"I can't believe it," Jaylin said. It was fairly true. How could the daughter of the man who had invented the Chimera Mutation be the great grandmother of their very own Mayor?
How was it possible at all?
Just my luck, he thought, we finally found our freshwater paradise. But now, that all has to be shattered with crazy discoveries.
"Well, I guess you'll have to start believing it," Alana said, "because we need to get moving."
Jaylin knew she was right. Despite these revelations, they still had a mission. Their priority was still to inform the Los Lagos citizens of the lake they had found.
"Well, we've packed ourselves enough food and water," Jaylin said.
"I made some bullets and sharpened all of our blades," Camila said, holding a pile of the 'bullets', which were in reality nails twisted and bent into rough ball shapes.
"Very... creative," Jaylin said.
"Shut up," Camila said.
"Well then," Lance said, ignoring the two, like an adult who couldn't be bothered with the foolish antics of children, "We should get going." He picked up his satchel and slid his saber into its hilt.
"A thought just occured to me," Jaylin said, ready for everyone to ask him about his important opinions.
No-one spoke, and the sounds of crickets filled the thick summer air.
"He-hemm. A thought just occured to me," he repeated, louder this time.
"What?" Alana asked tiredly, rolling his eyes.
"What if you go to the city, preach about a so-called paradise lake, and then come back to find it taken over?"
"So you're saying that someone should stay here to guard."
"Yes."
"I've picked lots of medicine plants that I want to make into potable medicines. With the dehydration, disease will spread, so people will need them," Lance said.
"Well, I'm going too," Camila said, "I've scavenged some grenades from here that I can fix back home."
That was two of them, leaving the glade.
"I guess I'm OK with staying here. As long as you bring my family back with you," Jaylin said.
"Alana, could you stay here too?" Camila asked.
"No way! I'm not gonna miss out on the action," she grinned, swinging her axe theatrically.
"Well, Jaylin can't stay here all alone. I guess I'll stay too," Lance said.
"No, go to Los Lagos. You're right about the town needing medicines. People will die without them!" Jaylin exclaimed.
"I don't want to be stuck here," Alana hissed, eyes turning yellow.
"You have to!" Jaylin yelled. In a second, his skin was replaced with smooth. His irises turned into hungry balls of darkness, spreading and growing and consuming until his entire eyes were inky black. His mouth morphed into a maw full of tiny, needle-sharp fangs. His arms twisted into slim legs, each ending in sharp claws. A hungry rage bubbled in his stomach and scorched his throat and burned his eyes. He was hungry. His instincts took over, his eyes searching for prey.
"You have to!" he yelled again. Somehow, he felt detached, like his mind and body were separated. Something was taking over his body, taking control from him. When he spoke, he heard the words like an echo. His body moved mostly to its own accord and his anger stopped Jaylin from resisting it. The anger combined him and the predator within. He towered over her, legs bent as if poised to strike.
"You have to," he repeated, though more tiredly and sadly this time, like an afterthought. He slumped, his shoulders falling. His tentacles retracted and the blackness that had consumed his eyes receded in a dark swirl, retreating back to his irises.
"Sorry," he breathed, eyes falling to the ground.
Alana was shaking, her claws out and no longer retracted. In her panic and fear, she had morphed. In her fear of him.
"It's... it's OK," Alana said slowly, shakily, as if testing her voice for the first time.
She sat next to him. Jaylin kept his eyes on the ground, cheeks burning with shame.
"I'll stay. I'll stay here," she said.
Jaylin and Alana stood at the edge of the glade, waving as Lance, Camila set off on their way back to Las Lagos, while Goldenstroke stayed with them in the glade.
"They'll do it. They'll make it," Alana said.
Jaylin nodded, I believe in them. He still hadn't spoke since the incident.
When Lance and Camila e vanished into the undergrowth, Alana turned to him.
"You know what?" she said.
"What?" he asked in a quiet voice.
"It happened to me too. The tiger instincts, the hunger, overpowered me and I lost control. I nearly attacked someone."
Jaylin looked up, surprised.
"Really?"
"Yeah. I barely managed to get my mind back."
"It was scary. I wanted to stop it, but at the same time my anger was like fuel for it. It kept it going."
"I know what you're talking about. It's like a war inside your head."
"What would happen if you lost control forever?"
"I don't know. Maybe you become someone like Zyler Steros. A.. a Hydra."
Jaylin dashed through the trees, hot on the heels of a wild boar, mutated to have a rattlesnake tail. The creature tore through the undergrowth with long ivory tusks, grunting and oinking as it ripped through twisting vines, gnarled roots and curving brambles, its tail emitting a strange clanking sound as it swung from side to side.
"Just a... little bit... closer..." Jaylin huffed under his breath. Adrenaline helped Chimeras transform with more speed. It made sense really: hunting prey, fleeing predators or fighting enemies were when the abilities would be most useful. Coincidentally, those were the situations when someone's body floods with adrenaline. So the rush that accompanied the hunt let Jaylin morph almost twice as fast. As he scratched the pig, it stumbled, tripping over a rock. Jaylin bent back his arm and then flicked it forward, throwing his spear at the pig. It lodged in the boar's side and the creature collapsed.
"Tastes good," Alana commented, her mouth full of roasted boar meat. The fire had long since burned its last, leaving a pile of charred wood. The embers glowed orange, like the setting sun.
"Tell me about it," Jaylin said, eagerly sinking his teeth into a cooked, meaty haunch. He chewed voraciously and then swallowed, the chunks of meat easily sliding down his throat.
"So what are we going to do now?" Alana asked, wiping the oil and blood from her mouth.
"I don't really know," Jaylin said, leaning back. He stretched out his arms to the embers, which were still emitting some heat. A strange animal call rippled through the air. The moon was nearly full. Jaylin sighed contentedly and curled up.
That was when a bloodcurdling scream pierced the dark night, ripping through the silence like a blade through soft flesh.
After the scream came a roar, bestial and vicious as it stabbed the air and raked Jaylin's ears. It was a deep, guttural chorus, like one voice multiplied many times to create a strangely identical cacophony.
"What on earth-"
"Hydra," Alana said, not waiting for Jaylin to finish the question.
Hi, Sylver-frost here. And today, in this strange, ancient laboratory, a massive discovery is made! But while Camila and Lance delve into the powerful secrets of the past... what can they learn about the future? And what about the more immediate questions. How will they persuade people to escape Los Lagos? How could they ever defend themselves against a Hydra?
If you've enjoyed reading this story, don't forget to vote, comment and add it to your reading lists. I will be adding a new chapter every day. If you have any tips for how I can improve my writing, or what I did well this time, please feel free to tell me (in a nice manner). Thanks so much for reading my story!
Thanks again, Sylver!