"I'm starting to get worried. We should change back," I said as I made my wings disappear. "It's about time to leave anyway." Ella nodded as she got out of the water. Amelia and Lilly did the same. "That was fun," Lilly sighed. "But we probably shouldn't do it again." I nodded. "We wouldn't want to risk getting caught more than we already have," I added. "It's a little too late for that." My heart lurched when I heard the familiar voice from behind me. All four of us spun around. Jake was standing in the clearing, alone. His blue eyes were dark and betrayed. I'd never seen them look so icy cold. "Jake?" I whispered, stepping back slightly. Oh no, Oh no, my mind was racing. He found out. My best friend found out the only thing that could ruin our friendship. It's over. Ella had a hand over her mouth. "How much did you see?" Jake glared at the grass. "Enough." My eyes watered. "Jake, please. Just because we're hybrids doesn't mean we're horrible people!" Jake grimaced. "Then why did you hide it from me? If you aren't a threat, why didn't you tell me?" My heart sank. "You know why. Humans hate us. I didn't want to ruin our friendship. And I knew it would, because your family despises us-" "That's enough about my family!" Jake interrupted. "What matters is that you betrayed my trust!" His eyes were filled with tears. "Did you really think I would hate you? Do you really distrust me that much? And because of my family, of all things!" I flinched, backing up. "I- no- that's not what I-" I cut myself off. I was only going to make it worse. Ella stepped forward, hands out. "Jake," she whispered. "It's because we love you so much. We- we couldn't bear to lose you." Amelia and Lilly were stunned into silence, but I could tell Lilly wanted to step in. I shook my head. This was our problem to deal with. Ella's words just made Jake even angrier. "Stop lying! I can't stand it." He spun around. "Wait!" I shouted. "We can still fix this." Jake shook his head, tensing. "No... no, it's too late for that." Just then, a group of people leaped out from behind the trees. I gasped, barely having any time to process what I saw. They were wearing dark armor, carrying weapons, and each had HH stitched into their uniform. The Hybrid Hunters. Some had guns, but not all of them. The four of us were forced to move closer together. I quickly glanced over at the others and realized Amelia had disappeared. Amelia. She's got this, I sent to Ella, who gave me a quick nod. "Come with us peacefully, or we'll have to do this the hard way," one of the Hybrid Hunters said. I gritted my teeth, but knew there was no choice. We just had to wait. They started to move closer to us, circling around us and forcing us to be back to back. Then one of them fell to the ground, gasping in shock. Her gun flew out of her hand. It suddenly stopped in midair, then Amelia appeared, holding it up. She had a serious look on her face. "We're not going down without a fight," she warned. The other Hybrid Hunter with a gun cocked it, but Lilly shot a bright flash of light at him and blinded him, causing his hand to fly up and shoot at the sky. I launched myself forward and kicked him in the stomach. He fell backwards, the gun flying out of his hand. Amelia lurched forward and caught that one too. Then the fighting broke loose. One Hybrid Hunter shoved me down from behind, pinning me facedown. But before they could do anything, Ella shot a blast of water. I leaped up to my feet again, making my wings appear. I knew I had to be careful. I couldn't kill. That would only make our situation worse. I would try not to use my fire powers too much. The fighting was chaotic. I punched in every direction, sometimes powering it with a bit of fire. Enough to singe, but not enough to burn badly. I managed to steal a quick glance at where Jake was. He seemed petrified. His eyes were wide as he stared at the scene in front of him. I realized how violent the battle was becoming, and I started to panic. I was backed up into the other three, and suddenly we were surrounded. I looked around me, then shot a blast of fire at the ground in front of me. The two Hybrid Hunters in the way jumped to either side. "NOW!" I shouted, and all four of us raced through the opening. We did have an advantage- we knew the woods by heart. While I was running, I managed to take out my phone and call Frank. It would be too much work to text, and it would slow me down. "Hello? Do you need anything?" He asked. "YES, YES WE DO!" I exclaimed. "We're being attacked by the Hybrid Hunters!" Frank gasped. "How? Did you give them your names??" I gasped for breath as I ran, and I felt tears threatening to spill over again. "No. It's a long story. Meet us at- at the bowling alley downtown. Just please come quick," I muttered. "I will," He promised. Then he hung up. "Frank's coming!" I called to the others as we emerged from the woods. "Good. We have to stay at the campus, then," Ella muttered. "I told him to meet us at the bowling alley," I explained. My sister let out a sigh of relief. As we got closer to the parking lot, the Hybrid Hunters got closer as well. Amelia reached over to Ella. "We need to hold hands!" She said. Everyone took each other's hands, and the moment Ella's touched Amelia's we all went completely invisible. "To my car," I said. "I have the keys." Everyone practically leaped into the car, and I slammed the pedal. We shot forward, and I had to swerve to avoid crashing. I wasn't sure where the Hybrid Hunters went. Maybe we had lost them. But it still wasn't a good idea to stop moving. I did a sharp turn into the parking lot of the bowling alley and almost crashed into the curb while parking. I ripped the keys out and threw open the door. Frank pulled in moments later. "The Hybrid Hunters aren't far behind," he warned. "They'll be on this street soon enough." I nodded. "We need you to change our appearances then. We'll go into the bowling alley and pretend to be regular friends out for a bowling night," I explained. Frank raised his hand. I felt that strange numb sensation again, and I knew I looked completely different. Especially because I had to look up to see Ella's face from where I was standing. Amelia looked very different too. Her black, slick hair was now curly and thick, falling out of its ponytail. She was wearing a simple dress. Lilly was scarily different. Instead of her usual, kind look, she had sharp, narrowed eyes and shorter pitch black hair that was cut in a messy overgrown style. She was wearing a baggy shirt and cargo pants. Frank then turned towards my car. The make, model, and color of it changed. Just then, a few cars going well past the speed limit turned onto the road. Frank quickly slid two more IDs into my hand then stepped back. "Come on," Ella muttered. "Act like a normal friend group." All of us pretended to be laughing and having fun as we stepped into the building, while in reality, this was the scariest thing that had ever happened to me, or any of my friends so far.

YOU ARE READING
The Magic Within; Shadows of Two Worlds
Fantasy{ ~ "Dragons learn fastly" ~ } Jamie and Ella Glynn are two young adults who have been accepted into Yale University along with their best friend, Jake Grey. But the sisters have a secret. They are hybrids, who are hated by the rest of the world, to...