What We Lost

Home Sweet Plane

We ride in silence until we get to the plane, as soon as we stop, I jump out of the truck, hearing something very off. "Uh... I don't even pretend to have any knowledge of cars, but that doesn't sound right."

Clem gets out of the truck and looks under it, "that's not good."

"Home sweet plane." Jackson stretches as he looks around.

"she's gonna need some serious TLC if she's gonna be road worthy any time soon." Clem comments, still looking over the truck.

"Yeah, well, it looks like he snagged a passenger on our way out." I look over the bonnet of the truck, where one of the bird-like hybrids is hanging on.

Jamie grabs her hand held plane controls, "okay, we're wheels up in five."

"I guess you can shove a cockpit into a tablet when you've made a fortune off of people's pain." Jackson comments as he walks in front of Jamie.

"Jackson..." I scold in a hushed tone.

Jamie sighs, "look, I know it's cool to hate me right now, but I really am sorry."

"Just save it." Jackson puts up a hand, "right now we need to figure out what those hybrids are doing."

Then there is an explosion and the ground shakes, Mitch steps to the back of the plane, "I think that might be our answer. You might wanna speed up that takeoff."

I shake my head, "wait a minute. They are causing a volcano to erupt."

"It looks that way," Mitch nods, "let's get this thing into the lab so we can find out how."

Logan and Jackson get the hybrid into the lab, which hasn't changed at all in all this time. I mean, other than some new equipment and some upgrades. But everything is where it was and looks like we never left. "This is insane." I sit my bag down.

"Which insane thing are you talking about?" Jackson shakes his head, "the, uh, new hybrid species or exploding volcanoes?"

"How do we even know the new hybrids caused the volcano to explode?" Logan looks around to everyone.

"Uh..." I clear my throat a bit, "I remember a sloth that could cause earthquakes and a jellyfish that caused hurricanes."

"Not to mention the flash freezing lizards." Mitch nods, "and the pregnant lady who was the only way of stopping them." I wave over to Logan, as Mitch gestures to me. "This ringing a bell with anyone else?"

Jackson walks into the computer lab and starts up the computer, bringing up everything we have on Abigail, "this is who we're looking for. Her name is Abigail Westbrook."

I nod, crossing my arms and leaning against the door frame, "so far, tracking her down has been less than successful."

Jamie looks at the screen and tilts her head, "I recognize her. She's a Shepherd."

"Yeah..." Jackson nods. "She used the disc to operate the device back in the cabin, whatever that device was, to attract the hybrids to its location... like a uh..."

"Like a beacon." I nod. "So more than one dics mean more than one beacon." I take a deep breath, "the more she activates, the more hybrids. Or so logic would follow."

"No one's ever seen a flying hybrid." Jamie shakes her head. "Where are they spreading from?"

Mitch sighs, "I have a feeling that the answer to that question is gonna be real weird."

I scoff, "it's it always with us?"

Jackson brings up a map that has been used to track hybrids, "this is the previous hybrid population density on the West Coast." He taps a few buttons and the map changes, "here's what happened after she activated that beacon. Fortunately, inside the hybrid zone."

"Abe and I learned that these things can reproduce asexually from a single drop of blood," I sigh, "which means exponential growth once they get to a new area."

"Now that we have flying hybrids, this is what would happen if she got a beacon east of the barrier." Jackson presses a couple of buttons and whole map goes red. "And this is what it would look like if she got a beacon all the way to Europe." He presses a few more buttons and a map of the world turns red.

"And with what she's been able to do so far, I don't think that's really gonna be a challenge for her. So we have about 90 days before Hyrbi-geddon."

"Well, that's just great." Mitch sighs, heading over to the fridge to get a drink, "so, on a different note, been dying to ask you guys, how was my funeral?"

I take a deep breath and tilt my head, "very tasteful."

"What song did you guys pick? 'Wind Beneath My Wings'?"

Jackson shakes his head, "who let the dogs out." Jackson looks over to me, "yeah, that was the last time we were all together."

I look down and clear my throat, "after you were gone, things just, um... weren't the same."

"So, you decided to move to the middle of hybrid country?" Mitch looks over to Jackson.

Jackson nods, "well, a couple years later, a regular life just wasn't' really an option for me, so..."

"Well, that can happen if you're the son of the guy who created worldwide sterility." Mich then turns to me, "but what I don't get, is why you didn't go with him."

"Yeah, circumstances were, um..." I shake my head.

Jackson speaks up instead, "I had to get away. Plus, people needed help and we were both needed elsewhere."

"Someone's gotta clean up that Shepherd mess." I shrug, "might as well be us."

Mithc nods, looking over to Jackson, "well, at least now you won't have to play the bumbling-but-effective hero on your own, anymore. You have your side kick back." Mitch looks over to me again. I just shake my head, "or maybe not. Who let the dogs out, that's very good." Mitch heads out of the kitchen area.

Jackson starts to leave, but Jamie calls out to him, "Wait, Jackson. Please, I... I'm so sorry."

"So am I." Jackson turns to Jamie.

"Can I explain?"

"We have to figure out what's going on with the new hybrids and we have to find Abigail." Jackson turns and leaves. I know he will never say it, but Jackson blames Jamie for our divorce. He feels as though if he were able to stay with me, things would have gone differently, and maybe he's right. Maybe they would have. It would have been different if I hadn't miscarried our child as well. Ever since that day, everytime I look at Jackson, I feel like a failure. We had one chance at a family of our own and I blew it. That is the reason we got a divocre, because everyday, every time I looked at him I felt like I was reliving the worst day of my life and neither of us could do anything about it, not with everything that was going on.