Hybrid

Chapter 27

Chapter 27

   Tammy sat in the back of the big, black, tinted van between two burly and dangerous looking men. They stared blankly ahead and refused to show any emotion, if they really had any. Then a wild thought hit her. She leaned back a little, just enough to get a good look at both their necks and sure enough, she found teeny, digital chips installed in each of them. She remembered the man back at the beach who carried the exact same chip. There had been something wrong with that man--he said that the AIO were kidnapping human beings with physical potential and turning them into drones. Dinah had killed him by destroying the chip in his neck, but it would be extremely difficult, even impossible, for Tammy to even attempt to do the same thing at that very moment.

   In a few hours, they reached a humorously tiny building that very much resembled a barn. It was slapped in the middle of nowhere and Tammy had to bite back a laugh, this was where they'd be holding her? The two men shoved her out of the van--which was, by the way, almost as big as the building itself--and closed the distance between the car and the house. They placed their hands on scanning pads and when the door opened with a click, Tammy was taken by surprise.

    They walked into a balcony and they could clearly see into the floor beneath them, which was a vast, open space with people in bland suits rushing around like ants. Tammy almost missed it, but almost everyone she saw had a chip inputed at the back of their neck, a few centimeters below their hairline. By now, she knew this whole organization was part of the AIO, but she had to wonder, what was this place really about, and why was she here?

   Back in the hospital, the moment Jared voiced the question of where Jessica could be, there was a loud crash as the window in the hospital room shattered into pieces. Chris automatically whipped his head away from the flying glass shards and looked back just in time to catch a teenager with golden, long and curly hair dressed from top to bottom in a tight-fitting and flexible outfit.

   Before Jared could even analyze and place the girls face, movement, and smell to a memory, she ran to Courtney's body, grabbed it, and was already crouched on the window sill, ready to jump back out. She squatted there long enough for Jared and Chris to realize that it was Dinah!

   They were both too shocked to react and in one swift movement, Dinah pulled out a gun and pulled the trigger. Chris flew back and hit the wall behind him, leaving a splatter of blood in that movement. Holy shit, Jared thought, stunned. Dinah shot him!

   "A message from the AIO." She said smoothly and smirked at Jared with perfect, straight teeth before turning and dissapearing out the window. He would have been sure he saw a ghost if it hadn't been for that little chip he spotted at the back of her neck when she turned to jump. This was definitely the work of the AIO.

   "Oh my god!" Jessica had conveniently decided to return and she put a hand to her mouth when she saw Chris' body. His chest moved feebly up and down and he was staring up at the ceiling with blank eyes. Jared sighed and placed a hand to his forehead, when would he get just one day to relax? This life on the run really was starting to get to him. "No, no, not you too." She whispered and knelt down next to Chris' body.

   "It's too late, Jessica. He'll be dead in a few minutes, the bullet is too close to his lung." Jared said dully, even though he did feel a little pang of emotion as well.

   Jessica shot him a poisonous look and directed her worrisome eyes back to Chris and buried her long, black hair into his chest, sobbing violently. Jared sighed and helped in the only way he could; sarcasm, "If only you would have told me where the chemical Y was, he would become one of us and wouldn't have to die."

   He expected her to send him another dreadful glare, but her head shot up and her eyes glittered with hope. Jared couldn't believe it when she reached into her back pocket and pulled out a little vial, labeld Chemical Y. "What the fuck, you had it the whole time!" Jared exclaimed, and before he could snatch the vial from her, she poured the chemical into Chris' slightly ajar lips and looked down at him anxiously.

   "I can't believe you." Jared said, and even though he tried to keep his cool, his voice shook. He walked away from them, trying to suppress his anger. Now, his only hope was to return to Mr. Yohamada's lab and try to see if the box he found in the hidden room might be what he was truly looking for.

   ***

   A few more hours pass and I smile down at Chris' unconscious--but still alive--body. You could have done the same for Courtney. A small voice whispers at the back of my head but I suppress it. There is just so much going on that I don't have anymore emotions left to share.

   When I heard about Courtney's death from Chris, I tried to run away, but then I realized that whoever had killed my sister had to die and if I let my emotions get the best of me, that would never happen. I then returned to question Chris about her death, only to find him dead.

   Now, he is sprawled out on the hotel room that Jared and I were staying in and I sit beside him, watching him closely and smiling down at his ever-so innocent features. I am glad that he is alive, but the moment he awakens, I will hunt down the AIO and try to revive my beloved sister.