* The Hybrids *

Chapter 4: Wren

I walk out of Mrs. Aro's class and meet up with Jamie at the front of the school. They're holding what looks like a small brown bag, but I can't tell. I walk over to them and then I can't focus on anything.

"Hang on Jamie," I say while waving my hand in front of my eyes to try and focus again. Regaining focus, I continue walking over to them. "What's in the bag?" I ask.

"It's a surprise for later." they say.

"Well then, let's go to mine!" I suggest.

"Uhm, let's go to mine instead," they say. They pull their collar and grab my arm.

"Oh, uh, alright then, let's go." I say.

"Dude, did you see that girl in class today? The new girl?" I ask Jamie.

"Uh, yeah, the brown-haired one?" they respond. They seemed worried about something.

"Yeah, think her name was Cathrine?" I ponder, trying to remember. "Do you think she was cute? Be honest~" I tease

"Uh, sure, she was pretty." Jamie mumbled, their cheeks getting bright pink.

"You like her don't you~" I tease again

"I-I mean she seemed nice..." Jamie stuttered. They didn't seem in the mood for banter.

"...Hey, you okay?" I ask. My eyebrows scrunch up and the bags under my eyes show.

"Yeah, yeah, fine, all good." They say in a quiet, raspy tone. They looked like they were holding back tears. I immediately knew something was up.

"What's wrong? You know you can't hide your feelings from me." I tell them.

"Y-you'll find out later..." they say. Silent tears fall from her eyes.

I follow after them to their house and immediately felt a negative aroma. I was greeted by Jamie's parents, siblings, and my

"Mom?" I say surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"Listen, hon, There's something I need to talk to you about..." she says. Her tone worries me. Her eyes looked so worried, so stressed. It... It scared me...

"What is it..?" I ask. I felt like the room around me was slowly collapsing so close to crushing me, the darkness overcoming I have nowhere to go! And then-

"You're a hybrid, sweetheart..."

It all falls. I'm crushed by my mind. All I can see is black. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. I can only guess that from any point of view besides mine I looked dead. But I stood. I was standing, and that was enough to push back the dark, the horror, the death that now would loom behind me everywhere I went.

I regained consciousness about an hour later. I was still standing there, miraculously. No one was around, though. I tried to look around to see if there was anything around. I saw a piece of paper. I tried to walk to it but my mind was still so foggy. I shuffled over very slowly and read what it said.

10:00 Avenox Park

I had no idea what the hell was going on. I grabbed my bag which had fallen off my back and slowly shuffled out of the house. I can't focus. My mind is somewhere that's not here. I stare in front of me the whole way to my house.

4:00 when I get home. It's only an hour and a half after school. I walked in and saw my dad.

"Hey kiddo, you okay?" He asks. I didn't realize it at the time, but I looked like a hot mess.

"Yeah dad, I'm good. Just, ya know, school and stuff." I answer.

"What took you so long to get home?" he mentioned.

"Oh, I was at Jamie's house, uh... doing homework," I replied. I was having so much trouble focusing I was just barely putting together sentences that made sense. "Anyway's, I'm gonna, uh... go to my room and chill out."

I walk over to my room and grab my phone. I open What's App and text Jamie

Jamie

What the hell is going on Jamie.

I need answers.

Did you know?

...

Answer me

...Yeah, I knew. Ever since I was 10

I knew It was gonna happen at some point

I was supposed to be your "protector"

That's why my mom introduced me to you

So you were never really my friend...

No, I was! Remember, I found out when we were 10?

I wouldn't have even known when we met! We met at 2!

...

Fine...

So, what now..? I'm just so...

Scared

And that's valid

But we can't focus on that

Did you read my note?

Yeah. So we run at 10?

But where to?

It's... hard to explain. You'll see

Don't worry, we'll get through this together.

...

I hope you're right

I-I don't want to die!

What if we don't get out in time??

What if we get caught??!

We'll get out in time

And what about my dad??!

Me and your mom have been practicing for years. We won't get caught.

And also, your dad will think you're going to mine

What about my mom??

Will she be okay??

You know your mom. She's an unstoppable force.

...

I really, really hope you're right.

I guess I'll see you at 10

See you then :)

I put down my phone and get out my computer. I start writing. I can't remember what I wrote that night, but I know that that would be the last thing my dad would ever hear from me.