Hybrid: A Space Opera Adventure Series (The New Dawn Book 4)

by Valerie J Mikles

  Confused and conflicted, Hawk backed away, his eyes locked on something only he could see. Before Kerris could ask, Hawk took off running. A few minutes later, he came out the bottom of the bell tower. Kerris rubbed his hands together, struggling to understand what he’d just felt. No one had ever touched his phantom limbs like that before. He’d fought his captors, Garrison and Dillweed, never worried about injury to those limbs. He’d never realized another human could touch them.

  Liza, he can hurt us!

  24

  The jungle canopy diverted the rain into concentrated puddles, but the branches weren’t quite thick enough to keep Tray and Saskia dry. Squatting next to one of the thicker trees, Tray sniffed the citric-smelling leaves of the branch he’d broken off. He didn’t remember the name of the tree, but he knew the smell. It was used to spice teas and liquors. Not great for salads, but edible. Plucking one of the leaves, he held it under the dripping rainwater to rinse off the dirt, then smeared it with an orange-tinted spread he’d made from soft grubs he’d smashed. Rolling the leaf, he considered his creation with pride. It looked like a delicacy, though it could use some serious seasoning. Taking a bite, he decided that the leaf did improve the grubs, and so rolled a few more.

  “Making lunch already?” Saskia asked, leaning over him.

  “Experimenting,” Tray smiled. “You think Hawk would eat something that looked like this?”

  “Are you going to tell him what’s in it?” Saskia smirked.

  “I’m not even going to tell you,” Tray said. “Any luck with bird hunting?”

  “Not too bad,” Saskia said, holding up a bag, weighted down with loot. “Branches got in the way. I have ten birds, and no charge. I’ve never had to prepare live meat, so I don’t know what comes next.”

  “I’m sure Kerris knows,” Tray said. “I would have asked for details, but Hawk was about to be sick just looking at them. Here, taste this.”

  Saskia took one of the rolls and nibbled. She made a face, but kept eating. Hunger was a powerful motivator. “Not bad for a day’s work,” she said, chasing the roll with an entire canteen full of water. “Ready to walk? I figure we can get another three miles before sunset, and set up camp. I’m hoping to find something sturdier than grubs and sassafras leaves.”

  “Sassafras! That’s what they’re called,” Tray smiled, collecting his gear. “My feet hurt, my socks are wet, my shoes are sloshing. We’re carrying more rain water than food.”

  “Tray, the complaining is no longer endearing,” Saskia warned, a hint of a smile beneath her stern gaze. “I may not have a working stunner, but I have a knife and I will cut out your tongue.”

  “You’re welcome to lead alternative conversations,” Tray sighed. Her threats weren’t endearing either. Not with his memories in such turmoil. “I bet you could talk my ear off about … I don’t know. What are you interested in, besides weapons?”

  “How come you never mentioned you had a son?” Saskia asked.

  Tray’s body tensed, and his blood ran cold. His throat closed so fast, it was impossible to casually deflect the uncomfortable topic.

  “How old is he?” she asked, shouldering her pack and setting off at an easy walk, expecting him to keep up.

  “Six,” Tray replied, looking down at his feet. It took all his energy to put one foot in front of the other.

  “What’s he like?”

  Tray peeked up, confused by the social tone. Her back was to him, but her head was high, and she swept aside long branches overgrowing the game trail they followed.

  “I don’t know.” It was a mistake to tell her about Hero, especially if she was going to probe so casually.

  “Is he shy? Outgoing?” she persisted.

  “Saskia, I’ve never met him. I’ve never even seen him. Before we left Terrana this last time, I didn’t even know he existed!” Tray said. He tripped over a tree root and fell to his knees on the jungle floor, bruising his knee on something hard, either rock or root.

  “How did you find out?” Saskia asked, adjusting the bag of birds on her shoulder, but not freeing a hand up to help him stand. She just stood over him, looking down her nose in judgment.

  “I don’t want to talk about this!” Tray exclaimed, throwing his hands up as if he could physically block the words. Disgusted with himself, he brushed the mud from his legs, and got to his feet. “If my father could see me now… he’d probably turn up his nose and walk the other way.”

  “At least we’re still alive,” Saskia said, the playfulness was gone from her voice. He’d shut her down, and she’d become the stoic soldier. Only now, he knew it was a mask, and he felt bad. “The rain let up. Maybe you can dry out your socks tonight.”

  Tray crossed his arms, shivering despite himself. It had been over a hundred degrees on the plateau, and down here in the shade, it may have gone down to eighty. He hoped he wasn’t getting sick.

  “Are we…” he stammered. “When we sleep, will we…”

  “We’ll take shifts, and make sure nothing steals our food,” Saskia said matter-of-factly.

  “Oh.” Tray nodded in agreement, but now he realized he’d be sitting for hours, alone with his thoughts, cold and wet, with no Virp to peruse. His thoughts kept going back to his father, and being kidnapped. Kerris had talked about being kidnapped and it triggered the memory. Tray had put it from his mind with thoughts of all the things they needed to be doing, but he wasn’t looking forward to the long night.

  “Why? Did you want to spoon, Mr. ‘we-shouldn’t-start-anything?’” she teased, giving him a wicked sneer.

  “I liked you better when you were silent and creepy,” Tray muttered.

  Saskia stopped him dead with a hand on his chest. He was about to make a remark, but the glint in her eye told him she was on the hunt. She dumped the bag of birds into his hands and drew a knife from the sheath on her wrist. There was some kind of giant pheasant walking past and picking at a bush. If they could catch it, they could turn back to the ship tonight and be warm and dry by morning.

  “Stay here,” Saskia mouthed, creeping off. Nodding, Tray let her stalk her prey. She moved stealthily, seeming to disappear into the shadows. He was alone with his muddled thoughts and a stash of food that made him a target for scavengers.

  Hawk’s eyes burned. He hadn’t felt heat like this since Sky had turned into a walking fireball. Kerris wasn’t like Sky—not exactly. And he wasn’t like Liza either. But he had hands. Silver ghost hands that reached out across the entire room. Hawk had seen them a dozen times in the past, reaching over them as they worked to gather the avalan, appearing inside the ship at times, pointed talons grazing the console. Everyone insisted the ghost wasn’t real, and of all the things he’d seen, those hands were among the least real to him. Until now.

  He dashed through the city, tripping over a small bot and smacking into one of the taller droids, knocking it over. Groaning in pain, he rolled to his side and rubbed his nose, checking to make sure it wasn’t bleeding. A red light blinked and an ambulance bot approached, rattling out questions in Lanvarian. His Virp picked up and translated the questions, and Hawk smacked the device. He was draining the battery.

  “Look at that! They really are drawn to you, aren’t they?” Kerris commented, jogging over to Hawk, stepping over the bots and droids that had gathered. “Wherever you are, the droids seek you out. What kind of hybrid are you?”

  The Virp translated and Hawk winced. It had turned on by itself. “What are you talking about?”

  “I didn’t mean to scare you,” Kerris said, stepping closer to Hawk. “You scared me.”

  He reached out, and Hawk saw the silver hand extending toward him again. Hawk grabbed the phantom limb at the wrist. Back at the bell tower, when he’d swatted, he’d felt physical resistance, and he wanted to see if he could hold onto it.

  “It wasn’t a mistake, then?” Kerris asked. “You see something I can’t. But I feel it. You can hurt me.”

  Hawk’s fingers trembled. He didn�
��t want to hurt Kerris, but he’d just discovered that he could touch a ghost hand. That meant he could touch Sky’s Sequesterer. Maybe he could wrestle it from her and free her from it.

  “Let go of me, please,” Kerris said.

  “The ghost disappeared. You don’t disappear,” Hawk said, squeezing the hand. It felt bony, but seemed to exude acidic smoke, making his hand burn.

  “You say Liza’s a ghost,” Kerris said. “Does she look anything like me?”

  “She’s the blue ghost,” Hawk nodded. “You—you’re silver.”

  “She’s blue?” Kerris said, a smile touching his lips.

  Hawk furrowed his brow, running his hand along something only he could see and only Kerris could feel. Kerris shuddered and the droids rattled.

  “Can you please let go of whatever you’re holding,” Kerris repeated. “That feels like something that shouldn’t be casually touched.”

  Hawk released the phantom hand, squirming uncomfortably as the request stirred unpleasant thoughts of forced breeding.

  “Come to Oriana with me. To Quin,” Hawk offered, putting a hand on Kerris’ shoulder. “We don’t have to stay here where everything and everyone is dead.”

  “It’s not safe,” Kerris murmured. Hawk felt a breeze come off Kerris, seeming to emanate like a bitter emotion. “It’s not safe in the world for us. That’s why we’re here. That’s why I brought Liza back.”

  “Trust me,” Hawk said, dragging Kerris toward the gate. Suddenly, the droids moved into their path, blocking the door.

  Kerris swept his hand, and his phantom arm extended, shoving the droids aside one by one. Some of them didn’t move. Others took flight, flipped through the air, and landed back in place, blockading the door.

  “What are you doing?” Hawk asked. “You want to leave, don’t you?”

  “I’m not doing it,” Kerris said, backing away from the droids. “Either you’re doing it, or I’m not in control anymore.”

  “I’m not doing it,” Hawk said.

  “Liza.” Kerris took Hawk’s hand and ran.

  “Hawk!” Danny called into the bay. He’d scoured the ship bridge to bay searching for the man. He should have known better than to leave the man unsupervised. Hawk had been sick for weeks and unconscious for days. He could be unconscious, suffocating in a pool of his own vomit!

  “Danny?” Amanda said groggily, rubbing her eyes as she stumbled into the galley. Her hair and clothing were askew, her skin splotchy, her eyes red. But she seemed lucid.

  “Hey, you,” Danny said, coming back into the galley and taking her hand. He guided her to the dining table.

  “How long?” she asked, looking down at her knees as though she couldn’t figure out how to bend them.

  “A little over a day,” Danny said, thumbing her cheek. “Do you want to eat something?”

  “I think so,” she said, lifting one foot then the other, then leaning on the table. It took her another minute to get her legs over the bench. Danny went to the stew pot and strained out some solid pieces for her. She wouldn’t drink the broth, and if he gave it to her, it’d either go to waste or wind up spilled over the table.

  “Why are you calling for Hawk?” Amanda asked.

  “He’s missing,” Danny said. She didn’t need much, and they didn’t have much.

  “You find him. Tray can help me,” she croaked, waving her hand, then burying her face in her elbow.

  “Tray and Saskia went to the forest to gather food,” Danny reminded her.

  “What about his Virp?” She rubbed her wrist, then lifted her head again, staring at her naked hand. “Right. No charge.”

  “I’ll be right back,” Danny said, setting the bowl of food in front of her and heading down into the bay again. There were still a few hiding places he hadn’t checked. Wind whistled through the bay, and Danny realized that the back door was cracked.

  “Hawk!” Danny called, poking his head outside, wincing at the fresh downpour of rain on his face. “Hawk, are you in the rain again? Hawk?”

  Danny gasped in surprise, seeing Liza standing just outside the gate to the city. The moonlight made her skin glow despite the rain soaking her hair and her clothes. “Liza,” Danny said, stepping out into the rain, holding up a hand to protect his face. “Have you seen Hawk out here?”

  “He’s inside,” Liza said, motioning over her shoulder. “He was upset, listening to Amanda. I could use a break from her as well.” She smoothed her clothes, gleaning water from the fabric, making her dress cling to her body.

  “Don’t be rude. She’s sick.” He didn’t like her making comments about Amanda’s psychosis. “We worried when you and Kerris ran off yesterday. Do you need help?”

  “We have it now,” she said, her tongue peeking between her soft, pink lips. “We have Hawk.”

  Danny bristled. “What do you mean?”

  “You can go. You don’t have to worry about us,” she said simply, leaning against the Dome wall casually, as if she didn’t feel the rain. “Kerris sabotaged your departure last time because he thought you’d taken me prisoner. He won’t stop you again. You can go.”

  Danny took a slow, controlled breath, absorbing the shock of the confession. It didn’t make sense. They’d tried to launch the ship before they’d even seen Kerris and Liza. When would Kerris have had time to sabotage the ship, and why would he think they’d taken Liza prisoner?

  “I’m afraid we don’t have the fuel to try a second time,” Danny said. “That’s why we need to find and disable the drones, so they don’t shoot our glider down when we fly up and signal for help to come.”

  Liza’s eyes narrowed, a bitter scowl overtaking her innocent expression. “That’s why you need Hawk back,” she growled.

  “I’m not leaving without him,” Danny said.

  Clenching her fists and tightening her jaw, Liza raised up on tiptoes, though at just under five feet, Danny dwarfed her. “You will leave,” she snarled. “He’s not a tool or a weapon or a slave of convenience. I won’t let you tie him down and breed him so that you can have more hybrids. I won’t! You’re evil, and you’re going to leave us alone!”

  “Liza, he’s not a slave,” Danny protested. He didn’t know what kinds of weapons she had for hunting, and Danny knew she didn’t need size and strength to bring him down.

  “Yes, he is,” Liza cried. “I’ve seen what you do to him; I’ve heard his screams. In his mind, he screams. He never stops.”

  “His mind… You’re Panoptica?” Danny asked, his jaw dropping in disbelief. “You’re a mind reader?”

  Liza didn’t deny it outright, but she was fuming so much, he wasn’t sure she heard him. “And what are you? What are you that I cannot see into you?” she demanded.

  Danny reeled. Amanda had said that Liza was a hybrid, getting into her head, stirring things up. “Where’s Hawk?” Danny demanded. “Let me talk to him!”

  He ran past Liza, but the gate slammed in his face. When he turned, Liza was gone. And now he understood why Hawk had been raving about ghosts.

  Running back to the ship, he scanned the bay for anything he could use for leverage to get into the city. They had a few of the yokes from their avalan hauling, and Danny grabbed the largest he could find.

  “What’s wrong?” Amanda asked, coming from the galley, sitting at the mid-level catwalk. Her head touched the railing and her eyes were half-shut, her focus drifting. Danny watched, praying that the calm would last.

  “Liza has Hawk,” Danny told her. “She’s locked him in the city. I have to go get him.”

  “Liza has Hawk?” Amanda repeated, her eyes rolling back into her head. “Liza. Liza…”

  “Zive, help her,” Danny prayed. Giving Amanda one last look, he hefted the long-wooden yoke onto his shoulders and ran to the gate. The rain had picked up, and the wind blew it sideways, nearly blowing him over.

  “Liza, let me in!” Danny said, wedging the yoke against the gate. It wasn’t narrow enough to get in and lever the door open.
He shoved it through one of the cracks that the greeter bot had come through, but the slate did not chip away easily. “Let me talk to him. I just need to talk to him!”

  He tossed the yoke aside and rammed his shoulder against the gate, but it didn’t budge. “Fuel,” he said to himself. The fuel in Hawk’s glider could give him the explosive power he needed to break in. But then a blinding light ignited behind him, casting long shadows against the Dome wall.

  Two droids hovered under the belly of the ship, aiming floodlights at Danny. All week, he’d been making these monstrous, boxy machines roll buckets of clay, watching them get stuck in the sand. Danny had studied those droids top to bottom, and he had no idea how they were flying.

  “What is happening?” Danny cried. “Liza, please! I just want to talk to him! I promised his father I’d take care of him!”

  A jolt of electricity shot through the air. Danny managed to dive out of the way, but felt a tingle in his feet as the ground absorbed the shock. All he had was a knife. No comms. He hoped Amanda had the sense to close the bay door. Danny ran around the edge of the Dome, looking for a crack big enough to squeeze through, but then the drones took flight, and swarmed around him.

  The sweet scent of cookies pulled Liza from her daydream, and she groaned contentedly. Stretching her body along the length of the worn, plaid couch, she tried to focus on her book and wait out the timer that would tell her when the first batch was finished. Liza was a slow reader, but she loved the art. She’d only learned to read a few years ago, when the Lansing tribe had adopted them. It was the first tribe they’d ever joined that had books and organized schooling.

  Liza frowned at the book in her hands, frustrated that the words weren’t coming easily to her. Her teacher had taught her to sound out the words and read aloud when she had trouble, and it was then that she noticed the letters weren’t in focus. She couldn’t even tell if the letters were there.

  Closing the book, Liza scanned the house. The walls were painted pale green, and there were dark, stone bookcases lining the walls. The curtains were drawn across the window. Liza pinched her skin and didn’t feel a thing.