The Evolution Trilogy: Hybrid, Complications & Return

by Vanessa Wester

  She gave him a cheeky smile. ‘You may be able to read me, but I can read you too. Don’t forget that.’

  ‘I won’t.’ His smile said it all. ‘Are you hungry?’

  ‘Actually, yes, I am. I think my stomach needs food to recover from my binge last night.’ She stopped and thought carefully about her next words. ‘I err, don’t usually get drunk. You realise that, right?’

  ‘I’m not in a position to judge, am I?’ He sat up straight in the chair and shrugged his shoulders.

  Her hands felt superfluous on her lap. ‘I guess not. I just don’t want you to think that it’s what I do now. It was just something I needed last night. As you can see I’m not going to repeat that in a hurry.’

  ‘What you do is your choice. I never would. Not just because I never did before, but because now I have no idea what would happen if I did. I might go AWOL. You never know.’ He raised his eyebrows in what looked like an attempt to look funny. It just looked silly.

  Caitlin could not stop herself from laughing out loud. Once recovered, she asked, ‘I can’t actually imagine you as scary. What happens? Can you tell me? Are you really scary?’

  Steven gave a raucous laugh. She did not think it was that funny.

  ‘What?’ She wanted to be included in the joke?

  ‘Your face, it’s just classic, I have no idea if I’m scary. I don’t think so. I know mind control is effective, but it’s still early days. I don’t know what I’ll do.’

  It sounded like an honest answer.

  Caitlin lay back on the pillow and thought about what she wanted to know. She had no idea where to start. She tried to ignore her throbbing head.

  ***

  Something about the way Caitlin tilted her head back and pursed her lips convinced Steven she was about to embark on her next line of questioning. Yet, he could see her eyes were weary. He decided to make himself useful. ‘I’ll go make you some food.’

  She straightened up and smiled. ‘That would be great. I’m famished.’

  ‘I’ll get breakfast. Don’t want you getting up with your bad ankle and all. Can I get anything?’ He knew what students were like from the short time he’d been at university.

  ‘Get whatever, I’ll square up with Gemma and Sally later on. A cup of tea would be great,’ she gave a cheeky grin.

  Steven froze. ‘Sally?’

  ‘Yeah Sally, my other flatmate, don’t you remember her?’

  ‘I didn’t think you got on with Sally, you mean the one that went out with my old mate, Adam?’

  ‘Yeah, that’s the one. Is it a problem?’ Caitlin looked puzzled.

  ‘No, not at all, glad she’s still your friend. She just reminded me of a different time, that’s all.’

  He made his way down and got busy. He hoped he didn’t bump into Sally, the last thing he needed was someone else who might remember him.

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  Chapter 36

  Introducing The Amazon

  Half an hour later, Steven entered the room with two refilled mugs and a couple of plates laden with sausages, baked beans, fried eggs and a few rounds of buttered toast. He put them down by the bedside table. He had to admit he was impressed with his balancing act. The community had taught him a lot more than he wanted to credit it for. Caitlin’s eyes were closed, her mouth slightly open as she breathed deeply.

  He leant over and kissed her lips.

  The corners of her lips curled up and her eyes fluttered open. ‘Sorry, I was just dozing.’

  ‘It’s alright sleepy head. Hungry?’

  Caitlin stretched and sat up. ‘Absolutely.’

  ‘I made you tea this time.’

  ‘Thank you.’ She took the cup and practically drained it in the first slug. Her eyes widened.

  Steven sipped his coffee and picked up her plate. ‘Food is served.’

  Caitlin balanced it on her lap. ‘Scrummy.’ She started to tuck in. After a few hungry mouthfuls, she gazed up. ‘So, do you age? Your uncle was not exactly old, he was our age.’

  Steven finished his mouthful and gave a half smile, he felt remotely smug. He knew she was going to start with the questions. She didn’t miss a thing. He sipped his coffee and replied, ‘I will remain this way for a long time.’

  ‘Really, you’ll stay looking the same.’ She cocked her head to the side. ‘That’s weird. Guess you won’t be able to hang around the same place for long.’

  ‘No, I guess not.’ He hadn’t really given it too much thought.

  After a few minutes, Caitlin put the now empty plate on the side and drank the last of the tea.

  ‘Another?’ he asked.

  She leant back on the headboard. ‘I’d love another.’

  Steven collated the plates and mugs. ‘Coming right up.’ It would give him a few minutes of respite. He was sure the questions were mulling around in that pretty little head of hers now.

  When he returned Caitlin had perked up a bit. Her eyes did not look quite as glazed and she was sat up, a magazine discarded next to her when he arrived.

  ‘The ankle okay?’ he asked.

  ‘It’s fine.’ Her eyes stared into space, lost in thought again. ‘So, you said your grandmother died. Shouldn’t you all be immortal or something like that?’ She gave an uneasy laugh.

  He chuckled. ‘Well, we all thought so until a few weeks ago. If what I saw from my grandparents is true, in the end the aging process speeds up before you die naturally. It looks like we can choose to die. My grandmother, Judith, decided to let go first, she was back home. I think she didn’t want to kill for blood anymore, she told me she had lived long enough.’

  ‘How old was she?’ Caitlin fiddled with the duvet cover.

  ‘She was 116 years old.’

  Caitlin’s jaw dropped. ‘Wow.’

  ‘She told me other normal humans have also lived that long, and it is all true – I checked. I don’t think she thought she was that special.’

  Caitlin shook her head. ‘It’s a lot longer than most people live.

  Steven nodded.

  ‘So what happened next?’ Caitlin’s eyes glimmered. He suspected she found this all rather intriguing.

  ‘Well, my grandfather, Jeff, was devastated, as you can imagine. He didn’t want to live without her. So, he gave up on life too.’

  Caitlin let out a low whistle. ‘They must have been really in love.’

  ‘They were.’ Steven gulped for the first time. Talking about them choked him. He took a sip of coffee, composed himself, and continued, ‘Anyway, they both abstained from having blood. We have no way of knowing if they would have died anyway, it’s an unknown. The only thing I know is that Judith died first and Jeff managed to extend his life by drinking more blood. So, the chances are that there is a link. Then again, different people die at different times. There is no logical reason why someone might not die later from natural causes. We know there is no way to tell how long anyone will live.’

  ‘I guess, but everyone ages in the end, as in their physical appearance changes. Yours doesn’t. So, in a way, you really are like a vampire? You needed blood to change and you need blood to stay young.’

  ‘In a crude form, yes, I guess I am. Do I look like one to you?’ He cocked his head to the side and snarled, curling his hands.

  Caitlin laughed again. ‘No, you look silly. Not scary.’

  ‘Well there you go.’

  Caitlin put her tea down, she looked ready for another round of questions. ‘So, what happened in the Amazon? The dream stopped when you got there. It looked amazing, by the way.’

  ‘In the middle of nowhere, if you ask me.’ He could not help rolling his eyes.

  ‘Tell me about it.’ She twirled a strand of hair in her finger.

  ‘You sure you want to know?’

  ‘Yes.’ She folded her arms and snuggled under the covers, in the long stay department.

  ‘Right, where do I begin?’

  As he started to tell her about the months in the comm
unity, he wondered whether she should know everything. Should he tell her about his one night stand with Lucy? Did she need to know everything? It might be better to keep quiet about some things for now.

  ***

  Caitlin blinked and tried to stay focused. Her head throbbed, her stomach cramped and she was exhausted. She had asked Steven to tell her about it, now she was not sure she wanted to know. She could not believe he had been through such an experience. To be honest, nothing he said scared her. The opposite, in fact, it intrigued her. What a logical world. What a place. She wanted to see it. She wanted to be a part of that community, away from the constraints of modern life. They sounded so powerful.

  Steven stopped talking and laughed. ‘Caitlin, your eyes are about to close. Shall I tell you the rest later?’

  She pried her eyes open and rubbed them hard. ‘It sounds amazing. I can’t believe an entire community exists hidden within the confines of the Amazon. And your friends sound nice – Jensen in particular. Don’t you miss them?’ She fought back against her weakness.

  ‘He’s a good friend. I missed you more. Do you mind if I lie next to you? It’s been a while. I promise I won’t do anything untoward.’

  Was she being a complete floozy for wanting him to do something untoward? ‘Come here.’

  He gave a half smile and sat down on the bed. Since it was only a single bed, she shuffled over to the wall and he squeezed in next to her. At first, neither knew what to do. Caitlin was not going to make the first move. Then Steven slid his hand into hers and started to rub his thumb inside her palm. She turned to face him and before she knew what was happening they were kissing. It was not a hungry kiss. It was soft, gentle, more like yearning.

  When they took a breath she leant her head against his chest and he put his arm around her. She closed her eyes, relaxed and floated away to the land of dreams, a place where everything was possible.

  When she woke up, she noticed some saliva had dribbled down the side of her lip. She must have been in a deep sleep. Steven was still there, she hugged him tighter. Her mouth had a rancid taste to it – she would never, ever drink again. ‘How long have I been out for?’

  ‘A few hours,’ he said, and rubbed her arm with his hand.

  ‘Really? Sorry, I’m such a sleepy head. Bad night, I guess,’ she gave an awkward chuckle. ‘I won’t be doing that again in a hurry.’

  ‘We’ll see.’ His voice betrayed his uncertainty.

  ‘Did I snore?’ she gasped.

  ‘Well, do you want the truth or the polite answer?’ He was amused, she could tell.

  She did not dare look at him. ‘I snored, didn’t I?’ It was so embarrassing.

  ‘You said it, not me.’

  She felt him shrug his shoulders. ‘I need the loo, can you help me?’

  ‘Sure.’ He got off the bed, and held out his arm.

  Her foot hurt more now, she was going to have to take some painkillers. She leant against him, hopped on her good foot and put on a brave face. He practically lifted her off the floor as he helped her out of the room and the pain eased.

  Once through the bathroom door, she thanked him and shut it. Then she hopped over to the sink and splashed water on her face. She went to the toilet, relieved she was using it for its standard use again. Then she brushed her teeth. The smell of alcohol and sick still lingered. Finally, she hopped back to the door. He leant against the balustrade. In the dim light of the hallway he looked so mysterious. There was a huge part of her that could not believe he was actually there waiting for her. It was shocking really.

  ‘Ready?’ he asked, breaking the image of statuesque perfection.

  ‘Shall we go down and get some lunch?’

  ‘I’m not sure you’re up to it. Are you?’

  He had a point. ‘I’ll manage.’ She wasn’t going to stay in her room all day.

  He held out his arm again. With his help, she hobbled down the stairs and made it to the kitchen.

  Sally was there with Justin.

  ‘Hey, what happened to you?’ Sally asked. Then she turned to look at Steven and flicked her hair. When she did she froze for a moment, but recovered a second later. ‘Do I know you?’ The way she concentrated on his features was intense.

  Justin flinched and did a quick double take. Caitlin couldn’t blame him. It did look like Sally was checking Steven out. Caitlin suspected there was more to it.

  ‘This is Simon, my boyfriend. Simon, this is Sally and Justin.’

  Steven nodded. Caitlin could tell he was avoiding eye contact.

  ‘Boyfriend? You kept that one quiet,’ Sally said, now running her hand through her hair.

  Justin came behind Sally and hugged her. ‘Shall we go out? Get some lunch. I fancy going out with my girl.’

  Sally turned, faced Justin and they started to kiss. It felt like they were at it for hours. It was almost pornographic.

  ‘Let’s go then, handsome,’ Sally said, as she peeled off Justin, who looked dazed. ‘See you around Steven. I’m still sure I’ve met you before.’ The way she laughed was eerie.

  But what really irked Caitlin was the fact she stared at Steven when she said handsome. Caitlin could not help the venomous tone as she corrected Sally. ‘His name is Simon.’

  Sally paused, ‘What did I say?’

  ‘You said Steven,’ Caitlin said.

  ‘Oh, sorry about that Simon, you looked like a Steven to me.’ She chuckled as she strolled off.

  Sally was such a flirt. Caitlin could not understand how she had managed to share a flat with two of the biggest flirts on campus. It was interesting, she never remembered Sally showing any interest in Steven before. Did she see something different now?

  Once they were gone, Caitlin voiced her thoughts. ‘Weird? Do you think she remembers you?’

  ‘Maybe,’ Steven smiled. ‘Anyway, do you have any food?’

  ‘No, I have to go shopping,’ she sighed. Two male visitors and she could not impress either of them.

  ‘I have a confession to make,’ Steven said, after he helped her sit on a chair.

  ‘Surprise me,’ Caitlin said. Was there more?

  ‘Well, whilst you slept I went shopping. I realised your food cupboard was pretty awful. So, you do actually have food.’ He gave a cheeky grin.

  ‘Wow…’ She really was speechless. It was nice to be looked after for a change.

  ‘I was going to make pasta with chicken in a pesto sauce, you like?’

  ‘Yes, you know I like. Did you also buy parmesan?’ She felt like a giddy school kid.

  ‘I did.’ Steven busied himself, pouring water into a pot and putting a proportionate amount of pasta in to boil.

  ‘Wow, you got domesticated. Is it me or did you get housetrained whilst you were away?’ There was a real chance she would like this new Steven even more than the old one.

  ‘I had to do a lot of stuff I’d never done before whilst I was away. So, I guess I’ve got some new life skills.’ He glanced back, smiled and then got busy with the chicken. He opened the packet, took the fillets out, placed them on the board and started to cut them up. ‘I even got desert.’

  She was really, really impressed. ‘What did you get?’

  ‘Not telling, later.’

  She gave a sly smile and huffed, ‘Same as always. So, do you turn all the girls’ heads, or do you think Sally recognised you?’

  ‘Probably, to both, it was strange.’

  ‘You must have had some attention at the community. You have not told me about that? What about this Ingrid?’

  He took out the frying pan, drizzled in some oil and put on the heat. ‘I had some attention.’

  Watching him cook was hypnotic. ‘Annnd? If we’re going to be honest with each other, we might as well start here.’

  The pasta started to bubble over, so he lowered the heat and gave it a proficient stir before he put it back on the hob. He put the chicken in and it started to sizzle.

  ‘There were a few girls who wanted to get to know
me better.’

  ‘I expected that, and you weren’t tempted?’ She would have serious competition now. She was gobsmacked. He was too good to be true.

  He tossed the chicken around. Satisfied, he opened the jar of pesto and poured it in. The smell overwhelmed.

  Then he turned around, his eyes serious, and folded his arms over his chest. ‘I only wanted you, you have to know that. It’s just well, there was one time. It didn’t mean anything. It just happened.’

  A part of her was jealous he’d been with someone else, she could not deny it. ‘I can’t exactly claim innocence, I was with Daniel too.’

  ‘I’m not keeping score.’ He turned and stirred.

  ‘Neither am I. I was trying to say that it doesn’t matter.’ Why had the conversation turned again? She could not help thinking this was what it was going to be like. She was so sensitive.

  ‘It matters to me. I didn’t plan to sleep with anyone else. I wanted to be with you. I was just lonely.’ His expression said it all.

  If her foot didn’t hurt so much she would have gone over. She was not bothered – how could she be? He looked so sad, full of regret. Instead, she reached out to him with her hand and motioned him to come over.

  He unfolded his arms and walked towards her. As soon as he was close enough she took hold of his hand, pulled him down and kissed him. Mutual understanding reached.

  The sound of the pasta boiling over again made him jump up. ‘You really shouldn’t distract me. I think it’s ready anyway.’ He got some plates, drained the pasta and shared it out. He placed the chicken on top. A sprinkle of parmesan finished it off.

  Caitlin was so hungry, and it wasn’t just for the food.

  ‘Your food, señorita,’ he smiled.

  ‘Thank you.’ She could get used to this. ‘Still speaking some Spanish then?’

  ‘A little, it was handy in the community. A huge portion of the population is of Spanish descent.’ He pinched the chicken with his fork and took a bite.

  ‘Really?’ It was now even more interesting.

  As they ate, she could not help thinking things had become too normal.

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