Asha Cross's Story

It really was just like any other morning. The day was still pretty early so there were tints of red laced within the wispy white clouds. Thanks to the marriage between science and technology, a behemoth of an airship hovered in the azure sky. The airship itself was one of kind as there were very few of its size in the market. Only a few governments had them, and even fewer had more than one. The airship had just passed the Rocky Mountains from the west and was entering the Great Plains area. Even from this height, you still couldn’t see past the horizon unless you had a telescope. Within the confines of the hunk of metal were a variety of personnel, scampering about inside to get things done. Amongst the personnel was a single figure who stood out from the others. Not because he was different but because he was the reason they all had jobs. He was the mastermind behind of what was soon to become, quite possibly, his greatest disaster.

The man himself could be seen walking through a corridor. All his children, as he liked to think of them as, were all lined up on either side of the hall. Each one had their own container to wake up in, if they woke up that is. A few had put up a fight when the soldiers came to gather them and so they were put under a much heavier sedative than the rest. “Dr. Warren? Should you be here right now?” the soft voice came from a woman of a small stature. She held her clipboard close to her chest as if clutching it closer would provide her some kind of comfort. Does she expect it to embrace her in return? Dr. Warren was not a man who saw worth in those who sought comfort in inanimate objects. The only comfort he had was in watching his “children” grow to be the very things he had hoped they’d be. Dangerous. Cunning. Beautiful and most important of all, none of them had unravelled however now wasn’t the time to get all sentimental. There was still a question that he needed to answer.

“Why shouldn’t I be here Ms. Dalia? These are my children after all. I’d like to see them one last time before you lot put them down. All that research and work. Down the drain. And for what? They were getting a little more aggressive than those suits would have liked them to? Give me a break. I made them for that very purpose. The dumb bastards don’t even know what they’re throwing out, do they?” he glared at the many containers and for a moment Ms. Dalia was glad she wasn’t on the receiving end. Unfortunately, as if reading her thoughts, Dr. Warren’s harsh gaze flicked over to the small woman. She flinched at how cold it was but didn’t back down. A smirk then crept onto Warren’s face and he shook his head. “My apologizes there. We’re not friends so it was rather rude of me to have angrily ranted to you. If you’ll excuse me, I doubt my children wish to see me in their final hour.”

While he did apologize, it really didn’t seem like he did. Ms. Dalia cursed under her breath. She honestly hated working for the man. He was just too arrogant for his own good. “And it’s Dr. Dalia for your information.” She said whispering to herself. The small woman looked down at her clipboard at the list of the eight hybrids that were to euthanized in the next hour. The eight of them filled the corridor. Four on her right which consisted of the bear, the racoon, the heron and the gecko? She looked back down at her sheet and then at the hybrid himself. “Hmm he’s quite handsome. What a shame you weren’t born human like the rest of us.” She didn’t bother keeping her thoughts to herself since none of the hybrids had woken up yet. All of their vitals were displayed on the monitors that were placed on the right hand side of their containers. Any way. Dr. Dalia then looked to her left. The four containers there held the lion, the bat, the otter, and the owl? “What the hell? How is she an owl? She has green hair!? My goodness. They really need to work on getting out those kinks.” she said, shaking her head in disappointment.

Finishing up her rounds, a trio of other scientists came around. They too were tasked with doing inspections although they each two hybrids to inspect. “Have they woken up yet?” an older man asked. He kept his bright red hair cut short and he also wore glasses. “Hmm doesn’t look like it yet.” came another reply from a much taller woman with ample breast and long black hair. “Oh! Hey look that one is starting to get up. I call dibs and their buddy next to them!” This time it came from a younger fellow with shoulder length blonde hair and a killer smile. He stood in front of the bear and the racoon. The older man soon followed suit when he saw that there were more hybrids waking up. He claimed the lion and the bat. The voluptuous woman got the gecko and heron while the shorter woman, Dr. Dalia was stuck with the otter and owl. She had hoped she could get the gecko since he was a good looking specimen but it seemed like the world was against her.

Most of the Hybrids were getting up around the same time as each other, give or take a few minutes. Each doctor, or scientist really, asked them questions like what they’ve last eaten, how they felt, if they’d attempt to get out and how they’d go about doing it, things of that nature. Some of them even asked what their measurements were or other personal things. After questioning them for about forty minutes straight, they each received a notification. Most of them made sure none of the Hybrids could see what was displayed on their tablets but it wouldn’t be all too surprising if one or two of them caught a glimpse. “Well it looks like it’s about time we say our goodbyes right sweet heart? Shame you couldn’t be human. I’d just eat you right up Mr. Gecko.” the older woman, Dr. Evla, grinned at him.

Just as they were wrapping up their notes a red light flashed. The alarms didn’t go off for another second but it was like everything was moving in slow motion any way and suddenly the alarms were blaring and the red lights kept flashing. The doctors seemed confused. They looked at each other trying to figure out their next course of action but it would seem that small moment was one that led to their demise. Dr. Elva saw it first. A dark figure only illuminated by the flashing lights. It slowly approached them before it charged at the group of humans. One was thrown against the gecko’s container, two stumbled to the floor while the last remaining doctor was flung backwards. A sickening crack could be heard from his head slamming into the ground and he didn’t move but the mysterious figure did.

It seemed to disregard the remaining scientist and instead walked over to a large metal box. Opening it, revealed a lever with the words Capsule Release at the top. The figure looked over its shoulder at them briefly as if questioning whether it should pull the lever or not. Turning its head back, it finally did and all the capsules that contained the Hybrids fell through the floor. One of the scientists ended up falling through the opening before it had closed. Whether they were rescued or ended up like a pancake wasn’t something that mattered to this figure. All that mattered was their freedom but now it was time that it left. The capsules themselves should have crash landed by now. It was unlikely that they’d all land in one spot but the majority would be close enough that a little bit of walking couldn’t fix. Then again a couple of them may have been unlucky enough to have been the outliers of the whole group.