The Familiar

by Tatiana G. Roces

  My competitive nature kicks in, and as I watch the bird fly closer, I hear Mom’s words in my head asking me to keep a low profile. I picture the fear on her face, and I make a decision. I shift back into my human form, and pull the silver ring out of my mouth. I slip it on my finger, tap it three times, and put my hand in front of me, making sure I’m invisible. As I leap off the tree branch and land on the grass, I realize that it’s Samir’s falcon flying towards me. I run, and as soon as I pass the large water fountain near our dorm, I hang back and watch.

  Samir arrives near the entrance of the main house, shifting back at the front steps. He looks around and grins cockily when he realizes he’s alone. Ivana and Jared emerge from the house and give him congratulatory handshakes. Suddenly, an eagle swoops down, and transforms midair into Khari. He does a somersault and lands several feet away. When Khari sees Samir, he looks disappointed, but greets him with an outstretched hand and a smile. As they chat, a roar echoes, and two mountain lions emerge from the forest at full speed. As they approach, they shift back into Lance and Donovan. They halt, breathing heavily as they join the group.

  I’m tempted to step out at this point, but decide to wait for one more to arrive before revealing myself. It’s then that a cheetah leaps gracefully out of the bushes, landing with a crouch on the ground. The cheetah transforms into Louise, and as she stands proudly and smiles, belting out a, “Woohoo!” as she joins the group.

  I look into the distant forest and hear the rumbling sounds of other animals approaching the camp at top speed. I feel for the ring on my finger, and tap it three times. When I see myself appear, I emerge from behind the fountain. Louise and Jared spot me, and Louise shrieks loudly, “Hazel!” and starts jumping up and down cheering me on. I jog over, and Louise gives me a congratulatory slap on the back, as I pretend to be out of breath, inhaling and exhaling dramatically. Within moments, everyone else starts to arrive, lions, tigers, leopards, wolves, horses, various kinds of deer and birds. The group grows larger as the minutes go by. I look at all the naked bodies chatting with one another, and grin. It may have been hilarious to me a few weeks ago, but now, it doesn’t even faze me.

  “So, did you enjoy your camping trip?” says Jared’s voice from behind.

  I turn, my tangled wild hair whipping around my shoulders. “Yeah, it was fun.”

  “Well, if you’re not too tired from the whole experience, we can have our session this afternoon,” he suggests.

  “Yes, of course. That would be great,” I say enthusiastically.

  He grins as he walks off. “Okay, later after lunch then.”

  After Jared’s gone, I make an inconspicuous exit and head back to my dorm to relax, shower, and put some clothes on. When I get there it’s still pretty empty. I immediately head for the bathroom to take a long shower, standing under the steamy water for a good while. Afterwards, I put on my bathrobe, and turn on my laptop to check my email. The first thing I see is a message from Mom:

  Dearest Hazel,

  It was wonderful seeing you last night, and I hope in a small way, it made you feel less homesick. Please take what I said to heart. Try not to attract attention to yourself. It’s been peaceful for too long, and I have a feeling that dangerous times are ahead of us. The tides are turning, and the light that has prevailed may soon be shadowed by darkness. Because of this, I worry about your safety. You know I’ll do my best to come up with a plan, but in the meantime, please do as I request.

  I love you always,

  Mom

  I feel emotional reading her email. I click reply, and write:

  Dear Mom,

  Thanks for visiting me last night. I was skeptical at first, but I’m glad that it really was you. I promise I’ll do my best to stay away from the limelight, as challenging as it may be. Today, I pretended to come in sixth place during a challenge, even though I’d already won. Your ring helped me tremendously, so thanks for having the hindsight to lend it to me. I have a feeling that it’ll come in handy again in the future. I’ve got to go now, but try not to worry so much about me, Mom. Believe it or not, I’m actually a lot tougher than I look… I’ll write again soon.

  Love,

  Hazel

  I click send, and turn my video chat on. I see Andy’s online, and before I’m able to send him a chat request, he’s already sent me one. I press accept, and wait for his face to appear on screen.

  “Hey, stranger, How was camping?” he asks casually.

  Somehow, he manages to look even more handsome, his jawline is more defined, sharper, and his upper body looks chiseled as if he’s been spending afternoons in the gym or something. It hasn’t even been that long since I’ve been gone, but there’s something more mature about Andy, his eyes, wiser and more soulful.

  I raise an eyebrow and continue examining him. “What have you been doing to yourself? You look different… Like you’re hitting the gym…”

  I can see that he’s trying hard to keep cool, but I know that underneath, he’s feeling nervous, fidgeting with his hair and biting his lip.

  “No biggie. Just helping Dad out on the boats. He’s also got me doing the deliveries this year, so I guess lifting all those cases of fish must be paying off.”

  “Hmmm… But you don’t even have a tan,” I point out suspiciously.

  “You have my mom to blame for that. She’s suddenly paranoid about skin cancer, and has me slathering on the sunscreen,” he says, making a dramatic goofy face.

  I can’t help but giggle, imagining Claudia chasing Andy around town, brandishing a bottle of SPF 80 like her life depended on it.

  “Okay, that makes sense. I think your mom’s been watching too much of the Discovery Health channel again.”

  Andy makes an exaggerated face. “No, seriously, tell me about it! Okay, but enough about me, and my lack of a tan…How’s camp? Anything new?”

  I feel bad, knowing that I have to lie to him yet again. But I guess it’s more important now, more than ever, to keep things a secret.

  “Nothing mind blowing, just the usual geeky art stuff. Camping was fun though. I got to stuff my face with S’mores.”

  As he laughs, his eyes get all crinkly in the corners, and a small dimple appears on one side of his lip. I feel myself blush, and hope he doesn’t notice.

  “I would have loved seeing that S’mores debauchery!” he says jokingly.

  I feel my cheeks getting redder and cringe, knowing that Andy has probably noticed my scarlet tinged face by now. “Uh… Well. I guess we’ll have to go camping when I get home then.”

  “Yeah, of course. Sounds like a plan,” he replies in a chipper voice.

  I feel like I’m at a loss for words all of the sudden and we just sort of glance at each other for a few moments. Andy breaks the silence first. “I promised I’d help Mom out with the garden today… It was nice seeing you, Hazel.”

  I look down at my hands, suddenly feeling shy as Andy gazes at me.

  “Sure. It was nice seeing you, too.” I feel like ending the conversation with something more meaningful, but I can’t think of anything to say before he disconnects.

  I close my laptop, and just lay on my bed staring up at the ceiling. All this stuff bottled up inside is making me feel anxious, and if I’m not careful, I might just explode and hurt someone in the process.

  27

  After lunch, I wait for Jared by the entrance of the main house, playing with the ring on my finger, nervously twisting it back and forth. His footsteps echo down the hallway, the scrunching sound of leather boots a dead giveaway. I turn, and look right into his steely blue-gray eyes as he leans on the doorway, waiting for me, as if I’m the one who’s supposed to acknowledge his presence. He’s wearing well-worn black jeans, and a long sleeved cotton t-shirt with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows. On the inside of his wrist, I spot a small half moon tattooed and wonder what it means.

  I tilt my head impatiently, not budging one inch. “How long have you had that?” I ask, pointing at the tatt
oo, as he relents, approaching me with grin.

  He looks at the tiny moon like he forgot it was even there, circling it with his finger. “I don’t know. I’ve had it since I was a kid. I don’t even remember how it got there,” he says, shrugging his shoulders.

  “Hmmm… That’s interesting… and strange,” I say, eyeing the tiny tattoo closely.

  He grins mysteriously. “Well, there’s no shortage of strange in the world we live in.”

  “Tell me about it,” I reply, rolling my eyes.

  “Come on,” he says, gesturing for me to follow. We walk to the side of the main house, where there’s a nondescript garage-like structure. Jared presses a button, and the garage door opens slowly, revealing a cavernous interior filled with several dusty classic cars, and numerous tools and antique looking contraptions. I follow him inside towards an object wrapped in a silvery tarp. As he pulls it, a puff of dust flies into the musty air, revealing a perfectly restored antique motorcycle underneath. He looks at me, and smiles like a kid in a candy store.

  “You ready for a ride?” he asks with a glint in his eye. Normally, I wouldn’t make a habit of getting on a bike with a guy, but somehow, the idea of riding away from the camp for a few hours seems kind of appealing.

  “Uh… Is it safe?” I ask.

  Jared chuckles. “Yes, don’t worry. It’ll be a leisurely ride, nothing extreme. Besides, I have these,” he says, pulling out two helmets from a nearby shelf covered in cobwebs.

  “No, I meant, is it safe to leave the grounds?” I clarify.

  “We’re not leaving the zone, just near the edge. I already cleared it with Maya.”

  Feeling assured, I grab one of the helmets and fit it over my head. He pushes the bike out of the garage onto the dirt path, and climbs on while turning the ignition. The bike rumbles to life, and he pats the seat behind him. I climb on with a bit of difficulty, but manage not to fall off and make a fool of myself.

  “You ready?” he asks, shouting over the sound of the bike.

  I wrap my arms around Jared’s waist, trying not to hold on too tightly.

  “Yes!”

  The bike takes off with a cloud of dust. We follow the road leading away from camp, but instead of veering towards the secret gate, we divert onto a smaller side road. Lush, green forests, rolling hills and meadows zoom by as we cruise. After about fifteen minutes, the road veers uphill, as we pass by some massive rock formations. The bike slows down, and Jared turns into a dirt path in between two enormous rocks. Then he stops abruptly and parks next to an old stone stairway. I climb off and remove my helmet. Strands of hair are plastered with sweat to my forehead and neck. I inspect the crumbling stairway, mesmerized by the unusual design. The steps curve and zigzag up through the numerous rock formations. Jared hops onto the first step, and I follow, trying to keep up with his pace. The ascent seems endless, but when we finally reach the top, I realize the trek was totally worth it. There’s an oval area perched on the side of a mountain, where overgrown trees and vines surround the ruins of an old mansion. The courtyard is filled with thorny rose bushes, decrepit statues and a once majestic marble fountain overlooking the entire camp grounds from a high vantage.

  “What is this place?” I ask in amazement.

  “Nobody knows for sure. It’s been here even before the camp was built. Some speculate it may have belonged to an ancestor of a founding member, but there really aren’t any records.”

  Jared leads me to an old stone bench with a panoramic view. I sit next to him, mesmerized by the breathtaking scene.

  “Hazel, how come you faked your results yesterday?” Jared blurts out of the blue.

  My heart sinks, and I sigh, knowing that I can’t really get away with lying to him.

  “How did you find out?”

  “The MMC… It also allowed us to keep track of your movements. We included it as a safety precaution, in case something happened,” he admits.

  I look at him alarmed. “Us?”

  “Yes, all of us, even Maya. Don’t worry, they all think you did it for popularity reasons,” he explains.

  I roll my eyes. “Popularity? Really?”

  He chuckles, shaking his head knowingly. “Well, they think you faked it because you didn’t want your friends feeling threatened. But I know better.”

  “You’re right. That’s not it at all.” I pause, staring down at my feet as I think of what to say next.

  “It started with the first incident in your class… When I entered your memory, I began to wonder if something else was going on. Then, at the camping trip, that something else did happen,” I say, hoping he’ll believe me.

  “Akiko and I were exploring the forest. On our way back to the campsite, Akiko hurt her ankle really bad. You should have seen it Jared, it was all mangled up, bloody. Her bone was even sticking out... I kind of freaked out, but I tried to help her anyway. One minute her foot looked like it was about to fall off, then the next minute it was healed, as if nothing had ever happened.”

  Jared looks out at the sky, then gazes back at me, his eyes an intense, stormy blue.

  “You think you’re the one who did that?”

  I nod my head. “I know I’m the one who did that.”

  Jared closes his eyes for an instant, deep in thought. I wait for him to speak, but he doesn’t. The silence is unnerving. I’m too worked up to wait for his response, so I struggle to speak, stuttering for the right words to say. “My mom warned me to lay low… She said if this got out, it could be dangerous for me…”

  Jared opens his eyes, and breathes deeply. “She’s right, Hazel. You need to keep this a secret. Maybe later on, when you’re stronger and less vulnerable, you can show your true colors, but for now, I agree with your mom.”

  “Okay,” I say, feeling relieved and agitated at the same time.

  Jared holds out his hand. “Come on, it’s time to do some work.”

  I reach out, and he pulls me gently to my feet. “Okay, so now that I know what I’m dealing with, we can make some real progress.”

  We walk to the middle of the courtyard where there’s a wide-open space.

  “I assume you’ve heard of telepathy?” he asks.

  “You mean like mind reading?”

  “Well, yes, that’s one aspect of telepathy. But it can also be used as a form of communication. This can be an invaluable tool when you’re out on missions,” he explains.

  I’m intrigued by the idea and raise my eyebrow questioningly. “Don’t witches communicate this way with their familiars?”

  “Yes, that’s true… But I’ve never encountered a familiar who could communicate this way in human form, or with witches they weren’t bound to,” he says, stepping back further and further away from me.

  “So, you think I might have this power?” I say, raising my voice to compensate for the distance between us.

  “It’s possible. We can try a little exercise and see if it works. To start, I’ll think of something that I want you to transform into, then, if you’re able to guess, you’ll get a turn to think of something you want me to transform into.”

  I’m skeptical, but I try my best to share Jared’s enthusiasm.

  “Let’s close our eyes so it’ll be easier to concentrate. I’ll just do my best to emit what I’m thinking. If you get anything, even a hint, then just go ahead and transform. We’ll see if it works.”

  We close our eyes at the same time.

  “Okay, I’m ready,” I say, concentrating on making my mind as blank as possible. It’s really difficult at first, and I keep on getting distracted by chirping birds, the rustling of leaves and other background noises. I try to zone everything out, but in the back of my mind, I wonder if this is just a big waste of time.

  After about ten minutes, I’m almost ready to call it quits and admit that I’m a telepathic failure. But I decide to give it one more genuine effort. I imagine myself in a bright, white room with nothing but the luminescent floors and walls surrounding me. The light gets
brighter and brighter till I’m almost blinded by its glow. I hear a low-pitched humming noise, almost like an air conditioner in my ear. I feel like I’m in a trance, and as the whiteness of the room envelops my body, a chimpanzee suddenly appears. I flinch, and almost laugh out loud, wondering if I’m imagining it, or if Jared is just having a little fun with me. I wait for another minute to pass, but nothing changes, and the chimp is still standing in the room with a big toothy grin on its face.

  I relent, transforming into the chimp I see before me. As I stare at my hairy arms, my round brown belly, and my wrinkled little feet, Jared opens his eyes. When he does, he looks at me, smiles, and cracks himself up till he’s doubled over. I can’t take the humiliation any longer, so I shift back, and glare at him.

  “What? Did I guess wrong?” I ask, annoyed by his laughter.

  “You did it, Hazel!”

  “Really? I wasn’t sure, but I just figured that maybe you were trying to play a joke on me or something.” I say, glaring at him smugly.

  Jared tries not to look sheepish, but fails. “Sorry, I just couldn’t help myself. Sometimes all this shape-shifter business can be so serious.”

  I didn’t take Jared for such a prankster, but I kind of like this side of him. Somehow, it makes his usually smoldering persona more down to earth.

  “Okay, now it’s my turn!” I shout, racking my brain, trying to think of an equally humiliating choice for Jared. I ponder some possibilities, like a cockroach, a slug or a sloth, but I decide on a giant, sloppy pig. I picture the pig, and then spell the word out in my head. As much as I try and concentrate, I can’t seem to come up with a way to get the message to him. So I revert to childish tactics, imagining silly ways to invade his mind. I visualize a string connecting me to Jared, like a long piece of spaghetti attaching my brain to his. I picture the pig traveling from one side of the string, to the other, until it gets sucked into his ear. Then, I envision Jared’s brain, and the pig floating through endless tunnels of brain tissue.