Fated Hybrids

Chapter 7

I opened my eyes and it felt like my head was spinning. My eyes struggled to focus for a few seconds but returned to normal. I tried to move my hands and my legs but I couldn't. I looked down to see that I was tied to a chair. My hands were behind my back and my weapons out of my reach on a wooden table in front of me. The mysterious man I encountered before I blacked out was standing with his back against the wall to my left, his arms crossed over his chest. He wasn't wearing his vest now; he was shirtless but still wearing his black pants and some black army boots. From his elbows down to his wrists were some heavy duty arm guards tied around his arms with leather straps and metal buckles. His hands were covered with fingerless leather gloves. There was a silver chain necklace that hung down below his chest. I couldn't tell what the charm was, but it looked expensive.

He hadn't done anything to me yet as far as I could tell,

but what worried me is the fact that he tied me to a chair. I turned my head to look around, but even that small movement made my head swim. Something was seriously wrong with me, he'd definitely drugged me.

"...What...What the hell did you...Do to me?"

I looked back to him and he was now looking at me. His eyes were that same eerie gray with what looked like bright green and lavender hues. For some reason I could meet his eyes without any problems.

"I didn't do anything to you that you won't recover from. Be thankful for that..." He said in a somewhat deep voice. I could hear agitation in his voice when he spoke, he was clearly still mad about me breaking into his establishment.

"I've been here for a long time, no one bothered me. So why did you break in here?"

I had a feeling this could take a long time, hopefully not too long. I didn't want my mother and Emery to have a panic attack.

"I needed to get some medication. That's all."

I figured if I was honest I could make it out of here in one piece, maybe. He pushed himself off of the wall and came to stand in front of me, but a little further than an arm's length away. He was being extremely cautious with me. Did I look that dangerous? Surely not. My excessive weaponry? Just a little. The lighting in the room was good enough that I could see thick scars across his abdomen. I'd bet money they were from a run-in with a Xerclan.

"Let's say I believe you. Did you think I would let you walk out of here with my precious medicines without giving me something for them?" I almost looked up to meet his eyes but remembered what happened the last time I did.

He crouched down in front of me and I looked away from him before our eyes could meet.

"Why won't you look at me? Something to hide?" I almost laughed but thought twice about it.

"I don't know what or who you are, but I didn't come here to hurt you or anyone. However, you seem to have no problem hurting me."

I started to feel a little heat gathering in my own voice now. My anger must've amused him because he let out one of those annoying masculine laughs.

"I have the right to hurt you if I so choose. That's the right of a homeowner isn't it? Someone trespasses, you deal with them."

He stood up again and went over to the table where my guns lay. He started spinning one of them on the table continuously with his index finger.

"You call this a 'home'?" I said, I saw out of the corner of my eye that the little snide comment brought his attention back to me, but not favorably so.

"I made this place my home so yes, I do call it a home. Speaking of home, you must be far away from yours. I've never..."

He paused for a moment and stopped spinning my gun on the table before he continued.

"I’ve never noticed you in the area. You must've been told about the medicine stash somehow."

Now how would he guess that close to the truth? It creeped me the hell out.

"No one told me about this place. I was curious and decided to check it out alright?"

He started to laugh again, but this time he came up to me and leaned into my face. I thought he was going to kiss me or something so I started shaking my head back and forth and wiggling in the chair. Suddenly he held my head in his hands and I was forced to be still.

My eyes met with his now, but there was no pull this time. I didn't feel faint. He looked into my eyes for a few breaths before slowly letting me go, gently. I looked up at him, afraid to speak now. He was looking at me seriously, like he was studying me. It was silent between us for what felt like forever and I just couldn't take it anymore.

"What?" I didn't try to hide the frustration in my voice.

"You're telling the truth about why you came here, but not how you knew about the medicine. Someone you care about has Aeir's Syndrome, am I right?"

I glared at him. Maybe he assumed the medicine wasn't for me because I didn't look sick, but I was more curious about how he knew whether or not I was telling the truth.

"How did you know that? I didn't say anything! There's no way you could've known that!"

I practically shouted at him. Whoever he was, he wasn't human. There was just no way.

"Calm down, I just want to make sure I'm not expecting any other unwanted visitors. No harm will come to the person who led you here unless they mean me harm. Understand?"

I took a deep breath before letting out a sigh, not a sigh of relief though.

"No one else is coming here. I won't tell anyone about this place or you, so let me go."

He stared at me for a moment before placing his left hand under his chin and making a fist like the popular statue 'the thinker'. I raised my eyebrow at him.

"That wasn't a suggestion, untie me. You'll never see me here again." I said, He smirked, rubbing the tip of his chin with his fingers. There was no beard there so I didn't know why.

"You've got a smartass mouth on you. Anyone ever told you that?"

I rolled my eyes and tilted my head back to look at the ceiling. I was convinced he was just playing with my emotions at this point.

"Everyone tells me that. Mostly people who aren't accustomed to people who speak their mind; you must be one of those people."

I heard him laugh again and I put my head back centered. He just wouldn't wipe that stupid grin off of his face.

"I can take your attitude just fine, it's entertaining. Tell me your name and you can have your freedom, the medicines you came for, and your weapons back."

I let out a small abrupt laugh and he frowned at me.

"That's it? Just like that? What's your game?"

He shook his head.

"No game. At the very least I'd like to know the name of my intruder."

I c****d my head to one side, still not believing that he was going to let me go with everything, only to know my name.

"Azarah... Can I go now?"

He gave me a sort of impatient glare before pulling a hunting knife from his pocket. My heart beat sped up as he walked towards me and knelt down. He cut the rope off of my ankles and then walked behind me to free my hands. It was a great feeling having free hands again. He had the ropes pretty tight so I found myself massaging my wrists when I stood up from the chair. I realized I wasn't wearing my coat and looked around for it. It had been hanging on the back of the chair. I picked it up and put it back on before walking across the room to retrieve my things.

As I holstered my guns, I couldn't hear the nameless man moving which bothered me. I turned to the side and looked over to see him standing a respectful five feet away from me. I knew it was only because I had my weapons back; he was smarter than he looked.

"So Mr. no-name, what are you called?"

I heard him laugh and that made me smile a little. Glad I could amuse him.

"Adontis..."

I was pretty sure we would never see each other again, but that name was going to stick with me. I just knew it.

That's just how my brain worked. If I heard or saw something unusual, I can't forget. His name was definitely unusual. I picked up my rucksack from the floor next to the table and slung it over my shoulder.

"You're lucky to live in a place with medicines still available to you. Thanks..." I said.

I walked towards the door and he opened it for me, standing to the side as I walked out. We didn't say anything to each other as he escorted me out of the building, through the employee entrance I saw earlier. Judging by how little sunlight was left, it was much later. I had to have been passed out for a long time. I tried not to think of what Adontis may have been doing while I was unconscious. As far as I could tell, he hadn't touched me. Mentally things were a little fuzzy. I got on my bike and just before I could speed off into more familiar territory, Adontis walked up to me with his hands in his pockets and an expression void of emotion. I couldn't read him if I tried.

"Those are the last bottles of Dyglosamine in the pharmacy storage. I hope they last a while." He said. A small smirk started to form on my face and he started to frown.

"What?"

"You're being nice. Very nice, considering."

He shrugged his shoulders and sighed.

"You may be a thief, but not all thieves are beautiful."

The comment caught me off guard and I knew the surprise showed on my face, because he started to laugh. That deep, masculine laugh.

"Take care, Azarah..."

He said before going back inside of the pharmacy. I shook my head and revved the bike before taking off.

Mont's lead returned more than I'd expected. I wasn't sure what Adontis was, but he wasn't normal. There weren't many things left in this world that were normal. He'd let me go with everything I'd came with and with the medicines I needed. I couldn't help but feel like I'd acquired a huge debt; the kind that would take a lifetime to pay off. The sun was slowly making its way down and night was about to take its place. I'd done so much running around before sunset I'd forgotten how beautiful it could be. With each passing minute, the sky turned many gorgeous colors. I needed to get Emery out of the house to experience this one day. If it's ever safe enough to do so.

When I got home, I went straight to my mother's room and gave her another dose of her meds. The daily dosages required were supposed to be three times a day until most or all of the symptoms were cleared up. Once they cleared up, you only needed one dose. I was hoping three bottles would be enough to get rid of the symptoms but only time would tell. I sat at the foot of my mother's bed. Emery had gone to bed once I'd told her I'd take care of mom. My mother held a small smile on her face but I could tell she was close to nodding off.

"How did you find so much Dyglosamine? You didn't get into any trouble did you?"

I shook my head no even though that wasn't entirely true.

"No, I got help from a friend. Hopefully I won't have to be out so much now." I said, and she nodded with a sigh of relief.

"You know Azarah, there's more to life than running around trying to survive. So much more..."

I let out an abrupt, bitter laugh and it made her start to frown.

"What? You think I'm wrong?" I sighed looking up at the ceiling for a good enough response that wouldn't upset her. Nothing came to mind.

"I think it's been a long time since you've been outside." I looked back at her to see the frown on her face more prominent.

"Listen, I know what's out there even though I lay in this bed day after day. Yes, the world is a dangerous, dark place. That doesn't mean light and joy no longer exists, my girl. You just have to find it."

My sweet mother, still so full of hope even on death’s doorstep. I lost my hope the moment I knew Xerclanz existed. Which was early on in life for me. How could anyone be looking for their happy place while they were trying to stay out of a Xerclan'z stomach?

"Are you trying to say live, laugh, love?" I asked.

She glanced up at the ceiling as if to say maybe.

"I still believe one day you'll get married, have a family of your own. Emery could too. I hope I'm around to see at least one grandchild."

I couldn't help it, I started laughing uncontrollably.

"Me? Married? Children? There's no way mom, not in this life."

I saw her grip her bed sheets and I knew then I'd pressed a button. Maybe more than one.

"And why not young lady? You're of age and your precious youth won't last forever."

I huffed and shook my head.

"Oh mom come on! Seriously? There are no doctors for one. None that I know of anyway. I don't know what types of diseases guys are carrying around these days. Oh, and who's qualified to marry people around here? Who'll deliver your grandchildren safely? It's all too risky. Plus, I don't think playing 'house wifey' is for me. I like my freedom."

My mom looked at me curiously instead of fed up like I'd expected her to. Which made me suspicious.

"What now?" I said looking her in the eyes.

"Azarah, are you still a virgin?"

My eyes shifted back and forth and I stayed quiet. I started hoping we wouldn't have the ‘s*x talk’.

"You are, aren't you? That would explain your attitude towards everything I've said."

I just nodded.

"Yeah, I am. I still don't like the idea of the risks." I looked at her and she nodded with a content smile.

"I'm proud of you honey. Very proud. If you do choose a man someday, just make sure he's the right one. A good honest man who truly loves you, a man who would die for you. That's a keeper."

I smiled and gave her a nod before I got up from the foot of the bed. I walked up to her bedside and gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead.

"Goodnight mom, sweet dreams. Em will be down first if I'm not."

She smiled.

"I'm certain she will be. Goodnight honey."