Ilustración: Hybrid-Kira (2018)

The notorious sound of the alarm makes me aware again, separating myself from my comfortable and warm sleep with the subtle blow of the noisy alarm that echoed in my room on the second floor of the house, whose sound was heard as far as the garage.

It was a bit hard for me to open my eyes but I had no choice, because today was supposed to be Saturday in the morning, obligatory day of work for all the young people of the European Metropolis. One day we all wish it did not exist, but it was necessary due to the lack of someone else to do those simple, but extremely boring jobs.

Even though I was still lying on my right side, it was not difficult for me to see Iker who was still asleep, ignoring the annoying alarm completely. I wish I could have that level of heavy sleep to rest all day, but the terrible truth is that I was always a light sleeper and any noise, no matter how small it is, manages to wake me up. That in addition to that my body began to hurt me for having slept on the floor were enough reasons to get up. I sit on the blankets I had used as an impromptu bed and try to wake up, taking advantage of the moment to make a quick visual check of Iker's wounds. He looked good, there was remarkable improvement compared to last night he arrived totally exhausted and with his bleeding wounds, now he only looked tired, but actually better. Their smaller scrapes were almost impossible to identify. Hybrids are lucky to heal so quickly naturally, unlike humans who must tolerate the same bruise for more than a week.

The irritating alarm was already starting to bother me a little, so I got up and walked in the direction of my room to silence it once and for all. It is necessary to remove the batteries of the alarm to finally be quiet, and once the house is silent again my ears must endure an uncomfortable whistle to have become accustomed to the shrieking device, but it does not take long to get used to the silence of the house again, and the empty neighborhood in general.

Taking advantage of the fact that I was in my room, I decided to change my clothes to a more suitable one to work with. On Saturdays I was in charge of loading and unloading merchandise from a large shopping center in the downtown area of ​​the E.M. So my jeans and any shirt would help me to work without many impediments, in addition to the gloves that we must use for safety reasons, as well as the boots that I liked to wear, even if that means that my feet froze if I did not put on enough thick socks.

Once my attire was decent I went on to fix my hair that I was almost sure would be a disaster like every morning, and indeed all my red hair was oriented towards one side as if a magnet was attracting it. It suffices to wet it a little and stir it up so that it returns to its original position, because I have never put too much care in fighting with my rebellious hair. When I looked straight into the mirror I could have sworn that I had woken up with more freckles than usual, but when I focused my vision well I realized that they had always been the same. Even if my body is full of freckles, it is not so difficult to notice when a new one has come out.

Feeling a little better and clearly awake, I enter the kitchen in search of something that would satisfy the hunger I already felt at this time of the morning, only to find the odd surprise that there was nothing in the refrigerator that did not need a precise, complex preparation. I close the refrigerator door and resign myself to going back to the garage in search of the bread and jam I had used to feed Iker last night, because that would become my breakfast now. I carry both inside the house and I settle into the only armchair in the room, which fortunately was quite spacious.

When feeling a little silence in the house I decided to turn on the small projector that was already integrated to the wall of the house, which served perfectly as a normal television. The first channel being one of my favorites, belonging to a chain of scientific disclosure I liked the content that showed in their reports and documentaries, so I decided to see it while having breakfast. As I passed the time I was able to realize that today's programming was conveniently about hybrids. This was one of the many other documentaries about them that had already been made since the hybrids were known worldwide, but having one of them asleep in my house gave me reasons to put a little attention into what was said in documentary film.

"Hybrids, those beings in which humanity had so many hopes, hopes that ended in an inevitable tragedy" - Among the images of the documentary was a compilation of videos in which it could be seen the worst of hybrid behavior, sharp teeth, extraordinary mass and strength, and an insatiable appetite for killing. Things that, according to the E.M. were typical of hybrids by nature. - "Thousands of inhabitants of the European Metropolis are desperately looking for a safe way to leave the city, thus leaving their businesses, houses, and a moderately normal life. It is November 30, 2099, a date that everyone in the Metropolis knows as Vortex accident, a day that everyone remembers with sadness, because hundreds of lives were lost in the process. "- ... And there it goes, the same story as always ... let's see what new things can be invented from the Vortex Accident ... - I say with some sarcasm to be the only thing I could do, because it had been years since I got used to everyone putting a bit of imagination in the real story of the Vortex Accident, but especially of the ingenious inventions towards my father and my family, that was something that instead of irritating me, I managed to get a laugh. "Not everything was the result of one day to another, according to testimonies of former hybrid owners, these creatures began to behave in strange ways for a few months. Those hybrids that stayed to rest outside the house woke up with wounds produced by the teeth of some other individual of their species, showing that at night they fled from home to meet other hybrids, some of them even showed signs of aggressiveness towards their owners. Soon the situation became more tense, hybrids without owners roamed the streets, frightened residents, and created confusion and disagreement among the population. It was expected because seeing hybrids without an owner in the streets was synonymous of the fact that the VX99 toxin was no longer effective in these individuals, popularly known as "Vortex" for the rumor that they had escaped from a laboratory that classified them with that name in order to perform experiments of immunity to the toxin VX99 ... experiments that were successful. "- Wow ... what a lot of bullshit said at the same time. - Iker's sarcastic voice takes me by surprise and makes me drop the bread with jam that I was eating, causing it to fall to the ground right in the side of the jam. - Well, not everything they say is a lie ... many Vortex are immune to VX99 anyway. All the hybrids in Cilt are too. - Iker could not go inside the house even if he wanted to, his body is too big to fit between the frame of the door, so he only sees the documentary together with me only his nose into the house.

I look at the last bread with jam that had been stuck on the ground and I pick it up with some doubt, thinking deeply if I should try to eat it or not to be the only thing I would have to eat until I returned from work, but thinking at the same time all the time I have not done housekeeping, I finally decide that it would not be a good idea to eat it. I could be very hungry, but being hungry was better to get sick of something.

Oh, hello Iker. I didn't think the noise would wake you up ... - I leave the bread again on the floor and I get up to greet Iker, crouching in front of him.- Tell me, did you sleep comfortably? I looked for a way for you to not feel so cold, the nights here are a bit hard.-I had never slept so well, at least not in a long time... - Iker stretches his numb muscles of his body, and trying to open completely his doors (which unfold upwards) these collide with the ceiling, disconcerting Iker a little and causing him to move to the side, touching his body again with another wall. Faced with his own clumsiness, Iker is resigned to stay still and not make too much noise, because that depended if they discovered us or not .- ... eh ... sorry Tyler, but you know that a small garage is not a place for a hybrid... uhm ... I'll try to be more careful.- Don't worry Iker, it was just an accident .- I say calmly despite his obvious lack of care I was a bit nervous, because it was easier for someone to realize that there was a hybrid living in my garage. - ... Just try not to move too much. I know you're not comfortable, but I will not let you get out of here as you are... you must regain strength to take me to Cilt anyway.- I sit on the floor while I still see him straight ahead, while a notorious smile is drawn on his face again. Are you... will you come to Cilt seriously? That's great! ... although I have no way of telling the Council that you will go with me because the Mustang damaged my communicator... - He remains somewhat pensive for a moment, but then he sees me again with his green eyes and that curious smile, which seemed to cover his entire front because of the ironic design of the body of his race, which made him look like he had a permanent smile on his face even though he was serious. - But it doesn't matter, I already know how to deal with Kassia, she will be happy to know that you will now be under our protection.- Heh ... "our" protection? You and who else Iker? -Who else? All the team of Warriors obviously! Just wait until you meet them... they may not be the most normal hybrids and humans that exist ... but they are among the most noble ones. We will be honored to protect you while you are in Cilt.-Woah hehe, calm down Iker, you don't have to take care of me that way ... I mean, I know I'm famous, but it's nothing special... - I say sarcastically and with a cocky tone to pretend to follow the game, which makes Iker laugh. The conversation had become pleasant, so much that it makes me lose track of time, and by the time I look at the clock inside the house it makes me jump up, because I was late for work.- ... I'm late for work. Ehh... I'll be back in five or six hours Iker, aghh, I'm sorry for leaving you like this but I have no option my friend. I hope you don't get too bored in the garage.- Do not worry, I know how to entertain myself, go and do what you have to do.- Iker settles down again in the place where he had slept, leaving me a free way to go through the laminated door next to the gate, which I was sure had been useless by the blow that gave it the dead Mustang last night . - ... just be careful and ... do not stay to inspect the body of that other hybrid ... curiosity can sometimes be very bad ... - Iker's tone was now a little more serious, but he did not lose his quiet essence. Calm down Iker, I know what happened to the Mustang ... and I will not blame you for it, anyway I think you had reasons to do it.- I say as I put on my jacket and gloves, keeping on the edge of the door while continuing watching Iker from there. - ... take care, my friend, and don't make too much noise ... I will return with food for us both.-

I open the door in the most natural way I can to avoid someone seeing me talking to the garage that was supposed to be empty, and I close it in the same way with the keys I always carried in my right pocket of my pants. Once outside the house, something in the environment became more and more obvious and impossible to ignore. A rotten smell that came from several meters from my house had infested around the neighborhood, it was obvious that it was the corpse of the hybrid that Iker had killed.

Without paying much attention to the warning that Iker had made about inspecting the body, it was impossible for me not to take a look even though the smell was nauseating and I had a particularly weak stomach. Curiosity simply defeats me the vast majority of times.

Covering my nose and mouth with my clothes, I get close enough to the corpse, only to realize that It was really pale compared to how I had seen it yesterday. The Mustang was red-skinned, but now the only red in it was the dried blood that stood on the edge of the deadly wound caused by a sharp metal beam, which must have been forcibly encrusted, killing it. The scene was not beautiful at all, nor worthy of remembering, so I dare not continue contemplating it any longer than I was already. I turn around and continue to follow my path, but a noise coming from the same body of the Mustang makes me stop and return to see her for a few more times.

The noise doesn't stop, it was as if something was next to the body, possibly an animal that was feeding itself of the meat of the hybrid... but it does not sound as if that thing was feeding, rather it seemed that, whatever it was, it was hiding. I move a little closer to the body on one side, and determining that the noise came from the back of the hybrid, I risk taking a look at the space that was between the body and the wall of the house.

At first sight it looked like a simple white object that had been trapped in the small space... but sooner or later I realized that it was a small, undernourished, and fearful hybrid cub that took refuge from the cold outside with the body of the dead hybrid without caring about the putrid smell. It seemed that the corpse served it as a refuge.

But that was not the worst, because I soon discovered that the cub was a small Mustang. Possibly the cub of this hybrid that lay dead in front of me. The horrible scene generates a lump in my throat and an intense pain in the chest before the anguish that I was seeing the little baby guarding the body of her mother, so I try to get as close as possible and try to get her out of there help her.

Listening to my steps, the cub seems to wake up, and seeing me with fear with her blue eyes, she soon starts to growl in an awful way showing all her sharp teeth, which were not so small anymore. The cub may seem small, but it is already strong enough to kill me without any problem if I wanted to.

- ... calm down, little one... I just want to help you ... I'm not going to hurt you ...-

The cub keeps grunting aggressively, so I decide to give it a little space before she lets me help her. But it looked like she would not let me get closer. - ... don't get closer to my mother, human... I know you're a friend of the yellow hybrid...-

- I'm not going to hurt you ... I just want to help you ... - The cub may be small, but I'm surprised at the speaking level she had, so much that it gave me some chills.

- And how will you help me? ... You helped him kill her... he killed her because of you... to protect you.- The cub started crying while she kept watching me and she did not lower her guard. Judging by her slightly reddened eyes it was clear that she had cried a lot. -... Just go away... and don't go near my mother, I'll let you live until I grow up and become a big hybrid... but go away ...-

The seriousness with which the seemingly small cub spoke frosted my blood, and made me go into a state of shock as I continued to see her. Without further dawdling I move away as quickly as I can from the place, leaving me with a very bitter image before taking my way to my work, so much that I can not help but drop a few tears for the pity that that innocent child gave me, which was now orphaned by Iker's fault. Many mixed feelings invade me at that moment, asking myself who was the good and the bad here. I was confused, and my soul hurt. I had to distract myself with something, even if that something was the monotony of work.

Not far from there, an strange figure watched Tyler's departure for his Saturday job. A dark figure that camouflages perfectly with the irregular shadows of the leaves of the trees of the forest bordering the young Tyler's neighborhood. Waiting in silence, watching from the anonymity. Its bright eyes stood out among the vegetation for their blue and purple tones combined in perfect proportions within both eyes.

It was still early, no one would come to inspect that the area was not invaded by hybrids, especially this corner forgotten by the E.M. called Northeast Neutral Zone. There was no one to appreciate who it was.

The mysterious observer cautiously leaves its temporary hiding place, rebelling against an hybrid with an impeccable black body highlighted by a few scars scattered over parts of its dark skin. It was an imposing Lamborghini Hurracan.

Moving quietly, but without lowering its guard, it goes down the same street where the body of the Mustang and her respective offspring lie, which has run to take refuge behind the body of her mother, because that cub was not naive, she had already met that hybrid among the stories she should have heard from his mother or other exiled hybrids.

She passes right by the corpse and stops her march for a few moments giving a slight glance at the body, looking for the baby, without success. But she knew the cub was there, she could recognize her smell in the stench of the dead hybrid.

- ... I know you're guarding your mother's body, but if you do not run away from here the humans will capture you, and I do not think it's necessary to tell you what will happen next. - There is no answer, only the suffocated breathing of the same cub that tried to go unnoticed. - ... You are welcome in Cilt if you wish. -

The mysterious hybrid follows its path without flinching and with a clear objective. She may not have been able to be seen by young Tyler and take him to Cilt, but at least now she had the opportunity to rescue her companion, who was trapped voluntarily inside the house of the nice boy, young human that the Cilt hybrids have been searching for for years.

Iker... Are you okay? I come to take you back to Cilt. - For a moment everything is silent, but there was no option for Iker to have fallen asleep, possibly just taking care of his fragile alibi. - It's Kassia, Iker... I came because the control center informed me that your communicator had broken down and I thought you were in trouble.- L...leader Kassia? What are you doing around here? It is not safe to wander through the neutral zones, much less being someone important like you.- Iker listened surprised, and somewhat anxious to want to leave that small garage once and for all, although his intrigue was greater by her sudden appearance. Do not try to argue with me Warrior... we're both in service right now. Now let me help you.- she answers with a strong and serene tone, while looking for a way to open the door. You will not believe what happened! He lives here, Kassia... Tyler Hopper! He has been living here all this time and it did not occur to anyone to watch this area before... - Iker tries to push with all his might the switch that is supposed to open the metal gate, and in a small effort he succeeds. - He's ... well, identical to Marcus.- Yes, I could see that, he left a few moments ago.- Kassia back down when she saw that the metal gate began to open little by little. -What have you said to him about his father, or about Cilt? Did he ask you many questions? - Ehh, no, not too many... just the normal. I told him that it was necessary that he return to Cilt and that his father was alive ... I did not tell him that ... well ... - That's all he needs to know, for now. We can not let him retract at this moment ... it's when we need him the most Iker, and you know it very well.- They both remain silent while they wait for the heavy door to be lifted by the mechanism. - But you can not take him to Cilt in this state, it would take you a long time to transport him, that's why I will take you to Cilt and send someone else to come for him... trust me.- I would trust you with my life, Kassia. - Iker responds calmly from inside the garage.

The mechanism of the gate made an unpleasant sound, it was clear that something was not right. The blow that the Mustang had caused the night before could have locked the chain that helped the door open, plus the fact that it had never been necessary to open the garage when Tyler did not have even a bicycle. The rust had corroded much of the mechanism for a long time.

... Damn, the gate won't open. - Kassia tries to take the base of the gate with her teeth so she can open it on her own, but it was not open enough to do it that way. She needed only a few more inches to be able to hold it without problem. Wait, I think I can turn around and help... - Iker tries to turn his body so that it is facing the gate and not inside the house, generating a lot of noise in the process. The place was too narrow to be able to turn his body around.Iker, wait, you're making too much noise ... – She stayed a few meters away from the gate to analyze the situation a bit. -We must think of something else.- She turns around looking for anything that would be useful for her to open the door, some object that would help her to leverage the gate enough to force it open with her body, but nothing had a shape similar to what she needed ... nothing except the bright metal beam that stood out from the side of the corpse of the Mustang. - ... I'll be right back Iker ... -

The idea of ​​desecrating the body of the hybrid did not please her at all, but she had no choice, their only escape option was using that beam to use it as a lever. Kassia takes the uncovered edge of the sturdy beam and begins to take it out little by little. While she tried with all her straight to make it take off from the Mustang's flesh, the little cub runs out into the woods, frightened by what Kassia was doing to her deceased mother, because there was nothing she could do to protect her body.

Seeing that the cub ran and hid in the dense forest gave Kassia more freedom to unseat the beam, even if that meant moving it abruptly to make it detach from the dried blood that had adhered the metal to the flesh. The sudden movements cause a new hemorrhage in the corpse and the place is refilled with a putrid smell of rotten flesh and coagulated blood, staining Kassia's wheels in the process. Using her brutal strength, Kassia finally manages to dislodge the beam, and immediately approaches the metal gate, which was being held by the back of Iker on the other side to prevent it from closing completely. The few centimeters that the door had been able to lift by itself were enough to get the clean tip of the beam, because Kassia would not leave evidence that Tyler's house had been involved in hybrid activity.

Kass, a non-hybrid patrol vehicle is approaching your location, you must leave immediately. - A serious voice is heard on Kassia's communicator, which was installed inside her, but Kassia does not answer at that time - ... Kassia, can you hear me? - With the strength of the muscles of her jaws, Kassia starts to open the gate by prying it from below, and every time she needed to hold the beam again with her teeth, Iker held the advance of the gate with his body. ... Right now I'm... kind of busy... - She takes a breath for a moment while still holding the beam with her teeth, then let go and quickly put her nose between the gate and the floor to prevent it from closing again. The weight was something overwhelming, but that does not stop her from continuing to lift the gate with her own body, allowing Iker to leave the garage little by little. He was still hurt and in disrepair though he did not want to admit it, and it was fortunate that Kassia had located him in time.Kassia, there's no time! You must flee to the forest before the police see you.- The other voice of the communicator is heard desperate. I will not leave Iker here! Over.- Kassia cut the communication with the command center, leaving no more than interference as a last response to who was guiding the mission from the other side, the same person who called that reckless Lamborghini. "Kass." The rescue had been silent, and without evidence that either of the two Warriors had been there. It's been a particularly bad day... - I talk to myself as I walk along the sidewalk, carrying in both hands a couple of bags that were a bit bulky in which I carried at least four kilograms of meat, that was more meat than I ate in a whole year.- ... but at least someone will have a decent meal after eating only bread and jam ... - I stop abruptly as I look up at my house and notice the multiple non-hybrid vehicles that were sheltering the neighborhood of the neighborhood .- ... Oh no, Iker... damn ... I shouldn't have left him alone ... - I drop the bags and start to run, concerned until approaching the limits that the same policemen had set to avoid the passage to curious observers.

I try to stay calm and not raise suspicions while trying to see what was happening there, and fortunately for me (and Iker) it seemed that the police were only supporting the removal of the corpse of the hybrid Mustang. There were no indications that they had inspected any of the houses, although some policemen looked somewhat curious at the notorious dent in the metal gate, which had remained intact since the night before.

Everything looked in order, and it seems that they have not noticed the presence of Iker in the garage, so for now there was not much to worry about. A huge tow truck starts to pull the hybrid on its platform while other people protected with suits very similar to those used to handle radioactive material begin to cover the body with a large plastic cover that they had prepared to transport it.

I approached cautiously to where the tapes of "forbidden pass" allowed me, and one of the policemen seems to recognize me, although at this point I would be surprised if someone in the whole metropolis did not recognize me.

Hopper... what are you doing here boy? Simple curiosity, or are you interested in studying the anatomy of the hapless Vortex who came to die here? - The policeman points to the tow truck where they already had the hybrid, although he looked calm. - Those damned hybrids prefer to kill themselves near the Neutral Zones... I wonder what kind of person would live in a dangerous area like this, because he's crazy.- The policeman takes a sip of his coffee, which might already be cold to seeing his gesture to take that last sip. Actually... that's my house.- I point with my hand towards the neglected house that now looked more mistreated than before with its door bent inwards.- And yes... Now I see why they offered it so cheap in the newspaper. The area is a Vortex magnet... I will have to save all my profits for two months to repair my door. - I say sounding as serious as I could, making the police shut up, swallowing some of his words, creating an uncomfortable silence between both. Well ehh... that's a shame. Accidents like this are more common than you think. Not only in the Neutral Zones does have happen.- The policeman says with some nervousness. Oh, really? ... Wow, I thought that the E.M. had an impeccable surveillance system. If you say that there have been Vortex sightings more inside the Neutral Zones... I think that our tax money is not being invested correctly in the security of the Metropolis, right? - I say seriously, trying to evade the police and achieve let me go to my house once and for all, which was having an effect. ... Yes, and that is why I personally will escort you to your home, young Tyler, it is not good that you are walking with as much confidence through such dangerous streets. - Turn around to verify that nobody heard the comment he had just made, and realizing that no one was paying attention he raises the plastic tape himself to let me pass. -... I saw you were carrying some plastic bags and forgot them in the street ... let me bring them for you.- Ehh, it is not necessary, I can go for them... - I say somehow nervous, but the police went ahead to go for the bags in which loaded large pieces of meat. Nobody in their right mind would buy four kilograms of meat for themselves, and everyone knew that the hybrids were almost exclusively carnivorous. - Wow... what are you going to do with so much meat? Do you have guests in his house, Mr. Hopper? No... not right now.- I take both bags while I was walking in a hurry towards my house, doing everything possible to cut the conversation and prevent the policeman from looking inside the garage.- ... but I think I'll have to warn them that the meeting will be canceled ... I imagine there will be cops around here for several days, and I don't think it'll be nice for them... –What? Are you talking about forensics? They will leave in a couple of hours from here, they really do not mind investigating what happened ... anyway it's just a hybrid, those things do not have rights, it's not worth opening a case for an animal.- Yes... it has no case... - I try to avoid talking more and I only dedicate myself to open the door with my free hand. After removing the lock at the door I stay watching the policeman, waiting for him to leave and thus be able to open the door without the risk of exposing Iker.- ... well, thank you officer, now I'll go inside to put all of this away ... - Yes... could I ask you a few questions before I return to my guard? -The policeman takes out a small voice recorder and shows it to me before pressing the only button it had. -... I hope you do not mind recording.- Oh... no, not at all.- At that moment I felt my pulse had accelerated from one moment to another because of the adrenaline and fear I felt.Tell me... have you had contact with hybrids recently? - No sir... absolutely not.- Did your family have any contact with hybrids some time? - ... I think you already know the answer sir... - Answer the question Mr. Hopper, Has your family had contact with hybrids before? - His authoritative voice generated me even more nerves and would not let me respond properly, so I have to take a deep breath to answer in the clearest way I could. ... My father was Marcus Hopper, creator of the hybrids... My family has a long history of contact with hybrids until they were exiled from the European Metropolis... so yes... my family has had contact with hybrids before.-

To my surprise, my clear and sincere answer seems to answer his question satisfactorily, and although I tried not to make my nervousness very noticeable, my hands started to sweat and my pulse did nothing but increase uncomfortably.

- ... Well, that's it. - The policeman gives me a slight smile and turns off the voice recorder, apparently the worst was over. - I recommend that you do not leave the house Mr. Hopper, It's for security reasons, I'm just doing my job. - He holds out his hand to say goodbye to me and I do the same, although seeing the inside part that was discovered of his wrist I could clearly see a discreet tattoo very similar to Iker had his doors, disconcerted as soon as I saw it. -... And I do not recommend that you give jam to hybrids... they become addicted to sweet foods very easily... - The policeman stopped shaking my hand, giving me a serious look as he begins his way back to his surveillance post, without telling me anything else.

I felt an uncomfortable emptiness in my chest, weighing the worst. There was no way the policeman knew exactly what I was giving Iker to eat unless he had entered the house already. Without spending time I quickly opened the door, and what I found was just to freeze my blood, and generate an anguished pain in my chest.

Iker was not there, and the few things in the garage were out of order. Endless ideas went through my head in a matter of seconds, one more bad than the last.

After being inside the house and closing the door I simply fell to my knees, entering a small paralysis from which I did not know how to get out. Iker was not there, and it was more than logical that they had taken him, and all for the stupid carelessness of mine.

- Iker... forgive me, my friend ... I did not arrive on time.-

The only consolation I had now was knowing that they would not put me in jail, at least not for now. But it would not be enough to appease the anguish that I felt knowing I would never see my new partner again.

Hybrid-Kira (2018)