THE CHOSEN HYBRID

CHAPTER 2: EXTRAORDINARY ORDINARY

Taura’s Pov

"Taura did you hear what I just said" my coworker Jennifer asked me and I snapped out of whatever daydream I was having.

"Sorry what did you say?" I asked while trying to focus on her face instead of the conversation happening three floors below us.

Jennifer sighed and rolled her eyes at me like she always did when I spaced out. "Really? So all this while I was speaking you didn't hear a single word?”

I smiled, “There’s no need to exaggerate Jennifer, my kind was somewhere else. I'm all ears now.”

“I said do you want to grab lunch with me and Sarah today or are you too busy being weird.”

"I am not being weird.” I said defensively even though I knew she was right.

"You are totally being weird you have been staring at the wall for like five minutes. What exactly are you thinking?" she said and crossed her arms over her chest.

I looked away from her and pretended to organize the papers on my desk even though they were already organized. The truth was I had been listening to a conversation between two security guards on the first floor who were talking about their weekend plans and I could hear every single word they were saying even though we were on the fourth floor.

This happened to me all the time and I hated it. My hearing was way too good and I could pick up sounds from really far away and sometimes I could not control it. One minute I would be trying to focus on my work and the next minute I would be listening to someone talking in the bathroom or in the parking lot or even outside the building.

It was exhausting and weird and I did not know why I was like this.

"Earth to Taura" Jennifer said and snapped her fingers in front of my face.

"Sorry, yes I will go to lunch with you guys, that will be nice.” I said and forced a smile.

She looked at me like she did not believe me but she did not push it. "Okay cool we are leaving in like ten minutes so be ready. Don't waste our time young lady.”

“I won't your highness.”I replied.

She walked away and I let out a breath I did not know I was holding. I really needed to get better at hiding my weird abilities because people were starting to notice and that was the last thing I wanted.

I worked at a marketing firm as a junior analyst which basically meant I did boring stuff on spreadsheets all day and pretended to care about numbers. It was not my dream job but it paid the bills and it was better than nothing. Plus my boss Harold was really nice and easy to work with so that made things easier.

Speaking of Harold I heard his voice coming from his office which was down the hall from my cubicle. He was talking to someone on the phone and he sounded stressed out about something. I tried not to listen but my stupid ears picked up on his conversation anyway.

"I told you I can handle it" he said in a low voice. "No one knows anything and I plan to keep it that way"

I frowned and wondered what he was talking about but then I stopped myself because it was none of my business and I needed to stop eavesdropping on people.

The rest of the morning dragged on slowly and by the time lunch came around I was ready to get out of the office. Jennifer and Sarah and I walked to a sandwich shop down the street and ordered our food. They talked about some TV show they were watching and I nodded along and pretended to care but my mind was somewhere else.

After lunch we walked back to the office and that was when I smelled it.

It hit me out of nowhere like a punch to the face. It was a smell I had never smelled before but somehow it felt familiar and wrong at the same time. It smelled like wet dirt and pine trees and something else that I could not identify. Something wild and dangerous.

I stopped walking in the middle of the sidewalk and Jennifer almost bumped into me.

"What is wrong with you? You've been acting weird since this morning,” she asked and looked annoyed.

"Do you smell that" I asked and sniffed the air again.

She and Sarah both gave me weird looks and sniffed too.

"I do not smell anything.” Sarah said.

"Me neither what are you talking about" Jennifer added.

I shook my head and tried to play it off like it was nothing. "Never mind I thought I smelled something burning but I guess not"

“Something burning? Seriously?” Sarah said.

Jennifer burst into laugher. “Seems like Taura is probably expecting a baby. For her to smell something different.”

“You both should stop it okay. I didn't do a bad thing by saying what I smelled.” I replied.

They both shrugged and we kept walking but I could not shake the feeling that something was off. That smell was still in my nose and it was making me feel uneasy and alert like my body was trying to warn me about something.

We got back to the office and I tried to focus on my work but I could not stop thinking about that smell. What was it and where did it come from and why did it make me feel so strange.

The rest of the day went by in a blur and by the time five o clock came around I was exhausted. I packed up my stuff and said goodbye to everyone and headed out to the parking lot. The smell was still there but it was fainter now like whatever it was had moved further away.

I got in my car and started driving home. My mom and I lived in a small apartment on the outskirts of town and it usually took me about twenty minutes to get there. As I drove I rolled down my window and let the fresh air blow through my hair.

That was when I smelled it again.

It was stronger this time and it was coming from somewhere ahead of me. I slowed down and looked around trying to figure out where it was coming from but I did not see anything unusual. Just cars and buildings and people walking on the sidewalks.

But the smell was definitely there and it was definitely getting closer.

I pulled into my apartment complex and parked my car. As I walked toward my building I kept sniffing the air and trying to pinpoint where the smell was coming from. It seemed to be coming from the direction of downtown which was a few miles away from where I lived.

I stood there for a minute just staring in that direction and feeling my heart beat faster in my chest. Something was coming to Texas. Something wild and dangerous and heading straight for us.

And I had no idea what it was or how I knew but I just did.

*********

I walked into the office on Monday morning with my coffee in one hand and my bag in the other and I was already dreading the day ahead of me because Mondays were always the worst and I just wanted to go back to bed.

"Good morning Taura" Jennifer said from her cubicle as I passed by.

"Morning" I mumbled back and headed to my desk.

“Hope you had a good night's rest?” She asked.

I didn't want to explain how troubled I was concerning the same smell, she'll probably not understand. “Well, my night was great. Thanks for asking.”

I sat down and turned on my computer and started going through my emails when I heard Jennifer gasp really loud from across the room.

"Oh my god Taura have you seen him yet" she said and practically ran over to my desk.

"Seen who" I asked without looking up from my screen.

"The new boss they hired to replace Mr Richard " she said and her voice was all high pitched and excited. "He is so hot I swear I almost died when I saw him walk in this morning"

I rolled my eyes because Jennifer said stuff like that about every guy she met and I did not really care about meeting the new boss because bosses were usually boring old men who only cared about numbers and deadlines.

"I am sure he is fine" I said and started typing an email.

"Fine are you kidding me he is like model level hot" she said and leaned against my cubicle wall. "You have to see him seriously"

Before I could respond I heard footsteps coming down the hallway and Jennifer quickly ran back to her desk and pretended to be working. I looked up and saw a man walking toward us and my breath caught in my throat.