at all?"
asked Jessica.

"I don't give a shit, bitch. He messed me up
for no good reason. Total cheater, so he owes me," responded
Marko.

The girls again looked at each other,
expressionless. Jessica stood up and walked into the club, going up
to the bar, where Max was standing with Lennie and Jelly.

"Heya, Max, umm… Marko jumped the line,
called us bitches and said you owe him. What should we do?"

"Max appeared pensive for a moment, but
then got a wide grin and said," Send him in, Jess. I'll
take care
of him." Then, looking at
Lennie and Jelly, said," Time to get to work, I guess."

The girl looked a bit confused, but judged
from Max's expression that he was up to something. Walking back
outside, Jessica casually took her seat next to Pandy, looked up to
Marko and said, "Max will see you now. Please enter and go to your
left."

"Ha! Ya, see? Max knows who's in charge
‘round these parts."

As Marko went inside, Pandy whispered to
Jessica, "What the heck? Why did Max let him in?"

"Sweetie, I trust Max, do you?"

Pandy grinned and said, "Ooohhhhh, I see…
okay."

"So, asshole, you're gonna fix me up,
right?"

Max just looked at Marko and said, "Yeah,
that's pretty much the idea. Sit down here and hold still."

Marko sat down, feeling totally in
charge and dominant. Max worked behind him, apparently moving some
things around, when Marko heard him say, "
Intexoincantatio venatores.
"

"So, what's that shit mean, ya weasel?" asked
Marko, obviously too stupid to realize that he was insulting a man
who had nearly collapsed his lungs with one punch.

"Oh, it's what I have to say in order to
perform the surgery. Okay, you're all set, Marko. Enjoy your new
freedom of mobility," Max said in a very cool and calm manner.

"Ha! I'm done then! And I didn't even have to
wait in line. That's how lycans do things, beotch!"

Max watched as Marko left and another sat
down and took his place, this person being a normal female named
Rebecca, who had waited since 2 a.m. for her spot in line.

"Good morning, kind sir. I would like to
thank you for what you are doing, and…"

"Hey sweetie, don't worry about it. The Vrol
don't even belong here, so we all have to do what we can,
right?"

"Absolutely, sir. Will this… will this hurt?
I'm a bit afraid."

"Oh no, not at all. You won't even feel it -
maybe a slight tugging sensation in your shoulder. Here, sit down
and it will be just a second."

Max wanted the woman to remain calm, as
it really had ended up being a completely simple procedure. He
pulled her shirt back over her shoulder blade and then recited his
cantus, "
Demoveoincantatio
venator
," before patting her on the back to send her
on her way, but before she departed she turned around and looked at
Max with a quizzical expression.

"Mr. Max, I'm sorry for being nosey, but is
there a different thing to say between humans and lycans, or men
and women? I have good hearing, and you said something different
with Marko…"

"Oh no, it's all the same. No worries. You're
healed. You'll be at the party tonight?"

"Oh yes! Of course," the woman responded
enthusiastically.

"Great! Well, can you tell the girls out
front that I'm ready for the next person?"

Rebecca smiled and skipped out, only to be
replaced by another person, and then another, and another.

Max worked for hours extracting trackers, and
would have become quite tired had it not been for Adam bringing him
snacks and coffee every couple of hours. The fake mage really did
know how to turn on the charm when necessary - especially when it
came to his own survival, and living out in the ruins alone would
mean certain death. He needed the clan, and they all knew it. Max
was certain that things would be all right, now that he had
basically arranged the power signatures of his friends and had
whipped the human into submission.

Once Max had helped everyone out he took a
nap for two hours, later returning to the bar to see a celebration
in full swing. Lennie's band was playing, and to Max's surprise
Jelly was singing. She had a low, growly alto voice that fit the
band's music perfectly. Max went and took a seat at Dons' couch,
not even having to wait for a beer to be served. Once everyone
noticed he had arrived the crowd went wild, cheering and trying to
approach the private area. Dons simply raised his palm up and
people backed off - such was the respect everyone had for him.

"Oy, mate, I reckon you're gonna have to make
a speech or somethin', ya know?" said the one-eyed leader of Feral
Kids.

"Yeah, I believe so," responded Max, who then
stood up and prepared to address the crowd. Everyone stopped in
their places and looked up to Dons' private area as the band
finished its song. Max simply waved to the crowd, which elicited a
massive response of cheers.

"Everyone, I'm glad you're here. Now you all
can go out and kill those alien bastards. Are you with me?"

The crowd went nuts and started jumping
up and down, celebrating in the power that they never had their
entire lives. They finally able to fight back against the demons
that had as easily picked them off in the open areas as one changed
their underwear - and it was all thanks to Max Gunnarsson. The
lycan/mage scanned the entire group and sniffed them out, but
couldn't detect Marko. Then he moved over to the bar as the myriad
of locals patted him on the back for giving them their freedom at
such a small price. However, many were more concerned with
purchasing half-price shots for Max, not even bothering to ask what
he preferred. He saw glasses with various liquors on the bar in
front of him - whisky, vodka, rum and mostly tequila. Of course Max
preferred Scotch whisky, but also enjoyed tequila -
especially
añejo
(the most
refined of the blue agave mezcals).

After quite a few shots Max found he needed
to sober up, which was something that mages could easily do by
commanding salubots to purge the alcohol from the bloodstream. This
made it easier for Max to take even more shots and celebrate with
the locals - and their newfound freedom. He watched Jessica and
Pandy dance to Lennie's music as Adam moved alone in the corner. To
his surprise he even saw Cassandra and Minnie dancing together,
both nekos apparently having resolved their differences. Max shot
out from the bar and tried to dance like the two odd cat girls,
yelling at them over the music.

"Hey girls! Um, cat… women! Whatever! Hey!
Looks like you two are getting along now! That's really great!" Max
yelled at the top of his lungs.

The two nekos looked at him and then started
to laugh, obviously knowing something that he did not. The song
stopped and Jelly announced that they would be back after a short
break, giving Max the opportunity to speak with the girls, and
perhaps a few others.

"So, no more ripping eyeballs out,
right?"

"We ish okies now Max Gunniesman," responded
Cassandra.

"But what was it - why did you two fight in
the first place?"

"We sishters. We lovesh but hatesh," answered
Minnie.

"Sisters, eh? Wow. Hey, next time you two get
into a fight, please don't try to kill each other, ok?"

The two nekos simply looked at Max and then
started giggling, which Max found perversely odd. Making it worse,
the neko sisters started to make out, which completely revolted
him.

Kitty sister sex…
ew,
he thought to himself as he quickly moved back to
where Dons, Jessica and Pandy were seated.

"Man, that's so wrong," said Max as he sat
down next to Pandy.

"Well, nekos are incestuous, and have always
been," responded Jessica, with Pandy nodding her head in
agreement.

"But, how do they replicate? Where do they
come from?" asked the lycan mage.

"No one really knows, mate. It's said that
they just showed up one day. They don't age much, and been around
for as long as I can remember," added Dons.

Max went to take another drink from his beer
when he noticed Lennie and Jelly up on the stage, motioning for him
to go up to their position. He casually waved them off - he really
didn't want to make another speech, but they were insistent.
Sighing, he got up and made his way to the stage as a number of
people whistled and cheered him on. Once there, Lennie gently moved
him into a forward facing position and took to the microphone.

"Maxie, my boy. Jelly and I just wanna thank
you for everything you have done for us - and we want to make an
announcement. It seems that my lovely gal here is expecting, and if
it's a boy we're gonna name him Max…" said the vampire drummer, to
thunderous applause.

"And if it's a girl? Maxine?" shouted out an
unseen bar patron.

"Yeah, that sounds good too!" exclaimed
Jelly.

"Aw, guys, you don't have to do that, really.
I mean, I'm sure there are many, better names out there. Besides,
my real first name is Maximilianus. It sounds so… old."

Max started laughing, and was immediately
followed by everyone else in the bar.

"Well mate, it really is better than the name
we were gonna give him before we decided to honor him with yours,"
said Lennie.

"Oh yeah? What name's that?" asked Max.

"Ryder. Seems Jelly always had a fondness for
the name."

Max stood dumbfounded. He wondered if it was
possible, but really he felt it couldn't have been. He was in a
timeline where humans never travelled the stars, so he blurted out
a question, off-microphone.

"Um, Lennie, do you have a last name? You
know, a second name?"

"Oh sure, mate! It's Johnson. Why do you
ask?"

Max felt a streak a pain rip through his
heart, but he took a breath and simply smiled to his friend,
patting him on the back.

"Max Johnson would sound really great,
Lennie. Really great. Thanks, I'm honored."

"Oh, the honor is ours, Max!" replied
Jelly.

Max jumped down from the stage and went back
to Dons' private section, taking a seat in a chair next to Jessica.
She generally didn't say a whole lot compared to Pandy, who was a
talker, but she was super-intuitive, and saw something in Max's
face. Moving into a chair on his other side, she decided to
interrogate him.

"Max, what's wrong? Something's bothering
you. I can see it."

"Jess, you know, I just assumed, but… well,
maybe that's my problem. I always assume. Like, I assumed no one
had a last name, and I just found out Lennie has one. But, I never
asked - how old are you?"

Jessica got a look on her face that resembled
a combination of alarm and being insulted before she composed
herself and answered.

"Wow. That's pretty… odd. You know, you
should never ask a woman her age, but you really wanna know? Fine.
I'm seventy-three. Why?"

"Oh sharga… you heal. I had no idea. The
salubots keep you young. I thought you were in your twenties. Is it
the same for vampires?"

"Sure, I think so. No, yes, that's right.
Why? What's wrong, Max?"

"How long have you known Lennie for?"

"Oh, maybe 20 years, more or less. What's
wrong, Max?"

"How old is Dons?"

"Max! What does it matter? What's wrong?"

"Please, just answer me…"

"He's twenty-six. He's human. They age more
quickly than lycans and vamps."

"Oh wow. This is weird. Lennie has a
doppelganger on my world."

"What's a doppel-whatever?"

"A duplicate. You know, remember how I
explained that I was going to the year 2819, but in South America?
To Peru?"

"Yeah, sure. But you ended up here."

"Well, even if I got to Peru, my ship
wouldn't be there. I pretty much figured that all along. I knew I
was in a different timeline. But this is just… creepy. Look, you
can't say anything, okay? It makes no difference to me about Lennie
and Jelly. They're really great kids. No, kids, what the hell am I
saying? They're probably older than my mom!"