World of Azglen (Full Moon Series Book 1)

by P. Mattern

  Mitzi, at a loss for speech, nodded and instantly the group was back standing on the linoleum just as she was. Lux was speaking.

  "So we're unusual, right? Please don't hold that against us."

  Mitzi continued to stare at them silently. Lux cleared his throat and continued, "Think of us as hybrids. We do retain some humanity. We can eat human food and go to the bathroom and blow our noses. We have all the requisite body parts. But if we want to stick to our natural "pure" diet, we don't have to do any of those things. Ever." Smirking, he gave a nod towards Cass. "Human food is, in fact, quite addictive, and quite fattening. Ask my stocky brother here."

  Cass nodded in agreement, patting his midsection. "You may have noticed that I am not as svelte as my twin here. I blame that on an unquenchable addiction to human junk food. LOOOOOVE the sweets! And salty stuff too. Candy bars, cheese doodles, nachos, and filled doughnuts --"

  "He likes to suck the filling out of the doughnut first --"

  Fressenda interrupted, "Guys you're getting a little off-subject here. Mitzi! Do you have questions - no, that's silly - you must have lots of questions."

  "I - I." She stammered, "… I met you in broad daylight. Y - You were standing in the sun."

  "Sunblock has come a long way since the Middle Ages."

  Mitzi had been fumbling in the pocket of her sweater, trying to get kinesthetically oriented enough to dial 911 without taking her cell phone out of her pocket or being detected. Suddenly she felt her cell phone squirm out of her grasp and saw it shoot across the room into Fress's hand. Fressenda's eyes had a pleading look.

  "Oh Mitzi, please just DON'T. We're taking a leap of faith to tell you the truth about us. It's important that you know. For Charley's sake."

  Mitzi bristled at the mention of Charley's name. "What have you been doing to my son?" she hissed, wanting to scream but mindful that Charley was upstairs. "You have something, maybe everything, to do with the changes Charley's been going through. And why are you doing whatever you're doing?" Mitzi felt her chin begin to tremble. "He was fine, content, adjusted. He had a routine and a life. Now he's practically become a stranger -- even to HIMSELF!"

  The last words ripped out of her hoarsely as though she was being torn on the inside, feral and furious. In the next instant she crumbled, burying her face in her hands and heaving with noisy, ragged sobs. The three young people stood near her awkwardly as Mitzi wept for several minutes.

  Finally Fressenda spoke. "Please Mitzi, please bear with us. We are not what you're thinking, some lost tribe of miscreants with completely broken moral compasses wandering the earth seeking victims. Charley was - and is - special. He was never meant for the diminished life he's been leading. It's like he was waiting to become more. Waiting for a key to unlock all his potential so that he could have a different life. Not a so - called "normal" life, but an enhanced human life. With us. We would never hurt him."

  "But you HAVE!" Mitzi interrupted harshly. "He's confused. WE'RE confused."

  "Of course you are," Fress responded gently, "NOW. But you'll see - and soon- how much better it will be. Mitzi you can't take care of him forever. I know you want to, but time passes and you're getting... older. If Charley had continued to operate on a six year old level what would have happened when he didn't have you anymore? Group home? Institutionalization? Now he can have a future. Now, instead of remaining a perpetual kid, he can become a man."

  Mitzi was silent. Lux leaned forward earnestly, "Charley is a great guy, Mrs. Rabbit, and you're the biggest reason for that. Even though he was delayed compared to other kids, you were a great mom and a great role model. But now it’s his time. He has a shot finally at realizing his potential. Isn't that... well, isn’t that what every mother wants for her child?"

  "Of course," Mitzi answered, finding her voice again, "But not like this. Not going forward as some mutated freak of nature --"

  Suddenly Cass interrupted, "Excuse me, and with all due respect Mrs. Rabbit, did you really want him marching into an uncertain future with half his brain functioning because the doctor that delivered him was in a hurry for lunch? Isn't that a mutation too? One that you would never have chosen for him in a million years? Or is that what you have come to consider the real Charley?"

  Mitzi was stunned into silence.

  From that perspective she could see that Cass had made a point, albeit an unwelcome point. The ‘Charley that would have been’ had never existed. The Charley that she had known and loved was the damaged Charley, the boy who had never had a chance at a life that wasn’t severely limited and diminished from the instant he’d been delivered out of her body. The changes that were now ongoing were propelling him rapidly into a future that should have been his all along. And instead of being happy about it, she was resisting. Mitzi reflected that her habit of thinking for both her and Charley had lapsed into obsolescence. It was a difficult habit to break. Charley seemed capable of making more of his own decisions now. His future was no longer under her control. Fatigue swept over her. She looked around at the faces of Charley’s friends and sighed heavily.

  “I’m not going to call anyone. It obvious that you - whoever you are - have Charley’s best interests at heart. It will take me awhile to take all of this in, and I’m forewarning you I’ll have lots of questions. You need to set up a 24 hour hotline for all the questions I’ll have. But it will have to be okay for now. I can’t fight you all, I can’t fight Charley. And I can’t fight reality...even a reality as bizarre as this.”

  “Group hug?” Cass suggested, inappropriate as always.

  Mitzi shook her head. "Sorry, I’m not quite there yet. This has been… exhausting. It’s going to take me awhile to absorb this and I’ll expect you to explain everything multiple times if necessary. I’m NOT stepping down as his mother and guardian and you WILL have to run everything by me. But I wouldn’t hold Charley back from a chance at a different life... almost a SECOND chance at life, really. So I guess we’ll see where it goes.”

  Fressenda quickly gave Mitzi a hug before she had time to resist or protest. "You’re a strong woman. You have a special strength you know. You just proved it. You’re able to make wise decisions in unsettling conditions. That is your gift, or at least one of them.”

  Charley appeared, leaning casually in the doorway. "Are you guys finished talking about me?”

  Mitzi nodded.

  “Then can I start being myself 24 - 7… I don’t have to dummy - down for anyone?” He gave Mitzi a pointed look.

  Mitzi gave Charley a hug and bit her lip. "Not for me, Charley, but for a while you might want to keep a low profile. Unless you want to be featured in the local paper as the 'miracle boy' who was cured of retardation. Or featured in some medical journal.”

  Charley smiled enigmatically. "What, and miss out on my chance at being a local celebrity? Just kidding. You’re right, as always. And I’m sorry for holding out on you. I just didn’t figure you were, um... ready.”

  “Well I wasn’t.” Mitzi admitted in a rueful tone. "But I will be now.”

  * * *

  Chapter 06: Midnight Snack

  Everyone present -- Fress, Cass, Lux, Charley and his mom breathed a collective sigh of relief. The tense atmosphere in the room had changed and lightened.

  Mitzi continued to address Charley, "You know you will have to be patient with me. I am going into fierce empty-nesting mode. I really saw myself taking care of you for the rest of my life. You understand that, don’t you Charley?”

  Charley closed the space between them in an instant and gathered Mitzi in his arms. "I love you Mom, I love you more than I could ever have when you were my whole world. I have an increased capacity to love you that I never had before. The way I was before... that was more like the way baby ducks imprint on their mother duck. Think of this as having me back as a whole person, even better than a normal whole person. It’s our own private miracle.”

  Mitzi disengaged from Charley’s enthusiastic embrace. "Ok but inquiring minds
want to know all the W’s. When, where, who, what and why. And also HOW this came to be. You’ll have to proceed gently for the sake of my sanity, or what’s left of it. I played with sticks and rocks growing up, so I’m a fairly concrete thinker. In my mind there are two categories: Sensible and crazy. And none of this fits neatly into either category.”

  Charley smirked, "Well Mom, time to open a NEW category, I’m thinking.”

  * * *

  During the days that followed Mitzi had dozens of questions - usually directed at one of the twins who had volunteered to be the on - call operators to field them. ‘Where did Vampires come from?’ was the first. The answer was a bit disappointing - Lux told her that they didn’t really know but the existence of their kind could be traced back to texts as ancient as the beginnings of humanity. Many believed in those times that Vampires were aliens; others believed them a mutation of humankind. As Lux put it “We had to come from somewhere. Maybe were extraterrestrials, maybe we evolved, maybe we are the genetic answer to mankind’s future.” His responses made Mitzi sigh but didn’t surprise her. As it was with the hotly disputed theories on the origin of mankind so it was with Vampire kind - lots of theories floating around but no definitive answers.

  Mitzi’s next question was the most distasteful for her to ask, something that she was afraid to know the answer to” ‘How do you feed?” She’d first asked the question of Fress, who answered her question first with a musical tinkle of laughter. “I’m sorry” she apologized, “The term ‘feed ‘makes us sound like – well, like vultures or wolf packs of some kind. Up front-we do require blood - yes we do. But in these modern times we rely primarily on donated blood from the Blood Donation Center. When we have need of it we just visit a blood storage area. Many of us are employed by the Blood Donation Center, so we have trained hematologists, scientists, technicians and security guards in place in all but the most remote locales.”

  Mitzi had interrupted, “Surely they must keep inventory and realize part of their supply is missing…”

  “Did I neglect to mention that we also have computer programmers, actuaries and Resource Managers in place? Believe me; it’s taken care of - undetectable. And we are conscientious about it - we try to use product that is ready to expire, in which case it would simply be poured down the drain and go to waste, or be carted off as hazardous waste. I’ll give you an example-after 9/11, so much blood was donated that it couldn’t all be used for the usual transfusion purposes. We very “greenly” kept the excess from going to waste.”

  On another occasion she posed a question to Cass. “What about - fangs? I understand that you mostly drink donated blood-but do you have functioning fangs?”

  Cass had sighed patiently and audibly over the phone, “I suppose that’s an option for some - the rednecks or Third Worlders among us. And there are a few wackos out there madly in love with the theatrical aspect of inflicting a puncture wound. But usually we use a sort of pressure - osmosis technique - our suction ability is strong enough to accomplish it. You realize that skin is a semi - permeable membrane. We have the ability to exert enough pressure to pull blood cells through the skin without tearing or puncturing it. Of course it does leave a bruise that looks similar to a hickey. But, as I told you-that is a technique reserved for changing a full - on human to our kind. And it must happen at least twice to be effective.

  Suppose someone is “once bitten”. Of course they would begin to transform on a minimal level… it’s a very individual thing. Usually a beneficial effect will be noticed shortly thereafter. The bitee will develop within a few hours increased mental, physical, visual and aural acuity. They may feel revitalized, appear a few years younger. Unless they are again bitten they might continue with the rest of their lives never fully realizing that anything out of the ordinary has happened to them.”

  Mitzi asked, ”And if they’re bitten a second time? What happens then?”

  Cass whistled through his teeth ,”Well THEN they would develop a new thirst - not to mention dressing up like Dracula, sleeping in a coffin during the day, giving up sun tanning and wearing a lot of black!”

  “Ha-ha” Mitzi said, ”A little vampire humor?”

  “Yeah” Cass admitted. ”But not the thirst part. Being Twice-bitten means a new diet regimen. And the craving at first may be hard to keep up with. But after it levels out it’s not so bad. Most of us get by with weekly “reverse - donation” visits to the local blood bank. We have these little straws sharpened at one end-perfect for sticking into the top of the blood bags. Our version of a Blurpee. And if it’s still partially frozen it’s kind of nice-tastes like a daiquiri - depending on the type of course.”

  Mitzi felt nauseous. ”Ugh. How can you stand the taste?”

  Cass answered quickly, ”Oh because it actually IS a matter of taste. Blood to a human is a little sweet and salty and tastes meaty and heavy and smells like iron. To a Vampire it tastes of fruit along with other subtle and complex flavors. Like a fine wine.” “So Charley is …”

  “Once - bitten. At this point he doesn’t have the thirst as we do. He can get most of his nutrition from his human diet.”

  “Who bit Charley?” There - it was out - the question Mitzi had been afraid to ask and was even more afraid to have answered.

  “Mitzi”, Cass’s voice was gentle. ”That may be the one question I can’t answer.” There was a sound of static over the phone connection after Cass’s comment.

  Mitzi shook her head as if to clear it. ”I can’t get this mental image of you I have in my head slurping blood out of a donation bag with a pointy straw like it was a lunch box drink. What was the question I just asked you? Guess I’m having a senior moment. Anyway, as long as Charley stays where he is now I think I can stand it.”

  There was silence for a moment on the other end of the wireless call. ”Cass? Are you still there?” she asked.

  Cass cleared his throat.”Yeah.But Mitzi, Charley will have to decide if he wants to be twice - bitten himself, don’t you think?”

  “Oh not necessarily” Mitzi replied, a slight edge to her voice. ”Charley doesn’t need to be rushed into anything. Most of all, Charley needs time to make an informed decision.”

  Cass hesitated, then said, ”Well are you familiar with the expression,” postponing the inevitable” ”?”

  Mitzi bristled. ”The inevitable as in ‘death and taxes’ or are you referring to ‘the inevitable’ as in immortality and transforming permanently into a blood - chugging mutant?”

  To her consternation Cass started laughing. ”Blood chugging mutant! Good one Mitzi! Any more questions though before I have to run?”

  Just one for now. ”Mitzi responded, somewhat piqued at Cass’s amusement.” The aging thing-how does that work? Are you all going to be twenty forever? And why doesn’t everyone look like a model like in that Vampire series?”

  Cass sighed again, ”Actually that’s THREE questions, so I’ll give you the abbreviated answers… (a) Being once - bitten stops human aging and even reverses it in those over 35. Human aging is actually caused by an enzymal reaction involving a telomere genetic key by the way although it will take geneticists 30 more years to figure that out. (b) Those of us who are twice bitten seem to settle, age appearance - wise into the 20 - 30 year range - it varies slightly depending on the individual. And (c) Despite media hype to the contrary not everyone looks like they stepped out of an issue of Vampire Vogue. People look like an improved version of themselves, still retaining the recognizable features. And, having now answered all your queries, I must bid you adieu.”

  Mitzi smiled as she watched Cass’s now familiar face fade from view on her phone.

  “Does Charley know you stunned his mommy?” Lux teased after Cass switched off his phone.

  “Dude I panicked. She asked me who bit Charley. I had no choice but to zap that memory and nip that line of questioning in the bud. Cass answered, tucking his hair nervously behind his ears. “It won’t hurt her.”

  “May
be not but it’s the same conundrum we ran into the other day - she’ll ask again eventually. You keep zapping micro interruptions into her thought process she’ll end up with early Alzheimer or seizures or something.”

  “That hasn’t been proven. ”Cass replied in a slightly injured tone.” But you have a point. Next time I’ll say I don’t know.”

  “But you DO know.”

  Cass let out his third sigh of the evening, ”Please - don’t remind me.”

  * * *

  “Your mother hates me” Fressenda looked up at Charley imploringly, a slight pout on her beautiful lips. Charley ducked his head down momentarily to kiss the pout off. ”Give it time. She’s empty nesting now. In the natural I was going to be her forever kid, the one that stayed at home permanently. She’s lost that kid - the one that she took care of, the one that she helped and guided all these years… she’s basically in mourning. Right now she’s miffed at you because you were the one that cued her in - so we’re in the “kill the messenger” phase.”

  Fressenda’s pout returned. ”You know I took a huge risk telling her, but she isn’t giving me any credit for that. Did she really prefer that you stay-that way - for the rest of your life? Permanently damaged by an OBGYN who was in a hurry and didn’t care how hard he yanked on your infant head with the forceps when you were being born? Oh I think I understand her anger. I didn’t ask her permission to change you after all. Changing someone in our culture has responsibilities attached to it you know - it implies a connection and a commitment, an obligation to.”See it through,” either in a marriage or romantic relationship or as a kind of godparent. She never gave me a chance to explain that though.”

  Charley looked at her over the pillow edge between them, “How many humans have you changed, Fressenda?”

  The slight pout was back again, slightly more pronounced. “Two, not counting you. I’m not a slut!”

  Charley roared with sudden laughter. “Well neither am I, for that matter.” One of his eyebrows shot upward, “And who were the other humans?”