Hybrid: The Awakening

Chapter 26-Tesha

Date on Earth: Tuesday, October 10

I failed.

Mother only asked of me one thing before she died: a promise to protect Je Kinshe sies from the Axones and fulfill her mission. The entire reason for her death.

And I had failed her.

No matter how much I screamed and cursed Inugio for all this madness, I knew deep down that the fault of falling into the trap was mine.

When I was younger, my mother had once told me that hindsight was a dangerous thing, and for once I understood what that meant. It now all seemed so obvious. The trouble-free rescue. Diana breaking the message of warning. Even the whole plan of journeying to a safe haven sounded false. It wouldn't have made sense for the Axones to have a map of the places where they couldn't detect the Jh'ai. And even if they did, that meant they would know exactly where to look when we went undetectable.

No part of the plan had made any sense. Just a moment of thought would have uncovered the truth. But I became too hopeful and trustful at the idea of a quick solution. The desire to succeed for my mother impaired my logic. And because of this, I had let the signs of Diana's betrayal pass right under me.

Though I didn't–couldn't–blame Diana. She had only just started to learn the implications of the Jh'ai being in the wrong hands. That, and her family had been threatened.

For a moment I pondered what I would've chosen in her situation. The decision between my mother and the Jh'ai seemed impossible, but the more I thought about it, the more I knew.

I would have chosen my mother.

And she would have been terribly disappointed.

I could only watch as the large tower of water crumbled to the ground. The force of impact shook the planet and I coughed from the dust.

Simultaneously, Tristen was thrown back towards me and landed roughly on the grass, barely missing the metal debri. The tumble must have been painful, but he quickly got up, eyes wide.

He turned to me with tearful eyes as he said, "Asher, he...he...". The words struggled to escape his mouth as he said, "He's under there. The tower fell on him."

Diana stood in front of me, emotional torment obvious on her face. Falling to her knees, she cried and chanted for forgiveness with promises and pledges. Those words slowly died as her sobs became more erratic. She started shaking her head, repeating the word, "sorry", over and over again.

I hadn't processed it. It must have been a mistake.

Asher was fine. He had to be.

The force from the tower's fall had weakened the ice binding my arms and legs, and I managed to free them.

Diana was still on her knees, shaking with sobs. Bending down, I placed my hand on her shoulder. She looked up at me with red glimmering eyes. The girl looked lost. Broken.

"Go find your family," I told her. "Make sure they're safe."

More tears fell down her face as she nodded. Without hesitation, she got up from the ground and shifted into her bird form, flying in search of her unconscious parents and sister.

"Now we will find Asher."

Tristen turned away to face the damage, wiping his eyes. The metal legs holding up the sphere of water had shattered into a thousand different shards. It piled up as high as the trees, blocking out the setting sun. The sphere itself was the only piece that managed to maintain most of its original shape, with only one large hole breaking through, a few cracks stemming from it. It fell onto one of the trees, crushing it under its weight.