I'm writing these chapters really quickly, so I think I'll start uploading them two at a time!
Chapter 6: The Last Week
Finally the hybrids had learned all of the techniques in the books and manuals.
Hunting came fairly naturally, their superior bodies leading to a much higher success rate than other species of a similar kind. The Alpha males were more than capable enough to feed all of the other packmates, should anything happen.
It took a while for the hybrids to start thinking about healthcare and mechanical maintenance, but the mechanical pants made it much easier to chase after things. They learned how they could make temporary solutions from spare parts in case they couldn’t get their own pants repaired somewhere nearby.
Bitsy was great at learning all of the natural creatures, I guess you might call her a pacifist. She was more into the diplomatic side of things, getting to know other hybrids well and knowing what makes them tick.
When it came to mating, all of the males were too shy to try anything. They would rather not try anything with all the Vykkers around anyway. It was up to them what happened next. Silpher and Tulia were most definitely a couple. Lorn and Lara spoke a few times, but they aren’t anywhere near as close.
Inna was getting quite close to Ulric. They often hunted together and would hang around with each other a lot. They took a leaf out of Silpher’s book and started massaging each other if they got hurt too much. Ulric smiled, “I bet Silpher picked that up out of that darned Vykker book anyhow”.
Riley talked to the girls most of all, but she had her eye on Bron. Bron was kind of mysterious, he didn’t talk much due to his shyness. Riley couldn’t stop talking, some of the hybrids called her ‘motor-mouth’ as a joke.
Although Bitsy didn’t hunt that often, she seemed to spend some time with Dogol. Dogol wasn’t a brilliant hunter, in fact, it was probably because he was such a bad hunter that she spend most of her time with him. She often came over with a smirk and a hand full of honey. Dogol was happy to share with Bitsy. “I don’t know what’s sweeter…”, he thought to himself, “Bitsy, or the honey”.
A few more days passed. The hybrids were all sleeping soundly in bed. Suddenly a massive explosion was heard, alarm sirens going off. All of the hybrids woke up from their beds at once.
They all headed for the lounge, a hub that connected all of the rooms. Ulric shouted over the alarm, “What the smeg is going on?”. Lorn shook his head, “Could be anything, Let’s get out of here… Everyone stay with your hunting pals”. Everyone rushed to the emergency exit, near to the feeding pens. As they turned the corner, suddenly they saw a stampeding Elum herd running right towards them. Bron yelled, “Oh frak, they’re headed this way… Everybody run!”. The hybrids all ran in the opposite direction.
Ulric and Inna were running in front of all the others, suddenly a few Elum came from around the corner. It was too late for Ulric and Inna to change direction, hit in the chest full force by the sheer weight of the adult Elums. They fell to the floor, injured. Karn and Hemm walked up and subdued the Elums before they could run into anyone else.
Silpher yelled, “Ulric, are you alright?”. Ulric nodded, but was clutching his arm, “We gotta get out of here right this minute”. Lorn lead the hybrids out of the sector to the emergency exit. Lorn pulled on the emergency exit door handle, it opened. They all rushed out into the open air.
Ulric and Inna slumped on the ground in front of them. Lorn held Ulric’s hand, “Come on, we gotta get out of here quick”. Tulia and Lara helped Inna get up, and they headed for the nearby forest.
Silpher took a final look back at his former home, it was completely in flames now. He took out his emergency pager that the Vykker had given him. He wrote the following in a message;
“This is Silpher, we have escaped from the factory. Thank you for the help. Bye.”
Now their skills would be put to the ultimate test.
Chapter 7: Road to Recovery
The hybrids kept walking until their bodies showed signs of tiredness. They set up camp in a valley near a forest. Ulric and Inna were still tending to their injuries. Ulric stood up and moved to Silpher. "Listen, I'm not fit enough to lead the group for now. Can you help me out for a while?". Silpher smiled, "Of course, I am second in command, I'll lead us".
Ulric smiled, "Cheers mate. I'll go rest my shoulder for a while". Silpher watched as Ulric limped towards the shelter.
Silpher stepped up to where the other hybrids were and tapped a stick against a rock. Everyone stopped talking and walked closer. "Alright everyone, we've made it out of the factory... Ulric said I could take charge so we're going to talk about a few things". Silpher started by confirming everyone's names and personality traits. He looked at one of the girls, "Bitsy, am I right in saying you don't like meat?". Bitsy nodded, Silpher continued, "In that case, we need to find alternatives to meat in our diet. Plants and mushrooms might be enough". Bitsy smiled, "I read up on some of the leaflets, I think I will be able to find a lot of things". Silpher smiled back, "That'll be useful, it would be great if you could teach us that sometime soon... In fact we should each teach each other one thing". The hybrids all nodded and agreed. Inna raised her hand, "I agree, but we should wait for Ulric before we re-continue our education". Silpher looked at her, "Yeah you're right. Okay everyone, let's have a rest for a while and continue tomorrow".
The sun was shining through the shelter's openings. Silpher walked up to see Lorn outside. "Haven't you slept well?". Lorn shook his head, "It's alright... I've only been awake for an hour or so. I wanted to make sure nothing was watching us".
Silpher adjusted his electronic pants, "That's admirable, but make sure you get enough rest". Lorn smiled, "Don't worry, I'll probably fall asleep if Karn is giving me a lecture". Silpher laughed.
Every hybrid was awake now, Ulric and Inna walked up to Silpher. Inna looked towards the rest of the hybrids, "Are we ready to begin?". The hybrids nodded. Magnus stood up, "Who's going to start?". The hybrids looked at each other nervously.
Chapter 8: Improving Relationships
Tulia raised her hand. "If I could, I'd like to talk about relationships". Silpher was shocked to hear her voice from his side. "Tulia...", Tulia smiled. The other hybrids agreed and sat on the ground.
Tulia went on to talk about her feelings and how the group could benefit from being more open with their feelings and thoughts. They agreed and took in turns to talk about themselves.
Karn admitted that he sometimes had a feeling of great anger in his heart, along with the frustration of being unable to use weapons effectively. Bron told everyone that he felt that he lacked confidence, and so would be submissive in order to avoid leadership situations.
Riley walked up to the center and told everyone that her talkativeness often made her feel quite seperate from the rest of the group, despite being someone who manages to say a lot.
Hemm now took her place. He felt that his cockiness often made him the butt of jokes, and made him feel isolated from everyone. Inna admitted that her flirtatious nature was due to her desiring affection from others.
Tulia nodded, "I think it's natural for us to need each other's company... and even more natural for us to have desires for each other". Lara put her hands on Lorn's shoulders, closing her large eyes, revealing the long eyelashes she was proud of. Lorn nodded in appreciation and looked towards Inna.
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