Chapter 7 (Adam Novus Chronicles - Book 1)

We finally reached that Amazon village, following the GPS map on Marcus's phone, and were able to hire a boat to drive us down the Amazon River. The first village was a sorry excuse for a human settlement; six houses of extremely poor people, trying to make a living out of the unforgiving environment. Their ancestors were at least free, rulers of the jungle. Not a bit civilized, but probably a lot happier.

Marcus spoke their language and hired a local fisherman that had the most reliable boat, to drive us downriver to the closest place where a bush plane occasionally landed. He gave him a fistful of cash, and it looked to me as if the man had just won the lottery. It was the equivalent of his earnings for the entire year. The sad part was, that amount of money would buy you one fancy dinner for two in the so-called civilized world. And here it was the reason for the entire man’s family to throw a small celebration in view of their good fortune.

It took us an additional day of river travel to reach the second village, but this one was more prosperous, with an airport no less. OK, that is an exaggeration since it was no more than an earthen strip with a ragged windsock, but it could accommodate a small bush plane. We were in luck, there was already a plane there, scheduled to fly to the city of Manaus in a few hours.

Manaus happens to be the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Amazonas. Located in the same country that I had illegally entered with that chopper, a decade ago, along with now late Cap'n Jenkins and his men. The lack of a passport did worry me, but Marcus dismissed my concerns by saying that it was nothing but a minor inconvenience and that I should not stress about it. Easy for him to say, but on the other hand I wasn’t planning on using my real full name ever again.

The pilot was also not averse to a big wad of cash, even if he had to disappoint a few booked passengers. That plane could only carry two additional people anyway; the rest of the space was used for cargo. Those whose places we took were more than happy with the deal; Marcus made it worth their while to wait for the next flight… in a week. Yep, my new friend was a regular Santa Claus to these people, spreading joy wherever he went.

As we flew above the jungle canopy, I was once again reminded of the sheer enormity of this rainforest. It encompasses an area of more than two million square miles, so I could have walked for quite some time before encountering another human being. Again, stumbling across the vampire sitting beside me was a stroke of luck.

It was such a beautiful sight, seeing the Manaus city from the air. More than two million people lived there and seeing again signs of civilization after such a long time was exhilarating. We arrived late in the evening and all the city lights were turned on, as I said—a beautiful sight.

While we were still in the air, Marcus used his phone to arrange for a car to pick us up, and for the hotel to have the rooms ready. He had this nifty solar charger in his backpack that he used a few times to charge it; I thought it was the coolest thing ever. Simply put it in a sunny spot, connect your phone and it would top up the battery. Amazing what ten years of technological advances can produce. Of course, until now he was out of range of cell towers so he couldn’t exactly phone home. As soon as we got close to the city, the damn thing acted like it was possessed, receiving lists of missed calls and about a thousand messages. The way Marcus was looking at the screen made me think he wasn’t all that happy that he was once again connected with the rest of the world.

The car waiting for us after we landed was a Mercedes and looked brand spanking new. I was starting to realize that Marcus was seriously well-off. The hotel that the car drove us to, was a 5-star ‘Tropical Manaus Hotel’, and they led us to a suite of rooms, not even raising an eyebrow at the wretched state we were in. Three weeks of trekking through the dense jungle were not beneficial to our grooming habits or that certain smell of rotting vegetation that spread around us in all directions. I'm sure that if I came here alone, they wouldn’t let me through the door.

“Just how loaded are you?” I asked after the bellhop left with the hefty tip.

He snorted before replying. “Centuries of various businesses tend to add up, Adam. Let's just say that when I need to do some banking, the bankers come to my house, not the other way around.”

A clean room, a bathroom, showers… so many things to enjoy. The suite consisted of one big central room with a terrace and then two separate bedrooms with attached bathrooms. We each took one and went to clean off the accumulated filth. That was when I clearly saw my face for the first time; something that never really occurred for me to do until now. No mirrors in the jungle and looking at your own reflection on the water surface is never that good.

I knew that ever since I woke up in that cave, my face had weirdly stopped growing facial hairs, so no shaving for me ever again.

The problem was that my face was not exactly my own anymore. Oh, there were all the features I recognized from looking at the mirror my whole life, but this face was too perfect, too symmetrical… alien to me. I liked to think that I have always been somewhat good-looking, but more on the rugged side. However, this was ridiculous; this face was a TV commercial face. A face of a person that had hit the genetic jackpot, or had an excellent plastic surgeon.

There was also a new peculiarity I could see in my eyes, a hidden threat lurking behind them. What I was looking at were the eyes of a predator; I’ve seen my share of them so I could easily recognize that unmistakable trait.

I had to splash some cold water on my face because I was freaking myself out. Another thing was—I hadn't aged at all. If ten years had passed, I should be looking much older; instead, I looked even younger than before I entered that damned jungle.

Meditation helped to calm me a bit, and a long hot shower even more. As I exited the bathroom, there were clean clothes on my bed, a wide selection with their labels still on, all in my size. The clothes I carelessly threw by the foot of the bed were put in a plastic bag that was tied shut and then double-secured with duct tape. The person who brought these new clothes tried to explicitly make his opinion about those old rags known. Hey, I got them off a dead man, they served me well. Just the same, a dumpster, or better yet—an incinerator, was in their near future.

I exited my bedroom to be faced with the sight of my dreams; a big table was set with a feast on it. There was everything I fantasized about for a while now, and annoyed Marcus to no end by talking about it at night, especially when we dined on some animal that was not particularly appetizing.

Various smoked meats, a whole roasted chicken, coffee, ice cream. This was my version of heaven on earth.

“Well, don’t stare at it like a half-starved loon, dig in,” Marcus said as he exited his room, still drying his head with a towel.

I didn’t respond, just pounced like a hungry animal.

He did manage to preserve some sense of decorum and restraint, but not me. I could not eat fast enough, paying respect to the gods of gluttony. Mixing combinations of different foods in a way that would have put the chef who prepared them in a state of justifiable rage.

Half an hour later, I could not put away one more morsel of food; there wasn’t much left anyway. By the end, Marcus was muttering something under his breath, and I saw he even crossed himself at one point, not that I gave a damn.

After a quick cup of coffee, he excused himself, saying he was exhausted. He pointed at a few boxes beside my door, telling me those were for me and that I should try to familiarize myself with the new technology.

I couldn't sleep; my stomach looked like I had swallowed the whole tortoise, and not of the small variety. Taking the boxes into my room, I opened them while laying back on the bed. It was a new laptop computer and a phone similar to the one Marcus used. The laptop was amazing, thin, and powerful, with the same operating system I once used, just a newer edition. All the familiar icons were there, so it came as a relief that I was at least knowledgeable in its use. Still, it was a bummer that there were no holographic displays as they'd promised us before I… performed a very convincing Sleeping Beauty act? (Maybe Grimm Brothers were on to something.)

I then spent most of the night browsing the Internet; it had grown exponentially in the last decade, and the unwanted ads got much more annoying. Oh, and porn, it seemed to me there was porn everywhere. That and frequent advertisements for penis enlargement. Does nobody regulate this crap anymore?

The lingo changed, strange acronyms and puzzling cultural references were all over the forums. I had to constantly perform searches on them just to follow the discussions and understand what the hell they were talking about. It was insane.

Sometime in the middle of the night, I did my two hours of pseudo-sleep and waited for the new day. The maid came early and brought in the breakfast cart that had a new pot of coffee on it—

bless her angelic soul. I gave her a tip from the cash I liberated from those two vampire corpses; it was twenty bucks and she was ecstatic about it. She even bounced a little when she exited the room; in all fairness, she was bouncing in some places when she came in too. God, I need to get laid.

Food in my stomach, a fresh cup of coffee in my hand, and a beautiful sight of an urbanized city before me. This was living it up for me—no more jungle. Honestly, if I never see a simple forest again in my life, I would be perfectly happy with it. Give me concrete, steel, and glass; that's my preferred living environment from now on.

Marcus came out of his room still yawning, absent-mindedly scratching his ass; not exactly projecting an image of humanity's bogeyman. He poured himself a cup and joined me on the terrace.

“So, have you decided what you want to do now? You realize that you can't return to that old life of yours?” He asked, after sitting in the lounge chair next to mine.

“I haven't got a clue,” I answered, contemplating my future. “For a while, I have planned to find the General that ordered me dead, and return the favor, but I’m not hung up on it. Going after him would ruin this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to truly wipe the slate clean, and start again. By now, I am officially declared legally dead and all my savings were donated to charities, which was in my will. It's liberating in a way, but at the same time and for the first time in my life… I don't know what to do next,” I answered, finishing my coffee.

“OK, first you need some identification papers. I’ll take care of that; it will be waiting for us when we reach the States. Don’t worry about the money, I got you covered, and you'll have one of the clan’s apartments to live in until you figure out what you want to do.”

“Thank you. If it wasn’t for you, I would be royally screwed… I owe you one.”

“Don't mention it. I told you what life-saving debt means to us,” he replied, again waving off my concerns with his hand.

We spent most of that day lazing around. I took a walk around the city to see the sights. Bought a few cheap souvenirs, and generally acted like a regular tourist.

When I returned to the hotel, Marcus was dressed sharply, and waiting for me.

“I thought we should celebrate getting out of that jungle alive,” he said and told me to put some nice clothes on and then to follow him. He rented a car from the hotel that came with a dark suit wearing chauffeur, and we were soon driving through the busy streets of Manaus.

“There is a spot I heard about,” Marcus said after we saw a long waiting line in front of a flashy nightclub. The place looked more like a converted warehouse, but it did have a neon sign, so it must have been legit.

We jumped the line with the help of a few green friends; the bouncer at the entrance was not allergic to money. His gold-plated teeth advertised that fact for all to see.

“Not bad,” was the first thing I said after getting inside.

There was an enormous dance floor with a disco ball and multiple strobe lights. Half-dressed girls were dancing in cages hanging from the ceiling, and the music was made for the sole reason to make you want to move your body. That is one thing I was still having problems with; the music had noticeably changed in the last decade. Everything was electronic and computerized. I watched a few music videos on TV and they all looked so weird. MTV was big back then, now it was a pale shadow of itself… damn.

We sat at the long bar that had a crazy selection of spirits. Nevertheless, I am a down-to-earth kinda guy, there is only one liquid that interested me after our trek through the jungle—ice-cold beer.

On the edge of my perception, I felt a familiar feeling, the same thing I felt from those two guys in the jungle and all the time around Marcus. There was another vampire nearby; his presence made me tense my muscles, ready for a fight.

“Relax, I was expecting this,” Marcus told me after seeing my reaction. “Wait for me here, I need to declare my intentions to the local clan; it should not take long.”

He got up from his stool and followed a big guy, a vampire, who led him up to the VIP balcony where several other of their kind waited. It is strange how I was able to discern them from regular humans, even in this crowded place. It was as if they operated on a different frequency, one that I could somehow detect.

“Hey there handsome, want to buy a lady a drink?” The hot girl that just parked her ass in an empty chair beside me, whispered in my ear.

At least one thing got bigger in the last decade—breast implants. It seemed to me like every girl that could afford it was sporting an oversized pair; even here, in the middle of the Amazon. They looked aesthetically pleasing, I will give them that, but to me, all that silicon doesn’t feel right. The funny way gravity plays with them in certain positions is a major turn-off; I'm peculiar that way. Then again, it has been a long dry spell, and beggars can't be choosers.

“Sure honey, what’s your poison?” I tried to emulate an actor from a movie I watched a few months ago… well, that was actually a decade ago since I need to consider my long nap.

“Rum and coke,” she said, giving me one of those sultry smiles that only the girls who had been around the block more than a few times can pull off. Olive-colored skin, nice curves (artificial or not), and a face that inspired sin. Around thirty-five years old, but she took good care of herself, giving much younger girls in the club a run for their money.

She had a thick accent, but that made her more exotic. She was telling me some story I really didn't listen to; it was much pleasurable to imagine her without any clothes on. I hope there won't be a quiz later on because I would fail.

When a hot chick casually touches your shoulder it throws a switch in your brain, at least it did in mine. And when she whispers in your ear that she wants to have some fun with you, it throws a different switch. The one that turns off your higher brain functions. Let's just say it isn't your big head that does all your thinking for you.

I didn't even signal Marcus that I was going out; he was having some heated conversation with some well-dressed vampire guy. I followed her pear-shaped derrière out of the back door.

Two minutes later, we were in a back alley of the club, going hot and heavy against an old brick wall.

Everything was going great, but a minute after we started kissing, I suddenly sensed a cold touch of a gun barrel pressing against the back of my head.

“Stay right where you are, gringo!” A very menacing voice growled behind me.

Normally I would have sensed him in time to do something about it, but I was very distracted by the hot woman in my arms. The same woman who left me like an old piece of trash, and was now standing beside a gruff-looking man, giving me an evil smile.

“You men are all the same, a hot piece of ass wiggles before you and you will do anything.”

She got me there… in my defense, it has been ten years, and it’s not like I didn’t know that it was all a honey trap setup. That was clear from the moment she sat in the chair. Her emotions gave her away.

So why did I follow her out of the back door? Well, I hoped her accomplice would give us a little more time. Five minutes would have been enough given my state. I didn’t even get to third base… life is so unfair.

In all fairness, I expected him to have a baseball bat and a story about me harassing his wife; his anger would then be so great that nothing but the contents of my wallet could appease. That is the usual modus operandi of these things, but he was going for a more direct approach.

“And now you will give us all your money,” he sneered, still keeping a gun pointed at me.

This was a perfect time for a bit of distraction. “Baby, he came too early, but you said that we would double-cross your partner and run with the money from your last job,” I said looking at the girl, in my most convincing voice. You can't just fake it, the expression on your face must look heartbroken for this to work, and I could fake it with the best of them.

The robber dude was confused. He looked questioningly at her, and that was all I needed.

Moving my head out of the way so a possible reflexive shot wouldn’t give me the third eye, I hit the wrist of the hand that was holding a gun. I must have used more force than needed; the distinctive sound of a crunching bone was heard a moment before his scream of anguish.

I hate to admit it, but this was fun and I needed the exercise. Two additional hits, one to his stomach and the other behind the ear silenced his attempt at singing in a soprano voice.

“So… do you want to continue from when we were interrupted...?” I realized at that moment that I didn't even know her name, and I’m sure she told me at one point. She was right, her ass was truly mesmerizing.

Any small hope I was nursing was shattered when she looked at me with horror in her eyes and then turned around and ran away. OK, there is no reason to chase after a girl when she is not interested in continuing the fun time.

I returned inside and ordered another beer.

“Hey, anything happened?” Marcus asked when he joined me after a few minutes.

“Not really, what’s the deal with the fang gang?” I pointed with my chin at the VIP balcony.

“Their feathers were ruffled that I didn't call in advance and announced my visit. Vampire politics; it’s annoying, but all is straightened out. Now, let's see how much damage to their spirits selection we can do.”

The rest of the evening went in a blur. I think we cleaned out the entire supply of alcoholic beverages the bar had in stock. Then we went outside and found a karaoke bar, of all things.

Who would have thought that even after God knows how many years on this earth, Marcus still couldn't sing worth a damn? Seriously, mating cats sound better than he does; everyone escaped from the bar just to spare their hearing. Considering that Marcus had given him a big fat stack of cash, the proprietor was perfectly fine with it.

…I don’t exactly remember everything that happened after that.