Jason Masters

Vlad the Bat-Boy

Prologue
Genesis

Vlad had known he was different even before he had been completely weaned.

Born in a colony of fruit-bats, Vlad had grown like most of the other bat-children, suckling his mother's milk until he learned to eat the fruit the adults ate. But Vlad hadn't grown as fast as the other bat-children. Even after he was weaned, he remained a child long after the other bat-children were fully grown and breeding.

And there was another difference, which it took Vlad some time to notice but, when he thought about it, became shockingly obvious. In fact, thought was at the heart of the matter.

Vlad had realised that he was smarter than all the other bats. They all carried on their lives in a day-to-day existence, never questioning; never asking 'why?' It seemed that none of the other bats knew, or wanted to know why they existed, or why they did what they did.

Vlad wanted to talk to the other bats about such things, but bat-language simply didn't have the versatility or constructs required to ask such questions. It was mostly just signals like 'danger here' or 'food here' or location sounds which combined the concepts of 'here I am/where are you/come to me/I'm coming.' There was no way to ask the really important questions.

Things had come to a head when Vlad had looked into a calm puddle one day when he was about to have a drink and had at the same time both noticed his reflection and recognised it for what it was. He didn't even look like the other bats!

Yes, he had large, pointed ears just like the other bats, and he had wings like the other bats, but there the similarities ended. Vlad's wings were separate from his arms, and his head and body were smooth and almost hairless except for his head and a ruff of fluffy fur around his neck.

It was about then that Vlad also realised that although he could make the usual bat noises, including sonar location squeaks, his voice seemed to be capable of far more versatile noises, although he had no idea as yet of what use that might be to him.

The realisation of how different he really was compared to his bat-kin led to Vlad gradually mixing less and less with the Colony. Within a few years, Vlad barely kept contact with the Colony. He was lonely, but the Colony could no longer satisfy his need for social contact.

There was nothing that Vlad could do about his isolation, so he simply endured the loneliness and continued to survive, hoping that the future would change things, somehow.

Then circumstances conspired to force change upon Vlad.

Chapter One
Exodus

Vlad fluttered from tree to tree, shivering not only from the cold but also from hunger. Winters had become a lot worse lately, and the store of food which he'd gathered during autumn had proven woefully insufficient.

The humans had encroached on the woodland so gradually that Vlad hadn't even noticed its growing isolation and shrinking size until it was too late. He was now stranded in what amounted to an island of forest surrounded by farms and townships, with escape to another forested area almost impossible for him due to simple distance.

Being essentially a humanoid fruit bat measuring only five inches high [around 12 cm], Vlad couldn't fly a long way without resting, so flying across the unknown deserts of the farmlands or towns was, to Vlad, similar in prospects to a human trying to cross the Sahara Desert alone and unprepared.

But now, it looked to Vlad as though he was going to have to embark on that daunting and potentially fatal journey. He'd been unable to find any food for two days now, and even to a creature his size, that was a serious matter. It was a little like a human going without food for a week.

Fortunately, there was still plenty of water but Vlad had already eaten the last of the winter nuts and berries from his store in a hollow tree and there was scant pickings available from the rest of the forest. In the past, Vlad had been able to gather plenty of food in his storage tree to eat through the winter months, but the remaining remnant of woodland which the humans had not yet destroyed was now too small to provide enough food for all the remaining creatures. Many were slowly starving to death, and Vlad knew, unless he could find more food, he would soon join them.

Being self-aware, Vlad realised now more than ever, was both a blessing and a curse. It was a blessing because he was, unlike the animals around him, able to plan and take action to try to avoid starvation, unlike the dumb animals which would simply continue to follow their instincts and starve to death. But it was a curse because Vlad knew just how dire his situation both was and could become, which led to worry, unlike the dumb animals which simply accepted their fate with apparent equanimity.

Vlad flew to the highest branch of the highest tree he could find and observed the surrounding area in the growing dusk. From this vantage point, Vlad could see the lights gleaming through the windows of the far-away farmhouses, the further-away city and from the closer towns and townships.

There was no doubt in Vlad's mind that he would have to leave the forest if he were to have any chance at all of survival, but where to go was the problem. Which way would give him the greatest hope of finding food?

Long minutes passed and the light continued to fade as Vlad pondered the problem, but eventually he made his decision. He would head straight for the nearest and smallest township.

Vlad knew that humans could be dangerous, but sometimes they had come into the forest for a picnic, which was how Vlad knew that humans also had food which he could eat. Some of the picnickers had left behind uneaten fruit, which Vlad had found very palatable. Perhaps, if he were careful, Vlad could find some of their food? He intended to try.

Vlad flew high into the air and began the long (for him) journey toward the distant township lights, squeaking his sonar signals and listening to the echoes to be sure he didn't bump into anything. It was very hard for Vlad to see now, but his sonar was as useful as sight. He'd noticed that he seemed able to discern things which his bat-kin were oblivious to, such as thin wires and netting which they had occasionally become entangled in while to Vlad, such things had seemed like obvious barriers to be avoided.

As Vlad approached the closest house on the outskirts of the township, he slowed down. Partly it was uncertainty but also he was both cold and tired. It had been a long flight for such a small creature, especially on an empty stomach. He really needed both food and rest, and he needed them soon. He also needed to find somewhere warmer, such as a hollow tree, to spend the winter. Flying through the cold air was bad now, but it would get worse as winter advanced.

Then Vlad looked down and saw the trees. Fruit trees! And he could tell by the smell in the air that there must be at least some fruit left on those trees. Food at last! He dived, squeaking in glee, toward the nearest tree.

... and pulled up short as his sonar warned him about the netting covering the tree.

Frustrated beyond belief, Vlad flew around the trees, detecting the netting covering each and every one of them. He couldn't reach the fruit! The delicious, nutritious fruit which he needed so badly!

Disappointed almost to the point of despair, Vlad glided over the trees, barely noticing that he was approaching a house. Then his sonar detected something unexpected: An uncovered tree, standing alone and by itself, near the house and not near the covered trees. Vlad eagerly dived into its branches and landed near a large plum.

The plum was old and a bit dry, but being left on the tree had preserved it from decay and in any case, Vlad could not afford to be choosy. He bit into the fruit and chewed. It tasted as good as it smelled so he ate it all. With his stomach full for the first time in days, Vlad wrapped his wings around himself and went to sleep.

Chapter Two
Judges

It was only a short time later that Vlad blinked sleepily, woken by a flash of light on his closed eyelids, but he barely had time to begin to unfold his wings before something large folded itself around him and gripped him with irresistible force. Vlad squeaked with fear. What was happening?

"Blasted bats, stealing the fruit," grumbled the man. "I should have covered this tree, too."

"Aaaw, dad," came the higher voice of a boy, "you know bats gotta eat too. And it's winter. We've finished most of the harvest. Can't you let them have what's left?"

"Get them used to taking fruit and they'll expect it all the time," argued the man as he and his son walked the short distance back to their house and entered it. "Now, let's see what species this dratted thing is, so I know if I'm allowed to kill it or have to get Animal Control here to relocate it."

He unfolded the old, threadbare towel which he'd used to trap Vlad in and uncovered Vlad's tiny head.

"What the hell!?"

The man suddenly let go of the towel and jumped backwards in shock at the sight of Vlad's almost human-like head, but his young son did no such thing. The towel, with Vlad still wrapped in it, had fallen onto a table and now the boy approached Vlad, a look of delighted surprise on his face.

"It's a bat-boy!"

Gently, the boy took hold of Vlad (who had not understood most of the conversation – he'd learned a few words from observing the humans when they entered the forest, but not enough to truly understand them) and untangled him from the towel. Vlad was so frightened, thinking that perhaps the human was going to eat him (he didn't know enough of the ways of humans yet to realise how unlikely this was) that he began to cry.

Somewhat ironically, that was the best thing Vlad could have done. His obvious tears prompted astonishment but also pity from both humans; especially from the boy, who began to gently stroke Vlad's hair on his tiny head while also gently holding Vlad with his other hand wrapped around the tiny bat-boy.

"He's cute! Dad, can we keep him? Please?"

"What the heck is that thing?" asked the father, recovering a little.

"Aw, dad, he's a bat-boy of course! Just look at him. Isn't he cute?"

"Yes, Billy, but he's also not like any bat I've ever seen. We should let someone know about this!"

"What! Are you crazy, dad? They'd kill him and dissect him to find out what he is!"

It was fortunate for Vlad that he didn't know enough human language to understand what was being said, or he would have been even more frightened. But his obvious distress and Billy's arguments swayed the boy's father.

Billy was an only child and hence tended to be indulged more than was, perhaps, healthy for most children. Fortunately, Billy was sensible enough not to take advantage of his parents' indulgence too often. This helped to sway his father toward Billy's point of view, since Billy wasn't in the habit of demanding unreasonable compliance with his wishes.

"Well, I guess you can keep him for now, but if he starts causing trouble, we'll have to get rid of him one way or another," conceded Billy's father.

"Thanks, dad," enthused Billy. "Hey, where's Cheepie's old cage? Is it still in the attic?"

"I think so. I'll get it."

"Thanks, dad," repeated Billy, politely. He knew that being polite would help his father to accept the situation.

Billy held Vlad gently while muttering admiring comments to the tiny bat-boy, which helped to calm Vlad down. Although he could only understand a word here and there, Vlad could understand Billy's tone of voice well enough to realise that the youngster was trying to be comforting, so he stopped crying and stared at the boy, wondering what was going on.

Vlad didn't understand until after Billy's father returned with the cage and Billy placed Vlad inside then closed the door. Vlad looked around at the narrow bars surrounding him on all sides and then looked at Billy, uncertainly.

The boy slid out one of the cage's feeders and filled it with clean water then slid it back into the cage. This, Vlad understood. Water, for him to drink. Since he was a little thirsty, Vlad walked over to the feeder and sucked up a drink.

Billy seemed delighted.

"Can we get him something to eat, dad?"

A sigh of resignation came from Billy's father, as though he'd only just accepted that this was going to be a long-term arrangement.

"I guess so. But what do you think he'd like to eat?"

"How about a banana? I wonder if he's ever had one? But he's a fruit bat-boy, isn't he? I bet he'd like a banana."

"A banana it is," replied Billy's father, going to get one and then handing it to Billy who slid the cage door up long enough to place the banana inside the cage while Vlad watched curiously.

Vlad picked up the banana and sniffed at it. The smell was unfamiliar, but good. He nibbled at the skin, gradually gnawing through as he realised that the best smell was coming from inside. Then he reached the interior and took a big bite.

If Vlad had been familiar with the phrase, "it's like a party in my mouth and everyone's invited," he undoubtedly would have thought of it as the taste of the banana flooded his senses. He was hungry again anyway after two days without food, so he sat down and began to eat, ignoring the humans who were discussing something totally unimportant to Vlad at that moment: A name for Billy's new pet.

"Vlad!" declared Billy. "Like a vampire!"

"But this is a fruit bat, not a vampire bat," pointed out Billy's father.

"I don't care," countered Billy. "He looks like a Vlad to me, so that's what I'll call him."

Thus it was that Vlad gained his name, although he was yet to realise it since he had not yet learned human language.

Vlad's cage was hung from a chain attached to a hook screwed into the ceiling of Billy's bedroom before Billy went to bed. Vlad didn't bother even trying to escape the cage. He had food and water and it seemed obvious that the humans weren't going to hurt him, so he was content to stay where he was for now. He finished the banana, then folded his wings around himself and went back to sleep.

Chapter Three
Chronicles

Vlad woke early in the morning, as was his usual habit. As usual, he was hungry. There was nothing left of the banana but the skin and that wasn't very appetising to Vlad. He wanted something better. Vlad grabbed the bars of the door in the cage and slid the door up so he could climb out then hung onto the side of the cage while he allowed the door to slide quietly closed.

Vlad didn't see anything unusual in his being able to open the cage door. It didn't even occur to him that the humans might want him to stay in the cage, nor that they wouldn't realise that he had the intelligence and understanding required to open the cage door. The humans had slid the door upward to open it, so why shouldn't Vlad do the same thing when he wanted to get out?

Vlad flew around the boy's bedroom, sniffing and echo-locating everything he could. He could find nothing to eat, though.

Vlad landed on the bedside table and looked around the room. The door was closed and although Vlad understood well enough how it worked from watching the humans, he knew he was far too small and weak to operate it. He'd need help to get something to eat. He fluttered his wings then glided the short hop to Billy's pillow and studied the sleeping boy's face. Perhaps the little human would help him? After all, he'd fed Vlad earlier. Vlad stepped closer to the boy's face and leaned forward.

Vlad took hold of the bridge of Billy's nose and tweaked it to get his attention.

Billy wiggled his head slightly and groaned a bit but did nothing more.

Vlad repeated the action, pulling a bit harder at Billy's nose.

Billy's eyes fluttered weakly open.

"M'whuh?"

Billy blinked sleepily at Vlad.

Then Billy's eyes opened wide and his head suddenly raised up off the pillow as he stared at Vlad in astonishment.

Vlad thought for a moment as Billy stared at him. How could he tell this little human what he wanted?

Then Vlad opened his mouth and pointed at it, jerking his hand back and forth in what he expected would be an obvious 'I'm hungry, give me something to eat' gesture.

Billy's mouth dropped open in astonishment. He looked up at the cage and then back down at Vlad, then back at the cage, then back at Vlad again.

Vlad was annoyed. He was hungry! Why wasn't the boy getting food for him? Why did he seem so surprised by what seemed, to Vlad, to be obvious? When he became hungry, he was going to ask for food from the little human, after having been previously fed by the little human. Didn't the little human understand that?

It took a moment, but Billy understood and he soon recovered his composure.

"Heck, you do wake up early, don't you?" the boy complained, looking at his clock which showed a time of 5:54am. "Okay, I'll get you another banana, keep your hair on."

Vlad fluttered up into the air as Billy walked to his bedroom door, then flew along a little behind Billy as he left the room. Billy stopped and looked around at Vlad in surprise, as though he'd expected the little bat-boy to stay where he was. Vlad didn't see any reason why he should stay behind, though.

It suddenly occurred to Vlad that there was also no reason for him to waste energy by flying, since this human was obviously going to where there was food. He fluttered down and landed on Billy's shoulder, then crouched down and held on to the boy's pyjamas, staring at Billy expectantly.

After a moment's astonishment, Billy recovered, shook his head slightly and continued to the lounge room where stood a bowl of fruit. Vlad saw it and immediately launched himself off Billy's shoulder to glide across the remaining distance, landing right in front of the bowl.

Vlad picked up a banana and sniffed at it. The smell was just as appetising as before. Then Vlad looked around at Billy, remembering something about Colony life.

In the Colony, seniority applied. Did this human have seniority? Would Vlad incur the human's wrath if he ate this fruit before the human had eaten? He waited until Billy stopped by the table on which the fruit bowl rested, then held up the banana, offering it to the human boy deferentially.

"No, that's okay, you can have it," said Billy.

Vlad didn't understand, and he was uncertain about the tone of voice, so he looked doubtfully but hungrily at the banana he still held. Billy took it, misunderstanding the gesture.

"You want me to peel it for you? Okay." Billy pulled the peel back from the banana then held it out to Vlad. This gesture was so obvious that Vlad stopped worrying about seniority and immediately grabbed the banana and began eating it.

Billy watched Vlad for a few seconds, then leaned down and gently lifted the little bat-boy. Vlad was too busy with happily eating the delicious banana to care as Billy returned to his bedroom, carrying Vlad.

But as Billy lifted Vlad toward the cage, the little bat-boy realised what was about to happen. No! He wanted to stay with the nice little human, not be alone again! He grabbed at Billy, wrapping one arm around Billy's hand and holding on with all his strength while holding onto the banana with the other hand.

Billy sighed. "Okay, I guess you can stay out of the cage for now." He sat down on the bed and Vlad relaxed his grip and resumed eating the banana.

"Heck, I need to pee," grumbled Billy. He stood back up and, still carrying Vlad, walked along the corridor to the bathroom.

Once inside, Billy put Vlad down on the bathroom sink and went to the toilet. As he fumbled with the fly of his pyjamas, Vlad curiously stopped eating, then put down the banana and flew across to the toilet's water tank, landing there to see what Billy was doing.

"You little pervert!" teased Billy, grinning as he relaxed and began to pee into the toilet. He still thought of Vlad as just an unthinking animal, so he wasn't any more embarrassed by Vlad's curious stare than he would have been by a pet cat's.

Of course Vlad knew exactly what the boy was doing. This was interesting. So, humans disposed of their body wastes by putting them into this strange device? Well, if humans did it, then perhaps Vlad should do it too? He needed to pee anyway. Vlad fluttered down to stand on the side of the toilet then, copying Billy, he took hold of his own tiny penis and peed, directing the stream down inside the toilet just like the boy.

Billy was again astonished by Vlad's seemingly uncanny intelligence. He finished, then waited until Vlad had finished peeing as well. Vlad calmly flew back to where the banana lay and was about to pick it up when Billy pressed the button to flush the toilet.

Vlad screeched in fear at the sudden unexpected noise, but he quickly began to calm down when he saw that Billy wasn't scared and in fact hadn't even noticed Vlad's screech. The boy was now turning on one of the taps over the sink to wash his hands.

Vlad calmed down and watched this proceeding, not completely understanding what Billy was doing. But since the little human was doing it, perhaps he should, too? Vlad tentatively reached out toward the intimidatingly copious flow of water as Billy, responding to Vlad's actions, turned the water flow down to a far less scary trickle.

Vlad placed his small hands under the water flow, surprised to find that it was warm, like a puddle in the sun before it evaporated. He rubbed his hands together the way he'd seen Billy do, then withdrew his wet hands again as Billy turned off the water, staring at Vlad in mixed admiration and amazement

Billy dried his hands with the towel then held it out to Vlad, who quickly figured out the purpose of this strange, moisture-absorbent device. This was fun! He was learning so many new things!

Back in the bedroom, Billy this time didn't even glance at Vlad's empty cage but instead got back in bed and lay down. Vlad sat on the bedside table and finished the banana happily.

After finishing the banana, Vlad was thirsty. He looked around the room, then remembered the water in the cage. Without looking at Billy, Vlad flew back to the cage, opened the door and went inside to have a drink.

When he finished and turned around, Vlad started in surprise to find Billy's face peering at him through the cage bars.

"So that's how you got out. You're a clever little guy, aren't you?"

Vlad of course didn't respond since he didn't know what Billy was saying. He simply opened the door and climbed out of the cage again, then with a quick flutter of his wings, jumped across to Billy's shoulder, turned around and squatted down, hanging on tightly again to Billy's pyjamas.

Billy again shook his head slightly in amazement before going back to bed. Vlad fluttered from Billy's shoulder to the pillow as Billy lay down, watching what the little human was doing with great interest. Vlad wondered what it was like. The human seemed to enjoy being underneath these things, so Vlad thought that maybe he might like it also.

Folding his wings around him, Vlad crept up close to Billy and then began to wriggle down under the covers next to Billy. It was nice and warm next to the boy. Not heeding Billy's still-astonished look, Vlad drifted off to sleep again.

Chapter Four
Psalms

Vlad squealed in pain, clutching his tiny ears to try to shut out the harsh, loud screeching noise. It was coming from somewhere nearby and it was extremely painful as the noise went all the way up into the ultrasonics, where his sonar worked best.

Abruptly, the noise stopped as Billy whacked his hand down on the alarm clock to shut off the alarm. He looked down at Vlad, who was crying again, clutching at his ringing ears. He'd been deafened by the noise and it had been very painful.

Billy didn't need to be told what the problem was, with Vlad clutching his large ears and crying. He lifted the little bat-boy and gently stroked his hair, murmuring comforting words to him. At first, Vlad couldn't hear the boy but in less than a minute his hearing began to return to him and his crying lessened and stopped.

"Poor little guy. I guess I'm going to have to find you some ear-muffs or something," mused Billy. "We can't have you crying every morning."

Even though he didn't understand, Vlad found the tone of Billy's voice comforting. He looked at Billy, gave his ears another rub and then looked around. He wasn't really very hungry yet, having had plenty of food last night as well as having eaten recently, but his fast metabolism meant that he could easily have done with another bite of food.

Vlad sat on the side of the night-stand next to Billy's bed and watched while Billy dressed. Vlad noticed idly that Billy had exactly the same equipment as Vlad, and it was proportioned similarly to his own. He wondered why the humans bothered to cover it. Surely that made it inconvenient when they needed to excrete? But, remembering the toilet, Vlad realised that if they always used that device then removing the coverings they wore would not add much more inconvenience.

Billy finished dressing himself, then stood looking thoughtfully at Vlad for a minute while Vlad stared back, wondering what the boy wanted.

Billy looked around his bedroom, then went to a wardrobe and opened it, rummaging around in some boxes in the bottom before he pulled out a small, old teddy bear which was wearing a pair of shorts.

Billy pulled the shorts off the bear, threw the toy back into the wardrobe and then held the shorts in front of Vlad.

"Try these on. Mum might like you better if you're decent."

Vlad stared at the shorts for a moment, then realised what Billy wanted. He looked down at himself, then at the shorts, uncertain for a moment.

Then Vlad decided: If it was good enough for humans then it would be good enough for him. He raised one leg after another and allowed Billy to slide the shorts up his body.

The tiny garment fitted Vlad nicely and as Vlad looked down at himself, he thought they looked good on him. Billy picked Vlad up and went to the bathroom again. This time, Billy needed to sit on the toilet and the familiar smell of dung told Vlad all he needed to know about what was going on.

After his large meals last night and that morning, Vlad needed to do the same thing so as soon as Billy had finished and was wiping himself, Vlad flew down to the toilet seat, squatted, lowered his shorts and emptied his bowels into the toilet bowl as well, with Billy once again watching in astonishment at his little pet's intelligence.

Vlad looked at the toilet paper, wondering how he could copy what Billy had done. He couldn't possibly handle such huge things. But Billy tore off a sheet of paper and gently wiped the little bat-boy's bottom clean for him. Vlad pulled his shorts back up and this time he was ready for the noise when Billy flushed the toilet before they both washed their hands as before.

Billy said, admiringly, "Wow, you're a fast learner" as Vlad once again flew onto the boy's shoulder and clung to his shirt.

Breakfast was a four-person affair as Vlad sat on the breakfast table happily eating half an apple while Billy's mother, who had not seen Vlad until now, eyed the little bat-boy warily, as yet unconvinced that he was harmless.

"He's fantastic, mum," enthused Billy happily. "He used the toilet without any trouble and he put on the shorts as soon as I offered them to him, but he doesn't like loud noises. I have to find a way to cover his ears for bed 'cos the alarm seems to hurt them. He was crying and holding his ears until I shut it off."

"Crying?" questioned Billy's mother, doubtfully.

"Yeah, mum! I could see the tears. Poor little guy must have been hurting from the noise."

Billy's mother looked at her husband, a disbelieving expression on her face.

"It's true, Emily," replied her husband. "I saw it cry last night, when it was scared. I don't know what this thing is, but it actually cries real tears!"

Billy's mother stared at Vlad in wonder. Vlad was too busy enjoying his half-apple to notice.

"I wonder if he can talk too?" murmured Billy, around a mouthful of cereal. He swallowed and leaned forward.

"Vlad?"

The little bat-boy noticed that the sound was directed at him and looked curiously at Billy.

Billy pointed at Vlad, then at himself, saying each name clearly.

"Vlad. Billy."

Vlad understood. Although he'd never needed the concept of a name in relation to himself, he'd invented the concept of names a while back in order to refer to many of the things in his everyday life. It was a memory aid to him.

Vlad tried copying the sounds, but Billy didn't seem to understand. The boy tried repeating the sounds and Vlad once again copied them, but again Billy only looked puzzled.

"Dad, why's he not making any noise? I can see his mouth moving but I can't hear anything."

Billy's father was quicker on the uptake than his son, as well as being more knowledgeable about bats and although he didn't really believe that Vlad was talking, he decided to humour his son.

"It's probably because he's a bat. Bats use ultrasonics, so all the noise he's making is probably too high pitched for us to hear."

"So we won't be able to talk to each other? Aaaw." Disappointment was clear in the boy's voice.

"Not unless the little guy can lower the pitch of his voice, or you can get a frequency divider from somewhere," replied Billy's dad.

"Frequency divider?" enquired Billy. "What's that?"

"It's a device which lowers the pitch of sounds. Something similar is used to make the voices for the chipmunks in that movie a while back, only in reverse. I think they use a computer or something for that, though."

Billy thought for a moment before speaking again.

"I wonder if I could do it with the sound software I have on my laptop computer? I think I could! I'll try it right after breakfast." Billy subsided into happy anticipation as he finished his cereal, while Vlad finished his apple and Billy's parents exchanged indulgent looks, not believing for a moment that Billy would be successful.

Not long after, Billy was back in his room, plugging a microphone into his computer. Again, he repeated the names to Vlad who repeated them back, this time into the microphone while Billy recorded the seeming silence.

A few minutes later, Billy played back the manipulated sound file and for the first time heard Vlad's voice clearly saying, "Vlad. Billy."

"Mum! Dad! You gotta hear this!" almost screamed the boy.

A few minutes later, Billy's astonished parents also heard Vlad's voice.

At first neither parent believed that it was really Vlad speaking. Surely this had to be some trick by their son? But Billy repeated the whole procedure in front of them and his father at least was computer-savvy enough to see that his son wasn't faking anything. He really was recording a sound file, then reducing the frequencies in that file and playing it back.

"Vlad. Billy." The words came clearly from the computer's speakers.

Even Billy's astonished parents were inclined to admit that Vlad must have actually spoken. Then something happened which put the final nail in the coffin of their disbelief.

Vlad had been watching and listening to everything and his quick little mind had figured out what was going on. Although he didn't understand how it had been done, he recognised that his own voice had somehow been reduced in frequency so that it was closer to the deep, booming human voices.

From this clue, Vlad had figured out that the humans needed him to speak in a much deeper voice than usual in order to hear him. So that's exactly what Vlad did. He stood up, pointed to Billy then himself and accompanied the moves by stating, in the deepest voice he could manage, "Billy. Vlad."

This time, the humans heard him. Vlad had succeeded in getting his voice low-pitched enough for them to hear him, although to them his voice still seemed high-pitched and squeaky. Now they stared at the little bat-boy in astonishment.

Finally, Billy's dad spoke.

"You're right, son. There's no way we can ever tell anyone about this little guy. If anyone ever found out about him, they'd lock him away in a laboratory and do experiments on him, and I doubt he'd like that at all. We're keeping him."

"I won't tell anyone, dad," asserted Billy earnestly. "I won't even tell Tommy about Vlad. He'd only blab to everyone about him."

For the next two weeks, Vlad settled into learning as much human language as he could, although as he explained to Billy and his parents once he'd learned enough to express himself, he couldn't talk to them for very long at one time because speaking so deeply (for him) began to hurt his throat after a short time.

But Vlad could, fortunately, understand everything said to him now, even if he couldn't always respond in kind. His quick mind absorbed language like a sponge soaking up water, and since he often spoke with both of Billy's parents as well, his vocabulary quickly increased.

The rapid increase in Vlad's vocabulary was accompanied by him beginning to engage in some very interesting discussions. Vlad asked questions which proved beyond doubt that this was no animal, but a real person, albeit a very small one with large, pointed bat ears and a bat's wings. Questions about life, and reasons for existence.

For Vlad's part, he felt that life was fantastic! He at last had not just one but three people of comparable intelligence to talk to. And they seemed to care about him greatly, since they fed him whenever he was hungry.

Vlad was instinctively grateful for their care and, once he'd learned the custom, he never failed to express his thanks to Billy's parents when they did something for him, which of course endeared him even further to their hearts and increased their resolve to keep Vlad a secret for as long as necessary.

But then came a totally unexpected change; one even more amazing than Vlad happening upon such an accepting family by chance.

Chapter Five
Ecclesiastes

Vlad had taken to sleeping with Billy each night and the cage had been placed back into storage, but after the first night, a set of ear-muffs had been devised for Vlad out of some pieces of cloth and a pipe-cleaner, which solved the problem of his ears being hurt by the alarm clock in the morning. Still, Vlad had found it difficult to sleep while wearing anything more than the ear-muffs, so he usually removed all the clothes which Billy's mother had kindly sewn for him and slept with only his wings and the blankets for covering. Neither Billy nor Vlad felt bothered by this.

But then, unexpectedly, The Change happened.

Most mornings, Billy had a bowl of cereal for breakfast while Vlad ate a piece of fruit for his own breakfast. One morning, Vlad wondered out loud what the cereal and milk tasted like, so Billy allowed Vlad one teaspoon-full of milky cereal. It tasted strange to Vlad, but good. But it was Billy's breakfast so Vlad went back to eating the banana (now his favourite food) which was his breakfast.

One minute after his first taste of milk, Vlad dropped the banana and stood up, looking frightened.

"Vlad? What's the matter?" asked Billy, but Vlad just stood still for a moment, then fell down on the table, writhing in seeming agony.

"Vlad!" shouted Billy in sudden fear. "Dad! Mum! What's wrong with him?"

Neither parent knew, but of course all three were concerned that something in the cereal had been poisonous to Vlad. The truth however turned out to be far less – and more – dramatic than anyone could have guessed.

As Billy, concerned for his little friend, picked Vlad up, the tiny body in his arms began to grow larger!

At the same time as Vlad's body grew, his wings and ears shrank, as did the fur ruff around his neck. Larger and larger grew Vlad, until his wings and ruff had entirely vanished into his body and his ears had re-shaped and repositioned themselves so that they looked just like normal human ears and Billy had to kneel down in order to support Vlad's increased weight.

In fact, by the time the transformation was complete, Vlad looked just like a little human boy, only a year or two younger than Billy.

Vlad looked up at Billy and his parents, then looked down at his body which was now bare since the bat-sized clothes he'd been wearing had been torn apart at the seams as he grew.

For a minute, nobody spoke, Vlad could only look around in surprise, first at Billy and his parents and then at himself. Then he felt behind himself and gasped, "my wings!"

"Gone. I saw them shrink back into your body," Billy managed to say in spite of his astonishment.

Vlad felt his head, where his bat-ears used to be, then felt his human ears. Then he realised something.

"You can hear me! And I'm not trying to speak low!"

"Yeah. Looks like you're human now," replied Billy, putting Vlad down on the floor and standing up as Vlad too began to stand.

Vlad wobbled a little, off-balance for a moment with his new, unfamiliar body and Billy caught the younger boy's arm to steady him.

"What happened to me?" asked Vlad. "Why'd I change into a human?"

"Maybe it was the cereal," guessed Billy.

"Or it might have been the milk," added Billy's father, who had been thinking both hard and fast. "It's not likely to be the sugar since fruit contains fructose which is basically the same thing. I don't think it would be the cereal since it's just another vegetable product and no vegetables he's eaten have done anything to him. But milk is an animal product."

There was a long silence before Billy finally asked the question everyone was thinking.

"Do you think it's permanent?"

"There's no way to know for sure," answered Billy's dad, "but he only drank a teaspoon-full so if it's temporary, I'd expect it to wear off before long."

There was another pause before Billy spoke to Vlad.

"Did it hurt? You looked like it really hurt bad."

"A bit," admitted Vlad, "but it was mostly just... uncomfortable. I don't have the words to explain it. I don't like the feeling, but I could go through it again if I have to."

After another pause, Billy suddenly grinned.

"I've always wanted a little brother. Now I've got one!"

Overwhelmed by these developments, Billy's mother simply focused on what she knew.

"I'd better get some of your old clothes for him to wear for now."

With that statement, Billy's mother left to sort out some clothes for Vlad to put on.

For over an hour, Billy and Vlad played happily together at games which had previously been impossible for them due to their former size difference. Chasing and play-wrestling each other were just two of many things which both boys found entertaining.

Then, approximately seventy minutes after Vlad had taken his first taste of milk, he stopped suddenly in the middle of a game and muttered, "uh-oh!" Then Vlad collapsed onto the floor and began to writhe around again.

Within a few minutes, Vlad had shrunk back down to his bat-boy size, his ears had reshaped and repositioned themselves and his wings and neck-ruff had regrown.

Vlad was a bat-boy again.

Since Vlad was agreeable, the family decided to do some experiments and Vlad this time swallowed two teaspoons of plain milk.

One minute later, Vlad was convulsing as the change took hold of him yet again. And again he became, to anyone who saw him, just an ordinary little boy.

This time, the change lasted almost two and a half hours.

Further experiments over the next few days proved that Vlad could maintain the change so long as he kept on drinking milk occasionally while still in human form, and also that nearly any animal product would have the same effect, but no matter how much meat or milk Vlad had consumed, the longest he could stay in human form without eating more animal product was a bit over thirty-one hours

All of the family realised that this meant there was no need for Vlad to ever again be a bat-boy, unless he wanted to be one.

For reasons never discovered, eggs seemed to be the one animal product which did not trigger or extend Vlad's change into a human.

That night, Vlad insisted on sleeping with Billy as usual, and drank a mug full of milk just before going to bed to make sure he'd stay human all night.

Billy's mother brought out some hand-me-down pyjamas of Billy's for Vlad to wear to bed, but as soon as they were alone, both boys decided to sleep together naked, just for the sheer adventure of the experience. The boys cuddled up together in Billy's bed happily and slept well.

In the morning, the alarm clock no longer hurt Vlad's ears but was merely annoying.

Since Vlad was now indistinguishable from any other human, in due time Billy's mother and father legally adopted him and so Vlad grew up with a nearly normal life.

Vlad never forgot about his childhood as a bat-boy and being able to change into a bat-person by simply abstaining from animal products for almost one and a half days occasionally proved useful to him, but he never wanted to return to being a permanent bat-person.

Vlad did marry and have children of his own, but none of them seemed to have inherited Vlad's 'condition' – although if they had, perhaps the fact that they consumed both meat and milk every day would have masked it.

It is rumoured that there are still bat-boys out there, somewhere. So if you ever come across one, treat him kindly. They're not only harmless and intelligent, but super-cute!

The End