Hybrid: The Awakening

Chapter 22-Asher

"We're back!" I announced, bringing back my cheerful persona and swinging an arm around Tesha. "What did we miss?"

Diana rolled her eyes,(which really seemed like her favorite thing to do) and said, "Nothing, considering you were gone for like, three seconds." I pouted at her tone.

"Where'd Mrs. Jane go?" Tristen asked.

"She said she had to quickly do something," Tesha responded. "Why do you ask?"

Me and Tristen exchanged glances.

"We...have reason to believe she might be dangerous," I said under my breath, making sure the teacher couldn't hear.

Diana snorted. "Seriously? That lady? She looks like she wouldn't hurt a fly."

At any other point I would've teased her that Tristen had said the same thing once again, but the uncomfortable feeling was growing every second, turning the blood in my veins ice cold.

"It's time!" Teddy called out suddenly, causing me to jump. He once again threw his arm around my shoulder, jostling me around. "Got the whole celebration set up."

"Thanks, Teddy," Tristen started. "Were actually just about to leave though-"

"Nonsense! Y'all at least need to eat the cake!"

I had to bite my lip to stop myself from arguing. There wasn't really any way to get out of this without seeming like jerks.

"Okay," Tesha yielded. "But we can only stay for a short time."

"Well then, we better not waste any time! Follow me, folks!" Teddy pushed us forward and led us to the stage, where the two men had started singing again while stringing on their guitars.

Before I knew it, me, along with the rest of the group, were standing on the stage as well. I felt my cheeks unintentionally warm as the crowd erupted in cheers. One person slightly taller than the rest was even holding up the decapitated head of the alien on a pole, and I snickered as I heard Tristen gag.

I searched the crowd for Mrs. Jane, but she was nowhere to be seen.

The music stopped playing and one of the singers walked to the front of the stage, microphone in hand.

"To start this afternoon off," the man announced, "We wanna first start by thanking these folks right here for saving our town. We all lost someone close to us from the beast that lurked in the waters of our lake, and for the first time in months, we can finally fish and swim in the lake without any fear. You want proof? Well, just look at Roland's pole!" The crowd turned their heads towards the decapitated head. A few people chuckled, while the others looked away in disgust. Someone even mumbled something that sounded like, "Typical Roland."

"I don't know how y'all did it,"-the man acknowledged us- " but we owe ya. Hopefully this celebration will show y'all how much we appreciate what you've done."

There was another round of clapping and a wide grin spread across my face. Sure, maybe I hadn't done much of anything in the battle with the monster, but I could still be proud, right?

Teddy walked up to stand next to the singer and was given the microphone. He lifted his arm, a sign for the people to quiet down, and spoke. "Now, our heroes don't gotta lot a time to stay, so let's get started, shall we?"

Chattering commenced, and after a moment the music started back up, drowning out the other sounds.

I hopped off the stage, catching myself with my stick. Despite getting used to walking and the pain in my leg becoming more manageable, it was still hard at times to maintain my balance.