Hybrids (three chapter preview) Read online

  Chapter 2

  I skipped school. So what? I feel like yelling, I have never understood why dad gets so bent out of shape when I skip class. I manage to hold my tongue, and instead just nod and apologize. He’s clearly not buying it.

  “What is this, the fifth time you’ve skipped school this month?!”

  Actually it’s more like the fifteenth, but ten of those I didn’t get caught.

  “How many times do we have to have this talk before you’ll start listening?!”

  Ten? Twenty? I dunno, does it look like I can read the future?

  “What’s it going to take to get you to obey me?”

  Divine intervention, maybe?

  He sighs, “What’s so important that you just had to skip school to see?”

  “A cave.” I reply simply, “I found a cave I wanted to explore.”

  He shakes his head sadly, “A cave? Even though you nearly died lost in one?”

  There was a time, about three years ago when I got lost in a cave for almost a week, finally I found my way out and returned home. I was forbidden to even explore any caves again, but of course I didn’t listen. Where would be the fun in that?

  “Yeah.” I say nodding.

  Dad groans, “When will you learn?”

  Hopefully never. I don’t want to be a boring old person! I almost say, but catch myself in the nick of time. Dad continues lecturing for a little while, before dismissing me to my room.

  I trot into my room and collapsed onto my bed, a small mat in the corner of the tiny mostly empty room. The only thing in here besides my bed and I is a bookshelf next to a small glass window. On the shelf sit a few unused school books that I wouldn’t be caught dead reading and a sketchbook.

  I lay on my bed for about a half hour or so, before I decide I’m bored. I stand up, reached under my sleeping mat and produced a pencil, then walked over to the bookshelf and pull down the notebook, opening it as I do so. Inside are a bunch of my drawings, ranging from quick sketches to full page pieces which had taken me hours. I flipped to a blank page, then, holding the pencil in my mouth I begin to draw.

  In a moment I sketch the human’s outline. I close my eyes, trying to remember what exactly it looked like. I add details as I remember them and before long I’ve drawn as much of the creature as I can remember.

  Once I finish I return the sketchbook back to it’s spot on the shelf, and the pencil back under my bed. I then peek out the window, the sun is just starting to fall below the horizon and the sky has turned a brilliant shade of violet. For a while I watch the the warm, glowing flare sink slowly behind the cerulean sea. As I do so I allow myself to remember this afternoon’s events. When the human had almost found me I felt something- I can’t put my claw on what it was, but I know I felt something, something out of the ordinary.

  I shake these thoughts off, it’s nothing.

  Once the last rays of the sun disappear I lay down on my mattress and in a few moments I’m asleep.

  I awake what feels like moments later to air that smells like old coffee. I open my eyes to see where the smell is coming from. Where the heck am I?

  The room I’m in now is not the one I feel asleep in. I try to lift my head to get a better look, but my neck feels way shorter than it should and I don’t seem to be in charge of my body.

  I feel myself yawn, but it isn’t me. I... it looks at its forelegs, they’re all fleshy- and bent the wrong way.

  Whatever the thing is stands up on it’s hind legs- just like a human would, and I get my first good look at the room, the walls are white. Just in front of the cushion I- it? Us? I don’t even know.- Had been laying on, is a big black box, connected to several smaller black and gray boxes. On the far wall there are a line of desks on which sit several more of the strange black boxes. Who ever owns this room seems to be obsessed with the things. Next to the desk is a large glass window, on the other side a massive gray structure sits, what it’s purpose is I have no clue, but right now it’s not on my priorities list.

  The bipedal starts walking and I realise the floor is littered with strange white cylinders, with smaller multi colored cylinders sticking out of the top. What are those? I wonder to myself.

  My body- that isn’t really my body perks up and looks around the room as if it had heard something. After a second it shrugs and continues walking. What did it here?

  A second time the thing stops and looks around, then asks, “Who’s there?”

  No one’s here you dult. I think.

  I feel a confused look cross the things face, “If you don’t want me to know you’re here then don’t say anything. Who are you anyways and what the hell are you doing in my apartment?”

  There’s no one here... Who’s he talking to?

  “You...” The thing says sounding quite confused.

  Wait... It can hear me?!

  “You’re talking aloud...”

  But- no- I- I’m- not here!

  My body facepaws, “If you talking you kind of have to be here... And it’s called a facepalm, by the way.”

  Shuddup, I’ll call it whatever I want. I think, not about to let this thing get snippy with me, I then add, and I’m not talking!

  “But I can hear you...”

  You can read my thoughts then... Wait... If I’m seeing the world though your eye’s- A dreadful thought crosses my mind- what if I’m your imagination...

  “Oh great! My imagination’s talking to me! Now I know I’m insane!”

  Oh, gods. What if I really am just it’s imagination!?

  “I... don’t know.” The thing responds, “And I’m a human, not an it.”

  A... Human!? Oh, nononononononono, not me. Not me! I can’t be a Hybrid!

  “A what?” The human asks innocently enough, but right now I’m panicking. People aren’t allowed to say anything when I’m panicking.

  SHUT UP!

  The human stammers back, “Owwww.” He complains, rubbing his head, “Don’t do that, Mr. Imagination- Hybrid- thing.”

  I’m not your stupid imagination!

  We yell at eachother like this for a while, but after about an hour I manage to calm myself. It doesn’t take me long to explain to the very confused human, (Whose name is Connor. Connor, seriously? Who names their kid something like Connor?) why I’m so freaked out, but he doesn’t seem to believe me, he still thinks I’m just his imagination.

  I finally give up trying to explain to to him, instead I try to remember the stories dad told me about Hybrids when I was little, in most of them both the dragon and human would live their lives each in their own realm, unaware that they only were half the picture- that half of them were in another universe entirely. Then would come a day- normally when the dragon half of the Hybrid was somewhere in their teens, and the human, who ages faster is in their twenties have a dream where they make first contact with the other half of themselves. So that would explain why I hadn’t known that I was a Hybrid until now.

  Then I start thinking, what will life be now that I know? I could keep it a secret, just keep living like normal. But how could I keep this a secret? It’s said that the human half of a Hybrid can be pulled into our world from Earth. What if that happened during the middle of school? What if they found out that the human was half of me?

  I could just come out and tell everyone, but how would that end? What would they think of me? Would they hate me? Would they be scared of me? In my minds eye I saw dad and Terrla staring at me in horror, then slowly leaving, never to talk to me again.

  No, I won't let that happen. I can’t tell anyone. Anyone at all.

  Chapter 3

  I awake in a cold sweat. Outside the sun is just starting to peek over the horizon. I had just held a conversation with a human. And not just a normal human, but the other half of myself! I stumble out of bed in a panic. Calm down, I tell myself, It was just a dream. You’re not a Hybrid. But I know that’s not true, the dream was too vivid to be my imagination.

  I must have been making a bunch
of noise, because dad suddenly pokes his head into the room with a worried look and asks, “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah!” I say a bit too abruptly, “J-just a weird dream. I’m fine!”

  Dad raises an eye ridge, “Are you sur-”

  I cut him off, “I’m fine! I’m fine!” I pause, trying to think of a way to end this conversation as quickly as possible, dad clearly suspects something is wrong, “I- uhhh... gotta get to school!” And with that I shoot out the door, leaving dad to stare after me in shock.

  “He- wants to get to school on time?” I hear him mutter as I tear out of the house.

  Less than a minute later I rush into the school house and plop down on the dirt floor, in my normal spot, right next to Terrla. “Morning.” She says with a smile.

  I smile back, too absorbed in my thoughts to reply.

  “Something wrong?” She asks.

  I shake my head, “Nah, just tired.”

  I’m such a bad liar, I didn’t expect her to believe me, so I’m surprised when she just nods and replies with, “Yeah, I think I know how you feel.”

  A moment later the school master- a blue scaled dragon in his late thirties- clears his throat to get the attention of the small class. Small both in number and stature, Terrla and I are the only two teens in Sea-Claw, all the other children are no older than twelve.

  School drags on and on, for what feels like years. When class is finally over I take decide to take a little time to think. Avoiding Terrla I head for the woods. Once out of site of the village I take flight. Thoughts of Hybrids swirl through my head as I glide over the wonderful green woodlands.

  After about a half an hour I come to my destination, large pine tree that pokes up above the surrounding forest. I land on a sturdy limb near the top and turn to face the sea, witch from here can barely be seen. It’s nothing more than a streak of turquoise at the edge of an ocean of green. It’s a spectacular sight, especially at sunset, which will be happening in a few hours

  This is where I come when I need some time alone. The once place that no one, not even Terrla knows about. My one secret. Scratch that. One of my two secrets.

  The bubble of peace that had started to form around me suddenly snaps as I remember why I was upset in the first place. I sigh as I think what life might be like now, I’ve never been a good liar, I don’t know how long I’ll be able to keep this secret. When it gets out, for I’m sure it will, what will happen to me? The image that’s been haunting me returns, Terrla and dad running in fear from me.

  I tell myself again that it was just a crazy dream, but like the last time it doesn’t help at all. I sigh, and wonder what horrible thing I did in my past life to deserve this. I sit on that branch looking out at the ocean in the distance for at least an hour, wallowing in self pity. The tree holds me in it’s green arms, but refuses to comfort me.

  Eventually I grow hungry and return home. When I arrived dad inquires where I had been, I tell him I had been hunting, but didn’t catch anything , thankfully he believes me.

  I eat a dinner of venison and go to bed soon after. I once again find myself in the back of the human’s head. There’s no denying it now. I am a Hybrid.

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