The Familiar Audio Selection Chapter 1

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The Familiar by Gary Paul Varner. Chapter 1 If you want to meet a vampire, go to a hospital. I chuckled and shook my head. Three days, Madeline said three days. If that was true, then tonight, my grandmother would rise from the dead. My name is Jerome. I'm a familiar. It's such a friendly term, isn't it? When someone says familiar, they're thinking of people and things they know. No one considers the word slave. A familiar is someone who allows a vampire to suck their blood. People who know the term usually assume the familiar, is hoping the vampire will turn them. This isn't always true, some of us are just poor. There was a sudden gust of wind, which stole what remained of the heat I'd managed to save under my jacket. Shivering, I pulled out a cigarette, the last in the pack, and with trembling hands I raised the cigarette to my blue lips and pulled out a lighter. The flickering flame teased the edge for a full minute before igniting the tobacco, giving me plenty of time to remember that bumming a smoke was how I had fallen into this mess in the first place. Two years ago my life was a blur of hospital visits and one echoing word, cancer. My parents had died in gutters on the back end of who gives a shit, and all I had in the world was my grandmother. The cancer struck fast and we had no money. I remember sitting by her bedside one night, crying when I knew she was asleep. The hospital was lousy. I don't even think the bed sheets were properly cleaned. Nurses can be apathetic pricks. One particular abomination to human decency shuffled into the room on hams for legs and curtly told me visiting hours were over. I looked at her, eyes pleading for another minute to collect myself, but she met my gaze with a snort, as if telling mourning family members to buzz off was the only pleasure left in her miserable life. She waddled to the door and held it open, staring at me like an ogre guarding her post. I stood up and left my grandmother alone with the ogre, giving her a reproachful glare as I passed by. She met my gaze with a smug grin. I went to the waiting room and cried some more. I didn't have anywhere else to go. Our house was across town and I had no money for a cab. I'd spent the last of my college grant on textbooks and was just trying to survive until next semester's check. As I sat there weeping, I noticed a woman with green hair like seaweed. She wore an expensive suit with a fancy overcoat and sunglasses. Since we were in a hospital, I assumed she'd been crying and didn't want anyone to see. She maintained the stiff, proper disposition people carry when they're trying not to draw attention to themselves. Baffled by seeing a woman with green hair dressed in a business suit, I stared at the woman until she looked my direction. She smiled. I smiled back then returned to my tears. Eventually I glanced up and noticed a sign for a smoking section outside. I rose with a final disgusting sniffle, wiping snot on my arm. I buttoned my jacket and walked out, waiting for someone who smoked in the hopes of borrowing a cigarette. It didn't take long to meet a fellow who was having the same kind of day I was. He took one look at me, and pulled out a cigarette and a lighter. I took the death stick as he flicked the lighter and held the open flame over the cigarette's edge with trembling hands. I puffed until it was lit, then gave the man a grateful nod. He returned the gesture, and the two of us smoked in silence. It was cold, not one of those brisk nights with bright stars, but a night carrying a bland overcast and a faint mist. Before long, the man dropped his half-finished cigarette and stamped it out on the damp sidewalk. I remained, determined to ride the small nicotine high for all it was worth. I didn't hear her behind me. One moment I was alone, the next she was there looking at the cloudy sky. Having a bad day, she asked. Yeah, I said. Grandma. She nodded. Typical in a place like this. I'm Madeline. Jerome. Would you like another lung dart? I blinked at her, confused. Then she pulled out a packet of cigarettes, and I gave her a small smile and nodded. I took the second cigarette and held it in my fingers while I finished smoking what I had. Thanks. She nodded and lit a cigarette of her own. We stood for a while, saying nothing. When I'd lit the second cigarette using what remained of the first one, she asked, What's wrong with your grandma? I tossed the first cigarette onto the sidewalk and told her my story. The whole time I was speaking, I never wondered why this attractive girl was paying attention to me. I just kept jabbering as she nodded sympathetically. After taking a deep drag and letting out a quivering sigh, I ended my monologue by saying, So yeah, cancer. The doctors don't know what kind and say they can't do anything. The doctors here don't seem to know much. It's a shame you can't take her someplace better. I would if I had the money, I said. Where? I shrugged. I know there was a cancer treatment center in Tulsa. Maybe I could find a decent doctor there. Perhaps. She stared at me, her green eyes bright and intense with a kind of focus I'd never seen before. The sound of passing cars and the typical noises of the city's nightlife drifted away. I felt trapped in a bubble of frozen time and space. I want you to do me a favor, she said, a small smile growing on her perfect lips. I want you to take me seriously. What if I could give you the money? Any sane person would have been thinking, what's the catch? What does she want? Anything that sounds too good to be true probably is. But what can I say? I was desperate. I looked at her and started to hope. I I don't know. I'd be very grateful, I guess. Madeline broke our gaze, turning and staring into the night. She grinned. It's not free. Nothing is. But I can give you the money. Look, lady, I'm willing to do whatever, but I can't promise I'd be very good at it. I was so shocked these words came from my mouth, I almost cut my hands over my face like a bashful schoolgirl. My eyes fell to the concrete as I dropped the cigarette and prepared to do whatever. She laughed. It sounded radiant and sinister. I don't know if I've ever met somebody so eager. Okay, here is what I want you to do. I want you to look at me. I want you to look at me, and when you see it, don't run away. If you run, I'll be gone. You won't get your money. Do you understand? Uh sure. Okay. She turned and met my eyes, then she opened her mouth. Her canines grew into fangs. They simply elongated, until they were pressing against her bottom lip. I don't know why I didn't run back into the hospital screaming. I knew what she was the instant I saw those teeth. My mind didn't race through a list of ridiculous explanations. It wasn't a trick. It wasn't an illusion. The teeth were real. She was real. I stared at those fangs in wonder and even awe. I stepped toward her and she took a step back. Do you know what I am? I nodded. You're not afraid. I don't know. Madeline gave me an odd look, an expression that communicated both charm and chagrin. Here's the deal, she began, taking on a businesslike tone. You let me feed on you. I give you the money. Some people say vampires have a certain hypnotic ability. They can erode a person's will, make them do whatever they want, but she didn't need to hypnotize me. I can't imagine I'm the first person she'd ensnared at a hospital. Besides, I wasn't afraid. I'm not going to say I wanted to feel her teeth in my neck, that I wanted to be a vampire, but at the time, the risk didn't seem real to me. One feeding. She shook her head. No, I will pay you so much for each session. But it will be more than enough to afford your grandmother's treatments, and you'll have plenty extra. Won't I turn into a vampire? It'll be years before you have to worry about that. But if it isn't something you want, then write a will and tell your family you wish to be cremated. You don't have to turn. Will it hurt? No. It's one of the most pleasurable experiences you'll ever have. I wish I could say I asked more questions, been more hesitant, but I didn't and I wasn't. I said okay. It was that simple. She led me to some back alleyway. She took off her clothes, all of them. They say vampires are uncommonly beautiful, and this is absolutely true. She took off my pants, had me lay on the cold cement, felt around my left leg and bit my calf. The vampire was right. It was pleasurable. There's no other way to describe it. When she was done, I wanted her to do it more, and I could tell she wanted to continue feeding, but instead, she sat up and reached into her pile of clothes, pulling out a package of baby wipes from her coat pocket. She wiped the blood from her mouth and body and wrapped my wound with some gauze from her purse. It wasn't thorough work, just enough to stop the bleeding. She took me to a nearby hotel. There we showered and she wrote a check. Madeline told me goodnight, and promised to see me again. It wasn't an incredible sum of money, but it was more than I'd seen in my young life. The following day I went to the nearest bank, certain the check would bounce. It didn't, and I left the bank with thousands of dollars in my pocket. I returned to the hospital, paid the ogres in charge of billing, and had my grandmother discharged the same afternoon. I took her to Tulsa. It wasn't long before my grandma's cancer was in remission, and we were living in a nearby suburb. The cigarette finished, I stamped it out on the soft mound of freshly torn earth. I placed a hand on the tombstone and looked at the photo of my grandmother grafted into the granite. She never could have afforded such a marker without Madeline's money. Was that ironic or just plain horrible? She wasn't supposed to get involved. Taking a step forward, I hit the tombstone with a clenched fist. The supernatural isn't supposed to be so mundane. The word mundane sounded strange coming out of my mouth. It wasn't part of my regular vocabulary, but I couldn't think of a better way to describe the experience. I couldn't call the last two years normal, but my feeding sessions with the vampire had seemed so insignificant. She showed up at our door twice a month. We'd go on what could only be described as a date, or stay in the apartment while she watched me eat pizza, stroking my hair and gazing at me with those dark green, fathomless eyes. When she was gone, my encounters with her would fade from my mind. I'd forget how her fangs grew, how when she watched me she wouldn't move or breathe. Things were just so comfortable. It's possible the vampire wanted me to feel safe, so I wouldn't pay attention to her real target. My grandmother was wounded, weak, and Madeline was a predator. Eventually, the vampire disappeared, and when my grandmother died, it was sudden. I'd woken up that morning and found her just gone. I'm sorry, I told the tombstone. I should have checked. I could have done that much. I don't expect you to forgive me. But before you wake, know how sorry I am. If I could change things, I would. She isn't rising, Jerome. I turned and saw the vampire behind me. Seething, I screamed, six months. You've been gone six months, and a week after she dies, you show up. I can't think of a better way to admit your. I didn't kill her. Why should I believe you? Did you check her for a bite? I opened my mouth to scream that of course I had, but it was a lie. I'd just said the opposite a second earlier. No doubt she heard me, which was probably why she'd chosen to reveal herself. I close my mouth and stared at the mound of dirt. Of course you didn't, Madeline said. You wanted to believe it was me. You couldn't accept that the doctors were wrong. People build their narratives, Jerome, and they love to turn creatures like me into the villain. I can't say I'm surprised, but I am a little hurt. I looked up at her, feeling ashamed, but also wondering if I should feel guilty for assuming the obvious. She was a vampire. What else was I supposed to think? Madeline raised an eyebrow, a small smile growing on her lips. Was your plan to let her feed on you? That's not very noble. She'd kill others. What about Nancy? I blinked then looked back down at the ground. More shame twisted my stomach and knots as I realized I would have turned my grandmother into a killer. Then that shame was overwhelmed by horror when I remembered the vampire had said my fiance's name. I fell to my knees, my fingers dug into the mud. I ground my teeth. Why couldn't I do anything right? My death was supposed to protect her. How do you know about her? I whispered. Madeline shook her head. Jerome I left because of your anemia. My supply of familiars in the States is thin, and I was using you too much. You needed rest, so I returned to Italy, but I never forgot about you, and much has changed in the last six months. Stay away from her, I muttered. I have no ill will toward your lover, Madeline said. I was gone and your grandmother was ailing. Nancy served as an adequate substitute. She's not a substitute. I hissed. I love her. Don't you love me too? the vampire purred. I glared at her. Madeline only smiled. She approached me and offered her hand. When I didn't take it, she swooped her arms under my shoulders and lifted me from the mud. She did this so quickly, I never saw her motion. The vampire looked me up and down, and brushed the caked dirt from my jacket and jeans. Backing away, she nodded, satisfied. Jerome, I can't convince you of my innocence. I understand this. You're a man, a mortal who has lost someone dear. You're incapable of rational thought. I opened my mouth to argue, but she raised a brisk hand. But I want you to know that you can keep your Nancy. I like the girl. There's no need for competition. You can have both. To demonstrate this fact, I want you to attend a party. I'll be leaving tomorrow. Tonight, I am going to give you a check and an address. My grandma just died, I said. And you want me to go to a party. I've kept a lot of things from you. You had obligations. Madeline tilted her head toward the tombstone. Obligations that are no longer relevant. Nancy does complicate matters, but the problem is manageable. You'll see. I looked back at my grandmother's grave. I wanted to tell the vampire no, but did I really have a choice? What would she do if I denied the offer? What would happen if I ended our arrangement? And what if Madeline had really killed my grandmother? Would I ever know? And could I keep letting her use me, knowing she might have murdered my only real parent? Did any of these questions matter? I sighed and shook my head, defeated. Of course they didn't, not if I wanted to see the dawn. Fine, I said. Madeline nodded. Good now, I need to feed, and you need your check. She casually stripped out of her clothes, as if she weren't standing over a grave. I looked over my shoulder at the face of my smiling grandmother forever etched in granite and undid my pants. Madeline knelt and jerked my pants down to my ankles. She bit into the wound on my calf as I stared at the curtain of darkness surrounding the trees, feeling the euphoria of her venom and the blood leaving my body. When she was done, she stood, pulling up my pants and readjusting my clothing until she was certain everything was properly aligned. Then she gathered her clothes in her arms and pulled from a pocket the check that was already filled out. I took the check, and she then offered me a scrap of paper which had her address. I took it as well, examined the address, and when I looked back at her, she was smiling. The vampire kissed my cheek. You'll believe me in time, she whispered in my ear. With that, Madeline vanished. I turned to the tombstone. Blood smeared my grandmother's picture. Did she do that on purpose? I knelt, wiping the blood from her image, and wept.