Evolve Two: Vampire Stories of the Future Undead by Unknown Read Free Book Online

likes stories about vampires; they seem exotic. There are no vampires in Mexico City: their kind has been a no-no for the past thirty years, around the time the Federal District became a city-state.
    The next story is of a pop-star, the singing sensation of the month, and then there is another ad, this one for a shoulder-bag computer. Domingo sulks, changes the tune on his music player.
    He looks at another screen with pictures of blue butterflies fluttering around. Domingo takes a chocolate bar from his pocket and tears the wrapper.
    He spends a lot of time in the subway system. He used to sleep in the subway cars when he was a street kid making a living by washing windshields at cross streets. Those days are behind. He has a place to sleep and lately he’s been doing some work for a rag-and-bone man, collecting used thermoplastic clothing. He complements his income with other odd jobs. It keeps him well-fed and he has enough money to buy tokens for the public baths once a week.
    He bites into the chocolate bar.
    A woman wearing a black vinyl jacket walks by him, holding a leash. Her Doberman must be genetically modified. The animal is huge.
    He’s seen her several times before, riding the subway late at nights, always with the dog. Heavy boots upon the white tiles, bob cut black hair, narrow-faced.
    Tonight she moves her face a small fraction, glancing at him. Domingo stuffs the remaining chocolate back in his pocket, takes off his headphones and follows her quickly, squeezing through the doors of the subway car she’s boarding.
    He sits across from the woman and is able to get a better look at her. She is early twenties, with large eyes that give her an air of innocence which is quickly dispelled by the stern mouth. The woman is cute, in an odd way.
    Domingo tries to look at her discreetly, but he must not be discreet enough because she turns and stares at him.
    “Hey,” he says, smiling. “How are you doing tonight?”
    “I’m looking for a friend.”
    Domingo nods, uncertain.
    “How old are you?”
    “Seventeen,” he replies.
    “Would you like to be my friend? I can pay you.”
    Domingo isn’t in the habit of prostituting himself. He’s done it once or twice when he was in a pinch. There had also been that time with El Chacal, but that didn’t count because Domingo hadn’t wanted to and El Chacal had made him anyway, and that’s when Domingo left the circle of street kids and the windshield wiping and went to live on his own.
    Domingo looks at her. He’s seen the woman walk by all those nights before and he’s never thought she’d speak to him. He expected her to unleash the dog upon him when he opened his mouth.
    He nods. He’s never been a lucky guy but he’s in luck today.
    Her apartment building is squat, short, located just a few blocks from a busy nightclub.
    “Hey, you haven’t told me your name,” he says when they reach the fourth floor and she fishes for her keys.
    “Atl,” she replies.
    The door swings open. The apartment is empty. There is a rug, some cushions on top of it, but no couch, no television and no table. She doesn’t even have a calendar on the wall. The apartment has a heavy smell, animal-like, probably courtesy of the dog. Perhaps she keeps more than one pet.
    “Do you want tea?” she asks.
    Domingo would be better off with pop or a beer, but the girl seems classy and he thinks he ought to go with whatever she prefers.
    “Sure,” he says.
    Atl removes her jacket. Her blouse is pale cream; it shows off her bony shoulders. He follows her into the kitchen as she places the kettle on a burner.
    “I’m going to pay you a certain amount, just for coming here. If you agree to stay, I’ll double it,” she says.
    “Listen,” Domingo says, rubbing the back of his head, “you don’t really need to pay me nothing.”
    “I do. I’m a tlahuelpuchi. ”
    Domingo blinks. “You can’t be. That’s one of those vampire types, isn’t it?”
    “Yes.”
    “Mexico City is