Family Ties

by Katrina Kahler

  “Oh, I want some of that lotion!” Mom said.

  Bob pulled a bottle out of his pocket and gave it to Mom. “My pleasure!”

  Mom grinned. “This is great! I can finally wear my bikini in the daylight!”

  “We will take you to the changing area where you can change into appropriate beach attire and then we will meet you on the volleyball court right next to the water. Nothing like a good game of beach volleyball!” Ted said, leading us to a beach house.

  “Wait, we’re here to talk about my mother,” Jimmy said.

  “And we will talk while playing volleyball!” Ted replied. “We love the game. If you beat us, we promise we will tell you everything we know.”

  “What if we lose?” Frank asked. “Not that we will. Jimbo and I are awesome at V-ball.”

  “If you lose, then we may tell you the truth, we may tell you lies,” Bob said. “We like adding stakes to the game.”

  “I didn’t think vampires liked stakes?” Sasha said.

  Ted laughed. “No, I mean we will throw some steaks on the grill during the game. The smell is delicious!”

  “What about the truth or lying stuff?” Dad asked.

  Ted laughed. “That’s just part of the deal. Part of who we are. We love a challenge, and we love giving a challenge!”

  “I don’t know if I like the fate of Jimmy’s mom being dependent on who wins a volleyball game,” I countered.

  “Don’t worry, sis,” Frank assured me. “Like I said, Jimmy and I rock at V-Ball; no way we’ll lose!”

  “I played in college,” Dad told me. “I am an awesome spiker!” he added.

  We entered a changing room with six stalls, each of them labeled. One for each of us. Each of the stalls contained a chest with an assortment of swimsuits inside them. Each suit fitted us perfectly. I chose a modest pink one-piece. Sasha picked a modest red one-piece. I don’t think either of us was anxious to let the other one see what we looked like.

  Mom, of course, picked the smallest bikini she could find. After all, she hadn’t been able to wear a bikini outside, ever. She really seemed anxious to show off a bit.

  And of course, Jimmy and Frank each picked fairly small bathing trunks also. They, being boys didn’t seem to have issues. Dad, being the whacky scientist that he was, wore a two-piece white sunsuit.

  We walked out onto the beach. We spotted the volleyball net and headed there. Jimmy and Frank bragged that they would easily win. They both stopped in their tracks. I swear their eyes popped out of their heads. Looking in the direction their eyes were popping, I saw two beautiful women spiking the volleyball back and forth. One was tall with brown hair; the other was a tall blonde. They looked like swimsuit models who had been photoshopped to the max. Of course, they were alive, this was what they really looked like, and they were clearly very good at volleyball.

  “OMG! Are they real?” Sasha asked.

  The taller one, the one with brown hair, walked over to us. Man, the lady knew how to walk. She held out a hand. “Hello, I am Aisha. I will be one of your opponents today!”

  The blonde woman waved, bouncing while she did it. It was like the woman was made of energy, very pretty energy. “Hey, I’m Shannon!” she said.

  “I’m Nina!” I replied.

  “Sasha,” Sasha said.

  “Liza!” Mom said, showing the ladies her teeth.

  “I’m ah, something…” my brother sputtered.

  “You’re Frank,” I told him.

  “No, that doesn’t sound right,” Frank said, scratching his head. “Wait, I’m Fred. No... Frank!” he giggled.

  “I’m Jason or Jake or Jimmy,” Jimmy said, sweating.

  “It’s Jimmy,” I told the ladies.

  Dad turned his back the second he saw the two beautiful women. He spun around, now wearing shades. “Hello, ladies,” he said. “I look forward to this sporting event.”

  The ladies smiled at Dad. “Ah, very clever, Doctor Thorn!” Aisha said.

  “Yes, we’ve never seen glasses that block out our charms and make a person look so cool!” Shannon said.

  Dad nodded. “I had a feeling that we might meet, so I wanted to be prepared!”

  Bob and Ted walked over to each of them, holding a volleyball. “I see you’ve met the rest of our team,” Ted said.

  “Sorry to have to bring out the big guns with Aisha and Shannon, but we hate losing and we have heard what great athletes Frank and James are, so we figured this would be fun…” Ted added. “To be fair, we’re only going to play with four on our team.”

  “That’s good,” Mom said. “Cause right now, Frank and James are just spectators.” Mom took a ball from Frank. “Come now, let’s get this game going!” she said, spinning the ball on her finger.

  Bob nodded, his tan glistening in the sun. “Of course. We play by modern volleyball rules. All points count. When the server loses a point, then the other team serves. First to 15, and you must win by two.”

  “As visitors, you get to serve first,” Ted said.

  “Great!” Mom replied with more emotion than I was used to hearing from her. “Let’s get this game rolling.”

  We took our side of the net. Ted, Bob, Aisha, and Shannon took theirs. They stayed in a diamond formation. Ted in front, Aisha, and Shannon in the middle, Bob in the back. Aisha and Shannon dodged back and forth, trying to anticipate where Mom would serve.

  We also stayed in a diamond formation with Dad in front, Mom in the back serving, and Sasha and me in the middle.

  “Man, I don’t think we’ve ever been on the same team before,” Sasha said to me.

  “I can’t recall a time,” I responded. “But let’s do this for Jimmy’s mom!”

  Sasha nodded. “Agreed. Your mix of being a vampire and werewolf should come in handy here!”

  Wow, that’s the closest you have come to say anything nice about me!

  “For once!” Sasha added.

  Yep, still the closest you’ve come.

  “Okay, girls, stop gabbing and get ready to dive and dig!” Mom said.

  Sasha and I both snapped to attention, our eyes focused on the field or court or sand or whatever you’re supposed to call a beach volleyball area.

  Mom tossed the ball up in the air to serve. She smashed the ball with her palm. The ball blazed over the net towards Aisha. Aisha dove and hit the sand. The ball hit the ground and bounced past her.

  A dog, an older looking Saint Bernard with wings, appeared at the middle of the net. He pointed at us and said, “Point for the visitors! Nice shot!”

  “Time out!” I called.

  “Why? We’re in the lead!” Sasha pointed out.

  Ignoring Sasha, I walked over to the dog. “I know you.”

  The dog grinned. “Yeah, I get that a lot. I have a really familiar face.”

  “No, you were in my dream…” I said.

  “Hey, no flirting with the Rowf ref!” Aisha said in a kidding voice.

  “I am impartial, no matter how much anybody flirts!” Rowf said.

  “Wait, your name is Rowf?” I asked.

  “We will talk after the game,” Rowf said. “If you win!”

  “Oh, we will so win!” I replied.

  Dad tossed Mom the ball for her to serve. Mom licked her lips, clearly loving this. She tossed the ball up in the air and rocketed another serve. This time, she blasted it to the other side. Shannon dove. The ball hit the sand.

  “Point!” Rowf said.

  Ted tossed the ball back to Mom. “I guess I should expect nothing less from one who has the blood of the first line, racing through her veins!” He smiled. “Did you play in college?”

  Mom caught the ball. “Nope, this is the first time I’ve ever played.” She tossed the ball up and smacked it in Ted’s direction. Ted dove for the ball and got a hand on it, but the ball bounced off him and out of bounds.

  “Point to the visitors,” Rowf said. “They now lead 3-0.”

  Mom kept blasting serves to the other team, the ba
ll bouncing off the court or their bodies. They had clearly never seen anything or anyone like Mom. We quickly built up a 7-0 lead.

  Dad walked over to Mom. He kissed her as he handed her the ball. “You know, hon, you could let the rest of us play as well,” he said softly.

  “I could,” Mom said. “But I know dark vampires. They respond well to power. You need to show them who’s in charge and that is me.”

  Dad nodded. “I am aware. I also think they are aware, but can you ease up just a little so I can use some of my moves? I do love this game.”

  Mom smiled and nodded. “Sure, tiger man. I will throw you a bone,” she said.

  Dad returned to his position at the front of our diamond. Mom smacked the ball, this time not quite as hard. Aisha moved to the ball and bumped it up into the air towards Bob. Bob leaped up to spike the ball. He hit the ball hard. Dad jumped up and hit the ball back over to Bob’s side of the net. The ball hit the ground.

  “Point to the visitors!” Rowf said. He laughed. “This is getting embarrassing for the home team!”

  Our game had created quite a stir with the visitors at the beach club or whatever the heck this place was. They had all gathered around to watch. Of course, a lot of the males came at first because of Aisha and Shannon, but soon they were just as captivated by Mom.

  As for the dark vampires we were playing against, they all kept smiling and dusting sand off their bodies. But man, oh man, I could sense they were getting a bit frustrated.

  Ted called a timeout. They huddled in the middle of their court. We met at the middle of our side. The score was now 10-0. Mom was still serving, and if she didn’t ace them, then Dad would put the ball away on the next hit.

  “Do you girls want to play?” Mom asked. “After all, this is really fun, and your dad and I have been hogging all the points.”

  “I’m enjoying standing back and seeing you crush them!” Sasha commented.

  “I’d like to touch the ball once or twice, at least!” I said.

  “Done!” Mom replied.

  Mom walked back to the service line. Rowf blew his whistle. Mom tossed the ball up in the air and smacked it. The ball exploded because she hit it so hard.

  “Oops!” Mom said. “My bad!”

  Rowf blew his whistle. “Well, that’s a point for the home team and a side out. Home team gets to serve!”

  Ted picked up another volleyball and strutted to the serving line. “Okay team, let’s show these visitors what the dark vampires are made of!”

  Ted rounded up and served the ball hard at Sasha. He figured he’d pick on the one normal human on the court or field or sand. Well, I guess I should have expected that from a dark vampire. Sasha dove for the ball, reaching for it with her right fist. Her fist deflected the ball high up into the air towards me. Leaping up, I pounded the ball into the ground on the other side of the net. I blasted it right in the middle of their diamond formation.

  “Point to the visitors,” Rowf said calmly. He looked at me and smiled. “Side out. Visitor’s serve again, already.” Rowf kicked me the ball with his paw.

  “Your serve,” Mom told me with a smile.

  I tossed the ball high into the air, well over my head. I leaped up and pounded the ball towards the other side of the net. Of course, I took a bit of care not to hit it so hard that it blew up. The ball ripped across the net. It hit Ted square in the face. The ball rolled to the ground. Ted stood there, stunned for a moment. Blood started rushing from his nose. He fell forward into the sand, face first.

  Rowf blew his whistle loudly. “Game over!” he called. Score…visitors 11 and home team 1, a gift point if ever there was one.

  “But the game is supposed to go to 15. 11 is less than 15!” Shannon told Rowf.

  Rowf looked at her. He pointed at Ted with his tail. “Shannon, do you really want to end up like that?” he asked her. “I don’t think a bent squished nose would look good on you…”

  Shannon touched her nose gently. “Yes, I can see your point.”

  I ran over to Ted. “Mr. Ted, I am very sorry. Sometimes I don’t know my own strength!” I told him. I helped him to his feet. He wobbled but steadied himself.

  Bob walked over and slapped Ted on the back. He laughed. “That’s using your head and taking one for the team!”

  Mom and Dad walked over to us. “Sorry, to give you such a beat down,” Mom said in a tone of voice that made it quite obvious she wasn’t sorry at all.

  Ted took her by the hand. “You and your daughter are truly amazing creatures!” he said.

  “Hey, I had an amazing spike and some blocks!” Dad said. He pointed at me. “Plus, Nina does get half her DNA from me!” He pointed proudly at himself.

  Bob slapped Dad on the back. “Yes, you should be proud also.” He pointed to the main spa building. “Come, let’s go into the conference room and talk about what you came to discuss.” He looked at Aisha. “Aisha, my dear, will you lead the boys there.”

  “Of course,” she said. Motioning to Frank and Jimmy with her index finger, she said, “Follow me, boys.” She headed towards the big building. Frank and Jimmy followed on command.

  “Man, I miss being able to do that!” Sasha said.

  I shot Sasha a look.

  “Hey, at least I tell the truth!” Sasha replied.

  Nina Note: You know what, I had to give Sasha credit. She did always seem to tell the truth. For all her flaws, her many, many flaws, she did seem truthful. She liked power and wasn’t afraid to admit it.

  I must say I can understand that.

  Plus, I feel great after my spike!

  Chapter 10: A Dream Come True

  We all meet in the conference room…Mom, Dad, Sasha, Frank, Jimmy and me. Aisha and Shannon had moved out of sight or scent. Bob and Ted joined us in the room with Rowf. I felt kind of surprised but relieved to see Rowf there. He had a calming presence.

  “Thanks for talking to us,” Jimmy said. “I really appreciate you dark vampires cooperating with us.”

  Bob and Ted both nodded. Bob was the first to speak. “To tell the truth, James, we invited your mother here. We feel something big, something weird, is coming and we want to work with the humans to stop it; hopefully, before it gets here. If not before, then to stomp it out when it gets here.”

  “Or should we say when SHE gets here…” Ted said.

  “Who is she?” Mom asked.

  “We don’t know. This is a sacred land; where the first of our kind was born. We can sense things before others can. We know something is lurking, getting ready to come, and the thing is a female. That is all we can sense…”

  “What does my mom have to do with this?” Jimmy asked.

  “Whoever called this new force to come towards us doesn’t want vampires and vampire hunters to work together. They want us to stay apart and maybe even fight,” Rowf explained.

  “Any idea who is responsible?” I asked.

  “They believe it is the Transylvania Vampire Hunters Guild,” Ted said.

  “There are only two members, Bonnie, and Bo Clyde. They observe more than they hunt. We always considered them to be mostly harmless,” Bob said.

  Jimmy stood up. “Take us to them!” he demanded.

  “That’s the thing,” Rowf replied. “They stay mobile; they move around a lot. We’ve lost track of them.”

  “Then how do we find them?” I asked.

  Rowf walked over towards Jimmy. “Easy, I sniff your mom out. I fly over the town until I smell her scent.”

  “Wait, why didn’t you just do that earlier?” Jimmy asked.

  “Because they didn’t have anything to pick up her scent with!” I replied, figuring things out.

  “Actually,” Rowf said. “Whoever took your mom, cleaned up very well after themselves. There was no trace of her to be sniffed.”

  “How are you going to do it now?” Jimmy asked.

  “Silly boy, he can get your mom’s scent from you!” my mom told Jimmy.

  “He can?” Sasha a
sked.

  “Of course!” Rowf said. “All family members bare a similar scent.” He walked up to Jimmy and gave him a head to toe sniff. “Got it!” he said. He shook his head. “Man, teenage boys smell the worst!”

  “Do you have enough to go on?” I asked.

  Rowf shook his head. He turned to me. “How much do you weigh?” he asked.

  “Kind of personal,” I replied.

  Rowf patted me on the knee. “Look, kid. I need a way to be able to relay my location to your team. With you on my back, I think we can make that happen!”

  “I weigh like 111,” I told him.

  “Good!” Rowf said. “Now, hop on, and we’ll go find your friend’s mom!”

  “Shouldn’t we go outside first?” I asked.

  “I’ll walk outside with you on my back!” he said. “It will allow me to get accustomed to your weight.”

  Sasha laughed.

  I took a deep breath and climbed aboard the big winged dog.

  Nina Note: Well my dream or vision did appear to be coming true. So now I was going to fly through the air on a dog that was sniffing for the mother of the boy I was crushing over. It seemed silly, but hopefully just silly enough to work!

  Chapter 11: The Battle

  It felt kind of neat to be flying through the skies of Transylvania on the back of a really large, talking Saint Bernard with wings. I sat between Rowf’s wings and his head, just holding on with my legs. Being part vampire and part were-tiger, I could balance easily. The cool thing was that since we were in Transylvania, we didn’t even have to hide or be stealthy. Here, people expect to see a dog flying with a girl on his back. I kind of liked that. Here, while I still wasn’t normal normal, people understood what I was, and accepted me.

  “This is neat that we can fly in public!” I told Rowf. “The people here are very understanding!”

  Rowf looked back over his shoulder at me. “Well, they’ve been dealing with vampires and super-naturals for a LONG time. Way before your country was born. They’ve learned to accept us. Though, this place is just like any other place. Most people are good, with a little mischief in them. Some people have a lot of mischief in them, and a little good. A very small percentage of the people are just plain bad. They think that only their ways are right. Here, those people usually stay quiet, knowing they are way outnumbered. Plus, if you are a normal, you realize you don’t want to make a vampire angry with you.”