Hybrid: The Awakening

Chapter 22-Asher

Date on Earth: Tuesday, October 10

I made eye-contact with Tristen, his expression mirroring mine. What was our science teacher doing out here in the middle of nowhere? The last time I had seen the woman(which had also been the first time I met her) was a few minutes before the school fire. She had seemingly disappeared. And if I was being completely honest, I thought she died in the fire.

Not that I wanted her to die or anything. That would've been horrible and was certainly not what I was implying.

But it was still a shock to see the teacher alive and well, and conveniently in the exact same location as the four of us.

"Mrs. Jane?" Tristen asked hesitantly, as if he too couldn't believe the teacher's sudden arrival. "What you doing here?"

She laughed. "Oh, I come to this town often!" The woman smiled widely, but something felt off. I couldn't tell what it was, since I hadn't known the teacher long enough to remember her exact appearance. But there was something different about her that I couldn't pinpoint.

She made eye contact with me and a chill went down my back. The all-too-familiar feeling filled my senses, sending me a sharp headache.

There. In her eyes there was a darkness I hadn't noticed before. Despite her cheery tone, they held no joy. They were cold. Numb.

Dark.

Something is definitely wrong.

"Uh, it's nice seeing you ma'am!" I said quickly, "I have to talk to Tristen now!" Yanking on his arm, I pulled Tristen away, refusing to look back.

"What's up?" Tristen asked me the second we stopped. I looked behind me to make sure the teacher was nowhere in sight.

"Okay, I don't know how to explain it, but there is something seriously wrong with our teacher."

He raised an eyebrow. "You really think? Seemed pretty normal to me. Sure, it's a weird coincidence to find her here, but I don't think there's anything wrong with her."

"Yeah, yeah. Like I said, I don't know how to explain it, but she feels...different somehow. Did you notice anything out of the ordinary?"

Tristen thought about it for a second, then shook his head. "Looks exactly like how I remember her." I ran my fingers through my hair nervously and looked back one more time.

"You that scared?" Tristen questioned, genuinely curious. "Don't think you have to worry. Mrs. Jane's harmless. Wouldn't hurt a fly. Maybe it's your lack of sleep causing you to be paranoid."

As much as I wanted to believe that was true, I knew I'd just be lying to myself.

"Tristen," I said clearly, gripping his arms. "She's dangerous, trust me."

He looked at me skeptical until I stated, "I can feel it."

He seemed to get the message then.

"We gotta warn the others," Tristen said with a new energy as we headed back to where we left the girls.

"Agreed."

We made our way around a wooden building and weaved our way through the swarms of people. More villagers were piling into the open area, most likely preparing for the celebration of their new heroes. A small swell of pride brewed in my chest but I quickly discarded it.

Find Tesha and Diana first, then soak in the victory.

The crowd made it ten times harder to spot them, but eventually I caught sight of Diana's bright red hair, tied up in a bun.