Warning: This chapter includes violence.
Third Person:
Hybrids are humanoid creatures in which both human and animal DNA are present in one's own body. It is unknown even in history on how these creatures are able to suddenly exist in the human world. It is only known that hybrids are able to reproduce offsprings similar to that of humans which is through the process also called as sexual reproduction.
A hybrid has three forms in which they may change as they please. The first form is their hybrid form, which is their neutral form. Let's take an example of a dog hybrid. A dog hybrid is a human in sight but has dog ears and a dog tail. Some parts in their body contain fur, depending on the hybrid and their genes.
The second form of the hybrid is their human form. Hybrids are able to switch into their human form to pretend or behave like humans. Sometimes, they shift into this form for safety.
The last and third final form of the hybrid is their animal form. With this form, the hybrid is able to transform into their animal selves and inherit all the skills of that animal. They cannot talk in this form but they still have the intelligence of humans. For example, a cat hybrid can run fast in their animal form, knowing how cats really are fast runners. A cat hybrid cannot turn into a dog, only its designated animal applies.
Hybrid sightings are now more frequent in the modern world. However, they are one of the most mistreated creatures on the planet. Some humans use them for their pleasure or enjoyment, some use them as pets, and some even use them as slaves.
In one particular forest, lies a hybrid sanctuary. This forest is located in a small town of Korea, where most of the hybrids in that district are located. There are other hybrid sanctuaries to be found but this is where the story of the little fox Yang Jeongin starts.
"Children, it's time to eat!" The mother fox called from the distance, ushering her three children to come inside their home.
"Mom, can we eat later? It's still early!" Daejung, an 8-year-old boy and the eldest of the children whined. He wasn't done yet playing chase and tag with his siblings.
"Yeah mom! Daejung hyung is right. It's still early." Jeongin, a 6-year-old boy and the middle child agreed with his elder brother. He glanced at his younger sister named Hyejin, who was only 4-years-old and had a dumbfounded look.
"What do you mean it's still early? It's already 6:00 PM." Mrs. Yang corrected, earning a groan from her kids.
"First one gets to the house is not a sore loser." Daejung taunted with a smirk forming on his face, knowing he was the fastest runner in the siblings.
"You wish. Father has been training me to be strong just like you hyung." Jeongin smirked back at him.
"And I ain't giving up!" Hyejin exclaimed, crouching down to prepare.
1...
2...
3...
After three seconds, the children stood up and sprinted towards their house. The mother watched, eager to know who would win first.
Daejung was currently in the lead. He checked on his side, Jeongin was trying to keep up and his younger sister was struggling, considering that she was only four.
He released an evil but playful laugh. But before he was able to reach their house, he accidentally stepped on a rock which caused him to fall. Jeongin managed to pass him without knowing what happened to his older brother.
Once Jeongin was able to reach their house, he glanced at his back. Hyejin was still running and Daejung was on his knees, wailing with tears coming out from his eyes. Jeongin won the race.
"Oh no. Daejung hyung tripped!" Jeongin pointed and his mother sighed.
"My love, did he hurt himself again?" Mr. Yang went to their front porch as soon as he heard his son crying.
The mother sighed, "Honey, sometimes the kids are a pain in the tail."
Mr. Yang chuckled, "That's okay. They're just kids, they will learn someday."
Mrs. Yang rushed to help his son stand up. Daejung had a wound on his knee and he had trouble walking since it was painful. The mother carried his son on her back while she listened to his sniffles.
They have lost count on how many times their children have injured themselves while playing. They chose to shrug it off because it was all part of their childhood.
The family went inside their warm and cozy home. The sun had set as the moon and stars have started to appear. It was time for dinner but the parents needed to manage their children first.
After bathing their children and dressing them with comfortable clothes, they went to the dining room to eat. The mother had prepared rabbit stew for the whole family since it was their favorite dish.
"Hey hyung, is your knee okay?" Jeongin asked and the older nodded.
"Yes, mom has already fixed it. She said it might leave a scar though..." Daejung answered.
Jeongin sipped the stew using a spoon, wondering how rabbit stews are actually made.
"Hey mom, you made this stew right?"
"Yes Jeongin. I made that stew. Does it taste bad?" Mrs. Yang asked with furrowed eyebrows.
"I was just wondering if the rabbits in this stew are hybrids like us?" Jeongin assumed, which made both Daejung and Hyejin laugh.
"Oh my god. Not this conversation again." The mother rolled her eyes, seemingly fed-up with his son's topics.
"Son, let me tell you again. The rabbits in this stew are actual animals. They are not hybrids. We do not eat hybrids, okay?" Mr. Yang clarified and his son nodded.
The family happily finished their dinner. It was mostly the parents talking with each other. The children were silent but content with the delicious food they were eating.
The children prepared themselves to bed. Their room is separated from their parents' bedroom. They have a long day of playing tomorrow.
The three children tucked in their blankets in bed. Jeongin was in the middle and next to his right was his sister Hyejin, who was already asleep. He scooted close to his brother on his left, about to start a conversation.
"Hyung, what do you think will happen if we grow up? Would we be still together?" Jeongin asked and his brother looked at him in confusion.
"I don't know Jeongin. But always know that I will protect you and Hyejin no matter what." Daejung answered.
Jeongin smiled, feeling content at his brother's answer. Daejung turned off the lamp which was beside him. The younger cuddled up in his arms for comfort.
The two children were about to drift to dreamland when suddenly they heard a loud and ringing alarm that almost took their souls.
Daejung turned on the lamp and Hyejin started to cry. He reached to his sister and hugged her tightly in an attempt to soothe her.
Meanwhile, Jeongin sat up and went to his parents' bedroom. He was about to get out of the room but his parents were already in the hallway.
"Mom, Dad, what's happening!?" Jeongin panicked.
Terrified screams were heard, along with a couple of gunshots. This could only mean one thing and that is trouble.
"We don't know son, let me ask the others." Mr. Yang said. Getting outside of the house, he anxiously knocked on their neighbor's place. The door was opened in a swift time.
"Mrs. Park, what's happening!?" The fox asked frantically.
"The humans are back but with bigger and dangerous weapons. If I were you, I would be running at this point!" The pig hybrid female which was their neighbor answered, also scared of what was happening.
"HELP!"
"EVERYONE, SAVE YOURSELVES!"
"DON'T STOP RUNNING!"
Screams were heard again but this time, it was accompanied by crying. The gunshots were getting louder and showed no signs of stopping.
All of this trouble was caused by human poachers. In an unexpected time, humans would barge inside the hybrid sanctuary and abduct hybrids. They would sell hybrids to people for money.
Mr. Yang felt the adrenaline rushed in his body. He only had one purpose at the moment, and that was to save his family.
Jogging, he went back to his home and instructed his family to get out of the house. Sadly, they had no escape route in these situations. The forest only had one exit and he doesn't know what lies if they got deeper on it. He didn't want to be in trouble with his family and the haven, the hybrid sanctuary.
With that, he carried Hyejin in his arms and secured her on his chest. Mrs. Yang quickly grabbed the arms of her sons. They only had one plan and that was to run.
As they ran, the screams and gunshots never stopped. It seemed as if the poachers were reaching close to their locations.
Unfortunately, a loud bang was heard and Mr. Yang was shot in the shoulder. He fell to the ground with Hyejin still in his arms.
"Father!" Hyejin cried.
"No!" Mrs. Yang screamed, making Daejung and Jeongin stop on their tracks.
"Daejung, take your sister and run. Never come back! I'll only slow you down." Mr. Yang commanded and the whole family became hesitant about this.
"But what about you!?" Mrs. Yang protested.
"We'll meet again, love. I promise that." Mr. Yang assured.
With a heavy heart, the four members left. Jeongin and Hyejin cried at the thought of not seeing their father again.
"Come on kids, we have to run. We'll see father later." Mrs. Yang tried to encourage but her children were starting to get tired.
BANG!
Another shot was heard and Mrs. Yang was hit on the leg. Hyejin released a cry. She loved her mother the most in this family.
"I love you kids, never forget that. Run!" Their mother ordered and the children started to cry uncontrollably.
They continued to run until their parents were out of their sight. However, it seemed impossible for them since their legs were starting to ache. The gunshots however were still not stopping
"Jeongin, do you know how to transform into a fox?" Daejung asked.
The younger shook his head. He was one of the few hybrids who didn't knew how to transfer into animal form. Even if he did turn one, it would be completely useless since he was beginning to feel tired from all of the running.
"Jeongin, wait." Daejung paused, gasping for air.
"What is it hyung?" Jeongin panted.
"I can't run anymore. My knee still hurts from what happened earlier." Daejung collapsed to the ground.
"Hyung, please not you too. I can't take care of Hyejin alone. You said you'll protect us! You promised!" Jeongin argued, wanting to stay with his older brother.
"I'm sorry Jeongin. But this is me protecting you, now go!" Jeongin teared up. He grabbed his sister's hand and together, they ran. They do not know where they were heading to but Jeongin promised to himself that he would never leave his sister. Hyejin is the only family member he had at the moment.
After a few minutes of running, Jeongin stopped and hid behind a tree. He sat down on the ground as he calmed his sister. He massaged his legs in an attempt to ease the burning pain.
He glanced at Hyejin, who was clearly traumatized judging from the widened eyes she had.
"Hyejin, look at me." Jeongin cupped her cheeks. "I'm going to protect you, okay?"
His sister didn't respond. It was only then he noticed that his sister was looking at something else. Confused, Jeongin glanced on his back and saw a man in his 50's, a gun pointed at the both of them.
"Are you lost kids? Give me the girl, little boy." The man threatened as he reloaded his gun.
Hyejin gulped. She didn't know what to do.
"Stay away from us!" Jeongin yelled.
The man laughed, not entirely convinced by the boy's warning.
"What are you going to do? Bite me?" The man mocked as he fired a bullet in the ground, scaring the two children.
Impatiently, the man took Hyejin in his arms. Jeongin became angry and tried transforming into his animal form but nothing happened in any effort.
"Give me my sister back!" Jeongin tried punching the man on his legs but he became more angry as Jeongin continued to do so.
"Your sister is mine!" The man pointed his shotgun at Jeongin and the hybrid became terrified. Jeongin lost hope on saving his sister.
Jeongin started to run again. He was tired but he didn't want to die yet. His family sacrificed so much that he didn't want to waste his life. He felt sorry for his family and disappointed in himself for not saving Hyejin.
After what seemed hours of running, the sounds of the gunshots were gone. Jeongin ended up on a road with no signs of houses.
Sniffling, he took another glance back on the forest and remembered how he had lost his family. He let out a painful cry. He couldn't accept what happened.
"Hello?" Jeongin jumped when he heard a female voice called. He checked on his side just to see an elderly woman. She had no animal ears or tail on her body which meant she was a human.
"Please don't hurt me." Jeongin pleaded and the woman sadly smiled at him in pity.
"You're a hybrid. I heard gunshots earlier and I assume those were poachers?" The woman asked Jeongin and he could only nod.
"I have a vehicle and I can drive you to a place where they take care of hybrids." The woman offered and reached out her hand to the crying boy.
Jeongin stared at her first before shyly taking her hand. At this point, he didn't know who to trust. He just hoped that the woman he was talking to wouldn't harm him.
Jeongin hopped on the old vintage car. The woman seemed genuinely nice to him since she was smiling sweetly to him.
He heard the engine start and relaxed a bit. He stared from the outside, tears were still spilling from his eyes.
"Where are your parents?" the woman asked.
"I lost them." Jeongin tiredly replied.
"I'm sorry to hear that. In the meantime, take some rest." The woman sympathetically replied and Jeongin drifted off to sleep.
---
"Hey, wake up. We're already here." The woman caressed Jeongin's shoulder.
Jeongin yawned, his body aching. The woman assisted him outside of the vehicle.
Jeongin inspected the surroundings. He found himself in a large building which had humans and hybrids in it. Curious, he went inside together with the human.
"This is one of Korea's Hybrid Centers. They take care of hybrids who lost their homes just like you." The woman explained and Jeongin was in awe of how big the place actually is and how many hybrids are inside.
Jeongin saw some familiar faces which he had met in his life in the sanctuary. With another feeling of hope, he searched the whole facility for his family but not even a single member was there to be found. With this, he became more sad.
"I will be leaving now, yeah? By the way, I haven't asked about your name." The woman said and Jeongin looked at her.
"My name is Jeongin and thank you for bringing me here." Jeongin thanked the woman. She gave him another smile before leaving the facility.
As Jeongin grew up, he relied on the facility's caretakers. Every now and then, when a new hybrid is welcomed in the building, he would always check if it was one of his family members. Several years have passed and Jeongin never gave up on waiting. He missed his home, he missed his old life, he missed the sanctuary...
He missed his family.
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A/N: Hello to my dearest readers. This is my second book and I want to thank you for those who have supported me. For your information, I will be also using some elements/themes in my previous book to this story so I am advising you to read my previous work. Feedbacks are highly appreciated!
Disclaimer: This work is only fiction and made by the writer's imagination. None of the events are based in real life. Any true happenings are purely coincidental.