Hybrid

Companion

I sat on a rock next to the lake, and started cleaning my knives. They'd got a fair bit of blood on them, along with grass, mud and stuff I didn't even want to think about.

It took me a while to clean each knife. When I finished the second one, I heard a rustling in the bushes behind me. I grabbed the knife I'd just cleaned, and whipped around.

I sighed in relief when I saw who it was.

It was little Sasha. She ran over and hugged me. "I haven't seen you all day!" She said.

"The day's not over yet, Sasha. And anyway, you just saw me last night."

"I know, but I wanted to see you, Isabel!"

* * * *

My name's Isabel. I'm twenty years old. I survived the massacre as a child by the edge of my skin. I escaped to a community outside New York City, the city the Hybrids now call the Grand Urban Metropolis, or Urban for short.

Ever since that day, I hated those disgusting Hybrids for what they did to us. My blood boils in anger when I see how helpless my community, my family, has become.

I want revenge.

That would have been the sole reason for my existence...if not for Sasha.

I found Sasha little less than four years ago near the edge of the forest. There were two bodies next to hers, perhaps those of her parents. She was so tiny, she could only say her name, and call for her "mama" and "dada".

I wanted to take her in, but I was training to be a hunter at that time, and couldn't take care of her. Luckily, an older woman I knew, one who's been a mother to me as well, agreed to bring her up.

Ever since then, Sasha and I have become closer than sisters. Most of my free time is spent with her.

We don't know her actual birthday, so we placed it on New Year's. When she turns six in a few months, she'll be able to live with me. I've been working on expanding my shack so that both of us can comfortably live together.

Sasha is the only one who can make me smile.

* * * *

Sasha insisted I wash her hair, so it was a while before we returned to our settlement.

On our return, Gladys greeted us cheerfully. She was like a mother to me when I had lost my own, and is currently raising Sasha until I can look after her myself. Gladys is in my hunting group as well, so we share mealtimes too.

"Hello, Isabel. How was hunting?"
"Great. I got a wild boar! I'm off to skin it now."

"Good luck."

"Sasha, go with Gladys," I said. "This is a messy job, and you may not like it."

"But I wanna see!" She pouted. "I wanna become a hunter one day, so I wanna see!"

"Not yet, sweetheart. You're too young. When you're older, I'll let you help me out."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

Sasha smiled, hugged me again, and then ran towards Gladys.

Gladys is in her late forties. She lost her husband and three children in the massacre. The only reason she survived was, like nearly all of us, dumb luck. Clearly, the hybrids missed out a lot of us when they went savage.

Gladys pretended to be dead, and when the coast was clear, sneaked out of the city. She reached the settlement only a short while before I did.

Once the initial panic had died down, a large number of survivors came together and decided to stick with each other for safety. We wandered all night until we found this clearing to settle in. I was the youngest in the group at that point, and so Gladys took me under her wing. She carried me that whole night while I cried. I cried until I had no tears left. Because of that, my memory of that day is a little fuzzy. The first distinct memory I have with Gladys is her washing my hair at the lake, the morning after we discovered the clearing.

It's strange. A woman I'm not related to by blood at all has been my mother longer than my real one.

I sighed, remembering my parents. As I cut open the boar's stomach, I remembered how my mother would always tuck me into bed at night, no matter how busy she was. My father would take me out every weekend to the park, and buy me ice-cream without telling Mom.

For some strange reason, I can't remember their names. I remember Grandpa's name, and my surname, but not my parents' names. Our family name is quite ordinary, so I can't even find them by asking about the last name.

Before I knew it, the boar had become meat. My mind is always on autopilot when cleaning my kills.

"Isabel!!"

Sasha ran towards me. "Gladys told me to call you for lunch!"

"I'm on my way," I said, putting my knives away.

* * * *

When we don't have the threat of a hybrid looming over us, our community can handle things quite well.

That night, we all feasted on the boar meat, and laughed over the funny incidents we had all day. I didn't feel like laughing, though. When I remember my old life, which is quite often, I retreat into myself.

I excused myself from the dinner sometime later, and slipped away to the lake.

I removed all my clothes, and hid the bundle under a bush. I walked into the lake, staring at the moon.

On the other side of the lake, there is a slightly less dense collection of trees. Beyond that is the city, clearly visible in the moonlight.

I saw the glimmering lights as the clouds gathered, obscuring my vision of the moon.

In the distance, I could hear people calling to others, warning them about an incoming storm.

But I didn't move.

The falling rain mixed with my freely flowing tears; raindrops formed patterns on my bare back, over the large scar that is a permanent reminder of my loss.