Families

by Katrina Kahler

  “Okay...” I said slowly.

  “I’m a bat, not a dummy like those crazy hummingbirds,” the bat contended.

  “Why are you here Mr. Bat?” I asked.

  “You can call me Bobby,” the bat said. “I’ve always liked that name.”

  “Is that your name?” I asked.

  The bat shrugged his wings. “It is now.”

  “Bobby, why are you here?” I asked.

  “Think of it as a test or a warning,” he said.

  “Which is it?” I asked.

  “It depends on how you respond, Nina. We brain bats do not wish to fight you. You are quite powerful, mentally and physically. Besides, you seem friendly enough. You did not yell, ‘eek, a bat!’ and try to squish me with your pillow…or throw a shoe at me…or hit me with a tennis racket. In my book, you are good.”

  “Then why fight me in my dreams?” I asked.

  “We wanted to get to know you. Test you. Play with you. Also, some of us were bored. We like messing with humans.”

  “I’m not really a human,” I said. “At least, not in the normal sense.”

  “And we’re not normal bats. I guess we are even,” Bobby said.

  This was getting annoying. “Okay then, why are you here?” I asked impatiently.

  “Why are any of us here? The universe is infinite, yet we find ourselves where we are!”

  “Why are you in my room?” I asked a bit firmer this time. “Testing me?”

  “Might not be a test,” Bobby said.

  “Get to the point, bat!” I ordered.

  The bat snickered. “Sorry, I just wanted to see how long it would take to drive you batty.”

  “Right now, I’m thinking about how fried bat would taste. I’m guessing like chicken.”

  “Your guess would be wrong,” Bobby laughed.

  Sitting up quickly, I lunged forward and grabbed Bobby. I squeezed. “No more games!”

  “But games are fun!”

  I squeezed harder.

  Bobby flapped in my hand. “Okay, okay, you win.” I loosened my grip a bit. He sighed. “Man, you’re such a poor sport…”

  “Bobby!” I yelled.

  “Right, sorry. For a bat, I can be chatty,” he said.

  “The point…” I prompted.

  “Ah, we brain bats have detected a disturbance in the…."

  “Please don’t say force…” I said.

  “You’re no fun!” Bobby said. “Then let’s just say a disturbance in the energies that bind bats and vampires. Our bond has always been strong. But something is either trying to break it or destroy it!” Bobby warned.

  “And so why did the bats attack me?”

  “They just needed to test you out. See if you might be responsible, as you are different from all others,” Bobby replied.

  “And?” I asked.

  “You say ‘and’ a lot,” Bobby said.

  “Bobby!”

  “Right, our conclusion is inconclusive. We don’t believe you are behind the disturbance since you have been here for a while. But girl, you’ve got ISSUES!”

  “I’m working on them!” I insisted.

  “That is the reason we don't think you are behind this weird disturbance," Bobby said.

  I thought about mentioning the new vampire family who had moved into town. It seemed weird that this might pop up just as they arrived but I decided not to bring it up. I’m not a tattletale or a troublemaker. Well, I will make trouble, but only once I know somebody deserves it.

  “Then what’s your conclusion?” I asked.

  Bobby shrugged his shoulders. “More research needed.” He paused. “We have checked out the new vampires in town, especially the girls.”

  “And?” I asked.

  “Also inconclusive,” Bobby sort of concluded. “Something is up; we just don’t know what…” He shivered. “It’s kind of strange that we are affected so much, but life is filled with strange events.”

  “This is coming from an intelligent talking bat,” I said.

  “I rest my case,” Bobby smiled.

  He flapped his wings and flew out my window.

  Nina Note: Of course, this whole thing just became even more strange. Talking, intelligent bats that attacked me in my sleep were different enough, but using that as a test to see if I was trying to break the bond between vamps and bats was just bizarre. Come on now, Bobby and friends, I've been here a while with no weirdness. Whereas that new vampire family showed up and strange things started happening straight away. That could not have been a coincidence. I wanted to trust Adra, but she hadn't given me any reason to trust her yet. I wasn’t just saying or thinking that because she beat me in basketball. Okay, maybe I was a bit.

  Of course, the bats had already checked out the new vamps. I kind of felt good that at least they had considered the new vamps before they considered me. But the bats didn’t think the Anagal vampires were behind the disturbances either.

  I decided to concentrate on the things I knew. For one, I knew none of this was my fault, I was just being me. Two, just because the vampire bats didn't think the Anagals were to blame, it didn't mean they weren't. I didn't know Adra and her family well enough yet. That meant I needed to learn more about them. Also, Adra did claim that the dark mummies attacked her for the same reason they attacked me. She might have been lying, but why would she lie?

  I really couldn't rule out the possibility that someone or something else was trying to get us vampires to fight. Now that actually made some sense. While I was a friendly vampire, other vampires throughout history had been less than friendly. Sure, most of them were either gone or had changed their ways. Today, most vampires either protected or ignored humans. Most didn’t want to cause problems. We may be powerful, but we were way outnumbered by non-supernatural beings. It made sense to aid the humans or at least avoid having them target us. But that long history of mistrust was hard to deny. Hence, the reason that vampire hunters still existed today.

  Yep, this wouldn’t be easy. But, like Dad always said… ‘things that are hard to do will make them fun to do’ and ‘challenges make us stronger.’ Yeah, Dad's more than a little weird, but he is a smart man…well…man-tiger.

  Chapter 9: The Meeting

  The next morning, I was surprised to see my mom and dad had invited Ruby over to share breakfast with us and talk about the situation. It’s always great to see Ruby, but very out of character for my mother to seek information from a regular person. My jaw dropped when Mumford walked Jimmy into the dining area.

  “Mr. Jimmy is here as you requested,” Mumford announced.

  Dad pointed to an empty chair at the table, “Sit and make yourself comfortable.”

  Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s always amazing to see Jimmy. But wow, this seemed really out of character for my mom. I assumed Jimmy would be too nervous to eat, but Jimmy piled sausage, bacon, and toast onto his plate. Apparently, I had assumed wrong.

  “Thanks for inviting me,” Jimmy said.

  “Well, you are a neighbor,” Mom said slowly. “It’s not your fault you were born a vampire hunter.”

  “And there’s no reason why vampire hunters and vampires can’t get along!” I said.

  “They are kind of born to be enemies,” Frank noted, munching on a piece of crispy bacon. He stopped chewing, gulped then said, “But of course that was in the old days.”

  Mom smiled at Frank. “Son, you are right on both accounts.”

  “I am!” Frank said, seemingly amazed about being right. “Gee, that doesn’t happen all that often.”

  Mom sucked the juice out of an orange, turning a once solid orange into nothing but a wilted skin. I felt pretty sure she did it to freak out Jimmy.

  “Mom, stop showing off for Jimmy!” Frank said. Nudging Jimmy with an elbow, he added, “Do you think it’s cool how she can do that?”

  “Um, yes,” Jimmy replied.

  Dad spoke up, “Jimmy, lad, we can’t help wondering if your mom has mentioned anything ab
out the Anagals moving into our nice town.”

  Jimmy took a sip of juice. “She has said it’s hard to believe this town has gone from one family of vampires to two.”

  “But weren’t the Anagals invited into town by the group your mom now works for?” Ruby asked.

  “That’s the weird thing,” Jimmy said. “From what I understand - mind you, I’m just a kid - the hospital actually recruited the Anagals first. When my mom’s group, well Ms. Elena’s group, learned they were coming, they figured they would recruit them just like they tried to do with you guys.”

  “But we said no,” Mom said.

  “Apparently they said yes,” Jimmy responded.

  Finally, Mom looked at me. She sniffed in my direction. “You had an encounter last night!”

  “Brain bats or bats, it’s hard to tell,” I said.

  “Why didn’t you call us, sis?” Frank asked.

  “When you face brain bats, you have to do it alone,” Ruby told him. Ruby had learned so much about the supernatural world; I was impressed!

  “Yep,” Mom nodded in agreement. Turning to me, she asked, “What did they say?”

  “Something is trying to mess with their mojo. They came to make sure it wasn’t me since I’m not a normal vampire. I said I had nothing to do with it and I think they believed me.” I locked eyes with Mom. “Could it be the Anagals?”

  Mom shrugged. “I will invite them over for tea. We can learn a lot about them over tea.”

  “I don’t know why they would come to our town to cause problems though,” Dad said. “From what I’ve learned, they are an outstanding family.”

  “The daughter is way cute!” Frank said. He nudged Jimmy. “Right, Jimmy?”

  I looked at Jimmy with my arms crossed.

  “She’s okay,” Jimmy said.

  “Actually, she's beautiful!” Ruby said. Looking at me she added. “Of course, she's no Nina, but still stunning in her own way.”

  “Nice save,” I told Ruby. I turned back to Mom and Dad. “If it’s not the Anagals...then who?”

  “Could be a mimic,” Ruby said. “I’ve been doing some research. They exist to cause trouble. They feed off it.”

  “Is a mimic one of those people who doesn’t talk?" Frank asked.

  “That’s called a mime, dear,” Mom laughed.

  “Right! I knew that!” Frank retorted.

  “Mimics can be just as annoying though, always stirring up trouble. Normally they just like to play with normal humans and leave us alone because, well, we are us,” Mom said.

  “Why would a mimic suddenly pick on us now?” I asked.

  “For fun,” Dad mused. “A greater challenge.”

  “Or to be a pain,” Aunt Mika said, walking into the room. “I dated a mimic once; a guy named George Gibbons. Well, I dated him when he was in human form. The rest of the time he was just a gelatinous blob of goo.”

  “You’ve had a very strange love life, sis,” Dad told her.

  “Yeah,” she said with a smile. “I wonder what happened to George?”

  “Could George mimic other people’s abilities?” I asked.

  Aunt Mika nodded. “Yes, but only for an hour or so after being around that person.”

  “Do you really think a mimic could be to blame?” I asked.

  Mom shrugged. Dad shrugged. Mumford spoke up, “Mimics are tricky. They are rare and unusual but at the same time, very neutral. They like to have fun. In this case, I would say, yes, a mimic could be responsible. But then again, I could be wrong.”

  “For now, it’s best to keep all options open!” Ruby said.

  “Agreed,” Mom replied.

  “You are a wise girl,” Dad told Ruby.

  “You should ask Timmy to talk to his parents,” Ruby told me.

  “Ah, why? I asked her.

  “Both of Timmy’s parents work at the hospital, his mom is a doctor there, and his dad is the hospital’s head administrator. I’m sure they know the Anagals well.”

  “Yes, they had them over for dinner two nights ago,” Mumford commented.

  “Really?” I said.

  “They did not literally eat them for dinner,” Mumford explained. “They invited them to the house to share food and conversation. Timmy’s mom made Indian food. It smelled delicious.”

  “How do you know all of this?” I asked.

  “A good butler knows stuff,” Mumford told me. “We live to serve both refreshments and information.”

  Mom tapped her fingers on the table. She smiled. “I could go talk to the Taylors if you wish.”

  “No, Mom, let us handle it,” I said. “Timmy is a really nice kid. I’m sure he’ll help us.”

  “Agreed,” Frank said. “Timmy and I are buds!”

  Jimmy nodded. “The kid used to idolize me.”

  I rolled my eyes a bit. Jimmy noticed.

  “It’s true!” Jimmy insisted.

  “It is,” Ruby agreed. “Before you guys came along Jimmy was the undisputed star of the neighborhood.”

  “Phew, good thing we came along. Wouldn’t want your head to get too big!” I joked with Jimmy.

  He smiled and took a bite of his toast.

  Nina Note: I found the entire concept of mimics both cool and freaky. I kind of hoped it was a mimic and not Adra causing the trouble. I was looking forward to having another vampire girl around. Certainly not as BFF’s, but as somebody else to talk to. I guessed I’d find out soon enough.

  Chapter 10: What Does He Know?

  I actually kind of enjoyed traveling to school on the bus again. Sure, it didn’t smell very good. Sure, the seats had holes in them and kind of hurt our butts. And it was slower than traveling by car, but it brought me back to my roots here. This is where I met Ruby and Jimmy on my first day. Also, I kind of missed Timmy. I liked the kid.

  Timmy’s eyes lit up when he saw the four of us boarding the bus. He quickly dusted off the seats next to him. Lester and Lewis Holmes’ faces dropped the second they noticed us. They understood that with Jimmy and Frank in their midst, they were no longer the big cool kids on the bus.

  “Nice to have you guys on board,” Ms. Knickels, the bus driver told us. “It’s a little boring without you around.”

  I said a friendly hello in return before scanning the aisle for some seats.

  Randi and Sandi Dunn stood up and blocked our way. “Hi, Jimmy! Hi Frank!” they smiled. Turning their attention to me, they said in unison, “Why are you here?” They laughed, apparently pleased that they shared a brain.

  “We thought that you thought you were too good for the bus,” Randi said.

  “Not at all,” I told them. “We just normally like the extra five minutes sleep we can get by driving in with my Aunt Mika.”

  Randi and Sandi exchanged a glance. They nodded. “We hear you!” they said together, laughing again.

  “Frank, why don't you sit by Randi and Sandi?” I asked, knowing that he would keep the girls occupied and happy. I purposely didn't suggest that Jimmy should sit near them as I have to admit, I didn’t love the idea of Jimmy sitting next to two pretty girls.

  Frank pointed to Timmy, still dusting off the seat next to him. “Normally, I sit with Timbo.”

  “Change is good,” I told Frank, pointing to the spot next to the girls. “Sit!” I ordered. “Jimmy, Ruby, and I will keep Timmy company.”

  Frank nodded in agreement and sat down.

  I moved to the back of the bus and sat down next to Timmy. Timmy didn’t seem to mind having me next to him instead of Frank. Ruby and Jimmy sat in the seats across from us.

  “Man, it’s nice to have you guys on the bus,” Timmy grinned. “It’s just not the same without you!”

  “Maybe we’ll ride the bus more often,” I told him.

  Jimmy offered a high-five, which Timmy quickly accepted.

  “What have you been up to lately?” I asked.

  “We see each other every day at lunch,” Timmy said. “Not much has changed since yesterday.”
<
br />   “But the bus is a quieter setting,” Ruby said. “It gives us a chance to talk more privately before the day gets rolling.”

  “Good point,” Timmy said with a quizzical look on his face.

  “What do you think of the new girl?” Ruby asked. “Have you and your parents had any contact with her and her parents?”

  “That last part is kind of a strangely specific thing to ask.” Timmy frowned curiously.

  Ruby smiled. “Just making bus talk.”

  Timmy looked off into space. “Well, I do think Adra is pretty.”

  “So you refer to her by her first name?” Ruby questioned.

  “Yeah, that’s kind of how you reference people,” Timmy said.

  My, my, was I picking up a little jealousy on Ruby’s part? Could Ruby like Timmy more than I had previously believed? I guess it was possible. They did share a common love of science. And Timmy is kind of cute. I'd explore that later. But for now...

  “We just figured that with Adra’s parents working at the hospital and your parents also working there, you might have had some contact with her and her family,” I said slowly.

  Timmy nodded. “They did come to our house for dinner a couple of nights ago. But truthfully, Adra seemed a little shy. I mean…she was polite and all but she didn’t say much to me. Her little sister, Pria didn’t stop talking. The kid is ten and a total chatterbox. Wow, she talked non-stop! She talked my ears off; Wayne’s as well.”

  “Wayne was there too?” Ruby questioned.

  Timmy nodded. “Yeah, she couldn’t have talked his ears off if he wasn’t.”

  “Does Wayne eat dinner with you often?” Ruby asked.

  Timmy thought about that for a second. “Actually, no. He said his mom was out of town that day and asked if he could spend the day with us. He’s a little quiet and different. Quite frankly, even I think of him as a nerd. But I like nerds. They’re usually nice.”

  “What else have you been up to?” I asked, cutting off Ruby from any more questioning. “You know, for fun?”

  “Still playing Minecraft and Xbox and The Switch,” he said. “I’m also building my own computer. It’s a PDP-11; old but fun.”