Hybrid Affairs

Stacy

When Stacy arrived at the airport in Arizona, she was not even nervous. That was why she insisted that she take the bus instead of the entire family accompanying her, however, she did not win on that argument, the entire family accompanied her and it took forever to let her go. For her, it will be too sad. She wanted to take her first steps of living away from home on a positive note.

Her plane was about to depart in two hours. She sat there in the passenger’s waiting lounge waiting for the announcement to board. Stacy did not notice the pair of eyes that were checking her out for quite some time now.

Stacy Wright is a beautiful young woman. With her long auburn hair that falls just behind her back and skin that was fair as snow. Her features were delicate and fragile. She was just five-five in height and even in her regular clothes, one might mistake her for an angel who have lost her way to heaven.

“Announcement, passengers bound for Manhattan on flight HT1560, your boarding gate is gate thirteen, please proceed and prepare your boarding passes.” The sound of a woman’s voice was heard all throughout the airport. Many of those who are in the waiting lounge gathered all their stuff and headed to the designated gate. Among them were Stacy and Greg Phantom and Jack Riley.

“Jack, I want that one.” Greg pointed to Stacy who was now walking in a throng of fellow passengers.

“Sir,” Jack said with impatience, “I do not know, but did you notice that this is not a shopping mall and you can pin point anything you wanted to get.”

“I believe I pay you to move and not talk.”

“She looks weak, are you certain?”

“That is the selling point.” Greg whispered to his companion.” We will make her strong.”

“Whatever you say, you are the boss.” The man called Jack shrugged.

“Good to hear.” Greg was happy as he went the other way. He was traveling business class. Jack was going to travel on economy class because that was where Stacy was. Jack was going to swap seats with another person. No one is gonna decline a swap from economy to first class and that person will not even bother to ask why they are swapping. People are sadly easy go manipulate with free stuff.

The travel went smooth as silk and they have landed at John F. Kennedy airport without any problems. Stacy had to phone home since that was what her parents have told her on repeat before leaving home. Besides, her siblings would be waiting to hear from her. Unfortunately, when she got to the phone booth lane, the queue was longer than the longest anaconda known to mankind. It was packed. Looks like everyone was keen to give their loved one the update they need.

Stacy let out a sigh of dismay.

“Are you looking for a payphone too?” It was Jack. He was smiling and asking nicely.”Hi.”

“Hi, yes. Unfortunately...” She took another glance of the line.

“Yeah, me too. I have to call my grandmother.”

“Same, may parents are waiting and if I don’t call them they would probably call Harvard.” She sighed.

“Nice, I have been accepted there too.” Jack said enthusiastically.

“Oh, wow. Law?”

“Yes!”

“Me too.” Stacy was glad to see a fellow incoming Law student.

“Hey, there is a phone booth near the parking lot. I have seen it when we went here to fetch a relative.”

“Really? Are you going there now? “

“Yeah, I really have to call my grandmother.” Jack smiled a little.

Stacy agreed to follow Jack since she was convinced that calling in later will not make any difference, her parents will be worried sick if they do not hear from her. So she followed Jack onto the parking lot. It only occurred to her that the parking lot they were going were in the farthest part of the airport and at the moment, no one was around and most importantly, there was no sign of any payphones. Stacy started to sense danger.

“Jack, are you sure there is a payphone here?”

“Of course.”

Jack halted and when Stacy looked at his gentle and smiling face--it was not there anymore. All there was was a man with a grin eerily creepy and it sent chills down her spine. Stacy backed away. This was not the same man she was talking jubilantly a while ago. Fear had taken over her entire system.

“I-I do not see any.” Stacy stammered.

And then, from a column, appeared another man, dressed in an expensive three piece suit.

“Oh, Jack did not tell you that we keep the phones in the laboratory?”

“What are you talking about? Jack...”

She looked for Jack, but she could not see Jack. Instead, there were three other men in his place. One was behind her and slid an arm on her side. And then she felt a little stab on her jugular and everything went dark.

When Stacy woke up, her entire body ached. Her head threatens her to burst anytime soon. Stacy could not see anything but she felt cold. She feel light. She was not naked but her clothes felt lighter and soft and she had no shoes,she knew this because they were moving freely. Her breathing was heavy and raspy. From her half closed eyes she could figure three people gawking at her and she could hear snippets of conversation.

“Serum 320 ready for intravascular insertion.”

“This is it, Greg. Your breakthrough is about to happen!”

“I know. We have spent millions on this research facility. This serum should better be it.”

As Stacy felt a needle poke her in the arm, she began to fade away too.

Stacy Wright was in one of the many laboratories of Phantom Laboratories. It’s CEO and entrepreneur; Greg Phantom was a businessman who wanted to change the world by means of powering the military capacity of any country that wishes to purchase his inventions. He deals in arms and illegal drugs that were mainly used in private armies and makes it’s soldiers faster and stronger and do not require much sleep during battle. The man likes to call himself as a visionary.

His latest project is the Hybrid. An enhanced human with animal brute strength and speed. And to make his case on point for the future buyers--he handpicked several humans to be tested. Stacy Wright was among the five he personally went ‘shopping’ for. Each with different characteristics to see if the DNA of the Hybrid serum can fix the missing characteristic to make an enhanced human.

Stacy was chosen because she was fragile. Greg wanted to see if the serum could make her vicious and deadly.

The serum injected to Stacy went dormant, Greg thought that it did not work on her like it did to the other four, where the results and changes came right away. Stacy was brought back to her quarters thinking that it did not work on the dainty one.

The five test subjects were placed in the same building, but with different quarters. Stacy could hear them scream in pain or anguish like animals and that scared her. She was thinking about home. Unlike the others who begged to be set free or to be killed to end their suffering, Stacy kept to herself. She never talked to the other test subject beside her quarters.

Aside for one test subject.

“Hey. Are you there?” Thomas asked in a hushed voice.

“What do you want?” Stacy sneered, even if she liked hearing his voice. He was the closest to a friend that she had in this hell hole and she had to make do of what was available, besides, it was good to talk to someone other than the demons on your head.

They came the same day and was put through series of tests. They have not seen each other personally but they happen to talk to each other when Thomas was talking loudly to himself thinking that the other quarter was empty. Stacy wanted the quiet atmosphere so she yelled at him to shut up. They became friends after that encounter.

“Are you feeling something odd?”

“Like what? Like being kidnapped and forced into being a lab rat? Then yes.”

“Yeah, that too.” Thomas chuckled. “No, I mean, other than that.”

“Specify.”

“I am stronger and I can see in the dark, Stacy.” Thomas sounded worried but unafraid. He also spoke in a more hushed manner.

“I do not feel anything. “ She let that pause a bit. “If I do, you are the first to know, what did you say you were feeling? ”

“Stronger than the usual.”

“Then I’d bust here and hunt these people down.”

“Do you feel anything different from all the stuff they injected on us?”

“No, I don’t.” She answered abruptly.

Stacy lied. She was feeling better and she was stronger. She took another look at the iron bars holding her bed together that was now neatly braided. She did that out of boredom when she found out about her new found strength and just this morning, she saw herself transform into something else, inhuman and fearful. There were no cameras in the quarters because Greg said he still wanted to give them the privacy they deserve.The audacity.

It was only a matter of time. She knew that there was one more serum, like a booster. After that, all hell shall break loose.