The Hybrid

4. Escape

It has been two hours since Tyler left. Two hours I have been left alone to think. Two hours stuck in this small sitting room watching an old television.

I lay on the cloth couch and sip slowly on a soda. There is a human drama tv show playing. Ironically it is about vampires. Only these are the nice vampires that live in a false reality.

In this particular show, the nice vampires attempt to blend in as high schoolers, all while trying to keep their secret hidden. Only that never happens in television shows.

I think about last night. The dark reality of real vampires. They aren't scared of garlic. They have long sharp fangs that can actually kill someone. You don't feel a rush of pleasure when you are bitten. Instead it is only pain. Then sometimes death.

Why did Liam want me so badly? Is being a hybrid something really that rare?

I made a silent promise to myself that I would never let him get a hold of me. He can't win. Vampires and werewolves don't mix.

I finally peel myself off of the couch. I am getting restless now. The last thing I want to do in unknown territory is lay around and wait for the inevitable.

I leave the room and slowly walk down the hallway. Chills move up my arms as I get the feeling I'm not allowed to be here.

Tyler did say to stay here until he gets back. But then again, Tyler is not my keeper.

I finally reach the front door and suck in a breath. I just plan to go for a walk. I am not a prisoner here.

I pull the door open and a chilly breeze hits me in the face. My feet crunch underneath fresh fallen leaves as the smell of fall hits my nostrils.

Leading from Tyler's house is a small stone path. The path follows a trail through the trees to where smoke is seen rising slowly into the sky. Those must be other pack houses. It is quiet here.

In the CrescentRing pack there was always laughter in the air. Children would run around and play until dark. Everybody spent their time outside either training or playing around.

The SilverMoon pack is eerie and lifeless compared to my pack. I walk quietly down the path away from the houses. The last thing I want is to be caught by someone who thinks I'm a rogue.

I think about what Anthony said at breakfast. We are bred that way. And that alpha, he is the worst of them all. Shivers go down my spine as I contemplate the possibility.

I had heard stories about the alphas of this pack. They were initiated by capturing and killing a rogue. It was a sport to them. The bloodier the kill, the more righteous leader you were meant to be. Something like that.

I hear a loud blood curdling scream in the distance that makes me jump.

I slowly pick up the pace and wander towards the painful sound. Is somebody in danger? Not thinking things through, I come upon a small grey brick building in a clearing. The screaming was definitely coming from inside there. The building is guarded by a large metal door with a lever as a handle.

I cautiously open the door, focusing very hard on making as little noise as possible. The doorway opens to a dark, candle-lit staircase leading down underground. I pad down the staircase and immediately recognized a temperature drop as I lower myself into the darkness.

The deeper I go, the louder the scream comes. It sounds like a man being tortured. His bellows bounce off of the walls. I finally came to the bottom of the staircase and I see a metal door. It is cracked just wide enough to where I can see inside.