Evolution (Evolution Series Book 1)

Chapter 1

It was amazing how my perception of reality changed in a single instant. How I could pinpoint the exact moment when I realised that I would never be the same. The world I'd known all my life ceased to exist, and a new reality began.

That moment hit me as I stood naked, staring at myself in the mirror.

To the unknowing, I still looked the same. Only I had noticed what was different about me. I was thankful that not a single doctor or nurse at the Gold Coast Hospital had picked up on it. If they had, I certainly wouldn’t be getting discharged as soon as I left the bathroom. In fact, I was pretty sure they would lock me up in a psych ward, or worse, hurl me away to some top-secret government facility, never to see the light of day again.

Not knowing if my eyes were betraying my sanity, or if what I was seeing was really possible, my whole body went numb as I watched the only sign that I had just been in a car accident disappear.

What I was seeing belonged on the screen of a Hollywood blockbuster, not in real life, and especially not in mine. It defied everything I had ever been taught. God, it defied everything anyone had ever known.

The inch-long slice above my right ear was no longer there. It was as if my head had never gone through the car window. I was, once again, in perfect condition.

I stood there staring, too scared to move or think. I hoped what I was seeing was just a side effect of the head trauma I ought to have experienced. The accident should have killed me.

But if what I was seeing was real, what did it mean? What would become of me? And more importantly, what the hell was I?

A knock at the door jolted me out of the hysteria I could feel myself slipping into. “Jade?” It was my mum. “Is everything okay in there?”

Panic rippled through me. Things were the complete opposite of okay. What if I went out there and they noticed my head was no longer being held together with the stitches they had put in no less than an hour ago? Or what if the cut really was still there and I was having hallucinations? Were hallucinations even a side effect of severe head trauma?

I stepped closer to the mirror, rubbing the stitches. I hoped the cut would reappear, and I could blame the incident on my eyesight being affected by the accident – that would be the best explanation. But sure enough, the cut was gone.

“Jade?” Mum called again. Her voice was etched with concern.

“Yeah?” I replied automatically, my voice barely a whisper.

“Do you need a hand?” Mum tried opening the bathroom door, which thankfully, I had locked.

I had to quickly pull myself together. I knew I couldn’t let them see me like this. “I’m fine, Mum. I’ll be out in a minute,” I called out, throwing on the clean clothes she had brought in for me.

Taking one last look in the mirror, I let down my long, dark brown hair, trying to cover the spot where my cut should have been, and stepped out of the bathroom to face her.

Even though my heart was beating so hard that I was sure it would pop out of my chest, I tried my hardest to put on the same carefree face I'd worn before my life turned upside down only seconds ago. And it worked.

I was discharged without anyone noticing that my cut was no longer there, and my mum was still too caught up in the fact that I had somehow cheated death to pay any attention to my wound – or lack thereof.

After listening to my mother going on and on about how lucky I was to be alive, and how I should be more careful when I was behind the wheel, we finally arrived home, and I was quick to make excuses as to how tired I was and headed off to bed. Reluctantly, she let me go after I promised I would let her know if I got worse or needed her for anything. I swear, I thought she was going to insist that she stay with me all night, which was more than a little disturbing.