Hybrid Zone Recognition

by C. E. Glines

  Macy, Adam softly growled in warning. He knew full well what I intended to do. You’re not trained to fight. Pike is. Even allowing for his current condition, this could end badly.

  Without disengaging my attention from Pike, I answered Adam’s warning with a warning of my own. Then you had better get your butt here to help me because opportunity just knocked, and one of us is not leaving this tent alive.

  There was a brief moment of hesitation, and then Adam made his decision. Stall. I’m on my way.

  The adrenaline that surged through Adam into me left me feeling even more edgy and ready to fight. I wondered how Adam possessed the ability to physically affect me without being present. It must have something to do with wavelengths or frequencies travelling nanobot to nanobot. Physics stuff.

  Focus, Macy! Adam yelled in irritation.

  I am focused! I rose from the cot and walked to the center of the tent opposite Pike. If I were any more focused, my eyeballs would pop out of my head. I just happen to be able to focus on more than one thing at a time. Some of us can do that, you know.

  I accepted Adam’s snarl as acknowledgment of my superior focusing skills. I knew the situation before me was serious, but I couldn’t shake the happiness I felt at this turn of events. Between mine and Adam’s adrenaline and whatever else the hybrid DNA added to the mix, I felt giddy. Much to Adam’s displeasure.

  “It’s like that, is it?” Pike asked with upraised eyebrows. His eyes raked my body, taking in my shifted form and the fighting crouch I’d dropped into. “You can’t possibly hope to fight me alone. I know this wasn’t part of your super brain plan.”

  He had mimed air quotes as he said super brain. His joy with his assumed cleverness almost caused him to collapse again. Obviously, he thought he had beaten me already.

  But I didn’t plan to fight him alone. I planned to, as Adam said, strategically use my leopard DNA to rip his head off.

  I reached for the feel of the hunt and found it ready for me this time. All of my senses immediately sharpened. I almost gagged on the lust rolling off his body. I was once again amazed when everything else fell aside. All of my being was focused on one single purpose. To kill Pike.

  With the giddiness gone, I was able to clearly formulate a plan of attack. He was almost a foot taller than me. I’d have to make every shot count, go for major arteries and all while remaining out of his reach.

  “Come on, Macy,” he said, reaching for me. “It doesn’t have to be like this.”

  Seizing the opening, I twisted under his unprotected arm, slicing my claws across his flesh. I immediately knew that I had succeeded by both the blood dripping from my extended claws and the sickly sweet smell. Bouncing back far enough to be clear of any counterattack, I resumed my crouch and waited for another opening.

  How’s it going, Macy?

  I drew first blood.

  You did?

  Adam’s surprise was distracting and irritating. I watched as Pike’s drug laden senses finally relayed the information to his brain. He looked in disbelief at the blood running down his arm. Did he honestly think I wouldn’t kill him? He was so very wrong.

  How about saying something useful this time, I barked at Adam.

  Okay. Let the leopard DNA lead.

  Already doing that.

  “Well, well, the kitty has claws,” Pike scoffed.

  And teeth I silently added. But I was in no hurry to taste him.

  Pike’s eyes cut to the door of the tent in confusion as noise from Adam’s generated commotion filtered through. Since my bit of maneuvering had placed me directly in front of the tent exit, he’d have to go through me to get out. He didn’t seem disturbed by that fact.

  I caught the slightest shift in pressure right before he spun with a roundhouse kick that would have connected with my head had I still been there. Instead, I deepened my crouch and used my claws on the underside of his extended leg this time.

  Once again, he didn’t initially recognize that he’d been hit. At this rate, I’d have to tell him when he was dead. The smell of his blood blossomed in the tent. I must have hit a major artery this time. Almost in slow motion, he realized the relationship between the smell and his blood.

  He took a moment to close his eyes and sniff the air. “Smell’s quite nice, actually.”

  He was one sick puppy.

  Then his eyes, alight with understanding, locked with mine. “We shall dispense with the pleasantries then, huh Beautiful?”

  He pulled his shirt over his head and revealed a nice set of abs. Too bad it was attached to such a snake. He was barefoot already so there was no resistance as he slid his pants off.

  Really? Was that necessary?

  Don’t look, Adam growled.

  Are you crazy? I can’t look away. He might attack. Adam was so angry over Pike’s striptease act. His leopard perceived it as a direct challenge to what was his. This is not the time for you to be jealous, Adam, I snapped at him.

  As I continued to watch Pike’s transformation, his hair and nose disappeared. They were replaced by smooth patterned skin flowing over his head and down his body. Then his lips grew wide and long, flattening out his nose until it almost disappeared.

  I could hear Adam’s continual growling in my head. It made it hard to concentrate. Either help me or shut up! I yelled at him. The growling faded, but his anger was still present. I could use that.

  Thin fangs dripping with venom descended between Pike’s too thin lips. The transformation then proceeded to his hands and feet where his nails were replaced by long thin claws.

  So, maybe not a snake, but definitely some type of reptile. Yep, Pike the lizard man now stood in front of me. Why he had chosen to fight naked, I could not understand. Wasn’t that exposing a critical area for him? If he was trying to intimidate me, it wasn’t working. Maybe he was proud of his manhood, like it was some part of a lizard mating ritual. Or Adam could be right, a direct shot at him. Whatever the reason, it was just awkward.

  He took a few shuffling steps towards me which I countered with my own cat like ones.

  In the background, I could hear snarling and the sound of gunfire popping around the camp, but my attention remained primarily focused on Pike. I added two new goals to the battle plan. Fang avoidance and gaining access to his neck. I knew a few moves from kickboxing, but I suspected they would not be enough.

  Suddenly, he lashed out with another kick.

  I managed to move fast enough to duck the kick, but not the follow up claws. Searing pain lanced across my back as I rolled out of the way.

  Still standing in the middle of the tent, Pike made sure he had my attention as he slowly licked my blood from his claws. Then he made the critical mistake of turning his back on me.

  Rage spiked through me. In one fast leap, I covered the distance between us and latched onto the backside of his knees. The force of the impact sent Pike to the ground on his stomach. A loud hiss issued from his lips as I tore through the tender flesh on the back of his knees with both my teeth and claws. Then just as quickly, I bounded away, once more outside of his grasp.

  He pulled himself off the floor and stood facing me with liquid fury in his eyes. I spit a piece of his flesh that had worked free from my teeth directly on the floor in front of him. That act galvanized him into motion. He leapt at me with his arms extended.

  I didn’t know where it was coming from, but I did what I saw in my head. I shot forward underneath him and spun at the last moment to rake my claws across his midsection. He folded over in midair, but still managed to slash one of my calves with his claws.

  We were both bleeding heavily now. Him more than me. We stared at each other from across the tent, neither one of us willing to make the first move.

  “What’s wrong, cat got your tongue?” he taunted. Pausing his sideways dancing movements, he crumpled forward in laughter.

  While he was laughing, I identified the one thing I needed. Access to his neck. I leapt forward, somehow spinning in the ai
r, and landed on his back. Locking my hands around his throat, I pressed my claws deeply into the skin at his neck and let his own frantic motions rip and tear the flesh.

  Adam picked that very moment to burst into the tent. He was covered in blood and gore, but by the smell of it, I didn’t think any of it was his.

  “Everything alright, sweetheart?” he asked nonchalantly while folding his arms across his chest.

  I smiled at him over Pike’s shoulder. The smile caused the blood from my previous go at Pike’s legs to roll further down my chin and neck.

  Pike, who had momentarily ceased his struggle when Adam so dramatically entered, began again with increased urgency. The smell of his fear permeated the air as he put as much distance as he could between him and Adam.

  At the same moment I sensed Pike’s body tense, Adam’s warning scrolled through my head. He’s going to roll.

  I waited until the last moment and then used my feet on his back to spring to the side. Or, at least, I tried to. He managed to hook one ankle and flung me into the table, which folded on me like a deck of cards.

  Spaghetti. That was what was under the tray covering.

  Brushing aside soggy noodles, I watched as Adam tackled Pike. It wasn’t really much of a fight from there. Adam finished him off in short order. He didn’t literally tear the head off his shoulders, but it was close.

  Adam gave one final kick to Pike and then turned to find me still seated in the midst of the table wreckage. Standing with his feet wide apart and his arms braced at his sides, he regarded me with the ever familiar upraised eyebrow.

  I’d never been so glad to see it.

  “Planning on getting up any time soon?” he asked.

  I made a couple of attempts to stand but kept slipping in the spaghetti mess.

  Rolling his eyes, he crossed the tent and knelt down in front of me. With one hand, he sloughed off the spaghetti from my hair and the other he placed on my elbow. “Not bad for your first fight.”

  A compliment? “You didn’t even see it,” I charged.

  “I saw enough to know that he was essentially dead before I showed up. I know you didn’t waste energy or try for moves that you could never pull off. I know you were smart about it.”

  Standing to my feet with Adam’s aid, I said, “What about the dismount?”

  “An error easily corrected. When disembarking from an enemy, always tuck your feet in. It prevents the legs from being used as a lever to reel you back in.”

  Oh, that made sense. Before I could say anything else, Adam wrapped his arms around me and pulled me tightly to him. I barely had time to comprehend what he was doing when his lips locked on mine. At that point, any objections I might have had were lost in his kiss.

  A loud voice interrupted our reunion, and I quickly ducked my head into Adam’s chest. “Sorry, Sir. We’re all clear.”

  Adam hugged me tightly and then whispered, “Let’s go.”

  Amen to that.

  Adam lead the way out of the tent, and I stepped out into what was left of the camp. Wow. I had been so focused on Pike that I hadn’t heard all of this. My tent happened to be the only one still standing. The jeeps that were left were all on fire. Small explosions were going off all over the place.

  As I jogged behind Adam, I asked, “Are Olivia and Juarez out?”

  “They left a few minutes ago.”

  “What about Millsap?”

  “No sign of him. I think he bailed directly before we came in.”

  “That would mean he knew you were coming,” I said, disappointed that we’d missed this opportunity to get him.

  “Yes, it would,” Adam said.

  More questions. It was going to be such a relief when I started getting some answers.

  I touched Adam’s arm, “Wait just a minute. Do you hear that?”

  As we paused, I heard a weak, “Dr. Greer.” It was coming from behind us. I turned, trying to locate the origin of the voice. Adam paced to a downed tent and pulled the covering aside. I recognized the white suit. It was Mr. Cain.

  I limped over to join Adam. Cain’s voice was weak because he had a pincer protruding from his chest. I guess he had confronted Millsap. A twinge of guilt raced up my spine, and Adam grabbed my hand and squeezed it for reassurance. I glanced briefly at him, nodding my thanks, then knelt beside Cain.

  Taking Cain’s hand in mine, just like Adam had done for me, I offered what comfort I could. As I stared into his eyes, I realized we both knew he wasn’t leaving here.

  “I’m sorry,” he whimpered.

  What could I say? I had no way of knowing what he had to be sorry for, and I certainly didn’t possess the kind of power needed to absolve him.

  A sudden thought struck me, and I leaned into Cain. “Does Millsap know about the Colony?” He was fading now, his eyes taking on a glazed look. I shook him. “Cain! Does Millsap know about the Colony?”

  He was struggling to answer. I barely made out his sputtered, “Yes,” as he breathed his last breath. His hand grew limp in mine, and I laid it by his side. Reaching up, I closed his eyes and said a quick prayer. Not for him, but for Kenny and the rest of the hybrids at the Colony.

  Adam’s hands were urging me up, and I stood. We were full on sprinting now as we headed away from the camp. Even with the injury to my calf, I managed to run without falling or becoming entangled with the foliage once. But I didn’t get to celebrate my new found skill because Adam wrapped himself around me and took us to the ground.

  A large explosion rocked the area and debris rained down around us. Little pieces of tent and metal and other unidentifiable things coated everything around and including us.

  Looking from the shelter of his arms, I saw that the old mill was no more. “Was that really necessary?” I asked him. I was starting to suspect he just liked to blow things up.

  He followed my eyes to where the mill had been. “It was their control center. And, we needed everything in small enough pieces to be carted away unnoticed.”

  “Mm hmm.”

  “What?” he asked, grinning like a kid who’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

  I shook my head as he helped me up. He kissed the tip of my nose and left me to begin giving last minute directions to the rest of the crew. Looking around, I didn’t recognize any faces. But I did recognize the stack of cardboard they disguised as nutrition bars.

  I picked one up and used my teeth to tear off the wrapper. I tried not to focus on the taste as I chewed. I didn’t know if cardboard was accurate. It was more like chewing whicker or what used to be called particle board before MDF became the common name for it.

  A bottle of water suddenly entered my field of view. I took it gratefully and turned to find Adam at my back. I raised my eyebrows as his eyes travelled the length of my body and back.

  “You’re a mess,” he said without the slightest hint of sugar.

  I maintained eye contact as I maneuvered my tongue across the front of my teeth, seeking to dislodge wayward bits of grain. He was covered in blood and guts, and dirt, and some unidentifiable gore, and he had the nerve to call me a mess?

  “I hear what you’re not saying,” he reminded me with a tap of his finger to the side of his head.

  Do you now, Grandpa? I teased.

  His eyes narrowed in response to my dig. This was going to be fun, needling the old timer. Hey, he was probably around when they invented particle board.

  CHAPTER 18

  “HOW’S THE LEG?” ADAM ASKED with mild concern.

  “It hurts as does my back.” Remembering what he said about me and pain, I quickly added, “But, I’m alive.”

  “That you are,” he said, watching me through hooded eyes. The intensity of his gaze was starting to freak me out. “Think you can stand taking a ride in my truck.”

  I paused mid chew. He owned a truck? “There is hope for you yet, city boy.” I put the cap back on the water bottle and looked around for a place to toss it.

  He ducked under t
he branch he was draped over and held his hand out for the empty bottle. “What makes you think I’m a city boy?” he asked.

  “Your more city than me, that’s for sure.”

  “Everybody’s more city than you, bumpkin, which makes you unqualified to judge. Let’s just say I was country long before you were ever born.”

  He might have me there. “That’s just because cities weren’t invented yet when you were born.”

  His face fell when he realized he’d walked right into that one.

  I smiled in celebration of my small victory. But he had such a puppy dog, or should I say kitty cat, look in his eyes that I couldn’t stand it. Walking up to him, I laced my disgusting fingers through his equally disgusting ones. “You were going to show me your truck?” I said.

  I felt his delight at my making the first move filter through our bond. It was matched by the goofy grin on his face.

  “This way, Ma’am,” he drawled.

  Oh, brother. I rolled my eyes at his corniness but couldn’t smother the laugh.

  He led me to a decent representation of a truck. It was an old blue ford with jacked up tires and a roll bar across the back. It even had the lights on top.

  He opened the door and tossed the water bottle in the back seat. He started to lift me to the seat when I stopped him.

  “Wait, do you have a towel or something. Look at me. I’ll get the seats filthy.”

  Ignoring my complaint, he lifted me onto the seat. “Don’t worry about the seat, Macy. As long as you’re in it, I’ll be okay.”

  That was so sweet and stupid. I didn’t think I would have been as generous with my truck. Probably would have made him ride in the bed.

  A smile lifted a corner of his mouth as he read my mind. Reaching up, he tucked my hair behind my ears. When he did, bits of what can only be classified as gunk fell off both him and me.

  With disgust clearly on my face, I said, “We seriously need showers.”

  His eyes filled with what I was coming to recognize as desire. The feeling reverberating through the bond confirmed my conclusion. He moved closer, pressing against my side. “Macy Greer, was that an invitation?” he whispered in my ear.