Hybrid: The Awakening

Chapter 2-Tristen

Date on Earth: Tuesday, October 3

I woke up to the feeling of slime being spread across my face. My eyes flickered open and I came face to face with Doug's tongue.

Gagging, I pushed the pug away and rolled to the side, spitting and wiping his saliva from my mouth. I dug through my memories, trying to decipher why I was laying on the ground.

What happened?

Every part of my body ached, like I had just finished some epic game of basketball. I groaned as I attempted to sit up.

My head pounded in my skull, and I almost passed out again. Honestly, I wouldn't have been surprised if I just dropped dead.

And that is 100% on yourself.

Doug jumped into my lap and flipped over on his back. He looked at me longingly. Sighing, I started to rub his belly, despite the fact that every minute movement I made sent sharp stabbing pains shooting through my arm.

That's when I noticed something on my wrist. I stopped petting the dog and turned over my hand.

On my right wrist was the weirdest tattoo I had ever seen. It was like the patterns that I had observed on the thing had been stamped onto me. Strange swirls branched off in different directions. In the center was a series of unfamiliar symbols which reminded me of...what was it called...calligraphy? So I assumed it was a word written in some other language. Of course, a language I didn't understand.

That then brought to my attention the many other abnormalities. Like how the grass surrounding me was burnt to a crisp with more of the spirals imprinted on the ground. Or how the cube had mysteriously vanished into thin air, despite the fact that all I did was touch it.

Guess they taught the "No touching strange objects" rule for a reason. Who would've guessed.

I looked up to the sky, half expecting to see another glowing bright light tumbling towards me. Luckly, there wasn't.

In fact, there wasn't a single star in sight.

I started to wonder why that was bothering me so much.

Then it clicked.

I jerked up suddenly, startling Doug and causing even more throbbing soreness than before. But that wasn't what my train of thoughts was on.

There were no stars.

Meaning it was almost sunrise.

Meaning I had been knocked unconscious for the whole night.

Meaning that my mom would soon be waking up to take me to school. School. How the heck was I supposed to go to school?! I could fake being sick. It wouldn't be too hard, especially since I already felt like crap. But then my Ma would be suspicious, and at least for the moment, I wanted to keep...whatever this was, to myself. In order to do that, I'd have to act my normal, calm and composed self that I was in front of her and at school. While I was alone...that's a different story. But that didn't matter.

I forced myself away from my internal panicking and just focused on one thing.

Stay calm. Stay calm.

Wincing, I stood up, dusting the dirt off of my clothes and shaking it out of my hair. As quietly as I could, I opened the back door and pulled Doug inside. The door closed behind me with a slam, causing me to flinch.

"Tristen, is that you?" a voice asked. I froze. The light switched on and in the hallway stood my Ma. She was in her red pj's and had her messy uncombed hair pinned into a high bun.