Hybrid: The Awakening

Chapter 17-Tristen

In all honesty, I didn't care about breaking rules. I did it all the time, whether it was bad-mouthing a teacher or ditching class entirely.

But breaking rules was different than breaking laws.

You break a rule, then you get thrown in detention and grounded for a week.

But if you break a law, you face real punishment. If it's minor, you still have to pay a fee. And if it's major, you could get thrown in jail for months, years, or even your life.

And I was pretty sure yesterday fell into the major category.

Maybe running from the cops was scarier because it felt more real. I knew deep down that I was still in denial. In just a day, I had been thrust into a world that felt like a sci-fi movie. It was like I was watching it happen to someone else that wasn't me. I was disconnected.

But with the police, that was something you expected to find in the real world. It was comprehensible, while at the same time terrifying. If they had caught us, we would have been in a juvenile prison for who knows how long. Forget the Axones, we'd anyway be losing years of our lives.

And I didn't want family history to repeat itself.

I took a long deep breath. If I wanted to survive, I'd have to put the events of yesterday behind me. Fretting about it would only make everything worse.

"Hey, Tristen," someone said next to me. I opened my eyes and Asher stood next to me.

I sighed. "Yes?"

Asher tilted his head. "Hey, you okay? You took a really deep breath, like you were preparing to blow us away or something." I smiled slightly at that.

"Do we have a plan yet?" I asked Tesha, and Asher gave me a side eye at the way I avoided the question.

Tesha sighed softly. "I'm not sure. We might just have to take a risk and hope for the best."

"Oh yeah, because the odds are so high," Diana said sarcastically. "I mean we got, what, a 10% chance of choosing the right button?"

Asher gasped. "Oh my goodness guys, I can't believe it! Diana can do math!" She slapped him.

"Unless anyone has any other ideas?" Tesha gazed around expectantly, clearly hoping there was an alternative. She frowned again when no one came up with anything else.

"I'll do it if you don't want to," I offered, and she smiled at me, handing over the messaging device.

I turned it around, and bit my cheek as I looked at each button, instantly regretting volunteering. I subconsciously gripped the necklace I forgot I was wearing; a gold chain with a cross at the end. It was strange to find my mind going there. Despite being dragged to church every Sunday, I wasn't the religious type, at least compared to Ma. But I found myself desperately hoping that there was someone to make sure the button I pressed was the right one.

With a silent prayer, I moved my finger to a blue button that was slightly smaller than the others. I squeezed my eyes shut as I pressed it.

There was a loud beep and I opened my eyes. The armpiece started flashing again, green this time. With every passing second, I felt my hope evaporate.

Wrong button.

I let out a string of curses when the hologram didn't pop up, feeling the urge to chuck the stupid alien technology at the tree.

"Calm down," Tesha told me, placing a hand on my back. "It may have not been the right button, but there's no reason to worry. All it did was allow us to send our own messages. You still have another chance."