Hybrid Zone Recognition

by C. E. Glines

  CHAPTER 13

  MORNING CAME TOO SOON IN my opinion. Laying there squinting at the sunlight that fell across my face, I spotted my suitcase against the wall. Miranda had probably brought that with her. Despite her recent lack of judgment concerning my need to know, she really was the best friend.

  I sat up and flung the covers aside. I had showered last night before turning in, but I was so tired that I hadn’t bothered to find clothing.

  Crossing the room to the suitcase, I stopped mid stride when I became aware of the complete absence of pain in my body. Bringing my hands up, I examined them but couldn’t find a single stitch. My knees were the same way. I couldn’t even identify any scars. Apparently, I now had super recuperative powers, too.

  “That is so cool,” I whispered in awe. “Definitely worth waking up for.”

  I laid the suitcase down and opened it. Rummaging through it, I quickly found and pulled on some underclothes and jeans. My search for a top turned up one of my favorite shirts. It was a rust colored, tie dyed t-shirt that read, you had me at deep fried. For sure, it wasn’t fashionable, but it did capture my sentiments regarding all things deep fried. Plus, it fit really well.

  I shrugged it on and went to stand in front of the mirror for inspection. I honestly didn’t know why I kept standing in front of mirrors, expecting some reflection of normalcy. How in the world was I going to get a brush through this rat’s nest? A knock at the door interrupted my consternation at the state of my hair.

  “Come in,” I yelled sourly. There wasn’t much use in hiding, and anyway, I might need whoever it was to help me tame this mess.

  The door popped open, and to my relief, Miranda walked in. I watched her eyes widen as she appraised the state of my hair.

  “What’s up with the hair? Get a little too cozy with the rodent population?”

  Ha, ha. I stuck my tongue out at her and began to search for a brush, though a blow torch might be more useful.

  “Look in the bathroom. There’s a bag on the counter by the sink,” Miranda instructed.

  I found the brush and returned to stand in front of the mirror again. Gingerly, I separated a section of my hair from the rest and started working from the bottom. I noticed Miranda had taken a seat on the end of the bed, and she was uncharacteristically silent.

  “You’re up early,” I told her. “Feeling alright this morning?” I watched her response in the mirror’s reflection, trying to gather some clue as to the source of her discomfort.

  She shrugged noncommittally, another sign of her distress. Miranda always had an opinion one way or the other. Looking up from the bedspread she was picking at, she found my eyes in the mirror. “How about you?”

  “Great. Hungry,” I said as I finished the section I’d been working on.

  She remained quiet while I worked at freeing another segment for detanglement. When I looked back up, she was eyeing me intently. So intently, that I started checking myself, looking for the source of her concern. When I could find nothing amiss, I paused my brushing.

  “Why are you staring at me?”

  “You’re not overwhelmed?”

  That was an odd question. I thought about it a minute. No, just felt like me. But looking at her fallen face, I could tell that she was. I gave up the struggle with my hair and went to sit next to her on the bed.

  Wrapping my arms around her, I asked, “You are?”

  Tears started tracking down her cheeks, and I sighed. For two people who hated to cry, we were sure doing more than our fair share.

  “Yeah,” she managed to croak out. “It’s just so intense.”

  “The shifting or Cedars?”

  She sat up, pulling out of my arms. “Both. We have this bond thing.” She stopped abruptly and looked at me. “Do you and Michaels have a bond?”

  Now I was the one uncomfortable. “We can speak to each other telepathically, if that’s what you mean.”

  “You don’t feel what he feels?”

  I thought about last night, how I’d felt his happiness from inside me. “Only one time. So far, at least. I think he can do some kind of shielding thing which shuts me out. I felt that, too,” I said with a frown. I wondered if he was shielding me out right now and why it bothered me if he was. We weren’t together, together. One tiny kiss did not a relationship make, right?

  “Well, he’s going to have to teach Jamie,” she said, wiping her nose with the back of her hand and pulling me back from my own thoughts.

  “Who’s Jamie?” I asked distractedly before I realized who she meant. “Oh, you mean Cedars?”

  “Yeah. His name is really Jamison, but I call him Jamie.”

  “Do you want me to mention it to Adam?”

  “Would you, please?” She got up and grabbed a tissue from the box on the dresser.

  “Of course, consider it done.” I paused as she blew her nose. Now, the hard part. “You feel what he feels?”

  “Everything,” she said. “Anger, fear, desire. And I can’t hide what I feel either. I feel so exposed.” She threw her hands out wide.

  Everything? That was a terrifying reality, especially for her. “Does he know about everything in your past?” I asked softly.

  “Yeah. I couldn’t keep it from him if I wanted to. Apparently, I project like a digital cinema.”

  That would be so embarrassing and humiliating. But maybe freeing, somehow?

  “Does it help to not have to hide anything?” I asked hopefully.

  “Time will tell, I guess. For you, too,” she said knowingly.

  That was what I was afraid of and something I didn’t want to think about right now.

  “About the shifting. When did your...When did you first shift?”

  She cleared her throat, and she was actually starting to blush.

  Oh, Jesus. I wiped my hands across my face. “Did anyone get hurt?”

  “No,” she said coyly.

  I did not need a rundown of her sex life. I wasn’t a prude, but I preferred to keep what was private, well, private. I hurried to my next question before she could elaborate. “So, how long have you been able to shift?” That should be a safe enough question.

  “Since two days after we were separated.”

  These nanobots acted almost as fast as she did. “And what abilities do you have?”

  She began to tick them off on her fingers. “I can shift my teeth, eyes, ears, and nails. And, I heal really fast. Food tastes different, too, but I don’t think that’s a super power.”

  Same as me. “Are you a cat too?”

  “No, a wolf.”

  Really? I pulled my feet underneath me on the bed as I pondered that. The whole idea of me being part cat and her part wolf was utterly absurd.

  “After the last two years with the Colony, did you ever think this would happen to us?” I asked her.

  “Not like this,” she snorted.

  She threw the tissue in the trash and flopped down on the bed next to me. I lay back beside her, and we both stared silently at the ceiling. Seemed like I could see paw prints everywhere in the textured pattern on the ceiling. I wondered if that was intentional or just my imagination.

  “So, we’re like Xmen reborn,” I said into the silence.

  “Superhero Mutants,” she retorted.

  “Do we have costumes?”

  She held open the cardigan, revealing the t-shirt it concealed.

  I rose up on my elbows and read aloud. “If I were an enzyme, I’d be a DNA helicase, so I could unzip your genes. Good enough,” I snickered.

  “Wait till you see what Cedars’ shirt says.”

  I pushed off the bed, sticking the brush in my back pocket for use later. “When’s breakfast around here?”

  “I cooked last night. You’re up next on the rotation.”

  I searched in the bag on the bathroom counter for a hair clip. Bingo.

  Miranda came to stand in the doorway, watching my meager attempts at taming my hair.

  “There’s a rotation?” I
asked while twisting my hair up and fastening the clip.

  “No,” she said, picking at the paint on the door jam. “I just know it’s not my turn.”

  I started brushing my teeth. She was trying to be upbeat, but I could tell she was still a little down. I didn’t know what she was worried about. I saw no signs of rejection from Cedars. If she wanted to get rid of him, she’d have to beat him off with a stick. A very big stick.

  I finished brushing and rinsed the last of the toothpaste out of my mouth.

  “That was disgusting,” she said, making a grossed out face.

  “But necessary,” I replied. “If you lived inside my mouth, you’d be thanking me right now.”

  “Yeah, I’ll just leave that up to Michaels,” she said, rolling her eyes and walking back into the bedroom.

  “Thanks for bringing my stuff,” I called after her.

  “You’re welcome. Thanks for listening.”

  I joined her in the bedroom. “Anytime. Shall we?” I said, heading for the door. “Someone told me I’m only getting breakfast if I make it myself.”

  She rolled off the bed and stood up. “I believe the actual comment was, you only get to eat if you make enough for everyone, or at least enough for me.”

  “Is that right?” I threw over my shoulder as I reached for the door knob.

  “You’re the new supposed queen of right. You tell me.”

  I turned from the door with the eyebrow cocked and ready. We stared at each other a few seconds and then burst into laughter.

  “I’ve missed you,” she said between laughs.

  I whole heartedly echoed her feeling.

  “Come on,” I said, opening the door.

  Our exit was met by Adam. His black t-shirt read, get out of my way. I failed to see the humor in that.

  “What are you two hens cackling at?” he asked.

  Hens? Seriously? What decade was he from? “I thought I was a cat,” I replied haughtily.

  Miranda snuck past me, squeezing my arm as she went.

  We watched her go, then he said, “It’s leopard, actually.” When I turned to face him, his eyes were on my chest, reading my shirt. “Why am I not surprised?” he said, shaking his head.

  “Deep frying is an art,” I said defensively. “Hey, if we are leopard, then why do we have elongated pupils? Leopards don’t have elongated pupils.”

  He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall, like he was preparing for a long explanation. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be too long. I was hungry.

  “Several of the proteins we use are slightly different than the leopards. It gives us the elongated pupil,” he said.

  “We didn’t get the map for the leopard protein?”

  “We did, but the nanobots consistently substitute the human protein.”

  “I’m sure there is a good explanation for that. They are following logic that was programmed into them, right?” I didn’t want to even think about the possibility of rogue nanobots.

  He smiled down at me with that condescending way he had. “There is and they are.”

  He knew I wanted more information, but he wasn’t offering. I’d have to pull it out of him one little scrap at a time. Before I could delve any deeper, my stomach grumbled loudly. I rolled my eyes at my stomach’s display and timing.

  “I heard a rumor you were making breakfast,” he snorted.

  “Possibly,” I quipped.

  “You any good?”

  That could be taken in so many ways. I raised my eyebrows at him for clarification.

  “I meant at cooking,” he growled softly.

  “I guess you’ll just have to find out for yourself,” I said. Starting down the stairs, I threw out a challenge. “Better yet, help me, and you’ll get to watch a master at work.”

  He barked a laugh at me while following me down the stairs, muttering, “Lead on, master, lead on.”

  Oh, I would. One could not love food the way I did and not know how to cook.

  Standing at the bottom of the stairs, I could have sworn I’d entered a texted t-shirt convention. Pike’s t-shirt read, the cat did it. I was sure that was a dig at Adam.

  Juarez’s was just scary. Somehow the words, I can find you any time, any place and make sure you don’t come back, scrawled in bold black letters across a t-shirt didn’t inspire the warm and fuzzes. Olivia hadn’t come down yet, so that left only Cedars. I was trying to wipe from my mind what was written on his shirt.

  “Do you guys own a t-shirt screening shop?” I asked, perplexed at the display and a little frightened that I had unknowingly mimicked their clothing choices.

  “It’s just a thing,” Adam said as he picked up a coffee cup. “Something we do after a mission.”

  They got t-shirts? That wasn’t much of a bonus.

  “Just so we’re clear. I like jewelry. Silver jewelry to be exact. I figure after what I’ve been through, I’m good for at least earrings, a necklace and several bracelets.”

  “Is that right?” Adam asked, looking sideways at me.

  “Oh, yes. Yes it is,” I nodded vigorously.

  Adam added a copious amount of sugar and cream to the cup and then handed it to me. I eyed him suspiciously while cautiously accepting the mug. Just how long had he been observing me? I took a sip. Not bad. Being observed had its benefits.

  To my surprise, Adam followed directions really well. He didn’t argue once, and the deftness with which he carried out my instructions led me to believe he knew his way around the kitchen.

  At one point, I almost burned the bacon. I got lost in the sight of him licking bacon grease from his fingers. He didn’t say a word. He didn’t have to. That smug look on his face said it all. He just took my spatula and moved me over. I retreated a safe distance away to the other side of the island, where I started compiling a fruit salad. I had to ignore his soft laughter I could hear behind me.

  When we were done, we beheld our finished product. It wasn’t exactly masterful, and there wasn’t anything deep fried on the menu, but it was still a decent spread. There were biscuits and gravy, bacon and eggs, the fruit salad and cheese grits.

  Adam came up behind me and placed his hands on my shoulders. “Nicely done,” he whispered.

  I looked down to hide the unexpected blush that stained my cheeks. I wasn’t used to compliments from him, and much to my embarrassment, it showed.

  Adam suddenly tensed, and I looked up to find Pike’s gaze locked with Adam’s. This was ridiculous and irritating and had to stop. I was no one’s possession and fighting over me would not win them any points.

  The problem was, I had no idea how to make it stop. As a general rule, I didn’t manipulate people, and my relationship experience was tenuous at best. I’d had a few boyfriends here and there in the past, but nothing ever serious and certainly nothing approximating this situation. I concluded I was just going to have to wing it. I was becoming less and less a fan of on the job training.

  I turned to face Adam. The movement forced him to drop his arms to his sides. Putting both my hands squarely on his chest, I said softly, “Adam.” When he didn’t respond to my verbal query, I switched to the nonverbal. Along with his name, I tried to convey my need for him to look at me. Adam.

  He shifted his eyes to mine, and I wasted no time making my point.

  Leave Pike alone. When his eyebrows knitted together in a frown, I argued what to me seemed obvious. I don’t belong to you. That only deepened his frown. I don’t belong to Pike either, I added quickly. And I’m certainly not going to belong to someone because they won me in a fight.

  That seemed to get his attention. His eyebrows went back to their respective homes, leaving me staring into his bright emerald eyes. My courage, that had been fully present just a moment ago, left me high and dry. I swallowed at the sudden dryness in my throat. All this testosterone filled closeness was seriously cutting into my juju.

  I looked down, freeing myself from his gaze, and absently began to trace the letters o
n his shirt. Without the distraction of his eyes, I was better able to concentrate, and I could tell that not all of the tension had subsided.

  Think, I growled to myself. I had told Olivia that I would try to work with this. I didn’t want to fail her again and be subjected to her schoolmarm looks of disapproval. They were beyond annoying.

  So, what did his alphaness need? The realization of what he needed suddenly became clear—to feel more important than Pike. That was completely childish, doable, but childish.

  I recognized that it was also childish to be flattered by having two guys vying for my attention. But try as hard as I might to deny it, I couldn’t. So, here was a side of myself I’d never known. I felt empowered somehow. I had some measure of control over this man…beast? Probably more beast than man present at the moment.

  I decided, by right of winging it, to test my new found power over him. On completely new territory without the slightest hint of knowing what I was doing, I leaned in and whispered, Adam, who did I choose to help me with breakfast, and who am I standing really close to right now?

  I felt the last of the tension drain from him and ventured a look up. I was immediately ensconced in his eyes again. If not careful, a girl could get lost in those eyes. Wouldn’t really take much at all.

  Gathering what courage I could, I said, “We should call everyone to eat before the food gets cold.”

  My prompting effectively ended the intimacy that had developed between us. He sighed and brushed a rebellious strand of hair behind my ear. Then he let his hand drop and backed away from me.

  Whew, crisis averted. Did Olivia have to do this all the time?

  I was startled by Adam’s sudden whistle. He followed it with a shout of “Breakfast!”

  “Warn a girl next time, will ya?” I said with my hands still covering my ears.

  He smiled mischievously as he walked to the other side of the island. There he went again with the happiness at my discomfort. We were going to have to do something about that.

  Everyone served themselves and gathered at the table between the kitchen and living areas. As the meal wound down, Miranda leaned back in her chair with a satisfied look on her face and exaggeratedly rubbed circles across her stomach with her hand.