Distracted, she bumped into the person behind her and a dull thud followed. She watched in horror as her bag, and all its contents, scattered on the floor like a wave. Frazzled, she leant down to pick everything up.
A deep male voice caught her off guard as it apologised. It was followed by a pair of toned masculine hands that reached out to help. They looked interesting.
Caitlin looked up to see who it was and time seemed to stop. Transfixed, she gawped with a slightly open mouth.
Conscious of the fact he had spoken, she snapped out of the trance and focused. She could feel the heat radiating off her cheeks.
‘Hello.’ His expression was one of amusement.
‘Erm, err, yeah, hello,’ she stuttered.
Mesmerised, she stared. It was probably rude but she didn’t care. His hair was thick, wavy and practically black in colour, and he towered above her by quite a few inches. But it was the eyes that intrigued her the most. She had never seen amber coloured eyes with such exquisite detail. They looked like cats eyes, framed by dark, thick lashes and a perfect face.
‘Are you a swimmer?’ he asked, as he handed over the swimming club leaflet.
His received pronunciation gave away his upbringing. It was polished and refined, as expected of someone from a posh background. It wouldn’t surprise her if he had attended something poncy like boarding school.
‘I–I guess so, but I’m considering my options,’ she said, holding up the water polo flyer. Nervous, she looked to the right, unable to maintain eye contact.
‘Interesting.’ He took a step forward and moved towards the swimming stand. ‘Well, I might see you around. Sorry to make your things fall like that.’
She could not believe he was apologizing.
Her jaw dropped as she saw him picking up the same leaflet she had only just been browsing. If he was a swimmer, hell would freeze over before anyone stopped her joining. Paranoid, she re-joined her flatmate Georgina and casually glanced in his direction. She muttered under her breath, ‘I didn’t even say sorry for being such a klutz.’
Deep down she knew it didn’t matter if she did come across him again. There was a zero chance someone like that would be interested in someone like her.
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Chapter 1
Restless Minds
Caitlin hadn’t said a word to Steven in hours. She had to admit she was worried his mother, Emily, would hear. She glanced over her shoulder and stared at the misshapen body slumped on the back seat. It was a sorry sight, twisted at an odd angle. Emily’s face retained an angelic expression as she slept.
Steven refused to sit next to Emily, and had taken the wheel. It was obvious she was not going anywhere in a hurry. She wondered if it was cruel to let Emily suffer, frankly she was past caring. That woman was evil and she scared Caitlin.
Caitlin struggled to understand how Emily could have killed Steven’s stepmother, the mother who had loved and raised him. With murder, Emily had ensured that her only son would never, ever care about her. She was convinced the only reason he kept her alive was because he had a conscience.
Caitlin had no idea what they were planning to do, but she suspected Steven would leave Emily in the capable hands of the community.
The community.
Caitlin struggled to come to terms with everything that had happened over the past few weeks. Her life had been turned upside down when Steven changed her. A new life waited, the old one no longer accessible to someone like her – a killer, freak of nature, or even, a vampire. She struggled to understand why she had allowed Steven to change her, to make her like him. What had she been thinking?
The signs for Southampton Airport Parkway meant they were getting close, so she broke the silence. ‘Are we going back to the house?’
‘I don’t think we have any choice,’ Steven replied. His hand covered hers for a second and he gave a worried smile. ‘You okay?’
Caitlin wanted to laugh, but she refrained herself. ‘I’m as good as could be expected.’
‘Right.’ He pursed his lips.
‘Steven,’ she sighed, ‘you know what I mean.’
‘It’s okay, you don’t have to be nice. This situation is, well, just a disaster. A man is supposed to protect the woman he loves not destroy her life.’
Caitlin put her hand on his leg, ‘Steven, you were never meant to be my protector. This is not a fairy-tale. There is no way to ever determine what life throws at us. This could be fate, you never know. Ever thought of that?’
‘Fate?’ he scowled. ‘In that case, I hate fate. Fate took the only mother I have ever known away,’ he sounded choked, ‘the fact it was via the hand of my real mother makes me think fate is a real joker.’
Caitlin withdrew her hand. He was right of course.
In his rage, Steven had nearly strangled Emily.
Caitlin knew they were very strong, almost superhuman. It felt wrong to think it now, but a part of her could not wait to explore the facets of what she had become. Steven had made her as close to an immortal as any human was ever likely to get. Of course, they knew they were not immortal, death would come to get them one day.
Saying that, from what she knew, they did not change appearance for a long time, had inhuman strength, were all extremely smart, and had certain extra gifts thrown in. She wondered what her something special would be. Steven could use echolocation to track things down from a great distance. It was a nifty skill. She did hope whatever she was good at would be really, really clever.
‘Sorry,’ Caitlin apologised. She did not want to say sorry, but she thought she should. ‘It was wrong of me to say fate could make this all happen. I’m really sorry about your mum.’
Steven rubbed her hand gently. ‘It’s okay. Maybe fate has its hand on some, but not all, of it.’
‘Maybe,’ Caitlin gave a half-smile. ‘We should go out tonight and just have a good time.’
Steven put his hand back on the steering wheel. ‘Caitlin, do you get that we have some serious problems. We can’t just go out. What if…?’ he trailed, lost in thought.
‘What if…?’ Caitlin repeated. She needed to know where he was going with this.
Steven gave her a quick glance, she loved his amber eyes. She could look at those forever. She was glad he wouldn’t age. It would be a shame for a face that perfect to get lost through old age.
‘Please remember. What if you get tempted, what if I get tempted? I don’t think we want to kill near home, do you?’
Caitlin sighed again, ‘Steven, if we need to drink blood, we need to drink blood. Stop apologising for what we are. You changed me into what I am. I have to live with this for the rest of my life, as do you. No point feeling bad about it. Why do you feel bad about what you are?’
Steven became deep in thought and stared ahead for a few minutes. Caitlin looked away, not knowing what to say. She was not going to spend the rest of her life feeling sorry for herself. She had been there, done that. She was ready to be a new person, a person who did not wallow in self-pity and worry about everything. In fact, she was not going to worry at all. She would let the wind take her.
She was a free spirit – within reason of course.
***
Steven did not know what to say. When he had been taken away the previous year and forced to leave everyone he loved behind so that he could make the change, he hated everything about the community he supposedly belonged to. He did not want to have to drink blood, animal or human. He did not want to kill. Yet, he had killed and he was stronger for it. He had learned to hunt, share, and survive when he lived in the Amazon jungle. He had found out about his ancestors, about the accident that made them what they had become.
He still struggled to believe his kind had evolved after mutated bats bit them and changed them into a new type of humanity. It was a fantasy, and now he knew they could also change humans. He was the hybrid child. Caitlin was the second ever changed human, his grandmother the first. He could not understa
nd why his grandparents had chosen to share the secret with him. Either way, he regretted having changed Caitlin. It had been a reckless act, a moment of insanity.
Worst of all, he had no idea what the community would make of them.
They had accepted him when he lived there, but he sensed a lot of suspicion and he knew some resented him. They were both mongrels, not pure breeds. His real mother, sat on the back seat, was pure. She was one of the first to be bitten by the bats. She was one of the originals. Yet, she was crazy. It seemed to him like she was the reason all the safeguards were implemented in the community. She had been out of control from the start. She had made the originals scared that more would be just like her, ruthless killers.
‘You know Emily killed many people, don’t you?’ He had to try to explain.
‘I guess, but why does it matter what she did? You can’t live your life based on someone else’s mistakes.’
Caitlin seemed to see the world in black or white, she used to see things in grey. ‘No, true,’ he paused, ‘but, there’s no need to repeat them. Emily killed many humans for her survival, and most of it happened when she was amongst humans. She has no control. We have to be different. I don’t think we can live in a world where we can kill at will.’
‘It sounds to me like the community has everything we need. Why would we want to live in the open when we can live there?’
‘It’s not that simple, the community is designed well, but it is also designed to keep people in. It’s a community where people are self-sufficient, but in a cage nonetheless,’ he bit his lower lip. ‘Do you want to lose your freedom?’
‘When you put it like that, no. Why would anyone want to lose their freedom?’
Steven could tell he was finally putting his point across. The sound of her voice alone told him she did not like the idea of living in a cage. ‘So, you have to learn control. Otherwise, we’ll end up like her.’ He thumbed towards the back seat, glanced in the rear-view mirror and grimaced as he saw she was awake.
***
A muffled sound in the back made Caitlin turn. She jumped back in the seat when she saw Emily’s eyes open, glaring at her. The strangest thing was they were the same colour as Steven’s. Now she came to think of it, Steven looked a lot like his mother.
‘My son has a valid point,’ the hoarse, muffled voice of Emily was disturbing. ‘I certainly never wanted to live in a cage, because that is exactly what the community is.’
Steven narrowed his eyes. Caitlin flinched as she looked from Steven to Emily, she did not like where this was going.
Steven spoke slowly, ‘But if you break the rules and threaten to expose the community then you don’t deserve to leave, especially when you’re a cold, calculating and ruthless murderer.’
‘Perhaps,’ there was amusement in her tone, ‘but, I’m not the one who told a human about us. I’m not the one that actually threatens to expose us. Who is this girl, Steven? Who are you, my dear?’
Caitlin’s jaw dropped, she had no idea what to reply.
Steven saved her. ‘She’s not your concern, and we don’t have to explain anything to you. You’re nothing to me, nothing.’
Caitlin could not help noticing the way Emily’s eyes drooped – she did care what he thought. She stared at Caitlin, gave a small smile and then closed her eyes.
Caitlin put her hand behind Steven’s neck and gave it a slow rub, then ran her hand down the base of his skull and gave him a gentle massage.
Steven eased back into her hand, turned to the left and kissed her arm, ‘Thank you. I needed that.’
‘I know.’ Caitlin smiled. ‘What are we going to do?’ She knew it was a loaded question. She wanted to add, ‘With Emily.’ But she knew she didn’t have to.
‘The only thing we can,’ his eyes expressed a sadness his voice hid.
***
Emily was outraged. It was bad enough she had allowed herself to get overpowered by Steven. For a moment she actually considered giving up on life, but death was not waiting for her yet. She needed more time, there was more she had to achieve in this life. The problem was she had become immobile, there was nothing she could do. She needed to get some human blood, it was the only way she would heal.
The question was how.
Her foolish son and that girl had and gone and left her alone, she could not believe they had done that. She had yelled, but her voice could not carry at all and eventually she gave up. She knew there was no-one in the house but her.
Something told her she was paralysed, and the thirst was killing her.
They had left her to die.
Even though she knew that by killing Steven’s beloved stepmother she had stooped to a new low, she never expected this. She never expected his hatred.
The girl knew too much.
It was strange they planned to move to the community, impossible even. The girl would never survive there, unless… unless, Steven had done something. Her mind clicked and whirred as all the facts aligned.
Her mother, Judith, had chosen to die. Her father, Jeff, had chosen to die. She wondered, cursing aloud, if her mother had lied. Could it be true that her mother had never been bitten by the bats? Emily remembered a vague admission, followed by a denial when Emily had pressed the point later on.
The thing was if her mother had not been bitten by the bats, then someone must have changed her, made her like one of them. The only person capable of doing that was her dad. He was the only one that would have wanted it.
If this was true, they must have told Steven how to do it. The girl could have been changed. Her eyes narrowed as anger took over. She failed to understand why her parents had trusted her son, when they had not trusted her. She could have had a life with Steven’s dad if they had told her there was a way.
It was not fair. Nothing in her life was ever fair.
There had to be a way to get to the girl.
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Chapter 2
Community Meeting
For someone like Ian, to admit defeat or even to acknowledge he was to blame for anything was a hard pill to swallow. But, swallow it he would. It did not matter he had not done anything personally, his family had. Now, he had to account for their actions. He had to represent them and take the heat. The situation sucked – big time. If it wasn’t for his principles, he would have disowned his parents. He shuddered at the thought. Even he could not do that.
It seemed unreal that as the youngest son he bore the weight of responsibility for the Roberts family on his shoulders. His father, Jeff, the founder of the community was dead. His mother, Judith, was also dead. His sister, Emily, was missing and his two older sisters were traumatised at the loss of their parents.
As an Englishman, he had to maintain his composure. He would not fall to pieces so easily. He squeezed his wife’s hand, Carmen, who offered him a constant sanctuary. His beautiful and patient Spanish wife was his soul mate. He could not imagine life without her. He had to admit he was just like his dad in that regard, which was why deep down he could not resent his dad for giving up on life when his mum died. Regardless, it did not make the situation any easier to handle.
He watched the faces of the others as they arrived and noted the fact no-one made eye contact. This was unchartered territory after all. It was inevitable that a meeting would be called, but it still unnerved him. If anyone had a problem in the past, his father always had the solution and his mother became the mediator when disagreements broke out. Neither of them would be there anymore. Their absence left a gaping hole in the proceedings.
He looked around the table as the original members of the community waited. At the head of the table, he now assumed the role of chairperson. It felt natural to take over from his dad. He clasped his hands together and began, ‘Before I begin, Lana will not be joining us, and has passed her vote to Carmen?’
A few nods acknowledged the arrangement.
He continued, ‘As you all now know, my parents, Jeff and Judi
th, have passed on. It is a huge blow to the entire community. When my father made his decision to stay in England he wanted to keep an eye on Steven, but he also wanted to stay with my mother. I’m sure you can understand. Apparently, when she died he also gave up on life. We only know that he’s dead. As far as we can tell, Steven buried him as he promised. We believe he’s telling the truth.’
The Spanish contingent shuffled in their seats and the oldest, Franco, frowned and interrupted. His thick, Spanish accent still enveloped his speech, ‘If you choose to believe Steven, so be it, we do not have any reason to believe him. For all we know, he could have murdered them both. It is possible.’
Ian shook his head. He might have his doubts about his nephew, but even he would not go there. Through pursed lips, he replied, ‘Steven did not kill them.’
Franco narrowed his deep set eyebrows and scowled, ‘We’ve never been given the luxury of choice. Ever since 1943 all we’ve ever done has been in the interests of our united future. I thought the idea back then was to create a community we would protect. Going back to live within normal humanity was never an option,’ he raised his eyebrows, as though he wanted to add effect to his pause, ‘and yet, both Jeff and Judith went back and gave up on the life they envisaged. You really expect me to believe that?’
Ian maintained eye contact and faced Franco. Franco’s stern expression, thick bushy eyebrows, clean shaven face and slicked black hair gave him an air of sophistication. He was always in control. Ian glanced at Franco’s wife, Elena. She was so timid in comparison, petite in stature, with a mop of curly brown hair and childish features. He could not think of anyone more complacent.
The Evolution Trilogy: Hybrid, Complications & Return Page 64