FIVE

The room was fulled with love and warmth; which was strange and fake, but servant ratio decrease. I had my eye on one servant - a nice plumb young man. He was heavy, meaty and needed to lose weight, but he was perfect for me.  I could smell his blood ran through his veins as they called my name over and over in full ecstasy.  I followed his every moved, but then I stopped.

"He has a job to do first, then later," I said to myself.

My snobbish grandmother and I were OK with each other, she wasn’t a happy Brady Bunch grandmother. My relationship with my grandmother was reserved and I should be happy to have the privilege to breath her air. I could never connect with her and my poor mother was beginning to become like her, a stone statue which can live, but not breath.  I just prayed, I could find my own way in life.

My poor father was in the corner with Brand, my science guru cousin. Brand was the one who created fake human flesh, fake blood and also was in the beginning stages of the human cloning.

I called the humans Normals, when I found out, I was a monster.  It's my nickname for them.  The Normals are food for us, but of course I can still eat chicken, steak, vegetables and other food; but when you eat a Normal, its was divine - like a reborn.

Since Brand fake Normal fresh, we ate in delight without killing one, but it wasn’t the same.  Again, I don't why I am this way.  Tonight, I will find out.

Britannica was a geek like all of her brothers and sisters. With her think glasses on, white pale skin and her black hair in a pony tail, she looked like a plain girl who lived in the shadows.  She was sitting in the corner, bore to tears. I knew what she wanted find the cure for AIDS or something like that, instead of having fun at a party.

Trinity and Tyler sat at a table as they texted on their phones. I hated them. They would sell their own mother for a buck.  All they wanted was power and money, without it, they would not know how to live. I didn't know if they could stay loyal to each other, or Tyler would sell his own sister into slavery.

I felt like an outsider, as my family members were on display for me to study.  It was strange to me, like cultured loins dressed to impress, as the food walked by them.  The house was our cage and the Normals had no chance to escape our blood thirsty appetites.

Max was sat in a corner alone and confused. He looked more pale then ever as sweat dripped from his forehead and his eyes were yellow.

"Max, what's up?" I asked.

"Leave me alone," Max said.

"Max, you don't look well," I said.

"Really! Because I thought I looked like a supermodel," Max said.

At that point, I knew something was wrong.  Max was the smart ass and the most unusual one in the family; like a stranger.  His family had this strange ability to understand the past, see what the present had in store and look into the future.  They all had faith in their abilities, but Max needed to see hard proof before he believed anything.  Strange.

"Max, do you need Brennan to check you out? You look sick," I said.

Brennan was uncle Bryan and aunt Blyth oldest daughter who was a doctor and scientist in one. Like her other brother Brand, they were featured in magazines and were the top scientists in their field next to their father.  Aunt Blyth stayed low key and focused on the cures of the Normals. Of course, Brennan focused on the ills of our family.

"She already did.  I'm waiting for the results. OK.  Stop looking at me," Max said.

Max nails grew and his burn mark burned more into his skin, at that point I knew he was upset, so I left.

All my family had burn marks and I don't know why.  My mother's burn mark was Balance Scales.  Uncle Merlin's burn mark were Books, like for learning or being a scholar.  Uncle Bryan's burn mark was the Medical Sign; which made sense. Aunt Elisabeth's burn mark was Money, of course.  Uncle Clive's burn mark was the Arts symbol for theater. Rebecca's burn mark was a Tree and Simon Peter's burn mark was The Cross. And their offspring like myself, had the same burn mark.Strange. Who am I?

My mother walked around as she tried to control the scene and Uncle Clive grabbed her arm. He danced with her and you could tell she didn't want to deal with him.

"Stop the nonsense, my dear sister.  Have some fun.  As the Buddha would said, detach yourself from the world and live in the moment. Because, you're looking kind of old," Uncle Clive said.

"You could never be serious.  Life is not theater. You can't waltz through life, my dear brother. And you should careful being in the lime light and having people kissing your feet.  You're too old," my mother said.

"Oh, Erika! I'm so happy you care.  Come here, give me a hug," Uncle Clive said as he hugged my mother.

"See people," as uncle Clive shouted, "My older sister, my dear sister Erika loves me," and gave her a big wet kiss on the cheek.

My mother almost turned into a monster but she remembered the food was still alive.

"Why do you have to be a bloody pain? Control yourself. Be like your wife, for God's sakes. What do you tell the media about your life and how long you have been on this earth? My dear brother," my mother said.

"Oh, remember, my dear sister, I'm an actor," Uncle Clive said with culture and grace, "I have died so many times, I can't even count.  I'm now the great-great-great-great grand son of Clive Saxon.  Hollywood just needs to have a story, not the facts. Honey, you need to chill. As the great L. Ron Hubbard said, 'Release the Thetas and your Engrams'.”

"You studied Scientology? Now, I know you're insane. If father knew, he would have whipped you with a tree branch.  Scientology isn’t a belief in God. It’s just a money making religion which Elisabeth should join with her bastard husband," Uncle Bryan asked.

"Oh, my dear brother. I wanted to be close to you.  Science mixed with Buddha, perfect religion to get close to my big brother.  See. After Scientology, I became Jewish, now I'm in the market for a new religion. You understand, something that fits my mood," Uncle Clive said.

"Are you on something?" Uncle Bryan asked.

“Life. The last time I did coke was with James Dean before he died. It seems like yesterday. But, my dear brother, I’m high on life,” Uncle Clive said.

"Bryan, why asked.  Why do you get so involved in this nut job's life," my mother said.

"My dear sister, Erika. I'm not a nut job, don't you even say that again, you understand me," Uncle Clive and his eyes were hollow, as if he was in attack mode.

"Now, Bryan, I'm high on life.  One reason, I look younger then both of you. And my dear, dear sister, you need to take care of the aftermath of this night with Galvin and Megan.  Megan is your biggest project, my dear. Handle it and stay out of my life.  Are we clear?" Uncle Clive asked.

My mother walked away with a nervous twitch.

As I listened to the conversation, I didn't know what to think.  Aunt Megan was uncle Merlin's wife.  No one in our family liked her and she was more of an outsider than Max. I never had a problem with her.  I loved to listen to her stories of the past as if she lived through the end of Slavery, The Woman's Suffrage, The Great Depression and the Civil Rights Movement. Her stories were so vivid and layered in flare.  I loved her, but could not understand why my mother and her siblings, excluding Uncle Merlin didn't like her.

I was happy to heard great grandfather Galvin was invited to the party.  Great grandfather Galvin was a special and strange man.  He was our real great grandfather, but he was never in the same body, like he changed his body mass whenever he came to visit; which was strange to me.   But, I loved him.  He always brought awesome gifts and gave us lessons in life.  He was a interesting man, with a song bird voice and filled with mystery, color and excitement.

Fire ran over to me with her cellphone and said, "She wants to talk to you."