Fang by Joseph Mauceri

fang

By: Joseph Mauceri

“Demon!” “Animal!” “Beast!” “Monster!”

Those were just some of the words used to describe Fang by those who lived and worked at the orphanage. Even those who visited him to see if they wanted to adopt him, with the highest of hopes, would find themselves terrified of the young boy after only a few minutes.

There was nothing truly remarkable about the boy. Aside from his sharp teeth and white hair, he truly looked like an ordinary 8-yearold. He played, he laughed, he slept, he did everything a normal child would do, albeit, never with any other children. The only thing he wouldn’t do, was talk.

“Fang…” the houseparent said timidly, the door barely open so that she could see the young boy sitting on his bed. “You have a visitor.”

Fang looked at the door out of the corner of his eye. The houseparent immediately closed the door, letting out a brief yelp as she did so. Fang simply rolled his eyes, hopping off of his bed. After walking out the door, the houseparent had already fled the scene. It didn’t matter to him though; he had done this so many times before he knew exactly what to do. He walked down the hall to the room he always conducted his interviews in.

His “prospective parent” was already set in the chair opposite of Fang’s designated seat at the table. He walked over to his own chair and planted himself in it. He stared at the man across from the table. He couldn’t help but notice the strangeness of the situation. It was only the man, no other spouse.

“Hello Fang,” the man said, “it’s very exciting to meet you.”

Fang just stared at him, his eerie and emotionless gaze alone had scared off so many couples before. However, the calm and collected smile of the man before him did not waver in the slightest. Fang would need to start using more extraneous methods to drive this one away.

“I’ve heard a lot about you from the people that work here,” the man continued. “They dress up their words and make you seem nicer so that they can get rid of you, but I see through their façade. Fortunately, that only made me more interested in you.”

Fang’s gaze did not change.

“I’ve done a lot of independent research on you. If I’m not mistaken you arrived here two-and-a-half years ago. Were you always so quiet? Or was it just since you came to the orphanage?”

Fang’s gaze did not change.

The man sighed before continuing. “It’s a little hard to have a dialogue between us. Or should I talk to your friend sneaking up behind me?”

At this, Fang’s eyes widened.

The boy’s head turned to meet the gaze of his only friend, the strange, green creature floating behind him with the intent to strangle the man. It wouldn’t be the first time he had tried to attack someone, but it was certainly the first time that anyone had actually seen it.

“I suppose you didn’t enjoy me digging up your background like that, but I hope you understand that it was nothing personal. You intrigue me Fang Varanus.”

Fang’s gaze softened. He looked at his friend, who floated back over to Fang with no protest.

“What’s your friend’s name?” asked the man.

Fang swallowed. “His name’s Delta.” It was hard to croak out the first words he had spoken in over two years.